Jay 16, 1898.1.
The working of the Agency in Hongkong, continues to yield satisfactory results.
Auditor. The accounts have been audited by Mr. William Hutton Potts, who offers him- self for re-election.
E. S. WHEALLER, ARTHUR ANDERSON,
General Managers.
Hongkong, 13th July, 1898.
BALANCE SHEET, 81st May, 1898. LIABILITIES
To-authorised capital, 9,900 or-
dinary shares of $10 each 100 founders' shares of $10 each
To capital paid up 9,900 ordinary
share at $2 each
99,000.00 1,000.00
100,0.0.00
19,800.00
100 founders' shares of $:0 each
.fully paid
To bills payable
To Sundry Creditors—
Hongkong
Shanghai
To balance carried forward to new
account
ASSETS.
By Furniture, Fittings, &c.—
By
By
Hongkong Shanghai
By steam launch "Gladiator"
By Stock on Hand-
By
By
By unexpired portion of marine &
Hongkong Shanghai
fire iusurance policies
By sundry debtors.
By unexpired portion of contract
By stationery on hand
for advertising. Shanghai
By cash in hands of general agents
1,00 .00
8,488.34 20,324.18
455.71 36 .00
$
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. had found it necessary to vacate the secretary. ship of the company owing to a prolonged absence from the colony, and the directors desired to place on record their apprecia- tion of the ability with which he had always conducted the affairs of the company. As stated in the report, Mr. Charles A. Clarke, of Brisbane, had been appointed in his stead. The directors desired to tender their thanks to their colleagues on the Singapore board, and also to the officers and staff at Sin 0. gapore, for the manner in which they had so thoroughly looked after the interests of the company. It was mentioned that Mr. Bibby, the manager, who had been granted leave of absence owing to ill-health, had been visiting England, during which time the directors had been able to avail themselves of his services in connection with various 20,800.0❘ matters, including electrical plant, which 5,434.79 was now nearing completion. The chairman reported that Mr. Bibby would return to Queensland by way of Singapore, and the directors looked forward to welcoming him amongst them again shortly.
28,812.52
930.40
55,983.77
$
0.
Mr. Gaden seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.
The retiring directors-the Hon. R. Philp, Messrs. De Burgh Persse, James Forsyth, and G. F. Scott-were re-elected, and Mr. T. A. Bond was re-elected auditor at the same re- muneration as before. A vote of thanks was passed to the officers and staff of the company, 7,500.00 and the proceedings terminated with the usual
vote of thanks to the chairman.
815.71
32,202.97 13,012.28
45,215.25
89.44 1,912.95 50.00
44. 0 356.42
55,983.77
PROFIT AND Loss Account, 31st May, 1898. Dr.
To balance brought forward at
To
31st May, 1897...
working launch, general
trade expenses (including
agents' commission, godown rent, &c.)
To Preliminary Expenses-
Balance writen off
To furniture & godown fittings -
Hongkong written off
100.19
Shanghai written off..
43.47
To Advertising—
Hongkong.
Shanghai
To interest...
To auditor's fee.
To balance carried forward to new
account........
CT.
By profit on sales.. By transfer fees
713.75 428.72
$
0.
THE SHANGHAI GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMEL CE, Minutes of a meeting of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce held at the offices of the Chamber, 1, Kiakiang Road, on Saturday, the 22nd July, 1898, at 11 a.m.
Present:-Messrs. E. F. Alford (in the chair), C. J. Dudgeon, J. C. Bois, Wade Gardener, W. D. Little, E. Shellim, A. Werth, and the Secretary.
The Minutes of last meeting were read and
620.06 confirmed.
THE FINÀ, CIAL POSITION IN
TONKIN.
A FLOURISHING BUDGET.
61
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL TO CONFER WITH
THE CHINESE authoriTIES ON THE YUNNAN RAILWAYS.
The following official despatch from Hanoi has been supplied to the Saigon papers:
The Governor General held a meeting of the Connoil of the Protectorate of Annam and Tonkin to lay before it the financial statement for 1897. M. Doumer showed that the fiscal reform carried out last year had given most satisfactory results. Notwithstanding the fall in silver, which meant a loss to the Protec- torate of two millions, the year closed with a balance of receipts over expenditure of 2,400,000, francs, which allowed of the wiping off of the whole of the previous deficits and the creation of a reserve fund. Moreover, the pacification having been accomplished and tran- quility assured without military operations, 'I'onkin had returned to the Metropolis more than three millions of the military credits voted by Parliament.
The budget for 1898, which includes ex. penditure on great public works-irrigation, railway, etc.,-1,300,000 francs in excess of that of the previous year, shows nevertheless for the first six months a considerable balance.
M. Doumer, accompanied by Colonel Pen- nequin aud M. Douville Maillefen, staff-officer of Admiral de Beaumont, is going to Lackay, where he will coufer with the Chinese authori- ties of Yunnan and the engineers who are making the railway surveys.
THE BELGIAN LUAN.
It is stated that the Belgian Loan, contract for which was signed by Railway Director Shêng on the 26th of June last, was accepted at £90 with annual interest of 5 per cent. The first instalment is to be £1,400,000, to be used in building the railway between Hankow and a Extension of the Settlements.-Letters were place called Hsinyang, and the whole loan is to laid before the meeting that had been received amount to £4,500,000. The contract further from the Consul-General for Austro-Hungary, provides that all materials required shall be Japan, Spain, Sweden and Norway. United home-made, failing which they are to be pur States, the Consul for Denmark, and Vice-chased from the Belgian syndicate. Should the Consul for the Netherlands, acknowledging the syndicate be unable to provide the material not receipt of the Resolutions of the Chamber, procurable in China, it is to be procured by concurring in same and in most cases approv-public tender.-N. C. Daily News. 143 66 ing of the proceedings taken and heartily
20,221.88
809.99
936.46
25,674.34
$
с
wishing the Chamber success in its under- taking. The Chairman informed the meeting 1,142.47 | that the new Minister for the United States 1,749.82 had visited some of the insanitary districts 50.00 | outlying the present settlements, and had ex-
pressed a satisfactory interest in the matter.
Inland Navigation Regulations.-The letter from H.B.M.'s Consul-General enclosing copy of the Regulations was laid before the meeting and led to considerable discussion, the unanimous 25,668.34 opinion being that they were insufficient and 6.00 impracticable. Letters on the subject which had been addressed to the Chamber by Messrs. 25,874.34 | Jardine, Matheson & Co., and Messrs. Butter
field and Swire were read, and the draft of a reply to H.B.M.'s Consul-General was agreed to, embodying the general objections that ap- peared in the above two letters, and giving a list of Regulations which the Committee consi- der are absolutely necessary.
RAUB AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINING COMPANY, LIMITED.
ANNUAL MEETING. The fourth annual meeting of the Raub Aus tralian Gold Mining Company was held at the offices of the company, at Brisbane, in Queens- land, on the 26th May. A fair number share- holders were present, and Mr. James Forsyth
was voted to the chair.
Chinese Bank Orders.-A letter was read from the Senior Consul enclosing a dispatch from the Taotai regarding certain proposed changes in the conditions of Chinese Bank
Orders. The Committee were unanimous that they could not countenance any alterations in the present system, but in order to place the matter beyond question determined to circulate the correspondence amongst the Foreign Bankers so as to ascertain their opinion.
The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, congratulated the shareholders on the continued and growing prosperity of the company, and pointed out the distinct advance that had been made during the past twelve months. Reference was made to the clear and complete information that had been furnished in the acting manager's report, a copy of v
which, in pamphlet form, had been issued to each shareholder. It was also pointed out that the battery plant additions, consisting of forty head of stampers. were now being re- ceived at Singapore, and that this should materially increase the output of gold in the future. During the year Mr. G. S. Murphy' it at cost price.
Great uneasiness was felt at Foochow a fort- night ago, says the Echo, on account of the price to which rice had risen, but a fall of 25 per cent. in the quotation last week has brought about general contentment aid set aside all apprehen. sion of trouble. The decline in price was the work of certain philanthropists who imported rice from the South and supplied the poor with
|
PATENT LAW IN JAPAN,
Some extraordinary judgements have been put on record this year by the Japanese Patent Bureau. When the law became applicable to the inventions, trade-marks, and designs of for eigners, the opportunity was eagerly seized by foreigners who sought to get their inventions and trade-marks protected against piracy in Ja- pan. But they have now ascertained that the Japanese laws afford them no protection. It has been held that if an invention has been patented abroad it can't be granted a patent in Japan, no matter whether a day or twelve months have in- tervened; aud now it has been held that a Ja- panese who pirated and patented a foreigner's trade-mark before foreigners had any right to protection under the Japanese law, may still continue to use the pirated mark to the benefit of himself and the injury of the foreign firm to whom the trade-mark properly belongs.— Hiogo News,
THE SCARCITY OF COPPER CASH - AND THE RISE IN PRICES. :
At a meeting of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, beld. at Shanghai on the 29th June, Mr. F. E. Taylor read the following memorandum on the scarcity of copper cash and the rise in prices:
That cash have been growing steadily scarcer and that the evil has been sharply accentuated quite lately (followed in some places with a slight recovery in exchange from the lowest depths) may be stated with certainty. Various explanations are giren, some of which are of local but most of them of general application. The scarcity of cash is attributed to the absence of minting which has become unprofitable