April  i,  1893.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
657 
ROTES  FROM  OUR  LONDON  LETTER. 
London,  Feb.  24. 
A letter  written  by  Mr.  Francis  Peek,  who 
is  well  known  as  the  Chairman  of  the 
WHOLE.  ALE  TEA  DEALERS’  ASSOCIATION. 
You  should  be  told  that  Mr.  Peck  commences  his 
letter  by  acknowledging  that  he  has  written  it 
solely  in  his  individual  and  private  capacity,  and 
that  it  must  not  be  taken  as  expressing  any 
official  view  held  by  the  Association  of  which 
he  is  Chairman.  Mr.  Peek  draws  attention 
to  the  fluctuations  which  have  of  late  been  so 
oommon  in  the  auction  prices  of  tea,  and  states 
his  conviction  that  these  are  principally  the  result 
of  the  inequality  in  the  supply  of  the  different 
grades  reouived  from  all  tea-produciDg  countries. 
He  expresses  the  belief  that  these  constant  fluc- 
tuations constitute  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances 
to  suce.ss  both  to  growers  and  importers.  He 
remarks  that  this  inequality  arises  out  of  the 
desire  to  meet  the  last  demand  in  the  Mincing 
Lane  market  and  to  reap  the  benefit  of  the  prices 
oreated  by  it.  During  one  season,  he  observes, 
coarse  teas  pay  best,  while  during  that  suooeeding 
the  finer  sorts  proves  to  be  the  most  remunerative. 
When  the  season  closes  with  an  active  demand 
for  the  first,  every  tea  planter  pluoks  ooarsely  and 
ships  a larger  proportion  of  lower  grade  result. 
Conversely,  when  the  market  closes  with  a briskness 
in  favour  of  fine  teas,  the  planter  makes  his 
arrangements  in  favour  of  those  descriptions,  It 
is  this  course  which  accounts,  in  Mr.  Peek’s  view, 
for  the  fluctuation  of  whiob  all  complain,  and  he 
puts  as  a query  if  an  alteration  oannot  be  brought 
about  in  this  practice.  He  admits  that  the  un- 
equal supply  oannot  altogether  be  remedied,  but 
suggests  that  planters  might  enter  upon  a com- 
bination  as  a body  to  agree  to  supply  the  same 
proportion  of  all  grades  year  by  year.  He  instances 
that,  taking  the  import  of  tea  all  round,  probably 
three-3ixths  may  be  valued  as  below  lOd,  two-3ixths 
as  between  lOd  and  Is  4d,  and  one-sixth  at  above 
that  price.  If  the  supply  was  made  on  the  basis 
of  these  figures  with  regularity,  he  believ.  s it 
would  put  a stop  to  the  excessive  fluctuation  he 
mentions.  The  letter  quotes  the  last  year  as  afford- 
ii.g  special  evidence  as  to  these.  It  acknowledges 
that  there  may  be  difficulty  in  obtaining  combined 
action,  but  asserts  it  to  be  of  the  first  importance 
that  an  effort  should  be  made  in  that  direction. 
Mr.  Peek  next  notices  the  further  difficulties 
shat  arise  from  too  great  quantities  of  tea  being 
placed  on  the  market  at  one  time.  He  points  out 
that  neither  the  wholesale  nor  the  retail  trad  r 
will  now  hold  the  heavy  stock  that  they  used 
to  do,  and  that  the  consequent  excessive  offering 
diminishes  prioes.  He  asserts  that  during  last  year 
a fall  of  15  per  cent  took  place  owing  entirely  to 
the  large  quantity  of  tea  placed  at  one  time  upon 
the  market  at  an  unfavorable  juncture.  Thou- 
sands of  pounds,  he  writes,  must  have  been  lost 
because  about  20,000  packages  too  many  were  put 
up  to  auction  in  one  week.  We  know  that  you 
yourselves  have  often  previously  referred  to  this 
objectionable  practice  and  advised  its  discon- 
tinuance. 
Unfortunately  Mr.  Peek’s  letter  does  not  offer 
any  suggestion  as  to  how  it  might  be  remedially  dealt 
with.  Possibly  your  Planters’  Association  might 
find  it  to  be  practicable  to  deal  with  both  the 
suggestions  made  by  Mr.  Peek.  Conversing  with  a 
friend  well  experienced  in  the  trade  with  reference 
to  these,  he  remarked  to  me  that  your  planters 
must  be  perfeotly  aware  of  the  losses  produced  to 
themselves  by  both  of  the  praotioes  to  whioh  Mr. 
88 
Peek  refers,  and  that  he  should  think  that  as  a 
matter  of  self-defenoe  they  would  see  no  objection 
to_  entering  into  some  mutual  agreement  which 
might  lead  to  their  discontinuance.  Of  oourse  my 
limited  knowledge  as  to  matters  of  this  kind  must 
prevent  my  offering  any  remarks  as  to  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  proposals  made.  But  it  is  so 
evident  to  the  commoosenee  of  any  outsider  that 
Mr.  Peek  must  be  correot  in  much  that  he  has 
stated  in  his  letter,  that  there  oan  be  no  pre- 
sumption in  my  suggesting  that  an  effort  should 
be  made  to  deal  with  the  questions  he  has  raised, 
and  I should  say  that  nobody  oould  ba  better 
fitted  to  undertake  this  than  the  Association  which 
so  jealously  guards  the  intf  rests  of  all  your 
planters. 
With  this  is  forwarded  to  you  a oopy  of  the  report, 
issued  yesterday  only,  of 
THE  C LOMBO  COMMERCIAL  COMPANY. 
You  wi  1 observe  that  as  usual  it  enters  into  but 
little  detail  Although  a profit  was  made  during 
the  year  of  £4,092  9s  2d  the  directors  do  not  re- 
commend the  payment  of  any  dividend  except  upon 
the  6 per  oont  preference  shares  of  the  Company 
which  will  absorb  £1,089  leaving  a balance,  inclusive 
of  the  amount  brought  forward  from  last  year  of 
£4,094  3s  5d.  The  report  states  that  “ the  Directors 
considers  it  advisable  to  ca>ry  forward  the  above 
balanoe,  as  a lawsuit  to  whioh  the  Company  ajjq 
parlies  has  not  yet  reached  its  final  stage.  If  the 
suit  goes  in  fav  ur  of  the  Company,  a dividend 
will  be  declared  out  of  the  balance  oarried  forward. 
The  ease  being  still  bsfore  the  Courts,  the  Board 
are  preoluded  from  making  any  reference  to  it 
beyond  stating  that,  even  should  the  result  be  un- 
favourable to  the  Compauy,  the  extent  of  their 
liability  in  the  matter  is  defined  and  substantially 
provided  for.”  The  fall  of  silver  is  stated  to  have 
somewhat  reducel  the  profits  for  the  year  made 
upon  the  general  trading  operations  of  the  Com- 
pany. Tea  did  well,  it  is  reported,  but  the  average 
prioe  obtained  for  it  is  not  given.  The  area 
under  ite  cultivation  has  now  been  extended  to 
1,542  aores.  The  Board  is  said  to  attach  little 
importance  to  the  small  return  from  the  limited 
acreage  under  coffee  and  oinchona.  The  report 
may  be  held  to  be  of  a satisfactory  character,  for 
it  is  evident  that,  had  not  the  legal  difficulty 
hindered  it,  a dividend  of  5 per  cent,  might  have 
been  paid  out  of  the  balances  available  on  the 
£70,000  paid  up  on  the  ordinary  shares. 
THE  BUSINESS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CElrLON 
TEA  COMPANY. 
We  hardly  think  that  Mr.  Elwood  May  would 
have  penned  the  communication  he  has  done  to 
Mr.  Leake  and  to  ourselves,  unless  he  felt 
satisfied  that  he  had  good  grounds  for  the 
satisfactory  anticipations  he  professes.  It  was 
only  very  recently  that  we  soemed  to  have 
cause  for  writing  rather  dolefully  with  respect 
to  the  prospeots  before  tbo  Company  whose  title 
heads  this  article.  At  that  time  we  had  just  been 
told  that  everything  looked  dark  for  it,  so 
muoh  so  indeed  that  it  was  further  stated  on 
what  seemed  to  be  the  best  possible  authority, 
that  without  extraneous  help  its  affairs  would 
have  to  be  wound  up  1 It  appeared  too  that 
if  this  had  to  be  done,  Ceylon  planters  would 
have  to  bid  a long  farewell  to  any  hope 
of  suooessfully  pushing  the  sale  of  their 
teas  among  our  transatlantic  brethren.  W 
soon,  fortunately,  reoeived  assurance  that  w 
had  been  greatly  misled  and  that  thos 
