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JOHORE PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION. 



Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Johore Planters' 

 Association, held at the Johore Club, on July 23rd, 1908. 



Present : Mr. A. S. Buyers, (in the Chair.) ; Messrs. Arden 

 Burgess, Bryce, Gawler, Schirmer, Verterdal, Wallace, Malet, and J. A. 

 leDoux, Brown. 



1. The minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting of June 

 the 7th, were read and on the motion of Mr. Malet seconded by 

 Mr. Buyers were confirmed. 



2. The Report of the Committee for the year 1907-1908, was 

 taken as read and the accounts w T ere passed subject to the audit to be 

 conducted by Messrs. Arden and Bryce. 



3. A letter was read from the Chairman of the Association 

 (Mr. F. Pears) regretting his inability to be present at the meeting and 

 announcing his intention of not standing again for chairman. 



4. The election of officers of the Association for the year ending 

 March 31st 1909, resulted as follows : — 



Hon. President— H. H. The Sultan ; Chairman— Mr. A. H. Malet; 

 Vice-Chairman — Mr. A. S. Buyers; Secretary — Mr. W. N. Gawler; 

 Committee — Messrs. Bryce, Arden, Burgess, Westerdal. Wallace and 

 Diack. 



Delegates to P A. M., Messrs. Buyers and Bryce. 



Previous to the election of the committee Mr. Buyers proposed and 

 Mr. Arden seconded a motion that the committee consist of only 6 

 elected members, in addition to the ex-officio members. Carried. 



Votes of thanks to the retiring Hon. President, Chairman and 

 Secretary, concluded the formal business. 



The chairman in thanking the members of the Association for 

 electing him said he was sure that he was voicing the feeling of the 

 meeting when he expressed regret at the decision of Mr. F. Pears not 

 to consent to renomination as chairman but he hoped that the 

 Association would still have the benefit of his valuable co-operation and 

 advice. 



In reviewing the w T ork of the past year he thought that the 

 members are first of all to be congratulated on the formation of the 

 Association which if it served no other purpose at least enabled planters 

 to make each other's acquaintance and compare notes on their w r ork. 



As regards their programme of work for the forthcoming year 

 there were several matters that were to be brought forward for their 

 consideration among these being the important question of the double 

 assessment fee which was levied on all Tamil employing planters in 

 Johore. As there was now such a plentiful supply of Tamil labour the 

 tax of $10 per head should certainly be reduced to a more moderate 

 figure especially as there could be no question of the F. M. S. Govern- 

 ment being called upon to make good any deficiency on their guaranteed 

 number of passages. 



As the question of Javanese labour had been referred to in the 

 report he would content himself by hoping in the near future Johore 

 would come into line with the F. M. States whereby the supply of 

 Indentured Javanese labour would be directly accessible to Johore 

 planters. 



