No savings whatever could be brought about in the Straits Administration through amalgamation since, many years ago, wherever it was geographically possible to do so, the estates were: grouped under one manager and one clerk irrespective of who the secretaries in Shanghai or London were and there are cases where one Manager is now looking after as many as three properties, There is a limit to human endurance and one man cannot supervise efficiently more than a given number of acres.
As regards Shanghai expenses certain small savings might possibly accrue from amalgamation but, when I point out to you that for this company to pay a dividend of even so little as one dollar cent per share absorbs Ch.$40,000.00 you will readily realize that any savings that it might be found practicable to bring about could not possibly have any effect whatsoever on the dividend payable in any one year.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.