Mr. A. L. Auderson's Criticiem Phe (3th annual general meeting of shareholders in the—Anglo-Dutch (Java) Plantations, Ld., was held on March 29 at the offices of the general managers, 10 Canton Road.
ed by Mr. R. N. Truman and Mr. Mr. G. Grayrigge presided, support-A. Hardoon, The number of aes represented was 206,144.
The notice convening the meeting having been read, the Chairman said When we met together last year for ow annual general meeting it wa a-time when the fortunes of this great rubber growing industry were at a low ebb. The prospect before us was, to say the least, discouraging and called for the most careful administration and strenuous effort to make ends meet at the low price of rubber prevailing. These conditions we had to combat for the first 10 months of the year, when the the danger what is undoubtedly a great national asset and decided to introduce a scheme ction, the benefits of which nee become apparent enough to convert the most determined opponents of restriction into believers. There remain a_ few misguided persons who still delude themselves with the exploded shibboleth of "don't interfere with the laws of supply and demand." Yentlemen. when the great cotton industry of Lancashire strikes bad times and more yarn is being produced than can be sold, the manufacturing interests combine voluntarily to reduce output and keep it down till trade revives. The same thing is happening to-day in the anghai cotton industry. In the rubber industry no such cohesion existed: the interests were in many vases small, native owned and in-art ute. Voluntary restriction by British owned estates had been tried, buri by too few. although their efforts were not altogether without effect on the market. Then the Government stepped in with a scheme, the benefits of which are now apparent to, and applauded by all, of us with money at stake. British companies, our company amongst them, functioning in Java to the extent of some 95 per cent. voluntarily adopted the scale now operating in Malaya and Ceylon and T am very pleased to say some Dutch owned companies also: were loyal enough to the well being of the industry to come into line with the scheme, which is now working well and without bearing heavily on either manufacturers or consumers.
nufacturers had a good long with rubber sold to them cost price and have no justifiable reason to squeal as they are doing. because the rubber grower inst not only on living, but in making a modest profit on his product as well.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.