The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-05 00:00:00

211 E PROTEC7 OR EN DOTVM EN2 _LOAN
AND ANN Ul7 Y COMPANY,

The annual meeting of this company was held

yesterday afternoon at the offices, 34, King-street,
Cbeapside---ALFRED S3rEE, Esq., in the chair.
Mr. A. iII*MORIZAN (the secretary) read the
notice convening the meeting, and the report of the
directors, which was as follows :
The directors submit to the general meeting a report of
the prondings of the company during the past year,
together with a statement of income and expenditure.
Five hundred and sixty -one proposals were made during
the year for advances of money, for the aggregate sum of
£113,650 ; of these, 267 were granted, amounting to the
sum of £52,103 13s. 4d., for terms varying from one tc five

years.
The busiuess transacted has exceeded that of the year
previous by about £4,500.
The directors have caused a valuation to be made of the
assets and liatilities of the company to the end of Decem-

ber, 1868, and the balance-sheet shows a surplus of £10,5:/1

13s. 10d.

In making this valuation, the Board directed that 20 per
cent. should be written off prelimiLary expenses, and by
degrees that item will be entirely extinguished.
The balance-sheet cannot fail to be regarded as highly
satisfactory, and indicates a continuous healthy develop-
ment and growth of the company.

The directors retiring by rotation are Joseph Williams,
Esq., and J. L. Hancock, Esq., and the Board recommend
that their names constitute tbo list for re-electiou.

The company's auditors, G. H..Ladbury, Esq., and H.
C. T. Beadnell, Esq., also retire.
_ .

The directors recommend that the interest on share-
holders' stock be at the rate, for the current year, of 10
per :cent. per annum on the called-up capital of £1 per
share.

The CHAIRMAN said it afforded him very great
pleasure to rise to move " that the report and state-
ment of income and expenditure, and statement of
assets and liabilities, be received and adopted." The
first item in the statement of assets and liabilities
which attracted their attention was naturally the
one of £10,591 13s. 101, which was the surplus
amount, after allowing for all their liabilities. That,
he thought they would say, was exceedingly sati- -
factory. (Hear, hear.) Their valuations were
made periodically. The deed originally provided
that a valuation should be made every three years,
but subsequently a meeting of shareholders recom-
mended that it should be made every five years.
The board, however, had thought it advisable in
these times to go back to the provision of the origi-
nal deed, and, as he promised at the last meeting,
a valuation had been made during the past y& ar.
Now, at the two preceding valuations math in
1862 and 1865 tie surplus was £1,242 and
£7,000 respectively ; and in the year just closed
it had risen to £10,591. (Hear, hear.) Al-
though that was very satisfactory, it did not
represent the measure of their satisfaction, be-
cause on the former occasion the preliminary ex-
penses—the cost of making their agencies, and of
their books, furniture, and other fittings stood at
£7,3oo—whereas the board had written off 20 per
cent. of that sum, amounting to £1,478, and the
item now stood at only £5,912. So that literally
the company had improved to £10,T)91, plus the
£1,478 which had been written off. (Hear, hear.)
They had only to go on in that way for a few years
more, and, as he had pointed out at their previous
meetings, their dividends would be highly gratifying.
In making this valuation, they not only valued all
the assets with the greatest strictness, but allowed
for the same percentage of losses in the future as
they had experienced in the past. The losses of this
company were reduced to such an exact average that
they could tell to the greatest nicety what loss they
might expect in the future, if they carried on their
proceedings in the same careful manner that they had
done hitherto. Now, if they looked to the growth
of the company they would find that in 1862 they
had 152,770 out on loan ; in 1865 it was £103,355 ;
and in 1868, £123,708. S. that their assets out
upon loan were continually andsatisfactorily increas-
ing. So also their advances. In 1862 they advanced
£31,525 ; in 1865, £50,498 ; and in 1868, £52,103.
If the shareholders would like a sort of vision into
what was likely to happen for the current year, he
would state that up to this time in 1867 they had
advanced 5.5,220 ; in 1868, £5,445 ; and this year,
£9,456. (Hear, hear.) The business, therefore, was
increasing in a most satisfactory manner. He
thought they would regard it as all the more satis-
factory when they remembered what they had gone
through in the last three years. Unquestionably,
there had never been a period like that in the histot y
of this country; and he hoped there never might be
again. But if during the three wotst years this
country had ever known they could increase thi:ir
surplus assets from £7,000 to £lO,OOO. then he
thought they might well say that the company was
in a most satisfactory state. (Hear.) He would also
point out that in the valuation of their affairs they
had all their paid7up capital stock intact ; every far-
thing that Lad been placed there by the shareholders
and the depositors was in the concern ; every far-
thing due upon the annuities was now invested, and
everything required for the assurance premiums was

there also; and, therefore, their surplus was a bona
fide surplus, after providing for all these deductions
and contingencies. (hear, hear.) lie hoped they
would go on as they had continued to do for several
years. The two branches of the business wh:ch
they most encouraged and were most developing
were those of receiving money on deposit, and loan-
ing it out upon security. And he did not know any-
thing that could be more useful than this company
was to trustees and others having money, to put it

there at interest awaiting more permanent invest-
ment. When the ordinary rate of interest went
up or down it made no difference to this company,
as they took one constant standard at 5 per cent.,
and they could do this because they took money
for a considerable period and lent it out in the
same way. Altogether the company was progress.
ing as satisfactorily as they could possibly desire.
(Cheers.) Ile then moved the adoption of the
report and statement of accounts which had been
read.

Mr. DEVONSIIIRE seconded the motion, which
was carried unanimously.
Mr. TOLMAN proposed that a dividend on the

shareholders' stock for the current year be at the
rate of 10 per cent. per annum on the paid-up
capital of £1 per share, and £5 per cent. on sums
beyond £1 paid in advance, which was at once
carried.
The directors who retired were Mr. Joseph
Williams, and Mr. J. L. Hancock, who were re-
elected, as also were the auditors, Mr. G. H. Lad-
bury, and H. C. 'l'. Beadnell.
A vote of thanks having been presented to the
chairman and board of directors,
The Ch AIRMAN, in returning thanks, assured the
meeting that this company required a great deal of
care and attention on their part to see that it was
properly conducted, and that the money was in-
vested in the most advantageous manner. Every
Application that came before them was most care-
gully and critically examined, and if t hey thought
it ought to be granted, it was granted. No appli-
cant had ever come to them for a loan and been re -
fused, if he was capable of giving them the security
they required. Every one who applied for a loan
had to pay one guinea inquiry fee, and although
the press had written against this practie, still if the
fee
were not enforled the company would never be
able to conduct its business. It would not do for
. the board to be at the cost and labour of investiga•
ting a case unless the applicant felt he had suffi-
cient confidence in it himself to justify him in pay-
ing down the money. (hear, hear.) Under this
system the losses of the company were a little over
1 per cent. He thought that, having thanked the
directors, the thanks of the shareholders ought also
to be given to those in immediate charge, Mr.
M'Morran, the secretary, and Mr. Pinkney, who
were most zealous in conducting the business, and
did their best in the interest of all parties. They
had the thorough confidence of the boa:d, and he
should ask the shareholders to give them a cordial
vote of thanks. (Cheers.)
Mr. TOLMAN seconded the motion, which was
carried unanimously.
Mr. WllloitßAN thanked them very much for this
recognition of his services, and that of the staff, and
said they always did their utmost to forward the
interests of the company. •
The meeting then broke UP.