The 10th annual general meeting of shareholders of the above-named. Company was held on the 4th instant at the registered offices of the Company, No. 44 Szechuen Road, Mr. J. Krost presiding.
In the course of his speech, after making sympathetic reference to the death of Mr. J. H. Osborne and the loss the Board had sustained thereby, the Chairman said:—- In the report your Directors have given you all the information possible, thus rendering the chairman's speech a matter of little importance. However, there are one or two points upon which I may be able.to give you a little further detail. I ave been looking up the report of our last annual meeting and the tone of my remarks to you then, when re-reading them seemed to be a deal more optimistic regarding the rubber industry than I feel to-day. The industry has been unfortunate in having to pw up with an increased cost of everything except its own production. There are many and various opinions on the reason for this unhappy state of affairs, but the fact remains that it is true. One factor, however, which for years past has been deplored by all investors or speculaters in Shanghai rubber companies (I refer to exchange) has turned in our favour, and we are enjoying the fruits of those labours occasioned by the calculation of the amount of that visionary expense which adorned most Profit and Loss accounts in Shanghai. The output, 79,677 Ib., is short of the estimate by 323 Ib.; climatic conditions are held responsible for this, rain interfering with the tapping to an unusual extent. The increase in the all in cost to 1/3} as compared with 1/2} last year is due to increased cost of materials generally and the reduction in the output. In the Revenue Account income tax is a new charge, but this I feel sure you have met before and the nature of it needs no explanation. Exchange for the first time is seen as a substantial credit to Revenue Account, viz., Tls. 4,363.39. In the Balance Sheet' the item sundry creditors at Malacca includes a local contractor for new conductors' quarters for S.S. $2,300.
The balance transferred from the Revenue Account, Tls. 10,038.42, is quite a good result considering contions, and this, together with the existing balance, will enable us to carry on without income for a considerable time. In this connexion I should like to tell you that, on the strong recommendation of our agents, Messrs. Sime, Darby & Ca., we decided to stop tapping altogether from December 15 last. Our secretary, Mr. Slee. who has just recently returned from Home leave, interviewed our agents when pass-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.