The first annual general meeting of the shareholders of the abore Company held on Taceday at the offices No. 4 Kiokiang Road. Mr. R. H. Parker cecnpied the chair, the other directors present being Mr. F.T. Ho and Mr. A.J. Israel. The total number of bares represented was 47,840, The chairman said: Gentlemen aport and accounts have been in your hands for some days, and with your permission, I shall take them as read. There is very little for me to add. As regards the number of trees and their designation I understand many sbarcbolders would have liked the trees described by their age, and nat by the diameters in inbes, jim, our estate manager, in taking the census has elected, and we thiok rightly, to adopt the Istter course, as in an estate where for some time Iallang has hed the apper band, it would have been merely guees work to Bim; and their)
95 fix an age to the treee which bed been stanted in growth. However, a time goes on, we shall be able to estimate the age with some degree of certainty, All the trees described as over eight inches, covid have been tapped months '9go, as they are over four years old; but as stated in the report, we have preferred to give the trees chance to recuperate, and their growth has im consequence been splendid daring the last year.
The estimated output for the next few years, we feel confident, will be fally realized; the estimates having been drawn op by Mr, Sim, in whose jadgement your Directors have the greatest confidence. The rubber in transit, has been valeed to. bring We have not as yet bad any intimation of the sale of this stock, bot I am pleased to say that the market quotations show that the price quoted will be realized. ty Tarning to the scounts, you will see that we had Tls. 77,059-93 cash at bank. Most of this consisted of leone paid beck to the Company towards the fend of the ficancisl year. amount we have since placed Tis, 26,000 at fixed deposit at our bankers, Yon will notice that we have written off all preliminary expenses, Oar auditors fully concur in this step.
I would like to take this opportunity to call the attention of our shareholders to the valaable asset they have in Mr, Sim. They can feel assured that under hie supervision the estates receive competent and practical management that work done, and to be done, is and will be as it should be. Herein lice the secret of success or non-success of many of the new rubber companies, As you no doubt know, with many new companies created in the past few years, the demand for nagers far exceeded the supply, and only the resolte of several years work will demonstrate how many have proved what they represented themselves to be, and what the companies engaged them for. Personally I am free to admit that I knew nothing whatever about robber, and without any wish to cast reflexion on otbere, I think I may state that the majority of directors knew little or nothing about rubber and no matter bow bard and conscientions ly we labour to safeguard your ped almost entirely in and " little cor ders ton wil show bands of the man and
what it means to " company to have a tried and proved man of wide experience to take care of the vital part of the business. It is not necessary for me to go farther tham to state that Mr. Sim has bad about fifteen years practical experience in all the stages of rabber, from clearing up, to tapping and preparing robber; he was for four and half years assistant manager of the Gals Estates, and for six and a half years manager of the Kalampong Estates, two large model rabber estates in the F.M.8.
The directors and local management desire to place on record their appreciation of the grest work done by Mr. confidence that in his
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.