The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-27
SHIP
 MERCER IS MADE

Cardiff, March 27-At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Counties Shipping Company, Ltd, it
 was decided to increase the capital
 from 100000 to 2,500,o00 pounds to enable it to buy the Sutherland
 fleet of II steamers, thus effecting the
 most important shipping company in Cardiff, and among the most impor- ant in the world. In addressing the board of directors, Edgar Edwards, chairman, said:
 You purchased the Moor Line
 steamers and have bought the Suth- eland steamers because the directors believe in the future of shipping. l
 will give you some of the reasons for | their belief that both shipping and | shipping rates will rise to a level con- l siderabIy above that which prevails | today. You all know that the cost oi 1 living has risen in the past few months, and must rise still further when rents go to an economic level,
 as they must do eventually, according l to pr. Addison and in the opinion of
 most sensible men; otherwise there will soon be a vast number of people l without a roof to shelter them. In-
 creased cost of living means increased
 cost of shipbuilding, and as the cost 1 of new ships increases so must our | fleet become of greater value.
 '@To take another point of view,
 ships, and especially British-bui ships, are safable in every country l that has an outlet to the sea- Their l value today is no less in American
 doI1ars-it is possibly more-than it l was three months ago; but if three
 months ago we had sold ship for I1
 credited us with 100000 pounds,
 while today if we sold the same ship
 for the same number of dollars they
 would credit us with 125,o0O pounds. | That is due to the fall in the Ameri- can exchange, and, in the opinion of 1 many, it must fall much more before long, You may take it from me, gen tlemen, that in securing the Moor | Line we obtained bargain that could not be obtained today at any
 thing like the price.
 'tAs regards the Sutherland fleet,
 the day after we signed the contract the agents received a substantially 1 higher offer from one of the most important shipping interests in this
 country, and since then we have twice been approached as to whether we
 would consider the offer of a substan- Lldl prOHL on LIlS pI1CS we pelO. OOI 1 whole fleet has cost us about 22
 pounds per ton- It is worth more
 now, and I believe that within 12 months it will be worth at least 30
 pounds per ton.
 Shipping rates are, of course, what
 we depend on for revenue and profit;
 the rates naturally depend on the de
 mand for shipping. The fact that time
 charters have risen in the past two months shows that the demand ex- ceeds the supply. Normal trade has
 not yet been resumed with Central Europe and Russia, while there arc also possibilities of an enormous trade with Mesopotamia and other countries
 that have been opened up through ! the war. Shipbui1ding would not con. tinue if owners did not see that i paid them to buy at the price asked } by the shipbuilder-and our yards art l overwhelmed with orders, the cost o: which is likely to exceed 50 pounds z 5 ton-while our fleet has cost us abou
 22 pounds per ton, which will b' l steadily decreased by what we put tc l depreciation and reserve, which W. think will be about 500, ,000 pounds l year.
 3 And now, as regards the issue O !, 1,000,0 ,000 ordinary shares, which vii g be made within a few days if you au g thorize the proposed increase in ou1 = capital The shares are issued at vel r below their market price, and, in m! ], opinion still more below their actua l value, and our shareholders by ap : plying promptly have the opportun . ity of obtaining the full benefit 0 e what that means A r1se or os pc !; ton per month in time charte- vEue e such as we have seen in the pas y few months, now means an extr' e profit of over 500, 1000 pounds a yea e to the company, or more than a,