Dec. 1, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
389 
more ov less of tlie area in a iiraaed-doiva condi- 
tion, when iha yield ft'oui it is absolutely nil. 
The time and extent of pruning both vary accord- 
ing to circurastances, ami in the case of our 
esta'es the acreage ]iruned during our last work- 
ing twelve niontlis was 1,179. Now, the loss of 
yield from the prunjd area is, of course, a 
serious one, but lliat is reckoned for in all esti- 
mates. Wiiat cannot, lio\vever, bo clisely 
estimated is the time tiic bashes will take to 
recover from the pruning and to again " come 
away" with a satisfactory Hush of leaf. Unfor- 
tunately the superintendents had rei)eatedly to 
record that after pruning, wind and di'onght or hot 
and dry weather instead of rain were experien- 
ced, with unfortnnate results. On the disposal of 
our crop I can speak more encouragingly', and I 
think our Managing Agents 
AKE TO BF, CONGRATULATED 
on the manner in which they have succeed- 
ed in getting the best of both markets and rais- 
ing the [)rice.s for the produce from three of our 
estates, in the face of a general fall in the market 
value of Ceylon teas. Their good work was, 
however, more than neutralized by the very un- 
satisfactory result from Doragalla, which so 
far has proved a most unfortunate estate to 
the company. The late manager of it was taken 
over with the estate, under the arrangements 
made with the vendor, and it cannot be said that 
he was successful in his management of it for us. 
Under his control the yield fell oft', the prices 
declined, the uiachinery broke down, and a some- 
what serious loss in connection with coolie 
ailvances was made. Tiie directors are 
satisjied that under his successor a marked 
improvement will be shown and that the estate 
should be daring the new season asource of revenue 
instead of a loss. In connection wit!i tea estates it 
is not possible or advisable to abruptly adopt 
any change of polic}^ and it takes frequently 
a long time for the ett'ccts of a change in 
administration to tell, but this company's estates 
are certainly nov^^ in a state as regards cultiva- 
tion, maiuigement and general cflieiency superior 
10 that of any period since we took them over 
(Hear, hear). 
THIO I AST RKrOBTS OF THE VISITING AGENTS 
are most satisfactory, and even tlie labour 
deiiciencjr leferred to in the report has particu- 
larly been removed. The improvement has not 
boon got without a considerable capital expen- 
diture, it having been found necessary to spend 
nearly £G,0OD during tlie year on buildings and 
machinery, an outlay which the directors saw no 
way of avoiding if full eliiciency v,as to be ob- 
tuiued both for the present and the future. We 
have received by a lecent mail a jjlioto of the 
new factory of the amalgamated estates with Ches- 
terford. We have now simple space and 
A riCl?FKCTLY-EQUIPPEI) FACTO!!Y 
capable of turning out half a miliion 
pounds of tea, Mhicli we hope we niay ul- 
timately get from the estate. The account 
which generally concerns shareholders most par- 
ticul.iriy is the revenue account, and I would 
like to am[)lify the report in explanation as to 
why the anticipations of a year ago, and of two 
years ago, v.lien this Company was formed, 
have not been fullilled. 1'lie position generally 
of te.a produc:ion matters is well-undcrstooil by 
investors, and I am sure you will be pleased 
to learn that although o\ir re|)ort went out the 
lUth instant to tiie 310 shareholders on our 
register, only two of these have up till 
now thought it necessary to write and com- 
l)iain about the results. If I may say so, I 
think their letters show an imperfect realization 
or circumstances. I cannot more simply ex|)lain 
matters than by referring to the very useful and 
carefully prepared diagram of ^Messrs. Gow Wilson 
and Stanton, whi^h very fully and satisfactorily 
explain and difference between the position as 
it was two years ago and as it stands today, 
the rupee exchange from 1886 to 1897 is shown 
in the tables, and the average price ; and you 
will notice that the fall in tea ha? very closely 
followed the fall in exchange. In 1890 there 
was a slight rise in the sterling value of tea, 
which hardly agrees with the boom in exchange 
in that year ; but it lasted a very short time, 
and, indeed, it did not have time to aliect the 
prices of tea. When exchange began to fall, from 
187-3, we saw week by week and month liy month 
the sterling value of tea going down. Then 
the diagram gives a chart showing the equivalent 
in rupees, and you will see how much exchange 
has been tampered with by the action of the Indian 
Government. This I may fairly claim to be what 
NO PRUDENT MAN COULD ilAVE FORESEEN 
when the Company was formed. In 1894-9,5 we 
had exchange very low— Is l|d and a trifle over. 
The London average during tliose years was in 
the neighbourhood of 8Jd to 9d. That took place 
with exchange at Is Igd. In 1896, immediately 
after the closing of mints by the arbitrary 
action of Indian Government, an artificial rise 
in exchange too.c place — a rise not justified by 
the commerce results of the country — a rise from 
Is Igd to Is 2H between 1S93 and 1S96, and it 
brougnt down the price of tea by about 6 cents 
a pound. And that was further emphasised in 
1897. when exchange rose to 1/3^, although the 
sterling average was very much what it was 
before. It brought down the rupee equivalent 
of sterling price to 7 annas, 3 pies — or about 
44^ cent. That is a state of things that I 
cannot conceive anyone would have anticipated 
which, I am bound to say — and it is borne 
out by statements made by the Government of 
India at the closing of the mints — that no man 
could have told what the result would be, and you 
will see from the preliminary report of the 
Currency Commission that there is still a great 
diversity of opinion as to what will happen if 
there is any further t;impering with the currency. 
I am inclined to think that we will find the re- 
sult of the re|)ort will be that things 
WILL REMAIN IN STATUS QUO. 
But that is only my opinion. But this statement 
tabulated by Messrs. Gow, Wilson ^; Stauton very 
clearly shows that we have been victims of circum- 
sttmces over which we have no control. Exchange 
is, of couisc, still the serious point. Ami I nmst 
take this opportunity of correcting an error which 
somehow crept into my remarks at lha last annual 
meeting. The dill'erence mad.e by arise or fall of Id 
in the exchange value of the uipee to this 
company is £900 (not £500, as I then said) ; and 
you will readily see how our results are 
affected when you know that the average rate 
of our exchange for the twelve months covered 
by these accounts was 1/3 (hear, hear.) 
There is .scope for encouragement, however, in 
the tables showing the figures for produce, home 
consumjition, and consumntion outside the United 
Kingdom. The juogress in the development of 
foreign consumption is very hopeful. In 1S97 
the combined consumption in this country and 
abroad amounts very nearly to the total of the 
proiluciion, and I, for one, do not take the 
pessimistic view held by many people, that 
