The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-11 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND COMPANy,

A Special Court of the proprietors of this great
ti dertaking was held yesterday, at one o'clock, at
the Company's offices, New Broad-street, for the pur-
pose of considering a dividend.
li.
Captain
Shortly after one o'clock, .11. A. Aglionby, Esq.,
M.P., in the absence of the (i-overnop, tcalk the chair;
At this WOO WO 1101PP4 altll-4Pg those present, Sir J.
Goldsmid, Bart., Mr. King Mr. Gower,
Mr, C. Buller, 111. P„ Mr, Mangles, AP.
Norville, Mr, SheritY Pileher, Admiral Sir A. Far-
quhar, Mr, Hihbert, and Mr, Vincent Eyre,
AfiLmpy, M,V,, On -taking the chair, said
that the present meeting was called for the purpose
of considering of a dividend, and such being the case
he should confine any observations he had to make to
that point alone. Ile could assure the Prqprietilra
that the Threctorsi in the f.e.iirso they had adapted
while t.l 49y con§Flmd 'their interest,
... •
1441 not 60n untninchin at that higher purpose which
ought to be their first considerati9u, namely, the
public advantage.--(Chime s,) Tt was a great satis-
factlon or him to state that, from all the wow;
O
they had reeelredi the Colony W? Vollig on most
prPsperowly ; to as the Proprietors would gather
that from the Report, he would not further advert
to the subject till it was read.
The following Report wag then read by the Se

cretary :---
a dividend,
your for the purpose of considering.
Directors will confine their Report to the
u This Court of Proprietors having been specially
specific object of the meeting, reserving, as on former
occasions, their general exposition of the affairs of the
Company for the Annual Meeting in May.
" For-particular information respecting the assets
and liabilities ef the company, your PirVclors 19 to
refer you to statement C, appended to their 1 ifth
paragraph of that Report, directing your attention to
Report, submitted to you in Nay last. In the 22d
the statement in question, you were apprised that the
universal stagnation of enterprise, depressing most
seriously every interest connected with the shipping,
the commerce, the manufactures, and the general
domestic industry of this country, and extending, with
still more mischievous effects, to the Australian Co-
lonies, had restricted those sales of land, from which—
apart from the progressive enhancement of the value
of your territorial ,possessions—the annual income
of the Company must be derived. The four months
that have elapsed since the Fifth Report was
laid before you, have produced, as you are well aware,
no general improvement of the condition of any of the
great interests above referred to; and it would be vain
to expect that at a time when the active and industrious
classes are struggling with unparalleled difficulties,
their attention should be directed towards colonial
orin-
ves,t,iiniclnttrsuti, l atdhveenttriairnessaciit•tiothns the.ile sameC earomnepsatnnyessareas
this
in a period of national prosperity.
necessarily of such a nature as to render it very un-
likely that its returns in money should be steady and
equable enough to admit of the payment of a dividend
unvarying in amount. The assets of the Company
consist mainly of land. That land in a state of na-
ture, without population to reclaim and cultivate it,
and without capital to sustain that population whilst
thus engaged, is utterly valueless.
population and wealth, the value of the land must rise increasing ratio. But in a rapidly With increasing
it may so happen,
that in any given half-year or even year, the opera-
tions requisite to give such value may absorb a large
part, or even the whole of the price realised from the
sale of land within that period. Yet, at the same
time, the value of the assets of the Company may
have largely increased, and its prosperity be placed
upon greatly extended and strengthened foundations.
Having this view of your position and interests,
your Directors are in no wise discouraged
by a temporary diminution in the demand
in this country for your land. It is not merely that
this Company could not expect to enjoy a special
exemption from the influence of general causes of
depression, but that the amount of money realised
from sales of land in any limited period is by no
means the only—nor even the principal--standard,
by which the position of the Company should be esti-
mated. Such sales, if Pressed on at inadequate
prices, or made upon. unsound principles, though
they might create a snort-lived semblance of pros-
perity, and afford the temporary means of paying
large dividends, would ultimately, be in the highest
degree injurious to your hest interests. What is of
paramount importance to those interests is, that
whether, at any given time, sales be many or few,
your measures should _ be steadily directed towards
the grand object of enhancing the value of the vast
property which you possess
in New Zealand. Upon
the energy and judgment with which that object i 3
pursued, the prosperity of the Company must depend.
Of this, as well as that the stagnation in the demand
for land is trassitory, Your Directors have been so
entirely convinced, that they have spared no exer-
tions, during the
halfyear just concluded, to pour
into New Zealand that tide
capitalists and labourer!, by which alone value can
be given to your nossessions in those islands, and by
the continued influx of which that value may be
almost indefinitely enhanced. They have combined
with their efforts to this end whatever steps appeared
to them best calculated to advance most rapidly, and
to place upon the most secure foundations, the pros-
perity of the settlements which you have founded;
being actuated to this course, by not only
a sense of
duty towards the colonists, but by the clear percep-
tion that every addition to the Population and wealth
of those settlements must enhance proportionately the
value of the adjacent lands of the Company, although,
as is obvious, outlay directed to such objects must
interfere with the means. of deriving a large imme-
diate return from you.r. invested capital. But your
Directors are convinced
.hat in the
administration of
affairs of such magnitude hs those of the Company,
it would be the most-sighted policy to grasp at
immediate large profit, at the expense of neglecting
the permanent improvement of )rour pnasir-issions";
and they are happy to state that they have been able
to give full effect to these views. During the four
months under review, whilst emigration to older
Colonies in Australia has been almost entirely sus-
pended, that of this•CornPany has been carried on
d upon
without interruption, ana great scale. The

result o :theiiirenergetic pr4ceedin'gs has bee q most
favOurable. The vessels chartered for the conveyance
of fteeemigran4 have also carried out a large pro-
p6rtion of capitalists—the employets of labour.
The latest accounts from your settlements represent
them as eminently flourishing. Dispatches received
on the 6th inst. from.
,Nelson state that the lands
reserved for the Company in that settlement have
already acquired considerable value from the general
prosperity of the colonists. And during the period
under review, an arrangement has been made with
her Majesty's Colonial Department, which will add
no less than 100,000 acres to your poSsessions.
" Still, as your actual income from the sale of land
has been but small ; as the general_ aspect of the times
is not yet materially improved ; and as it is obviously
prudent, under such circumstances, to husband your
resources until there shall be a clearer prospect of a
mturn of general prosperity; your Directors are cf
opinion that you will do well to limit the dividend for
the half-year ending the Ist of October instant, to
21. per cent., being at the rate of 51. per cent: per
annum. They are convinced that by taking this
cautious course, you will not only add to their power
of carrying on your affairs with energy and advan-
tage, but that the public at large, contrasting this
forbearance with the vigour and magnitude of your
measures of emigration, and with the undiminished
support extended to the settlements which you have
planted, will be disposed to regard Your proceedings
with increased fitvour, and to repose the greater con-
fidence in your judgment and integrity."
11. LANCE, Esq., moved that the Report be
adopted, and that a dividend of two and a half per
cent. for the last half year he agreed to. He thought
the dividend of ten per cent. which had been pre-
viously granted ought never to have been made, and
he could assure the meeting that he had hesitated long
as to whether or not be should be connected with the
Company in consequence of that exorbitant grant.
He thought the present proposition, which gave a
dividend, of five per cent , quite sufficient, and as much
as the Company could properly grant.
Mr. ARDEN seconded,the motion. The large and
handsome dividend of last year, he must confess struck
him with astonishment, because he thought it calcu-
lated rather to damage than benefit the Society. He
thought a dividend of five- per cent. for an incorpo-
rated Company like the present was quite sufficient.
The CHAIRMAN having put the question, declared
the resolution to be carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN said that it afforded him the
greatest satisfaction to see the Report adopted unani-
mously. The Directors had taken the greatest pos-
sible pains in attending, not only to the interest of
the Proprietors, but the public at large, Va. lie Pelt
no doubt that the time was not far clittitnt when they
would be amply repaid for all that they had done.
With respect to the dividend that had hen declared,
be would only say that be tit convinced that it was
more for the ultf4V of tl e Vogyany that the public
sheold I,)ti llen9Ated than that the dividends of the
Company should be swelled, At the same time he
might be permitted to say that his firm belief
that the finds of the Company .RS,
wtr'3--k —so- • flourishing
a state that they alight ee4'l'7ine the late dividend,
but the Dlyeetor g thought it better and more for
the 3. est ox the Company and the public to adopt
the course they had now proposed, and he had no doubt
that when they met again the Directors would be
able to lay before the Proprietors the strongest evi-
dence of propriety of the present proceedings. He
wished to state, before he concluded his observations,
that the Directors bad received the most favourable
accounts from their last established colony, Nelson,
from which they were induced to hone that it would
become as prosperous as its sister colonies, Wellington
and New Plymouth.—(Cheers.) It might also be
gratifying to the Proprietors to know that no fewer
than 8,473 emigrants had been conveyed by the Com-
pany to where he hoped they would find a prosperous
and happy home.—(Cheers.) Another most gratify-
ing fact which he had to announce to the Proprietors
was, that coal of a quality equal to that found at
Newcastle, and also lime, had been discovered near
Nelsen, This would be a source of great wealth to
the colony, and would aid greatly in the establish-
ment of steam navigation.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN, in answer to a question from Mr.
Watson, said that the Plymouth Company had merged
into the present one.
Air. WATCON trusted that the Directors would
take into their consideration the expediency of erect-
ing a port at. New Plymouth, which was much
wanted, in order to carry on trade there with success.
CUAIRMAN said that the Directors had
mult been 'unmindful of the subject alluded to by
the Honourable Proprietor. They had sent out
moorings, which had been of great service ; and so
soon as the funds of the Company, arising from the
land sales, were sufficient, after providing properly for
the uurpo.ses of eMigration, the Directors would not
liwliate a moment as to the course they shouldpursue.
A vote of thanks to the Chairman and Directors hav-
ing been unanimously carried, the meeting separated.