L
August 4, 1900.]
£349,500 other sterling secu-
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT..
firmation by the shareholders at this meeting. In accordance with the Articles of association, Mr. E. Goetz and Mr. R. Shewan retire from 10,000,000.00 the board by rotation, and, being eligible, offer 74,600,981.72 themselves for re-election. 90,183,898.25 The retiring anditors, Messrs. A. O'D. Gour
219,858.16 din and F. Henderson, also offer themselves for
re-election.
rities standing in the books at £339,750
8,397,500,00
Bills discounted, loans and credits
Bills receivable
Bank premises
$220,509,574.32
GENERAL PROFIT AND LO88 ACCOUNT, 30TH JUNE, 1900.
Dr.
To amounts written off :-
Remuneration to directors
To dividend account :-
£1.10 per share on 80,000 shares-
£120,000 at 4/6
To dividend adjustment account :-
Difference in exchange between 4/6, the rate at which the dividend is do- clared, and 1/117, the rate of the day To transfer to silver reserve fund To balance forward to next half-year
Cr.
By balance of undivided profits, 31st December, 1899
By amount of net profits for the six months ending 30th June, 1900, after making provision for had and doubtful debts, de- ducting all expenses and interest paid and due
$ 960,813.56
$
C,
Hongkong, 31st July, 1900.
30th June, 1900.
ASSETS.
J. J. KESWICK, Chairman.
15,000.00 Value of steamers Poican, Honam and
Heungshan and ths of Fatshan.. Value of steam-launches Langshan and
Lungkiang
533,333.33
672,049.39 500,000.00
1,717,543.29
$3,438,826.01
$
0.
Valuo of rd share of steamers Wuchow and Sam Shui and 4 lighters, and pay. ments on account of 2 stern wheel steamers building for the West River trado
Value of lighters Sun Lee and Wo Lee Value of wharvos, hulks, and moorings Value of properties at Wuchow and
Kongkun
Value of coal, stores, and spare gear. Value of furniture
Value of shares in public companies
Value of Chinese bonds
Loans on mortgage...
Cash with the Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation
Interest accrued to date
Premia on insurance policies unexpired Sundry debtors
2,477,982.45
3,438,826.01
$3,438,826.01
30th June, 1900.
LIABILITIES.
STERLING RESE VE FUND.
To balance
$10,000,000.00
$10,000,000.00
Amount of capital, 80,000 shares of $15
each, fully paid-up Amount at credit of depreciation and
insurance fund
By amount transferred from general re- serve fund (invested in sterling secur ities.)
Amount at credit of equalization of divi
dend fund
$10,000,000.00
Amount at credit of investment Buctuu
tion account.
$10,000,000.00
Unclaimed dividends
SILVER RESERVE FUND,
Sundry creditors
To balance
$2,000,000.00
Amount at credit of profit and loss account
$2,00,000,00
1,500,000,00
By amount transferred from general re-
serve fund
By transfer from profit and loss account
500,000.00
$2,000,000.00
THE HONGKONG, CANTON AND MACAO STEAMBOAT COMPANY.
The following is the report of the board of directors to the ordinary half-yearly meeting of shareholders to be held at the office of the company, on Tuesday, the 7th August, at 12 o'clock, noon.
The directors beg to submit to the shareholders the report and statement of accounts for the half-year ending 30th June last.
After paying running expenses, salaries, premia of insurance, repairs and all other out- goings, there remains, including $43,213.41 brought forward from last account, the sum of $159,267,23 at credit of profit and loss account. From this amount the directors recommend that a dividend for the half-year of 8 per cent. on capital, or $96,000, be paid to shareholders, that $21,000 be placed at credit of equalization of dividend fund (which will then stand at 430,000), leaving a balance of $42,267.23, to be carried forward to new account.
The West River Trade remains in much the same unsatisfactory position as mentioned in the last report Business has, however, been good on the other lines, with the result that the total of steamers' earnings compares favourably with that of the corresponding six months of the previous year.
The item of repairs is heavier than usual, as it includes the cost of the Powan's new boilers, in addition to an extensive overhaul of that vessel. The other steamers have undergone the usual. annual docking and repairs under Government survey.
Good progress is being made with the new pier which, it is expected, will be ready for oe. supation in about six weeks.
Upon leaving the Colony the Honourable E. B. Belilios resigned his seat at the board, and Mr. Robert Shewan was nominated by the directors to fill the vacancy. At the invitation of the directors Mr. Armin Haupt has also joined the board, and both these appointments require con-
0.
712,500.00
45,125.00
124,350.14
1,510,48 9,635.89 9,778,00
44
CONSULAR REPORTS.
SWATOW,
95
The report on the trade of Swatow for 1899 is the work of Mr. Consul Hurst. He notes a considerable advance during the year, the gross total of exports and imports being valued at £6,936,274, an increase of 33 per cent on the £5,210,967 of 1898. The total includes £4,730,417 for imports, and £2,205,857 for exports, the former advancing 38 per cent. and the latter over 23 per cent. As 1898 was the record year to date, the state of affairs is satisfactory. As regards the direct trade with foreign countries, the customs returns value imports at £1,917,242 and exports at £688,919, increases of about 11. and 18 per cent. £1,925,520 of the total imports come from Hongkong and goods valued at 1267,954 proceed thither. In shipping, though 872 vessels with a tonnage of 910,011 were 12,500.00
British out of a total of 1,121 vessels with a 65,839,86
tonnage of 1,128,021, the percentage fell from 8,346.7784 in 1898 to 80 in 1899. This, however, Mr. 11,810.84 Furst says, "is not surprising seeing that a
750.00
heavily subsidised Japanese line has commenced 421,947.60
1,034.48 running on routes where, heretofore, British 633,500.00 steamers have met with little or no competition. Germany only advanced from 72 entries to 85, 36,438.62 but, nevertheless, German shipping and com. merce are advancing rapidly. Says Mr. Hurst:-- A noteworthy and, as regards British ship- ping, a serious incident in the shipping trade of $2,145,067.68 the port has been the transfer by purchase of the fine fleet of the Scottish Oriental Steamship $
Company to the Nord Deutscher Lloyd Steam Navigation Company. This step will shortly 1,200,000.00
result in 15 steamers, averaging over 100 tons 60,00 .00
each. hoisting the German flag in place of the British. These vessels have enjoyed a virtual 9,000.00 monopoly of the emigration business between this port and Bangkok, and have taken a con- 137,826.55
siderable share of that with the Straits Settle- 18,316.60 29,657.30
ments. The change of flag has not yet taken 159,267.23 place, rumour has it that it will be effected on April 1 next. I find that during the past year $2,145,067.68 there were 77 entries of steamers belonging to the Scottish Oriental Company of an aggregate tonnage of 79,399 tons. When, therefore, the change of flag is completed, a decrease due to this cause of about 80,000 tons per annum from British shipping may be expected, with a cor responding increase in German. Possibly other lines may find it worth their while to compete for the emigration business, and compensations may be found in other directions, but there is a prospect of a marked decrease next year in the percentage of British shipping." Japanese shipping has advanced from 6 vessels of 6,722 tons in 1898 to 92 vessels of 86,256 tons in 1899.
PROFIT AND Loss AccOUNT, 30th June, 1900.
Dr. To amount paid for repairs to steamers, including new boilers for steamer Porn To subscription to Indian Famine Relief
Fund
To directors and auditors' fees To balance to be appropriated, viz. :--
Dividend at 8 por cont. on
$1,200,000
To be carried to equalization
of dividend fund
$96,000.00
21,000.00 To be carried to new account 42,267.23
31st Dec., 1899.
Cr.
By amount brought forward from last
account
30th June, 1900,
By net earnings of steamers By interest on investments By transfer fees
0.
8.
75,674.30
250.00 2,750.00
159,267.23
$237,941.53
$ C.
43,213.41
155,557.65 38,823.97 346.50
Among imports, the sharp decline in the demand for Indian opium in 1894 has not con- tinued, and the quantity has risen almost to the 1894 level again. The import of the native drug, however, continues to increase. Cottons goods "show a healthy expansion which should be gratifying to the Manchester manufactur- Indian cotton yarn continues to hold the market.
Coal has been in great demand, Japan securing most of the trade. Owing to the prosperity of the inhabitants lime for building *
purposes is much sought after. Kerosene oil 600,000,00
advanced "by leaps and bounds," and the flour $600,000.00 import has doubled since 1898.
$237,941.53
DEPRECIATION AND INSURANCE FUND. 30th June, 1900.
Dr. To balance
31st Dec., 1899. By amount at credit
0.
0.
Cr.
8 600,000.00
$600,000,0
EQUALIZATION OF DIVIDEND Ford, Dr.
$ 9,000,00
30th June, 1900. To balance
31st Dec., 1899. By amount at credit
Cr.
c:
$9,000,00
$
0.
9,00 .00
$9,000.00
The modern sceptic is beginning to ask "Can anything true come out of Shanghai ? The answer of course is yes. But it depends on what part of Shanghai. "What will they say next!" asks a disgusted Shanghailander. “One which the sensationalist correspondent replies, cannot believe a tenth of what one hears." To "One needn't believe it, old fellow; but one can send it home !”—Shanghai Mercury.
|
ers.
The one principal export of Swatow is sugar, and in 1899,2,184,676 cwts, worth £1,160,157, left the port, as compared with 1,734,242 owts-, worth £887,456, in 1898. The export of sugar was almost entirely to central and north Chi- nese treaty ports, chiefly Shanghai, Hankow, Chinkiang, Newchwang, and Chefoo.
With regard to emigration Mr. Hurst says The growing prosperity of the port would lead to the expectation that a decline in the number of emigrants would be shown. On the contrary, emigration has been brisk, and would have been still larger had it not been for its almost total suspension from June 5 to Septem- ber 28, consequent on the prohibition of im- migrants into the Straits Settlements as precautionary measure against the spread of bubonic plague. 89,795 emigrants left the port in 1899, as compared with 73,995 in 1898, and 71,428 in 1897. Of this unmber 16,629 pro- to Saigon, 34,775 to the Straits Settlements, ceeded to Hongkong, 20,581 to Bangkok, 4,962 and 8,916 to Sumatra.
On
the other hand 70,011 Chinese returned to the port, so that the
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