(deputy secretary) and Mr. C, D._ Pearson (engineer-ini-chief and manager), In proposing the special resolu-ion, the chairman sai Gentlemen,—An order in Council has recently' been made whereby 2 company such ourselves permitted to keep at Shanghai a branch register of member resident This branch register will accord ingly be established forthwith and an alteration is required in our Articles of Association in order to bring thet into line with the new: procedure: the new article which to take the place of the present Article 42 is get forth in the resolution which I. am about to propose as a special resolution in accordance with the notice of this extraordinary general meeting sent to you on November 21 last.
In the assumption that this special resolution will be passed by the requisite majority, a circular letter has been drawn up and will be posted to you to-day explaining what you have to do in order that those of you who are resident in China may have your shares transferred to the branch register at Shanghai with the advantage that an instrument of transfer of such shares may be deemed to be a transfer of property situate out of the United Kingdom and unless executed in any part of the United Kingdom may be exempt from stamp duty chargeable in Great Britain. Those of you who are resident "in China and who desire your shares transferred to the branch register will be required to send your certificates to this office to be marked "Shanghai Register"; they will be returned immediately.
yres—and T must emphasize of which the certificates are marked "Shanghai Register" will be transferred to the branch register. All other shares will continue to be registered in the Principal Register kept at the London office and instruments of transfer thereof will be. subject to stamp duty i chargeable in Great Britain as hitherto. I must also warn prospective purchasers of our shares on the local market, if they with to avoid payment of this stamp duty, to ascertain that the seller's certificate or certificates are marked "Shanghai Register."
I now propose as a special resolution That the Articles of Association be altered in manner following:
By deleting Article 42 and substituting therefor the following article:—'42, A branch register of mem-bors resident in China shall be kept at the head office.
Every instrament of transfer of any share shall be left for registra=] tion at the office where such share is registered accompanied by the share, certificate and such other ted evidence as the company may require to prove the title of the transferor or his right to transfer such share."
This was seconded by Mr. Burkill R.|the overwhelming majority of the dealers is simply that they have Dought certain goods in sterling, which they have not yet resold and against which they have not cover-Jed exchange. They have, therefore, at present, incurred no loss, nor fare they likely to do so, as sterling prices for cotton and woollen goods at home have not receded, and no one is to-day in a position to ima lower price than these Chinese deal-already bought. The worst that can happen to the latter is that they may have to possess themselves in patience until the local market has adjusted itself to the higher price level, expressed silver currency, which must naturally follow the drop in the value of silver. If the increase in the tael values of certain. staple cloths, which has taken place during the last few days, can be taken as an indication, the process of adjust ment will not take long.
'A. movement has recently been set on foot for the formation of a Piceegcods Association among for-ign importers. One of the objects which the promoters have in view, is to get foreign importers, in future, to agree to sell only in taels and to discontinue sales in gold currency. The present situa-tien would appear to emphasize the wisdom of this proposal. If all {foreign importers refuse to sell on anything but a tael basis, they will in a position to settle exc! at the time each individual effected, and the exchange be eliminated. It is therefore to be hoped that an agreement will be reached on this point, in spite of the opposition which' is likely to be met from Chinese dealers. Such opposition is not based on sound premises, but is entirely due to the fact that the Chinese dealer all too often regards a contract for the purchase of goods merely as a con~ venient peg on which to hang a speculation in exchange, backed by the assumption, frequently alas well-founded, that in the event of the speculation going wrong, the burden fof loss can be transferred to th
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.