News and Comment.
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Mr. J. Davenport Siddeley has under taken the supervision of the motor engineering section of The Times Engineering Supplement.
No fact, in connection with the motor industry is the subject of more general comment than the rapid strides made by the commercial motor.
This development is by no means limited to motor omnibuses; the Olympia Exhibition will disprove any suggestion of that nature.
Our forecast of the commercial section at this forthcoming show of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which is to be opened on Friday of next week, is continued on page 158 and following pages of this issue.
We hope our readers will inform their friends that the only way to take an intelligent interest in the commercial motor exhibits at the Olympia Show is to read the next two numbers of our journal.
The several reports from our Berlin correspondent, on the German A.C. van and omnibus trials, and the Frankfort Motor Show, were concluded in last week's issue : a few illustrations were compulsorily " carried forward."
Fodens, Limited, of Elworth Works, Sandhach, has been successful in securing space in the commercial section at Olympia, and this will be utilised to show the latest 5-ton Foden wagon built for Messrs. Bowen and Sons, builders and contractors, of Birmingham. We have already drawn attention to the fact that this is the fifth order received by Fodens from these users.
If& Liverpool Motor Show, which is to take place from February 9th to 17th, is filling up exceedingly well. More space has been let than ever before in the history of the show. Last year's exhibition, in a much inferior building, was the largest display of commercial motors yet seen in the pro1,inces, and there is little doubt that makers of vans, lorries, and omnibuses, will be well represented on the above-mentioned dates. Immediate application to the secretary, Mr. Thomas Price, 77, Lord Street, Liverpool, is desirable on the part of makers who wish to secure good positions in . the commercial vehicle section. It may be mentioned that the exhibition is under the auspices of the Liverpool Automobile Club and Self-Propelled Traffic A oriation
Pressure on our space necessitates our holding over the concluding portion of Mr. H. Howard Humphreys' article on " Highway Bridges."
The next two issues of " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR " will be the Special Show Numbers in connection with Olympia. The following number, to be published on the 3oth instant, will contain our Japanese Supplement. This supplement will be circulated with semi-ollicial assistance.
The extra expense we are incurring in this connection is, in our judgment, not to be considered where any advantage to the industry may accrue. The supplement will also be supplied to shipping houses who have expressed their intention to send copies out to friends in Japan,
A number of contemporaries reported last week that the London County Council had agreed to purchase two motor fire engines at a cost of..,2,296. The facts are in accordance with the paragraph on page 127 of our last issue : the purchase of only one machine was sanctioned, from J. Merryweather and Son, Limited, at a cost of bl,148. The following prominent motorists are amongst those who have promised to be present, by invitation of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, at the opening function of the Olympia Motor Exhibition on the 17th instant ; —Hon. Arthur Stanley, M.P., C.V.O., Right Hon. H. A. Arnold-Forster, M.P., Right I Ion. Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B., Sir David L. Salomons, Bart., Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Major J. Eustace Jameson, M.P., Sir Thomas Lipton, Sir Boverton Redwood, F.R.S.IL, D.Sc., Mr. W. J. Bull, M.P., Sir Ernest Clarke, and Col. H. C. L. Holden, F.R.S.
The council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England has accepted the invitation of the Mayor and Corporation of Derby to hold its annual show in that town from June 27th to the soth, 1906, inclusive. This resumption of an ambulatory programme will be welcomed by nobody more heartily than the implement exhibitors, and Mr. T. Aveling-, of Rochester, deserves the thanks of all motor manufacturers for his share in the bringing about of the desired reversion to a policy that has proved so successful in past years. The site at Park Royal will be disposed of advantageously.
Soo. M.O. Eng. : Council and general meetings. Motor Union: Gen. Committee, 5 p.m.
Colonel R. E. B. Crompton, C.I3., and Mr. E. Shrapnell Smith, have been nominated by the committee of the Motor Van and Wagon Users' Association to give evidence before the Royal Commission on the Motor Car Acts. They will be examined on Tuesday, the 21 st instant, in the forenoon.
An interesting souvenir of the Electrical Exhibition at Olympia has been issued by Price's Patent Candle Company, Limited. This gives a useful, illustrated account of instruments and apparatus for testing oils. The hand and pen of Mr. J. Veitch Wilson are to be noted throughout the 68 pages of the pamphlet.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) is continuing its excellent classes at Clare Market, Kingsway, W.C. Commerce and industry, accounting and business methods, insurance, and transport, are amongst the subjects to which separate courses are devoted. The full syllabus may be obtained from Mr. IL J. Makinder, the Director of the school.
It has been common knowledge for some months that the Daimler Motor Company (1904), Limited, of Coventry, has had a highly successful year, but few were prepared for the disposable balance of 483,167 which is disclosed for the twelve months ending September 3oth, 19o5. The change is little short of miraculous from a company that was in a state of incipient bankruptcy three years ago, whilst the profit named is in relation to a paid-up capital of only £11.4,176. No less than £10,200 of the 5 per cent, first mortgage debenture stock has been purchased in the market out of revenue, which indicates a sound policy on the part of the Board_ Goodwill stands in the assets at only E,12,000, and there is evidence of careful valuation throughout in respect of land and buildings, plant, machinery, tools, patterns, and stock. Sundry creditors total £45,295, sundry debtors £34,735, whilst the cash at the bank and in hand exceeds £40,000. The method of dealing with the disposable balance also indicates that the directors intend to make the Daimler shares a sound and valuable property ; it is proposed to transfer L:3o,000 to reserve, to pay a dividend of 6 per cent, each on the preference and ordinary shares (free of income tax), to divide ,4,982 equally between the shareholders " as provided in the articles of association," and to carry forward a balance of j;41,265. If the preference shareholders, whose shares are only !OS. paid, re
calve an equal amount per share out of the surplus of £4,982 (approximately 9d. per share), the return to them will be correspondingly more handsome than at first sight appears. Our principal comment is that the balance sheet reflects the greatest credit on all who are concerned with the Daimler works, and upon the works manager, Mr. Percy Martin, more than anybody—unless upon the chairman, Sir Edward G. Jenkinson, K.C.B., who " discovered" Mr_ Martin towards the end of igoi. We understand, too, that Mr. Martin's continued services to the Daimler Company are assured by the great financial interest he has in the company's welfare, arid we certainly anticipate a great increase in the profit for the year ending September 3oth, 1906. The directors evidently mean to consolidate the company's position and to pursue a safe course.
Representatives of the County Councils Association have been heard by the Royal Commission on the Motor Car Acts. Mr. W. W. B. Hulton, Sir W. Vincent, Bart., and Mr. H. Hampton Copnall, gave evidence last week, in accordance with the resolution passed by the Highways and Motor Car Committee of the County Councils Association on the iith ultimo. It is understood that these witnesses urged the commissioners to deal with the question of extraordinary traffic. Reports from Natal, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, and other parts of the world, in reference to the production of rubber, indicate that prices may yet conic under control when the new plantations begin to yield a regular supply of gum. The most satisfactory feature in connection with these newcomers is that the product compares most favourably, in many cases, with the best samples from older sources of supply. It may be remarked, incidentally, that a combination between German and Austrian manufacturers of rubber is reported by the American Consul at Magdeburg; the operations are to be in the hands of Director-General Hansen, of the TIanover Rubber Company.