2 heads as follows? "That the Articles of Association he ai.ered substituting for Article 131 the {cllowing: The General Agents shall. by way of Femuneration for their services be paid a sum equivalent, to 5 per cent. on the. the company with 6,000 per annum and maximum of Tle. 12,000 per annum."
Thave a certain amount of diffid-nce in bringing forward this solution. It is one that should have been brought forward in the 3 1818 when rubber appeared for the first time in dur balance sheet and showed @ profit of Ths. 37,000. The Feacon it was not then done was Jbeenuse for four years we had been unable to declare a dividend and we did not wish to add to the burdens oF, the eumapany in any wey, onl we felt that it was a matter which we could safely leave until we could sec more clearly what the value of a rubber estate was going to be. I want you please to bear this in fmind in considering this question. The remuneration provided for in jour articles of association of a. minimum commission of Tls. 3,000 per annum with a maximum of Tis, 16,000 referred only to tobacco and Th. ye felt all along that we were entitled to something more than this. when we added to ovr duties the management of a rubber estate, Personally I have been anxious to bring this matter to your notice several times since 1913, but your Jother director have always sugjxcsted that until dividends were in Sight I should leave the matter Jover. Now, however, they agree with me that it should be brought for T should like to point out that '200 our rubber estate has been very.
[successful and since 1913 there are jonly two years, 1921 and 1922, in which a loss on this account was made. The loss for these two years. Jamounted to Tls. 169.000 and was jehiefly due to our having ceased tapping during the greater part lof 1921 owing to the low price of rubber. The production that year amounted to only 250,018, During ithe other 11 years a profit of over Tls. 1,000,000 was made.
The Question of Dividends 'A good deal thus been said Intely jabour the fact that we have paid no dividend for 16 years with the exception of a small one of 10 per cent.
1920, but this does not mean that no profits have been made during those years. Ax a matter of fact Jduring the 23 years that this present company tas been in existence as a limited company there are only seven years in which a loss has to bbe recorded. The profits made during that period total Tls. 2,660,000 whilst the losses amount to Tis.
}990,000. During those years our assets have increased from Tie.
363,000 to Tls. 1,364,000 and our reserves from Tis, 25,000 to Tis. }625,000. Tls. 600,000 of these reserves were added during the years that no dividends were pai think in criticizing what has been called our lack of success that these matters should be borne in mind and I bring them to your notice although there are a few of the original shareholders left the Jareat majority are newer members who may not be aware of these facts. In the year 1908 when the last dividend was paid we had no rubber. Now we have an estate of }2.220 acres in bearing which is Jestimated to produce this year }680,000 1b. I think that most people know what it is to manage a rubber estate but I doubt if many re-Jalize what difficulties and anxieties there are in managing a tobacco Jestate. I would ask you to bear this in mind in considering this Jquestion of the remuneration of the the resolution incrossing the imum by Tls. 3,000 end the maximum by Tis, 6000 a year T feel that I am not asking anything. unreasonable or unfit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.