218
Q-What was the total amount paid by or deducted from the funds of the Company in respect of the commission of 3 per cent on the cost of stores and material allowed to the General Agents by Article 24 of the Articles of Association ?
A.-89,809.75,
Q-What was the total amount paid by or deducted from the funds of the Company in respect of the commission of 3 per cent. on all other disbursements allowed the General Agents by the same Article P
A.-$2,341.37.
Q.-What was the total amount paid by or deducted from the funds of the Company in. respect of the commission of per cent. on the nett profits of the Company allowed to the General Agents by the same Artiole and at what rate or rates per cent. was that commis- sion charged ?
A.-Obviously none whatever the year's working having resulted in a loss.
Q.-What was the total amount of commis- sion charged by the General Agents to the Company on sugar bought abroad over and above the charges actually paid on such pur. chases under Article 25, and at what rate per cent, was that commission charged ?
A.-For purebasing raw sugar out of the Colony and for financing the same the commis. sion charged by the General Agents is 1 per cent on $5,990,301. This charge is per cent. less than they are entitled to charge under the modified scale fixed in 1899 to which I have already referred.
Q-What was the total amount of commission charged by the General Agents to the Company on sugar sold abroad over and above the charges actually paid on such sales and at what rate per oent. was such commission charged?
A.—The commission charged upon sales of re- fined sugar amounts to $33,277.71, and is calcuated at the rate of 1 per cent. on sugar sold at all place outside of the colony where branches of the firm of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co. are not established. On sales made by these branches we, as General Agents, have charged no com- mission whatever. (Applause).
Q.-Over and above the sums mentioned in the answers to the previous questions, have the General Agents received from the Company any sums by way of commission or remuneration and if so what is the total amount of such sums and in respect of what services were they paid? A.-Yes; $5,000 fer general superintendence as provided for in Article 24 of the Articles of Association.
Q. What is the total amount of the sums Jardine. paid by the Company to Messrs Matheson & Co. in Swatow, Amoy, Foochow, Shanghai and Japan by way of commissions?
A. This question is in my opinion irrelevant As already stated, we, as General Agents, have charged no commission in respect of sales at all of these places, but I may add that the commis- sions allowed to all those branches of Jardine, Ma- theson and Co, are not only considerably below the ordinary rates upon such business, but less than we, as General Agents, have been able to arrange with other agents at places where Jardine, Matheson and Co. are not established.
Q.—A sum of $21,770.42 appears in the accounts as commission paid by the Company. Is this commission paid to the General Agents ? If so, does it represent the total remuneration for their services paid to them by the Company? If it is not their total remuneration, what is the total amount paid by the Company to them by way of remuneration in the form of commission or otherwise omitted from this item?
A-The sums already stated in my replies to question 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 comprise the total remuneration of the General Agents. This item of $21,770.42 represents only that portion of the commissions due to the General Agents but not paid at the time of closing the accounts. The CHAIRMAN concluded-I hope my replies to the above questions will afford the information which the gentlemen who formulated them require, and now it only remains for me, before proposing the adoption of the Report and accounts, to say that I shall take pleasure in answering any other enquiries which any share holders may wish to address to me in regard to
them.
There being no questions, the Chairman proposed the adoption of the report and accounts as presented.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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Mr. MAIT) AND-I have very much pleasure in seconding the adoption of the report and accounts, and in doing so may say that I think the shareholders should tender their thanks to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Com pany for their manegement of the business, and furthermore for their generosity in writing off the loss of $38,000 (Hear, hear.) In the sugar trade there must be ups and downs and we must take the bad years with the good.
[March 31, 1900, PUNJOM MINING COMPANY, LD.
The following is the report for presentation to the shareholders at the third ordinary general meeting, to be held at the office of the Company, No. 9, Praya Central, Hongkong, on Saturday, the 14th day of April, 1900, at
noon.
The directors have now to submit the state- ment of accounts and report of the Company Mr. SLADE On that motion, sir, I think I for the year ended he 31st December, 1809. shall be in order in thanking you for the fall From these it will be seen that the hope ex- replies which you have given to my questions.pressed in the last report that under the man- At the same time I venture to make a sugges-agement of Mr. L. L. Bailey a more flourishing tion, and that is that the balance sheet, according state of affairs would exist at the end of the to your statement, does not mention the amount year has not been realised. of the commissious which are earned by the General Agents. In the Articles of Associa- tion, Article 10 says "The General Agents shall cause the books of the Company to be balanced and a full and fair balance sheet to be made up to 31st December of each year." and by the next article, shall be submitted to the shareholders. Well, sir, if the accounts do not show the amounts received by the General Agents as commissions, I venture to suggest that they can hardly be described as full and fair. I wish to make no objection to the pre- sent accounts, but to throw out a suggestion that, in future accounts, it might be as well for that item to be stated clearly and fully.
The CHAIRMAN-Mr. Blade, I have just re- ferred for a moment to the accountant of the Company, who mentions that these commissions are a first charge upon the cost and therefore they do not appear. I can quite follow you and I dare say the accountant will give you any further information you may require.
ME, SLADE-I quite understaud, sir, the system of book-keeping, but surely the system cannot be full and fair. What is stated here is that the General Agents shall keep trne ac- counts of all sums of money received and ex- pended for the Company, and of the sums in respect of which such expenditure takes place in respect of remuneration exceedingly well earned on the part of the general managers, and I venture to suggest that that should appear in the accounts as presented to the shareholders.
Mr. TURNER Mr. Chairman and gentlemen. | it seems to me that this a matter for the auditors. We don't want it put down in detail.
The CHAIRMAN-It has always been cus. we mention. tomary to state the accounts as The accounts have so been stated for twenty. two years. I quite nuderstand that you only make that as a criticism. You don't challenge the accounts. believe myself it will not be possible to alter that system so long as these commissions, to which you allude, are a first charge upon the original cost of the sugar. However, the remarks of Mr. Slade will be care. fully considered.
Mr. SLADE-Many thanks.
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Notwithstanding the reports of Mr. Bailey that prospects were encouraging, the result is far from satisfactory, which may be accounted for by the fact that Mr. Bailey has not devoted the whole of his time to the interests of the Company, but undertook the management of another mite in which he was largely interes- ted, and that, too, contrary to the instructions of your directors.
This fact coming to the knowledge of your Direttors, they dismissed Mr. Bailey forthwith.
Mr. Thomas Howard and Mr. Wm. Ker-
foot Hughes were invited to join the board of directors, and they accepted. The latter gen-
tleman, who has been connected with the Com- pany from its inception, proceeded immediately to the mine to take charge of the Company's interests there. He found things in a bad state, and nearly all the old servants had been discharged or had left the service of the Com-
pany.
In addition to which, the embankment of the reservoir supplying water power to the mill had been carried away by a flood, thus stopping the crushing of ore by the mill.
Other miners have now been engaged, as well as Mr. Terry, the engineer ¡under whose superintendence the Raub dam was constructed, and that gentleman takes charge of the recon. struction of our dam, and it is expected that in a few weeks the water will be diverted into the mill race so as to enable crushing to be resumed. Reports from Mr. Hughes and the miners are highly satisfactory.
Two new outcrops of gold-bearing quartz have been found within a short distance of the mill, and shafts are being sunk and a short line of rails between them and the mill laid down,
The directors therefore believe that in the near future the shareholders will reap the benefit of efforts now being made to develop the resources of the Company's large and valuable concession.
In accordance with the Articles of Associa- tion Messrs. D. Gillies and J. H. Lewis retire from the Board, but, being eligible, offer them. selyes for re-election.
The accounts have been audited by Mr.
mends bim for re-election.
The accounts and report were then adopted Fullerton Henderson, and the Board recom- unanimously.
D. GILIES, Chairman.
BALANCE SHert, 81st December, 1899. CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES.
Mr. MURRAY BAIN-Mr. Chairman, I believe the next business is the election of the Consul. I beg to propose that Mr. ting Committee. D. M. Moses, Hon. C. P. Chater, Messrs. C. 8, Sharp, David Gillies and R. C. Wilcox be elecAuthorised capital ted the Consulting Committee for the ensuing year.
Mr. HENDERSON seconded, and the motion was carried.
On the motion of Mr. STOKES, seconded by Mr. J. R. MICHAEL, Messrs. T. Arnold and F. Henderson were re-elected auditors.
The CHAIRMAN-Gentlemen, that concludes the business of the meeting. I am very much obliged to you for your attendance. I am afraid I bare detained you a little longer, but that was unavoillable under the circumstances. Dividend warrants will be issued to-morrow.
Mr. MICHAEL-Are we to understand that the controversy as to the commission and the Agents is at an end?
The CHAIRMAN-So far as Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Company are concerned it is closed.
Mr. SLADE-I may say that, as far as any action being taken on the requisition, that the As far matter is at an end, and that no meeting will be called upon the requisition sent in. as that is concerned the whole matter is at an end. (Hear, hear).
This concluded the meeting.
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$480,000.00 60,000 ordinary shares at $8 30,000 preference shares at 1 30,000.00
Paid-up capital –
59,453 ordinary shares at 86 197 ordinary shares at 85 (for.
feited)
350 ordinary shares (unallotted)
60,000
30,000 preference shares at 31
Bills payable...
510,000.00
$356,718.00
98.00
James Morrison & Co., Limited, Lordon Unclaimed dividends Deposits by employees Accounts payable..
Cost of est ste
30,000.00
387,703,00
6,431.82
22.89
1,437.77
2,097.24
4,611.49
$404,304.21
0.
167,964.39
67,444.93
13,320.27
8,118.26
10,000.00
8,000,00
11,819.03 0,607.18
PROPERTY AND AMETE.} Machinery, plant, and equipment Development of concession Development o Main staft
Main and klidah dama. Buildings
Roads and bridges
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