1 86 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. TSept. i, 1894. 
unpaid. That gentleman was quite right io eup- 
posing that the Government loan accounted for the 
increase of interest on mortgages. As to the ex- 
penses in London, the director* wore always on 
the watch to reduce them as far as possible, and 
they would in future seize every opportuuity to carry 
out the same policy. The board would take into serous 
consideration whether when a vacancy occurred in 
the directorate it would be advisable to fill it up or to. 
The resolution was then put and carried unaui. 
mously. 
The Chairman then moved .—" That thefdeolaration 
by the board uf a dividend of 2s 6d par share on all 
the share* of the company be sanctioned." Here- 
marked thas it was practioally equivalent to 6 per 
oent on the amou it of capital paid up. 
Mr. W. J. Tanner seconded the resolution, which 
was agreed to nem. con. 
On the motion of Mr. Nicholson, seoon'el by Mr. 
HAiGH.the retiring direotors, Messrs. W. Stanley ami 
W. J. Tamer, were unanimously re-elected; and on 
the proposition of Mr. Orawfobd, s?oonded by Mr. 
Fisher, the auditors, Messrs. Turquand, Youngs & 
Co., were re-appointed. 
Mr. FBkGUsoN proposed—" That a oordial vote of 
thanks be offered to the London and Manritias boards 
and to the managers for their continued care and 
ability in the management of the affa : rs of the 
company." 
Mr. Atkins seconded the resolution, and it was 
carried unanimously-" 
The Chairman pointed out that in the last para- 
graph of the report, through a typographical slip 
the local manager had been omitted from the ex- 
pression of thanks on the part of the direotors. 
The proceedings then terminated.— Investors' Guardian. 
THE BRITISH NORTH BORNEO 
COMPANY. 
The half-yearly general meeting of the sharehold- 
ers of this company was held at the Cannon-street 
Hotel under the presidency of Mr. Richard B. 
Martin, M.P. 
The Chairman, in moving the adoption of t' e re- 
port, said he was happy to inform them that the 
country appeared at last to be emerging from the 
gloom caused by the depression of 1892 and 1893, 
and he had a more cheerful report for them than he 
had been able to give thern for some time. They had 
only to glance at the comparative statement of trade 
returns printed with the report to be satisfied that 
the progress was real. In 1883 the total exports of 
the country amounted to only £525,000, whereas the 
figures were now not far short of four times that 
amount. Tobacco formed about half the total exports 
—a very important faot if they would watch the 
progress of the country. Previously to 1892 the im- 
ports wire always in excess of the exports; bnt now 
the figures were all the other way and in favour 
of the investor iu Borneo, who was at last receiving 
a return for money and goods importel. They hid 
always stated in connexion with tobacco-growing in 
British North Borneo th»t thoss compan'es which had 
the neoessary financial steaogth to hold on over the 
bad times would eventually succeed, and this belief 
w aa being borne out by the results of this year's 
sales. The New London Borneo Company had just 
declared a dividend of 12| per cent for 1893, and 
had about paid their expenses by the sale of less than 
one-third of their crop this year. The prioes realized 
in Amsterdam for Borneo tobacoo grown on the Kina 
Batengan river and Maruda Bay estates had ranged 
from 3s to 43 a pound, and it had been demonstrate! 
that it could ba grown at less than Is 63 per po ind. 
A good deal of this tobacco fcal besn shipped to New 
York and no matter whether the duty were reduoe I 
from '$2 to $1 per pound, as proposed by the modified 
tariff soh^nie, or to $li, as suggested by the Seuate, 
the demand for America would continue. They had 
already heard of one or two schemes for reopening 
estates which had to close during the late crisis. The 
Tobacco Company of British North Borneo proposed 
to form a small company to work one of their estates 
in Darvel Bay on land where bi -t-rate to 1 acco bad 
been grown. They also heard that there was another 
sebeme for opening the TuDgood estate on the Labak 
rivtr, where excellent tobacoo hid also been grown 
arid where the closing of the estate was doe entirely 
to pioneer difficulties. The reports tiny received 
from Borneo on other products were biybly enconr- 
agii g, egpecially as regarded Liberian coffee. Ceylon 
owed its prosperity chiefly to the iium'fration of joung 
Englishmen with English capital, an J it was hoped 
that history would again repeat i-eelf in Borneo, 
where siuilar conditions of soil a> d climate pr - 
vailed. To enoourage enterprise th* diieeto s hid 
recently adopted more liberal land rtgo latfona. 
They had also inaugurated a labour .Yparini' lit, under 
State control, and what was of m re mpo tanee still 
tbey were turning their attention to th establish- 
ment ol more rapid commu< icat ou. Since their la*t 
roee'ing a Oihle bad beeu Buccetdully la'd be' ween 
Siuicnpore and Labnan by the Eastern Eiteusion 
Telegraph Company, with which they had arranged, 
in considera'ion of their connecting Labutn with the 
oompany'tj territory, to continue a land lice across to 
Saudakan. They believed communication could be 
established for the moderate sum iheybad xotc 1 for 
the purpose ; but this would only provide a rough 
track across oouutry, an I the question < f road-making 
could be consider) d later, when it was eeen 
what sort of country would bs opened up. Their 
territory was a field ripe for Br tiah enterprise. 
The fall in the prioe of silver, which bad 
capsized the financial equilibrium of the world 
had worked in favour of silvi rusing c antrieg. For 
ins'anoe, ia Borneo the purobasin; price of t'.ie dollar 
in the maiter of coolie wages, <fec. , was the tame now 
that owng to the fall in exchange, beady $10 rouid 
be got lor a sovereign against $6 two years ago. 
This v, a ■ a very important fact. It should also help 
the owners of coal mines in Borneo and La>>uan, as 
be f-aw that the Peninsalar an 1 Ori< nlal and tbe Mes- 
sageries Maritime Steamship Companies had untered 
into vrry large contracts for Japau coal to le de- 
livered in Singapore at $6 per to". That w«s about 
13s a ton against 20*., the pr ce it cut to lay down 
English coal in Singapore. As Laboau was so much 
nearer Singapore it ought io b able to compete with 
Japan. They hid hoped to have a furtlc report 
from Captain Beeston o i tbe Darv- 1 li*y Uoldfidda, 
but uofortunatdy tha 1 g nth man bat had to come 
to England for tbe benefit of bis health. He wae, 
however, very saoguire of ultimate r<aul*e. They 
bed recently granted one gold concession to a syndi- 
cate with a paid-up capit-il. and their mining engineer 
would soon be at work. They bad two oher opp ica- 
tions under consideration, ar d meanwhile th y had 
sent to Borneo I r 6 cwt sampl s fron various promis- 
ing points. He could not c >nc'u le without paying a 
tribute to their Governor at.d officials for the loyal 
manner in which they bad endeavoured to cairy out 
reductions aLd for the cheerful way in which they 
had worked throu.h trying times, it wa n< oei-sary a 
few months ago, io pursuance of postal regulation of 
the International Bu*eau, to remodel the Company's 
stamps, and they had the eatisfaction ol seeing a 
comment in The Times that of all the modern stamps 
which delighted the hearts of stamp col'ectors those 
pub!ish;d by tbe Company were much the best. He 
was glad to state that the call made last January 
was at the present t ; m'i almost intact. Some part of 
it wm'd ba required for tbe telegraph, but other- 
wise they sncerdy hoped that their profits this year 
woull eDab'e them to pay all expense*. They had 
esttblhhed a most valuable property, which they 
had developed to a certain exten% but of which the 
fringe only was touched at pr's=;nt. Sinoe their latt 
meeting they had had the advantage of the aesista nee 
of the t wo new tiifrctors, Mr. Brodie and Mr. Cowie. 
Mr. William C. Uowie, in seconding the moti >n, 
stated tha^ the telegraph lin^ referred to would con- 
neot Sand akan, and serve the tobacco estates on 
the Kioa Batangr.n River; and it would als> bring 
the remote villages of the interior more nnd?r the 
oompany's control. Tha branoh line to the south 
would traverse the goldfielda and oonn eot Darvel Bay 
