The meeting of the Tanganyika Concessions Company, of which a
Report will be found elsewhere, has an interest which extends much farther than the mere body of shareholders, as the story unfolded by the Chairman, Sir Reginald Wingate, and the Managing Director, Mr. Robert Williams, deals really with the development of Central Africa. Apart from the late Cecil Rhodes, there are probably few men who have been more identified with the success of a great enterprise than Mr. Robert Williams, and not only from the Chair, but from the body of the shareholders a tribute was paid at the recent annual meeting to his tenacity and resourcefulness. The actual profits of the company were a trifle lower for the year, but the Ordinary shares received the same dividend as for the previous year, namely, 7i per cent., while an interim dividend of 5 per cent. has already been announced for the current year. Moreover, the ore reserves were further increased to over 77,000,000 tons, containing 5,300,000 tons of copper, and when the new plant is finished a large increase in the output of electrolytic copper is expected. Moreover, at the meeting the Chairman was able to state that the Benguella Railway should reach the Congo frontier within the date stipulated, namely, the end of the current year. The Managing Director Also made the announcement that financing arrangements to carry out a progressive programme of extension had now been made between the British Government, the Benguella Railway Company, the African Finance Company and the Tanganyika Company itself to provide about £1,500,000 for the work. Moreover, it is gratifying to find that of this total nearly 11,000,000 will be spent on materials manufactured in this country.
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