&6 THE TI?0PICAL AGRICULTURIST. | August 1. 1898. 
BRinSIl TEA TAIJLE. 
A DIREOTORB' GOLD MINE. 
We fully expected that some of the shireholdere at 
the meeting of this company would have drawn atten- 
tion to the extraordinary ncale of liberality on which 
the direotoi-n aio pxid for their services. The accounts 
just passed only cover nin-j mouths' work, and this is 
how the board are treated. It should be stated, to 
begin with, that there are tliree ordinary directors and 
one managing director. First of all we see in the proht 
and loss accouuc the item of £l,'61n for directors' 
fees." On the other side the gioss proli-s are shown, 
" after deducting rents, waii;eK, managing director's 
sf lai y and comunssiou," and other expenses. We may 
perhaps assume, therefore, that the ,ll.H7.3 is appro- 
priated by the three other directors, and for nine 
months' attendance at hoard meetings it is not to he 
sneered at. But (he remuneration does not end 
there. When we fome to the lialance sheet, there 
gentlemen have anotiicr imn. The balanci- of profit 
and loss is reduced by an item i,f X'l,f)ilC, pni d jvvn as 
"directors' percentage." That makee £2,471 altogether, 
without counting the managing directors' " salary and 
eoramission," wliich we believe amounts to over£2,000. 
Taking at that figure, here is the distribution 
amongst those interested as the result of nine months' 
trading :— 
Directors take... ... ...4,471 
Preference shareholders ....S.891 
Ordinary shareholders... ...8,125 
Carried forward .. l,oU8 
This is not the sort of appropriation that we should 
approve of if we held ordinary shares in this company. 
The manngiog director, M r John Pearce, is of course an 
expert who can cimmand a high salary ; but the other 
three directors. Sir Edward Sullivan, IJart., Mr. J. P. 
Hurst, and Colonel Sir II. H. Oldham have no special 
knowledge of the light refre-hnient business, and the 
fees paid to them arc absurdly high. Again, the ofhce 
salaries and expenses (excluding rent) come to i'l 900 
for the months, an amount which a shareholder 
might properly grumble at. It appears to us that 
the people who found the money for this under- 
taking do not get the sharo of the profits which 
they might reasonably expect. — Incestois' Guardian, 
June 4. 
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO COMPANV. 
The trade returns of British North Borneo for the 
past year have more than u, local interest just now, 
when the merits and demerits of Chartered companies 
as colonisers are being so fiercely discussed. It is use- 
ful to ascertain what one of these mucli-tnaligned 
corporations c\n do wheu unhampered by msi-r- 
national political and terriiorial complications. The 
British North Borneo Oonipauy cannot compare with 
either the Britiiiii South Africa or the Koyal Niger 
Company in its capacity for euibL-oiling us in disputes 
with foreign powei-s, but it is doing a cousidernble 
work in colonisation and li'.nte development. The 
statement issued by the Cu.stom Offi(!e s'nows tha^, not- 
withstanding the troubles in ttie interior, the trade of 
the country has continued to increase dujing 1897. 
The gross totals of imports and exports for the last 
two years, and also for 1887, compai-e as follows: — 
1887. I89G. 1897. 
Imports .. $958,642 $1, 882,188 |1,887,49S 
Exports .. 535,267 2,420,234 2,942 293 
Totals $1,493,909 ^,302,422 $4,829,791 
Tobacco heads the list of principal exports at 
1,686,173 dols., cutch taking second place with 232,460 
dols. ; the other piincical exports were : sago and sago 
flour 145,670 dols., rattans 127,332 dels., treasure 120,510 
dols., timber 117,916 dols., gutta percha 93,639 do!.'?., 
india-rubber 49,513, dols., and "birds' nests" 57,141 
dols. With the exception of rattans 1897 showed a 
considerably larger trade than iu 1896 in all the 
articles enumerated above, the increase being especi- 
ally noticeable iu tobacco, cuteh, and Rutta perch*' 
The principal imports were rice, grain flour 4«8,357 
dols., treasQre 2.")7,543 doh., cloth 254,905 doU., pro- 
visions 96,345 dols., spirits and wmes, «7,447 doU.. 
machinery 85,469 dols., opium W.KjS doU., tobacco 
72,1.52 dah., and oils exclusive of kerosine. 57,6:y 
dols. Michinory, rice, and grain and spirits show the 
largest increases, »hil*t. on the other hand, ibcie 
have been considerable fallingi-off, in the quantity of 
clotli, fruit and vegetables, Ireascfe and ironware 
imported. During 1*J7, al.->o, no " railway mattrial " 
was received, against 27,(XW ooU. worth iu )fm \ 
allowing for tliis, and the decrease noted under the 
heading " treasnif," the general import trade really 
inirea^ed by 08 250 d ds. Al'< v thc-i hIi. reholdt rs in 
the B:iti:-h N^rih B .ri:^o C np-.nv !;:!v. ic-aBon to 
feel satififie 1 with ih-^ piojjrest wlacli la beiiig uikde 
in the territory under their control.— 7'A<r hnttion' 
OiiuiJian 
TEA INDIAN' I'l-ANTKlJS toMitlNK. 
Il iia-j oft(?n I't'eii »-ai<l, r*-iii.'irk>« Eu^lfh.tuiu, 
tliiit tea |il}inl(*rs are iueapahle of conihiriinff to 
ell'ect a conimon object, liowever ninoh in their 
favour t^ueli object nmy be ; but the Ku\a-Unur«; 
tea |il(iiitcr.>r liavc elfectively coiiibined and have 
iinaiiiiiK'Usiy re-ohed t.. eH'ect (.iib-tariiial r(»due- 
tions in sirdars' oonmiitisions and coolie labour 
from the Ut of January next, i'liis, of four»»e, 
means a great savin;; in garden expenditure, and 
at a time loo when the tea iraile, is in anything 
but a |jiospeious condition. Tiiis i eduction, we 
understand, will not in any way affect labour 
pros-ppcts Tlie sirdars, who n<tw draw two pice 
coiiiiiii.ssion per working day for each coolie, will, 
in future, only receive one pice, and. in order to 
make up for the loss in commission, they will have 
to double their musters. The exaniijle set by the 
liiixa Duars planters i;- being followetl by tlie 
Alipur-Duars sub-<H-tiiot jilanteri. 
PLANTlNt; NOTES. 
(jRKViivLEA.s IN Tka.— We are aMe to add t/» 
Mr. Eraser's tesiiinony from Abbotsford that of 
Mr. Cantlay, Manafrer of Mt. Vernon, whii'li ix a 
j>ro|>erty very freely (lott€tl over with grevilleasof 
a ni.iture .size for some yeaii- back. Mr. Cantlaf 
li.os always been a firm believer in grevilleas 
benefittiiu' tlie tea bush and he considers that 
the pioduct is also benelitted rather than in- 
jured. There is this .«atisf ictory evidence in 
hi« case, namely tli.at Mr. Vprnnii ^rets better 
prices fur its tea than stdjaeent estates of efpial 
natui.al aiKanta<i;es in regard to soil ; but which 
are not do! ted over wiih timber trees, {yevillcas 
or oiherwise. 
"TiCA Pl.-vntixu" is the subject of a long 
constiibntion to X\\q Pioiuer by " Sirocco." That 
he is notliing if not original may be ju<lf;ed from 
the following specimen : — 
At present the range of dividends is from 50 per 
cent to nil; in a few years the lange ivill be from 
20 to 2; later on it will be 10 to 5 a'ld there it will 
stay. There will be no concerns which don't 
piy at all, and there will be note which pay 
fabulous profits. It is hardly necessary to trace the 
cause of this "steadying." because it'is simply the 
human desire to participate in good things, and the 
demand for shares precludes any" private 'nonopolies. 
More than 20 yeais ago I heard a man say th.at 
tea wouM not be steady until the prices came down 
to an average of 6d per pound, and at that time a 
rupee average was not considered out of the way 
and a rupee was worth two shillings. That this 
saying was true can be seen by the course of events 
and (he nearer we come to 6d the better prospects 
for tcftt 
