December 4, 1895.]
GREEN ISLAND CEMENT COMPANY, LIMITED.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the Green Island Cement Co., Limited, was held at the Company's Office, 9, Praya Central, at noon, on Friday, for the purpose of confirming the following resolu- tion, which was passed at the extraordinary general meeting held on the 14th November last:-"That the new Articles of Association already approved by this meeting and for the purpose of identification subscribed by the Chairman thereof be and the same are hereby approved and that such Articles be and they are hereby adopted as the Articles of Associa tion of the Company to the exclusion of all the existing Articles or
ask. Regulations thereof." Mr. R. Shewan presided, and there were also present Messrs. J. Orange, G. Fenwick (Direc- tors), F. J. V. Jorge (Secretary), G. H. Potts, A. G. Morris, A. S. Manners, E. S. Kelly, R. K. Leigh, and C. A. Tomes.
The CHAIRMAN proposed and Mr. POTTS seconded the confirmation of the above resolu- tion.
Carried.
This concluded the business of the meeting.
THE JELEBU MINING AND TRADING CO., LIMITED.
The twelfth ordinary general meeting of the Jelebu Mining and Trading Co. Limited, was held at Singapore on the 16th inst. Mr. J. P. Joaquim presided, and there were present, Messrs. Reid, Pertile, Ewald, Gunn, and some six or eight others. The minutes of last meeting were read. The report and accounts were taken as read.
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their way to relieving the Company by remitting add a word upon a point which I believe their fines, considering how much the Jelebu has been made the subject of comment, I Mining and Trading Company has contributed to mean the General Managers' commission. the revenue of Sungei Ujong. Mr. Roberts, who The matter at the time when the articles: is in charge of the Rin lode, is very hopeful as to were being drawn up had the very careful con- its success. lode stuff was brought to Singapore and smelted decided upon was considered reasonable, but A quantity of twenty tons of the sideration of the Committee, and the scale by the Straits Trading Company, and though shareholders may rest assured that the General their report stated that it contained other Managers will not allow the matter of commis. minerals which make smelting difficult, yet the sions to stand in the way of success or in any percentage showed the lode to be fairly rich in way impair the substantial dividends, which tin. Before recommending any large outlay on
there is every reason to anticipate, will be paid. this lode, the directors have thought it The plans from home have arrived and work advisable to ship to Europe twenty-five tons of upon the buildings will be commenced im-
It will not the stuff for a final trial. These are all the mediately.
be necessary to remarks I have to make, and I will be very await completion of the whole of the building glad to answer any question you may wish to before commencing operations, as we intend to run 20,000 spindles as soon as possible. Mr. Mr. Gunn pointed out that his auditor's Ainlee, the head draughtsman of Messrs. Platt certificate should be so amended as to explain Bros., will arrive by next mail to take entire that the books and accounts at Maliwun he charge. I shall be glad to give any further in- could not verity. That was done.
formation that you may ask for and which in view of other undertakings of a similar nature in our midst (whilst wishing them every success) it may be deemed desirable to communicate. I may mention we felt that in an initial under- taking in anything of this sort it would not be prudent to experiment, and we have therefore gone to the best well-known successful makers be glad to answer any questions you may ask. for everything connected with the mill. I shall
The report and accounts were then adopted. The meeting then terminated.-Straits Times.
THE AWO COTTON SPINNING AND
WEAVING CO., LIMITED.
On the 25th November an extraordinary general meeting of this Company was held st the office of the General Managers. Shanghai, in compliance with Section 38 of the Com- panies Ordinance. 1877 Mr. A. P. MacEwen presided and there were present, Messrs. Pren- tice, Adler, Knowles, Ta Fong (Directors), C. Dowdall (Legal Adviser), Dobie. H. Keswick, B. A. Clarke, H. R. Parkes. Danforth, R. M. Campbell, Skottowe. J Henningsen. F. Gove, C. S. Taylor, J. M. Young. G. Noël, Focha, G. J. Morrison, N. McLeod, M.D., H. S. Wilkin- son, Dudgeon, Galles, J Beattie, G. Butler, W. C. Murray, A. K. Craddock, and C. W. Dickson.
The notice convening the meeting having been read,
The company
Mr. Joaquim then said-Gentlemen, the directors' report having been in your hands during the specified time, we will with your permission, take it as read. I regret that the directors have to present such a report The CHAIRMAN said-This is merely the to you, showing a loss of $15,937 on the half statutory meeting to comply with the con- year's working; but, some time ago, the share-ditions of the Ordinance under which this holders were warned that our mines in Jelebu company is registered as one of limited liability, were being played out, and we would have to but it also affords the managing committee look for fresh fields, which, with the sanction of the shareholders, resulted in the purchase, the progress already made.
an opportunity of informing shareholders of from Mr. Menzell, of the Maliwun Concession, was fully subscribed and we were unable to in Lower Burmah. As stated in our report, allot more than about fifty per cent. of ap- the future of the Company very largely depends plications from the general public. We acted on the results to be obtained from that Conces-
on the principle of giving every applicant sion. Mr. Money is hopeful as to the results of an interest, and I may say that in doing so this opening proving successful, but he has a lot
we had to disappoint pond fide investors who of difficulty to contend with, principally in pro-applied foy a large number of shares. The viding labour and from the prevalence of opinm second call of Tls. 25 per share has been smuggling. As to labour, the manager has a lot paid in full by all, excepting one or two share of difficulty to contend with, owing to the fact of holders resident at a distance. Prospects have the "Ghee Hin" secret society having estab- not changed since the company was subsoribed. lished itself in Maliwun, and having interfered There has been a considerable advance in the with coolies who are members of the society, price of cotton, but more than an equivalent one and even instigated offences against others. The in the value of yarn. For the purpose of the opium smuggling is also to be traced to the mill, which will consist of 40,000 spindles, we operations of this society. The manager has have acquired the lot of land known as Dow's been in communication with the local officials on Wharf on the Yangtzepoo Road, comprising 76 these subjects, and your directors have since asked the general agents to write to the Chief both as regards size and shape. Various pro mow, which is in every way admirably adapted Commissioner of Burmab, pointing out howposals were made to us for renting land, but advisable it is that the Government should place the headmen of the society within due control (if not suppressing the society) and to give necessary aid to the manager to stop opium smuggling. The sum of 821,515 written off as bad and doubtful debts, notwithstanding that it is in excess of what the assistant manager advised, seemed to your directors a wise policy when we consider the small number of mines now in actual working and the prospect of all these being exhausted in a short time. The loss of the road contract was not expected to be so heavy as it has turned out. This contract was taken up at the request of the Sungei Ujong Government, and the amount of loss in- cludes a sum of $1,200, inflicted as fines from a little delay in the completion of the contract, The directors have instructed the general agents to approach the Sungei Ujong Govern ment now with a view to these fines being re- mitted. These fines were inflicted in terms of the contract; they were paid; and now that the Gov- ernment sees the heavy loss suffered by the Com- pany on this contract, it is hoped they will see
to secure
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regarding our present undertaking merely as a beginning we considered it indispensable sufficient ground to allow for the increase of our spinning capacity and adding weaving sheds thereto as we progress. I ask you upon what we depend for success in our venture? And I reply upon machinery and management, and with this before we had no hesitation in going to the best and well-known makers Messrs. Platt Bros. of Oldham for machinery and as showing the importance of good management the follow ing extract from the Textile Mercury will be of interest to you The 40 mills in Osaka in 1894 paid an average dividend of 16 per cent. The highest was 28 per cent, and the lowest was 8 per cent. The difference was due to management. I have mentioned to you the machinery, and as regards management you may rest assured the most careful supervision will be exercised in the selection of experts, and our experience with large bodies of labourers should be of advantage in dealing with native hands required for the mill. Let me
Mr. R. M. CAMPBELL I am sure we have listened with great pleasure to the very plain statement of facts you have laid before us, and whilst we fortunate shareholders in the company sympathise for the moment with the band fide investors who have been disappointed, we feel that they will be able probably to make up for their disappointment by buying the aliares at a little less price than we bought them at ourselves. Regarding the machinery and management we feel sure that you have gone to the very best people for machinery, and that in the management of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co. we shall have as good management as possible. You said that when the articles of association were drawn up the scale of commission was reasonable, and of course that admits of no question, but since this mill was floated there have been three more mills floated in Shanghai, in which the scale of remuneration put down for the General Agents is very much lower than the scale put down for the management of this mill, so that I think myself-and I believe that others agree with me-that the scale of re- muneration can no longer be looked upon as reasonable. When I say that I feel sure the General Managers of this mill will take that fact into consideration, and al- though I am not prepared at the moment to propose anything so strong as an alteration of the Deed of Settlement, I do hope very distinctly that the General Managers will take that question of remuneration into careful con- sideration, and if they see their way to make such an alteration perhaps as would allow them to feel themselves sufficiently remunerated by taking a commission pro rati to such dividend as might be declared, instead of taking it off the net buying and selling commission, I think that is an alteration which would be very grate- fully accepted by the shareholders. (Hear, hear.) In saying what I have, I would like to call attention to a few figures I have drawn up, and whilst I believe my figures to be correct, the are, of course, subject to any correction if any. body may find I have made a mistake. estimate that the outturn of the 40,000 spindles, calculating llb. per day of twenty hours, would produce 29,000 Bales of yarn. I estimate that to produce these 29,000 bales of yarn would take about 99,000 piculs of raw cotton. Then deducting a loss of 12 per cent., which I fancy: is about enough, in the spinning-perhaps it may be a little more or less that gives 87,000 piculs, which will turn out 29,000 bales of yarn. Now, the buying and selling commission on that raw cotton and yarn amounts to Tls: 43,900. Supposing that that is the outturn of the 40,000 spindles-I believe it is a very fair average to take-well, it seems to me that it is not reasonable that the General Managers should be in a position to take a commission of Tls. 43,900 when the shareholders might not receive any dividend at all. Even in the case of the shareholders receiving a dividend of 71
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