COMPANY MEETING

MITCHELLS AND BUTLERS

LIMITED PURCHASE OF NEW PROPERTIES THE INCREASE IN DUTIES THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

THE fifty-second annual general meeting of the ordinary stock- holders of this company was held at the White Horse Hotel, Birmingham, on Thursday, November 23rd, under the presidency of Mr. Arthur Mitchell.

The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and accounts, said: Ladies and Gentlemen,—Since our last annual general meeting the company has sustained a great loss by the death of Sir William Waters riutkr, Bt.

One of the many activities by which Sir William set great store was in connexion with the operations of the Birmingham Property Company. This company was formed of Birmingham brewers to co-operate with the Licensing Justices to re-distribute licences from the older parts of the City and thus provide up-to-date licensed houses in the newly developed suburban districts. He was chairman of this company for 32 years and was immensely proud of the results of its " fewer and better " policy, which, he declared, had been a great public gain to the city ; a movement which now happily has become national.

Sir William had a breadth of mind that enabled him to cope with any big question which affected the welfare of the trade as a whole, and his great natural abilities made him a fine leader. He was one of its staunchest champions and had filled with distinction all the important offices connected with trade organisations.

He was a vice-president of the Brewers' Society and chairman in 1907-8, and the trade remembers with gratitude the great part he took in his year of office in the organising of the opposition which brought about the defeat of the Licensing Bill of 19o8. He was a vice-president of the Institute of Brewing and president in 1905-6.

Outside his business Sir William took an active interest in education and was a life governor of the University of Birmingham and a member of the Council. He was the prime mover in the foundation of the British School of Making and Brewing, and had been the chairman of the board of management for 37 years. He was a generous donor to the Adrian Brown Chair of Making and Brewing and to the fund for providing scholarships for young brewers. Among his other benefactions to the University were very liberal donations to the British School of Making and Brewing, the new Biological Block and the Medical School; also gave generously towards the founding of the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Scholarhips.

In token of our affectionate memory of a great man I ask you, his friends—some of you his friends for many years—to stand in silence.

The Board of Directors has elected me chairman of this impor- tant company, a very great honour which I fully appreciate.

The heavy responsibilities attached to the appointment in ordinary times are now increased by the War, but with the able and loyal support I am receiving from all at Cape Hill I enter upon my duties with confidence.

I am sure you will be pleased to know the change of chair- manship will not involve any change of policy in the conduct of this large and important concern.

Since last we met we have acquired the businesses of the Highgate-Walsall Brewery Company, Limited, and John Lord, which we consider very desirable and valuable acquisitions. They comprise a group of houses in the Walsall district, all within easy delivery distance of our brewery, and for the most part situated in districts1 where we were not represented. A large proportion are rebuilt, up-to-date houses, and the remainder are in such good condition as to require but little expenditure. We are glad that we have been able to absorb the whole of the staff.

These purchases have been completed since the directors' report was issued ; later in this meeting I shall have the pleasure of submitting a resolution to convert into stock the shares which have been allotted in respect of these purchases.

As stated in bur report, we have had a very satisfactory year with gratifying increases in turnover and trading profit. We were looking forward to showing an increase in net profit also, but the supp!ementary Budget intervened, on account of which we have reserved for income tax at the full rate of 7s. 6d. in the £ on the whole of the year's profits, which has brought about the decrease in net profit shown in the balance sheet.

Referring to matters arising from the war which directly affect :he trade, I would like to speak very briefly on two points, namely, taxation and attacks by teetotal propagandists.

In regard to taxat'on :— The Emergency War Budget has imposed yet a further crushing

increase, amounting to 44 per cent., in the beer duty, but, nevertheless, both the wholesale and retail sections of the trade are resolved to help the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as far as possible, to obtain the money for which he has budgeted from the trade.

And that being so, I do not think I ought to allow the opportunity to pass without speaking on the subject of British still wines, which I consider to be, by reason of the low rate of duty\ charged upon them, and their high alcoholic strength, a matter for the urgent attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the present time.

The principle followed for many years in this country in the taxation of alcoholic beverages has been to progressively steepen the rate of tax as alcoholic strength rises. If we look at the relative proof spirit content of beer, British wines and whisky and the rate of duty per proof gallon, we get the following figures : -

Average beer—proof spirit .. 7 ro Duty Sts. British still wine—proof spirit 30% Duty its. 8d. Whisky—proof spirit 7o% Duty 82s. 6d.

If the taxation of proof spirit in British wines was brought up to a mid-way position between beer and whisky (as it should be according to all pre-conceived ideas) this would not only be fair to all, but also furnish a sum to the Exchequer which in these times would be very acceptable.

As to the campaign of teetotal propagandists:—

I would fain have not mentioned controversial matters in these times and nothing would have impelled me to do so today but the fact that these agitators, after a long period of inactivity, calculate the war affords a favourable opportunity to launch a campaign for the suppression of the sale of alcoholic liquor.

They have already seized the chance to harass the Government as they did during the last war, when the Prime Minister of that day had to tell a teetotal deputation which waited upon him in 1918 that they were doing it not for the sake of the war, but were taking advantage of the war to advance their own particular theories about temperance.

We as a trade are as keenly anxious for moderation in all things as ever the teetotal party can be. Where the cleavage takes place is when they go to extremes and advocate,.among other things, prohi- bition as practical politics. Surely they have learned something of the failure of that experiment in America.

The experience gained during the last war ought to be a guide to the Government to avoid the mistakes which were made at that time. •

The very serious effects of the curtailment of the supply of beer in the last war were clearly stated by Sir George Cave, Home Secretary in Mr. Lloyd George's Government, on July 5th, 1917, when he said : " There is a serious shortage of beer in many parts of the country. That shortage is causing serious unrest and is interfering with the output of munitions and with the position of the country in this war. There is unrest, discontent, loss of time, loss of work; and in some cases even strikes are threatened, and indeed caused, by the very fact that there is a shortage of beer."

Yet in the annual report of the Birminghang and Midland Branch of the United Kingdom Alliance, presented at the annual council meeting last month, the declaration is made that " total abstinence for everyone is now a greater necessity than ever, and the facilities for drinking must be drastically curtailed, if not entirely prohibited." The President also, in moving the adoption of this report, said: " We demand that the restrictions which were placed on the liquor trade during the last war should be re- imposed."

This in spite of the fact that Sir John Anderson, the Home Secretary, had already stated in the House of Commons on September 21st last that " the existing restrictions on the sale of intoxicating liquor which are contained in the Licensing Act 1921 are similar to the restrictions which were imposed in the last war," and as yet he had " no information to indicate that any special measures are needed to check the consumption of alcohol." He very definitely said that " in his opinion no case had yet been made out."

And again on Thursday last Sir John declared that while he Si as watching the situation carefully he had as yet no information to suggest that further restrictions were now required.

Moreover, I ask, is no regard to be paid to the loss of Revenue which would result if these people had their way? In 193o Lord Stamp, now Chief Economic Adviser to the Government, stated that if alcohol were suddenly abolished as a taxing agent we " should have great difficulty in finding the money from other sources " in consequence of " the fact that in this country expen- diture had risen to such a point that we have gone a long way down most of the avenues of successful taxation." That was Lord Stamp's view of the position in 1930, when the Chancellor received a little over £77 millions from the beer duty. I need hardly say it would be next to impossible to make up that loss of Revenue today, when the Chancellor is expecting the beer duty to bring him in the huge sum of 931 millions a year.

I now beg to move the Resolution:— "That the Report of the Directors and the Accounts annexed thereto be and the same are hereby adopted, and that the Dividends recommended by the directors in their Report be and the same are hereby declared payable on November 28th, 1939."

I will ask Dr. Harold Thwaite kindly to second it.

Dr. Harold Thwaite seconded the resolution which was carried unanimously.