JBM18880229

1888 February 29thDirectors’ Meeting
29th February 1888 4 p.m. at 7 Water St. Yokohama
Present: Mr.Dodds (Chair), Mr.Grosser, Mr.Abbott, Mr.Baehr & Mr.Talbot

The minutes of last meeting were read and signed.
¾All calls in Arrear Paid
The Chairman stated that since last meeting all calls in arrear had been

paid, and that now all of the 668 shares issued were fully paid up.
In regard to the transfer of shares, the Chairman reported that thetransfers already executed had, as arranged at last meeting, been sent toHong Kong and had been returned duly stamped in accordance with theprovisions of the Stamp Act in force there, and a number of blank forms had
also been obtained.
The subject of Transfer fees was raised, and it was unanimously resolvedthat such fee should be one dollar, as prescribed in article 39 of the Articles ofAssociation of the Company, payable by the transferor. The secretary produced
applications for Transfer form Mr. Playfair to Mr. Bernard, of Singapore, (15shares), from Mr. Scott to Mr. Plate of Kobe (4 shares), and from Mr.
Gillingham to Mr. G. Lewis of Shanghai (5 shares), all of which were approvedof, and the names of the purchasers were ordered to be entered in the Registerof the Company.
¾

Transfer of Shares
Share Certificates Nos. 15, 17, and 21 were cancelled, the holders having

asked that their shares should be divided into small quantities and a1

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certificate issued for each lot.
¾Brewing License
The Chairman reported that a Brewing License had been received fromthe Govt. Authorities, available to 30th September of the present year, after
which it would have to be renewed. A Fee of $30. had been paid for the same.
¾Construction Delayed Owing to the Illness of Diack
In regard to the progress of the works, the Chairman stated that aconsiderable deal of delay had occurred owing principally to the illness of thearchitect, Mr. Diack, who had been unable to look after the contractor or infact to visit the Brewery at all for a long time and also to some friction or wantof Co-operation between the Contractor and the Brewer.
On 13th February Mr. Diack had met several of the Directors at theBrewery, and after going over the establishment, a list had been drawn up of
the various items required to complete the work, and handed to Mr. Diack.
Notwithstanding this the Contractor did not appear to be pushing on thesematters as quickly as necessary, and the secretary was instructed to write toMr. Diack pointing this out to him as well as some details which had been
determined on when Messrs. Dodds, Abbott, and Baehr had visited theBrewery in the forenoon- also the flooring of the stables, about which somedissatisfaction had been expressed.
The Chairman mentioned that a complaint had been made by Mr. Alcock,whose house is on the opposite side of the road from the Brewery, about theposition of a urinal and water closet now being built attached to the servants’quarters. Messrs. Dodds, Abbott & Baehr however had examined the placethat forenoon and were of opinion that there would be no source of nuisance to2

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Mr. Alcock in these buildings and therefore it was decided to proceed withthem, that work having been temporarily stopped in order to inspect the place.
¾The First Brew on 23rd February
The Chairman stated that although various details such as thosementioned were not yet completed, still the important part of the plant, viz.
the Engine, the brewing apparatus, and the refrigerator had been tried andwere in firstrate working order, and he was happy to say that the first brew
had taken place on 23rd February. Another brew had been made that day (29thFebruary) and although there appeared to be some doubt on the part of theBrewer about the quality of the yeast, general satisfaction was expressed thatat last a beginning had been made. It appeared that the yeast which had been
sent out from Germany had gone bad, and, although another supply had beenordered, it could not arrive before the end of April. The yeast used for the twobrews mentioned had been procured from San Francisco, and another supply
had been telegraphed for to the same place.
¾Water Supply for Brewing / Minute of an interview with architect anddirector
The question of the water supply was then taken up, and the Chairman

explained that this had been a source of considerable anxiety for some time
past. Of brewing water there is an ample supply. Owing to some water findingits way into the cellars, a drift had been cut into the hill with the object ofcutting it off, and, as was fully expected, a spring had been found from which a
considerable stream has since been running. This appears to have had thedesired effect of keeping the cellars dry and in addition provides a further
supply of brewing water. A sample has been analysed in the Govt. Laboratory

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and pronounced to be pure and suitable for brewing purposes. The analysis
assimilates to that of the other spring and it has been decided to convey it into
the same tank. The supply of condensing water however is, up to the present,
very limited, as owing to the continued drought, there is still only a very small
quantity in the pond. It had been suggested by some of the Directors toconstruct a supplementary reservoir, and the following minute of an interview
with the Architect in regard to the whole question will explain the position.

Yokohama 8th February 1888
“The Company’s works being now on the point of completion,
considerable anxiety has been felt by some of the Directors inregard to the supply of condensing water. Owing to the unusual
dryness of the season, the pond which is intended to supply water
for that purpose contains at present only a trifling quantity, andthe pipe which is intended to convey it to the tank is about a footabove the level it has yet reached. This has caused anxiety not onlywith reference to the immediate supply but also as to the future
supply, because as pointed out by Mr. Abbott, as soon as the waterreaches the level of the pipe a constant drain upon the resources ofthe pond would be commenced equal to 750 gallons for each hourthe machinery is at work, preventing it from rising higher.
While this matter was under consideration, it was suggested that a
supplementary supply should be provided by building a cistern orreservoir in the space occupied by the old well near the buildings,
and, by storing there the waste or discharge water from the4JBM18880229

machinery, together with the surplus from the brewing- water tank,as well as any other spring that may be found in the hill, there
would be an additional supply sufficient to guard against any
failure of the pond. Messrs. Dodds, Baehr, and Abbott visited thepremises and discussed the matter at various times, and this day,8th February, a meeting took place between Mr. Dodds and theArchitect, Mr. Diack, at which the secretary and the Brewer werealso present.
After the subject had been fully discussed, Mr. Diack gave it as his
professional opinion that, without the slightest doubt, the pond
itself would be an ample supply for condensing purposes. Even atpresent the water is slowly increasing, and when the rain, which
may be confidently expected in a short time, makes its appearance,
the pond will certainly fill more quickly then it can be drained off
at the rate of consumption given, Viz. 875 gallons for each working
hour, or say 9000 gallons per day. He had calculated the pond tocontain when full a supply for 60 days at the rate of consumption of
18,000 gallons per day, and therefore at 9000 per day there would
be a supply sufficient for 120 working days. There is also a surplusof brewing water which can always be pumped from the small tankinto the large one. The Brewer also had stated that for some time
to come the water from that source would be sufficient for all
purposes.
For these reasons Mr. Diack strongly advised not to build any
cistern or reservoir as suggested, which in any case, could not be

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completed before the time when the pond may reasonably beexpected to be filled, and which, in his opinion, would be an
unnecessary outlay of several thousand dollars.”

It appeared to be the general feeling of the meeting that this was satisfactory
and that the expense mentioned ought not to be incurred.
The Chairman stated that in the meantime Mr. Diack had lowered the pipe
from the pond to the extent of a foot, so that now the water was considerably
over it. He at the same time mentioned that an unfortunate loss of water had
occurred through the self-acting valves in the large tank failing to act, bywhich it was estimated that forty or fifty thousand gallons had escaped into
the drain. The valves had been put right, and this could not occur again.
It appeared that the villages in the neighbourhood of the Brewery had been
allowed to draw water from the spring while it was not required for theCompany’s purposes, but it had now been locked up, and Mr. Dodds mentionedthat he would see Mr. Osborne soon and ask him to inform the head of thevillage they could not have any more.
Mr. Talbot, who had joined the meeting while these matters were being
discussed, remarked that in the event of the supply going short, theauthorities of the water works would be prepared to meet them, and theCompany, by paying for the quantity consumed together with a small charge
for piping could have a supply laid on from that source.
¾Finances
The subject of Finance was then brought forward, and the Chairman

submitted a memorandum of the Company’s Bank Account to date, which

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showed a Debit balance of $16,880. As it must be some months before any
income can be expected it was thought somewhat serious and was fully
discussed. It was the feeling of the meeting that in the event of the overdraft of$20,000 being reached before any income is received it would be necessary toapply to the Bank for further assistance, and it was thought there would be nodifficulty raised in that respect.
Mr. Glover not being present, it was suggested that some day when theJapanese Shareholders should be invited to see the Brewery, somearrangement could then be made about securing the best agents in Tokio forthe sale of the beer.
¾

Specimens of Bottles and Capsules
Specimens of the Company’s bottles and Capsules were shown to themeeting, and Mr. Baehr explained that only a portion of the bottles were fittedwith the patent capsules, and that the ordinary cork marked with theCompany’s stamp would be used for the remainder. For these it was thought
necessary to have a leaden capsule as well, and Mr. Baehr said they would beordered at once.
The meeting adjourned at 6 p.m.
J. Donaldson

James Dodds

Secy.

Chairman7