At the annual meeting of share-Holders of the Anglo-Dutch Plantations, Ltd, held on Monday, Mr. A. J. Welch presided, being supported by Messrs, 4." W. Burkil REN. Swann, H. Kadoorie, C. J. L: Stewart, directors, and Mr. C.F. Shackleton, scevetary, and. representatives of 9 4
The chairman The jesuit of the year's working hag been, T am afraid, a disappointment to many of you and more especially so the recommendation of your directors to distribute a dividend of only 15 candareens per hare.
This dividend, however, represents approximately only 6. per cent. of the profit earned during the year and we propose to carry forward to 1928 a sum equivalent about Tis, 68,000, if the balances 40 the credit of the profit and Joss accounts of the Shanghai company and the Dutch company are eoniined, Several factors contributed, towards the reduction of profit. Firstly, the output. of Rubber was smaller' by: 80,522 Ib, owing to the reverer degree of restriction that was enforced during the year; secondly, the average price realized or our yroduet was id. per pound Towers and lastly, the cost of pro-Auction was 21d, per pound higher.
Production was more expensive mainly owing to exten expenditure that, was inewrred on cultivation, the planting of green manures and spraying the trees as " preventative against abnormal leat-fall, which it prevalent in Java and Stmatya at Die present 'A. similar disease has appeared in Ceylon und Southern Indin for many years past and treatment by spraying haw been found effencous thers, Practically the whole area of the Estate is now under a permanent green cover crop, mostly cenfrocema mubesceus, $0 that the cost of upkeep in future years should rently reduced, and the trees are Reported to have responded already to the extra care lavished upon them, The Restriction Question A short while ago when address~ tinge the shareholders of another local rubber company, touched upon the subject of the fallacy of rubber companies describing the bare out-of-pocket expenses incurred fon harvesting and. manufacturing their product at the P. 0. B, cost. The true cost for this company for 1027 is at least Gd. per pound higher than that disclosed by the accounts.
In view of certain telegrams and articles that have appeared in the papers during the past few days, and especially of the resolution forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonies by the Low Country: Products Association of Ceylon Advocating the immediate abolition of restriction, 1 would like to en-Jarce somewhat upon my remarks made at the meeting I have jus referred to.
Firstly, T would point. out that the antagonists of restvietion either wilfully or out of. ignorance. repeatedly associate the increase in the production of non-British rubber with th rentrction scheme, Gentes men, the two things have not to-do with each other: we are only ust starting the sixth year of astriction, and as n rubber. tree does not normaly produce anything worth while until it is over five years old, and as it also takes Several months to clear and prepare the ground before planting can take place, it is obvious that the trees from which this extra product is being obtained were planted a considerable time before restriction was even thought of, and eon quently the increase "would have taken place in any event, Abolition Considered There are also many other advocates of the abolition of rest tion who talk glibly about rubber being sold for a period of months fat Gd, or 8d.' per pound and thus Bringing about the survival of the fittest. "I have read a great many Jetters and articles favouring thie proposal, but not in any of then: have T seen any reference to three points that appear to me to he absolutely vital.
Firstly, there is no guarantee that with the removal of restrietion the price would not drop below 6d. per pound. To my mind it is much more likely that, with the release of the large stocks now being carried by all Estates, whether in British territory or elsewhere, a large percentage of the available supply of rubber would become unsaleable for a very long period at any price at all, Secondly, this might, and probably would, result in the death of many companies, with consequent. heavy losses to their shareholders but the estates amd the trees would
other hands at a fraction of thole remain and merely fall into real value, so that the survival of the fittest' would not reduce, the available supply of rabber by' one a finish, the advantage the Dutch Indies, who in the unit of their exrreney have a tremendous pull over the Straits Settlements and only a moderate disadvantage compared with Ceylon. And Ceylon is not of much importance as its potential output is only some 75,000 10 tons per annum, The wages in all three countries are approximately the same, that is to say, 54/50 cents per day, bat 50 guilder cents represents only 10d, whereas 50 Straits cents is 1s, 21 and 50 Ceylon cents is Sd. So it obvious who is the most likely to come off second best in a competition of this nature, Removal Unlikely Personally speaking, I cannot conceive that any committee will recommend the abolition of restrietion at the present juncture, although it is highly probable that they may make recommendations: that will render the existing scheme more clastic. In the meantime, it behoves rubber companies to use, their utmost endeavours to set their houses in order, and by amalgamation into larger units or by the formation of some sort of selling. combine, to prepare themselves for the day when they will have to stand upon their own feet, For so long us restriction lasts carefully yelected amalyamati appear to mo to be desirable, an arrangement of this nature wi enable a cheap producer to com! witha more expensive one, and by prodficing the whole conrbined export allowance itself, it will be possible to obtain the total allowance at a still cheaper cost than that ut which the cheaper estate is able to harvest its own restrictd crop. Thus both parties to the agreement will benefit, To revert now to the accounts. Capital expenditure on the original property was practically negli small sum having been spent on coagulating tank and on the purchase of spraying machines, 'The expenditure on Tjaroci Extension during the year was 111,840.96, The rate of growth. of the trees' on this property is reported to be extraordinary there are already many trees which are only just over three years old that have reached a tappable girth, although naturally the bark is not yet mature enough to tap. The whole area of 3,250 acres is now fully planted up and the cost of upkeep will be very materially reduced in future, 'Speaking generally, affairs on both properties are' progressing satisfactorily, and as the green covers will gradually carpet the ground completely, we can look forward to considerably reduced upkeep costs in the near future,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.