September t, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
«53 
THE ORIENTAL BANK ESTATES COMPANY 
(LIMITED). 
The following report, which we take over from the 
London and illyina Exjprees^ gives a very hopeful 
statement of the position of the Company, a good 
round sum of money having heen obtained as the 
result of litigation with the Liquidator of the 
Oriental Bank (old) : — 
The second annual ordinary general meeting of tho 
Oriental Bank Estates Company was held at the 
offices of the company, .South Sea Chambers, ( J7 and 
il.s, Bishopsgate-street, in the City of London, at 
110011, 011 VVednesday, July 26th, to receive and con- 
sider the directors' report and statement of accounts ; 
to consider and declare dividends ; to elect a director; 
to suuction the appointment of managing directors ; 
to fix the special remuneration of directors; to ap- 
point auditors and fix their remuneration., and to 
transact the other ordinary business of the company. 
Mr. A'ex. William Crichtou presided. In opening 
the meeting, which was well attended, he said: — 
Gentlemen, we are happy to welcome you in these 
new offices, which we hopo meet with your ap- 
proval. They are moro commodious than the 
lormer ones, and we have obtained the ample 
space which you see here on reasonable terms. 
We had felt for some time that the interests of the 
company required that we should mark the souud 
and independent position we occupy by securing more 
suitable and permanent accomodation. But 1 must 
proceed to lay before you the report and balance- 
sheet, which 1 presume you have all looked at aud 
will take as read. The report shows the Continued 
satisfactory progress anil prosperity of the company, 
notwithstanding the drought wbich prevailed in Ceylon 
during the great part of the year in question, and 
which caused a return of our crops to fall far below 
the proper estimate. I rejoice to add, how ever, that 
the weather has since become normal, and that 
things are looking well again. A revaluation of our 
estates lately made shows they have very largoly 
increased in value. In Mauritius we have enjoyed 
favourable weather for some time past, and prospects of 
the ccniiug season are reported to be unsually good. 
The rest of the report deals with matters which, if ue- 
ee ssary, will be touched on by others, or presently by my- 
self. Passing now to the consideration of tho balance- 
sheet, y> u will see that tho tigures representing pay- 
ments on share capital remain the same as in our former 
acconnts, except as to the amount of ordinary shares 
not then fully paid. Almost all the holders of those 
Shares accepted the option which wo gave them with 
your consent and came forward aud paid up their 
shares in full- The amount of capital wo thus re- 
ceived was, of course, useful, and the grievance 
which those shareholders said they had in not being 
previously allowed to increase their interests in tho 
company was removed. Tho next heading is that of 
our liability 10 sundry creditors, including, (irst, our 
acceptances, which, you will sco, are rather more than 
balanced by the wholo of our stocks and produce in 
hand, and secondly, our accounts payable, which arc 
lens than the corresponding accounts receivable by us 
by about £24,000. As to the amount in these accounts 
payablo, you will also find they are less by about 
l'lil,000 than was shown in our accounts last year. 
Tho explanation of this striking diminution in our in- ^ 
debtedness will be found in the sale — to some extent 
in the sale — of our claims on tho old Oriental Bunk 
Corporation, tho proceeds of which wo applied inpay- 
ment of sums of purchase money duo from as. It 
appeared originally as if those claims would form a 
very remunerative investment to hold, but, when tho 
remaining estates ol the Corporation were sold with 
tho sanction of the Court to the Assrls Realisation 
Company, who are only bound lo satisfy tho claims 
by payments extending over three years, it became 
questionable whether it was worth our while to hold 
tho HornriticB longer. After much consideration wo 
di l. r mined to realise this ustet and to pay off thu offi- 
cial liquidator, to whom, as 1 mention. <1 lust year, 
there was owing ut tho datn w t our 1 fit account a 
£0 
large sum for purchaso money on the first contract. 
I may mention that these claims were very useful (o 
us, inasmuch as they formed a security approved by 
the court pending the collection of our capital and 
payment of purchase money— on pledging which wilh 
our vendor we wero at once let into possession of our 
estates. Passing now to the other — the asset side of the 
balance sheet, the sale of the proceeds of these claims 
accounts for a considerable part of the large sum of 
i.Tu(),255 there mentioned as recovered. These re- 
coveries include too (and the cost of our estate is 
largely reduced by) the result of our late successful 
litigation in the Court of Chancery against tite Officiat 
Liquidator of the Oriental Luuk which took place Under 
circumstances which I will presently allude lo. Some 
of the accounts taken in consequence of these proceed- 
ings have not yet been completed, but we have already 
recovered about £11,000, and there is more to come 
under these accounts. You will remember that wu 
recovered aud wrote off last year from our vendor 
£14,500, so that altogether we have recovered aud writ- 
ten oif, and tbe cost of our estates is reduced by no 
less than £25,000 in two years, which we think ex- 
tremely creditable. (Applause.) The recoveries also 
include a sum written oft for depreciation of machi- 
nery. Then, as to the values of our produce. The produce 
sold up to the date of these accouuts was more than double 
that sold in the corresponding period of last year, while 
the produce unsold is about the same. In fact, the. 
produce sold was nearly three limes that of the same 
time last year. I mentioned on a former occasion that 
the date we were obliged to select for the close of our 
financial year made it impossible not to have consider- 
able stocks on hand ; but that it is being sold quickly 
is a matter for satisfaction. AVe had valueu them at 
prudent prices and taken the net values only. As to 
ihe accounts reciivable by us, they are of the same 
nature as those described on a former occasion. 
Then comes the suspense account, which has been 
increased during the past year by the purchase of 
the remaining number of warrants necessary. Alto- 
gether we have thought that if we paid £2,773 oft' 
this account it would be sufficient, considering the 
extra expense which we are paying out of our income 
for the benefit of the future. The cash at our bank- 
ers was £3,923. And then comes the consideration of 
the dividend. You will remember that in February 
last you received interim dividends for six mouths 
at the rate of seven and five per cent per annum 
respectively, on the preference aud ordinary shares, 
and this payment, which absorbed £t2,807, added 
to the balance shown in our profit and loss ac- 
count, from a total profit of £25,841 — this is in 
addition to the £2,773 written off the suspense 
account, so that the true profit may be slid to be 
between £28,000 and £29,000. When you consider 
that a large part of our tea is not in bearing, and 
that a large half of what is in bearing is uot in 
full bearing, and that we liquidated such a large ex- 
pense out of income for the up-keep of extensive 
acreage of plants uot yet in bearing, we think you will 
consider this result highly satisfactory. We recom- 
mend payment of further dividends at the rate of 
seven and five per cent per annum respectively for 
six mouths on the preference aud ordinary shares, in 
proportion to the capital paid up as mentioned in 
our report. Then as to our estates and their condition 
you will see from the list as compared with the last 
that we have bought during the year the two large 
coeoa estates nl Mahaht l iatt line and I leiiegahaw elle, 
with the extra estate Dene. Ihe annual return of 
cocoa from these estates is expected to be, aud has 
already reached 000 cwt. ; but it will increase. Deue is 
chiefly valuable to us for the timber. Then secondly, we 
bought the estate of Newmarket, chietly important to 
us on account of its adjoining .Stchenberg which is made 
more valuable because the two estates can be worki d to- 
gether. Thirdly, we bought sumo smaller propi i lies useful 
to us eithi rfor timber, luel, or other purposes, and lastly 
we boi.ght out Mr. Hedge, till lately a purt owner 
with u» in letptct ol his oue-tourth shuru of the 
roci a estate < f Kondi salle. J'.y ibis purchase and liy 
extension ol GUlliVfttiOQ our tea HCTMRe has niuhe.l 
