68.
70
The Instone Bank was formed as a trustee bank, it was a good idea and one sanable of making profit and an idea on wlloh solebody in song kong will make a profit some day. it requires only a small capital and it has bean pointed out that a trustee bank largley takes the plane of the family solicitor who, of course, does not require a big capital, or as a property broker, and Je snow, a property motor does not require a big oapital. we had a capitul adequate for our purposes. da can be suen from our Artioles of Association, we Tem quired to a bark business 150 shar asd, that is 100,000.00 We got $200,000.00 in cash. Avery shareholder and Dirgotor in the company purchased shares with his own Joney, and on his own liabiäiofɔ, The minimum sharehold- ing that any wirector could have, was 10,000.00 and Wieze were no large feçn or salaries taken out. A Director receiving only 1250.00 a year in respect of his fee and the salary of the -resiäat himself being only $500,00 a month. Zhe salary of the ear etary being $250.00, other axpenses being kept low because we were building for She Ïuture and permanence. No Directora received any founders' dares, the Company had the right so issue Foundra' sherza, al they were finally issued at a time when the Colpany was badly in need of money. All the Bouriers themselves go ₺ no benefit whatever, except umat der være 1o,itimately entitled to. That the capital, in fact, að adequate, dan be seen by what ve did. The business starting in Hong Kong, opened in
harki and opened in tanton, where we did very satisfactory business in a very short space of time. Our failure was not due to zorlage of money but to the action of the Canton Goverment, utterly am GI eseeable, and had it not been for such an sellon, the ins tone Bank would still be going strongly, because we were building for permanency. Even after we went inic voluntary liquidation, the state of the business was sufficiently good to make outsiders come in willing to carry on the business and to pay credi- boss in Tull. we had actually an agreement signed where” by all creditors would have been paid in full after we had gone into liquidation.
Regarding our advertisements, 1 have already stated pluat no statomong was over made that the case I OT ceved was eror $800,000.00, 2 dan go further, all our advertisements were Berutinized with the utmost care, and there was never a statement made in any one which the most cal culating person could have been deceived by. Instone Ávəwen ini:as eli vas not one to lend himself to fraud. if the Frosecution could have adduced he was an unlaiowI, a fly-by-night, or a man or straw, it would have been decidedly in their favour. But I have been domiciled here for the last 16 yours,
Iwelve of which have boun spent in actual residence. I am known not to be a rich ian but to possess moderate savingö. I was a Barrister of the Court of hong kong and in good standing. stood to make no profit out of the firm at any time, I had a salary of $500.00 a month, and I consider I earned it, and it is generally considered so. If I had wanted to make money out of this firm * could have done it when the firm agreed to pay w@ 168,000.00 in respect of the Contracts, here erant "A", that contract was worth the money, it was not, as has been put forward, the right to sell bonds. The face of the contract will show you that it was a guarantee that a certain amount of bonds should be sold, and this guarantee was backed up by the sub-agents. I had effected these contracts and the price paid to me was so much per bond guaranteed, beinɛ
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