Rhyl Record and Advertiser

The Liberal Club. I DEBATE ON OLD-AGE PENSIONS. The Chairman (Mr J Morris Jones) said the ouestion of Old-Age Pensions was the most im- portant ever contemplated in legislature. He denied that the prospect of a State-provided pension in old -ge would tend to discourage thrift and put a check on ambitioa. The people who were the backbone of the State at present did their work with the prospect of a superannuation, and there was no lick of thrift j and ambition on that account. Mr T Davies said the question was non-party being supported by all sections of poLtic.ari^ The welfare of its people was the duty of the Slate, all its institutions, the forces, military anfi civil, and law were for the whole State. The State had hitherto met its duty to the aged poor by the Poor Laws, which were a complete failure as a means of meeting the necessities of the aged poor. The only satisfactory scheme lay in a system of pensions free from contri- dution and discrimination. The lot of the .azed had been rendered more accentuated by the introduction of machinery and the spread f knowledge having added to the wealth of the nation and made the labour of ihe old of less and less value, and the came causes knocked on the head the suggestion of a system of pen- sions based on thrift and part contr.bu^on. •Mr D McLennan said his experience \7a« that tthe demand of Old-Age Pensions came from Pe the thriftless, careless, and vicious. The great difficulty of the problem was that the wouid redress one grievance at the expense 0: causing others. Mr Russell Jones agreed with the justice of the demand for pensions, but reminded the meeting that the increased expenditure on the Navy particularly and on every head o: tr.e public services made the realisation of the re- form exceedingly difficult, and, so far as c(\1;d be seen, impossible on a non-contributory basis, which would require nearly £ 28,000,000 annual- 1y. If the Government would carry ont the friendly societies' system on an extended basis, it would be better than the adoption of a huge system of charity such as was advocated by Mr Davies. Mr E Thomas said he did not believe in old- age pensions. On the highest estimate the payment of 5s a week for every person over 65 vears of age would require a sum '.hat could not be provided, and what earthly use would 5s a week be. It would not do anything like keep a man. He urged that the surplus wealth of the rich should be taken to provide a good substantial pension for the aged poor. Christ- aan Socialism would solve the problem. The nation was now paying C7,000,000 annually in pensions to the Army, Navy, and Civil Service. Ig it was not possible to get the money out of the rich, the Government should arrange a co scale of wages that would enable workers to I make provision for themselves. .Mr Parker Davies urged :that Old-Age Ten- ions were outside the range of practical politics. To increase taxation meant the diminution of capital in trade, and if Mr Asquith had taken If it was not possible to get the money out of of setting it aside for old-age pensions, that money would at once have gone into trade, and given employment to 100,000 persons. To in- crease the work of the people would be the best. Mr Smalley spoke strongly in favour of the provision of pensions for those who did no, receive sufficient wages to enable them to pro- vide for their own old age. He did not believe a tax on motor-cars ■could damage the I industry at all, and he would go so far as to put a small tax on cycles. As a cyclt-rider himself, he would not mind paying a tax. He aLo considered that wines and spirits would stand further taxation. Mr R W Jones said he was strongly in favour of Old-Age Pensions, but believed that the prob- lem was one of the most difficult that had occu- pied the attention of the House of Commons. He thought that :the scheme should be based upon a contributory system, as everyone who nded a pension would feel that .hey had a right to claim, inasmuch as they had themselves eontributed towards the fund. Mr T Davies at the close dealt admirally with the various criticisms that had been raised by the various speakers. A vote of thanks to the opener and chairman was unanimously passed. The next discussion will be held on Wednesday, 12th of February, when Mr E Thomas will speak on the Fiscal Que"ition." Mr Frank Williams will take the chair at 8.30.

o POOR RE LIKE. As a result of the recent appeal, further sub- scriptions have come in, and the Committee hope to be able to continue the soup kitchen for another week or two. GOJ.F CLUB'S PROGRESS. Excellent progress has been made with the new 18-hole course of the Rhyl Golf Club, and there is every indication that the next Welsh Golf Club Union meeting will be held here. The Club is steadily increaseing in membership, and the ladies' section has a very good follow. ing. THE /PALACE COMPANY. The adjourned annual meeting of this Com- pany is to be held i n1 an chester to-day, when a ibalartce-sheet is to be presented, and it as doubtful whether anything definite will be stated as to the "future of the Palace site, be- cause it is stated that there has been a hitch in the negotiations with the (Insurance Company, the assessors met .in Rhyl this week, and if they cannot come TO an agreement, arbitration will probably be resorted to. <

The London and Provincial Bank i Limited. HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING. The half-yearly general meeting of the share- holders in The London and Provincial Bank, Limited, was held on the 20th inst, at the Can- non-street Hotel, London, Sir Joseph Savory, Bart., Presiding. The Directors' report and balance-sheet was as follows:—The directors beg to submit to the shareholders the balance-sheet of the bank, together with the profit and loss account for the half-year ended December 31, 1907. The gross profit for the half-year, after mak- j ing provision for bad and doubtful debts and contingencies and deducting rebate on bills not due, but including the amount brought forward I from last account, is £ 391,897 19s 8d, and after deducting all current expenses, income tax, director's remuneration, auditors' fees, and in- terest to customers, there remains a balance of I E151,395 10s 8d. The Directors recommend that this amount be appropriated in the following manner, viz:- £72,000 Os Od to the payment of a dividend at the rate of 18 per cent per annum, free cf in- come tax £10,120 11s 3d to the reserve fund, raising it to £ 1,445,000 invested (in a separate account) in £ 1,740,963 17s 2d consols taken at 83; L5000 to officers' pension and gratrity fund and £ 54,774 19s 5d to be ca-ried forward. A branch has been opened at Ipswich. The directors who retrie by rotation are Rchd. Cobden .Michell, Esq., William Hayes Fisher, Esq., and the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., F.R.S., who being duly qualified offer themselves for re-election. The auditors of the bank-Ernest Cooper, Esq and Edgar Figgess Esq., retire and offer them- selves for re-election. It is proposed that the dividend be payable, on and after the 21st instant. AN EVENTFUL YEAR. The Chairman said: I have the great pleas- ure of calling your special attention to three very satisfactory features; you havi a brief but excellent report, a most satisfactory balance- sheet, and a dividend which is maintained and sustained. The past year has been a memor- able one in the history of all banking corcerns i+ has been a year of diffiuclties-of exceptional difficulties-of high rates ruling for money, and of exceptional depreciation in the value of securities. The Bank rate began in January, 1907, at 6 per cent., and it fell rapidly, until in April it stood at 4 per cent., in the middle of August it was raised to 4i per cent., and then, in consequence of disturbances in America and anxiety in Germany, it rose at the end of Octo- ber in a very short period, three times in eight days, until it reached the exceptional figure ot 7 per cent. I have stated that this has been, a year of difficulty and anxiety, but do not ima- gine for one instant that we, as a board or in- dividually, entertained the slightest anxiety as to the stability or safety of our good establish. j msnt, the London and Provincial Bank. We are perfectly assured that our ship can ride gallantly over any "billows she can be called upon to encounter; she can withstand any storm, and tempest. Our duty was to see that her stores were adequate for any emergency; that her reserves were fully maintained, and that her passengers-our customers—were affor- dd every facility and every security to which they wee entitled. I should like just for a moment to draw your attention to those fields of industry in which this bank is especially I interested, an-d if I were asked to state where this bank has its principal fields of labour, 1 should point to the first three le-ters the alphabet—A, B, C. "A" stands, 11 regard to our bank, for agriculture, B for business, and "C" for coal, and those are briefly the industries in which we are specially interested. Agriculture in 1907 passed Chough one of the mo/t prosperous years of recent times, ari(I the prospect of further improvement is good; at any rate, farmers of all classes, wiLi perhaps «fie notable exception-the hop-growers—can look back with unwonted satisfaction upon the past year. The crops were abundant, and, thanks to the sunshine of September, whirh did such a wonderful amount of good to all arable farmers, the crops were mostly housed in good condition, and not only so, sometimes, when we have a bountiful harvest it does not aiways go into the pockets of the farmers, but'in CÚs instance we are grateful to notice that prices have increased. Wheat has risen, at any rate, to 40s per qr, while barley and oats have reached 30s. Some people have thought that last year was a very wet year, but the meteoro. logical reports do not confirm that impression. It was not a wet year. Take the average of the last fifty years, the rainfall, which was 2.3.01 inches, was 2 inches below the average, though the number of days when it rained was 175, or 14 above the average, and, curiously enough, 1907 was one of the fourteen years which never had a fall of one inch of rain in 24 hours. Turning to the coal trade of South Wales, high prices and high wages have been the rule during the past year, and 1907, we are officially told, will rank as one of the most prosperous in the history of the coal trade, especially in South Wales. Then, turning to the tin-plate trade in South Wales, with which we are also connected, although he horizon is at the moment somewhat clouded, the year which is just closed has been the most prosper- ous on record in the world'? tin-platetrade. I will now direct your attention to the report and balace-sheet, and I think it might be con- venient if we first turned 'o the balance-sheet. The paid-up capital, you will notice, is JB800, 000, the same as it has been for the past 61 years. The reserve fund, which is stated as LI,435,000, will be raised by the 210,000 now to be added, to P,1,445,000 invested in a separate account in £1,740,963 Consols taken at 83. And it will be interesting to mention that the ratio per cent. of the reserve fund to the paid-up capital is no less than 179; in other words, for every 331 of capital we shall, after the L10,000 now to be added, have £1 16s Id of reserve-that is a very strong position. The current, deposit, and other accounts amount to £ 15,064,137,v and these are record figures. The increase during the year has been £ 896,189, and is the largest increase, with two exceptions, in any year since the Bank was established, whilst we have had a greater number of new customers than in any year of the bank's existence. These are most encouraging statistics. The gross profits in the half-year, exclusive of the balance brought forward after deducting rebate on cur- rent bills, and making provision for bad, doubtful, and unsatisfactory debts and contin- gencies, is £ 341,045, and that also is a record figure. The increase is £ 16,849. The interest paid to depositors amounted to £113,543, £ 15,104 more owing to the larger amount of deposit and the high value of money, the Bank rate in the half-year having averaged £ 5 3s 6d, against j34 12s ,lld in the corresponding period of the previous year. The expenses amounted to £ 126,459; the cash at hand, at call, and at short notice amounts, as you will see by the balance-sheet, to £ 3,975,867, or L711,031 larger than the corresponding period of the previous year. The investment in Consols and other gilt-edged securities amount to £ 4,140,476, which, I am pleased to say, is below their mar- ket value, and advances P,9,106,003, an increase of £ 254,187 owing to larger business. Our 11 u premises, which stand in the balance-sheet, as you see, at £ 228,686, show a reduction of L7,204 P,12,796 was added in the twelve months, but C20,000 has been written off, and leaves a reduction of 27,204. The net profit for the half-year amounts to £ 101,043, and the balance brought forward to £50,852, making altogether £J.51,895 now available, which the directors recommend should be appropriated, as stated in the report, in the following manner: In payment of a dividend at the rate of 18 per cent., free of income-tax, which will absorb £ 72,000; to the reserve fund, £ 10,120 lis 3d, raising it to £ 1,445,000, invested in a separate account in £1,740,963 17s 2d Consols, taken at 83 L,10,000 in reduction of freehold and leasehold premises account; £ 5,000 • officers' pension and gratuity fund, and 954,774 19s 5d to be carried forward. A dividend for the half-year at the rate of 18 per cent. per annum, free of income-tax, was sanctioned. Mr Richard Cobden Michell, Mr William Hayes Fisher, and the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., F.R S were re-elected directors of the bank.

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