THE HISTORY 
 
 OF TIIK 
 
 COMMEECIAL CEISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 AXI) 'lUB 
 
 STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 18of).
 
 THE HISTORY . 
 
 COMMERCIAL CEISIS, 
 
 1857-58, 
 
 STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC 
 
 1859. 
 
 BY 
 
 D. MOKIER EVANS, 
 
 Al'THOR OF " THE COintERCIAL CKISI5, 1847-18," " FACTS, FAILVKES, AND FBACBS,' 
 
 ■£"10. ETC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATEENOSTEE EOW. 
 
 MDCCCLIX.
 
 L O N n O N : 
 
 TTIOMAS IIATiRTLT), '''yt(^^'^ SALTSBUKT SQIAKE, 
 FLEET STBEKT.
 
 HE. 
 
 3717 
 U57 
 
 E5-^ 
 
 TO 
 
 ARTHUR ANDERSON, ESQ. 
 
 AS OXE OF TUE P1U^■CI^AL REPRESENTATIVES 
 OF THE MERCANTILE AND MARITIME INTERESTS 
 
 OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, 
 \ 
 
 rii THE HISTORY OF THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58, 
 
 llcspettfullg |nsmhb 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 42G769
 
 TO THE READEE. 
 
 The " History of the Commercial Crisis of 1857-58" is now 
 presented after some short delay, the labour entailed in the 
 arrangement of the work, and the care requisite in seeing it 
 through the press, having been considerable. While the volume 
 may be regarded as exhibiting, in particular, the special career 
 of the great revulsion experienced at the close of 1857, it 
 also contains a retrospective glance at the several similar 
 " dread visitations" which have occurred since the remarkable 
 epoch of 1825. It may, therefore, be said to trace the financial 
 history of the country for more than the last quarter of a 
 century. The connecting link between the Crisis of 1847-48 and 
 that of 1857-58 has been distinctly preserved, and the materials 
 collected in the Supplementary Chapter and the General Appen- 
 dix will, it is thought, be found useful to all who may be 
 engaged in banking and mercantile pursuits. 
 
 The causes and effects of the Crisis of 1857-58, which is 
 admitted to have been the most severe that England, or any 
 other nation, has ever encountered, are set forth in a plain and 
 intelligible manner, the Report of the Parliamentary Committee 
 clearly demonstrating the rise and progress of the system of 
 business which first caused the inflation, and which, when it 
 could be no longer supported, terminated in the ordinary, and 
 on this occasion fearful, collapse. Whatever defects may exist in 
 the banking system of the United Kingdom — and its most ardent 
 supporters will allow that modifications may be essential — the 
 operation of the Charter of 1 844- cannot be held responsible for 
 the great mischief which followed the over- trading of 1 853 and 
 the four succeeding years. But although the Crisis produced 
 svich injurious results, and the consequences were very alarming, 
 the material wealth of the country was not endangered — a cir- 
 cumstance since established by the recovery and steady revival 
 in business. The basis, also, on which trade was carried out
 
 VI TO THE READER. 
 
 appears to have been more substantial, the final liquidation of 
 many of the estates being less unsatisfactory than could have 
 been anticipated. 
 
 During the progress of the book, and when the writer 
 imagined his task Mas nearly at an end, the commercial world 
 was surprised by the panic at the Stock Exchange in April and 
 May, 1859. In accordance with the suggestion received from 
 more than one friend, it was considered advisable to introduce 
 a short chapter on that topic, accompanied by the extraordinary 
 fluctuation in prices which then took place, in order to preserve, 
 in a succinct form, a record of those startling events. This has 
 been done in a manner which exhibits the frightful transition 
 then experienced, the facts having been obtained from the best 
 sources. 
 
 In the presence of such a mass of statistics, it may be ima- 
 gined that some few typographical errors will be discovered. 
 It is not, however, believed that any which shall become ap- 
 parent will interfere with the integrity of the narrative, or 
 detract from the general usefulness of the work. 
 
 The writer has only to add that he believes this volume, 
 together with his previous works, the '' Commercial Crisis, 
 1847-48,^^ and " Facts, Failures, and Frauds," afford more 
 combined information in relation to financial and commercial 
 progress than has hitherto been published. 
 
 BiECHiN Lane, Lombaed Steeet, 
 Novemher 9, 1859.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION THE EIEST. 
 
 Tlie Origin and Antecedents of Panics- — The Course of the Several Great Events 
 in Connection therewith — The Leading Featmes of the Particular Convulsions 
 of 1825-26, and tliose occurring at the Suhsequent Dates of 1836-37, 1847-48, 
 and 1857-58 — Description of Various Panics .... page 1 
 
 SECTION THE SECOND. 
 
 The Gold and Silver Productions of South America — The Mines of Peru and 
 Mexico, their Development and Resources — Other Producing Countries — 
 Brazil, Chile, New Granada, the United States, and Russia — The Discovery 
 of Gold in California, and its Effects — The Australian Production and 
 Progress 2^age 21 
 
 SECTION THE THIED. 
 
 The Panic of 1857-68 — The Previous State of Business, and the Apparent Indications 
 of Prosperity — Sudden Change in the Aspect of Mercantile Relations — The 
 Reaction in Credit in New York, its Influence on the Trade of the United 
 Kingdom, and the immediate Revulsion succeeded hy Failures in every 
 Department of Commerce — The Report of the Select Committee — The Causes 
 and Details of the Crisis — Its Spread and Effects in Germany and the North 
 of Europe ......... page 30 
 
 SECTION THE FOURTH. 
 
 Contrast of the Crises of 1825-26 and 1837-38 with those of 1847-48 and 1857-58 
 — Special Features of the Several Revulsions — The State of Distress and Dis- 
 aster Occasioned — Duration of Panics, and the Consequences arising therefrom 
 — Pernicious Results of Over-trading — The Liabilities and Dividends of the 
 Failed Houses — The Management of the Provincial Joint-stock Banks — The 
 Accommodation System and Inevitable Ruin to the Parties Engaged — The 
 Termination of the Crisis of 1857-58 — The Subsequent Suspensions, and the 
 Lesson of Prudence Inculcated — Statistics of Suspended Firms, and Bank Acts 
 Report ........ ... page 44 
 
 SECTION THE FIFTH. 
 
 The American Crisis of 1857 and its Results — General Coiirse of Trading — The 
 Banking System and its Defects — Inflation of Capital and Competing Powers 
 of Speculation — Over-trading assisted by the Banks— Reckless Proceedings of 
 Merchants and others in the Groat Race of Business — The Natural Consc-
 
 A'lll CONTENTS. 
 
 quences — Uriiversal Depression and Enormous Depreciation of Property — 
 Railway Management Involving Fraud and Speculation — Recuperative Power 
 of the States — National Characteristics — Resources and Means of Develop- 
 ment ........... poge 92 
 
 SECTION THE SIXTH. 
 
 Tiie Stock Exchange Panic of 1859 — Heavy Appearance of Prices from the Com- 
 mencement of the Year — Inauguration of the Italian Difficulty — Progress of 
 Embarrassment and Outbreak of the War — Early Symptoms of the Deprecia- 
 tion of Prices in March — Increased Depression at the Beginning of April, and 
 Final Collapse during the Remainder of that Mouth and May — Serious Revul- 
 sion in Values through the Alleged Russo-French Alliance — General Prostra- 
 tion of Credit — Disastrous Failures and Comparative Tables Exhibiting the 
 Actual Decline in Securities — Measures of Aiuelioration Adopted by the 
 Committee of the Stock Exchange — Slow Return of Confidence and Eventual 
 Recovery ;>f(<7e 148 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Pabt I. — Suspensions in 1849 
 
 Part II. — Suspensions in 1850 
 „ Suspensions in 1851 
 
 „ Suspensions in 1852 
 
 Pabt III. — Suspensions in 1853 
 „ Suspensions in 1854 
 
 „ Suspensions in 1855 
 
 „ Suspensions in 1856 
 
 Part IV. — Suspensions in 1867-68 
 
 XXI 
 
 xxii 
 xxii 
 
 xlix 
 
 xlix 
 
 Ixiv 
 
 Ixxxiv 
 
 cii
 
 SECTION THE FIEST. 
 
 The Origin and Antecedents of Panics — The Course of the Several Great Events 
 in Connection therewith — The Leading Features of the Particular Convulsions 
 of 1825-26, and those occurring at the Subsequent Dates of 1836-37, 1847-48, 
 and 1857-58 — Description of Various Panics. 
 
 AViTHiN the last sixty years, at comparatively short intervals, 
 the commercial world has been disturbed by a succession of 
 those terrible convulsions that are now but too familiar to every 
 ear by the expressive name, " panic." Each separate panic has 
 bad its own distinctive features, but all have resembled each 
 other in occurring immediately after a period of apparent pros- 
 perity, the hollowness of which it has exposed. So uniform 
 is this sequence, that whenever we find ourselves under circum- 
 stances that enable the acquisition of rapid fortunes, other- 
 wise than by the road of plodding industry, we may almost be 
 justified in auguring that the time for panic is at hand. 
 
 First in the melancholy list stands the panic of 1825-26. 
 This was preceded by a speculative mania of such a fantastic 
 kind, that the very names of the "Bubble Companies," as they 
 were called, if now quoted, would look like a sarcasm upon 
 speculation in general. Associations had been formed without 
 the slightest regard to the distinction that ought to be preserved 
 between those enterprises that may be left to individual compe- 
 tition, and those that require the aid of subscribed capital, 
 and not only failure, but ridicule, was the natural result. The 
 history of subsequent panics, with all their attendant evils, will 
 reveal nothing so ludicrously lamentable as the various com- 
 panies for the pretended sale of milk, bread, fish, etc., that 
 started into existence before the panic of 1825-26, by which 
 they were utterly annihilated. Large sums also had been 
 invested iu ibrcign loans, and trade Avith Spanish America 
 
 B
 
 2 THE GENERAL COURSE OF 
 
 and other distant countries liad been follov.'cd out to an unjusti- 
 fiable extent. A sudden increase in imports was the result 
 of the commercial operations, mostly carried on by means of 
 capital obtained on credit; and so far did these exceed the 
 usual amount, that the rates of exchange turned against this 
 country, and the Bank of England, to check the efflux of 
 bullion, raised her rate of discount and diminished her issues. 
 The glut of money, and the consequently low rate of interest 
 that had prevailed during the greater part of the year 1824 
 and at the beginning of 1825, had induced private bankers 
 to advance money on securities not readily to be realized; 
 and hence, when the merchants applied to them for assistance, 
 they were unable to afford it, and several failures occurred in the 
 commercial world, as the commencement of a state of distress 
 which soon reached the bankers themselves. Alarm ensued in 
 the most complete sense of the word, and might be plainly read 
 in the countenances of the multitudes who thronged Lombard 
 Street, to draw out their balances.* The apprehensions of the 
 general public had been caused, in the first instance, by the 
 failure of several great banking establishments in the country, 
 and the consequent doubts respecting the stability of the 
 London bankers were confirmed by two or three failures in the 
 metropolis. By the middle of 1825, the panic reached its height, 
 and subsequently expended its force, upwards of seventy banking- 
 houses having failed or suspended payment. The year had com- 
 menced with an aspect of the most complete prosperity, and money 
 had been readily advanced, in the previous twelve months, to carry 
 out every project, however wild and abortive. But the sums thus 
 invested had yielded no return, and, by a natural sequence of 
 cause and effect, the year closed amidst general anxiety and 
 distress. t 
 
 * A curious anecdote is related of the cause of " a ruu" upon one of the Lom- 
 bard Street establishments. A poor woman, having met with a slight accident, 
 seated herself, to recover strength, at the door of one of the banks; a crowd imme- 
 diately collected, which terminated in a report that the house was unsafe, and hence 
 the "run" upon it. 
 
 t The number of banks that stopped payment in 1825 was seventy-nine, with 
 fifty-eight branches ; the estimated liabilities reached £14,100,000, and the assets 
 were t.nkcn at £10,800,000, showing a deficiency of £3,300,000. In 1826, the num- 
 ber was twenty-five, with two branches ; liabilities taken at £4,650,000, and the 
 assets £3,300,000 ; deficiency, £1,350,000. 
 
 The disasters of this year (1825), commencing in September, 1824, and reaching
 
 COMMERCIAL PANICS. 3 
 
 The spirit of speculation that preceded the panic of 1830-37 
 was totally different in its character to that which had convulsed 
 
 their Leiglit by tlie close of March, are generally attributable to the speculations of 
 the preceding twelve months, aided by excessive paper and credit, and a more than 
 usual facility on the part of bankers in making advances to individuals; but speci- 
 fically they may be considered to have had their origin — 1st. In desperate attempts 
 to outstrip the natural course of commerce. All the great articles of importation 
 became objects of speculation, carried so much beyond reasonable bounds, that the 
 excess in the imports of indigo above the averages of 1822-23-24, amounted to 38 
 per cent., cotton 48, wine 56, wool 90, silk 98 per cent., and other chief articles of 
 commerce in similar proportions. The total comparative increase amounted in value 
 to £115,000,000. 2nd. In increased issues bj' the country banks and the Bank of 
 England. A redundancy of capital prevailed, and tlie credit of the country- assumed 
 an unwonted aspect of advancement. In the spring of the j'ear money was worth 
 only 2^ per cent., and the Three per Cent. Consols, which, in April, 1823, stood at 
 73, in April, 1824, had advanced to 94, This state of dubious prosperity, while it 
 gave an artificial stimulus to adventure, encouraged the Ministers, in its earliest 
 stages, to efi'ect a reduction of interest upon Government Securities, in which also 
 they were furtlier assisted by inordinate issues on the part of the Bank of England. 
 This reduction of interest on stock was followed by a proportionate fall of interest on 
 private securities. Under such circumstances, men, accustomed to draw large 
 incomes from their capital, were forced to content themselves with diminished 
 incomes from the same source, or to try new and more adventurous modes of 
 obtaining additional profits. In this way a powerful impulse was given to the spirit 
 of daring speculation, exhibited in loans, in joint-stock bubbles, and in vain attempts 
 to raise prices, and to elevate the supplies beyond the demands of commerce. Hence, 
 also, the spread of a like spirit throughout the provinces, and the wild activity of 
 the banks, not merely in speculating on their own accounts, but in accommodating, 
 by thoughtless issues of their notes, the gambling dispositions of all around them. 
 
 The increase on the country and the Bank of England issues is shown in the 
 following returns : — 
 
 The country bank circulation amounted — 
 
 In 1823 To £4,479,448 
 
 „ 1824 „ 6,724,009 
 
 „ 1825 „ 8,755,307 
 
 The Bank of England circulation amounted — 
 
 In 1823, April 5 To £16,845,840 
 
 „ 1824, „ 3 „ 19,313,989 
 
 „ 1825, „ 2 „ 20,328,979 
 
 The advance, in less than three years, was, therefore, nearly i 8,000,000, wi;h- 
 out a corresponding increase in the trade or industry of the country, sufficient to 
 have justified the issue of a single additional pound. 3rd In an enormous increase 
 of private paper and of transactions on credit. 4<A. In a furtlier increase of foreign 
 loans to the amount of £8,700,000, and in a drain of money for payments on foreign 
 mines, which this year amounted to £3,997,000. 
 
 On these accounts alone, the nation bound itself to pay, within the year, many 
 millions beyond its ordinary annual disbursements; hut as paper was plentiful, 
 and credit obtainable, not on experience, hut " introduction," neither squalls nor 
 breakers were contemplated. All was thought to be fair, and the risks of n great
 
 4 THE GENERAL COUKSE OE 
 
 the commercial world eleven years before. Joint-stock banks, 
 which had been made legal, as far back as 1826, by the 
 repeal of an old law, forbidding the formation, in England and 
 Wales, of any banking establishment having more than six 
 members, suddenly became a favourite object of enterprise ; and 
 whereas, during the same years that immediately followed the 
 alteration of the law, the number of joint-stock banks esta- 
 blished in England and Wales had not exceeded thirty-four, a 
 number which had increased to sixty by the end of December, 
 1835, no less than forty-two additional establishments were 
 organized in the course of 1836, making a total of 10.2, of 
 which more than three-fourths were banks of issue. This 
 number, which may be easily raised to nearly 200, if the various 
 branches be taken into consideration, refers to England and 
 Wales only, and is therefore exclusive of thirteen joint- stock 
 banks established in Ireland. 
 
 The quantities of paper-money which flooded the country, in 
 consequence of this mania for joint-stock banking enterprise, 
 became the natural cause of new speculations, commercial 
 
 commerce were regarded only as the excitements of a paradisaic state. But when 
 the productiveness of mines came to be doubted, when the premiixms of i'SO per share 
 on "Anglo-Mexicans," and £700 per share on "Real del Montes," came to be 
 viewed as ruinous decoys — wlien foreign loans were looked upon with suspicion — 
 when " calls" ceased to be met, and bills were more frequently dishonoured than 
 paid — then paper shrivelled and credit collapsed, and then were depressions and 
 embarrassments communicated to all the bi'anches of trade and adventure, which 
 an ephemeral currency had stimulated into unnatural activity. Then, also, the 
 Bank of England contracted its issues. Up to the hour of commercial dissolution it 
 had continued to augment them, but no sooner was help needed, than it contracted 
 them to the extent of £3,.500,000. The country banks followed the example; and, 
 along with a rapidly diminishing circulation, the refusal of discount became general. 
 Under the joint influence oftlic causes enumerated, capital was absorbed and dissi- 
 pated, and the redundancy of money, Avhich oppressed the market in 1824, converted 
 into absolute scarcity. The funds fell, shares sank in value, the rate of interest 
 advanced, goods became unsaleable, pawnbrokers and money-lenders were resorted 
 to till ihcir capitals were exhausted, book-debts ceased to be collectable, bills were 
 rendered nugatory by the stoppage of drawer, acceptor, and endorser, and confidence 
 vanished as gold disappeared. Then came the consummation of rebuke. Seventy- 
 nine banks, with a nearly equal number of branches, broke. They liad identified 
 themselves with popular speculation, and, as far as customers' money would float 
 them, they went; but, when that failed, they sank in the common Hood. When the 
 deluge was at its heiglit, the Bank of England once more enlarged its issues; but 
 it came like an act of repentance, when regrets are unavailing, and did but little in 
 ropiaring the breaches which its floodings and its droughts had done so much to 
 widen. — Brithh Losses by Bank Failures, 1820 to 1857.
 
 COMMERCIAL PANICS. 5 
 
 adventures of the most specious and dangerous character became 
 once more the order of the day, and, in 1836, a heavy drain of 
 bullion continued from April to the end of August, when it was 
 arrested by the restrictive measures adopted l)y the Bank of 
 England. These measures, which commenced in June, were 
 further extended in August, and had the effect of cheeking the 
 expansion of the mania in London; but the provincial joint- stock 
 establishments, instead of reducing their issues, went on steadily 
 extending them. However, the reaction that had occurred in 
 the metropolis created a diminution of confidence throughout 
 the kingdom, and a general run took place on the provincial 
 joint-stock banks, who endeavoured to raise money by a forced 
 sale of securities in London, and thus mainly contributed to the 
 drain of bullion from the Bank of England vaults to the pro- 
 vinces and Ireland, which was one of the most striking pheno- 
 mena of the year 1836. The alarm commenced in Ireland, 
 when the Agricultural (joint-stock) Bank, an enormous esta- 
 blishment, with no less than forty-five branches, stopped pay- 
 ment,* and soon extended to the northern part of England, 
 where, however, great disaster w'as prevented by timely 
 assistance. t 
 
 Another important feature in the financial history of 1836-37 
 was the crisis that took place in American commerce, and revealed 
 a system of over-trading between England and the United States, 
 that had been carried on for something like two or three years. 
 The great importing houses in the United States had adopted 
 the plan of establishing agents in the foreign countries with 
 which they were connected, and these were allowed, by some of 
 the principal firms concerned in the American trade, to draw 
 upon them for a certain stipulated amount, by bills of four 
 months. Paper of this description was regarded with much 
 favour in the English market, because it was calculated that 
 the goods purchased by them could easily be sent to America, 
 and sold within the space of three months, and that, therefore, 
 there was sufficient time to remit funds to England before the 
 acceptances became due. Indeed, so great was the confidence 
 
 * The liabilities of this establishment were estimated nt £1,350,000, .ind the 
 loss to the sliai-eholders at about £400,000. 
 
 t At Carlisle there were some heavy failures. In Manchester, also, distress 
 was occasioned by the suspension of of the Commercial Bank of England and tlie 
 Northern and Central Bank of England, the latter with thirty eight branches.
 
 6 THE GENERAL COURSE OF 
 
 in American bills, that the houses Avhich granted the credits 
 soon dropped the precaution of rcqumng security; and thus 
 many of the New York and other houses were carrying on a 
 large trade upon the mere basis of English acceptances. It 
 should be observed, that the business of making these advances, 
 as far as England was concerned, was almost confined to six 
 houses in Liverpool, and tw^o or three in London, whose accept- 
 ances at times amounted to no less than ^15,000,000 or 
 ^61 6,000,000, while they had not capital equal to the sixth part 
 of that sum to meet their obligations. 
 
 The measures that the Bank of England had adopted in 
 order to employ her general resources, compelled her to lend a 
 part of her funds to those dealers in money whose business it is 
 to discount paper of unexceptionable character, and, as the paper 
 purchased at this period consisted in a great measure of American 
 bills drawn in the manner already described, the system that 
 had been followed became known to the Bank directors, who, it 
 is affirmed, ordered their agent at Liverpool to reject the paper of 
 certain houses.* This injunction, it is supposed, was intended 
 to be secret, but, as might have been expected, it soon oozed out 
 and became generally known, and the firms specified were brought 
 into discredit, though they still carried on their operations till 
 March, 1837, when things came to a stand, and three of the leading 
 establishments chiefly concerned in transactions with American 
 acceptances were forced to suspend their payments. The bills 
 of these houses alone — the houses of "Wildes, Wiggins, and 
 Wilson, called, in the phraseology of the day, the " three W.'s," 
 amounted to £5,500,000,1 while the aggregate liabilities of the 
 American houses, generally, represented at least j812,000,000, 
 the quantity of paper having been swelled to a most unjustifiable 
 extent by every description of abuse. The assistance of the 
 Bank of England enabled the three firms to continue their 
 operations, but still the whole system of commercial transactions 
 with America had received an irreparable shock, while the 
 
 * It is uow very common, whenever there is a speculation in cotton or corn, 
 and any pressure follows, to hear a rumour to the effect that the Bank luis rejected 
 certain paper, and, if it can be traced to an authentic source, it always exercises an 
 unfavourable influence. 
 
 f These houses, when they at len?;th wound up, paid good dividends, some even 
 to the extent of 20.v. in the pouud. They were firms of great importance, and the 
 suspensions at the period created much anxiety.
 
 COMMERCIAL PANICS. 7 
 
 stoppage of the Imnks of tlie United States by President Jaeksou 
 was an additional cause of embarrassment on the other side of 
 the Atlantic.* 
 
 The crisis of 1847-48 was partly caused by circumstances 
 similar to those that had operated so unfortunately in 1825-26. 
 As on the former occasion^ a rage for the formation of joint- 
 stock companies, in every conceivable branch of trade, had inte- 
 rested the whole community, so that in 1845 the speculation 
 mania was directed to the construction of railways in every 
 possible locality ; and again " bubbles were bursting" in all di- 
 rections. The Irish famine, owing to the potato disease in the 
 autumn of 1846, and the political disturbances that shook Europe 
 in 1848, were, however, special causes peculiar to this period of 
 commercial depression, and from which, for a lengthened period, 
 there was no recovery. 
 
 By the gold discoveries in California and Australia, to which 
 
 * In 1837, all the banks of ihe United States suspended specie payments, and 
 from that time to 1839, exceedingly injurious and, for the most part, fruitless efforts 
 were made to effect their re-establishment in public confidence ; for it was found 
 that the theory and practice of the American banks were essentially false. Yet, 
 notwithstanding the adoption of every description of expedient, wliile all the banks 
 stopped, nine-tenths of them became in a short time insolvent. It could not be 
 otherwise — for in most of them the needy bank directors had absorbed more than 
 half the discounts, and a few favoured but defunct schemes the remainder. It 
 could not be otherwise — for the yearly balances of trade had for some time been 
 cleared off only by postponements of payment or renewal of bills. It could not be 
 otherwise — for while debts increased, imports were, for the sake of keeping up 
 appearances, allowed each year to become more and more extensive. It could not 
 be otherwise — for although the great fire at New York, in 1834, had inflicted on 
 the States a loss of 18,000,000 dollars, the people, led on by the banks, plunged, in 
 the course of two succeeding years, into debts of 47,267,618 dollars', amount, for 
 gambling land purchases, and the further sum of 111,693,519 on account of 
 speculative foreign loans, forming together a mass of loss and liability to the amount 
 of 176,961,137 dollars. It could not be otherwise— for, in less than five years, the 
 banks, by fraud and failure, occasioned a loss to the Government of i'3,813,000, and 
 to the public at large of i'91,362,625 Finally, it could not be otherwise — for the 
 banks, instead of controlling and giving right direction to adventurous enterprise, 
 identified themselves with speculation, descended from their high station as conser- 
 vators of capital, and, while thoy enriched a few corrupt associations, ruined the 
 community, and entailed permanent dishonour on the nation. To give the history 
 of the institution entitled, in the accompanying list, "The United States Bank,"t 
 would be to furnish an account of the conduct of nearly every one of the delin- 
 quent banks of America. They were mostly of the same genus — mania begat, and 
 panic extingulslied them. A brief epitome of its follies and its frauds may not, 
 
 f This bank suspended in 1839.
 
 8 THE GENERAL COURSE OE 
 
 attention will hereafter be directed, an nnliealthy stimulus was 
 given to business, and in 1851 and 1852 signs of a reaction 
 against the over-trading that had been carried on in both those 
 countries began to appear. Nevertheless^ the large profits that 
 had been made during the years that immediately succeeded 
 the auriferous discoveries caused losses to be felt less heavily 
 than they would have been under other circumstances ; and it 
 was not till a more advanced date that the worst consequences 
 of excessive enterprise were felt. The political troubles that had 
 operated so mischievously during the years 1848 and 1849 were, 
 in a great measure, terminated by the elevation of Louis Napoleon 
 to the throne of France; but a new evil arose through the 
 impetus which was given to French speculation by the so-called 
 *' Credit Mobilier," " Credit Foncier," and other establishments, 
 and the Bourse of Paris presented a scene of frenzy tliat recalled 
 the old days of the Hue Quincampoix.* On the other side of 
 
 however, be out of place, especially as its fall has been attributed in some quarters 
 to tlie unreasonableness of the English creditors. Under its original cbartcr, the 
 first step of the United States Bank was to become the parent of paper issues to an 
 unparalleled extent. Tliis led, of course, to embarrassment. It had apparently 
 made much money; but " the paper" had been parted with too freely. To retrieve 
 this error, post notes were issued to an enormous amount, payable twelve months 
 after date. But the remedy came too late. A suspension of specie payment fol- 
 lowed. To this succeeded speculations in cotton, under the pretence of assisting 
 trade. Then came false proclamations of prosperity, supported by deceitful reports, 
 and tempting programmes of future usefulness and gain. Encouraged by the success 
 which attended these manoeuvres, and by the gullibility of the public on this side the 
 Atlantic, the game of borrowing and of raising the wind in every form and shape was 
 urged on with greater spirit than ever. Post notes and bonds were scattered all over 
 England and the Continent, until the money-market of every capital in I'^urope was 
 full to saturation. But during all this time no detailed accounts of the affaii-s of the 
 bank were evi-r published. The world refused, however, to walk in darkness. Hope 
 paid no dividends. Accounts were demanded. The pressure of the times, and not 
 the honesty of the conductors, produced them, when it was found that the mighty 
 establishment was a contemptible sham, a decoy, which had robbed its managers of 
 their honour, and its supporters of their money. Nevertheless, a convulsive effort 
 was made in England to keep the concern alive, and, for a while, the ricketty abor- 
 tion went on, until at lengtli it sank, more deeply indebted than before to tlie 
 misplaced confidence of the British people. Great Britain is I'eckoned to have lost 
 by this establishment capital to the extent of 110,000,000. — British Losses hi/ Bank 
 Failvres. 
 
 * Enormous premiums in joint-stock companies were at this date realized, all 
 of French origin. Combinations of capitalists were organized, who undertook all 
 descriptions of works, not only in France, but also in Germany, Spain, and other 
 countries, and no sooner was a project announced than the shares brought high 
 prices.
 
 COMMERCIAL PANICS. 9 
 
 tlic Atlantic, an extravagant style of living, that had liccome in 
 vogue among the higher classes, led to the most desperate com- 
 petition in trade, and the enormous expansion of American 
 commerce in 1856-57 may he regarded as one of the most 
 remarkahlc forerunners of the panic of the later date. 
 
 The crisis of 1847 was followed by a period of vmeasy sus- 
 pense in the commercial world, chiefly caused by the political 
 convulsions that, in 1848 and 1819, shook nearly all the States 
 on the Continent, and were felt in this country like the shock of 
 a distant earthquake. When the aljortive attempts made from 
 time to time, in the interval, by a few noisy demagogues,* to 
 gain so much as a passing notice, are remembered, and the ulti- 
 mate position of the same persons is taken into account, it is 
 felt that the famous 10th of April brought the question between 
 order and anarchy in England to a settlement that is not likely 
 to be speedily again disturbed. But while the struggle was yet 
 pending, there was quite sufficient to render people uncomfortable 
 about the stability of the Government, and, in a mercantile sense, 
 this alarm was upheld by the very slow recovery of business that 
 succeeded the great panic of the previous year. The general 
 despondency would no doubt have produced serious results, had 
 not the discovery of gold, first in California and afterwards in 
 Australia, encouraged the hope that, whatever might happen, 
 there would still be abundance of precious metal to meet the 
 exigencies of commerce. t Sometimes this expectation, carried 
 to an extreme, became a fear that gold Avould lose its value 
 altogether, and that the fund-holder might be brought to ruin 
 by the unexpected payment of his debt in comparatively worth- 
 less coin. Many political economists even talked of a future 
 time, when the employment of bullion as a material of manu- 
 facture would be infinitely increased, and European tenements 
 would be stocked with golden furniture, after the fashion of 
 the lucas, and ordinary ornaments and utensils would be of 
 the most massive auriferous manufacture. 
 
 The elevation of Louis Napoleon to the Presidency, and the en- 
 
 * The fate of the principal delinquents was settled by tlie Chartist trials in 
 England and the proceedings adopted by tlie Government in Ireland. 
 
 t It was a trite remark, made by an influential joint-stock bank manager at 
 the height of the excitement occasioned by the gold discoveries, tliat there would 
 never be another r/o'(i panic; but he did live to see and experience tlie cflects of one, 
 viz., 1857-58.
 
 10 THE GENERAL COURSE OF 
 
 suing conversioa of tlic French, republic into an empire, dissipated 
 the clouds that overspread the political horizon; and, whatever 
 may be the opinion repecting the coup d'etat of December, 1851, 
 there is no doubt that, for the time at least, heavy and desolating 
 as was the sacrifice entailed, it assisted to arrest revolution. 
 With partially restored confidence, the power of speculation 
 began again to revive, and the gold discoveries, which had exer- 
 cised a wholesome efiect, while they mitigated despondency, now 
 grew into a source of evil.* The awakened spirit took the 
 ordinary form of a rage for joint- stock enterprise, and nume- 
 rous companies were formed, in connection with the newly- 
 unclosed treasure, which promised fairly at first, but which in the 
 end were disastrous failures. At the same time, the lands of 
 gold, California and Australia, seemed to offer a fresh and highly 
 remunerative field for mercantile enterprise, and the trade of 
 England and America, in the new direction, soon became so 
 excessive, that, without the gift of prophecy, a mischievous result 
 could easily be predicted. However, the storm, though seen, 
 was distant ; for, although several firms failed in 1851 and 1852,t 
 they were so far from having any connection with the modern 
 movements of the commercial world, that they chiefly consisted 
 of old worn-out houses, who had long maintained a spurious 
 existence on credit, and naturally crumbled away when a pressure 
 arose. Still, even at this period, heavy losses were incurred in 
 both the new branches of trade, though the large profits made 
 in the first instance by the principal firms engaged in it enabled 
 them to surmount immediate difficulties. In a word, at this 
 period there was a pressure, not a panic, though some of the 
 elements threatening a future extensive disruption of credit were 
 already visible. 
 
 A short time before the final revulsion, the low state to which 
 commercial morality had sunk was revealed by isolated cases, 
 
 * The Australian merchants, wlien the discoveries were first made, were qnite 
 alarmed for the result ; wool growing and slieep farming, it was said, would be 
 abandoned, and deputations waited on the Government regarding the encouragement 
 of emigration. 
 
 f Vide list of suspensions, 1851-52. The reports of the meetings of creditors 
 exiiibited the results of speculation. Old-established firms entering into colliery 
 and other adventuresj houses trading oninsufficient capital ; neglected book-keeping, 
 etc.; some utterly insolvent for years, and yet carrying on active busiuesB with high 
 and respected names.
 
 COMMEllCIAL PANICS. 
 
 11 
 
 tliat by turns became leading topics of tlie day. Such were the 
 transactions of Cole, Gordon, and Davidson, the failure of the 
 Tipperary Bank, the suicide of Mr. John Sadleir, the disclosures 
 of the Westminster Improvement Company, and the explosion 
 of the Royal British Bank. But it was not till the end of 1857 
 that the utter rottenness of a commercial system, as carried on 
 in Scotland, Liverpool, and London, was revealed to its full 
 extent, proving that the enormous figures in the Board of Trade 
 returns, supposed to indicate high prosperity, were based on 
 an overwhelming quantity of accommodation bills, negotiated 
 through country banks, and kept in circulation by every sort of 
 pretext and expedient.* As exposure followed exposure, it 
 seemed as though England and New York were vying with 
 each other in barefaced fraud. Infamously bad management on 
 the part of joint-stock bank directors was shown in the cases 
 of the establishments in Scotland and the North of England 
 that failed at this juncture, causing utter ruin to the share- 
 holders. Never did wickedness and commerce seem so intimately 
 allied as during the great panic of 1857; for what was shown 
 to have occurred in the States — for instance, the disgraceful 
 exposure connected with the Ohio Trust and Assurance Com- 
 pany — was found to have been repeated in England. Nor was 
 the evil coulined to the inhabitants of one country, or the 
 members of one family of the human race ; it spread like a 
 pestilence over the northern part of Europe, and the anxieties of 
 London were but weak, in comparison with the terror that abso- 
 lutely paralyzed the Hanseatic Towns, and Denmarlc, Sweden, 
 and Norway. 
 
 However, the evil of a panic is not altogether unmitigated. 
 Not only is the commercial atmosphere cleared by the explosion 
 of a number of establishments that have existed on a false basis — 
 not only are wrong principles exposed, and therefore checked 
 in their power of producing mischief, but the necessity of a 
 reform in a state of laws under which such vast evils have been 
 allowed to flourish is deeply imprinted on the public mind. The 
 
 * The cases of the Macdoualds, Monteiths, etc., will not be forgotten for a lon^ 
 period ; the heavy liabilities, with the small assets, occasioned through the explosion 
 of the accommodation bill system, recklessly supported even by the payment of 
 a commission to men of straw for their signatures, showing the doubtful basis of 
 business. Tlie bankruptcy reports of the d;iy illustrated the truth of this allegation 
 in the most vivid colours.
 
 12 DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PANICS. 
 
 moralist may draw ample materials for reflection from the 
 cupidity and dishonesty which are brought to light under the 
 influence of an extended system of credit ; and in France, novelists 
 and others have turned the ruling vice to account, by stigma- 
 tizing it in satii'es and dramas, that even philosophical writers 
 have recognized as signs of the times. But in an age, like the 
 present, of great luxury and ostentation, mere moral warnings 
 will prove weak in their effect, when the desires that necessitate 
 wealth are many, and riches appear accessible without toil. A 
 revision of the law that will cause the miseries of panic to fall 
 most heavily on the parties who have most deserved to suffer 
 them, can alone prevent a recurrence of those terrible events 
 that constitute, in the record of the last sixty years, such a 
 chequered and unclean page in the history of the progress of 
 modern commerce. 
 
 It is at all times, if possible, desirable to furnish corrobo- 
 rative views of facts or opinions expressed on such important 
 topics as those referred to in the present pages, and, therefore, 
 the Avriter has not failed to provide evidence to bear his state- 
 ments out, selected, as they have been, from the best sources. 
 In the first place, therefore, he presents, from an interesting 
 pamphlet, entitled '' Observations on the Currency, etc.," by 
 Mr. S. Sandars, the annexed correct views on the general 
 description of monetary panics, which even refer to a date 
 antecedent to those the outlines of which have been described : — 
 
 ON MONETARY PANICS. 
 
 There are three kinds of panics — those arising from an abstraction of gold from 
 the Bank of England— tliose from a contraction of credit capital — and those arising 
 from the conihincd results of the contraction of credit capital and the scarcity of 
 bullion in the Bank vaults. 
 
 1. The panic of 1793 and 1797 arose from the abstraction of gold from this 
 country, as it was sent abroad for subsidies and loans advanced to our allies. These 
 were gold panics, and were partially relieved by the advance of exchequer bills on 
 tlie deposit of merchandise, but ultimately by the Restriction Act of 1797 making 
 the Bank of England notes a legal conventional tender. This Act continued in 
 force until Peel's bill of 1819, enacting a return to cash payments. 
 
 2. The panic of 1810, when failures to the extent of 10 millions occurred. 
 Such panics arose from over-trading speculations in produce and excess of exports, 
 and the Bank raised their discounts from 13 millions, in 1808, to 20 millions in 
 1810, or an increase of 45 per cent. Tiiis was a credit panic, as the Bank had the 
 power of issuing an unlimited amount of inconveriible notes.
 
 DESCKIl'TION OF VAHIOUS PANICS. 13 
 
 3. The panic of 1815, when SO bauks suspended payment, arose from tlie inlla- 
 tion of mercantile credit and vast speculations in cotton and other products. Tliis 
 was a credit panic, as tlie Bank still continued to issue inconvertible notes. 
 
 4. The panic of 1822 was caused by the Bank reducing its discounts from 
 15 millions to 3 millions, in order to secure the convertibility of the Bank note, and 
 by the contraction of Bank of England and local notes from 48 millions, in 1818, 
 to 26 millions in 1S22. This v/as a gold panic, lowering the price of our funded 
 and other properties, the stocks of goods held by the mercantile and trading inte- 
 rests, and agricultural products, to the extent of some 200 millions, and allowing 
 that only one-fifth of such investments were forced on the markets during the panic, 
 wc may assume the total loss, including the failure of banks and mercantile houses, 
 the partial closing of mills, and non-emjiloyment of workmen, caused an absolute 
 loss of some £30,000,000. 
 
 5. The panic of 1826 arose from excessive speculations in foreign mines, in 
 cotton and other products, and over-trading, and from the increased issue of notes, 
 our circulating medium, which gradually rose from 33^ millions, in 1823, to 
 41 millions in 1826. This panic lowered the prices of funded and railway property, 
 the stock of goods held by the mercantile interest and others, to the extent of 
 300 millions, and the assumed loss by the different parties may be estimated at 
 some 45 millions, and, during such panic, the gold in the Bank was reduced below 
 one million, and the credit of the Bank was saved only by the issue of some two 
 millions of one pound bank notes accidentally found in the Bank. 
 
 6. The panic of 1832 lowered the price of public securities, etc., to the extent 
 of 100 millions, causing a loss to the trading and other interests of some 15 
 millions. 
 
 7. The panics of 1836-37, called the American panics, as they originated and 
 were chiefly confined to houses connected with the United States. The loss was 
 estimated by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, for that city alone, at 40 
 millions. The amount of gold in the Bank was decreased to so great an extent that 
 its credit was maintained only by a loan of 2 millions from the Bank of France. 
 
 8. The panic of 1847 was caused by a bad harvest and great speculations in 
 corn and railways. This panic was brought to a crisis from the surplus purchases 
 of corn by the French Government being sent to this country in the months of June 
 and July, to the extent of some 70,000 quarters, which were weekly forced upon 
 the market at prices much below the current rates. For several successive weeks 
 there was a fall of 8s. or 10s. a quarter, finally reducing prices from 96s. to 66s. 
 Such a fall in the value of wheat brought to a state of bankruptcy a large number 
 of houses connected with the trade in corn, and was followed by many other houses 
 engaged in general trade. This brought on a money panic. The amount of gold in 
 the Bank was reduced to 8 millions, and the Bank reserve of notes to IJ millions, 
 and its credit was only saved by the Government authorizing an addition to its 
 issue of 2 millions. We thus see the anomalous effect of the Act of 1844, 
 that brought the Bank to a state of insolvency, with 8 millions of sovereigns in 
 its vaults. This panic lowered the price of funded and other properties 400 millions, 
 and the loss to the funded and other interests was 60 millions. 
 
 9. The panic of 1857 arose from a money panic in America, that brought down 
 a great number of our large merchants connected with America, followed by the 
 failure of several large joint-stock banks in the North of England, arising from 
 improvident advances by the managers of such banks. The gold in the Bank vaults 
 was reduced to Qh millions, and the notes in reserve to £957,000, and the solvency 
 of the Bank was only sustained by another authorized issue of 2 millions of notes. 
 This panic lowered the prices of funded and other properties 400 millions, and the
 
 14- DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PANICS. 
 
 loss to the fund-holders and other interests, and the failures of banks and other 
 houses, was some 80 millions. Thus the conihined loss to the community generally, 
 caused by the panics and the effects of the Acts 1819-44-45, may fairly be assumed 
 to be 250 to 300 millions. 
 
 Of the progress of the particular epochs of 1825-26 and 
 183G-37, the annexed passages are extracted from Wade's 
 " British History/' publislied many years since by ISIr. Effing- 
 ham Wilson, a AYork of extensive research, which should be in 
 the library of every professional and trading establishment. It 
 is only to be regretted that it has not been brought down to a 
 much later date. 
 
 FOREIGN LOANS AND JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES, A.D. 1825. 
 
 The general prosperity' was such, that money or credit could be obtained for 
 every enterprise, and tlie natural consequence of universal confidence was a general 
 tendency to over-trading and speculation. Besides an infinite number of domestic 
 undertakings in which the country had embarked, and which enhanced the prices 
 of labour and commodities, a vast field of adventure had opened in South America. 
 This partly arose from the determination of the English ministry to recognize the 
 independence of the Transatlantic States, and to appoint chargis des affaires to Colum- 
 bia, Mexico, and Buenos Ayres. Peru, Chili, and Guatemala, it was anticipated, 
 would also be soon similarly treated, and raised to the rank of independent nations. 
 The conduct of Government inspired confidence in individuals, who ceased to have 
 any hesitation in advancing loans to the new governments, or in embarking in mining 
 and other ventures. The money sent out of the country, a large portion of which 
 was lost, was immense. The instalments paid on foreign loans, mining shares, and 
 other speculations, in 1825, were estimated to amount to £17,682,773. Those on 
 foreign loans only amounted to £11,304,623, and were as follow : — 
 
 ^1,000,000 Brazilian loan of 1824 ^350,000 
 
 2,000,000 Ditto, 1825 1,500,000 
 
 3,600,000 Danish ditto 2,626,000 
 
 2,000,000 Greek ditto 1,130,000 
 
 1,428,571 Guatemala ditto 357,143 
 
 400,000 Guadalajara 240,000 
 
 3,200,000 Mexican 2,872,000 
 
 2,500,000 Neapolitan l,7r.0,000 
 
 \ 616,000 Peruvian 480,000 
 
 The mania for joint-stock companies was incredible. In 1S24 and the begin- 
 ning of the present year, 270 companies had been projected, of which the aggregate 
 capital, on paper, was £174,114,050. Of these companies 33 were for canals and 
 docks; 48 railroads; 42 gas; 6 milk; 8 supply of water; 4 coal mines; 34 metal 
 mines; 20 insurances; 23 banking; 12 navigation and packets; Sfisheries; 2 news- 
 papers; 2 tunnels under the Thames; 3 for the embellishment of London; 2 .sea- 
 water baths; the rest miscellaneous. However absurd many of these projects, the 
 shares of several rose to enormous premiums, especially tlie mining adventures in 
 South America. The madness prevailing, and the sanguine anticipations of inordi-
 
 DESCRIPTION OF VAHIOUS PANICS. 15 
 
 natc gain, will be manifest from tlie foUowinp; statement of the market-prices of the 
 shares in five of the principal mining companies, at two periods, December 10,1824, 
 and January 11, 1825 : — 
 
 December 10. January 11. 
 
 Anglo-Mexican £33 pr. £158 
 
 Brazilian lOs. dis. 66 
 
 Colombiiin ^19 pr. 82 
 
 Keal del Moute ioO 1,350 
 
 United Mexican 35 1,550 
 
 On all tlie sliarcs only 110 had been paid, except the Real del Monte, on which 
 £10 had been paid. Tlie adventurers obviously anticipated as rich a harvest as 
 Pizarro and Cortes, and that without fighting, merely by the power of British 
 capital, skill, and machinei'y. 
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, A.D. 1826. 
 
 The mercantile reaction, which appeared at the close of the past year, con- 
 tinued with unabated force during the early part of the present. In November the 
 number of bankrupts gazetted was 188; in December, 220; in January, 321; in 
 February, 380; in March, 315. The number of bankrupts on March 4th was 93, 
 which was the greatest number that had appeared ; and from that time the plague 
 may be said to have abated. As this was the most overwhelming revulsion in 
 commerce that had ever happened, the causes in which it had originated were 
 narrowly scrutinized; and the general inference seemed to be, that a wild spirit of 
 speculation, springing, in the first instance, from the temptation of low prices, and 
 fostered by the multiplication of paper-money and transactions on credit, was the 
 primary source of the disorder. That over-trading was the origin, and the means 
 indiscreetly afi'orded for over-trading accessories to the mischief, were facts clearly 
 established from the returns obtained of the vast increase of imports, of the issues of 
 the banks, and the number of bills of exchange in circulation. An excess of mer- 
 cantile confidence, which opened the door to thoughtless enterprises, with fictitious 
 capital, originated nine-tenths of the evil. The general prosperity encouraged the 
 country banks and the Bank of England freely to make advances for almost every 
 undertaking : they rapidly increased their issues of notes; but these, though power- 
 ful auxiliaries, were insufficient to account for the enormous redundancy of capital 
 that marked the -year 1824 and the summer of 1825. This could only be supplied 
 by the vast extension of private credit by bills, promissory-notes, and open account. 
 Such was the general confidence, that real money was hardly needed; credit was 
 the universal currency; and hence w.as generated that redundancy of means whioh 
 depressed the rate of interest, and induced individuals to seek profitable employ- 
 ment for their resources in foreign loans, foreign mines, and every imaginable 
 domestic expedient. Alarmed at the speculative spirit abroad, the Bank of England 
 were the first to adopt precautions, by contracting their circulation; and the 
 example was followed by the country banks. This pulling up was soon felt by a 
 pressure in the money-market. Some of the banks — that of Elford's, in the West 
 of England, and of Wentworth's in the North — that had been exti'emely incaiitious 
 in their advances to individuals, were unable to meet their engagements, and the 
 fall of these houses involved the London firms with which they corresponded. 
 Commercial confidence was destroyed, and a panic ensued. The Bank of England 
 made strenuous efforts to mitigate pecuniary distress; and Government pursued a 
 steady and judiciou-> course. With the consequences of the folly and cupidity of
 
 16 DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PANICS. 
 
 individuals it could not jn'opcrly iutlerere, but it sought to remedy some of the evils 
 of the banking system. As a too great facility in the power of creating fictitious 
 money had been a main ingredient in producing the mischief, Ministers sought to 
 abridge the power of banks in issuing paper-money. For this purpose the circula- 
 tion of one-pound notes was prohibited, and corporate bodies, or partnerships of 
 more than six persons, were allowed to carry on the business of banking. Both 
 these measures were improvements on the existing system, but not preventives of 
 mercantile reaction; they afforded no effective guarantee against future panics, nor 
 the over-issue and insolvency of bankers, nor against over-trading on baseless 
 credit. The last are desiderata that can only emanate from individual prudence, 
 and more general knowledge of the principles that govern the periodical vicissitud-^s 
 of the commercial cycle. 
 
 REVIVAL OF INDUSTRY, A.D. 1827. 
 
 The present year was pregnant with events, and opened with a more cheering 
 aspect than the preceding. Employment was generally to be had by the working 
 classes, and thougli wages were still low, they enabled them to gain a livelihood. 
 The different moneyed and manufacturing interests M'ere recovering from the con- 
 fusion of the last eighteen months by a progress which, thougli slow, was sure, and 
 which by its slowness, perliaps, justified the belief that it did not proceed from 
 factitious scheming, but was the natural return of mercantile health. The atmos- 
 phere had been cleared by the monetary crisis of 1825-26, and an entire decompo- 
 sition of commercial elements effected. Masses of fictitious property were dispersed, 
 and much of the real capital of the country distributed into new channels. Had 
 this been the only result, the useful lesson over-speculation had taught might have 
 been more instructive than injurious. Uufortuiiately an immense loss was sustained 
 from the destruction of property, occasioned by the fluctuation in prices, and the 
 sudden change in the employment of capital and industry. A check was thus 
 given to internal improvement; and in consequence of the blight on mercantile con- 
 fidence the legitimate movements of commerce long continued to be impeded. It is 
 in the nature of great changes to involve the innocent with the guilty; and this 
 was tiie worst result of the late revulsion; it not only swept away the delusive pro- 
 jects of the adventurers, but paralyzed for a season the operations of real business 
 and commendable enterprise. In domestic politics the prominent topic of interest, 
 in the history of the year, was the termination of the Liverpool Ministry, and the 
 efforts to supply the vacancy occiisioned by the sudden illness of that nobleman. 
 Abroad the political horizon was auspicious. The arms of Russia and Persia were 
 encountering each other on the banks of the Araxes, but the sound was too disu'uit 
 to disturb the repose of Europe. Our armament in the Tagus had guaranteed the 
 Portuguese constitution against the machinations of the absolutists of Paris and 
 Madrid. Even the interference of the great powers in behalf of the Greeks, which 
 led to the battle of Navarino, failed to disturb tlic tranquillity of Europe. 
 
 PROSPEROUS STATE OF THE KINGDOM, A.D. 183G. 
 
 At the close of the past and commencement of the present year, the United 
 Kingdom exhibited imusual signs of internal contentment and general prosperity. 
 With the exception of partial depression in agriculture, all the great branches of 
 national industry were unusually prosperous. In the great clothing districts of
 
 DESCRIPTION C)l' VARIOUS PANICS. 17 
 
 Yorksliire and Lnncashire the times were never known to be more favourable. In 
 spite of the great development of the cotton-trade, it still continued to expand, and 
 its utmost bounds seemed illimitable. It was the same with the woollen manufac- 
 ture of Leeds and Huddersfield, the stuff manufacture of Bradford and Halifax, the 
 linen manufacture of Barnsley ami Knaresborough, the blanket and flannel manu- 
 factures of Dewsbury and Rochdale, they were all thriving. Even in the silk trade 
 of Macclesfield, Coventry, and Spitalfields there were no complaints; no more than 
 in the hosiery and lace trades of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester. The potteries 
 of Staffordshire continued prosperous, and the iron trade, in all its branches, was 
 unusually flourishing. While manufacturing industry was in a state of energetic 
 activity in the interior of the ki'nt^dom, it is almost superfluous to remark that the 
 shipowners in the outports of London, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow, and Hull were 
 not quiescent. One fact testifies to the prosperousness of commerce and existence of 
 mercantile confidence, namely, the low rate of interest. Although there had been 
 during the last twelvemonth several demands on the resources of moneyed men, the 
 funds maintained a steady buoyancy; and the numerous projects on foot for im- 
 proving the great lines of travelling and conveyance, at once attested abundance of 
 pecuniary means and a lively spirit of improvement. That the general prosperity 
 rested on stable grounds, there were solid reasons for concluding. A spirit of 
 enterprise was abroad, but not of wild speculation. Except the mania for railways, 
 which raged in England in common with other nations, there was no other abroad ; 
 and the avidity with which shares were bought up in these undertakings was 
 justified by the actual success which had attended those of Liverpool and Manchester, 
 Stockton and Darlington, Leeds and Selby. In 3 824 the case was different; it was 
 then pure castle-building; credit afforded unlimited means, and no project was too 
 extravagant for support. At present, there was no want of commercial confidence, 
 but it was a confidence indulged under a salutary reminiscence of former disasters. 
 If anything could tend to its undue development, it was the state of the monetary 
 system, which continued the most defective branch of industrial polity, and required 
 unceasing watchfulness. It is as much a function of State to provide a safe and 
 uniform currency, as a uniform standard of weights and measures, or a uniform 
 and impartial course of judicial administration. None of the numerous provincial 
 joint-stock banks of issue that had been established under an Act of the last reign 
 (7 Geo. 4, c. 46), appear to have a subscribed capital exceeding two millio-js, with 
 a paid-up capital of half a million. For one bank with so large a capital, there 
 •were many which did not possess a capital of a quarter of that amount, and as they 
 frequently extended into branches in various parts of the country, the liabilities and 
 consequent dangers of the parent bank were increased. One bank, with a capital of 
 £600,000, had nearly forty branches in Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, 
 Manchester, Nottingham, and other places. In some banks, neither the amount of 
 subscribed nor paid-up capital was known, which carried on, nevertheless, extensive 
 business and had numerous branches. The subject, in the" ensuing session, drew the 
 attention of Parliament, and, at the instance of Mr. Clay, a committee of inquiry 
 was appointed. Its investigations were not completed during the session, but 
 enough was discovered to show the great irregularities and inconsistencies in the 
 management of joint-stock banks; that they were not conducted on uniform and 
 systematic principles; that the functions of the managing dii'ectors were not suffi- 
 ciently defined and often irresponsibly exercised^ and that, partly from this cause, 
 and partly from the vague provisions of the partnership deeds, neither the interests 
 of the shareholders nor of the public were adequately protected. In this state of 
 things there was obviously cause for circumspection, though none, perhaps, for 
 general alarm. One ground of coi>fidence — at Icatt in the old banking firms of 
 
 C
 
 18 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PANICS. 
 
 the kingdom— is tlie better knowledge which tlie disastrous experience of former 
 years had afforded, of the principles which ought to regulate banking associations 
 in their advances to individuals, and in their issues of paper-money. The with- 
 drawal of the small notes, too, is a guarantee against a popular, if not a commercial 
 panic; and, as the obligation imposed on private bankers compels them to make 
 periodical returns of their average circulation, timely notice is thereby afforded of 
 the approach of the plague of over-issue, which the Bank of England would be 
 culpably remiss in not checking on the first symptom of a redundant currency. 
 Upon the whole, much of the machinery, as well as the material of commercial and 
 manufacturing prosperity seemed safe and sound, and the natural result of 
 lengthened peace at home and abroad, conjoined with a succession of the most 
 favourable seasons. On the other hand there were, as before observed, complaints of 
 agricultural distress. Farmers and landlords looked at their diminished incomes, 
 not outgoings; they thought of the great sums they received during the war, not of 
 the great sums they paid. 
 
 SPECULATION AND OVER-TRADING, A.D. 1837. 
 
 The state of general prosperity which was noticed at the beginning of the past 
 year was followed in the summer by those symptoms of mercantile reaction that 
 have been usually ohserved periodically to succeed periods of great industrial 
 activity and commercial adventure. The present revulsion had a similar origin, 
 and was raai-ked by similar characteristics as tliose previously assigned to 1825-26; 
 bat its effects were more limited in this country, and less enduring than the 
 ruinous pecuniary desolation which signalized the former period. The chief distinc- 
 tion between the elemental causes of the two was the more limited agency of 
 private credit and the greater share banking and over-trading had in producing the 
 crisis of 183G-37. In the existing difficulties, banking and speculation, especially of 
 the American houses and of the Americans themselves, seem to have been the chief, 
 if not the exclusive, sources of embarrassment. The recent partiality for joint- 
 stock banks in England and Ireland grew out of the disasters which befel the 
 banking firms in 1825; their destruction in that and former periods of commercial 
 difficulty was considered to have arisen from the narrow basis on which they had 
 been established, and that, by increasing their capital and the number of persons 
 interested in their stahility, tlieir strength would be augmented. It was with the 
 intention of carrying out these views that the Government prevailed upon tlie B.ank of 
 England to surrender some of their immunities. Joint-stock banks were no longer 
 restricted to six, but were allowed, like the banks of Scotland, to have any number 
 of partners with direct agencies in London. Either from the absence of enterprise, 
 however, orthe torporthat naturally followed the convulsion of 1825, those encourage- 
 ments produced little immediate effect; and from that year to 1833, only thirty 
 joint-stock banks had been established. But in 1833, the charter of the Bank being 
 renewed, divested of most of its exclusive privileges, either from this cause or more 
 probably the revival of commercial enterprise, joint-stock banks rapidly multiplied. 
 In 1833 there was an addition of ten; in 1834 of eleven; in 1835 of nine; and in 
 the first ten months of 1836 there was tlie enormous increase of forty-five joint- 
 stock hanks. In Ireland, from 1834 to the end of 1836, ten joint-stock banks had 
 been established, making an aggi-egate of eighty-two, exclusive of their branches, 
 which are equivalent to so many banks, in all the chief towns of the two kingdoms. 
 Tlic connection between these banking associations and the commercial diflicnlties 
 of the present year formed a subject of controversy between Mr. Horsley Palmer,
 
 DKSCKIPTIOX OF VARIOUS PANICS. 19 
 
 the leading advocate of tlic Bank of England, and Messrs. Loyd, Salomons, and 
 Ricardo, who leaned to the side of the country hanks. In considering their 
 respective statements, there seems to have heen little more than the old degree of 
 parliceps criminis that distinguished former periods of pecuniary pressure. The 
 crisis of the present year was the counterpart, as hefore remarked, in its leading 
 features, of that which ten years had preceded it: in both the coming storm was 
 preluded by a wild spirit of mercantile venture; hut the embarrassments created 
 were neither so generally diffused in, nor exclusively limited to, England — they 
 extended to Ireland and the United States, where a scene of monetary disorder pre- 
 sented itself wholly unexampled; bankers, importers, merchants, traders, and the 
 Government being commingled in one mass of temporary insolvency. On both 
 sides of the Atlantic difficulties, however, had a common origin — an inordinate 
 thirst of gain; in America sought to be realized by land-jobs and over-trading 
 in British produce; in England from excess of exports, railway projects, joint- 
 stock companies for insurance, distilleries, cemeteries, newspapers, sperm-oil, 
 cotton-twist, and zoological gardens. The mania for these share-undertakings 
 was not limited to London, but was equally rife in Liverpool, Manchester, and 
 Leeds. The banks fed the flame, though they did not kindle it. The first light, 
 as Mr. Tooke has shown, always comes from the temptation of low prices and a 
 tendency to higher, which, generating increasing consumption and demand, rouse 
 into action the mercantile classes. No sooner are these symptoms abroad thau 
 the banks let go their paper, and instantly the commercial world is in a blaze. 
 With the example of greater confidence in the banks, of readiness to afford 
 advances to individuals, the sphere of private credit by bills and open account is 
 instantly distended to an enormous size. The scene is changed as if by magic. 
 Mistrust, stagnation, and inertness are converted into boundless confidence, mer- 
 cantile activity, and speculative enterprise. Money, or what passes for money, is 
 everywhere abundant; a community of sellers becomes one of buyers, and the 
 wits of speculators and adventurers of every denomination set to work to absorb the 
 seeming capital that overflows in every channel. Tliat this was the cycle of the 
 last as of former mercantile revolutions, is established by the state of prices and 
 the issues of the banks. From 1834 to the summer of 1836 prices were on the 
 advance, and speculation active. During the same period the provincial banks, both 
 of England and Ireland, augmented their issues; and, though the Bank of England 
 did not contemporaneously increase its circulation of notes, it was enabled to aid 
 individual enterprise by the vast amount of private deposits at its disposal, and of 
 which of late years it has become the great reservoir. It is private balances, not an 
 increase of its issues, that has, since 1826, constituted the active trading resources 
 of the Bank. In the use of their circulating capital, the directors have been accused 
 of either undue eagerness to profit by its employment, or indiscreet precipitancy in 
 their banking operations; of having afforded too much accommodation to individuals 
 from August, 1835, to April, 1836, in order to facilitate the working of the West 
 India loan of 1835; and then, when their own turn in that speculation had been 
 served, of suddenly narrowing their discounts either to stop the efflux of gold to 
 Ireland and the United States, or to enable them better to support the northern and 
 central banks, to which they were committed, and the American houses. In the 
 interval mentioned, advances could be readily obtained on stock and other approved 
 securities; but as the summer advanced, discounts were abruptly refused to the 
 largest and hitherto most respectable houses of Liverpool and London; trade in 
 consequence became paralyzed; prices suddenly dropped from 30 to 40 per cent., and 
 the various share bubbles floated on the tide of the previous pecuniary reiundancy 
 rapidly collapsed from want of dupes or instalments. This is one view that has
 
 20 DESCRIPTION OF VAKIOUS PANICS. 
 
 been taken of the monetary pressure. But it is just to observe that there is always 
 a period in the movements of commerce when it is incumbent on the banks to 
 interfere for their own safety and that of the community; and that this point is, 
 when commerce has obviously degenerated into unprincipled adventures, not 
 founded on the regular demands of trade, either present or future, but solely on the 
 command of unstinted resources. It is often only by withholding the means that 
 the speculative furor can be arrested; that traffic can be prevented degenerating 
 into mere gambling and monopoly, by which all pecuniary bargains and contracts 
 are deranged, and prices forced up to an extravagant height, destructive of internal 
 consumption and foreign commerce. At the same time the exercise of this whole- 
 some check is sure to be inconvenient to some, and will assuredly incur the censure 
 of those parties whose miscalculations or mercantile avidity have tempted them 
 into undertakings beyond their available resources. In the production of present 
 difficulties private credit participated, conjointly with the issues and advances of the 
 banks, both in town and the country. These quicken into life, but, after that is 
 done, private credit, by the multiplication of bills of exchange and tlie extension 
 of current accounts, forms the great machinery of commercial operations. Of 
 the expansive power of these agents and the mighty fulcrum they afford for 
 speculation, the disclosures made by the great American houses of London — the 
 "three Ws," as tliey were termed — are a demonstration. The following account 
 of these firms, published in June, 1837, presents features in the history of com- 
 merce deserving to be recorded. They are the amount of bills payable from June 
 to December: — 
 
 \Yilsou and Co £936,300 
 
 Wiggiu and Co 674,700 
 
 Wildes and Co 505,000 
 
 Total of acceptance-.^ £2,116,000 
 
 An aggregate of acceptances to the amount of £2,116,000 is upwards of one- 
 sixth part of tlie aggregate circulation of the private and joint-stock banks of 
 England and Wales, and about one-eighth part of the average circulation of the 
 Bank of England. Bills of exchange are not cash, but, when accepted by houses of 
 undoubted credit, possess almost equal active force in the commercial world. The 
 following are the amount of their shipments to America, which attest a not less 
 speculative aviditj- in the United States than had prevailed in England: — 
 
 Wiggin and Co £1,118,900 
 
 Wildes and Co 623,000 
 
 Wilson and Co. (dry goods account) 364,900 
 
 If this is not over-trading, it is certainly aiidacious enterprise. It shows that 
 there is in British and American merchants, as well as in the seamen of the two 
 countries, a spirit of hardy adventure that can be matched in no other nations. 
 The above instances have been chronicled as examples of the commercial spirit of 
 the age, and of the magnitude of individual transactions, aided by the resources of 
 private credit. In conclusion, it is satisfactory to mention that, within two years 
 after, almost the entire of the pecuniary difficulties of 1836-7 had passed away, 
 commerce had resumed its wonted channels and activity, and that the great houses 
 mentioned above were in a condition to meet all demands against them, cliiefly in 
 consequence of the banks of tho United States, the whole of which had stopped 
 payment, having again resumed payments in specie and the regular transaction of 
 banking business with their customers.
 
 SECTION THE SECOND. 
 
 The Gold and Silver Pi-oductions of South America — The Mines of Peru and 
 Mexico, their Development and Resources — Other Producing Countries — 
 Brazil, Chile, New Granada, the United States, and Russia — The Discovery of 
 Gold in California, and its Effects — The Australian Production and Progress. 
 
 Before the discoveries of gold in California and Australia, which 
 have constituted such a distinctive feature of the last ten years, 
 Spanish and Portuguese America were regarded as the chief 
 source of the precious metals. From the days of Pizarro and 
 Cortez, the names of Peru and Mexico have been associated, in 
 many minds, with the notion of inexhaustible wealth ; and, 
 though the productiveness of the mines in those countries is no 
 more to be compared with that which excited the cupidity of 
 the old " Conquistadores,^^ still they will always be famed in 
 the history of gold and silver, those powerful agents in the 
 moral and commercial fortunes of mankind. 
 
 The highest celebrity long appertained to Peru, where Potosi, 
 worked as far back as 1545, maintained a sort of classical 
 renown, like some of the fabulous mountains in the antique 
 world. It is from Potosi that more silver has been brou&ht 
 than from any other spot in the world, and from this point, there- 
 fore, the price of commodities in Europe has often been influenced 
 in a serious manner. Towards the end of the 16th century, 
 tiie yield of Potosi might be estimated at £.3,000,000 sterling, 
 and at that period the precious metals were so much more rai'e 
 than at the present day, that the effect produced by the influx 
 of so much silver upon Spain must have been fully equal to that 
 which would now be produced by six times the amount. The 
 fact is curious, that all the treasure drawn from Potosi has been 
 yielded by a single mountain, called the Ilatum Potocchi, or, 
 for brevity, the Potosi, which stands in the midst of a vast
 
 2.2 THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER, 
 
 uncultivated country, like an enormous sugar-loaf. The silver 
 ore, to which it owes its reputation, was first discovered by an 
 Indian in 15 i5, and the discovery brought together such a 
 concourse of people, that the town of Potosi was founded, and 
 so rapidly filled, that, towards the end of the 16th century, it is 
 said to have contained no less than 100,000 inhabitants. After 
 the first quarter of the 17th century, the production of the 
 mines of Potosi began to decline, and amounted, at the end of 
 that century, to about .€700,000 sterling, while the contents of 
 the ore were likewise diminishing. During the first half of the 
 18tli century, a further decline took place ; but a reaction after- 
 wards occurred, and, in 1789, the yield amounted to £800,000 
 sterling. The insurrection of the colonies in Spanish America 
 again caused a decrease, and at one time, during the struggle 
 for independence, the production of Potosi was almost reduced 
 to zero. In the year preceding the recent discoveries of gold, 
 the average of the yield was under j6.200,000. 
 
 Notwithstanding the high celebrity of Peru, its reputation 
 as the chief source of silver was ultimately eclipsed by the 
 superior productiveness of Mexico. The mines of Zacatecas and 
 Guanaxuato were worked before the end of the 16th century, 
 and from that period the history of Mexico, as a mining country, 
 is a record of increasing wealth. At the commencement of the 
 18th century, the gold and silver amounted to about j€1,800,000, 
 but in fifteen years this sum was increased to £2,600,000. The 
 discovery of the mine of Valencia, shortly afterwards, brought 
 with it an important augmentation of precious metal. In 
 1775, the produce of Mexico was £3,400,000; in 1788, it was 
 £4,280,000; and in 1795 it was £6,400,000; at which point 
 it remained nearly stationary until 1810, when the war of 
 independence broke out. 
 
 The yield of the mines in Spanish America is generally 
 reckoned in piastres, and, as nearly all the silver used in the 
 civilized world came from that country, the Spanish piastre 
 soon became the universal coin of commerce. The primitive 
 "title" (or standard proportion) of the coin was of '' ll-12ths 
 fjnc,^-' or 917 in 1000; and there was a gold piece of the same 
 weight, and containing the same proportion of precious metal, 
 which was called a quadruple. To this high standard the 
 Spanish Government rigidly adhered till the year 1772, when 
 the Cabinet of Madrid violated its faith towards the whole world.
 
 THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER. 23 
 
 and forfeited a long-established character by the reduction of 
 the proportion of precious metal from 917 to 903 parts in 1000. 
 All sorts of precautions were taken to prevent the discovery of 
 the fraud; false weights were given to the assayers, and the 
 agents employed by Government Avere bound by oath not to 
 reveal a state secret, which had been discovered by every 
 merchant and money-changer in the world. In 1786, the gold 
 coinage became the subject of tampering, and the proportion 
 of precious metal in the quadruple was lowered to 875 parts 
 in 1000. No further depreciation, it should be observed, has 
 taken place under the republics of Spanish America, which, to 
 their honour be it recorded, have retained the standard which 
 they fixed. Even to the present day the piastre retains its 
 value. It settles accounts in India and China, it is used in 
 Algiers, and is preferred by the Arab to all other moneys. The 
 Turkish sultans have adopted it, but have reduced it to about a 
 twentieth part of its original value by an admixture of base 
 metal. As for the dollar of the United States, it is only the 
 same coin under another name. In English money the silver 
 Spanish piastre represents about 4s. 4d. 
 
 During the time that elapsed between the conquest and 
 the year 1810, when the war of independence broke out, the 
 quantity of precious metal extracted from the INIexican mines 
 considerably augmented ; but, as large quantities were smug- 
 gled out of the country to avoid payment of duty, the entire 
 aggregate of production could not be clearly ascertained. Origi- 
 nally the Crown of Spain claimed a pound of silver, or gold, for 
 every five pounds produced. This tax, which was afterwards 
 reduced from one-fifth to one-tenth, was called '^ quint,^' and 
 was levied in addition to other imposts, which fell with especial 
 weight upon auriferous silver. Thus, there was a strong in- 
 ducement to smuggling, which, in the case of gold, where a 
 large value is contained in a small bulk, could be carried on 
 with comparative facility. The productiveness of these two 
 celebrated countries, about the time of the recent discoveries, 
 may, however, be shown by the returns for the years 184-6 
 and 1850. In the former year, Mexico yielded the value of 
 £249,753 in gold, and £3,457,029 in silver ; and Peru £96,241 
 in gold, and £1,000,583 in silver. In the latter year, Mexico 
 yielded £382,901 in gold, and £5,3S3,333 in silver, and Peru 
 similar amounts as in 1846.
 
 24 THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER. 
 
 At the coiximeucemeut of the present century, two-thirds of 
 the precious metals brought from the other side of the Atlantic 
 came from Mexico and Peru. Other productive countries were 
 Brazilj New Granada, Chile, and the United States. The dis- 
 covery of gold in the Russian mountains obtained for the empire 
 of the Czar a pre-eminence even above the old sources of metallic 
 wealth, and shortly before California earned her sudden celebrity, 
 the Ural chain was regarded with increasing interest by the 
 monetary world of Europe.* However, it was not till within 
 the last ten years that the notion of a discovery of gold seriously 
 influencing tlie currency entered the public mind. This notion, 
 at first viewed by many as a mere crotchet, has since been 
 developed into a serious cause of alarm by the French political 
 economist, ]\I. Chevalier. With the discovery of the valuable 
 deposits in California in the year 1848^ a new epoch begins, and 
 the excitement produced in the 16th century by the conquests of 
 the Spaniards in America^ and the consequent influx of precious 
 metal into Europe, seems to be revived anew. Indeed, consider- 
 ing the enormous increase suddenly occasioned in the amount 
 of gold and silver available for commercial purposes, any other 
 result could not have been expected. 
 
 A comparison between the annual produce of fine gold and 
 silver in the years 1816 and 1850, that is to say^ at periods 
 taken two years before and two years after the discovery, will at 
 once make the force of these remarks intelligible. In 1846, the 
 total produce of North and South America was to the value 
 of £6,563,179, of which £1,301,560 represented gold, and 
 £5,261,619 silver. In 1850, this amount was more than trebled, 
 being raised to £20,601,813, that is to say, £13,341,989 of 
 gold, and £7,259,824 of silver. The quantity of precious metal 
 produced in Europe, Asia, and Africa, at these two periods, 
 amounted respectively to £5,799,498 and £6,840,975, which, 
 added to the American produce, give the very difi'erent totals 
 of £12,800,000 and £27,500,000. The grand totals, in. Troy 
 weight, for the produce of the whole know^n world were 114,674 
 lbs. gold, and 1,979,084 lbs. silver, for 1846; and 365,930 lbs. 
 
 * A curious statement was made in several of the Continental journals some 
 time ago, viz, that the late Emperor Nicholas regarded with alarm the discovery, 
 on American soil, of such an enormous extent of riches, and that his apprehension 
 was seriously increased when the colonial dependencies of England furnished simi- 
 lar wealthy resources.
 
 THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVEIl. 25 
 
 gold, and 2,603,386 lbs. silver for 1850. It may be observed, 
 that from all returns of the kind China and Japan have been 
 excluded, because, although both these countries are highly pro- 
 ductive, the amount of their produce is not to be ascertained. 
 During the four years comprised in this comparative statement, 
 there vras a large increase in the silver production of Mexico, 
 the yield for 1846 having been £3,457,029, while that for 1850 
 was £5,383,333. 
 
 The world had scarcely recovered from the surprise occa- 
 sioned by the gold of California, when it was again astounded 
 by the revelation that gold-fields of still greater promise had 
 been found in Australia. Towards the end of May, 1851, it was 
 discovered that New South Wales yielded gold superior in qua- 
 lity to that of California, and, in October, this district was in its 
 turn eclipsed by the diggings in Port Philip. The conversion of 
 a whole industrious population into a mob of miners was one of 
 the earliest consequences of the revelation, and even those who 
 remained at home talked hungrily of the " prize nuggets" that 
 were to be secured in the new El Dorado. The same scene of 
 excitement which had been witnessed in the United States w^as 
 repeated in England. At first, attempts were made to cast 
 doubt upon the authenticity of the statements. It was asserted 
 that the Sydney accounts were much exaggerated, and that the 
 produce of gold, if any, would not be large. Merchants and 
 others deplored the embarrassments that would be occasioned in 
 business through the rush to the diggings, and prophesied ruin 
 and devastation to the colonies. Still, the movement went 
 forward. Gold was produced, and gold was shipped to the 
 mother coimtry ; and hardly had the earlier remittances been 
 despatched from Port Jackson, before Victoria claimed to be 
 ranked with New South Wales, as possessing auriferous deposits, 
 Avhich had only to be partially developed to prove that they were 
 almost exhaustless. 
 
 Then came the organization of Californian and Australian 
 gold mining companies, and the attendant symptoms of a 
 mania on a small scale, which terminated, as usual, in the loss 
 of the few millions of subscribed capital, and the exposure of 
 the swindlers who concocted these schemes, and the dupes who 
 suffered by them. Shares and scrip, which had been, through 
 illegitimate dealing, run to a high premium, soon returned 
 to par, then descended to a discount, as the advices from
 
 26 THE PKODUcnoN of gold and silver. 
 
 tlie residents abroad -were more doubtful, and finally became 
 utterly worthless. France deserves the credit of having in- 
 augurated these enterprises at the outset of the discoveries in 
 California; but even considered in the light of " a speculation/' 
 they were altogether unsuccessful, and it was not until British 
 talent was directed to the introduction of these projects, that 
 they in the slightest degree flourished.* 
 
 But, although English capital and English skill did not 
 succeed in obtaining profits from either Californian or Australian 
 mining adventure, the " alluvial deposits,^' as the surface work- 
 ings were termed, constituted sufficient for large exports, and 
 these, when different plans of operating were introduced, were 
 supported by the yield secured from the lower depths by " hole 
 sinking,^' and the other rude methods which the digger and 
 untutored miner afterwards adopted. Every week brought in- 
 telligence from California of the large total forwarded to San 
 Francisco from Sutter's Fort, Sierra Nevada, and the several 
 fields which enjoyed an early reputation; but it was through the 
 labour of the private adventurer, and not the associated com- 
 pany. Every month news was received of the increasing aggre- 
 gate of the quantit}^ sent by escort from Ballarat and Bendigo to 
 Port Philip, and from Mount Alexander to Sydney; but here, 
 again, it was found that the rough pan and the cradle evoked 
 greater results than the recognized survey and the employment 
 of regular mining implements. Steadily the produce and the 
 shipments augmented, and it was, before long, acknowledged 
 that the "clan" and "apportionment" system of the diggers 
 defeated, in the most astounding manner, the combined efforts 
 of machinery and directed resources. 
 
 With England and America placed in this position, the old 
 country vying with its kindred relation in the production of 
 wealth, the influence to be exercised by the change could not 
 be disregarded. France, in an isolated position in this re- 
 spect, endeavoured to make discoveries which would give her 
 character and importance as a gold-producing nation, but with- 
 out any success; notwithstanding that it is well understood 
 
 * Eccentric, indeed, were the names under which several of these companies were 
 ushered into notice. One of Parisian extraction was entitled " L'Aigle d'Or" 
 mining company, which promised great profits, but eventuated in complete failure. 
 When the concern dissolved, and the directors were nm est, they were facetiously 
 termed in the market the " legal doers,"
 
 THE I'RODUCTTON Of GOLD AND SILVER. 27 
 
 colonial as well as local explorations were effected for that pur- 
 pose.* Daring the period the vast mutations made by these 
 discoveries have been in progress, it was not unnatural that 
 English as well as French political economists should eliminate 
 their theories, and follow out such deductions as they believed 
 would ensue from the course of events ; but, admitting much that 
 they have Avritten to be correct, it nevertheless clearly seems they 
 were scarcely prepared for so enormous an expansion of trade as 
 that which has contemporaneously occurred and been fosteied 
 throug;h the altered state of things. What seems in reality to 
 have been forgotten in their craving to prove a depreciation in the 
 value of gold is, that credit, in the first place, has been largely 
 expanded ; and that, in the second, the great activity engendered 
 by competition — if even, as is daily witnessed, it is accompanied 
 by ruin to tlie merchant, broker, or manufacturer — must prevent 
 an appreciable enhancement of prices, or, at least, such a rise 
 as would be attended with the danger predicted. 
 
 It is all very well to say that this Avould not have taken place 
 had business been confined within its legitimate sources, the 
 character of trading lately presented being purely exceptional, 
 and not likely to recur. This explanation wall, however, not 
 suffice. Practical experience teaches that no legislation will 
 properly restrain speculation or adventure ; it will check, but not 
 efi'ectively prevent business being carried out on an unsound 
 basis. The increase in the value of exports in 1848 from 
 £60,000,000, to £122,000,000 in 1857, when the crisis took 
 place, has presented sufficient proof of this difficulty, and notwith- 
 standing the exposures which have ensued, a repetition will occur 
 at future periods, in some shape or other, despite every precaution 
 that may be attempted. To any one who will take the trouble 
 to wade through the mass of evidence which can be presented in 
 corroboration of this fact, in the course of the last half century, 
 this conclusion will be abundantly plain, whether in the character 
 of bank failures, mercantile breakage, or reckless speculation. 
 
 Through the enormous increase in the production of gold, 
 which may be taken to have risen, including the estimated yield 
 of the entire world, from £7,000,000 or £8,000,000 in 18 19, to 
 
 * It is well known that scientific individuals have been consulted by the Emperor 
 with the object of working supposed gold-fields, and that English adventurers have 
 presented plans to his consideration for developing certain schemes.
 
 28 THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER. 
 
 £31,000,000 or £35,000,000 in 1858, the basis of credit may 
 be fairly supposed to have been proportionably enlarged, and 
 the buying and dealing power ranking in arithmetical ratio, the 
 whole could not be conducted with profit, the counteractive effect 
 of competition terminating in some branches with loss. With 
 operations of this magnitude trebled, or quadrupled, as they 
 might easily be, elements, however small, of doubtful trading 
 could scarcely fail to intrude, and these^ in their early stages, 
 being attended with little inconvenience, have augmented as the 
 tide of commerce swelleid, till, as in late distressing cases, the 
 bubble burst, and at once indicated the fragile foundation on 
 which the huge overshadowing fabric had been reared.* 
 
 As showing to what an extent the produce of the gold-fields 
 of Australia may have affected trade and its relations, the an- 
 nexed figures are presented to trace the progressive rise that 
 has taken place since the early date of the discoveries : — 
 
 S-EAB. 
 
 VICTORIA. 
 
 NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 1851 
 
 ^•480,00a 
 
 .=£•510,000 
 
 i; 990,000 
 
 1852 
 
 6,740,000 
 
 3,960,000 
 
 10,700,000 
 
 1853 
 
 9,530,000 
 
 1,950,000 
 
 11,480,000 
 
 1854 
 
 9,080,000 
 
 850,000 
 
 9,930,000 
 
 1855 
 
 12,430,000 
 
 230,000 
 
 12,660,000 
 
 1856 
 
 13,900,000 
 
 110,000 
 
 14,010,000 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 1858 
 
 
 
 14,000,000 
 
 To imagine, therefore, that vast changes would arise out of 
 this state of things, without entailing serious fluctuations and 
 embarrassment, is simply to have reasoned on fallacious grounds, 
 and the prophets who believed that they had exhausted the sub- 
 ject, and disposed of its principal characteristics, were sorely 
 
 * It is singular with what facility new firms are organized after old ones have 
 broken down, and paiJ, probably, a few shillings in the pound. Tiiis was the case 
 in 1847-48, and the same circumstance was again noticeable in 1851-52, while in 
 1S57-58 it has been more than ever apparent. An apt illustration of the manner 
 in which such a change is accomplished is furnished by the following anecdote: 
 A house that stopped payment at the latter end of 1847 showed a miserable amount 
 of assets, and witli difficulty a dividend was declared. Some few months subse- 
 quently a heavy creditor was passing down a leading thoroughfare, and much to his 
 astonishment, saw the name of the principal of the old lirm, witli that of a new 
 partner on the door of well-appointed offices, even superior in situation to those 
 previously occupied. Meeting, on his way home, the identical accountant who had 
 been engaged in winding-up the estate, he mentioned the fact to him, and to in- 
 quiries concerning capital and prospects, received the curt response that he believed 
 it was the exercise of the old principle, " ship and draw."
 
 THE PRODUCTION Ol" (;ol>D AND SILVICR. 29 
 
 chagrined when, in October, 1857, they found that tlie whole 
 of their vaticinations had not been realized, and that the pro- 
 mised halcyon days were as far distant as ever. But if this were 
 the case so far as regarded not only Australia but also California, 
 what must have been the effects as concerned the trade of the 
 entire world? The answer is readily afforded by the collapse 
 visible in Germany and the north of Europe, and the other 
 mercantile markets which suffered when England and America 
 were convulsed. Some allowance in these considerations may 
 be made for the drain of silver which has taken place, and it is 
 evident, looking at the annexed approximate figures, that the 
 yield of one kind of precious metal is out of all proportion with 
 the other ; and while, therefore, the process of absorption is 
 carried on to the extent it is, through the requirements of India 
 and China, any exceptional diversion to the Continent, such as 
 may ensue from a state of war or other local disturbance, will 
 rally create a scarcity and an advance in prices. 
 
 TEAK. GOLD. SILVER. 
 
 1800 .... £4,000,000 .... £6,000,000 
 
 1830 .... 3,000,000 .... 6,750,000 
 
 1840 .... 5,000,000 .... 6,750,000 
 
 1846 .... 6,000,000 .... 6,750,000 
 
 1848 .... 7,000,000 .... 6,750,000 
 
 1849 .... 8,000,000 .... 7,750,000 
 
 1850 .... 11,000,000 .... 8,500,000 
 
 1851 .... 14,000,000 .... 8,500,000 
 
 1852 .... 22,000,000 .... 8,500,000 
 
 1853 .... 35,000,000 .... 8,500,000 
 
 1854 .... 34,003,000 .... 8,500,000 
 
 1855 .... 33,000,000 .... 8,000,000 
 
 1856 .... 34,000,000 .... 8,000,000 
 
 1857 .... 35,000,000 .... 8,000,000 
 
 1858 .... 34,000,000 .... 8,000,000 
 
 Finally, the experience of the past shows that it is impossil)le, 
 even through the attempted exercise of prophecy, to regulate the 
 future. Investigation is, however, to be commended, since it 
 lends assistance to the multiplication of facts and inferences, 
 which otherwise would remain dormant and concealed ; but these 
 once eliminated and prominently displayed, will tell their own tale 
 without the aid of embellishment, to give a particular colouring 
 to events, or to raise a fanciful theory, the basis of which is 
 frequently destroyed by the practical results of a few short 
 weeks.
 
 SECTION THE THIRD. 
 
 The Panic of 1857-58— The Previous State of Business, and the Apparent Indications 
 of Prosperity — Sudden Change in the Aspect of Mercantile Relations — Tlie 
 Reaction in Credit in New York, its Influence on the Trade of the United 
 Kingdom, and the immediate Revulsion succeeded by Failures in every 
 Department of Commerce — The Report of the Select Committee — The Causes 
 and Details of tlie Crisis — Its Spi'ead and Effects in Germany and the North 
 of Europe. 
 
 Before distinctly tracing the course of the panic of 1857-58, 
 it may be permitted to make some reference to the previous 
 condition of trade, and the state of relations which existed 
 with foreign countries. It is necessary to do so, to bring the 
 mind of the reader to the state of affairs as they stood 
 at the date just prior to the commencement of 1857. It is 
 true, and the fact is here referred to in order to elucidate 
 the position of political influences, that although temporary 
 differences with France and America had occasionally caused 
 despondency, and given forewarning of what might be some 
 day anticipated, it was not supposed that the revulsion which so 
 speedily ensued was almost immediately to be encountered. 
 Predictions had been, nevertheless, expressed that the trade of 
 the country was making too rapid a progress, and that tlie 
 extravagance of the day would lead to a collapse, either financial 
 or commercial, which could not fail to entail serious conse- 
 quences ; but it was scarcely perceived that the deep-rooted 
 system of fictitious credit had so thoroughly expanded through 
 all branches of business, as to create that situation of things 
 which was exposed by the subsequent events which occurred be- 
 tween September in that year, and the following February. 
 
 The period of excitement occasioned by the effects of the gold 
 discoveries, and the belief that a reaction would have taken place 
 after the expansion then experienced, had gradually diminished.
 
 THK COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 31 
 
 and notwithstanding the loss of several millions in the various 
 bubble gold companies, which proposed to develop, by the aid of 
 machinery and imported practical mining -labour, the auriferous 
 resources of California and Australia, still the sacrifices sustained 
 by the merchants were paid out of profits realized from the first 
 consignments made to those localities, in tlie days when 50 to 
 80, and as much as 150 per cent, were secured on special 
 articles, such as spirits, beer, etc. Failures had in the interim 
 occurred, and with the exception of one of those partial spasmodic 
 changes which occasionally arise in the credit of the United 
 States, there had been little to create alarm, or to arouse a 
 suspicion that the business operations, not only of England, but 
 of America, the north of Europe, and even the distant regions 
 of Havannah and Porto Rico, would place them in a situation 
 to be subjected to the vicissitudes of a great crisis, and to the 
 consequences arising from such a severe shock. 
 
 It was, however, considered a marvel by most people, that 
 the approach of the usual ten years had not been accom- 
 panied by some of those premonitory symptoms which in- 
 dicated the presence of an unhealthy state of things, still 
 the value of money continued to be, on the average, com- 
 paratively high, and the rates of discount, both in 1855 and 
 1856, had attained a point greater in proportion than in previous 
 periods. This, it was nevertheless contended, only proved that 
 the influence exercised by the gold discoveries had not been of 
 the character which had been so strongly predicated, and it was 
 at length ascertained that the increased supply of the precious 
 metals led not only to the more rapid extension of commerce, 
 but manifested its creative importance by its largely increased 
 represented value on what ultimately became little better than 
 worthless paper. The course of the crisis in England has been 
 fully illustrated by the report published by the Select Committee 
 appointed to inquire into the question under the authority of 
 Parliament, and the influence exercised by the crash in the 
 United States will be hereafter alluded to. But the turn 
 which the foreign panic took was one of the most remarkable 
 on record, extending, as its ravages did, through every market 
 and in almost every conceivable direction. 
 
 The report from the Select Committee on the Bank Acts, 
 which was appointed in the short session preceding Christ- 
 mas, 1857, to inquire into the working of the Bank of England
 
 32 THE COMMERCIAL CUISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 Charter, and into tlie causes of the panic, then fresh in the 
 public mind, presents a well-arranged survey of the circum- 
 stances that, during the preceding ten years, combined to bring 
 about that alarming convulsion. These circumstances, according 
 to the classification of the Committee, "svere three in number : 
 an unprecedented extension of foreign trade, an excessive im- 
 portation of precious metals, a monstrous development of bank- 
 ing system as an instrument for the distribution of capital. 
 
 The three kinds of evil thus enumerated were separately 
 examined. With respect to the first, it was found that the total 
 exports, which before 1848 had never exceeded ^€60,110,110, 
 were set down for 1857 at the enormous sum of £122,155,000. 
 As for the second circumstance, the increase of bullion, it 
 appeared that during the same years, from 1851 to 1857, gold to 
 the value of £107,500,000 was added to the European stock, 
 while only £26,800,000 of silver was withdrawn, leaving on the 
 side of increase a balance of £80,700,000. In the circulat- 
 ing medium there was naturally a corresponding increase, the 
 total note circulation (unrepresented by bullion) being about 
 £31,600,000, while tlie quantity of gold coin amounted to at 
 least £50,000,000. As for the third cause of the panic, the 
 augmented facility of obtaining credit, it arose naturally from 
 the increase of trade and of bullion. The deposits in the joint- 
 stock banks of London, alone, which in 18-17 amounted to 
 £8,850,774', had risen in 1857 to £43,100,724, and the increase 
 in other quarters was proportional. These facts were not, in 
 themselves, indicative of evil ; on the contrary, the practice of 
 opening accounts and depositing money with bankers having 
 extended to numerous persons who never before thought of 
 such an employment of their capital, was considered to show 
 an advance of the middle classes in prosperity and habits of 
 economy. 
 
 But when it was remembered that the aggregate of these 
 deposits, which, flowing from all parts of the country, found 
 their way to London, were employed either by the bankers them- 
 selves, who discount bills for their customers, or by bill-brokers 
 who obtain it from the bankers, it was perceived that, at a time of 
 excessive speculation, a practice in itself laudable might griev- 
 ously heighten the prevailing malady. And this was the case in 
 1857. To give a notion of the facilities for obtaining accom- 
 modation from bill-brokers, sliortly before the crisis, reference
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 33 
 
 may be made to the statement of Mr. Neave, before the Com- 
 mittee, that to the knowledge of the directors of the Bank of 
 England one broker had three millions and a-half, another four 
 a third five, a fourth eight, and there was reason to believe that 
 a fifth had between eight and ten millions. 
 
 Of these vast resources, which of themselves afforded temp- 
 tation to the worst kind of commercial gambling, the mercantile 
 community took every advantage. On the one side was an 
 apparently boundless amount of capital waiting to be borrowed ; 
 on the other side, a throng of greedy speculators anxious to 
 work the credit system to the utmost possible extent of which 
 it was susceptible. In the lenders there was utter recklessness 
 in making advances ; in the borrowers unparalleled avidity in 
 profiting by the occasion; and thus an unwieldy edifice of 
 borrowed capital was erected ready to topple down on the first 
 shock given to that confidence which was, in fact, its sole 
 foundation. Such a shock was given by the American failures — 
 this was a result of the same system, carried to a still more 
 mischievous excess — and then the panic began. Bankers began to 
 increase their reserve funds, and to limit their discounts to their 
 own customers, and the bill-brokers, who had been carrying on 
 enormous transactions without a cash reserve, fell back upon the 
 Bank of England. On the 12th of November, the day on which 
 the Treasury Letter, authorizing an extension of issues, was sent 
 from Downing Street, a celebrated firm had asked and received 
 of the Bank of England »e700,000, bills to the amount of 
 ^62,250,000 had been discounted, and in the afternoon the 
 reserved fund, which on the preceding day had stood at 
 £1,462,000 (having been £2,706,036 on the 4th), had declined 
 to £581,000, and the bullion in the vaults did not exceed 
 £6,524,000. By the transfer of £2,000,000 of Government 
 Securities from the banking to the issue department, the directors 
 availed themselves of the discretionary power conferred upon 
 them by the Government, and they sold stock to the amount 
 of £1,000,000. The immediate pressure was thus relieved.* 
 
 Among the abuses brought to light by the exposure of mer- 
 cantile doings, was a system of " open credits,'^ by which certain 
 English houses allowed persons abroad to draw upon them to an 
 extent previously agreed upon. The drafts w'cre negotiated on 
 
 * Vide Bank Act Keport, 1857-58.
 
 34 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 the foreign exchanges, and ultimately found their way to Eng- 
 land, on the understanding that they were to be provided for 
 when they fell due. However, the provision was made not by 
 staple commodities, but by other bills that were sent to take up 
 the drafts already issued. All that the English house gained by 
 these transactions was a banker's commission, save in those 
 cases where goods were consigned, and then, of course, a mer- 
 chant's commission was charged. But such cases proved a rare 
 exception to the general plan. In the report of the committee 
 this system is exposed with great perspicuity, and it is stated 
 that the chief business of a particular firm, which at the time of 
 its suspension owed j€900,000 upon a capital of .€10,000, con- 
 sisted in permitting itself to be drawn upon by foreign houses 
 without any remittance previously or contemporaneously made, 
 but with an engagement that it should be made before the 
 acceptance arrived at maturity. 
 
 A series of failures had begun in America for several months 
 before the commencement of the crisis, but did not attract much 
 attention. Speculation is known to be one of the permanent 
 maladies of the transatlantic republic; occasional embarrass- 
 ments are merely regarded as the result of the peculiarity. The 
 suspension of the Ohio Life and Trust Company, an old, respect- 
 able company, with a paid-up capital of £400,000 sterling, and 
 deposits to the amount of £1,200,000, gave the first signal for a 
 general alarm ; and as other failures ensued, an immediate fall 
 took place in all descriptions of stock, accompanied by a rise in 
 the price of money. It is estimated that between the 25th and 
 29th of September, no less than 150 banks in Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, Virginia, and Khode Island suspended specie pay- 
 ments. The New York banks at first weathered the storm, but 
 the suddenness with which they had contracted their operations, 
 by causing much damage to the country banks and the com- 
 mercial interest, had awakened a feeling of jealousy in addition 
 to the general alarm, and on the 13th a preconcerted run took 
 place. The stoppage of eighteen banks Avas the immediate con- 
 sequence of the pressure; the remaining establishments put 
 themselves under the protection of the law. The number of 
 failures that took place in the United States and Canada during 
 the crisis is estimated at 5123, and the aggregate amount of 
 liability at 291,801,000 dollars. 
 
 At first even the severe depreciation of American securities
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 35 
 
 that took place during this state of things, caused no particular 
 anxiety in England beyond the parties who were immediately 
 interested in such investments. It was during the first fortnight 
 in October that the prices of marketable commodities Avere gene- 
 rally affected, and several mercantile failures took place, v>'hile 
 the Bank of England gradually raised the rate of discount from 
 5 1 to 8 per cent. This period was marked by the failures of 
 several Glasgow firms, whose debts to the Western Bank of 
 Scotland amounted to nearly £2,000,000, and among whom the 
 names of D. and J. Macdonald and Co., J. Monteith and Co., 
 and J. and W. Wallace were conspicuous. 
 
 On the 27th of October, the Liverpool Borough Bank failed, 
 after the directors had in vain applied for assistance to the Bank 
 of England, who, however, announced their intention not to 
 reject any good bill on account of the indorsement of the un- 
 foi'tunate establishment. At the commencement of November, 
 the rate of discount went to 9 per cent., and on the 4th and 7th 
 of that month occurred tl^e suspension of two firms of the 
 highest character — Naylor, Vickers, and Co., a Sheffield house, 
 with property to the amount of £590,000, and Messrs. Dennis- 
 toun. Cross, and Co., a great American house, with branches in 
 Liverpool, Glasgow, New York, and New Orleans.* The latter 
 suspension brought with it the failure of the Western Bank of 
 Scotland with ninety-eight branches, a paid-up capital of 
 £1,500,000 and £5,000,000 of deposits, after a refusal of 
 assistance on the part of the Bank of England, and of the 
 other Scotch Banks, who had already advanced £500,000. This 
 failure, which occurred on the 9th of November, was the first 
 case of a suspended joint-stock bank in Scotland that had 
 been known for many years, and the excitement created forth- 
 with was immense ; the circulation of one-pound notes, and the 
 habit prevalent among Scotch operatives of depositing their 
 savings in banks, causing the evil of a stoppage to be far more 
 widely felt than in London. On the 11th of November, the 
 rate of discount advanced to 10 per cent, on account of the 
 demand for gold by the Banks of Scotland and Ireland, in which 
 latter country, however, the efi'ect of the panic was less severely 
 felt than elsewhere. The large London bill-brokers, Sanderson, 
 Sandeman, and Co., suspended payment, but the increased rate 
 
 * Both these establisliments shortly paid io full.
 
 ,36 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 of discount did not decrease the demand for gold made upon 
 tlie Bank of England, the reserve fund of that institution, on 
 the 12th of November, scarcely exceeding ,£500,000. 
 
 With the failure of the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire, 
 on the 17tli of November, commenced the extension of the 
 panic into the iron districts. Several other failures, with liabi- 
 lities little under £1,000,000, took place, and works were stopped 
 that had given employment to 30,000 hands. On the 25th the 
 Northumberland and Durham District Bank, which had re- 
 ceived assistance from the Bank of England in 1847, was added 
 to the list of suspensions — its subsequent management having 
 involved it in greater difficulties than before. Nearly all the 
 bank failures that occurred about this period carried Avith them 
 a moral against a system which had existed for many years, 
 but the unsoundness of which was thus forcibly revealed. Once 
 and once again comes the story of reckless mismanagement 
 on the part of directors, and of the sacrifice of helpless de- 
 positors. As for the sufferers by the failure of the Western, 
 some of them were reduced to such a state of misery that an 
 appeal on their behalf was made in the summer of last year 
 for relief, while the wealth of the directors was a matter of 
 notoriety. The banks of Northumberland, like those of Scot- 
 land, included the operative classes among their depositors, and 
 could not suspend payment without a similar diffusion of misery. 
 But even the fate of depositors was mild compared with that of 
 shareholders, who having already lost their paid-up capital were 
 subjected to heavy calls, not with the prospect of an ultimate 
 profit, but simply to wind up the unfortunate speculations in 
 which they had embarked. 
 
 Quitting the region of banks, their directors, shareholders, 
 and depositors, another class of sufferers is presented, namely, 
 the decent operatives, who were thrown out of work by the 
 effect of the crisis in the manufacturing districts. In the cotton 
 department alone, it was estimated that during the last three 
 months of 1857 the aggregate amount of wages decreased to the 
 extent of £1,064,700. Nor did the iron districts fare any 
 better. Furnaces in Staffordshire, that had generally given 
 employment to 28,000 persons, were not in work towards the 
 latter end of the year ; at the same time, in Scotland, about 
 16,000 men were out of employ under similar circumstances; in 
 South Wales, wages were reduced one-fifth, and a fourth of the
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, ] 857-58. 37 
 
 furnaces were closed. Indeed, every trade suffered more or 
 less, with the single exception of the coal trade, and the records 
 of town after town treat of wholesale cases of destitution, large 
 meetings to petition poor-law guardians, charitable assist- 
 ance in the shape of soup-kitchens, forced labour in public 
 works — in short, of all the paraphernalia of distress. It is con- 
 fidently asserted that one of the " sewed muslin^' houses that 
 suspended in Glasgow, had employed no less than 40,000 hands. 
 The poor-law returns from the suffering districts were a safe 
 index of the operation of the crisis on the industrious classes, 
 and it was considered worth remarking that no material increase 
 of rates took place in London or in the agricultural districts. 
 
 Scarcely less melancholy than this exhibition of physical dis- 
 tress was the aspect of a widely spread commercial immorality 
 presented by the revelations of the crisis. Cases of mere over- 
 speculation form the most agreeable part of the picture; the 
 darker portion being filled with the records of fraud, and of a 
 recklessness which was equivalent to fraud. A long succession 
 of firms could be passed in review, in which assets and liabilities 
 seem like so many figures, selected for no other object than that 
 of illustrating a strong disproportion. And these "irregularities" 
 reflected alike on creditor and debtor, who seemed, as it were, 
 leagued together to keep up a rotten system of accommodation. 
 For instance, when it appeared that a house which offered two 
 shillings in the pound was a debtor to the Liverpool Borough 
 Bank for £30,000, unsecured, who could say which was the 
 more culpable party ? 
 
 As a striking illustration of the manner in which the credit 
 system was worked, the case of a daring genius was cited, 
 ■who, about the middle of 1855, began to speculate in iron and 
 cotton to a large extent, though he was not only without capital, 
 but even a little in debt. He first shipped jointly with a friend, 
 upon whom he drew for 25 per cent., while for the 75 per cent, he 
 drew upon the firm to whom the goods were consigned. " Thus," 
 he says with admirable tiaivdc, " I was enabled to pay for my 
 goods without any capital." While performing the next opera- 
 tion, a shipment on his own and a joint account, he seemed to 
 have been in a more solid condition, for he paid three-fourths in 
 cash, and the agent drew for the remainder, and he extended his 
 speculations to tea, shares, and " gray goods," thanks to a credit 
 given by that most facile of institutions, the Liverpool Borough 
 
 420769
 
 38 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 Bank. The summer of 1857 found him somewhat in a dilemma; 
 for he was dunned for money, and his whole property consisted 
 of less than £800 in cash, and a shipment of cotton, then on 
 the high seas, which, though mortgaged to a full extent, might 
 yield a profit of nearly £3,000. The cotton must be held 
 somehow, and to eifect this desirable object, he bought jaconets 
 to the extent of £5,000, which, of course, he did not pay, and 
 divided them between his two most hungry assailants. In 
 the social sphere the largeness of his mind was as brilliantly 
 exhibited as in the world of commerce. His wine-bill for two 
 years amounted to £638 ; the generous liquor was consumed to 
 the extent of £388 in one of the four houses of which he was 
 the munificent owner. His bill for jewellery during the same 
 period amounted to £649, and of course his assets were small 
 in proportion. 
 
 And just before all these revelations of vice and wretchedness 
 took place, the country was supposed to be in a remarkably 
 prosperous condition, because, forsooth, the export trade had 
 greatly increased. No inference could possibly be more fallacious. 
 The circular of a Manchester firm, which showed an increase of 
 the exports in cotton yarn from £23,339,000 (in 1848), to 
 £39,112,913 (in 1857), exhibited a corresponding decrease from 
 £21,537,000 to £17,100,000 in the estimated home consump- 
 tion of the same article. The fact was, that under an unwieldy 
 credit system, allowing numberless persons to deal in Avhat 
 they please, at any price they please, without those restraints to 
 enterprise that belong to a steady mode of conducting business, 
 official returns of the extent of trade and manufacture convey 
 no reliable information.* 
 
 By the countries in the North of Europe the crisis was felt 
 with peculiar severity. During the few preceding years, the 
 two kingdoms that are comprised under the common name 
 Scandinavia had increased their trade to an enormous degree, 
 and generally by the employment of borrowed capital. In some 
 cases the English merchants sold to the Scandinavians on long 
 credits ; in others, a house in Hamburg would accept bills for 
 their correspondents in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, who 
 thus effected their purchases by means of Hamburg credit. 
 
 * This circumstance is always strikingly illustrated on tlae occasion of every 
 panic ; statistics proving, in the most explicit manner, that over -trading is the cause.
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 39 
 
 Pending the continuance of prosperity, this system was profitable 
 enough. The Scandinavians sold their goods in time to cover 
 the acceptances of their Hamburg friends, who were therefore 
 inclined to accommodate them anew, not hesitating for a 
 moment to accept for houses who were not provided with even 
 approximate means to meet their liabilities if a day of reckoning 
 should ever come. With the explosion in America the day of 
 reckoning did come. A ready sale of goods alone supplied the 
 Scandinavians Avith the power of covering the Hamburg and 
 other acceptances. Such a sale was rendered impossible by the 
 American crisis, and equally unsaleable were the goods upon 
 which advances had been made to Scandinavian houses. Sweden, 
 Norway, and Denmark being thus wholly unable to meet their 
 liabilities, the large firms in Hamburg and London, who had 
 assisted the Scandinavians with their credit, were suddenly 
 called upon to take up their acceptances. Hamburg felt the 
 blow most severely. Disappointed in remittances not only from 
 the North, but from London ; destitute of available capital, and 
 overstocked with unsaleable commodities; overwhelmed with 
 mercantile paper, the merchants were reduced to a most hopeless 
 condition. Soon discount became impossible, and so completely 
 had the bill of exchange — from time immemorial the circulating 
 medium in large commercial operations — lost its value in the 
 estimation of the public, that a payment in hard silver was re- 
 garded as alone legitimate. It need hardly be said that a supply 
 of precious metal sufficient to meet the enormous liabilities that 
 had sprung up under an exaggerated credit system was not even 
 to be hoped, much less to be obtained. 
 
 An attempt was made to raise the value of bills by guarantees 
 of more than ordinary weight, but neither bills nor goods would 
 be taken as an equivalent for silver, and the failure of the largest 
 house connected with the Swedish trade bore awful testimony to 
 the state of public opinion in this respect. The Government, 
 after several vain attempts to remedy the evil, at last had re- 
 course to foreign loans, and the Germans regard it as one of the 
 worst features of the whole crisis that Austria, of all countries in 
 the world, was the first to assist in extricating Northern Germany 
 from a state of commercial difficulty. The first 10,000,000 
 marks banco were advanced by Vienna, and were immediately 
 absorbed by the principal houses who at once were aftected by 
 the pressure. It is worth observing that the crisis was met in a
 
 40 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS^ 1857-58. 
 
 different manner by different towns, and that of tlie tlirce 
 Hanseatic cities, Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen, the last- 
 named came off with the highest degree of honour. The con- 
 dition of Hamburg was one of blank despair ; Liibeck attempted 
 to stave off the evil by an alteration in the law of bills of 
 exchange, that caused acceptances to fall less severely on her 
 own citizens. The merchants of Bremen, on the other hand, 
 though they exceeded those of Hamburg in the magnitude of their 
 transactions Avith America, relying solely on their own exertions, 
 and wishing neither a change in the laws nor assistance from 
 their Government, weathered the storm so successfully that not a 
 single failure of importance occurred in their city. It should, 
 however, be mentioned that the credit system had not been 
 carried to such an extent in Bremen as elsewhere, and that the 
 proportion between speculation and capital was not so completely 
 beyond all reasonable limits as at Hamburg. Moreover, Bremen 
 sufficiently enjoyed the confidence of foreign states to be able to 
 obtain precious metal on an emergency, although at an enormous 
 price. The few failures that did occur at Bremen, and that 
 might possibly be cited in contradiction to this statement, were, 
 it is asserted, unconnected with the operation of the crisis. 
 
 Nowhere did speculation during the time immediately pre- 
 ceding the crisis assume so fantastic a form as at Paris, where 
 the means of employing joint-stock capital promised to be even 
 more various than in London before the year 18.25. The so- 
 called " Credit !Mobilier," devised by M. Isaac Pereire merely 
 invited the capitalist to bring in his money ; the use to which it 
 was to be put was left to the genius of the managers. Nothing 
 could be more simple than the plan of the " Credit jNIobilier.^' 
 Employing either the money paid by the proprietary, or capital 
 raised by credit, this enterprising company purchased shares in 
 manufactories and ships, lines of omnibus traffic, paper-mills, 
 plots of ground suitable for building ; in short, anything in the 
 market on which a profit could be raised. Nor was this enough 
 to satisfy their desire for activity, they projected hotels, theatres, 
 establishments, in fact, of the merest luxury, not so much meeting 
 as creating a demand, to which they could respond with a 
 supply. Wild, however, as the credit system appeared in Paris, 
 and although the citizens of the United States are by far the 
 largest purchasers of her fashionable commodities, France, never- 
 theless, felt the crisis less acutely than any other European
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 41 
 
 state.* French commerce is not on so grand a scale as that of 
 England and North Germany — it is less based on long credits ; 
 and it happened in the year 1857 that the shipments of French 
 goods to America had almost ceased before the crisis broke out 
 in New York. INIoreover, there had been a particular French 
 panic in the beginning of the year 185G, which had operated as 
 a check on excessive enterprise in the subsequent period, and 
 which caused an abatement of the former speculative activity, 
 the decadence of the influence of the large associated under- 
 takings having from that date been distinctly visible. 
 
 The effects of the change had also been rendered painfully 
 apparent by the sacrifice of wealthy individuals, who, connected 
 with the "Credit Mobilier," had operated upon the Bourse, 
 and Avho, when unable to complete their engagements, sought 
 a refuge in America, to avoid the responsibility of liabilities not 
 reckoned by thousands, or tens of thousands, but by hundreds 
 of thousands of pounds. High and respected financial names 
 were sullied by these transactions, and though at the instant 
 endeavours were made to conceal the magnitude of the trans- 
 actions, and the discreditable circumstances by which they were 
 attended, revelations speedily followed which established most 
 conclusively the natiu'e and character of the several defalca- 
 tions. The special features of the Thurneyssen delinquency, the 
 abstraction and appropriation of the Great Northern of France 
 shares, and the irregularities indicated in the organization of 
 the scheme for the construction of the Napoleon Docks, all more 
 or less illustrated the evils resulting from excessive adventure, 
 encouraged, stimulated, and fostered as it had been by the most 
 exalted Government authorities, who were even alleged to have 
 participated largely in the first-fruits, which, in the shape of 
 profits, the various enterprises presented. 
 
 But if France suffered only in a second or third degree com- 
 pared with England, America, or the North of Europe, she had, 
 as it will be perceived, been convulsed at an earlier date, and, 
 consequently, the lesson of experience inculcated no doubt 
 produced its influence, and diminished the responsibility which 
 an uninterrupted career of apparent prosperity would have 
 entailed. Notwithstandiug failures occurred in the American 
 and Brazilian trade, and one or two weakly banking institutions 
 
 * This statement is generally believed, but it has been contradicted by parties 
 who insist that the internal trade of France suffered severely.
 
 42 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 
 
 were forced to succumb, the passage of France through the 
 pressure was comparatively tranquil, and little calculated to 
 excite apprehension. 
 
 Violent, nevertheless, as the storm was while it raged in the 
 United States, and disastrous as were the effects of the collapse 
 when its influence extended to Great Britain, succeeded in 
 turn by the entire disruption of credit in the Hanseatic Towns 
 and Denmark and Norway, its extreme fury was not of 
 lengthened duration, considering the vast extent of interest 
 compromised, and the important area of trade included. From 
 the beginning of July to the middle of September, 1857, the 
 American panic may be said to have commenced its short, sharp 
 action, and to have concluded its great work of devastation, 
 though the effects were subsequently traceable through continu- 
 ous stoppages and banking crashes. In England the force of 
 the pressure was felt from the beginning of September until the 
 end of December, some weeks after the Government Letter ap- 
 peared. This, compared with the course of events in 1847-48, 
 was infinitely more protracted, because the crisis itself was of a 
 doubly severe character, and involved larger interests.* The 
 unstable foundation of business was general and more widely 
 extended, and being difiiused through almost every channel, the 
 sacrifices occasioned were of the most onerous description. 
 Meanwhile, the career of distress and embarrassment was pro- 
 ceeding abroad, contemporaneously exciting distrust, and pro- 
 ducing failures of a serious character. Therefore, it was not 
 until February, 1858, that the general panic diminished, 
 although the Bank long previously attained a position to re- 
 sume its ordinary functions, and to modify the unparalleled 
 terms enforced for discounts. 
 
 The course of trade, subsequently, which had been so uni- 
 versally paralyzed that Venezuela, Porto Rico, Havana, and 
 Dominica experienced in turn smart shocks, was by no means 
 satisfactory; and eventually another phase of change was 
 demonstrated, at a more advanced period of the year, l)y the 
 break-up among the Honduras merchants, including several of 
 the leading houses in London and Liverpool. With these events 
 may properly be considered to have concluded the enormous 
 
 * Vide the celebrated speech of Mr. Disraeli on the crisis, and the accounts of the 
 press at the same date.
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1857-58. 43 
 
 catalogue of tlie disasters of 1857-58; and notwithstanding tlie 
 latter suspensions could not fairly be said to be comprised in the 
 actual history of the crisis, still they were in a measure 
 accelerated by the weakening of credit and the prostration of 
 prices which was previously experienced.* The last great 
 mutation Avliich afflicted capitalists and money-brokers, and 
 disturbed one important centre of business, had not at this 
 date been encountered, and it remained for April and May, 
 1859, to shadow forth a vast amount of mischief and suiFering 
 at the Stock Exchange, traceable, however, more directly to the 
 effect of foreign political complications, than ordinary mercan- 
 tile and financial embarrassments. 
 
 * Between February and June, 1858, it was generally noticed by mercantile 
 observers, tbat there was only a slow recovery in business, the absence of confidence 
 being very apparent. The writer, speaking to a high authority on 'Change on the 
 subject, the latter remarked, " I, my dear sir, am not at all surprised, because you 
 may depend that many firms who struggled through November and December, if 
 they have surmounted their difficulties, have nearly had the breath squeezed out of 
 their bodies." This eventually proved the case.
 
 SECTION THE FOUETH. 
 
 Contrast of the Crises of 1825-26 and 1837-38 with those of 1847-48 and 1857-58 
 — Special Features of the Several Revulsions — The State of Distress and Dis- 
 aster Occasioned — Duration of Panics, and the Consequences arising therefrom 
 — Pernicious Results of Ovei'-ti'ading — The Liahilities and Dividends of the 
 Failed Houses — The Management of the Provincial Joint-stock Banks — The 
 Accommodation System and Inevitable Ruin to the Parties Engaged — The 
 Termination of the Crisis of 1857-58 — The Subsequent Suspensions, and the 
 Lesson of Prudence Inculcated — Statistics of Suspended Firms, and Bank Acts 
 Report. 
 
 The point in tlie "History of tlie Crisis" is now arrived at 
 when it is essential to take a retrospective g]ance at its progress 
 and efiFects, in order to ascertain what were its distinctive pecu- 
 liaritieSj viewed in relation to antecedent events of a similar 
 character. So far its course has been traced, not alone in con- 
 nection with the trade of the United Kingdom^ but also as 
 identified with the revulsion that preceded the great and im- 
 portant change in the United States, and the later and more 
 closely allied panic in the North of Europe. 
 
 A contrast of the several revulsions as they occurred shows, 
 in the clearest possible manner, that, although brought about 
 by almost similar antecedent circumstances, the consequences 
 which followed Avere widely dissimilar, and varied according to 
 the events which had inaugurated their commencement. His- 
 tory furnishes the details of the singular effect of the panic of 
 1825-20, and exhibits the distinctive features which accompanied 
 the distress which ensued, principally exhibited in the explosion 
 of bubble companies, the severe reaction which occurred in 
 prices, and the brcaking-up of a variety of private banks, which 
 had been speculating and became involved through the unwar- 
 rantable inflation of their paper issues. Personal experience 
 has given some insight into the results which attended the 
 outbreak of the American crisis of 1836-37, with the several
 
 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 45 
 
 phases of its development. Although the course of events was 
 marked by a number of important failures, and the situation of 
 the Bank, through the extent of credit, raised on the false foun- 
 dation of the paper circulated between New York, Liverpool, 
 and London, was critical, still the dark shadow cast by that 
 event was not of very lengthened duration. Of course, many 
 months elapsed before anything like an approach to recovery 
 was evident, and it was very apparent that the trade, both of 
 England and the United States, suffered for a considerable 
 period from the prostration experienced. 
 
 But the shock itself, notwithstanding it presented most 
 alarming characteristics, was not to be compared to that which 
 ensued from the extensive crisis of 1847-48, much less that of 
 the later period of 1857-58. If the earlier may be characterized 
 as one which exhibited a smart and effective blow to confi- 
 dence, the second, which, through the enormous expansion 
 produced by the railway mania, bound up, as it were, with the 
 mercantile relations of the country, produced more wide-spread 
 dismay and distrust, and, since the action of the bank directors 
 told with more apparent force upon the course of the money- 
 market, the consequence was very general disaster. It must, at 
 the same time, however, be remembered that the position of the 
 majority of the East Indian and Mauritius houses w^hich suc- 
 cumbed, was anything but stable. Without imputing any im- 
 proper motives to the heads of the several great establishments 
 which, after maintaining a proud position for years, then col- 
 lapsed, it is quite manifest that the system of business adopted 
 facilitated their declension, for, instead of confining themselves 
 to the legitimate operations of merchants and commission- 
 agents, they entered deeply into various speculations, which 
 involved their capital, and placed their immediate resources 
 out of their own control. 
 
 Large advances upon estates, both in India and tlie Mau- 
 ritius, swallowed up their capital; and the necessary drain to 
 maintain the expenditure on the plantations, and the required 
 outlay to keep them in condition, and develop the special manu- 
 facture of the staple in which they were engaged, whether cot- 
 ton, indigo, sugar, etc., at once deprived them of the power of 
 relieving themselves whenever a crisis arrived. The country, 
 also, overweighted as it had been by the gigantic speculation, and 
 losses produced by the collapse which followed the year 1815,
 
 46 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 was ill a very impovcrislicd situation, and the responsibilities, 
 which had been assumed in the shape of railway calls, and which 
 soon manifested themselves in the most startling manner, aided 
 to create the pressure which was then so universally felt. 
 
 Meanwhile, although this fact was scarcely concurrent with 
 the events which had shaken the commercial Avorld to its foun- 
 dation, the elements of strife appeared in France, and the 
 revolution of 184*8, so disastrous in its consequences, perpetuated 
 that state of apprehension and distrust which was not for a 
 lengthened period surmouuted. With the close of 1848, how- 
 ever, the return to partial activity was exhibited, and although 
 the effects were nevertheless protracted, the changes which 
 affected the dynasty of Louis Philippe constituted almost a 
 separate phase in the general course of affairs. The panic of 
 1847-48, properly so speaking, extended from the end of Sep- 
 tember to the middle of November, when the Government 
 Letter was issued, and although, subsequently, a good deal of 
 disturbance was caused by the continuance of failures, and the 
 arrangements necessary to bring into working condition the 
 state of business, it could not be said that it had in reality 
 lasted longer than six or seven weeks. 
 
 Btit the peculiarities exhibited with respect to the crisis of 
 1857-58 were of a more marked and distinctive character, the 
 antecedent causes having presented themselves in a new form. 
 The first shock was certainly received by the disruption of 
 mercantile credit in America ; and the revulsion which followed 
 so rapidly spread, that the attempt to prepare against the con- 
 sequences which it was predicted would be experienced at once 
 showed that fictitious credit had strangely compromised the 
 position of those who were largely engaged in the export trade 
 of the United Kingdom. Particularly was this the case in the 
 provinces, and doubtful as were the examples manifested of 
 London business, fostered through accommodation paper, many 
 country houses presented statements who, with small means, 
 had encouraged tlie open credit system to an extent that was 
 positively alarming, which proved beyond question that trade 
 had been maintained on a foundation of so slight a character 
 that, whenever the first blow came, it could not hope to with- 
 stand its damaging impression. 
 
 More remarkable than all was the utter disregard paid to 
 every sound commercial principle, and the very revelations which
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 47 
 
 attended some of the failures in the Metropolis, as well as those 
 in Liverpool, Leeds, Iluddersfield, and the large manufacturing 
 districts, gave evidence of the want of caution in granting 
 facilities for adventures, or following out operations on a basis 
 of capital in proportion to credit. If any testimony of this were 
 required, reference need only be made to the revelations which 
 ensued from the liquidation of the Western Bank of Scotland, 
 the investigation into the affairs of the Liverpool Borough 
 Bank, and the ultimate catastrophe connected with the 
 Northumberland and Durham District Bank.* Exceptional 
 cases were presented in which, fortunately, it was found that 
 solvent houses, through the '' lock up " of valuable assets were 
 unable temporarily to meet their engagements ; but these, when 
 the current of adversity turned, were speedily realized, and those 
 several establishments had the gratification of making a payment 
 of twenty shillings in the pound, leaving them a large surplus 
 to conduct their transactions, which had only experienced a 
 temporary interference. Among these may be specially men- 
 tioned the London houses of Messrs. Dennistoun and Co.;t 
 Messrs. Heine, Semon, and Co. ; the Swedish firms of Messrs. 
 Rew, Prescott, and Co. ; Messrs. Albert, Pelly, and Co. ; 
 Messrs. Sewell and Neck; and the great Sheffield house of 
 Messrs. Naylor, Vickers, and Co., — the latter presenting a 
 speedy and most encouraging liquidation.! 
 
 * The details of these cases were positively frightful. Bolstered credit, facilities 
 of the most extensive character, with false reports and manufactured dividends, 
 furnished evidence of the extreme laxity of management. 
 
 t Vide some subsequent general remarks. 
 
 3; " A circular has been issued to-day by Messrs. Naylor, Vickers, and Co., of 
 ShefBeld and Liverpool, whose suspension with large surplus assets took place 
 during the height of the crisis last November, containing the satisfactory announce- 
 ment of their resumption in full. It is understood that they are not only prepared 
 to meet all claims with interest at 5 per cent., but even to discount every acceptance 
 or other liability that may not yet have matured. At the time of the stoppage a 
 balance-sheet was submitted showing property amounting to .=£590,000, to meet 
 debts for i'365,000, leaving a surplus of ^'225,000, besides private means to the 
 estimated extent of i:30,000 or i'40,000. But as four-fifths of the assets were in 
 America, where the firm had establishments both at New York and Boston, it was 
 believed that under the best circumstances a long time would be required for reali- 
 zation, and the proposition made, therefore, was to liquidate by four quarterly 
 instalments of 5s. each, the first maturing on the 15th of next July. The collections 
 of the house, however, in all parts of the United States have since exceeded the best 
 expect.ations, and, according to the general advices lately received, the losses not 
 only of Naylor, Vickers, and Co., but of other firms of like repute, will, as compared 
 with what was at one time apprehended, prove insignificant. The speedy restoration
 
 48 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 With regard to the dividends on the general estates, there 
 seems good reasons for believing, looking at the results of those 
 which have at present been liquidated, that the distributions on 
 the -whole, since the recent crisis, have on an average exceeded 
 those which were paid during 1847-48.* So large an amount 
 of liability as that which Avas exhibited by the houses crippled 
 through the late revulsion, must have been maintained by a 
 more sufficient total of assets, otherwise the rates of payment 
 would not have been so satisfactory. In the antecedent period 
 the large establishments, with few exceptions, paid only fractional 
 dividends, and the enormous engagements which they were 
 under showed that their transactions had not been, except in 
 very special instances, represented by real property. At the 
 same time, it must be admitted that the estates those houses 
 were interested in suffered very great depreciation, and in many 
 cases were eaten up by their mortgage liabilities, which rendered 
 them, Avhen they came to be offered for sale, scarcely capable of 
 any realization. 
 
 The case was different in 1857-8. Although the cycle of 
 ten years had past, the houses which suspended were neither of 
 so long a standing, nor so important a growth. They did not 
 include, like those of 1847-8, firms which had been in existence 
 some half or quarter of a century; but they were sufficiently 
 prominent to include establishments carrying out operations 
 on a most extensive scale, and whose facilities of credit had 
 
 of Naylor, Vickers, and Co. is the more remarkable from the fact, that the h-on and 
 steel trade in this country has as yet exi^erienced but little revival, and under the 
 circumstances it seems almost strange that they should have suspended at all. It 
 must be remembered, however, that for tlie time the panic Avas so indiscriminate, 
 especially in the case of all houses connected with America, that if the firm could 
 liave shown a probable surplus of two or three millions instead of .£200,000 or 
 £300,000, any attempt to obtain advances might have been equally futile. There 
 are occasions on which it is a dut}' on the part of mercantile establishments, to the 
 community as much as to tliemselves, to abstain from wild efforts, which can only 
 add to the general confusion, and this was obviously a case of the kind." — The Times 
 May 19th, 1858. 
 
 * Tliis was not the case with houses abroad. In Hamburg and in Stockholm 
 the majority of the estates proved lamentably deficient, and the system of credit 
 pursued ii])peared most unsatisfactory. The consequence was such an involvement 
 that paper accumulated so rapidly as to absorb everything tangible in the shape 
 of assets. Korway represented the most favourable appearances, and business was 
 stated to have been conducted on a more legitimate basis, the accounts of the firms 
 exhibiting no very discreditable features.
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 49 
 
 enabled tlicm to enlarge their engagements to almost an in- 
 definite extent. The system of bnsiness nevertheless presented 
 most nnsound symptoms^ especially that -which prevailed throiigh 
 open credits. But it is rather singular that at this juncture 
 one or t^yo of the houses which suspended in 1847-48 have, 
 through the good management of their resources, and the 
 arrangement of difficulties previously attending the adjustment 
 of Mauritius claims, paid dividends in a greater ratio than was 
 originally anticipated. These instances have, however, been 
 rare, and can only be supposed to have occurred through ex- 
 ceptional circumstances, and do not form a contrast with the 
 average of the distributions made subsequently to the panic of 
 1857-58.* 
 
 Notwithstanding the termination of the crisis, which, com- 
 mencing at the end of September, lasted until the end of 
 December, Avheu the issue of .€2,000,000 under the authority 
 of the Government Letter was replaced (showing a duration of 
 pressure of twelve or thirteen weeks), still the progress of busi- 
 ness was far from favourable, and the paralysis which credit 
 encountered was further affected by the failures which took 
 place after that date.f From March to June, 1858, one or two 
 important houses were brought to the ground, through the tem- 
 porary '^dead lock" in China, but the statements indicated that 
 there was reason to expect — a fact since partially verified — that 
 the assets would produce a liquidation in full, and leave a con- 
 siderable surplus. The relations with Brazil were also in a 
 
 * At the very moment this sheet is passing through the press, the creditors of 
 Messi-s. Reid, Irving, and Go. have received notice of another dividend. This estate 
 was wound-up in 1847-48, and it was thought would only pay about Is. 6d. or 2s. Gd. 
 in the pound. This arose through the inability to realize and convert estates. Ten 
 years have elapsed, and through good management 6s. has already been received. 
 Probably 10s. in the pound may eventually be distributed, and it seems certain that 
 at least a total of 8s. or 9s. will be obtained. 
 
 t In the depth of the crisis, about the middle of November, a report became 
 current that the affairs of a large American firm were in a critical position. For 
 some days the rumour spread, but it could not be traced to any positive source. It 
 then turned out that the wealthy house of Messrs. George Peabody and Co., the 
 American bankers and merchants, had been compelled to apply to the Bank of 
 England for assistance, and it was not until considerable negotiation had taken 
 place that the arrangements were concluded. These were effected on the security 
 of Mr. George Peabody's private property, and the capital of the firm, backed by 
 the guarantees of several of the metropolitau joint-stock banks. The amount 
 advanced was speedily repaid, and it was eventually stated that the total sacrifice 
 Sustained was only equal to about one year's profit. 
 
 E
 
 50 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 measure compromised by tlic difFicnlties of some of the houses 
 connected with the trade of Rio Janeiro and Buenos Ayres; 
 but the more severe crash which afterwards ensued, involving, 
 with few exceptions, the Honduras trade, comprised the firms of 
 Hyde, Hodge, and Co., of London; Mr. J. Carmichael, of Liver- 
 pool; Archibald Montgomery and Co., of London, and a variety 
 of smaller establishments. 
 
 In these cases, again, the disclosures were unsatisfactory, 
 and from the out-turn of estates, it was manifest that the same 
 irregularity had occurred as in former failures, the establish- 
 ments having been involved in liabilities for years past. The 
 smaller houses engaged in relationship with them were " under 
 acceptances^' for their accommodation to a great extent, 
 and consequently found themselves compromised to an amount 
 that included them in the general liquidation, and showed that 
 the result was ruin to all who had mixed themselves up in these 
 transactions. Yfith the conclusion of 1858 came a termination 
 of the distress and disaster occasioned by those extraordinary 
 events, and, looking impartially at the results of the career of 
 that particular epoch, it must be confessed that the crisis of that 
 period was much more severe in its general aspect than that of 
 1847-48, and that though the results, as far as dividends are 
 concerned, compare favourably with those of 1847-48, the distress 
 and wide-spread effect following the revulsion of 1857-58 were 
 much more extensive. To establish this circumstance, the evi- 
 dence of the eminent public accountants, Mr. J. E. Coleman and 
 Mr. John Ball, may be referred to in the Appendix to the Bank 
 Acts Committee's Report. 
 
 Experience shows that the accommodation bill system as 
 pursued in Scotland, the ramifications connected with which, as 
 presented in the cases of Macdonald, Monteith, and Co., ex- 
 tended even to London, and brought down a number of small 
 tradesmen, Avho had been made the convenience of these esta- 
 blishments, some of them receiving a commission for the use of 
 their names, will, it is to be hoped, have inculcated a lesson 
 which will not readily be forgotten, and the perils connected 
 with which will act in future as a check to the recurrence of 
 such operations. 
 
 The fate of the Western Bank of Scotland, the Liverpool 
 Borough Bank, and the Northumberland and Durham District 
 Bank, with the serious liabilities entailed upon the directors
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 51 
 
 and managers, furnishes another page in the annals of financial 
 misconduct ; and although neither of these establishments has 
 yet been brought to a final point of liquidation, it is painfully- 
 certain that the calls will be heavy, and absorb, except in cases 
 of compromise, the whole of the assets of the unfortunate 
 shareholders. The expansion of trade, which was encouraged 
 through the facilities granted by these establishments, and 
 which, spreading to London, crossed the Atlantic, and again in 
 turn to the north of Europe, incontestably establishes the wild 
 and reckless character of the operations engaged in, the whole 
 of which being supported on a l^asis of credit out of all due pro- 
 portion to the capital embarked, required a reaction only such 
 as was inaugurated by the revulsion in America to create that 
 state of affairs which so speedily engendered distrust, and 
 brought with it the fearful consequences already described. 
 
 At the time of the general excitement, when the press was 
 teeming with descriptions and statistics concerning the crisis, 
 the following comparative summary was put forward in a lead- 
 ing daily journal: — "The papers, in commenting upon the 
 recent failures which have taken place among the mercantile 
 community, agree in what was stated in the House of Commons 
 during the debate on the crisis, that the liabilities of the sus- 
 pended firms reach at least .£45,000,000, or double the amount 
 of the total in 1847. Including in the estimate the debts of the 
 five banks, taken at .€23,000,000— viz., the Western of Scot- 
 land, the Northumberland and Durham District Bank, the 
 Liverpool Borough, the City of Glasgow, and the Wolver- 
 hampton and Staffordshire — it is clear that the entire sum is 
 probably nearer £50,000,000 ; and before the effects of the 
 panic are exhausted, a large augmentation must be looked for. 
 It is, nevertheless, pretty certain that the suspensions in Lon- 
 don and the provinces m 1847 — extending as they did to the 
 termination of the year, and even into the commencement of 
 1848— represented a greater sum than £32,500,000, or 
 £25,000,000 ; but the approximate calculation is nearly correct, 
 and will, no doubt, be borne out in a great measure by results 
 when the crisis shall have entirely passed. The bank suspen- 
 sions on the present occasion, although not more numerous, 
 have involved larger amounts, and have, consequently, increased 
 the unfavourable proportion. In producing the list of the 
 principal London failures, slightly amended and amplified by
 
 52 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 the description of tlie trade of the firm^ it may be noticed tliat 
 singularly enough, both in the crisis of 1847 and that of 1857, 
 two leading bill-brokers have been compelled to succumb — 
 Messrs. Sanderson and Co., who suspended in the former 
 period, having again failed under the new fu'm of Messrs. 
 Sanderson. Sandeman, and Co, ; and Messrs. Bruce, Buxton, 
 and Co., who liquidated under that pressure, again following out 
 a similar process through the title of IMessrs. Bruce, Wilkinson, 
 and Co., the creditors, as before, in each case, being assured of 
 205. in the pound. The appended failures occurred between 
 October, the date of the actual commencement of the existing 
 pressure, and the 19th inst., the Government Letter having been 
 issued on the 12th of November, and the rate of discount fixed 
 at 10 per cent. : — 
 
 Eoss, Mitclicll, aud Co., Canadian trade .„ £336,282 
 
 W. H. Brand and Co., American trade 235,524 
 
 John Haly and Co., American trade 47,509 
 
 A. Hill, commission-agent and insurance-broker G1,2G8 
 
 Powles Brothers and Co., Spanish American trade 50,000 
 
 Dennistoim and Co., American bankers and exchange- brokers 2,143,701 
 
 Bcnnoch, Twentyman, and Bigg, silk dealers and manufacturers 257,694 
 
 Broadwood and Barclay, West India trade 212,020 
 
 Joseph Foot and Sons, sUk manufactm-ers 27,640 
 
 Sanderson, Sandeman, and Co., bill-brokers*' 5,298,997 
 
 Bruce, Wilkinson, and Co., bill-brokers, in liqvudation not stated 
 
 Wilson, Morgan, and Co., wliolesale stationers 25,629 
 
 Fitch and Skeet, provision trade 55,000 
 
 Draper, Pietroni, and Co., IMediterranean trade 300,000 
 
 Jelhcoe and Wix, drysaltery trade not stated 
 
 Jose P. de Hk aud Co., Brazilian trade 15,230 
 
 Bardgctt and Picard, corn trade 85,142 
 
 IToare, Buxton, and Co., North of Em-ope trade 466,601 
 
 Edwards and Mattliie, East India and colonial trade 350,000 
 
 E. Sieveking and Son, North of Europe trade 400,000 
 
 Allen, Smith, and Co., North of E ui-ope trade 20,306 
 
 Svensden and Johnson, Norfli of Em-ope trade iiot stated 
 
 Gorrissen, Iluilel, and Co., American bankers and exchange-brokers . . . £125,310 
 
 Brocklcsby and Wcssels, corn trade 40, 486 
 
 K. Bainbridge and Co., American trade not stated 
 
 Hermann, Sillem, Son, and Co., Ilambm-g trade not stated 
 
 Carr, Joshng, and Co., North of Europe trade 300,000 
 
 A. Ilintzand Co., North of Europe trade 101,439 
 
 Rebder and Boldemann, Hamburg trade 100,000 
 
 * Most of the creditors on this estate hold security in the shape of bills of 
 exchange, which are rapidly runiung off. Hence the extent of the fadure is more 
 apparent than real.
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 53 
 
 Henry Hoffman and Co., Hamburg and Gennan trade £100 000 
 
 Herman, Cox, and Co., Hamburg and Grerman trade GO 000 
 
 Eischotr, Beer, and Co., foreign trade 30 000 
 
 Mendes Da Costa and Co., West India trade 231 67.3 
 
 Kieser and Co., German trade 50 000 
 
 Barber, Eosenauer, and Co., foreign trade 32 488 
 
 Hirscli, Strotlicr, and Co., German trade not stated 
 
 r. and A. Bovct, East India and China trade not stated 
 
 C. A. Jonas r.nd Co., foreign trade 100 000 
 
 Scwells and Neck, North of Eiu'ope trade 500,000 
 
 Albert Pelly and Co., North of Em-ope trade 170,000 
 
 Krcll and Cohn, German trade not stated 
 
 W. Caudery, general merchant 30 000 
 
 W. B. Filler, general merchant 140 000 
 
 Hadland and Co., Manchester trade 40 000 
 
 Liclitenstein and Co., German trade 80 OOO 
 
 J. H. Baird and Co., Austrahan trade 21 258 
 
 Heme, Semon, and Co., German bankers and exchange-brokers 700 000 
 
 Wcmholt, Wehner, and Co., East India trade 300 000 
 
 T. II. Elmcnhorst and Co., German trade not stated 
 
 Montoya, Saenz, and Co., Spanish American trade not stated 
 
 T. G. Ward, Smithfield, banker not stated 
 
 H. and M. Toldorph, and Co., German trade not stated 
 
 Eew, Prescott, and Co., North of Europe trade 150,000 
 
 E. Willey and Co., shawl manvifacturers, etc 50,000 
 
 G. H. T. Hicks, East India trade 151,900 
 
 Powell and Son, Manchester trade 60,000 
 
 " In the crisis of 18-1-7 the bank failures niimberecl four of 
 importance, viz., the Eoyal Bank of Liverpool, the Liverpool 
 Banking Company, the Nortli and South Wales Bank, and the 
 Newcastle Joint-stock Bank; besides the Abingdon and 
 "Wantage, the Oldham Bank, and six other small private firms 
 at St. Alban's, Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Shrewsbury, Honiton, 
 and Bridport. The pressure at this period took place in 
 August, when the suspensions in the corn trade were announced, 
 and continued with unabated severity through September and 
 October, the Government Letter having been issued on the 25th 
 of the latter month, and withdrawn on the 23rd of November. 
 During this interval the mmimum rate of discount was 8 per 
 cent. The extent of the liabilities of many of the firms which 
 then suspended may be contrasted with the details previously 
 given by reference to the annexed list : — 
 
 Alexander, L., and Co., corn trade £573,188 
 
 Barclay Brothers and Co., Mauritius trade 389,504 
 
 Booker, Sons, and Co., corn trade -40,000
 
 54 SPECIAL CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 Bruce, Buxton, and Co., bill-brokers £347,000 
 
 Bensusan and Co., Mogador titide 57,961 
 
 Boyds and Thomas, East India trade 38,684 
 
 Cockerell, Larpent, and Co., East India trade 619,393 
 
 Castellain, Sons, and Co., general merchants 69,651 
 
 Cotsworth, PowcU, and Pryor, Brazilian and Spanish American trade 350,000 
 
 Cruikshank, JMelviUe, and Co., East and West India trade 182,984 
 
 Coventry and Sheppard, coi-n trade 200,000 
 
 Douglass, C, and Son, com trade 250,000 
 
 Eraser, W. T., East India trade 33,665 
 
 Fry, Griffiths, and Co., colonial brokers 90,979 
 
 Gower, A. A., and Nephews, Spanish and Mauritius trade 450,832 
 
 Giles, Son, and Co., corn trade 152,824 
 
 Hastie and Hutchison, com trade 50,451 
 
 Johnson, Cole, and Co., East India trade 122,666 
 
 King, Melville, and Co., com trade 200,000 
 
 Kingston, J. and Co., West India trade 25,245 
 
 Lackersteen, A. A., East India trade 185,529 
 
 Lackersteen and Crake, East India trade 133,091 
 
 Leaf, Barnett, Scotson, and Co., warehousemen 85,575 
 
 Lyall, Brothers, and Co., East India trade 340,387 
 
 Morley, J. and W., warehousemen 119,731 
 
 Nevins and Allen, corn trade 69,907 
 
 Perkins, Sclilusser, and Mullens, East India and Baltic ti'ade 127,327 
 
 Phillips, S., and Co., East India trade 101,474 
 
 Plulhps, L., and Co., East India trade 18,368 
 
 Beid, Irving, and Co., West India and Mavu-itivis trade 660,432 
 
 Bickards, Little, and Co., East India trade 144,626 
 
 Bougemont Brothers and Co., general merchants 109,450 
 
 Bobinson, W. R., and Co., com trade 94,362 
 
 Eyder, Wienholt, and Co., East India trade 34,587 
 
 Beay and Eeay, wine trade 47,788 
 
 Scott, BeD, and Co., East India trade 99,629 
 
 Sargant, Gordon, and Co., colonial brokers 65,254 
 
 Sanderson and Co., bill-brokers 2,683,000 
 
 Thurburn and Co., East India trade 109,139 
 
 Thomas, Son, and Lefevre, Bussia trade 401,760 
 
 Trueman and Cook, colonial brokers 379,104 
 
 TJsborne, T., and Son, com trade 59,457 
 
 Woodley, W. and J., com trade 99,509." 
 
 Subsequently to tlic subsidence of the crisis, and when a 
 sufficient period had elapsed to allow the principal estates 
 estimated to produce 20.9. in the pound, to be liquidated, the 
 Morning Herald, in presenting some facts on the subject, thus 
 alluded to the course of affairs : — 
 
 "In the midst of the fraud and deception daily practised 
 in trade and business relations, it is highly gratifying to be 
 
 in a position to refer to the speedy fulfilment of honour-
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 55 
 
 able engagements, and to the several favourable instances 
 which have occurred through the progress of the late panic, 
 in which houses of established credit and wealth did not 
 hesitate, when it became their bounden duty to do so, to 
 suspend, in order to protect the interests, not only of them- 
 selves, but also of those who were interested in their estates. 
 Among the earliest of the large houses prostrated was that of 
 Messrs. Dennistoun and Co., of Glasgow, Liverpool, and Lon- 
 don, who, with connections in Australia and America, were 
 under liabilities to the extent of upwards of £2;000,000. Not- 
 withstanding the reputed position of the partners, and the 
 knowledge of the existence of a surplus of at least £500,000, it 
 was considered advisable, pending the fury of the storm, to 
 arrest their business transactions, and to adopt measures for a 
 liquidation. The certainty of 20s. in the pound, with interest at 
 the rate of 5 per cent., was fully relied upon, since the accounts, 
 when they were placed under investigation, exhibited the most 
 encouraging results ; but it was arranged to extend the instal- 
 ments over a period running from January, 1858, to June, 1860. 
 The assets were taken with due regard to ultimate realization, 
 and although in the aggregate they exhibited an enormous 
 excess, it was considered desirable to make allowance for depre- 
 ciation, etc. Even including a large margin, they still repre-- 
 sented a highly satisfactory total ; and as the dates for the first 
 instalments approached, not only were these paid, but succeed- 
 ing ones also. In this manner have they proceeded, rapidly 
 realizing their assets, until at length they have placed them- 
 selves in a situation to announce a further anticipation of pay- 
 ments, and to advise on the 30th of November their readiness 
 to discharge the instalments due respectively the 31st of 
 December, 1859, and the 30th of June, 1860. Circumstances 
 may have in some degree influenced the value of the mass of 
 securities they held, and a change in the prices of produce may 
 have also assisted to bring about this agreeable conclusion; but 
 at the same time the basis of business must have been very 
 sound, and its conduct well regulated to have ensured so 
 favourable an issue, surrounded as their concerns must have 
 been by disaster and supposed loss. An event such as this in 
 mercantile annals, especially after the experience of the last 
 ten years, deserves something more than passing comment; 
 but it is satisfactory to believe that in addition to the case of
 
 56 SPECIAL CONTKAST OP THE 
 
 Messrs. Dennistoun and Co., and those of the principal Swedish 
 houses, who were, unfortunately, during the crisis, temporarily 
 compelled to suspend, there are others in which the liquida- 
 tion will not be less punctual, though the engagements and 
 proportional assets may not prove so large. The favour- 
 able adjustment effected in the estates of Messrs. Sewells 
 and Neck, Messrs. Albert Pelly and Co., and Messrs. Rew, 
 Prescott, and Co., all engaged in the Swedish trade, with the 
 prompt manner in which Messrs. Heine, Semon, and Co., the 
 German bankers and exchange brokers, provided for their 
 liabilities, have already been more than once referred to ; but 
 failures have occurred subsequently not to be comprised within 
 the actual pale of the late panic, though probably some of their 
 difficulties originated in the depression which followed that 
 revulsion. The firms specially indicated are Messrs. Maitland, 
 Ewing, and Co.,* and Messrs. Rawson, Sons, and Co.,t both 
 engaged in the China trade, w^hose affairs are in steady course 
 of arrangement, with assets accumulating, and every prospect 
 of a full payment of 20s. in the pound. This is so far appre- 
 ciable, as it shows that the commercial character of the covmtry 
 has not altogether descended to the depth of degradation 
 supposed from the revelations made in other cases, though it 
 is still difficult to close the eyes to the amount of fraud perpe- 
 trated under the guise of fair trading. Taking the number of 
 houses which have paid in full, with the average of dividends 
 declared iinder the various estates, it is thought that the results 
 ■will contrast favourably with those apparent during and subse- 
 quent to the crisis of 1847-48. Only exceptional instances 
 then appeared of 20s. in the pound, even among the best of the 
 firms that suspended, and in this category could not be included 
 Messrs. Cockerel!, Larpent, and Co., Messrs. Barclay Brothers, 
 and many others. 
 
 '' The appended list makes a respectable exhibition for the 
 several houses stated, and while the figures, through the process 
 of liquidation, may have varied, they have not, like in the 
 principal of those put forward in the preceding period, turned 
 out altogether fallacious, and eventually exhibited serious 
 
 " * This liouse has liquidated in full, witli inttTcst. 
 
 " t Since this was penned an alteration has occurred in Messrs. Bawson's pro- 
 spects, and it is now feared they will not liquidate in full.
 
 SEVERAL COMMERCIAL CRISES. 
 
 57 
 
 deficiencies. In some of the cases the engagements were much 
 larger at the date of suspension^ but by the time tlie meetings 
 took place they became considerably reduced. 
 
 1857. 
 Nov. 7. J. and A. Dcnnistoiin and Co. 
 
 Dec. 5. Scwells and Neck 
 
 Dec. 7. Albert Pelly and Co 
 
 Dec. 10. Heine, Semon, and Co 
 
 Dec. 14. Hew, Prcscott, and Co 
 
 1S5S. 
 April 3. Mailland, Ewing, and Co. 
 June 2. Rawson, Sons, and Co. ... 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 £ 
 2,142,701 
 150,675 
 36,.316 
 
 93,08J. 
 95,703 
 
 164,392 
 422,151 
 
 Assets and 
 Claims. 
 
 £ 
 2,935,992* 
 
 188,257 
 
 85,741 
 
 130,916 
 
 103,451 
 
 193,049 
 457,399 
 
 Surplus. 
 
 £ 
 
 793,291 
 
 37,582t 
 
 49,425t 
 
 37,832§ 
 
 7,748 
 
 28,650 
 
 35,24811 
 
 As supplementary matter to this Section, it has been thought 
 desirable to give the Report of the Bank Acts Committee as 
 corroljorative of the general circumstances detailed. 
 
 THE SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to inquire into the Operation 
 of the Bank Act of 184i (7 and 8 Vict. c. 32), and of the Bank Acts 
 for Ireland and Scotland of 1845 (8 and 9 Vict. o. 37 and 38), and 
 who were instructed to inquire into the Causes of the recent Com- 
 mercial Distress, and to investigate how far it has been affected by 
 the Laws for Regulating the Issue of Bank Notes payable on demand, 
 and who were empowered to Report their Observations thereupon, 
 together with the Minutes of the Evidence taken before them : — 
 Have considered the matters to them referred, and have agreed to 
 the following REPORT : — 
 
 1. The ten years whifh have elapsed since the last Committee sat 
 under the same Order of Reference, viz., the Committee on Commercial 
 Distress, which reported in 1818, have been marked by many circum- 
 stances of peculiar interest and importance. The foreign trade of the 
 United Kingdom has in that period increased with a development unpre- 
 cedented, perhaps, by any other instance in the history of the world. 
 
 " * Tills item included Liverpool Borough Bank shares held by partners, 
 £208,873. 
 
 " t Private estates, estimated to realize £20,000, not included. 
 
 " X Principal siu-plus, private property. 
 
 " § Private property, £15,000, not included. 
 
 " II Separate estates of partners about £12,600, included in the account."
 
 58 
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 Tlie exports, wliicli before 1848 had never exceeded £60,110,000— the 
 amount which they attained in 1845 — have risen with little variation and 
 with great rapidity ; and in 1857, notwithstanding the severe commercial 
 pressxu-e which marked the latter portion of that year, they stood at 
 £122,155,000. 
 
 2. In the year 1849, the newly-discovered mines of California began 
 to add perceptibly to the arrivals of gold ; and in 1851, the supply was 
 increased by the still more fertile discoveries in Australia. The following 
 figures, for which your Committee are indebted to the authorities of the 
 Bank, will show how important an addition appears to have been made to 
 the circulating medium of the world from these new sources of supply. 
 
 ESTIMATED INCEEASE OF THE ETJEOPEAK STOCK OF BlfLLION IN SEVEN TEARS, 
 
 1851-1856. 
 
 
 Imports from Producing 
 Countries. 
 
 Exports to the East from Great 
 Britain and the Mediterranean. 
 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 1851 
 
 1852 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 
 £ 
 8,654,000 
 15,194,000 
 22,435,000 
 22,077,000 
 19,875,000 
 21,275,000 
 21,366,000 
 
 £ 
 4,076,000 
 4,712,000 
 4,355,000 
 4,199,000 
 3,717,000 
 4,761,000 
 4,050,000 
 
 £ 
 102,000 
 922,000 
 974,000 
 1,222,000 
 1,192,000 
 479,000 
 529,000 
 
 £ 
 1,716,000 
 2,630,000 
 5,559,000 
 4,583,000 
 7,934,000 
 14,108,000 
 20,146,000 
 
 
 130,876,000 
 
 29,870,000 
 
 5,420,000 
 
 56,676,000 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 The total hnport of gold in seven years has been, say £130,000,000 
 
 The exports of gold bullion and British gold coin to India, China, 
 Australia, the Cape, Brazils, the West Indies, United States, 
 etc., may betaken at 22,500,000 
 
 Which woidd leave as the increase to the Eiu-opean stock of 
 
 gold £107,500,000 
 
 The exports of silver to India and Chuaa have been £56,676,000 
 The imports from the producing countries ......... 29,870,000 
 
 Making the amount of silver abstracted from tlie European stock 26,806,000 
 
 And the cstunated mcrease in the European stock of bullion £80,694,000 
 
 3. The remission of duties upon articles of necessity, and upon the 
 raw materials of industry, and the great increase of trade to which your
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE KANK ACTS. 59 
 
 Committee have referred, were naturally attended by a very remarkable 
 improvement in the comforts and consuming power of the people, as 
 exhibited in the imports ; and especially in the vast increase in the clear- 
 ances of those articles which enter most materially into the consumption 
 of the working classes. It is probable that to this cause ought chiefly to 
 be attributed the great increase which is believed to have taken place in 
 the circulating medium of the IJnited Kingdom. Mr. Weguelin, a Mem- 
 ber of the Committee, and then Governor of the Bank, stated to the 
 Committee of 1857, that this increase was estimated by those in whose 
 judgment the Bank Directors placed the greatest reliance, at 30 per cent. 
 in the six years then last elapsed. The total gold circulation is believed 
 by him now to amount to nearly £30,000,000. The whole circulation of 
 notes, which imder the Acts of 18M and 1845 are permitted to circulate, 
 without being represented by bullion, retained for that purpose in the 
 coSers of those who issue the notes, is £31,623,995, of which £14,475,000 
 are issued by the Bank of England ; £7,707,292 by the Enghsh country 
 bankers; £3,087,209 by the Scotch, and £6,354,494 by the Irish 
 bankers. 
 
 4. With regard to bank notes, it is interesting here to observe, that 
 in the smaller denominations, those, namely, which enter most into the 
 retaU transactions of the country, the number has considerably increased, 
 concurrently with the increase of the gold circulation above referred to. 
 The £5 and £10 notes of the Bank of England, which in 1851 were 
 £9,362,000, had risen in 1856 to £10,680,000. 
 
 5. At the same time, for a reason which will presently be noticed, 
 a great diminution has been observable in the xise of notes from £200 and 
 upwards. 
 
 6. The silver currency has in the same time increased as follows, 
 viz. :— 
 
 SILVER COIK ISSUED TO THE PUBLIC IN EXCESS OF EECEIPTS FEOM THE PUBLIC. 
 
 1851 £26,307 
 
 1852 420,418 
 
 1853 554,442 
 
 1854 36,803 
 
 1855 47,754 
 
 1856 289,142 
 
 1857 242,273 
 
 7. "While this expansion of trade was in progress, and the precious 
 metals received this remarkable addition, a new feature in the banking 
 business of the country was observable. The joint-stock banks in Lon- 
 don entered more and more into competition with the private banks, 
 and by their practice of allowing interest on deposits, began to accumu- 
 late vast amounts. On the 8th June, 1854, the private bankers of London 
 admitted the joint-stock banks to the arrangements of the clearing-house, 
 and shortly afterwards the final clearing was adjusted in the Bank of 
 England. The daily clearances are now effected by transfers in the 
 accounts which the several banks keep in that establishment. In conse-
 
 60 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 quence of the adoption of this system, tlic large notes which, the bankers 
 formerly employed for the purpose of adjusting their accounts are no 
 longer necessary. The diminution in the use of these notes is shown by 
 the following figures : — 
 
 Bakk Notes of £200 to £1,000. 
 
 1852 £5,856,000 
 
 1857 3,241,000 
 
 8. Meanwhile the joint-stock banks of London, now nine innumbei*, have 
 increased their deposits from £8,850,771 in 1847 to £43,100,724 in 1857, as 
 shown in their published accounts. The evidence given to your Committee 
 leads to the inference that of this vast amount, a large part has been de- 
 rived from sources not heretofore made available for this purpose ; and 
 that the practice of opening accounts and depositing money with bankers 
 has extended to numerous classes who did not formerly employ their capital 
 in that way. It is stated by Mr. Ilodwell, the Chairman of the Asso- 
 ciation of Private Country Bankers, and delegated by them to give evidence 
 to your Committee,'^that in the neighbourhood of Ipswich this practice 
 has lately increased fourfold among the farmers and shopkeepers of that 
 district ; that almost every farmer, even those paying only £50 per annum 
 rent, now keep deposits with bankers. The aggregate of these deposits 
 of course finds its way to the employments of trade, and especially gravi- 
 tates to London, the centre of commercial activity, where it is employed 
 first in the discount of bills, or in other advances to the customers of the 
 London bankers. That large portion, however, for which the bankers 
 themselves have no immediate demand passes into the hands of the bill- 
 brokers, who give to the banker in return commercial bills already dis- 
 counted by them for persons in London and in diflferent parts of the 
 country, as a security for the sum advanced by the banker. The bill- 
 broker is responsible to the banker for payment of this money at call ; 
 and such is the magnitude of these transactions, that Mr. Neave, the 
 present Governor of the Bank, stated in evidence, "We know that one 
 broker had 5 millions, and we were led to believe that another had 
 between 8 and 10 millions ; there was one with 4, another with 3i, and a 
 third above 8. I speak of deposits with the brokers." 
 
 9. It thus appears that since 1847 three most important circumstances 
 have arisen, afFeeting the question referred to your Committee, viz. : — 
 
 1. An unprecedented extension of our foreign trade. 
 
 2. An importation of gold and silver on a scale unknown in history 
 since the period which immediately succeeded the first discovery of 
 America ; and, 
 
 3. A most remarkable development of the economy afibrded by 
 the practice of banking for the use and distribution of capital. 
 
 10. In the years which immediately succeeded the great commercial 
 crisis of 1847-48, the natural effect of such a crisis on the minds of persons 
 engaged in trade was exhibited, and for a time prudence and caution 
 were the marked characteristics of the commercial world. The bullion
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 61 
 
 in the Banlc meanwhile accumulated, increasing, with little variation, 
 until, in July, 1852, it amounted to £22,232,000. At this time the notes in 
 the hands of the public ran to the unusually large amount of £23,380,300, 
 yet scarcely exceeded the amovmt of bullion, while the reserve of notes 
 in the banking department of the Bank of England was 12| millions, 
 and the minimum rate of interest two per cent. 
 
 11. The consequence of such a state of things was manifested in the 
 year 1853, when the exports, which in 1852 had amounted to £78,076,000, 
 rose to £98,933,000. The bullion at the same time declined, and was on 
 the 22nd October of that year £14,358,000, while the reserve went down 
 to £5,604,000, and the minimum rate of interest rose to five per cent. 
 
 12. In March, 1854, war was declared against Eussia, and an expen- 
 diture of nearly 90 millions is estimated to have been incurred by England 
 on this account. The foreign payments were largely made in specie, 
 which to a great extent was hoarded in the East. Foreign loans were also 
 contracted in London for the purposes of the war. The aggregate trade 
 of the United Kingdom varied little. The Bank rate of discount was ' 
 raised in May, 1854, from 5 to 5.v per cent., and continued at that rate till 
 August 3, when it was again reduced to 5. On the 5th April, 1855, it was 
 reduced to 4^, the bullion then standing at £15,079,000, and the reserve 
 at £8,580,000. The bullion continued to rise, until in June it amounted 
 to £18,169,000, and the reserve to £11,887,000. Before the end, however, 
 of that year a great change occurred, and on the 27th December the 
 bullion stood at £10,275,000, the reserve at £6,993,000, while the minimum 
 rate of interest had been raised en 18th October to 6 per cent, for 60 days, 
 and 7 per cent for 95 days, at which rate it stood till the following May. 
 The changes in the rate of discount which took place from April, 1855, to 
 March, 1857, are thus stated by Mr. Weguelin : — 
 
 " I have here a list of the various changes in the rates, beginning at 
 April 5tb, 1855, when the minimum rate of discount for bills having not 
 more than 95 days to run was 4^- per cent. On May 3rd, it was reduced 
 to 4 per cent. On June 14th, it was reduced again to 3^ per cent. On 
 September Gth, it was raised to 4 per cent. On September 13th, to 4^ per 
 cent. On September 27th, to 5 per cent. On October 4th, to 5^- per cent. 
 The Committee will remark that very rapid rise in the rate of interest 
 which was caused by the commercial demand for accommodation, and for 
 the export of bullion, occurring at the same time with a considerable 
 demand for bullion to supply the armies in the East. On the 18th of 
 October the rate was 6 per cent, for bills having 60 days to run, and for 
 bills having 95 days to run it was 7 per cent. In 1856, on the 22nd of 
 May it was reduced to 6 per cent., and on the 29tli of May to 5 per cent., 
 and on the 26th of June to 4| per cent., the minimum rate. There 
 then occurred a great demand, and the rate was raised by order of the 
 Governor, on October the 1st, to 5 per cent. That was not on the ordinary 
 weekly court day, but in the interval of the court. On October the 6th 
 (which was again not on a court day, but on a Monday) the rate was 
 raised to 6 per cent, for 60 days' bills, and to 7 per cent, for bills not 
 having more than 95 days to run. On November the 13th, the minimum
 
 62 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 rate for bills of all descriptions Laving not more tlian 95 days to run was 
 raised to 7 per cent. On December the 4tli, it was reduced to 6i, and on 
 December the 18th to 6 per cent., at which it now stands. Here is also an 
 account of the variations with regard to temporary advances upon stock. 
 The first recent deviation from the practice that temporary advances on 
 stock and Exchequer bills should be made at the Bank minimum rate 
 ordinarily, and at a half per cent, below the minimum during the 
 shuttings, seems to have occurred in July, 1854, when Exchequer 
 bond scrip was iu the market. The Bank minimum rate Avas then 
 5| per cent., temporary advances were made at 5 per cent., and 
 advances were made on Exchequer bond scrip at 4 per cent. I believe 
 that was an especial arrangement at the time, which had not much 
 reference to the state of the money-market. The term of those advances 
 varied from 14 to 31 days. During the shutting for the dividends 
 due iu January, 1856, the allowance of a half per cent, on advances on 
 stock, etc., was withdrawn, and no such advances have since been made 
 * at a rate below the Bank minimum. On the 8th of January, 1856, the 
 demand for advances, chiefly on Turkish scrip and bonds continuing 
 beyond the payment of the dividends, the term was contracted to 14 days. 
 During the shutting for the April dividends this restriction was removed. 
 After the April payment the general term was 14 days ; but there does 
 not appear to have been any restriction to that period. After the October 
 payment the term was contracted to seven days ; and on the 16th of 
 October the Bank refused to advance on any Government securities except 
 Exchequer bills. About the 11th of November the Bank declined to re- 
 discount bills having more than 30 days to run; that is, bills which had 
 beeu advanced upon by brokers. During the shutting for January, the 
 usual course was resumed, without restriction as to stock or term. On 
 the 9th of January, 1857, the rate for advances on Government stocks and 
 Exchequer lulls was raised to 6| per cent., the rate on bills of exchange 
 remaining at 6 per cent. ; and this restriction remained in force till the 
 present shutting. It is now 6 per cent. In addition to those restrictions, 
 I may state that the Governors have placed certain restrictions iipon the 
 business conducted through the discount-brokers. In their business with 
 them, when it siuted the convenience of the Bank to have only short bills, 
 they have limited their advances to the discou.nt-brokcrs to 30 days, or 
 have insisted upon their bringing in bills not having more than 30 days to 
 run ; the object being to obtain such a command of resources constantly 
 returning to the Bank reserve as should keep the Bank safe in that 
 respect." 
 
 13. Down, therefore, to the close of the inquiry of 1857, the Bank of 
 England had continued, under the Act of 1844, to conduct its business 
 without dilUculty. The rate of discount had been raised, and echeance of 
 bills shortened, as the drain for bullion appeared to the Directors to render 
 these measures necessary from time to time. But neither the failure of 
 the silk crop in Italy, with the bad harvests in France and other parts of 
 Europe, and the commercial drain thence arising, nor the requirements of 
 specie for the military service, nor both these causes combined, had 
 occasioned any important derangement of our monetary system.
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS, 63 
 
 The course of trade may bo collected from the exports of the years 
 referred to, viz. : — 
 
 1852 £78,076,000 
 
 1853 38,933,000 
 
 1854 97,181.,000 
 
 1855 95,688,000 
 
 1856 115,820,000 
 
 1857 122,155,000 
 
 These exports do not include shipments of stores in Government 
 transports. 
 
 14. In the earlier part of the autumn of last year, the trade of the 
 United Kingdom was generally considered to be in a sound and healthy 
 state, and in the words of the Governor of the Bank, in reply to the 
 following question : — 
 
 " Was there, in the month of August, any circumstance which caused 
 you to be apprehensive of any reason for raising thte rate of discount ? — 
 Not in the month of August ; things were then pretty stationary ; the 
 prospects of harvest were very good; there was no apprehension that 
 commerce at that time was otherwise than sound. There were certain 
 more far-seeing persons who considered that the great stimulus given by 
 the war expenditure, which had created a very large consumption of goods 
 imported from the East and other places, must now occasion some collapse, 
 and still more those who observed that the merchants, notwithstanding 
 the enhanced prices of produce, were nevertheless importing, as they had 
 done successfully in the previous years. But the pubUc certainly viewed 
 trade as sound, and were little aware that a crisis of any sort was impend- 
 ing, far less that it was so near at hand." 
 
 15. In this state of things, the bullion standing at i;J10,606,000, the 
 reserve at £6,296,000, and the minimum rate of discount at 5i- per cent,, 
 the Bank, on the 17th of August, 1857, commenced a negotiation with 
 the East India Company, which ended in a shipment of £1,000,000 in. 
 specie for the East. The general aspect of affairs continued without 
 change until the 15th September, when the first tidings arrived of the 
 great depreciation of railway securities in the United States, and imme- 
 diately afterwards of the failure of a very important corporation, called 
 the Ohio Life and Trust Company. Before 8th October the tidings from 
 America had become very serious j news of the suspension of cash pay- 
 ments by the banks in Philadelphia and Baltimore was received ; cotton 
 bills were reduced to par, and bankers' drafts to 105 ; railroad securities 
 were depreciated from 10 to 20 per cent. ; the artisans were getting 
 out of employment ; and discounts ranged from 18 to 24 per cent. The 
 transactions between America and England are so intimate, and so large, 
 the declared value of British and Irish produce exported in 1856 to 
 the United States having been £21,918,000, while the amount of securities 
 held by English capitalists in America was by some persons estimated 
 at £80,000,000, that this serious state of commercial disorder there could 
 not but produce in this country great alarm. 
 
 10. In New York, 62 out of 63 banks suspended their cash payments.
 
 64 FULL REPORT OX THE BANK ACTS, 
 
 la Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the banks generally did the 
 same. The effect of the American calamity fell with the greatest weight 
 upon the persons engaged in trade with that country, and Liverpool, 
 Glasgow, and London naturally exhibited the first evidences of pres- 
 sure. On the 27th October the Borough Bank of Liverpool closed its 
 doors, and on the 7th November the great commercial house of ]Messr3, 
 Dennistoun and Co. suspended payment. The "Western Bank of Scot- 
 land failed on the 9th November, and on the 11th the City of Glasgow 
 Bank suspended its payments, which it has since resumed. The 
 Northumberland and Durham District Bank failed on the 26th, and on 
 the 17th the Wolverhampton Bank for a time suspended payment. 
 
 17, Great alarm naturally prevailed in London, the centre of all the 
 monetary transactions of the world. Vast sums deposited with the joint- 
 stock banks, at interest, and employed directly by themselves, or by the 
 bill-brokers, in addition to other moneys deposited by their other 
 customers, were chiefly held at call ; and the bill-brokers are stated to 
 have carried on their enormous transactions without any casli reserve ; 
 relying on the run off' of their bills falling due, or in extremity, on the 
 power of obtaining advances from the Bank of England on the security of 
 bills under discount. The inevitable result of this system, at a time of 
 commercial pressure and alarm, was, that the banks limited their discounts 
 almost exclusively to their own customers, and began to add to their 
 reserves both in their own tills and at the Bank of England. It is well 
 known that a periodical disturbance in the reserve of notes at the Bank of 
 England regularly occurs at the time when the dividends upon the 
 National Debt are paid. Interesting information will be found in the 
 evidence of 1857 as to the effect of this disturbance in aggravating the 
 panic of 1817. It bad no such effect last year. By the 24th October that 
 periodical disturbance was at an end. The public deposits also were in a 
 satisfactory state, amounting to £'-l,862,000. It is interesting to observe, 
 with regard to the private deposits, that the causes to which your Com- 
 mittee have above referred to, as affecting other bankers, tend to increase 
 the balances of the Bank of England, the bank of last resort at a time of 
 panic. Thus, for example, the deposits of the London bankers, which in 
 ordinary times average about £3,000,000, continued to rise during the 
 commercial pressure, and amounted on the 12th November to £5,458,000. 
 The Inll-brokers were compelled to resort to that establishment for 
 assistance ; and that to so great an extent, that the principal house went 
 to the Bank to ask whether they could obtain discount to an indefinite 
 amount, and actually received, on one day, the day on which the Treasury 
 Letter was issued, no less a sum than £700,000. Two discount houses 
 failed. Speaking of the general discount market, the Governor of the 
 Bank stated : " Discounts almost entirely ceased in London, except at the 
 Bank of England." 
 
 18. It is manifest, therefore, that in this emergency everything 
 depended on the Bank of England ; and it appears to your Committee 
 that the proceedings of that establishment were not characterized by any 
 want of foresight or of vigour. On the IGth July, however, before any
 
 FULL REPOllT ON THE BANK ACTS. 05 
 
 indications of the coming storm were visible in any qiiarter, tlie Imlliou 
 read £11,242,000. the reserve £0,408.000, the discounts and advances 
 £7,632,000, and the Directors reduced the rate of interest from 5 to 5^ 
 per cent. On the 8th October, after the receipt of the American intel- 
 ligence above referred to, the bullion was £9,751,000, the reserve 
 £4,931,000, the discounts and advance.s 11,648,000, and the rate of in- 
 terest was raised again to 6 per cent. Four days afterwards, the rate was 
 raised to 7. The causes of this step are thus stated by the Governor : — 
 
 '• Then four days afterwards there was another change ? — Yes on the 
 12th. After having raised the rate to 6 per cent, we thought it necessary 
 to give a giiarded caution to our agents, showing that we began to be a 
 little uneasy. The rate at Hamburg was 7f ; American discounts then 
 were greatly higher. \\'e also about that time were made aware that the 
 East India Company would want £1,000,000 specie for shipment. The 
 gold was then being taken for Kew York ; we consequently raised the 
 rate of interest under those circumstances to 7 per cent. 
 
 " The bullion which was wanted for the East being silver, was to be 
 purchased by the export of gold ; that gold to be exchanged for silver 
 upon the continent of Europe, which silver was to be sent to the East ? — 
 That was the effect of it ; the exports to India were very large each 
 month ; but as they were in silver, of course that silver had to be pur- 
 chased on the Continent or imported from America. 
 
 " I think it was about the 12th of October that you were first appre- 
 hensive about the Western Bank of Scotland? — Yes ; we had no direct 
 application at that time, but there were rumours, and we had intimations 
 which made us aware that they were in difficulties." 
 
 19. On the 19th October, the news from America continuing still more 
 unfavourable, there were numerous failures in this coixntry. The bullion 
 had gone down to £8.991.000, and the reserve to £4,115,000, and the rate 
 of interest was raised to 8 per cent. At this time the Bank of France, 
 which in one week had lost a million sterling, raised the rate to 7|-, Ham- 
 burg to 9. £300,000 in gold had left Liverpool for America. 
 
 20. At this juncture negotiations took place for sustaining the 
 Borough Bank of Liverpool and the Western Bank of Scotland, which 
 eventually failed, under the circumstances related by the Governor of the 
 Bank. 
 
 21. There was great uneasiness out of doors {i.e., in London), and the 
 Bank had an application from the principal discount house for an assur- 
 ance, that if it was necessary the Bank of England would give them any 
 loans they might require. That application was made on the 28th 
 October. There were also inquiries for assistance from other Scotch 
 banks ; and on the 30th October there was an express for 50,0(K) sove- 
 reigns for a bank in Scotland, part of £170,000, and £80,000 for Ireland. 
 The first shipment of silver by the East India Company then took place. 
 Under these circumstances the rate of discount was raised, on November 
 5th, to 9 per cent. 
 
 22. Between the oth November and the 9th, an English bank received 
 assistance from the Bank of England ; the failure of Dennistoun's house 
 for acceptances due \ipon lu^arly two millions occurred, and the Western
 
 66 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS, 
 
 Bank failed on the 9tli. Failures in London were on the increase. At 
 this time (as was natural) the purchases and sales of stock in the funds 
 were enormous. The trans fei's were much beyond what they had ever 
 been before. The bullion had sunk to £7,719,000, and the reserve to 
 2,834,000. On the 9th the rate was raised to 10 per cent. 
 
 23. On the lOth November, a leading discount house applied to the 
 Bank of England for £400,000. The Bank of France raised its rate to 8, 
 9, and 10 per cent, for the three different mouths. There was another 
 English bank assisted. The City of Glasgow Bank suspended payment. 
 The discounts for that day at the Bank of England rose to £1,126,000. 
 The demand for Ireland was recommencing, and on the 10th and 11th 
 alone the gold sent to Scotland was upwards of £1,000,000. On the 11th, 
 Sanderson and Co., the large bill-brokers, stopped payment, their deposits 
 were supposed to be £3,500,000. There was also an additional supply of 
 gold required for the banks in Scotland. On the 12th the discounts at 
 the Bank exceeded two millions. The following figures sufficiently 
 exhibit the result of the foregoing operations, viz. : — 
 
 
 Bullion. 
 
 Resei've. 
 
 Discounts and 
 Advances. 
 
 
 £m. 
 
 £m. 
 
 £m. 
 
 10 
 
 7,411 
 
 2,420 
 
 14,803 
 
 11 
 
 6,666 
 
 1,462 
 
 15,947 
 
 12 
 
 6,524 
 
 581 
 
 18,011. 
 
 2ii. The G-overnment Letter was issued on the 12th, and was in the 
 following terms : — 
 " G-entlemen, " Downing Street, 12th Nov. 1857. 
 
 " Her Majesty's Government have observed with great concern the 
 .serious consequences which have ensued from the recent failure of certain 
 joint-stock banks in England and Scotland, as well as of certain large 
 mercantile firms, chiefly connected with the American trade. The dis- 
 credit and distrust which have resulted from these events, and the with- 
 drawal of a large amount of the paper circulation authorized by the 
 existing Bank Acts, appear to Her Majesty's Government to render it 
 necessary for them to inform the Directors of the Bank of England, that 
 if they should be unable in the present emergency to meet the demands 
 for discounts and advances upon approved securities without exceeding 
 the limits of their circulation prescribed by the Act of 1844, the Govern- 
 ment will be prepared to propose to Parliament, upon its meeting, a Bill 
 of Indemnity for any excess so issued. 
 
 " In order to prevent this temporary relaxation of the law being 
 extended beyond the actual necessities of the occasion. Her Majesty's 
 Government are of opinion that the Bank terms of discount should not be 
 reduced below their present rate. 
 
 " Her Majesty's Government reserve for future consideration the 
 appropriation of any profits wliich may arise ujion issues in excess of the 
 statutory amount. 
 
 " Her Majesty's Government are fully impressed with the importance 
 of mai)itaining the letter of the law, even in a time of considerable
 
 FULL EBPOUT ON THE BANK ACTS. 67 
 
 mercantile difBculty ; but tlicy believe that, for the removal of apprehen- 
 sions which have checked the course of monetary transactions, such a 
 measure as is now contemplated has become necessary, and they rely upon 
 the discretion and prudence of the Directors for confining its operation 
 within the strict limits of the exigencies of the case. 
 
 " We have, etc., 
 
 " (Signed) " PaLmebston. 
 " To the Governor and Deputy-Governor " Gr. C. Lewis." 
 
 " of the Bank of England." 
 
 25. Whatever effect this letter may have had in other ways in calming 
 the public mind, and so tending to mitigate the severity of the pressure, 
 it did not immediately diminish the demand for discounts and advances. 
 This continued to increase until 21st November, on which day the Bank 
 had advanced in discounts £21,600,000, a sum exceeding the whole 
 amount of their deposits, both public and private; a sum nearly three-fold 
 the amount of their advances in July, when the rate was reduced to 5| 
 per cent., and more than double what they had advanced on the 27th 
 October, when the first bank failed. Half of these loans were made to 
 the bill-brokers, and were partly made upon securities which, under other 
 circumstances, the Bank would have been unwilling to accept. They 
 were made for the purpose of sustaining commercial credit in a period of 
 extreme pressure. 
 
 26. The letter was issued on the 12th November, but whilst in 1847 it 
 was not found necessary for the Bank Directors to avail themselves of the 
 permission so given them to exceed the limits imposed by law, that necessity 
 in this instance actually arose. An issue to the extent of £2,000,000 
 beyond the legal issue was made to the banking department. The follow- 
 ing Account shows the sums actually issued from the Bank to the public : — 
 An Account, showing the Extent to which the Bank of England availed 
 
 itself of its Power, under the Authority of Government, to issue Notes 
 to the Public beyond the Limit allowed by the Act of 1844. 
 
 Notes issued to the Public on 
 
 Securities beyond the 
 
 Statutory Lmiit of £14,475,000. 
 
 1857, November 13 £186,000 
 
 14—15 622,000 
 
 „ 16 860,000 
 
 17 836,000 
 
 18 852,000 
 
 19 896,000 
 
 20 928,000 
 
 „ 21—22 617,000 
 
 23 397,000 
 
 24 317,000 
 
 „ 25 81,000 
 
 „ 26 243,000 
 
 27 342,000 
 
 28—29 184,000 
 
 30 15,000 
 
 Average of 18 days £488,830.
 
 G8 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 27. The causes wliieli, in the judgment of the Bank Directors, imme. 
 diately led to tliis result, are thus stated by them in their correspondence 
 with the Treasury, laid before Parliament in December last: — 
 
 •' On the 5th November the reserve was £2,94i,000, the bullion in the 
 Issue Department £7,919,000, and the deposits £17,205,000. The rate of 
 discount was advanced to 9 per cent., and on the 9th November to 10 
 per cent. 
 
 " The continual drain for gold had ceased, the American demand had 
 become xmimportant, and there was at that time little apprehension that 
 the Bank issues would be inadequate to meet the necessities of conunerce 
 within the legalized sphere of their circulation. 
 
 " Upon this state of things, however, supervened the failure of the 
 Western Bank of Scotland, and the City of Glasgow Baidc, and a renewed 
 discredit in Ireland, caiising an increased action upon the English circula- 
 tion, by the abstraction in four weeks of u.pwards of two millions of gold 
 to supply the wants of Scotland and Ireland ; of which amounts more 
 than one million was sent to Scotland and £280,000 to Ireland, between 
 the 5th and 12th November. 
 
 *' This drain was in its nature sudden and irresistible, and acted 
 necessarily in diminution of the reserve, which on the 11th had decreased 
 to £1,462,000, and the bullion to £6,666,000. 
 
 " The public became alarmed, large deposits accumulated in the Bank 
 of England, money-dealers having vast sums lent to them upon call were 
 themselves obliged to resort to the Bank of England for increased 
 supplies, and for some days nearly the whole of the requirements of com- 
 merce were thrown on the Bank. Thus, on the 12th, it discounted and 
 advanced to the amount of £2,373,000. which still left a reserve at night 
 of £581,000. 
 
 " Such was the state of the Bank of England accounts on the 12th, the 
 day of the publication of the Letter from the Treasury. The demand for 
 discounts and advances continued to increase till the 21st, when they 
 reached their maximum of £21,616,000. 
 
 " The public have also required a much larger quantity of notes than 
 usual at this season, the amount in their hands having risen on the 21st 
 to £21,554,000." 
 
 28. The Treasury Letter was the subject of discussion in the House, 
 and an Act of Indemnity having passed, your Committee do not feel 
 called upon to say more than that the evidence appears to them to show 
 that the discretion of the Government was properly exercised. 
 
 29. Your Committee will now state to the House the general outline of 
 commercial disaster, as it occurred in the United Kingdom. 
 
 30. The first occurrence in this country which caused alarm was the 
 failure of the house of Macdonald and Co., of Glasgow and London, 
 Avhich took place in October, and was accompanied by the failures of 
 Monteith and Co., and Wallace and Co., of Glasgow. The house of 
 Macdonald employed a great many work-people in sewing muslin goods 
 for the home trade and for the American market, and this they carried 
 on to a very large extent. They had been in fair credit till very nearly 
 the time of their failure, but shortly before tliat period they arc described
 
 FULL RETORT ON THE UANK ACTS. 69 
 
 as having given out tliat they had changed theii' mode of doing business 
 for the purpose of embracing a wider fiehl. This liowever is represented 
 as having been a deception, intended to cover a system to which they had 
 recourse of drawing fictitious bills, and to give to these bills the appear- 
 ance of genuine business transactions. From the records of the public 
 tribimals, it appears that a very considerable number of persona (one of 
 the partners is said to have admitted as many as 75) in London and other 
 places were employed by this firm, for a small commission, to put their 
 names to fictitious bills, which were then discounted, a large proportion of 
 them in Glasgow ; and when the house of Macdonald failed it was found 
 to be indebted to the Western Bank £422,000. 
 
 31. The house of Monteith and Co. was indebted to the same bank 
 £537,000 ; that of Wallace and Co. £227,000. 
 
 32. The house of Messrs. Dennistoun and Co. stopped payment on 
 November 7 ; it is expected to pay its liabilities in full, and its members 
 bear the highest character. But it can occasion no surprise that, on the 
 occurrence of such a crisis as that which took place in America last year, 
 a house, with debts owing to it from that country of nearly two' millions, 
 losing at the same time £300,000 by the failure of the Borough Bank of 
 Liverpool, of which the partners were shareholders, should, at a jiincture 
 when general alarm prevailed, have been obliged to suspend its payments. 
 
 33. During the month of October there was a very great gloom in 
 Glasgow, occasioned by the commercial panic in America, Glasgow being 
 very intimately connected in trade with America, with 'New York par- 
 ticularly. Towards the end of October that feeling was much increased, 
 from its being well known that the Western Bank were in difficulties from 
 their connection with the three houses which have been above referred to. 
 The bank closed on the 9th of November, at two o'clock. The Western 
 Bank and the City of Glasgow Bank had establishments open at night for 
 the purpose of receiving the savings of small depositors. During the 
 evening of the 9th, the Monday, there was a demand for gold by the 
 savings bank depositors at the branches of the City Bank. On the Tuesday 
 morning, when the doors of the banks were opened, a great number of 
 parties appeared with deposit receipts, demanding gold ; one witness, 
 speaking of his own bank, says : " The office of our own establishment was 
 quite filled with parties within a quarter of an hour of the opening of the 
 doors ; I think at half-past nine. This run or panic increased, and the 
 continued refusal of the notes of the Western Bank added very much to 
 the excitement. These people who came for money would not take the 
 notes of any bank ; it did not matter what bank it was ; they refused 
 everything but gold. Two of the banks sent a deputation of the directors 
 to Edinburgh to confer with the managers of the Edinburgh banks on the 
 subject, and to induce them to rescind a decision at which they had 
 arrived, not to take the notes of the Western Bank. They failed in that; 
 the notes of the Western Bank were refused the whole day on the Tues- 
 day. The streets of Glasgow were in a very excited state ; crowds were 
 walking about going from one bank to another to see what was going on : 
 there was an immense crowd of people. At the National Securities 
 Savings Bank the run was verj'' great indeed. The National Savings
 
 70 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 Bauk paid in notes, and then the depositors, having received their deposits 
 in notes, went with those notes to the banks that had issued them to 
 demand gold. The City of Glasgow Bank did not open on Wednesday the 
 11th. Troops were sent for by the authorities, who were afraid of some 
 disturbance. The magistrates issued a proclamation either on the Tues- 
 daj^ night or on the Wednesday morning, and it was circulated very 
 extensively, advising the people not to press upon the banks for payment, 
 and to take the notes of all banks. The magistrates held a meeting on the 
 Wednesday morning, and they issued an order to all the rate collectors 
 over the city to take all notes presented to them ; they did all they could 
 to allay the excitement. In accordance with the provisions of the Act of 
 1845 the banks held a considerable quantity of gold, but they were under 
 the necessity of having more gold from London ; upon two occasions, on 
 the Wednesday and the Thursday mornings, the 11th and 12th, large 
 remittances of gold from London arrived about 10 o'clock in the forenoon; 
 it was taken down in waggons to the banks, and escorted by a strong 
 police force, and no doubt, seeing such immense quantities of gold come 
 excited a great commotion in the town. 
 
 Mr. Eobertson, the Manager of the Union Bank, is asked — 
 " What was the nature of that excitement ; was it of a pleasurable 
 character ? — It was such a novelty ; in the first place, a large bank stop- 
 ping payment, and then such quantities of gold coming down from London ; 
 it was quite a new thing to the people altogether. 
 
 " Had it any effect in regard to the panic ? — I should think it must 
 have had an effect ; the people saw there was gold there to pay them if 
 they wanted it ; but by the Thursday morning the panic was entirely 
 allayed ; it entirely ceased on the Wednesday afternoon about two o'clock ; 
 at half-past two I do not think there were half-a-dozen people in our 
 establishment. 
 
 " To what do you attribute the cessation of the panic ? — I cannot 
 answer that question ; whether the people thought better of it I cannot 
 tell. 
 
 " When was it that it first became known that the other banks would 
 take the Western Bank's notes ? — I should like to spea,k of what I know 
 positively ; I understood that the Edinburgh banks on the Tuesday night, 
 the 10th, had agreed to take the notes of the Western Bank amongst 
 themselves. At the meeting it was announced to them that the City 
 Bank had then failed; then there was an alteration again, and they 
 agreed neither to take the notes of the Western Bank nor of the City 
 Bank ; and that was acted upon during the Wednesday by their agents 
 in Glasgow, but not to the full extent after the Tuesday ; they were 
 partially taken. 
 
 " Had the notes of the Western Bank began to be taken in the course 
 of the Wednesday ? — Yes. 
 
 " And at two o'clock on the Wednesday afternoon you consider that 
 the panic had come to an end ? — Quite. 
 
 "And on the Thursday the Government Letter was issued? — Yes, I 
 believe so." 
 
 34. It has been observed that the panic in Glasgow had ceased before
 
 rULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 71 
 
 tlie Treasury Letter ^\ as issued, and that the demand at the Bank of 
 Eno;land for advances and discounts did not cease •with the publication of 
 that letter ; after which date it cannot of course be attributed to any fear 
 that there was a limit to the quantity of bank notes. On the contrary, 
 we have seen that the advances by discount kept rising continually, and 
 though the rate of 10 per cent, was still maintained, they rose from 
 £15,900,000, at which they stood on the day preceding the issue of that 
 letter to £21,000,000 on the 21st November. It is obvious, therefore, 
 that the principal causes of th.e commercial crisis of 1857 must be sought 
 elsewhere. That calamity cannot be attributed exclusively or chiefly to 
 panic occasioned by the operation of the Act of 1844. Since, too, the 
 difficulties here exijericnced took their origin from America, where no such 
 law is in force ; and that crisis was felt in still greater severity than here, 
 by countries in the north of Europe, whose currency is regulated by laws 
 widely different from ours, it remains for your Committee to inquire 
 whether any cause or causes, common to all those countries, and sufficient 
 to account for the occurrence of commercial disasters in them all respec- 
 tively, have been disclosed by the evidence. 
 
 35. For a general review of the failures which occurred in England 
 your Committee have been indebted to Mi\ Coleman, and to Mr. Ball, of 
 the firm of Messrs. Quilter and Ball, both eminent accountants in London. 
 These gentlemen do not profess to have studied abstruse questions of 
 currency ; they do not represent themselves as particularly conversant 
 with the operation of the Act of 1844. They, however, assign what 
 appears to your Committee an adequate cause for the recent commercial 
 crisis. Availing themselves of their experience in 1847, the affairs of 
 which have now been finally closed, to illustrate the transactions of 1857, 
 which still appear in estimate, and are therefore liable to correction, they 
 ascribe the calamities of both periods to the same principal cause, viz., the 
 great abuse of credit, and consequent overtrading. They notice also this 
 difference between the two periods : many of the houses which fell in 1847, 
 had once been wealthy, biit had long ceased to be so. Those of 1857 had, 
 with few exceptions, never possessed adequate capital, but carried on 
 extensive transactions by fictitious credit. In 1847, for example, one 
 bouse, whicb had been originally wealthy, failed with liabilities amount- 
 ing in the whole to upwards of £1,800,000, of which not q\iite £1,000,000 
 were to be paid by other parties, leaving more than £800,000 the direct 
 liabilities of the house. The capital, as represented in their books at the 
 time of suspension, was £215,000, and the assets, according to their own 
 valuation, £800,000, or nearly sufficient to meet the whole of their 
 liabilities. Very different, however, was the valuation of the accountant, 
 wlio estimated their assets at £185,000, and even that was materially 
 diminished in the result. The dividend ultimately paid was only 9d. in 
 the pound. This firm, originally merchants, insensibly advanced their 
 capital to planters in the East Indies, until it became necessary for them 
 to be the planters themselves. They then were compelled to obtain 
 advances from others, which they accomplished by the sale and circulation 
 of bills in the East Indies upon the house to a great extent. Obtaining 
 credit in that manner they postponed their fall many years, and ultimately
 
 73 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 fell, payiuff only 9^7. in the pound. In this case advances had heen made 
 on the credit of the next year's crop. This was an extreme case, and was 
 connected with peculiar considerations at that time affecting the price of 
 colonial produce, the principal property of the house. But Mr. Coleman, 
 from whose evidence these particulars have been taken, says, that the 
 estates which came under his notice as insolvent in that year paid 
 generallj' very small dividends, not averaging more than 4^. 
 
 36. Another example of the same period is described by Mr. Ball as 
 follows : It was that of a house which failed in 1847 ; they were engaged 
 very largely as merchants in this country, and they were a house of A'ery 
 old standing. In the course of their business they came under advances to 
 a house in one of the colonies, on the security of the crops to be sent 
 forward from time to time. The parties to whom those advances were so 
 made failed to repay them ; that is to say, to recoup the London house 
 for them ; and eventually the London house was obliged to take upon 
 themselves the business which was originally conducted by those Avhom 
 they accommodated with advances ; in other words, the mei'chaut in 
 London did practically become the planter and the owner of estates. 
 After ho had so become the planter, his position was changed from that of 
 being a person who made advances, and he himself found it necessary to 
 obtain advances. Most likely the course would be this, that the house on 
 the other side, perhaps the correspondents themselves of the London 
 house, and it might be identical with the London house, would draw upon 
 the London house, or draw upon some third party and remit to the 
 Loudon house ; which bill the London house would take to its banker 
 and get discounted, and by that process would be placed in funds to 
 provide from time to time for its own engagements. The result of which 
 would be to sustain for some time the credit of the house, after the 
 capital of the house had been exhausted. The effect would be to enable 
 them to hold produce in expectation of better prices ; the longer it was 
 continued the heavier would be the ultimate loss. After an interval of 
 ten years, this house has, within the last few months, paid a final 
 dividend, making a total of Is. lOd. in the pound. 
 Mr. Ball is asked — 
 
 " Looking back to the experience of the year 1847, were the dividends 
 that were paid by the insolvent houses generally very small ? — The 
 average dividend would be small, as far as I recollect. Here and there 
 there would be a house which would pay in full, or would joay a very 
 large dividend ; but the general result was, that a small dividend upon 
 the Avhole was received by the creditors. 
 
 "Looking back now, M"ith your experience, to the results of 1817, is 
 it your opinion that if the law had afforded gi*eater facilities for obtaining 
 credit at that time for the purpose of sustaining these houses longer, the 
 result would have been more advantageous to the houses themselves, or to 
 the community at large? — Knowing what I do of the internal state of 
 those houses when they did stoj), I should say that had they been able to 
 obtain further credit for a continued period of time, it would only have 
 had a temporary effect ujion their position, and that most of them (of 
 course I have a reserve of some good cases in my mind) from their internal
 
 FULL IIKPORT ON THK BANK ACTS. 73 
 
 condition being worn oul, and from the want of real capital in their con- 
 cerns, must have failed ultimately, and that the longer the assistance 
 was continued simply upon their credit, the greater the iiltimate loss 
 would be. 
 
 " Such is your view of the failures that took place in 1847, speaking 
 generally ? — That is my view." 
 
 37. Your Committee have thought it not irrelevant to place on record 
 these instances, which it was not in the power of their predecessors in 
 1848 to give, because they furnish an instructive example how readily 
 misfortunes are at the time attributed by the sufferers, and others sym- 
 pathizing with them, to the operation of statutory enactments — which 
 misfortunes, upon a full review of all the circumstances attending them, 
 it is obvious that no wisdom of the Legislature, no regulation of the 
 currency, could have prevented. 
 
 38. Your Committee have before them the particulars of 30 houses 
 which failed in 1857. The aggregate liability of these houses is £9,080,000, 
 of this sum the liabilities which otlier parties ought to provide for amount 
 to £5,215,000, and the estimated assets £2,317,000. Besides the failures 
 which arose from the suspension of American remittances, another class of 
 failures is disclosed. The nature of these transactions was the system of 
 open credits which were granted ; that is, by granting to persons abroad 
 liberty to draw upon the house in England to such an extent as had been 
 agreed upon between them ; those drafts were then negotiated upon the 
 foreign exchanges, and found their way to England with the understanding 
 that they were to be provided for at maturity. They were principally 
 provided for, not by staple commodities, but by other bills that were sent 
 to take them up. There was no real basis to the transaction, but the 
 whole affair was a means of raising a temporary command of capital for 
 the convenience of the individuals concerned, merely a bare commission 
 hanging upon it ; a banker's commission was all that the houses in 
 England got upon those transactions, with the exception of receiving the 
 consignments probably of goods from certain parties, which brought them 
 a merchant's commission upon them ; but they formed a very small 
 amount in comparison with the amount of credits which were granted. 
 One house at the time of its suspension was under obligation to the world 
 to the extent of about £900,000, its capital at the last time of taking stock 
 was under £10,000. Its business was chiefly the granting of open credits, 
 i.e., the house permitted itself to be drawn upon by foreign houses with- 
 out any remittance previously or contemporaneously made, but with an 
 engagement that it shoidd be made before the acceptance arrived at 
 maturity. In these cases, the inducement to give the acceptance is a com- 
 mission varying from 1 to 1 } per cent. The acceptances are rendered 
 available by being discounted, as will appear hereafter, when the affairs of 
 the banks which failed come under our notice. 
 
 39. The obvious effect of such a system is first unduly to enhance, and 
 then, whilst it continues, to sustain the price of commodities. In 1857, 
 that fall of prices which, according to Mr. Neave, far-seeing people had 
 anticipated, actually occurred. Tables have been put in by more than one
 
 74 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS, 
 
 of the witnesses, exhibiting an average fiill of 20 or 30 per cent., in many- 
 instances mucli more, upon the comparison of July, 1857, with January, 
 1858. It needs no argument to prove what effect such a fall must have 
 upon houses which had accepted bills, on the security of produce consigned, 
 to the extent of one hundred times the amount of their own capital. The 
 witness says— 
 
 " In the case which you are now describing to the Committee, these 
 transactions had gone on to the extent of £900,000. The real guarantee 
 was partly produce and partly bills of exchange ; to whatever extent that 
 produce was depreciated, of course the liability of the firm to meet such 
 depreciation of produce was about one hundredth part of the whole of their 
 liabilities ? — That is so. 
 
 " Do you consider that case to be a fair illustration of the recent com- 
 mercial disasters which have occurred ? — I think it is, though I should 
 mention that in some cases the proportion of capital possessed was larger 
 than that which I have mentioned. 
 
 " In some cases, also, perhaps it might be smaller? — In some cases con- 
 siderably smaller. In some cases I have known houses come under very 
 large obligations, who had really no capital at all." 
 
 40. This practice appears to have grown up of late, and to be prin- 
 cipally connected with the trade of Sweden, Denmark, and other countries 
 in the north of Europe. One house at Newcastle is described as conduct- 
 ing before 1854 a regular trade in the Baltic. They were not great people, 
 but were respectable people, and were doing a moderately profitable trade. 
 They unfortunately entered upon this system of granting credits ; and in 
 the course of three years the following result ensued, viz., in 1854 their 
 capital was between £2,000 and £3,000 ; in 1S57 they failed for £100,000, 
 with the prospect of paying about 25. in the pound. 
 
 41. For other instances of this abuse of credit, your Committee refer 
 to the evidence, concurring entirely in the opinions expressed by the 
 witnesses, that the great abuse of credit is a feature common to the two 
 years 1847 and 1857, and has been, iu their judgment, the principal caiiso 
 of the failures that took place in those years. 
 
 Mr. Coleman says — 
 
 " Speaking generally with regard to 1847, of which your experience is 
 now complete, are you prepared to say that the failures which occurred in 
 that year were owing to any imperfection of the law by which the facilities 
 for obtaining credit were unduly curtailed ? — No. 
 
 " With regard to the year 1857, what would your answer be to the 
 same question P — That every house which applied and deserved assistance 
 received it. 
 
 " From whence P — From the Bank of England, as far as I know ; and 
 more, that in the case of two houses which (^ame under my personal 
 control, I applied to know whether they could have assistance, and the 
 answer was, Yes ; guarantees were obtained to the amount required for one 
 house, but I found that I could not advise their being used. The appli- 
 cations, when made by me, were immediately responded to by the Bank 
 of England.
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 75 
 
 " Tlic alteration of your opinion, I suppose arose from the fact of further 
 investigation into the state of solvency of the concern ? — And the continued 
 bad intelligence from the north of Europe with regard to failures. 
 
 " The failures of their correspondents in the north of Europe also being 
 communicated ? — Yes." 
 
 42. The commercial crisis was very little felt in Ireland until the failure 
 of some of the banks in England and Scotland. The trade of Ireland, with 
 the exception of that of Belfast, being little connected with the United 
 States, did not feel directly the effect of the failures there ; but when 
 failures began to take place at home there was an internal pressure con- 
 sequent upon them, which, about the early part of the month of No- 
 vember, manifested itself severely in a demand for gold by depositors and 
 holders of notes, and there was a run on the savings banks. The Bank of 
 Ireland advanced to the Banks in Ireland requiring gold to the extent of 
 about £250,000 ; and they were obliged to draw from the Bank of England 
 from £1,000,000 to £1,200,000 besides. Belfast has a large trade with the 
 United States, as well as a constant intercourse with Scotland, but there 
 was no alarm until the time of the Scotch bank failures. There was then 
 what had never been known before in Belfast since the institution of the 
 joint-stock banks, a considerable run for gold in exchange for their notes. 
 But the amount of gold which they held under the Act of 1845 was a 
 source of strength. The banks appear to be well constituted, and no 
 serious results ensued. 
 
 43. In London no bank failed. In Liverpool the Borough Bank, in 
 Glasgow the Western Bank of Scotland, in Newcastle the Northumber- 
 land and Durham District Bank, failed in the months of October and 
 November last. The City of Glasgow and Wolverhampton Banks 
 suspended payment, but have since resumed. 
 
 44. Your committee have examined Mr. Joshua Dixon, who, in August, 
 1857, first assumed the post of managing director of the Borough Bank ; 
 Mr. Fleming, who has been since July, 1857, assistant manager, manager 
 or liquidator of the Western Bank of Scotland ; and Mr. Kirkman 
 Hodgson, a member of the House, and director of the Bank of England, 
 who, being well acquainted with the trade of Newcastle, went to that 
 town in November, for the purpose of ascertaining how far it was right 
 that the Bank of England should give assistance to the Northumberland 
 Bank. 
 
 45. The state of these three banks at the time of their failure may be 
 collected from the following summary, viz. : — 
 
 Mr. Joshua Dixon, for many years resident in the United States, and 
 once a private banker at New Orleans, settled at Liverpool in 1852, and 
 soon afterwards became a shareholder and director of the Borough Bank. 
 This institution was originally a private Bank, that of Messrs. Hope, in 
 whose hands it was prosperous, and they retired as wealthy men about the 
 year 1834. In 1847, however, the Borough Bank was under the necessity 
 of obtaining assistance from the Bank of England. When Mr. Dixon 
 became connected with it, he found tliat the Board, which consisted of 12 
 directors, chose two managing directors and a chairman. The entire
 
 76 FULL RETORT ON THE BANK ACTS, 
 
 managcnipiit of the Bank was amongst tlie mauagiug directors aud the 
 manager. On the 1st of August, 1857, Mr. Dixon himself became a 
 managing director, and thus describes the state in which he found the 
 affairs of the bank : — " Its position," he says, " was, that of its available 
 means being very much reduced, being far smaller than was at all con- 
 sistent with the sound and safe position of anj"- bank." Speaking irre- 
 spectively of any general commercial pressure, he tells your Committee, 
 that — From the 1st of August, when his attendance at the bank Avas daily, 
 as he became more and more thoroughly acquainted with the position of 
 individual accounts, and with the whole circumstances of the bank in pro- 
 portion as time lapsed, he became more and more convinced that the 
 position of the bank was one of exceeding danger. When the commercial 
 crisis showed itself, of course the danger to the Borough Bank became 
 imminent, and they made an application to the Bank of England for 
 assistance, some time between the 20th and the 23rd of October. The 
 position, in general terms, of the bank was, that its assets were all 
 locked up and unavailable, and that some £600,000 or £700,000 of its 
 assets or claims on its debtors, which had, until a short time previously, 
 been considered good, could not be relied upon, even for ultimate 
 realization. About £3,500,000 bills were at that time in London under 
 the indorsement of the Borough Bank of Liverpool ; of which from 
 £700,000 to £1,000,000 had no negotiable validity at all, except the 
 indorsement of the Borough Bank of Liverpool. 
 
 46. Pending the negotiations with the Bank of England, there 
 appeared in th.e_Tinies, of October 27, an ar-ticle, statmg that arrange- 
 ments had been made for giving assistance to the Borough Bank, in 
 consequence of which a run took place, and the doors of the bank were 
 closed. That run lasted only two or three hours, but the cash at their 
 command was reduced to between £15,000 and £20,000 ; while their 
 liabilities on deposits were in all £1,200,000, of which £800,000 were at 
 call, and the remainder at periods varying from two to six months. The 
 dividend of this bank, which had previously been seven per cent., had, at 
 the last meeting, held on 10th July, 1857, been reduced to five ; and a 
 sum of £165,000 was, on the face of the report, acknowledged to have 
 been lost. The total loss, so far as the witness could estimate it, 
 amounted to £940,000, being the total capital of the bank. It is 
 ascribed, not to advances improperly made to favoured persons, but to 
 want of discretion in the management. 
 
 47. The Western Bank of Scotland was founded in 1832. In 1834 it 
 was already in difficulties, and their correspondents in London dis- 
 honoured their bills. They applied to the other banks for assistance, and 
 received it, upon certain conditions. In the year 1838 they applied to the 
 Board of Trade for letters ])atent, which Avcre refused. At this time the 
 Bank of Scotland and other banks addressed a memorial to Mr. Poulett 
 Thomson, alleging the breach of tbc conditions referred to. This 
 memorial will be found in the Appendix. In 1847 the Western Bank 
 was again in difficulties, and was assisted by the Bank of England, 
 receiving an advance of £300,000. The then manager, Mr. Donald 
 Smith, appears to have taken alarm from the occurrences of 1847 ; and.
 
 FULL RDPOllT OX THE BANK ACTS. 11 
 
 in 1852, when be retired, the bank, though not in a satisfactory position, 
 stood better than it had stood before, since 1847. When it failed on 
 9th November, 1857, it appeared that the four insolvent houses of 
 Macdonald, Monteith, Wallace, and Pattison were indebted to it in the 
 sum of £1,603,000 ; the whole capital of the bank being only £1,500,000. 
 One of the conditions of the co-partnery was, " That if it shall at any 
 time appear, on balancing the company's books, that a sum e(|ual to 
 £25 per centiim on the advanced capital stock of the company has been 
 lost in prosecution of the business of the company, such loss shall, 
 ipso facto, and without the necessity of any further procedure, dissolve 
 and put an end to the company." 
 
 48. Mr. Fleming became assistant manager in July, 1857, and at once 
 examined the affairs. He estimated that even supposing the debts of 
 these four houses (which had not yet become insolvent) were assumed 
 to be good, there appeared on the face of the books as good assets 
 £573,0(X) of bad debts ; and deducting the rest and guarantee fund, 
 which then amounted to £246,000, there remained an apparent deficiency 
 or encroachment on the capital of the bank of £327,000. This of itself 
 nearly approached the limit which dissolved the partnership and put an 
 end to the existence of the board ; and of this state of affairs Mr. Flem- 
 ing believes that up to that time the directors were in a state of almost 
 entire ignorance. In 1853, previously to the first meeting of the share- 
 holders after Mr. Smith's departure, an examination was instituted pre- 
 paratory to the annual balance. From a confidential paper, having marks 
 upon it in the handwriting of the then manager, it appears that a sum of 
 £260,000 was reported to him as irrecoverable on one branch of the assets, 
 which, nevertheless, appeared as good assets in the published balance- 
 sheet. The modes in which this kind of disguise can be accomplished 
 will perhaps be best understood by stating the manner in which a debt 
 called Scarth's debt, comprised in a different branch of the assets, was 
 disposed of. That debt amounted to £120,000, and it ought to have 
 appeared among the protested bills. It was, however, divided into four 
 or five open credit accounts, bearing the names of the acceptors of 
 Scarth's bills. These accounts were debited with the amount of their 
 respective acceptances, and insurances were effected on the lives of the 
 debtors to the extent of £75,000. On these insurances £33,000 have since 
 been paid as premiums by the bank itself. These all now stand as assets 
 in the books. Though this substitution took place in 1848, yet down to 
 the time when Mr. Fleming's examinations began to bring to light the true 
 state of affairs, the six directors appear to have regarded these sums as 
 part of the available property of the shareholders. This being the 
 actual state of the accounts, the dividend was raised in 1854 from 7 to 
 8 per cent., and in 1856 to 9. Nine per cent, was the dividend 
 declared in June, 1857, at which date a very slight acquaintance with the 
 books must have led to the strongest suspicion, not to say to the clear 
 conviction, that for some time a considerable portion of the capital had 
 been lost. 
 
 ly. This bank had 101 branches throughout Scotland. It had con- 
 nections in America, who were allowed to draw iipon it for the mere
 
 /» FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 sake of the commission. At home it made advances upon "indents;" 
 or, in other words, provided the manufacturer with the capital with which 
 yet unmade cloth was thereafter to be produced. Its discounts, which 
 in 1853 were £14,987,000, had been increased iu 1857 (till 9th November) 
 to £20,091,000, With what care this business was conducted may 
 appear from the circumstance that Macdonald's bills were accepted by 
 124 different parties ; that only thirty-seven had been inquired about, 
 and iu the case of twenty-one the reports received from the correspon- 
 dents of the bank were unsatisfactory, or positively bad. Yet the credit 
 given to Macdonald continued undiminished. The rediscounts of the 
 bank in London, which iu 1852 had been £407,000, rose in 1856 to 
 £5,407,000. The exchanges of notes in Edinburgh have been always 
 against the Western Bank, and for an average of the last six years, to an 
 extent of not less than £3,000,000 a-year. This circumstance is accounted 
 for by Mr. Fleming, chiefly by reference to the nature of the transac- 
 tions with Macdonald's and other houses in accommodation bills; £988,000 
 were due to the bank from its own shareholders. 
 
 50. About the end of October the Northumberland and Diirham bank 
 applied for assistance to the Bank of England. It was declined, as they 
 could not give any satisfactory explanation of their real position. They 
 applied a second time, urging the great peril in which they were placed 
 by the continued discredit, and by the constant drain of small deposits ; 
 they urged also the fear of disturbances and breach of the peace which 
 might ensue if they were to fail, they being so largely connected with 
 collieries and ironworks. Accordingly, on Tuesday, 24th November, Mr. 
 Hodgson went down to Newcastle, and told the directors that he had 
 been sent down by the Bank of England to examine into their books, and 
 see whether it was possible to render them such assistance as would 
 enable them to go on ; but that the first condition of the Bank doing 
 anything was that they should prove themselves solvent. The result was 
 that Mr, Hodgson found the liabilities, as then stated, amounting to 
 £2,600,000, of which there were £1,350,000 of deposits, £1,150,000 
 accounts current, and they had rediscounted £1,500,000, of which they 
 expected that £100,000 would come back upon them, and for which they 
 would ultimately be liable, making altogether £2,600,000, Their assets 
 were of a very peculiar nature indeed, the early realization of which 
 would be almost impossible. They held in securities about £1,000,000 of 
 different kinds. They held iu trade bills, that is to say, small bills on 
 shopkeepers of Newcastle, about £250,000, bills which were probably good 
 in themselves, but which were not available anywhere out of Newcastle ; 
 they were not bills which could have been discounted in any other part of 
 the money-market. They had in overdrawn accounts £1,664,000, with- 
 out any specific securities attached to them. Of these £1,664,000, there 
 Avere £100,000 which one of the directors very candidly confessed must he 
 considered as totally bad, and which ought to have been written off 
 long before, but which still remained in the account as good debts. 
 The capital of the concern Avas £656,000 nominally, but in reality it was 
 considerably less than that ; because in 1847 they had been in trouble, 
 and in order to get out of that trouble they had made a call of £5 or
 
 FULL REPORT ON TIIF, HANK ACTS. 79 
 
 £10 a share, whicli was not paid upon some of tlie sliarcs, wliieli shares 
 were forfeited, and taken by them into the stock of their bank, to be 
 reissued should occasion warrant their doing so. The consequence was, 
 that the subscribed capital of the bank was about £600,000. This 
 statement at once showed that any attempt to help them, short of taking 
 up the Avhole concern, and liquidating it for them, would be perfectly 
 useless. It was evident that the whole capital was gone; and, looking 
 at the character of the securities, Mr. Hodgson came to the conclusion 
 not only that the capital was gone, but that the bank was totally in- 
 solvent. Being very much struck with the extraordinary loss which 
 had taken place in the bank, which, when a private bank, he knew to 
 have been a very floui'ishing one, he inquired whether there was not 
 some old sore of which nothing had as yet been said. He was told 
 that there was one ; there was rather a disinclination to mention what it 
 was, but he felt it his duty to press it, and they told him they had a 
 verj^ large debt with the Derwent Iron Company. He inquired the 
 amount of this debt, and found, much to his astonishment, that it 
 amounted to £750,000, the capital of the bank being £600,000. For 
 that debt there was a kind of security, which consisted of £250,000 of 
 what were called Derwent Iron Company's debentures, which were, how- 
 ever, in reality, nothing but the promissory notes of the directors, 
 there being very few persons in this Derwent Iron Company. The 
 bank had also £100,000 mortgage on the plant, and the remaining 
 £400,000 was totally unsecured. In addition to this original debt then 
 mentioned of £750,000, there is now another charge upon it of £197,000, 
 resulting from bills which have not been paid, and which, in order that 
 the Derwent Iron Company might get them discounted, the bank had 
 endorsed or otherwise guaranteed. These have now come back, so that 
 the total liability for which the Derwent Iron Company is indebted to 
 the bank is about £9 17,000 ; very nearly £1,000,000. The Derwent Iron 
 Company appears to have been, almost from the time of the conversion 
 of the bank into a joint-stock bank, very intimately connected with it. 
 Mr. Jonathan Eichardson, who was the moving spring of the whole bank, 
 in fact the j)erson who managed everything, was, though not a partner 
 in the Derwent Iron Company, very largely interested in it as holding 
 the royalties upon the minerals which they worked. It appears that 
 the concern has been worked extremely badly ; that it has never made 
 any profits at all, even in the very finest years for the ironmasters, and it 
 has gone on absorbing the money of the bank unchecked by the directors. 
 Mr. Hodgson says that £1,000,000 of securities were taken of the most extra- 
 ordinary nature for any bank to hold that he ever saw ; — that £1,000,000 of 
 securities, which was the only tangible asset which they had against the 
 £2,600,000 of liabilities, consisted of £350,000 of the Derwent Iron Com- 
 pany's obligations, £250,000 being debentures, and £100,000 mortgage 
 on the plant. They had besides these, £100,000 on a building speculation 
 at Elswick, near Newcastle, which however was not a primary mortgage, 
 there being a mortgage of £20,000 on that land belonging to Mr. Hodgson 
 Hinde. They had also another £100,000 on other building land and 
 houses in the neighbourhood of Newcastle. They had about £350,000 in
 
 80 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 securities of works and mauufactures of different sorts, and tliey had about 
 £gO,000 in navigation bonds guaranteed by the railvray, but which railway 
 ■was the only security to which they could look in any given time to realize 
 any sura of money ; that made about £1,000,000 altogether. The other 
 securities were absolutely unmarketable. This bank had derived assist- 
 ance from the Bank of England in the former crisis, that of 1847. Almost 
 exactly the same circumstances arose then, which arose in 1857, and almost 
 from the same cause. The bank, however, applied at that time to the 
 agent of the Bank of England, at Newcastle, and he, on his own respon- 
 sibility, made them a very large advance, w4iich carried them through, he 
 taking at the same time a very considerable security from them in various 
 mortgages, pretty much of the character which has been above mentioned, 
 but better in quality, although not any more banking securities than 
 these ; between £700,000 and £800,000 altogether. 
 
 " The whole of the advance made in 1847 was repaid to the Bank of 
 England, was it not .^ — Yes. With regard to the late occasion I repre- 
 sented at the same time that, though the bank could not be assisted, j-et 
 the fact of its failing, which it would do the moment it was known that 
 the Bank of England would not help it, would be at that moment a very 
 serious thing for the district, because it was so much connected with the 
 collieries and ironworks that it paid every week, either for persons who 
 had balances with-it, or for persons whose bills it discounted, and thus 
 gave them the money, about £35,000, on which the wages of 30,000 
 were dependent ; and as their pay-day was on tlie Friday, and the bank 
 would stop on the Thursday, it was very desirable that something should 
 be done to prevent the confusion which would arise if there was no prepa- 
 tion made for that conjuncture. In consequence of that the Bank of 
 England requested me to go down again that night, with full powers to make 
 arrangements with all persons who might have any tangible and good 
 security, though, perhaps, not perfectly regular security, so as to provide 
 them with the means of making their pays on the Friday. I went down 
 accordingly, and arranged with almost everybody, or with everybody I 
 may say, to make such advances as would enable them to meet the pays 
 for that week and for the next, should it be necessary. I also advised 
 the manager of the savings bank to open his bank on Saturday for pay- 
 ments, though it was not the usual day, and authorized him to draw upon 
 the Bank of England for any sum of money which he might require for 
 the purpose of making any payment ; but owing to the fact of the Bank 
 of England thus enabling the pi-oprietors of the coal mines and the works 
 to make their weekly payments, there was no run whatever upon the 
 savings bank, and everything passed off quite quietly. 
 
 " Was there any limit to the authority which you had from the Bank 
 of England to give assistance in Newcastle ? — No, there was no limit ; it 
 was left to my discretion to do what might be neccssaiy. We knew very 
 well that it could not amount to a sum, under any circumstances, of much 
 more than from £50,000 to £70,000. 
 
 "Are there any other particulars connected with the Newcastle Bank 
 which you are able to lay before the Committee? — I will, if the Com- 
 mittee wish, give them the actual result of the accounts of the bank when
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 81 
 
 it was fmally wound-up in January this year, as compared with those in 
 November, 1857 ; it will show a little dilTerence. In November, 1857, the 
 liabilities of the bank were £2,000,000 ; these consisted of deposits, 
 £1,350,000; accounts current, £1,150,000; and estimated liabilities on 
 rediscounts, £100,000 ; in January, when the bank was positively wound- 
 up and the thing ascertained, it appeared that there were of deposits, 
 £1,256,000; in accounts current, £766,000; and in liabilities on redis- 
 counts, £231,000. The only great difference was in the accounts current, 
 which were diminished about £ 100,000. That was principally, I believe, 
 from the fact that many persons who had accounts current had deposit 
 accounts also ; they kept two accounts, one of which had a balance in its 
 favour and the other was overdrawn ; therefore, one account being set 
 against the other, it diminished it by so much, and at the same time 
 diminished the amount of overdrawn accounts ; the assets, which were 
 estimated in November at £2,500.000, had fallen in January to £2,000,000, 
 and there was one peculiarity, \\ bich was, that while the debt of the Der- 
 went Iron Company was taken as an asset in November at £750,000, in 
 January it was taken as an asset at £947,000, and that is an asset of a 
 very doubtful nature ; the position of the bank is much worse in reality 
 than is shown by the statement of the figures. 
 
 51. This disclosure was the result of an examination which lasted about 
 two hours ; yet the bank had declared, at the last half-yearly meeting, a 
 dividend of seven per cent., making to the shareholders a statement the 
 substance of which showed a very prosperous state of things. Mr. Hodgson 
 mentions that he remarked on the fact of their having declared a dividend 
 in June, when it was admitted that half the capital was lost, and he asked 
 how they could have done so ; it was stated, in reply, that there were so 
 many persons who depended entirely for their livelihood on the dividends 
 received, that they really could not bear to face them without paying any 
 dividend. 
 
 52. Each of these three banks had been in peril in 1847, and though, 
 by the assistance of the Bank of England, they were enabled to surmount 
 it, they fell on the next occasion of severe commercial pressure, under 
 circumstances still more injurious both to their own proprietors and to 
 the public. Two bill-broking houses in London suspended payment in 
 1847 ; both afterwards resumed business. In 1857 both suspended again : 
 — The liabilities of one house in 1847 were, in round numbers, £2,683,000, 
 with a capital of £180,000 ; the liabilities of the same house, in 1857, 
 were £5,300,000, the capital much smaller ; probably not more than one- 
 fourth of what it was in 1847. The liabilities of the other firm were 
 between £3,000,000 and 4,000,000 at each period of stoppage, with a 
 capital not exceeding £45,000. 
 
 53. These five houses contributed more than any others to the commer- 
 cial disaster and discredit of 1857. It is impossible for your Committee 
 to attribute the failure of such establishments to any other cause than to 
 their own inherent unsoundness, the natural, the inevitable, result of their 
 own misconduct. 
 
 54. Thus we have traced a system under which extensive fictitious 
 credits have been created by means of accommodation bills, and open 
 
 G
 
 83 FULL REPORT OX THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 credits, great facilities for wUicli have been afforded by the practice of 
 joint-stock country banks discounting such bills, and rediscount! ng them 
 with the bill-brokers in the London market, upon the credit of the bank 
 alone, without reference to the qualit}' of the bills otherwise. The redis- 
 counter relies on the belief that if the bank suspend and the bills are not 
 met at maturity, he will obtain from the Bank of England such immediate 
 assistance as will save him from the consequences. Thus, Mr. Dixon 
 states : " In incidental conversation about the whole affair, one of the 
 bill-brokers made the remark that if it had not been for Sir Robert Peel's 
 Act, the Borough Bank need not have suspended. In reply to that, I 
 said, that whatever might be the merits of Sir Eobert Peel's Act, for my 
 own part, I would not have been willing to lift a finger to assist the 
 Borough Bank through its difficulties, if the so doing had involved the 
 continuance of such a wretched system of business as had been practised ; 
 and I said, ' If I had only known half as much of the proceedings of the 
 Borough Bank while I was a director' (referring to the time previous 
 to the 1st of August, when I became a managing director), ' as you 
 must have known, by seeing a great many of the bills of the Borough 
 Bank discounted, you would never have caught me being a shareholder;' 
 the rejoinder to which was, 'Nor would you have caught me being a 
 shareholder ; it was very well for me to discount the bills, but I would 
 not have been a shareholder either.' " 
 
 55. It will be instructive now to turn to the North of Europe, to 
 survey the condition of countries where, as in Hamburg, the currency 
 is exclusively metallic, and to compare the state of things there with that 
 which existed here under the laws which regulate the currency in this 
 kingdom. 
 
 56. In Hamburg, on the 23d of November, commercial confidence is 
 stated to have been entirely at an end ; so that only the bills of three or 
 four of the first houses were negotiable at the highest rate of discount. 
 In the first instance, some of the leading houses and the banks originated 
 a plan for relief, viz., the subscription of about £1,000,000, and the appoint- 
 ment of a committee to give, by indorsement, the credit of this fund to 
 the current bills. At first it seemed that confidence was much restored, 
 but in two days this hope vanished ; and on the 25th the aspect of affairs 
 was again very gloomy. On the 27th a meeting of the Biirgherschaft was 
 held, and a new arrangement was proposed by the Senate for the issue of 
 Government bonds on the deposit of goods, funds, and shares, to the 
 amount of £1,125,000. On the following day the feeling of the Exchange 
 was better in consequence of this Government measure, andof the arrival 
 of considerable quantities of silver. Yet, on the 1st of December, our 
 Consul writes, " The embarrassments of the mercantile community here 
 still continue undiminished :" and on the 3rd, " There is no deficiency of 
 silver in the Hamburg Bank ; indeed the amount in the cellars of the 
 bank is now much larger than it has been at any former period, but a 
 total want of confidence prevents its holders from parting with it." The 
 Government bonds could not be discounted. A loan was ultimately 
 obtained from Vienna ; but even the arrival of the amount in specie 
 failed to produce the desired effect, until the Senate reluctanily proposed
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS, 83 
 
 that it should be intrusted to a secret committee, to be by them lent out 
 on good security. On December 12, as soon as it was known that by tlie 
 aid of the Government the leading houses would fulfil their engagements, 
 the panic ceased. Money at once became abundant, and in about a fort- 
 night the rate of discount for the best bills feU to two and three percent. 
 
 57. The information on this subject, relating to the different countries 
 in the jN'orth of Europe, which will be found in the Appendix, is most 
 instructive. It shows the severity of the disaster there sustained, and 
 also that the real origin of it was the undue expansion of commercial 
 credit ; and it confirms the proof that no system of currency can secure a 
 commercial community against the consequences of its own improvidence. 
 
 58. In this place it may be convenient to notice two points on which 
 considerable misappi-ehension appears to have prevailed. It is contended 
 by some persons that the separation of the issue department by a local 
 change, removing the office from the Bank premises, would have the 
 beneficial effect of convincing the community that the law now regulates 
 the issue of notes, and leaves to the discretion of the Bank Directors the 
 purely banking business only. But strong evidence is given by the 
 Bank Directors that much practical inconvenience would result from 
 such a change; and your Committee think that repeated discussion and 
 increasing kuov.ledge will satisfy the public of a fact so obvious as this ; 
 viz., that without the interposition of the Executive Government, the 
 Directors of the Bank of England have no power whatever to exceed in 
 their issues the limit imposed by law. The duties which the bank dis- 
 charges in this respect are purely ministerial, unaccompanied by any 
 discretionary power. Whoever discharged these duties, it would be 
 equally subservient to the general convenience of the public that the 
 place of issue should be in the immediate neighbourhood of the place 
 where the banking department is situate. Able papers by Lord Monteagle 
 and by Mr. Arbuthnot on the subject of a state bank, will be found in the 
 Appendix. 
 
 59. Another misconception has often perplexed those who have rea- 
 soned about the currency — that of supposing that by Act of Parliament 
 the price of gold is fixed. If it had so happened that our sovereign, 
 instead of being equal to -\ oz. troy of gold of standard fineness, had been 
 exactly equal to that weight, it would probably have been obvious to all 
 that the word sovereign simply meant a quarter of an ounce of standard 
 gold, with the Queen's head stamped upon it by the Mint ; and the price 
 of gold, as it is called, being thus exactly £4 an oz., anybody would have 
 comprehended that the one was equivalent to the other. The use of the 
 silver and copper coins as representatives or tokens of fractional parts of 
 that gold, would probably have been intelligible, and this troublesome 
 confusion would not have arisen. This topic has not much presented 
 itself in the course of the present inquiry. But it is desirable that all 
 persons who take an interest in this subject should understand how simple 
 is the duty discharged by the Executive Government in relation to that 
 money, viz., gold money, which alone is the standard of value in this 
 country, so far as the transactions of our extended commerce are con- 
 cerned. At the Mint a piece of standard gold, weighmg 5 dwts.
 
 8i rULL KEPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 3"274i grains tray, is veriQsd by a stamp, and being tben called a sovereign, 
 is returned to its owner, and in this process no seignorage is charged. At 
 the Bank five times the same quantity is received into the coffers for 
 custod5s and in return a paper, called a £5 note, is given to the ovrner of 
 the gold. He is entitled at his pleasure to return the note, and demand 
 for it sovereigns which contain an equal quantity of bullion. Upon every 
 OTitice of gold that thus passes in and out of the Bank an allowance for the 
 double transaction of about '770465 grain troy weight of gold, or as it is 
 expressed in our copper tokens, l^d., is retained by the Bank. This 
 allowance is an equivalent for the loss of interest which it is comyuted the 
 owner of the bullion saves by the transaction, inasmuch as he saves, by 
 receiving notes from the Bank, the loss of time, and therefore of interest, 
 which he would have incurred if he had taken his gold to the Mint to be 
 coined into sovereigns. This allowance yields an annual profit, which is 
 taken into account in the arrangements between the Bank and the Go- 
 vernment. Your Committee have not entered into the question whether 
 any charge should be made by the Mint for coinage. So intelligible and 
 so simple is the relation between the Government and the issue of money ; 
 so entirely is the Bank of England excluded by statute from the exercijio 
 of any discretion whatever in this respect. 
 
 60. For the opinions of the most eminent writers on the subject of the 
 currency, your Committee refer to the Evidence taken in 1857. It is 
 interesting in the highest degree to all who make the scientific study of 
 the most abstruse questions of political economy their pursuit. But a 
 review of that Evidence would appear necessarily to involve subjects of 
 controversy on which your Committee would not be able to arrive at any 
 conclusion, without much difference of opinion, and they are therefore 
 desirous of excluding these subjects from their Beport. That the public 
 welfare in times of commercial disaster requires the maintenance of an 
 adequate supply of bullion at the Bank, is the opinion of Mr. Tooke, Mr. 
 Newmarch, and Mr. Mill, as well as of Lord Overstone, Mr. Norman, 
 and Mr. Hubbard. That the supply necessarily maintained in the coffers 
 of that establishment, under the provisions of the Act of 1 844, is greater 
 than that which was ever maintained under circumstances of pressure in 
 former times, is a fact beyond dispute. During the crisis of 1825, the 
 bullion fell to £1,261,000; in 1837, £3,831,000; and in that of 1839, 
 £2,406,000 ; while the lowest points to which it has fallen since 1844, 
 have been, in 1847, £8,313,000; and m 1857, £6,080,000. That the 
 opinion of the present Bank Directors is strongly in favour of maintaining 
 the Act of 1844, appears in the Evidence. They say the assistance which 
 they gave to the public, would not have been ventured on by them excejjt 
 for the Treasury Letter; nor would thoy have ventured to act on that 
 letter if the bullion had been much lower tlian it was ; for thej' must then 
 have begun to think of the convertibility of the note which it would be 
 their first duty to maintain; they attribute the maintenance of that 
 amount of bullion to the regulations provided by the Act; and while they 
 affirm that the present Court of Directors, having had more experience, 
 and having seen the gradual working of the Act of 1844, would probably, 
 in their discretion, have aflhered closely to the very regulations which the
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. bO 
 
 Act required of them ; yet, if they had not done so, but had been induced 
 to issue more than the proportion which the law allowed, more gold would 
 have gone out by the action of the foreign exchanges, and the consequences 
 would have been that they would have been left with less gold as the 
 panic came on ; and then, even with the permission to issue more notes, 
 they would not have felt warraiited in hazarding the circulation by doing 
 80. They further state that, for these reasons, it appears that the adoption 
 of the policy which the Act now in force required, placed the Bank of 
 England in such a position that it was enabled at the time of severest 
 pressure to afford a larger aid to the commercial public than would other- 
 wise have been in their power ; that the true judgment of the Court 
 would act in unison with the law; but yet it is not expedient to expose 
 them to the influence of such a pressure as would inevitably be applied at 
 such a time ; and that, upon the whole, with a view to the operations of 
 the Bank, including in that category their being able to afford aid to 
 the commercial public, at the time of severest pressure, the Act of 
 1844 operated not as a fetter, but as a support, decidedly. They therefore 
 recommend that no rehixatiou should be made in the provisions of that law. 
 
 61. In this opinion the Governor of the Bank of Ireland, the repre- 
 sentatives both of the chartered and the unchartered banks of Scotland, 
 the chairman of the association of private country bankers, and Mr. 
 Alderman Salomons, of the London and Westminster Bank, concur. 
 
 62. Those who advocate what is called the theory of the Act of 1844 
 are guided by the following principles. They regard bank notes as being 
 for every practical purpose, equally with the gold they represent, the 
 money of the country — the measure of value — that which extinguishes 
 debt — not as a mere form of paper credit, depending on the credit of the 
 issuer, and constituting only the evidence and vehicle for transfer of a 
 debt which still continues. If complete effect were given to their view, 
 the result would be that for the whole United Kingdom there would be 
 one description of note only, issued by the State, based on bullion in tlie 
 custody of the State. This note, so secured by bullion, would be a legal 
 tender everywhere, except at the place of issue. Experience having shown 
 that even in the times when the paper circulation is most contracted, the 
 Bum in circulation with the public at large can never fall below a certain 
 amount, and cannot therefore be presented to the Bank for payment in 
 gold — they are satisfied that to this extent — so limited by experience — 
 the actual deposit of bullion may safely be dispensed with, the notes in 
 question resting on the security of the State. This is their justification 
 for the permission accorded to the Bank of England to issue 14 millions 
 of notes without the deposit of a corresponding amount of bullion. They 
 consider any addition to the circulating medium of the country to be the 
 act of the private individual who carries bullion to the Mint to be coined, 
 or to the Department of Issue to be exchanged for notes ; fixing the 
 standard of money, and verifying the conformity of the pieces therewith 
 by either of these processes to be the duty of the State ; the use of money, 
 and that only, they regard as the province of a bank, whether of a private 
 person or incorporation, or of the banking department of the Bank of 
 England.
 
 80 rULL KEPOKT OX THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 63. Tliese advocates of the theory, as it is called, of the Act of 1844, 
 are far from contending that their theory is completely carried into effect 
 by the provisions of the Act. The origin of that legislation is thus 
 referred to by Lord Overstoue : — " I had no connection, political or social, 
 ■with Sir Eobert Peel. I never exchanged one word upon the subject of 
 this Act with Sir Robert Peel in my life, neither directly nor indirectly. 
 I knew nothing whatever of the provisions of this Act until they were 
 laid before the public, and I am happy to state that, because I believe that 
 what little weight may attach to my unbiassed conviction of the high 
 merits of this Act, and the service which it has rendered to the public, 
 may be diminished by the impression that I have something of personal 
 vanity in this matter. I have no feeling whatever of the kind. The Act 
 is entirely, so far as I know, the Act of Sir Robert Peel, and the immortal 
 gratitude of this country is due to him for the service I'endered to it by 
 the passing of that Act. He has never been properly appreciated ; but 
 year by year the character of that man upon this subject will be appre- 
 ciated. By the Act of 1819, Sir Robert Peel placed the monetary system 
 of this country upon an honest foundation, and he was exposed to great 
 obloquy for having so done. By the Act of 1844 he has obtained ample 
 and efficient security that that honest foundation of our monetary system 
 shall be effectually and permanently maintained, and no inscription can 
 be written upon his statue so honourable as that he restored our money to 
 its just value in 1819, and secured for us the means of maintaining that 
 just value in 1844. Honour be to his name." 
 
 64. But it does not appear by a reference to the speeches of Sir 
 Robert Peel that he propounded the two measures of 1844 and 1845, as 
 measures of theoretical perfection; on the contrary, they can only be re- 
 garded as having been designed to accomplish a great practical object by 
 the least possible disturbance of existing interests. Thus Mr. RodweU : — 
 " Then the general result of those interviews was to leave upon your mind 
 the impression that the measure was intended to be a great step in ad- 
 vance towards the establishment of one central issue, which was to be 
 arrived at by voluntary arrangement ? — I thought that the tendency of the 
 views of Sir Robert Peel was, that that would be a natural result ; but I 
 thought that his view was, that whether that consequence ensued or not, 
 the arrangement was a continuing arrangement with the country bankers, 
 in order that that Act might pass without any opposition on their part." 
 
 65. And Sir George Clerk, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of 
 Scotland, who was Secretary of the Treasury in Sir Robert Peel's Admi- 
 nistration, in 1844, and Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1S45, and 
 intimately acquainted with all that passed in reference to these mea- 
 sures : — " In the debate of the 25th of April. 1845, with reference to the £1 
 note circulation. Sir Robert Peel said, ' Whether or not the importance 
 attached to the continuance of the privilege (of issuing £1 notes) can be 
 perfectly justified by reason or argument, I know not. Whether there 
 be not an undue value attached to them may be a fair question of doubt ; 
 still, in attempting to introduce principles which I believe to be good, I 
 will not attempt to shock even the prejudices of the people, or to run the 
 risk of encountering that opposition which I knew I should have to
 
 FULL REPORT ON THE BANK ACTS. 87 
 
 encounter from Scotland almost universally. Without guaranteeing, 
 therefore, the continuance of tlicse notes, all I can say is, that we do not 
 propose to prohiliit them at present ; I say nothing, however, as to the 
 future. The discretion of Parlianient must be left unfettered in respect 
 to them. If the coatinuance of this privilege affects no interests, if it haa 
 no injurious effect upon the circulation either of Scotland or of other parts 
 of the empire, there is no doubt whatever that a future Parliament will 
 entertain the same forbearance, and will not disturb the settled habits of 
 business of a whole country, or run counter to its feelings, for the mere 
 purpose of carrying out some theoretical principle.' " 
 
 G6. Your Committee have examined the operation of those statutes, not 
 with a view to ascertain whether they constitute the most perfect system 
 conceivable for regulating the paper circulation of an empire, but rather 
 whether their operation has been such as to secure the main object for 
 which they were designed. The main object of the legislation in question 
 was undoubtedly to secure the variation of the paper currency of the 
 kingdom according to the same laws by which a metallic circulation 
 would vary. No one contends that this object has not been attained. 
 
 67. Mr. Rodwell says that before the Act of 1844 the country bankers 
 were not all aware of the consequences of their issues ; that if they had 
 been such disasters would never have arisen, as arose in 1825 ; and he 
 knows the practice to have been that it was considered as a part of the 
 business of a country banker to get out as much of his issues as he could, 
 which eventually turned back upon himself when he did not expect it, and 
 was least prepared to meet it. He says that before 1844 they did not so 
 fully understand the laws which ought to guide a banker in making his 
 advances ; but that now they look to the unemployed notes (in the Bank 
 of England) as an infallible index of what it is necessary for the Bank of 
 England to do, and for the country bankers to do also. In recent times 
 the increased facdities of intercourse and of banking have increased the 
 rapidity with which notes find their way back to the banker who issues 
 them ; while the restriction of bank notes in England and Wales to sums 
 not less than £5 excludes them in a considerable degree from the retail 
 transactions of the country. It may be laid down that in the opinion of 
 every practical witness who is an advocate for the convertibdity of notes, 
 the amount of bullion retained in the coffers of the Bank under the opera- 
 tion of the existing law is not greater than a due regard to prudence 
 would require, even if the law were altered. It appears that the pre- 
 sent law ensures the maintenance in the coffers in the Bank of an adequate 
 amount of bullion, whilst the history of past years proves that such an 
 amount had not been maintained by the unassisted wisdom and firmness 
 of the Bank Directors ; and the present Court of Directors are unanimous 
 in desiring that they should continue to be fortified by the provisions of 
 the present Act. 
 
 68. No complaint against the Act of 1844 has been more popular, or 
 more commonly employed out of doors, than one which may be expressed 
 in the following words : — " That the trade of the country has increased, 
 that a larger issue should be allowed, to supply the increased require- 
 ments of commerce ; and that therefore a larger amount of notes, unrepre-
 
 88 
 
 FULL REPORT ON" THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 sentcd by bullion, should be issued." Tkis question is tlius disposed of 
 by Mr. Weguclin in T857 : — 
 
 " Do you consider that if the limit imposed by law of £14,000,000 
 "were altered, for example, to £1(5,000,000, it would in truth add 
 £2,000,000 to the active circulation ? — By no means. 
 
 " Will you state what you think the effect really would be? — The effect 
 would be either that those £2,000,000 would be held in the reserve of the 
 Bank, or, in case it occurred that the increase took place at a time when 
 there was an adverse exchange, those £2,000,000 would be exported from 
 the country, and all the other figures would remain precisely the same. 
 
 " It would not add, under any circumstances, to the active circulation 
 of the public ? — It would not. 
 
 " You consider that the action would be, that either it would be added 
 to the reserve of the Bank, or that the bullion held by the Bank would be 
 pro tanto diminished ? — That would be the action. 
 
 " Is there, in your opinion, any sufficient inducement, on the ground 
 of public interest, to make an extension beyond the present limit of 
 £14,000,000? — I see no advantage or particular object to be gained 
 by it. 
 
 " Tlie advantage of saving £2,000,000 of capital would not, in jomt 
 opinion, be equal to the mischief that might result from the change?— I 
 think it would be of an insignificant character, and it would diminish the 
 amount of actual reserve of bullion in the country. 
 
 " Would not those £2,000,000 go out of the country at the first adverse 
 exchange, and not come back ; would not that be the ultimate effect ? — 
 That would be the ultimate effect." 
 
 69. It has been observed before, that while, on the one liand, the great 
 increase of retail transactions has caused an increased demand for the 
 smaller notes, concurrently with the increased demand for gold, yet, on 
 the other hand, so great has been the effect of increasing facilities in bank- 
 ing, that a saving of a corresponding amount has been effected in the larger 
 notes. The proj)ortion8 are those represented in the following table : — 
 
 Yearly Averages of Notes with the Public. 
 
 Yeae. 
 
 Notes of £.5 
 and £10. 
 
 P.r 
 
 Cent, 
 of Total 
 Circula- 
 tion. 
 
 Notes of £20 
 to £100. 
 
 Per 
 Cent, 
 of Total 
 Circula- 
 tion. 
 
 Notes of 
 £200 to 
 £1,000. 
 
 Per 
 Cent. 
 
 of Total 
 Circula- 
 tion. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1844 
 
 9,2(5.3 
 
 9,698 
 
 9,918 
 
 9,591 
 
 8,732 
 
 8,G92 
 
 9,1GI 
 
 9,362 
 
 9,839 
 
 10,699 
 
 10,565 
 
 10,628 
 
 ] 0,680 
 
 10,659 
 
 45 7 
 
 46-9 
 
 48-9 
 
 501 
 
 48-3 
 
 47-2 
 
 47-2 
 
 48 '1 
 
 45- 
 
 47-3 
 
 51' 
 
 53-6 
 
 54-4 
 
 54-7 
 
 ,-C m. 
 5,735 
 6,082 
 5,778 
 5,^98 
 5,016 
 5,234 
 5,587 
 5,554 
 6,161 
 6,393 
 5,910 
 5,706 
 5,645 
 5,567 
 
 28-3 
 29-3 
 28-5 
 28-7 
 27-9 
 285 
 28-8 
 28-5 
 28-2 
 28-2 
 28-5 
 28 '9 
 28-7 
 28-6 
 
 £ m. 
 5,253 
 4,942 
 4,590 
 4,066 
 4,307 
 4,477 
 4,646 
 4,557 
 5,856 
 5,541 
 4,234 
 3,459 
 3,323 
 3,241 
 
 26- 
 
 23-8 
 
 22-6 
 
 21-2 
 
 23-8 
 
 24-3 
 
 24- 
 
 23-4 
 
 26-8 
 
 24-5 
 
 20-5 
 
 17.5 
 
 169 
 
 16-7 
 
 £ m. 
 20,241 
 
 1845 
 
 20,722 
 
 1810 
 
 20,286 
 
 1817 
 
 19,155 
 
 1848 
 
 18,085 
 
 1849 
 
 1850 
 
 1851 
 
 1852 
 
 18,403 
 19,398 
 19,473 
 21,856 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 22,653 
 20,709 
 19,793 
 
 185(5 
 
 -1857 
 
 19,648 
 19,467
 
 FULL llEPOUT OX THE BANK ACTS. 89 
 
 70. The effect has been so great that, notwithstanding the great in- 
 crease of trade, the whole amount of bank notes has actually diminislied 
 since 1844, and, under the present law, still continues gradually to 
 decline. It must be taken, therefore, that in ordinary times, there is no 
 cognizable advantage to be obtained by the commercial interest from the 
 power of increasing the amount of notes which may be issued without 
 the deposit of bullion. 
 
 71. It is here necessary for your Committee to advert to the question, 
 whether the law sliould be left, subject only to that power which was 
 contemplated by Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Huskissou, and was actually 
 exercised by the two Governments of 1847 and 1857 ; or whether, on the 
 other hand, provision should be made in advance for such contingencies, 
 and the conditions expressly laid down on which the issue of an increased 
 number of bank notes may in the time of pressure be allowed. 
 
 72. Your Committee think that such a provision could not be regarded 
 as any violation of the principle of the Act of 1844. To have introduced 
 such an express provision, when the law was itself first adopted by Parlia- 
 ment, or even when, as in 1848, it had only been a few years in operation 
 and was comparatively little understood, was a far more seinous question of 
 policy and of prudence than it can in fairness be regarded at the present 
 time. Yet the interference of Government in an extreme case must, in 
 fact, be taken to have been contemplated by the framers of that Act. 
 Mr. Cotton stated to the Committee of 1847-48, that this subject was 
 considered when the Act was under preparation in 1844, and that Sir 
 Robert Peel's opinion was thus expressed : — " If it be necessary to assume 
 a grave responsibility, I dare say men will be found willing to assume such 
 a responsibility." It scarcely therefore constitutes, of itself, a sufficient 
 ground for bringing this important and difficult subject under the review 
 of Parliament, and may properly await the decision of the Legislature 
 ■when the other branches of the subject shall again be dealt with. 
 
 73. They would, however, here take occasion to observe, that if new 
 provisions shall at any future time be made by Parliament, the great 
 object of securing the maintenance at the time of severest pressure of 
 an adequate supply of bullion should be guarded with the utmost caution. 
 
 74. In considering these new provisions, your Committee assume that 
 no hazard will be incurred with regard to the foreign exchanges, but 
 that the efficient action of the law in that respect will be firmly main- 
 tained. The mischief your committee are now considering is the domestic 
 drain, occasioned by panic, and evidenced by hoarding, which in cases of 
 commercial crisis supervenes upon a foreign drain, and creates an abrupt 
 interference with the circulation, by withdrawing from it for a time, for 
 the purpose of hoarding, a part of the ordinary circulating medium. 
 
 75. Your Committee have already touched upon other points in which 
 the enactments of the Legislature in 1844 and 1845 fall short of the 
 principles on which those enactments are founded, and desire to express 
 their concurrence in the wisdom of adapting practical legislation in an 
 important degree to the existing interests and wishes of the community. 
 Of these questions, an important one is that of the small note circulation 
 still cxisHng in Scothiinl and Ireland. T!ie advice of Alam Smith, that
 
 90 FILL REPORT 0\ THE BANK ACTS. 
 
 no bank notes sliould be issued in any part of the kingdom for a smaller 
 sum than £5, is enforced by tlie Bank Directors as a matter of principle, 
 both in 1857, and again more strongly in 1858, after the experience of the 
 autumn of last year. It is, however, still a question into which the same 
 considerations enter, in a modified degree, by which all Governments and 
 every succeeding Parliament have been influenced from 1826 to the 
 present time, whether the application of this principle shall be extended 
 to Scotland and Ireland. The failure of the "Western Bank has now with- 
 drawn £337,938, or about 1-lOth part from the authorized circulation of 
 Scotland, and the Act of 1S45 operates with a greater proportionate 
 effect, both upon Scotland and Ireland, as the population and trade of 
 those countries increase, and the proportion of the retail or small bank- 
 note circulation represented by bullion to the authorized or unrepresented 
 part increases also. 
 
 76. On the other hand it appears from the evidence, that notwith- 
 standing the expense which the requirements of the Act of 1845 impose 
 upon Scotland, there has been a very remarkable increase in the number 
 of branch banks established since the passing of the Act ; so that the 
 number of banks in Scotland, including branches, now actually exceeds 
 the number of the whole of the banks and branches in England, or is very 
 nearly equal to it ; and that the amount withdrawn from circulation by 
 the failure of the Western Bank has been supplied by an amount repre- 
 sented by bullion, without any more severe terms being imposed on the 
 customers of the banks. Sir George Clerk says: — 
 
 " To the banks, I think you do not consider that so much an object as 
 to the population ? — I do not think the banks have so strong an opinion, 
 in favour of the retention of the £1 note circidation as they certainly 
 expressed before the Committee which sat upon that very subject in 1826 ; 
 but I believe that the general opinion of the banks would be strongly 
 in favour of the continuance of the law as it at present stands. 
 
 " If it were to be altered, they would meet the case, as regarded them- 
 selves, by some slight increase of commission charged to their customers ? 
 — Probably in that way." 
 
 77. AVithout entering into any question respecting an issue of small 
 notes on the credit of the State, the Committee desire it should be under- 
 stood as their opinion that the subject of the issue of small notes in 
 Scotland and Ireland, and of private issues generally in the United 
 Kingdom, shoidd be i-eserved, without prejudice, for the future consider- 
 ation of Parliament. 
 
 78. The Bank of Ireland complained of a special prohibition laid on 
 them with regard to mortgages ; and Mr. Latouche attended on behalf of 
 the private bankers of Ireland to complain of an Act passed by the Irish 
 Parliament in 1759. There appears no very obvious reason for the con- 
 tinuance of antiquated restrictions peculiar to Ireland. But neither of 
 these subjects properly belongs to the present inquiry. 
 
 79 Some smaller points connected with the wording and legal opera- 
 tion of the Acts of 1844, have been brought under the notice of your 
 Committee, with which they do not think it necessary to encumber their 
 Eeport. It will be desirable that these subjects, especially the question
 
 FULL RliPORT OX THE BANK ACTS. 91 
 
 whether a bank of issue wliicli suspends its payments, even for the 
 shortest time, should not lose the privilege of issue, should be carefully 
 considered whenever the Executive Government shall next submit to the 
 House a measure for the regulation of the relations which subsist 
 between the Government and the Bank. 
 
 80. The pecuniary arrangements subsisting between the Executive 
 Government and the Bank appear to your Committee to fall within the 
 terms of their order of reference ; and the Committee of 1857 took some 
 evidence from the Governor on that subject. But your Committee under- 
 stand from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the subject is now 
 under the consideration of the Treasury and the Bank. They think it 
 doubtful also, Avhether, in case it shall be necessary to submit it to such a 
 consideration, separate from the wider questions which hare come under 
 the notice of this Committee, it would not be expedient that a less 
 numerous Committee should be appointed for that purpose. The appoint- 
 ment of a separate Committee may tend to produce the useful conviction, 
 that it is not necessary to unsettle the great principles which regulate 
 our monetary system, merely because the pecuniary relations between the 
 Treasury and the Bank may require to be reconsidered. 
 
 81. It appears to your Committee that no mischief will result from at 
 least a temporary continuance of the present state of things under 
 which the Bank of England holds the powers given by the Act of 1844, 
 subject to a notice of twelve months, which may at any time be given by 
 the House of Commons through Mr. Speaker. They agree with the 
 opinion expressed by Mr. Goulburn in ]814. The Bank Directors had 
 suggested the propriety of renewing the arrangement for twenty years, 
 with a power of giving notice at the expiration of ten, as has been done 
 in 1833. Sir Robert Peel's government preferred the limit, which was 
 actually adopted, of ten years ; the Act, at the expiration of that period, 
 to be terminable at any time upon a notice of twelve months ; but, until 
 such notice be given, to continue in force. Mr. Goulburn thus accounts 
 for this decision. In making the proposal, he says, " The Government 
 were mainly influenced by the consideration that it was not advisable 
 unnecessarily to agitate questions affecting the banking interest and the 
 currency of the country." 
 
 82. Your Committee have stated the reasons by which it is established, 
 to their satisfaction, that the recent commercial crisis in this country, as 
 well as in America and in the North of Europe, was mainly owing to 
 excessive speculation and abuse of credit ; and also, that in the time of 
 pressure the houses which deserved assistance I'eceived it from the Bank 
 of England in a manner in which that establishment would not have 
 been able to give it, except for the bullion retained in their coffers ; and 
 your Committee are satisfied to leave in the discretion of the Executive 
 Government, the time and prudent opportunity of giving further effect to 
 those principles by which the convertibility of the Bank of England note 
 has been kept above suspicion. 
 
 1st July, 1858.
 
 SECTION THE FIFTH.* 
 
 The Amevlcan Crisis of 1857 and its Eesxilts— General Course of Trading — The 
 Banking System and its Defects — Inflation of Capital and Competing Powers 
 of Speculation — Over-trading assisted by the Banks— Reckless Proceedings of 
 Merchants and others in the Great Race of Business — The Natural Conse- 
 quences — Universal Depression and Enormous Depreciation of Property — 
 Railway Management Involving Fraud and Speculation — Recuperative Power of 
 the States — National Cliaracteristics — Resources and Means of Development. 
 
 The inhabitant of one of our coasts who Avatches the operations 
 of a spring-tide, views with surprise and pleasure, which no 
 familiarity with the phenomenon can diminish, the rapid 
 advance of the waters beyond their accustomed bounds; and 
 as ridge after ridge of rock and wide bases of sand disappear 
 beneath the tidal current, and life and buoyancy take the place 
 of what had been stationary, if not positively monotonous, he 
 not unnaturally experiences a feeling of exultation similar to 
 that which arises from the display of unwonted energy. Again, 
 as old ocean from afar calls the waters back in that mighty 
 effort to establish a re-adjustment of the liquid clement, the 
 same spectator finds, exposed below the usual line of retroces- 
 sion, a blank and barren waste, out of all proportion to the 
 advance that had been made, composed, for the most part, of 
 deposits only fit to be the resting-place of slimy monsters, and 
 tainting the fresh air. Quite analogous in its way was that 
 high state of apparent commercial prosperity, especially in our 
 connection with the United States, which most persons were 
 
 * This Section has been principally prepared from the views of an English 
 friend, long resident in the United States, and -who, at my request, placed in oi-der 
 his opinions on the subject of the American crisis. Some portions have required 
 modification, owing to changes which have occurred during the last few months, 
 but on the whole the paper represents in an impartial spirit the causes and effect 
 of that great revulsion. It will be found to be borne fully out by appended 
 statistics. — D. M. E.
 
 THE AMERICAN' CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 93 
 
 disposed to regard with satisfaction. Nearly CA'crybody rejoiced 
 at the display of new activities without caring to question their 
 source^ or to take into account their possible reaction. The 
 great majority believed the apparent prosperity stable, and its 
 conditions as permanent. Now, whilst a spring-tide can be 
 anticipated, the period of its continuance accurately predicted, 
 and the times of its recurrence, together w ith most of the lead- 
 ing phenomena of nature, brought under an ascertainable law, 
 it is marvellous to notice how little the science of calculation 
 has been brought to bear on those mercantile crises which from 
 time to time shake nations. There are, indeed, persons who 
 confidently augur stated periods for their appearance, though 
 on doubtful data ; but most persons regard them as one would 
 the occurrence of an earthquake, neither to be anticipated nor 
 prevented, but passively submitted to. It is certain, however, 
 that if the phases these phenomena present were more accurately 
 examined, and the conditions under wdiich they transpire search- 
 ingly analyzed, the community would soon be put in possession 
 of an accurate diagnosis, and be better prepared to deal with 
 premonitory symptoms. There are many people, it is admitted, 
 who would be disposed to attach but little credit to the deduc- 
 tions thus obtained, even after experience had confirmed their 
 correctness ; but the general result would no doubt be, that 
 greater caution would characterize dealings in the direction 
 indicated, and this without any prejudice to the spirit of legiti- 
 mate enterprise. As thinking individuals are far from believing 
 that a commercial crisis, commence when or where it will, is out 
 of all law, perhaps the most direct line of investigation as to the 
 origin, nature, and results of such an occurrence, is to look into 
 the character and actions of those who are to be viewed as the 
 chief parties to it, and, together with the results, to examine the 
 organization, financial or otherwise, by which it was favoured, 
 and the circumstances by which it was attended. Were this 
 course more generally pursued the public would be better pre- 
 pared for the evil day, and although unable personally to 
 influence such catastrophes, the damage that would Otherwise 
 ensue might be diminished by anticipation, leaving the distress 
 to fall chiefly among those firms whose operations had not been 
 conducted with the prudence which ought to be observed in all 
 mercantile relations. 
 
 Had more attention been previously paid by merchants and
 
 94 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS I'ROGRKSS. 
 
 others in this country to the various banking systems of the 
 United States, and their relations to trade and commerce, 
 sufficient prognostications of succeeding events might have been 
 discerned, to admit of some forewarning. This neglect is the 
 less pardonable from the fact that banking operations in America 
 are far from being shrouded in mystery; their periodical 
 published statements furnishing all the information that is 
 desirable. Even now, it is only with a full knowledge of the 
 monetary operations of these institutions that the commercial 
 interests can hope to escape a renewal of the same dangers as 
 those already encountered. 
 
 The public are familiar with the collapse which overtook a 
 large portion of the trade of this country upon the news of the 
 late American crisis, with the suspensions which were the result 
 of the stoppage of remittances from the States, with the 
 rumours circulated in regard to the stability of various mercan- 
 tile lioases, the high rates of interest, the depression in produce 
 and other articles, the diminution of bullion in the Bank, the 
 shipments of specie to New York, the decline in the funds con- 
 sequent on the war with India ; to which might fairly be added, 
 abstinence from large undertakings, gratuitous alarms, and no 
 end of prognostications of further calamities. 
 
 The disasters that ensued in the United States may be 
 traced, primarily, to the relative position and action of the 
 banks in connection with the enterprises which capitalists had 
 embarked in far and wide — the facilities then afforded prevent- 
 ing the exercise of that caution wdiich should have governed 
 their operations. In "fact, the crisis was a foregone conclusion, 
 and in proportion as the perils of the future loomed up, the 
 spirit of recklessness which these banks did their best to feed 
 counteracted every influence that made its appeal to timidity 
 and apprehension. Lands were sold and stock bought up. 
 Those who took only a quarter of a million dollars^ worth of 
 goods from England, under favour of the banks, advised one-half, 
 though it was well known that the mnjor portion of these pur- 
 chases would have to go to auction. These operations on the 
 part of thousands merely represented a race against time, on the 
 strength of bank favours and foreign credit. The current notes 
 of the banks throughout the States had, for a long period 
 previous to the crisis, by their immense expansion and credited 
 guarantees, led to that depreciation of the general currency
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS I'KOGRESS. 95 
 
 which is to be estimated by the increase of the average prices of 
 cornmoditics generally. This^, instead of lessening, gave new 
 stimulus for a period to all operations; labour and industry 
 gained new life. The tradesman dealing with the merchant in 
 New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, after laying in his ordinary 
 stock of goods, had met with a ready and profitable sale ; but 
 ■when about to replenish his store, he found tliat he had to pur- 
 chase at an advanced price. Again he would meet with a sure 
 demand, and again, when he replaced his stock, the price 
 was raised. He would now take a larger amount of goods to 
 provide against the constant augmentation of price ; and the 
 success of this operation woidd induce him to repeat it on a 
 larger scale. In such a state of things credit became extended, 
 and though a collapse was threatened, yet to those who took 
 their observations from accustomed points of view, a general and 
 well founded confidence in pecuniary engagements appeared to 
 prevail. Labour and industry, that had been the first to pi'ofit 
 by this virtual depreciation of the currency, through an almost 
 limitless issue of paper, were the first also to feel its ruinous 
 effects. With the continuous and rapid rise in prices, the 
 demand for their products fell off; they could not cope with it. 
 The dealer came next ; the money he received was not available 
 to discharge his engagements ; the merchant looked for accom- 
 modation to the banks to enable him to support increasing 
 burdens, applying himself to enlarge at any hazard, in the hope 
 of gaining time, his indebtedness to this and other countries, 
 and applied his undivided efforts to obtain the extension of his 
 bills, and to reduce the more pressing and immediate obliga- 
 tions. This was nothing more nor less than taking a long lease 
 of credit, but as for any hope of speedy relief, none, it is 
 believed, was entertained by even the most sanguine American 
 merchants. Those who had confined themselves to safe transac- 
 tions anticipated silently and confidently — for it was not their 
 interest to expose it — the coming catastrophe. It is certain that 
 the most stable commercial houses failed to communicate to 
 houses in this country, as they might have done, the knowledge 
 in their possession as to the true state of affairs in the United 
 States, the weakness of the tenure of so much seeming show 
 and prosperity, A feeling hardly to be called immoral, a 
 hankering after individual and national prosperity (terms almost 
 exchangeable in the American mind), at whatever risk and
 
 96 THE AMEIllC.AX CRISIS AND ITS PKOGllESS. 
 
 cost to other nations, kept their mouths closed and their 
 pens fettered. A "mighty smart" thing- was about to be 
 done. It would have been thought a pity to spoil the 
 joke. The banks were taking no effective measures to reduce 
 their circulation in quantity, so that the result was inevitable. 
 The next phase to note in the progress of those events which 
 ripened into the American crisis, is the activity of the commerce 
 carried on between the United States and this and other 
 countries the preceding season — an activity with no determined 
 basis except that which lay in the means and capacities of 
 France, Germany, and England to sustain the losses which were 
 waiting them the opposite side of the Atlantic. 
 
 It is in the extreme and unwarrantable extension of their 
 note circulation that the banks of New York, Boston, and 
 Philadelphia are chargeable with promoting the late crisis. 
 ^The notes of these banks are far from being absolutely secured 
 by their being based on State stocks, as late transactions have 
 shown. The evil is, that in addition to contributing an undue 
 share to the general currency, these banks, in tendering their 
 services to transact, as far as may be uecessarj^ the pecuniary 
 business of this community itself (including all sorts of specu- 
 lators), put an equitable limit on such transactions. Whilst 
 recklessly dealing out, these banks were equally arbitrary in 
 contracting or extending their accommodation. The bills of 
 exchange in circulation in the cities and towns of the United 
 States, just previous to the crisis, depended almost wholly for 
 existence on the banks, a very considerable portion being of 
 their own drawing. The banks had made the bills currency by 
 accepting them in account, discounting them, and promising to 
 to take them up when due. Speaking generally, the acceptors 
 of them could not make them payable out of the United States, 
 and the drawers could make no use of them without the banks. 
 The destruction of the latter would have proved the destruction 
 of the bills. These banks thus enabled the smaller traders 
 to double the business they would otherwise have been able 
 to transact, and men in business, to transact their pay- 
 ments regularly, must have facilities, or there will be eventual 
 bankruptcy. Both these parties, therefore, not to speak of 
 brokers and various grades of operators, were interested in up- 
 holding the circulation. There must, undoubtedly, exist a 
 circulating medium, the representative of property, to answer to
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 97 
 
 a sufficient extent the purposes of the exchange of property. 
 But where, by the importation of foreign manufactures, a debt 
 is coutracted abroad to a greater amount than the surplus of the 
 raw material will pay for, the difterence must be paid in specie. 
 This will occasion annually a diminution of the solid circulating 
 medium, and with an increase of paper credit, as extensive, and 
 for as long a period, as the folly of the borrower and the capital 
 of tlie banks will permit. Tiiis abundance of paper currency in 
 the United States depreciated the means of support of all who 
 lived upon a specified money income, tempted to adventurous 
 speculations in trade and to indiscreet expenses, while by the 
 smiling aspect of seeming prosperity it hid from the thoughtless 
 multitude the day of retribution. The banks, at length alarmed^ 
 at the prospect of the disappearance of their specie, consequent 
 on an adverse balance of trade, and at the extent of credit to 
 which the desire of gain had tempted them, retrenched at once 
 their discounts, and called upon their customers to pay their 
 debts. These customers called upon the consumers. But now 
 the paper medium was retrenched, the solid medium of trade 
 was gone, the payment in money could not be made, and lands 
 and other kinds of property had to be sold at a sacrifice not only 
 of the adventitious value they had acquired, but at one-half and 
 two-thirds of their real value. Then commenced a scene of 
 failure and fraud, and sacrifice of property, of blasted hopes and 
 family distress, of national embarrassment and stagnation of, 
 business, which almost defies description. The evil was radical 
 in the system of basing prosperity on artificial credit. So far 
 as respected the outstanding circulation of unredeemed and un- 
 redeemable bank notes at the time of the crisis, Philadelphia and 
 Pennsylvania generally had a full share of suffering ; and as the 
 city largely depends for prosperity on the transit of business — 
 the forwarding of goods and manufactures into the interior, and 
 again concentrating within herself the yield of the neighbouring 
 coal regions, and of the western mineral districts by means of 
 costly and gigantic schemes of railway, together with the agri- 
 cultural produce of the north-western, western, and southern 
 regions, it could not be otherwise than that the effects of the, 
 collapse as it affected her were far and widely felt. It was in 
 Philadelphia that the way in which the inducements of those 
 banks were the means of increasing disasters and hastening the 
 crisis was most apparent. Competition in banking is in Phila- 
 
 H
 
 98 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 delpliia limited by law ; but this very restraint, as to discount- 
 ing privileges, leads those that are established to push their 
 business to the extreme verge of their capital. The amount of 
 discount and loans in proportion to capital has always been 
 larger in Pliiladelphia than in New York. The proportion of 
 borrowers being always in excess of"«*the lenders, these banks 
 had it in their power, and exercised that power for some period 
 before the crisis of November, to impose the very hardest con- 
 ditions. Illegal interest was not directly taken, but exactions 
 were made of large balances given to remain on deposit. 
 Particular cliques and special business interests were accommo- 
 dated, and those less favoured had to pay the accustomed tribute 
 to usury. With dealings in the discounting of paper conducted 
 on such a partial and unsound policy, it was no wonder that the 
 majority of the enterprises in which these banks trusted " went 
 by the board. '^ The banking system of Pennsylvania has been 
 regarded by astute Pennsylvanians themselves as less secure 
 than that of any other State of the Union. The restriction on 
 the competition in banking gives to them all the character of a 
 monopoly. With the prospect of usurious tribute, they are 
 liable at any time to be tempted into too great an expansion of 
 their operations. 
 
 The whole of the distress is not to be ascribed to the conduct 
 of the banks, whether, first, by extravagant emissions, and then 
 by pressing on their debtors. The support and stay of banks 
 is specie, and the extravagance of commercial operations having 
 led to that alarm which caused its withdrawal by individuals 
 from circulation, and especially by foreign banking houses, such 
 material was wanting. It was not, however, to the interest 
 either of the British or the American community that the 
 banks should be further supportedj unless indeed to postpone 
 what must have eventually occurred. Little, nevertheless, can 
 be said in defence of tliese institutions. There are in many 
 of the cities of the United States three or four times the 
 number that are necessary; a great portion of them are very 
 ill managed, and have done much mischief. But when the 
 great mass of distress existing in the country is charged to the 
 account of these establishments, the effect is mistaken for the 
 cause. 
 
 It may here be remarked that the Americans, beyond any 
 other people on the face of the globe, " calculate" on the value
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PUOGRESS. 99 
 
 of time — and time is an element of strength on which they 
 largely depend for recovery from the late disasters. In fact, 
 knowing the .resources of the country, and looking to their 
 future development, they are in a manner, and from a European 
 point of view, reckless of the present. This, in fact, is the key 
 to the great reactive effects of those principles which attach 
 to the commercial and trading system of the United States — 
 principles wdiich have really no limitation but those resources 
 without which, in any practical sense, credit must prove utterly 
 worthless. It could be readily shown that the credit which 
 America has opened up with this country (not the credit system, 
 which is always the same) must go on indefinitely increasing, 
 despite the unsound schemes which are borne along with it. 
 Whatever the sum of the phrases '' prosperity misused,^^ " stocks 
 falling in price,''^ " real estate declining,'^ " ships becoming a 
 drug," '' railroads suspending their dividends," with the declared 
 absence of any guarantee for the payment of claims — notwith- 
 standing these expressions, the public may be satisfied that the 
 United States is not fated to perpetual and overwhelming dis- 
 asters. Time alone, not counting on anything else, will save it. 
 This is the element of calculation which is left out in all those 
 gloomy conclusions to which the English community yield. 
 Even the telegraph, with its wondrous aids, and the mechanical 
 improvements so subsidiary to the operations of trade and com- 
 merce, constitute securities for the continued and increasing 
 prosperity of the land of '^ stars and stripes." The true relation 
 of time to credit, in connection with these scientific aids, has 
 found as yet no exposition in the published theory of any system 
 of finance. Financial theories, in fact, are of old date, concocted 
 at a time when commerce did not embrace such extensive 
 interests as at the present time, when the electric telegraph — 
 an agency causing millions of dollars' worth of goods to change 
 hands in a moment, in cases in which money and weeks of time 
 to connect remote distances were formerly required, linking 
 places thousands of miles apart, and answering all the purposes 
 of a brisk monetary circulation, so far as it is the medium of 
 exchange — was unknown, when steam and clipper ships had not 
 begun to stimulate exchanges, or an improved system of credit 
 had affected materially the old routine of practice, with its 
 standard regulations, and measured allowances of weeks and 
 months for results that are now accomplished in a day or an
 
 100 THE AMERICAN CRISIS A\D ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 hour. AVliat is chiefly to be complained of is, that the credit of 
 the United States has been upheld on false pretences; not that 
 it has had a credit which Avas to some extent a necessity. The 
 system has been sustained Avith them on a false principle, that 
 of inflation ; and the people liave yet to learn that to check this 
 expansion is not to diminish, but to secure their credit. It 
 would take tens of millions of dollars to accurately represent the 
 value of the decline in United States railroad stocks and bonds 
 during the twelve months ending December, 1857. Not that 
 the country is so much the poorer, but that tliis amount has 
 been abstracted by mere speculators from the pockets of share- 
 holders. Such a result is injurious to established relations 
 between man and man. To order more than can be paid for 
 to cover the errors of borrowed money, has been the crime of 
 railroads, corporations, and private individuals, and largely in- 
 debted as they have been to these l^anks for the opportunity of 
 enriching themselves by fortunate speculation, it is natural they 
 should associate them indissolubly with every degree of pros- 
 perity. In the temptation which these institutions offer to an 
 undue extension of individual credit, and in that want of probity 
 which is the last result of temptation, most persons are disposed 
 to trace, more than in anything else, the concatenation of evils 
 known as the American crisis. The American mind, it is 
 nevertheless thought, has sufficient acuteness to discern the 
 tendency and relative value of any given principles of action, 
 sufficient practical insight into the conditions by which a 
 harmony of interests is to be maintained, and such an amount 
 of what may be termed natural conscientiousness, wdien this is 
 not swerved by an avaricious impatience of results, to see its 
 own interest in adhering to some higher principle than that 
 wdiich, hitherto, has practically regulated it. On this thorough 
 purgation and self-reform must, or should, depend the renewal 
 of English confidence. Indeed, prosperity has been so greatly 
 misused in the United States as to tend to general bankruptcy, 
 to a practical suspension of all the laws and dealings which 
 govern right. As a result, foreign merchants and bankers 
 demand of the financier merchants of the United States more 
 substantial security in making their advances. Inflations with 
 corresponding reactions, casual or periodic, are felt to be grievous 
 evils, and as far as general trade is concerned, the sooner the 
 late existing state of things vanished, the better. At the same
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 101 
 
 time, individuals should be on their guard against contracting 
 Avithiu the too narrow limits of selfish suf^picion, in the absence 
 of fair explanatory statements. Seeing how largely the financial 
 trading and commercial operations of the United States partake 
 of the character of the people who enter into them, and to what 
 extent they are removed from those systems of combination 
 which have grown up amidst ourselves, it may be hoped that 
 the correction of personal character through the lesson which 
 has been lately taught, may result in the abandonment of false 
 and adventitious grounds of reliance. The country, in its con- 
 dition of rapid developmentj has certainly little need for such 
 dependence. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that whilst as much as fifteen months 
 before the American crisis, a general distrust of the railway 
 system prevailed through the United States, public opinion in 
 England was unaffected up to the verge of August and Septem- 
 ber, 1857. The character of the widely diffused class of 
 securities was here stationary, and there was no reluctance on 
 the part of capitalists to embark in new enterprises. The dis- 
 trust prevailing in the United States had sprung mainly from a 
 prevalent belief that the chief lines were corruptly managed. 
 English manufacturers, too, continued to make advances, though 
 industry in the States was slack and work was scarce, and people 
 there were looking to the future with timidity and apprehension. 
 The fearful indiscretion in the financial management of 
 American railways has been among the prominent results of the 
 late crisis. It had been noticed beforehand how uniformly the 
 " total cost of construction " account was increased from year 
 to year. The reasons, or rather the excuses, which were given 
 for this unpromising feature, showed a good deal of ingenuity. 
 In one report, it was the difference in the cost of a new bridge, 
 and the original cost of an old one, difference in the cost of new 
 and old iron, difference in the cost of heavy and light locomo- 
 tives, enlargement of depots, raising the lines where a deficiency 
 of gravel or ballast had occurred, and, in fact, almost any change 
 in any department of the road or machinery was taken advan- 
 tage of with the view of charging something to the "con- 
 struction account," so that the net earnings each year might 
 make a favourable show. It was very pleasant for the owners 
 of a railway to hear that it earned eight, ten, or twelve per 
 cent., but these eventually experienced to their regret that the
 
 102 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 items charged had to come out of their pockets, that the net 
 earnings must cover a much larger surface, and that there was 
 almost an entire cessation of paj'ment of dividends. In many- 
 roads, however, the " open construction account," which assisted 
 '^ to make things look pleasant," has been closed, but not on all 
 of them, and therefore shareholders should look to this as well 
 as to the floating debt system, where money is borrowed on 
 shares at from ten to thirty per cent., the usury finally finding 
 its way into the capital, upon which a dividend has to be earned 
 just as well as upon the bona fide subscribed and paid amount. 
 The " open construction account " was a delusion. It was easy 
 to leave the increase of the account at the option of a few 
 scheming and cheating speculators, who thus contrived to 
 feather their own nests, to cock up an annual report at the 
 expense ultimately of a cessation of dividends. What a declina- 
 tion has been witnessed of splendid dividends of ten and twenty 
 per cent., payable in stock or bond ! 
 
 The extraordinary and undue expectations entertained not 
 only in the United States but in this country as to the capa- 
 bility of California, unquestionably aided in multiplying and 
 extending the disasters consequent on the American crisis. 
 When it was again and again stated, both in London and 
 Boston, in regard to shipments to San Francisco, that six, or at 
 most eight, moderately sized or assorted cargoes per month were 
 all that were required or that could be consumed ; instead of 
 that quantity eastern shippers despatched twelve to fifteen first- 
 class ships per month, fully laden with assorted merchandise. 
 Some of these ships would have on boai'd more than three 
 thousand tons of goods. It is not too much to say that twelve 
 ships now are equivalent to twenty-four, five or six years back, 
 for then at least one-half the tonnage going to California was 
 taken up by lumber, flour, wheat, oats, corn, and other bulky 
 articles, of which California does not now require one dollar's 
 worth — being itself an exporter. The cargoes sent were out of 
 all proportion to the wants of the State. Parties in the East 
 interested in ventures were slow to learn there was a glutted 
 market, notwithstanding the accounts of sales of goods and the 
 remittances for them were less and less satisfactory. On several 
 ■ occasions consideral)le excitement was created in New York 
 among those who had made shipments of merchandise to 
 California, by the receipt of letters from commission houses in
 
 THE AMEUICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRKSS. 103 
 
 San Francisco containing accounts of sales. The cliarges 
 swallowed up the proceeds of the sales. It was once stated in 
 dry-goods circles, that one of the largest auction houses sent 
 over two hundred thousand dollars' worth of dry goods, for 
 which it never received one cent. 
 
 It is evident that in proportion as the commerce of the 
 United States depends on agriculture as its basis, and " trading" 
 conducted on the capital of the country, will both become inde- 
 pendent of fluctuations ; and that late events tend to this result, 
 there can be no doubt with those who have watched the order 
 of things from the commencement of the new epoch, each day 
 serving as it does to mitigate its calamitous consequences, and 
 the experience of the past having already led to a practical 
 application of a remedy. The effects of the disasters that have 
 overtaken the United States can be but temporary. The States, 
 indeed, must chiefly look for the liquidating of their indebtedness 
 to the fruits of agricultural industry. The late crisis showed that 
 American merchants disregarded the valuable lesson of yEsop's 
 fable of the goose that laid golden eggs. They were in full 
 course of killing the goose by their determination to enjoy all 
 the benefits of extended trade at once, without waiting for the 
 gradual improvement of those resources which time would have 
 accomplished. Thousands in this country, with shattered 
 fortunes, lament the infatuation that led them to inundate the 
 United States with merchandize, but the responsibility rests on 
 the other side of the Atlantic, ^here was manifested, with a 
 like infatuation, an unpardonable cupidity. That distress and 
 embarrassment still pervade the United States, notwithstanding 
 late favourable financial statements, to an extent probably never 
 felt before there, except during the period that elapsed between 
 the close of the revolutionary war and the adoption of the 
 federal constitution, cannot be denied. A large proportion of 
 the manufacturing establishments are suspended, and nine- 
 tenths of those that are in operation have greatly curtailed 
 their business. Of the proprietors many are ruined, and those 
 whom strength of capital and other advantages have enabled to 
 maintain the struggle, are but weakly encouraged to persevere. 
 Numerous emigrants, who have gone to the United States in the 
 flattering expectation of having full employment in the various arts 
 and trades, have realized disappointed hopes and broken spirits. 
 It is to the agricultural portions of the United States, par-
 
 104- THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 ticularly to the resources of the great West, every one looks for 
 the recuperative power which in time will diffuse a new energy 
 over the country. Enterprising men are hastening thither, 
 towns are springing into life, valuable roads that pass through 
 rich and fertile countries are being constructed, the United 
 States Government is quickly disposing of its waste lands, and 
 the produce of copper-mining districts, and of new coal regions 
 recently discovered, add important elements of profit. Attention 
 may also be directed to one further element of strength, and 
 that is — all other appearances to the contrary — the indissoluble 
 character of the Federal Union, by which the States are linked 
 to one another, and this without the remotest prospect of open 
 collision. The people in the North regard slavery in the 
 Southern States as a fact with which they have no right to 
 interfere, and which they feel bound by the letter and spirit of 
 the constitution to leave to the control of those on whom it is 
 fixed. At the formation of the Union there were tAvelve slave 
 States out of the thirteen, and at this date there are but thirteen 
 slave States out of thirty-two of the Union. Slavery has shifted 
 its location, and is now dying out of Virginia through the large 
 introduction of free labour, and the fact that it is becoming un- 
 profitable. It will flicker and pass away in the South, as it did 
 in the North, as indeed it has done in all nations by the same 
 process, that is, when it ceases to pay and becomes an insup- 
 portable evil to those who have to endure it. It will un- 
 doubtedly have to be left to what may be termed self-legislation 
 as respects the States in which it is located, for intermeddling 
 with it has been found to contribute to its perpetuation, because 
 enlisting the spirit, pride, independence, and sectional feeling of 
 the localities interested. If Kansas had been left to the natural 
 course of events, or settlement and colonization, it would have 
 escaped even the chance of becoming a slave territory. Such 
 was the general sentiment and expectation in the South; but 
 this slow, quiet, and certain process would not content the 
 agitators. They could not be satisfied without threatening the 
 South, and thus aroused that section to active and self-sacri- 
 ficing efforts to extend its influence into this new region. This 
 may serve to explain ebullitions of feeling that have occurred, 
 and which have been widely misinterpreted in this country, 
 though in no way aflecting the stalulity of the Union. The 
 entire abolition of slavery in the United States will probably be
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 105 
 
 brought about as a question of profit and loss long before the 
 terms on which one race should be subjected to another are 
 fairly settled by casuists. 
 
 The correctness of the description thus far given of the great 
 American crisis will scarcely be disputed, and unless this state- 
 ment be impugned, it would seem difficult to forbear omitting 
 the necessary conclusions to be deduced from it. The direct 
 effect of this crisis has been to shake the attachment of the 
 people of the Continent to the United States, and to produce a 
 conviction, liowever vague or ill-grounded, that there is some- 
 thing inherently defective in the principles dominating through- 
 out transatlantic society. There is no question that the character 
 of the business portions of the communities in the commercial 
 cities of America has been deeply compromised. 
 
 In addition to a thorough change in general principles of 
 action, under the great law of imposed necessity, so far as re- 
 gards the future dealings with this country, it should be urged 
 as an essential condition, the adoption of sounder policy in the 
 working of American banks. As to the advantages which 
 these banks are supposed to be capable of yielding to the com- 
 munity, a deplorable and portentous public delusion appears to 
 prevail throughout the United States. As the leading mercan- 
 tile, manufacturing, and trading men throughoiit the States, in 
 most cases began life with nothing, and owe what they possess 
 in a very large degree to the aid they received from the banks 
 when they commenced, let them learn to profit by their ex- 
 perience, and with less eagerness and less unscrupulousness to 
 tarn their intelligence, their skill, and the advantages by which 
 they are surrounded to better account. Let them not endeavour 
 to force a prosperity beyond that provided by the natural re- 
 sources of the country; to accelerate national growth, and make 
 individual fortunes by dint of mere scheming and on purely 
 surreptitious grounds ; lastly, in a country where labour is more 
 respected than in any other, let them look to it as the only 
 assured means they possess of permanent Avealth and advance- 
 ment. With the exercise of due vigilance on the part of the 
 English, they can never again have an opportunity of making 
 such breaches in the credit system as those respecting which 
 such grave complaints are made. 
 
 Looking to the future, a regeneration in trading morality 
 may be hoped for. No people ever possessed in a higher degree
 
 106 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 the means of national prosperity. An ample territory, fertility 
 of soilj variety of climate and produce, a sea-board of five 
 thousand miles facilitating foreign commerce, fisheries, and the 
 coasting trade, and the mountainous divisions of the interior 
 intersected by rivers, canals, and steam navigation, which create 
 unparalleled conveniences for intercourse. The greater pro- 
 portion of this territory is tilled by men as hardy, intelligent, 
 and enterprising as ever turned the soil. A market abroad is 
 always to be obtained for the surplus of all the raw material and 
 the surplus of all the labour. Enterprise is everywhere the 
 guiding motive. It has, undoubtedly, been carried to undue 
 bounds, but is a good motive still. In the meantime, there are 
 few artificial combinations, such as those which have grown up 
 amidst us from the feudal ages, to embarrass advancement. The 
 independent existence of the people was commenced in a state 
 of civilization. The whole land was before them, to frame their 
 laws and fashion their institutions as experience and an 
 enlightened intellect should dictate. Nor is any compromise of 
 local temporary interest demanded. The efi'ect of the late crisis 
 will no doubt be to throw the people more completely on their 
 moral resources, to teach them that they must be more faithful 
 to principle ; that to be great, wealthy, and happy, it is not only 
 necessary that manufactures should be extended, that commerce 
 and trade should be enlarged, that capital should be augmented, 
 that industry should exhibit new energy, that roads should be 
 improved, arts and sciences patronized, schools be built, and 
 universality be given to institutions of religion ; but that the 
 morality, prudence, and integrity which enable them to look 
 along extended lines of possible action, should be combined 
 with that remarkable tact which undoubtedly characterizes the 
 Americans.
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 107 
 
 AMEEICAN FINANCIAL MOVEMENT FEOM 1811 TO 1852. 
 
 {From the New York Herald.) 
 
 The annexed statement exhibits the discounts, deposits, circulation, 
 and specie, of the banks, at difTerent periods, with the value of imports, 
 and the consumption of foreign imports, per head of the total population, 
 at corresponding dates, showing also the state of financial matters each 
 year, and the effect of the currency upon commercial afl'airs : — 
 
 Bank Movements and Commerce or the United States. 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 <o 
 
 o 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 o . 
 
 ■■CtS 
 
 
 January. 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 Q. 
 ft 
 
 o 
 
 p 
 
 
 ■1 
 
 G 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mil. 
 
 MU. 
 
 Mil. 
 
 Mil. 
 
 Mil. 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 JS 
 
 » 
 
 $ 
 
 @ 
 
 s 
 
 
 1811 
 
 89 
 
 _ 
 
 
 15 
 
 28 
 
 _ 
 
 
 ( Steady expaa- 
 ( sion. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1815 
 
 208 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 17 
 
 45 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 C Great specula- 
 ( tion. 
 Revulsion. 
 
 1816 
 
 246 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 19 
 
 68 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 1820 
 
 308 
 
 36 
 
 — 
 
 19 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 4-14 
 
 Contraction. 
 
 1830 
 
 330 
 
 55 
 
 200 
 
 22 
 
 61 
 
 56 
 
 4-39 
 
 Expansion. 
 
 183-i " 
 
 506 
 
 75 
 
 324 
 
 — 
 
 95 
 
 103 
 
 7 09 
 
 Expansion. 
 
 1835 
 
 704 
 
 83 
 
 365 
 
 44 
 
 103 
 
 129 
 
 8-64 
 
 Speculation. 
 
 1836 
 
 713 
 
 115 
 
 457 
 
 40 
 
 140 
 
 168 
 
 10-93 
 
 ( Speeulations& 
 ( shin-plasters. 
 
 1837 
 
 788 
 
 127 
 
 525 
 
 37 
 
 149 
 
 119 
 
 7-53 
 
 Revulsion. 
 
 1838 
 
 829 
 
 84 
 
 485 
 
 35 
 
 116 
 
 101 
 
 6-23 
 
 Contraction. 
 
 1839 
 
 8U) 
 
 90 
 
 492 
 
 45 
 
 135 
 
 144 
 
 8-68 
 
 Slight revival. 
 
 1840 
 
 901 
 
 75 
 
 462 
 
 33 
 
 106 
 
 89 
 
 5-21 
 
 Contraction. 
 
 1841 
 
 781 
 
 65 
 
 386 
 
 34 
 
 107 
 
 112 
 
 6-38 
 
 ( General bauk- 
 ( rupt law. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1842 
 
 692 
 
 62 
 
 323 
 
 28 
 
 83 
 
 88 
 
 4-87 
 
 Coiitraetion. 
 
 1843 
 
 691 
 
 56 
 
 254 
 
 33 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 311 
 
 Contraction. 
 
 1844 
 
 696 
 
 84 
 
 264 
 
 50 
 
 75 
 
 97 
 
 503 
 
 ( Expansion 
 ( commenced. 
 
 1845 
 
 707 
 
 88 
 
 288 
 
 44 
 
 89 
 
 102 
 
 515 
 
 Expansion. 
 
 1846 
 
 707 
 
 97 
 
 312 
 
 42 
 
 105 
 
 110 
 
 5-42 
 
 Do. 
 
 1847 
 
 715 
 
 92 
 
 310 
 
 35 
 
 105 
 
 138 
 
 6-60 
 
 Do. 
 
 1848 
 
 751 
 
 103 
 
 344 
 
 46 
 
 128 
 
 134 
 
 6-25 
 
 Do. 
 
 1849 
 
 782 
 
 91 
 
 332 
 
 43 
 
 113 
 
 134 
 
 613 
 
 Do. 
 
 1850 
 
 821. 
 
 109 
 
 364 
 
 45 
 
 131 
 
 163 
 
 7-25 
 
 Do. 
 
 1851 
 
 910 
 
 130 
 
 440 
 
 48 
 
 150 
 
 194 
 
 9-25 
 
 Specxilation. 
 
 1852 
 
 930 
 
 150 
 
 520 
 
 52 
 
 175 
 
 220 
 
 1015 
 
 Do. 
 
 In giving the banking movement and value of imports, we have left 
 off the hundreds and thousands, putting down only the millions. The 
 above table gives the effect of all the different movements in the currency 
 on the commerce of the country, and it is easy to trace from the cause 
 to the effect. A steady expansion in the currency usually leads to an
 
 108 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 increase m tlie value of imports, to an increase in the average consump- 
 tion per head of total population, to individual extravagance and ex- 
 penditure, and of course to an extension of private credit. It appears by 
 this that up to 1836 the consumption increased to nearl_v eleven dollars 
 per head, or more than doubled in six years. In 1837 the revulsion 
 spread over the country, and the consumption of foreign manufactures 
 fell from S1093 to S753 per head. In 1839 a slight reaction was 
 realized, and the consumption per head slightly increased. In 1810 "we 
 had a second edition of the revulsion of 1836, and ever3^thing through- 
 out the Union, connected with trade and finance, was completely pros- 
 trated — so much so that Congress passed a general bankrupt law ; and 
 in 1843 the banking movement had reached the lowest point, and the 
 importations had become so much reduced that the average consumption 
 per head amounted to only S3 11 — a smaller sum than had been known 
 within the previous twenty-five years. That was really the deepest depth. 
 From that time up to 1849 there was a gradual but speedy recovery. 
 Our progress was slow, but apparently sure. In 1848 the banking and 
 commercial operations of the country received an impetus from the 
 discovery of gold dust in California ; but the efiect was not general until 
 about the commencement of 1850, when the movement exhibited itself 
 decidedly, and with unmistakable evidence of becoming strong. In 1851 
 it had spread over the country, and the effect was everywhere visible — 
 petitions came crowding into every legislature in session for the adoption 
 of a more general system of banking. The old plan of applying for 
 special acts of incorporation was considered too tedious — too slow for 
 this fast age — and a general law, like the free banking law of the State, 
 was considered just the thing to meet the wants of the speculating 
 financiers of the day. State after State adopted the general law, and 
 thus threw open the doors to all. The efl'eot was seen at once in the 
 increase of banks. Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin adopted the new 
 law, and in fact very few States in the Union still adhere to the old 
 restricted system. The facilities for establishing banks are daily increas- 
 ing. The largest liberty is given by the general law, and there is very 
 little danger of any scarcity of securities for deposit with the State 
 authorities, as a basis for circulation. Within the past three years the 
 manufacture of such securities has proceeded with frightful rapidity. 
 Millions upon millions have been turned out, apparently without the first 
 thought of where the means of payment were coming from. At present 
 a moderate amount of discrimination is exercised in the selection of 
 securities ; but the supply of such as are issued upon a proper basis is 
 likely, sooner or later, to fall short, and then recourse must be had to the 
 next best in the market. This will be the course of the movement, and 
 it is not difficult to foresee the ultimate result. It will come in a familiar 
 shape when it does come. It will bring us back again to the times of 
 1817 and 1837, but we fear with ten times the force, and with an effect 
 ten times more disastrous. The past ha^ been too full of dear experience 
 not to be heeded. We have so many precedents that it will be our own 
 fault if we do not take timely warning. We have, however, very little 
 faith in the lessons of the past. They are forgotten or unheeded in the
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROORESS. 109 
 
 excitement of the moment, and all press onward witli apparently one 
 object in view — the accumulation of the greatest fortune in the shortest 
 possible time — entirely regardless of the means used in the accomplish- 
 ment of the purpose. The end sanctifies the means. This is the secret of 
 the ruinous fluctuations in this country in all tilings connected Mith com- 
 mercial aflairs ; and so long as this spirit governs the financial and mer- 
 cantile classes, so long will the same uncertainty attend all their opera- 
 tions, and so long will similar results follow all expansions. 
 
 We are subject, from ordinary causes, to periodical expansions, 
 speculations, sudden contractions, and revulsions. Within the past fifty 
 years, four or five severe collapses have prostrated every important 
 interest, and s^vept away nearly every vestige of our previous prosperity. 
 Heretofore the basis of all extensions of credit has been artificial. Upon 
 the weakest and most defective foundations we have built enormous com- 
 mercial systems, which have, in time of need, proved deceptive and disas- 
 trous. Notwithstanding all this we are just as ready again to raise con- 
 fidence upon the same material, and risk every dollar upon the result. 
 The present movement differs somewhat from those of former years. 
 The basis is far more substantial, but it will only induce us to place 
 more confidence in it, and carry the expansion to a much greater extent. 
 The large receipts of gold from California gave the first important 
 impetus to the present system of credits, and so far it has not progressed 
 beyond a sound and healthy proportion. The banks have not, it is true, 
 been the recipients of much of this gold, but most of it has gone into 
 active circulation in the channels of commerce, where it exercises rather 
 a conservative influence upon the currency, by restraining, to a certain 
 extent, the issues of the banking institutions of the country at large. 
 The receipts of gold-dust at the United States Mint from Cahfornia, up 
 to the present period, have not been so large as the extravagant state- 
 ments which have been made, from time to time, induced many to expect. 
 They have, however, been large enough to form a legitimate basis for the 
 expansion of public and private credits to the extent already realized. 
 Whether the supply will continue at this rate or not is a most important 
 question, as upon that point alone depends the continuance of our present 
 prosperity, or freedom from one of tliose revulsions which capitalists fear 
 so much. 
 
 California Gold Received at TTnited States Mint and Branches. 
 
 For the year ending December 31, 1 848 S J 5,301 
 
 18i9 6,151,360 
 
 1850 36,273,097 
 
 1851 55,938,232 
 
 To July 17 1852 30,000,000 
 
 Total receipts S128,107,990 
 
 About one-half of this amount has been exported, leaving upwards 
 of SGO,000,000 in the cormtry, only about §0,000,000 of which have gone 
 into the bank. This is a very fortunate circumstance, for it will be seen 
 by the table given above, that on the 36,000,000 increase in specie, the
 
 110 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 banks expanded their circulation $47,000,000, and in the same period 
 augmented their discounts $180,000,000. This expansion upon such a 
 small addition to the previous supply of precious metals in hand, gives a 
 pretty good idea of what would have been the result had the bulk of our 
 receipts from California gone into the vaults of our banking institutions. 
 The free banking system permits an issue of bills for circulation upon 
 public securities, instead of the precious metals, which accounts, in a 
 measure, for the absence of coin in the banks. This system gives abun- 
 dant facilities for increasing the paper currency of the country, and there 
 is very little doubt but that the banks in existence, and about being 
 established, will use them to the utmost. 
 
 We cannot expect that even the present proportion of paper to specie 
 will be long maintained, or that the expansion of credits of all kinds will 
 not become more rapid as the volume enlarges. Every day something 
 new springs up — some new enterprise presents itself for aid and support, 
 and they are soon forthcoming. Every week gives a greater impetus to 
 the various movements ; and where credits formerly increased by thou- 
 sands, they will soon increase by millions. We have never yet continued 
 long in the rear of our resources, and there is very little probability of 
 our doing so in this railroad locomotive age. If we go on at the rate 
 realized during the past three years, for any length of time, we shall most 
 assuredly bring up where we have heretofore. We shall, before the lapse 
 of many years, be as far in advance in our paper ci'edits of the supply of 
 gold and silver, as we ever were before the discovery of gold-dust in 
 California and Ausiralia ; and as it will be necessary, before reaching that 
 point, to more than quadruple at least the present inflations, we can form 
 some idea of a revulsion coming with such an expansion. It would be 
 almost fatal to every class, to every interest. There is probably no nation 
 on the face of the earth which will be affected, both fiivourably and un- 
 favourably, to the same extent, by the immense accession to the supply 
 of gold and silver, as this. It will accelerate the growth of the country, 
 build up great cities, every kind of internal improvement ; extend the 
 cultivation of the soil, and increase the products enormously ; it will 
 build palaces and fill them with extravagance ; but it will ruin most of 
 those who have participated in all these things. It will deprive them of 
 all their luxuries, and plunge them into the lo^vest depths of bankruptcy. 
 Property which has cost millions will change hands for thousands. 
 Disaster and despair will mark the course of the revulsion, and years of 
 economy, contraction, and inactivity bo required to recuperate the 
 energies of those who over-taxed them in their prosperity. 
 
 THE REVULSION OF 1857— ITS CAUSES AND EESULTS. 
 
 {From the New YorJc Herald.) 
 
 The depreciation in leading or staple articles of produce the past year 
 was remarkable. There was scarcely an article of trade known to the
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PKOURESS. Ill 
 
 commercial world which was not lower at the close of the year 1857 than 
 it was at its commencement. 
 
 We have not time nor space to go into details, but we have based 
 generally our estimates of losses upon leading articles of domestic produce 
 wliich make up the bulk of our exports, and also upon the prominent 
 articles of importation. 
 
 Taking the first class of articles, we are led to believe that the losses 
 from a decline in value during tlie past year amounted on an average of 
 from 25 to 33 per cent. Estimated at the lower figure the result will give 
 
 an agi^regate of about $77,646,582 
 
 To which may be added the decline of values in manufactured 
 
 products, shipping, etc., of about 30,000,000 
 
 Total $107,646,582 
 
 If we estimate the average loss on articles of foreign importation in 
 1857, compared with 1856, at 25 per cent., it will sum up about 
 §35,000,000. 
 
 The shipping interest has also greatly suffered, and tonnage is now, 
 and was for the greater part of 1857, in excess of demand. No new mer- 
 chant vessels are at present on the stocks, and if things remain as they 
 are, none will be required for a year or two to come. This depression in 
 the shipping interest has acted very unfavourably upon the labour of our 
 commercial cities. Large numbers of mechanics and labourers have been 
 thrown out of employment. A heavy loss to the country has been sus- 
 tained by the suspension of labour, the source of wealth and progress. 
 Every able-bodied labourer or mechanic who is compelled to stand idle 
 for the want of work is a positive loss to production, on the average of not 
 less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per day. The seaboard cities 
 and manufacturing districts of the interior probably at this time contain 
 not less than one hundred thousand unemployed adidt persons, which is 
 equivalent to a loss of productive labour of about $125,000 per day, or 
 about $875,000 per week, making an aggregate of about $2,800,000 per 
 month ; and, estimating the suspension of labour for four months at the 
 same ratio, will give us a total of about $11,200,000. Summing up the 
 total losses during the year 1857, we have the following grand result : — 
 
 Losses on domestic exportable produce $77,616,582 
 
 Ditto on mining and manufacturing products, shipping, etc. ... 30,000,000 
 
 Ditto on articles of importation 35,000,000 
 
 Ditto on labour 11,200,000 
 
 Ditto on raUroad and other corporated securities in 1857 alone, about 50,000,000 
 
 Total $203,816,582 
 
 It is estimated that the railroads in the United States cost about one 
 thousand millions of dollars, and that by the depreciation in their bonds 
 and stock in the past six to eight years, that about $300,000,000 of that 
 nominal amount of capital has disappeared, about $50,000,000 of which, 
 with other corporate securities, we estimate, was sunk during the 
 year of 1857.
 
 112 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 This general view of tlie subject is liable to some variation on account 
 of the fluctuations in the prices of articles within the last month or two. 
 Thus cotton has recovered nearly two cents per pound from the lowest 
 point current about the close of the year, or nearly $7 50 jier bale, which, 
 if applied to about 2,600,000 bales of the estimated crop of 1856-57 re- 
 maining in the country, makes a total increase of value equal to about 
 $18,750,000, leaving a decrease in value, if no other change occurs, com- 
 pared with the previous year, of only about 833,250,000. 
 
 Cotton and tobacco form almost the only exceptions to the continued 
 decline which pervades the markets of the world for all other articles of 
 commerce. 
 
 By scrutinizing the chief causes of failures and bankruptcies we shall 
 find that they were brought about by the extraordinary expansion of the 
 credit system and inflation of prices, induced by the action of the banks, 
 bankers and moneyed corporations of the Old and New World. When a 
 barrel of pork was pushed up to 324 per bbl., flour to ?10 per bbl., wheat 
 to §2 per bushel, sugar to ISc, cotton to 15c. to 16c., and coffee to 12c. to 
 16c. per pound ; and the revulsion came, the speculators had to let go, 
 because the banks found themselves unable any longer to sustain them. 
 
 The ti'ading public had for some time based its credits upon the pre- 
 vailing high prices of produce and merchandise. Bills had been made 
 and notes given at ninety days to six months, predicated upon the prevail- 
 ing high prices of produce noticed above. Hence, when the breakdown 
 in the artificially inflated prices came — made more stringent and severe by 
 its suddenness — bankruptcies followed on evei'y side. People who ex- 
 pected to pay in pork at $24 per barrel find its value reduced to S15. 
 Their flour, instead of selling at §10, has to be sold at §5 to $6 ; their 
 wheat at SI 25 to $1 35, instead of 62; sugars at 5|c. to 7c. instead of 
 13c. ; cotton at 10|c. instead of 15c. to 16c. ; coffee at 8ic. to 10|c. 
 instead of 12c. to 13c. for llio ; and other articles in about the same pro- 
 portion, and railroad bonds and stocks, with bank and other corporation 
 securities, instead of at par, at 50c., on the dollar's worth. The loss on 
 leading articles of importation may be judged of by the comparison of 
 prices which they bore at the close of 1856, with those current at the 
 close of 1857. The articles on which the largest losses were sustained 
 were on East India goods, and especially flax-seed and spices ; on the 
 importation of hides from Buenos Ayres, and on European manufactured 
 goods, including silks and other articles from France. 
 
 The losses sustained on imported goods and merchandise can never be 
 correctly ascertained, and can only be approximately estimated, with 
 articles of domestic produce, at an average of not less than about 25 to 
 33 per cent., chiefly realized within the last six months of 1857. The 
 whole amount of exports for the financial year ending on the 30th of 
 June, 1857, was $310,586,330. Allowing the exports for the six months 
 from the 30th June to the 31st December, 1857, to be about half in 
 nominal value, or §153,193,165, a decline of 25 per cent, on this sum 
 would give a total falling off' in value of about $38,823,291. The same 
 ratio applied to the produce remaining in the country to go forward in 
 the next six months, or by the 30th June, 1858, will give about an equal
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 113 
 
 amount of decline in value of about ^38,823,582 — making a grand total of 
 about i!77,616,582. But as some articles, such as cotton, may regain a 
 good portion of the decline before the products reach market, it will be 
 safe to fix the average loss at 25 per cent. The imports for the year end- 
 ing June 30, 1857, amounted to $314,639,942, which would give the im- 
 ports for the half-year ending 31st December, 1857, at the same ratio, 
 half that amount, or about §157,318,871. But as the importations rapidly 
 fell off towards the close of the year, and prices also in many cases were 
 lessened by the operations of the late Tariff Act, we may reduce the 
 estimate to about §5140,000,000 — which, at an average loss of about 25 per 
 cent., would give §35,000,000. The loss on raw wool and on the products 
 of the mines, of the forests, and of the fisheries, and with the deprecia- 
 tion also in the value of shipping and various other kinds of property and 
 produce, may be set down at about $30,000,000 more, making up the 
 grand total as stated in the foregoing table. 
 
 These aggregate losses exceed the amount of the total losses by failures 
 in the United States in 1857, which were estimated at §143,780,000 ; yet 
 they bear some proportion to them. It must also be recollected that 
 many large houses, who have neither failed nor suspended, have yet 
 suffered immense losses by the revulsion, and which, if taken into the 
 account, would probably swell the amount of losses to the sum we have 
 embraced ia the foregoing table. If we apply a similar test to the losses 
 sustained by failures in Europe, we shall find that similar causes have 
 operated to bring them about, and that the fall in produce, merchandise, 
 and securities has borne about the same ratio to the total losses sustained 
 by failures and suspensions, and in houses which have withstood the 
 storm. Ihe failures in Europe involved liabilities, it was estimated, to 
 the extent of about §700,000,000, of which about §140,000,000 were set 
 down as a total loss, but we imagine the total to have been not less than 
 about §200,000,000, while the loss by the fall in produce, merchandise, 
 manufactures, stocks and bonds, was not less than about §300,000,000 — 
 thus making the grand total decline for Europe and Anierica, including 
 Canada, as follows : — 
 
 Losses by a decline in values in the United States and Canada §203,846,582 
 
 Do. do. in Europe 300,000,000 
 
 $503,846,582 
 
 Each succeeding panic but exhibits the recuperative energies of the 
 United States. The late revulsion was inevitable. The inflation of prices 
 had been forced to a point at which they could not be sustained without 
 ruining consumers. The reaction was necessary to restore trade and com- 
 merce to their healthy and legitimate channels— to bring about a greater 
 equality between the value of labour and the value of products to be 
 given in exchange for it, and free tbem from the disturbing influence of 
 the unnatural expansion of credit, fostered by banks and other corpora- 
 tions, to which the guarantees of states, counties, and towns, had 
 been lent. 
 
 Each panic has resulted in making the city of New York the centre of
 
 114 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 
 
 finance and of trade for this continent. In 1837 it stood on a sort of 
 struggling emulation with. Philadelphia and Boston. The revulsion of 
 that period decided its position and gave it an advance over them, which 
 it has not only maintained, but has increased ever since. The rivalry 
 between New York and other cities on this continent has ceased. The 
 late struggle of 1857 was in a great degree between New York and Lon- 
 don, and has terminated to the advantage of the former city. And the 
 time must ere long arrive, when New York, and not London, will become 
 the financial centre, not only of the New World, but also to a great extent, 
 of the Old World. 
 
 We conclude by giving a comparative statement of prices on the first 
 of January, 1S57 and 1858 :— 
 
 Ashes form a considerable article of trade in this market, and we pro- 
 ceed to give the prices at respective periods as follows : — 
 
 January 1, 1857. 1858. 
 
 Pots per 100 lbs §7 62i to §7 75 §6 60 
 
 Pearls 8 „ 5 75 
 
 — Prices of both sorts have, since the 1st instant, receded to 5c. to 5ic. 
 
 Coffee reached its highest figures during the early part of the past 
 summer. We give the comparison of prices, as follows, on the first of 
 January of each year since 1852 : — 
 
 Brazil. 
 
 1852 per lb. 8c. to 9^ 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 
 1858 
 
 — The stock of Rio on the 1st of January, 1858, was about 99,000 bags, against 
 about 73,500 at the same date in 1857. 
 
 The highest prices obtained for cotton were in July and August, 1857, 
 when middling uplands rose to about 15e. to 16c. per pound. The follow- 
 ing is a comparison of the average of prices in New York on the first of 
 January for each year, as follows : — 
 
 8i 
 
 „ 91 
 
 11 
 
 „ 12i 
 
 81 
 
 „ lOi 
 
 10 
 
 „ 12i 
 
 10 
 
 » Hi 
 
 8i 
 
 ,. loj 
 
 St. 
 
 Domingo. 
 
 7!c 
 
 '. to 8c. 
 
 71 
 
 „ 8 
 
 LOi 
 
 » H 
 
 Si 
 
 » 91 
 
 
 
 » lOf 
 
 
 
 » 101 
 
 7 
 
 „ 8 
 
 1851 per lb. 
 
 1852 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 
 1858 
 
 [Jplan( 
 
 3s and Flor 
 
 
 Fair. 
 
 Ulc. 
 
 , to Or. 
 
 8! 
 
 » 
 
 10 
 
 » 
 
 lU 
 
 „ HI 
 
 
 
 „ 9i 
 
 10 
 
 „ 
 
 13f 
 
 » 
 
 10 
 
 „ 
 
 N. 0, 
 
 , and Mobile. 
 
 
 Fair. 
 
 
 14fe 
 
 . to 
 
 Oc. 
 
 9i 
 
 „ 
 
 
 
 lU 
 12 
 
 » 
 
 
 12i 
 
 9J 
 
 5J 
 
 lOJ 
 
 lOi 
 
 » 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 )> 
 
 
 
 10:V 
 
 » 
 
 
 
 During the panic in October, 1857, cotton rapidly declined, and con- 
 tinued to recede until the first days of January, 1858, \rhen middling 
 uplands sold as low as 8|c. to Sfc, On the 7th of January the Atlantic's
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 115 
 
 news was published, whicli produced a reaction, and prices have since 
 advanced (January 20) to lO.Vf. per pound, or about I'lc. to 1^''. per 
 pound — equivalent to about S7 aud $7 50 per bale. 
 
 East India Goods. — Among the most disastrous losses of 1857 were 
 those sustained by houses in the East India trade. Gunny cloth, which 
 sold iu January, 1857, at lie, sold at the same period in 1858 at 9c. 
 Gunny bai,^s, which were sold as high last summer as Uc, declined with 
 the close of the year to lllc. Saltpetre, which sold in January, 1857, at 
 8c. to 8.Vc. for crude, sold at the same period iu 1858 at G\c., duty paid. 
 The heaviest decline, however, was realized in flax-seed, which cost iu 
 Calcutta $2 and $2 20 per bushel, and receded in the United States to 
 $1 20 and SI 25. 
 
 Manilla hemp declined from 9c. to 7c. per pound. Spices, including 
 cassia, nutmegs, pepper, etc., have also largely fallen. We give the 
 annexed table of the highest prices of last year, compared with those 
 occurring in January, 1858 : — 
 
 January, 1857. 
 
 Nutmegs 90c. to §1 Oc 
 
 Mace 80 „ 85 ' 
 
 Cassia 42^ „ 
 
 Pepper 12 „ 
 
 Cloves 12 „ 
 
 The duty on these articles was stricken off" by the late tariff law of 
 Congress, which threw them into the free list, and has no doubt contri- 
 buted to reduce prices. Yet the decline exceeds the amount of impost 
 taken off. 
 
 The comparison in the prices of flour and grain will be seen from the 
 following tables. Owing to the short crop of 1856 prices were fully 
 maintained during the summer of 1857, or until the crop of that year 
 began to reach market. The favourable harvest in Europe, combined 
 with the late panic, at once sent down prices ; and 1858 opened with a fall 
 in flour of fully $2 per barrel, compared with the same period of 1857. 
 We give the following average of prices in New York, on the 1st of 
 January for each year, as follows : — 
 
 January, 
 
 1858. 
 
 50c. 
 
 to 
 
 52c. 
 
 40 
 
 5> 
 
 45 
 
 26 
 
 »> 
 
 
 
 8i 
 
 „ 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 1852 . 
 
 perbbl. 34 37^( 
 
 666k 
 
 775 
 
 9 
 
 825 
 
 610 
 
 420 
 
 State. 
 
 7, to 
 
 34 50c 
 
 Western. 
 $4 50c. to 84 62 J 
 
 1853 
 
 5 62i .... 
 
 5 62^ 
 
 » 5 '75 
 
 1854 . ... 
 
 7 87^^ 
 
 7 75 
 
 „ 7 87^ 
 
 1855 
 
 9 37i 
 
 9 121 
 
 „ '9 50 
 
 1856 
 
 8 50 
 
 8 25 
 
 „ 8 50 
 
 1857 .. 
 
 fi 75 
 
 640 
 
 „ 7 
 
 1858 
 
 470 
 
 425 
 
 „ 5 50 
 
 And the stocks at the same periods were as follows : — 
 
 Flour. 1855. 1856. 1857. 1858. 
 
 Western Canal bbls. 120,000 439,600 255,000 476,900 
 
 Canadian 20,700 27,300 18,600 7,800 
 
 Southern 43,000 130,100 119,500 118,450
 
 116 THE AMERICAN CRISIS ANII ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 The same causes which operated on the prices of flour also operated 
 on those of grain. AVe give the following average of prices of grain in 
 New York on the 1st of January, in the years named below : — 
 
 Corn. Eye. 
 
 1852 
 1853 
 1854 
 1855 
 1856 
 1857 
 1858 
 
 !1 to 
 
 $1 15 
 
 ?0 77 
 
 to 
 
 $0 
 
 $0 66 
 
 to 
 
 $0 67 
 
 1 25 „ 
 
 1 30 
 
 93 
 
 „ 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 a 
 
 70 
 
 1 90 „ 
 
 2 08 
 
 1 22 
 
 )> 
 
 1 24 
 
 77 
 
 „ 
 
 83 
 
 1 80 „ 
 
 2 50 
 
 1 38 
 
 5J 
 
 1 40 
 
 97 
 
 J5 
 
 1 00 
 
 1 90 „ 
 
 2 20 
 
 80 
 
 J» 
 
 93 
 
 1 30 
 
 » 
 
 1 31 
 
 1 30 „ 
 
 1 80 
 
 68 
 
 )> 
 
 75 
 
 88 
 
 5) 
 
 90 
 
 90 „ 
 
 1 35 
 
 53 
 
 5) 
 
 66 
 
 72 
 
 » 
 
 74 
 
 
 1S58. 
 
 
 
 §210 
 
 to 
 
 ?o 
 
 
 
 
 
 V „ 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 „ 
 
 110 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 „ 
 
 160 
 
 
 
 And the stocks at seveal periods w^ere as follows : — 
 
 1855. 1856. 1857. 1858. 
 
 Wlieat per bushel 74,000 789,796 531,650 389,000 
 
 Com 500,000 645,962 1,967,500 97,000 
 
 Hemp also fell off in prices as follows : — 
 
 January 1, 1857. 
 
 Russia perton. $275 to 3280 
 
 Manilla per lb. 9 „ 
 
 American clew rotted... per ton. 210 „ 215 
 
 „ di-essed „ ... 240 „ 260 
 
 Hides were imported in 1857 largely in excess of demand, chiefly from 
 Buenos Ayres, and immense losses have been sustained by their fall in 
 prices. Several houses in the trade have been swept entirely away by the 
 ruinous decline. 
 
 The total imports and average prices for a series of years may be seen 
 from the following tables : — 
 
 Total Imports from Jantjart 1 to December 31. 
 
 1851. 1855. 1856. 1857. 
 
 Foreign, No 1,360,429 1,210,185 1,310,815 1,259,271 
 
 Coastwise 310,869 344,958 444,105 551,943 
 
 Total 1,671,298 1,555,143 1,754,920 1,811,214 
 
 Prices in New York, January 1. 
 
 * B. Ayres. 
 
 1852 per lb. nic. to 13r 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 
 1858 
 
 IH 
 
 „ 16 
 
 22 
 
 „ 23 
 
 19 
 
 „ 20 
 
 
 
 „ 26 
 
 
 
 „ 31 
 
 
 
 „ 20 
 
 Orinoco 
 
 
 llr. 
 
 to 
 
 ■ — r. 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 2U 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 Leather also declined something in the same ratio, as may be seen 
 from tlie following tables : —
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 117 
 
 Pkices in New York, January 1. 
 
 R. G. and B. Ayres. 
 Liglit and Middle. 
 
 1852 per lb. Ik', to Ilk 
 
 1853 17 „ 171 
 
 23 
 
 20 
 25 
 3U 
 23 
 
 Orinoco 
 
 etc. 
 
 Light and Middle. 
 
 13f. to 
 
 13if. 
 
 16 „ 
 
 16J 
 
 » 
 
 22 
 
 17.^ „ 
 
 181 
 
 22 
 
 231 
 
 29i „ 
 
 SOk 
 
 19 „ 
 
 21 
 
 1851. 
 
 1855 19 
 
 1856 23 
 
 1857 30i 
 
 1858 22 
 
 The receipts were as follows : — 
 
 Receipts. Sales. 
 
 1856 2,570,450 2,609,350 
 
 1857 2,683,737 2,395,600 
 
 Hemlock. Oak. 
 
 1856. 1857. 1856. 1857. 
 
 Eeceipts of sole the past week, sides . . . 5 1,200 41,500 8,800 8,900 
 
 Sales 52,500 38,400 9,100 3,100 
 
 Stock 21,500 315,100 5,700 42,500 
 
 Same time. 1855. 1856. 
 
 Eeceipts 37,800 8,200 
 
 Sales 34,800 4,400 
 
 Stock ". 53,300 11,900 
 
 Metals have not escaped the general depression, and especially iron 
 and lead. Scotch pig dropped down from |30 to §31 per ton in January, 
 1857, to $24 to $25 in January, 1858, having at one time, last summer, 
 rose to §35 to $38 per ton. American pig and English bars also suffered 
 a decline. The termination of the Russian war sent down the prices of 
 lead, from which the article has not recovered, while foreign imports have 
 declined. The article sold at 6c. to 6|c. in January, 1857, while in 
 January, 1858, it fell to 4|c. to 5^c. for Spanish and English. Copper 
 and tin have stood their ground better than other metals. 
 
 The product of the Lake Superior mines in copper during 1857 
 amounted to about 3,800 to 4,000 tons, showing an increase of about 500 
 tons over the previous year. Sales of Lake Superior copper were mostly 
 made for export to France at 19 |e. to 20c. per lb. Taking the inside yield 
 at 20c. per lb. will give the value of Lake Superior copper for the last year 
 at 11,520,000. 
 
 Naval stores also suffered a depreciation, as will be seen by the follow- 
 ing table of 
 
 Prices in New York, January 1. 
 
 Turpentine. Spirits of 
 
 (Wil. and N. C.) Turpentine. 
 
 1852 $0 Oc. to $3 6\c 31.Ve- to 37( 
 
 1853 4 „ 4 25 62 „ 63 
 
 1854 4 75 „ 5 60 „ 62 
 
 1855 4 „ 4 37^ 45 „ 46 
 
 1856 3 12.^ „ 3 37i „ 42 
 
 1857 3 75 „ 4 18 „ 49 
 
 1858 2 75 „ 3 „ 38 
 
 Common 
 
 Rosin. 
 
 ^1 20c. 
 
 to 
 
 $1 30f. 
 
 1 40 
 
 
 1 55 
 
 1 70 
 
 
 1 90 
 
 1 80 
 
 
 187| 
 
 
 
 
 1 60 
 
 1 50 i 
 
 
 162i- 
 
 
 
 
 1 30
 
 118 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 Oils of all kinds dosed lower in January, 1858, tlian they were at the 
 same time in 1857 — the heaviest fall, as previously noticed, having been 
 in linseed. Provisions, also, with the commencement of new supplies in 
 the autumn of 1857, underwent a marked decline, which continued to 
 droop until the present time, and especially pork and beef. The following 
 table shows : — 
 
 PiucES IN New Yoek, Januaey 1. 
 
 Mess Pork. Mess Beef. 
 
 Per bbl. • Per bbl. 
 
 .1852 S14 75 to §15 12^ ... $8 00 to 11 00 
 
 1853 19 00 „ 19 50 ... 9 25 ,,10 25 
 
 1854 13 50 „ 15 75 ... 8 50 „ 14 00 
 
 1855 12 37i „ 13 00 ... 8 25 „ 11 25 
 
 1856 17 25 „ ... 10 50 ,,14 00 
 
 1857 19 37i „ 20 00 ... 10 50 „ 14 75 
 
 1858 15 50 „ 16 00 ... 9 00 „ 10 00 
 
 
 Lard 
 
 
 Per lb. (bbl.) 
 
 ?8f 
 
 to 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 
 12i 
 
 9f 
 
 „ 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 „ 
 
 10^ 
 
 12 
 
 ,, 
 
 12i 
 
 12^ 
 
 
 121 
 
 Si 
 
 
 91 
 
 The stock of pork, 1st January, 1858, was 10,558 bbls. against 13,046 
 ditto, 1st Jamiary, 1857, while the stock of beef on 1st January, 1858, was 
 39,144 bbls. against 10,488 ditto, 1st January, 1857. 
 
 The market for pork reached its highest point during the year in the 
 summer months of 1857, when mess sold at about S24 per barrel. Beef 
 also attained prices in about the same ratio ; prime mess having sold as 
 high as §28 and §31 per barrel. Lard also went up to 14^. to 15c. per lb. 
 
 Rice at the opening of 1857 sold at Ac. to 4fc. per lb., and on the 
 1st January, 1858, at 2fe. to 3ic. 
 
 Sugars and molasses underwent the greatest lluctuations. The 
 following table will give the — 
 
 Pkices in New Yokk, Ist Januaey. 
 
 New Orleans. 
 
 1852 pergallon$28 to §- 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 1855 
 1856 
 1857 
 1858 
 
 30 
 27 
 23 
 48 
 
 31 
 
 28 
 
 26 
 
 49 New. 
 
 Clayed Cuba. 
 §18 to §19 
 
 20 
 
 23 
 
 22 
 
 40 
 
 80 Old 38 
 
 35 Old 17 
 
 21 
 
 25 
 42 
 40 
 20 
 
 Cuba, mus., hlids. . 
 
 Cuba 
 
 Cuba, bbls 
 
 Cuba, cljiycdj lilids. 
 Cuba, clayed, tcs. ,, 
 Cuba, clayed, bbls.. 
 Porto Kico, liluls. . 
 Now Orleans, bbls. 
 
 Stock in New Yoek, Januaey 1 
 
 1855. 1856. 
 
 s — ... §— 
 
 276 ... — 
 
 3,730 
 
 281 
 14 
 17 
 
 200 
 
 1857. 
 §1,161 
 
 370 
 
 267 
 100 
 
 1858. 
 §1,518 
 
 4,041 
 2,820 
 
 275 
 
 471
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 119 
 
 The crop of sugar in Louisiana having only reached about 73,900 hhds. 
 in 1856, showed a decrease of about 157,000 hhds., compared with that 
 of 1855. The year 1857 opened witli a hardening tendency in prices, but 
 it was late in spring before they assumed the highest rates — which ranged 
 from 12c. to I4,c. With the close of the summer and the advent of the 
 panic in the autumn, they commenced receding, and closed with the year 
 at a much lower range of figures. We annex tables of quotations and 
 stocks at the periods named : — 
 
 1851 
 
 1852 4-^ 
 
 1853 
 
 1851. 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 
 1858 
 
 Prices in New York, Janizary 1. 
 
 New Orleans. Cuba. 
 perlb. 5ie. to 6jc 4^c. to 6f 
 
 4-^ 
 
 , 6 
 
 4i 
 
 , 6 
 
 4 
 
 , 51 
 
 4i 
 
 , 5J 
 
 8 
 
 , 9 
 
 9 
 
 , 11 
 
 H 
 
 , 8 
 
 4 
 
 , 6 
 
 4i 
 
 , 51 
 
 4i 
 
 , H 
 
 4 
 
 , H 
 
 7 
 
 , 8 
 
 8 
 
 , 10 
 
 <>2 
 
 , n 
 
 Stock in New York, January 1. 
 
 Cuba, hhds. 2,020 
 
 Porto Kico 99 
 
 New Orleans 4,592 
 
 St. Croix — 
 
 Texas 24 
 
 Jamaica — 
 
 1856. 1857. 1S5S. 
 
 2,314 7,595 6,959 
 
 1,555 2,819 1,306 
 
 1,547 62 1,442 
 
 — — 250 
 
 520 
 
 Total 
 
 Molado — 
 
 Cuba, boxes — 
 
 Manilla, bags 14,201 
 
 BrazU — 
 
 Cuba — 
 
 6,745 5,146 10,976 9,957 
 
 — 10,788 19,931 ... 
 
 6,079 
 8,731 
 
 1,000 
 400 
 
 The market for foreign spirits has also undergone a decided depre- 
 ciation in prices, induced partly by the reduction of the duties, but mainly 
 by the general causes which have operated to reduce the prices of other 
 articles. 
 
 Tobacco, which had ruled high for the two or three past years, and 
 maintained the advanced rates at the opening of 1857, unlike other articles, 
 owing to unusually light stocks, as far as prices were concerned, resisted 
 the influence of the panic of last fall, though the market was rendered 
 dull and inactive by it. This inactivity remained at the close of the year, 
 though had stocks and assortments been adequate to the wants of the 
 trade, greater animation would have been witnessed in January, 1858,
 
 120 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 The following gives the total iuspections of leaf tobacco in New York 
 for each of the years named below : — 
 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Va. & N. C. 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Md. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1849 ... 
 
 ... hhds. 10,753 .. 
 
 2,254 ... 
 
 ... 29 ... 
 
 ... 100 ... 
 
 ... 13,136 
 
 1850 ... 
 
 12,207 .. 
 
 .... 1,437 ... 
 
 ... 28 ... 
 
 122 
 
 ... 13,794 
 
 1851 ... 
 
 12,285 . 
 
 655 ... 
 
 ... 6 ... 
 
 ... 100 ... 
 
 ... 13,016 
 
 1852 ... 
 
 20,107 . 
 
 361 ... 
 
 ... 1 ... 
 
 3 ... 
 
 ... 20,171 
 
 1853 ... 
 
 11,295 . 
 
 154 ... 
 
 ... 4 ... 
 
 4 ... 
 
 ... 11,157 
 
 1854 ... 
 
 9,295 . 
 
 295 ... 
 
 ... 21 ... 
 
 ... — ... 
 
 ... 9,611 
 
 1855 8,679 1,720 2 — 10,401 
 
 1856 12,683 2,009 9 — 14,701 
 
 1857 8,963 1,376 — — 10,339 
 
 The monthly returns of stocks averaged from 5,000 to 6,000 hhds., 
 leaving in the inspection warehouses on the 1st January, 1858, 4,644 hhds. 
 against 5,746 hhds. 1st January, 1857. The stock of Spanish was much 
 larger than usual, which was as follows : — 
 
 1st Jan. 1856. 1857. 1858. 
 
 Havana^ Cuba, Sagua,Yara> 5 g^l 3,640 10,767 
 
 and (Jieniuegos, bales ^ ' ' 
 
 The prices were as follows : — 
 
 1857. 1858. 
 
 Vu'ginia and Kentucky leaf .. . 7e. to 16c'. 7c. to 18c. 
 
 Mason county 10 „ 16 8 „ 18 
 
 Havanafillers 24 „ §125 28 „ $100 
 
 Cuba 25 „ 28 16 „ 22 
 
 Yara 35 „ 36 30 „ 35 
 
 The fluctuations in the prices of tea, induced by the war with China 
 and consequent speculation, we have noticed in a previous article headed 
 the " Commercial Retrospect for 1857." 
 
 The heaviest decline in staple articles has been that in wool. The 
 years 1855 and 1856 were years of high prices and speculation in wool, 
 while the year 1857 may be recorded as one of the most disastrous known 
 to the trade for a period of twenty years. Both producers and manu- 
 facturers, with speculators, were alike in many cases made bankrupt by 
 the fall. With the suspension of woollen factories last autumn the article 
 became nominal, and for a while unsaleable. 
 
 The stock of wool held in the seaports at the commencement of 1857 
 was estimated at 6,000,000 lbs., and in the interior about 3,000,000 lbs.— 
 giving about 9,000,000 lbs. for the whole country. The annual consump- 
 tion of wool ill the United States, prior to 1857, was estimated at 
 72,000,000 lbs., or nearly 3 lbs. per head to the entire population. Of 
 this 72,000,000 lbs., the United States supplied about 52,000,000 lbs.— 
 leaving about 20,000,000 lbs. to be supplied from foreign countries. The 
 reduction in the duty on coai'se wools will, should trade and manufactures 
 revive, lead to a large increase in the importation of cheap wools. The 
 following table gives the prices of wool in New York on the 1st of 
 January : —
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 
 
 121 
 
 American, Saxony fleece per lb. 
 
 American, full blood merino 
 
 American, ^ and f merino 
 
 American, native and i merino 
 
 Extra pulled 
 
 Superfine pulled 
 
 No. 1 pulled 
 
 California fine, unwashed 
 
 California common, unwashed 
 
 Peruvian, washed 
 
 Valparaiso, unwashed 
 
 Soutli American common, washed 
 
 South American, Entre Rios, washed 
 
 South Amei'ican, unwashed , 
 
 South American, Cordova, washed 
 
 East India, washed 
 
 Afi-ican, unwashed 
 
 Afi'ican, washed 
 
 Smyrna, unwashed 
 
 Smyrna, washed , 
 
 Mexican, imwashcd 
 
 1857 
 
 
 55c. to 
 
 60c. 
 
 50 „ 
 
 54 
 
 44 „ 
 
 48 
 
 33 „ 
 
 37 
 
 45 „ 
 
 48 
 
 38 „ 
 
 41 
 
 33 „ 
 
 36 
 
 23 „ 
 
 26 
 
 12 „ 
 
 17 
 
 30 „ 
 
 36 
 
 11 » 
 
 15 
 
 13 „ 
 
 15 
 
 10 „ 
 
 20 
 
 8 „ 
 
 12 
 
 25 „ 
 
 27 
 
 26 „ 
 
 28 
 
 9 „ 
 
 18 
 
 18 „ 
 
 30 
 
 14 „ 
 
 20 
 
 24 „ 
 
 28 
 
 15 „ 
 
 18 
 
 
 1858. 
 
 40c 
 
 to 
 
 45c 
 
 35 
 
 55 
 
 40 
 
 30 
 
 „ 
 
 35 
 
 27 
 
 )) 
 
 32 
 
 26 
 
 )> 
 
 28 
 
 22 
 
 5> 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 JJ 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 » 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 » 
 
 15 
 
 — 
 
 >J 
 
 — 
 
 10 
 
 » 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 » 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 >J 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 » 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 » 
 
 25 
 
 18 
 
 » 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 )> 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 >1 
 
 28 
 
 14 
 
 »> 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 55 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 
 16 
 
 Freights also participated in tlie general depression of 1857. We 
 give the — 
 
 Eates to Liverpool and London, January 1. 
 
 Livei-pool. 1857. 
 
 Grain 0*. Id. to 0*. 8id 
 
 Elour 2 3 „ 2 6 
 
 Cotton 7-32fZ. „ id 
 
 Heavy goods 27 6 „ — 
 
 Loadon. 
 
 Flour 2 lOj „ 3 
 
 Heavy goods 30 „ 32 6 
 
 1858. 
 Os. hid. to Os. Q\d. 
 — „ 1 10^ 
 
 3-16(;. „ — 
 
 20 „ — 
 
 2 6 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 Steamers . 
 Ships .... 
 Barks .... 
 Brigs 
 
 Number of Vessels in Port, January 1. 
 
 1857. 
 
 35 
 
 Ill 
 
 87 
 
 96 
 
 Schooners 270 
 
 1858. 
 
 33 
 145 
 
 92 
 107 
 314 
 
 Total 599 
 
 Sterhng exchange 8i to SJ 
 
 8J 
 
 691 
 to 9i 
 
 We have thus given, at some length, statistics, or actual facts, on which 
 we base the primary causes of the extraordinary revulsion of 1857. 
 
 This remarkable reaction was as necessary as a thunder-storm in a 
 mephitic and unhealthy tropical atmosphere. It purified the commercial 
 and financial elements, and tended to restore vitality and health, alike 
 conducive to regular trade, sound progress, and permanent prosperity.
 
 122 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 THE FAILURES IN AMEEICA. 
 
 Office of the Meeca:vtile Agency, 
 314 and 316, Broadway, New York, Jan., 1858. 
 
 TO OUR SUBSCKIBEES. 
 
 The entrance of the new year induces us to present ourselves again before 
 you, glancing back at the principal events of the past year in the mercan- 
 tile world, and observing a few suggestions dictated by the interest which 
 we feel in your welfare. 
 
 The financial revulsion through which our whole country has just 
 passed — the disastrous effects of which will be felt for a long time to come 
 — exceeded, in intensity, the apprehensions of the most timid and cautious 
 in our midst. A stringent money-market was looked for. There had 
 been over-trading, too much competition in business, too heavy expenses, 
 too long and large credits, and there was still quite a land speculation in 
 the West. Some failures were of course expected. The tendency to 
 overdo, however, you will remember, had been very miich restrained by 
 causes which have operated every year or so for the last six years. Dur- 
 ing that time, drought and failure of crops both at the South and West, 
 and two or three serious financial revulsions, contributed to put jobbing 
 merchants on their guard against excessive over-trading, in which we do 
 not believe they indulged to any serious extent. After the hard years 
 referred to, great anxiety was felt in regard to the crops for 1857. A 
 kind Providence gave us an abundant harvest, on the basis of which a 
 sound and healthy trade was anticipated. Our importations were heavier, 
 it is true, than they ought to have been ; but our jobbers stocked up 
 moderately and were looking for their usual fall trade when the contrac- 
 tion commenced, which was followed by panic, and the crash came, de- 
 stroying all demand for goods, depreciating stocks, deranging our interior 
 exchanges, and stopping collections and the forwarding of the crops. 
 
 Was there sufficient disease in the body commercial to cause such an 
 arrest of business and a general liquidation ? The niimber of houses that 
 have resumed or will pay in full ; the large number that have already 
 compromised as high as sixty to eighty cents ; the small losses our banks 
 have met with, and the quickness with which they were able to collect in 
 and place themselves in a strong position — not to speak of the value of the 
 crops on hand and the many millions of specie hoarded throughout the 
 country — ^justify us in believing that the over-issues of paper monej', over- 
 trading, speculation, etc., would not have warranted, at least after the 
 export demand for specie ceased, more than a moderate contraction, 
 which should have been even then very gradual and discriminating, and 
 not a ruthless assault upon private credit. 
 
 We say that the larger part of the contraction which took place was 
 caused by pauic. by which we mean, " terror inspired by a trilling cause 
 or misapprehension of dcinger." Death from fright is as serious a
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS I'ROGRESS. 123 
 
 calamity as from any ordinary cause. We have reason to be thankful 
 that this panic came in a year of plenty ; and with smaller indebtedness, 
 we believe, from the country than usual. Had it occurred at any time 
 within the last three or four years— the year of drought and failure of 
 crops, for instance— there would have been more apology for it ; but the 
 losses would then have been much greater. As it is, we may reason- 
 ably hope that the houses which have been bankrupted by this crisis will 
 make better dividends than were ever made before under such disastrous 
 circumstances. 
 
 We entertain the common opinion that the action of the officers of four 
 or five of our strongest banks was the chief cause of the great disasters of 
 the season. They concerted together and forced a rapid and merciless 
 contraction upon all our city banks, carrying along with them those of the 
 whole country. If the banks of New York city are to control the action 
 of the banks of the United States, it is to be regretted that so small a 
 number of them should be able by combining to determine the line of 
 policy to be pui-sued by the whole body. The whole country is, there- 
 fore, interested that New York should have a steady and safe banking 
 system ; and if our Legislature should impose some such restriction as the 
 press generally have recommended, like the law of Louisiana, requiring 
 them to have one dollar in specie for every three of liability, we should 
 have as perfect a system, probably, of paper currency, as has ever been 
 devised. If the control of our banks is trusted to unskilful hands, the 
 system ought not to be blamed for the difficulties which their bad manage- 
 ment has caused. A wise action on the part of the banks would have 
 driven into insolvency all that class whose condition warranted such treat- 
 ment, without putting every one on the rack in order to discover the 
 weakness of the few. 
 
 The tendency to excessive importation, which has affected all classes 
 of merchants, may be largely ascribed to the fact that European letters of 
 credit have been so easily obtained, and that they have afforded such fine 
 openings for " kiting " operations. In this regard the times are like those 
 which preceded 1837. There has not been so much over-trading on the 
 part of the jobbers with the interior as has been supposed. As a class 
 they manifest more caution in giving credits than in former years. Where 
 the organization of the house is good, where it combines other talent and 
 experience than that of the mere salesman, with the judicious use of the 
 mercantile agency, they can and do show good ledgers and a prosperous 
 state of things. 
 
 It is considered safe for a merchant doing an ordinary jobbing busi- 
 ness, buying on eight months and selling on six, to sell three or four or 
 even five times the amount of his capital ; and if his business is well 
 attended to, and his goods placed in safe hands, he may be, always, easy 
 in his finances, anticipating his paper, and entirely independent of banks. 
 We can point to such houses among our subscribers in all kinds of job- 
 bing trade, even that most slandered of all, the dry goods trade. We have 
 in our mind the case of one such house, a leading one, too, which, from 
 the commencement of its business, some years since, has never borrowed 
 a dollar nor asked a discount till within a few weeks. We think of a silk
 
 124 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 house, whicli, for seventeen years, has not, till this crisis, asked a discount 
 nor borrowed a dollar. 
 
 We have also in our mind the case of one of our largest umbrella 
 houses, which, for ten years, has asked for no discount nor borrowed a 
 dollar ; and we could mention others. We admit that these instances are 
 rare, but it shows what can be done and what ought to be done more 
 commonly than it is. The risky houses are those which sell ten, twelve, 
 or fifteen times the amount of their capital. In easy times they are 
 able to do this by using all the credit they can get at bauk ; as well as 
 that they get from the importer and manufacturer. 
 
 The jobbing merchant's embarrassments arise mostly from the want 
 of promptness on the part of his country debtor ; no definite time being 
 fixed when the debt must be paid. The country storekeeper cannot be 
 prompt when selling to farmers on a credit of twelve months or longer. 
 He should sell for cash or short credit. Then he would be prompt to 
 his own payments, and jobbers could begin to make calculations on the 
 certain and prompt payment of their bills receivable. This would be 
 striking at the root of the evil. The prosperity of the manufacturer, im- 
 porter, banker, and jobber is largely dependent on the manner in which 
 the country merchant does his business. If his course tends to make or 
 break all those above him, how important that he should do business on 
 sound principles ? He should be required to give notes for all his pur- 
 chases, and to meet them at maturity. He would then, of necessity, buy 
 carefully, sell prudently, collect closely, and thus enhance his own pros- 
 perity as well as that of trade generally. The farmers, it is conceded, are 
 the richest body of men in our country. They can now do, with con- 
 venience, that which twenty or twenty-five years they could not. If, 
 however, they cannot pay cash, they ought to be brought to quarterly 
 settlements at all events. There are 157,394 village and country stores 
 in the United States ; and they are all the while indebted to jobbers of 
 the cities, on the average of say §14,500 each ;* or, in the aggregate, 
 §2,282,000,000. They are, season after season, paying ofi" and incurring 
 this debt afresh. These merchants, we are proiid to say, embody as much 
 industry, business talent, and integrity as are to found in any of the walks 
 of life, and the per centage of loss by them, including that which is made 
 by adventurers and innovators is, on the amount of business done, small 
 indeed. 
 
 Another great cause of embarrassment, admitted to be such by a 
 wealthy class of jobbers in some of our cities, has been the fact, that when 
 they have sold to men whom they knew to be good, they nave been in- 
 different as to whether the debt was paid them when it was due or not, 
 preferring to make it secure at large interest, and in this way, locking up 
 their capital, they have relied upon the banks to supply them in time of 
 need with accommodation facilities. This accounts, in part, for so many 
 houses of this description having been obliged to ask for some extension 
 of their paper. 
 
 * Tills seems large, but the table shows it to be below the avert^ge of the in- 
 debtedness of 2771 countw nicrcluiuts.
 
 THE AMEllICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROCKESS. 125 
 
 We beg j^our reference to the follov, ing table, giving such particulars 
 as may be of some interest. It has been gotten up in great haste, 
 necessarily, but we have avoided no pains nor expense to make it 
 accurate. In the large cities we have, in three-fourths of the cases, the 
 statements of the parties themselves. In some recent cases of failure no 
 exhibits have as yet been prepared. In all instances where these state- 
 ments were not to be had, we have put a careful estimate upon each case, 
 our own records furnishing us data by which we covdd more nearly 
 approximate it than by any other method. 
 
 We have not included such houses as suspended for a short time, and 
 resumed payment ; nor such as, during the panic, had partial or even 
 general extension, where it has been upon short time; nor have we 
 included the losses by the failures of banks or railroads. 
 
 These returns omit California, our arrangements for that State not yet 
 being as perfect as elsewhere. They embrace, however, the Canadas, 
 New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 
 
 It will be seen that the number of firms in the United States (Cali- 
 fornia excepted), by our records — and they embrace all but a class of 
 small retailers in the larger cities — is 204,0G1, or, estimating the popula- 
 tion at 25,000,000, that there is a store to every 123 of our inhabitants, or 
 to every 25 families. 
 
 There has been lost by 337 swindling and absconding debtors, 
 §5,222,500, and by 512 firms which will pay nothing, their losses and con- 
 fidential debts absorbing everything, $20,309,000. There are 3,839 con- 
 cerns owing §197,080,500, and they are such cases as usually average 40 
 to 50 cents ; and there are 435 houses owing $77,189,000, which will pay 
 in full if the times ahead prove to be ordinarily prosperous. 
 
 The total amount of the liabilities of tlie 5,123 failures is put down at $299,801,000 
 But there will be realized from those who will pay in fidl $77,189,000 
 And on the amount of " ordinary " failures $196,080,000 
 
 at 40 cents 78,832,000 
 
 156,021,000 
 
 Leaving a final loss of $143,780,000 
 
 The columns exhibiting the number of counties in each State, with the 
 number in which, during the whole year, no failures have occurred, will 
 surprise you with their showings. No other conclusion can be formed 
 than that the trade of the country was in good hands, and in a prosperous 
 condition prior to the panic. 
 
 If the country storekeepers' general debt is, as hereinbefore estimated, 
 $2,282,000,000, it would be fair to infer that ordinarily the year's business 
 would amount to all of double that sum, or $4,504,000,000. From this 
 we would deduct for light trade last spring, and the injury to sales this 
 fall, 40 per cent., which would make the business for 1857 , with the country 
 merchant, amount to $2,738,400,000, and as the losses for the year by this 
 trade were $41,838,000, the per centage is about one and a half. 
 
 For the convenience of those of you desiring to contrast the city with 
 the country trade, we have separated the one from the other, as will be
 
 126 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 readily perceived by reference to the table. Twenty-six cities arc 
 enumerated. Tlieir failures bare been 2,352 in number, and tbe liabilities 
 of the same amount to §257,963,000 — or an average of about §109,000. 
 
 Those of you who preserved our last year's circiilar, will be able to 
 compare the statistics therein given vrith those contained in this. 
 
 STATISTICS AS TO FAILUKES 
 FEOM Decembee 26, 1855, to December 25, 1857. 
 
 Places. 
 
 NEW toee;. 
 
 New York city* 
 Albany 
 Buffalo 
 Oswego 
 Eochester 
 Syracuse 
 Troy . 
 Utica . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Boston 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Philaclelphia 
 Pittsburg 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 onio. 
 
 Cincinnati . 
 Cleveland 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 St. Louis 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. 
 Providence . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 Baltimore . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 Present 
 
 Number of 
 
 Stores. 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 13 854 
 '721 
 793 
 204 
 408 
 305 
 391 
 298 
 
 15,875 
 
 4,374 
 10,257 
 
 7,404 
 
 1,374 
 
 13,526 
 
 1,350 
 11,459 
 
 2,513 
 
 550 
 
 15,746 
 
 2,230 
 1,667 
 
 1,580 
 4,851 
 
 1,100 
 566 
 
 1,970 
 3,368 
 
 Number. 
 
 118,734 
 
 915 
 35 
 72 
 13 
 31 
 29 
 24 
 20 
 
 447 
 
 253 
 230 
 
 280 
 
 28 
 
 226 
 
 117 
 199 
 
 96 
 
 30 
 
 220 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 49 
 29 
 
 35 
 4 
 
 58 
 41 
 
 3,544 
 
 §135,129,000 
 838,000 
 
 4,224,000 
 161,000 
 850,000 
 436,000 
 
 1,607,000 
 585,000 
 
 6,789,000 
 
 41,010,000 
 2,611,000 
 
 32,954,000 
 1,183,000 
 2,283,000 
 
 6,572,000 
 2,766,000 
 
 3,898,000 
 
 612,000 
 
 2,357,000 
 
 6,285,000 
 246,000 
 
 5,522,000 
 433,000 
 
 4,564,000 
 105,000 
 
 3,206,000 
 725,000 
 
 $267,951,000 
 
 * Includes Brooklyn and Williamsburg.
 
 THE AMERICAN CIIISIS AND ITS PllOGRESS. 
 
 127 
 
 
 Present 
 Number of 
 
 Failures. 
 
 Places. 
 
 
 
 
 Stores. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 Bi'ouglit forward . 
 
 118,731. 
 
 3,544 
 
 §267,951,000 
 
 MICHIGAN. 
 
 
 
 
 Detroit 
 
 649 
 
 34 
 
 1,514,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 3,706 
 
 98 
 
 1,004,000 
 
 IOWA. 
 
 
 
 
 Dubuque ...... 
 
 403 
 
 36 
 
 735,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 4,308 
 
 108 
 
 1,333,000 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 
 
 
 LouisriUe ...... 
 
 1,080 
 
 19 
 
 757,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 5,715 
 
 31 
 
 1,007,000 
 
 SOrxn CAROLINA. 
 
 
 
 
 Charleston 
 
 900 
 
 31 
 
 922,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 2,538 
 
 24 
 
 305,000 
 
 Territories 
 
 1,697 
 
 63 
 
 1,705,000 
 
 Indiana ...... 
 
 7,337 
 
 139 
 
 1,636,000 
 
 yiEGINIA. 
 
 
 
 
 Richmond ...... 
 
 1,583 
 
 30 
 
 781,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 7,781 
 
 90 
 
 982,000 
 
 WISCONSIN. 
 
 
 
 
 Milwaixkie 
 
 633 
 
 19 
 
 380,000 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 3,757 
 
 101 
 
 1,244,000 
 
 North CaroUna ..... 
 
 3,233 
 
 62 
 
 1,171,000 
 
 New Jersey ...... 
 
 4,433 
 
 86 
 
 1,142,000 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 4,209 
 
 61 
 
 1,129,000 
 
 Maine ....... 
 
 4,912 
 
 81 
 
 1,060,000 
 
 New Hampshii-e 
 
 2,700 
 
 70 
 
 928,000 
 
 Vermont ...... 
 
 l,9fi2 
 
 57 
 
 473,000 
 
 Georgia ...... 
 
 5,339 
 
 32 
 
 925,000 
 
 Delaware and District of Columbia 
 
 2,727 
 
 20 
 
 261,000 
 
 Arkansas ...... 
 
 1,179 
 
 7 
 
 309,000 
 
 Alabama ...... 
 
 2,694 
 
 16 
 
 295,000 
 
 Mississippi ...... 
 
 2,235 
 
 11 
 
 445,000 
 
 Tennessee ...... 
 
 4,387 
 
 40 
 
 712,000 
 
 Florida ...... 
 
 783 
 
 7 
 
 250,000 
 
 Texas 
 
 2,447 
 
 15 
 
 393,000 
 
 Total United States .... 
 
 204,061 
 
 4,937 
 
 §291,750,000 
 
 CANADA WEST. 
 
 
 
 
 Toronto 
 
 389 
 
 25 
 
 §2,714,000 
 
 Balance of Canada West . 
 
 3,444 
 
 109 
 
 2,172,000 
 
 CANADA EAST. 
 
 
 
 
 Montreal 
 
 909 
 
 15 
 
 523,000 
 
 Balance of Canada East . 
 
 1,764 
 
 15 
 
 1,267,000 
 1,375,000 
 
 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick . 
 
 1,797 
 
 22 
 
 Total British provinces . 
 
 8,303 
 
 186 
 
 §8,051,000 
 
 Total United States and British Provs. 
 
 212,364 
 
 5,123 
 
 §299,801,000
 
 128 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ordinary failures. 
 
 How man}' have 
 arranged with 
 
 Places. 
 
 No. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 creditors, and at 
 what average. 
 
 KEW YORK. 
 
 
 
 
 New York city* 
 Albany 
 Buflalo 
 Oswego 
 E-ochester . 
 Syracuse 
 Troy . 
 Utica . 
 
 Balance of the 
 
 State 
 
 
 
 
 600 
 18 
 53 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 378 
 
 883,951,000 
 
 480,000 
 2,795,000 
 156,000 
 707,000 
 268,000 
 682,000 
 376,000 
 5,565,000 
 
 218 av. 51 e. 
 10 „ 42 
 13 „ 43 
 
 8 ',', 48 
 
 4 „ 31 
 3 „ 48 
 
 5 „ 47 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 
 
 
 Boston 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 212 
 202 
 
 32,255,000 
 1,711,000 
 
 182 „ 48 
 
 PEKNSYLYANIA. 
 
 
 
 
 Pliiladelphia 
 
 Pittsbiu'g ... ... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 155 
 
 22 
 
 204 
 
 16,995,000 
 
 918,000 
 
 2,005,000 
 
 63 „ 54 
 
 23 „ 47 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 
 
 
 Chicago ...... 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 82 
 149 
 
 4,571,000 
 2,093,000 
 
 11 „ 54 
 
 onio. 
 
 
 
 
 Cincinnati ...... 
 
 Cleveland ...... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 69 
 
 24 
 
 178 
 
 2,387,000 
 
 390,000 
 
 1,742,000 
 
 54 „ 48 
 10 „ 47 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 
 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 36 
 
 2 
 
 4,388,000 
 26,000 
 
 8 „ 55 
 
 1 amt. 18,000 
 
 pay 50 
 
 MISSOURI. 
 
 
 
 
 St. Louis ....._ 
 Balance of the State ... 
 
 25 
 17 
 
 3,585,000 
 247,000 
 
 4 av. 50 
 
 EnODE ISLVND. 
 
 
 
 
 Providence ...... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 22 
 3 
 
 2,130,000 
 60,000 
 
 12 „ 40 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 
 
 
 Baltimore ...... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 39 
 37 
 
 2,472,000 
 708,500 
 
 17 „ 44 
 
 MICHIGAN. 
 
 
 
 
 Detroit ...... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 21. 
 71 
 
 1,199,000 
 722,000 
 
 13 „ 41 
 
 IOWA. 
 
 
 
 
 Dubuque ...... 
 
 Balance of the State. 
 
 21 
 
 79 
 
 463,000 
 1,059,000 
 
 4 „ 44 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 
 
 
 Louisville ...... 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 12 
 
 21 
 
 412,000 
 496,000 
 
 
 Carried 
 
 forwa 
 
 rd . 
 
 
 
 2,840 
 
 $178,020,500 
 
 
 * Includes Brooklyn and WUliameburg.
 
 TITR AMKIUCAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 129 
 
 
 Ordinary failures. 
 
 How many have 
 
 
 
 
 arrauKed'witli 
 
 Places. 
 
 No. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 creditors, an.l iit 
 what aver:if;t'. 
 
 Brought forward . 
 
 2,810 
 
 $178,020,500 
 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 
 
 
 Cliarleston ...... 
 
 23 
 
 812,000 
 
 8 av. 42 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 20 
 
 245,000 
 
 
 Territories ...... 
 
 4G 
 
 1,302,000 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 111 
 
 1,411,000 
 
 15 ,,' 49 
 
 TIEGINIA. 
 
 
 
 
 Riehmond . . ♦ . 
 
 22 
 
 694,000 
 
 3 „ 58 
 
 Balance of the State .... 
 
 70 
 
 749,000 
 
 
 WISCONSIN. 
 
 
 
 
 Milwaiikie 
 
 14 
 
 312,000 
 
 3 „ 73 
 
 Balance of the State . . . • 
 
 92 
 
 1,150,000 
 
 
 North Carolina ..... 
 
 42 
 
 668,000 
 
 
 New Jersey ...... 
 
 72 
 
 836,000 
 
 
 Connecticut ...... 
 
 50 
 
 995,000 
 
 
 Maine ....... 
 
 71 
 
 832,000 
 
 
 New Hampshii'e ..... 
 
 60 
 
 775,000 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 49 
 
 382,000 
 
 
 Georgia ...... 
 
 21 
 
 681,000 
 
 
 Delaware and District of Columbia 
 
 18 
 
 258,000 
 
 1 am'g to oyer 
 
 Arkansas ...... 
 
 5 
 
 285,000 j 
 
 8100,000 will 
 pay nearly all 
 
 Alabama ...... 
 
 14 
 
 265,000 
 
 
 Mississippi ...... 
 
 10 
 
 435,000 
 
 2 av. 50 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 28 
 
 618,000 
 
 
 Florida 
 
 5 
 
 228,000 
 
 2 ,, 52 
 
 Texas 
 
 12 
 
 353,000 
 
 
 Total United States .... 
 
 3,703 
 
 $192,305,500 
 
 
 CANADA WEST. 
 
 
 
 
 Toronto 
 
 17 
 
 $1,270,000 
 
 3 „ 58 
 
 Balance of Canada West . 
 
 73 
 
 1,631,000 
 
 8 „ 45 
 
 CANADA EAST. 
 
 
 
 
 Montreal 
 
 12 
 
 445,000 
 
 4 „ 52 
 
 Balance of Canada East . 
 
 13 
 
 66,000 
 
 3 „ 35 
 
 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick . 
 
 21 
 
 1,363,000 
 
 3 „ 50 
 
 Total British Provinces . 
 
 136 
 3,839 
 
 $i,775,000 
 
 
 Total United States and British Provs. 
 
 $197,080,500 

 
 130 
 
 TIIR AMF.RICAN CUISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 Places. 
 
 NEW TORE. 
 New York city * 
 Albany 
 Buffalo 
 Oswego 
 Rochestev 
 Syracuse 
 Troy . 
 Utica . 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 irASSAClIFSETTS. 
 
 Boston . . . , 
 Balance of the State 
 
 PENNSYLVAXIA. 
 
 Philadelpliia 
 
 Pitsbiirg . . . , 
 Balance of the State 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 Cliicago . . . . 
 Balance of the State 
 
 OHIO. 
 
 Cincmnati . . . . 
 
 Cleveland . . . . 
 Balance of the State 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 MISSOURI. 
 
 St. Louis . . . . 
 Balance of the State 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 Providence 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 Baltimore . . . . 
 Balance of the State 
 
 MICHIGAN. 
 
 Detroit . . . . 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 IOWA. 
 
 J)nbuqiie . . . . 
 
 Balaiice of the State 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 Swindling and ab- 
 sconding debtors. 
 
 37 
 1 
 6 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 IJ. 
 
 18 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 25 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 4 
 13 
 
 2 
 10 
 
 234 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 $988,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 74,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 85,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 12,000 
 
 220,000 
 
 109,000 
 62,000 
 
 481,000 
 15,000 
 42,0C0 
 
 203,000 
 210,000 
 
 99,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 380,000 
 
 213,000 
 70,000 
 
 205,000 
 51,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 30,000 
 16,500 
 
 23,000 
 124,000 
 
 26,000 
 81,000 
 
 Not classed dishonest, 
 
 but will pay little or 
 
 nothing. 
 
 $3,872,500 
 
 No. 
 
 Ill 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 7 
 9 
 
 27 
 
 20 
 
 60 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 11 
 397 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 §8,033,000 
 144,000 
 534,000 
 
 123,000 
 53,000 
 230,000 
 147,000 
 255,000 
 
 636,000 
 75,000 
 
 3,704,000 
 
 40,000 
 
 128,000 
 
 407,000 
 291,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 38,000 
 
 235,000 
 
 31.2,000 
 150,000 
 
 ^98,000 
 35,000 
 
 1,456,000 
 
 352,000 
 
 142,000 
 48,000 
 
 76,000 
 61,000 
 
 $18,333,000 
 
 * Includes Brooklyn and Williamsbun
 
 THE AMKRICAN CUISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 131 
 
 Places. 
 
 Swindling and ab- 
 sconding d. btors. 
 
 Not classed disl)onest, 
 
 but will pny little or 
 
 nothing. 
 
 
 No. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 No. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 Brought forward . 
 
 234 
 
 $3,872,500 
 
 397 
 
 $18,333,000 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Louisville 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 7,000 
 310,000 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 78,000 
 107,000 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charleston ...... 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 31,000 
 35,000 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 67,000 
 25,000 
 
 Territories ...... 
 
 Indiana ...... 
 
 11 
 9 
 
 154,000 
 
 78,000 
 
 4 
 11 
 
 88,000 
 107,000 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Eichmond 
 
 Balance of the State 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 3,000 
 73,000 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 44,000 
 103,000 
 
 WISCONSIN. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Milwaukie 
 
 1 
 
 10,000 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 50,000 
 61,000 
 
 North Caroluia ..... 
 
 New Jersey ..... 
 
 Connecticut ..... 
 
 Maine ...... 
 
 New Hampshire .... 
 
 Vermont ...... 
 
 Delaware and District of Columbia 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Mississippi ...... 
 
 Tennessee ...... 
 
 Texas 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 5 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 '7 
 2 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 "7 
 1 
 2 
 
 57,000 
 39,000 
 35,000 
 58,000 
 20,000 
 
 45,000 
 
 3,000 
 
 24,000 
 
 14,000 
 
 82,000 
 10,000 
 25,000 
 
 13 
 6 
 6 
 8 
 4 
 3 
 3 
 
 1 
 1 
 5 
 1 
 1 
 
 428,000 
 
 122,000 
 99,000 
 
 170,000 
 23,000 
 15,000 
 
 180,000 
 
 16,000 
 10,000 
 13,000 
 12,000 
 15,000 
 
 Total United States 
 
 317 
 
 §4,985,500 
 
 499 
 
 $20,166,00'! 
 
 CANADA WEST. 
 
 
 
 
 Toronto ...... 
 
 Balance of Canada West 
 
 2 
 16 
 
 153,000 
 76,000 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 17,000 
 113,000 
 
 CANADA EAST. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montreal ...... 
 
 Balance of Canada East . 
 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 
 
 2 
 
 8,000 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1,000 
 12,000 
 
 Total British Provinces 
 
 20 
 
 237,000 
 
 13 
 
 1-13,000 
 
 Total United States and British Provs. 
 
 337 
 
 S5,222,500 
 
 512 
 
 $20,309,000
 
 132 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 Places. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 New York city* 
 Albany 
 Buffalo 
 Oswsgo 
 Rochester . 
 Syracuse 
 Troy . 
 Utica . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Boston . . . . 
 Balance of the State 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Philadelpliia 
 
 Pittsburg . . . . 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 OHIO. 
 
 Cincinnati . 
 Cleveland 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 MISSOURI. 
 
 St. Louis 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 Providence . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 Baltimore . 
 
 Balance of tlie State . 
 
 Detroit 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 Likely to Pay in FuU. 
 
 No. 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 167 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 19 
 G 
 
 52 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 372 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 $42,157,000 
 209,000 
 821,000 
 
 20,000 
 30,000 
 
 675,000 
 50,000 
 
 719,000 
 
 8,010,000 
 763,000 
 
 11,774,000 
 210,000 
 108,000 
 
 1,391,000 
 172,000 
 
 1,312,000 
 180,000 
 
 1,342,000 
 
 1,234,000 
 100,000 
 
 954,000 
 45,000 
 
 352,000 
 
 150,000 
 110,000 
 
 No. of 
 Coun- 
 ties in 
 each 
 State. 
 
 60 
 
 14 
 
 64 
 
 101 
 
 88 
 
 48 
 
 111 
 
 $72,918,000 
 
 21 
 
 46 
 
 No. of 
 Counties 
 without 
 Failures 
 in 1857. 
 
 19 
 
 51 
 
 17 
 
 43 
 
 90 
 
 20 
 
 * Includes Brooklyn and Williamsburg.
 
 THE AMKllICAN CRISIS AND ITS I'ROGRESS, 
 
 133 
 
 Places. 
 
 Brought forward , 
 IOWA. 
 
 Dubuque 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 Louisville . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 Charleston . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 Territories . 
 Indiana 
 
 VIUGINIA. 
 
 Richmond . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 WISCONSIN. 
 
 Milwaukie . 
 
 Balance of the State . 
 
 North Carohna . 
 
 New Jersey .... 
 
 Connecticut .... 
 
 Maine ..... 
 
 New Hampshire . 
 
 Vermont .... 
 
 Georgia .... 
 
 Delaware and District of Columbia 
 
 Arkansas .... 
 
 Alabama .... 
 
 Mississippi .... 
 
 Tennessee .... 
 
 Florida 
 
 Texas 
 
 Total United States . 
 
 CANADA WEST. 
 
 Toronto 
 
 Balance of Canada West . 
 
 CANADA EAST. 
 
 Montreal ..... 
 
 Balance of Canada East . 
 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick . 
 
 Total British Provinces . 
 
 Total United States and British Prova 
 
 Likely to Pay in Full. 
 
 No. 
 
 372 
 
 418 
 
 4 
 11 
 
 17 
 
 435 
 
 Liabilities, 
 
 872,918,000 
 
 170,000 
 132,000 
 
 260,000 
 94,000 
 
 12,000 
 
 161,000 
 40,000 
 
 40,000 
 57,000 
 
 8,000 
 33,000 
 
 18,000 
 145,000 
 
 110,000 
 76,000 
 19,000 
 
 $!74,293,000 
 
 1,274,000 
 352,000 
 
 70,000 
 1,200,000 
 
 §2,896,000 
 
 No. of 
 Coun- 
 ties in 
 each 
 State. 
 
 100 
 100 
 
 29 
 
 92 
 
 140 
 
 47 
 
 82 
 20 
 8 
 13 
 10 
 14 
 105 
 
 54 
 52 
 60 
 79 
 30 
 91 
 
 §77,189,000 
 
 42 
 
 59 
 26 
 
 No. of 
 Co\nitie8 
 without 
 Failures 
 in 1857. 
 
 73 
 
 78 
 
 16 
 37 
 
 94 
 
 15 
 
 51 
 5 
 
 89 
 
 48 
 44 
 51 
 62 
 23 
 79 
 
 10 
 
 55 
 
 22
 
 134 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 You who have survived the pauit- have a cheering prospect before you 
 for doing business to advantage. Trade, as it springs up, ■will be more 
 healthy. We shall rejoice in your prosperity, and hope you may soon 
 retrieve any losses you have sustained through the misfortunes of others. 
 
 We shall be thankful to have you speak well of and recommend the 
 Agency to the favour of those of your friends who may chance to be 
 doing business without the benefits it affords. The Bankers' Magazine 
 for this month contains a short article showing the object and benefits of 
 the Mercantile Agency, to which we would refer for all needed informa- 
 tion. Since 1841 we have laboured to make it an indispensable aiixiliary 
 to every man's business. We know it is instrumental of saving many 
 millions yearly to our city, and that its branches are equally valuable to 
 their several localities. Who can tell what the financial diificulties of 
 1857 would have aggregated, if it liad not been for the conservative 
 infliience which the Agency has exerted in time past, and even during the 
 whole period of the pressure ? The exigencies of those troublous times, 
 1837 and 1841, originated it ; and we hope it will ever be regarded as the 
 strong bulwark and reliance of our merchants. Wishing you the com- 
 pliments of the season, we remain, yours faithfully, 
 
 B. Douglass & Co. 
 
 THE AMEEICAN COMMEECIAL AGENCY. 
 
 TAPPAN AND M'KILLOP, 
 
 5, Beckman Street, New York, 
 
 Established 1842. 
 
 Associate Offices. 
 
 Boston. Baltimore. St. Louis. 
 
 Philadelphia. Chicago. Detroit. 
 
 Cincinnati. 
 
 With upv>artls ol' 3000 corresponding Agents in the United Slates and Canada. 
 
 Gentlemen, — Annexed, please find a statement, which has been com- 
 piled with much care from the books of this Agency. I believe it to be 
 as accurate as it can be made. In many cases Messrs. Tappan and 
 M'Killop have been compelled to estimate the probable amount per 
 cent, that will be paid, but they think the data on which they have 
 founded their estimate sufiicient to justify the belief that it is very nearly 
 correct. 
 
 In the number of failures they have not included any extensions, no 
 matter how long, where time only was asked. Some of these have proved 
 failures since January 1st, the date to which this statement is made up. 
 Neither have they included in the statement banks, railroads, etc. The 
 figures show simply the number of commercial failures during the year 
 1837. 
 
 Purchases made in (he summer and fall of 1857 are now maturing, and 
 further loss may be antici])ated on them ; but the statomout includes the
 
 TUE A.MEIUCAN CRISIS AM) ITS rilOGllKSS. 135 
 
 losses on the fall purchases of 1850. The balance will, no doubt, be 
 ajrainst the sah^s made in 1857, but will not greatly increase the aggregate 
 loss. They state, however, tliat during January, 1858, 640 failures have 
 been reported to them, while in January, 1857, only 310. 
 
 By referring to the annexed statement it will be seen, that of 227,048 
 firms reported on in the books of the Agency, over 6,000 have failed during 
 the year ; and that of these 741 have been total or fraudulent. 13y total, 
 tliey moan where no dividend will be paid to general creditors, and confi- 
 dential creditors will not be paid in full. The aggregate loss by these is 
 nearly 20 millions of dollars. From the 6,022 reported, deduct 741, and 
 it leaves 5,281 which will pay a di\adend on an indebtedness of over 280 
 millions — the dividend will not exceed 40 cents, and the loss will conse- 
 quently exceed 150 millions, making a total loss for the year of about 170 
 millions of dollars. If to this is added losses by railroads, banks, etc., the 
 aggregate will be very great. Without doubt there has been undue ex- 
 pansion, too much has been invested in railroads, unproductive lands, etc., 
 but it is not the business of this office to attempt the task of setting forth 
 fully the causes of the great commercial distress which has prevailed. Yet 
 no country is in a position to recover more rapidly from such distress 
 than the United States. 
 
 Eespecting the Commercial Agency, Tappan and M'Killop state that it 
 has been in operation over fifteen years in America, and has now extended 
 its sphere to Great Britain and the Continent of Europe, they ask special 
 attention to the list of Associate Offices already named, by which it will be 
 seen that they have facilities beyond those of any similar establishment. 
 More than once they have been favoiu-ed by the press with voluntary 
 testimonials in their favour. These came unsought on their part, and 
 were not the product of their own pen, nor paid for by them ; they can, 
 therefore, refer to them with satisfaction. They conduct the business in 
 a way to serve commerce, without injuring the individual. They have 
 steadily kept this in view. 
 
 That great care is necessary to avoid suits, will be seen by reading the 
 following copy of a report taken from their books, the names being of 
 course suppressed : — 
 
 " August, 1847. , styling himself general commission merchant 
 
 and dealer in foreign wines, liquors, and cigars, in , is very anxious to 
 
 purchase goods in New York. He will refer to and and . 
 
 Some of these do not know him, and others are of the same stamp as 
 himself. They represent him as honourable and respectably connected, 
 and are very anxioiis that a good report of him should be given by the 
 
 Agency. lie bought a store in , stock about $10,000, for which he 
 
 gave his notes; then pledged the goods to a broker for an advance of 
 S2000 ; raised SIOOO cash additional somehow, gave a mortgage on the 
 goods, and agreed to mortgage his New York purchases for aid to make 
 
 them on credit. He was at one time employed to solicit trade for , in 
 
 . He introduced and recommended to them the most finished set of 
 
 scamps that ever visited that or any other city. Let no man sell to him 
 unless he brings the gold to pay for the goods, and, before delivery, send 
 the gold to the assayers to be sure of its genuineness."
 
 136 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 From the foregoing date to 1853 sundry operations are recorded, and 
 in 1853 his last is obtaining §5,000 from bauk by means of a fraudu- 
 lent cheque. In October, 1861, he will be again free, but just at present 
 he is not, having been, in October, 1854, sentenced to seven years' im- 
 prisonment for tlie bank affair. Such reports are communicated only to 
 principals and never in writing- 
 Subscribers are requested to hand in a list of parties in whose position 
 they are interested. By so doing their names will be put opposite these 
 firms in the books of the Agency, and all changes which take place 
 from time to time affecting their credit will be advised without inquiries. 
 The accuracy of their reports has become well known, and the care 
 which is exercised in making investigations has secured for them the con- 
 fidence of the mercantile community in America. Being assured of their 
 determination and ability to do justice to their constituents in this country, 
 I invite a free use of the Agency, and a fuU investigation of their ability 
 to serve your interests. Patkick Kobeetson. 
 
 London Agency, 1, Sun Court, Comliill, E.G. 
 March 1, 1858. 
 
 Statement of Failures fob 1857. 
 
 
 
 
 •^ T-. 
 
 m 
 
 5 S 
 
 Averasie proba- 
 
 
 o . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 0,5 
 
 ble 
 
 payments. 
 
 
 
 
 
 CC % 
 
 
 S ->j 
 
 e*.. 
 
 «.- -w 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 V- 
 
 **- o 
 
 tS '^ 
 
 O 
 
 o la 
 
 t- 
 
 ■S 
 
 
 o ^ 
 
 =« c 
 
 o^ 
 
 a 
 
 £■3 
 
 ^ 
 
 5 
 
 
 6 S 
 
 ^ 
 
 .-c 
 
 g 
 
 o'« 
 
 'S 
 
 c 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 6 
 
 o s 
 
 ■^ 
 
 li 
 
 f^ 
 
 Ph 
 
 
 
 
 § 
 
 $ c. 
 
 
 New York city 
 
 . 14,136 
 
 869 
 
 87 
 
 96,454,000 
 
 3,711,000 37 
 
 Nothing. 
 
 Do. state 
 
 18,984 
 
 777 
 
 43 
 
 21,334,000 
 
 1,317,000 ! 41 
 
 
 Pliiladelphia . 
 
 7,203 
 
 317 
 
 74 
 
 35,162,000 
 
 3,113,000 28 
 
 10 cents. 
 
 Pennsylvania ^ 
 stale . . ) 
 
 15,202 
 
 316 
 
 27 
 
 5,213,090 
 
 1,217,000 
 
 34 
 
 5 „ 
 
 Boston . . 
 
 5,420 
 
 304 
 
 31 
 
 52,231,000 
 
 827,000 
 
 46 
 
 
 Massachusetts ? 
 state . . S 
 
 14,198 
 
 224 
 
 19 
 
 2,433,000 
 
 143,000 
 
 52 
 
 
 Baltimore 
 
 j 2,130 
 
 72 
 
 18 
 
 4,119,000 
 
 415,000 
 
 29 
 
 
 Maryland state 
 
 ! 3,502 
 
 39 
 
 6 
 
 689,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 25 
 
 
 Alabama . . 
 
 i 2,504 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 362,000 
 
 38,000 
 
 48 
 
 
 Arkansas . . 
 
 1 1,190 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 423,000 
 
 •42,000 
 
 50 
 
 
 Connecticut . 
 
 1 5,123 
 
 86 
 
 14 
 
 1,415,000 
 
 172,000 
 
 48 
 
 
 Delaware and"^ 
 Distriot of > 
 Columbia . j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,513 
 
 25 
 
 4 
 
 324,000 
 
 4,500 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Florida . . 
 
 792 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 250,000 
 
 22,000 
 
 50 
 
 
 Georgia . . 
 
 5,518 
 
 56 
 
 15 
 
 1,013,000 
 
 342,000 
 
 33 
 
 
 Illinois . . 
 
 12,957 
 
 363 
 
 43 
 
 6,713,000 
 
 422,000 
 
 40 
 
 5 cents. 
 
 Iowa . 
 
 4,654 
 
 262 
 
 23 
 
 1,610,000 
 
 213,000 
 
 41 
 
 Nothing. 
 
 Indiana . . 
 
 7,614 
 
 191 
 
 12 
 
 1,476,000 
 
 1 10,000 
 
 36 
 
 6 cents. 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 6,580 
 
 96 
 
 15 
 
 2,327,000 
 
 617,000 34 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 .•^,813 
 
 74 
 
 17 
 
 7,213,000 
 
 809,050 ' 42 
 
 
 Maine . . . 
 
 7,196 
 
 92 
 
 9 
 
 1,712,000 
 
 232,000 ! 54 
 
 
 Michigan . . 
 
 4,420 
 
 168 
 
 30 
 
 3,113,000 
 
 423,000 28 
 
 
 Mississippi . 
 
 2,412 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 500 
 
 463,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 38 
 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 149,061 
 
 4,392 
 
 $246,049,090 
 
 $13,222,550 
 

 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 
 
 137 
 
 
 
 
 'O Sn 
 
 m" 
 
 "* 0) 
 
 Average proba- 
 
 
 § . 
 
 01 
 
 a Si 
 
 C3_3 
 
 £ 
 
 a 
 
 ^ i 
 
 ble payments. 
 
 
 il 
 
 3"0 
 
 
 % 
 
 "c;2 
 
 
 
 
 cS^ 
 
 =31 
 
 
 "o 
 
 "o a 
 
 s" 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 ^ O 
 
 !*- 0) 
 
 
 *i S 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 o o 
 
 d 
 
 
 Amoun 
 
 11 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 c. 
 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 149,061 
 
 4,392 
 
 500 
 
 246,049,090 
 
 13,222,550 
 
 
 
 Missouri . . . 
 
 6,727 
 
 92 
 
 24 
 
 6,319,000 
 
 821,000 
 
 37 
 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 3,256 
 
 64 
 
 7 
 
 897,000 
 
 37,000 
 
 54 
 
 
 New Jersey . . 
 
 4,398 
 
 108 
 
 12 
 
 1,228,000 
 
 178,000 
 
 51 
 
 
 North Carolina . 
 
 3,122 
 
 65 
 
 17 
 
 1,192,000 
 
 415,000 
 
 46 
 
 
 Ohio .... 
 
 18,392 
 
 467 
 
 48 
 
 5,475,000 
 
 653,000 
 
 35 
 
 5c. to lOf. 
 
 Rhode Island . 
 
 2,213 
 
 41 
 
 7 
 
 4,737,000 
 
 1,403,000 
 
 47 
 
 
 South Carolina . 
 
 3,313 
 
 65 
 
 12 
 
 1,413,000 
 
 162,000 
 
 43 
 
 
 Tennessee . . 
 
 4,294 
 
 59 
 
 12 
 
 818,000 
 
 93,500 
 
 46 
 
 
 Texas .... 
 
 2,616 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 377,000 
 
 27,700 
 
 30 
 
 
 Vennont . . . 
 
 2,805 
 
 64 
 
 5 
 
 617,000 
 
 27,000 
 
 52 
 
 
 Virginia . . . 
 
 9,284 
 
 123 
 
 27 
 
 1,927,000 
 
 236,000 
 
 45 
 
 
 Wisconsin . . 
 
 4,628 
 
 209 
 
 13 
 
 1,454,000 
 
 15,650 
 
 50 
 
 7e. 
 
 Territories . . 
 
 2,727 
 
 70 
 
 21 
 
 1,714,000 
 
 327,000 
 
 25 
 
 
 BritishProvinces 
 
 10,112 
 
 197 
 
 34 
 
 8,118,000 
 
 393,000 
 
 1 
 
 
 Totals . . . 
 
 227,048 
 
 6,022 
 
 741 
 
 |$282,335,000 
 
 $19,110,400 
 
 
 
 I invite all parties either directly or indirectly connected with Ameri- 
 can trade to subscribe at once to this office, and, by handing in a list of 
 the firms they are interested in (which will be entered in the books of the 
 Agency), they will be kept advised of any changes which may take place 
 affecting the credit of their correspondents, without injury on their part. 
 The value of this must be apparent. 
 
 I remain yours, faithfully, 
 
 Patrick Eobeetson. 
 London Agency, 1 Sun Com-t, Coiiiliill, E.G. 
 1 1th Ai)nU 1858. 
 
 COMMEKCIAL FAILURES SINCE THE FIRST OF 
 JANUARY— A BANKRUPT LAW WANTED. 
 
 {From the Neio YorJc Herald.) 
 
 We publish to-day a list of the failures which have occurred in the 
 United States from the 1st of January, 1858, to the 26th of March, of the 
 present year, and the total will be found somewhat alarming, though by 
 no means unexpected, after the late fearfid financial panic. The number 
 of failures for the first eighty -five days of the year was 1,495 ; and the 
 total amount of liabilities is set down at .?30,G39,000. If we add to this 
 45 failures in the British Provinces, figuring up $1,094,000 more, we have
 
 138 
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 tlie grand total for the United States and Canada of 1,510 failures, and 
 S31,733.(X)0 of liabilities. 
 
 The following is the list : — 
 
 New York state . . . . 
 
 New York city 
 
 Massachusetts state 
 
 Boston city 
 
 Pennsylvania state . 
 Philadelpliia city 
 Maryland state . . . . 
 
 Baltimore city 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Florida 
 
 Georgia 
 
 lUmois 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Maine 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Missouri 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 Oliio 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 South Carohna 
 
 Temiessee 
 
 Texas 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 All the Ten'itorios . . 
 
 No. of Failures. 
 
 183 
 74 
 25 
 34 
 104. 
 27 
 10 
 23 
 25 
 
 3 
 29 
 
 2 
 19 
 195 
 93 
 81 
 41 
 39 
 
 9 
 74 
 
 6 
 31 
 13 
 23 
 33 
 174 
 25 
 11 
 32 
 
 5 
 19 
 41 
 68 
 19 
 
 Total in United States 1,495 
 
 Total in British Provinces 45 
 
 Total for U. States and British Provinces l,5tO 
 
 Amount of Debts. 
 §1,632,000 
 
 3,78t,000 
 239,000 
 
 1,731,000 
 
 1,325,000 
 845,000 
 164,000 
 
 1,535,000 
 
 284,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 336,000 
 
 3,743,000 
 504,000 
 638,000 
 916,000 
 
 2,884,000 
 171,000 
 
 1,490,000 
 276,000 
 
 2,100,000 
 140,000 
 230,000 
 594,000 
 
 1,321,000 
 913,000 
 211,000 
 461,000 
 63,000 
 189,000 
 577,000 
 422,000 
 368,000 
 
 $30,639,000 
 1,094,000 
 
 631,733,000 
 
 Last year there were over G,000 failures, with debts to the amount 
 in all of nearly 300,000,000. While the number of failures for the lirst 
 quarter of this year is in proportion with last, it will be seen that the 
 amount is disproportionately small, showing that it is small concerns 
 which are breaking down now. 
 
 One singularity about thiy statement is, that it shov\ s that the Central,
 
 THE AMElllCAX CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 139 
 
 the Western, and the sugar-j^rowing States are in a woful condition, 
 while the cotton-growing States of the South, and all the New England 
 States, are sound. 
 
 All the failures which we record to-day should legitimately have 
 occurred last year. They have only been protracted by the parties ob- 
 taining extension That grace is exhausted now, and they fall by sheer 
 inanity. This was inevitable ; for these houses based their engagements 
 on the prices at which goods and produce rated before the revulsion, 
 and, consequently, they are unable to meet them now that the rates have 
 fallen from 85 to 50 per cent. In 1837 the result was the same ; but then 
 the smashing continued for almost tliree years, and in all probability we 
 shall see the same thing now. In the first few weeks of 1837, over 500 
 merchants in New York alone broke down. Others held on for a time, 
 propping themselves by extensions ; but, until 1840, they continued to 
 drop, when the number of failures in the Union amounted to nearly 
 40,000, and the Bankrupt Law which went into operation in 1812 wiped 
 out S450,000,000 of debts, and released over 38,000 bankrupts. In a 
 panic, large houses are the first to go ; then follow the banks, and little 
 concerns follow them. The great drag down the small. The banks 
 recovered themselves quicker in this revulsion than in 1837, because they 
 held more specie, and their bills were issued on a surer basis ; but we 
 see that the failures of commercial houses are still going on. There is 
 but one remedy for this, and that is a good bankrupt law, applicable to 
 individuals, banks, railroads, and all corporations. If the houses that 
 are breaking now could have settled with their creditors long ago, by 
 the operation of a bankrupt law, and started afresh, basing their busi- 
 ness on the new state of afiairs which panics always leave behind them, 
 many of them would be now in a safer and more thriving condition ; 
 but by the present system commercial disasters are protracted, but not 
 avoided. 
 
 "We are indebted to the commercial agency of Tappan, M'Killop, 
 and Co., No. 5, Beekman Street, for the list which we publish this morn- 
 ing. "We gave, at the beginning of the year, the list of failures for 1857, 
 furnished by the commercial agencies of B. Douglass and Co., and Tappan, 
 M'Killop, and Co. ; but, for some reason or other, we have been able 
 to obtain the list for the first quarter of this year from the latter 
 house alone. Owing, most probably, to the superior manner in which 
 the books of Tappan, M'Killop, and Co. are kept, they were able to 
 furnish us with the list in a few days. The others, we suppose, keep 
 their books on a different system, like some of the Wall Street Banks, 
 perhaps, who only know how they stand at the end of the year, and 
 many of them not even then. Every well-conducted establishment, 
 whether bank, commercial house, or newspaper, is able to tell exactly 
 how it stands, at least after a few days' notice. In the Herald ofGce, we 
 know precisely how we are every week, but there are newspaper concerns 
 in Wall Street, which, like the banks, are in happy ignorance of their 
 condition until the end of the year, and even then they often find 
 themselves in a fog. 
 
 It is clear, from this statement of the failures still going on, that the
 
 140 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS, 
 
 effects of the panic continue to be felt tlirou^liout the country ; but if we 
 had a bankrupt law things would have been reduced to a level long ago. 
 
 THE NEW PHASE OF THINGS, 1859. 
 
 WHAT THE COMMEECIAL WORLD IS DOING. — NEW YORK BANKS. 
 
 IMPORTS AND PRICES. 
 
 {From the New York Herald, Augtcst, 1859.) 
 
 As the season approaches for the heavy fall payments, the price for 
 money steadily advances. Paper which was in demand at 4r| to 5| per 
 cent, in April, is now slow at from 8 to 9 percent. This advance, great as 
 it is, docs not, however, give a full idea of the extent of the change that 
 has taken place in the views of capitalists. Amongst all capitalists there 
 is a strong and growing indisposition to do anything except very prime, 
 short paper. There is an absence of demand for long dates and second- 
 class paper, which betokens in the minds of our capitalists a renewal of 
 that want of confidence which arose from the recollections of 1857. Various 
 causes conspire to produce and increase this want of confidence in the 
 future prices of money during the fall months. The advance in the price 
 of money to 8 or 9 per cent., were it from a healthy, general increase in 
 trade, would be cause for congratulation, and not regret ; but there are 
 doubts as to this being the case. The domestic trade of the country is 
 still moderate and prudent, and, as far as we can learn, free from expansion 
 or unnatural activity. The foreign trade, however, is not so. With 
 money cheap in Europe and New York, with an exceedingly profitable 
 year's business in 1858 and the first three months of 1859, the importers 
 were tempted to try and make a double season ; hence the enormous 
 arrivals of foreign goods in April, May, and June. These sold to a loss. 
 
 In January and February, the jobbers, finding goods brisk and pro- 
 fitable in the importers' hands, grudged the importers their profits. The 
 jobbers, with their notes drawn to their own order at eight months in 
 demand, and easily cashed at 6 to 7 per cent., determined to save the 
 imx^orters' profit for the fall trade. The commission houses in Man- 
 chester, Paris, etc., were energetic in showing the jobbers what profits 
 the importers were making in January and February. They ofiered the 
 jobbers six and eight months' credit, and at the end of that pei-iod to take 
 a four months' draft of the Anglo-American banking firms if necessary. 
 
 The consequences were natiu'al. The jobbers ordered from Europe a 
 liberal import for the fall ; the importers did the same. Thus the double 
 import of the spring was produced by the greediness for speedy gains by 
 tho importers, stimulated thereto by the greediness of the banks for 
 paper. The losses on the late spring imports were not ascertained suf- 
 ficiently early to enable importers to curtail. Every one, also, until the 
 jjeace, was making great calculations on the demand for goods from the 
 West. The importers, no doubt, made a liberal import for the fall,
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 141 
 
 basing their estimates on a large Western demand. But the double 
 import for the full arises from the jobbers doing the same thing. Every 
 jobber, and many retailers, have been drummed by the commission houses 
 in Manchester, Paris, etc., and have given liberal orders, tempted thereto 
 by the six and eight months' credit offered to them, and the extra profit 
 they hoped to make. The importers thus find themselves forestalled with 
 their best customers by the European commission houses. They are in a 
 very unpleasant and embarrassing position. The backwardness of their 
 sales is owing to this cause. The jobbing trade, as a body, have enough 
 goods from their own importation to fill their early sales. 
 
 This makes the jobbers comparatively independent of the importers 
 until about September. If the imports should, however, prove not to be 
 more than the legitimate wants of the country, the importers have only 
 to hold their sLocks firmly until the jobbers dispose of their own impor- 
 tations. The importers will then have a good season, and as the bulk of 
 importers date all goods bought previous to September 1 as eight months, 
 and to Al Southern and Western houses nine months from September 1, 
 their notes will mature at nearly the same dates as if their sales had been 
 early. The danger to prices arises from weak or nervous importers 
 crowding goods at private sale, or rushing them into the auction-room, to 
 raise money to remit to Europe. It is the fear of specie shipments that 
 is operating on the minds of capitalists ; the uncertainty about what per 
 centage of the amoimt of deposits held by the New York banks belongs 
 to European banking firms, importers, auctioneers, and other parties, who 
 may at any moment draw down their deposits in specie, and remit it to 
 Europe. There is also great uncertainty felt as to what probable amount 
 the New York banks will discount of notes belonging to importers, jobbers 
 who Jiave imported, and auctioneers, all of whom, of course, want the 
 discounts for remittances to Europe. 
 
 The aggregate excess of the spring import was $67,000,000. The pay- 
 ments for importers, who take about four months' credit from date of 
 purchase or shipment, with the sixty day bills of exchange as remittance, 
 give America about five months credit, so that January imports bought or 
 shipped in December, would be remitted for in produce bills or specie in 
 May, and so on for the succeeding months. We are, therefore, now in 
 process of paying for April imports bought or shipped in March. This 
 real state of our payments to Europe will tend to allay the uneasiness and 
 want of confidence felt by capitalists from the large imports we are now 
 receiving. AVe give below a table of the imports at New York, with the 
 month they would probably be remitted, if bought by the regular importers 
 on four months' credit. As the increase on the spring import was chiefly 
 by the regular importers, the remittances would be made in about five 
 months, and mature much as follows : — 
 
 Imports of Foreign Goods at New York. 
 
 January, 1859 $19,377,000, remitted for shipment May. 
 
 February 18,756,000, „ „ Jiuie. 
 
 March 20,739,000, „ „ July. 
 
 April 22,1.53,000, „ „ August.
 
 143 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 May, 1859 23,130,000, remitted for shipment September. 
 
 June 23,581,000, „ „ October. 
 
 July 27,111,000, „ „ November. 
 
 For the regular importers' part, and for the jobbers' part, about 
 January to March, 1860. 
 
 Consignments sent to this country are generally advanced upon to 75 
 per cent, of the amount of invoice in a four months' bill from date of ship- 
 ment. Others are sent out, and are realized on at auction, and remitted 
 for ten days after sales. 
 
 It is quite a fallacy to suppose that consigners do not require prompt 
 remittances. As a rule, they are very needy, and often consign to raise 
 cash. The sacrifice made here is not so likely to be found out as in their 
 own market, and their credit does not suffer. 
 
 The importations of the jobbers are those which give America the 
 largest credit. Although this is gratifying to the banks and capitalists, 
 "who look only to an immediate shipment of gold, yet it is questionable 
 whether America is not more injured by the enhanced prices jobbers are 
 charged by the commission houses to cover the heavy expenses and risks 
 attending long credits, than it would be by gold shipments. It certainly 
 conceals over-trading for a longer period. Had the jobbers' part of the 
 spring import been as large as that of the fall, we should not have had so 
 heavy a drain of gold. Their part of the payments would have been 
 deferred two to four months later. The spring import being chiefly by 
 importers, our remittances are more prompt than they will be for the 
 goods arriving in July and forwards. This demand for gold unfortunately 
 happens at a time when we have no produce to ship. It necessitates gold 
 shipments, or relief by the Anglo-American banking firms lending their 
 sixty days' and four months' kites to the importers. 
 
 These biUs can be readily discounted in London. British capital can 
 thus be made to step in and bear the load of our heavy imports. Money 
 is so easy and abundant in London that what would embarrass New York, 
 will be a positive benefit to Loudon. To force this, the New York banks 
 must refuse to discount importers', auctioneers', and all paper that can be 
 drawn in gold and shipped to Europe. With twenty millions specie 
 in their vaults they wdl have all they can do to supj)ly the interior 
 with specie to move the crops. They cannot prevent some gold going 
 to Europe. Last year, with less than half the imports, we shipped 
 to Euroi:)e all the specie we received from California from July to 
 December. 
 
 Were capitalists to be assured that the New York banks would pursue 
 this course as to importers, auctioneers, etc., it would remove their dread 
 of a specie drain to Europe. The effect of a specie drain is to cause the 
 banks to contract suddenly. The disastrous result of a sudden or great 
 contraction by tlie New York banks is to reduce the prices of everything 
 that must be sold during that contraction. Those who can afford to hold 
 tiU the banks expand again and trade is restored to its former activity 
 are not affected. Take, for example, the prices of the following bank 
 stocks, etc. ■ —
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 143 
 
 PiucE OF Bank Stocks, 
 
 Bank of Commerce 83 
 
 National Bank 7'i 
 
 Mechanics' Bank 90 
 
 American Exchange Bank 75 
 
 Hanover Bank 50 
 
 MelropoUtan Bank 75 
 
 Bank of New York 80 
 
 Phoenix Bank 60 
 
 Union Bank 85 
 
 Bank of America 80 
 
 Mei'chants' Bank 75 
 
 Bank of State of New York 50 
 
 ETC., October, 1857. 
 
 Commonwealth Bank 65 
 
 North River Bank 50 
 
 Market Bank 65 
 
 Continental Bank 65 
 
 Shoe and Leather Bank 70 
 
 Importers and Traders' Bank 70 
 
 State Stocks. 
 
 Missomn 6's 66 
 
 Tennessee 6's 72 
 
 Virginia 6' s 83 
 
 New York State Loan 85 
 
 All these, previous to the bank contraction, were at prices from 105 
 to 125. 
 
 It is clear from the above statement that if any bolder of these stocts 
 had foreseen that the drain of specie to pay for the large spring import of 
 1857 was going to compel the New York banks to curtail their loans as 
 they did, he could have doubled his money by selling out before the bank 
 contraction, and buying again precisely the same thing he had sold after 
 the bank contraction. Those who held and continued to hold till the 
 banks expanded again were neither much better nor much worse. 
 
 All proj)erty, dry goods, real estate, state stocks, that holders were 
 compelled to sell during the contraction of the banks, was realized on at 
 a like enormous sacrifice, thereby greatly enriching those who were 
 fortunate or far-seeing enough to get and hold all the cash they could, 
 ready for the reduction in prices consequent on such a contraction of 
 bank loans. 
 
 The New York banks commenced their contraction in 1857 as follows : — 
 
 August 22, 1857, their 
 
 loans were $120,000,000 
 
 August 29 116,000,000 
 
 September 5 112,000,000 
 
 „ 12 109,000,000 
 
 „ 19 108,000,000 
 
 September 26 ?107,000,000 
 
 October 3 105,000,000 
 
 „ 10 101,000,000 
 
 „ 17 97,000,000 
 
 „ 21 75,000,000 
 
 There are many shrewd capitalists waiting for a similar contraction 
 and fall in prices. If the banks adopt a rigid refusal of all paper from 
 importers, auctioneers, etc., the drain of sj)ecie to Europe will be pre- 
 vented. It will postpone payment for our spring imports until we can 
 send cotton and other produce instead of gold ; it will prevent the fall in 
 prices that these capitalists are keeping their money for; it will prevent 
 the price of money rising to an exorbitant rate ; it will confine the loss 
 or embarrassment arising from the successive importations to a few im- 
 porters in the city of New York, and compel their European friends to 
 help them. 
 
 The banks will be free to give our domestic and internal trade and 
 produce all the accommodation they want, liberally. The internal trade 
 demands little specie, and it soon comes back again. Tlie banks will be
 
 144 THE AMERICAN CRISIS A\D ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 able to get all the domestic paper to discount tliey ouglit to discount. 
 The position of the banks will be safe, because a foreign drain for specie 
 to pay for excessive imports is our only trouble. Why should over-trading 
 on the part of a few importers and foreigners be permitted by the New 
 York banks to tax the whole trade of the country, when Secretary the 
 Hon. James Guthrie, of the Treasury, published the following carefully 
 prepared estimates of our internal trade in 1856 : — 
 
 Capital in manufactures S8i3,000,000 
 
 Products in manufactories 1,688,000,000 
 
 Exports 281,000,000 
 
 If an excess of foreign imports of $67,000,000 on the half-year enforces 
 such action on the New York banks as will raise the price of money to 
 15 per cent, instead of 7 per cent., it is clear the 8 per cent, additional is 
 a tax caused by the over-imports, to be levied on about $2,000,000,000 of 
 domestic trade for such lime or portion as may want discounts or loans. 
 
 If the foreign trade is thrown on Europe this vast amount of 
 $2,000,000,000 domestic trade will remain undisturbed, with no immoderate 
 price to pay for money. 
 
 The responsibility of all this rests with the New York banks. Their 
 action guides the rest of the Union, They occupy now much the same 
 position the Old United States Bank did — they are the regulator of the 
 banks of the Union. 
 
 The principles which they call sound, legitimate, healthy banking, 
 are all very good when we have not importers, auctioneers, etc., ready to 
 ship in gold whatever the banks discount for them. To meet a demand 
 for specie, the more specie they have the stronger they are. If they were 
 to discount during August and September §15,000,000 for importers, 
 auctioneers, etc., how much would be left of their $20,000,000, even though 
 they were relatively stronger, as the banks reckon strength ? This is the 
 true w^ay to look at their position. The present rule the banks use to 
 test their strength will not bear the test of practice ; it neither keeps 
 their specie in their vaults nor their loans from unhealthy fluctuations. 
 
 We subjoin a statement of the bank mode of estimating their relative 
 strength. We give the same dates, chosen by one of themselves, signed 
 " Banker," and published in the Herald's money article, August 3. 
 The figures are official — published by the Clearing House, and signed 
 George D. Lyman. Copy appeared in the Herald's money article, 
 August 10 : — 
 
 Loans. Specie. Net Deposits. Circulation. 
 
 August 1,1857 $120,597,651 ...$12,918,014 ...$68,682,088 ...$8,965,422 
 
 August 7, 1858 120,892,857 ... 35,151,844 ... 90,339,678 ... 7,784,415 
 
 July 30, 1859 119,347,412 ... 20,76 1.,'164 ... 74,474,895 ... 8,214,259 
 
 Liabilities. 1857. 1858. 1S59. 
 
 Net Deposits $68,682,688 ... $90,339,678 ... $74,474,895 
 
 Circulation 8,965,422 ... 7,784,415 ... 8,214,959 
 
 Total $77,647,510 ... $98,124,093 ... $82,689,854
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 145 
 
 Assets. 
 Loans, Specie, and Stocks 133,515,065 ... 150,017,701 ... 140,111,976 
 
 Surplus strength 855,867,555 ... §57,923,608 ... $57,422,122 
 
 Banker's wrong surplus strength 
 caused by taking gro.ss de- 
 posits for 1857 and 1858 in- 
 stead of net $38,520,126 ... $19,253,986 ... $65,423,081 
 
 "Banker" fell into the above errors — inadvertently, no doubt — by 
 quoting the gross deposits, instead of net deposits, for 1857 and 1858; and 
 by comparing the gross deposits of those years with the net deposits 
 which he had in his statement of 1859, made out that the banks were, 
 July 30, 1859, 816,170,000 stronger than they were same date last year, 
 and $26,900,000 than they were at same date in 1857. 
 
 The actual position of the banks at these three dates, as the preceding 
 statement shows, did not differ at all. 
 
 This statement of " Banker's " has been extensively iised by the 
 partisan press of the importers and banks to cavil at an article that 
 appeared in the Herald, headed " Banks, Banking-houses, and Importers." 
 
 To show how fallacious the whole thing is to throw any light at all 
 upon the strength of the banks to meet a specie drain to Europe, we 
 give similar comparisons for October 10, 1857 — three days before the 
 banks stopped payment, and for October 17 — four days after they 
 stopped payment. 
 
 The gross deposits not being published then, we deduct $16,000,000 
 and $17,000,000 from the gross, which is probably an under estimate. 
 We wish to give the banks the advantage. With these exceptions the 
 other figures are official : — 
 
 New York City Ba?jks. 
 Loans. Specie. Net Deposits. Circulation. 
 
 October 10, 1857... $101,917,569 ... $11,476,294 ... $46,000,000 ... $7,523,599 
 October 17,1857... 97,245,826 ... 7,843,234 ... 36,000,000 ... 8,087,441 
 Liabilitie."!. October 10, 18-57. October 17, 1857. 
 
 Net deposits $46,000,000 $36,000,000 
 
 Circidation 7,523,599 8,087,441 
 
 Total $53,523,599 $44,087,441 
 
 Assets. 
 Loans, specie, and stocks $113,393,863 $105,089,060 
 
 Surplus strength $59,870,264 $61,001,619 
 
 We also give the following dates, as they have been cited to prove 
 the banks stronger July 23 than January 1859. It will be seen their so- 
 called relative strength is much the same . — 
 
 
 Loans. 
 
 Specie. 
 
 Net Deposits. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 January 22, 1859.. 
 
 . 8129,540,050 .. 
 
 . $29,472,056 .. 
 
 . $95,066,400 ., 
 
 ,. 87,457,245 
 
 July 23,1859.. 
 
 . 119,931,160 ., 
 
 ,. 21,196,912 ., 
 
 ,. 75,301,943 ., 
 
 ,. 8,170,626 
 L
 
 146 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 
 
 Liabilities. Jan. 22, 1859. July 23, 1859. 
 
 Net deposits 505,066,100 $75,301,943 
 
 Circidation 7,457,215 8,170,626 
 
 Total $102,523,645 §83,472,569 
 
 Assets. 
 Loans, specie, and stocks $159,012,106 8141,131,072 
 
 Surplus strength $56,488,461 857,658,503 
 
 We have briefly glanced at some of the causes that produce our 
 tightening money-market and want of confidence amongst capitalists. 
 We have tested the accuracy and soundness of the rule by which our 
 New York bank managers regulate their loans and judge of the strength 
 of their position. That there is something radically wrong in the prac- 
 tical working of that banking rule that guides their action, is obvious to 
 any one that chooses to examine the few illustrations we have given ; or, 
 what will be still better, and not unprofitable, let business men take the 
 bank statements and work out more illustrations for themselves, taking 
 care to make the distinction between gross and net deposits. Our 
 illustrations of the banking principle they profess to evolve prove the 
 banks had the most strength just before and after they failed, October 10 
 and 17, 1857. To express that strength in millions, according to the bank 
 managers' method, the banks were from two to six millions stronger, 
 October 10 and 17, 1857, than they were August 1, 1857, August 7, 1858, 
 and July 30, 1859. 
 
 This is not the strength required to meet our present trouble — exces- 
 sive exports of gold to Europe, caused by excessive imports. We see 
 that when the banks were, by their rule, strongest, they had to stop pay- 
 ing specie, October 13, 1857. We are very much afraid that a large 
 specie deposit is what is i'e((uired to meet a large foreign export of 
 specie. We give the following statistics for business men to study. We 
 include 1857, not that we think the country has ever yet been in a con- 
 dition to consume and pay for, conveniently, an import as large as 1857. 
 We, of course, know that nobody wants to see in 1859 either import, 
 bank expansion, or anything else that took place in 1857 : — 
 
 First week in August. 1857, 1858. 1859. 
 
 Foreign imports for the year 
 
 to date August 8 $151,028,551 ... §82,536,928 ... $158,614,860 
 
 Dry goods imports for the year 
 
 to date August 8 60,716,293 ... 33,750,174 ... 75,623,412 
 
 Bank loans 122,077,252 ... 120,892,857 ... 118,938,059 
 
 Specie m bank 11,737,307 ... 35,145,844 ... 20,083,877 
 
 Specie in sub-treasury ... ... 5,553,400 ... 5,330,508 
 
 Exports of specie for the year 
 
 to date August 8 28,216,619 ... 15,775,719 ... 44,396,190 
 
 Exports produce (exclusive of 
 
 specie) from New York from 
 
 January 1 to August 3 41,780,965 ... 37,982,292 ... 38,861,220
 
 THE AMERICAN CRISIS AND ITS PROGRESS. 147 
 
 First week in Aupust. 1857. 1858. 1859. 
 
 Imports of specie from Cali- 
 
 foniiii for the year to date 
 
 August 8 $23,106,411 ... §20,884,302 ... ?21,116,44-8 
 
 Gold received from California 
 
 from August to December 31 15,815,613 ... 14,139,685 ... 
 Specie exported from August 
 
 toDeccmber31 14,881,098 ... 10,933,299 ... 
 
 The excess of foreign imports reduced fifty millions in silks, laces, 
 and other gewgaws, would injure only foreign manufacturers. Importers 
 lose from a fall in prices from a glutted market. These importations 
 pamper the female vice of love for dress. American women would be 
 better physically and morally by wearing less of them. American men 
 would be better temporally and spiritually by having to pay for less of 
 them. Many an unhappy home is caused by the extravagance of wives 
 and daughters. Much vice and misery are the consequences. The evil 
 of extravagant foreign imports, like all evil, ends not with itself. Evil 
 breeds evil. 
 
 The subject is not merely a financial one — it is spreading a social 
 cancer, making our women lazy and extravagant, our men, worn out with 
 hard work, to pay for that extravagance. Our men, finding their homes, 
 no homes for them, but hotels for their wives and daughters to make 
 a display of their charms, and their dress, and their furniture, and their 
 curtains, to groups of flattering friends, seek solace and comfort else- 
 where. The financial view is, however, that which business men are 
 considering. 
 
 Till it is shown what means the New York banks will adopt to keep 
 their specie safe from Euroj)ean banking firms, importers, auctioneers, 
 etc., the public mind will remain in its present anxious state. In any 
 event, prudent men, who are solvent and mean to pay their debts, Mill 
 buy as little as they can and shorten credits. They will not contract 
 debts for merchandise which a glut in importations and contraction by 
 the banks may cause to fall in price on their hands.
 
 SECTION THE SIXTH. 
 
 The Stock Exchange Panic of 1859 — Heavy Appearance of Prices from the Com- 
 mencement of the Year — Inauguration of the Italian Difficulty — Progress of 
 Embarrassment and Outbreak of the War — Early Symptoms of the Deprecia- 
 tion of Prices in Marcli — Increased Depression at the Beginning of April, and 
 Final Collapse during the Remainder of that Month and May — Serious Revul- 
 sion in Values through the Alleged Russo-French Alliance — General Piostration 
 of Credit — Disastrous Failures and Comparative Tables Exhibiting the Actual 
 Decline in Securities — Measures of Amelioration Adopted by the Committee of 
 the Stock Exchange — Slow Return of Confidence and Eventual Recovery. 
 
 It could scarcely have been supposed, if subsequent events had 
 not rendered the truth apparent, that the Stock Exchange 
 could have been so deeply involved as it was by the events of 
 the early part of the present year. If the assertion had been 
 made, on the announcement of the probability of war in Italy, 
 that the credit of the house would have been so severely 
 shaken, few would have been prepared to believe it ; and when 
 the state of business is taken into consideration, it must be 
 confessed that the influence exercised by the progress of affairs 
 was more startling than could have been reasonably imagined. 
 Now that the crisis which aflFected that establishment has passed, 
 and the weight of responsibility experienced in connection with 
 the engngemcnts incurred has been adjusted, persons can look 
 back with calmness and view the circumstances Avhich then 
 produced that collapse, and exercise a sound and impartial 
 judgment. Various as have been the opinions entertained on 
 the question, and serious as have proved the allegations respect- 
 ing the motives which prompted influential individuals in exag- 
 gerating the importance of the rumoured alliance between 
 France and Russia, it must be admitted that the basis of opera- 
 tions was too widely extended in particular markets, and that 
 the disposition to hold for a recovery caused much of the
 
 THE STOCK KXCIIANGK PANIC OF 1859. 149 
 
 disaster then experienced in the several departments. So com- 
 pletely was this state of things manifested and established, by 
 the rapid fluctuations which occnrred in some descriptions of 
 securities, that for months after the sudden drop which affected 
 all classes of securities, symptoms of recovery were long want- 
 ing. Nevertheless the reaction at the fatal moment, when the 
 important change took place, so completely paralyzed the mem- 
 bers, that the fright, probably more than the advices them- 
 selves, created that crash which, when it once commenced, pro- 
 duced such terrific havoc on the credit of the dealers and 
 operators, that at one moment the bankruptcy of the house, it was 
 thought, must inevitably follow. This painful position of affairs 
 may be well gathered from the circumstance that twenty and 
 thirty failures occurred in a day, and that the link of connec- 
 tion between the respective markets was so closely associated 
 that the suspension or embarrassment of one member frequently 
 jeopardized the position of seven or eight. The occurrence, 
 therefore, of difficulties of this character not only affected the 
 position of the individual himself, but also those to whom he 
 had to pay balances ; and even in many instances where 
 operators had profits on their several accounts, they had to 
 pay large amounts to maintain their own status, or to support 
 the credit of their principals, who were not immediately in a 
 situation to provide payment for the differences which their 
 numerous accounts exhibited. Through these consequences 
 the fearful amount of embarrassment increased, and as the 
 extent of liability was enormous, it was only by measures of 
 forbearance and partial indulgence that order was re-estab- 
 lished, and that the value of the various classes of negotiable 
 property once more eventually returned to anything approach- 
 ing its original level. 
 
 The Easter holidays of 1859 will long be remembered by those 
 connected Avith financial affairs as the date of the dark crisis in 
 the position of the prices of public securities, and the inaugura- 
 tion of the conflict between France, Sardinia, and Austria, which 
 temporarily so disastrously affected the peace of Europe. Al- 
 though, since the 1st of Janiiary, quotations, not only of Consols 
 but of all descriptions of securities, had been drooping through 
 the effect of the shock of the warning given to M. Hubner, it 
 was not fully apparent until it was announced that the Austrians 
 had determined to cross the Ticiuo. This, as in the similar case
 
 150 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 of the passage of the Prutli by the Russians, seemed to leave no 
 hope of a settlement of the question, and prepared most people 
 for the results that were subsequently witnessed. Good Friday 
 was as usual observed as a holiday at the Stock Exchange ] but 
 after hours on Thursday, April 21, and when it was deter- 
 mined that the house should be closed on Saturday, a sudden 
 fall took place in prices, which spread terror and dismay 
 throughout all circles. Intelligence, it turned out, had been 
 received that Austria had forwarded to Sardinia an ultimatum 
 calling upon her to disarm, and had refused the last proposition 
 made by England to accept mediation. The Indian loan had 
 just been completed at the minimum price of 95, and the 
 greater part of the seven millions was taken, which was con- 
 sidered a favourable circumstance, looking at the doubtful 
 prospects which attended the Italian question. Notwithstand- 
 ing the Stock Exchange was closed on the Saturday by order 
 of the committee, as settled on the Thursday, arrangements 
 were made for admitting the members, and prices were aflected 
 by the few non-official transactions, the whole of which never- 
 theless evinced the disposition of the speculators to sell for 
 the fall. 
 
 From that date forward to the subsequent progressive stages 
 in the contest, from the announcement of the French loan of 
 twenty millions to the departure of the Emperor Napoleon for 
 the seat of war, panic reigned throughout the markets for the 
 various public securities. On some occasions the decline was 
 as much as 1^ per cent, in Consols; Turkish went down 10 to 
 12 per cent, in a day; Sardinian 3 to 9 per cent.; and English, 
 French, and Italian 2 to 3 per cent. So great and indiscri- 
 minate a reaction was scarcely ever before known, and the 
 fluctuations on the foreign bourses were equally extensive, a 
 circumstance indicating that confidence throughout Europe was 
 completely prostrated. About the 27th of April, when the 
 preparations for the foreign and share settlements Avere in 
 course of progress, early evidence of the unfavourable situation 
 of the jobbers and brokers speedily became apparent. The first 
 intimation of an alleged treaty between Ilussia and France, 
 oflPensive and defensive, was then made public, which tended to 
 increase the excitement prevalent ; but although it was contra- 
 dicted on the most confident authority, the influence was so 
 paralyzing, that seven failui'cs immediately took place. It was
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 151 
 
 now felt that tlic blow had been so severe that no recovery 
 could be immediately looked for, and as it was not possible to 
 obtain advances upon the different classes of securities on any 
 terms, a further fall speedily followed. Again, Consols, Turkish, 
 and the other securities were extensively oflcred, and the des- 
 pondency was almost universal ; every telegram received with 
 prices from Paris occasioning a variation which was immedi- 
 ately responded to by a change in values in proportion to the 
 rise or fall exhibited on the other side of the Channel. Indeed, 
 it was quite evident that the quotations from the French 
 Bourse ruled the general course of prices. 
 
 At this date it was confidently assumed that the Bank of 
 England would be compelled to advance the rate of discount, 
 and on the 28th of April they at once put the terms up to 3^ per 
 cent. The adjustment of the half-monthly foreign stock and share 
 accounts exhibited the most painful results of the sudden depre- 
 ciation, and whereas seven failures had previously occurred, these 
 were now increased to between twenty-five and thirty. Imme- 
 diately the first movement upwards in the rate of discount 
 occurred, the anxiety was most intense, and notwithstanding 
 little faith was placed in the reported alliance between France 
 and Russia, as engaged in with a view to jeopardize England, 
 the fall in prices continued. On the 28th of April Consols 
 touched the low rate of 88:j, and the continuance of failures, in 
 addition to the unsatisfactory news from the Continent, pro- 
 duced such weakness that there was no corresponding rally. 
 The extent of the mischief was apparent when it transpired 
 that additional suspensions had taken place, and although 
 several represented liabilities for large amounts, their default 
 was principally occasioned through the position of other mem- 
 bers. Business was now prolonged to very late hours in the 
 evening ; the anxious appearance of the brokers and jobbers 
 betrayed the deep-seated alarm which pervaded the markets, and 
 every day brought new and unexpected failures. In conse- 
 quence of the almost universal embarrassment some of the first 
 houses were talked of, and it was asserted that had they not 
 secured assistance they would have been compelled to succumb. 
 The fact subsequently transpired that this was actually the case 
 in two notable instances ; Messrs. Rothschild having supported 
 one firm through its difficulties, and Messrs. Overend, Guruey, 
 and Co. the otlier.
 
 152 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PATHC OF 1859. 
 
 There now came a slia;lit turning point in the value of the 
 various classes of securities, and as it was supposed that the 
 exaggerated notions formed with respect to the alleged treaty 
 ■were premature, the recovery continued to make progress. The 
 public, finding securities at depreciated prices, came in as pur- 
 chasers, and from 881 Consols returned to 91 in the course of 
 two days, notwithstanding the total number of failures mean- 
 ■whilc had risen to fifty-two. The foreign stock and share settle- 
 ments were completed in the midst of much excitement, and 
 then the issue of the Consol account was awaited with serious 
 apprehension. It was well known that many parties must be 
 compromised, not through individual liability, but through their 
 inability to realize their securities, and hence every disposition 
 was shown to grant an extension of time for the adjustment of 
 balances. After the great fluctuation had terminated, and the 
 difficulty of the situation was viewed with less apprehension, it 
 was discovered that many of the members who had considered 
 it advisable to suspend, might, by the exercise of a little discre- 
 tion, have been enabled to '^pull through. ^^ Still, the fall was 
 found to be very embarrassing, and as is usually the case in 
 panic periods, the endeavoui's made by those alarmed for their 
 security to provide means to meet engagements led to the 
 accumulation of large balances in the hands of the bankers, and 
 created a very pressing inquiry for notes. The progress of the 
 general elections, and the unfavourable views advanced with 
 respect to the intentions of Louis Napoleon, continued to create 
 anxiety, but the pressure Avas limited by the disposition evinced 
 on the part of the committee of the Stock Exchange to alleviate 
 the difficulties of the members in regulating the payment of 
 dividends and supporting the credit of the establishment. 
 Meanwhile the new French loan of twenty millions, and the 
 Avithdrawal of the announcement of the Eussian loan of twelve 
 millions, caused a tendency to stimidate fear, and the further 
 adverse movement on the 5th of INIay by the Bank directors, in 
 carrying tlie rate to 4^ per cent., indicated the policy that was 
 likely to be adopted if affairs continued to exhibit a discouraging 
 appearance. The influence of this advance, however, was not 
 so great as that which distinguished the previous rise ; and 
 after a fortnight or three weeks of the most " troublous 
 times " known at the Stock Exchange since the unparalleled 
 fluctuations of 1825, the markets began to assume a better
 
 THE STOl K EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 153 
 
 and more steady appearance. On the termination of the Consol 
 account it was asserted that the entire number of defalcations, 
 including those which took place at the first moment of the 
 panic, reached altogether upwards of eighty or ninety, and it 
 would not be above the mark, if, taking into consideration the 
 arrangements made, one hundred were placed as the number of 
 parties who had been broken by the general depreciation in 
 prices. Several individuals, who were men of large fortune, and 
 who were able to consider themselves comparatively millionaires, 
 lost almost the whole of their previous accumulations, and 
 others, who should have received on the balance of their 
 accounts moneys to the extent of thousands, had, instead, to 
 pay into the house a considerable amount to keep themselves 
 clear and fulfil engagements. 
 
 It was not before the end of June that the markets finally 
 recovered from their prostration, or that anything approaching 
 real business activity ensued. Everything, nevertheless, was 
 done by the executive of the Stock Exchange to readjust 
 balances, settle partial compromises, and readmit those who were 
 able to pay the recognized six-and-eightpence in the pound. 
 Numbers, however, were finally ruined, and persons who had 
 lived in the most affluent circumstances were suddenly beggared, 
 being compelled to break up their establishments, and retire 
 either into the country to eke out a miserable existence, or 
 leave for the Continent, through assistance received from 
 friends, to fare eventually as best they could. The honourable 
 conduct of the majority of the members deserves the highest 
 commendation ; few instances were mentioned of irregular deal- 
 ing, and though some individuals were found to have engage- 
 ments open, in a variety of securities, not in due proportion 
 with their capital or connections, no barefaced attempts at fraud 
 or misappropriation were discovered. It was also greatly to the 
 credit of the more fortunate brokers and jobbers, notwithstand- 
 ing all more or less suffered from the collapse, that they aided, 
 as far as possible, their more needy brethren ; and many cases 
 could be cited in which substantial relief was afforded, even at 
 the risk of individual involvement, during the worst phases of 
 the panic. Among the numerous members of the house, of 
 course an almost illimitable chain of connection exists, and 
 hence it is apparent that assistance, under such circumstances, 
 was often rendered when it was scarcely known whether the
 
 15 i THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 party who proffered the aid -^oukl in the end^ if fluctuation con- 
 tinued, be enabled to fulfil his own contracts.* 
 
 But with all this disposition to serve one another^ the 
 great difficulty experienced was the possession of the neces- 
 sary money. Securities of every kind, from the first symp- 
 toms of panic, so rapidly depreciated that the banks and the 
 other financial institutions almost refused to make advances, 
 and they themselves in turn being sellers of stock, particularly 
 Turkish, Sardinian, and Mexican, upon which loans to a con- 
 siderable extent had already been made, the depression became 
 more intense and accelerated the general fall. In fact, it is 
 evident from what has since occurred, that there must have 
 been an enormous speculation, at the advent of the crisis, 
 " open for the rise.^' Every one had hoped that peace would be 
 preserved, and that as the fine weather appeared, affairs would 
 change, and produce profit and prosperity. The advance of 
 Austria against Sardinia was the precursor of alarm, and 
 this, followed by the equivocal announcement of the relations 
 between Russia and France, terminated in that crash which 
 soon became so painfully apparent. The markets, naturally 
 weak from inactivity and exhaustion — first through disappointed 
 expectations, and, secondly, through the want of confidence in 
 the French Emperor — became deranged, and from the general 
 involvement it was impossible, without sacrifices of the character 
 stated, to effect an extrication which could restore or rearrange 
 the current of business at the Stock Exchange. 
 
 The extent of the sudden revulsion in Consols and Railway 
 Securities, at the early period of the panic, may in some degree 
 be estimated by the subjoined table of fluctuations in those 
 securities during April. Although the retrogression to the 
 middle of the mouth was only partial, the markets had pre- 
 viously presented symptoms of heaviness, with an occasional 
 slight recovery ; but the most intense depreciation was occa- 
 sioned by the events which occurred subsequently to Easter 
 
 * It was a common thing at tliis period to meet brokers and ask them respecting 
 their position. The general reply was, "Well, I hope to pull through; but I fear it 
 will be a difficult affair." Another, "I am safe, but regularly skinned; everything 
 I hold is down some ten, twenty, or thirty per cent., and many of my kind friends 
 will not be able to pay their differences." Another, " Very dreadful, every- 
 thing gone but my credit." Another, "I have fortunately obtained assistance, and 
 shall escape the haunuer this time."
 
 THE STOCK EXCIIAN'OE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 i: 
 
 ^Monday, and the general disturbance in quotations which 
 immediately ensued. The variation in Consols was about 7^ 
 per cent., the fall in reality being 6? per cent. ; and the Three 
 per Cent. Rentes at Paris drooped to nearly the same extent, 
 the collapse caused by the convulsion being universal. Shares, 
 after being very depreciated, slightly recovered ; but the average 
 fall was still 5 to 10 per cent, on English, 3 to 6 per cent, on 
 French, and 1 to 3 per cent, on Indian Shares. 
 
 Fltjctuatioxs in tue Stoce and Share Markets during the Month of 
 
 April, 1859. 
 
 Consols 
 
 Exchequer Bills 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 Brighton 
 
 Caledonian 
 
 Eastern Counties . 
 
 Great Jv^ortheru 
 
 Great Western 
 
 London and Noi'th- Western.. 
 
 Midland 
 
 Lancashire and Yorkshire 
 
 North Staftbrdshire 
 
 South-Eastern 
 
 South- Western 
 
 York, Newcastle, and Berwick 
 York and North Midland 
 
 Northern of France 
 
 East Indian 
 
 <u 
 
 u 
 
 3 
 
 Ph 
 
 g 
 
 6 
 
 < 
 
 — 
 
 £ 
 
 stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 £20 
 
 17^ 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 £20 
 
 16 
 
 Stock. 
 
 100 
 
 
 Pn-ja 
 
 m 
 
 o-c 
 
 £ 
 95 i to I 
 35s. pm. 
 
 1121 
 82i 
 60 
 
 102J 
 59^ 
 94J 
 
 lOlJ 
 94f 
 13 
 701 
 92^ 
 92i 
 76J 
 
 36J 
 1021 
 
 £ 
 
 951 
 36*. 
 pin. 
 
 113 
 
 82i 
 60t 
 
 103 
 591 
 95t 
 
 102f 
 95 
 
 i3i 
 
 70| 
 93 
 921 
 76| 
 
 36f 
 103 
 
 55. 
 
 pm. 25«. pm. 
 
 104J 
 69i 
 49 
 96 
 45i 
 83 
 91 
 86 
 
 nj 
 59 
 
 85 
 81 
 68 
 
 33 
 
 £ 
 
 89i 
 18.y. to 
 
 105 
 72i 
 55i 
 97 
 52^ 
 86i 
 96 
 86 
 111 
 61 
 86 
 
 70 
 
 33 
 93 
 
 The variations in the principal foreign stocks were also pro- 
 portionately great. Turkish suffered in the principal proportion, 
 the range in the Old and New Six per Cents, being no less than 
 33 per cent., while the actual fall was about 24 per cent. The 
 fluctuations in Sardinian reached 17 per cent., and the positive 
 decline was about 15 per cent. ; in Austrian the range has 
 proved 20 per cent., and the stock for some time stood at 
 nominal quotations. A variation of 5 per cent, occurred in 
 Mexican, with a recovery of 1 per cent, at the latest moment, 
 and a drop in Russian of 12 or 13 per cent, indicated the seve- 
 rity of the fluctuation. Even Dutch Two-aud-a-Half per
 
 156 
 
 THE STOCK LXCIIAXGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 Cents, were largely depreciated^ the sales on foreign account 
 having been heavy. Altogether, the influence shown to have 
 been exercised on prices by the events which ensued^ was con- 
 sidered to have been much more serious and extensive than at 
 any jDrevious period . — 
 
 Fluctuations in Foreign Stocks during the Month of April, 1859. 
 
 
 Price on the 
 1st of April. 
 
 Highest 
 
 Price 
 
 during the 
 
 Mouth. 
 
 Lowest 
 
 Price 
 
 during the 
 
 Month. 
 
 Present 
 Price. 
 
 Mexican Tlu'ee per Cents 
 
 21i to i 
 100 
 82 
 904 to 90 
 ex. div. 
 79f 
 
 65 i 
 
 2ii 
 
 100^ 
 
 82 
 
 90i 
 
 ex. div. 
 
 7d'i 
 
 65 
 651 
 
 16J 
 87 
 65 
 57 
 ex. div. 
 47 
 45 
 56 
 
 I7i 
 
 Russian Four-and-a-Half per Cents. 
 Sardinian Five per Cents 
 
 88 
 67 
 
 Turkish Old Six per Cents 
 
 64 to 68 
 
 Ditto New 
 
 ex. div. 
 52 to 58 
 
 Austrian Five per Cents 
 
 
 Dutch Two-and-a-IIalf per Cents. ... 
 
 56 to 58 
 
 The alterations during INIay were considerable, the panic 
 having extended into the early period of the month.* A much 
 more favourable appearance was, however, afterwards presented, 
 the alarm having subsided, and a reaction having set in. The 
 range in Consols was 3J per cent., principally in the upward 
 direction, the actual rise established, compared with the first of 
 the month, being 3 per cent. Immediately after the Bank 
 advanced the rate of discount to 4h per cent., and it was found 
 commercial credit was not seriously compromised, there was a 
 revival, and the return to ease which was eventually experienced 
 through the full supplies of gold from Australia, America, and 
 St. Petersburg, stimulated greater activity. Proportional firm- 
 ness was exhibited in foreign securities, but railway shares pre- 
 sented even increased improvement, the rise being from -4 to 7 
 per cent. This, after the late depreciation, it was said, might 
 in some respects have been anticipated, particularly in connec- 
 tion with Indian, which were forced forward at all risk. 
 
 * Tlie failures that occurred comprised both brokers and jobbers. It has been 
 comphiiiied that no correct hst of suspensions ever was published. Tliis was im- 
 possible, because the uncertainty attending the details of names, and tlie fact that 
 difficulties experienced one day were surmounted the next, would have rendered 
 such announcement in many cases incorrect and impolitic. Besides, at one period 
 false reports abounded ; and instances of compromises were mentioned, which, it is 
 difficult now to say, liave been comidetely adju-sted.
 
 Till': STOCK EXCHANGE r.V.NIC OF 1859. 
 
 157 
 
 Fluctuations in the Stock and Shake Makkets dukino the Month of 
 
 Mat, 1859. 
 
 
 II 
 
 < 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 1^ 
 
 II 
 
 
 Hi 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 P-i 
 
 Consols 
 
 stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 £20 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 Stock. 
 
 £20 
 
 Stock. 
 
 £ 
 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 17^ 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 
 16 
 100 
 
 89| to 90J 
 
 18.S. to 25*. 
 
 pm. 
 
 1061 
 72^ 
 521 
 951 
 50 
 86 
 94 
 85 
 12 
 62 
 85i 
 84i 
 691 
 
 93i 
 
 92} 
 30*. 
 pm. 
 
 110 
 
 78 
 
 5'H 
 1001 
 54 
 89^ 
 97 J 
 875 
 13 
 64i 
 89 
 87* 
 72 
 
 35 
 99J 
 
 89^ 
 15*. 
 pm, 
 
 104 
 71 
 51 
 93 i 
 481 
 83i 
 90 
 83 
 115 
 591 
 84 
 8U 
 67 
 
 34 i 
 90 
 
 93 i 
 
 Exdieqiicr bills 
 
 18*. to 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 Brighton 
 
 22*. pni. 
 109 i 
 
 Caledonian 
 
 Eastern Counties 
 
 Great Northern 
 
 Great Western 
 
 London and North- Western... 
 Midland 
 
 77^ 
 54i 
 991 
 53 1 
 88^ 
 97i 
 
 Lancashire and Yorkshu'e 
 
 North Staffordshire 
 
 87i 
 13 
 
 South-Eastern 
 
 South- Western 
 
 York, Newcastle, and Berwick 
 York and North Midland 
 
 63k 
 885 
 87 
 7li 
 
 Northern of France 
 
 _ 
 
 East Indian 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 The appended figures present the progress of the recovery, 
 Avhich took place, after the depth of depression was in INIay, and it 
 will be seen that the rise Avas very rapid, through the purchases 
 effected by parties who considered it a good opportunity to " get 
 in at low prices." Since that date a further rally has occurred, 
 and the markets at the moment these lines are written show 
 altogether a satisfactory appearance : — 
 
 Fluctuations in Foreign Stocks during the Month of May, 1859. 
 
 Highest I Lowest 
 Price on the ' Price ' Price 
 1st of Maj-. [ durinf; the during the 
 ! Month. Month. 
 
 Present 
 Price. 
 
 Brazilian Five per Cents 
 
 Mexican Three per Cents 
 
 Peruvian Four-and-a-Half per Cents. 
 
 Portuguese Three per Cents 
 
 Russian Four-and-a-Half per Cents. 
 
 Sardinian Five per Cents 
 
 Spanish Three per Cents 
 
 Dutch Four per Cents 
 
 Venezuela Five per Cents 
 
 Austrian Five per Cents 
 
 Old Turkish Six per Cents 
 
 New Turkish Loan 
 
 98 to 96 
 16i to I7i 
 
 80 
 
 40 
 90 to 91 
 
 68 
 
 39 
 
 925 
 
 33 
 
 42 
 66 to 64 
 55 to 56 
 
 981 
 
 m 
 
 84 
 
 41} 
 
 93^ 
 
 78 
 
 40 
 
 92i 
 
 38^ 
 nominal. 
 66i to 67 
 56 to 55*
 
 158 THE STOCK EXCIIANOK PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 The following extracts, culled from the papers at the mo- 
 ment, furnish graphic accounts of the course of events at this 
 particular period : — 
 
 Tuesday, April 26, 1859. 
 
 The panic symptoms in the markets for Pubhc Securities have not 
 abated. The various quotations liave touclied to-day a lower point than 
 they had before descended to, but a recovery, which for a short time 
 promised to be permanent, occurred, and Consols, which bad been done at 
 92|, went first to 93| to I, and then to 94|. Eventually fresh fluctuation, 
 produced by unfavourable statements and discouraging quotations from 
 Paris, occasioned great uneasiness, and not the least confidence was ex- 
 pressed in the stability of prices. The different phases through which 
 thhigs are now passing, and the serious variations created by every story 
 broiiglit into circidation, prove how completely business is in tlie hands of 
 the speculators, and, altbough the address of Lord Derby at tbe Mansion 
 House was considered to sbow tlie anxiety of tbe Government to preserve 
 peace, it was feared that the effort would scarcely be attended with success. 
 While prices were suffering from the effect of sales, steadily continued by 
 the operators for the fall, it was affirmed that a telegram had arrived 
 intimating a disposition on tlie part of Austria to suspend hostilities for 
 fourteen days ; but though this statement could not be traced to any 
 authentic source it caused numerous purchases, and prices became at 
 once very animated. It was also said that the French Government would 
 not require a new loan, and that the communication to the Corps Legis- 
 latif by the Emperor would simply be on the question of additional levies. 
 Still nothing certain transpired, and the improvement was well main- 
 tained until a very advanced hour, when irregular transactions, as will 
 be seen, were once more concluded at a serious depreciation. A failure 
 on the Paris Bourse exercised an unfavourable influence on Lom- 
 bardo- Venetian shares, and those securities were at one period of the day 
 extremely depressed ; but after hours a partial change for the better was 
 apparent. 
 
 Late in the evening, and when business was wholly suspended, it was 
 asserted in special channels, and seemingly on good aiithority, that 
 Austria had accepted the mediation of England, which it was hoped would 
 lead to a satisfactory adjustment of the difliculty. 
 
 As indicating the excited position of business and the sensitive state of 
 quotations, it should be mentioned that long after the termination of 
 the regular hours operations were entered into among the dealers. At 
 three o'clock, the oflicial closing of the Stock Exchange, Consols were 
 quoted 93f to f for money and the account. Between that period and 
 four, a sudden rally to 94 to \ had followed. Subsequently weakness 
 was apparent and numerous fluctuations were visible, the reaction that 
 set in carrying down the quotation to 93^ to „, which was the last price 
 at half-past five o'clock. To show the activity of the operators, many 
 thousands of stock passed in the interval between four and half-past five 
 o'clock, a full market being held in the neighbourhood of New Court, one
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF ]859. 159 
 
 of the approaches to the Stock Exchange, and the majority who had before 
 purchased resold to cover themselves on the fall that ensued. The prices 
 received from Paris sliowing heaviness, the rumour regarding the suspen- 
 sion of hostilities for fourteen days was discredited, and hence the sudden 
 and smart decline. Other securities, including Turkish, Sardinian, and 
 Lombardo- Venetian shares, were proportionally affected, though quota- 
 tions could not with accuracy be obtained. 
 
 The demand for accommodation at the Bank to-day was more than 
 usually active. The description of paper offering showed that the im- 
 pression entertained is that an advance in the rate will not be long 
 delayed. Merchants and others are discounting, with the view of pro- 
 viding against any contingency, and the result is that a rise to 3 per cent, 
 is now daily anticipated. The declension in the stock of bullion, which 
 during the last five or six weeks has been nearly £2,000,000, with the 
 decrease in the reserve of notes, marks the action which has been pro- 
 gressing, notwithstanding predictions to the contrary in more than one 
 quarter. The various banks and discount establishments are transacting 
 a favourable business, but for paper of the most unexceptionable character 
 they onl}^ charge the Bank minimum of 2| per cent. For second and 
 third class bills, however, they obtain much better terms, and it is 
 through these operations that the greater proportion of profit is secured. 
 
 Wednesday, April 27. 
 
 Intense excitement has again pi-evailed on the Stock Exchange, and 
 prices have presented increased fluctuation. Consols, which left off, at 
 the advanced hour of half-past five yesterday evening, 93| to f, were 
 before regular business called 91| to 92. This decline was brought 
 about by the alleged treaty entered into between Eussia and France, 
 through which it was supposed the position of England was in a measure 
 compromised, and the consequence was heavy sales, both o\\bo7ia fide and 
 speculative account. The announced acceptance of British mediation by 
 Austria exercised little or no influence, and partial variations continued 
 apparent. Meanwhile, difiiculties among brokers and jobbers occurred, 
 and the consequence was, that although an endeavour to sustain prices 
 was made, an immediate reaction to 91 1 took place. A doubt was then 
 thrown upon the Husso-French alliance; and as it failed, on inquiry 
 among the St. Petersburg houses, to be confirmed. Consols rallied to 
 92:^, the highest qiiotation of the day, and for the moment some anima- 
 tion existed. Nevertheless failures were reported, and the markets alto- 
 gether exhibited a very sensitive and discouraging appearance, through 
 the belief expressed that war would at once be entered upon, despite 
 every endeavour to conciliate or to make honourable terms of arrange- 
 ment. Under these circumstances fresh gloom was visible, which was 
 greatly increased when it was stated that Austria had signified her desire 
 to accept the mediation of England, but that France, after recent events, 
 declined. This produced a more sevei'e reaction than ever, and Consols 
 went at once to 91. The regular close of business did not guide trans- 
 actions at all, and though there was temporary steadiness at this fall the
 
 IGO THE STOCK KXCHANGE I'AMC OF 1839. 
 
 drop subsequently was still serious. A quotation of 90^ was made in tlie 
 depth of the depression, when it was discovered that panic reis;ned on the 
 Paris Bourse, and that tlie Rentes continued to go down. The nearest 
 last price that could be ascertained was 90f to 91, and a variety of 
 rumours were circulated with respect to the intentions of the Government, 
 and the measures of defence to be adopted to prevent any undue advan- 
 tage being taken by France of the existing situation. Up to as late an hour 
 as a quarter to six o'clock, transactions were entered into, the Stock 
 Exchange and neighbouring business localities not having then been 
 deserted. 
 
 The state of panic and excitement may be in some slight degree imagined 
 from the circumstance of no less than seven failures having occurred during 
 the day. It was supposed that serious embarrassments would be encoun- 
 tered, particularly among the smaller class of operators, and this has 
 uiifortunately proved the case. Four of the suspensions will not l)e for 
 any considerable amount, but in the instance of one large speculator in 
 Consols, his liabilities are taken at £20,000, though it is said the dividend 
 will be satisfactory. Two firms are included in the list, one an old and 
 very respectable house, the partners being unable to realize their securi- 
 ties. The majority have more or less suffered from the default of prin- 
 cipals, who cannot at the moment meet their engagements through the 
 sudden and severe blow quotations of every kind have received. These 
 failures having been announced in the preliminary attempts to arrange 
 the foreign stock and railway share accounts, it is apprehended that 
 other difficulties will be experienced before payday arrives, and the 
 result is great anxietj^ for the termination of the present settlements. 
 
 The condition of things was most unprecedented. In many instances 
 good securities were altogether unmarketable, and the effect was of a dis- 
 astrous character. Variations of 8 to 10 per cent, in Turkish, 3 to 4 per 
 cent, in Sardinian and Eussian, and 2 to 3 per cent, in other descriptions, 
 showed the ciu*rent of operations, the range in sliares being from 2 to 5 per 
 cent., with scarcely any purchasers, French and Lombardo- Venetian con- 
 tinuing extremely heavy. 
 
 A feature in the course of business proceedings to-day was the 
 indisposition of capitalists and others to make advances upon the dif- 
 ferent classes of securities on any terms, for the purposes of carrying 
 over, and hence the general and increased fall. Accounts, consequently, 
 liad to be closed, and the best arrangements for settlement cfl'ected to 
 meet the sudden emergency. It was also confidently stated that the 
 Bank directors would raise the rate of discount to-morrow to 3 per cent., 
 and adopt additional measures of precaution, if necessary, to arrest the 
 efflux of bullion, should the drain be stimulated by the war. The inti- 
 mation respecting the French loan of £20,000,000, although it was 
 regarded as evidence of the determination of Louis Napoleon to push his 
 views to tlie extreme, exercised no important effect, because it was felt that 
 no subscription would be made in this country. The Eussian loan will 
 also have to be deferred, or at least have to be taken to other markets to 
 complete, if hostilities ensue, and the asserted compact proves to have 
 been formed.
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OP 1859. 161 
 
 The several phases of the day's intelligence were discussed with great 
 avidity at Lloj'd's, the Jerusalem, Baltic, and Jamaica Coffee-houses, the 
 interests involved, and the points in dispute furnishing topics for every 
 class. There was great excitement at Lloyd's and the Baltic, the Russian 
 trade especially manifesting a desire to trace the effect of the supposed 
 change in the relations between that country and France. At Lloyd's, 
 war rislv-s were demanded on steamers and vessels to the Mediterranean, 
 and it is net improbable that they will be extended to other ports if affairs 
 continue to present such a menacing aspect. In Mincing Lane and on 
 'Change considerable activity was noticeable, saltpetre, tallow, and rice 
 being the articles principally affected. 
 
 Austrian Five per Cents., which, on the 15th iust., were dealt in at 03, 
 were sold this morning at 45, showing a decline of IS per cent., and 
 bargains to anj^ extent would have been impracticable at the price. 
 
 An average fall of 8 per cent, took place in Turkish Securities by the 
 comparison of prices in the official list. Ultimately they were quoted still 
 lower, and at irregular margins. The Original Six per Cents, were dealt 
 in at 70, 69, 65, and 69, and were at four o'clock called 60 to 63. The 
 New Six per Cents, were then marked 50 to 54, having been operated in 
 at 57, 61, and 60. There was again an absence of business in the Four 
 per Cent. Guaranteed. 
 
 The scrip of the new India Debentures was done at one period at 
 90|, or 4| discount, but subsequently recovered to 02J, or 2\ discount. 
 
 Thursday, April 28, 1859. 
 
 Another day of great excitement and alarm has just been passed. The 
 panic which has prevailed since Tuesday, if possible, increased in intensity, 
 and the condition of business in public securities has been more fluctuating 
 and irregular than at any time since the first development of the unsatis. 
 factory symptoms. The influence exercised by the statements published 
 of the course pursued by the French Emperor, the supposition that the 
 Austrian trooj)s had crossed the Ticino, and the knowledge that the com- 
 plications might involve England in a war, produced much disquietude, 
 and this having been followed by an advance in the Bank rate of discount 
 to 2>\ per cent., or, in fact, a rise of \ per cent, higher than was generally 
 expected, the full gravity of the situation became appreciated. Besides, 
 it was affirmed that the Government, preparing for the worst, notwith- 
 standing it is questioned whether the express conditions of the treaties 
 with Russia are precisely what have been indicated, have issued orders for 
 raising men for the navy on a £10 bounty, so as to meet whatever emer- 
 gency may arise. Every description of report was circulated, some being 
 of a favourable, and others of an unfavourable, character, but the depression 
 exhibited was not surmounted, though occasionally a partial rally in prices 
 occurred. The altei'nations, nevertheless, were very violent throughout 
 the hours of regular business, and as yesterday, up to six o'clock, a market 
 was held in Throgmorton Street, in which bargains could be completed. 
 
 The Bank directors were not long occupied in their deliberation upon 
 advancing the rate of discount to 3|^ per cent., and it waa formally announced 
 
 M
 
 162 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 early in the day that this would be for the present the price for the nego- 
 tiation of bills having 95 days to run. The rate before was 2^ per cent, 
 which has been in existence since the 9th of December last. This sudden 
 rise of 1 per cent., it seems, is considered to be fully justified by the course 
 of events, and it has been stated that there is a prospect of a further aug- 
 mentation. The continuous declension in the stock of bullion, and the 
 apprehension that the drain may be accelerated by the position of relations 
 on the Continent, will account for the promptitude of the measure, though 
 in many quarters it was anticipated that the alteration would at lirst have 
 been limited to ^ per cent. The rate was last advanced to 3^ per cent, on 
 the 2nd of June, 1853, when the stock of bullion stood at £18,253,934 
 and the reserve of notes at £8,366.970. According to the last return 
 the position of the bullion was £18,051,375, and the reserve of notes 
 £9,880,240, while the statement to be issued to-morrow will, doubtless, 
 present some additional important variations. 
 
 At the commencement of business to-day, the scene witnessed at the 
 Stock Exchange was one of the most painful ever remembered. Those 
 whose memories carry them back to the days of the celebrated Spanish 
 panic, scarcely think that the exhibition then was more distressing. The 
 first list announced was five names, followed by a second of eight, and 
 then four others were declared, making a total, including partners, of 
 nineteen. These, with the suspensions previously intimated, constitute an 
 entire number of between twenty-seven and twenty-nine, comprising the 
 one or two declared early in the week. It was remarked that whereas on 
 the occasion of the great revulsion already referred to the scarcity of 
 money and the sense of alarm extended principally to one market or 
 department, in this instance it was apparent throughout the house, the 
 oj)erators in every species of security being affected. At one moment the 
 condition of things seemed destined to paralyze transactions altogether, 
 and such was the apprehension exhibited, that the further announcement 
 of failures was awaited with the most intense anxiety. Although, with 
 one or two exceptions, the names to-day were of second and third class 
 character, still the great number showed the severity of the blow, and 
 the fatal influence exercised by the immense change in the position of our 
 political relations. In the course of the afternoon there was a greater 
 exhibition of confidence, but the slightest rumour served to create agitation, 
 and to lead to every kind of conjcctiire with respect to the consequences 
 which it is alleged will follow the llusso-French alliance. 
 
 So incessant was the variation in the prices of Consols to-day, that it 
 was with great difficulty the course of change could be traced. The first 
 price was 89, or about 2 per cent, below the last quotation of last night ; 
 there was then a fresh decline to 88f, the foreign intelligence being con- 
 sidered unsatisfactor}^ The rise in the Bank rate was subsequently made 
 public, but it produced no further effect. A sudden rally ensued to 89|, 
 and 90 was reached on the statement that the Russian alliance was 
 unfounded. Presently, however, weakness was again perceptible, and the 
 price once more receded to 888. Just before the termination of business, 
 another movement upwards was visible, and the latest official price was 
 89 to -I. A considerable amount of operations ultimately took place at
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 163 
 
 quotations varying from 89^ to f to about 90, but once again a sudden 
 collapse ensued to 89, which was the nearest final quotation. The warlike 
 intelligence from Tuscany was not viewed with satisfaction, and the 
 position of Austria seems to become more dangerous every hour. 
 
 It is mentioned, with reference to some of the suspensions tliat have 
 taken place, that the accounts opened by the parties were on a scale of 
 considerable magnitude. Although it is true that the depreciation in 
 prices has been very severe, nothing could warrant such extensive con- 
 tracts as are alleged to have been shown by the books of one firm that 
 was compelled to announce their inability to meet their payments. Of 
 course it is imderstood that many of the individuals m ho have been placed 
 in embarrassment liave suffered solely through the d(^f'ault of principals, 
 and there is no question that if they were ] aid the differences due to them 
 they could have met the whole of their liabilities with punctuality ; but 
 with such a state of depression, and a fall in quotations, as in the cases of 
 Turkish and other securities, ranging from 10 to 30 percent., the difiiculty 
 of averting the catastrophe must be generally admitted. 
 
 The demand for money after the Bank had given notice of the increase 
 of the rate of discount, was not so great ; but still the inquiry was con- 
 siderable, and the public availed themselves of the opportunity afforded of 
 securing the assistance they required. Out of doors it was said that the 
 rate for 60 days' paper was 3| per cent., and 95 days', 3f to 4 per cent.; 
 but for six months' bills very much higher rates were charged. Indeed, 
 in some quarters the discount establishments refused to take in six months' 
 paper, unless on special terms with those who desired to negotiate it. 
 After all, notwithstanding the demand was well supported, there was not 
 what could be properly designated a pressure, and the supply was ample 
 for all purposes ; but through the increase of the distrust it was impossible 
 to induce capitalists to make advances beyond rather limited periods. 
 
 An extreme range of 7 to 11 per cent, occui'red in Turkish Securities, 
 and the average decline was about 8 per cent. This wide margin was 
 occasioned by the refusal of the dealers to continue transactions, and sales 
 were consequently pressed in every direction. 
 
 Friday, April 29. 
 
 The effect of the panic at the Stock Exchange is still painfully apparent, 
 and an additional list of twenty-three suspensions has been recorded. Two 
 of the firms comprised in the new failures represent liabilities for large 
 amounts, but they have been brought down through the default of other 
 members. Such is the general confusion that it is scarcely possible to tell 
 who is yet solvent, and although the accounts in foreign securities and 
 railway shares terminated this afternoon, other stoppages are anticipated 
 to-morrow. In consequence of the almost universal embarrassment expe- 
 rienced, two or three very large houses were temporarily compromised, 
 and had it not been for assistance rendered by their bankers, they would 
 have been compelled to intimate their inability to meet their engagements. 
 Not the least question could be entertained in these special cases of the 
 value of the securities they possessed, but the obstacle was the immediate
 
 IGJj THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 supply of funds to meet tlie sudden demands occasioned by the emergency. 
 To tlie close of business this evening it appears that about fifty-two 
 "declarations" have, iu all, occurred, the majority, however, being dealers 
 and jobbers, whose debts severally have not been important, although, in 
 the aggregate, they will prove enormous. As showing how seriously the 
 influence of a suspension of this kind works, it was stated that one broker, 
 who struggled through with only a moderate amount of stock open, would, 
 if he had been compelled to default, have brought down four other mem- 
 bers. In this manner has the whole of the present panic extended its 
 sway, so that solvent and insolvent have alike suffered from the paralysis 
 which has seized quotations. It yet remains to be seen what will be the 
 process of recover}^ particularly as there is still much uncertainty respect- 
 ing the future course of business. 
 
 At one period this morning there was a prospect of quotations taking 
 a more favourable position, and Consols, as well as foreign securities and 
 railway shares, presented a better appearance, but increased gloom was 
 again visible through the entanglement of the accovmts and the difBculty 
 manifested in adjusting differences. A considerable supply of bank- 
 notes was required to meet payments, the state of credit haA'ing been 
 greatly impaired by the events of the last two days. The fluctuations in 
 prices were extensive, and though Consols opened at 90, or 1 per cent, 
 above the six o'clock quotation of last night, and eventually touched 91, 
 the complexion of the foreign intelligence, with the serious disasters 
 among the operators, produced a reaction till the price returned to 89 to -}, 
 exhibiting a very j^artial rally. There was a limited attendance late this 
 evening, and the jobbers only made a fractional variation in the value, A 
 special committee was called to-day, when it was agreed to recommend 
 the immediate arrangement of the Consol account, and preparations were 
 at once commenced, and before the end of the afternoon most of the 
 dealers had adjusted their respective transactions. Under ordinarj' cir- 
 cumstances, this course of proceeding would not have been entered upon 
 before Monday. 
 
 It is a noticeable feature that the banking interest and the public are 
 making investments in stock at the current depreciated quotations. Ex- 
 chequer Bills were rather firmer this afternoon, but the late decline is 
 attributed to the displacement of capital from these securities, and its 
 outlay in Consols, Reduced, and New Three per Cents. 
 
 At tliis stage, it w^ill he perceived, tlie course of the panic was 
 nearly cxliaustetlj autl afiairs Mere on the turn. 
 
 Monday, May 2. 
 
 The Stock Markets have at length assumed a much more tranquil 
 appearance, and although the rally in prices has not been important, there 
 was, for the first time since the outbreak of the panic, a cessation of 
 failures. It is nevertheless feared that, before the Consol account is com- 
 pleted, other of the members will have to succumb ; the severe fall iu 
 quotations, together with the fatal cflects of the late movement, having
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 165 
 
 compromised tlio position of many parlies whose difFerences have yet to 
 be adjusted. The public were buy ei'S of seeui'ities to-day, especially those 
 of a leading description ; but the advance at first attained was not sub- 
 sequently fully supported, rumours being circulated in connection with 
 the situation of foreign mercantile houses, whose affairs will be disarranged 
 through the commencement of hostilities. The state to which Austrian 
 finance has been reduced by the occurrences of the last few weeks, must 
 entail serious responsibility upon that Government, and a war prosecuted 
 with an exhausted and deeply embarrassed treasury will tell with double 
 efiect upon its trade and external relations. It is not probable that much 
 reliable information will be received from the seat of operations, if com- 
 munication is to be interrupted by the destruction of the telegraphic wires, 
 though there will be no paucity of reports pi-omulgated with the view of 
 affecting quotations or exaggerating the importance of events as they may 
 take place. Consols were first dealt in this morning at 89| to f for money 
 and the account, and improved to 90|, the scarcity of stock causing a 
 rather higher quotation for money ; but a reaction on sales followed, and 
 the price then drooped to 89f . The accounts from the Paris Bourse were 
 not favourable, the value of the Rentes showing a decline of nearly a 
 quarter per cent., and the advance in the corn market indicated that 
 apprehensions were entertained of the probable consequences of the col- 
 lision with Sardinia. Before the final termination of the afternoon there 
 was again a partial recovery, and the last quotation was 90 to f for money 
 and the account, exhibiting a rise of about a half per cent. It is noticed 
 that although not much animation is imparted to prices by the business 
 transacted, the character of dealings gives them a reality which they have 
 not for some short time possessed. 
 
 The tendency in the rates of discount is still of an unfavourable cha- 
 racter, and the demand for accommodation has been extensive to-day, 
 through the caution exercised by the banking interest and the bill-brokers. 
 The pressure upon the discount department of the Bank was, therefore, 
 proportionate, and, if the present state of things continues, it is believed 
 that an additional advance in the minimum will take place. Although the 
 requirements for railway calls are far from large, still some inquiry will 
 arise to meet the necessary payments on the India Four per Cent. Deben- 
 tures falling due on the 6th, and it yet remains to be seen whether the 
 Council will make any ameliorative arrangements, so as to relieve the 
 holders from the full weight of the amount then to be discharged. It is 
 suggested that a different adjustment for the periods of the instalments 
 would probably meet the emergency, which, if strictly enforced, through 
 the altered condition of affairs, may put many individuals in the position 
 of defaulters. If a forfeiture were carried out, it would place the operation 
 on a very unsatisfactory footing, and, consequently, the only way to cope 
 with the difficulty would be to make the payments as light as possible by 
 spreading them over an extended period. The depressed prices at which 
 the scrip stands, Avill, it is presumed, induce the authorities to make some 
 such variation in the understood terms of the tenders. No delay should 
 be suffered in giving notice of any alteration, if one is really contemplated, 
 because the parties interested are very anxious on the point.
 
 166 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 Part of the inquiiy for money arises from the preparations to meet the 
 paper of the 4th of the month, which, it appears, -will represent a con- 
 siderable amount. It is stated that the bill-brokers are charging extreme 
 rates, the quotation for two montlis' paper being 3J i^er cent. ; three 
 months', 4 per cent. ; four months', 4i per cent. ; and five months', 5| per 
 cent. 
 
 The arrangements for liquidating several of the estates of the brokers 
 and jobbers who have failed during the recent disruption of credit at the 
 Stock Exchange are making active pi'Ogress, and it has already been noti- 
 fied that seven dividends will be immediately distributed, varying from 
 20s. to 5s. in the pound, which, considering the enormous depreciation in 
 quotations, is not regarded as altogether unsatisfactory. At present there 
 will be a great difficulty in realizing assets, except those of first-rate cha- 
 racter, owing to the absence of animation in business and the indisposition 
 to make anything approaching regular prices for any of the neglected 
 securities. Should a recovery occur better prospects will be apparent for 
 the creditors, one estate now so much depending upon the other for the 
 increase or the diminution of their respective dividends. Notwithstanding 
 the impression that the principal of these firms will be wound up in a 
 short period, several months must elapse before the whole can be brought 
 under efi'ective administration. 
 
 Tuesday, May 3. 
 
 The markets for Public Secui-ities arc gradually assuming a more 
 settled condition, although the extent of business is considerably curtailed. 
 This arises from the indisposition of tlie public or the general class of 
 operators to enter into enlarged engagements after the serious results pro- 
 duced by the late decline, and the apprehension that the full extent of the 
 mischief created by the panic has not been altogether realized. Prices, 
 except in special instances, must still be alTected by sales of securities, 
 which will be necessary to complete the arrangement of difTercnces, and 
 hence an immediate recovery is not to be anticipated. Capitalists, how- 
 ever, are purchasing Consols, and the steady absorption, with the eflect 
 of the explanations of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, occasioned an 
 advance this morning of about three-quarters per cent., but a reaction 
 took place before the final close of business. Slock throughout the day 
 was extremely scarce for immediate delivery, and hence the quotation for 
 money was slightly in advance of that for the account. More readiness 
 was also observable to conclude bargains in other descrijjtions, though 
 the impression that the war must entail a disturbance of no ordinary 
 character arrests tlie rebound which under different circumstances might 
 speedily follow. Conflicting reports Mere again spread with respect to 
 the intentions of France and Sardinia ; and, curiously enough, at the latest 
 hour, it was said there was the prospect of a peace arrangement. The 
 assertion, however, was not credited, and the further slight decline on the 
 Paris Bourse increased the dulness subsequently apparent. Consols were 
 first dealt in at 90 to \, advanced to 91, and then fluctuated between 90|- 
 and 90f ; the last price for money being 90^, and for the account 90^ to \.
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. l67 
 
 The investments by the Government broker of £10,000 per diem, on behalf 
 of the savings' banks, have not yet been suspended. 
 
 The principal demand for money has fallen upon the Bank, through 
 the inability of the brokers to obtain their ordinary supplies from the 
 joint-stock and private banks, and consequently there has been much 
 activity in the discount department of that establishment. The joint-stock 
 baniis are now limiting their transactions to the negotiation of the paper 
 of their customers, and the result is, that the amount of capital in the 
 open discount market has become comparatively restricted. Expectations 
 are entertained that the directors will further advance their minimum 
 terms to four per cent., and through this impression many parties are 
 already providing for future necessities. The payments of to-morro'a^ (the 
 4th) have been in a great measure already arranged ; but there are still 
 other engagements, especially the instalment of the Indian Four per Cent. 
 Debentures, which will absorb an increased amount of money. Although 
 the minimum terms of the Bank of England are Z\ per cent., the quo- 
 tations charged out of doors range in advance of that point, and the 
 operations would be m.ore extended than thej^ are if accommodation could 
 in all instances be secured. 
 
 The preparations for the Consol account are still in progress, and 
 every means is being adopted to lighten the pressure which may be expe- 
 rienced when differences come to be adjusted. By mutual concessions it 
 is felt that the brokers and jobbers can assist one another, and hence 
 there is a disposition to encourage even the acceptance of payments to the 
 extent of 10,y. in the pound, allowing parties wlio may find themselves in 
 difficulties a short period for punctually completing their engagements 
 in preference to resorting to the painful alternative of " declarations," 
 which have previously exerted such a baneful influence. Through this 
 arrangement it is hoped that the position of some of the dealers who are 
 known to be in difficulty may be ameliorated, and confidence will there- 
 fore be less severely tested than it was during the arrangement of the 
 foreign stock and railway share account. It has also been agreed, in 
 accordance with the terms of the following resolution, that assets shall be 
 collected as quickly as possible, and dividends declared pro rata, with the 
 object of allowing those interested in the several estates to obtain what- 
 ever may be coming to them without unnecessary delay : — 
 
 " The committee recommend that dividends due on defaulting estates 
 be paid as early as possible, and put into the joint names of two of the 
 creditors, who will thus be enabled to distribute on the same day to each 
 creditor on each estate rateably as may be advisable." 
 
 It is mentioned in connection with the recent disturbing influence of 
 the panic at the Stock Exchange, that tlie devastation of credit would 
 have been much moi-e extensive but for the timely assistance afl'orded by 
 some of the leadmg discount establishments, and it is affirmed that Messrs. 
 Overeud and Co. were among those most forward to render the necessary- 
 aid in cases where it could be shown that the securities were of an appre- 
 ciable character, and that operations had been carried out on a sound and 
 legitimate basis. The banks also gave considerable facilities, but it was 
 necessary in some instances to curtail loans, with the view of bringing ,
 
 168 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 
 
 the trausactions which had been extended beyond due limits into manage- 
 able compass. The intensity of the effect created by the exaggerated 
 intelligence of the Eusso-French alliance will long be remembered in City 
 circles, the position of the dealers who. in many instances sacrificed by 
 their principals, could not provide the whole of the balances required at 
 the latest moment, being of the most embarrassing description. 
 
 Wednesday, May 4. 
 
 Business at the Stock Exchange was not transacted on an extensive 
 scale. The arrangement of outstanding engagements, and the provision 
 for the payments on the Consol settlement, occupied the chief attention, 
 the events of the last week creating caution. The effect of the publication 
 of the official contradiction of the existence of a treaty, offensive and de- 
 fensive, between France and Eussia, by the St. Petershurgh Journal, was 
 counteracted bj'- the advance in the rate of discount on the Continent, the 
 Banks of France, Frankfort, and Bremen, having each increased their 
 terms, the former to 4 per cent., and the latter to 4^ and 5. It was also 
 believed that an advance to at least 4 per cent, will be made by our own 
 Bank directors to-morrow, and, consef{uentl}^ the prices at which Consols 
 stood in the early part of the morning were not maintained. Investments 
 on behalf of the public were constantly effected, and these sustained 
 values for a period, the variation in the market having been between 90i 
 to \ for money, and 90 to \ for the account. A failure of a mercantile 
 firm in the Australian trade was then announced, and this, with a rumour 
 that a loan operation to a considerable extent is contemplated by the 
 Government, caused a succession of sales, and the quotation receded to 
 89| to I for the account, showing a decline of about thi'ee-eighths per 
 cent. After ordinary hours the dealers concluded a few transactions at 
 89f , but the quotation was viewed as irregular. 
 
 The great pressure for money still continues on the Bank of England, 
 the discount brokers not employing their funds to anj^ great extent, since 
 their resources are in a measiire curtailed by the restriction of facilities in 
 obtaining loans from the joint-stock banks. The applications consequently 
 were exceedingly numerous, and the mei'cantile public found it necessary 
 to resort to this department for the negotiation of paper, the average terms 
 out of doors being in almost every case above the minimum of 3j percent. 
 Six months' bills cannot now be discounted except at very advanced terms, 
 and it is said that 5^- to 6|- per cent, is the range for that class of paper. 
 
 Thursday, May 5. 
 
 The Bank directors, at their weekly court to-day, raised the rate of 
 discount from 3i per cent., at which it was placed last Thursday, to 4^ 
 per cent., showing a further advance of 1 per cent., the augmentation 
 being in the same ratio as that made this day week. The movement was 
 fully anticipated, and the effect, it is thought, will be salutary ; but there 
 seems to be an impression that the alarm is obtaining an exaggerated 
 tendency, the fall in prices, and the sacrifice of securities, increasing tho
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE PANIC OF 1859. 109 
 
 general lioavinoss pervading business. The efflux of bullion from the 
 Banli, and the rapid absorption of remittances as they arrive in this 
 country, prove the serious posture of affairs, though it is difficult to trace 
 the cause of the continuous and extended depreciation. No doubt the 
 " Gazette " return, to be published to-morrow, will exhibit changes of an 
 extensive character, and trade will suffer contraction through the condi- 
 tion of continental politics. The first effect of the intimation was an 
 unfavourable reaction in all classes of securities, from which there was 
 scarcely any rccoveiy, English stocks alone indicating firmness in the 
 later hours of the afternoon. Foreign bonds and railway shares were 
 extremely heavy, the late difficidties attending the adjustment of the 
 accounts, and the inability of dealers to support qiiotations, rendering the 
 markets again unsettled. Another circumstance that tended to create 
 apprehension was tbe suspension of Messrs. Arnstein and Eskeles, the 
 important banking firm of Vienna, not from the event itself, looking at 
 the position of finance in Austria, but through the disastrous influence it 
 may exercise in other directions. The public are still purchasers of Con- 
 sols, Keduced and New, though scarcely on the scale of yesterday, but 
 sufficient to support the quotations, and to give them a firm appearance, 
 particularly for money. For the June account the price is not quite so 
 well maintained, the speculative business being altogether inconsiderable. 
 Consols last night, which closed after hours 89|, recovered at the com- 
 mencement of business to 90 for money and 89| for June. Prices then 
 exhibited dulness, and on the advance in the Bank rate returned to 89|-. 
 Fresh purchases followed for investment, and the progress of the settle- 
 ment being more satisfactory than was anticipated, the tone of quotations 
 was better, and manifested strength. The foreign political intelligence 
 was not of vital interest ; but the prices from Paris also indicated a more 
 favourable appearance, though the latest failed to arrive during ordinary 
 hours. The final quotation of Consols, for money and the account, was 
 90 to ^, and at an advanced period of the evening the variation was 
 merely fractional. 
 
 In expectation of the advance in the rate of discount, the attendance 
 of those who requii-cd accommodation this morning was very numerous, 
 but, although many applications were made, it was announced that no 
 business would be transacted until after the rising of the court. The 
 directors met as customary, and broke up after a short deliberation, when 
 the alteration was notified in due form. A good business was then com- 
 pleted, and the pressure continued throughout the ordinary hours. In 
 the open market operations have been comparatively limited, the weight 
 of transactions being in that particular quarter, and it is remarked 
 that the absence of assistance to the brokers and others is producing an 
 interruption to the general progress of the trade of the coimtry ; since the 
 refusal to discount for them is preventing the negotiation of four months' 
 and longer dated paper, which otherwise would be dealt with if the dis- 
 count houses could secure partial facilities when they require them. The 
 quotation for three months' paper has varied from 4| to 5 per cent., but 
 in some cases for very prime descriptions a fraction under the Bank ratq 
 has been accepted.
 
 170 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 The several joint-stock bauks have intimated to their customers that 
 their allowance for deposits will in future be 1 per cent, below the rate of 
 discount established by the Bauk of England. As usual, Messrs. Overend, 
 Gurney, and Co., and the other private discount houses, have advised 
 their friends that their terms for the present will be Si- per cent, for 
 money at call, 3J per cent, for three days' notice, and 4 per cent, for 
 seven days' notice. The National Discount Company and the London 
 Discount Company have not at present made any alteration ; but it is 
 fully expected they will follow the same course. In that case the trans- 
 actions will date from to-day. 
 
 Some anxiety is still manifested to ascertain the final result of the 
 adjustment of the Consol account at the Stock Exchange. All descrip- 
 tions of compromises are being eflected among dealers, owing to the fatal 
 effects of the late fluctuations, and arrangements have been made by 
 which payments are undertaken from 186-. to 5s. in the pound, with the 
 view of ultimately providing the remainder. By this means additional 
 failures are for the moment prevented, and it is thought that the assist- 
 ance so extended will generally lighten the difficulties experienced. Even 
 some of the principal of the jobbers have been necessitated to ask indul- 
 gence under existing circumstances, and the consequence is that the body 
 of the members have more or less suffered from the influence of the late 
 panic. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL MATTER. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 In tracing the progress of events in the course of this remarkable year, it 
 may be stated that it opened with rather discouraging appearances. The 
 money market had for some short period been tight, and there was little 
 amelioration in the position of general financial affairs in January. The 
 relief afforded by the payment of the dividends and the arrival of Austra- 
 lian gold was wholly temporary, and a revived demand was again apparent, 
 which, it was feared, would eventually lead to an increase in the rate of 
 discount by the Bank directors. The existing minimum of 6 per cent, was 
 considered to be comparatively high, and, as they had augmented the 
 terms for advances on stock to 6| per cent., if the pressure had continued, 
 they would have been obliged to adopt additional restrictions with refe- 
 rence to the negotiation of mercantile paper. For some time it was 
 expected that such a movement would be announced, but the gold with- 
 drawn to supply the requirements of the Irish banks during the late 
 partial panic, having returned, it assisted to support the metallic reserve. 
 As, however, the drain for export to the Continent had setin with i-enewed 
 severity, and the remittances from Australia and America were not, at 
 this period, extensive, an apprehension was entertained that not only 
 might the stock of bullion be further trenched upon, but that the supplies 
 themselves from these sources would be purchased and sent to Paris.
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 171 
 
 Under sueli circumstances, the directors could not follow out any other 
 policy, but it was hoped that the stringency would not be maintained 
 at a level which would either distress commerce or interfere with the 
 prosperity which it was supposed would be initiated by peace. The range 
 of fluctuation in English stocks did not exceed 1 per cent., but it was 
 principally on the side of a decline. The symptoms of weakness which 
 followed the announcement of a rupture witli China, and the Persian war, 
 gradually increased, while the renewed demand for money induced many 
 of the speculators for the rise to close their accounts. Indeed this was a 
 prudent course to adopt, the Bank directors having again raised their 
 terms for advances on stock to 6^ per cent. In connection with this 
 movement it was remarked, " the Bank of England have notified that they 
 will decline making advances on Government securities at a lower rate 
 than 6^ per cent. During the recent shutting of the transfer-books the 
 rate for advances of this description was the same as that for discounts — 
 namely, 6 per cent. There is now, however, no reason for affording the 
 accommodation. Very large amounts are in course of repayment, and, 
 instead of these being again lent out to enable persons to hold Consols on 
 speculation, they should, in the present state of the discount business, be 
 hekl available for commercial purposes. In case of the general market 
 soon becoming easier, a return to the previous rate will probably be 
 adopted, but in former times it was not the custom of the Bank, under 
 any circumstances, to make loans on stock ; and although this rule may 
 have been needlessly stringent, it is unquestionably the duty of the Bank 
 never to relax it except when they can do so without prejudice to the 
 mercantile public." At the latest moment Consols exhibited depression, 
 and Exchequer bills were likewise heavy. Eoreign securities had not 
 exhibited any great variation, but the market was rather weaker, owing to 
 the general absence of business. All Northern Stocks were lower, and 
 there was apparently not the least disposition to extend transactions. The 
 following were the failures in the month of 
 
 Janxtart. 
 
 Mr. G. B. Rocca, Mediterranciin trade, London. 
 Messrs. Begby, Wiseman, and Co., mercliants, Glasgow. 
 Messrs. Eicc, Hairis, and Co., glass trade, Bh-mingliam, 
 
 The opening of the Parliamentary campaign, and the favourable change 
 in the weather, produced a satisfactory influence upon financial affairs in 
 February. The budget, although it encountered opposition, was carried 
 by a large majority, and the measures of retrenchment adopted, with the 
 reduction of the income tax, increased the confidence of the public. 
 Notwithstanding some parties inclined to the belief that greater economy 
 might have been exercised, the changes were accepted as an earnest of 
 what the future might produce. While the benefit of diminished taxation 
 was thus experienced, there was confident anticipation that the settlement 
 of the Persian question would be shortly announced, and under these cir- 
 cumstances one great cause of anxiety was allayed. The dispute with 
 China did not create much alarm, and although it might partially restrict 
 trade, the result, it was thought, would eventually prove advantageous to
 
 172 THE PKOGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 the whole of our European mercantile relations. The Bank directors 
 harinjT announced their intention of making advances on stocks, and also 
 on bills not having more than six montlis to run, until the payment of the 
 April dividends, at the rate of 6 per cent., increased animation was ■witnessed 
 in the market for public securities. But, although this was the case, there 
 was no immediate probability of a reduction in the terms of discount, the 
 demand, generally, being well maintained. Arrivals of gold from Australia 
 had lately taken place, to the extent of upwards of £1,000,000, in addition 
 to supplies from America, but the entire sum was absorbed by purchases 
 on behalf of the Bank of France, and those engaged in securing silver from 
 the Continent for remittance to the East and China. Fortunately the stock 
 of bullion in the Bank did not undergo diminution, for, notwithstanding 
 some withdrawals took place, the return of coin from Ireland, Scotland, 
 and the provinces, was sufficient to replace the amount so as nearly to 
 balance the total. The failures in the Greek trade, althougli rather 
 numerous, had not occasi(fned alarm, and the private letters from Paris 
 described a strong revival of speculative feeling. 
 
 The transactions on the Bourse were extremely large and numerous, 
 and there seemed a general disposition to believe in the approach of an- 
 other period of inflation. Money was obtainable without much difficult}' 
 at 5^ to 5f per cent. A reduction in the rate of discount in the bank of 
 Frankfort from 5 to 4 per cent, had just been reported, and a downward 
 movement was also expected at Amsterdam. The French Government 
 were alleged to be on the point of making some new railway concessions. 
 All the continental exchanges continued with a favourable appearance. 
 In each of the principal cities, also, the rate of discount was below the 
 minimum in London. At Hamburg, Frankfort, and Brussels, it was 
 4 per cent.; at Amsterdam it was 5 per cent.; and at Paris 5f jjer cent. 
 The operations in the English funds were not on a scale of magnitude. 
 Subsequently, however, they increased, and prices were comparativelj^ 
 buoyant. The range of fluctuation was about 2 percent., but an advance 
 of It per cent, continued supported. The prospect of a settlement of the 
 Persian question, the easier state of money, and the success of the minis- 
 try with the budget, were circumstances which influenced business, and 
 caused the more favourable feeling appai'ent. A rise of from 1 to 2 per 
 cent, occurred in the principal foreign securities. The amount of specu- 
 lation was not great, but the improvement, whicli had been gradual, was 
 fairly sustained. Turkish, Russian, and Dutch attracted the greatest 
 attention, although some of the other descriptions were more freely dealt 
 in. The railway share market at length exhibited symptoms of renewed 
 vitality, prices advanced, and business generally improved. Greater con- 
 fidence was manifested by the public as well as the dealers, and the result 
 was a much more favourable state of business. The demand for accom- 
 modation to carry out operations, although large, was not pressing, and 
 the rates consequently were rather lower. The following were the failures 
 during 
 
 Febbuaey. 
 
 Messrs. Jennings and Hargreaves, stuff merchants, Bradford. 
 
 Mr, G. Siche), German trade, London.
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 173 
 
 Messrs. C. Frungliiadi and Sons, Greek trade, London. 
 Messrs. Vuros Brothers, Greek trade, London. 
 Messrs. Sinanides and Co., Greek trade, London. 
 Mr. J. Basilio, Greek trade, Manchester. 
 
 The course of financial and mcreaulilo affairs during March, was not 
 distinguished by much variety. The pressure in the money market did 
 not diminish, but altliough the rates at the Bank of England and in Lom- 
 bard Street were supported at their former elevation, the public sustained 
 little inconvenience. Several gold vessels arrived from Australia, and 
 remittances were received from America, but nearly the whole, if not the 
 whole, were purchased to supply the demand on the Continent, and to 
 provide the large amount of silver forwarded to India and CJiina. But 
 while this was the case, and the withdrawals from the Bank slightly aug- 
 mented, the stock of bullion was kept in a favourable position by the 
 return of coin from Ireland and Scotland, and the influx of specie from 
 Turkey, the Levant, etc., and consequently the weekly returns did not 
 occasion alarm. The adjustment of the accounts at the Stock Exchange 
 were now regarded with some anxiety, as they temporarily influenced the 
 value of money, and led, during the progress of their arrangement, to an 
 increased call in all quarters. There was little expectation of a return to 
 ease, since the heavy advances made by the Bank would have to be repaid 
 when the April dividends were distributed, and no great surplus could be 
 retained from the further remittances immediately anticipated from Aus- 
 tralia. Indeed, it seemed to be believed, by those conversant with the 
 probable future of the money market, that any relaxation could not be 
 looked for previously to the turn of the half year, and that a great deal 
 would then depend upon the progress of the crops and the general state 
 of trade. It was stated that it would be requisite to bear in mind that 
 even a favourable alteration, at this advanced period, would also be sub- 
 ject to the disposition evinced to encourage speculative business, and that 
 if attempts were made to launch numerous joint-stock schemes, they 
 would at once retard and perhaps permanently delay the movement. The 
 bankers and discount establishments were well supplied with capital, but 
 some of the latter incurred losses through the recent failures. This was 
 expected from the competition to secure business, especially since the 
 organization of discount companies and the introduction of several new 
 joint-stock banks. The rates for money on the Continent presented little 
 alteration, with the exception of Hamburg, in which city they gradually 
 advanced to 5^ per cent., owing to the contimious operations in silver. 
 The range of prices in Consols was about one per cent., but the actual 
 decline did not exceed three-eighths. The operations were wholly influ- 
 enced by the events connected with the dissolution of Parliament, which 
 occurred on the 21st of the month ; and although at length there was a 
 trifling recovery, sales on the average preponderated. Foreign securities 
 were dealt in to some extent, but Turkish and Mexican took the lead. A 
 rise in both these descriptions occurred, though the former alone main- 
 tained the improvement. Mexican, after advancing about 2i per cent., 
 receded nearly l-j ; the treaty with America, through which pecuniary
 
 174 THE PROGRESS OP THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 assistance was proposed, having been rejected. In railway shares there 
 ■was fluctuation to the extent of about £4 or £5 per share. After a general 
 improvement, a reaction ensued, and medium quotations were those even- 
 tually current. Annexed were the failures during 
 
 March. 
 Messrs. Swayne and Bovill, merchants and patentees of machinery, London. 
 Messrs. Clieape and Leslie, East India trade, Loudon. 
 Mr. 0. Foa, seed merchant, London. 
 Mr. E. Train, merchant, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. F. W. Stein and Co., silk trade, London. 
 Messrs. Barnes, Copland, and Co., provision merchants, London. 
 Messrs. R. James Brown and Co., timber mercliants and shipbuilders, Sunderland. 
 
 In April, financial and mercantile affairs did not present an encouraging 
 appearance. The increased pressure for money, followed by the restric- 
 tive measures of the Bank of England, was attended by an unfavourable 
 influence, and checked activity in all departments. Considering, ho\i ever, 
 the lengthened prevalence of the stringency, and the small prospects of 
 an immediate change, trade was considered to be in a remarkably healthy 
 state. With money at 6| per cent., and a steady efflux of the precious 
 metals, the position of credit could scarcelj^ be expected to have been so 
 well maintained, and il was consequently, for the moment, considered a 
 cause for general congratulation. The ai'rivals of gold from Australia 
 were enormous, reaching upwards of £1,250,000, but only about £350,000 
 was purchased by the Bank. Contracts were again open for France, and 
 since a demand existed not only to supply the necessities of the Bank of 
 France and of the Credit Mobilier, but also to ])ay for silver in course of 
 shipment to the East, the greater portion of immediate remittances 
 would be absorbed. It was curious to watch the anxiety manifested to 
 ascertain the destination of any quantity of gold received, and its delivery 
 at the Bank, while the fact of its retention or despatch appeared to be 
 recorded with the greatest minuteness. Money, which was rather easier 
 towards the middle of the month, again became in active request, and the 
 foreign stock and share settlements, which were in progress, with the pay- 
 ments of the 4th of the month, assisted to diminish the amount available in 
 the open market. The rates of accommodation abroad were still high. At 
 Hamburg the rate of discount was maintained at 7 per cent. ; in Paris the 
 demand was active at 6 per cent. ; in Amsterdam the rate remained at 4 per 
 cent., while in Belgiimi it was 31. The prices of English stocks expe- 
 rienced some fluctuation. One and a-half per cent, was the range in Con- 
 sols, a decline having taken place from 93| to 92^. There was subse- 
 quently a reaction of about one-half per cent., but quotations continued 
 unsettled, and a fresh decline seemed not improbable. The pressure for 
 money, and the uncertainty of future prospects, appeared to stimulate 
 speculative sales. Exchequer bills were seriously depressed, having 
 touched lOs. discount, but they afterwards recovered to par. Foreign 
 securities also exhibited a relapse. Turkish and Mexican were principally 
 affected, the Tiu-kish Six per Cents, particularly showing au adverse move.
 
 THE PROGRESS OF TUE YEAR 1857. 175 
 
 meut. The alleged failure of the project of the National Bank caused 
 some disappointment, and holders who were interested realized. Mexican 
 was weak, and Spanish showed heaviness, the dealers in any description 
 being unprepared to support prices, llailvvay shares were heavy, and the 
 best classes receded £3 to £4 per share. Quotations opened, at the com- 
 mencement of the month, with firmness, and there was subsequently a 
 general rise, traffic returns being satisfactory, and the public appearing as 
 buyers. The alteration in the rate of discount by the Bank directors, 
 however, soon caused a change, and with the increased tightness of money, 
 quotations gradually gave way. The following were the failures during 
 
 Apkil. 
 Mr. A. Marks, .shipbuilder, Sunderland. 
 General Wood-cutting Company, limber trade, London. 
 Mr. William Fitclier, shipbuilder, Nortlifleet. 
 
 The financial and mercantile events of May did not present features of 
 interesst. Favourable weather and receipts of specie from Australia and 
 America assisted to keep things in a steady position, but the demand for 
 money was yet sufficient to prevent any reduction in the rates of discount. 
 The Bank having discontinued advances on stock, the speculators could 
 not command the usual facilities, and many, consequently, closed outstand- 
 ing accounts. Silver continued to be remitted to India and China in large 
 quantities, the proportion taken for Hong Kong and Shanghae being very 
 considerable, and hence gold wns absorbed to make the necessary pur- 
 chases. It was also believed that the directors of the Bank of France had 
 placed contracts at the disposal of their brokers, in case supplies might 
 be required. A few failures occurred, but none of them were considered 
 important, or as in any way indicating a general lapse in credit. English 
 stocks fluctuated about 1^ per cent.; and Consols, after descending to 
 92^, rallied to nearly the highest point. Occasional symptoms of ease 
 in the money market were apparent, but they did not prove permanent, 
 and hence the range noticeable. Purchases by the Government broker, 
 who was re-investing the proceeds of the Exchequer bonds lately held by 
 the Commissioners of Savings' Banks, tended to keep the value of the un- 
 funded debt in a firm position. Foreign securities were dealt in to only 
 a limited extent. From about 1 to 2 per cent, was the outside margin of 
 fluctuation, and the dealers, having at first sold for a fall, subsequently 
 operated for a rise. Railway shares declined from the highest prices of 
 the month, but, compared with the opening, they closed about the same. 
 The following failures occurred in 
 
 May. 
 
 Messrs. Barker and Co., timber trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Thomas Bigcjs and Son, drug and wine merchants, London. 
 
 Messrs. Edward J. Hambro and Co., general mercliants, London and Newcastle. 
 
 Messrs. M'Alpin and Nephew, warehousemen, London. 
 
 Mr. G. Dogherty, provision and corn trade, LiverpooL 
 
 Notwithstanding the public showed greater coufidence in the general 
 prospects of monetary and commercial affairs during June, there was
 
 17G THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 mucli less activity tlian ruiglit have been supposed, from the fact of the 
 Bank directors having reduced the rate of discount from tU to G per cent. 
 In addition, the favourable advices of the crops, and the announcement 
 that the authorities of the Bank of France had also lowered their terms 
 for the negotiation of commercial paper from 6 to 5^ per cent., should have 
 exercised a favourable influence, but the public did not appear prepared 
 to promote speculation, especially while the drain to the East continued of 
 so alarming a nature. The returns of the Banks of England and France 
 steadily improved, but the former was in the more satisfactory position ; 
 the influx of Australian and American gold having, after providing for the 
 requirements of the Continent, left a respectable surplus, which was pur- 
 chased on account of the National Establishment. The rate of money at 
 the Stock Exchange touched as high as 7 and 7| per cent, on English 
 securities, but it subsequently receded to about 6 per cent., with a 
 moderate demand. At Paris the rate was 5\ to per cent., and at Ham- 
 bui'g 7 per cent. The imports of the precious metals during the month 
 amoimted to about £4,387,000, and the exports to £5,330,000. The fluc- 
 tuations in English securities were about 1 per cent., and the transactions 
 were not very numerous. Although a little stimulus was aflbrded to 
 prices, through the reduction in the rate of discount by the Bank of 
 England and the Bank of France, the purchases subsequently diminished, 
 and there was much stagnation in business. A heavy "biill" account 
 continued open, which prevented any elasticity in prices, and the result 
 was that a few sales kept the market in a quiescent state. The operations 
 in foreign stocks were not extensive, and the only buyers were the Greek 
 speculators, who entertained favourable views with respect to the 
 future. Turkisli and llussian exhibited the greatest advance. Spanish 
 American securities presented little change, and Dutch continued 
 steady. The railway share market exhibited some fluctuation, but 
 prices on the average improved; the rise was about 305. to £2 per share. 
 The principal rise was in guaranteed securities, and the heavier descrip- 
 tions, after advancing, experienced a partial relapse. The folloM'iug 
 failures occurred in 
 
 Messrs. Gotcli and Sons, bankers, Kettering. 
 
 Messrs. Smilli, Hildor, Sinitli, and Scrivens, bankers, Hasthigs. 
 
 Messrs. Ev.ius, Hoare, and Co., Austraiiau trade, London. 
 
 Mr. William Macintosb, manufacturer, Manebester. 
 
 Messrs. J. Langton and Co., sliip-brokers, Liverjjool. 
 
 The position of affairs in July was satisfactorj', and the large infliix of 
 gold from Australia and America enabled the Bank directors to reduce the 
 rate of discount to 5| per cent. At the same time, the authorities of the 
 Bank of France exhibited a disposition to relax their restrictive measures ; 
 and while they lessened the rate of interest on treasury bonds, they also 
 reduced the rate for advances on public securities from G to Si per cent. 
 These features would, under ordinary circumstances, have assisted an 
 upward movement in prices, but the alarm occasioned by the spread of the 
 insurrection in India, not alone checked a rise, but j^roduced a contrary
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 177 
 
 effect, and stimulated sales on the part of speculators, through which a 
 fall of at least 1 per cent, occurred. Great auxiety was evinced to ascer- 
 tain the probable result of the outbreak upon the financial resources of the 
 East India Company ; and until some information transpired, it was felt 
 that the uneasiness lately apparent would continue. Everything in other 
 respects was favourable to an amelioration of the money market — the 
 accounts of the crops in England, throughout Europe, and America being 
 of the most gratifying character, it was hoped that the rate of discount 
 would recede to 5 per cent., or a fraction below that point. The 
 variation in the English funds did not exceed 1| per cent., while the 
 actual decline was about 1 jjer cent. This was to have been anticipated 
 from the character of the Indian news, and the anxiety to ascertain the 
 prospect of future accounts. The reduction in the Bank's rate of discount 
 and in the increased ease in the money market would have, no doubt, 
 caused a further improvement in the value of Consols, but a heavy " bull" 
 account being open, and the advices by the Overland mail being doubtful, 
 there was a succession of sales, which caused this depression. Although 
 in foreign stocks the transactions were limited, the speculators continued 
 to sell stock. Turkish were rather lower, and there was little expectation 
 of a recovery while Greek failures took place, and it remained the medium 
 for extensive gambling. Russian advanced about 2 per cent., and the 
 quotation was firm at the improvement. Mexican and Peruvian were 
 steady, with an average amount of business. In the railway share market 
 there had been a tendency to decline, but prices were not so low as in the 
 middle of the month, and quotations slightly recovered. East Indian 
 shares dropped nearly 9 per cent., but the receipt of favourable intelli- 
 gence would, it was thought, occasion a strong rebound. French shares 
 had also been seriously affected, the state of business on the Bourse having 
 caused a general depreciation. The annexed failures occurred in 
 
 July. 
 
 Mr. H. Scbwabe, broker, Liverpool. 
 Mr. J. P. Giustiniani, merchant, London. 
 
 The state of mercantile and financial affairs in August was not unsa- 
 tisfactory. Had the intelligence from India been of a more encouraging 
 character, general circumstances in other respects would have produced 
 greater animation in business. Large arrivals of gold from Australia 
 and America, with the very favourable progress of the harvest, assisted to 
 keep the money market in a more steady position ; and although no reduc- 
 tion in the rate of discount had taken place, the general demand on 
 occasions was less urgent. The influx of bullion placed the accounts of 
 the Bank of England in a better position, but the purchases of silver for 
 export to the East, with some operations in gold on account of the Bank 
 of France, prevented any great amelioration in the terms of accommo- 
 dation. A more than usual number of failures took place this month, 
 but they occurred principally from over-speculation in the provinces, 
 where credit proved to be less sound than in the metropolis. High rates 
 of disco\mt prevailed on the Continent, especially at Hamburg, the current 
 
 N
 
 178 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 quotations having at one moment readied 7 per cent,, but it was now 
 quoted 6 per cent. Operations in the English stock market caused a 
 range of about If per cent., but there w^as a considerable recovery from 
 the lowest price, so that on the average the decline was scarcely more 
 than 5 per cent. The greater part of the fluctuations were produced by 
 the nature of the advices from India, but the increased abundance of 
 money, with the less unfavourable state of the exchanges, caused greater 
 confidence whenever the first effect of the telegraphic accounts subsided. 
 A sudden rise on purchases by the public occurred about the middle of 
 the month, but a reaction soon ensued, the speculators having again come 
 forward and sold. India stock and bonds continued heavy, but the dealers 
 had not speculated to any great extent. Bank stock and Exchequer bills 
 presented no important variation. Foreign securities fluctuated from 1 
 to 3 per cent., and at the close showed rather increased firmness. The 
 operators did not adventure largely, though late in the month they showed 
 a greater disposition to purchase. In Turkish, the operations had been 
 on the most extensive scale, but less speculative activity was now visible 
 in this department. The Eailway share market suffered to a serious 
 extent, but a slight recovery took place in quotations. Some influence 
 was exerted by the arrangement of the account, money having been in 
 less demand than expected. The operators apparently sold largely for the 
 faU, and being compelled to repurchase, there was a corresponding re- 
 action in prices. The results of the half-yearly meetings, as far as they 
 had transpired, were of a mixed character, but in many cases the manage- 
 ment appeared to have imi^roved, and higher dividends were in some cases 
 declared. Great Westerns proved an especial exception, and from 64|- 
 declined to 51. Two or three failures occurred on the Stock Exchange, 
 owing to losses sustained through the fluctuation in prices. The subjoined 
 failures were announced in 
 
 August. 
 
 Messrs. Rutty, Hall, and Co., warehousemen, London. 
 
 Messrs. Carr Brothers and Co., coalowners, Newcastle. 
 
 Mtssrs. Milrose and Hussey, ironfounders, Dudley. 
 
 Messrs. T. Ashmore and Sons, drysalters, London. 
 
 Mr. T. H. Hayes, corn factor, Livei'pool. 
 
 Messrs. Buchanan, Brown, and Co., produce brokers, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. Dumbell, Son, and Howard, bankers, Isle of Man. 
 
 Mr. W. Eassie, contractor, Gloucester. 
 
 Mr. T. Stewart, manufacturer, Stockport. 
 
 Messrs. Bruford, Dyer, and Co., African trade, Bristol. 
 
 Messrs. Jones and Moore, soap manufacturers, Bristol. 
 
 In September there was great stagnation in public affairs. Depres- 
 sion, unfortunately, was the order of the day, through the political 
 position of India ; and the anxiety evinced to ascertain the nature of the 
 intelligence by each mail, showed the importance attached to the progress 
 of events in that quarter of the globe. The result was, that business 
 continued checked, uneasiness was created, and a general heaviness pro-
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857, 179 
 
 duced, which, ■without severely affecting monetary or mercantile iutorcsta 
 prevented activity. The value of money was w^eU supported, and there 
 was evidently no expectation of a decline, the efflux of specie to the Con- 
 tinent, with the advance in the rates of discount at Amsterdam, Ham- 
 burg, and Berlin to O-^- per cent., causing some parties, on the contrary, 
 to believe that a prospect exists of a movement in the other direction. 
 Notwithstanding large Australian remittances had been received, the 
 drain to France and Hamburg excited some apprehension, particularly 
 since the disturbances in the money circles of the United States, where 
 pressure and panic prevailed, had caused shipments of gold to be 
 suspended. Trade generally appeared to be scarcely so sound as formerly, 
 and the failures in the provinces, although unimportant, indicated that 
 weak firms could not resist the effects of the late maintenance of the rates 
 for mercantile accommodation. The minimum of the Bank of England 
 had not varied, while in Lombard Street the rate was fully 5| per cent. 
 The range in English stocks was about \\ j)er cent., and a decline of 1 per 
 cent, was established. The fall appeai'ed gradual, with an absence of 
 animation in business, the advices from India continuing to exercise an 
 unfavourable influence upon prices. An increased demand for money 
 likewise tended to create an unsettled feeling. Exchequer bills were not 
 supported, and as the East India Company were understood to be selling, 
 the quotation had descended to IO5. discount. Foreign stocks were com- 
 paratively inactive, and a decline had occurred in several of the leading 
 descriptions. Peruvian, Mexican, and Turkish were lower, the reaction 
 having been mainly produced by speculative sales. Bailway shares 
 fluctuated to the extent of 2 or 4 per cent., and there was still a decline of 
 1 to 3 per cent, upon the quotations at the commencement of the month. 
 The following were the failures in 
 
 Septembeb. 
 Messrs. Warburton and Omersbaw, silk trade, Manchester. 
 Messrs. H. F. Fardon and Co., soap trade, Bromsgrove. 
 Mr. A. Crosfield, merchant, Bristol. 
 Messrs. G. Wyld and Sons, distillers, Bristol. 
 Messrs. Perron and Co., merchants, Bristol. 
 Mr. W. Summerskill, silk trade, Manchester. 
 Mr. Lynd, oil trade, Leeds. 
 
 Messrs. Harrison, Watson, and Co., bankers, Hull. 
 Messrs. Taylor and Bright, corn merchants, Hull. 
 
 The state of financial and mercantile affairs in October was considerably 
 influenced by the advance in the Bank rate of discount from 5| to 8 per 
 cent. The American crisis, with its attendant consequences, including 
 the suspension of banks, and the failure of the principal firms, produced 
 great stringency in the money market, while the raising of large sums by 
 the East India Company assisted to increase the pressure. The value of 
 money on the Continent further advanced, and the terms of the Bank of 
 France had risen to O.5 per cent., which showed that the absorption of 
 capital was general. It was satisfactory, however, to notice that, not- 
 withstanding failures of magnitude in the country, London was compara-
 
 180 THi; PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857, 
 
 tively free from embarrassment, and great confidence was felt in tlie 
 ultimate adjustment of mei'cantile relations. Shipments of gold were 
 made to America to tlie extent of about £750,000, and it was thought that 
 a further amount, equal if it did not exceed that total, would be forwarded 
 to meet balances and purchase produce and securities. To the East, by 
 the mail of the 4th, silver to the extent of at least £1,000,000 would be 
 despatched. The Continental rates of money varied 6^ per cent, at Paris, 
 to 8i per cent, at Hamburg, the effects of the crisis in the United States 
 having been largely experienced in that city. With the Bank of England 
 rate at 8 per cent., and the joint-stock banks in a position to allow 7 per 
 cent, for deposits, no great activity in business could be expected. In 
 English securities this month, the range was about 3J per cent., but the 
 actual fall had uot exceeded 1^ per cent. It was to have been presumed 
 that a decline woidd take place in prices, but the extreme fluctuation, after 
 all, was uot important, considering the vicissitudes through which the 
 mercantile community had passed. Exchequer bills were heavy, at 
 about 15s. to 10s. discount, but the great depreciation occurred in Indian 
 bonds, which were quoted at 40 per cent, discount. Foreign stocks did 
 not vary in any great degree, but the decline in the several descriptions 
 was from 1 to 3 per cent., with moderate transactions. Brazilian, Buenos 
 Ayres, and Dutch receded 2 per cent.; Russian, 2; and Mexican, 1 per 
 cent. Hallway shares were of course affected by the extraordinary posi- 
 tion of business, sales of the various descriptions having been freely made ; 
 the fluctuation being from 2 to 5 per cent. The late pressure brought 
 various descriptions to market, but quotations in a measure slightly 
 recovered. 
 
 October. 
 
 Messrs. J. and J. Beard, silk trade, Manchester. 
 
 Messrs. J. Monteith and Co., merclmnts and manufacturers, Glasgow. 
 
 Messrs. Macdonald and Co., merchants and manufacturers, London and Glasgow. 
 
 Messrs. Wallace and Co., merchants and manufacturers, Glasgow. 
 
 Mr. Hugh Fergusson, stuff merchant, Manchester and Bradford. 
 
 Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., Canadian merchants, London. 
 
 Mr. S. F. Stephens, bill-broker, London. 
 
 Messrs. Scarratt and Partington, Blackwell Hall, factors, London. 
 
 Messrs. AfHeck and M'Kerrovv, Scotch warehousemen, Manchester. 
 
 Mr. W. B. West, haberdasher, Manchester. 
 
 Mr. John Little, milliner, Manchester. 
 
 Mr. Edmund Whitehead, silk maiuifacturer, Middleton. 
 
 Messrs. Whan, M'Lean, and Co,, manufacturer?, Glasgow. 
 
 Messrs. Auld and Buchanan, merchants and shippers, Glasgow. 
 
 Mr. Jas. Condie, writer, Perth. 
 
 Messrs. Chas. Smith and Co., provision trade, Manchester. 
 
 The Liverpool Borough Bank, bankers, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. Thornton, Iluggins, Ward, and Co., American trade, Iluddersfield, etc. 
 
 Messrs. J. S. De Wolf and Co., shipowners, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. Gould and Davis, wine merchants, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. Robert Morrow, Son, and Garbutt, timber merchants, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. John Haly and Co., New York and Canadian trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. J. Jaffray and Co., ship and insurance brokers, London. 
 
 Mr. Caporn, lace dealer, Nottingham.
 
 THE PROGRESS OV THE YEAR 1857. 181 
 
 The coiirae of financial and mercantile affiiira during November was of 
 the moat chequered eharacter. With a further advance in the rate of 
 diaeount from 8 to 10 per cent., the occurreuce of a criaia, and the aua- 
 pensioQ of the Bank Charter Act, it might readily be auppoaed the position 
 of business was not satisfactory, while the number of failures which took 
 place created general gloom and despondency. In this condition of 
 things, the issue of the Government letter produced aome benefit, but it 
 did not immediately effect a full i-esuscitation, the panic having progressed 
 too far to render ita operation immediate. The consequences of the sus- 
 pensions, dangerous as they were, did not prove so pernicious as might 
 have been anticipated, though the character and importance of the houses 
 showed the effect of continuous high rates of discount upon the commer- 
 cial community. A steady restoration of confidence was expected, but it 
 was nevertheless thought it would, under any circumstances, be slow and 
 progressive, the shock given by the revulsion having created excessive 
 apprehension. The speculators were not so active during this panic as 
 they were in that of 1847, although unfounded rumours were from time 
 to time circulated with respect to the position of houses whose credit 
 remained undoubted. The influx of the precious metals and the advice 
 of additional remittances from Australia would, it was felt, assist to ease 
 the condition of the money market, the recovery in America being like- 
 wise calculated to facilitate the movement. At one period during the 
 crisis, it was almost impossible to negotiate paper at all, the charge under 
 the most favourable circumstances being 12 and 15 per cent. Within the 
 last few days of the month greater readiness was manifested to discount, 
 and the quotation by the principal brokers receded to a fraction below 10 
 per cent. The imports of the precious metals continued on a large scale, 
 and sovereigns were rapidly returning from Scotland and Ireland, the run 
 for gold in those localities having terminated. English securities fluc- 
 tuated from 3 to 4 per cent., but they eventually showed a general 
 recovery. Of course, great depression took place in the midst of the 
 panic, the operations having been on the adverse side. From 90| they 
 dropped to 87f , but although the speculators exhibited a desire to carry 
 out further transactions for the fall, the public became piirchasers, and 
 created a reaction, which terminated in a general advance. Exchequer 
 bills were quoted 4 discount to par, and Bank stock 215 to 216. Foreign 
 stocks varied to the extent of between 2 and 4 per cent. The operations, 
 even at the most unfavourable period, did not produce a great effect, the 
 speculators, through fears of a sudden change, not having the courage to 
 enter into important transactions. Quotations at the close of the month 
 were generally better, the infiuence of the latest purchases having proved 
 in a degree beneficial. Eailway shares, as might have been supposed, 
 experienced a decline of from 4 to 5 per cent. The dealings showed that 
 some speculative operations occurred through the despondency created by 
 the panic, but the decline, after all, was not extensive, compared with the 
 gravity of the events which had taken place. Joint-stock bank shares 
 suffered from sales, and at one period of the month there was considerable 
 depreciation. The disgracefid reports cii-culated with respect to the situa- 
 tion of these establishments, and the extent to which it was said the
 
 182 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 deposits had been trenclied upon, caused temporary apprehension, but the 
 alarm j)roved groundless. The following failures occurred in 
 
 NOVEMBEE. 
 Messrs. R. Wilson, Hallett, and Co., merchants, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. Powles Brothers and Co., Spanish American trade, London. 
 *Messrs Naylor, Vickers, and Co., iron and steel merchants, ShefHeld, etc. 
 Messrs. W. Orr and Co., merchants, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. J. and A. Dennistoun, Cross, and Co., American bankers and exchange 
 
 agents, London, etc. 
 The Western Bank of Scotland, bankers, Glasgow. 
 Messrs, Bennoch, Twentyman, and Rigg, silk trade, London. 
 Messrs. Broadwood and Barclay, West India merchants, London. 
 Messrs. Iloge and Co., merchants, Liverpool. 
 *Messrs. Henry Dutilh and Co., merchants, Liverpool. 
 *Mes8rs. B. F. Babcock and Co., American trade, Liverpool, etc. 
 Messrs. Foot and Co., silk manufacturers, London. 
 *The City of Glasgow Bank, bankers, Glasgow. 
 Messrs. Sanderson, Sandeman, and Co., bill-brokers, London. 
 Messrs. Bruce, Wilkinson, and Co., bill-brokers, London. 
 Messrs. Wilson, Morgan, and Co., wholesale stationers, London. 
 Messrs. Fitch and Skeet, provision merchants, London. 
 ♦Messrs. T. B. Coddington and Co., iron merchants, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. Mackenzie, Ramsay, and Co., merchants, Dundee. 
 Messrs. Draper, Pietroni, and Co., Mediterranean trade, London. 
 Messrs. Stegman and Co., manufacturers, Nottingham. 
 Messrs. Bowman, Grinnell, and Co., American trade, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. E. Bainbridge and Co., American trade, London. 
 Messrs. Munro, Grant, and Co., timber merchants, Swansea. 
 Messrs. Jellicoe and Wix, Turkey merchants, Loudon. 
 Messrs. Jose P. De Sa and Co., Brazilian trade, London. 
 Messrs. Bardgett and Picard, grain trade, London. 
 Messrs. F. C. Perry, iron trade, Wolverhampton. 
 Messrs. W. Riley and Sons, iron trade, Wolverhampton. 
 The Woh"erhampton Iron Company, iron manufacturers, Wolverhampton. 
 Messrs. Solly Brothers, iron trade, Wolverhampton. 
 Messrs. Rose, Higgins, and Rose, iron trade, Wolverhampton. 
 
 *The Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Banking Company, bankers, Wolverhampton. 
 Messrs. Iloare, Buxton, and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Edwards and Matthie, produce brokers, London. 
 Messrs. Clayton and M'Keveringan, shipbuilders, Liverpool. 
 Messrs. E. Sievekingand Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Allen, Smith, and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Svendson and Johnson, North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Gorrissen, Hiiffol, and Co., American bankers and exchange brokers, London. 
 Messrs. Brocklesby and Wessels, corn importers, London. 
 *Messrs. J. R. Thomson and Co., Cape and Australian trade, London. 
 Messrs. Herman Sillem and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Carr, Josling, and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 Messrs. Alexander Ilintz and Co., North of Europe trade, Loudon. 
 Messrs. Penistou and Marshall, American provision merchants, London, 
 Mr. Jonathan Bottomloy, bpinner, Bradford.
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 183 
 
 Messrs. Godfrey, Pattison, and Co., merchants, Glasgow. 
 
 The Northumberland and Durham Bank, bankers, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
 
 Messrs. Rohder and Bolderaann, North of Europe trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. T. Morris and Sons, iron trade, Wolverhampton. 
 
 Mr, A. Cruickshank, corn trade, Glasgow. 
 
 Mr. J. J. Wright, cotton broker, Glasgow. 
 
 Messrs. H. Hoffman and Co., German trade, London. 
 
 Mr. T. Mellidew, commission agent, London. 
 
 Note. — The firms marked with an asterisk have resumed business. 
 
 During December the progress of the crisis, and the numerous failures 
 which followed, engrossed attention, and caused anxiety to be manifested 
 to trace the results of the existing distress. It was feared early in the 
 month that the pressure might be prolonged through the continuance of 
 mercantile disasters and the disinclination of the banks to afford accom- 
 modation, especially as the appearance of the Government letter did not 
 immediately produce the desired relief. Subsequently the influx of specie 
 with the more favourable advices from America and Hamburg created 
 greater confidence, and a partial recovery was then apparent. The Bank 
 of France having twice reduced the rate of discount, till, at length, it 
 descended to 6 per cent, for all classes of mercantile paper (with the pro- 
 spect of being eventually down to 5 per cent.), the public appeared induced 
 to believe that the favourable reaction had set in, and this was subse- 
 quently confirmed by the Bank of England reducing the rate from 10 to 8 
 per cent. The large arrivals of Australian and American gold, with remit- 
 tances from Turkej"-, Russia, etc., rapidly augmented the stock of bullion, 
 and the reserve of notes having reached a satisfactory position, the over 
 issue of £2,000,000 was repaid to the proper department. The crisis was, 
 therefore, considered to have terminated, and the opinion was entertained 
 that, with the restrictions which would necessarily be placed upon 
 business, the accumulation of capital could not faU. to be more rapid than 
 ever. The reduction of the rate of discount by the Bank of England, 
 which took place upon the 24th, would, it was presumed, be followed by 
 additional alterations on the favourable side, and some were sanguine enough 
 to predict that, in the course of the next six or seven weeks, 5 or 6 per 
 cent, would be the extreme quotation. Although the failures of the month 
 included a number of important mercantile establishments, the extent of 
 overtrading was fully developed by the nature of the balance-sheets ex- 
 hibited, and notwithstanding dividends were, in many cases, better than 
 was supposed, still the pernicious effects of late operations were made 
 clearly visible. The panic feeling^which pervaded the English stock market 
 checked business, and sales produced a further speedy decline. When, 
 however, money became easier, and a report was circulated that the Bank 
 would shortly be enabled to reduce the rate, great firmness was apparent, 
 and a steady rise occurred of 2^ per cent., at which point quotations were 
 supported. Exchequer bills fluctuated between 5 discount and 2 pre- 
 mium ; and eventually stood at par. Bank and India stocks were firmer 
 with a greater amouut of business, and affairs in this department appeared
 
 184 THE PllOGRESS OF THE YEAR 1857. 
 
 altogether better. In foreign stocks there was increased activity, and the 
 speculators purcliased freely for the rise. The iniproyement was most 
 apparent in Turkish. Mexican, and Russian, each of which recovered 2 to 
 3 per cent., although the operations were of rather a mixed character. 
 Eailway shares were more extensively operated in, and notwithstanding 
 the items of traffic showed unfavourable results, purchasers of the various 
 descriptions supported prices. The recovery, on the average, was from 4 
 to 5 per cent., with a satisfactory market, and the dealers seemed inclined 
 to consider that quotations might yet go higher. French and Belgian 
 shares also improved, though the ptirchases were not extensive. The sub- 
 joined were the failures in 
 
 December. 
 
 Messrs. Hermann Cox and Co., cotton trade, London and Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. BischofF, Beeret, and Co., merchants, Loudon. 
 
 Messrs. Mendes Da Costa and Co., West India trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Keiser and Co., German trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Barber, Kosenauer, and Co., general merchants, London. 
 
 Messrs. Hirsch, Strother, and Co,, German trade, Loudon. 
 
 Mr. G. C. Pim, corn trade, Belfast. 
 
 Mr. P. Magee, shipowner, LiverpooL 
 
 Messrs. Fredericksen, Clunie, and Co., corn trade. West Hartlepool. 
 
 Messrs. F. and A. Bovet, China trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. C. A. Jonas and Co., merchants, London. 
 
 Messrs. Sewells and Neck, North of Europe trade, London. 
 
 Messrs, A. Pelly and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Krell and Cohn, commission agents, London. 
 
 Messrs. Hadland and Co., warehousemen, London, 
 
 Messrs. Lichtensteiu and Co., German trade, London . 
 
 Messrs, D. Couvella and Co., Greek trade, London. 
 
 Mr. W. R, Urain, iron and chain trade, Newcastle. 
 
 Messrs. Ogden and Fergusson, merchants, Newcastle. 
 
 Messrs. Heine, Semon, and Co., German bankers and exchange brokers, London. 
 
 Messrs. Weinholt, Wehner, and Co., East India and Australia trade, London, 
 
 Messrs. T. H. Elnienhorst and Co., German trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Montoya, Saenz, and Co., Spanish American trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. Farley, Lavender, and Co., bankers, Worcester. 
 
 Mr. G. T. Ward, Smithfield banker, London. 
 
 Messrs. 11. and M. Taldorph and Co., merchants, London. 
 
 Messrs. Hew, Prescott, and Co., North of Europe trade, London. 
 
 Messrs. R. Willey and Co., silk mercers, London. 
 
 Messrs. S. C. Lister and Co., worsted spinners, Halifax, 
 
 Messrs. Saalfield Brothers, German trade, London and Leeds. 
 
 Mr. E. Smith, woolstapler, London. 
 
 Messrs. W. Cheesbrough and Son, wool merchants, Bradford. 
 
 Messrs. W. Yewdall and Co., wool merchants, Rawdon, near Leeds. 
 
 Messrs. Jonathan Hills and Sons, bankers, Dartford and Gravesend. 
 
 Messrs. Powell and Sons, warehousemen, London. 
 
 Messrs. W. Dray and Co., agricultural implement makers, London. 
 
 Messrs. Kliiigenden Brothers, American trade, Liverpool. 
 
 Messrs. Charles Nicholson and Co., v/.arehousemen, London, 
 
 Messrs. Lloyd Brothers, wholesale picture dealers and exporters, London.
 
 FOREION AND AMKRICAN FAILURES IN 1857. 185 
 
 Mr. W. Reid, wliolesalo grocer, Edinburgh. 
 
 Messrs. W. G. Haigh, woollen trade, Bradford. 
 
 Messrs. Hans Marcher and Co., Dutch trade, Hull. 
 
 Messrs. Stevenson, Viemehren, and Scott, merchants, Newcastle. 
 
 Messrs. Greensladc and Co., corn trade, Bristol. 
 
 FOEEiaN AND AMEEICAN FAILIJEES IN 1857. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. Tenney and Co., Boston, United States, carpet dealers. 
 
 „ Mr. Peirce Butler, Philadelphia, stock speculator. 
 Feb. Messrs. Kellj, Townsend, and Co., New York, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. C. B. Fessenden, Boston, merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wetherell Brothers, 33oston, merchants. 
 Mar. Messrs. Dodge, Bacon, and Co., London and Newark, United States, 
 merchants and patentees, subsequently resumed. 
 
 „ Messrs. Green and Co., bankers, Paris. 
 
 „ Messrs. Alexander Frear and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Blashfield and Co., New York. 
 April. Mr. Bettman, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Valie and Co., Paris and Havre, bankers. 
 IVIay. Messrs. C. Thurueyssen, Paris, banker and stock dealer. 
 
 „ Messrs. Whitney, Fenno, and Co., Boston, United States, importers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Chapman, Lord, and Uale, Boston, United States, importers. 
 
 „ Messi's. Shaw, Sampson, and Bramliall, Boston, United States, importers. 
 July. M. Giustiniani, Constantinople, merchant. 
 Oct. M. Nessin Soldal, Marseilles, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. Boskowitz, Pesth, commission merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Malanotti and Co., Vienna, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Balabio and Co., Milan, bankers. 
 
 The failures announced to have taken place in the United States, during the 
 crisis in the months of September and October, were said to exceed nine hundred, 
 but the most important estabhshments appear in the subjoined hst. It slioidd be 
 added that many of these estabhshments idtimately resmned payment : — 
 
 Oct. Messrs. E. C. Bates and Co., Boston, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Whiting and Hinds, Boston, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Brewster and Co., Rochester, bankers. 
 
 „ Mr. Joseph Fairweather, St. John's, New Brunswick. 
 
 „ The Ohio Life and Trust Company. 
 
 „ Messrs. De Laney, Isehn, and Clark, New York, foreign bill brokers. 
 
 „ Mr. E. S. Munroe, stock-broker. 
 
 „ Mr. Jolm Thompson, bank agent and share dealer. 
 
 „ Messrs. Tuttle, C'utting, and Co., New York, grain and floiu- trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bates, GrifHu, and Livermore, New York, dealers in grain. 
 
 „ Messrs. L. W. Ku-by and Co., Warren (Pen.), dry goods jobbers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Stilhnan, Allen, and Co., Boston, macliinist. 
 
 „ Messrs. Sai-oni and Goodheim, Boston, clotliiers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Beebe and Co., New York, bankers and bullion dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. H. Prentice and Co., New York, hat and fur dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Adams and Buckingham, New York, floiu- dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Breese, Kneeland, and Co., Jersey, car and locomotive maiui- 
 
 facturers. 
 
 „ The Mechanics' Bankmg Association, New York. 
 
 „ The Ontario County Bank. 
 
 The Bank of Orleans. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hatch and Langdon, Cinciimati. 
 
 „ The Rhode Island Central Bank. 
 
 „ Messrs. Allen and Son, Providence, Rhode Island, cloth printers. 
 
 „ Mr. H. AUen, Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
 „ Messrs. Reeves, Abbott, and Co., Pennsylvania, iron manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Reeves, Bii'ch, and Co., Pennsylvania.
 
 186 FOREIGN AND AMERICAN FAILURES IN 1857. 
 
 Oct. Messrs. Ilurlson, Robertson, and Fiilliam, New York, importers. 
 Mr. F. G. Swan, New York, warehouseman. 
 Mr. Stephen Colwell, Philaclelpliia, iroii merebant. 
 Bank of New Jersey. 
 
 ]\Iessrs. M. J. Bell and Co., New York, money dealers. 
 Messrs. L. and O. Kii-by, New Y''ork, importers. 
 Messrs. Fitzbugb and Littlejobn, Oswego, carriers. 
 Messrs. Grant, Sayles, and Co., produce receivers. 
 Messrs. C. II. Stone and Co., Boston. 
 Messrs. Conaut, Dodge, and Co., New York. 
 Mr. Philip Allen Torrs, Providence. 
 Mr. Z. Allen, Providence. 
 The Huguenot Bank, New Paltz. 
 Messrs. Pierre and Houlse, Wasliington. 
 Georgetown Bank of Commerce. 
 Messrs. Nasmith and Co., New Y'ork. 
 Messrs. Sword, WatUng, and Co., Pliiladelphia. 
 The Citizen Bank, Cincinnati. 
 Messrs. Collard and Hughes, Cincinnati. 
 
 Messrs. Davis, Suydam, Dubois, and Co., Eondoubt, Nova Scotia. 
 Messrs. Carpenter and Co., New York. 
 Messrs. Ward and Nash, Louisville. 
 Messrs. Clark, Dodge, and Co., New York, bankers. 
 Messrs. Pittits and Co., New York, importers of hardware and whale oU. 
 Messrs. P. Chonteau, jun., and Co., New York, merchants. 
 Messrs. Hutchinson, Zitfana, and Co., New York, warehousemen. 
 Messrs. Bowen, M'Hamee, and Co., New York, silk imjjorters. 
 Messrs. Levy and Co., Pliiladelpliia, importers of manui'actui'ed goods. 
 Messrs. Lawrence, Stone, and Co., Boston, extensive factory owners. 
 The Bank of Pennsylvania. 
 The Bank of Baltimore. 
 The Gu'ard Bank, Pliiladelphia. 
 
 Messrs. Bangs Brothers and Co., New York, trade sale auctioneers. 
 Messrs. Spencer and Porter, New York, grocers. 
 Messrs. L. J. Leny and Co., Philadelphia, dry goods trade. 
 Messrs. Smith, Murphy, and Co., Philadelphia, di-y goods trade. 
 Messrs. C. Hallowell and Co., Pliiladelpliia, dry goods trade. 
 Messrs. Fassett and Co., PhUadelpliia, dry goods dealers. 
 Messrs. Hieskell, Hoskin, and Co., Pliiladel])hia, dry goods merchants. 
 Messrs. Tennent and Den-ickson, Philadeli)liia, dry goods dealers. 
 Messrs. Caleb, Cope, and Co., PhUadelpliia, dry goods trade. 
 Messrs. Persse and Brooks, Philadelphia, paper manufacturers. 
 Mr. James Carter, Galena, merchant. 
 Messrs. Masterman and Co., New York. 
 The Union Straw Works, Foxboro'. 
 Messrs. Tyler and Wild, Rochester, shoe dealers. 
 Messrs. C. H. Mills and Co., Boston, domestic goods trade. 
 The Ellenville Glass Company. 
 Messrs. A. S. Lippincott, and Co., Philadelphia. 
 Messrs. French, Sisson, and Co., Providence, oil merchants, etc. 
 Messrs. J. Woolley, Indianopolis, banker. 
 The Miami Valley Bank, ])ayton. 
 
 Messrs. Cyrus W. Field, and Co., New York, paper dealers. 
 Messrs. J. Farnham and Co., Philadelphia, domestic goods trade. 
 Messrs. Hockcr, Lea, and Co., Pliiladel})hia, di-y goods trade. 
 Messrs. T. P. Remington, Philadelphia, ch'y goods trade. 
 Messrs. Deal, Millington, and Biu-t, Philadelphia, dry goods jobbers. 
 Messrs. Emnians, Danforth, and Scudder, Boston. 
 
 Messrs. Mason and Co., Taunton, Massachusetts, machine and locomo- 
 tive manufacturers. 
 The Montour Iron Company, Danville. 
 The Rock River Bank, Wisconsin. 
 The Bank of Flgiri, lUinois. 
 The Whittenton Cotton Manufactory, Taunton, Massachusotte.
 
 FOREIGN AND AMERICAN I'AILURES IN 1857. 187 
 
 Oct. Messrs. E. J. Tinkham and Co., Chicago. 
 
 „ Messrs. Darby and Earkswortb, St. Louis. 
 
 „ Messrs. John J. Anderson and Co., St. Louis. 
 
 „ The Western Bank, Springfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 „ The Ware Bank, llamptou Falls, New llauipshire. 
 
 „ The Bank of Central New York, Utica. 
 
 „ Tiic Exchange Bank, Murfrcesborough. 
 
 „ Bank of Ciairborne, Tazewell. 
 
 „ Bank of LawTenceburg, Lawrenceburg. 
 
 „ Bank of Jefferson, Dandridge. 
 
 „ Bank of Memphis, Memphis. 
 
 „ Northern Bank of Tennessee, Clarksville. 
 
 „ The Eiver Bank, Memj)his. 
 
 „ Messrs. Kehnet, Dix, and Co., New Orleans. 
 
 J, The Northern Bank of Mississippi, New Orleans. 
 
 „ Messrs. Vorliill, Greggs, and Co., New Orleans. ' 
 
 „ Mr. S. Fothingham, jun., and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. W. Clark, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Sweetzer, Gerkin, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Chickei-ing and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lawrence, Stone, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Mr. J. A. Lowell, Boston. 
 
 „ Mr. Benjamin Howard, Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Richardson, Kendall, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. P. Jones, Parson, Cutter, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Moses Pond and Co., Boston, stave dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. R. N. Wardall, and Co., Phdadelphia, agents. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wliite, Stevens, and Co., Philadelphia. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bowen, Ely, and M' Cornell, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Gage, Sloam, and Slater, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. L. Bauer and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Livmgston and Ballard, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cheteau, Harrison, and Valle, St. Loids. 
 
 „ Messrs. James H. Lucas and Co., St. Louis. 
 
 „ Mr. R. H. Brett, Toronto. 
 
 „ The Exchange Bank, Tennessee. 
 
 „ The Shelbyville Bank, Tennessee. 
 
 „ The Lawi'enceburg Bank, Tennessee. 
 
 „ The Trenton Bank, Tennessee. 
 
 „ Messrs. Dmibarry, Drake, and Co., Cincinnati. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cuhier, Hutcliings, and Co., Louisville, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Smidt and Co., Louisville, bankers. 
 
 „ The Cumberland Coal Company. 
 
 „ Messrs. Powell, RamsdeU, and Co., Newburg. 
 
 „ The PoweU Bank, Newburg. 
 
 „ The Bank of Belleville, Illinois. 
 
 „ Messrs. Moore, HaUenbush, and Co., Quinsay, bankers. 
 
 „ The Charter Oak Mercantile and Exchange Bank, Hartford. 
 
 „ Messrs. Y'^elverton and Walker, New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Latner and Co., New Y''ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Sathen and Cluu-ch, New Y'ork. 
 
 „ The Farmers' and Citizens' Bank, WilUamsburgh. 
 
 ,, The Fox River Bank, Wisconsin. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hutchinson, Tiffany, and Co., Newburgh. 
 
 „ Messrs. Powell, RainsdeU, and Co., Newburgh. 
 
 „ Messrs. Swift, Ransom, and Co., brokers and agents of a Chicago bank. 
 
 „ The Hudson River Bank, Hudson. 
 
 „ The Farmers' Bank, Hudson. 
 
 „ The Old Saratoga Bank. 
 
 „ The Stark Bank of Vermont. 
 
 „ The Bass River Bank, Massachusetts. 
 
 „ The Bank of Leonardsville. 
 
 „ The Bridgport City Bank, Connecticut. 
 
 „ The People's Bank, Milwaukie.
 
 188 FOREIGN .AND AMERICAN FAILURES IN 1857. 
 
 Oct. The Badger State Bank, Wisconsin. 
 
 „ The Exchange Bank, Bangor, Maine. 
 
 Hallowell Bank, llalloweU, Maine. 
 
 „ Hancock Bank, Ellsworth, Maine. 
 
 „ Shipbuilders' Bank, Kocksland, Maine. 
 
 „ Maritime Bank, Bangor, Maine. 
 
 „ Ellsworth Bank, Ellsworth, Mauae. 
 
 „ China Bank, Cliina, ]\Iaine. 
 
 „ Central Bank, HalloweU, Maine. 
 
 „ Sandford Bank, Sandford, Maine. 
 
 „ Cochituate Bank, Boston, Massachiisetts. 
 
 ,, The Grocers' Bank, Boston, Massachiisetts. 
 
 „ The ]\Iannfactiu'ers' Bank, Georgetown, Massachusetts. 
 
 „ The Exeter Bank, Exeter, New Ilampsliire. 
 
 „ The Lancaster Bank, Lancaster, New Hampsliire. 
 
 „ The Stftrk Bank, Bennington, Yeiinont. 
 
 „ The South Eoyalton Bank, South Eoyalton, Vermon(. 
 
 ,, The Danby Bank, Danby, Vermont. 
 
 „ The Eastern Bank, West KiUingly, Connecticut. 
 
 „ Wooster Bank, Banbury, Connecticut. 
 
 „ Woodbuiy Bank, Woodbury, Connecticut. 
 
 „ Hartford Coimty Bank, Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 „ Colcliester Bank, Colchester, Connecticut. 
 
 „ Messrs. Harper JBrothers, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wood and Grant, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hoppock and Greenwood, New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. ConueUy and Adams, New York. 
 
 „ Mr. G. S. Hilman, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Buckley and Moore, New York. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Baptist and Wliite, New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Brummell and Eoysters, New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Dykers and Alstyne. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hall, Dana, and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ludlum, Leggett, and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. L. C. Wilson and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cahart, Bacon, and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Kitcham, Montrose, and Co., New York. 
 
 „ The New York and Erie Railroad Company (bills protested). 
 
 „ The Michigan Central Bail way Company (on its floating debt). 
 
 „ Mr. J. A. Genin, New Y'ork. 
 
 Mr. H. A. Coit, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Leymom and Co., New Y''ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Corlies and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Corning and Co.; New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fenton, Lee, and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Willetts and Co., New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Francis Skinner and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. George, T., and W. Plyman, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fale, Nash, French, and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Oakley and Hawkins, New Orleans. 
 
 „ Tlie Albion Cotton Manufactiu-ing Company, Baltimore. 
 
 „ Messrs. Dean, King, and Co., St. Louis. 
 
 „ Messrs. A. J. Maccrary and Co., St. Louis. 
 
 „ Messrs. Collins, Kirby, and Co., St. Louis. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fowle, Snowdon, and Co., Alexandria. 
 
 „ Messrs. E. F. Whittemore and Co., Toronto. 
 
 „ Tlie Bank of South Carolina, South Carohna. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hadsworth and Co., Chicago. 
 
 „ The Cayuga Steam Furnace Company, Cleveland. 
 
 „ Messrs. Harkness and Stead, Providence. 
 
 Nov. Messrs. John Munro and Co., Paris, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Gallcrkamp, Brothers, Amsterdam, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Guimaraes and Co., Paris, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bourbon, Du J3uit, and Co., Paris, merchants.
 
 rOllEIGN AND AMERICAN FAILURES IN 1857. 189 
 
 Nor. Messrs. Ponson, Phillippe, and Tibert, Paris, merchants. 
 ]Messrs. Ullberg and Crcnicr, Hamburg, Swedish trade. 
 IMcssrs. F. Bloss and Scomburgk, llambiu-g, merchants. 
 Messrs. Sassenberg and Meyer, JJremcn, merchants. 
 Mr. H. Overbcck, Bremen, merchant. 
 Messrs. Topuz and Co., Smyrna, merchants. 
 
 The failures annoimeed to have taken place during the month of November, in 
 the United States, are comprised in the following list : — 
 
 Nov. The New Bedford Bank. 
 
 The Hartford Bank. 
 
 „ The Fairhaven Bank. 
 
 ,, The Augusta 15ank. 
 
 „ The AVorcester Bank. 
 
 The Portland Bank. 
 
 „ The Bank of Manchester. 
 
 ,, The Petersbiu'g Bank. 
 
 ,, The Lawrence Bank. 
 
 „ The Methuen Bank. 
 
 „ The Bank of Bangor. 
 
 „ The Trenton Bank. 
 
 „ The Brooklyn Bank. 
 
 The Albany Bank. 
 
 „ The Pacific IMills Corporation, Lawi-ence. 
 
 „ The Louisville Central Bank, New Orleans. 
 
 „ IMessrs. J. L. Johnson and Co., New Orleans. 
 
 „ The Bridgeport Bank, Connecticut. 
 
 The Nashville Bank. 
 
 „ Tlie Missouri Iron Works, "WHieeling, Virginia. 
 
 „ Messrs. Pringle, Cook, and Lunhart, Brownsville, Pennsylvania. 
 
 „ Messrs. Harper, Brothers, New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. H. Colton and Co., New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. H. Cowperthwaite and Co., New York, pubhshers. 
 
 „ IMessrs. John P. Jewett and Co., New Y'ork, pnbhshers. 
 
 „ Mr. J. S. Eedfield, New York, publisher. 
 
 „ Mr. P. S. Cozzens, New York, publisher. 
 
 „ Messrs. Miller, Orton, and Co., New York, pubhshers. 
 
 „ Mr. Richard Marsh, New Y'ork, publisher. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. M. Emerson and Co., New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Miller and Curtis, New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bangs, Brother, and Co., New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. G. P. Putnam and Co., New Y'ork, publishers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Sanford and Swords, New York, publishers. 
 
 „ Messrs. H. W. Derby and Co., New York, pvibhshers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fowlers and Wells, New York, pubhshers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Robb, Hallett and Co., New Y'ork and New Orleans, exchange 
 
 brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lord, WaiTen, Evans, and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., Toronto. 
 
 „ The Dunneil Manufactiiring Company, Providence. 
 
 „ Messrs. AVinslow, Lanier and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. Frost and Forest, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. S. and T. Lam-ence, New York. 
 
 „ Messrs. Sampson, Baldwin, and Co., New Y'ork. 
 
 „ Messrs. W. Greenhow and Co., Boston. 
 
 „ Mr. J. M. Holden, Boston. 
 
 5, Mr. George Forsaith, Boston. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Iveitli and Thornton, Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. AY. Carter and Co., Boston. 
 
 Mr. W. P. B. Brooks, Boston. 
 
 „ Messrs. Tesson and Dangem, St. Louis. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. K. Doherty and Co., New Orleans. 
 
 „ Messrs. Raiqueland Co., New Orleans. 
 
 „ The Jeffersonville Branch of the State Bank of Indiana, Si. Louisville.
 
 190 
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS IN HAMBURG. 
 
 Nov. Messrs. "Warrell, Coatcs, and Co., Philadelphia, importers. 
 „ Messrs. Joliii Hooper, Son, and Co., Philadelphia, di-y goods dealers. 
 „ Messrs. C. and A. Ives, Detroit, bankers. 
 Dee. Messrs. Thomas and Martin, Pliiladelphia. 
 „ The Central Bank of Fredericton. 
 „ Messrs. Sathcr and Church, San Francisco. 
 „ Messrs. Fiske, Sather, and Church, Sacramento. 
 „ Messrs. Crocker, Stvirgess, and Goodall, Boston. 
 Before the final tennination of the American panic, the banks of New York, 
 Pennsylvania, and other States suspended specie payments, but subsequently, 
 and after general arrangement and reorganization, resumed. 
 
 THE COMMEECIAL CEISIS IN HAIMBUEG. 
 
 LIST OF rATLTIEES IN" HAMBURG IS BANKRUPTCY (haNDELS- 
 GEETCHt), FROM NOYEMBEE, 1857, TO 3bD MAT, 1858. 
 
 Amsberg, Juhus. 
 
 Balllieimer, Johannes. 
 
 Belin, Conrad, and Co. 
 
 Bemdes and Sandtmann. 
 
 Blass, Ferdinand, and Schombui-gk. 
 
 Bock, C. 
 
 Bonne, Anton. 
 
 Brandt, Ad., and Co. 
 
 Brauer, Heinr Sohn. 
 
 Bull, N. R. 
 
 Dittmer, F. 
 
 Drost, WilUam, and Co. 
 
 Christen, Martin Heinr, Theodor. 
 
 Christie and Co. 
 
 Cordes and Gronemeyer. 
 
 Eckstein, F. J., and Co. 
 
 Elfeld, Ernst. 
 
 Feddersen, Aug., and Co. 
 
 Fuchs and Co. 
 
 Gaedechens and Boreremann. 
 
 Gliickstadt, R. M. 
 
 Goldschmidt, Samuel Hertz. 
 
 Heidsick, H. 
 
 Hertz, Levin, and Sohne. 
 
 Hesse, H. F. 
 
 Heymann, H. J. 
 
 Hodges, H. R. 
 
 Hoffman, J. M., St. 
 
 Horwitz, B. and N. 
 
 Kail, J. 
 
 Kleissen, George. 
 
 Langmack, J. P. 
 
 Morrison, WiUiam. 
 
 Miiller, A. (Hempel and Co.) 
 
 Miiller, M. and J. 
 
 Neiiber, Carl. 
 
 Peters, J. and W. 
 
 Pincus, J. 
 
 Phnck, J. B. 
 
 Plomer, Hunt and Co. 
 
 Pralil and Wiibbe. 
 
 Roscon, Bei-end, Jr. 
 
 Ruden, Gustave. 
 
 Riippel, Ant. Max. 
 
 Sanne, J. L. 
 
 Schneider, H. J. H. 
 
 Schwark, B. H. F. 
 
 Steen, D. F. 
 
 Stockfisch and Co. 
 
 Tauer, Carl. 
 
 Teves, Th. 
 
 Thiel, E. and Co. 
 
 Woldiun, J. B. 
 
 Zahn and Vivie. 
 
 Zeiss, Gebriider. 
 
 T. 
 
 LIST OF FAILURES IN HAMBURG, UNDER INSPECTION (UNTEB 
 ADMINISTEATOEEN), FEOM NOYEMBEE, 1857, TO 3rD MAT, 1858. 
 
 (Firms marked ** paid in full ; those marked * have compounded.) 
 
 Ed. Alders and Sohn. 
 D. Amow. 
 Bach and Raspe. 
 Heinrich Bachmann. 
 Bachof and Overweg. 
 Barbeck and Wall. 
 Georg Belire and Co. 
 P. J. H. Berger Naccf. 
 Buig, Gebi'iider, and Co. 
 Lane, Bodeker Nachf. 
 Hugo, Bohi-es, and Co. 
 
 Fr. Brandt and Liittjshami.** 
 
 Carl Busch. 
 
 Busse and Halske. 
 
 M. F. Claren. 
 
 John Chi'istiansen and Co. 
 
 Sigvardt, Colberg, and Co. 
 
 Custer, Brunswig, and Co. 
 
 E. O. Deneken and Co. 
 
 Dependorf and Co. 
 
 Dittmer and Kocli. 
 
 Droop aud Co.
 
 THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS IN HAMBURG. 
 
 191 
 
 F. Duncker and Co. 
 
 Jos. Edelheim Nachf. 
 
 J. J. II. Eschels. 
 
 A. and G. Eidert. 
 
 M. C. Faursclion and Co. 
 
 Edii Ferbcr. 
 
 Fesser and ViaUiaack. 
 
 Gentz aoid Schlutz. 
 
 Hudolpli Goedell. 
 
 Goernc and Co. 
 
 Moritz D. Goldscluuidt. 
 
 Eduard Grmun. 
 
 J. F. Grosz. 
 
 Gross and Lantzius. 
 
 Ferd Guntrum.* 
 
 H. Hald. 
 
 Hamer, Carl, jr. 
 
 Siegfi'ied Hannover. 
 
 P. N. Hansen and Johannsen. 
 
 Carl F. L. Harder. 
 
 P. E. Hartenfels Sohne. 
 
 H. Hartwig and Wilckens. 
 
 A. Heilbut. 
 
 Holbeeh and Sommer. 
 
 Holterman and Co. 
 
 Huber and Haupt. 
 
 Hughes, Stobart, and Co. 
 
 J. C. Jacobj and Solin. 
 
 F. H. Jacobsen and Co. 
 C. T. Jacoby and Co. 
 H. Heinr Jansen.** 
 Jepsen and Reinier. 
 John and Seeger. 
 
 C. J. Johns Sohne. 
 Herrm Kelhnann. 
 Klein and Co. 
 
 G. Kohrs and Co. 
 C. F. Kruckenberg. 
 Lafargue and Hlilssen. 
 Chs. Lavy and Co. 
 Von Leesen and Co. 
 Louis E. Levy. 
 Phillip Joacliim Levy. 
 Jul Lohiner and Uhde. 
 
 L. F. Lorent ain Ende and Co. 
 
 G. H. Lutze and Co. 
 
 Brenny Mainzer. 
 
 Mankiervicz and Frahm. 
 
 H. E. I. C. Marquardt. 
 
 Ludwig Friedi-ich Matliies. 
 
 Meyer, Gebriider, and Co. 
 
 Chi*. Nic Meyer. 
 
 Ferd. F. Meyer. 
 
 Hermann Meyer. 
 
 P. A. Milberg. 
 
 Molmnann and Hermbrodt. 
 
 Gebriider Moller. 
 
 Otto Moller. 
 
 Joseph Munk. 
 
 J. Nathan & Co.jM.FortlouisNachf.* 
 
 A. Ohlendorf and Co. 
 
 L. Peine. 
 
 Pietzcker and Solui. 
 
 E. F. Pmckemelle. 
 
 Predolil and Co. 
 
 Eeichmann and Wilckens. 
 
 Reunarus Naclif. 
 
 J. D. F. Eieck. 
 
 Biecke, Behrens, and Co. 
 
 Fr. Reidel and Co. 
 
 Rohde and Wolff. 
 
 Fr. Robbelen. 
 
 C. H. Rover. 
 
 Gebriider Rviben. 
 
 Saalfeld, Gebriider. 
 
 H. W. SheUr. 
 
 C. Shemmel. 
 
 Schenck and Co.** 
 
 J. C. Scldliter and Co.** 
 
 Theodor Schmidt. 
 
 J. A. Sclmiidt Sohne. 
 
 Schnell and Meyer. 
 
 T. B. Schnitler. 
 
 W. Scholvien.** 
 
 L. Schoop and Co. 
 
 Anthon Schroder and Co. 
 
 Clii-. Matth. Schroder and Co. 
 
 Joh. Ant. Scliroder and Co. 
 
 Oct. Rud. Schi-oeder and Eiffe. 
 
 F. O. Schuback. 
 
 Emil Schubart. 
 
 Schidte and Schemmann. 
 
 Seeler, Wolff, and Co. 
 
 Wilhehn Seitz. 
 
 Sieveking and Co. 
 
 J. B. Spengel. 
 
 J. A. Spetzler and Co. 
 
 H. and P. Spiro. 
 
 Rud. Stoffert.** 
 
 Strube and Niebuhr. 
 
 Suse and Co. 
 
 C. Trobitius and Co. 
 Ullberg and Cramer. 
 Vogt and Schmidt. 
 Wagener and Enet. 
 
 D. S. Warbm'g Wittwe and Sohne. 
 Conrad Wai-uecke.** 
 
 Jens Weile. 
 
 Ad. Weiszflog and Cordes. 
 
 Theod. Werhch.** 
 
 Gustav. Wieler. 
 
 H. F. Wilcken.** 
 
 Thed. Wille. 
 
 Willwater and Co. 
 
 H. Theoder Winckler. 
 
 Winekler and Nagel. 
 
 P. C. Winterhoff and Piper. 
 
 Witte and Kiimmel.** 
 
 W. S. Wolff and Kai-peles. 
 
 Wolfson and Da^-id. 
 
 M. L. Wvirzbm-g and Co. 
 
 A. Zacharias and Wendt. 
 
 Eduard Zodicli and Co. 
 
 Ziel Balzer and Co. 
 
 Th. Ziimnermann.
 
 192 SUSPENSIONS IN 1858. 
 
 SUSPEXSIOXS I^^ 1858. 
 
 Although the effects of the crisis may be said to hare passed at tliis date, 
 credit was in an luisettled state and many failiu-es took place. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. Richard H. Wliitficld and Co., Loudon, West India and gene- 
 ral commission merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs Thomas Callander and Co., Glasgow, hide and leather factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. Mitchell, Miller, and Ogilvie, Glasgow, wholesale warehousemen. 
 
 „ Mr. John Ewan, Dundee, manufacturer and export merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. William Clapperton and Co., Glasgow, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. James Bannatyne and Son, Limerick, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Arthur and Co., Glasgow, warehousemen. 
 
 „ Messrs. Joseph Bauibridge and Son, Eotherliithe, timber merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bishop and Gissing, London, wholesale stationers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Charles Walton and Sou, ship owners, and sliip and insurance 
 brokers. 
 
 „ Mr. A. Duclos, Marseilles, South American hide trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Matthew Plummer and Co., Newcastle, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Clarke, Plummer, and Co., Newcastle, flax merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Smith, Eussell, and Co., Louisville, United States, soap and 
 candle manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. James Shaw and Co., Huddersfield, woollen manufacturers. 
 
 Feb. Mr. James Odier, Paris, banker. 
 
 „ Mr. Charles Hartmann, Hauover, banker. 
 
 „ Messrs. William Gilmour and Co., Glasgow, woollen trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Oak and Snow, Blandford, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. T. Wilson and Co., Baltimore, United States, produce merchants. 
 
 ,, Mr. Edward Gwyer, Bristol, African trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Prtidel and Co., Marseilles, South American trade. 
 
 Mar. Mr. A. R. Lafone, Liverpool, River Plate trade. 
 
 „ Mr. H. P. Maples, London, ship and insurance broker. 
 April. Messrs. Maitland, Ewing, and Co., London, East India and China trade* 
 
 „ Messrs. Newcomen, Noble, and Co., London, East India trade. 
 
 „ Sii' G. E. Hodgkinson and Co., London, sliip owners and brokers. 
 
 ,, Robert Browne and Co., London, Austrahan trade. 
 
 May. Mr. Lafone, Buenos Ayres, merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Zimmerman, Frazier, and Co., Buenos Ayres, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Pedro, Peyke, and Co., Bahia, German trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. FeUx Rignon and Co., Turin, silk manufactm-ei's. 
 
 „ Messrs. Groothoff and Schultz, Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 June. Messrs. Rawson, Sons, and Co., London, East India and China trade. 
 
 „ Mr. William Patterson, Bristol, shipbuilder. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fenn, Kemm, and Fenn, London, wholesale grocery trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bristow, Warren, and Harrison, London, wholesale grocery trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Skeen and Freeman, London, timber brokers. 
 
 July. M. Domingo Fcrreira, Rio Janeiro, merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Larpent, Saunders, and Co., Calcutta, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Astlcy, WUson, and Co., Rio Jancu-o, merchants. 
 
 ,, Mr. Charles Snewin, London, timber merchant. 
 
 ,, Mr. E. A. Skcen, London, timber merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Astley, Williams, and Co., Liverpool merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Cox, Brothers, Liverpool, iron merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. W. Jefl'rics, Dudley, iron manufacturer. 
 
 „ Messrs. Seaman and Keen, London, silk trade. 
 
 Aug. Messrs. Hyde, Hodge, and Co., Ijondon, mahogany impoi-ters. 
 
 „ Messrs. C Overweg and Co., Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Allan, Defl'ell, and Co., Calcutta, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Langlois and Co., Calcutta, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. PorteUi, Schembri, and Co., London, Mediterranean trade. 
 
 This firm soon paid in full and resumed active operations.
 
 THE HANK INDEMNITY BILL. ] 9o 
 
 Aug. Mr. Duncan Cribh, Liverpool, mcreliant and shipowner. 
 
 „ Messrs. Rudolf, Junj^, and Co., Paris, silk ti-ade. 
 Sept. Messrs. J. Carmielmel and Co., Liverpool, Honduras and general 
 merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Archibald Montgomery and Co., London, Honduras and Aus- 
 tralian trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. Plowes and Co., London, Brazilian trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Pardoe, Hoonians, and Pardoe, Kiddcnninster, carpet niaau- 
 faeturers. 
 
 „ Ml'. J. G. Moffatt, Birmingham, brassfounder. 
 
 „ Messrs. George Ciianibcrs and Co., Jjondon, pin and needle manid'aeiurera. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ascoli, Uartvvig, and Co., Manchester, merchants. 
 
 ,, Mr. Forll, Milan, produce trade. 
 Oct. M. Duhant, Lille, sugar speculator. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Wm. Arnold and Sons, London, hemp manufacturers. 
 Isov. Messrs. Plowes, Son, and Co., Rio Janeiro, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. W. J. Grey and Son, Newcastle, coalfitters. 
 
 „ Messrs. Pickworth and Walker, ShefSeld, builders. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cowan and Bigg, London and Newcastle, ship and insurance 
 brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. James Hyde and Co., Honduras, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. James Davics and Son, London, boot and shoe maaufacturers. 
 Dec. Messrs. Hicks and Gadsden, London, American merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Metcalfe and Co., West Ham, distillers. 
 
 THE BA^'K INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 SPEECH OF SIR G. C.LEWIS, THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, 
 ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL, IN THE 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, DECEMBER 4, 1857. 
 
 Tiie Chancellor of the ExcHECiUEB said, — I rise for the purpose of bringing 
 under the attention of the House the question which, as has been stated in 
 the e-xtract from the gracious Speech from the Throne, has led to the assembling of 
 Parliament before tlie usual time. In order that the committee may fully under- 
 stand the nature of the act of her Majesty's Government which has induced the 
 dh'ectors of the Bank of England to ini'ringe the provisions of the statute, and thus 
 rendered it obligatory upon me to ask tiie House to give its consent to a Bill of 
 Indenndty, it will be my duty to call their attention to the existing state of the law. 
 Sir Robert Peel, in the course of his long political career, induced the Legislature to 
 agree to two important Acts relating to the curi-ency, which weie in point of time 
 separated from each other by a quarter of a century. The first of these Acta, as is 
 well known to the committee, was passed in 1819. It restored the currency to its 
 proper metallic basis, put an end to the state of things existing during the war — a 
 state of suspension of specie payments, and established the convertibility of a bank- 
 note. After that Act had been passed, the power of the Bank of England to issue 
 notes was unlimited in point of extent. They were only subject to the condition of 
 being payable in gold on demand ; and the power of establishing country banks was 
 also unlimited, subject to the privilege which then existed in favour of the Bank of 
 England from the practice in reference to six partners. These banks when estal)- 
 libhed could create any quantity of bank-notes. The same power existed both in 
 Ireland and Scotland. Any person could under that law establish a bank and issue 
 notes payable to bearer on demand, provided only that those notes were paid in 
 specie upon presentation at the bank. That was the state of the law from 1819 to 
 1844, the date of Sir R. Peel's second important Act on the currency. That secon I 
 Act, be stated to the House, was to be considered as a complement of the first ; lie 
 intended it to secure, in fact, that convertibility of the note which was made legal 
 only by the Act of 1819 ; and the provisions which he introduced were to the 
 following effect: — In the tirst phico, be enal)le»l the Bank of England to issue notes 
 on securities to tlie extent of £14,000, IX)(), together with any furtlier sum \vliicii 
 might accrue from the lapsed circulation of tb.e Plnglish country hanks, as to which 
 some detailed provisions were introduced into the Act. An Ortier in Council under 
 
 o
 
 191 THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL, 
 
 tliose provisions was pasfcd about two years ago, amliorizing tlie Bank to add to 
 that portion of its issue wliichrtsts upon securities the sum ot £'475,000. Tlierefoie 
 at present the issues whicli tlie Bank of England can make upon secm-ities — and it 
 is not allowed to make any issues except upon Government securities — is £14,475,000. 
 In addition, the hiw allows the Bank of England to make an amount of issue 
 equivalent to the bullion which may be in its cc iTers. The Act of 1844 further 
 introduced a provision wliich seems to me, although in some manner connected with 
 them, yet to be essentially different in its character from the other provisions — I 
 mean that for dividing the Bank of England into two departments, the issue and the 
 banking department. Gentlemen who are familiar with the mode in which the 
 weekly returns of the bank are published, are aware that the assets and liabilities 
 are always classed under those two divisions. I shall presently have to call the 
 attention of the committee to the practical working of that system with reference to 
 the measure to which I am about to ask their assent. I should add that with regard 
 to English country banks the Act of 1844 contained this important provision — it 
 prohibited any bank which might after the passing of thut Act he established in 
 England from issuing bank-notes. It limited, also, the note issues of the existing 
 banks to the amount wliich was then in circulation. It contained no provision 
 requiring them to issue notes on securities, nor did it allow them to exceed the fixed 
 limit by issuing notes against bullion. Therefore, under the Act of 1844, the 
 condition of the English country banks Is this : — No new country banks can issue 
 bank-notes at all, and the country banks existing at the time of the passing of that 
 Act are limited in their issue to the circulation which they then possessed. In the 
 following year was passed an Act with respect to Scotland and Ireland, which v,-as 
 intended as a part of the same measure. Its effect was to limit the existing banks 
 of Ireland and Scotland to their then issues as in the case of the country banks of 
 England. It did not require that those issues should be guarded by securities of 
 any kind, but it authorized them to make issues in excess of their certified circula- 
 tion against a deposit of bullion. Tiierefore, in Ireland and Scotland there is a 
 certain amount of paper which is limited under the Act, in addition to which the 
 banks issue a certain portion against sovereigns. The committee ought to bear in 
 mind the practical result of this compound system upon tlie circulation as it exists 
 at the present moment. On the 11th of April last the notes of the Bank of England 
 in the hands of the public amounted to £19,752,045, At the same date the note 
 circulation of 
 
 The English country banks was £6,920,000 
 
 The Scotch banks 3,832,000 
 
 The Bank of Ireland 3,.")57,000 
 
 And other banks in Ireland 3,596,000 
 
 Total £17,905,000 
 
 Adding that amount to the circulation of the Bank of England, v:e may take the 
 paper circulation of the United Kingdom to be in round numbers about £38,000,0(X). 
 Of that £38,000,000 the only portion which is strictly covered by bullion is that 
 which is issued by the Bank of England in addition to the £14,475,000 which they 
 issue upon securities. The whole of the circulation of the English country banks 
 and the chief part of the circulation of tlie Bank of Ireland and the Scotch and 
 Irish country banks is, so far as the law is concerned, not represented by bullion. 
 The security which the law takes for that portion of the circulation is the legal 
 convertibility of the note — the liability of ihe hankir to pay in specie when the note 
 is presented. This is tlie existing state of the circulation under the diflVrent Acts 
 which regulate our currency ; and it is essential to bear in mind, with reference to 
 the solvency of the Bank of England and the importance of keeping a large bullion 
 reserve in that central establishment, the considerable amount of the provincial 
 issue. When Sir 11. Peel introduced the measure of 1844, he stated that one of the 
 main objects which he had in view was to provide security against the excessive 
 issue of paper, and thereby to guard against the recurrence from time to time of 
 tlujse commercial piinics under which the country had at different intervals suffered 
 previously to 1844. At the same time he stated that he did not propound liis 
 measure as a panacea, or as an infallible guard against such panics, because he said 
 that the issue of bank pa])cr was only one of their causes, and he recognized the fact 
 that commercial panics might arise from causes which did not lie within the scope 
 of his legislation. But in 1817, after the commercial crisis of that year, when it 
 became requisite for the Government to authorize the Bank, if the necessity should
 
 Tllli BANK INDICMMTY niLI.. 195 
 
 arise, to exceed the limits fixed by the Act of 1844, Sir R. Peel, in tlie discussion 
 which arose, delivered l;is opinions more fully on the suhject thnn he hsid previously 
 done, and he pave a definition, corrected by experience, of his own views sis to rlie 
 objfCts of the Act of 1844, which, :is it contains an authentic exposition of his 
 opinions, I trust the committee will permit me to rend. Sir K. Piel upon the 3rd of 
 December, 1847, said : — 
 
 "I say, then, that the bill of 1844 had a triple object. Its first object was that 
 in wliich I admit it has failed, viz., to prevent, by early and gradual means, severe and 
 sudden contraction, and the panic and confusion inseparable from it; but the hill hail 
 two other objects, of at least equal importance — the one to maintain and guiiranti'c 
 the convertibility of the paper currency into gold, the other to prevent the diffi- 
 culties which arise at all times from undue speculation being aggravated by the 
 abuse of paper credit in the form of promissory notes. In these two o! jects my 
 belief is tbat the bill has completely succeeded. My belief is that you have had a 
 guarantee for the maintenance of the principle of convertibility .such as you never 
 had before ; my belief also is, that whatever difficulties you are now suffering, from 
 a combination of various causes, those difficulties would have been greatly aggra- 
 vated if you had not wisely taken the precaution of checking the unlimited issue of 
 the notes of the Bank of England, of joint-stock banks, and private banks." 
 That was Sir Robert Ped's definition of the Act after he had become aware of the 
 events of 1847. I may also call attention to the remarks that my right hon. friend 
 near me (Sir C. Wood), who then held the ofBce which I now hold, made upon the 
 measure then brought before the House, as showing that in his view the Act was 
 never considered as a specific against coinmercial panics. He said : — 
 
 "A complaint has been made that this Act has not preserved us froin coir.me;cial 
 convulsion. I think that those who exp^'Cted such an effect from it much mis- 
 calculated the motives by which persons engaged in commercial transactions are 
 actuated. Certainly, for one, I never hell out any such expectatiotisto the country. 
 I stated most distinctly that I did not contemplate that such would be the effect of 
 
 the Act Tlie same effects precisely might have occurred under a 
 
 metallic circulation as have occurred under our mixed currency, and the advocates 
 of the Act of 1844 never professed that its operation would produce any other result 
 than that which might have happened under a metallic circidation." 
 I think that this reference will satisfy the committee that the authors of the Act < f 
 1844 did not contemplate its proving a panacea or a complete guarantee against 
 the occurrence of commercial crises, which are produced by a variety of causes, 
 upon which no legislation, and certainly no legislation confined to the cun-ency, 
 could operate. I will now briefly advert to the peculiar crisis of 1847. It was 
 described by my right hon. friend, in moving for a committee on the subject, as 
 having been caused hy the absorption of available capital lor the purchase of corn 
 and the construction of railways acting upon a very unsound state of commercial 
 affairs. It arose from internal causes, from an internal demand for a large and 
 extraordinary amount of capital, and had no connection, as in the case wliich we 
 are now considering, with our foreign trade. In 1847, as in the present year, her 
 Majesty's Government, considering the urgency of the commercial crisis, came to 
 the conclusion to issue a letter to the directors of the Bank, authorizing them in 
 certain contingencies to exceed the limits fixed by the law. The cause of issuing 
 that letter was stated to be the want of confidence in the commercial classes which 
 then existed, and its object was also defined to he to put an end to the present 
 alarm. Ahhougli the cause of the panic in 1847 was difFerenc from that of the 
 panic of this year, yet the object aimed at by the issuing of the Government letter 
 in those two years was identically the same. The Bank directors, however, did not 
 find themselves under the necessity of overstepping the law of 1847. Confidence 
 was re-estab:ished by the issuing of the letter. Its influence upon the commercial 
 classes was immediate, and the Bank directors were enabled to navigate their ship 
 through their difficulties without exceeding the limits of the law. Nevertheless, 
 Parliament was assembled before the usual time. The attention of Parliament was 
 called to the matter by her Majesty's Speec'i, but as no Indemnity Bill was required 
 the direct as-ent of Parliament to a bill was not obtained. Nevertheless, a com- 
 mittee of inquiry into the Act was appointed upon the motion of my right hon. 
 friend. That motion gave rise to a debat ■, but 1 believe that it was ununiniously 
 assented to by the House. Sir Robert Peel, who was the author of the Act, 
 expressed himself in terms the most unambiguous, in approbation of the sanction 
 which had been given hy the (lovernmeut to the suspension for a time of the limits 
 fixed by the Act. I shall quote some of his words on that occasion, and 1 think it is 
 of mi])ortance that the committee should bear ihcm in mind, inasmuch as the dis-
 
 196 TIIK BANK INDEMNITY lULL. 
 
 tinctncRs with which he spoke proves that he, who was certainly hotter quahfied than 
 any other person either in or out of this House, to speak with authority upon tlie 
 policy of the Act, was satiftied of the propriety of the step then taken. He said: — 
 
 "But when there occurs a state of panic — a state which cannot he foreseen or 
 provided against by hvw — whicli cannot be reasoned with — the Government miist 
 assume a power to prevent the consequences which may occur. There is the neces- 
 sity for a discretion which I think was properly exercised in the present instance. 
 It was better to authorize a violation of tlie law than to run the risk of the conse- 
 quences which might have ensued if no intervention on the part of the Govern- 
 ment had taken place Sir, I think that the Government were justified 
 
 in issuing that letter. I think tliat, having issued it, they acted with the strictest 
 regard to constitutional principle in forthwith summoning Parliament." 
 Tiiat was the judgment, if I may say so, which Sir Robert Peel pronounced upon 
 that question. But the matter did not rest merely with the appointment of a com- 
 mittee, and the approbation by individual members of Parliament of the step taken 
 by tlie Government. On the I7th of February, 1848, Jlr. Herries, who was then a 
 member of this House, moved two resolutions in a committee of the whole House, 
 the first of which confirmed, in a most distinct manner', the policy of the step. It 
 was in these terms : — 
 
 "That, looking to the state of distress which has for some time prevailed among 
 the commercial clashes, and to the general feeling of distrust and alarm by which 
 the embarrassments of trade have been aggravated, it is the opinion of this House 
 that her Majesty's ministers were justified, during the recess of Parliament, in 
 recommending to the Bank of England (for the purpose of restoring confidence) a 
 course of proceeding at variance with the restrictions imposed by the Act of the 7th 
 and 8th of Victoria, cap. 32. 
 
 " That this House will resolve itself into a committee upon the said Act." 
 That resolution was put and carried without a division, from which it is manifest 
 that the House, upon a consideration of the subject, explicitly approved the act of 
 the Government, But a select committee was appointed to inquire into the Act of 
 Parliament, and several most able and competent witnesses gave evidence before 
 them. In their first report, dated the 8th of June, 1848, they said : — 
 
 "The issue of that letter was no doubt an extraordinary exercise of power on the 
 part of the Government, but the House has decided that in the peculiar circum- 
 stances of the period they were justified in taking that step." 
 
 Therefore the committee — perhaps, it is a solecism to say so — adopted the resolution 
 of the House; at all events, the committee, after great consideration and inquiry, 
 referred to the previous resolution of the Hoiise as embodying their own opinion. 
 Having thus, I fear at too great length, but with a minuteness which I thought the 
 importance of the subject required, stated what took place in 1847, I will now, with 
 the permission of the House, call their attention to the events which are now imme- 
 diately under our consideration. With regard to the commercial crisis into which 
 we liave lately entered, and from Avhich I think we can scarcely be said yet to have 
 emerged, it may be observed that no symptom of an alarming or even of a threaten- 
 ing character (if we compare the bullion and reserve notes of 1856 and 1857) mani- 
 fested itself until about the 18th of October. From that day a perceptible deteriora- 
 tion began. The bullion in the Bank fell between the 10th and the 18th of 
 November from £10,110,000 to £6,484,000 ; while the reserve notes fell during that 
 period from about £4,500,000 to about £1,400,000. But before that time it cannot 
 be said that anything occurred which could create uneasiness in the course of affairs 
 at the Bank. The immediate cause of the crisis was, as must be within the knowledge 
 of most of the hon. gentlemen who are now present, unconnected either with the 
 management of the Bank or with any issues of paper money in this country. It 
 grew out of the derangement of the American trade, supervening upon some previous 
 inconveniences created by the Indian revolt, the shipment of bullion, the disturbance 
 of the Indian trade, and, to a certain extent, speculation upon the Continent. How- 
 ever, it tnay be said that the almost exclusive cause of the commercial distress was 
 the derangement of the American trade. For some months previously to November 
 the foreign drain of bullion was accompanied by an adverse state of the exchanges 
 and a high rate of discount at the Bank. On the 2nd of April it was at (>i per 
 cent., on the 18tli of June it was 6 per cent., on the 16th of July 5^ per cent., on the 
 8tli of Octolier it was raised to 6 per cent., <in the 12th of October to 7 per cent., on 
 tiie lOiJi of October to 8 per cent., on the 5th of November to .0 per cent., and on 
 the 9lIi of November to 10 per cent. These figures show that high rates of discount 
 had prevailed, the natural consequence of an adverse state of the exchanges ; but 
 the operations of the Bank and of the discount liouses in this country had been
 
 Till': UANIv INDEMNITY lill.L. 1 <)7 
 
 successful ill roversinjj that state of tiling;*, iind in proiluciiig a favourable state of 
 exchanges before tlie issue of the Goveniinent Letter. At that time the foreign drain 
 of gold had been checked, and the exchanges were favourable. Well, although 
 some uneasiness might still exist as to the state of the Bank, nothing at that 
 niouieut seemed to indicate any immediate probability of the Government being 
 called upon to exercise any extraordinary powers; and as the right hon. gentleman 
 (Mr. Disraeli) referred yesterday to the state of our trade during the month of 
 October as a circumstance which ought to have induced her Majesty's Government 
 to hesitate before they reconmiended the prorogation of Parliament until the end of 
 December, I would beg leave to remind him that even if the state of trade liad been 
 more unfavourable than it actually was, there was no symptom of commercial 
 distress which would have rendered it necessary for the Government to resort to 
 any extraordinary act. It was only in the event of their being called upon by any 
 urgent and unforeseen necessity to authorize a suspension of the law that it was 
 likely to be necessary that, upon merely commercial grounds, they should advise her 
 Majesty immediately to assemble Parliament. In the event of that improbable con- 
 tingency — as we thought it — arising, a constitutional power existed, which could be 
 exercised at any moment, of summoning Parliament by proclamation to meet in 
 fourteen days. That is an explanation of the charge of want of caution and fore- 
 sigiit on the part of the Government brought forward by the right lion, gentleman. 
 Well, the first event which precipitated matters in the late commercial crisis was 
 the failure of the Borough Bank of Liverpool. I wish to call the attention of the 
 committee to the fact that that was not a joint-stock bank, and that it was not a bank 
 of issue. I believe there is not a single bank of issue in that town, but the Borough 
 Bank was not a bank of issue ; it was a corporation of a general character, and 
 the amount of its liabilities was very considerable. As far, therefore, as that estab- 
 lishment was concerned, the consequences produced by its failure cannot in any way be 
 traced to an excess in the issue of bank paper. That i'ailure took place about the 27th 
 of October, and the next event of importance was the failure of Messrs. Dennistoun 
 on the 7th of November. That house was extensively engaged in the American 
 trade. I believe that it was a house conducted with prudence, and possessed of large 
 capital, but it was suddenly forced to suspend payment by the misfortunes arising 
 out of the convulsions that had taken place in America, which were attended with 
 much greater distress than had occurred in this country, and accompanied by a 
 general suspension of cash payments. The house of Messrs. Deiuiistoun failed, as I 
 have said, on the 7th of Noveinber for upwards of £2.000,000. About two days 
 afterwards, I believe on the 9th of November, a large joint-stock bank in Scotland 
 failed — the Western Bank, which had numerous branches. Within a day or two 
 afterwards another large joint-stock bank — the City of Glasgow Bank — also failed. 
 The joint circulation of these banks was about £800,000, of which about one-half 
 was the certified circulation they were authorized to make upon securities, and the 
 remaining half upon bullion. Their deposits were about £9,000,000, showing that 
 it was not their note circulation, but the magnitude of their other transactions and 
 liabilities which led to their uuforiunate failure. (Hear, hear.) I may mention 
 with regard to the Western Bank of Scotland that there had been no run at all 
 upon it previous to its failure, and that when its doors were closed not a single 
 note had beiii presented for payment out of the usual course, thus showing that it 
 was not the discredit of the not s of the bank, but a faihu'e to meet its large engage- 
 ments of otiier descriptions which led to its unfortunate fall. The first sign of 
 pressure more immediately affecting the mercantile classes in London, and approach- 
 ing nearer to the Bank of England, was the failure of the house of Messrs. Sander- 
 son and Co., bill-brokers, which took place on the 10th of November. Such an 
 event could not occur without exercising a serious influence upon the credit of other 
 similar establishments in this city. The ptiblication of the liank returns for the 
 week ending Wednesday the 4:h of November, whicii showed a considerable reduc- 
 tion of the Bank reserve, was a circumstance which, combined witii the other facts 
 I have mentioned, cou!d not but create uneasiness and alarm, and call attention to 
 the diminishing resources of the Bank. The alarm increased in London, and I think 
 I cannot adduce a clearer or more compendious proof of the existence and extent of 
 that alarm than by referring to the increase of the bankers' deposits at the Bank of 
 England in the week from the 4:h to the 12th of November. It may at first sight 
 seem somewhat paradoxical to the committee to refer to the increase of bankers' 
 deposits in the Bank of England as a proof of alarm (Hear, hear); but it must he 
 borne in mind that the Bank of England is the hank in which the London and other 
 bankers keep their deposits, and therefore, when they increase those deposits 
 suddenly and extensively, it is a proof that they are guarding themselves against a
 
 198 
 
 THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 run upon tLeir funds, that tliey expect demands from tlieir customers, nnd are, in 
 fact, if I may so say, hoarding tlieir resources. The increase of bankers' deposits at 
 the Bank of En.trhuid is, therefore, a recognized test of the existence of alarm. In 
 the week from November 4 to November 12 these deposits increased by no less than 
 £1,970,000. But there was another decisive proof of the existence of alarm in this 
 city — namely, the general cessation of all discounting except by the Bank of Eng- 
 land. At that time it was scarcely possible to obtain an advance, even upon bills 
 which were undoubtedly good, either from bill-brokers or bankers ; their operations 
 were for tlie moment universally suspended, and the Bank of England was the 
 only establishment in London at which discounts could take place. That circum- 
 stance may be referred to as a tolerably conclusive proof of the general prevalence 
 of alarm. 1 may mention that at that time a single discounting house paid in 
 one day £800,000, £700,000 to depositors, and £100,000 to discounters— a sum, I 
 apprehend, aliuost unparalleled in operations of that kind. 1 will now call the 
 attention of the committee to the state of the Bank on the day before the recent 
 Government Letter was issued, and to its state on the day previous to the issue of a 
 similar letter in 1847, and I think the committee will see that with regard to 
 every point indicative of the strength of its resources, the position of the Bank in 
 1857 was less favourable than its position in 1847. The inference to which 
 I wish to lead the committee is, that if the Government; were justified by the opinion 
 of Parliament, of the public, and of competent judges, in issuing the letter in 1847, 
 then « fortiori they were justiiied this year in issuing a similar letter. The 
 following is a statement of the position of the Bank of England in October, 1847, 
 and November, 1857 : — 
 
 Bullion ..... 
 
 Kesci've of notes in Banking Department 
 Resci've of coin .... 
 
 Deposits (Private) .... 
 Private Securities .... 
 
 October 23, 
 
 November 11, 
 
 1S47. 
 
 1857. 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 8,313,000 
 
 7,171,000 
 
 1,547,000 
 
 957,000 
 
 447,000 
 
 504,000 
 
 8,580,000 
 
 12,935,000 
 
 19,467,000 
 
 20,113,000 
 
 Therefore I think the committee will see that whatever were the grounds for the 
 interference of the Government in 1847, the grounds were still stronger in the pre- 
 sent year. There is another most material point of difference between the two cases, 
 whicli perhaps even still inoie justifies the interference of the Government in tho 
 present year. In 1847 the turning point had been reached before the issue of the 
 letter — the state of things had begun to improve. It is true that the issue of the 
 letter, in the opinion of competent judges, accelerated that process ; but the im- 
 provement iiad already manifested itself, and the worst had been seen before it was 
 issued. Now, in the present year the direct contrary is the fact. We had not 
 reached the worst when the letter was issued ; and, whatever opinion m.ay be formed 
 as to the beneficial effects of the letter, there is no doubt that if it had not been 
 written, if this authority had not been given, we should have seen a worse state of 
 things uft'T the 12th of November than before it. (Hear, hear.) Now, the fact 
 ^vhicll seems to me material as constituting the difference between the two years is 
 the progress of the London discounts at the Bank in 1847 and 1857. On the 
 23rd of October, 1847, the London discounts at the Bank were £7,702,000. The 
 amount remained stationary till about the 4th of November, when it fell to 
 ii7,500,000 ; and a few days later it sank even lower. In the present year, on the 
 other hand, those discounts amounted on the 9th of November to £7,250,000. They 
 went on regularly increasing, till on the 27th of November they reached .£12,022,000, 
 and on the 1st of December they still stood at £1 1,901,000. This shows that the sum 
 under discount at the Bunk of England was gieater at the end of that period tiian at 
 its commencement, whereas in the corresponding period of 1847 that amount had 
 considerably diminished. Tiierefore, I infer from these facts that, whereas the worst 
 of the crisis had been overcome before the letter of 1847 was issued, the worst had 
 not been overcome when the letter of this year was issued. (Hear.) I trust. Sir, 
 that I have established to the satisfaction of the committee that the course taken by 
 the Government in 1847 was maturely considered and deliberately approved by Par- 
 liatnent — -tliat the autliors and promoters of tlic moasure approved this proceeding, and 
 that it constituted a precedent by which subsequent Governments could with pro-
 
 THE BANK INDEMNITY lULL. 199 
 
 pviety rejiulate their conduct. In the present case the causes of the panic were, no 
 iloubt, ditlerent, but the result was tlie same ; tlie circumstances witli whicli the 
 Government luul to deal were similar, the urirency was greater, and whatever reason 
 jiistitied the resort to extraordinary measures in the year 1S47, will be found to 
 api)ly, with greater cogency and greater conclusiveness, to the case of the present 
 year. But the existence of a precedent has not grown out of mere accident from tlie 
 occurrence of circumstances which had not been foreseen when the original measure 
 was prepared. I have the evidence of Mr. Cotton, the Governor of the Bank at tho 
 time when the bill of 1844 was under consideration, and that gentleman stated to 
 the committees of both Houses of Parliament, that the precisi; contingency which 
 occurred ia 1847, as also in the present year, was foreseen by Sir liobert Peel, who 
 appeared to have contemplated a mode of meeting it exactly identical with that 
 which has been adopted in both years. That seems to me an important part of the 
 case ; and I will therefore read an extract on this point from Mr. Cotton's evidence 
 before the committee of this House, which sat in 1848. Similar evidence was 
 given by him before the committee of the House of Lords. Mr. Cotton was thus 
 examined : — 
 
 " In the case of a panic, do you think that a contraction of the circulation is any 
 cure for it? — I think it is, inasmuch as it increases the value of money and iuduces 
 people who have hoarded money to part with it. 
 
 "Do you think, even in the case of an internal panic, the proper mode of cuie is 
 a contraction of the circulation? — The proper mode of cure is a contraction of the 
 circulation; whether it is worth while to submit to the remedy is another question. 
 I can easily conceive that there may be monetary crises when it is necessary for the 
 Government to interfere, and to do as was done in October. 
 
 "You contemplate, as I understand you, that under the operation of the Act 
 circumstances may arise which will call for the interference of Government ? — I did con- 
 template it, and I believe that I shall not be guilty of a breach of confidence if I state 
 that the subject was discussed very fully with the First Lord of the Treasury and the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer dui'ing the consideration of the provisions of the Bill; 
 and when the subject was again pressed on him. Sir Robert Peel expressed his 
 opinion to me in tliese terms: — 'My confidence is unshaken, that we are taking all 
 the precautions whicli legislation can prudently take against the recurrence of a 
 monetary crisis. It may occur in spite of our precautions, and if it does, and if it 
 be necessary to assume a grave responsibility for the purpose of meeting it, I dare 
 say men will be found willing to assume such a responsibility.' 
 
 "It was con'emplated that circumstances might occur which would render it 
 necessary to suspend the limit of the Act of 1844. Can you state what were the 
 sorts of events that you had then in contemplation? — I should say events similar in 
 effect to the events of 182.5, when there was entire discredit of all the country 
 bank circulation, and a panic which brought down, not merely an immense number 
 of bankers, but others who were men of undoubted property." 
 
 I think that passage ought to convince this committee that, in referring to the 
 proceedings of 1847, as constituting a Parliamentary precedent of the utmost 
 authority, we have every security that the subject was fully considei'ed both in its 
 character and its consequences, and that legislation was left in its present state upon 
 mature deliberation. The right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) put a question last 
 night which he had a perfect right to ask, and to which he is entitled to have an 
 answer. It was : — "Whether the issue of this letter was called for by the Bank 
 directors, and whether pressure was applied to the Government in order to obtain it?" 
 Now, Sir, I state distinctly that the issue of that letter was the spontaneous act of 
 her Majesty's Government (Hear, hear); that they proceeded upon their own deli- 
 berate and conscientious view of the circumstances of the case (Hear, hear); that they 
 were not urged by deputations, by the representations of mercantile bodies, nor were 
 they implored to interfere by the directors of the Bank of England. No men in- 
 vested with a public and official responsibility could have acted in a more honour- 
 able and conscientious manner than the directors of that corporation. They showed 
 themselves throughout ready to carry into eifect all the obligations which the law 
 cast upon them, and they merely said that they were willing to act upon any advice 
 which the Government might tender to them, but that they were prepared to obey 
 the provisions of the law. Sir, the Government were guided by their view of the 
 facts which I have disclosed to the committee — facts the corresponding circumstances 
 of which were deliberately reviewed by the Parliament of 1847, and were considered 
 by them as constituting a legitimate ground of interference. These facts existeti in 
 a far more intense degree in November, 1857, than in October, 1847- Our justifica- 
 tion therefore is, that we acted in consequence, not of the pressure of the mercantile
 
 200 THE n.VNK INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 body, lint in conscqueiicn of tlio prossure of facts, nnd that \vc shonld have been piiiltv 
 of a grave dereliction of dnty if, in so grave and urgent a state of circumstances, we had 
 Jiesitated to take upon ourselves the responsibility which was assumed by the 
 Government. (Cheers.) I do not at all seek to screen myself under the existence of 
 mercantile pressure. (Hear, hear.) If the act which we have done is right, let the 
 House indemnify the i3ank directors, let them indemnify those who advised them. 
 If it is wrong, let them refuse that indemnity. We do not seek to shelter ourselves 
 under any pi'etence of having been coerced into the act. (Hear, hear.) The com- 
 mittee is in possession of a numerical return from the Bank, fully exhibiting the state 
 of things on each day from the 11th of November, ana it is unnecessary that I should 
 trouble them with a minute analysis of these figures. 1 will only say that, unlike what 
 occurred in the year 1847, the Bank directors immediately found themselves com- 
 pelled to act upon the authority given by the Government, and to make issues in 
 excess of the limit fixed by the Act of Parliament. They first issued £1,000,000 of 
 notes from the issue to the banking department, placing against that sum an equal 
 amount of securities ; and on a subsequent day they made a similar transfer. The 
 first issue took place on the 12th of November, and the second on the subsequent 
 day. The effect of that, technically, is that the Bank of England has infringed the 
 provisions of the Act to the extent of £2,000,000 sterling ; but the committee should 
 bear in mind that, although owing to the peculiar manner in which the accounts of 
 the Bank are kept the law is technically infringed to that amount, at no time has 
 the Bank issued so much ;^as £2,000,000 to the public. It has merely passed 
 £2,0U0,000 from one department of the establishment to another. I have before me a 
 .statement of the amount in excess which was from day to day issued to the public. 
 On the 13th of November, for instance, the excess of notes in the hands of the public 
 was £18ti,000, on the following day £622,000, and so on until on tiie 20th 
 of November it reached the maximum of £928,000. If the committee will deduct 
 the amount of the reserve of notes in the banking department from tlie £2,000,000 
 transferred from the issue department they will see that the difference is the figures 
 which I have given. That is the real amount which has reached the public. On 
 the 21st cf November that amount was £617,000; on the 23rd, £397,000 ; on the 
 24th, £317,000; on the 25th it had fallen to £81,000 ; on the three following days 
 there was an increase, but on the 30th of November it had fallen to £15,000 ; and 
 on the 1st of December the note reserve was more than £2,000,000 ; therefore, 
 strictly speaking, there was then no issue in excess of the limit. 1 need not, how- 
 ever, remind the committee that the operations of the Bank being now divided into 
 two departments it was impossible to work the banking department without an 
 issue of notes from the issue department, and that that transfer was technically a 
 violation of the law ; but the Committee should bear in mind that the real and 
 essential violation of the Act has been confined to the amounts which I have just 
 read. It may be asked what would have been the result if the letter of the Govern- 
 ment had not been issued. That is a matter about which we can only form 
 conjectures. The actual result of issuing that letter must, I think, be admitted to 
 liave been favourable. It diminished alarm and restored confidence (Hear, hear) ; 
 and it did not in the smallest degree endanger the convertibility of the note (Cheers), 
 because a favourable turn of the exchanges had taken place, and there was at that 
 time no fear of a foreign drain of gold. Therefore I cannot think that at that 
 moment the convertibility of the note was endangered by the step which was 
 authorized by the Government. If that authority had not been given, it is certain 
 that the only measure to which the Bank could have resorted for its own protection 
 would have been the immediate and total cessation of discounts. (Hear, hear, 
 from the Opposition benches.) Indeed, could they have foreseen the impossibility of 
 the Government taking such a step, they might, perhaps, have diminished their 
 discounts a day earlier. At all events, they must at the time the letter was issued, 
 have entirely stopped their discounts. Whether so decided a step as that on 
 the part of the Bank of England might not have led to the extension of discredit 
 among establishments of a similar nature eng.iged in simllir operations of banking, 
 I leave it to the comuiitlce to determine. (Opposition cheers.) It is not for me to 
 give any positive opini(nis upmi such a subject, hut if such discredit had arisen the 
 coinniittce must sec what would have been the effect upon the banking department 
 of the Bank of England l)y leading to the withdrawal of deposits. (Hear, hear.) 
 Now, as by law the two departments of that Bank are segregated the one from the 
 oilier, and the assets of the issue cannot be applied to the relief of the banking 
 department, the B.aiik of England might have found it-elf in the painful position of 
 postponing payment to depositors (Hear, hear), or of applying a portion of the assets 
 of the issue department — becKUse its as.sets would undoubtedly have been sufficient
 
 THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL. 201 
 
 (Hear, hoar)— to the discharge of tlie liabilities of the banking department. I think 
 it prol)ablc that such a contingency might not have arisen ; nevertlieless, it was 
 within tiie range of possibility. Events, as I have learned from painful experience — 
 events march very rapidly during a commercial crisis. (Hear, liear.) Persons who 
 are loaded with the responsibility of action in moments of that sort must be prepared 
 for them, and I leave it to the committee to judge whether, with such a contingency 
 before them, her Majesty's Government would have been justified in withliolding the 
 letter which they sent to the Bank. (Hear, hear.) I am fully conscious of the 
 gravity of the step which the Government took. The deliberate infraction of a 
 iimdameatal law governing the currency is, as this committee will readily believe, 
 a step which no persons responsible for their acts would lightly take. (Hear, hear.) 
 I do not in the smallest degree seek to diminish the importance of the proceeding 
 resorted to by her Miijesty's Ministers ; at tlie same time, let it be remembered that 
 the actual excess hitherto committed by the Bank has been limited to the amount 
 which I have stated, and that the effect of the authority whicli was given was 
 simply to enlarge the amount of the issues upon securities. Now, if the entire 
 circulation of this country had been metallic, I could have understood any objection 
 which might have been entertained to an authority being given to a corporation like 
 the Bank of England to issue £2,000,000 of hank-notes; but, inasmuch as they were 
 authorized by the Act of 1844 to issue £14,000,000 upon securities, and as that Act 
 contained a provision for further increasing that amount, in accordance with which 
 it has by an Order in Council been increased to £14,500,000, the only effect of the 
 authority given by the Government was in a guarded manner, under the close 
 observation of the Government and of Parliament, and to meet a momentary 
 emergency, to increase the issues of that description. No new principle was intro- 
 duced by that authority. It has been said that the Government have authorized the 
 I'ank to commit an act equivalent to a debasement of the currency, that what we 
 have done is almost equal to permitting a repudiation of contracts, and that the 
 sanctity of property was invaded by this additional issue of b.nuk-notes. I entirely 
 dispute the correctness of that view. (Hear, hear.) If any doubt had existed as to 
 the instantaneous convertibility of the additional notes issued under oiu* authority, 
 there would have been some ground for the charge which hiis been made against the 
 Government ; hut, inasmuch as the additional issue by the Bank was not sufficient 
 to affect the value of the notes, and each note was convertible into gold upon 
 demand, it cannot be said with justice that the Govex'nment have depreciated the 
 currency, authorized the repudiation of contracts, or struck at the security and 
 sanctity of property. (Hear, hear.) I wish I had it in ray power to say that this 
 commercial crisis was definitively terminated, and that we could look forward with 
 entire confidence to the Bank not having occasion to avail itself of the authority 
 which we have given to it. I think it highly probable that the directors may not 
 have occasion again to exceed the statutory limit; but, at the same time, I cannot 
 assure the House that no such contingency can be expected to occur. Perhaps, in 
 some respects, it would have been more convenient to Parliament if it could have 
 looked back upon a completed commercial crisis before it was called upon to 
 indemnify the Bank directors. The Government thought, however, that it was their 
 duty, having authorized an infraction of the law, at once to lay the matter before 
 I'arliament, and hence the celerity with which the Legislature has been assembled. 
 The pressure still continuing, and the wounds caused by the crisis being yet 
 unhealed, it will be necessary for me to pi'opose in the Bill a prospective power to 
 the Bank to exceed the limits of the charter for a period of 28 days after the 
 meeting of Parliament which will occur immediately subsequent to the recess. 
 (Hear.) I have taken that as a convenient period with a view to the revision of 
 Parliament, if revision should be necessary, and I trust that if the House should be 
 willing to pass the Indemnity Bill it will not refuse to allow me to insert a clause 
 to the effect I have stated. (Hear, hear.) I shall also ask the House in the course 
 of the evening to agree to the reappointment of the committee on the Bank Acts 
 which sat List session. That connnittee examined many important witnesses, but 
 its iiKjuiries were not completed, and at the end of the session it presented the 
 following report to the House : — 
 
 "■ Your committee have agreed to report to the House the evidence which they 
 h;ive received ; and, as their investigation of the subject referred to thera is still 
 incomplete, they beg leave to recommend that a select committee be appointed to 
 resume the iminiry in the ensuing session of Parliament." 
 
 AVo slioulil, as a matter of course, have acted upon that recommendation and have 
 moved the reappoiiumcnt of the committee, but it has been said that what has occurred 
 during the last lew months has weakened the reasons for that course. It seems to
 
 202 THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 me, on tlie contrary, tliat the commGrcial crisis and tlie act of the Government liave 
 strengthened rather than weaketied the reasons for the reappointment of tlie com- 
 mittee. (Hear, hear.) It must be obvious that if the House is desirous of recon- 
 siderinsc any of the details of the Act of 1844, it cannot do so with greater ad- 
 vantage tlian after a full inquiry before a select committee, and after the examination 
 of competent witnesses upon all the different branches of the subject. The general 
 portion of the subject was fully investigated last session, but so much of it as relates 
 to the country banks of England and the banks of Scotland and Ireland was not 
 entered upon, and I think it must be obvious, after the events of the last few months, 
 that there is a great deal in connection both with the country banks of England, and 
 the banks of Scotland and Ireland, which well deserves careful investigation. 
 (Hear, hear.) Moreover, I confess I doubt whether it would be prudent, when men 
 are smarting under the painful embarrassments of a commercial crisis, when that 
 crisis is still incomplete, when its consequences have not yet been fully developed, to 
 select that particular moment for revising your currency laws. Whether the proposal 
 was made by the Government or by independent members, I cannot think that we 
 should deliberate upon a most difficult subject, a subject which has perplexed the 
 minds of some of the ablest men whom this country has produced, under circum- 
 stances likely to lead to a safe and beneficial conclusion. Therefore, as I should have 
 moved the reappointment of the committee of last year under ordinary circum- 
 stances, it seems to me that the extraordinary circumstances under which we are 
 now assembled render such a step still more expedient. (Hear, hear.) By what I 
 have said the House I think must be led to the inference that the commercial crisis 
 has not arisen from any abuses of the currency— from any excessive issues of bank 
 paper in this country. (Hear, hear.) Whatever its causes may be, they stand, it 
 seems, wholly aloof from the proper and direct policy of the Act of 1844. (Hear, 
 hear.) Let us first take the Bank of England, the most important part of this sub- 
 ject. Can it be said with truth that the directors of the Bank of England have 
 shown any want of foresight, any want of prudence, any want of sagacity, or any 
 want of firmness during the past year ? I confess it appears to me, having had 
 necessary occasion to watch their proceedings with vigilance, that they have not 
 failed in any of the duties incumbent upon them. (Hear, liear.) Let us compare, as 
 a test of excessive issues on their part, their notes in the hands of the public with 
 their private securities during the year 1856-7. The following is a statement of their 
 notes with the public, including Bank post-bills, at various periods of 1856 : — 
 
 October 25 £21,412,000 
 
 November 1 £21,483,000 
 
 „ 8 £21,149,000 
 
 October 4 ...... £21,885,000 
 
 „ 11 £21,501,000 
 
 „ 18 £22,141,000 
 
 For the present year, when as we are told commercial discredit has been caused by 
 excessive Issues of Bank paper, the returns are as follows : — 
 
 October 
 
 3 
 
 £20,825,000 
 
 October 31 
 
 £21,184,000 
 
 10 
 
 £20,863,000 
 
 November 4 
 
 £21,080,000 
 
 17 
 
 £2 !,().". -J, 01)0 
 
 11 
 
 £21,036,000 
 
 24 
 
 £20,586,000 
 
 
 
 So that, in point of fact, the amount of notes in the hands of the public has been 
 actually less this year than in 1856. Let us now compare with the issues of notes 
 and Bank post-bills the private securities of the Bank at corresponding periods of 
 1856-7. The following is a return of the private securities at the latter end of each 
 of these years : — 
 
 1856. 
 
 October 4 £21,582,000 
 
 November 8 £18,026,000 
 
 1857. 
 
 October 3 £21,83.'),000 
 
 November 11 £26,113,000 
 
 Tiierefore that shows that there was not any excessive issue of paper on the part 
 of the Bank of England, and that the amount of Bank of England notes has not 
 been excessively or unduly increased. With respect to the country banks, can i: be 
 said that any portion of this discredit is traceable to their over Issue ? In the first 
 place, take the Borough Bank of Liverpool. That Is not even a bank of issue. Tlien 
 the large joint-stock bank whicli lias lately unfortunately fallen — the Northumber- 
 land and Durham District Bank ; that, though a bank of very extensive operations, 
 and though it has failed lor a large sum of money, was likewise not a bank of issue, 
 and, therefore, whatever its imprudences or misfortunes, they were In no way con- 
 nected with an abuse of the power of issuing paper. (Hear, hear.) With respect 
 to the Scotch hanks which have failed, both of those undoubtedly were banks of
 
 THE «ANK INDEMNITY BII L. 203 
 
 issue, but their notes bore a very small proportion to their entire liabilities, and 
 about half were covered by gold ; and no person aware of the facts, or who will make 
 hiiiist'lf acquainted with them, can fail to come to this conclusion, that the failure of 
 these banks is wholly independent of all questions relating to paper currency. Therefore, 
 as far as the direct operation of the Act of 184-4 is concerned, as far as its object was 
 to prevent the excessive issue of paper eitlier by the Bank of England or by the 
 country banks of England, or by the banks of Scotland and Ireland, it must be 
 admitted that the policy of that Act, and of the Act of 1845, was successful. Those 
 who impugn the policy of those Acts must say that at all events they were inopera- 
 tive, or that iu spite of them the currency was in a wise and sound state ; and those 
 who are friendly to the policy of those Acts will attribute the sound slate of the 
 currency to their direct operation. But, whatever these parties may think, the main 
 iact cannot be disputed, that our paper ctirrency was and has remained up to the 
 present moment in a perfectly sound state. (Hear, hear.) It is quite conceivable, 
 as my riglit hon. friend remarked in 1847, tiiat a commercial panic might arise if 
 the circulation were purely metallic. There might be undue credit and tinsound 
 speculation, and these causes might produce the same effects as are observable at the 
 present moment in the town of Hamburg, where there is no paper circulation, where 
 the only circulation is metallic, and where there exist all the acute symptoms of a 
 commercial crisis. (Hear, hear.) Now, with respect to the operation of the Act of 
 1844, I am desirous of drawing the attention of the committee to the distinction 
 between the ordinary operations of the Act in those circumstances which were con- 
 templated by its authors, and its operations at a moment of panic or crisis. If we 
 take its operations under ordinary circiunstances, the limit imposed on the Bank of 
 England, and on the country banks, and on Irish and Scotch banks, operates in the 
 way of prevention. It does not check the ordinary habitual operations of commerce, 
 but it is like a punishment in the penal law which by its preventive consequences 
 determines men's conduct. But when we come to a state of panic all these circum- 
 stances are reversed. Men's minds are then in an extraordinary state. Mutual 
 distrust prevails through the community, and a law which may be perfectly suited 
 to the ordinary conditions of trade, iu which it may operate beneficially when men 
 are left under the influence of ordinary motives, may at a time of panic be found to 
 produce effects the reverse of beneficial. The question then arises whether some 
 extraordinary power should not be required to suspend the operation of such a law. 
 The present law does two things. It imposes a limit on the issue of the Bank of 
 England, and exhibits the accounts of the Bank of England in a peculiar form, and 
 likewise requires that those accounts should be published once a week. Now, 
 wherever you impose a limit, there is no question tfjat the existence of that limit, 
 provided it makes itself felt at a moment of crisis, must increase the alarm. People 
 feel at the moment that a peril presses on them, they begin to calculate how much 
 remains of that fund to which they look for assistance in times of commercial difii- 
 culty, and in whatever way you fix the limit, whether by Act of Parliament, or, as 
 Mr. Tooke proposed, by a sort of usage, or, as iu France, by the discretion of the 
 Government acting on the Bank of France, there is no doubt that in moments of 
 crisis the limit must aggravate the alarm. (Hear, hear.) I can bear witness, from 
 my own observation, that such was its operation in 1847. There is no doubt, in my 
 opinion, that when a crisis once sets in, when you have an extraordinary state of 
 distrust quite different from the state in which men ordinarily live (because it is by 
 mutual trust and confidence that commerce is carried on), when you get into a state 
 of apprehension, and every man suspects his neighbour, then undoubtedly any limit 
 whicli is imposed on the paper circulation must aggravate the alarm. In 
 that way I distinguish between the ordinary and the extraordinary operation 
 of this Act. (Hear, hear.) Well, then, the manner in wdiich the assets of 
 the Bank are distributed, by which the whole bullion is set against the paper issue 
 of the Bank, and by which only a small portion of reserve notes is placed in the 
 banking department in a very conspicuous manner against the deposits, concen- 
 trates the attention of the commercial public upon the amount of gold in reserve. 
 They watch its diminution from day to day, and when it has reached a certain 
 point each person desires to get a share of it as long as it lasts. (Hear, hear.) 
 The banking account tends, then, by that accident, to aggravate in a commercial 
 crisis the public alarm. (Hear, hear.) These circumstances appear to me to show 
 that in its extraordinary operations this Act may tend to aggravate panic, though in 
 ordinary times it tends to promote a sound state of circulation, and, so far as the 
 state of the currency is concerned, to avert panics; but when a panic arises from 
 ociier causes, at that particular crisis, though the panic may only last a few days, 
 it ag^;ravates the alarm. It appears to me that at moments of that sort wc can
 
 204 THE BANK INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 only resort to the digcretion of the Government for the time being; but I shall bo 
 liuppj- to hear if any gentleman lias any other remedy to offer for those rare, I am 
 liappy to say, but, nevertheless, recurring occasions. It seems to me you can only 
 resort to the discretion of the Government in some form or other. Now, there is a 
 question on which the Government have carefully deliberated, and on which after 
 deliberation they have not thought it their duty to make any proposition to the 
 House. The question is one which will be considered by the committee to be 
 appointed, I hope, by this House. The question is whether it is preferable to leave 
 the power of dealing with these emergencies vested in the executive Government for 
 the time being, to be exercised by them on their responsibility to Parliament, and 
 subject to the duty of assembling Parliament at an early period after the exercise 
 of the power, of submitting to it the whole facts of the case, and asking for an in- 
 demnity, — the question, I repeat, is whether we should, in conformity with the 
 opinion of the Commons' committee of 1847, leave the matter in that state which 
 undoubtedly involves an infraction of the law, though the wound which may be 
 done to the constitution is healed by constitutional and Parliamentary means, or 
 ■whether we should adopt the conclusion of the committee of the House of Lords in 
 the same year, who thought it irregular to grant such a power to the executive 
 Government, and that Parliament ought to engraft into the Act itself a power of 
 suspension. The Bill the introduction of which I hope the House will sanction, and 
 introduced at a time when the events which have called for its introduction are still 
 recent, while the crisis in its consequences is not fully developed, will not contain 
 any distinct provision upon that subject. It appears to me, indeed, that the ques- 
 tion is one of importance in a constitutional point of view rather than as involving 
 any great difference in its practical results. If, after the proceedings which took 
 place in 1847, and if Parliament should come to a similar conclusion now, the 
 Government, acting under the influence of two such precedents, might find their 
 course facilitated and guided, while, upon the other hand, if a clause were inserted 
 in the present Bill authorizing the Government in cases of emergency and in times 
 of panic to relax the limit, but containing a clause similar to that which is con- 
 tained in the Act which enables Government to embody the Militia, but which pro- 
 vides that they shall call Parliament together within fourteen days, I think the 
 practical result of such a state of things would be tlie same as those of the present 
 system, because I think that a Government would be apt to look upon the 
 distinction as a mere formal one, and would feel the same I'eluctance to act 
 upon the power afforded them, except in cases of extreme emergency. 
 While, therefore, I think that the subject is more important as a constitutional 
 question than from any difference in the practical result of the two systems, there 
 are other reasons why I think that a clause conferring such a power upon the 
 Government ought not to be introduced into the present Bill. Two select com- 
 mittees have sat to inquire into the subject, one a committee of this House, and the 
 other a committee of the House of Lords, and, after fully hearing and considering 
 evidence on the subject, those committees arrived at diametrically opposite conclu- 
 sions. (Hear, hear.) It is a subject, therefore, with regard to which we may 
 anticipate a great difference of opinion, and the Government woitld be glad to hear 
 the views entertained by leading members of this and of the other House of Parlia- 
 ment before they can consider it their duty to submit any measure with regard to 
 it. Now, sir, there are questions relating to the operation of the law in Ireland and 
 Scotland, which are worthy of notice, and I think that it may become the House to 
 consider whether some amendments in the existing law may not be made with great 
 propriety — (loud cries of" Hear, hear") — to consider, for example, whether theie 
 could be any objection to providing that the Bank of England note should be a legal 
 tender over the whole of the United Kingdom. (Cheers.) Also, it might become us 
 to consider whether, in order to prevent the inconvenience arising from drains of 
 gold from this country under the present system, it might not be advisable to allow 
 tlie Irish and Scotch banks to issue notes against Bank of England notes. (Hear, 
 hear.) There is another subject to which I adverted last year in moving the 
 appointment of the committee to inquire into the operations of the Act of 1844 
 which has been the subject of much popular discussion at the present period — I 
 mean the policy of permanently increasing for the future the limit of the issue of 
 the Bank of England. (Hear, hear.) It is said by some persons that if the Bank) 
 England had been authorized by law in the beginning of November to issue 
 ,t; 16,500,000 instead of .^14,500,000, and to give them such a pov/er does not in- 
 volve any difl'erence of principle from the Act of 1844, for it was quite within tiie 
 views of the promoters of that Act, the crisis might have been got over without any 
 extraordinary step being taken by the Governnicnt. I think, then, as fiir as 1
 
 THE BANK INDEMNITY lULL. 205 
 
 umlerstaiid the caso, that is a fair representation of the views of many gcntlemon. 
 (Hear, liear). Now, sir, I wish in answer to that view to call tlie attention of gentle- 
 men who entertain it to this fact: — If the bullion reserve of the Bank of England had 
 been what it was at tlie commencement of the crisis, and if the Bank of England 
 had been empowered by hiw to issue 1'1G,5()0,00U instead of £11,500,000, nn- 
 doubteiily no extraordinary interference might have been necessary. (Hear, hear.) 
 But at the same time I can quite understand that, inasmuch as I believe that in a 
 monetary panic the existence of a limit tends to increase alarm, such interference 
 might have been necessary. (Hear, hear.) Now, if the Bank of England had not 
 kept the same bullion in reserve which the law now requires, if it had merely issued 
 £2,000,000 more upon securities, and diminished the reserve by £2,000,000, which, 
 under such a state of the law, it would be enabled to do, the Bank of England would 
 liave had no greater facility than it has now had, but the reserve of bullion would 
 be less by £2,000,000. (Hear, hear.) I think that this consideration must tend to 
 convince gentlemen who hold that view that the resort of increasing the credit of 
 the issue of the Bank from £11,500,000 to £16,500,000 might not be quite so 
 effectual a remedy in times of panic as they imagined. (Hear, hear.) I regret that 
 I have been compelled to trouble the House at such great length upon this subject, 
 but inasmuch as these questions were the real occasion which induced the Govern- 
 ment to recommend her Majesty to call Parliament together at this early period, and 
 inasmuch as they have occupied a great amount of public attention, inasmuch m 
 they have grown out of an important crisis which must lead to important results, 
 inasmuch as the step which has been taken by the Government was an extraordinary 
 and extra-legal step— for we stand before Parliament, I will not say in the position 
 of culprits, but in tlio position of having advised the Corporation of the Bank of 
 England to make a departure from the existing law — inasmuch also as we are now 
 called upon to ask Parliament to indemnify the Bank of England and ourselves, I 
 trust that I may be forgiven if I have felt it my duty to make a statement of such 
 length to the House. (Cheers.) 
 
 SPEECH OF MR. B. DISRAELI, ON THE SAME OCCASION, IN REPLY. 
 
 Mb. Disraeli said, — I trust that in discussing this question we shall abstain from 
 that vague declamation which has occasionally been indulged in upon both sides 
 of the House, and among others by the noble lord who has just spoken, although I 
 admit that many of his observations, like much that falls from his lips, were wortliy 
 of our most serious attention. What are we asked to do to-night? It is no ordinal y 
 demand that is made upon the House of Commons. We are asked to consent to a 
 ]5ill of Indemnity for an infraction of the law, authorized by the Government in 
 consequence of the commercial distress and distrust that have prevailed, and that 
 unfortunately still prevail. We have heard a great deal of committees upon com- 
 mercial distress being advisable. Permit me, though very briefly, to lay before you 
 some suggestions as to what may be the causes of the present commercial distress 
 and distrust. The distress is generah It is not confined to this country, where it 
 is extensive. All know that it prevails in the Ignited States. It is not peculiar to 
 the United States, as some gentlemen who have addressed you seem to infer. It is 
 European. It prevails in Germany, in Austria, in Pnissia, in Denmark, in Sweden, 
 and what is occurring in Hamburg at this moment must be fresh in the recollec- 
 tion and the fears of many members of this House. Again, it is to be recollected 
 that the commercial transactions of Europe are carried on by an amount of capital 
 tiuit is not to be counted by millions, but by hundreds of millions. It is, therefore, 
 a very great error— and here I entirely agree with the noble lord the member for the 
 City — to suppose that the management of a limited portion of the currency of England 
 could have occasioned this immense disaster, and these wide consequences, which 
 really have originated, not from the mismanagement of the currency of this counirv, 
 but from the mismanagement of the capital of Europe. (Hear.) Now, there is one 
 important point which we must bear in mind in considering the Act of 1844. That 
 Act is an Act to regulate the currency of this country. The purport of it is in my 
 mind irreproachable. Its object is one which every man ought to wish to secure, 
 and the means by which thai object is sought to be obtained are in many respects
 
 206 THE RANK INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 ■worthy of puLlic admiration. T-ut is it or is it not tlie fact tLat this Act, wliich 
 really is intenclcd only to regulate the currency of this country, to establish and 
 maintain the convertibility of the notes of the Bank of England, lias nevertheless 
 the effect— as I believe, the unintended effect — of greatly aggravating coninurcial 
 distress and distrust when they are occasioned by the mii-application and mis- 
 management, not of the currency of England, but of the capitiil of Europe? (Hear, 
 hear.) Now, I apprehend that that point lias never been met througlmut all these 
 observations, whicii I have listened to, and I apprehend that it is a position which 
 can be istiihlislicd. I say it can be shown that it is in consequence of the machinery 
 of the Act of 1844, though intended merely as a currency Act, and to have a limited 
 application to objects, no doubt, of paramount importance, that the manageis of the 
 currency of this country have been forced to treat in an identical manner and by the 
 same means two circumstances totally opposite in their character, and both exei-- 
 cising a most powerful and injurious influence on the commerce and capital of this 
 country — that is, a foreign drain and a domestic drain. I say that the Act of 1S44, 
 from the manner in which it is framed, forces those who regulate tlie currency of this 
 country to apply to a domestic drain exactly the same treatment which is applied 
 to a foreign drain; while, if there is anything which can be established by argument 
 and an appeal to facts, it is that the two sets of circumstances should be treated in an 
 exactly contrary manner, and beencountercd by means exactly opposite. (IIcar,hear.) 
 If that point be established, and if that be the sound position, then surely we may 
 fairly consider a question of tliat kind without being accused by the noble lord of 
 wishing to tamper with the standard of value, to ii undate the country with paper 
 money, or of desiring to recur to obsolete modes of practice, and to what took place 
 in this country with respect to the circulation, ■when, in fact, the sane circumstances 
 did not exist, and when there -were not the same means of regulating the currency. 
 The noble lord has made a very great appeal to-night to the disastrous year of 1825, 
 when he infoimed us that 700 banks were broken in the same morning, I believe. 
 (" Hear hear," and a laugh.) The noble lord^ivas not then the Prime Minister of this 
 country, and though no luan is better acquainted with its history than the noble lord, 
 yet I think that on this occasion he has trusted too carelessly to his memory ; for 
 at that disastrous period, not 700 country banks, but 73 banks altogetiier, in 
 London and in the country-, broke, and by no means were the majority of these 
 banks of issue. (Hear, hear.) Therefore I do not think that that illustrative 
 warning bears very much on the question we ought to consider this evening. 
 (" Hear," and laughter.) But this year of 1825 — this phantom of ancient distress 
 constantly raised in our debates — has really very little to do with the modern 
 principles of hanking, and the means by which the currency of this country is now 
 cariiedon. It is very easy to abuse the Bank directoi's of that day for what oc- 
 curred, but we must remember that in 1825 it was quite impossible for the directors 
 of the Bank of England to avail themselves of those resources which you now are 
 always ready to remind them are at their disposal to guard their accounts by raising 
 the rate of discounts. lu 1825 you allowed the usury laws to prevail, and it was 
 impossible for the Bank to have a higher rate of discount than 5 per cent. Therefore 
 the year 1825 refers to circumstances which no longer prevail in our laws and man- 
 ners, and I protest against the quotation of the year 1825 for the future in any 
 currency debate. (Hear.) Now let us refer to tlie point we have before us. We 
 are in a state of great commercial distress and distrust. I entirely agree w'ith the 
 noble lord on this point, that to suppose that the great C( mmercial distre.'^s which 
 now prevails could have been occasioned by the mismanagement of the currency of 
 this or any other country is like supposing that a great nobleman could be ruined by the 
 mismanagement of his pocket-money, (llear, hear.) The fact is we arc mistaking, and 
 have for a long time too easily mistaken, in all these discussions, capital for currency. 
 But though the commercial distress and distrust are entirely occasioiied by the 
 management and application in this country, in America, and in the European 
 nations, of the great mass of floating capital which prevails, still, at the same time, 
 we cannot conceal from ourselves that wo have a law in this couiitry intended only 
 to act on our currency, and which, so far as the principle it asserts is concerned, I 
 liope the vast majority of this House will maintain, but which, whenever commercial 
 distress and distrust occur, is found entirely unendurable, oppressive, and imprac- 
 ticable, and on every occasion of emerfjency we are obliged to suspend it. (Hear, 
 hear.) The nohle lord who has just addnssed the House, and who has addressed it 
 ■with peculiar authority on this subject, since he was the very first minister who 
 recommended the violation of the statute, has referred to the two occasions in a briif 
 space of time when this Act was suspended ; but, if he would refresh his recollection 
 from the evidence taken before the committee of last year, to which con.-tant
 
 TIIK HANK INDEMNITY lULL. 207 
 
 reference lias been made during tliis debate, he will find tliat practically, or virtually 
 at least, tbe suspension of this Act is not to be confined to those two instance?, 
 memorable as they are ; because in the autumn of 185G there was a very great 
 pressure, and the precious metals were leaving this country — one of the causes, by- 
 the-by, of our present embarrassment, and consequent on the expenditure for the 
 Russian war. The pressure on the money-market was extreme ; the rate of discount 
 was raised — and wisely raised — by the directors of the Bank of England, and by the 
 prudent and courageous manner in wliicli in that instance, as subsequently, they 
 managed their aOairs, the danger for the moment was averted. But we have the 
 evidence of Mr. Chapman, and that is no inconsiderable testimony, as all acquainted 
 with the subject will admit. Well, he by whom the force of a money pressure is 
 always felt, who represents the greatest discount house in Lombard Street, says that 
 liad it not been for some private information which reached him, to the efl'ect that in 
 case of extreme pressure there would be an interference on the part of the Govern- 
 ment, he should at that moment have given up the idea of struggling any further, 
 and it was only on that tacit understanding that he went on with his business. 
 (Uear, hear.) Remember who gave that evidence. He is the very individual whose 
 representations, if I am rightly informed, in 1857 as well as in 1847, induced the 
 Minister of this country to recommend the suspension of this Act. (Hear, hear.) 
 The question naturally arises what is the effect of allowing the currency of this 
 country to be regulated by an Act which we are in a continual state of being pre- 
 pared to suspend? So entirely do I admire the object of that Act, so anxious am I 
 myself to hope that a large majority of this House is prepared to uphold the prac- 
 ticable and virtual convertibility of the note, that I should be most anxious to 
 interpret the machinery of the Act in a manner the most favourable to its continuance, 
 and to the non-necessity of alteration. I would pass over one crisis, in which its 
 provisions had been suspended, with what I should consider a wise indulgence, but 
 it becomes the committee deeply to consider whether it will sanction a chronic state 
 of suspension— whether we are to have an Act of such a character as always either 
 to be suspended, or to be in that state in which those who are acting under it knew 
 that when an emergency arises it will not bo put in practice. Is that wise ? 
 (Hear.) " But," says the noble^lord, " on the whole that is the course I recommend." 
 The noble lord loves a precedent. He set a precedent in this instance himself, and I 
 can easily understand the tc-nder regret with which the noble lord would at the same 
 time witness that we had turned from tliat precedent, and as it were passed some 
 censure, mild, I am sure, on the sagacity of his conduct in 1847. But the noble 
 lord says that this Act Is a considerable check on what he calls over-speculation and 
 an inflated currency, which in times of prosperity abound. I am sorry to hear from 
 the noble lord that our periods of prosperity are always necessarily to be accom- 
 panied by such distress, but when tiie noble lord so fairly tells us what are the con- 
 sequences of increased circulation — when he tells us that, unless we have tliese 
 considerable checks, the currency will be greatly increased — there will be no check 
 on the issues of the Bank — a crisis will arise, the circulation will be inflated, and 
 there will, in fact, be no standard of value, I may be permitted to say to the noble 
 lord, with all respect, that tliough these were opinions once held by persons of con- 
 siderable reputation, and for aught I know may be still adhered to by persons of 
 considerable repute, yet they are conclusions the authenticity of which is entirely 
 impugned by authorities of a more novel nature than perhaps the noble lord may be 
 aware of, and of no less high a character than any to which the noble lord coukl 
 appeal. IMany high authorities have held that the depreciation of a bank-note con- 
 vertible at par is a simple impossibility, and they have also held that it is quite out 
 of the power of any bank to issue beyond the requirements of the country, and what 
 is still more important, is that it is not in the power of any one to prove tliat any 
 issue at any time has ever affected the prices of articles. Nay, more, we have con- 
 clusive evidence in our possession that the reverse is the fact. Now, really, Sir, 
 under these circumstances I must protest against the noble lord so freely, and in 
 that style of declamation which he can command even upon a currency question, 
 leniling his authority to a principle which 1 believe to be quite fallacious, and to con- 
 clusions which I believe to be untenable, and to details which I think he will find 
 himself totally unable to substantiate. "But," says the noble lord, "this Act is a 
 check upon the over-speculation of the day, and although there may be some 
 objection to the mode in whicii that check is exercised, still the benefit which results 
 fi-om it is indubitable." But when the noble lord talks of this Act operating as a 
 beneficial check, while the Government may interfere with the period of its being 
 carried out, let me ask the House to consider one point which 1 think has not been 
 fairly taken into consideration during the course of this debate. If the House be
 
 208 THE JJAMv INDEMNITY BILL. 
 
 prepared to sanction and countenance this dispensing power to be exerted at the arbi- 
 trary will of tiie Minister of the day, how does it pro))ose to recognize tlie diiYerence of 
 position between those firms who fall victims before the dispensing power is exercised? 
 (Hear, hear.) Are those who liold on a favoured twenty-four honrs struck upon the 
 clock of the Royal Exchange of London to dominate over those with whom they ought 
 to be fellow- victims? (Hear, heai-.) Let me remind the House that when we discuss 
 this question, and perhaps discuss it too easily as regards those who have fallen, it 
 might perhaps be as well to go a little into detail, for it is only through detail that tha 
 House can realize some idea of the consequences of this fear and distrust in London 
 and the other great marts of commercial enterprise. Now, Sir, here is a document 
 with which I have been furnished, and I will answer for its being correct and accu- 
 rate, although I canuot answer for its being complete, because there are the names 
 of many victims with regard to whom the amounts for which they have fallen have 
 not yet been ascertained ; but here is a document of desolation in my hand, the 
 contents of which I think will surprise even those gentlemen connected with the 
 commerce and monetary transactions of the country who have addressed us to-night. 
 It is a return of the number of firms wliich have fallen between the 7tli of September 
 and the 12th of November, a period of little more than two months, and among those 
 firms there are some of no inconsiderable importance, and some which ranked, as 
 far as capital can be a test of position, in the highest class in mercantile repute. In 
 that brief period I find no less than eighty-five firms fell which represented a capital 
 of ^42,000,000 sterling, and, with the exception of firms representing £8,000,000 of 
 money, tliose mercantile establishments ft-ll before the letter of November, some of 
 them a few days, even hours, before that letter. (Hear, hear.) Now if we are to leave 
 the law in this state, I really think that it becomes uscalmly,butearnestly and seriously, 
 to consider what is the operation of the policy, what the state of the administration in 
 this country which thus conducts and controls its commerce. I have heard states- 
 men to-night, and among them the noble lord the member for Loudon, who do not 
 shrink from the responsibility of exercising this dispensing power. I must say that 
 the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer showed more modesty, and displayed 
 his reluctance to exercise such a responsibility, by intimating the possibility upon 
 his part of making some suggestion which would avoid a resjjonsibility so terrible. 
 A man must have great confidence in himself, in his position, and in his character 
 who, under circumstances such as I have described, when eighty-five firms repre- 
 senting a capital of £40,000,000 had fallen within so short a period, would, as a 
 a Minister of the Crown, have no reluctance in deciding when to interfere. (Hear, 
 hear.) I am deeply conscious that every English statesman is sincerely anxious to 
 do his duty to his country, and I can readily conceive the terrible anxiety with 
 which a Minister under such circumstances might consult some eminent capitalist, 
 perhaps one of his principal supporters, and one whose mercantile knowledge and 
 intelligence had been of great assistance, I won't say in preparing a budget, but in 
 furnishing details for the assistance of a Minister in framing his financial scheme. 
 I am not making any personal allusions, but I am only supposing the general posi- 
 tion in which a Minister may be placed. Well, then, suppose the Minister to con- 
 sult such an individual. It may be of the utmost importance to a man engaged in 
 commercial pursuits that the suspending power should be delayed for twenty-four 
 hours, or precipitated by that period, in order to destroy a rival ov to save himself. 
 The consequences of such a course 1 need not dwell upon. I know that such a case 
 may not happen, but would it be wise in us to sanction a law which might, under any 
 circumstances, lead to consequi-nces of such a character? I am sure that the House 
 will reflect deeply upon the difficulty which now surrounds us, that they will recol- 
 lect the contents of the startling document to which 1 have alluded, and that they 
 will feel that it is no child's play to bear responsibility upon such a subject — a sub- 
 ject which 1 say is the last with regard to which the responsibility of a Minister of 
 the Crown ouglit to be exercised. It is a responsibility almost beyond the endurance 
 of any individual, and one which is totally alien to the cliar.acter of the constitution 
 of this country. (Hear, hear.) You have thought a disjiensing power with regard 
 to civil and political rights unbearable, and you have chiu,ged a dynasty rather than 
 submit to it, and are you prepared now to extend to a Minister such a power with 
 regard to a subject which in this country touches you, perhaps, more nearly than 
 either civil or political rights? Where commercial and monetary interests are con- 
 cerned, are you prepared to submit quietly to a dispensing pi iwcr exercised arbitrarily 
 at the discretion of the ^linister, the exercise of which, even when most virtuously 
 employed, may bo unjust and ruinous in its results? (Cheers.) I think, therefore, 
 that it is most desirable that we should take some course to prevent a repetition of 
 the transactions of 1847 and 1857. I think the tune has arrived in which we ought
 
 THE BANK IDNEMNITY BILL. 209 
 
 to exert ourselves to solve a difTiciilty which may be great, but one which we oupjht 
 not to evade, but which we oiiglit to (nideavour to surinDiuit ; and I rej^ret tliat I see 
 no disposition on the part of tlie Government to undertake the task. That such 
 appears the case I regret the more, because I think that all that has been said upon 
 the subject during the present session might have tended to prove to Her Majesty's 
 Ministers that there was no desire in any quarter to throw any obstacle in the way 
 of the full exercise of their discretion, but that, on the contrary, there was every 
 wish to assist them to a solution of the difficulty which would redound to their honour. 
 (Ilear, hear.) We are to-night asked to agree to a Bill of Indemnity ; now, I said 
 yesterday, perhaps rather inadvcrtentl3', that my consent to that Bill would depend 
 upon the line taken by the Government with respect to the Act itself. I forgot that 
 the Bill was not a Bill of Indemnity for Ministers alone, but also an indemnity for 
 the Bank directors. Now, I dou't think that any one can impugn tiie conduct of 
 the Bank directors. There is no evidence before us that the Bank directors required 
 this interference ; and in 1847, not only did tliey not solicit the Government for a 
 suspension of the Act; on the contrary, they did not avail themselves of its suspen- 
 sion, but disapproved the course which had been adopted, and maintained the con- 
 vertibility of the note. I have reason to believe that in the present instance the 
 directors of the Bank have acted in the same magnanimous spirit ; and if, at tha 
 suggestion of the Government, they have consented to take an illegal step, I think, 
 whatever may be the differences of opinion on the general subject, it would be 
 cowardly and vindictive to throw any obstacle in the way of their indemnity. So far, 
 therefore, as the Bill of Indemnity is asked, I am prepared to accede to the request 
 of the Government, but further than that I cannot afford ray consent. I think the 
 Government have taken an erroneous step, notwithstanding the high authority just 
 expressed in their favour by the noble lord, in recommending that the House should 
 again appoint the committee to consider this question. I must repeat my belief that 
 there is no subject which can solicit the attention and. consideration of public meu 
 on which there exists eveu such a surplusage of knowledge and information as upon 
 the principles on which the currency of this country should be established, and on 
 which it has of iate years been carried on, and that any attempt to postpone the 
 solution of the grave difficulties which surround it by further incjuiry will lead to 
 gx'eat public inconvenience, possibly to great public disaster. I think we ought to 
 show no hesitation in meeting those difficulties, that we ought to give our best con- 
 sideration not only to the passing, but the immediate passing, of some measure which 
 will prevent the future necessity of appealing to this House for Bills of Indemnity to 
 her Majesty's Ministers for such acts as that in respect of whicli they now deem it 
 necessary to ask us to support them. I have endeavoured to call the attention of the 
 House to what I think the vital point in this Bill which requires our consiiieraiion. 
 I am for supporting the spirit of the Bill so far as it maintains the convertibility of 
 the notes which the Bank issues. I would do that completely, sincerely, and in no 
 spirit of equivocation, but believing as I do that the law by its enactments forcing 
 the Bank to treat a foreign and a domestic drain by the same means, not only oc- 
 casions but aggravates distress and distrust among tlie commercial classes of this 
 country, 1 think we ought to meet that difficulty by remedying the law in that 
 respect. Let the House idealize to itself one great difference between a domestic and 
 a foreign drain. With a foreign drain we have learnt by experience efficiently to 
 cope. We have never had a greater strain on our resources in that respect than we 
 have had of late j'cars, but by that powerful arm which the usury laws now place on 
 the Bank of England we have been enabled to cope witli tiiat efficiently ; and I 
 tiierefore think there is no man in this country who has now any fear of ultimately 
 disastrous consequences of a foreign drain. A foreiiru drain is a very unimpassioued, 
 calculating transaction. It is founded on a knowledge of our resource-:, and upon 
 the necessities of those who in foreign countries require our aid, and, hov.-ever inexo- 
 rable the demand, it is one whicli is acted on almost in an instant by the results of 
 reason and calculation. But the moment you come to a domestic drain you have to 
 encounter elements of a very different character. The mor:il quality, as well as the 
 material element, enters into the calculation of the domestic drain. The passions of 
 fear and hope govern mankind ; the mart and the exchange are not free from the 
 influence of tlioie passions, and when you have cirrumstances in which a whole 
 nation is panic struck you cannot hope by the aid of economic science successfully 
 to encounter them. It is therefore the duty of Parliament to remedy the deficiencies 
 of the law in that respect. But I cannot believe we have any chance of obtaining 
 that remedy if v/e consent to the course sugj;ested by her Majesty's Ministers. la 
 1840 the wiiole question of a bank of issue was gone into by a committee which, 
 whether we look to the reputation of the members who formed it, or the high 
 
 P
 
 210 THE I5ANK INDIiMMTY BI!,L. 
 
 cliiiracter of t'le witnesses c illcii before it, prodiiired a volume iiifciior in inteios' to 
 none in this House. In 1847, after the panic, you li;id a committee to iiHiuiie inio 
 the same subj-ct and into the inlinence of this very Act of 1844. At the beginninj^ 
 of last ye;ir a third committee was appjinteH, aii'l its transactions are l)efore yon. 
 What more can yn want ? All the more distinguished writers of the day on public 
 and political economj' have favoured the country with their speculations on this 
 subject. There is no new writer before us, and I think therefore the time 
 ha* come when we ought to settle this question. "What is the use of a Govern- 
 imnt if it cannot settle this qnestion ? (A luuph.) Wiiat is the use of a House 
 of Commons if it cannot animate .ind inspire a Government? (L:»ughter, and an 
 iionical cheer.) There are some men who think that members of Parliament are 
 only made to form Parliamentary committees; but it is only a preparatory, though 
 a very useful, training to accumulate intelligence in that way, to sift evidence and 
 to draw conclusions. There is something higher and more necessary; that is, to 
 recommeml a policy; and I think the time has come when we ought to recom- 
 mend a policy. (Cheers.) Now, the right lion, gentleman the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer has no wish that there should be any great delay in passing this Bill of 
 Indemnity. I wish to meet him in that respect frankly and in the most friendly 
 spirit ; but I hope the right lion, gentleman will not really and practically hold if 
 we give him this Bill of Indemnity that Parliament was only called together for that 
 object. The right hon. gentleman has a motion on the paper for a committee. If 
 lie w.juld only settle with me the night on which to take tliat motion for a committee, 
 1 would move to that motion an amendment the purport of which would be, witiiont, 
 of course, plelging myself at this moment to its exact phraseologj', to express the 
 opinion of the House that it is expedient to legislate on the subject, and not to refer it 
 to a "elect committee, (Cheers.) If the light hon. gentleman will say this day 
 week for his committee, I will assist him to the best of my power in carrying his 
 Bill ; and on this dav week, if he vvlU move the committee, I will endeavour in a 
 manner befitting the imp irtance of the subject to ask the House to consider whether, 
 uider all the circuinstaiices of the case, it is expedient tliat this question should he 
 referred to a select committee, and whether it is not wiser to proceed at once to 
 iegisliite on the subject. (Hear, liear.)
 
 FLUCTUATIONS IN PUODUCK 
 
 211 
 
 FLUCTUATIO]N'S IN PEODUCE.* 
 
 A Sr.VTEirENT of the Highest and Lowest Prices of the Principal Articles of i'ro- 
 duca during the past Three Years, with the fStock at each I'oint of the Kcspcc- 
 tivo Years. Also tlie Highest and Lowest Prices for the first Five Montlu of 
 this Year, with Comparative Stocks, 5lh June : — 
 
 West 
 
 1855. 
 1856. 
 1857. 
 
 1858. 
 Sto. 
 
 SUGAR. 
 
 India, per civt., Didij Id., 
 Brown to Fine Yellow. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 57 Oto67 
 30 „ 41 
 
 I Low 
 
 Stock. 
 
 Tons. 
 .13,130 
 .10,250 
 . 6,100 
 .16,830 
 .11,713 
 .17,290 
 . 7,350 
 .17,070 
 
 17,070 
 
 11,743 
 
 Mauritius, per cud., Dutif paid. Low 
 Brown to Fine Yellow. 
 
 Stock. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 April 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 June 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 June 
 
 4-7 
 
 34 
 53 
 33 6 
 
 35 
 33 
 
 51 
 45 
 63 
 47 
 47 
 41 
 
 :k, 5th mst 
 
 5th June, 1857 
 
 185c 
 
 1856. 
 
 1857. 
 
 1858. 
 
 Nov. 
 April 
 Dec. 
 Feb. 
 June , 
 Dec. , 
 Mar. 
 June 
 
 ..48 
 ..27 
 ..39 
 .. 32 
 .46 
 .28 
 ..29 
 ..27 
 
 d. s. 
 to 65 
 „ 39 
 „ 52 
 
 13 
 62 
 45 
 47 
 44 
 
 Tons. 
 
 .. 6,780 
 ..10,590 
 .. 7,180 
 ..10,850 
 .. 8,600 
 .. 6,950 
 ,. 7,910 
 .. 9,980 
 
 Stock, 5th inst 9,980 
 
 „ 5th June, 1857 8,600 
 
 Bengal, Duty paid, per cwt.. Ordinary 
 Khaur to Fine Wliite Benares. 
 
 Stock. 
 
 1855. Nov. 
 ,, AprU 
 
 1856. Dec. 
 „ Feb. 
 
 1857. June 
 „ Dec. 
 
 1858. Mar, 
 „ June 
 
 48 
 
 26 
 
 39 
 
 32 
 
 46 
 
 ,27 
 
 ,28 
 
 , 26 
 
 d. ». 
 
 to m 
 
 39 
 53 
 45 
 62 
 50 
 49 
 48 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1,870 
 7,300 
 3,810 
 2,190 
 3,060 
 6,760 
 6,400 
 4,400 
 
 Stock, 5th inst 4,400 
 
 5th June, 1857 3,060 
 
 Stock of all kinds of Raw Sugar : — 
 
 th June, 1858 5 1,880 tons. 
 
 5th June, 1857 37,450 „ 
 
 Refined Sugar, per cwt.. Brown and 
 Middling Grocery Lumps. 
 
 s. d. .-,. d. 
 
 1855. Nov 73 to 76 
 
 „ April 43 6 „ 46 
 
 1856. Dee 61 „ 63 
 
 „ Feb 47 „ 50 
 
 1857. June 70 6 „ 74 
 
 „ Dec 55 6 „ 59 
 
 1858. Mar 56 „ 62 
 
 „ June 54 „ 57 
 
 1855. 
 1856. 
 1857. 
 1858. 
 
 Sto. 
 
 April 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 JIar. 
 
 June 
 
 Dec. 
 
 April 
 
 June 
 
 MOLASSES. 
 West India, per cwt. 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 17 to 21 6 
 
 17 „ 21 6 
 
 23 6 
 
 16 6 
 
 28 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 29 6 
 
 .. 15 „ 16 
 
 .. 15 6 „ 19 ...10,170 
 
 .. 15 „ 17 6 ...10,110 
 
 Stock. 
 Tons. 
 
 770 
 1,490 
 1,410 
 1,686 
 1,440 
 7,820 
 
 k, 5th June, 1858 10,110 
 
 „ 1857 1,410 
 
 COFFEE. 
 
 Native Ceylon, per cwt.. Good to Fine 
 Ordinary. 
 $. d. 8. d. 
 
 1855. Nov. ... 51 to 56 
 „ Jan. ...44 6 „ 46 6 
 
 1856. Sept. ... 51 „ 53 6 
 „ June ...48 „ 52 6 
 
 1857. June ... 64 „ 66 
 
 52 „ 53 
 
 53 6 „ 55 6 
 45 „ 52 
 
 Stock Ceylon Cofiee, 5th inst, 
 1857 ... 
 
 „ Dec. 
 1858. Feb. 
 May 
 
 Stock. 
 Tons. 
 .. 5,100 
 
 .. 6,700 
 .. 4,450 
 .. 5,360 
 .. 3,300 
 
 .. 4,480 
 .. 3,750 
 .. 4,120 
 ...4,120 
 ,.. 2,600 
 
 COCOA. 
 
 West India, per cwt.. Old Gray to Fine 
 Red. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 1857 
 
 1858 
 
 Nov. 
 April 
 Dec. , 
 April 
 Sept. , 
 Jan. 
 Feb. 
 Mav 
 
 ..54 0to64 
 . 33 „ 42 
 
 „ 75 
 
 „ 48 
 
 ,,105 
 
 „ 75 
 
 „ 92 
 
 „ 84 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 7,500 
 
 „ „ 1857 6,650 
 
 ..66 
 ..34 
 ..91 
 ..66 
 .. 58 
 .. 48 
 
 Stock. 
 Packages. 
 
 ... 7,870 
 
 ... 3,810 
 
 ... 1,420 
 
 ... 5,110 
 
 ... 3,980 
 
 ... 620 
 
 ... 2,670 
 
 ... 7,500 
 
 TEA. 
 
 Congou, per lb. on Bond, Low to Fine, 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 1855. Aug 8 to 2 4 
 
 „ Jan 9^ „ 1 10 
 
 1856. Dec lOi „ 2 4 
 
 May 8.^ „ 2 4 
 
 1857. Oct 1 2 „ 2 4 
 
 „ Jaa 11 „ 2 4 
 
 1858. Jan 1 1 „ 2 4 
 
 „ May 8 „ 2 2 
 
 * From these prices may be traced tlie depression in trade, and the serious 
 sacrifices entailed bv the panic.
 
 212 
 
 FLUCTUATIONS IN PRODUCE. 
 
 RUM. 
 
 Leeward, i^er gallon, proof, 
 s. d. ». d. 
 3 to 3 4 
 
 Stock. 
 Puns. Hhds. 
 
 1855. Jan. 3 3 to 3 4... 20,120 5,270 
 „ Apr. 2 0„2 1... 18, 186 5,660 
 
 1856. Dec. 2 7 „ 2 8. ..21,830 3,750 
 „ Mar. 2 „ 0... 23,312 7,683 
 
 1857. Apr. 2 9 „ 0.. .19,650 4,260 
 „ Dec. Ill „ 2 0.. .20,365 4,170 
 
 1858. .Ian. 1 11 „ 2 0... 19,580 4.240 
 „ June 110 „ 0... 21,780 4,240 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 ...21,780 4,240 
 
 „ „ „ 1857 ...20,970 5,130 
 
 EICE. 
 
 Bengal, per ciot., Ordinary to Fine 
 White. 
 
 !. J. 
 
 «. d. 
 
 1855. Nov. 
 „ Jan. 
 
 1856. Jan. 
 „ May 
 
 1857. Sept. 
 „ Dec. 
 
 1858. Jan: 
 „ June 
 
 16 to 18 
 
 13 „ 15 
 
 14 „ 
 9 
 
 11 
 8 
 8 
 7 
 
 17 
 12 
 15 
 11 
 11 
 11 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 
 » » 1857 
 
 Stock. 
 
 Tons. 
 ... 7,980 
 ... 5,430 
 ...11,710 
 ...27,720 
 ...48,110 
 ...62,720 
 ...71,270 
 ...92,560 
 ...92,560 
 ...36,810 
 
 SALTPETRE. 
 
 Bengal, per ciot., Ordinary to 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 1855. Sept. 
 „ Feb. 
 
 1856. Dec. 
 „ June 
 
 1857. Sept. 
 „ June 
 
 1858. June 
 April 
 
 33 to42 6 ., 
 
 . 21 6 „ 27 6 . 
 
 45 „ 56 . 
 
 28 „ 32 . 
 
 55 „ 65 . 
 
 35 „ 41 .. 
 
 35 „ 46 6 .. 
 
 28 „ 37 ., 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 
 » „ 1857 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Stock. 
 
 Tons. 
 . 6,880 
 .11,755 
 , 2,140 
 . 5,230 
 . 6,760 
 . 5,260 
 . 5,048 
 . 5,430 
 . 5,018 
 , 4,245 
 
 COCHINEAL. 
 
 Honduras, per lb.. Low Silvers to Fine 
 Blaclcs. 
 
 1855. Feb. 
 „ Jan. 
 
 1856. Aug. 
 „ Dec. 
 
 1857. Oct. 
 „ May 
 
 1858. Jan. 
 May 
 
 (/. e. 
 10 to 4 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858. 
 )) !j 1857. 
 
 , Stock, 
 
 herons. 
 
 10 ... 6,100 
 ... 5,800 
 
 11 abt. 9,000 
 2 „ 6,780 
 
 10 „ 3,980 
 6 „ 6,600 
 
 10 av. 8,680 
 4 „ 6,080 
 
 6,080 
 
 6,500 
 
 COTTON 
 Sural, per Ih., Ordinary to Fine. 
 
 ,j , Stock. 
 
 "■ IJalPS. 
 
 1855. .Iiuic ... 3.i to 5.V ... 70,577 
 
 „ April ... 21 „ 4i ... 58,920 
 
 (COTTON- 
 
 ■contiinied.) 
 d. 
 
 1856. Oct. 
 „ Jan. 
 
 1857. Oct. 
 „ Dec. 
 
 1858. May 
 „ Jan. 
 
 4i 
 
 3 
 
 5^ 
 2i 
 4i 
 31 
 
 to 
 
 5f 
 
 4i 
 
 6| 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 H 
 
 Stock. 
 
 Bales. 
 24,835 
 54,680 
 33,538 
 33,795 
 45,026 
 42,630 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 45,026 
 
 „ 1857 37,990 
 
 INDIGO. 
 
 Bengal, pier lb.. Ordinary to Fine, 
 Stock. 
 
 1855. Jan. 
 „ July 
 
 1856. Jaii. 
 „ Oct. 
 
 1857. Oct. 
 „ Jan. 
 
 1858. Jan. 
 May 
 
 d. s. 
 
 6 to 7 
 
 1 » 7 
 
 6 „ 7 
 
 „ 7 
 
 6 „ 1 
 
 „ 7 
 6 
 
 
 10 
 9 
 
 Chests. 
 .. 23,060 
 .. 22,500 
 .. 12,148 
 .. 26,140 
 .. 19,400 
 .. 18,300 
 .. 19,065 
 22,016 
 
 Stock, 5th June, 1858 22,016 
 
 „ „ 1857 20,634 
 
 TALLOW. 
 St, Petersburg Y. C, per cwt. 
 
 1 „ J Stock. 
 
 '■ ''■ "• '^- Casks. 
 
 72 to 72 6 . 
 
 47 „ 17 6 . 
 
 68 „ 68 6 . 
 
 1855. Nov 
 „ Mar 
 
 1856. Jan. 
 „ May... 45 6 „ 45 9 
 
 1857. Mai-.... 80 „ 
 „ Nov.... 48 „ J 8 3 
 
 1858. April... 55 6 „ 55 9 
 „ Feb.... 52 6 „ 52 9 
 
 Stock, end of May, 1858 
 1857 
 
 17,507 
 35,532 
 19,339 
 16.900 
 16,746 
 38,622 
 11,691 
 20,825 
 10,500 
 13,009 
 
 1855. 
 1856. 
 1857. 
 1858. 
 
 IRON. 
 
 Scotch Pig, per ton. 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 Sept 85 to 85 6 
 
 April 61 „ 61 6 
 
 Sept 79 „ 82 
 
 Nov 70 „ 72 
 
 June 80 „ 
 
 Nov 52 6 „ 55 
 
 Mar 68 „ 72 
 
 May 60 „ 
 
 CORN. 
 
 Wheat — Gazette Average per quarter. 
 
 s. d, 
 
 1855. Dec 83 1 
 
 „ Mar 66 6 
 
 1856. Aug 77 10 
 
 „ Dec 59 8 
 
 1857. July 63 10 
 
 „ Dec 47 5 
 
 1858. Jan 48 9 
 
 „ April 43 1
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 10 THE 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE COMMEECIAL CPJSIS, 
 
 1857—58. 
 
 PAKT I. 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1849. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. R. Ep;lington and Co., London, East India trade. 
 
 „ Mr. M. Kenrick, Wrexham, banker. 
 
 „ Mr. R. M. Lloyd, Wrexham, banker. 
 
 „ Messrs. Curtis and Buildeiidorf, New Orleans, Prussian trade. 
 July. Messrs. Butterfield, Petersfield, bankers. 
 Oct. Messrs. C. H. and G. Enderby, Greenwich, merchants. 
 Dec. Messrs. Ewing and Co., Glasgow, manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Schwartz, Brothers, Hamburg, bankers. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF IVIESSES. SPEIR AND CO. 
 
 The inspectors under the estate of Messrs. Speir and Co., of the East India trade, 
 who were compelled to suspend in the crisis of 1848, in January announced the 
 completion of the payment of 20a-. in the pound, with interest, to the whole of their 
 creditors. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE J. AND G. CAMPBELL AND CO. 
 
 Messrs. J. and G. Campbell and Co., of Liverpool, West India and Mexican 
 merchants, who suspended, February, 1848, declared in January a final dividend of 
 2s. 6d. in the pound, making, with the previous instalments, a full payment of 205. 
 in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF G. T. BEAINE. 
 
 On the 22nd of August, 1849, the annexed circular was published, announcing 
 the linal dividend under this estate, making a full payment of 20s. in the pound to 
 the creditors. It will be recollected that prior to Mr. Braine's suspension on the 4th 
 of July last year, with engngoments to the amount of i.'350,000, application was 
 made to the Bank of England, and rejected, for assistance to cari'y him through, 
 and that it was then stated there Avcro surplus assets of no less than i'65,000 or 
 i'70,000. It is now understood that not only will the entire liquidation of Mr. Braine's 
 engagements have been effected from the bond Jidv proceeds of his property, but that 
 little doubt exists of the surplus being nearly double the amount of the estimate 
 originally formed : — 
 
 A
 
 Al'PENDlX. 
 
 " London, August 22. 
 " Sir, — I have the pleasure to advise my intention of paying the remainder of 
 your claim upon me, with interest, on the 28tli inst. 
 
 " At the same time I beg to express my thanks for the indulgence and co- 
 operation I have experienced from j'ourself and others, through which I have been 
 enabled to accomplish a speedy liquidation without undue sacrifice of property. 
 
 " I am, Sir, yours obediently, 
 
 " George T. Braine." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF COTES WOETH, POWELL, AND PRTOR. 
 
 The appended circular was issued by tbis firm on the 6th December, announcing 
 a remaining dividend of 7s. 6rf., to make up 20.«. in the pound, to the creditors : — 
 
 " St. Helen's Place, London, December 6, 1849. 
 
 " We have the satisfaction to inform you, that we are now prepared to pay you a 
 further and final dividend of 7s. 6(/., making, with the previous dividends, 20s. in the 
 pound. At the same time, we sliail pay you tbe interest which has accrued during 
 the period of our suspension. 
 
 " The dividend will be payable ut our counting-house on the 12th inst., up to 
 which day interest at 5 per cent, will be calculated; and in the mean time we will 
 tliank you to furnish us with a note of tbe balance of principal and interest due to 
 you, that we may agree the amount. Upon your applying for payment, it will be 
 necessary for you to give up all bills and collateral securities which you bold. 
 " "We I'emain, your most obedient servants, 
 
 "COTESWOKTH, PoWELL, AND PrYOR." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF BENSUSAN AND CO. 
 
 Court of Bankruptcy, January 17. 
 {Before Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque.) 
 
 The bankrupts carried on business as extensive general merchants, in Magdalen 
 Row, Great Prescott Street. They failed at the close of 1847, and have been before 
 the Com-t since November of that year, in which month the fiat was issued. This 
 was the certificate meeting. Mr. Ilutton, of Bucklersbury, was trade assignee and 
 accountant to the estate; Mr. Rixon, of King William Street, was solicitor to the 
 assignees ; and Mr. Lawranco appeared for the bankrupts. 
 
 The course of trading and present position of the firm will be seen from the 
 following lucid report of Mr. Pennell, the official assignee : — " Tliese bankrupts 
 carried on an extensive business as general merchants. Tbey commenced their 
 balance-sheet on the 1st of January, 1841, with an assumed capital of i:l,34.5. In 
 arriving at this sum they take credit for various debts due to them, including 
 Bensusan and Brandon, £5,9S6 ; J. Hassan, £4,381 ; and Judah Pariente, ±8,158. 
 Upon turning to that portion of the balance-sheet which contains a list of the bad 
 debts still due to the biinkrupts, I find these same parties entered for the following 
 sums: — Bensusan and Brandon, i'4,469 ; J. Hassan, I'll, 763 ; Judah Pariente, 
 i'5,003, from which it may be reasonably inferred that these bankrupts, instead of 
 possessing any capital, were insolvent so far back as 1841. The course of trading 
 pursued since 1841 has the following results: — - 
 
 Profits 158,889 2 5 
 
 Trade expenses 20,081 9 10 
 
 Losses 60,693 16 2 
 
 X-86,775 6 
 
 Showing an excess of £27,886 3s. 7d. over tbe profits. The bankrupts have, during 
 the seven years, in which they pursued a ruinous trade, drawn out of the joint estate, 
 for their own private expenditure, no less a sum than £25,534 7s. lOd. The upshot 
 of such a cour.<e of trading may be anticipated. 'J'lie total liabilities are 
 £67,962 3.r 11</., while the assets do not exceed £1.245 16s. llr/., or about 5d. in 
 the pound."
 
 ATPEiVDIX. Ill 
 
 Mr. Peiinell tlius concludes liis report : — "I rogret to observe, in addition, that 
 the books have been very carelessly kept, and from their imperfect state the assignees 
 have been oblijjed to require tlie bjniki u[its to raise a fresh sot of books for the whole 
 per.od over wliich their l)alance-sheet extends. The bankrupts have evinced every 
 di.-ipositiou to assist tl;e assignees in the elucidation of tiieir accounts ; hut, looking 
 at their previous neglect, it is not a matter of surpri.-.e that they still remain in an 
 unsati.>factory state.' 
 
 Tiie assignees offered no 0])positicn. 
 
 Mr. L.UVRANCE addressed the Court on behalf of the bankrupts. He presented the 
 case to his Honour as one of great misfortune. Tlie firm of which the present appli- 
 cants were members had been established in the city of London for nearly a century, 
 and was for a long period regarded as one of the most respectable and quite as solvent 
 a house as any other in the trade. It was true their losses had been great, but they 
 had not been incurred by excessive speculations, or engaging in wild projects, but 
 arose in the ordinary way of their business. The balance-sheet commenced in 1841, 
 and the Court would perceive that they had a capital at that time of i'l,3U0. 
 
 The CoMMissioNEB remarked, that he was not satisfied that the capital set down 
 in the balance-sheet was a honajide one, and wished to know of what it consisted. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance replied, that it was composed of debts due to the house at tiie 
 time, which were tlien considered good, but which had since become bad. For the 
 unfortunate events which had since happened in the mercantile world, and which 
 destroyed this capital, the bankrupts could not witli justice be held accountable. 
 They put down their capital in 1841 at what they then considered a fair estimate, 
 •ind had a perfect right to do so. It was true the capitnl, as compared with their 
 pi'esent liabilities, seemed small; but the Court would recollect that the chief 
 business of this house was commission, which did not require a large capital. That 
 tiie trade was not quite a losing one was shown by the fact that the profits 
 were ±'59,000, whilst the trade expenses did not exceed ±'26,000. There was 
 another creditable feature in this case, that so far from his clients having gone 
 on recklessly increasing the amount of their liabilities, his Honour would perceive, 
 from the proceedings, that as their means of payment diminished, so did their 
 contraction of fresh debts, and that there was a striking difference between the 
 amount of debts incurred in the months of February and September of the year in 
 which they failed. This arose from no inability on the part of the bankrupts 
 to obtain goods (their character was such that they could, at almost any period 
 before their failure, get credit to a vast extent), but from a conseientieius feeling that 
 they ought not to imperil the property of others. The official assignee had 
 remarked in his report that the assets were small. Had the bankrupts been 
 knavish, this would not have been so. They would have got in ±'20,000 or 
 £30,000 worth of goods a month or two before they stopped, and although 
 their liabilities would have been increased to that amount, the amount of dividend 
 would have been very different. There was no allegation, nor even a suspicion, that 
 property had been clandestinely removed, or that there had been the slightest tinge 
 of fraud, either after the fiat, or during the whole covn-se of their mercantile career. 
 They had not attempted to prop up their credit by accommodation bills, nor to save 
 themselves from ruin by selling goods under cost price, or by false representations to 
 creditors. 
 
 The Commissioner remarked that their losses were large. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — I urge tliat as an extenuating circumstance — the cause of mv 
 clients' failure. They lost ±20,000 by a single house in St. Tliomas's, and there are 
 eight bad debts incurred in the ordinary way of trade, which amount in the agsregate 
 to no less than ±53,000. They were ruined by that disastrous monetary pressure and 
 commercial embarrassment, wiiich brought down more extensive although not perhaps 
 more ancient or respectable houses. In a valuable work, entitled the Commercial 
 Crisis* which contains an admirable history of that calamitous period, your Honour 
 will see the causes which led to one of the most terrible commercial crises thnt ever 
 occurred in the annals of this country. The question then was, not which house was 
 likely to fall, but which of them could possibly stand. My clients were obliged to suc- 
 cumb. Bnt, when they saw tluit stoppage was inevitable, they must be commended 
 for the course they took. They at once submitted their aflairs to the administration 
 of this Court. Where the tree fell, there it Liy. Since the bankruptcy they have 
 done all they could to assist tiieir creditors; and I beg your Honour to note thnt no 
 individual creditor opposes, !;nd that the assignees are silent. You will aUo observe 
 
 • rubliehod hr T.ctfs, Son, and Sterr, 8, Roval Eichang?.
 
 IV APPENDIX. 
 
 tliat tlierc are no law costs, and no interest. I regret to liavc to inform you that 
 pecuniary diiriculties are not the only sufferings my clients have had to contend witli. 
 The hand of misfortune has pressed heavily upon the memhers of this house. One 
 of thera has, since the issue of the fiat, sunk into the grave, and another is 
 physically and mentally paralyzed. The surviving partners now present them- 
 selves, and entreat your Honour not to superadd to their past sufferings the stigma 
 so much dreaded by mercantile men — a suspended certificate. They ask you to 
 take into account the whole course of their mercantile career — the causes of their 
 calamity, the assistance which they have given to their creditors since the fiat, the 
 length of time during which they have been before the Court, the absence of any oppo- 
 sition on the part of creditors — and, taking all these things into your consideration, 
 they feel assured that you will not for one day withhold the certificate. 
 Judgment deferred. 
 
 BENSUSAN AND CO. 
 
 CoDKT OF Bankkuptct, April 18. 
 
 The bankrupts in this case failed in the panic period of 1847, and to-day was 
 named by the Commissioner for giving his judgment on the question of certiticate. 
 Messrs. Rixon and Son appeared for the assignees ; Mr. Lawrance for the bankrnpts. 
 
 His Honour, in giving judgment, said — That this fiat was issued in 1S47 
 against the four bankrupts, Moses L. Bensusan, Jacob L. Bensusan, Samuel L. 
 Bensusan, and Joshua L. Bensusan. With respect to the first-named bankrupt, who 
 had died since the fiat was issued, there was little to say, but it might be stated 
 that, from what could be ascertained, there appeared every reason to believe that 
 the management of business, considering his age and infirmities, was past liis con- 
 trol. It ought, also, to be noticed, that his expenses had been exceedingly 
 moderate ; and, under such circumstances, it might be some consolation to his 
 'family and friends to know that the Court, had he lived, would in all probability 
 liave granted him his certificate immediately. He was sorry, however, to say, 
 that with regard to the position of the firm generally, the Comt could not oine to 
 so satisfactory a conclusion. He (the Commissioner) had Lioked carefully over the 
 voluminous proceedings which had taken place under this estate, and he found that, 
 in January, 1841, the business of this firm with four partners was based upon a 
 nominal capital of 4:1,345 only — he said a nominal capital, because, in reality, they 
 then possessed no capital at all, but were, in fact, insolvent, since, included in this 
 estimate of capital were three debts, one of iG,000, due from the old firm of Bensusan 
 and Brandon ; a second of £4,000, from the house of Hassan ; and a third of i;8,000, 
 from Pariente, making a total of what shortly proved to be i'lSOOO bad debts. 
 Viewing, then, their situation in this respect, and giving them credit for their 
 assumed amount of i'1,345, they were in truth upwards of i'lG.OOO worse than 
 nothing. From 1841 up to the time of their bankruptcy, the amount of profits was 
 stated at £58,000 ; but then the item of trade expenses and losses was put down at 
 no less a sum than 180,000, so that there was a deficiency on that account of 
 4;27,000 ; and yet, in spite of that deficiency, the partners had managed to absorb, 
 in the shape of private expenses, the immoderate sum of 125,000. The result of 
 such a course of trading might he easily conceived. This estate, with debts and 
 liabilities to the extent oi' l'58,000, possessed assets, from which not more than 
 .i'1,200 would be realized ; and tliei-efore, allowing for the costs of investigation, it 
 ■was impossible that the joint estate could be estimated to pay 4tZ. in the pound. 
 And now to enter more minutely into their conduct as traders. Their books were 
 carelessly kept, so much so, that it had been found utterly useless to depend upon 
 them, and hence, since the bankruptcy, it had been deemed necessary to raise new 
 accounts for the purpose of elucidating their affairs. The bankrupts, associated as 
 they were in family, could not, therefore, be exonerated on that ground, and must 
 take the conS'^quences of that dereliction of duty which attached to rendering 
 insufficient accounts. But there was another objection in relation to accmnits which 
 weiglied in the mind of the Court, and that was a certain secrecy and mystery 
 which had boon observed in keeping the books. One of the brothers complained 
 of not having been allowed to see the accounts, notwithstanding his urgent repre- 
 sentations, and he (the CommisFioner) must express his opinion that whenever such 
 secrecy was practised, it must be regarded as a badge oi misconduct. The reputable 
 manner of keeping books was to keep them in such a manner that every body 
 interested might be well acquainted with their contents, in order that, if error or 
 misstatement arose, it might at once receive correction, and that they might (if 
 ever it were required) reveal to creditors, in a clear and straightforward course,
 
 ArTENDIX. V 
 
 the whole of the trader's transnctlons. lTfivIn<ic considered the way in which the 
 books were kept, attention might properly he directeil to tlie question of capital 
 when the ])ankrupts commenced their business. If at that date they really con- 
 sidered themselves in a solvent condition, that delusion, if they ever entertained it, 
 was soou dissipated, for in that year Bensnsaii and Brandon, who owed them 
 .f6,000, failed, and their affairs were wound up. This larpe loss, compared with 
 tlieir estimated capital of £1,300, should have proved a warning to them, and had 
 they acted prudently then, thoy ought to have made a strict inquiry into their 
 position, and called in their creditors, or, on the other hand, reduced considerably 
 their dealings. But this first warning was not enough— there was a second, for 
 Hassan, witli whom they appeared to be connected, failed in 1843, i4,000 in their 
 debt — another warning, which, it might have been thought, would have induced 
 discretion, but no heed was taken of it. A third warning followed, and Pariente, 
 owing the firm €8,000, failed in the year 1843 or 1844. Large as the gross amount 
 of these three losses was, it had apparently created little effect upon the bankrupts. 
 Their duty at such a juncture, especially after the third warning, was to have sus- 
 pended payment and distributed their estate, whatever might have remained, and, 
 blameable as their conduct might have been considered after the second warning, 
 they would have been less liable to severe condemnation than they were now. On 
 this point alono, two years' suspension would scarce be adequate punishment. But, 
 having looked at their conduct with respect to the joint estate, to carry the inquiry 
 throughout, it was requisite to look at their conduct independently in connection 
 ■with tlieir separate estates. lie (the Commissioner) had already stated that 
 ^625,000 had been drawn out of the firm in the shape of private expenditure. 
 Referring to figures, it seemed that Samuel had taken out i;8,400 ; Jacob, €8,600 ; 
 and Joshua, £6,800. According to these amounts, Samuel had lived at the rate of 
 f 1,100 a-year, and Jacob at £1,600 a-year, sums quite unjustifiable. Joshua's 
 expenditure was more moderate, and much beneath his brothers. 
 
 ilr. Lawrance— And he has in addition given up £1,500 to his separate estate. 
 
 Mr. Commissioner Fosblanque — The dividends are as follows : — Jacob pays 6d. 
 on his separate estate ; Samuel pays 1.?. 5:L; and Joshua lO*. in the pound, with 
 probably in the latter case a farther distribution. The father's expenditure was 
 moderate in the extreme, not being at the rate of more than £250 a-year, and his 
 separate estate would pay 15s. in the pound. He (the Commissioner), looking at 
 these facts, could only come to the conclusion that the priviite expenses of every one 
 of the surviving bankrupts were wholly unjustifiable ; Joshua's least so, Jacob's 
 most so. The application of trust funds was a painful topic to advert to, and 
 Samuel stood in that respect condemned, for he had misappropriated between 
 i'4,000 and £5,0C0 which belonged to his wife and children. In another breach of 
 trust connected with the family of Abraham Levi, Samuel and Jacob were each 
 identified, and their conduct deserved strong reprehension. Whenever cases of 
 breaches of trust came under his (the Commissioner's) notice, he was inclined to 
 exercise the administration of the law with severity. It was not only the serious 
 evil inflicted upon the parties properly entitled to the funds misappropriated that 
 was to be considered, but also the means such acts afforded for raising fictitious 
 credit ; and he would never suffer breaches of trust to go unpunished, because 
 persons when reduced to extreme exigencies of the kind, must be fully aware of the 
 desperate nature of their position. Reviewing, therefore, the conduct of the bank- 
 rupts, so far as concerned their joint estate, and also their separate estates, and 
 taking into consideration that Joshua, although as culpable as the rest with regard 
 to the joint estate, stood the lowest in the scale of private expenses, and was not 
 implicated in the breaches of trust, and regulating his decision in that direction, ho 
 should award (recollecting the length of time which had elapsed since the issue of 
 the fiat) a suspension of his certificate for ten months ; Jacob, whose expenditure 
 was the most excessive, and who had been a party to the breaches of trust, his 
 certificate must be suspended eighteen mouths ; and Sanmel, who, among other 
 misconduct, stood most implicated in breaches of trust, must be adjourned for two 
 years. His Honour concluded by saying that as, with the exception of the 
 breaches of trust, lie did not find frauds to have been committed on creditors, he 
 should give the bankrupts protection; but he added that when his mind was first 
 brought to bear upon the question, he had doubted the propriety of this course, or 
 whether he ought not to have refused granting certificates, particularly in the case 
 of Samuel, altogether.
 
 VI APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF CEUIKSHAXK, I\IELYILLE, AND CO. 
 
 Court or Bankrcptcy, June 6. 
 
 The bankrupts are thus described : — Patrick Cruikshank, John Melville, and 
 AVilliam Fauiuleroy Street, of Austin Friars, carrying on business under the title of 
 Cruikshank, ilelville, and Co. The case includes two failures — that of Cruikshank, 
 Melville, and Co., who stopped in 1845; and that of Melville and Co., who continued 
 to trade up to the end of 1847. The fiat bears date December 19, 1848, the interval 
 having been engaged in an ineffectual attempt to wind-up the affairs of the bank- 
 rupts under a deed of inspection. Tiie Governor and Company of the Bank of 
 England, who proved on a bill discounted by them, were the petitioning creditors, 
 and it was stated during the proceedings that this was the first fiat ever issued on 
 their petition. The bankrupts passed their examination on the 8th of May. It 
 appears from the balance-sheet that the depreciation in the bankrupts' West Indian 
 produce was enormous; and the loss by tlie sale of " plant " in the West India 
 islands was also excessive. The following item is in the ''proceedings": — 
 " Stevens and Crosby's patent machinery for hydraulic sugar-press, which cost 
 i£4,000 : worth nothing more than the price of old iron." Messrs. Trueman and 
 Cook, of Mincing Lane, are large creditors. There is the following entry witli 
 respect to their claim: — " Tlie ruinous state of the West Indian property, and the 
 depreciation of produce in the calamitous state of trade between 1845 and the 
 present period, have caused the ruinous loss which will result on their accounts, 
 whereby, instead of Messrs Trueman and Cook being more than covered by their 
 securities, it is expected that, after realizing the whole, they will be creditors under 
 this estate for tipwards of £'100,000." The whole amount of the claim of Messrs. 
 Trueman and Cook is i'125,460, and the principal security held by them was 
 various estates and plantations in the West Indies. 
 
 Amongst the property set down in the balance-sheet are "50 shares, of ^20 
 each, in mines in Cornwall, 41,094; Wylam's Patent Fuel, i'1,592 ; shares in other 
 mines, 4'198." Under the head of losses are the following items : — " Adventures to 
 Calcutta, .i3,162 ; adventures on v/ool, 4:1,083 ; adventures on cotton, A'195." 
 Amongst the property given up to the assignees were : — " Furniture and effects of 
 28, Eastbourne Terrace, £161 5s.; 20 Dendre Valley Railway share.-, of no value; 
 60 Newport and Abergavenny ditto, of no value ; 30 Southampton Dock shares, of 
 no value; life interest in Richmond estate, St. Vincent's, mortgaged to Government 
 forA'8,150; to Mrs. Cruikshank's trustees for marriage settlement, a life jjolicy, 
 premium ±'115 per annum, with .-£115 arrears ; and to Lady Anne Cruikshank for 
 her annuity of i'500, and arrears of same, 4;750; plate deposited, value ±145." 
 
 The debit to the Bank of England arose in this way : — The bankrupt (Street) 
 drew upon Messrs. Trueman and Cook for ±8,200 ; the latter accepted the bill, 
 which was discounted by the Bunk to the bankruj)t. The proceeds, however, were 
 at once handed over to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, in part payment of their debt. 
 The estate of Messrs. Trueman and Cook having paid 12s. (Sd. in the pound, the 
 Bank only proved for the remainder, or for ±4,140, including interest. 
 
 This was the certificate meeting. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance appeared for tlie bankrupts; and Mr. Denton, of Messrs. Fresh- 
 field's, for the assignees ; Mr. Coleman attended as accountant on behalf of the Bank 
 of England ; Mr. Wryghte prepared the balance-sheet. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance said he believed there would be no opposition to the certificate on 
 the part of the assignees. 
 
 Tlie Commissioner — Are the assignees present? 
 
 Mr. Denton — On the part of the Bank I am not instructed to offer any opposi- 
 tion. The Bank is satisfied to leave the case in your Honour's hands. The official 
 assignee has drawn up a report, and by that report the B.ink is willing to abide. 
 
 The Commissioner— But I would like to know what the feelings and opinions 
 of the assignees are respe<;ting the conduct of tlic biinkrupts. I am desirous of 
 ascertaining whether or not tlie assignees are satisfied with the conduct of the 
 bankrupts. 
 
 Mr. Denton— I will send for Mr. Elscy. 
 
 Mr. John Green Elsey, of the discount department of the Bank, soon after 
 arrived, when 
 
 The CoMMissiONKR directed the report of the ofiicial assignees to be read aloud.
 
 AVHENUrX. Vll 
 
 The following is the report of the official assignees : — 
 
 " The above biinkrupts commenced business as merchants under the firm of 
 Cruikshank, Melville, and Co., on the 1st of January, 1840, with a capital amount- 
 ing to i'31,204 2s. 9d., which was increased the following year to £'55,3G4 15*. 9d. 
 They continued to carry on their business as East and We.^t India merchants, 
 trading also largely with New South Wales, until the latter end of the year 1845, 
 when they commenced winding-up; and with the exception of a bill of exchange 
 for £7,800, drawn by Cruikshank, Melville, and Co., upon Messrs. Trueman and Co., 
 bearing date September 3, 1847 (which bill was discounted by the Bank of England, 
 ■who are now the holders, and the petitioning creditors under this fiat), it does not 
 appear that any new mercantile transaction was entered into by this firm. On or 
 about the 7th of July, 1845, the bankrupts, by deed, assigned to Messrs. Trueman 
 and Cook (or rather to James Fairlie, Thomas Depnall, and Robert James Rouse, 
 two of whom were clerks in Messrs. Trueman and Cook's employ) property and 
 debts valued at that time at £131,510 5,v. 2J. (which may be considered the greater 
 portion of their estate), in trust, to secure the payment of the debt due by the bank- 
 rupts to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, and which was taken at £89,037 4.?. Id., the 
 amount due on the 1st of January, 1845. Under this deed the ti'ustees were 
 authorized to make advances for the cultivation of the estate, and to realize at their 
 discretion ; and after payment of the debt due to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, the 
 residue to be held intrust for the bankrupts or their creditors; but notwithstanding 
 this assignment, the bankrupts, in their books, treated the properties and debts so 
 assigned, as their own, the accounts being continued as though no such assignment 
 had been made. 
 
 " The trustees have realized a portion of the securities, and the proceeds have 
 been paid to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, who have (since the fiat) tendered an 
 account, which has been adopted by the bankrupts, showing an excess of pay- 
 ments beyond receipts, thereby increasing their debt, which now amounts to 
 £117,660 10.«. 4d. 
 
 "The joint balance-sheet of Cruikshank, Melville, and Co. commences on the 1st 
 of January, 1845, with a capitsil of £36,313 15*. Id., as appears by the original 
 account raised in the books at that period, and which is analyzed as follows, viz.: — 
 
 Capital Account, January, 1845. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors £396,239 7 6 
 
 Balance carried down 36,313 15 1 
 
 £432,553 2 7 
 
 Capital of P. Cruikshank £12,400 16 11 
 
 Ditto of J. Melville 7,625 17 1 
 
 Ditto of R. Ramsay (who died in 1846) 4,887 9 7 
 
 Ditto of W. H. Street 8,213 17 11 
 
 Reserve fund, or profits not divided 3,185 13 7 
 
 £36,313 15 1 
 
 CEEDITOB. 
 
 By cash in hand £3,650 13 9 
 
 Bills receivable 27,758 16 
 
 Good debts 246,789 14 6 
 
 Consignments abroad 10,300 2 
 
 Produce in hand 12,140 5 7 
 
 Ships and shipments 39,852 5 
 
 Patents 5,410 16 9 
 
 Estates 76,652 17 3 
 
 Mi-cell'ineous 8,881 4 7 
 
 Premises at Austin Friars 1,126 9 
 
 £432,553 2 7 
 
 Balance brought down, being capital £36.315 15 1
 
 Vni APPENDIX. 
 
 '•' It is difficult to ascertain at this period wlietlier the bankrupts were justified in 
 assuming that the debts and properties for which they take credit in their capital 
 account, were good to the fall extent at that date. The realization shows the 
 following result, viz.: — 
 
 1. Debtors, taken at i-246.789 14 6 
 
 2. Consignments . . 10,300 2 
 
 3. Produce 12,140 5 7 
 
 4. Ships and shipments 39,832 5 
 
 5. Patents 5,410 16 9 
 
 6. Estates, etc. 76,652 17 3 
 
 ^391,125 19 3 
 
 The first item (debts) has since realized about £150,000; the second (consignments), 
 .£5,700; the third (produce), £9,106; the fourth (ships, etc.), £20,300; the fifth 
 (patents), worthless. The supposed value of the estates is 112,000, making in all 
 £197,106, -which, being deducted from the above £'391,125 19s. 3d., shows a 
 deficiency in value of £194,019 19.?. 3d. — subject to a reduction by receipts from 
 debtors still outstanding. In explanation of the great deficiency arising in the 
 realization of the above debts and properties, the bankrupts state, that in conse- 
 quence of the depreciation in the value of West India sugars, and the admission of 
 slave-grown sugar in 1846 and 1847, many of the debtors, to whom they had made 
 advances on account of their crops grown on the West India estates, became totally 
 bad by reason of the produce not paying the expenses of cultivation, and the estate 
 becoming of mere nominal value ; and this statement is to a great extent borne 
 out by tiie balance-sheet, which shows the following result : — 
 " The subjoined balance-sheet is dated December 19, 1S48: — 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £40,741 12 3 
 
 Ditto secured " " £142,243 6 5 
 
 Less estimated value of securities . 20,000 
 
 122,243 5 
 
 Total creditors £162,984 12 8 
 
 Capital, January 1, 1845 £36,313 15 1 
 
 Since added by partners 20,843 8 5 
 
 57,157 3 6 
 
 Melville and Co., being payment by that firm on account of Cruik- 
 
 shank, Melville, and Co 9,071 6 4 
 
 £229,213 2 6 
 
 Profits nil 
 
 Check on bankers gone 67 1 
 
 Diflerence in books 2 3 3 
 
 £229,282 5 10 
 
 CKEDITOE. 
 
 By good debts £271 10 10 
 
 Doubtful debts, estimated to realize 365 2 3 
 
 Property ' 100 
 
 Total estimated assets £736 13 1 
 
 Banker's balance nil 
 
 Claimed by bankers 13 110 
 
 Losses 196,785 6 10 
 
 £197,535 1 9 
 
 Charges of trade 25,967 4 11 
 
 Drawings of partners 5,779 19 
 
 £229,282 5 10
 
 APPENDIX. IX 
 
 "The losses wliicli form the principal features in the balance-sheet, as accounting 
 for the total absorption of the capital and doticiency of assets are thus analyzed : — 
 
 By "West India estates, being a difference between their cost and 
 
 present value i'90,535 2 1 
 
 Ships 20,573 2 8 
 
 Bad debts 68,359 15 3 
 
 Adventures to Sydney and elsewhere 10,560 16 7 
 
 Merchandise, etc 6,756 10 3 
 
 ^•196,785 6 10 
 
 The charges of trade consist of clerks' salaries and rent of business premises, and 
 also include a sum of i'18,689 8,s'. 5d. for interest on loans and discount of bills. 
 
 "The firm of Melville and Co. commenced business on the 1st of July, 1846 (no 
 dissolution of the firm of Cruikshank, Melville, and Co. having taken place), and 
 consisted of John Melville and William Fauntleroy Street. This firm, as well as 
 Cruiksbank, Melville, and Co., carried on business at 13, Austin Friars, but aban- 
 doning the West Indian business, confined their operations, with some exceptions, to 
 the East India and Sydney trade. It will be seen by the balance-sheet the capital 
 of the bankrupts was nominal ; but it appears that they were in negotiation with 
 Mr. H. H. Oddie, to take bis son, Mr. John Oddie, into partnership, on his attaining 
 bis majority ; and by this arrangement (which was not finally completed), a sum of 
 .£14,635 8»-. 9d. was paid in by Mr. H. H. Oddie, as part of the intended cajiital of 
 ^20,000, but is now claimed against the estate. The balance-sheet, which is sup- 
 ported by the books, shows the loUowing results : — 
 
 December 19, 1848. 
 
 To creditors \inseciu-cd £27,88 !• 19 7 
 
 Ditto secured £23,544 7 3) 
 
 Less estimated value of secvu'ities ... £23,544 7 3j 
 
 II. H. Oddie, paid in by liim as part of intended capital 14,635 8 9 
 
 £42,520 8 4 
 Liabilities, being acceptances of the bankrupts against consignments 
 
 shipped on drawer's account 38,224 9 4 
 
 Capital of J. Melville £24-7 14 
 
 Ditto of W. F. Street 242 14 11 
 
 Ditto of J. Oddie 250 o 
 
 740 8 11 
 
 Profits 
 
 £81,485 6 7 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By good debtors £246 7 1 
 
 Doubtfid debts expected to realize 500 
 
 Property 81 
 
 £827 7 1 
 
 Losses £29,099 4 1 
 
 Cruikshank, Melville, and Co.'s balance due by them 1 1,287 9 5 
 
 Liabilities 38,224 9 4 
 
 Charges of Trade 1,898 2 4 
 
 Partners' di-awings 148 14 4 
 
 £81,485 6 7
 
 X APPENDIX. 
 
 " The losses, which in this case form a considerabk; item, are tlms analyzed, 
 viz. : — 
 
 By adventures to Calcutta £4,247 7 9 
 
 West India Indigo, etc 15,004 8 7 
 
 Shares in mines, etc 2,881 2 7 
 
 Baddebts 6,966 5 2 
 
 £29,099 4 1 
 
 " The debtor balance against the firm of Cruikshanlc, Melville, and Co. arises 
 from accounts which the rirm of Me! vdle and Co. adopted, and which were trans- 
 ferred Ironi tlie books of Cruiksliank, Melville, and Co., to Melville and Co. The 
 charges of trade consist of salaries to clerks, law costs, and rent of business 
 premises. The drawings of tlie partners, it will be seen, are small, amounting to 
 £148 14s. 4d. The books of the firm are well kept and bulanced. 
 
 " E. Watkin Edwards." 
 
 The Commissioner — Were all the creditors aware of this assignment to Messrs, 
 Trueman and Cook? 
 
 Mr. Brown (one of the assignees) — I was. 
 
 The Commissioner— Were the creditors generally? 
 
 Mr. Brown — I cannot say. 
 
 The Commissioner — Was due notice given of it? 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — I should say, generally speaking, the creditors were aware of it. 
 
 The Commissioner — There seems to have been some strange conduct on the part 
 of the bankrupts. It appears that after the assignment was executed, the bankrupts 
 drew a bill upon Messrs. Tnieraan and Cook for ^£'8,000, which bill having been 
 duly accepted by the latter, was discounted by the Bank of England. That does 
 not seem in accordance with tlie usual custom of trade. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — But I beg to remind your Honour that when my clients drew 
 upon Messrs. Trueman and Cook there was produce of theirs in the hands of Messrs. 
 Trueman and Cook worth upwards of £10,000. The bill was, in fact, drawn by Mr. 
 Street without the cognizance of the other partners, so that whatever blame may 
 attach to the transaction, Messrs. Cruikshank and Melville are not at least morally 
 answerable. 
 
 The Commissioner said the act must be considered as the act of the firm. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — It is clear, at all events, that the bankrupts liad an honest 
 intention in drawing the bill, and could have had no other, for the moment the 
 Bank of England discounted it, the proceeds were handed over to Messrs. Trueman 
 and Cook, to whom at that period, as well as at the present, the bankrupts were 
 largely indebted. Messrs. Trueman and Cook, owing to the adversity of the time, 
 were in great want of money themselves; tiiey naturally pressed the bankrupts for 
 the liquidation of at least a portion of their debt, and as Messrs. Trueman and Cook 
 had been their best friends, and had always been ready to advance money on their 
 plantations and growing crops, the bankrupts could not easily liave refused to take 
 this course. 
 
 Mr. Brown, in reply to the Commissioner, again stated that he had no ojiposition 
 to offer. 
 
 Uis UoNOUK, insisted to know something more respecting the assignment to 
 Messrs Trueman and Cook. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance said the assignment was not for Messrs. Trueman and Cook's 
 exclusive bene-fit. Tliey were the managers of the bankrupts' West India property, 
 and made from time to time the requisite advances. Tlie result was so far from being 
 advant igeous to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, tliat whereas they were only creditors 
 for i'BOjOOO when the deed was executed (July, 1845), their debt was by reason of 
 that assignment increased to i'l 17,000. In short, t..ose gL-ntlemen were losers to 
 the extent of nearly £30,000 by this transaction. 
 
 Tni: Official Assignle — That sum includes interest. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — As regards the bill drawn by Mr. Stre(>t on Messrs. Trueman and 
 Cook, and discounted by the Bank i f England, I may add that the Bank has been 
 paid 12i-. in the pound upon it out of the estate of Messrs. Trueman and Cook, and a 
 further dividend is expected. As regardedthe general aspect of the case, he would 
 make a few observations. The bankrupts, finding the West Indian trade a most 
 unprofitable one, determined to give it up. At the time they did so they anticipated
 
 APPIINDIX. XI 
 
 losses from their We-t Indian property, but to notliinn; like the extent wliicli subse- 
 quently occurred. Cruiiishank withdrew from the firm, but Melville and Co. 
 determined upon carrying on those branches of the business which they thoufiht 
 least liable to fluctuation. Wh.'it chiefly induced them to take this course was, that 
 a gentleman named Oddie, with wliom they were intimate, offered to place his sun 
 in the firm, and to advance £20,000 as his capital. He held in his hand a deed, 
 dated July, 1846, made betweeu Messrs. Melville iind Street and John Oddie, which 
 was a deed of co-partnership between the parties just mentioned, but wiiich was not 
 executed, because John Oddie had not then attained his mnjority. Oddie's father 
 died, and tiie aspect of aftairs of the house of Melville being altered for tlie worse, 
 he never became a partner, but advanced to the firm about ±14 000, for which sum 
 he was now a creditor against the estate. In 1847 the bankrupts stopped payment, 
 finding it impossible to hold out longer. From that period their afl'airs were 
 virtua.ly in the hands of their creditors until the tiat was issued at the instance of 
 the Biink of Enghand. 
 
 Mr. Dento.n — The affairs of Melville, Cruikshank, and Co. were not in the hands 
 of their creditors, but in the hands of Trueman and Cook. It was for the purpose of 
 investigation that the fiat was issued. 
 
 The Commissioner — Am I now to understand that the Bank is satisfied with 
 the conduct of the bankrupts as regards Trueman and Cook? Are they satisfied 
 with their conduct as merchants and traders? 
 
 Mr. Denton said the Bank did not wish to pursue a course different from that 
 pursued by the body of tiie creditors. Their main object was to obtain a full and 
 searching investigation, and for tliat purpose the fiat was issued. The information 
 of the assignment of property to Messrs. Trueman and Cook came upon the Bank 
 by surprise. They procured inquiry, the result of which was now before the 
 Court, and would be sati-ried witli liis Honour's decision upon the facts before him. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance said it was plain there was no collusion, or the slightest tinge of 
 anything like dishonest or dishonourable conduct on the part of his clients, for if it 
 were otherwise, the Bank would liave undoubtedly opposed them to the last. 
 
 The Commissioner — Do you think that the Bank of England would have dis- 
 counted that bill, of which they were the drawers, if they knew that they had 
 assigned all their property over to a creditor, and that they were utterly insolvent? 
 
 Mr. Lawrance — Probably not. The bill was in all likelihood discounted in con- 
 sequence of the acceptors being Messrs. Trueman and Cook, who had then unlimited 
 credit. 
 
 Tiie CoMMXSSiONEB — The Bank did not know it was an accommodation bill; 
 but the Bank did not merely look to the names of Messrs. Trueman and Cook, but 
 to those of the bankrupts also. He believed it was their custom to regard every 
 name on a bill. 
 
 Mr. Laavkance said he believed the names of his clients stood high in the Bank, 
 but Messrs. Trueman and Cook stood higher still. 
 
 Mr. Elsey was understood to say tnat wlien the bill was discounted, the Bank 
 was not aware of the position of the bankrupts' affairs; and he was also understood 
 to say (but he spoke in so low a tone that he was not distinctly heard) that the 
 Bank considered the bankruptcy ratijer the result of adverse circumstances, over 
 which the}- had no control, tlian of actual misconduct. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance remarked that his clients had opened an account at the Bank for a 
 considerable time. It would be, no doubt, better if the transaction to which the 
 Court had referred had not taken place; but, after all, it was an isolated occurrence. 
 Messrs. Trueman and Couk had value in their hands; it was to satisfy their just 
 claim the money was obtained; only one of his clients was a party to it, and 
 although he admiited tiiere might be irregularity and impropriety in the transaction, 
 there was nothing worse. But lie had now to Cidl the attention of the Court to the 
 main features of tliis truly lamentable case. Here was a house of first-rute respecta- 
 bility, which had carried on a most extensive trade with diflerent parts of the world 
 — which started with a large capital — which for more than twenty years carried on 
 a most prosperous business — wliich could not be accused of wild or excessive 
 speculation — which kept its books in the most regular manner — and which had a 
 name and a credit scarcely second to those of any British merchant — here was this 
 eminent firm completely cruslied and ruined. And ruined by what? By an act of 
 the Legislature. Did he state anything novel — was the case of this house singular? 
 Not at all ; hut tlie wonder would have been if, amongst the general wreck, his 
 clients' credit and fortunes could have survived. He would refer his Honour to an 
 admirable work which he had had often occasion to quote— the Comm rcial Crisis,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 by Mr. Evans, and in the second edition of that work his Honour would perceive the 
 awful extent of the calamity and the enormous sacrifice of property that had taken 
 place in consequence of the Sur;ar Bill. lie would read to his Honour the following 
 authentic tabulai' return, showing the depreciation which had occurred in West 
 India property: — 
 
 
 Slavery 
 value. 
 
 £ 
 120,000 
 65,000 
 55,000 
 80,000 
 70,000 
 45,000 
 
 After 
 abolition. 
 
 After aboli- 
 tion of ap- 
 prenticeship. 
 
 Since passing 
 
 Sugar Bill of 
 
 1845. 
 
 Windsor Forest Estate 
 
 La Grange Estate 
 
 £ 
 60,000 
 32,000 
 27,500 
 30,000 
 25,000 
 20,000 
 
 £ 
 45,000 
 26,000 
 23,000 
 20,000 
 17,000 
 15,000 
 
 £ 
 
 5,000 
 5,000 
 
 Belle Plaine Estate 
 
 3,500 
 
 Eabacca E state 
 
 6,000 
 
 Prospect Estate 
 
 3,000 
 
 Richmond Hill Estate 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 
 
 435,000 
 
 194,500 
 
 146,000 
 
 27,500 
 
 Slavery value £135,000 
 
 Estimated present value 27,500 
 
 £407,500 
 
 Or equal to 93 1 per cent, on original value. 
 
 Mr. Lawrance concluded by reminding the Court of the monetary pressure at 
 the latter period of the bankrupts' trading, when even Mr. Gurney, the banker, 
 according to his evidence before the Parliamentary Committee, quoted in the 
 Commercial Crisif!, declared he was obliged to pay 9 per cent, for money. Taking 
 all these things into account — recollecting that the creditors were satisfied with 
 the conduct of his clients — the long interval that had elapsed since their stoppage — 
 the regularity of their book-keeping — the high and honourable reputation they 
 had long borne— the disgrace that would attach to even the shortest period of 
 suspension — bearing in mind that they were the victims of legislation, and that if 
 protection had been continued to our colonies, this house, so far from being insol- 
 vent, would be extremely wealthy; and also remembering that since the fiat they 
 bad given every assistance to their creditors, he felt satished the Court would at 
 once grant the certificate. 
 
 The Commissioner said that everybody must lament the severe losses those 
 gentlemen had sustained in the course of their trading. If he were to consult his 
 own feelings, nothing would afford him greater pleasure than to grant the certificates 
 at once, and allow them forthwith to resume their position as merchants; at the 
 same time, he must not forget what was due to the public, and to the principles 
 upon which trade ought to be regulated. The bill transaction with Messrs. True- 
 man and Cook, at a time when the bankrupts were winding-up their affairs, seemed 
 a most unmercantile one, and required consideration. Tiie high position the bank- 
 rupts occupied made it the more necessary to scrutinize anything doubtful in their 
 comluct, and if the charge were established, to award a proper measure of punish- 
 ment, lie did not mean to say that he would not take into account the effect of a 
 suspension of the certificate upon such men, nor the causes which had been mainly 
 productive of their losses. As to what had been said of the " ruinous policy " of 
 Parliament in removing protection from our colonies, he had nothing to do, but 
 might remark that it frequently happened that legislative enactments which in- 
 flicted individual suffering were productive of great public advantage. 
 
 Judgment deferred 
 
 CouKT OF Bankruptcy, August 8. 
 
 {Before Mr. Commissioner Ifolroi/d.) 
 
 His Honour gave judgment in this case this morning as follows: — The judgment 
 in this case has been somewhat deferred, in consequence of the bankrupts wishing to 
 lay before the Court a memorial or further statement explanatory of the assign- 
 ment to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, and of the discount transactions with the Bank 
 of England. Tiic statement has been communicated to the solicitors cf the Bank
 
 AITENDIX. XUl 
 
 of England and of Messrs. Trueman and Cook. The lattci* assent to its reception, 
 and the B:ink docs not oppose it. Now, of those cases in which the Court of Bank- 
 ruptcy is from time to time called upon, either by creditors or from what appears on 
 tlie balance-sheet, to refuse or suspend a bankrupt's trader's certificate, there nre 
 many which require careful examination and anxious tliouglit, in order rightly to 
 discriminate between accident and fraud, misfortune and misconduct; but I have 
 rarely liad any question to dispose of which has given me so much painful reflection 
 as the case upon which I am now to pronounce judgment. I have felt and been im- 
 pressed with tlie acknowledged respectability and the previous high commercial 
 position of the parties before the Court, as well as with the heavy and severe losses 
 which they undoubtedly have sustained. On these grounds I more deeply lament 
 the obligation upon me to add that there are circumstances in this case exhibiting 
 conduct inconsistent with that openness and frankness of dealing which are the 
 great and peculiar characteristics of a British merchant, and which a banker more 
 especially expects at the hands of a merchant by whom he is solicited for pecuniary 
 accommodation. Indeed, the merchants of this country, as a body, arc a state and 
 degree of persons not only to be respected, but to be regarded at all times with the 
 most lively interest. It has been truly said of our merchants, "they are in na porta, 
 and if they floui'ish not, a kingdom may have good limbs, but will have empty 
 veins and nourish little." Hence the shock given to credit, and the consequent 
 ahii-m and anxiety which for a time prevailed after the late extensive failures when 
 (to use the words of a great man applied on another occasion) "it was in truth a 
 crisis to try men's souls; for a while all was uncertainty and consternation; iill were 
 Seen fluttering about like birds in an eclipse or a thunder-storm; no man could tell 
 whom he might trust; nay, worse still, no man could tell of whom he might ask 
 anything." At this critical juncture her Majesty's Government forti;nately inter- 
 posed its hand, and by a temporary measure of a remedial nature, restored the con- 
 fidence which is necessary for carrying on the ordinary dealings of trade. With 
 reference to this period, valuable information is contained in a recent publication, 
 the Commercial Crisis, 1847-48. Mr. D. Morier Evans's work furnishes an interest- 
 ing though painful memoriiil of the combination of causes which ltd to the downfall 
 of so many of the large commercial establishments in this kingdom. There is matter, 
 moreover, in the same work which may be of use, and operate as an instructive warn- 
 ing to the mercantile and manufacturing conmiunity for time to come. It will not 
 admit of doubt that when a want of confidence is once created, some may find them- 
 selves unable to meet their engagements, although they may be perfectly solvent; 
 but compaiing the liabilities of many of the failed firms with their assets, I question 
 whetlier it would not have been irrucb better for themselves and their creditors if a 
 greater part of them had been oliliged to stop much sooner than they actually did. 
 Tlie danger of a depai-ture from sound principles in the con^luct of commercial 
 afl'airs — tlie system of over-trading — the locking up of capital — the disregard of the 
 necessity of a due proportion between capital and credit — the making no sufiicient 
 distinction between borrowed and real capital in the nature and amount of risk 
 incurred — the abuse of the facility afforded for procuring aid through the discount 
 of bills, by incurring liabilities in this way beyond all prudent bounds— the illegiti- 
 mate mode of obtaining advances upon forthcoming crops, and upon goods in many 
 cases before they were shipped, and in others before they were manufactured — these 
 several circumstances, not to mention the princely establishments in some instances 
 kept up, are disclosures apparent froin the balance-sheets and their results of the 
 majority of the houses which fell in the city of Londoti during that memorable 
 period. Lord Bacon says, "Young men in the conduct and manage of actions em- 
 brace more than they can hold, stir more than they can quiet, and fly to the end 
 without conbiderution of the means." May not a like moral and intellectual blind- 
 ness be aptly attributed to some of our too sanguine and speculative merchants in 
 their late commercial career? The assertion I am now going to make may 
 possibly, to some persons, seem paradoxical at first sight. I deplore the sufferings 
 occasioned by our late difficulties, and sympathize with those who have been un- 
 fortunately exposed to privations, and to which I fear many are still subject ; but, 
 at tlie same time, I believe that our past misfortunes afl"ord a circumstance favour- 
 able to our future hopes. Undoubtedly the most likely ways and means are not 
 always efTeetual for the attaining of tlieir end; there are secret workings in human 
 aflfairs which override all human contrivance, and counterplot the wisest of our 
 counsels, " The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread 
 to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet power to men of skill ; 
 time and chauce hai)pent.th to them all." But, however inclined we maybe to
 
 \1V APPENDIX. 
 
 tliink that the distresses of the commercial interests have beeu iii a gi'eat measure 
 occasioned by circumstances over wliich tlie merchant had no control, a sober review 
 of past occurrences must convince us of the imprudent abandonment b_v many of our 
 men of business of tlie ordinary rules of comnifrcial reasoning. They have at least 
 gained experience by wliat has happened, ami " experience Is the mother of 
 wisdom," and we are tauglit sagacity by exposure to misfortune. I look, tln-n, for 
 greater prudence in commercial projects, and a t-ounder system of trade; above all, 
 I trust that merciuints and traders will be more prone to remember, and act upon, 
 the admonition, that paper credit must ever bear a due proportion to tlie quantum of 
 their existing capital, or, in otlier words, to tlieir real intrinsic ability or wealth. 
 By thus keeping the accommodation system within its proper legitimate limits, and 
 preventing an undue stimulus to trade, with its attendant reaction — by thus using 
 the legitimate means we may hope for good success, and be expectant of a more 
 permanent increase of that commerce, which, " whilst it is the main source of 
 strength and power to this country, contributes in no less degree to the happiness 
 and civilization of mankind." 
 
 " Instructed ships shall sail to quick commerce, 
 By which remotest regions are allied, 
 "Which makes one city ot the universe. 
 
 Where some may gain and all may be supplied." 
 
 But to proceed with the case before the Court. The firm of Cruikshank, Melville, 
 and Stieet was one in the list of houses wliose failures were announced during the 
 eventful time of which I have been speaking. They carried on business as East 
 and West India merchants. Messrs. Trueman and Cook, colonial brokers, in the 
 J ears 1843 and 1844 were largely under advances to the bankrupts, and on the 
 31st of December, 1844, the debt due to Trueman and Cook amounted in round 
 numbers to i;89,000. As security for this there were from time to time deposited 
 title deeds and otlier documents relating to several plantations, ships, properties, and 
 undertakings by letter in the nature of equitable charge.-. The total amount of the 
 creditors ot Cruikshank and Co. on the 1st of January, 1845, was about i396,000; 
 but taking their debts and properties at that time (consisting of good debts, con- 
 signments abroad, produce in hand, ships and shipments, patents and estate^) at the 
 value assumed in tlie capital account, there appears a balance in favour of the firm 
 amounting to about £'36,000, and although in general the value of the property is 
 over estimated by the owner, 1 cannot say that the bankrupts were not justified in 
 estimating tlie debts due to them and their properties as good to the full extent for 
 which they take credit in their capital acci unton the 1st of Januai'y, J845; but the 
 realization since, actual and expected, shows the sad and ruinous loss of above 
 £'190,000, or nearly 50 per cent. The large amount of the liabilities of the house 
 of Cruikshank, Melville, and Co., in January, 1845, is, 1 think, thus accounted for : 
 — The bankrupts say, " The productiveness of West India estates had been reduced, 
 by the emancipation of the negroes and by the abolition of the apprenticeship, to an 
 imprecedentedly low point, and their recovery from this great depression, although 
 in progress, had been slower than had been anticipated either by the Government or 
 by those interested in these properties, thus rendering a much larger advance of 
 capital necessary than had been expected." Now, it is matter of history that 
 " from 1842 discounts had been easy and money plentiful ; the funds maintained a 
 high rate, low interest could only be obtained. In 1844 it was remarked that there 
 liad been a larger continuance of a plentiful supply of money than had occurred in 
 the memory of the oldest capitalists." This state of the money-market, and a hope 
 of tlie revival of colonial affairs, might naturally induce tlie bankrupts to go on 
 longer and to a greater extent witii borrowed means than they would have done 
 could they have foreseen or even conjectured the calamitous course ol' events which 
 the veil of futurity at that time concealed from them. The official assignee in his 
 report says: — "In explanation of the great deficiency arising in the i-ealization of 
 the above debts and properties of the bankrupts, they state that in consequence of 
 the depression in the value of West India sugars, and the admission of slave-grown 
 sugar in 1840-47, many of the debtors to whom they iiad made advances on account 
 of their cro[>s grown on the West India .^ugar estates, became totally bad by reason 
 of the produce not paying the expenses of cultivation, and the estates becoming of 
 mere nominal value, and this statement is, to a great extent, borne out by the 
 balance-sheet, which shows the following result" — then, after giving the debtor and 
 creditor account on the balance-sheet, he adds, " the losses which form the principal
 
 Al'PENDIX. XV 
 
 features in the balance-slieet, as accounting for the total absorption of the capital 
 and deficiency of assets, are thus analyzed : — 
 
 By West India estates, being a difference between their cost and 
 
 present value £90,535 2 1 
 
 Ships 20,573 2 8 
 
 Bad debts 68,359 15 3 
 
 Adventiu-es to Sydney and elsewhere 10,560 16 7 
 
 Merchandise 6,756 10 3 
 
 £196,785 6 10 
 
 I find, then, at the time of this bankruptcy, tlie firm of Cruikshank, Melville, and 
 Co., having been in a course of liquidation for above three years, owe about 
 £192,000, and their loss, as I have before stated, is above ^'196,000. The capital of 
 Mr. Cruikshank in January, 1845, and added since, was about i'25,006, part being 
 borrowed on security of property; of Mr. Melville, between ^£17,000 and ±'18,000 
 all his own ; and of Mr. Street (principally borrowed), between ±9,000 and ±10,000. 
 The trade expenses (including ±1N,689 for interest on Trueman and Cook"s debt), 
 amount to ±25,967 np to July, 1846, when the firm of Melville and Co. commenced. 
 The drawings of tiie partners during the same period are as follows : — P. Cruik- 
 shank, ±2,234; J. Melville, ±1,133; and W. F. Street, ±1,014. The assets under 
 this estate for creditors will be nothing. Under the partnership of Melville and Co., 
 formed the 1st of July, 1846, after about fifteen months' trading, I find the 
 unsecured creditors amount to ±27,884, in addition to ±14,635 claimed against the 
 estate, being the sum advanced by Mr. Oddie as part of the intended capital of 
 ±20,000 of his son, then a minor, who, when of age, was to have joined the lirni. 
 The greater portion of this sum was applied in discliarge of debts of the old firm of 
 Cruikshank, Melville, and Co., which were adopted by Melville and Co. to secure to 
 their house certain mercantile accounts. The liabilities are ±38,224; the losses 
 about ±29,000. The official assignee says, " The lease of the premises in Austin 
 Friars, which was given up by Messrs. Trueman and Cook, has produced ±300, and 
 that there is no chance of any other assets." Under Mr. Cruikshank's separate 
 estate, I find : — 
 
 The creditors unsecui-ed £32,291 
 
 Creditors holding secm-ity 27,704 
 
 LiabUities 20,871 
 
 His capital, January 1, 1845 27,380 
 
 His losses, about 44,000 
 
 About £160 has been reahzed under this estate, and notliing more is expected. 
 Under Mr. Melvdle's separate estate I find : — 
 
 The creditors (secured and unsecured), £33,510 ; securities valued 
 
 at £14,262, leaving unsecured £19,218 
 
 Liabihties 9,000 
 
 Capital, January 1, 1845 2,790 o 
 
 Losses 3,858 
 
 Property given up, estimated at £1,429, but realized about 1 ,100 o 
 
 Under Mr. Street's separate estate, I find : — 
 
 The creditors miseciu-ed £31,535 
 
 Creditors hokhng security 1,280 
 
 Liabilities 7,009 
 
 His capital, January 1, 1845 482 
 
 Losses, about 10,818 
 
 Baddebts 12,083 
 
 His property, about 1,500 
 
 Gooddebts* 123 
 
 Of this about £930 has been realized, and nothing more is expected. 
 
 Now, looking at the figures of the different items in the several balance-sheets 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 XVI APPENDIX. 
 
 to which I have just adverted, I think we have but an unfavourahle comment on 
 the latter part of the bankrupts' mercantile course; nevertheless, under the peculiar 
 circumstances of tlie times, and considerinjT the period which has been sutl'ered to 
 elapse since their failure before the issuing of a fiat, I would gladly have confined my 
 attention to the losses sustained by the bankrupts, and in such view I would fain 
 have treated this case simply as an ineffectual attempt by a merchant to wind up 
 his affairs dehors the Court of Bankruptcy; but, thougli hiclined to make great 
 allowance for gentlemen struggling against a heavy weight of adversity in their 
 affairs, the course which the bankrupts pui'sued, upon finding themselves placed in 
 such difficulty as not to be able to meet their ordinary engagements in the usual 
 course of business, compels me to go further. On or about the 7th of July, 1815, 
 the bankrupts, by deed, assigned to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, or, rather, to James 
 Fairlie, Thomas Depnall, and Robert James Eouse, two of whom were clerks in 
 Messrs. Trueman and Cook's employ, property and debts valued at that time at 
 .€131,510 5.9. 2d. (which may be considered the greater portion of their estate), in 
 trust to secure the payment of the debt due by the bankrupts to Messrs. Trueman 
 and Cook, and which was taken at £89,037 4s. \d., the amount due on the 1st of 
 January, 18-15. Under this deed the trustees were authorized to make advances 
 for the cultivation of the estates, and to realize, at their discretion, and after p.ayment 
 of the debt due to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, the residue to be held in trust for 
 the bankrupts or their creditors; but, notwithstanding this assignment, the bank- 
 rupts, in their books, treated the properties and debts so assigned as their own, the 
 accounts being continued as though no such assignment had been made. Tlie 
 trustees have realized a portion of the securities, and the proceeds have been paid 
 to Messrs. Trueman and Cook, who have, since the fiat, tendered an account, which 
 has been adopted by the bankrupts, showing an excess of payments beyond receipts, 
 thereby increasing their debt, which now amounts to i'117,600 10s. M. In the 
 memorial which the bankrupts have laid before me, they ai'e desirous of drawing 
 my attention to the chief motives and reasons of this assignment, and that it should 
 not be judged of by the result; to the importance of carrying on effectively and 
 continuously the cultivation of the West India properties — that by the assignment 
 in trust this object was considered to be secured for the benefit of all concerned, as 
 well as of Messrs. Ti'ueman and Cook, and that it was fully expected, at the time it 
 was executed, that the properties would not only eventually supply the means of 
 pitying all claims, but would leave a surplus for tlie partners. In this view, they 
 say it was considered most desirable to obtain the hearty co-operation of Messrs. 
 Trueman and Cook; and that this was really effected, the further heavy advances 
 made by them subsequently afford ample evidence. They further say: — " This 
 assignment, although not formally announced hy circular, was known to our 
 btmkers, to the proprietoi-s of those West India estates upon which we had been 
 obliged to make such heavy advances, to nearly the whole of our unsecured credit- 
 ors, and very generally in the money-market; indeed, we may say that the support 
 we were receiving fa-om Messrs. Trueman and Cook, pending the expected recovery 
 of the West India estates, was all but universallj' known." The bankrupts state 
 that " the assignment to Trueman and Cook was not wholly a new transaction, but 
 was, to a great extent, the merely putting into a formal legal shape several equitable 
 assignments, which had been made to them at various dates previously, for advances 
 wliich they had made to us; neither was it an assignment of our entire estate and 
 ell'ects, but, on the contrary, we had other assets in hand, and forthcoming, from 
 which w"e did actually make payment to other creditors." Notwithstanding the 
 further explanation thus given by the bankrupts, it appears to me, looking at tlie 
 schedule of properties assigned by that deed, and regai'ding it in connection with 
 the assignment of properly to Martin, Stone, and Co. (their bankers), that the state- 
 ment of the official assignee is fully borne out. I think there can be no doubt but 
 tliat the bulk of the bankrupts' property passed from them under the assignment of 
 Trueman and Cook, and it is also clear tliat the assignment conveyed to Trueman 
 and Cook nmch property over which tliey h:,d no previous equitable charge, and 
 herein the b;inkrupts were not only following a mistaken judgment, but they 
 proceed to carry out their views in a culpable manner, and, although success would 
 Ijave admitted of no examination, the contrary allows of no justification of the 
 means. The moment the bankrupts signed that deed their independimce as merchants 
 was gone. Amongst the propety conveyed, I observe the premises of the bank- 
 rupts in Austin Friars, in which tliey carried on their business. Considering the 
 state of the bankrupts' affairs at the time the assignment was made to Trueman and 
 Cook, and regarding the assignment itself with reference to the circumstances of
 
 AITEXDIX. XVll 
 
 • 
 
 tlie transnction at the time, 1 think the bankrupts oiip;lit not to have taken tliat step 
 without first cnllinfi their creditors together, and ohtaininj^ their consent to such a 
 course; hut, having taken it, they are chargeable with another breach of commer- 
 cial duty, in treating tlie properties and debts so assigned as tlieir own, and con- 
 tinuing tlie accounts as if no such assignment had been made. The Bank of Eng- 
 land, too, were ignorant of this assignment ; the circumstance came upon them by- 
 surprise. Now, the intention of Messrs. Cruikshank and Co., in making this assign- 
 ment, may have been good, and a good intention m;iy in some measure extenuate; 
 but it will not be an excuse to justify a deviation from the plain and obvious rules 
 of duty. To clamber over fences of duty, to break through hedges of right, to 
 trespass upon hallowed enclosures, may seem the most short and compendious way 
 of getting "where one would be, but doth not a man venture breaking his neck, or 
 scratching his face, incurring mischief and trouble thereby ?" Tie bankrupts, having 
 thus divested themselves of the bulk of their property, afterwai-ds carry on their 
 business in their own names, apparently as free agents, and on their own account, 
 and although, as between themselves, it might be understood they were to enter 
 into no new engagement, still, in all contracts concerning negotiable paper, as well as 
 in any other usual mercantile transaction, any one partner had full power to bind the 
 firm, the partners, by their course of proceeding, gave reciprocally to each other the 
 power of acting, the one for the other, in the partnership business, in the same manner 
 as if no assignment had been made to Trueman and Cook; thus each partner was the 
 cause or occasion of confidence or credit being subsequently reposed in any one of 
 the partnc-rs in any matter witliin the scope of tlie partnership concerns. It was 
 during this period, namely, in August, 1847, that Mr. Street, without consulting 
 his partners, took the bill for i67,800, which was drawn by iiim in tlie name of his 
 firm (Cruikshank, Melville, and Street), and accepted by Trueman and Cook, to 
 the Bank of England for discount. The bill was discounted, and the amount handed 
 over to Trueman and Cook for the purposes of the assignment. In the memorial 
 to which I have referred, the bankrupts make a further statement, more fully 
 detailing the circumstances under which the hill for t£7,800 was drawn. The expla- 
 nation there given, however, does not appear to me to absolve the bankrupts from 
 culpability. Mr. Street wishes that the responsibility of that act should rest M'ith 
 him, as the bill was drawn and sent into the Bank of England for discount without 
 his consulting Mr. Cruikshank or Mr. Melville respecting it; but, for the reason which 
 I have before given, altliough the main weight of blame may lie upon Mr. Street, 
 Mr. Cruiksiiank and Mr. Melville cannot altogether exculpate themselves at the 
 expcEse of their partner. With respect to the discount of that bill, the bankrupts 
 say that " Mr. Street being aware how very generally it was known in the City 
 that Cruikshank, Melville, and Co. had been for nearly two years in liquidation, 
 and, also, that during that liquidation, they were being supported by Messrs. Trueman 
 and Cook, he considered that the bill was discounted by the Bank entirely in 
 reliance upon the names of Trueman and Cook, whose credit stood very high, as is 
 evidenced by the fact that, at the time of their suspension, the Bank held their accept- 
 ances to the extent of more than ,£60,000. Judging, however, of the discount of that 
 bill by the ordinary rules applicable to such transactions, and fi'om which I Jeel in 
 no degree released b}' what Mr. Street has said upon the matter, and in whose rea- 
 soning I think there is more art than solidity, I cannot come to any other conclusion 
 than that the Directors of the Bank of England were in reality deceived; and the 
 deception was, I think, as real, though it might not have been so palpnble, as if the 
 bankrupts had made a direct false representation of the state of their affairs. When 
 Mr. Street applied to the Bank of England to discount that bill, I think he must 
 have felt that the basis of the transaction was a belief by the Bank of the responsi- 
 bility of his firm (the drawers of the bill), as well as of Trueman and Cook (the 
 acceptors). " To all moral purposes, and, therefore, as to veracity, speech and action 
 are the same, speech being only a mode of action." Then, again, what public esta- 
 blishment, or even private bankers (unless otherwise involved with the parties), 
 would think of discounting a bill on the credit, wholly or in part, of any house, if 
 they knew^ it to be in course of liquidation, and to have made an assignment of the 
 bulk of its property primarily for the benefit of one creditor? Indeed, to a question 
 put by the Court, it was stated that the Banlv of England would not have discounted 
 that bill if they had been informed that Cruikshank and Co. were winding up, and 
 had assigned tlieir property to Trueman and Cook. Here the stippressio veri was 
 calculated to produce the same mischief, and is consequently open to the same 
 censure, as the svgr/esfio falsi. In viewing this transnction with the Bank of England, 
 it should also be remembered that that establishment is generally resirled to in 
 
 B
 
 XVlll APPENDIX. 
 
 • 
 
 periods of distress, or, when any circumstances occur to occasion a pressure in the 
 money-market, she then hecomes, as it were, a hank of support. Her advancts are 
 looked for in seasons of distress and diffioulty, and are required to be prompt. Surely, 
 then, the most perfect good faith slioul<l he observed by persons applying to her for 
 aid. Her freedom of action and power to render assistance should be in no way 
 impeded by suspicions, on lier part, of the bona fides of the parties who seek her 
 help. No falsehood or deceit is to be endured in any contract, least of all with a 
 body ready to promote the interests of the mercantile classes on such trying occasions. 
 There is another circumstance affecting Messrs. Melville and Street. I allude to 
 the arrangement, in July, 1846, for the new partnership with the son of Mr. Oddie, 
 with the obligations of the old firm still upon them, and the more questionable 
 effect of the deed to Trueman and Cook hanging over them. I should observe, 
 however, that, at a meeting of the creditors of this firm, held in April, 1848, it 
 was resolved that the estate should be wound up by the partners under inspection; 
 and it would not have come before this Court but for the fiat against the original 
 firm. Such, then, are the circumstances of this distressing case. Mr. Lawrance, 
 in his observations to the Court on behalf of the bankrupts, remarked strongly on 
 the effect which a suspension of the certificate must have upon the minds of gentle- 
 men in their position in life. I am asked, too, by the bankrupts to consider the 
 long period of time during which they have been prevented from employing them- 
 selves usefully for themselves and their families, and I am reminded that no 
 creditor opposes the application for their certificate, and they submit whether either 
 transaction (which I have observed upon), if viewed in the most nnfiivourable light, 
 can become a subject for the censure of the Court, where not called for by the 
 creditors themselves. Now, although I am sensible that the same degree of punish- 
 ment will operate with greater severity on one class than on auothei", and though 
 I am willing to consider the length of time the bankrupts have been deprived 
 of employment, and to give some weight to the absence of opposition by creditors, 
 I must consider the influence which the example of our great merchants has upon 
 the industrious part of the nation — that they are necessarily the leaders and con- 
 ductors of the whole industry of every nation. If oflences be committed by them, 
 can it be contended that they deserve more sympathy than ignorant or inferior 
 men? I am bound also to bear in mind that this fiat was issued by the Bank 
 of England for the pui-pose of investigation, and although the Bank of England 
 does not oppose the allowance of the certificate, but thinks it more consistent with 
 her duty, as a public body, to hold, as it were a neutral position, taking no part, 
 directly or indirectly, either for or against the bankrupts, it is the duty of the 
 Court to give judgment upon the result of that examination. Before I conclude, 
 let me observe that, in deciding upon the rectitude or obliquitj- of a man's com- 
 mercial conduct, it is of the greatest importance that the Court should be governed 
 by known and general rules, as the standard of right and wrong. An action 
 ■which would be adjudged an offence in the small trader cannot be deemed a 
 venial transgression in the merchant. Tlie same sort of actions must be generally 
 permitted or generally forbidden. How else can we expect to produce a proper 
 influence or effect upon the conduct of others? So, in visiting any commercial 
 delinquency, we must look to general consequences rather than particular conse- 
 quences, and the general consequence of any action must be estimated by asking 
 what would bo the consequence or mischief from the general impunity or toleration 
 of actions of the same sort. Applying this question to the assignment to Trueman 
 and Cook, and to the course of proceeding under it, and to the discount transaction 
 with the Bank of England, to mercantile men the answer must be obvious — res ipsa 
 loquiter. Moved by tiiese several considerations, after maturely weighing all the 
 circumstances of this case, the Court feels bound to adjudge that the certificates of 
 the bankrupts be suspended — that of Mr. Street for twelve months, and of Mr. 
 Cruikshank and Mr. Melville respectively for six months, from the day of hearing 
 the application. 
 
 The Court, on application, granted protection. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP BAECLAY BEOTPIEES AND CO. 
 
 A circular was issued on the 13th March to the creditors of Messrs. Barclay 
 Brothers and Co., whose suspension, with liabilities for £400,000, took place on 
 the 13th Octob'jr, 1847, announcing a second and final dividend cf 2s. 6d. in the
 
 APPENDIX, XIX 
 
 pound. The circumstances under wliich tliis further payment is to he cfTected reflect 
 honour upon the fiimily connections of the house, and are described in the following 
 minute iiccompanying the notice : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the inspectors of the estate of Barclay Brothers and Co., the 
 usual statement of realizations and liabilities was laid before the meetinjr, from 
 which it appeared that there wore no funds in liand from which any dividend 
 could be paid, nor any reasonable hope of further realization to any extent; and 
 that the Mauritius property liavinp;, in the first instance, failed to meet the debts 
 of the Mauritius creditors, there was but little prospect of any surplus to the general 
 creditors from that propert3% 
 
 "An ofl'er, on the part of Messrs. Iledworth and Alexander Barclay, was brought 
 under consideration. 
 
 "This offer was to give up all claim to dividends on their debts, and to put at 
 the disposal of the estate a sum required to pay a further and final dividend of 
 5s. 6d. to the other creditors. 
 
 " The offer wa=i found to involve a total sacrifice, on the part of Messrs. Hed worth 
 and Alexander Barclay, of about X'40,000. 
 
 '• The inspectors were of opinion that it would be greatly to the advantage of the 
 creditors to accept this offer, and that, on payment of it, an immediate release should 
 be given to the partners in the late firm. 
 
 " It was, therefore, the opinion of the inspectors that Messrs. Barclay Brothers and 
 Co. should announce the offer, and their pi'eparation to pay the 2s. 6d. in the pound, 
 on the necessary release being executed by the creditors. 
 
 (Signed) "J. G. Hoabe. 
 
 " KiBKMAN D. Hodgson, 
 " J. H, Pellt." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. TETJEMAN AND COOK, 
 
 A circular was issued on the 13th July, by the inspectors of the estate of Messrs, 
 Trueman and Cook, whose suspension took place in November, 1847, with liabilities 
 for €577,547, stating that a fiirtlier dividend of Is. in the pound will be paid on the 
 31st inst., whereby the liabilities of the firm will be reduced to i:60,366, and recom- 
 mending for acceptance a proposal by Mr. Cook to take the remaining assets in 
 charge, rendering himself responsible, whatever amount they may realize, for a 
 further dividend of l5., to be paid on the 30th of June, 1851. The Bank of Eng- 
 land, it appears, have agreed to the recommendation, and the concurrence of the 
 other creditors is fully expected. When the final dividend of Is. shall have been 
 paid, the total received by the creditors will then have amounted to 14s. in the 
 
 Sound, and the liabilities will have been reduced to about i'40,000, while a further 
 iminution will still be possible, owing to the intention stated by Mr. Cook, that, if 
 the assets transferred to him should yield anything beyond the amoimt necessary 
 for the proposed dividend, he will apply it for the equal benefit of the creditors. By 
 collateral realizations, many of the claimants on this estate have now received, in 
 all, considerably more than 14s. in the pound, and, looking at the circumstances 
 which have occurred since the suspension, the small dividends from some of the chief 
 debtors, by whose failure the firm was originally brought down, and the depreciation 
 in the value of colonial produce consequent upon the continental disturbances, there 
 is reason, perhaps, to cousider that the result has been less unfortunate than might 
 at one time have been feared. The application of Mr. Cook to the administration of 
 the assets is stated by the inspectors to have been unceasing. 
 
 Annexed are the official documents: — 
 
 "At a meeting of the inspectors of the affairs of Messrs. Trueman and Cook, held 
 on the 19th June, 1850, the report already sent by Mr. J. E. Coleman, with the 
 sanction of the inspectors, to the Bank of England, came under consideration. 
 
 " It was deemed expedient to declare a f'urther dividend, as suggested by the 
 report, of Is. in the pound, whereby tlie liabilities, originally £'577,547 10s. Irf., will 
 be reduced to £G0,366 8s, lOrf., Mr, Cook oileriug, as on the last occasion, to make 
 the bills in hand available for the purpose. 
 
 " A dividend was therefore directed to be announced to the creditors, to be paid 
 on the 31st day of July next. 
 
 " The inspectors then took into their consideration the remaining assets of the 
 concern, and the means of bringing the affairs to an early close.
 
 XX APPENDIX. 
 
 "They felt tliis to be desirable to the creditors, and due to Mr. Cook, whose 
 application to the administration lias been unceasing. 
 
 " It appeared, bj- reference to the inspectorsliip-deed, that, on the inspectors 
 certifying that the surviving members of the firm in liquidation ought to be dis- 
 charged from the fartlier administration of tlie estate, the remaining assets are to be 
 transferred to trustees for tlie creditors, to be named by the inspectors, or by the 
 members of tlie late firm, if the inspectors decline to name a trustee. 
 
 "Tiie inspectors felt themselves called upon to certify accordingly, and such 
 certificate was therefore indorsed upon the inspectorship-deeds. 
 
 " The inspectors were prepared to have named a trustee, but they preferred, in 
 the first instance, to give the creditors the opportunity of suggesting one or more 
 trustees, who might be satisfiictory to themselves. 
 
 " But, on further review of the assets, and the probable realization, the inspectors 
 concurred with the report, in thinking tliat it would not be prudent to assume such 
 realization at more than Is. in the pound, in addition to the dividend now declared, 
 and they came to a conclusion that a very considerable delay would take place, and 
 much uncertainty must exist as to the result; and it appeared to the inspectors that 
 it would probably be more satisfactory to tlie creditors, if Mr. Cook would take upon 
 himself to make a proposal for the final close of tlie affairs, so as to save the necessity 
 of any trust. And they recommended tliat he should take upon himself the risk of 
 the assets, and engage to pay, at an early period in the ensuing year, a final dividend 
 of Is. 
 
 "Mr. Cook having assented to this recommendation of the inspectors, the solicit- 
 ors of the estate were directed to communicate with the creditors the result of this 
 meeting, and if the inspectors' recommendation were adopted by the creditors, Mr. 
 Cook engaged to pay such final dividend on the 30th of June, 1851. 
 
 " Mr. Cook declared his determination, if the above recommendation were 
 adopted, to keep an account of the assets, and, if there should be any surplus, to 
 apply it for the equal benefit of the creditors. 
 
 " The inspectors did not consider that Mr. Cook ought to come under any legal 
 obligation to that effect; but that it was quite right that his intention should be 
 made known to the creditors. 
 
 "If the creditors preferred the as^igniuent to a trustee, the solicitors were to 
 communicate with them as to the parties to take the trust; or, if the creditors had 
 no choice, the inspectors were ready to name a trustee. 
 
 " The solicitors were directed by the inspectors to allow any creditor to inspect 
 Mr. Coleman's report, 
 
 (Signed) " Joshua Bates, "^ 
 
 " Henry Blyth, > Inspectors." 
 " Ebic Erichsen, j 
 
 "We have been directed by tlie inspectors of the affairs of Messrs. Trueman and 
 Cook to submit to your consideration a copy of the report which is enclosed, and 
 wliich embodies the recommendation which we are authorized to bring under the 
 notice of tlie creditors. 
 
 " Tills report was, shortly after its date, submitted to the Bank of England, as 
 the largest creditors, and we have to inform you tliat we have received a letter from 
 the Bank, dated this day, wliich conveys to us the acquiescence of the Bank in the 
 arrangement proposed by the inspectors. 
 
 "We shall be glad to be informed whether you concur with the Bank, so that 
 the arrangetiicnt may at onie be carried into effect. 
 
 " We feel it due to Mr. Cook to add our testimony to the services and attention 
 which he has rendered to the estate, although, by the inspectorship-deed, he lias 
 been virtually discharged from all the liabilities of the late firm since January, 1848. 
 
 " We beg furtlier to state, that we have a copy of Mr. Coleman's report to the 
 Bank, which is open to your perusal whenever it may suit you to call here. And we 
 understand that the original is also at the Bank, and will be shown to any creditor 
 who may prefer to apply there. 
 
 " We arc, your obedient, humble servants, 
 
 (Signed) "Oliverson, Denby, and Lavie. 
 
 "Frederick's Place, July 11th, 1850."
 
 APPENDIX. XXI 
 
 PART 11. 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1850. 
 
 Feb. Messrs. Erichsen and Co., London, corn trade. 
 June. Messrs. Nasli and Neale. Reigate, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. D. Braggiotti and Co., London, mercliants. 
 Aug. Messrs. E. C. Meyer and Co., Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Herbert and Co., Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. J. F. Hinck, Hamburg, merchant. 
 Sept. Messrs. Luydam, Sage, and Co., New York, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hunter and Co., New York, merchants. 
 Oct. Messrs. Garnett, Balch, and Co., Boston, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. M'Williams and Gregory, New York, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Henley, M'Knight, and Co., Sacramento, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Mebass and Co., Sacramento, merchants. 
 Nov. Mr. H. M. Naglee, San Francisco, merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Simmons, Hutchinson, and Co., San Francisco, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. H. Howison and Farley, San Francisco, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Johnson, and Co., San Francisco, merchants. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF D. BEAGGIOTTI AND CO. 
 
 A. meeting of the creditors of Messrs. D. Braggiotti and Co., whose failure was 
 mentioned on the 26th June, took place on July 11, 1850, when, after the exami- 
 nation of a balance-sheet, prepared by Mr. J. E. Coleman, it was unanimously 
 agi'eed to liquidate the estate under a deed of inspectorship. The statement pre- 
 sented showed that the gros.'s liabilities amounted to i' 11 3, 900, which will be reduced, 
 by securities held and bills expected to run off, to about ±'30,000. The greater 
 part of the assets being produce, it is hoped that, if good market prices are realized, 
 u dividend of 4s. 6d. or 5^. may be eventually distributed. 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1851. 
 
 Mar. Messrs. James Deacon and Sons, London, linen factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. Oliver, Worthingtou, and Co., London, warehousemen. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Austens and Spicer, New York, producs dealei's. 
 
 April. Messrs. Bulcher and Carstenjen, London, Dutch merchants. 
 
 May. Mr. N. Poutz, Liverpool, general merchant. 
 
 Aug. Messrs. Castelli, Giustiniani, and Co., Loudon, Greek merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Eraser and Lightfoot, London, East India merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. S. Rucker and Sons, London, colonial brokers. 
 
 Sept. Messrs. Spencer Ashlin and Co., London, corn factors and merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Campbell, iVrnott, and Co., Liverpool, American merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. W. M. Neil, and Co., Liverpool, corn merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Clark and Voigt, Lomlon, Ionian merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Peter Clark and Co., Zante, etc., Ionian merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Maitland, Fawkes, and Co., London, colonial brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Eggers and Taylor, Liverpool, cotton merchants. 
 
 Oct. Ml ssrs. Ezponda, Corredor, and Co., London, Spanish merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Slater and Robertson, Glasgow, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Chesebrough, Stearns, andCo., New York, silk andgeneral merchants. 
 
 „ Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire Banking Company, Monmonth 
 bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. F. S. and D. Lathrop, New York, dry goods jobbers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Thompson and Co., New York, carpet manufacturers.
 
 XXll APPENDIX. 
 
 Oct. Commercial Bank of Perth, Amboy, United States. 
 
 „ Peoples' Bank ot'Paterson, New Jersey, United States. 
 
 „ Bank of Salisbury, Salisbury, ^Lirylaud, United States. 
 
 „ Monmouthshire Newport Old Bank, Monmouth. 
 
 „ Messrs. Paul and Dastis, London, wine merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Kirkman and Brown, London, colonial brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ewbank and Gray, London, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. W. H. Imlay, Brooklyn, New York, president of the Atlantic Diy 
 
 Dock Company. 
 
 „ Messrs. Perkins, Brooks, and Co., New York, dry goods dealers. 
 
 „ Mr. William G. Brown, BufTalo, United States, merchant. 
 
 Nov. Messrs. Forman and Hadow, London, colonial brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. F. F. Bragglotti and Co., Manchester, Greek merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. Francis Chambers, London, East and West India agent. 
 
 „ Messrs. Quaides Harris and Sons, London, wine trade. 
 
 „ Sunderland Joint-stock Bank, Sunderland, bankei-s. 
 
 „ Messrs. Jewett and Prescott, Boston, dry goods dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. James Briggs and Brothers, New Hampshire, L^nited States, 
 
 woollen manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. W. Biirger and Co., New York, druggists. 
 
 „ Messrs. Suter, Symington, and Robinson, New York, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Seaman and Muir, New York, dry goods dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Dexter, Harrington, and Co., New York, leather dealers. 
 
 „ Messi-s. P. R. Southwick and Co., New York, leather dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. S. Gould and Co., Salem, United States, iron merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. David Pingee, Salem, United States, railway and manufactiu-ing 
 
 establishment. 
 
 „ The Maryland Coal Company, Maryland. 
 
 „ Messrs. E. J. Barton and Co., New York, paper manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. M. Rutherford and Co., Louisville, United States, general 
 
 merchants. 
 
 ,, Columbus Lisurance Company, Cincinnati, United States. 
 
 „ Messrs. Crosby and Carkey, Norwich, Connecticut, United States, wool 
 
 merchants. 
 ,, Messrs. B. Upton and Son, Salem, Massachusetts, United States, merchants. 
 
 Dec. Messrs. Luckie Brothers and Co., London, West ludia merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Piatt, Sons, and Casson, Liverpool, general merchants. 
 ,, Messrs. Claypole and Son, Liverpool, West India merchants. 
 ,, Messrs. John Cabbell and Co., Glasgow, West India merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. E. FyfTe and Son, London, East and West India merchants. 
 „ I>lessrs. Hicks and Co., New York, shipping and general merchants. 
 „ Messrs. Hill, M'Lean and Co., New Orleans, cotton brokers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Mixer and Pitman, Boston, United States, oil and tallow merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Beach, Case, and Co., New York, merchants. 
 „ Messrs. John Bacon and Son, New York, iron merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. B. Smith and Co., New Yoi-k, silk merchants. 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1852. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. James Bult, Son, and Co., London, bullion dealers. 
 
 „ Mr. D. A. Scanavi, London, Greek merchant. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Seaward, Capel, and Co., London, engineers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lantz and Co., Petersburg, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Thatcher, Tucker, and Co., New York, domestic wares merchants 
 
 ,, Messrs. J. H. Adams and Co., Cork, provision merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. M'Ewan and Co., Glasgow, tea merchants and sugar refiners. 
 
 „ Messrs. Donald Mackay, Hadow, and Co., London, East India merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Daw, Wilson, and Herriuiam, New York, wholesale grocers. 
 
 ,, Mr. Glendie Broake, New Orleans, cotton merchant. 
 
 Feb. Me-srs. T. S. and W. Hardy, Cork, corn and provision trade. 
 
 ,, Mr. Denny Lane, Cork, corn and provision trade. 
 
 „ Mr. J. Dunhar, Cork, corn and provision trade. 
 
 ,, Messrs. M. J. Wilson and Co., Liverpool, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Foxall and Co , Dublin, East India merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Maunsal, White, and Co , New Orleans, cotton merchants.
 
 APPENDIX. XXm 
 
 Feb. Messrs. Mills, M'Dowall, and Co., New York, general merchants. 
 
 „ Mcssi's. W. B. Iliitton iiiul Co., Loudon, African merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. C. and B. Hooper, London, leather factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. D. C. Mackey and Co., Calcuttn, East India merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Rosetto, Carati, and Co., London, Greek merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Keith, Shoobridge, and Co., London, shawl printers. 
 
 Mar. Messrs. Carloton and Co., New York, dry goods importers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Moulton, Barker, and lielfier. New York, dry goods importers. 
 
 „ Mr. A. A. Lackersteen, London, East Lidia merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ritchie Brothers, London, West India merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. J. G. Lacy, of the firm of Lacy and Reynolds, London, gum manufacturer. 
 
 „ Messrs. M. Retemayer and Co., Liverpool, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Maeri and Co., Corfu, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Godfrey, Ouseley, and Co., Savannah, cotton merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Thomas Trierson and Co., Savannali. 
 
 „ Messrs. Hamilton and Hardinan, Savannah, cotton merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. R. C. Whetmore and Co., New York, hardware merchants. 
 May. Mr. John Birse, Dundee, flax merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Sinclair and Boyd, Belfast, East and West India merchants. 
 June. Messrs. Dixon, Wahie, and Co., Liverpool, Baltic merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Thomas Apt and Co., London, linseed crushers. 
 
 „ Mr. Knowles, London, Norwegian merchant. 
 
 Oct. Messrs. Walter Logan and Co., London, Spanish-American merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Emanuel and Son, Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Dunscomb, Cook, and Co., New York, Spanish-American and 
 West Indian merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Johnson and Travers, Baltimore, Spanish-American and West 
 Indian merchants. 
 
 Nov. John Ruck and Co., London, provision trade. 
 
 „ Jos. Stuart and Son, London, provision trade. 
 
 „ C. H. Harber, London, provision trade. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. CASTELLI AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Castelli, Giustiniani, and Co., whose sus- 
 pension took place on the 16th of August, was held on the 24th of September, 1851, 
 and was very numerously attended. Mr. Le Breton presided, and among the several 
 solicitors present, representing different mercantile firms, were Mr. Tilson, Mr. Ellis, 
 and Mr. Hobler, while Mr. Lavie attended on behalf of the estate. After the usual 
 pro forma proceedings, the following statement was read, prepared by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of the Affaies of Castelli, Giustiniani, and Co., Bitet Couet, 
 St. Maky Axe, Merchants, August 16, 1851. 
 
 T . ,.,■,. Liabilities as per 
 
 Liabilities as per j^g^^j.^ castelli's 
 
 the Creditors own Estimates of 
 
 Accounts. Securities. 
 
 To bills payable, imcovered £102,076 13 10 £102,076 13 10 
 
 To bUls payable, against 
 which goods are hypo- 
 thecated to the full 
 
 amount of clami £51,173 12 11 
 
 Estimated value of goods 55,246 12 11 
 
 Surplus to contra £4,073 
 
 To bills payable, against 
 which goods are hypo- 
 thecated £11,430 1 1 
 
 Estimated value of goods 10,295 6 11 
 
 1,134 14 2 1,134 14 2 
 
 To creditors on open accounts 19,854 2 11 19,854 2 11 
 
 Carried forward £123,065 10 11 £123,065 10 11
 
 XXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought foi-ward £123,065 10 11 £123,065 10 11 
 
 To creditors on accounts current holding 
 
 security, after deducting estimated value 
 
 of securities 30,520 14 7 18,710 8 
 
 To liabilities on biUs receivable on account 
 
 of Eucker and Son 53,100 53,100 
 
 To ditto on general ac- 
 count, the whole of 
 
 wliich, it is expected, 
 
 will be dulv bonovu-ed 
 
 at matiu-itv ' £112,285 3 8 
 
 Total" liabilities £206,686 5 6 
 
 Total liabilities as per CasteUi and Co;'s estuuates £194,875 11 7 
 
 Assets. 
 
 Assets as per 
 
 Messrs. Castelli's 
 
 Estimates of 
 
 Assets. 
 
 By debtors, good £1,960 15 1 £1,960 15 1 
 
 By debtors, doubtful £460 14 8 
 
 By surplus from goods hyjjothecated, as per 
 
 contra ". 4,073 4,073 O 
 
 By surplus from goods held by creditors as 
 
 'seciu-itv '. 1,339 3 11 11,049 16 O 
 
 By sundrV property 7,628 7,628 O 
 
 Total assets £15,000 19 
 
 Total assets as per CaStelti and Co.'s estimates £24,711 11 1 
 
 In alluding to the position of the accounts, Mr. Coleman explained that the dif- 
 ference between the estimates of assets, one showing \s. 6d., the otlier 2s. 6d. in the 
 pound, arose from the value put upon produce by the parties who had made ad- 
 vances, and tlie vulue subsequently revised by Mr. CasteUi, In the case of cotton, 
 for instance, in which the estate was interested to the extent of about 24,000 bales, 
 some small sales had lately been effected at an improvement of nearly 10 per cent, 
 compared with the estimate previously formed. Parties who had made advances to 
 the firm, and who were originally creditors, found themselves now imder these cir- 
 cumstances to be debtors. The assnmed value of the wliole of the produce connected 
 with Messrs. CasteUi and Co. was nearly £500,000, the cotton being estimated at 
 about i'200,000. Mr. Hobler complained of alleged irregular commercial conduct 
 on the part of CasteUi and Co., with reference to the cargoes of wheat obtained from 
 Alexandria, and also with regard to some bill transactions ; but these allegations, 
 it was generally contended, ought not to be entered into at a meeting called to settle 
 preliminaries, especially as they might, after all, be capable of full explanation. Mr. 
 Chapman said it was evident tlie great point for consideration on this occasion was 
 as to the best means of managing for the benefit of the creditors. According 
 to what had been stated, there was nearly half a million of property involved, 
 and it was the course to be pursued for the realization of the surplus that 
 ought now properly to occupy attention. Other incidental matters could subse- 
 quently receive notice. His oi)inion was, that the safest plan would be to select per- 
 sons well acquainted with mercantile affairs for superintending a liquidation, and to 
 allow the estate to be wound up under inspection, administration in bankruptcy not 
 being applicable to its position. It was also liis impression, that when the affairs of 
 Messrs. CasteUi and Co. should come to be thoroughly investigated, it would be 
 found that they liad been conducted in an honoural)le and straiglitforward manner. 
 This proposal did not meet unanimous approval, Mr. Kettlewell, representing the 
 Ionian Bank, and anotlier creditor, objecting to so speedy a decision. Mr. Lavie 
 intimated that if some of the creditors should be liereafter found to disagree with 
 the steps that might now be taken, another meeting could be convened. Jlr. Ket- 
 tlewell was in favour of a week being given to consider the statement hud before the 
 creditors. On the other hand, Mr. Chapman and Mr. Cunliffe thought that the in-
 
 APPENDIX. XXV 
 
 terest of every one concerned would dictate the necessity of coming to a conclusion 
 as soon as possible. Mr. Tilsoii tliought it would be prudent, perhaps, to ask Mr. 
 Colemiin to give them some iiifortnation of the way in which these very heavy 
 losses weie sustained, since it might obviate apparent difliculties in arriving at a 
 result. Mr. Coleman stated th:it he had not yet been able to draw out a perfect 
 balance-sheet, but fi'om the examination he had alresidy prosecuted, it was 
 quite certain the firm of Caslelli and Co. possessed a capital of ,t35,000 in 1849. 
 Their losses on produce, however, in 1850 and 1851 amounted toi;149,800, the chief 
 articles being cotton, corn, coffee, sugar, silk, and cochineal. "When his investiga- 
 tion should be terminated he would be enabled to show the course of the whole 
 trading, but in the meantime it would only be fair to announce that the drawings 
 from the firm had been very small. The question of private property having been 
 alluded to, it was inquired how many partners wei-e in tbe house. Tbe answer, that 
 Mr. Frank Castelli alone represented it, seemed to excite strong remark upon the 
 part of tbe creditors. The appearance of the name of Mr. Giustiniani in the firm 
 was canvassed, and it was then elicited that he had retired, but that the dissolution 
 had not been inserted in the Gazette. Mr. Lavie said this point was open to discus- 
 sion, but the proposed resolutions would not interfere witii the rights against other 
 parties. Partnership en commandite had existed, the facts connected with which 
 could be inquired into. Mr. Chapman regarded this matter as oue of great 
 importance, and said he trusted it would be closely probed. The question, however, 
 in the hands of Mr. Lavie would doubtless receive due consideration, and, believing 
 this, he should press for the adoption of the plan of inspectorship. Air. Hobler 
 contended that bankruptcy was the only satisfactory process through which the 
 creditors could hope to see their rights tested, whether with regard to partnership 
 law or a due investigation of property. Under inspectorship no authority whatever 
 could be exercised, either to compel parties to disclose the condition of their affairs, 
 or to render strict justice to their creditors. The divi'Iend in this case would more 
 likely be l.s. than 2*. Qd., and bankruptcy administration was therefore the right 
 course. Mr. Cunlifle advocated the system of inspectorship where economy was 
 required. Mr. Ellis and Mr. Tilson considered that as a preliminary step a choice 
 of inspectors might be made, and bankruptcy could eventually be enforced if it 
 were thought necessary. With respect to Mr. Giustiniani, it w-as stated that even 
 the bankruptcy laws would not reach him, should the creditors wish to carry them 
 out, as he was a resident at Leghorn. As to proceedings against other parties, if 
 liable, that was a subject deserving serious consideration. No complaint could, 
 however, be made concerning the disposition of the en commandite capital, not the 
 least portion of it having been withdrawn, it having been fairly absorbed in the 
 business of the house. After some further discussion, it was agreed by the majority 
 to pass resolutions adopting the plan of inspection, Mr. Kettlewell permitting his 
 name to be inserted on the understanding; that the directors of the Ionian Bank 
 assent to the proceedings. "If they should not, the Gazette,^' he said, "would 
 certainly follow-." Annexed are the resolutions carried in official order : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Castelli, Giustiniani, and Co., held at 
 No. 8, Frederick's Place, on Wednesday, the 24th day of September, 1851, Mr. Le 
 Breton in the chair — 
 
 "A statement of the assets and liabilities was read to the meeting by Mr. Cole- 
 man, the accountant, and the meeting having come to the conclusion that it was 
 expedient that the affairs should be wound up under a deed of arrangement, with 
 the supervision of inspectors, it was, therefore, resolved — 
 
 "1. That Mr. Whately, of the firm of Le Breton, Whately, and Co., and Mr. 
 "William Kettlewell, of the Ionian Bank, be requested to be inspectors, with power 
 to appoint a third inspector. 
 
 "2. That a deed of arrangement be prepared, with proper provisions for the 
 winding-up the affairs under the above-mentioned inspectors, and for securing the 
 due liquidation and the early distribution of the assets pro rata among the creditors, 
 and according to the rules of administration in bankruptcy, and containing a cove- 
 nant by Mr. Castelli to carry on such liquidation under tbe inspectors, and covenants 
 on tbe part ofthe creditors not to sue Mr. Castelli for twelve months; and that the 
 inspectors shall have power to enlarge that time if they shall deem it necessary; 
 and that at the expiration of such period, or of such enlarged period, and upon Mr. 
 Castelli assigning the outstanding assets to trustees for disti-ibution among the 
 creditors, he shall be released from all claims. The deed shall also contain such other 
 provisions as are usual in deeds of inspectorship, and as shall be approved by the 
 inspectors on behalf of the creditors.
 
 XXVI APPENDIX. 
 
 "3. The creditors acceding to this arrangement shall not be prejudiced as to 
 any securities or liens they may be entitled to, or as to their rights against third 
 parties. 
 
 " 4. That the signature of this memorandum and of the deed of arrangement 
 shall not prejudice the rights, remedies, or position of any creditor, against or in 
 respect of the parties at any time members of the firm of Castelli, Giustiniani, 
 and Co. 
 
 " 5. Tliat the inspectors may be at liberty, if they shall think fit, to release to 
 Mr. Castelli liis furniture, and such other private property at his residence as they 
 may think fit. 
 
 " 6. That in the meantime, until the deed of arrangement shall be executed, a 
 copy of these resolutions may be submitted to the creditors, and shall form a 
 memorandum of arrangement for the administration of the afl'airs. 
 
 "7. The thanks of the meeting to the chairman were then moved by Mr. Cunliffe , 
 seconded by Mr. Ciiapman, and voted unanimously." 
 
 The estate was ultimately wound up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF EUCKEE AND SONS, 
 
 COLONIAL EEOKEES. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Rucker and Sons, whose failure took place 
 on the 25th of August, was held on the 6th of September, 1851, Mr. D. B. Ciiapman, of 
 the firm of Overend, Gurney, and Co., presiding. After the usual preliminaries the 
 following statement of the affairs of the estate was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, 
 the accountant : — 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors on acceptances £158,606 1 2 
 
 To creditors on open accounts 116,898 4 4 
 
 To creditors holding secm'ities (but wliich seciu-ities will not 
 
 cover advances to the fidl extent) 9,655 13 8 
 
 £285,159 19 2 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By cash at banker's £6,189 4 10 
 
 By bills receivable 525 5 6 
 
 By suiichy debtors, good (the greater portion of these are secured 
 
 'by produce, etc.) 127,207 
 
 By debts secured by liens on West Indian estates, estimated to yield 7,600 
 By cash to receive on account of sundry debtors, viz., estimated 
 
 surplus from produce beyond advances received thereon 33,500 
 
 Prompts £87,957 
 
 Less, to be paid to those entitled thereto 70,427 
 
 17,530 
 
 Bv private property of the late Mr. Kucker and of Mr. S. 
 
 ■Euckcr,jun 22,400 
 
 £214,951 10 4 
 
 Less, sundry small bills (to be paid in full) 
 
 drawn against produce to amve, etc £634 5 10 
 
 Salaries and charges to be paid in full 1,000 
 
 1,634 5 10 
 
 £213,317 4 6 
 
 In explaining the circumstances of the suspension, Mr. Freshfield referred to the 
 reports first circulated of its having been caused by the failure of Messrs. Castelli 
 and Co. Altliougli the two firms were connected in business, Messrs. Rucker were 
 not compelled to suspend by the stoppage of Castelli and Co., but in consequence of 
 the discredit brought upon them from the rumours propagated with respect to it. 
 Tlje engagements of Rucker and Sons, it was well known, were principally in con-
 
 APPENDIX. XXVll 
 
 nection with money taken in deposit, money borrowed upon produce, and running 
 acceptances. Since the period of suspension those transactions had become con- 
 siderably narrowed, owinif to the redtrnption of securities and tlie consequent can- 
 celment of acceptances ; and there was also the probabihty of a further lar;j;e reduc- 
 tion from the same causes. Under the general estinuite made, tliere was a good 
 prospect of tlie creditors receiving|15s. in the pound. Mr. Coh'man, in speaking of the 
 character of the assets, alluded to tlie favourable and compact position in which they 
 stood. Little doubt was entertained of their uhimate realization, and, with reference 
 to the produce, it was understood that the parties wlio represented the interest 
 identified witlitbat portion of the estate would not dispose of it except at fair market 
 prices. It was therefore hoped that in the course of four months the whole of the 
 available property might be distributed. Mr. Freshfield said it must be clear to all 
 concerned, that the principal feature in the estate, as shown by tbe accounts, was the 
 tangible nature of the assets. First, there was tbe cash at the banker's ; then the 
 debts represented by produce, which might almost be regarded as money. The debts 
 secured by liens on West Indian estates had been put down at a sum which it Vfna 
 fairly calculated tliey would yield; and, although the value of West India property 
 ■was liable to great depreciation, it was nevertheless thought that in tliis case the 
 estimate would be found on the safe side. With regard to the item of " cash to re- 
 ceive on account of sundry debtors, namely, estimated surplus from produce beyond 
 advances received thereon, i.'33,500," every reason existed for presuming that such 
 a sum would be realized in full, even if no excess accrued, because the produce was 
 virtually pledged for less than its real value, and hence, as it was not likely to be 
 forced upon the market, there was scarcely room for apprehending an unfavourable 
 result. Tlie remaining asset of consequence was that of the private property of 
 Messrs. Rucker and Sons, stated at ±'22,400, making in gross £'213,317 to pay 
 £285,159, or, as already stated, 15s. in the pound, with every expectation of a speedy 
 realization. With this object it was proposed to pay tbe first dividend of 2s. Gd. in 
 about ten days, tbe next on the 1st of November, and the others in regular order, as 
 nearly as coiild be calculated, on tbe 1st of each succeeding month ; sometimes 
 2s. 6d. and sometimes more or less, as the property might be rendered available. 
 Mr. Chapman, as chairman, in reviewing the statements made by Mr. Freshfield, 
 thought it must be satisfactory to the creditors to find that the assets, so sub- 
 stantial in their appearance, were considered capable of producing 154'. in the pound. 
 He bore testimony to the assumed tangible nature of the leading items, but particu- 
 larly to the private property at Wandsworth, and then submitted the course that 
 ought to be adopted for the final liquidation of the liabilities. Considering the posi- 
 tion of the firm, and also the circumstances which had transpired, especially with 
 reference to the produce to be realized, he thought that the most advisable proceed- 
 ing would be to allow the partners to manage the business of liquidation under the 
 superintendence of inspectors, the latter representing tlie leading creditors. This pro- 
 posal at once met tbe unanimous consent of the parties present, but before tbe reso- 
 lutions were put, a question was asked respecting the capital of the house. Mr. 
 Freshfield was understood to remark that the capital had been merged in losses. It 
 had not recently been as high as £100,000 ; the sum was nearer £50,000. The 
 resolutions were then unanimously passed for winding up the aflfairs of the house 
 under inspection, and after a discussion regarding the desirableness of the whole of 
 the produce held as security passing through the hands of Messrs. Rucker and Sons 
 for sale, so as to keep the markets in a proper state, as well as to promote tbe busi- 
 ness of the finn in its subsequent career, a vote of thanks was carried to the chair- 
 man, and the meeting separated. Annexed are the resolutions agreed to in official 
 order : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Rucker and Co , held at the counting- 
 house in Tower Street, on Friday, the 5tli of September, Mr. David Barclay Cbapman 
 in the chair, Mr. Coleman, the accountant, having produced and read to the meet- 
 ing a statement of the debts and assets, it was thereupon resolved — 
 
 "1. That the house should be liquidated by the partners, under the inspection 
 of the following gentlemen, viz., Mr. David Barclay Chapman, Mr. Edward Harnage, 
 and Mr. Christian Turck. 
 
 " 2. That the salaries of clerks and servants be paid in full, and that the house 
 be authorized to pay small debts, not exceeding in the aggregate £1,000. 
 
 " 3. That a deed be forthwith prepared, by which the partners shall covenant 
 to liqiiidate the affairs of the house, and divide the proceeds among the creditors 
 rateably and in proportion to their several debts, under inspection, observing in such 
 liquidation the rules of administration adopted iu bankruptcy j that such deed shall
 
 XXVIU APPENDIX. 
 
 contain covenants by the creditors not to sue the partners for twelve months, and 
 that the inspectors shall have power to enlarge that time, if they shall deem it 
 necessary; and that, at the expiration of such period, or of such enlarged period, and 
 upon the partners assigning the outstanding assets to trustees for distribution among 
 the creditors, the partners shall be released from all claims. The deed shall also 
 contain such other provisions as are usual in deeds of inspection, to be settled by 
 the inspectors on behalf of the creditors. 
 
 '•' 4. That creditors acceding to this arrangement shall not be prejudiced as to any 
 securities or liens they may be entitled to, or as to their rights against third parties. 
 
 "5. That the private property of the partners, after payment of their separate 
 liabilities, be applied in the payment of the debts of the firm, except furniture and such 
 other private property as the inspectors shall think proper to release to the partners. 
 
 " 6. Tlie partners having undertaken to conduct the liquidation without any 
 personal remuneration, it is resolved that they shall be at liberty to transact busi- 
 ness as brokers on their covenanting not to use, either directly or indirectly, any of 
 the existing assets of the firm, and to incur no new engagements which could by 
 any possibility be thrown on the existing assets, but such business shall be discon- 
 tinued if the inspectors shall certify that it ought not to be continued. 
 
 "D. B. Chapman. 
 
 "Resolved — That the thanks of the meeting be given to Mr. David Barclay 
 Chapman for taking the chair, and for his conduct therein." 
 
 THE ESTATE OE SPENCEE ASHLIN AND CO., 
 
 COBN TRADE. 
 
 At a meeting held on October 13, 1851, of the creditors of Messrs. Spencer 
 Ashlin and Co., who failed in the corn trade on the 13th of September, Mr. De Bruyu 
 in the chair, the following statement was read by Mr. Quilter, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of Affaibs, September 11, 1S51. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To sundry creditors, unsecured £69,380 5 9 
 
 To sundry creditors secm'ed bv consign- 
 ments, etc., on hand ". £87,916 18 2 
 
 Deduct value of consignments on hand 73,554 14 10 
 
 14,362 3 4 
 
 To sundry liabilities, viz. : — 
 
 On bills receivable 213,873 2 3 
 
 Less estimated to be bad, and included in 
 
 statement of creditors imsecm-ed 49,122 9 10 
 
 Considered good £164,750 12 5 
 
 £83,742 9 1 
 
 CEEDITOB. 
 
 iiy cash and bills on liand, viz. : — 
 
 At Glyn and Co.'s £4,07110 5 
 
 Bills receivable, considered good 7,192 17 8 
 
 Ditto, considered bad, £1633 8.?. 6c?. £11,264 8 1 
 
 By railway shares, being the sum since realized on sale thereof 1,192 10 
 
 By sundry debtors, considered good 1,426 12 
 
 Ditto, considered doubtful and bad, £32,484 1*. Id. 
 
 By surplus security in the hands of creditors 60 
 
 £13,943 10 1 
 By deficiency 69,798 19 
 
 £83,742 9 1 
 
 In elucidation of the accounts, Mr. Quilter read a lengthy report, showing the 
 position of the firm from its commencement, with the capital introduced and the
 
 APPENDIX. XXIX 
 
 course of trading. From this it appeared that the deficiency, as presented in the 
 above stiitement, arose from £41,000 losses on grain speculations, and the remainder 
 throno;h bad debts. Mr. M'Leod intimated that the estate showed a dividend of 
 3s. 4(1. in the pound ; but it was proposed on behalf of Mr. Spencer Ashlin, who 
 alone constituted the firm, to pay 3s. Gd., his friends having promised to assist him 
 to some extent. Questions had been mooted of preference payments made by the 
 house on the eve of its failure to an amount of about £4,(300, of which £3,000 had 
 already been recovered, and it was thought tliat the balance could be arranged 
 without litigation. Mr. Ashlin, it was stated, was ready to follow any course pro- 
 posed by his creditors for liquidating his affairs, and had already placed liimself in 
 a position to become amenable to bnnkruptcy administration, if that alternative 
 were deemed desirable. The assets already realized were in the custody of Messrs. 
 Glyn and Co., to whom also would be transferred what other sums might be obtained 
 for the benefit of the creditors. A discussion was then entered into respecting some 
 transactions between Spencer Ashlin and Co. ; Alsop and Co., of Dublin ; and Mr. 
 Neil, of Liverpool, the merits of which will have hereafter to be determined, the 
 National Bank of Ireland being interested in the issue. When the resolutions 
 usually adopted at meetings of this description came to he definitively proposed, 
 Mr. Murr.ay, as representing Messrs. G-lyn and Co. and Messrs. Overend, Gnmey, 
 and Co., considered further investigation necessary. He therefore suggested an 
 adjournment, which was finally' adopted, Mr. J. G. Elsey, of the discount depart- 
 ment of the Bank, being appointed, in conjunction with a second party, to be named 
 by Mr. Murray, to investigate the various points, and to ascertain, if possible, their 
 actual position. 
 
 The adjourned meeting of t1ie creditors of Messrs. Spencer Ashlin and Co., who 
 failed in the corn trade on the 13th of September, was held on the 28th of October, 
 to receive the report of Mr. Murray and Mr. J. G. Elsey, the parties named to inves- 
 tigate the alTairs of the firm. Previously to this document being presented, it was 
 explained by Mr. M'Leod, Mr. Ashlin's solicitor, tliat from some misunderstanding 
 of what had transpired on the former occasion, it appeared to have been considered 
 that 3s. 6d. in the pound was the amount to which the creditors would have been 
 limited, had they adopted the proposition then made. Such, liowever, was not pre- 
 cisely the case, the intention having been to secure 3s. 6d., and rateably divide any 
 further assets which might have been realized. The report read by Mr. Murray 
 detailed the course of investigation, which had been principally directed to some 
 transactions in grain regarded as constituting preference arrangements. The debts 
 and liabilities were taken at £85,193, and the assets were on the former occasion 
 placed as representing £15,469. Increasing this latter sum by the amount of the 
 preference claims and the value of household funiiture, it would reach £17,762. 
 The gross assets, under these circumstances, showed a dividend of 4s. in the pound 
 ■with the small surplus of about £395. It was therefore the opinion of Mr. Murray — 
 on behalf of the largest creditors, Messrs. Glyn and Co. and Messrs. Overend, Gnriiey, 
 and Co. — that a dividend of 4s. in the pound, 3s. being at once paid and the 
 remaining Is. secured at an early date, should be accepted. A long discussion 
 followed relative to the mercantile career of Mr. Spencer Ashlin, especially in con- 
 nection with Mr. Alsop of Dublin and Mr. Neil of Liverpool. Mr. M'Leod said the 
 question of the trading of Mr. Asiilin could not in all respects be defended, but the 
 real point at issue was the best course to he adopted for the benefit of the creditors. 
 The accounts prepared by Messrs. Quilter and Co., it was intimated, showed in an 
 accurate and detailed shape the whole of the transactions, Mr. Murray himself 
 bearing testimony to their completeness in this and every other particular. Mr. 
 M'Leod was distinctly of opinion that Mr. Ashlin, assisted by his friends, in con- 
 curring with the proposal to pay 4s. in the pound, was doing the utmost he could 
 for his creditors, since it was, after all, probable that in the realization of the estate 
 a deficiency of from £2,000 to £3,000 might occur. The representatives of the 
 National Bank of Ireland announced that they were unable to give their assent 
 immediately to the terms proposed ; but finding that the annexed resolution was 
 unanimously carried, they promised to consult tlie board of directors on the subject, 
 and to communicate their final decision without delay : — 
 
 "At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Spencer Ashlin and Co., held at the 
 office of Messrs. M'Leod and Stenning, of 13, London Street, Fenchurch Street, on 
 the 28th of October, 1851, it was resolved — 
 
 " That the report made by Mr. Murray be received and confirmed, and that 4,=, 
 in the pound be paid and received in full of all claims by the respective creditors of
 
 XXX APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. Ashlin, as follows, i.e., 3s. in the pound to be paid down on the signing of this 
 resolution by all the creditors, or their assent thereto being obtained, and Is. in the 
 pound to be secure 1 to the satisfaction of Mr. Murray's clients, payable at three 
 months from this date." 
 
 The estate was ultimately -wound up in bankruptcy, and, on unfavourable dis- 
 closures, the bankrupt quitted the country. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE QUAELES HAEEIS AND CO., 
 
 OPORTO (wine) TEADE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Quarles Harris and Co., engaged in the 
 ■wine trade, who failed on the 28th of November, 1851, was held on the 28th of 
 January, 1852, when the following statement, prepared by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, 
 and Co., was presented :— 
 
 Qttaeles Haeeis and So>-s' Statement of Affaies, Kotembek 28, 1851. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors unseciired, viz. : — 
 
 Trade accounts £5,215 1 7 
 
 Acceptances drawn fi'om Oporto 13,709 15 1 
 
 Ditto in London 9,400 
 
 Cash creditors, as per statement 14,850 8 2 
 
 To creditors partially secured, viz. : — 
 
 Amotmt of claims 
 
 Estimated value of securities 
 
 To creditors fully secui-ed, viz. :■ 
 Estimated value of seciuT-ties. 
 Amoimt of claims 
 
 Estimated surplus carried to credit as an 
 asset per contra 
 
 To liabilities on biUs receivable — 
 
 Considered good 
 
 Considered bad 
 
 Less securities held 
 
 5,997 
 5,514 
 
 9 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 41,489 
 35,695 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 11 
 
 5,794 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 42,680 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 4,606 
 43 
 
 16 
 13 
 
 1 
 7 
 
 £43,175 4 10 
 
 483 9 2 
 
 To acceptances in hands of Oporto house, not 
 
 expected to be claimed against this estate... 6,000 
 
 CEEDITOR. 
 
 By bills receivable — on hand : — 
 
 Considered good £935 11 
 
 Considered bad 
 
 By unaccepted l)ills £1259 10 2 
 
 'Estimated to produce 1,000 
 
 By sundry debtors, viz. : — 
 Good. 
 London... £3,466 10 11 
 Coimtrv... 3,050 6 1 
 Irish ..^.. 820 17 3 
 Swedish... 1,105 13 8 
 Foreign... 846 8 5 
 
 Doubtfid. 
 
 Bad. 
 
 
 £167 9 7 
 
 £2,180 5 
 
 4 
 
 2,177 3 4 
 
 4,185 14 
 
 4 
 
 553 18 
 
 1,154 5 
 
 9 
 
 3 15 
 
 Nd. 
 
 
 543 5 10 
 
 556 11 
 
 10 
 
 4,563 2 6 
 
 £48,221 16 6 
 
 1,935 11 
 
 £9,289 16 4 £3,445 11 9 £8,076 17 3 
 
 Carried forward £1,935 11
 
 APPENDIX. XXXI 
 
 Brought forward £1,935 11 
 
 Debtors considered good 9,289 16 1 
 
 considered doubtful £3,445 11 9 
 
 Estimated to produce, at 5s. in the pound 8G1 7 11 
 
 Estimated bad £8076 17 3 
 
 By stock on hand — 
 
 On docks and with country agents 4,496 
 
 By surphis seciu'ities — 
 
 In the hands of creditors, as ^cr co?2<r» 5,794 
 
 By wines on consignment — 
 
 At Stockhohn, £809 10s., estimated to produce 500 
 
 At New York, estimated produce of Terragona wine 
 (doubtful) 
 
 2,400 
 
 £25,276 15 
 
 DEDUCT. 
 
 Rent, taxes, salaries, and sundry small creditors 
 
 to be paid in fuU £600 
 
 Reseiwed, to retire a bill of £2000 255 
 
 Expenses of reahzuig stock and of liquidating 
 
 theestate 1000 
 
 1,855 
 £23,421 15 
 
 In reviewing the statement, it was explained that it showed a dividend of about 
 10s. in the pound, but that Messrs. Quarles Harris and Co. were unable to offer any 
 definite terms for a secured composition. Under these circumstances, they were 
 willing to pursue any com-se considered desirable by their creditors, and were only 
 anxious to realize the property to the best advantage. The stock of wine, it was 
 stiggested, should be disposed of gradually, instead of at auction. In answer to 
 questions, it was intimated that the books of the firm had not been balanced subse- 
 quently to 1844, and that it Avas insolvent in 1848 to the extent of £20,000, taking 
 the stock at selling prices. The securities placed with creditors, and the whole of 
 the transactions connected with them, had been thoroughly investigated, and not 
 the least suspicion existed but that they had been appropriated in a perfectly legal 
 manner. With regard to the firm in Oporto, it appeared that a di sire had been 
 expressed among the local friends of Mr. James Harris to make arrangements, if 
 possible, for him to carry on business ; while the creditors in tliis country, out of 
 consideration for Mr. Quarles Harris, as well as for their own ultimate advantage, 
 announced themselves favourable to a liquidation of the estate by inspection. Were 
 it proposed to adopt a different proceeding, legal difficulties would doubtless arise, 
 which might, in the end, decrease the available assets, and interfere with the 
 general prospects of their realization. Some further explanations having been 
 given respecting bills running between the two houses, it was moved and carried 
 that a liquidation slioiild be effected in the manner proposed. Subjoined is an 
 abstract of the resolution passed : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Quarles Harris and Sons, held at the chambers 
 of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., on the 24th day of January, 1852, Mr. Noble in 
 the chair, a statement of the affairs of the house having been laid before the 
 creditors, it was resolved — 
 
 "That a letter of license be granted to Mr. Quarles Harris to liquidate the estate, 
 under the inspection of Mr. Tanqueray, Mr. Complin, Mr. Scares, and Mr. Gardener, 
 on behalf of the creditors, and that the usual deed for carrying such arrangement 
 into effect be prepared for the signature of the creditors, such deed to contain a pro- 
 vision for a release to the Messrs. Harris, on payment of a dividend equal to 7s. 6d. 
 in the pound, or as soon as the inspectors shall certify that the conduct of those 
 gentlemen, in the liquidation of the estate, has been satisfactory to them. 
 "John Hatt Noble, Chairman. 
 Jas. M. Buugues. Frederick Giesleb and Co. 
 
 E. T. Complin. Bibbens, Blogden, and Stovins. 
 
 H. M. Wyatt. Pte, Field, and Tanqubray. 
 
 TnoMAS Barrett. John Day, Son, and Watson. 
 
 M. S. Scares. Martin, Stonk, and Co."
 
 XXXU APPENDIX, 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. EWBANK AND GRAY, 
 
 MEECHAXTS. 
 
 This house failed, but the meeting of creditors was kept strictly private. 
 Statement of Affairs, September 30, 1851. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors iinseciu'ed £5,373 16 11 
 
 To creditors partially secured 2,111 7 9 
 
 To amount of claims £17,810 7 9 
 
 To securities valued at 15,699 
 
 £2,111 7 9 
 
 To creditors fully secured 
 
 Toclaims \ £19,692 6 
 
 To vahie of securities 23,881 5 6 
 
 Asset cow^m £4,189 5 
 
 To bills payable 9,001 3 9 
 
 To liabilities on endorsements 20,207 16 3 
 
 £36,694 4 8 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By book debts, good £1,418 19 4 
 
 B>cash Ill 8 
 
 By surplus value of securities, contra 4,189 5 Q 
 
 Value of stock 6,747 6 
 
 £12,357 2 
 
 Less small debts to be paid in full 617 8 11 
 
 £11,739 13 1 
 
 By profits on adventures, estimated 2,200 
 
 By estimated profits on cleaning and dressing stock and pur- 
 chases made 3,680 
 
 £17,619 13 1 
 
 THE ESTATE OF EZPONDA, COEEEBOE, AND CO., 
 
 SPANISH TRADE. 
 
 The accompanying statement and report, respecting the affairs of Messrs. Ezponda, 
 Corredor, and Co., engaged in tlie Spanisli trade, who suspended payment on the 
 1st October, 1851, were subsequently transmitted to tlieir principal creditors. It 
 will be perceived that expectations are entertained, not only of a li([uidation being 
 effected in full, but also of a surplus remaining for the benefit of the partners. 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Messrs. Ezponda, Corredok, and Co., 
 OF Austin Friars, London, October 29, 1851. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors holding security £32,910 17 11 
 
 Acceptances to draughts from Spain and Carthagena, for which 
 ncgol iations have been effected to take the same up as they 
 become due ' 32,692 
 
 Carried forward £65,502 17 II
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 XXXlll 
 
 Brought forward £05,502 17 11 
 
 Ditto, for which the drawers will ])rovide 
 
 Creditors on open accounts in Spain 
 
 Bills ]5avable, being acceptances for account of drawers, who 
 will provide for tlie same as they arrive at maturity ; and 
 on account of others who are debtors to a larger amount than 
 the di'aughts now returned on them 
 
 To bills payable, not provided for £15,060 12 1 
 
 Sundry creditors on open accounts 3,621 4 
 
 10,579 
 25,028 11 
 
 14,361 5 
 £115,471 15 
 
 18,681 12 5 
 
 £134,153 7 5 
 
 By debtors, good £30,807 11 2 
 
 Less acceptances not paid... 14,261 5 
 
 £16,546 6 2 
 
 By debtors (dovibtful) 423 13 5 
 
 By ditto (bad) 210 17 7 
 
 By property 
 
 By securities held by cre- 
 ditors 38,0i0 
 
 Creditors as per conira 32,910 17 11 
 
 £5,129 2 1 
 
 By balance due from Con-e- 
 
 dor and Co., of Cartha- 
 
 gena £66,695 17 1 
 
 LessbUls ... £32,692 
 
 Ditto ... 10,579 5 
 
 43,271 5 
 
 £23,424 16 8 
 
 This balance will be dis- 
 charged by the payment 
 of 25,028 11 8 
 
 Which the Carthagena house 
 will make in general set- 
 tlement with the Spanish 
 creditors, the resiilt on 
 
 which will be a balance 
 
 in its favour of £1,603 15 
 
 By capital in the house at 
 Havannah, and goods con- 
 signed for sale there, in 
 charge of your special 
 correspoiadent, lately sent 
 out ". 31,702 6 
 
 Deduct the amount wliich 
 will be due to the house 
 at Carthagena after pay- 
 ment of all diims in 
 Spain, as above* 1,603 15 
 
 Carried fonvard 
 
 Debit balances as 
 
 per books of the 
 
 house. 
 
 £30,807 11 2 
 
 3,279 10 
 38,040 
 
 66,695 17 1 
 
 Debit balancs 
 after giving cre- 
 dit ior the unpaid 
 draughts. 
 
 £16,546 6 2 
 3,279 10 
 
 5,129 2 1 
 
 31,702 6 31,702 6 
 
 £56,657 4 3 
 
 1,603 15 
 
 £170,525 4 3 £55,053 9 3 
 c
 
 XXXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought fonvard £170,525 4 3 £55,053 9 3 
 
 Bills payable, and not pro- 
 vided" for, as _^;er eoMi-ra... £18,85112 5 18,85112 5 
 Deduct amoimts owing 134,323 7 5 
 
 Siu-plus £36,201 16 10 £36,201 16 10 
 
 " To Messes. Ezponda, Coeeedor, and Co., Aitstin Feiaes. 
 
 "36, Coleman Street, London, Oct. 31, 1851. 
 
 " G-entlemen,— Having perfected the examination of your books, and investi- 
 gated the correspondence and documents necessary to make a statement of your 
 liabilities and assets, as well as to advise upon a mode of hquidation, I now have 
 the pleasure of placing the results before you, together with some few observations 
 that presented themselves to me diiring such inquiry. 
 
 By the statement annexed hereto, yovir liabilities in gross are . . . £134,323 7 5 
 Which will be reduced as follows : — 
 
 By the sale of produce now hypothecated 
 against advances, and which advances are 
 included in the above amoiuit £32,910 17 11 
 
 By your acceptances to di-aughts from Spain 
 and Carthagena, and for which negotia- 
 tions have been effected to take up the 
 same as they become due 32,692 
 
 By your acceptances to draughts from Spain 
 and Carthagena, for which the 8 di'awers will 
 provide 10,579 5 
 
 By open creditors in Spain, the settlement of 
 
 which wDl also be made there 25,028 11 8 
 
 By acceptances on account of drawers who 
 will provide for the same as they arrive at 
 maturity, and on accovmt of others who are 
 debtors to you to a larger amount than the 
 
 draughts now returned on them 14,261 5 
 
 115,471 15 
 
 Leavingliabilities to be provided for in England £18,851 12 5 
 
 By the same statement the assets in your 
 
 books here amount to £170,525 4 3 
 
 Beduced by your unpaid acceptances, which 
 will have to be taken up by the drawers, as 
 above £32,692 
 
 Ditto 14,261 5 
 
 Ditto 10,579 5 
 
 £57,532 5 5 
 By property held for advances on security ... 32,910 17 11 
 
 And by open accounts in Spain, as above ... 25,028 11 8 
 
 £115,471 15 115,471 15 
 
 £55,053 9 3 
 
 Consisting of debtors (principally) in Spain 
 
 and Carthagena £16,546 6 2 
 
 G-oods purchased and ready for shipment ... £3,279 10 
 Surplus from hypothecated goods when sold... 5,129 2 1 
 
 CaiTied forward £8,408 12 1 £16,546 6 2
 
 yiPPENDIX. XXXV 
 
 Brought foi-w-ard £8,408 12 1 £16,516 G 2 
 
 Capital at the house at Havannah, and goods 
 consigned for sale there, in eliarge of your 
 
 special correspondent, lately scut out £31,702 6 
 
 10,110 18 1 
 
 £56,657 4 3 
 
 The balance of £23,424 16.?. Sd., due from the house of Car- 
 thagena, Avill be discharged by the paJ^nents that they will 
 make in general settlement with the Spanish creditors, and a 
 balance will then be due to them of 1,603 15 
 
 £55,053 9 3 
 To pay habilities as above 18,851 12 5 
 
 Leaving sui-plus £36,201 16 10 
 
 "In treating with the items forming the preceding statement, I have satisfied 
 m3'self, by communication with tlie various parties who have made the advances, that 
 such advances will be fully covered by tlie goods tliat they hold, and, further, that 
 the surphis arising therefrom, as set fortli in this statement, is not over-estimated; 
 that the fact of a large quantity of the bills which have been returned to Spain 
 having been met by third parties, such parties having further agreed to take up all 
 the remaining bills that are drawn on account of the Cartliagena house; that the 
 open creditors, to the extent of four-fifths, are parties who have a direct interest in 
 carrying out a prompt liquidation ; that the draughts accepted for account of others 
 have been to this time met by tlie drawers for whose account they were so accepted, 
 and but little doubt can be entertained of the remainder being, in like manner, 
 honoured at maturity. In respect of the assets, although a considerable portion of the 
 debts that are due from parties in Spain will in all probability be remitted in the usual 
 course, still I do not think it avouM be pritdent to calculate on the receipt thereof 
 until the parties who have agreed to retire your acceptances in that country have 
 reimbui'sed themselves, and, therefore, the only items which I calculate upon as really 
 available for the purposes of your liquidation here are the surplus proceeds of goods 
 hypotliecated, the goods that are now ready for shipment, and which will be shortly 
 forthcoming, and the balance due from Havannah, amounting in all to £40,110 
 18.S'. Ic?., showing a sufficiency to pay the full liabilities here of £18,851 12.y. 5'/., and 
 to leave a surplus of £21,259 5.9. 8;/., exclusive of the above-mentioned debits in 
 Spain, etc. In regard to the proceeds to be received from Havannah, I may remark, 
 that I consider your plan, in sending out a person with powers to arrange the sales 
 of property, and remit the proceeds liere without delay, has been very judicious, and 
 will no doubt greatly facilitate the completion of your contemplated arrange- 
 ment. I have also perused with much attention the grants and leases of the several 
 Escorials fields of lead ore in Linaris, which are apparently of great extent and 
 value, and of the foundries and furnaces in Cartliagena, together with the various 
 extracts of the letters relating to their several capabilities and productions. It 
 would be presumptuous on my part to approximate any value of these properties, 
 but I do not think much doubt can exist of their workings being ample to pay off 
 all liabilities in a period of six or eight months, particularly when it is borne in mind 
 that there is sufficient ore and fuel now ready at these foundries for the next three 
 months' smelting. In regiwd to the black lead mines of Marbella, in Benahavis (in 
 wliich you possess an interest to the extent of two- thirds), looking at the beneficial 
 results of the workings of these minea, and the amount of proceeds which you have 
 received from the same, my impression is, that the property is of a valuable character. 
 I may here observe, that I have relied upon the information that you have given 
 me, that the Escorials fields of ore are free from charge or incumbrance, except to 
 these parties for the payments which they have undertaken to make on the bills 
 returned to Spain; but with regard to the mines of Marbella, the production by you 
 of your shares therein proves to me that the same is free from lien, and, conse- 
 quently, unencumbered. It further appears to me, that the arrangements which you 
 made with the several parties in Spain, for the provision of funds to meet the outlay 
 and expenses attending the working of the ores, before you commenced operations 
 in Cartliagena, were ample to have carried the same through, had such engagements 
 been duly met, and that it is the non-fulfilment of these engagements ulone that has
 
 XXXVl APPENDIX. 
 
 caused your suspension. Viewing all tlie circumstances connected herewitli, fortlie 
 purpose of advising as to the most speedy course for tlie liquidation of all your 
 liabilities, I think it most desirable, and, indeed, essential, that sufficient shipping 
 should at all times be ready for the transit of fuel to Cartliagena, and of the lead 
 from thence to such ports as may be deemed most prudent to sljip to. I tlierefore 
 consider that it would be most desirable for you to obtain the sanction of your 
 creditors here to a letter of license for tlie same period as I calculate will be occupied 
 in tlie liquidation in Spain; such license to continue from this date to the 1st of 
 July, 1852, witli liberty for you to pay the outstanding freights, and to contract 
 furtlier chnrters for the purpose of fully carrying on the realization of tlie produc- 
 tions, and thus both provide and hasten the means for liquidation. In conclusion, I 
 have to press upon your attention tlie fact that I have not included, in any way, in 
 my statement of your assets, the value of your interests either in the fields of Esco- 
 rials or in tlie blacisilead mines of Marbella, consequently, whatever may be the 
 estimated or intrinsic worth of these evidently valuable properties must be added to 
 the surplus already shown by me. 
 
 "I am, etc., 
 
 «J. E. Coleman." 
 
 THE ESTATE OE WALTEE LOGAN AND CO., 
 
 SPAKISH-AMEEICA^^^ TRADE. 
 
 The following statement was issued on the 6th October, 1852, by Messrs. Walter. 
 Logan and Co., explaining the circumstances of their suspension, which was an- 
 nounced on the 5th instant : — 
 
 « 46, Lime Street, London, October 6, 1852. 
 
 " In consequence of the absence of remittances from either of our houses in 
 Lima, Bogota, or Panama, we are under the painful necessity of suspending our 
 payments, and we ftel it our duty to explain as briefly as possible the circumstances 
 which have led to this unfortunate result. 
 
 " In February, 1851, Mr. Fortes arrived here from Lima, bringing with him 
 very strong letters of recommendation, together with specie of the value of upwards 
 of £13,000, of which he represented that about two-thirds belonged to himself, and 
 the remainder to friends, who had advanced the same to him, in order to create a 
 capita! of such amount as would induce us to join him in a partnership to be esta- 
 blished at Lima and Panama. These circumstances, combined with tlie favourable 
 accounts which he gave of the trade in those countries, induced us to confirm the 
 proposed arrangements, which resulted in the establishment of the firm of Fortes, 
 Logan, and Co., of Lima. 
 
 " Upon the completion of the partnership, Mr. Fortes, together with our Mr. Bo- 
 nitto, visited Germany and other parts of the Continent to select goods suitable to the 
 South American markets ; and having effected purchases in those places, as well as 
 in England, shipments, to the extent of upwards of £33,000 were made to Lima, 
 and Mr. Fortes, attended by Mr. Ilulsenbcck (a clerk in our establishment, to act in 
 case of accident to Mr. Fortes), went out in charge of them, having first engaged to 
 remit regularly to meet engagements incurred by us on account of these shipments. 
 
 "In July last, in consequence of the non-receipt of any remittances, and the 
 uncertainty as to the course of action of Mr. Fortes, we considered it right to send 
 our tried and trusted partner, Mr. J. N. Bonitto, to South America, to obtain intel- 
 ligence of Mr. Fortes, to ascertain the true position of affairs, and to facilitate the 
 realization of all property tliere. 
 
 " In the meantime, in order to meet our current engagements, we obtained 
 advances on the security of the return, proceeds, etc., coming to us from our out- 
 ward shipments. 
 
 "The mail which arrived here on the 30th ultimo has brouglit us advices from 
 Mr. Bonitto, at Panama, which unhappily leave no doubt that Mr. Portes Lias ab- 
 sconded with a large amount of specie and other valuables, although, until we get
 
 APPENDIX. XXXVll 
 
 more detailed particulars from Mr. Bonitto (after he has amved at Lima), we are 
 unable to state the actual amount of deliciiuicy. 
 
 " Under these distressing circumstance^, we deem it a duty to place our affairs 
 at once in the hands of our creditors, so tliat the available assets may be secured 
 and held for the benefit of all parties concerned ; and, in order to carry out such 
 views, we have conNulted Messrs Oliverson, Lavle, and Peachey, the solicitors, 
 umler whose advice we are now acting; and the accompanying statement, prepared 
 since Monday by Mr. Coleman, the accountant, will convey to you the general 
 positi(m of our iitfairs. 
 
 " More detailed information is expected from Lima by the next mail, when a 
 full statement of the accounts of the house will be laid before you. 
 
 " We are your most obedient servants, 
 
 "Walter Logan amd Co." 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Walter Logan and Co., of No. 46, Lime 
 Street, London, October 4, 1852. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £19,965 
 
 To creditors on acceptances 7,536 
 
 To creditors on securities of shipments £35,540 
 
 To creditors seciu-ed by sundry property 3,729 10 
 
 To creditors not covered 795 
 
 To estimated liabilities on bills receivable 3,816 
 
 £32,112 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash, bills, etc., in hand £250 
 
 By sundrv debtors, good 574 
 
 By sundry debtors, doubtful 4,310 
 
 By cost of property shipped, on 
 which advances have been ob- 
 tained £47,901 
 
 By debt from D. Logan and Co. 726 
 
 By debt from Fortes, Logan, 
 
 and Co 5,676 
 
 By debt due from Amador, Sa- 
 'nudo, and Co., of Bogota ... *3,376 
 
 By debt due from Ezponda, Cor- 
 
 redor, and Co t3,154 
 
 Totalamount of secui'ities... £60,833 
 Liable to payment of advances 
 per contra, amounting to 35,540 
 
 £25,293 £25,293 
 
 Less the two debts as above £6,530 
 
 Balance between cost of ship- 
 ments and advance received 
 on account of same ;J;18,763 
 
 Carried forward £25,293 £5,134 
 
 * Amador, Sanudo, and Co. have required time to pay their engagements iu fuU. 
 
 t The estate of Ezpuudu, Corredor, and Co. is now under liquidation. 
 
 X This amount of .ClS,7(j3 will be ali'ected by the advances obtained, and sales made by Mr. 
 Portes, with which he has absconded, as well as by the tluctuations of the markets aiid the con- 
 tingencies attendant thereon, in consequence ol' the conduct of Mr, Portes.
 
 XXXVm APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought fonv-ard £25,293 £5,134 
 
 Bysecui'itieswitlicreilitorseoM^ra £3,829 10 
 
 Lessclaims 3,729 10 
 
 100 
 
 By balance of cliiini in respect of steamer that was 
 
 lost (now under arbitration) 1,524 
 
 By D. Logan, old accoimt 5,267 
 
 Bv balance at bankers, £436 1*. 5<^., which will 
 
 'be retained against bills under discount. £25,293 £12,025 
 
 THE ESTATE OF J\iE. FRANCIS CHAMBEES, 
 
 EAST INDIA TKADE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Francis Chambers, connected with the East 
 India trade, wlio failed on the 7th of November, 1851, was held on the 8th ot 
 December, Mr. F. Mellersh in the chair, when the annexed statement was presented 
 by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of the Affaies of Francis Chambers, of St. Dunstan's Hili, 
 Tower Street, East India Merchant, etc., November 6, 1851. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors £48,024 3 4 
 
 Ditto holding security for deficiency, after deducting the esti- 
 mated value of securities held 7,438 7 6 
 
 Billspayable £10,933 19 4 
 
 Against which there are debit balances 9,137 5 5 
 
 1,796 13 11 
 
 Liabilities on bills receivable 2,085 5 6 
 
 Underwriting accounts 1,857 16 1 
 
 Total liabilities £61,202 6 3 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By debtors (good) £5764 5 8 
 
 Ditto (doubtful), £6931 0*. 3d., estimated to produce tlu-ee- 
 
 iburths in the pound 1,155 3 9 
 
 Stock of wines and other property 3,317 3 
 
 Surplus from securities held by creditors 1,141 19 6 
 
 Funiitm-e £500 
 
 £11,378 11 11 
 
 Less debts under £20, to be paid in full £180 14 2 
 
 Bents and salaries, etc 130 
 
 310 14 2 
 
 Totalassets £11,067 17 9 
 
 By securities held for N. de St. Croix, estimated at 720 
 
 By ship " Fortescue," ninth voyage 1,104 11 1 
 
 With regard to the statement of account, Mr. Coleman explained that the last 
 two items on the credit side were placed in the manner they had been, because in
 
 APPENDIX. XXXIX 
 
 the case of the securities held for Mr. St. Croix those securities were intended to 
 have passed for advances made ; but as they liad not in reality been given, they 
 "were retained as being " in the order and disposition of" Mr. Chambers, while, witb 
 respect to the freight of the ship " Fortescue," it was extremely doubtful what would 
 eventually be recovered. The great deficiency between debts and assets, as pre- 
 sented by the general position of the estate, could be clearly traced, and it appeared 
 that it chiefly arose from bad and doubtful debts, £20,000 ; losses on general advcr.- 
 tures, £25,398 ; and losses on ships, £2,904. In 1847, Mr. Chambers Lad, according 
 to his books, £6,364 to the credit of his capital account ; his profits had been 
 £9,543; his trading expenditure, £3,090 ; and his personal expenditure, including 
 payments of premium on life policies, £6,090. The whole of his transactions had 
 been thoroughly investigated, and in all cases where advances had been made on 
 securities it was found, with the exception all eady alluded to, that the securities, as 
 stated, had passed at the time the advances were made, so that no preferences had 
 been given to creditors. On the subject of the ultimate realization of assets, Mr. 
 Coleman said it was necessary to inform the meeting that they were of a pre- 
 carious nature, inasmuch as the principal item of good debts, £5,760, consisted ot 
 balances on shipping accounts and vessels with which Mr. Ciiambers was con- 
 nected. In some cases he possessed the protection afforded by mortgages, but in 
 others he would have to depend upon the captains and parties representing his 
 interest. After some conversation i-elative to the business transactions between 
 Mr. Chambers and Messrs. Furman and Hadow, the question of the manner in 
 which the estatu should be liquidated was brought forward. The wish that a 
 definite offer should be made having been expressed by tiie majority, Mr. Coleman 
 stated he had already consulted Mr. Chambers on tliat point, who considered that 
 he might, with some assistance from friends, be enabled to pay his creditors 3s. 6rf. 
 in the pound. To complete this arrangement, however, he would require time, and 
 hence, if concurred in, it was proposed to offer la. in a month, Is. 3d. in four months, 
 and Is. 3d. in eight months, furnishing security for the last payment. A resolution 
 to this effect having been prepared and carried, the chief creditors signed it before 
 the meeting broke up. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE JAINIES BULT, SON, AND CO., 
 
 GOLDSMITHS AKD BULLION DEALERS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. James Bult, Son, and Co., engaged in 
 business as goldsmiths and bullion dealers, whose suspension was announced on the 
 1st January, 1852, look place on the 18th February, when the following statement, 
 prepared by Mr. Quilter, the accountant, was presented : — 
 
 Ja3ies Bult, Sox, and Co. — Statement op Affaies, January 1, 1852. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors £45,671 18 10 
 
 To sundry creditors — 
 
 In respect of R. Williamson's draughts on us 41,725 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances of Bourke's draughts 1,672 18 2 
 
 To Uabilities on bills receivable as per statement — 
 
 Considered good £28,938 8 5 
 
 Considered bad 4,260 
 
 £93,329 17 
 
 creditor. 
 By cash, viz. : — 
 
 Inhouse £709 18 10 
 
 At Robarts and Co.'s 19,345 5 5 
 
 Carried forward £20,055 4 3
 
 xl APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £20,055 4 3 
 
 By bills receivable in hand — 
 
 Considered good £1,966 2 
 
 Considered doubtful, £2,500, estimated at... 600 
 
 2,566 2 
 
 By bulhon in house 1,211 1 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 'Considered good 143 7 5 
 
 Considered doubtfid, £804 16*. 6d., esti- 
 mated at 400 
 
 • 543 7 5 
 
 Considered bad £1,039 15 
 
 By E. Williamson £166,805 15 3 
 
 Estimated to produce 22,515 13 8 
 
 £46,891 6 6 
 
 Deduct (to be paid in full), viz. : — 
 
 E-ent, taxes, salaries, expenses, etc £500 
 
 Svmdi-y creditors under £20 eacli 150 14 1 
 
 ■ 650 14 1 
 
 £46,240 12 5 
 
 In explaining the above accounts, which show about 10s. in the pound, Mr, 
 Maynard, the legal adviser of Messrs. Bult, detailed the causes which led to their 
 suspension. Tliese consisted solely in the large advances made, througli a series 
 of years, on behalf of collieries and iron works in North Staffordsliire (tlie 
 property of Messrs. Williamson), which, in addition to liaving absorbed all their 
 available resources, liad left them with a considerable ainoinit of liability'. The 
 ultimate realizntion of the estate depended in a measure upon the proceeds to be 
 gained from an arrangement etl'ecte 1 in connectlim witli those properties, and, 
 therefore, mutual co-operation had been necessiiry to bring about a settlement. 
 The assets of Messrs. Bult aud Co. already in liand would pay a dividend of 5s. in 
 the pound; and, if the terms with their chief debtors could be arranged, a further 
 sum of 5s. would be secured. The creditors, under these circumstances, would be 
 asked to siceept a composition of 10s. in the pound, it being understood that one 
 portion of the Stiiffordshire works would pay 2s. 3d. and the otiier Gv. 8^/. in the 
 pound. To effect this, Messrs. Williamson had gained assistance from their friends, 
 and the funds requisite would, it was understood, be provided within a fortnight. 
 The aft'airs of the collieries and iron works had been thorouglily investigated, and, 
 encumbered as they were witli mortgages and other liens, tlie arrangement proposed 
 was regarded as the best that could be obtained. The feeling of the creditors was 
 evidently favourable to the acceptance of the composition named, and after a short 
 discussion, in the course of which Mr. L. Moseley and others expressed sympathy for 
 the position of the firm, the annexed rcsoluiion was at once adopted : — 
 
 "At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. James Bult, Son, and Co., held the 18th 
 day of February, ]iSr}2, at the ollices of Slessrs. Crowdcr and Maynard, 57, Coleman 
 Street, a proposition having been submittt'd to the meeting that, upon payment by 
 Messrs. James Bult, Son, and Co., of a composition of 10s. in the pound upon the 
 amount of all their debts above i'20, they sliould be released from further liability; 
 and, further, that the holders of bills, bearing their names and drawn or endorsed by 
 Mr. Robert Williamson, should receive, in addition, a composition of 2s. 3d. in the 
 pound upon the amount thereof; and that the holders of bills drawn, accepted, or 
 endorsed by the Goldcndale Cotnpaiiy and the Slonetrough Colliery slundd leccive a 
 compensation of Gs. Hd. in the pound upon the amount, and that thereupon the bills 
 should be cancelled and all parties released : it was resolved — That the above propo- 
 sition be accepted, provided that the compositions be paid within one month from 
 this date."
 
 APPENDIX. Xli 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MACKEY, HADOW, AIS^D CO., 
 
 EAST INDIA TKADE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Donald Mackey, Hadow, nnd Co., engaged 
 in the East India trade, wliose suspension was announced on the 22nd January, 
 1852, took place February 3rd, when the subjoined statement, prepared by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, the accountant, was presented : — 
 
 Statement of Affairs of Messrs. Donald Mackey, Hadow, and Co., of 
 No. 6, Broad Street Buildings, in the City of London, Merchants, 
 FROM March 25, 1818, to January 22, 1852:— 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open balances £3,842 14 1 
 
 To ei-editors on bills payable £10,374 4 4 
 
 Less to be secured in Ceylon by produce 3,500 
 
 6,874 4 4. 
 
 To creditors holding security to the full amount 
 
 of their claims £5,364 19 9 
 
 Estimated value of securities held 5,624 1 6 
 
 Surplus to contra £259 1 9 
 
 To creditors partly secured £420 
 
 Estimated value of secm-ities held 360 15 9 
 
 59 4 3 
 
 To bills accepted on account of D. C. Mackey's 
 
 produce accoimt 7,300 
 
 To creditors on biUs payable £1,944 15 11 
 
 Less amount of balance due from' the drawers 
 
 ofsuchbiUs 937 15 2 
 
 1,007 9 
 
 Amount of liabilities expected to rank on this estate £19,083 3 5 
 
 To profits 10,660 1 1 
 
 To liability on bills receivable, outstanding, £35,365 13*. 4c?., the 
 
 whole of which it is expected will be duly met at matvirity... £29,713 1 6 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash at bankci'S £47 19 6 
 
 Bycashinhand 10 19 3 
 
 £58 18 9 
 
 By debtors (good) 1,986 8 3 
 
 B'y debtors (doubtfid) £2,027 11 
 
 By profit to be received on part charter of sliip . . . 500 
 
 By estimated surplus from secvu-ities contra 259 1 9 
 
 By advances on produce to come from coffee 
 
 estates in Ceylon 1,25114 6 
 
 By debts due from consigners for advances made 
 
 upon goods consigned to D. C. Mackey and 
 
 Co., of Calcutta 3,283 10 2 
 
 By balance due from D. C. Mackey and Co., of 
 
 Calcutta 2,133 3 10 
 
 By ditto, D. C. Mackey''9 produce account 7,300 
 
 By losses 3,816 12 2 
 
 By doubtfid debts (as above) 2,027 110 
 
 Carried forward £22,617 5
 
 xlii 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Erought forward £22,617 5 
 
 By expenses and charges 2,716 2 2 
 
 By amount drawn out bv D. C. Mackey £2,943 8 7 
 
 By ditto J. S. Hadow .^ '. 1,466 13 4 
 
 4,410 1 11 
 
 £29,743 4 6 
 
 Before the accounts were discussed, Mr. Fisher, as the legal adviser of the firm, 
 intimated that Mr. Donald Mackey, who is at present in India, was the sole surviving; 
 partner, Mr. Hadow having died in 1849. The business in London since Mr. 
 Mackey's departure had been carried on by Mr. Drysdale, who was deputed to act 
 by a general power of attorney. Under these circumstances it was suggested that, 
 after the accounts had been explained, it would be better to make arrangements for 
 collecting the assets until advices shall have been received from Mr. Mackey respect- 
 ing the course he proposes to pursue. With regard to the statement, it was men- 
 tioned by Mr. Coleman that it had been prepared from the books, which were accu- 
 rately kept. It was not possible to form an estimate of the ultimate realization, but 
 several items of the assets, there was reason to expect, might produce the amount 
 set against them. Some of the creditors complained of the firm having been carried 
 on by Mr. Donald Mackey, under the title of Mackey, Hadow, and Co., after the 
 dealli of Mr. Hadow, especially as it now transpired that Mr. Drysdale was not a 
 J)artner ; others, however, exonerated the latter, who had never misled any one 
 regarding the nature of his connection with the business. Mr. Creaton, a partner in 
 the Calcutta house, was asked relative to the prospects of that establishment, and 
 replied that when he left India it was in a sound condition. After further inquiries 
 as to the probable early return of Mr. Mackey to this country, and the period wl)en 
 it was likely accounts could be received from the Calcutta and Moulmein houses, 
 the following resolution was passed, and the meeting adjourned : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Donald Mackey, Hadow, and Co., mer- 
 chants, held this 3rd of February, 1852, at No. 6, Broad Street Buildings, London, 
 it being represented to this meeting that Mr. Donald Campbell Mackey is the only 
 surviving partner, and that he is now in India, attending to the affairs of Donald 
 Campbell Mackey and Co., of Calcutta, in which house he is also a partner, and it 
 appearing that no definite arrangement as to the liquidation of this estate can be 
 made until Mr. Mackey has been communicated with, it was, after a statement of 
 the affairs had been laid before the meeting by Mr. Coleman, the accountant, resolved 
 that Mr. George Drysdale, who has, since February last, when Mr. Mackey left 
 England, conducted the affairs of the house under power of attorney from Mr. Mackey, 
 be requested to continue his services, under the inspection of Mr. Duncan Dunbar 
 and Mr. T. R. Brown. That all assets, as they shall be got in, shall be paid to an 
 account at Messrs. Glyn's, in the names of the said inspectors and of Mr. Drysdale, 
 ■who shall be at liberty to allow and pay all necessary outgoings and expenses. 
 That this meeting be adjourned, to give Mr. Mackey an opportunity of making a 
 proposition to the creditors for the ultimate liquidation of the estate. That a copy 
 of tiiese resolutions be sent out immediately to Mr. Mackey." 
 
 The house in Calcutta liaving failed, and Mr. Mackey having sought the benefit 
 of the Insolvent Court in the Presidency, all further proceedings here are regarded 
 as concluded. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP KEITH, SHOOBRIDGE, AND CO., 
 
 SHAWL PRINTERS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Keith, Shoobridge, and Co., shawl printers, 
 who suspended on the 21st February, 1862, was held on the 8th of March, Mr. Piot 
 in the chair, wlien the following statement, prepared by Mr. H. Chatteris, the 
 accountant, was presented : —
 
 APPENDIX. xliii 
 
 STATEArENT OP APFAIBS OF DaNIEL KeITH AND ThOMAS ShOOBKIDGE, TEADING 
 
 AS KEiTn, SnooBEiDOE, AND Co., No. 124, Wood Steeet, Febeuaey 23, 1852. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To siindry creditors unsecured £18,256 8 
 
 To ditto pai-tiaUy secui-ed £11,248 6 2 
 
 Who being printers claim a lien upon goods in 
 
 tlieii" hands, amounting to 3,904 19 11 
 
 V,343 6 3 
 
 To sundiy creditors secured £12,304 G 9 
 
 Bills and goods deposited in their hands 12,959 12 6 
 
 Surplus carried to cow^ra side £525 5 9 
 
 To Edmund Upton, Hability on his acceptances in 
 
 favour of Keith, Shoobridge, and Co. 3,071 14 
 
 Less estimated value of property in liis hands ap- 
 
 pUcable to the payment of these bills 1,348 15 
 
 1,722 19 
 
 To liability on accommodation bUl accounts £15,979 2 5 
 
 Out of vrhich there wiU be proved against this 
 
 estate 10,654 16 11 
 
 To habiUty on Keith, Shoobridge, and Co.'s ac- 
 ceptances which should be pi-ovided for by the 
 di-avvers 2,852 6 3 
 
 Out of which it is estimated there will be proved 
 against this estate 1,881 19 
 
 To hability on bills receivable 18,85118 6 
 
 Out of wliich it is estimated there will be proved 
 
 agamst this estate 500 
 
 £40,359 9 2 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By stock in trade at cost price as per stock-books £4,306 9 11 
 
 By sundry debtors considered good 1,098 15 6 
 
 By ditto, "bad £950 7 1 
 
 By sui'plus property deposited with creditors fer 
 
 contra 595 5 9 
 
 By cash at banker's 26 11 8 
 
 By warehouse fixtures, say 70 
 
 By Daniel Keith's property, being the amount of 
 
 capital standuig to his credit with Keith and Co 1,651 3 9 
 
 7,748 6 7 
 Less rent, taxes, and salaries to be paid in full 99 6 8 
 
 7,648 19 11 
 By deficiency 32,710 9 3 
 
 £40,359 9 2 
 
 With reference to the accounts, it was explained that the assets showed 3.y. 9\d. 
 in the pound, and that Messrs. Keith, Shoobridge, and Co. proposed to off'er a com- 
 position of 2*'. Qd. The cause of suspension was said to have been losses in business 
 spreading over several years. In June, 1848, the firm was insolvent to the extent of 
 £3,735, and in June, 1849, the deficiency had increased to £7,000. The trading 
 was subsequently carried on, though no periodical balance was taken until the 20th 
 ultimo, when the house suspended with a deficiency of £32,700. To account for this 
 tlie losses on sales were stated at £8,0 14 ; trade expenses, £6,830 ; less on accommo- 
 dation bills, £7,540 ; drawings of i\lr. Keith, £1,252; drawings of Mr. Shoobridge, 
 £1,517 ; and bad debts, £950. When this state of affairs was presented, and when, 
 moreover, it was intimated that there were specific drawings by Mr. Keith for which
 
 xliv APPENDIX. 
 
 he could not give a satisfactory explanation, the creditors generally refused to listen 
 to the offer of a composition, and contended it was a proper case for the Gazette. 
 Another point which created a strong impression was the allegation of preference 
 payments having been made to certain creditors for £3,400 (a sum equal to one-half 
 of the existing assets) a day after the house had suspended. Under tliese circum- 
 stances it was dpemed desirable to pass the annexed resohition, which having been 
 carried, Messrs. Keith and Shoobridge signed the required declaration of insolvency : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Keith, Shoobridge, and Co., of 124, 
 Wood Street, Cheapside, held this 8th day of March, 1852, at the offices of Mr. H. 
 Chatteris, accountant, Gresham Street — Resolved, that in the opinion of this meeting 
 the estate of Keith, Shoobridge, and Co. can only be satisfactorily administered in 
 bankruptcy, and that to facilitate such administration those gentlemen be requested 
 tosic;n and deposit with the chairman a declaration of insolvency." 
 
 The estate was, consequently, wound up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. EITCHIE BEOTHEES, 
 
 WEST INDIA TRADE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Ritchie Brothers, engaged in the West 
 India trade, who failed on the 11th of March, 1852, was held on the 2nd of June, Mr. 
 Kirkman Hodgson in the chair, when the following statement, prepared by Messrs. 
 Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants, was presented : — 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Eitchie Beothees, Maech 11, 1852. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To trade creditors — 
 
 Unsecured £4,64-2 14 5 
 
 Partially secured, viz. : — 
 
 Amount of claims £10,464 2 10 
 
 Less estimated to be covered to the extent of ... 5,672 11 11 
 
 4,791 10 11 
 
 To cash creditors 53,127 15 1 
 
 Less estimated value of securities 9,369 10 6 
 
 43,758 4 7 
 
 To creditors fully secured, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated valvie of property held 6,312 16 6 
 
 Less amoimt of claims 4,646 13 
 
 Taken as an asset ^jer coM^ra 1,666 3 6 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances to be provided for by 
 
 thedrawers 68,449 8 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, considered good 28,408 8 2 
 
 £53,192 9 11 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 Bycashinhand £167 1 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 'Considered good 3,381 7 4 
 
 Considered doubtful 11,373 13 8 
 
 Esthnated to produce 1,000 
 
 Considered bad 9,149 2 
 
 By consignments to New York 632 8 3 
 
 'By surplus secmities in hands of creditors per contra 1,666 3 6 
 
 Carried forward £6,846 19 2
 
 APPENDIX. Xlv 
 
 Brought forward £6,846 10 2 
 
 Deduct, creditors to. be paid in full 158 18 1 
 
 £6,688 1 1 
 
 By balance deficiency £53,192 9 11 
 
 The following statement accounts for the deficiency : — 
 
 Statement Accounting for the Deficiency feom Januaey 1, 1845, 
 TO March 11, 1852. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To deficiency, Hth March, 1852, as per Statement of Affairs £46,504 8 10 
 
 To capital, Ist January, 1845, viz. : — 
 
 Thomas Eitcliie £10,000 
 
 Walter W. Ritchie 10,000 
 
 1o sundry profits, viz. : — 
 
 Commission £16,764 13 10 
 
 Discount 845 12 4 
 
 Foreign exchanges 27 3 2 
 
 Fire insurance 18 15 5 
 
 20,000 
 
 17,656 4 a 
 
 To profit on adventm-es, viz. : — 
 
 Manilla cheroots £22 3 2 
 
 Lima wood 18 1 
 
 Shu'ting to Shanghai 53 18 7 
 
 Chinarawsilk 298 13 7 
 
 Tobacco 172 5 4 
 
 565 1 8 
 
 To suspense account 67 3 10 
 
 £84,792 19 1 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By expenses, viz. : — 
 
 Counting-house expenses £6,483 12 4 
 
 Postage account 238 2 2 
 
 Insurance do 28 4 2 
 
 Freightdo 163 16 3 
 
 Charges do 593 3 
 
 By losses on adventures, viz. : — 
 
 Cotton £4,699 12 3 
 
 Madder 1,186 19 8 
 
 Coffee 1,968 17 3 
 
 Sugar and molasses 1,683 12 5 
 
 Gmghams, etc 338 11 1 
 
 Cocoa 917 15 1 
 
 Tea 533 3 4 
 
 Pepper 531 13 5 
 
 Gambia 103 7 7 
 
 Swedish steel 135 8 7 
 
 Cinnamon 200 1 5 
 
 Camphor 800 4 11 
 
 Scotch pig-iron 1,300 10 
 
 Flour 415 2 8 
 
 Sugar candy 151 6 8 
 
 Carried forward £14,965 17 2 £7,506 17 11 
 
 £7,506 17 H
 
 xlvi APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought foi-ward £14,965 17 2 £7,506 17 11 
 
 Merchandise 563 5 11 
 
 Sundries 386 19 11 
 
 15,916 3 
 
 By Messrs. Dauncey and Latham — 
 
 Liquidation account £2,581 7 10 
 
 Guarantee do 3,81115 4 
 
 6,393 3 2 
 
 By sundiy losses 194 17 2 
 
 By bad debts 30,930 1 3 
 
 By partners' di'awings, viz. : — 
 
 Thomas Eitchie ) o^roa in n 
 
 Walter W. Ritchie j 2^,884 10 / 
 
 By open balances 967 6 
 
 £84,792 19 1 
 
 With regard to the estate, it was explained by Mr. Ball that the assets showed a 
 dividend of between 2s. 6d. and 3s. in the pound. Messrs. Ritchie Brothers .suc- 
 ceeded the firm of Moens, Dauncey, and Latham, and introduced, when they com- 
 menced, in January, 1845, a capital of i'20,000. They had, however, been unfortu- 
 nate in the majority of their adventures, and had, through the losses occasioned by 
 these and bad debts, been compelled to suspend. Their chief operations had been 
 in cotton, madder, coffee, sugar, pig-iron, camphor, and cinnamon. It was also in- 
 timated that the family creditors represent upwards of £47,000, so that the liabilities 
 incurred in trade are proportionately small. Not tlie least discussion took place 
 after this explanation, and it was unanimously agreed to wind-up the affairs under 
 inspection. Mr. Kirkman Hodgson is not a creditor, but attended on behalf of 
 the family connection of Messrs. Eitchie Brothers. Annexed is the resolution 
 adopted : — 
 
 "At a meeting of creditors of Ritchie Brothers, held on the 2nd of June, 
 1852, Mr. Kirkman D. Hodgson in the chair, a statement of the affairs of the 
 house having been laid before the creditors, it was resolved — 
 
 " That a letter of license be granted to Messrs. Ritchie Brothers to liquidate 
 the estate under the inspection of Mr. C. H. Gray and Mr. Kirkman Hodgson on 
 behalf of the creditors, and that the usual deed for carrying such arrangements 
 into effect be prepared for the signature of the creditors, sucli deed to contain a 
 provision for a release to Messrs. Eitchie Brothers as soon as the inspectors shall 
 certify that the conduct of those gentlemen in the liquidation of the estate has been 
 satisfactory to them." 
 
 THE ESTATE OE C. AND B. HOOPER, 
 
 LJIATHEB FACTOES. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. C, and B. Hooper, leather factors, who 
 suspended on tlie 7th of February, 1852, was held on the 2nd of March, when the 
 following statement was presented by Mr. Broom, tlie accountant : — 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Cleeve and Benjamin IIoopek, 
 February 9, 1852. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors £17,390 18 11 
 
 To sundry liabilities £47,509 16 5 
 
 £17,390 18 11
 
 APPENDIX. xlvii 
 
 CBEDITOR. 
 
 By cash at the bmiljers £828 12 6 
 
 N.B. Tlie balance at the bankers is subject to any unpaid 
 bills wliich they may hold, also to two claims of Mr. Nel- 
 son for £506 4V. 8rf'., and £200 to Mr. Alderman Challis, 
 
 By stock of leather, hides, etc., estimated at 904 13 4 
 
 By debts 4,580 2 11 
 
 Considered good £3,613 11 11 
 
 Considered doubtful (£1,933 2s. Id., at 10s. 
 
 in the pound) 966 11 
 
 £4,580 2 11 
 
 By horses, carts, fixtures, etc., estimated at 500 
 
 By property, life pohcies, and reversion 845 
 
 N.B. Tliis ])roperty is chiefly held by a client of Messrs. 
 Slee and Eobinson, to secm'e an advance of £i,000 made 
 to Henry Hacker. It is presunied that Mr. Hacker's 
 separate property on mortgage will be nearly sufficient to 
 satisfy this claim. 
 By freehold house and tanyard at Aldborongh, Norfolk, value 
 
 beyond existing mortgage 50 
 
 By lease of premises in Seething Lane (six years unexpu-ed), 
 
 estimated at 500 
 
 N.B. Deposited with the bankers to secure them against 
 any unpaid bills. Will be forfeited in case of bankruptcy. 
 By C. Hooper's furniture (exclusive of that por- 
 tion which is included La the mai'riage settle- 
 ment and private debts — about £50) £200 
 
 By B. Hooper's furniture 400 
 
 600 
 
 £8,808 8 9 
 
 Before details were entered upon, Mr. Rutherford, the legal adviser of Messrs. 
 Hooper, explnined the circumstances attending their suspension. Although the 
 firm were in favourable credit, and not the least suspicion Lad been entertained of 
 their insolvency, the accounts on being examined showed their stoppage to be un- 
 avoidable. Mr. Broom, in furnishing information respecting the position of the 
 estate, mentioned that the partners, owing to an inability to estimate the proportion 
 of liabilities likely to come against them, were not prepared to make an offer for 
 a composition. Already a number of bills had run off, and others would doubtless 
 be provided for, but as they were connected with a variety of parties it was im- 
 possible to estimate the ultimate result. The whole of the paper arose, however, 
 from bond fide transactions. Messrs. Hooper commenced business in 1845, suc- 
 ceeding their mother, to whom they agreed to pay £250 for twelve years, or, in other 
 terms, to allow for the purchase of the good-will £3,000. Half of the amount had 
 been paid, and the remainder constituted a legal debt against the iirm; although it 
 ought to be relieved, if not from all, from a portion of the demand, since the old 
 estate had been fed at the cost of the new. To account for the deficiency of i'8,000, 
 and the profits returned at .£19,000, making together £27,000, it was stated that the 
 bad debts had absorbed £14,476, while the drawings of Mr. C. Hooper were i'5,700, 
 and those of Mr. B. Hooper £6,700, including payments for premiums of assurance, 
 etc. Their discount account showed no extravagant or usurious charges, their bills 
 having passed through their bankers or the leading discount houses. A good deal 
 of discussion took place on the prospects of the liquidation, and the limited amount 
 of assets shown. It was alleged that Messrs. Hooper had not, at the period of their 
 suspension, a knowledge that they were in so embarrassed a position, a statement 
 they had drawn out themselves inducing them to believe they possessed nearlv 20*. 
 in the pound. On the proposal that the estate be wound up under inspection,'some 
 conversation ensued relative to the possibility of getting it satisfactorily settled, and 
 an objection was raised to bankruptcy on account of the expense. Eventually the 
 appended resolutions were carried, and a number of creditors signed them before 
 leaving. In the course of the proceedings a, full statement of the circamstiinces
 
 Xlviii APPENDIX. 
 
 attending the non-payment of certain checks at the bankers the day the firm 
 stopped was made, with the view of clearina; the character of Jfessrs. Hooper from 
 an unfiivourable impression created with respect to those transactions : — 
 
 "At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. C. and B. Hooper, held at the George 
 and Vulture Tavern, the 2nd of March, 1852 (Mr. Neshitt in the chair), a statement 
 of tlie assets and liabilities was read to the meeting by IMr. Broom, the accountant, 
 of the firm of Broom and Bagshaw, and the meeting having come to the conclusion 
 that it was expedient that the affairs should be wound up iinder a deed of arrange- 
 ment, with the supervision of inspectors, it was therefore resolved — 
 
 " 1. That Mr. Thomas Laurence (of the firm of Streatfeild, Laurence, and Morti- 
 more), Mr. Richard Hill Fisher (of the firm of Fisher and King), and Mr. Robert 
 Neshitt (of the firm of A., R., and A. Nesbitt) having consented, are hereby 
 appointed inspectors. 
 
 " 2. That a deed of arrangement be prepared, with proper provisions for winding 
 lip the affairs of the firm, under the control of the above-named inspectors, and for 
 securing the collection and early distribution of the assets, and that when there 
 shall be a clear net amount in band sufficient to pay to all the creditors 2?. 6'/. in 
 the pound upon the amount of their respective debts, the same shall be immedi- 
 ately paid to them without any preference or priority, according to the rules of 
 administration in bankruptcy, and containing covenants by Messrs. C. and B. 
 Hooper that they shall carry on such liquidation under the inspectors, and cove- 
 nants on the part of the creditors not to sue Messrs. C. and B. Hooper for three 
 months, and tliat the inspectors shall have power to enlarge that time, if they shall 
 deem it advisable, to a period not exceeding an additional six months, and that at 
 the expiration of such period, or of such enlarged period, and upon Messrs. Hooper 
 assigning the outstanding assets to trustees for distribution among the creditors, 
 they shall be released from all claims. The deed of arrangement shall also contain 
 such otlier provisions as are usual in deeds of inspectorship, and as shall be approved 
 of by the inspectors on behalf of the creditors. 
 
 '' 3. Tlie creditors, according to this arrangement, shall not be prejudiced as to 
 any securities or liens they may liold, or as to their rights against third parties. 
 
 " 4. The inspectors to have power to allow for maintenance and expenses such 
 reasonable amounts as they in their discretion shall see fit. 
 
 "5. That in the meantime, until the deed of arrangement shall be executed, 
 these resolutions shall form a memorandum of arrangement for the administration 
 of the affairs."
 
 APPENDIX. xli: 
 
 PART III. 
 
 STJSPENSIOXS IN 1853. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. CoUmann and Stolterfolit, London, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. E. Werthemann, Amsterdam, merchant. 
 
 Feb. Messrs. C. Eiva and Co., St. Petersburg, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. T. Rawack, Ilaniburg, merchant. 
 
 Mar. Mr. Lemuel Goddard,iron and sperm-oil merchant. (Subsequentlyresumed.) 
 
 April, Mr. John Attwood, London, metal merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wentzell and Co., Kotterdam, merchants. 
 
 May. Messrs. Denny, Clark, and Co., London (liquidated from diflerences 
 between the partners), East India merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Chiriaco and Co., London, Greek merchants. 
 
 June. Mr. B. Mirasyedi, Manchester, Greek merchant. 
 
 „ Mr. A. E. Homersham, London, wool merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. A. Wrampe and Co., London, Baltic merchants. 
 
 Aug. Mr. W. G. Maltass, Smyrna, merchant. 
 
 Oct. Messrs. Schultz and Wahuschaffe, Hamburg, merchants. 
 
 Nov. Isle of Man Bank (Messrs. Holmes and Co.) 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1854. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. G. and G. Buono, Naples, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Thomson Brothers and Sons, Clitheroe, calico printers. 
 
 Mar. Messrs. Dickson and Co., Glasgow, Australian merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Gladstone, Bond, and Co., Manchester, general brokers. 
 
 „ Mr. Tiiomas M'Gretror, London, woollen warehouseman. 
 
 „ Messrs. Warwick, Harrison, and Co., London, shawl and silk manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lenjamiu Elkin and Sous, London, West India and Australian 
 merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. P. Monteaux and Co., Paris and London, foreign exchange dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lampronti and Co., Florence, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. MtiUer and Bun'oughs, London, foreign exchange dealers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Leroy, De Cliabrol, and Co., Paris, bankers. 
 
 April. Mr. C. E. Moate, London, metal broker. 
 
 „ Mr. Ilja SteplianofF, St. Petersburg, cotton dealer. 
 
 „ Mr. M. Jensen, Riga, broker. 
 
 „ Mr. S. Alexeyeff, Moscow, merchant. 
 
 „ Mr. T. Mathias, Moscow, merchant. 
 
 ,, Mr. C. Kybjr, Moscow, merchant. 
 
 May. Sir Evan Mackenzie and Co., London, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Brown, Coultate, and Co., Manchester, cotton brokers. 
 
 „ Mr. P. C- Salvage, Manchester, Greek mercliant. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Scaravaglio and Peloso, Genoa, merchants. 
 
 June. Mr. Julius Steding, Moscow, merchant. 
 
 „ Mr. M. Godd.ard, Birmingham, American shipper. 
 
 „ Messrs. Davidson and Gordon, London, prodiice brokers and metal agents. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cole Brothers, London, East India merchants and metal brokers. 
 
 July. Messrs. H. W. Lord and Co., London, East Indian and colonial brokers. 
 
 „ Mr. Spiridone Gopcevitch, Trieste, merchant. (Ecsumed in a few days, 
 assisted by Bank of Vienna.) 
 
 „ Mr. Mark Gopcevitch, London, merchant. (Resumed in a few days, 
 assisted by Bank of Vienna.) 
 
 „ Messrs. E. and G. L. Schuvler, New York, railway agents. 
 
 „ Mr. J. Tucker, Philadelphia, president of Etading Eaikoad. 
 
 „ Mr. J. Lawton, Havannah, merchant. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Crawford and Echarte, Havannah, merchants.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aug. Messrs. Pegler Brothers, London, Spanish merchants. (A. Peglar resumed 
 January 6, 1855.) 
 
 „ Messrs. Morpurgo and Co., London, Italian merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Werthemstein Sons, Vienna, merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. R. C. Sercombe, London, corn merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. T. Freen and Co., London, manufacturers of Roman cement. 
 
 Sept. Messrs. David Scott, Richmond, and Co., Manchester, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Currie, Dale, and Co., London. 
 
 „ Messrs. Deane, Youle, and Co., Liverpool, South American merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Lukin and SkuratofF, Moscow, cotton manufacturers. 
 
 ,, Mr. J. Osteried, Moscow, calico printer. 
 
 „ Mr. H. J. BolotofF, Shuya, calico printer. 
 
 „ Mr. G. A. Ulh'ch, Trieste, merchant. 
 
 ,, Mr. James Mitchell, Bradford, woollen manufacturer. 
 
 Oct. Mr. Edward Oliver, Liverpool, shipowner. 
 
 „ Mr. James M'Henry and Co., Liverpool, merchants. 
 
 Nov. Messrs. Allen and Anderson, Loudon, American grain and provision 
 merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Lemon and Co., Brentwood, bankers, 
 
 „ Messrs. Brown and Son, Arbroath, tanners. 
 
 „ Messrs. Clay and Gillman, London, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ellis and Sturgis, Cincinnati, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. T. S. Goodman and Co., Cincinnati, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. R. Morton and Co., Cincinnati, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Smead, CoUard, and Co., Cincinnati, merchants. 
 
 „ Citizens' Bank, Cincinnati. 
 
 „ Canal Bank of Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 „ City Bank of Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 „ Bank of Circleville, Ohio. 
 
 „ Exchange Bank of Buffalo, New York. 
 
 „ Mr. H. D King's bank, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
 
 ,, Nearly all the Banks of Indiana. 
 
 „ Mr. Heni-y Meiggs, San Francisco, merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. William Price and Co., Quebec, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Reeves, Buck, and Co., Philadelphia, iron manufacturers. 
 
 Dec. Messrs. John Benson and Co., New York, sugar refiners. 
 
 „ Mr. Dennis Harris, New York, sugar refiners. 
 
 „ Messrs. Patterson, Adams, and Co., New York, tobacco merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Selden, Withers, and Co., Washington, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Carter and Co., London, shipowners. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. COLLIMANN AND 
 STOLTERFOHT. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Collmann and Stolterfoht, of London and 
 Liverpool, engaged in the American trade, who suspended on the 9th of January, 
 1853, v/as held on the 4th of February, Mr. H. Goschen presiding, when the follow- 
 ing statement, prepared by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant, was presented : — 
 
 Statement of tue Affairs of Messes. Collmann and STOLTEEFoni, 
 January 10, 1853. 
 
 liabilities. 
 
 Creditors on open balances £37,469 1 7 
 
 Acceptances out at date of suspension £401,431 14 
 
 Of which there has been, and will be, withdi-awn 
 
 by other parties 278,673 3 3 
 
 £122,758 10 9 
 Deduct assets specially a]ii)licable to part of 
 
 these bills .' 6,11G 11 11 
 
 116,341 18 10 
 
 Total (carried fonvard) £153,811 5
 
 APPENDIX. ll 
 
 Brought forward £153,811 5 
 
 Liabilities on Bills receivable discounted, all of 
 wliicli are expected to be honoui'ed at ma- 
 turity £195,669 19 10 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 Cash in hand and produce realized £36,887 1 3 
 
 Deduct charges, etc 397 
 
 £36,490 1 3 
 Good debts, and produce to be realized in a 
 
 shorttime 37,86116 2 
 
 Other assets not immediately available 21,800 17 10 
 
 99,155 15 3 
 
 £54,655 5 2 
 Capital, 1st January, 1852 ... £30,041 17 11 
 Profit for the 
 
 year 1852... £12,961 9 10 
 Less cxpench- 
 tm-e of the 
 tlu-ee part- 
 ners 4,529 5 4 
 
 8,432 4 6 
 
 £38,477 2 5 
 
 Deduct bad and doiibtfid debts 11,390 3 2 
 
 27,086 19 3 
 
 Deficiency £81,742 4 5 
 
 Loss by E. F. Pries £81,742 4 5 
 
 The above assets are stated UTespective of all recoveries that may be made 
 from the estate of R. F. Pries, or any other doiibtful debt. 
 
 Mr. James Freslifield, in explaining the accounts, first alluded to the circum- 
 stances attending the suspension, and particularly to the delinquencies of Mr. Pries 
 (now under sentence of transportation for life), through which that event had been 
 brought about. There being nothing on the side of Mr. Turck, the acting partner, 
 to conceal with reference to the connection, that gentleman immediately, on dis- 
 covering that Pries's cheque had been dishonoured, commenced an investigation, and, 
 having ascertained the nature of the forgeries committed upon them, he resolved 
 that the house should at once stop payment, in order to protect the interests of the 
 general creditoi's. The firm had enjoyed the highest credit up to the moment of 
 suspension, and, had it not been for the heavy loss sustained through the frauds of 
 Pries, it would have possessed a considerable surplus beyond all engagements. 
 From the state of the accounts, it would be pi-rceived that tlie assets amounted to 
 .±'99,155, against li.ibilities to the exteut of i'153,811, and that they thus showed a 
 dividend of about 12.9. 6^/. in the pound. Taking into consideration the expense of 
 liquidation, and other contingencies, that full sum might not be realized; but, at all 
 events, there was every prospect of 10s. being paid. The nature of the assets was 
 generally favourable, especially one item of A'36,490, consisting of money immedi- 
 ately available, which would of itself be nearly sufficient to pay a dividend of 5s. in 
 the pound, although it could not be distributed until some further pi-ogress had 
 been made in the withdrawal of liabilities. The other items of 1'37,864, good debts, 
 produce, etc., and £24,800, assets, not immediately available, although they might 
 take time for realization, were believed to be in every respect good. The difi'erence 
 between i'99,000, estimated as the assets, and ±'153,000, as liabilities, left ±54,000 
 in the shape of deficiency. In accounting for this, it was necessary to state, that 
 the loss by the transactions with Pries, subject to whatever miglit be secured under 
 his bankruptcy, was ±81,742, and, deducting from that amount the capital of the 
 firm of Colhnann and Stolterfoht, originally ±38,000, but reduced by bad debts to 
 ±27,086, the result would be as stated. The suspension, disa.strous as it was, exhi- 
 bited less discouraging fetvtures than had been expected, and it now remained to
 
 lii APPENDIX. 
 
 decide as to the plan of liquidation. In answer to inquiries, Mr. Coleman, tlie 
 accountant, mentioned tluit the London and Liverpool houses had heen included in 
 the statement as one establishment, and that all transactions out of which mip;ht 
 arise any liabilities with the tirms of Fai)er and Bierwith, and H. Stuker, of New 
 York, E. Weithermann, of Amsterdam, and J. Ilirtch and Co., of Rotterdam, had 
 been properly taken into account. Of the acceptances out at the date of suspension, 
 representing i'278,000, which v/ould be withdrawn by other parties, £'155,000 had 
 already been arranged, and there was every hope that the remainder would shortly be 
 provided for. The opinion of the meeting having been taken on the desirableness 
 of the estate being liquidated under inspection, the annexed resolutions were passed, 
 it being intimated, however, that the gentlemen accepting the appointment of 
 inspectors were not creditors, but acting as the representatives of other houses. Iq 
 the course of the proceedings, Mr. Freshfield read to the creditors a narrative of the 
 origin of the connection of Messrs. Collmann and Stolterfoht with R. F. Pries, and 
 the progress of their transactions to the date of the discovery of the forgeries, with 
 the view of placing before the creditors and the public every information on the 
 subject . 
 
 "At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Collmann and Stolterfoht, held at the 
 counting-house in Broad Street Buildings, on Friday, the 4th February, 1853, 
 Henry Goschen, Esq., in the chair, Mr. Coleman, the accountant, having produced 
 and read to the meeting a statement of the debts and assets, it was thereupon resolved 
 unanimously : — 
 
 " 1, That it is the opinion of the meeting that the house should be liquidated by 
 the partners, under the inspection of the following gentlemen, viz., Henry Goschen, 
 Esq., and John Cunliffe Pickersgill, Esq. 
 
 " 2. That the salaries of clerks and servants be paid in full. 
 
 " 3. That a deed be forthwith prepared, by which the partners shall covenant to 
 liquidate the affairs of the house, and divide the proceeds among the creditors 
 rateably, and in proportion to their several debts, under inspection, observing in 
 such liquidation the rules of administration adopted in bankruptcy. That such 
 deed shall contain covenants by the creditors not to sue the partners for twelve 
 months, and that the inspectors shall have power to enlarge that time if they shall 
 deem it necessary, and that, at the expiration of such period, or of such enlarged 
 period, or sooner, if the inspectors shall certify that the liquidation has proceeded 
 svifficiently, and upon the partners executing such assignment as the inspectors may 
 require of the outstanding assets to trustees for distribution among the creditors, the 
 partners shall he released from all claims. The deed shall also contain such other 
 provisions as are usual in deeds of inspection, to be settled by the inspectors on 
 behalf of the creditors. 
 
 " 4. That creditors acceding to this arrangement shall not be prejudiced as to 
 any securities or lieu they may be entitled to, or as to their rights against third 
 parties. 
 
 "5. That the private property of the partnei's, after payment of their separate 
 liabilities, be applied in the payment of the debts of the hrm, according to the rules 
 of distribution in bankruptcy, and the inspectors shall have power to make the 
 partners such allowances as they shall think just for their services. 
 
 " G. The inspectors shall have power to allow all or any of the partners to 
 transact business on their own account, on their covenanting not to use, either 
 directly or indirectly, any of the existing assets of the firm, and to incur no new 
 engagements which could by any possibility be thrown on the existing assets." 
 
 THE BANKEUPTCY OF ME. W. BEENAED ANDEESON.* 
 
 Appeoximatje Statement of Debts and Assets laid before the 
 Commissioner, January 12, 1854. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To sundry creditors (unsecured) about £8,500 
 
 To ditto (disputed) £900 
 
 Can-ied forward £900 £8,500 
 
 * This Jjankrnpt was t ried and convicted of fraud in his business as a commission agent.
 
 APPENDIX. liii 
 
 Brought forward £900 £8,500 
 
 Toliabmties 4,401 18 3 
 
 Not expected to be proved £5,30118 3 
 
 To creditors (secured) about 22,000 
 
 To ditto (partly seciu-ed) about £5,000 
 
 Less seciu'itics held 600 
 
 ~ 4,400 
 
 £31,900 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By property seized by the ofScial assignee £2,500 
 
 By debtors, good and doubtful 3,850 
 
 By warrants, and other property held by creditors 24,800 
 
 £31,150 
 
 In addition to the above, there are consignments and open contracts, from whicli 
 
 it is expected a considerable sum will be realized for the benefit of the creditors, of 
 which a correct estimate cannot at present be made. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. WARWICK, HAEEISON, 
 AND WAEWICK. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Warwick, Harrison, and Warwick, who 
 failed on the 15th of Maixh, 1854, was held at the Guildhall Cofi'ee-house, on the 
 23rd of March, when the annexed balance-sheet, prepared by Messrs. Parrington 
 and Ladbury, was presented. It will be noticed that the estate shows debts and 
 liabilities amounting to i:37,8S8, while the assets at cost price reach i37,372. An 
 offer of 16^. in the pound was made and accepted, the instalments to be liquidated 
 at three, six, or nine months, with security for the final payment, and the partners, 
 it is expected, will be able to carry througli the arrangement. The house, it will 
 bo noticed, was engaged in bill transactions with Mr. Thomas M'Gregor. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors, as per list ^•34,237 5 1 
 
 Less debts of creditors holding securities 2,257 16 11 
 
 To liability on bills drawn by Messrs. T. M'Gregor and Co., upon 
 
 and accepted by the firm 
 
 The firm has received value on these bills to the extent of 
 il,525 Is. Gd. 
 Liability on bills drawn or accepted by the firm, amounting to 
 
 i5,64C Is., for which the firm has received value 
 
 Liability on a bill accepted by the firm for a separate debt of Mr. 
 
 Charles Warwick 
 
 Liability on bills receivable discounted, i'6,337 3s. 4f/., of whicli it 
 
 is supposed will be proved on this estate 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By stock in trade, at cost ^25,001 5 10 
 
 By ditto, at printers, etc 668 3 9 
 
 £31,979 
 
 8 
 
 2,431 
 
 4 
 
 2,542 
 
 16 
 
 898 
 
 10 
 
 36 
 
 17 
 
 i'37,888 16 3 
 
 By book debts, good 
 
 By ditto, bad, i'171 8*., estimated at. 
 By cash in hand and at bankers' . . . 
 
 £■25,569 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 10,227 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 147 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Carried forward £35,997 16 6
 
 liv 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £35,997 16 6 
 
 By bills on hand 80 19 1 
 
 By furniture 278 4 3 
 
 By leases and fixtures of premises, Nos. 131, 132, 
 133, Clieapside, held for unexpired terms of 
 1^, 11|, and 19.2 years, respectively, at a total 
 
 rental of i'530 per annum, cost a£3,505 3 1 
 
 Mortgaged to tlie Provident Life Office for 2,016 13 4 
 
 1,488 9 9 
 
 ie37,845 9 7 
 Less rent, salaries, etc 473 2 11 
 
 i-37,372 6 8 
 
 THE ESTATE OE BIE. THOI^IAS M'GEEGOE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Thomas M'Gregor, woollen warehouseman, who 
 failed on the 14th of March, 1854, was held on the 28th of March, when the sub- 
 joined statement, prepared by Messrs. Parrington and Ladbuiy, accountants, was 
 presented. A proposal of 6s. 8d. in the pound, by instalments, spreading over twelve 
 months, was unanimously accepted, and a committee was appointed to inspect the 
 estate, with the view of determining whether security should be required for the final 
 payment. The losses of Mr. M'Gregor by adverse speculations in English stock, 
 railway, and other securities, it is alleged, have amounted to a large simi, while his 
 accommodation bill transactions, which dovibtless include some of these, also repre- 
 sent a considerable amount. It will be noticed in his accounts, that operations in 
 "mining shares" are distinctly alluded to. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To trade creditors i31,442 3 9 
 
 To cash creditors i*4,153 3 
 
 Less secured 3 925 3 
 
 228 2 9 
 
 To liability on bills receivable, amounting to 
 X'26.253 Is. 6d., of which is supposed will be 
 returned ^6,187 19 7 
 
 Less cash held by a creditor 167 4 7 
 
 6,020 15 
 
 To liability on bills accepted for mutual accommodation of T. 
 M'Gregor and of other parties, ill, 288 10s. 5^/., of which will 
 be claimed* 10,633 16 5 
 
 To liability in respect of bills accepted for mining shares, etc., 
 
 ^11,603 18.S'. lid., of which will be claimed 2,506 19 8 
 
 To liability on bills accepted wholly for T. McGregor's accommo- 
 dation 2.778 12 4 
 
 To bills accepted on account of losses 3,522 1 9 
 
 £57,132 11 8 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By stock in trade, at cost i'15,744 7 4 
 
 V,'y book debts, good 6,566 18 7 
 
 By ditto, bad, t3,568 17s. 5f/., estimated at 413 2 4 
 
 By furniture 350 
 
 By fixtures 498 6 
 
 By bills in hand, t3,712 3s. 9d., estimated at 2,145 6 10 
 
 Carried forward i-25,718 1 
 
 * Value i;5,926 18s. 27. Las been given in respect of these bills.
 
 APPENDIX. Iv 
 
 Brought forward i'25,718 1 
 
 By cash in hand 604 4 10 
 
 By leases of premises, 149 and 150, Cheapside, and sundry shares 
 
 and life policy held by a creditor, and supposed to cover his 
 
 claim, as per contra, i'3,925 Os. 3d. 
 By lease of premises, Holly Lodge, held for 49 years, at £23, 
 
 cost £60. 
 By shares in bank, etc 170 
 
 i'2G,492 4 11 
 Less rent, taxes, and salaries 676 7 10 
 
 i'25,815 17 1 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. B. ELKIN AND SONS. 
 
 A numerous meeting of the creditors of Messrs. B. Elkin and Sons, lately engaged 
 in the West Indian and Australian trade, who failed on the 20th of March, 1854, 
 was held on the 17th, and, by adjournment, on the 25th of April, Mr. Byass in the 
 chair, when the following statement, prepared by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., was 
 presented : — 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors (unsecured) i'89,789 16 5 
 
 To creditors (partially secured) — 
 
 Amount of claim £33,738 17 6 
 
 Estimated value of securities 24,815 
 
 Also claims, lien on bills of lading received 
 since the suspension, to the extent of i'3,280, 
 per contra. 8,923 17 6 
 
 To creditor (fully secured) jei,426 5 
 
 Liabilities, viz. : — 
 
 On acceptances against consignments, 
 .£19,449 13s. 3(1., estimated to be covered, 
 except to the extent of £296 10 9 
 
 On acceptances to be provided for by the 
 drawers, viz. : — Considered good, i'49,518 
 19.?. 5d.; amount which it is considered 
 will be claimed on tliis estate 21,736 15 4 
 
 On guarantee to accept certain drafts from 
 Vienna 3,300 
 
 On bills receivable — out-standing, £65,860 
 lis. 2d.; amount which it is considered 
 
 will be claimed on this estate 9,386 10 5 
 
 34,719 16 6 
 
 £133,433 10 5 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By bills receivable on hand f 173 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good £26,894 17 1 
 
 Ditto, doubtful, £13,465 2s. 8d., estimated to 
 
 realize about 4,000 
 
 Bad, £21,010 16^. 5d. 
 
 A portion of remittances on account of these assets to the extent 
 of £3,289 is claimed by creditor partially secured, per contra. 
 
 30,894 17 1 
 
 Carried forward £31,067 17 1
 
 Ivi APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward i-31,067 17 1 
 
 By consignments outstanding, estimated to produce 7,206 6 11 
 
 By store in Trinidad, estimated value 1,200 
 
 By advances on property in Demerara 57,439 15 11 
 
 i'90,913 19 11 
 
 Deduct rent, taxes, creditors under ^'20, and sundries to be paid 
 
 in full 385 7 8 
 
 £96 528 12 3 
 By deficiency 36'904 18 2 
 
 ^•133,433 10 5 
 
 Previously to the examination of the accounts, the chairman stated that Messrs. 
 Elkin and Sons, under the sanction of some of the principal creditors, had, immedi- 
 ately after their suspension, granted a power of attorney to a responsible party, resi- 
 dent in Demerara, and that Mr. Isaac Elkin had proceeded thither by the last packet to 
 protect the interests of the estate in that colony, the dependencies there being nearly 
 ^6;),000. Tlie nominal figures show a dividend of about 14s. 6(1., and, irrespective 
 of the Demerara advances, the assets will pay 5s. lOd. in the pound. The sufficiency 
 of the security for the Demerara claim is doubtful, but it was mentioned that reinit- 
 tances have been received since the failure. The whole amount already realized on 
 general account is £12,000, of which about £3,000 is claimed by an individual 
 creditor. The exertions of Mr. Byass and Mr. Davies, in temporarily advising 
 Messrs. Elkin and Suns, were specially noticed. The majority of the creditors 
 having expressed an opinion in favour of winding-up under inspection, Mr. Gurney 
 Hoare proposed a resolution, to the effect that a letter of license be granted to 
 the firm, with the view of allowing time for the development of the West India 
 assets. At the adjourned meeting, the accounts having been fully investigated, 
 it was agreed to adopt this proposition. The only parties objecting were the 
 representatives of the London Joint-Stock Bank, who considered that the irre- 
 gular conduct of Messrs. Elkin, in their bill transactions, rendered them deserving 
 of passing through the ordeal of bankruptcy. It was intimated that there are 
 no separate estates by which the joint one is likely to be augmented. 
 
 BAIS^KEUPTCY OF SIE EYAN MACKENZIE AND CO. 
 
 In the matter of Sir Evan Mackenzie, Bart., Robert Cameron, and James 
 Holmes Boyle, of Levant Hoiise, St. Helen's Place, Bishopsgate Street, merchants. 
 
 Joint Balance-sheet, teom March 7, 1849, to May 18, 1854, the Date of 
 THE Adjudication. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 Creditors unsecured £16,106 13 6 
 
 Ditto 77 12 
 
 £15,184 5 6 
 
 Creditors holding security 6,714 1 2 
 
 Creditors bedding security on the joint estate, and 
 
 also on the separate estate of Sir E. Mackenzie... 9,916 12 1 
 
 Creditors to be paid in full .i'39 
 
 Liabilities 4,606 15 9 
 
 Ditto, partly secured 2,777 6 4 
 
 Ditto, partly secured by H. S. Boyle and Co 3,522 2 
 
 10,845 4 1 
 
 Capital brought in by Sir Evan Mackenzie 15,000 
 
 Profits 26,939 8 5 
 
 £83,599 11 3
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ivii 
 
 CBEDITOB. 
 
 By debtors, good £'1,713 7 5 
 
 By ditto, doubtful 340 17 8 
 
 By ditto, bad, 45,406 lis. Id. carried to losses below. 
 
 By property MO 
 
 Less creditors to be paid in full 39 5 
 
 20 15 
 
 By property lield by liability creditors 2,801 13 10 
 
 By property held by creditors 5,440 
 
 By consignments to Calcutta and Sydney, cost.. 10,653 18 7 
 
 By liabilities as^^er contra 10,805 4 1 
 
 By trade expenses 4,455 8 0^ 
 
 Amount drawn out by partners — 
 
 Sir E. Mackenzie 4,084 5 9 
 
 Kobeit Cameron 4,043 6 4 
 
 J. n. Boyle 2,637 9 
 
 10,764 12 10 
 
 By losses 4'31,196 7 8J 
 
 By bad debts 6,406 11 1 
 
 36,602 18 9^ 
 
 By difference in balancing 15 
 
 £83,599 11 3 
 
 BANKRUPTCY OP ME. IIENET PEAECE. 
 
 The Balance-sheet of Henry Peaece, of Digsweli House, Welwtn, Herts, 
 Merchant, and of 8, Finsbfry Place, from April 30, 1853, to Date 
 OF Fiat, June 17, 1854. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £53,642 8 
 
 To creditors pai-tiaUy secured — 
 
 Amount of claim £5,106 11 6 
 
 Seciuntyheld 1,588 2 6 
 
 3,518 9 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Secvu-ity held 6,540 
 
 Claim 4,573 9 2 
 
 Sui'plus to cash accoimt 1,966 10 10 
 
 £57,160 9 8 
 
 To receipts from trustees of my wife's marriage settlement 908 14 10 
 
 To fees as director, and dividends on stock and shares, iu various 
 
 companies 1,016 
 
 To profit credited in Pearce and Child's account 1,186 18 11 
 
 £60,272 3 5 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bydebtors £410 
 
 Bypropcrty 6,018 15 
 
 By surplus from creditors hokUng seciu'ity, per contra 1,966 10 10 
 
 £8,395 5 10 
 Less s>mch*y amounts to be paid in full 792 6 
 
 £7,002 19 4 
 By personal expenses, etc 3,579 10 
 
 Can-ied forward £11,182 2
 
 Iviii APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £11,182 2 
 
 By interest and premiiuns on life policies 1,807 6 2 
 
 Bv annuity 430 
 
 By losses ' 3,382 17 2 
 
 By depreciation on property 3,506 5 10 
 
 By cajjital to the credit of my account in the firm of Pearce and 
 
 'Child, June, 1854. 32,367 13 1 
 
 (The yahie of this balance dcjjends entirely upon the valua- 
 tion of estates and debts in the West Indies.) 
 
 By deficiency, April, 1853 1,596 10 
 
 By liabihty on reversionary interest now included in credit, as 
 
 per contra 6,000 
 
 £60,272 3 3 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. DAVID SCOTT, EICHMOND, 
 
 AND CO. 
 
 The suspension of Messrs. David Scott, Richmond, and Co., of Manchester, took 
 place on the 14th of September, 1854, and a meeting of their creditors was held on 
 the 22nd, when the following statement was presented : — 
 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 To book debts £42,924 7 1 
 
 To Uabiiities — bills in the hands of thii'd parties 150,370 16 11 
 
 £193,295 4 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 By book debts owing to the concern £47,884 6 1 
 
 By debts owmg to the concern, for which acceptances have been 
 
 given 27,472 16 3 
 
 By goods in the hands of consignees 8,688 10 
 
 By stock of goods, fixtures, and miscellaneous stock in warehouse 5,411 17 1 
 
 By miscellaneous property 480 
 
 By bUls and cash on hand 3,412 16 1 
 
 By available security deposited 2,000 
 
 £95,349 16 4 
 
 "With regard to this balance-sheet, it is observed: — 
 
 " In addition to the liabilities above emimerated, there ai'e bills to the amount 
 of £245,000 running, in which the firm is interested, but these are all good and 
 will be duly retired at maturity; so that, altliough the failure involves a total 
 amount of j£438,295, the actual sum with whicli the creditors will have to deal 
 is that set down in the balance-sheet above given, viz., £193,295 4«. Tlie lia- 
 bilities on bills in the hands of third parties is the item in which the creditors 
 are the most interested, inasmuch as in that item is involved tlio paper bearing 
 the names of the three other firms which have since stopped payment, and on the 
 realization of their assets depends materially the position of this estate. Besides 
 the assets enumerated, there is Mr. Scott's private estate which will probably 
 produce from £10,000 to £15,000 for the general estate, but not more than that." 
 
 THE ESTATE OE ME. EDWAKD OLIYEE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. E. Oliver, merchant and shipowner, of Liver- 
 pool, who suspended on the 4th of October, 18.')4, was held on the 27th, when 
 the following statement of his aftairs was submitted, and unanimously agreed to: —
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ivix 
 
 LIAUILITIES. 
 
 Acceptances out at the date of suspension £7lO,724< 
 
 Of which are expected to be witll(h•a^^^a and 
 
 retired by the drawers, or other parties 65,823 11 
 
 Creditors on open balances 
 
 Bills receivable, estimated bad 221,063 10 
 
 Deduct seciu-ities in hands of bankers 70,916 15 
 
 £644,900 
 62,267 
 
 150,116 14 8 
 £857,314 3 9 
 
 Bills on hand considered good £44,366 11 7 
 
 Debts estuuated good 23,125 15 8 
 
 Timber cargoes, deducting advances 22,293 6 10 
 
 Insurances in New York ... £43,900 
 Less lien of Ai-thvir Leary . . . 15,021 15 9 
 
 Palm-oQ sold to ai-rive 
 
 Sliips 413,131 15 
 
 Freights 165,611 2 
 
 28,878 
 32,600 
 
 House at Wavertree 
 
 12 shares in Peel River Company 
 
 1 share in Australian Agricultural Company... 
 
 Collieries at UphoU, and estimated at 
 
 Estmiated surjihis m the hands of Messrs. 
 
 Goodhall, Cliilton, and Co 10,000 
 
 578,742 15 
 1,000 
 48 
 40 
 3,000 
 
 
 
 744,094 13 6 
 Deficiency £113,219 10 3 
 
 The following gentlemen, who had acted as temporary trustees, were unanimously 
 confirmed in their appointment: — Messrs. Robert Crosbie, Robert Rankin, Daniel 
 Campbell, John S. De Wolf, and W.J. Fernie. The solicitor for Mr. Oliver intimated 
 that he and his client were confident that, with judicious management, the estate 
 would pay 20s. in the pound, and leave a liandsome balance. The difference between 
 tlie surplus originally shown by Mr. Oliver and the present deficit of i'113,219 10*. 
 Sd. was stated to have partially arisen from the amount of bills likely to be dis- 
 honoured, and from the large depreciation in the value of ships and timber. It was 
 distinctly mentioned, in answer to a question, that the statement presented to the 
 meeting liad been made up in the manner most certain to be realized, so that the 
 public might not be misled. 
 
 The extent and importance of the faihire of Mr. Oliver may be seen from the 
 following list of creditors, to each of which a number is affixed instead of a name, 
 each number representing a firm : — 
 
 LIST OF MR. OLITEE's CEEDITOES, SECURED AISTD TrNSECTIKED. 
 
 No. 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 £120,000 
 60,000 
 60,000 
 45,000 
 32,000 
 25,000 
 25,000 
 25,000 
 25,000 
 20,000 
 20,000 
 15,000 
 15,000 
 11,000 
 
 No. 15 £10,000 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 
 10,000 
 10,000 
 9,000 
 8,000 
 7,000 
 6,000 
 5,000 
 4,000 
 1,000 
 
 The pubhc 132,000 
 
 Total £700,000
 
 Ix 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE ME. J. M'HENEY. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. James M'Henry, -who failed on the 4th of 
 October, 1854, was held at Liverpool on the 2l2nd of November, when an adjourn- 
 ment took place, to afford time for a final consideration of the course ultimately to 
 be adopted. Accordinjj to the subjoined statement, jn-esented by Mr. Frye, the 
 accountant, the assets showed a dividend of Is. 6d. in the pound ; but this, it was 
 expected, might be increased to 2s. or 3s., as the liabilities v?ere likely to be largely 
 diminished by the bill-holders electing to prove against Messrs. Allen and Anderson 
 as partners. The enormous deficiency of i£307,857 was represented as having 
 principally occurred through bad debts in the United States. It was finally 
 determined that the estate shoiild be wound up under a deed of inspection. 
 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 On acceptances £14,940 9 
 
 On acceptances to be retii'cd by other parties £35,873 Os. 2d. 
 
 On book debts 16,754 9 6 
 
 On foreign debts 1,510 16 11 
 
 On bills receivable..., 268,208 10 1 
 
 On 12 drafts of Edward Oliver, accepted by 
 
 J. M'Henry £30,964 10 6 
 
 On Wann and M'Birney's tlu-ee drafts, J. 
 
 M'Henry, in favoiir of E. Oliver 5,000 
 
 35,964 10 6 
 337,378 7 9 
 
 Claims on book debts considered good 
 
 Valviation of doubtfid debts 
 
 Ditto, stock on hand 
 
 Ditto, working unplements 
 
 Mortgage on the " Ava" 
 
 100 shares in the Lancashire Insurance Company, valued at 
 
 J. Curtis 's promissory note, due October 27 
 
 Valuation of office fixtures 
 
 Cash on hand 
 
 5 policies of insurance on the lives of G. Longmore, James 
 Longmore, and James Taylor, valued at 
 
 Estimated proceeds to be received from Wilham 
 M'Kee and Co., Philadelphia, of Unens ship- 
 ped on accx)unt of S. Tumey ,,, £1000 
 
 Less part to be applied in retiring S. Tumey 's 
 acceptance for this amount 
 
 £22,316 13 5 
 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 400 
 
 £200 
 106 8 6 
 
 Yakiation of residue of book debts due to J. M'Henry in America 
 
 Less payments to be made in full 
 
 Deficiency 
 
 S. Tumey's acceptance, due November 16, in 
 hands of J. M'Henry 
 
 Less surjilus receipts expected fi'om W. M'Kee 
 and Co 
 
 Less amoimt due to him on book debt 
 
 393 
 
 3,155 
 
 540 
 
 2 
 
 
 6 4 
 
 600 
 350 
 157 16 11 
 250 
 300 
 
 150 
 
 400 
 
 93 11 6 
 
 2,000 
 
 £30,706 
 1,185 
 
 16 
 10 
 
 4 
 8 
 
 £29,521 
 
 307,857 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 8 
 1 
 
 £337,378 
 
 7 
 
 9
 
 APPENDIX. Ixi 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. ALLEN AND ANDEESON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Allen and Anderson, engaged in the 
 American trade, who failed on tlie 6tli of October, 1854, was held on the 15th of 
 November, Mr. D. B. Chapman presiding, when the following statement, prepared 
 by Messrs. Quiltei', Ball, and Co., was submitted : — 
 
 Statement of Affaiks, October 6, 1854. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry trade and cash creditors £100,514 9 3 
 
 To liabiUties, viz. : — 
 
 On account of M'Hemy... £102,035 8 3 
 
 On account of others 16,817 6 7 
 
 £118,852 14 10 
 
 Further on account of M'Henry, £111,883 
 10.9., of which claims wUl probably arise 
 
 upon 54,182 11 
 
 173,035 5 10 
 
 To liabilities on indorsements, etc., whicli it is 
 estimated will run oil' and not be claimed on 
 theestate £265,715 14 5 
 
 £273,549 15 1 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By bills receivable on hand £2,989 5 2 
 
 By sundry debtors, viz. : — ■ 
 
 On consignment accoiuits £19,166 17 
 
 On cmTent accoimts 32,538 12 7 
 
 51,705 9 7 
 
 By sundry policies and loans on secm'itv 9,291 18 8 
 
 Bystock ". 9,284 
 
 By estimated surplus value of cotton 7,500 
 
 £80,770 13 5 
 
 Deduct preferential claims 1,106 12 7 
 
 £79,664 10 
 
 With regard to the general result of the accounts, it was explained that the 
 assets showed a dividend of about 5s. 6d. in the pound, and that there was every 
 expectation of 5s. at least beins; realized. The liabilities might, it was st.ated, be 
 increased by the sum of £26,000, and diminished to the extent of i'40,000. The 
 connection of the firm of Allen ami Anderson, of London, with that of M'Henry, of 
 Liverpool, arose from the extension of general credit facilities on the part of the 
 former, under the impression that the affairs of the Liverpool house were in a much 
 stronger position. It was mentioned that there were certain liabilities in the United 
 States, which, it was anticipated, would he fully covered by arrangements already 
 made. ilr. Murray, the legal representative of Messrs. Allen and Anderson, after 
 calling the attention of the creditors to the nature of the assets and to the prospect 
 of an early distribution, referred to the position of the holders of bills having the 
 names of M'Henry and Allen and Anderson. In consequence of the connection of 
 the latter lirm with Mr. M'Henry, the holders of the bills (£173,035), in the event of 
 bankruptcy, would have to elect against which estate they would make their proof; 
 and the intention of the resolutions, and of the deed of inspection, would be, to 
 reserve tlie rights of the bill-holders to such an election, and, in fact, to give them 
 all the advantages to which they were entitled. After some conversation, it was 
 generally agreed to wind up the estate under inspection, and the annexed resolutions 
 were carried. It was stated in the course of the proceedings that, so great was the 
 confidence reposed in the stability of Messrs. Allen and Anderson, their own managing
 
 Ixii APPENDIX. 
 
 clei'k, who possessed every opportunity of ascertaining their course of business, was 
 a creditor for ,f 23,000, the principal and interest of capital deposited in their hands. 
 
 At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Allen and Anderson, held on Wednesday, 
 the loth day of November, 1854, Mr. D. B. Chapman in tlio chair, a statement of 
 the afiairs having been submitted, the following resolutions were moved, seconded, 
 and adopted : — 
 
 " That it is expedient the afl'airs should be wound up under inspection, and that 
 the following gentlemen be requested to act as inspectors, viz., Mr. Richard 
 Sanderson, Mr. John Green Elsey, and Mr. Raymond Pelley ; and that a proper deed 
 of inspectorship, providing for the winding-up, administration, and distribution of 
 the joint estate of the said firm, and the separate estate of the partners thereof, 
 according to the rules in bankruptcy, and as if bankruptcy had taken place 
 on the 6th ult., and with all usual clauses, be prepared and approved by the 
 inspectors; and that a dividend be paid as early as possible upon such deed being 
 signed, and further dividends from time to time when £5 per cent, is in hand. That 
 no creditor signing or assenting to these resolutions shall be in any way prejudiced 
 with respect to his rights or remedies against third persons, or with respect to 
 any security or lieu he may have for his particular debt; and such signature or 
 assent shall be subject to the consent of such third persons, where any consent is 
 necessary. That in the mean time, until such deed of inspectorship shall be com- 
 pleted, these resolutions shall be, and be deemed to be, a memorandum of arrange- 
 ment within the meaning of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, 1849. " 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. CARTER AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Carter and Co., shipowners and brokers, 
 ■who failed on the 16th of December, 1854, took place ou the 14th of February, 
 1855, Mr. Gumming presiding, when the following statement was submitted by Mr. 
 Quilter, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of Affairs, December 16, 1854. 
 
 DEBTOH. 
 To sundry creditors, imseeured — 
 
 On cuiTent accoimts £39,698 14 8 
 
 On underwriter's 38,470 10 1 
 
 To sundry creditors having security — 
 
 Amount of security 27,556 15 5 
 
 Amount of claim 19,320 7 3 
 
 Siu'plus ^er co«^ra 8,236 8 2 
 
 Amount of claun 1,163 8 5 
 
 Amount of security 698 2 2 
 
 £78,169 4 9 
 
 465 G 3 
 
 To liabilities — 
 
 On acceptances running, some of which 
 have since run off, and the securities held 
 
 against them sui'rendered 83,336 2 
 
 In respect of which claims may arise 
 
 on this estate to the extent of 10,000 
 
 On indorsements 130,315 4 
 
 Most of which have since run oil', but claims may arise to 
 
 theeitentof 5,000 
 
 £93,634 11
 
 APPENDIX. Ixiii 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By sundrv debtors — 
 
 Considmxl good £GG,220 12 1 
 
 Considered doubtM 2,0G3 5 
 
 Considered bad 287 19 1 
 
 68,571 11 7 
 Deduct estimated losses 7,07111 7 
 
 61,500 
 
 By sundry property — 
 
 Consisting of shares in ships, consignments outstanding, etc., 
 
 £29,070 9s. 3(f.— estimated at 26,500 
 
 By siirj)his security in hands of creditors — 
 
 Amount of seciu'ity 27,556 15 5 
 
 Less amount of claim 19,320 7 3 
 
 8,236 8 2 
 
 £96,236 8 2 
 
 By liabilities per contra, -which, although forming present 
 
 claims on the estate, may ultimately be made good in full ,,. £15,000 
 
 It was explained that the delay in calling the creditors together had arisen from 
 a desire to complete certain arrangements with parties in Liverpool, to diminish the 
 general liabilities; and that, these having been effected, the total had been rerhiced 
 at least i.'50,000. In the account presented, the assets showed a surplus of i:3,000, 
 after paying 20.v. in the pound, with interest; and this amount, it was stated, 
 might, with management, be realized. If a debt due to the estate in Montreal was 
 paid — the firm not having suspended, but being unable to make remittances 
 through the refusal of local banks to discount — the assets would be considerably 
 increased. With regard to the vessels possessed by Carter and Co., or those they 
 had an interest in, it was stated that several were in the employment of the 
 Government, at advantageous rates of freight. A final settlement of the accounts 
 of the old house of Robert Carter and Co. had not yet been eflected, but it was 
 expected some amount would have to pass to the new firm. In answer to questions, 
 it was mentioned that the business was lucrative, although, under recent manage- 
 ment, it had been too rapidly extended. The conduct of all parties, including the 
 bankers, who were secured for a large overdrawn accou^nt, was stated to have been 
 satisfactory — slight concessions having been necessary to bring affairs within their 
 present compass. The proposal of Carter and Co. to pay 20s. in the pound by 
 instalments, but without security, was then brought forward. It was intimated that 
 an attempt had been made to induce a relative to become responsible to the extent 
 of i£10,000, on the presumption that an amount almost equal would be involved in 
 the liquidation of the old firm, but it had not proved successful. After a short 
 conversation, it was agreed that the estate should be wound up under inspection, 
 with the view of carrying out in the best possible shape the proposal made. 
 
 Annexed is a foi'mal minute of the proceedings: — 
 
 " At ii^ meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Carter, and Co., held at the offices of 
 Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., 57, Coleman Street, this I4th day of February, 1855, 
 Mr. Cumming in the chair, Mr. Quilter read a statement of their affairs, and gave 
 explanations respecting the same, from which it appeared that these gentlemen's 
 liabilities amounted to the sum of £:''3,634 11.?. (including liabilities to the amount 
 of £1.5,000, which ought to be paid by other parties), and that their assets amounted 
 to i'9G,236 Hs. 2d.; and he informed the meeting that they considered themselves able 
 to pay all their creditors in full, with interest, if time were granted them, and that 
 they proposed to pay by instalments, in the following manner, viz.: — 3s. id. in one 
 month, 3s'. 4d. in three months, 3s. id. in five months, 3s. id. in seven mouths, 
 3s. id. in nine mouths, and 3s. id. in twelvemonths, all from the 1st of March. 
 
 " Resolved unanimously, that the estate be wound up under the inspection of 
 Mr. Pitcairn, for the purpose of carrying out the foregoing proposition,"
 
 Ixiv APPENDIX. 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1855. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. Morctrood and Rogers, London, iron merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Abbott, Nottingbam, and Co., London, shawl trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Kesteven Brothers, London, woollen trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. M. Hetheringtcn and Co., London, American trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Aubertin Brothers, London, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Krohn and Co., Loudon, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lonergan and Co., London, Spanish and West Indian trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Rogers, Lowrey, and Co., London, warehousemen. 
 
 „ Messrs. Home, Eager, and Co., London, Cape and Australian trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Turiff and Sbai-p, Glasgow, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Millers aud Thompson, Liverpool, shipowners and brokers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Spence and Co., Liverpool, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Boyd, Lawson, and Co., Glasgow, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wadsworth and Sheldon, New York, bankers. 
 
 ,, Mr. Matthew, New Orleans, provision trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Brander and M'Kenna, New Orleans, cotton trade. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Seagrave and Steeve, Providence, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Belcher Brothers, St. Louis, sugar i-efiuers. 
 
 „ Mr. W. G. Ray, New York, produce broker. 
 
 „ Messrs. Foster and Stephenson, New York, produce brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Farwell and Co., Boston, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs, Horn and Sergeant, Detroit, bankers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Hill and Co., Detroit, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. G. Lorimer, and Co., Detroit, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Howard, Smith, and Co., Detroit, bankers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Capron and Lathrop, Connecticut, bankers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Walton, Viuey, and Co., London, Cape and Australian trade. 
 
 ,, Mr. F. Bell, East Jarrow, Tyne, chemical manufacturer. 
 
 „ Messrs. Swanwick and Johnson, Manchester, calico printers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Kirk and Furniss, Liverpool, general merchants. 
 
 Feb. Messrs. Keen, Rippon, and Co., London, warehousemen. 
 
 „ Messrs. Gibson, Ord, and Co., Manchester, commission merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Page and Bacon, St. Louis, bankers, and general financial agents. 
 
 „ Messrs. Pickett, M'Murdo, and Co., New Orleans, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. A. J. Wright and Co., New Orleans, produce dealers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Sweeny, Green, and Co., New Orleans, cotton factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fellows and Co., New Orleans, dealers in cotton and tobacco. 
 
 ,, Messrs. G. B. Morcwood and Co., New York, agents. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Le Mesurier and Co., Quebec, timber merchants. 
 
 „ Mr. G. T. Braine, London, East India trade. 
 
 „ Mr. A. Hamilton, New Orleans, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wells, Fargo, and Co., San Francisco, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Page, Bacon, and Co., San Francisco, bankers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Adams and Co., San Francisco, bankers. 
 
 ,, The Minei's' Exchange Bank, San Francisco, bankers. 
 
 ,, The Robinson's Savings Bank, San Francisco, bankers. 
 
 Mar. Messrs. T. R. and W. lirowning and Co., London, timber trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Anthony Nicliol and Son, London, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Fletcher, Rose, and Co., Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 „ Mr. Thomas Spencer, Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 „ Mr. Selby, Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. S. 0. Nelson and Co., New Orleans, cotton factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. Oldlield, Allen, and Co., Huddersfield, woollen manufacturers. 
 
 May. Messrs. Mellors and Russell, Liverpool, South American trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Coutts and Parkinson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, engineers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Davies and Co., Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Toy and Co., Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 June. Messrs. Stralian, Paul, and Bates, London, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. J. Hoywood and Co., Nottingham and Derby, iron works. 
 
 „ Messrs. V/hitehouse and JefFeries, West Bromwich, iron works. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Hickman and Co., Bilston, iron trade. 
 
 „ Mr. J. Spencer, Birmingham, iron works.
 
 APPENDIX. IXV 
 
 July. Messrs. Hinde and Co., Birmingham, merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Latham Brothers, Liverpool, South American trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Adarason, Watts, and M'Kechiiie, Melbourne, merchants. 
 
 Aug. Messrs. J. Walker and Co., Leeds, manufacturers and meixhants. 
 
 Sept. Messrs. C. J. Mare and Co., Blackwall, shipbuilders. 
 
 Oct. Messrs. De Lisle, Janvrin, and Co., London, bankers and merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Lewis, Reii5, and Co., London, Spanish and Sicilian trade. 
 
 Nov. The Toll End Furnaces, Birmingham, iron trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. E. V. Blythe and Co., Birmingham, nail trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Goddard Brothers, BirminghMui, iron trade. 
 
 Dec. Mr. J. Chatham, Manchester, spinner. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bond, Gregsoii, and Co., Manchester, spinners and manufacturers. 
 
 ,, Mr. J. Currie, Glasgow, grain mills. 
 
 „ The Grocers' Bank, Boston, United States, 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. MOEEWOOD AND EOGEKS. 
 
 The annexed circular was issued by the trustees appointed to wind-up the estate 
 of Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, who suspended on the 3rd of January, 1855, with 
 liabilities for i'180,000. The premises and stock having been sold for cash to new 
 parties, the business is carried on as usual: — 
 
 " 5, Martin s Lane, Cannon Street, Jan. 27. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — We beg to inform you, that by virtue of the authority placed in 
 our hands by the creditors of Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, to wind-up, as trustees, 
 the estate of that partnership, we have proceeded in our duty as promptly as the 
 intricate character of their extensive transactions perniitted, and by our directions 
 the lease of Dowgato Dock Wliarf, standing at the annual rent of i'750, has been 
 agreed to be sold for ±'1,000. The entire stock there (entered on their books at 
 about £12,000) has been sold for ±'10,000, net, and the several patents (the 
 principal one having but two years to run) have been sold for the sum of ,£5,000; 
 the whole to highly respectable persons, for cash, to be paid on the 1st proximo; 
 thus both realizing what we considered the full value of those properties, and freeing 
 the estate from the liabilities and expenses of the heavy establishment in Upper 
 Thames Street from that date. 
 
 " Messrs. Morewood and Rogers some time since entered into an agreement for the 
 purchase of an estate in Glamorganshire for £180,000, and paid a deposit of 
 ^625,000. The ven<lor has, in consideration of the sum of £2,500, allowed him for 
 legal expenses and losses, consented to forego the forfeiture of £10,000, agreed to be 
 paid in the event of non-completion of the purchase, and to return £22,500 on or 
 before the 20th of March next. The vendor has also to pay for some furniture, 
 estimated to produce from £1,000 to £1,500, and to permit a sale of some farming 
 stock on the premises; and Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, under our direction, 
 have signed an agreement with the vendor to carry out this arrangement. 
 
 " We therefore have the pleasure to state, that the first dividend of 2s. 6d. in the 
 pound will be paid immediately after the receipt of the £22,000 on the 20th of 
 March, and we expect, with the large balance remaining, and other current receipts, 
 that a second 2^. Gil. in the pound will almost immediately follow, if, indeed, we 
 shall not be able to make it at the same time. We are also taking steps to realize 
 as expeditiously as possible the other assets in this country which stand in the 
 books of Messrs. Morewood and Rogers at £41,000, but being to some extent 
 consignments, and in other respects debts abroad, we will not yet estimate at more 
 than £25,000 certain. 
 
 " Witli respect to the stock in Australia, taken at cost price, it amounts, above 
 all bills drawn upon it, to over £80,000, but it only can be realized by gradual 
 means, and in the regular course of business. We have accounts by the Great 
 Britain and Overland Mail up to the 23rd of November quite as satisfactory as wo 
 could expect, and no necessity had arisen to force Sales, without considerable profit, 
 of any portion of the stock ixp to that time. 
 
 E
 
 Ixvi APPENDIX. 
 
 "The assignment must, of course, now be completed, and we shall be obliged if 
 you will immediately send the full and precise particulars of your account against 
 the estate to Mr. A.J. Pollock, at 16, Crooked Lane, London. 
 
 " We are, dear sir, your obedient servants, 
 
 " J. Walker. 
 
 " W. BlKD." 
 
 THE BANKRUPTCY OF SAMUEL MOEEITZ KEOHX, 
 
 Of Bread Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, Merchant, Dealer, and Chapman, 
 
 Joi>'T Balaxce-sheet of Khohn Brothers, troji January 1, 1853, 
 TO January 11, 1855. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £17,672 14 5 
 
 Ditto holding seciu'ity 3,022 7 9 
 
 Ditto to be i^aid in fi'dl 85 16 4 
 
 Liabdities as ^er co-w/ra 15,286 5 7 
 
 Profit 10,454 2 9 
 
 Difl'erence in balancing 21 16 8 
 
 £76,543 3 6 
 
 creditor. 
 By debtors — 
 
 Good £1,571 14 1 
 
 Doubtful 3,505 19 9 
 
 Ditto (Krohn and Co., of Melbourne) 
 
 Property 
 
 Ditto lield by creditor 
 
 Bills receiYai3le held by creditors 
 
 Partners' di-awings^ 
 
 S.M. Krohn £1,455 11 3 
 
 M. A. Krohn 792 3 5 
 
 2,247 14 8 
 
 Trade charges 4,520 1 3 
 
 Interest 1,055 3 
 
 Couunission 407 16 4 
 
 8,230 12 6 
 
 Law costs 97 3 5 
 
 Losses 1,782 16 3 
 
 Baddebts 514 19 3 
 
 2,297 15 6 
 
 Deficiency, 1st January, 1853 3,573 9 1 
 
 'Lia.hU.iiidB as per contra 15,286 5 7 
 
 £5,077 13 10 
 
 32,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,086 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 2,730 
 
 It 
 
 
 
 3,162 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 £76,513 3 6 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. EOGEES, LOAVEEY, 
 HOLYLAND, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. Rogers, Lowrcy, Ilolyland, and Co., vvare- 
 liouseinen, who failed on the 18th of January, 1855, was held on the iilst of the 
 same month, Mr. Bcnnoch in the chair, when it was agreed, after lengtliened
 
 APPENDIX. Ixvii 
 
 explanations, to accept a dividend of 15s. in tlie pound, in the following instal- 
 ments: — 5*. at three montlis, 4.y. at five montlis, 3*. at seven months, and 3.«. at nine 
 montlis; a committee of creditors, consisting of the Cliairman, and Mr. D. Kvans, 
 and Mr. Tucker, being appointed to determine the nature of the security for the last 
 payment. The following balance-sheet, prepared by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., 
 shows tliat the assets of the estate were estimated at nearly 20.v. in tlie pound, and 
 that the losses had been principally incurred through the failure of Messrs. Home, 
 Eagar, and Co., and shipments to Australia: — 
 
 Statement of Affaies, JAxuAitY 17, 1855. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 To sundry creditors — 
 
 On trade account £86,290 7 5 
 
 On cash £35,650 2 1 
 
 Deduct estimated value of 
 lease, etc., held by Messrs. 
 
 Barclay and Co 2,500 
 
 33,150 2 1 
 
 . £119,4-10 9 6 
 
 To simdry creditors — 
 
 lu respect of salaries and debts under £10 
 
 each 6,644 13 2 
 
 Less estimated proportion payable in fidl, 
 
 deducted iJer contra 5,000 
 
 . 1,644 13 2 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable — 
 
 Considered good 67,909 12 4 
 
 Doubtful 6,870 1 7 
 
 Bad 3,752 2 4 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable — 
 
 In respect of sales effected to Cape and 
 
 Australian merchants 20,077 3 2 
 
 In respect of goods consigned to Cape and 
 
 AustraUa 17,720 18 8 
 
 . 37,798 1 10 
 
 £162,635 6 10 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By cash and bills on hand £728 4 
 
 Sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good £29,543 14 4 
 
 Considered doubtfid £3,014 7 6 
 
 Considered bad 4,373 12 8 
 
 Estmiated value 3,000 
 
 On sliipment account, considered good 4,115 G 2 
 
 By stock— 36,959 6 
 
 Consisting of silks, English and foreign 
 ribands, cloths, stuffs, bandannas, shawls, 
 haberdashery, cambrics, muslins, etc., 
 amoimtmg, at cost value, as "per stock- 
 books, to 89,021 6 2 
 
 By lease, fixtures, etc. : — 
 
 Held by Messrs. Bai'clay and Co., deducted 
 
 percontra 2,500 
 
 Bv fuimiture and trade utensUs — 
 'Estimated value thereof 1,000 
 
 £127,708 10 8 
 
 Deduct salaries and debts under £10, estimated as payable 
 
 in fidl 5,000 
 
 Carried forward £122,708 10 8
 
 Ixviii APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £122,708 10 8 
 
 By contingent assets — 
 
 For the ultimate excess of dividend which the 
 estates of both acceptors and di-awers may 
 yield above 20.s'. in the povuid, in respect of 
 the Cape and Austrahan sales, amounting to £20,077 3 2 
 
 Ditto, consigmnents, cUtto 17,720 18 8 
 
 37,798 1 10 
 
 Of which no rehable estimate can be made. 
 
 £160,506 12 6 
 
 Annexed is a formal minute of the resolutions: — 
 
 " At a meeting of creditors of Messrs. Rogers, Lowrey, Holyland, and Co., of 
 "Watling Street, warehousemen, liolden at the Guildhall Coffee-house, King Street, 
 London, on the 3Ist of January, Mr. Bennoch in the cliair, Mr. Quilter read a state- 
 ment of Messrs. Rogers, Lowrey, Holyland, and Co. 's affairs, gave explanation respect- 
 ing the same, and informed the meeting that Messrs. Rogers and Co. proposed to pay a 
 composition of 15s. in the pound, by instalments of 5«. in the pound at three months, 
 4s. in the pound at five months, 3s. in the pound at seven months, and 3s. in the 
 pound at nine months, and all from the 15th of February, 1855. Resolved- — That 
 such offer of compromise be accepted, but that Messrs. Rogers and Co. be required 
 to find security for the last instidnient, or a portion thereof, eitlier in shape of a 
 direct guarantee, or by creditors postponing the receipt of dividends until the com- 
 position be paid, or any other description of security, and, in either case, to the 
 satisfaction of Messrs. Francis Bennoch, David Evans, and Henry Tucker, who are 
 hereby appointed a committee for that purpose. Creditors holding security of other 
 parties to accept the composition without discharging such purtit-s, and subject to 
 their assent being obtained when necessary; and creditors holdinif private security on 
 Messrs. Rogers and Co.'s own property not to prejudice such security, and to receive 
 composition on the amount not covered by it. Promissory notes for the composition 
 to be delivered on or before the 15th of February, or within such further time as the 
 committee may, in writing, name, and, on delivery, the creditors to execute a deed 
 of composition and release, to be approved of by Messrs. Reed, Langford, and Marsden, 
 on their behalf ; the expense of such deed, and all other expenses attending the 
 investigation and arrangement of Messrs. Rogers, Lowrey, and Co.'s affairs, to be 
 paid by them. In case the committee should be of opinion that the composition 
 cannot be carried through, the estate to be administered in bankruptcy; and the 
 members of Messrs. Rogers and Co.'s firm are recpiested to sign a declaration of 
 insolvency, and deposit the same with the Chairman, in order that it may be filed, 
 and proceedings for obtaining adjudication in bankruptcy taken by the committee, 
 should they think it desirable." 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. A\^ALTOiV, VINEY, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Walton, Viney, and Co., whose failure in 
 tlie Australian and Cape trade, with liabilities for about £40,000, took place on the 
 29th of January, 1855, was held on the 19th of February, when, af'tt.'r the considera- 
 tion of a statement presented by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., it was ngreed tlie 
 estate should be wound-up under inspection. It appeared that the suspension of the 
 firm liad been nece.-sita'cd tlirough the non-remittance of proceeds of consignments 
 by shippers to whom advances had been made. The only partner in this country 
 was Mr. Viney, who introduced £7,100 into the business about twelve months 
 previous. Annexed is the statement presented, showing the debts and liabilities: — 
 
 Statement of Affaiks, Januaey 29, 1855. 
 
 DEBTOll. 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured , £3,036 8 3 
 
 To creditors ])artially secured — 
 
 Amount of claim £2,602 14 
 
 Estunated value of security 1,716 11 7 
 
 886 2 5 
 
 Can-ied forward £3,922 10 8
 
 APPENDIX. Ixix 
 
 Brought forward £3,922 10 8 
 
 To creditors fully seciu'ed £1,401 5 1 
 
 Deducted from advances to shippers, fer contra. 
 To liabilities on acceptances against consign- 
 ments — 
 
 Considered good 16,583 9 2 
 
 Considered doubtful , 
 
 Less amount estimated to be recoverable 
 from shipments 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances held by creditors, 
 in excess of balance due- 
 Considered good 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable — 
 
 Considered good 
 
 Considered doubtful 
 
 But covered by insurances, 
 
 7,247 
 3,000 
 
 8 4 
 
 
 1,606 
 
 7 11 
 
 6,666 
 597 
 
 8 2 
 
 9 8 
 
 4,247 8 4 
 
 £8,169 19 
 
 Bycashinhand £321 4 10 
 
 By sundry debtors — ■ 
 
 Considered good 291 13 7 
 
 Considered doubtful £58 7 2 
 
 By shares in English, Scottish, and Australian 
 
 Bank, valued at 210 
 
 By advances to shippers on consignments to 
 
 AustraUa and the Cape £12,089 16 10 
 
 Estmiated to produce 6,500 
 
 Less creditoi's fully assm'ed, jpei' co)!^r« 1,104 5 1 
 
 5,095 14 11 
 
 £5,918 13 4 
 Deduct — Creditors payable in full 129 19 1 
 
 By Walton, Bushell, and Co., Cape of Good 
 
 Hope, balance at their debit £2,867 17 9 
 
 By coals at the Cape, estimated at 5,000 
 
 £5,788 14 3 
 
 7,867 17 9 
 
 This asset depends on the state of the Cape firm's affairs. 
 Tlie following statement accounts for the present position of the firm : — 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To habilities, as per statement of ailairs £8,169 19 
 
 To partners' capital accounts, viz. : — 
 
 At credit of E. Walton £5,512 10 
 
 J. Vinev, Jim 7,106 16 11 
 
 S. Bushell 5,512 10 
 
 £18,131 16 11 
 
 Add amount at credit of S. Bushell's drawing 
 
 account 1,135 9 7 
 
 19,267 6 6 
 Carried forward £27,437 5 6
 
 IXX APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought foTO-ard £27,437 5 6 
 
 Balance at credit of account ■nitli Constable, Busliell, and Co., 
 
 Sydney ,. 2,892 18 1 
 
 £29,830 3 7 
 
 CEEDITOK. 
 
 By assets, as per statement of affaii's £5,788 14 
 
 By Walton, Busliell, and Co., Cape of Good Hope, balance at 
 
 theii' debit, and estimated value of coals at the Cape 7,8G7 17 9 
 
 By partners' drawing accounts — 
 
 Balance at debit of R. Walton £2,348 4 10 
 
 „ „ J. Viney, Jun 480 1 4 
 
 2,828 6 2 
 
 Losses by bad liabiHties and advances, and difference between 
 
 estunated value and cost of sundry assets, etc 13,345 
 
 £29,830 3 7 
 
 THE BANKEUPTCT OF CTJEEIE, DALE, AND CO. 
 
 The Balance-sheet of William Close Cfreie, teading unbee the Fiem 
 OE CuEEiE, Dale, and Co., as Meechant and Agent, eeom June 1, 
 1852, TO Febeuaet 3, 1855, the Date of the Adjudication. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundi-y creditors £44,361 10 10 
 
 To Norman Brothers and Co., Calcutta, for 
 
 balance owhig to them £11,859 10 10 
 
 Deduct — Secm'ed by shipments consigned to 
 them, account sales of which have not yet 
 
 been rendered — cost £7,662 1 9 
 
 4,197 9 1 
 
 To C. and J. Norman, London, for balance 
 
 owing them, and current aecoviut £ 1,991 12 1 
 
 Deduct — Remainder of John Mackie and Pala- 
 
 tme, on joint accoxmt with C. and J. Norman, 
 
 consigned to Norman Brothers, the proceeds 
 
 of which will be remitted by them to C. and 
 
 J. Norman, their correspondents ui London, 
 
 to protect them for advances made to Currie, 
 
 Dale, and Co 1,286 3 9 
 
 To creditors holding security 
 
 To creditors on habUities, £18,602 16*. 8c/., of which this sum 
 
 will be claimed on the estate 
 
 To llie late firm of Currie and Co 
 
 To commission account 
 
 To suspense account 
 
 ceeditor. 
 
 Bycashinhand £1,518 13 2 
 
 By debts considered good 4,665 13 2 
 
 By items in suspense* 27,999 2 8 
 
 3,705 8 
 418 8 
 
 3,800 
 
 538 14 
 
 3,338 18 
 
 1,435 1 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 
 
 7 
 9 
 2 
 
 £61,795 11 
 
 3 
 
 Carried forward £31,183 9 
 
 • There is gi-eal nncertahity as to the real value of the items appearing as credit in the books 
 of this estate. The result can ria]y be known on the realization,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ixxi 
 
 Bi-might forward £31,183 'J 
 
 Cash in the hands of the Commercial Eank, claimed by theui to 
 be held against bad bUls disco untetl by them ; but their riglit 
 
 to do so is disputed ' ' 1^ ^"^ 3 
 
 By charges incidental to the busmess 7,115 12 
 
 By C. W. Currie's drawing out 3,017 12 
 
 Bylosscs 12,303 5 
 
 By liabilities per contra 3,800 
 
 £61,795 11 3 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ME. G. T. BRAINE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. G. T. Braine, whose stoi^page in the East India 
 trade was announced on the 28tli of February, 1855, was held on the 20th of 
 March, at which a statement, prepared by Mr. Coleman, the accountant, was pre- 
 sented, showing debts to the amount of about £306,000, of which £230,000 were 
 to secured, and £76,000 to unsecured creditors. Mr. Braine attended, and it was 
 stated by Mr. Lavie, tlie solicitor, on his behalf, that the assets to meet the open 
 liabilities of £76,000 would scarcely yield 2.s. in the pound; but that Mr. Braine 
 proposed, with assistance, to pay 2s. Qj. at once, and a further sum of 2s. 6d. in 
 twelve months, upon a release being granted him, siach release not to be valid 
 in case of any default in the payment of the second 2$. 6d. Much discussion 
 took place on the way in which the mass of the property had been disposed of, to 
 secure specific claims and to the injury of the general creditors, while it also 
 appeared that the chief losses incurred had been in connection with mining and 
 other speculations. The capital with which Mr. Braine recommenced business, 
 after the crisis of 1847, was stated to have been £53,000. After hearing the 
 respective statements, the meeting adjourned, to consider whether the offered com- 
 position should be accepted, or the estate be carried into the Court of Bankruptcy. 
 It was finally arranged that Mr. Braine should be allowed to carry out, if possible, 
 his proposition. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. T. E. AND W. BEOWNINO 
 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. T. B- Jind W. Browning and Co., engaged 
 in the timber trade, who failed on the 3rd March, 1855, was held on the 6th March, 
 when the following statement was presented, showing the debts and liabilities to be 
 £95,820, and the assets £54,450. The estimated amount of dividend was lis. 4:d. 
 in the pound; but this, it was intimated, miglit be slightly reduced by losses in- 
 curred since the preparation of tlie accounts. Before resolving in what manner the 
 estate should be wound-up, it was agreed to appoint an accountant (Mr. Turquand) 
 to investigate, and also a committee to report, at a future date, on the general posi- 
 tion of the affairs of the house. The absence of capital, and late extensive specula- 
 tions, appear to have created its embarrassments. This report was subsequently 
 presented, and the firm liquidated under inspection. 
 
 Balanc'e-skeet, Febeitary 13, 1855. 
 
 DEBTOU. 
 
 Creditors unsecured £37,061 8 
 
 Creditors holding security 53,759 10 9 
 
 Liabdities on indorsed bills £49,520 5 4 
 
 On wlrich claims may arise to the extent of 5,000 
 
 £95,820 18 9
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CEEDITOH. 
 
 Amount of cash in hand £68 1 3 
 
 stock 30,698 2 11 
 
 „ loans due 336 10 
 
 „ bills not yet due £4,399 8 6 
 
 „ bills over-due 987 15 5 
 
 book debts 19,587 1 1 
 
 £24,974 5 
 
 Deduct for loss in collectmg 10 per cent 2,497 8 6 
 
 22,476 16 6 
 
 Surplus due from Hanbiuy and Co 1,247 4 10 
 
 Surplus due from W. H. Surman 252 2 7 
 
 £55,694 17 1 
 Preferential claims for rent stock at docks — 
 
 London and Liverpool £1,000 
 
 Eent at Waterloo Bridge AYharf 245 
 
 1,245 
 
 £54,449 17 1 
 Deficiency 41,371 1 8 
 
 £95,820 18 9 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. AXTHONY NICHOL AND SOK^. 
 
 A meetino; of the creditors of Mr. J. L. Nichol, trading under the firm of 
 Anthony Nichol and Son, who failed on the 7th of March, 1855, was held on the 
 22nd of March, when the following statement was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, 
 the accountant : — 
 
 DEBTOK. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £5,045 3 1 
 
 To ditto on bills payable £53,577 7 2 
 
 Less amount to be retii'ed by the cfrawers 39,411 11 2 
 
 To creditors partly secured £21,967 5 3 
 
 Less security held 17,54Cr 
 
 To creditors fully secured — Seciu-ity held £5,150 
 
 Toclaitns '. 4,899 2 2 
 
 14,165 16 
 4,427 5 3 
 
 Tocontra £250 17 10 
 
 To liabihty on bills receivable 28,418 7 1 
 
 Of which it is expected claims on the estate amount to . 
 To habiUty on claims upon imfulfiHed contracts 
 
 By cash 
 
 By debtors (good) 
 
 By debtors (doubtful), £347 11*. 7d., estimated at 
 
 By assets, stock, etc 
 
 By surplus from security with creditors, as ^Jer contra 
 
 By fixtures, household furnitiu-e, etc 
 
 By ycUo w metal at Oporto consigned 
 
 Deduct snncfries to be paid in full 
 
 327 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 1,597 
 
 
 
 
 
 £25,562 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 £214 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 1,992 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,323 
 
 16 
 
 11 
 
 250 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 550 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 
 
 £4,502 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 559 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 £3,942 
 
 8 
 
 6
 
 APPENDIX. Ixxiii 
 
 It was explained that, owing to some outstanding liabilities, the amount of which, 
 until certain bills became due, could not be ascertained, Mr. Nichol was not in a 
 position to m.ake a positive oiler to his creditors. He was, however, prepared to 
 realize the estate, and guarantee assets, through the assistance of friends, to the 
 amount of £3,500 ; any surplus to be likewise for the benefit of his creditors. The 
 losses, it appeared, had been principally incurred through transactions in produce; 
 but when Mr. Nichol assumed tlie control of the business, shortly before the decease 
 of his father, there was a deficiency of about i'2,700. After a lengthened discussion, 
 it was agreed to appoint inspectors to wind-up the estate, the creditors being secured 
 the proposed amount for distribution in the earl}' part of July, previously to which 
 the whole of the liabilities would have run out. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. C. J. MAEE AND CO. 
 
 The suspension of this firm took place early in September, and it was at first 
 presumed that a private ai-rangement would have been effected. An absolute peti- 
 tion in bankruptcy was, however, subsequently opened, and the firm appeared in 
 the London Gazette. A very numerous meeting of the creditors took place on the 
 27th September, at the Guildhall Coflce-house, Mr. Lee, the official assignee under 
 the bankruptcy, presiding, to concert measures for carrying on the works until 
 further definite proceedings could be adopted. It was intimated that the meeting 
 had been called with the sanction of Mr. Commissioner Holroyd, and that Mr. Alare 
 himself was desirous of using every endeavour to obtain an equitable adjustment 
 for the benefit of all who are interested in his estate. Mr. Lawrance, the solicitor 
 to the petition, explained at length the preliminary steps taken for placing the affairs 
 of Mr. Mare under the operation of the Private Arrangement Act, which, it was at 
 first thought, would have proved available, but difficulties subsequently intervened, 
 and it was found necessary to resort to an absolute bankruptcy. The chief impedi- 
 ment was a creditor for £9,000 or £10,000, who, having placed an execution in the 
 works at Blackwall, refused to withdraw, unless upon immediate payment; and as 
 this creditor was proceeding to sell, through the sheriff, it was considered advisable 
 not to allow a sacrifice of probably £20,000 or i;'30,000 to meet the claim, but to take 
 the course that had been adopted. There was also an extent, at the suit of the 
 Crown, in Mr. Mare's private residence for £3,000, being the amount of a bill for 
 timber from the Royal Forest; but this, under any circumstances, would have to 
 be paid in full, to save the property upon which it was levied, the Crown taking 
 precedence in such cases. The execution upon the works at Blackwall, had it been 
 proceeded with, would not only have sacrificed the proportion of machinery, etc., 
 sold to realize it, but the woi'ks would have been stopped, and the whole of the 
 numerous hands thrown out of employment. Tlie adjudication of bankruptcy, with 
 Mr. Mare's consent, having taken place, the first necessary arrangement was the 
 payment of wages, and this was accomplished through the personal exertions of the 
 official assignee, the directors of the Commercial Bank consenting to supply the 
 requisite funds. The last week's wages having been paid, the question of the 
 continuance of the works under the bankruptcy was submitted to Mr. Com- 
 missioner Holroyd, who, with a mercantile appreciation of the emergency, 
 consented to the attempt being made, on condition that the creditors should mean- 
 wliile be consulted on the question. This result having been arrived at, the directors 
 of the Commeixial Bank consented to place to the credit of the official assignee 
 £10,000, to meet the early expenditure, and to be repaid out of the first assets 
 received. The position of the matter stood thus: — The effect of the adjudication 
 was to displace the execution of the creditor, whose debt, though hona fide, it was 
 contended was not better entitled to a preferential settlement than others, and the 
 works remained uninterrupted. The official assignee possessed sufficient to discharge 
 £5,000 or £6,000 due the next Saturday, and there was enough to liquidate the 
 extent from the Crown, so as to avert the loss from a forced sale of the property in 
 Hyde Park Gardens. Assurances having been given of a stipply of coal, wood, 
 and rope, every prospect existed of assets being received to keep the general esta- 
 blishment in operation; but, if they did not come in, it was thought otlier resources 
 were open for assistance. Under those circumstances, it was proposed to appoint a 
 committee of creditors, to advise with the official assignee, in his endeavours to 
 carry on the woi'ks until the choice of assignees ; thus affording an opportunity for
 
 Ixxiv APPENDIX. 
 
 looking into the nature of the various contracts and expenditures, and ascertaining 
 the actual position of this extensive undertaking. 
 
 An approximate statement of affairs was then brought forward by Mr. Ball, of 
 the firm of Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants ; but it was mentioned that, 
 having been prepared only on a sliort notice, it could not be considered to represent 
 accurately the position of the estate. It showed the liabilities to be £156,400, and 
 the assets £186,000, leaving an estimated surplus of £29,600. Mr. Mare, however, 
 considered his establishment at Blackwall to have been inadequately valued, and he 
 increased the amount by £75,000, making a total surplus of above £100,000. Some 
 discussion ensued with respect to the various items, and one, in connection with an 
 establishment at Newmarket, elicited the reply that it had entirely passed out of 
 Mr. Mare's hands. In referring to a resolution for the appointment of a committee, 
 Mr. Lawrance stated that several instances had occurred in which creditors had 
 been beneficially protected by the works of embarrassed firms being carried on under 
 bankruptcy, and he specially alluded to the parties identified with the manufacture 
 of wire-rope, in which the original patentee, after paying his creditors 20s. in the 
 pound, was enabled advantageously to dispose of his interest. The whole of the 
 explanations were favourably received, and Mr. Lawrance volunteered any further 
 information, either on behalf of the official assignee, or of Mr. Mare, who himself 
 was present. Mr. Murray, with one or two other professional persons, who repre- 
 sented claimants, having concurred in the desirableness of the course proposed, a 
 committee of five creditors was appointed, including Mr. P. Eolt, who, possessing 
 both a family and pecuniary interest, pledged himself to protect the interests of the 
 general creditors. The following are the approximate statement and the resolution 
 comprising the names of the committee : — 
 
 Appkoxijiate Statement oe the Apfaies, September 20, 1855. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £115,000 
 
 To creditors partially seciu'ed — amount of 
 
 claims £179,361 
 
 Less estimated value of securities 137,900 
 
 41,161 
 
 To creditors fully secured— estimated value of 
 
 securities £115,746 
 
 Less amount of claim 103,156 
 
 Surplus, taken as an asset, ^er co»/ra £12,590 £156,461 
 
 . By stock at BlackwaU £66,000 
 
 Less extent 3,000 
 
 By Great "Western steam-ship — cost of con- 
 struction £21,500 
 
 Value of engines 17,500 
 
 Proportion of expenses 3,900 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 63,000 
 
 £12,900 
 Liens thereon 33,000 
 
 By "Westminster Bridge Works — amount ex- 
 pended in plant, wages, and materials £87,000 
 
 Less received on account 50,000 
 
 9,900 
 
 37,000 
 
 By Saltash Bridge "Works, sundry debtors, quarterly accounts . . . 5,000 
 
 "Works in progress -^estimated amount due 12,000 
 
 Surplus securities in hands of creditors, jyer contra 12,590 
 
 Estimated profit ) i > be riH-fivcd on the completion of imfinished 
 
 contracts 46,600 
 
 £186,090
 
 APPENDIX. IXXV 
 
 MKMOBAJfDUM. 
 
 The liabilities, after deducting assets at certain estimated values, 
 amount to £156,4G1 
 
 The assets, according to the statement, which is based npon rough 
 
 estimates of immediate vahie, amount to £186,090 
 
 Mr. Slare considers that the Blackwall property, consisting of 
 the freeholds, leaseholds, fixed machinery, and plant, having 
 cost £225,000 is greatly under-esthnated in the statement, and 
 that a deduction of £50,000 is amjile to cover all possible de- 
 terioration, which enlarged estimate would elTcct an increase in 
 theassetsof 75,000 
 
 £261,090 
 
 " Resolved — That a committee of five creditors be appointed, to confer and 
 advise with the official assignee, on the affairs of this estate, during the interval 
 before the choice of assignees, under the adjudication of bankruptcy, appointed to 
 take place on the 12th of October. That the following gentlemen be appointed to 
 act as the foregoing committee : — Mr. Peter Eolt, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cory, Mr. Marshall, 
 and Mr. Hunter. ' 
 
 THE ESTATE OE JklESSES. DE LISLE, JANTRIN, 
 AND DE LISLE. 
 
 The suspension of this old-established firm was made public on the 3rd of 
 October, and it excited very general regret. Occupying a high position as bankers 
 and merchants, the event was little anticipated, but there was reason to believe that 
 the interest of the creditors would be protected. Imprudent advances to a bouse in 
 Quebec, whose affairs had become involved, necessitated this step, altliough the 
 assets at the command of Messrs. De Lisle and Co. would, had they been so disposed, 
 have enabled them to continue business without immediately sacrificing their credit. 
 The house was amongst the oldest and most respectable in London, and the circum- 
 stances under which the stoppage was resolved upon appear to harmonize with the 
 reputation for honour the firm have uniformly enjoyed. It appeared that they had 
 a large balance at their banker's, as well as money at call in the bands of discount 
 brokers, and in other available quarters, to the extent of about £100,000 ; but that, 
 being involved in largeadvances inCanada,wliich assumed amore serious complexion 
 on the arrival of the American mail, they determined at once to suspend, instead of 
 risking the property of their creditors by any uncertain attempt to sustain them- 
 selves. The amount in question would, therefore, be almost immediately available 
 for a dividend, while, with regard to the general assets, the statement was that, 
 with the exception of the securities from Canada, they were of a favourable descrip- 
 tion, and would admit of a further considerable sum being realized during the 
 present year. Many years back the firm were largely engaged in trade with Buenos 
 Ayres, but their business was of a general description, and latterly they had become 
 cannected with an extensive firm at Quebec, who were involved in the American 
 panic of 1837, and who again found themselves in difficulties at the commencement 
 of the pressure in Xew York and Canada, about two years ago. On that occasion, 
 their debt to De Lisle and Co. was enormously heavy, and wms compromised upon 
 conditions which have not been fulfilled. The amount remaining due under the com- 
 promise, coupled with fresh advances which De Lisle and Co. were induced to make 
 by delusive representations, was understood to be equal to £200,000. The pros- 
 pects from this source are most likely very doubtful, and it is upon the other assets 
 only that reliance must be placed. Of Messrs. De Lisle's liabilities of £400,000, a 
 portion was said to consist of acceptances for account of parties ultimately respon- 
 sible, and who would meet them at maturity. In this way it was expected tlie total 
 will be considerably reduced, and the prospects of the direct creditors proportiouably 
 improved. 
 
 Messrs. De Lisle and Co. were also connected with the trade of Guernscv and
 
 IxXVi APPENDIX. 
 
 Jersey, and were the correspondents of some of the principal banks in those islands, 
 namely, the Gnernsey Banking Company, the Guernsey Commercial Banking Com- 
 pany, the Jersey Commercial Bank (Janvrin nnd Co.), and the Jersey Old Bank 
 (Go'dfray, Sons, and Co.) Messrs. Hankey and Co., tlie London bankers, interfered 
 for all these institutions, and honoured the draughts drawn by them on Messrs. 
 De Lisle and Co. 
 
 Annexed is the circular intimating the suspension : — 
 
 " 16, Devonshire Square, October 3. 
 " It is with feelings of deep regret that we have deemed it necessary tliis day to 
 suspend our payments. ^Large advances in Canada, and disappointment in receiving 
 remittances, have led to this painful determination, and we feel convinced that by 
 taking this course we shall best protect the interest of our creditors. 
 
 " We beg to assure those friends who liave placed securities in our hands that 
 they all remain intact, and are held at the disposal of the parties interested. 
 
 " We shall request a meeting of our creditors in a few days, of which you will 
 be duly informed ; and, relying upon your sympathy and forbearance under these 
 painful circumstances, 
 
 "We are, respectfully, your obedient, humble servants, 
 
 "De Lisle, Janvrin, and De Lisle." 
 
 FIKST MEETIKG OF CREDITORS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors was held on the 8th of October, Mr. B. Dobree pre- 
 siding. It was intimated that the proceedings were of a preliminary character, with 
 the view of obtaining temporary forbearance on tlie part of the creditors, until some 
 suggestions made by the friends of the house could be presented in a definite shape. 
 Two proposals were thought of, and the course ultimately to be followed was left to 
 the decision of the creditors. The first was the introduction of capital, if possible, 
 through the assistance of friends, the payment of 20*. in the pound, and the imme- 
 diate resumption of business. In the event of this plan failing, the next was a 
 liquidation of the estate under inspection, and the distribution of the assets as they 
 might be received. If the process of inspection be carried out, a new firm would 
 then be formed to take up the connection, which is valuable, and could, without 
 difilculty, be kept together. In this state of affairs an adjournment was moved until 
 the following Saturday, when it was expected a final ai'rangement might be come 
 to. Meanwhile the funds of the house were stated to be in perfect safety. There 
 were no figures in relation to its liabilities or assets presented on this occasion, but 
 it was mentioned that they were in an advanced state, and would be brought forward 
 at the earliest moment. The proposal for an adjournment having met the unani- 
 mous appiroval of the creditors, a substantive motion to tliat effect was passed. On 
 behalf of the Bank of British North America (represented by Mr. Gillespie and Mr. 
 Brooking), it was announced that the directors had communicated with the agents in 
 London of the Montreal and other banks connected with the dependencies of the 
 Canadian firm in which Messrs. De Lisle were interested, and that instructions have 
 been despatched abroad to ascertain that the securities were in order, and that the 
 rights of all parties were properly preserved. 
 
 THE ADJOURNED MEETING. 
 
 The adjourned meeting of the creditors was held on the 13th of October, Mr. 
 B. Dobree presiding, when the following statement was submitted by Mr. Coleman, 
 the accountant : — 
 
 " LIABILITIES. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £198,500 
 
 To creditors on account, after giving them credit for our acceptances, 
 
 which they will retire 65,600 
 
 The amount of drafts upon us at the date of suspension . . . £302,000 
 
 Of which there were for account of otlier parties who will 
 retire same, or for wliich credit has been given in the 
 preceding item 182,000 
 
 Amount expected to rank on our estate 120,000 
 
 £384,100 
 Salaries, rent- charges, and sundiy small accounts, to be paid iu full ... £1,800
 
 APPENDIX. Ixxvii 
 
 " Beyond this, Mr. W. F. De Lisle, aeting as our attorney in Canada, has 
 guaranteed eargo bills, but wJiiuli bills, we expect, will bedixly met by theacceptora 
 for whom sueli eargoes were shipped. 
 
 " He has also guaranteed the payment of local liabilities in Canada, for account 
 of Messrs. Le Mesurier, Tilstone, and Co., and John Egan and Co., the exact 
 particidars and amounts of which we are unable to state, but against which we 
 were informed that there was a larger value in tunber to cover the amount of such 
 guarantees. 
 
 " ASSETS. 
 
 By cash balances at the banter's £14,500 
 
 By cash at call 57,300 
 
 £71,800 
 
 By bills receivable 79,700 
 
 By bonds, stock and shares, estimated to produce 12,500 
 
 By sundi-y debtoi's, estimated to produce 51,000 
 
 £215,000 
 Amount of cash debt due fi-om Le Mesurier, Tilstone, 
 
 and Co £308,480 
 
 Amount of acceptances included in om' liabihties, as per 
 
 contra 111,650 
 
 £120,130 
 
 " Against tlie above, we bold the assignment of a debt due from John Egan and 
 Co. to Le Mesurier, Tilstone, and Co., of £109, (50, secured in part by a charge on 
 large plots of land, mills, and timber, at Alymer, in Lower Canada ; also a charge 
 upon all the lands and properties of Messrs. Le Mesurier, Tilstone, and Co., in 
 Lower Canada." 
 
 It was explained by the Chairman that, since the last meeting, the friends of the 
 firm had taken into consideration tlieir position, and that, upon mature reflection, 
 looking at the extent of the Canadian dependencies, it was deemed advisable to 
 recommend a liquidation under inspection. While it was proposed to distribute 
 tlie assets with all possible expedition, it was felt that the partners should be allowed 
 to carry on business, their character and credit remaining unimpeached. A divi- 
 dend of 5s. in the pound was immediately declared; a further distribution was 
 anticipated about January, and the whole of the £215,000 assets might, it was 
 thought, be realized within six to eight months of tliat period. With rejard to the 
 large claim upon Messrs. Le Mesurier, Tilstone, and Co., it was stated that every 
 endeavoiir would be made to place it in process of conversion, but that it was im- 
 possible, in the existing position of affairs, to estimate the probable return. An 
 attempt was made by Mr. H. Godfray, of Jersey, to obtain a further adjournment, 
 with the view of affording the creditors an opportunity for investigating the actual 
 condition of the accounts; but representations from Mr. Hankey, Mr. Lavie, and 
 others, respecting the impolicy of this course, induced the withdrawal of an amend- 
 ment, and the annexed resolutions were unanimously agreed to. Mr. Brookijg, as 
 representing the Bank of British North America, intimated that every care would 
 be taken to protect the interest of the estate in connection with the Canadian 
 dependencies. In the course of the proceedings, sympathy was expressed for the 
 position of the partners, whose future career, it is hoped, will be successful. 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. De Lisle, Janvrin, and De Lisle, at 
 their counting-house, Devonshire Square, on Saturday, the 13th of October, 1855, 
 Mr. B. Dobree in the chair, a statement of the liabilities and assets was read. It 
 was proposed and seconded, and resolved — 
 
 "First, that it is the opinion of the meeting that the affairs of the house should 
 be liquidated under inspectorship, and that the following gentlemen be the 
 inspectors : — Mr. T. H. Brooking, Mr. Bonamy Dobree, Mr. D. Meinhertzhagen, 
 and Mr. J. Whateley. 
 
 "Secondly, that a dividend of 5?. in the pound be at once declared, and be 
 payable on and after Saturday, the 27th of October. 
 
 " Thirdly, that a proper deed of inspectorship be prepared under the approval of 
 the inspectors, and be executed by and on behalf of each creditor, on or before 
 payment of the dividend.
 
 IxSViii APPENDIX. 
 
 " Fourthly, that such deeds shall contain covenants by the partners to liquidate 
 the affairs of the house, according to the rules of administration adopted in bank- 
 ruptcy, aud covenants by the creditors not to sue, which shall operate as a release, 
 upon the inspectors certifying that the liquidation Las proceeded sufficiently, and 
 upon tlie partners executing an assignment of any remaining assets to trustees for 
 distribution among the creditors. 
 
 " Fifthly, that such deed shall be a deed of arrangement -within the meaning of 
 the 224th section of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, and the 228th section 
 shall be applicable thei-eto. 
 
 "Sixthly, that the inspectors shall have power to make the partners such allow- 
 ances as they may think fit for their services. 
 
 "Seventhly, that the partners be at liberty to transact business on their own 
 account on their covenanting, in the inspectorship-deed, not to use, either directly 
 or indirectly, any of the existing assets of the firm, and to incur no new engage- 
 ments which could, by any possibility, be thrown on the existing assets." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. STEAHAN, PAUL, AND BATES. 
 
 The following is the report prepared by Mr. Turquand, the accountant, of Old 
 Jewry Chambers, on the affairs of this estate, together with a copy of the joint 
 balance-sheet : — 
 
 "13, Old Jewry Chambers, Dec. 10. 
 
 " To THE Assignees of the Estate of Messbs. Stbahan, Paul, and Bates. 
 
 " Gentlemen,— I beg to make the following report of my investigation of the 
 books and accounts of Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and Bates : — 
 
 " Eepokt. 
 
 " The bank of Messrs. Strahan and Co. was one of the oldest on record, dating its 
 origin from the early part of the reign of Cliarles II. At the time of the bank- 
 ruptcy, the firm consisted of William Strahan, Sir John Dean Paul, and Robert 
 Makin Bates. Sir John Dean Paul (then Mr. Paul) became a nominal partner in 
 1823, taking no share of the profits until the death of his father, the late Sir John 
 Dean Paul, in January, 1852. The firm was composed of Robert Snow, Sir J. D. 
 Paul, and J. D. Paul. "William Strahan (who had changed his name from Snow on 
 inheriting a very considerable property from an uncle in 1831) joined the above 
 firm with his brother, Robert Snow, in 1832. Robert Snow, sen., died in 1835. 
 Robert Sni:w, the younger, retired from the bank in 1841, and in January, 1842, 
 Robert Makin Bates, who had for many years been a confidential clerk in the bank, 
 became a nominal partner at a salary of £800 per annum, subsequently raised to 
 £1,000 per annum, without any share in the profits. It is not necessary, for the 
 purpose of elucidating the present position of the bank, to go further back than the 
 partnership of Robert Snow, William Sandb}', and John Dean Paul, formed in 1813. 
 On the death of Mr. Sandby, in 1816, the partners were indebted to the bank in a 
 sum of £29,000, which was apportioned in tlie following manner : — Robert Snow, 
 £16,681 2y. O'J.; Wm. Sandby, £8,989 2s. 6ci.; John Dean Paul, £3,329 14s. 9d. 
 Total. £29,000. 
 
 " The debt of William Sandby was paid off by his executors by the end of the 
 year 1826. At that period the debt due by the remaining partners had increased 
 to £53,600, which was apportioned in the fol'owing manner: — Robert Snow, 
 £36,319 106-. M. ; the late Sir J. D. Paul, £17,280 9*. 3d. Total, £53,600. This 
 debt was represented by a joint note of the two. By an arrangement between 
 themselves, and acquiesced in by succeeding partners, the amount was to be con- 
 sidered as a debt due to the bank, to be gradually liquidated by a certain portion 
 being carried every year to profit aud loss. By this means, at the death of the late 
 Sir .J. D. Paul, the amount had been reduced to £28,500, and at the date of the 
 bankruptcy had been further reduced to the sum of £23,500. 
 
 "The balance-sheet now filed commenced on the 31st of December, 1851, show- 
 ing a deficiency of £71,990 7s. 2cL 
 
 " Deducting the amount then standing to the credit of William Strahan's capital 
 account, £10,330 6s. Id., less the amounts to the debit of the present Sir J. D. Paul,
 
 APPENDIX. Ixxix 
 
 £213 13.S-. Sd., and R. M. Bates (loan) £3,669 4s. 4,i. (£3,882 18s.), £6,447 8s. Id., 
 left an actual deficiency between assets and liabilities of £65,542 IDs. Id. 
 
 " This deficiency appears to have been composed of the Ibllowinpj items, 
 viz.: — Balance due on joint note, £28,500; debt due by the late Sir J. D. Paul, 
 £35,477 12a-. Irf., less balance of subsequent receipts and payments to the credit of 
 his account, £10,084 15«. Bd. ; total, £25,392 16,*. M. ; bad and doubtful debts not 
 written oft', £2,446 ; bad and doubtful debts, Halford and Co., £15,705 12.s. 8d. ; 
 estimated loss on valuation of bank assets, £4,369 1*. Gd. ; total, £76,413 10s. 10(/. 
 
 "Deduct — Amount standing to credit of balances written off as unclaimed, 
 £4,073 4y. \d. ; llalford and Co., alleged surplus, as shown by books, £349 19s. Id. ; 
 balance to credit of partners' accounts, £6,447 8s. 1(^. (£10,870 lis. Qd.) Total, 
 £65,542 19s. Id. 
 
 " It should be remarked that there is one item included in the assets at its full 
 amount, the actual value of which would materially affect the above position, and 
 that is a sum appearing to the debit of Lord Mostyn, of i92,001 16s. \Qd, Between 
 the yeai's 1848 and 1850, large advances had been made, and in January, 1850, a 
 lease of the property known as the Mostyn Colliery was granted by Lord Mostyn to 
 the bank, to secure a sum of i;67,541 14s. 8(^. then due by him. 
 
 " The colliery required very considerable outlay to bring it into a productive 
 condition, and upwards of i'45,000 was so expended by the bank; with this expen- 
 diture, and arrears of interest, the amount to the debit of the account at the time of 
 bankruptcy was £134,940 17s. 1^. The colliery had thus been brought into a pro- 
 ductive state, yielding, however, only sufficient to cover expenses, and to pay 
 interest on a sum of ±'45,000, which had been borrowed by the bank on the security 
 of the lease, to meet the necessary outlay. Taking the amount thus borrowed as an 
 indication of the value of the asset, the deficiency of the bank would be increased 
 to about £110,000. At this date, however, William Strahan was possessed of unen- 
 cumbered private property to the extent of upwards of £100,000, iSir J. D. Paul 
 about £30,000, and E. M. Bates about sufficient to cover his debt to the bank — say, 
 £30U0. Taking into consideration the security thus afforded to customers by the 
 value of the private property, it might be inferred the bank would, with care and 
 prudence, have recovered its position. The unfortunate connection, however, with 
 Messrs. J. 11. and E. F. Gandell, commencing in 1852, and resulting at the date of 
 the bankruptcy in a debt to the hank of £269,382 3s. 5J., with liabilities in addi- 
 tion on their account to the extent of £103,870, coupled with the already heavy 
 withdrawal of capital in respect of Lord Mostyn's debt and the Mostyn Colliery, 
 may be fairly looked upon as the causes which brought about the disastrous 
 failure of the bank. 
 
 "Messrs. Strahan and Co. were induced, by the representations made to them by 
 Messrs. Gandell, to advance from time to time large sums of money for the purpose 
 of enabling them to carry out certain contracts for the construction of railways in 
 France and Italy, and for the drainage of the Lake Capestang, situated in the south 
 of France. The profit to be derived by Messrs. Strahan in the transactions was five 
 per cent, interest on money advanced, \ per cent, commission on all pay- 
 ments made by them, and the payment of a debt of £1800, considered bad, due by 
 J. H. Gandell to the bank in 1850. 
 
 " The debt to the bank (for which no tangible security was held) soon assumed 
 such gigantic dimensions, and Messrs. Gandell's affairs were found to be in that condi- 
 tion, that Messrs. Strahan imagined they had no alternative left but to continue their 
 advances for the purpose of maintaining Messrs. Gandell in a position to carry on 
 the various contracts, the completion of which was looked to as the source whence 
 the vast sums advanced were to be recovered. 
 
 " The time arrived when the resources of the bank were no longer able to meet 
 this constant drain upon it. Acceptances were then given, and other heavy jicrio- 
 dical liabilities incurred for the purpose of providing the required funds. These last 
 acts appear to have led to the most distressing feature of this case; almost the whole 
 property of the bank had been pledged, and Mr. Strahan's private estate was resorted 
 to for the same purpose; the large sums so raised had disappeared, and there was no 
 alternative but tho payment of the acceptances and other liabilities as they fell due, 
 or bankruptcy. In tlie vain hope that the anticipated funds would yet be forth- 
 coming in time to avert the impending rum, recourse was had to those means of 
 raising funds, the consequences of whicli are now being visited on the bankrupts. 
 The nature and extent of the securities held by the assignees in respect of the debt 
 due by Messrs. Gandell are detailed iu the balance-sheet.
 
 IXXX APPENDIX. 
 
 " The present deficiency of the bank is as follo-ws : — 
 
 Liabihties £652,593 15 
 
 Estimated assets 127,670 16 7 
 
 Deficiency £524,922 18 5 
 
 "It win be seen, by referring to the items composing this deficiency, as set forth 
 in the balance-sheet, that the sums involved in the transactions with Messrs. Gaudell 
 and Co. and Lord Mostyn amount to upwards of £483,000 of the whole amount. 
 Time has not permitted tlie completion of the balance-sheets of the separate estates, 
 but they will be filed as expeditiuusly as possible. The position of the bankrupts' 
 personal accounts with the bank at the lime of its failure is, however, shown on the 
 face of the joint balance-sheet now filed. 
 
 "I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 
 
 " w. tuequand." 
 
 Baiance-sheet of Messes. Stbahan, Pat:!/, and Bates. 
 
 BEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors imsecured £411,210 15 4 
 
 To creditors of Halford and Co 26,800 16 4 
 
 Creditors for securities sold £15,964 6 
 
 Ditto pledged 94,911 7 8 
 
 Ditto belonging to customers of Halford and Co. 12,802 17 
 
 123,678 10 8 
 Deduct amounts for wliich cei-tam of the above 
 
 parties are debtors, or hold secm'ity 13,221 12 4 
 
 110,456 18 4 
 
 Creditors holding secm-ity fully covered, per 
 
 contra 184,889 12 11 
 
 Ditto partly covered 12,935 5 
 
 Deduct estimated value of securities held 12,680 
 
 255 5 
 
 CrecMtors for advances on pledged securities 
 
 per contra 100,109 17 4 
 
 Creditors who issued extents, and were paid in 
 
 fuU, deducted from assets, jper cowira 3,599 2 1 
 
 Liabihties on account of Messrs. Gandell 103,870 
 
 Profitnet 31,304 1 6 
 
 To W. Strahan — Balance to his credit after 
 
 deductmg amount di-awii out by him for 
 
 private expenditure 17,101 14 3 
 
 Sir J. D. Paul, ditto 772 12 3 
 
 W. Strahan — For separate property held Ijy 
 
 creditors of bank 70,457 
 
 Amomit requu-ed to cover then- clauns 32,673 4 
 
 £734,745 7 3 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By debtors — Strahan and Co., considered good £76,536 14 1 
 
 Ualford and Co., ditto 22,484 2 8 
 
 Doubtful and bad £28,298 13 3 
 
 Ditto, Gandell and Co £289,382 3 5 
 
 Less purchase money of 
 
 Capestang Lake 20,000 
 
 269,382 3 5 
 
 Carried forward £99,020 16 9
 
 APPENDIX. Jxxxi 
 
 Brought forward £99,020 10 4 
 
 Ditto, Lord Mostjn £134,9 10 17 1 
 
 Deduct proportion of debt 
 
 mortgaged 44,967 3 4 
 
 89,973 13 9 
 
 Property unencumbered, viz. :— Shares £1,333 15 
 
 Lifepolicies 12,315 13 
 
 Freehold and leasehold 2,500 
 
 Exchequer bills 300 
 
 Capestang Lake, not carried out — the expendi- 
 ture required to complete the drainage and 
 other incidental circumstances rendermg the 
 value of this property imcertain £20,000 
 
 By cash in hand, 11th of June 
 
 By bills receivable 
 
 By cash at the Bank of England 
 
 19,419 8 
 
 Deduct creditors paid in full ;^er contra . 
 
 1,767 2 
 9,949 3 
 
 83 8 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 
 
 11,799 13 
 3,599 11 
 
 11 
 8 
 
 By debtors, the securities representing which 
 
 are held by creditors £69,343 13 10 
 
 By property of bank held by creditors 96,996 16 
 
 Ditto of Wilham Strahan, held 
 
 by joint creditors £70,457 
 
 Amount required to cover their claims 32,673 4 
 
 8,200 12 3 
 
 £199,013 13 10 
 Deduct amount held by creditors, partly 
 
 covered 12,680 
 
 Leaving do. held by do. fully do £186,333 13 10 
 
 Deduct amount of claims of creditors fuUy 
 
 covered 184,889 12 11 
 
 Balance available for estate £1,444 11 
 
 Considered as a good asset in respect of one 
 
 security to the extent of 1,000 
 
 The residue is not earned out, being subject to deduction for 
 
 interest accruing due on creditors' claims. 
 
 Total amount of assets considered good 127,670 16 7 
 
 By securities pledged, belonging to customers 
 
 of the bank £94,911 7 8 
 
 Ditto, Halford and Co 12,802 17 
 
 107,714 4 8 
 Deduct amoimt so bon'o wed, £100,109 17 4 
 Less value of Exchequer- 
 bills belonging to bank 
 
 included 2,819 12 
 
 97,290 5 4 
 
 £10,423 19 4 
 This balance is not carried out as an asset, being subject to 
 the question as to the right of the assignees and of the parties 
 to whom the securities belonged. 
 
 By deficiency, December 31, 1851 71,991 7 2 
 
 By amounts not carried out above, viz. : — 
 'Doubtful and bad debts 28,298 18 3 
 
 Carried forward £227,961 2 
 
 V
 
 Ixxxii APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought foi-ward £227,961 2 
 
 Gandell and Co.'s debts 269,382 3 5 
 
 Lord Most vn's balance 89,973 13 9 
 
 Capestang Lake 20,000 
 
 Surplus value of property held by creditors 
 
 as security ' £1,444 Oil 
 
 Considered a good asset only for 1,000 
 
 444 11 
 
 Surplus value of customers' securities pledged 10,422 19 4 
 
 By K. M. Bates's salary 5,750 
 
 Balance to his debit" 4,381 7 10 
 
 Sh" J. D. Paul (deceased), proportion of profit credited hiin in 
 
 1852, written back 4,560 
 
 JjiahUitiea per contra 103,870 
 
 £734,745 7 3 
 
 SEPARATE ESTATES OF MESSES. STRAHAN, PAUL, A:N'D BATES. 
 
 [I?HE Separate Estate of William Steaha>-, from January 1, 1852, 
 TO June 11, 1855. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £659 3 10 
 
 To creditors holding security 2,760 
 
 To liabilities on account of bank 134,008 11 8 
 
 To habihties as co-trustee with Sir J. D. Paid 17,231 10 7 
 
 To income 15,458 13 4 
 
 To share of profits of bank passed to my credit 
 
 in 1852 £5,700 
 
 To ditto in 1853 7,700 
 
 To ditto in 1854 7,0C0 
 
 20,400 
 
 Surplus assets on the 1st of January, 1852 128,048 2 
 
 £318,566 1 5 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By debtors (good) £1,471 6 
 
 By ditto (doubtfid) 774 16 10 
 
 By property unenciunbered : — 
 
 Sundi-ies 12,059 16 7 
 
 Shares 4,376 10 
 
 Reversionary interest 400 
 
 By property held as security by private creditors 2,760 
 
 By property, seciu-ity to creditors of bank 70,457 
 
 By expenses, including improvements at Ashm-st, and expendi- 
 diture on faniis : — 
 
 Expenditure £14,956 8 9 
 
 Improvements, etc 8,551 11 7 
 
 23,508 4 
 
 By annuity paid R. Snow 1,753 17 1 
 
 By losses." 11,962 18 1 
 
 By Strahan and Co. : — 
 
 As per joint balance-sheet £17,401 14 3 
 
 Add share of profits 20,400 
 
 • 37,801 14 3 
 
 By liabilities ^er coK/ra 151,240 2 3 
 
 £318,566 1 5
 
 APPENDIX. IxXXiii 
 
 Separate Estate Balance-sheet of Sir Joay Dean Pai^l, Bakt. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unseciu-ed £23,402 11 6 
 
 To creditors holding security fidly covered £14,500 
 
 To creditors holding security partly covered .. . 15,000 
 
 Less value of security 1,188 9 
 
 ■ 13,811 11 
 
 To habilities on account of bank 134,008 11 8 
 
 To habihties as ti-ustee, etc 20,880 1 3 
 
 To income 3,546 9 2 
 
 To share of profits of bank passed to my credit 
 
 in 1853 £3,300 
 
 To ditto in 1854 3,000 
 
 6,300 
 
 To surplus of assets on tlic 1st of January, 1852 14,757 11 
 
 £216,706 18 7 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bv debtors (good) £2,241 4 
 
 By ditto (doubtful) 10 
 
 By property 9,306 19 
 
 By property held as security by creditors fully 
 
 covered £20,400 
 
 Deduct amomit of their claims 1 1, 500 
 
 5,900 
 
 By expenses 17,175 11 9 
 
 By allowance to my son and other members of 
 
 my family, etc 11,726 2 9 
 
 By losses 8,395 16 1 
 
 By Strahan and Co., as per joint balance-sheet £772 12 3 
 
 'For share of profit 6,300 
 
 7,072 12 3 
 
 By habilities jw co»//-« 154,888 12 9 
 
 £216,706 18 7 
 
 The Separ-Vte Estate of Kobert Makin Bates. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors £85 3 7 
 
 To Strahan and Co 4,381 7 10 
 
 To income 4,405 2 10 
 
 To surplus of assets over Habilities, January 1, 1852 729 10 8 
 
 To liabihties on account of bank 134,008 11 8 
 
 To ditto, as co-trustee with Sir J. D. Paul 4,336 12 1 
 
 £147,946 8 8 
 
 creditor. 
 
 Byproperty £1,903 3 7 
 
 By expenses 4,156 11 6 
 
 Bylosses 2,793 3 2 
 
 By interest to Strahan and Co 448 6 8 
 
 By liabihties ^pr cowi^ra 138,345 3 9 
 
 £147,946 8 8 
 
 Eepokt on Separate BALAKCE-snEETS. 
 
 " The separate balance-sheets commence on the 1st of January, 1852. In the 
 report made on the 11th of December last, upon the joint balance- sheet, the surplus
 
 Ixxxiv APPENDIX. 
 
 private property of the partners was estimated to have teen as follows, on the 1st of 
 January, 1852, viz. : — 
 
 W. Strahan £100,000 
 
 SirJ. D.Paul 30,000 
 
 E. M. Bates Nil. 
 
 " On making up tlie balauco-shects, the ascertained amounts are as follows : — 
 
 W. Strahan £128,048 2 
 
 Sh-J.D.Patil 14,757 14 2 
 
 E.M.Bates 72 1 8 
 
 At tlie date of the bankraptey, the creditors of W. Strahan 
 
 amoimtedto .' 3,419 3 10 
 
 The assets amoimted to 92,299 9 5 
 
 Of which £70,457 are held as security by bank creditors. 
 
 The creditors of Sir J. D. Paul, seciu'cd as well as imseciu'ed, 
 
 amountedto 52,902 11 6 
 
 The assets, including property held as secui'ity, to 31,958 3 
 
 The creditors of E. M. Bates, including debt due to the bank, 
 
 amounted to 4,466 5 
 
 The assets amoimted to 1,903 3 7 
 
 " It will be seen, on reference to the balance-slieets, tliat liabilities arising out of 
 bank transactions, to the amount of upwards of £164,000, have ranked against the 
 assets of the separate estates, independently of sundry liabilities in respect of trust 
 funds. 
 
 " During the period embraced by the balance-sheets, the amounts paid into the 
 bank by William Strahan and SirJ. D. Paul exceed the sums drawn out by them. 
 In the case of William Strahan, such amount was supplied from his private estate ; 
 in the case of Sir John D. Paul, partly from the sale of his private property, and 
 partly from moneys in respect of which parties are now creditors on his sep.'Tate 
 estate. " Wii. Tokquand." 
 
 SUSPENSIONS IN 1856. 
 
 Jan. Messrs. Palmer and Greene, Lichfield, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. G. Greig and Co., London, the Cape trade. 
 
 ], Mr. W. Schenck, London, Dutch and Newfoundland trade. 
 
 ,, Messrs. IlifTe and Co., Birmingham, button manufacturers. 
 
 J, Messrs. Bruce and Kerr, Leith, corn factors. 
 
 „ Messrs. R. Clarke and Sons, Manchester, manufacturers. 
 
 Feb. Messrs. J. Scott Eussell and Co., London, marine engineers. 
 
 „ Tippurary Joint-Stock Bank, Ireland, bankers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cliambers and EUwood, London, wine trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Cuylitz, Simond, and Co., London, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. C. Leno and Co., London, corn trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Schafer and Brown, London, general merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. A. Jackson and Son, Glasgow, corn trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. E. Clarke and Sons, Manchester, manufactiirers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bacon, Price, and Co., Philadelphia, coal trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Rockwood and Co., Springfield, dry goods trade. 
 
 „ Mr. H. W. Bigelow, Cliicago, dry goods trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Aspinall, Mackenzie, and Co., Shanghae, tea trade. 
 
 Mar. Messrs. Bohtlingk and Co., Liverpool, tallow trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. W. and S. Richardson, New York, hemp dealers, etc. 
 
 „ Messrs. II. M. Marlcy and Co., L-indon, silk brokers. 
 
 April. Messrs. Syers, Walker, and Co., London, East India trade. 
 
 „ Me."srs. W. 0. Young and Co., London, ship owners and merchants.
 
 APPKNDIX. IXXXV 
 
 April. Messrs. Saiimlers and Harrison, London, seed crushers nnd oil refiners. 
 
 „ Mr. Thomas Harrison, London, ship owner. 
 
 „ Messrs. WooIIett and Nephew, London, sliip brokers. 
 
 June. Messrs. Edward 15ilton and Co., Newcastle, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Louis and Mier, IMrmingham, American trade. 
 
 July. Messrs. Alie, Grand, and Co., Paris, bankers. 
 
 „ Mr. J. Niinns, Liverpool, cotton broker. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Marzetti and Sons, London, merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Wright and Co., Stockport, manufacturers. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Lowe and Lawes, Manchester, manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Baxter and Co., Manchester, manufacturers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Reed and Sadler, Bristol, spirit mercharts. 
 
 „ Mi'ssrs. S. Adams and Co., Hertford, bankers. 
 
 Aug. Messrs. Pickford and Keene, London, American merchants. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Courtenay, Kingsford, and Co , London, American merchants. 
 
 „ Messrs. Smith aiui Whittiiigstiill, Hemel-Hempstead and Watford, bankers. 
 
 „ The Newcastle-on-Tyne Commercial Bank. 
 
 Sept. Messrs. MLarty and Lamont, Liverpool, Australian trade. 
 
 „ The Royal British Bank, London. 
 
 „ Mr. G. P. Simcox, Kidderminster, weaver. 
 
 ,, Mr. J. Shawcross, Manchester, yarn agent. 
 
 Oct. Messrs. T. and H. G. Gray and Co., London, colonial brokers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Mason, Collins, and Co., New York, grain trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Ward, Badcock, and Riggs, New York, importers ot' dry goods. 
 
 ,, Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co., London and Birmingham, contractors. 
 
 Nov. Mes=rs. John Dick and Co., Glasgow, thread spinners. 
 
 „ Mr. Jobson, Birmingham, iron founder. 
 
 „ Mr. Dwight, jun., Boston (U. S.), cutton merchant. 
 
 „ Messrs. Suydam, Reed, and Co., New York, flour trade. 
 
 „ Mr. T. Parry, New York, flour trade. 
 
 „ Messrs. Freemau and Bright, New York, dry goods importers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Watson, Carter, and Co., New York, dry goods importers. 
 
 „ Messrs. Bateman and Ruderrow, New York, turpentine trade. 
 
 Dec. Messrs. Kidd and Co.. Hull, seed trade. 
 
 „ Kidderminster Bank (Messrs. Gotcli and Co.), Kidderminster, bankers. 
 
 ,, Mr. R. Johnson, London, warehouseman. 
 
 „ Messrs. G. Ashworth and Co., Manchester, manufacturers. 
 
 ,, Mr. J. Little, New York, banker and stock operator. 
 
 „ Messrs. Henslow and Sons, Boston, bankers and stock operators. 
 
 „ Mr. — Dugard, Birmingham, carriage lamp manufacturer. 
 
 „ Mr. T. A. Pervanoglu, London, Greek trade. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. J. SCOTT EUSSELL AND CO. 
 
 The suspension of Mes-^^rs. John Scott Russell and Co., the firm at whose works 
 at Millwall the great ship for the Eastern Steam Navigation Company was con- 
 structed, was announced on the 4th of February, 1856. Their liabilities were 
 stated to amount to £130,000, and the value of their assets depended much upon 
 the success of arrangements in progress to prevent the abandonment of some of 
 their principal contracts. The following circular was issued by the Louse, calling 
 a meeting of their creditors, for the 15th of February : — 
 
 "Millwall Works, Feb. 4. 
 
 <iSiB_It is with deep regret that we have to inform you of our inability to 
 
 fulfil our engagements as they severally become due, and have, therefore, to solicit 
 
 tho favour of y'our attendance at a meeting to be held on Tuesday, the 12th inst., 
 
 at noon, punctually, at tho GuildlmU Coffee-house, King Street, Cheapside, to con-
 
 IxXXvi APPENDIX. 
 
 siJcr of and determine upon tlie most effectual and speedy mode of settlement ; and 
 we trust that the energies which will be exercised during the week will enable us to 
 place before you a project for effecting the before-mentioned purposes, which will, 
 under all circumstances, be considered satisfactory. 
 
 " "We are, sir, yours obediently, 
 
 "J. Scott Russell and Co." 
 
 THE MEETING OF CEEDITOES. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. J. Scott Rnssell and Co., of Millwall, who 
 suspended on the 4th inst., was held on tlie 12th of February, Mr. S. Beale in the 
 chair, when the following statement was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman : — 
 
 Statemext of the Affairs of Jonx Scott Eussell and Co., of Millwall, 
 LiMEnousE, and Great G-eorqe Street, Westminster, Marine Steam 
 Engineers, etc., February 4. 
 
 liabilities. 
 
 To creditors on open balances and acceptances £113,940 19 10 
 
 To creditors holding security £15,000 
 
 To esthnated value of security held 6,000 
 
 — 9,000 
 
 *£122,940 19 10 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 By cash balance £159 3 8 
 
 By book debts considei-ed good 12,800 
 
 By assets, consistmg of materials, engines, etc., at works 28,002 8 8 
 
 Ditto, Mr. E-ussell' s mterest in various ships 40,000 
 
 Ditto, contracts for vessels and machinevy now constructing 19,392 
 
 £100,353 12 4 
 
 By debts under £10 118 5 
 
 t£100,235 11 11 
 
 With reference to the cause of suspension, it was explained by Mr. J. Freshfield 
 that Mr. Russell was originally in partnership with Mr. Robinson, but that in 1852 
 the latter retired, and Mr. Russell assumed the whole control of the business. Being 
 then supported by the late Mr. Geach, he considered himself justified in extending 
 his operations, and, having taken the contract for building tlie large vessel for the 
 Fjastern Steam Navigation ComjJany, he believed he was proceeding prosperously. 
 A fire, however, occurred on the premises at Millwall in 1853, which destroyed a 
 considerable amount of jn-operty, and impeded the works; but, although a consulta- 
 tion was then lield witii regard to the position of the firm, Mr. Geacli appeared 
 satisfied tliat Mr. Russell was justified in continuing operations. Tlie capital being 
 principally borrowed, and tlie premises heavily mortgaged, tlie Governiiu'iit con- 
 tracts and other works, although profitable, required extended means; but, owing to 
 the altered state of the money-maiket, it was impossible to provide sufKcient to 
 meet current engagements, and, under these circumstances, Mr. Rnssell thought it 
 prudent to suspend, and place liis affairs in the hands of his creditors. It was 
 believed that, if an arrangement couhl be made for carrying on the Government 
 contracts, and some of the other works, the mortgagees would allow the use of tlie 
 promises; and the creditors, by adopting the mode of liquidating under inspection, 
 
 • The Eastern Steam Navigation Company reserve their right of any claim which they may 
 establish on the estate for breach of contract, m case a satisfactory arrangement cannot be carrie'd 
 out witli tlioin. 
 
 t Bv shares in the Eastern Navigation Compaiiv, uiion which calls have lieen paid, amounting 
 to £22,110. 1 .' i e
 
 APPENDIX. IxXXvii 
 
 could thus avail themselves of advantages wliicli would probably lead to an increased 
 dividend, and prevent the sacrifice which otherwise must ensue. According to tlie 
 statement of accounts, which had been carefully examined, the assets showed about 
 15.V. in the pound, 10s. of which, it was believed, might be realized about June, 
 leaving the balance opeji to contingencies, the result of which could not be safely 
 estimated. Should the necessary preliminaries with the mortgagees and the Eastern 
 Steam Company be completed, the maintenance of the establishment would prove 
 more beneficial to the whole of the parties interested than any other course. Mr. 
 Coleman confirmed the statement of Mr. Freshfield, in relation to a payment of 10«. 
 at the period mentioned, and expressed an opinion that tlie Government contracts, 
 and some of the other w-orks in hand, could be steadily proceeded with. In answer 
 to questions, it was mentioned that it is not proposed to continue the construction 
 of the leviathan vessel of tlie Eastern Steam Company, the contract passing to the 
 management of the directors. Up to the present time no loss had been sustained in 
 connection with that steamer; but, if the work were continued, it would no doubt 
 exhibit an unfavourable result. Looking at the whole of the property, although it 
 now showed this deficiency, Mr. Russell liad not, apparently, formed too sanguine 
 an estimate of his position, since it was necessary to make allowance for the 
 difference between the value of buildings, machinery, etc., when taken at cost price, 
 and the amount likely to be obtained for them when brought into the public 
 market. After some discussion, a series of resolutions, embodying the opinions of 
 the meeting, was carried. Some of the creditors recommended that tlie entire 
 management should be left to Mr. Scott Russell, but Mr. Freshfield said that, how- 
 ever encouraging such a compliment might appear, it would be necessary, for the 
 general interests of the creditors, to follow out the scheme as presented. Annexed 
 are the resolutions : — 
 
 "At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. John Scott Russell and Co., at the 
 Guildhall Coffee-house, on Tuesday, the 12th day of February, 1856 — Mr. Samuel 
 Beale in the chair — Mr. Coleman, the accountant, produced and read to the meeting 
 a statement of the liabilities and assets. 
 
 "It was proposed and seconded, and resolved unanimously: — 
 
 " 1. That it is the opinion of the meeting that the affairs of the house should be 
 liquidated under inspectorship, and that the following gentlemen be the inspectors: 
 — Mr. Samuel Beale, Mr. Thomas D. Grissell, and Mr. John Jones. 
 
 " 2. That the inspectors be authorized to enter into arrangements for completing 
 the pending contracts and works on hand, and to employ the funds of the estate for 
 the purpose, and pledge the stock and assets of the estate, if necessary, to raise 
 money for the purpose, but not so as to subject the creditors, individually, to 
 liability; also to make arrangement with the mortgagees for the use of the 
 premises and plant, and to employ Mr. Russell, if they shall think fit, in these 
 matters. 
 
 " 3. That a proper deed of inspectorship be prepared under the approval of the 
 inspectors, and be executed by or on behalf of each creditor, as soon as prepared, of 
 which due notice shall be given. 
 
 " 4. That such deed shall contain covenants by Mr. Russell to devote his whole 
 time and attention, under the direction of the inspectors, for so long as shall be 
 necessary to complete the works and contracts in hand, to liquidate the affairs of the 
 house according to the rules of administration adopted in bankruptcy, as if bank- 
 ruptcy had taken place this day; and covenants by the creditors not to sue, which 
 shall operate as a release upon the inspectors certifying that the liquidation has pro- 
 ceeded sufficiently, and upon Mr. Russell executing an assignment of any remaining 
 assets to trustees for distribution among the creditors. 
 
 "5. That such deed sli.all be a deed of arrangement within the meaning of the 
 224th section of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, and the 228th section shall be 
 applicable thereto. 
 
 " 6. That the inspectors shall have power to make Mr. Russell such allowance as 
 they may think fit for his services. 
 
 " S. Beale, Chairman."
 
 IxXXviii AITLNDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. STEES, WALKEE, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Syers, Walker, and Co., largely engaged 
 in the East India trade, wlio failed on the 4th April, 1856, was held 30th April, Mr. 
 A. Warner presiding, when the following statement was submitted by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, tlie accountant : — 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £12,737 
 
 To creditors on bills payable not secured £56,450 
 
 Less expected to be retii'ed by the parties for 
 
 whose account they were accepted 6,200 
 
 50,250 
 
 Creditors on bills payable partly secured 92,846 
 
 Estunated value of goods hypothecated 65,647 
 
 27,199 
 
 Creditors on bills payable fully secured— 
 
 Estimated value of goods hypothecated 55,273 
 
 Amount of biUs 50,748 
 
 Toconfra 4,525 
 
 Liabihties on bills receivable 199,192 
 
 Of which it is expectsd there will be didy 
 
 honoiu-ed 142,440 
 
 56,752 
 Less cash balance in the hands of Robarts 
 
 andCo 619 
 
 56,133 
 
 £146.319 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash balance in hand £1,504 
 
 'Debtors, good 7,262 
 
 Do., doubtful, £1,975 
 
 Bills receivable on hand, ofSce fm-niture, etc 204 
 
 Estimated profits on charters 5,000 
 
 Bills of lading in hand, valued at 1,000 
 
 Balances on consignments, esthnatcd at 20,273 
 
 Sui'plus fi'om goods hypothecated against bills payable per 
 contra, £4,525. 
 
 £35,243 
 
 Lees amounts under £10, rents, rates, etc 232 
 
 £35,011 
 
 It was explained that, although this account cm only he viewed as a prelimi- 
 nary statement, it di.'^closes with sufilcient accuracy the position of the estate. The 
 principal losses liave been incurred through the lirm lieing large holders ol"]iroduce, 
 including rice, linseed, and jute; in addition to whicli there are bad debts and 
 liabilities on bills. Allowing for the surplus of .£4,500 from goods hypotliecated 
 against bills payable, tlie total indebtedness is about i'141,000, to meet which the 
 iissets represent A35,000. Of this latter amount, upwards of £20,000 is receivable 
 from two firms in India, whose means are stated to be unquestioned, while the re- 
 mainder is believed to have been estimated with a due regard to contingencies. In 
 November last the produce the house was interested in .'diowed at the prices of the 
 day a large sui'plus, but the subsequent decline has been ruinous. Before the ex- 
 tent of their misfortunes became apparent they obtained bank credits for a con- 
 siderubhi sum, and sent out orders to India for indigo, cotton, and other ariicdes, 
 which were likely to be influenced favourably by the prospect of peace. The
 
 AITENDIX. Ixxxix 
 
 markets meanwhile advanced; and as their limits could not be Ailfillcd, the profit 
 which they hoped to obtain from this source to meet their engagements or reduce 
 their other losses was not realized. In answer to questions, it was mentioned that 
 the trading of the firm conituenced in 1851, Mr. M. Syers being joined by Mr. 
 Walker, who brought in about £2,000. Mr. M. Syers possessed no capital beyond a 
 claim on the residue of an estate in liquidation, the accounts of which have not yet 
 been completed. Mr. D. Syers became connecteil with the firm in 1854, and intro- 
 duced i;4000 capital. The drawings of the partners have been moderate, but no 
 balance has been regularly struck. Had the war continued, and produce maintained 
 its price, they would have been enabled, it is alleged, to meet the whole of their 
 engagements. Tlie bill transactions with Mr. W. 0. Young were originally based 
 on mercantile transactions, but they latterly increased, and now show a large total. 
 The great deficiency was a topic of comment, but it was stated that the books will 
 exhibit the whole of the losses. With regard to the ultimate winding-up, it was 
 intimated that Messrs. Syers and Co, are quite prepared to adopt any measures 
 wliich may suit the convenience of the creditors, either through inspection, a com- 
 position, or, if necessary, immediate submission to bankruptcy. On this point there 
 was a protracted discussion, and the feeling appeared to be in favour of a composi- 
 tion, if the payment could be in some measure secured. It was stated that, con- 
 sidering various contingencies, Messrs. Syers, with the assistance of friends here and 
 in India, may bo enabled to pay 4$. in the pound, in instalments extending over 
 twelve months, and after some conversation, the following residution was carried, 
 appointing a committee to investigate the accounts, and to consider the proposal: — 
 " Resolved — That a committee of five be appointed for the purpose of investigating 
 the affairs of Messrs, Syers, and of reporting the same to a subsequent meeting, the 
 expediency of accepting the composition oi' 4s, in the pound, or to determine on the 
 course to betaken. Tlntt the five following gentlemen be appointed :— Mr. Warner, 
 Mr. J. Beatson, Mr. M'Kin, Mr. W. S. Grey, and Mr. R. M. Ebsworth." 
 
 At the adjourned meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. Syers, Walker, and Co., held 
 on the 16th i'iay, Mr. C. Dearie presiding, a report from the committee appointed to 
 examine the accounts, and the proposal of a composition of 4.«. in the pound, was 
 received. Four out of five of the committee have agreed to the following recommen- 
 dation, but the dissentient, Mr Warner, intimated his opinion that further investi- 
 gation is requisite previously to any definitive conclusion : — 
 
 "Your committee, having obtained sucii information and explanations as they 
 could collect, founded upon Mr. Coleman's pro forma statement of the affairs of 
 Messrs. Syers, Walker, and Co. (which statement and investigation are by necessity 
 imperfect, from the books not having been posted since July, 1855), have come to 
 the conclusion that those gentlemen could not carry out their proposed proposition 
 of 4,s. in the pound. Messrs. Syers, Walker, and Co., still believing that with the 
 assistance of their friends, and that influence which they could exercise over those 
 persons having business transactions with them, by themselves administering the 
 estate, offer to pay a composition of Ss. in the pound — say, 1.5. on the signature of 
 the deed by three-fifths of the creditors. Is. in six months from that date, and \s. in 
 twelve months, the last instalment to be guaranteed. Your committee recommend 
 that this offer sliould be accepted, or that the estate be wound-up under inspection, 
 either mode promising a more favourable result than bankruptcy. Your committee 
 are unanimous in this view as to the composition being more advantageous for the 
 creditors, with the exception of their chairman, Mr. Warner, who advocates inspec- 
 torship as the most desirable course. 
 
 " R. M'KiN. 
 
 " R. M. Ebswokth. 
 
 " J. Beatson. 
 
 " W, S. Gkey." 
 
 Mr. Warner explained his views with r.'gard to tlic estate, and according to his 
 estimate it may produce a larger dividend than tlie amount proposed under the 
 revision of the committee. Instead of 3s., or even 5,v., the sum shown by Mr. Cole- 
 man's ^jroyionirt statement, he thought, with management, Qs. or Is. can be realized, 
 if the produce be not forced to an immediate sale. He also bcli(ives it will be neces- 
 sary to look further into the books and correspondence to ascertain the actual posi- 
 tion of affairs, owing to the absence of due regularity by the partners in the 
 arrangement of their transactions. A protracted discussion followed, in which it 
 was stated that the firm were anxious to follow the wishes of the cn-ditors in every 
 respect, and that they have been induced to make this specific offer, believing it
 
 XC APPENDIX. 
 
 was tlie wish of a majority to arrive at a direct settlement. After mutual explann- 
 tious, a general desire was expressed to liave the estate placed under inspection 
 until the books shall have been made up and the correspondence examined, and the 
 annexed resolution was eventually carried : — 
 
 "It is the opinion of this mcetiiif^ that inspectors should be appointed for the 
 period of four calendar months, to direct tlie making up of the books, and to super- 
 intend the realization of the assets, and to receive and examine the correspondence; 
 and at the expiration of such time, or such earlier time as they may think fit, to 
 report to the creditors the state and prospects of the estate. Tliat the following 
 gentlemen be requested to act as such inspectors, namely, Messrs. A. Warner, C. 
 Dearie, and J. Beatson." 
 
 The estate was subsequently wound-up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. MAEZETTI AXD SONS. 
 
 A meeting was held, ou the 12lh of August, 1856, of the creditors of Messrs. 
 J. G. Marzetti and Sons, merchants and ship insurance agents, whose failure was 
 announced on the 18th of July. Mr. Cuthbert, of the firm of Cookson, Cuthbert, 
 and Co., of Newcastle, presided, and, after some remarks from Mr. Upton, the 
 solicitor of the firm, Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co. submitted the statement of 
 affairs, dated the I6th of July, 1856, which was as follows : — 
 
 Unsecured £27,750 10 2 
 
 Partially secured £43,153 16 6 
 
 Less seeiu'ities 34',214 16 11 
 
 Deficiency 8,938 19 7 
 
 Fully secured 11,551 9 2 
 
 Less securities 11,748 11 7 
 
 Surplus 3,197 2 5 
 
 Bad liabihtics 2,879 13 7 
 
 Total estimated to prove £39,069 3 4 
 
 Liabilities on bills receivable, current, considered 
 
 good £16,512 15 10 
 
 The assets consisting of outstanding consignments 6,670 5 4 
 
 Surplus securities in the hands of creditors 3,197 2 5 
 
 Cash and goods in hand, and book debts 11,898 1 
 
 £21,765 8 9 
 
 Deduct claims payable in fidl 700 
 
 Total estmiated assets £21,065 8 9 
 
 A deficiency of i'18,003 14,«. Id. was thus shown to exist, to which being added 
 the capital at credit of the partners' accounts at their last balance, January 1, 1856, 
 i,'ll,761 lO.s. 9c?., and subsequent profits, £'2,437 5.?. '.id., there resulted the sum of 
 i;32,202 lO.s. Id. to be accounted for. This was done in a detailed statement, the 
 principal items of which were losses on outstanding consignments to the Crimea and 
 elsewhere, £14,255 ; had debts and liabilities, £9,095 ; and outlay on premises in 
 Vine Street, and North Street, £"2,039. It was cxpl:iin< d that the sudden cessation 
 of the war with Russia had been one of the principal causes of loss, there being at 
 that time in the East unsold consignments of provisions and wines and spirits of tlie 
 cost value of about £10,000 to be sent home, and probaldy re-shipped on arrival, 
 with a view to tlieir realization :it the least possible siicrifice. Much sympathy was 
 expressed for the firm, which was an old and respectable one, and a resolution was 
 unanimously passed, to the effect that the interest of the creditors would behest 
 promoted by a liquidation under inspection, the parties named as inspectors being 
 Messrs. Cutlibert, French, and Dawson.
 
 APPENDIX. XCl 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MR. AV. O. YOUNG-. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. W. 0. Young, ship and insurance broker, who 
 failed on tiic 4th of April, 185(j, was hehl on the 10th. Mr. D. Dunbar presided, 
 ■when the following statement was submitted hy Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant, 
 
 showing assets valued at only £25, 249 against debts for i;G5,750, exclusive of 
 heavy liabilities on underwriting accounts ; — 
 
 PEBTOK. 
 
 To creditors on shipbroking and other open accovmts £15,530 
 
 Creditors on imderwriting aecoimts 2,5(;0 
 
 Ditto, insurance accounts 3,100 
 
 Ditto, biUs payable 40,160 
 
 Liabilities on bills receivable £19,185 1 10 
 
 Less biUs expected to be duly honoured at 
 
 matui-ity ' 17,265 1 10 
 
 1,920 
 
 Creditoi-s holding scciu-itv 4,000 
 
 Security held .' 2,320 
 
 1,680 
 
 Liability in respect of Liverpool agency 800 
 
 £65,750 
 
 CEEDITOR. 
 
 By cash balance in hand £25 5 10 
 
 Ship, and shares in ships, and profits of same, and sundry other 
 
 assets 10,060 
 
 Debtors on shipbroking accounts 6,270 
 
 Ditto on underwTi ting accounts 5,000 
 
 Ditto on iusm-ance accounts 634 
 
 Ditto on bills payable after the parties have taken up their 
 
 draughts .'. 2,535 
 
 Commissions not yet made up 1,500 
 
 Sundry shipments 277 
 
 Bills receivable 206 
 
 £26,507 5 10 
 
 Less salaries, etc 1,258 
 
 £25,229 5 10 
 
 It was explained hy the Chairman that he was consulted by Mr. Young im- 
 mediately after the suspension of Syers, Walker, and Co. A glance at the state of 
 his affairs showed that an immediate stoppage would be the only honourable course, 
 and Mr. Young at once consented. With regard to the accounts, Mr. Coleman 
 mentioned, that although they had been prepared at a very short notice, they were 
 believed to approximate sufficiently to exhibit the condition of the estate. In the 
 arrangement of the ordinary business of the firm, little difficulty is likely to be 
 encountered, but the underwriting branch involves liabilities, the result of which 
 cannot yet be ascertained. The balance due from Syers, Walker, and Co. is about 
 £27,000. An old friendship having existed between Mr. D. Syers and Mr. Young 
 previous to the failure of a former iirm of Livingstone, Syei's, and Co., in India, in 
 1848, it continued subsequently. When Syers and Co. started in business, Mr. 
 Yoimg became further connected with tliem. In this manner they were joint 
 owners of ships, and were also interested in Manilla sugar and teak timber. Hence 
 arose the bill transactions, which were in tlie first instnnce ba'^ed on actual com- 
 mercial operations, but which afterwards increased through the depreciation in pro- 
 duce and the great margins reqr^ired on loans. Mr. Young hoped, up to a recent 
 period, tliat these liabilities would runoff; and Messrs. Syers and Co., it was alleged, 
 considered in November last that their estate showed a surplus of £'70,000. The 
 great extent of their operations, however, caused the late fall in rice and other 
 articles to result in their sudden ruin. But fur the heavy liabilities associated with 
 tlie underwriting account, Mr. Young, it was stated, would have been in a situation
 
 XCll APPENDIX. 
 
 to make somo definite ofTer on a realization of liis assets. That course being 
 impracticable, he was prepared to adopt any proceeding the majority of his creditors 
 miglit advise. A question raised with respect to the exact relationship of the late 
 Mr. Beckwitb, of Newcastle, in connection with the underwriting carried on by Mr. 
 Young, gave rise to considerable discussion, a difference of opinion prevailing as to 
 the existence of a partnersliip. It was therefore agreed, before adopting any deter- 
 mination as to the way in wliich the estate should be wound up, to appoint Mr. 
 Pitcairn and Mr. Stephens to investigate the books and documents, with the view of 
 settling that question, and an adjournment for a week was immediately carried. 
 
 At the adjourned meeting on the loth of April, it was agreed to take the neces- 
 sary steps for placing the estate under the administration of bankruptcy — a course 
 stated to be requisite in consequence of the liabilities arising from the under- 
 writing branch, which, it was alleged, involved risks to the extent of nearly 
 £2,O0l),000. Tug outstanding pro.niams of insurance averaged from £15,000 to 
 £20,00i), but allowance would have to be made for bad debts, while there was 
 already from £3,000 to £4,000 owing on the account. Under these circumstances, 
 no estimate could be given of the probable result, even presuming that the transac- 
 tions of the late Mr. Bjckwith, of Newcastle, may constitute a partnership, as indi- 
 cated by the following communication received by the Chairman from Messrs. 
 Pitcairn and Stephens, who were appointed to investigate the question : — 
 
 " Sir, — In conformity with the request made at the meeting of Mr. W. 0. 
 Young's creditors en the lOtli inst., over which you presided, we have examined the 
 letters relating to the alleged partnership between Mr, Yuuug and the late Mr. 
 Beckwitb in the underwriting account, and we are of opinion, as mercantile men, 
 that such partnership is established by Mr. Beckwitb 's letters of the 1st of April, 
 1853, 2ud of May, 1854, and 4th of May, 1854. 
 
 "We are, sir, your obedient servants, 
 
 " John Pitcairn, 
 
 " To Mr. D. Dunbar," etc. " Thomas Stephkns. 
 
 In the course of the day a petition in bankruptcy was issued against the estate, 
 which was wound up before Mr. Commissioner Holroyd, Mr. Lee being the official 
 assignee. 
 
 When the estate was brought under bankruptcy, the accounts sliowed the 
 following results : — 
 
 Bala^xe-sheet fboji JrxE 21, 1849, to Atml 15, 185G. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To surplus, June 24, 1819 £2,151 1 8 
 
 To creditors unsecured 38,072 7 6 
 
 Ditto fully secured 8,873 14 6 
 
 Ditto partially seciu-ed 2,121 1 
 
 Ditto, salaries, etc., payable in full, £380 18s. 2d. ; liabilities 
 on bills, etc., £58,465 4.s. 8d., of which £24,110 only are 
 
 expected to be claimed against the estate 24,110 
 
 Risks on underwTiting, about £62,000 ; in respect of wliich I 
 
 estrmate that about £10,000 losses may be proved 10,000 
 
 Brokerage profits 60,728 
 
 Premiums, etc., for underwriting 121,060 
 
 £267,116 14 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 By debtors, good £22,538 6 
 
 Doubtful 11,672 19 8 
 
 Bad, carried to losses £1,494 4 4 
 
 Property given up to the official assignees .. . 12,749 8 4 
 Bills receivable 706 4 7 
 
 £13,455 12 11 
 
 Less salaries payable in full 13,074 14 9 
 
 Consignments £928 5 9 
 
 Jly interest in an adventure in teak 2,000 
 
 2,028 5 9 
 
 Carried forward £50,214 6 2
 
 APPENDIX. XCni 
 
 Brought forward £50,214 6 2 
 
 Excepted articles 20 
 
 Liabilities ^er roK^ra £21,110 
 
 Ditto cUtto 10,000 
 
 34,110 
 
 Property held by creditors fully secured 9,294 15 4 
 
 Property held by creilitors, partially secui'ed 115 
 
 Trade expenses .' .... 17,570 3 8 
 
 Interest 3,128 13 5 
 
 Law charges 618 7 
 
 Domestic and personal expenses 9,927 14 3 
 
 Sundry losses £28,329 10 3 
 
 Ditto bad debts l,49i 4 4 
 
 Ditto on underwriting 111,933 7 1 
 
 111,757 1 8 
 Difference 30 19 6 
 
 £267,116 14 7 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. EOX AND HENDEESON. 
 
 The failure was officially intimated on tlie 29tli of October, 1856, although it 
 was prematurely announced a day or two before in several quarters, owing to 
 embarrassments which it was supposed could be adjusted. During the past year 
 the firm have experienced occasionnl difficulties, wliich were greatly increased by 
 the reckless circulation of reports affecting their credit. By great efforts they were 
 enabled to maintain their position up to the present time ; but the renewed 
 pressure in the money-market, and the discovery of losses from heavy foi'eign 
 contracts just finished, have now compelled them to call their creditors together. 
 It is understood, that upon the completion of their annual stock-taking and 
 balancing, the house have found that they have suffered to the extent of about 
 J£70,000, by the construction of the Zealand (Danish) Railway. This, combined 
 ■with unprofitable results from some other works, and the impossibility of realizing 
 or of obtaining sufficient advances upon the large amount of shares and debentures 
 they hold in the various undertakings with which they have been connected, has 
 left them in a position in which they could make no farther sacrifices v^ithout 
 jeopardizing the ultimate liquidation of their general liabilities. They have, there- 
 fore, taken the advice of the persons most largely interested, and have resolved to 
 suspend. It appears, however, to be the general feeling that an extension should 
 be granted them, and that they should be allowed at once to resume upon a full and 
 satisfactory exposition of their engagements and assets being submitted. Their 
 total debts are stated to be about i'320, 000, of which about half are uusecured. 
 
 " London Works, Birmingham, Oct. 29. 
 
 "Sir, — It is with the deepest regret we have to announce to you that we have 
 been compelled to suspend our payments, and have, therefore, to solicit the favour 
 of your attendance at a meeting to be held on Friday, the 7th of November, at one 
 o'clock precisely, at Dee's Royal Hotel, in Birmingham, to consider and determine 
 the most eflectual and speedy mode for the ailjustment of our affairs. 
 
 "A statement of our assets and liabilities will, in the meantime, be prepared 
 for the consideration of the meeting, and we trust that the propositions then 
 eubmitted will, under all the circumstances, be considered satisfactory. 
 "We remain, sir, your obedient servants, 
 
 " Fox, Iit,NDERSON, AND Co." 
 
 The meeting of the creditors was held at Dee's Royal Hotel, Birmingham, on the 
 7th of November. About sixty persons were present, these being chiefly creditors 
 resident in this district. Amongst the principal firms represented were the Patent 
 Rivet Company ; the London and North Western Railway Company ; Tupper,
 
 XCIV APPENDIX. 
 
 Carr, and Company ; the Patent Tube Company ; Messrs. Sims and Muntz ; Mr. 
 W. Williams, Mr. C. L. Browning, Mr. Samuel Black-well, and other principal 
 creditors of the firm in the neighbourhood, were also present. Mr. Murray, solicitor 
 of London, attended on bebalC of Messrs. Glyu and Co., and several of the London 
 creditors ; and for Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co., Messrs. Colmore and Beale 
 were also present on behalf of those parties. Mr. Robinson, of the Ebbw Vale 
 Ironworks, presided. The follo\ving statement was read by Mr. Coleman, the 
 accountant : — 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors unsecured, wliose claims are above 
 
 £100 £77,920 7 9 
 
 Ditto, whose claims range from £50 to £100 2,491 16 9 
 
 Ditto, whose claims range from £10 to £50 1,462 16 
 
 To creditors partly secured 30,355 1 
 
 To estimated value of security 16,000 
 
 128,230 1 6 
 
 To creditors fully secured 155,689 13 
 
 To liabilities on bills under discount expected to rank on tliis 
 
 estate 12,948 
 
 Liabilities , £141,178 1 6 
 
 CKEDITOR. 
 
 By valuation of tools and fiimitm'e £26,000 
 
 By valuation of materials 27,000 
 
 By work in coiu-se of completion 20,000 
 
 By debtors 32,000 
 
 By estunated amoimt to be received in respect of 
 
 the East Eent Eailway Woi-ks £30,000 
 
 Less portion of same, mortgaged 12,500 
 
 17,500 
 
 By shares, etc., in hand, estimated value 1,200 
 
 £123,700 
 Less creditors under £10, rent, taxes, salaries, etc., to be paidin 
 full 2,000 
 
 £121,700 
 
 Mr. Coleman mentioned that the estimate of the securities, put down at £16,000, 
 was an exceedingly low valuation, inasmuch as that there could be no doubt what- 
 ever of its realizing the full amount ; the securities to the creditors who held for the 
 whole of their debts — in the gross of i;155,690 — had cost Messrs. Fox, Henderson, 
 and Co., .£215,000. Tiie valuation of assets had been gone into very carefully by 
 Mr. Henderson, and after making every allowance for depreciation, the computation 
 of .£105,000 might be regarded as a low figure. With reference to Messrs. Glyn and 
 Co., they were in this position — they might dispose of the whole of their securities, 
 and pay themselves at oncej but witli tlie liberality v.-hich invariably cliaracterized 
 the conduct of the firm in reference to such matters, it was not their intention to 
 realize at present, but by holding them over for a few months, there would no doubt 
 be sufficient realized to leave a surplus for distribution amongst the creditors. As to 
 the tools and furniture, it had been the custom of the firm to take olf their value a 
 sufficient sum for depreciation from year to year, which enabled Mr. Henderson to 
 take a pretty accurate estimate of what they were worth at thi.s present moment; 
 of course, if the concern was broken up, and these articles were brought to the 
 hammer, as every one knew, that would be a very considerable loss. The materials 
 had been valued at the market price. The amount due from debtors had been very 
 carefully considered, and in his judgment the amount put down in the balance-sheet 
 was a reliable one. In the month of June, 1855, Mcs.srs. Fox and Henderson con- 
 sidered that they had a surplus of i'115,000, and further profits had been made since 
 that time ; but the losses had been greatly in excess. There was a loss of i'70,000
 
 APPENDIX. XCV 
 
 on the Danish (Zealand) Railway; this, with losses in other engagements, and on 
 the securities, made a total of i'160,000. Such was a general explanation of the 
 affairs of the firm, and of tlie circumstances under which the present difficulty had 
 been brought about. Beyond this, Mr. Coleman said he was ready to answer any 
 question put to him, so that it could be done without prejudice to the estate. The 
 meeting was next addressed by Mr. Murray, who stated that he represented both the 
 secured and the unsecured creditors in London, all of whom were desirous of show- 
 ing every consideration possible for the firm; in this spirit his clients were ready to 
 do everything in their power to assist in realizing the assets as well as it was 
 possible. Messrs. Glyn and Co. held securities, which tliey would take time to realize, 
 so that as little lojs as possible might ensue, which would be otherwise if tliere was 
 a forced sale or bankruptcy. Other clients of his (Messrs. Hambro) were willing to 
 wait; they also held securities, and would do anything rather than annihilate the 
 estate, and send two such men again upon the world ; rather than this they would 
 waive their claim. There were three courses open to tliis meeting — the first was 
 bankruptcy; the second to wind-up under inspection; and the third, to offer a com- 
 position. All present knew the amount of loss incident to a bankruptcy; there was 
 not only the great cost, but the loss that would accrue from a forced sale of such 
 stock as Messrs. Fox and Henderson possessed ; and after much consideration, the 
 creditors in London thought it best for the interest of all parties that the estate 
 should be wound-up under inspection. The plan that he suggested was, that a deed 
 of inspection should be prepared, and that five gentlemen should be selected from 
 this meeting, with whom the creditors in London would co-operate ; in this district 
 the amount of debts did not exceed from ±'30,000 to i40,000, but as the creditors 
 were numerous, it was thought better that the inspectors should be named here. 
 The deed would of course contain all proper covenants, and power to make a con- 
 siderable allowance to Messrs. Fox and Henderson ; by this mode he thought the 
 estate would be wound-up best for the interest of all parties. 
 
 Mr. J. Lord, merchant, made a few observations expressive of his regret that he 
 had been the means of introducing the parties connected with the Danish (Zealand) 
 Eailway to Messrs. Fox and Henderson. At one period the affair promised to be 
 extremely valuable to the contractors ; but there was a dearth of labour, and some 
 other unfavourable circumstances, which ultimately resulted in heavy loss ; it was 
 admitted, however, by all parties, that the work could not have been better done. 
 As a small creditor, he was willing to accede to any proposition ; and would gladly 
 consent to leave the matter with Mr. Henderson. 
 
 The Chairman said he believed that all parties were willing to hold the securities, 
 until the best that was possible could be made of them; it might be that ultimately 
 they would realize more than the estimate. 
 
 Mr. Murray then suggested that the five gentlemen named below should act as 
 inspectors, the debts of these in the aggregate amounting to ±'20,000. 
 
 A question was asked by Mr. Kempson as to whether the loss of ±70,000 on the 
 Danish Railway arose from an excess of work over the contract. 
 
 Mr. Coleman said it would not be prudent to reply more than generally. The 
 fact was, that the number of yards to be excavated had been much under-stated; 
 the Zealand Company were informed of the fact at the time, and the contractors 
 allowed to go on. The work had been done, and satisfactorily done ; and as repre- 
 sentations had been made in the jn-oper quarter, it was hoped that Messrs. Fox and 
 Henderson would be to some extent reimbursed; but there was no legal claim ; it 
 was a debt of honour, and not regarded as anything in the assets. 
 
 Mr. W. Williams mentioned that he bad had a conversation with a Dane as 
 recently as yesterday, and he spoke of the excellent manner in which this line had 
 been constructed. 
 
 On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. W. Williams, the following 
 resolutions were passed, with one dissentient only: — 
 
 " That it is the opinion of this meeting that the affairs of Messrs. Fox, Hen- 
 derson, and Co. should be liquidated under inspection, and that the following gentle- 
 men be appointed inspectors, viz. : — Mr. Joseph Robinson, Mr. James Timmins 
 Chance, Mr. Charles Lloyd Browning, Mr. Samuel Holden Blackwell, Mr. M'Gregor 
 Laird. That a proper deed of inspectorship be prepared, under the direction of the 
 inspectors, and that such deed shall contain covenants by Messrs. Fox and Hender- 
 son to arrange and liquidate their affairs according to the rules of administration 
 adopted in bankruptcy, and as if bankruptcy had taken place on the 29lh ult., and 
 covenants by the creditors not to eue, which shall operate as a release upon the 
 inspectors certifying that the liquidation had proceeded sufficiently, upon the part-
 
 XCVl APPENDIX. 
 
 ners executing an assignment of any remaining assets to trustees for distribution 
 among the crciitois, and such other terms and stipulations as may be requisite for 
 the carrying out of such deed within the meaning of the Bankrupt Law Consolida- 
 tion Act, 1849. 
 
 "That tlie inspectors shall have power to make Messrs. Fox and Henderson such 
 allowance as they may think fit for their services. 
 
 " That these resolutions shiiU be, and be deemed to be, a meraor.andum of ar- 
 rangement within the meaning of the 224th section of the Bankrupt Law Consoli- 
 dation Act, 1849, and that the 228th section sliall he applicable thereto. 
 
 "Tluit as several copies of these i-esolutions may not be signed by all, or by the 
 same creditors, the several parts sljall constitute one memorandum of arrangement, 
 within the meaning of the suid 224th section of the above Act of Parliament." 
 
 In the course of the proceedings, it was mentioned that Sir Charles Fox and 
 Mr. Henderson were in the adjoining room, but their attendance was not requested. 
 The number of unsecured creditors is 150; of these, rather more tlian fifty have 
 debts which do not amount to i'lOO. It was stated that Government was a creditor 
 to a considerable amoitnt. Tlii^ matter has been arranged, and consequently does 
 not appear in the above balance-sheet. The firm was subsequently declared bank- 
 rupt, aud the following is the balance-sheet: — 
 
 Balance-sheet fkom June 30, 1855, to Febkuaey 11, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To sundry creditors £94,511 15 3 
 
 To creditors holding security on property £131,454 6 
 
 Toliabihties 20,824 4 5 
 
 Balance 35,243 7 1 
 
 £129,755 2 4 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By debtors, good £28,233 13 7 
 
 By ditto, doubtful £21,937 2 6 
 
 By ditto bad 5,044 10 9 
 
 £26,981 13 3 
 
 Taken at 6,500 
 
 ■ — 6,500 
 
 By property to be taken by the assignee 4<0,770 14 5 
 
 By property on which creditors have security... £154,434 14 10 
 Deduct amount due to creditors jjer contra . . . 131,454 6 
 
 22,980 14 4 
 
 By special assets 31,270 
 
 £129,755 2 4 
 
 The estate was eventually wound-up in bauki'uptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF THE EOYAL BRITISH BANK. 
 
 At a meeting of the shareholders of the Royal British Bank, held on the 20th 
 of September, 1856, a condensed statement of affairs was exhiliited by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, which set forth the liabilities at £539,131 12*. 9c/., and the assets, 
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 APPENDIX. 01 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. T. AND H. G. GEAY AND CO. 
 
 A meetinp: of the creditors of Messrs. T. and H. G. Gray and Co., colonial 
 brokers, who f:iilcd on the 5th of October. 1856, was held on tlie 12th of November, 
 when the statement regarding their affairs was presented by Mr. W. Quilter, 
 the accountant. 
 
 Statement of Affairs, October 3, 1856. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To simdry creditors £15,112 3 2 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable £9,911 4 2 
 
 The holders of these bills have 
 
 in hand, balance of Gray 
 
 and Co.'s drawing account... £90 11 1 
 
 And also estimated sui-plus se- 
 
 cui'ity beyond the amount 
 
 advanced • 862 9 10 
 
 953 11 
 
 Draft9onu3 9,3J6 9 
 
 To sundry creditors, old firm 1,742 6 6 
 
 £26,200 10 5 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash and bill m hand, viz. : — 
 
 'Cash at bankers' £1,405 
 
 Bill due 29th October 55 6 7 
 
 £1,460 6 
 
 By goods and office furniture in hand 317 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 935 15 7 
 
 „ doubtful and bad, not estimated ... 000 
 
 By assets due to the late firm of Gray and Co. . . . 1,254 1 6 
 
 £3,967 3 8 
 Deduct — rent, salaries, expenses, etc 600 
 
 £3,367 3 8 
 
 It was explained, that although the balance-sheet shows only £3,300 to meet 
 i£26,000 debts and liubilites, the partners are desirous of effecting arrangements to 
 ncrease the amount, and it is thougiit that, including the proceeds from an unsettled 
 account with another firm, the assets may eventually reach about £7,000. Taking 
 an estimate, it is believed a dividend of from 4s. to 5.?. in the pound may be realized. 
 A lengthened discussion took ))lace with respect to souie irregular bill transactions, 
 and it was ultimately agreed tluit the estate should be wound-up under inspection, 
 periodical disiributious to be made as the assets are converted.
 
 CU APPENDIX. 
 
 PAKT IV. 
 
 1857. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF W. EUSTAXA AND CO., AXD CALUTA 
 
 BEOTHEES. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Fustana and Co , of Liverpool, and 
 Messrs. Caluta Brothers, of Manchester, was held at the office of Messrs. Lowndes, 
 B.iteman, and Lowndes, the 11th of February, 1857 ; the representatives of thirty- 
 three creditors being present, Mr. W. Courtnay Cruttendeu in the cliair, a summary 
 of the accounts, prepared by Messrs. Bewley and San, public accountants, was 
 read, as follows : — 
 
 SxATEilENT OF AFFAIRS TO FeBETJAEY 11, 1857. 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 Creditors on open accounts £19,227 5 11 
 
 Creditors on Fustana and Co.'s acceptances 30,059 4 5 
 
 Creditors on Caluta Brothers' acceptances 18,579 4 
 
 Creditors on bills receivable 4,593 6 3 
 
 £72,458 16 11 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 Outstamling debts, good £8,770 5 3 
 
 „ doubtful and bad, worth 664 14 4 
 
 Bills and cash on hand 10,876 14 9 
 
 Goods on hand, and on the way 3,324 5 
 
 £23,635 14 9 
 Amount at the debit of the foreign houses for consignments 49,749 13 5 
 
 £73,385 8 2 
 
 From these accounts it appeared that there was every probability that, if time 
 was given, all debts would be paid in full. Mr. Fustana and Mr. George Caluta 
 were called in, and having given satisfactory answers to the questions submitted 
 to them, they were asked what proposal they had to make, when they submitted the 
 following, viz. : — To pay 4s. in the pound in August, 1857; 4s. in the pound in 
 January, 1858; 4.s. in the pound in July, 1858; 4s. in the pound in January, 1859; 
 4s. in the pound in July, 1859. It was resolved, that the above proposal be accepted. 
 It was further resolved, that, in order to secure the funds of tlie concern, the same 
 shiiU be placed, as received, in tlie Royal Bank, in tlie names of the Chairman and 
 Mr. Stcfano Franghiadl, but, in all other respects, Messrs. Fustana and Caluta be 
 left to wind-up the business without inspection. Tliat Mr. Bewley be authorized to 
 proceed to London to explain to the Ottoman Bank, and other creditors there, the 
 position of the affairs, and that he convey to them, and the other absent creditoi'S, 
 the importance of tlieir acceding to the above resolutions. 
 
 (Signed) Wm. Courtnay Ckuttenden, Chairman. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. C. FEANGHTADI SONS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. C. Franghiadi Sons, Greek mercliants, 
 who failed on the 20th of February, 1857, was held on tlie 11th of March, Mr, 
 Diggles presiding, when the following statement was presented by Mr. J. E. Cole- 
 man, the accountant : —
 
 APPENDIX. cm 
 
 Statement op the Affaies oe C. Feanghiabi Sons, op Geesham Hoise, 
 Old Beoad Steeet, Meechants, Febktjaet 20, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £12,754 14 8 
 
 To creditors on bills payable £86,109 15 6 
 
 Less debit balances asrainst same 7,721 9 2 
 
 To creditors pai'tially seciu'cd £770 9 10 
 
 Less security held G14 12 6 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Security held £21,515 4 8 
 
 Claims 17,874 19 7 
 
 78,388 G 4 
 155 17 4 
 
 To contra £3,610 5 1 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, £114,536 8s.9d., 
 of which it is expected there will rank on 
 the estate 24,760 
 
 £116,058 18 4 
 
 Bycash £573 8 5 
 
 By debtors (good) 1,578 3 7 
 
 Bv ditto (doubtfid) £1,517 14 2 
 
 By ditto (bad) 6,065 17 6 
 
 By bills receivable (good) 785 
 
 By ditto (doubtfid) 3,800 
 
 By assets, consisting of wheat, etc 9,243 7 7 
 
 By sm'plus on secui'ities held by creditors, contra 3,640 5 1 
 
 £15,820 4 8 
 
 Less creditors under £10, and amounts to be paid in full 261 14 5 
 
 £15,558 10 3 
 
 Amoiints due by parties after they have provided for their 
 
 draughts 5,639 19 7 
 
 Amomits due fi'om Franghiadi and Yalenti, of Alexandria 61,271 17 11 
 
 £82,470 7 9 
 
 Balance in the hands of parties who are holders of bdls receivable 817 8 
 
 It was explained that, although the balance-sheet showed liabilities to the extent 
 of i'116,000, with assets representing i82,000, these figin-es would have to be 
 morlified, owing to the position of the firms abroad. There were three houses in 
 addition to the London establisbment — one at Galatz (presumed to be solvent), a 
 second at Alexandria, and a tliird at Trieste. The bouse at Trieste had stopped, 
 and tlie liabilities would be increased tliiough this event about i£9,0C0, making a 
 total of il 25,000. Against tliis amount, the assets in London were taken at 
 i'15,550, and at Trieste at it'3,500, while Mr. Coltman had tliouglit it prudent, in 
 consequence of the Trieste house being creditors for i.'32,000, to take the Alexan- 
 drian balance at £29,000, instead of ^61,271, as it stood on the books. In this 
 shape the accounts would show i'48,050 to meet iE125,000; and if the house of 
 Franghiadi and Valcnti, of Alexandria, was on a settlement, liable for, or in a posi- 
 tion to paj', a greater amount, the excess would increase the general dividend. 
 Since tlie London house stopped, £6,850 had been received, principally from Alex- 
 andria, and this, togetlier with the £15,500, made i22,3G0, which it was thought 
 might be safely realized, allowing a distribution, if the creditors concur, of 2.s. in the 
 pound at no distant period. As some of the claimants had commenced proceedings 
 in bankruptcy, it was suggested that it would be desirable to ascertain what steps 
 they intended to pursue, and Mr. Lavie, supported by the majority, explained that
 
 CIV APPENDIX. 
 
 recourse to that tribunal would not improve the assets, or facilitate the administra- 
 tion of the estate. A long discussion ensued with regard to the manner in which 
 one or two transactions have been conducted, and the parties opposing said they 
 could not pledge themselves to accede to the mode of liquidation suggested. In 
 answer to questions, it was stated that the firm commenced witli a capital of 
 i'12,500, and that the losses and expenses had included from .£50,000 to i-60,000, 
 i£'24,000 of which are through iiabiUties on bills. A balance was struck on the 1st 
 of January, but several large sums were then kept under the head of suspense 
 account instead of being carried to jDrofit and loss. After some further conversation 
 Avith regard to the expediency of despatching an agent to Alexandria, to ascertain 
 the position of the house there, the annexed resolution was agreed to : — ■ 
 
 " That the following gentlemen — Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. E. G. Franghiadi 
 (Frangliiadi and Kodocanachi), and Mr. Lazard — do form a committee, with autho- 
 rity either to select some competent person to go out to Alexandria or to forward 
 instructions to some house at Alexandria ^vith a view to ascertain the true position 
 of the firm there, and to obtain tlie remittance of funds to the committee as 
 quickly as possible." In the meantime the assets are to be realized, under the 
 direction of the committee, with a view to an early dividend, and all funds to be 
 deposited at the Bank of England, in tlie joint names of Mr. G. C. Franghiadi and 
 Mr. Coleman. 
 
 Tlie firm was subsequently made bankrupt, and the following is the balance- 
 sheet : — 
 
 Balance-sheet from Janfaby, 1853, to March 14, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 Tocreditors. £91,498 5 8 
 
 To creditors holding seciu-ity .' 13,768 9 
 
 Tocapital .' " 12,500 
 
 Toprofits 13,978 4 11 
 
 To liabihties on bills receivable £82,939 16 7 
 
 Of which it is expected there will rank on 
 
 this estate 25,260 
 
 £157,104 19 7 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bv debtors, good £4,242 12 2 
 
 „ doubtful £4,939 4 
 
 bad 6,498 9 5 
 
 £11,437 9 9 
 
 Esthnated at 2.y. 6(1. in the pound 1,429 13 2 
 
 By property 14,748 3 8 
 
 By cash to official assignee 3,656 4 6 
 
 By property in the hands of creditors holding security 15,219 16 6 
 
 B V amount due iVom Franghiadi and Valenti 23,245 14 6 
 
 Bv M. G. Yalenti 3,412 4 4 
 
 Bv trade expenses 20,583 10 10 
 
 By leases 40,136 18 11 
 
 By excepted articles 20 
 
 By liabilities as ^je?' coM^/'rt 25,260 
 
 By Gr. C. Franghiadi — drawhig account 5,150 
 
 £157,104 18 7 
 
 THE ESTATE OY P. SINANIDES AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of P. Sinanides and Co., Greek merchants, who 
 failed on the 21st of February, 1857, was held on the lOtli of March, when an 
 adjournment of three weeks was agr^'cd to, with tlie view of receiving advices from 
 Alexandria regarding the debt ot P. II. Andrea and Son, amounting to .i'20,800.
 
 APPENDIX. CV 
 
 The assets, irrespective of this sum, showed about 2s. in the pound, but it was 
 Loped tiiat they will be further increased. The creditors present expressed an 
 opinion in favour of a liquidation under inspection in preference to an appeal to 
 bankruptcy. Subjoined is the statement submitted by Mr. Quilter, the accountant : — 
 
 Balance-sheet. 
 
 DEBTOll. 
 
 To creditors unsecured .£30,855 8 9 
 
 To creditors partly secured, viz. : — 
 
 Claim .£-5,125 17 11 
 
 Less securities 2,623 16 8 
 
 2,502 1 3 
 
 To creditors fully secured, viz. : — 
 
 Securities i'9,580 
 
 Less claims 7,499 10 
 
 Surplus taken as an asset j^er contra i'2,080 10 
 
 To holders of our acceptances of P. H. Andrea 
 
 and Son's drafts 3,183 17 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable — 
 
 Considered good £21,431 17 6 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable for our acceptances 
 
 of H. C. H. Moyssi's drafts outstanding in the 
 
 excess of the estimated balance owing to him, 
 
 viz. : — 
 
 Acceptances £4,600 
 
 Estimated balance 2.502 1 3 
 
 £2,097 18 9 
 
 £36,541 7 3 
 
 CREBITOK. 
 
 By cash and bills in hand, viz. : — 
 
 At Bank of England £9 18 1 
 
 Bills receivable 1,139 16 
 
 • £1,149 14 1 
 
 Bv debtors considered good 652 12 2 
 
 considered bad £10,979 15 2 
 
 £10,979 15 2 
 
 By debtors in respect of bad li.abilities 11,895 13 1 
 
 By surplus securities in hands of creditors, /jp?" 
 'contra 2,080 10 
 
 By P. H. An.lrea and Son : — 
 
 Balance of account current, as per statement.. £17,709 11 3 
 
 Bills accepted on their account 3,1!^3 17 3 
 
 20.893 8 6 
 
 By shares— cost 300 
 
 By deticleney carried over 11,465 2 6 
 
 £36,541 7 3 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. SWATNE AND BOVILL. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Swayne and Bovill, merchants and 
 engineers, who failed on the 3rd March, 1857, was held on the 9th, when it was 
 agreed to wind-up tlie estate under inspection, the following gentlemen being 
 selected to superintend the process : — Mr. Lockett, Mr. J. Cary, Mr. Ilix, Mr. J. 
 Freeman, and Mr. F. Bramwell. The whole of the discussion was in relation to the
 
 CVl APPENDIX. 
 
 prospects of dividend, and tlie measures to be adopted for completing the works in 
 progress, since tlie results of tlie-e, together with the proceeds of various patents, 
 will greatly assist to increase the total assets. The annexed figures represent the 
 principal items in the approximate statement submitted by Mr. Turquaud, the 
 accountant : — 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured £46,352 6 8 
 
 Ditto holding security as jjer coH^ra £80,304 9 
 
 To liabilities 14,713 
 
 £61,095 6 8 
 
 Bv cash balance 100 
 
 Debtors, good 10,Gi8 7 5 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £11,254 2 0) ^^^.-,^ ^ q 
 
 At lOi'. per pound j ' 
 
 Consignments of iron surplus over advances ... 3,700 
 
 Property imencumbered 19,147 5 6 
 
 £39,222 13 ]1 
 
 Deduct estimated payments required to com- 
 plete works 1,709 
 
 £37,522 13 11 
 
 By property held as security jier contra £181,585 17 
 
 By patents, etc., not included in the above 
 
 assets, estimated probable value 90,000 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. COPLAND, BAENES, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. Copland, Barnes, and Co., provision 
 mercliants, who failed on the 4th of March, 1857, was held on the 19th of March, 
 Mr. Harker presiding, when tlie following statement was submitted by Mr. Pullein 
 (of the firm of Harding and Pullein), the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of the Apfairs of Copland, Barnes, and Co., of Botolph 
 Lane, London, Provision Merchants, March 4, 1857. 
 
 liabilities. — debtor. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £25,298 19 11 
 
 Creditors partially seciu'ed £524 11 11 
 
 Less value of secui'ities 408 
 
 IIG 11 11 
 
 To creditors full V secured 18,357 3 2 
 
 Value of securities 21,231 8 11 
 
 Surplus, see co»/ra , 2,874 5 9 
 
 To creditors to be paid in full : — 
 
 Eent and salaries 474 12 7 
 
 Creditors under £10 18110 7 
 
 See contra 656 3 2 
 
 To liabihties on bills receivable, etc 9,610 10 9 
 
 Less amount not expected to be claimed against 
 
 thecstate 8,157 14 1 
 
 1,152 16 8 
 
 £26,868 8 6
 
 APPENDIX. evil 
 
 ASSETS. — CEEUITOE. 
 
 By debtors— considered good £2,5-i2 12 10 
 
 , doubtful and bad £1,65V 7 
 
 Bjcashinhand 139 5 
 
 By stock in trade, etc 4,322 15 8 
 
 Surplus securities held by creditors 2,87-i 5 9 
 
 £9,878 19 3 
 
 Less creditors to be paid in full as ^er co«//'a 656 3 2 
 
 £9,222 16 1 
 
 It was explained that the assets show a dividend of about 6s. 8d. in the pound, 
 and that the losses have been occasioned by the rise in tlie prices of provisions, the 
 firm having a contract with tlie Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. The estimated 
 distribution, it is thouglit, will be realized, since the company seem disposed to take 
 the remaining stores, both at home and on the intercolonial stations, at a fair price. 
 In answer to questions, it was mentioned that the private estates show no surplus, 
 and that the amount of capital originally introduced has not been traced, the liouse 
 having been upwards of thirty years in business. After hearing further details from 
 Mr. Nicol (of the firm of Messrs. Allen and Nicol), relative to the cessation of the 
 contract, and the manner in which it had been carried out, several creditors proposed 
 a liquidation by inspection, but it having been suggested that an investigation is 
 essential before coming to a final determination, the annexed resolution was ulti- 
 mately agi-eed to : — 
 
 "That Messrs. Ilarker, Strong, Snelling, Thomas Pennick, Alexander A. 
 Rattray, and Ciiarles Plullips, be appointed a committee, three to be a quorum, to 
 investigate the affairs of Messrs. Copland, Barnes, and Co., and report the same to a 
 meeting of tlie creditors to be called for the purpose." 
 
 At an adjourned meeting, on the 27th of March, of the creditors of Messrs. 
 Copland and Barnes, provision contractors, who failed on the 5th, it was agreed to 
 wind-up the estate through a petition for private arrangement, under the control of 
 the Bankruptcy Court, Messrs. Harker, Anderson, Ward, and C. J. Phillips being 
 appointed inspectors and trustees. The loss by the Royal Mail Steam contract 
 appears to have been £25,000, and the firm is stated three years ago to have been 
 solvent. The firm was subsequently made bankrupt, and the following is the 
 balance-sheet : — 
 
 Balakcjv-sheet, feom December 31, 1853, to April 3, 1857, the Date of 
 
 Adjudication. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £28,803 11 
 
 To creditors fidly seciu'ed 114 6 10 
 
 To creditor partially secured (Eoyal Mail Steam Packet Company) 16,909 9 5 
 
 To creditors to be paid in fidl £262 11 7 
 
 To liabilities 1,452 16 8 
 
 To surplus on the 31st December, 1853 1,852 8 3 
 
 To profits 18,679 7 1 
 
 £67,841 19 3 
 
 ceeditoe. 
 
 By debtors, good £3,197 17 3 
 
 „ doubtful 11 11 8 
 
 „ bad (carried to losses below) £510 2 5 
 
 By cash paid to official assignee 439 2 5 
 
 By property realized £2,910 5 2 
 
 By ditto not reahzed 97 17 9 
 
 Carried forward 3,008 2 11 3,648 11
 
 CVlll 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought foi'ward 
 Less — to be paid in full 
 
 £3,008 2 11 
 262 11 7 
 
 £3,648 11 4 
 
 Property held by creditor fully secured 
 
 Property held by Royal Mail Steam Packet Company 
 
 Liabilities as per contra 
 
 Trade expenses 
 
 Discounts 
 
 Law costs 
 
 Partners' drawings — Charles Copland £2,815 17 1 
 
 William George Banies 2,963 4 
 
 Losses — On intercolonial contract £27,178 9 10 
 
 On realization of stock, etc 777 4 10 
 
 Bad debts 510 2 5 
 
 2,745 11 4 
 
 190 5 8 
 
 12,057 18 4 
 
 1,452 16 8 
 
 10,805 8 6 
 
 2,558 12 5 
 
 138 6 
 
 5,778 17 5 
 
 28,465 17 1 
 £67,841 19 3 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ME. W. PITCHEE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. "William Pitclier, of Northfleet, shipowner, 
 etc., wlio suspended shortly previous, was held on the 19th of May, 1857, Mr. White 
 presiding, when the subjoined statement was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the 
 accouutant : — 
 
 Statement of the AprAiES of William Pitcher, of Northfleet, Kent, 
 
 Shipowner, etc., Mat 9, 1857 : — 
 
 debtot?. 
 
 To creditors imseciu'ed £60.803 9 6 
 
 Creditors pai-tially secm-ed £93,185 6 9 
 
 Estimated value of security lu'ld 59,010 
 
 34,175 6 9 
 
 Creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of security held 10,950 
 
 Amount of claims 6,000 
 
 ScecoM^m £4,950 
 
 Liabilities on bills received 1,824 7 1 
 
 Expected to be duly honoiired at maturity. 
 
 £94,978 16 3 
 
 creditor. 
 
 By cash balances £81 7 2 
 
 West of Ireland Pishing and Fish Maniu-e Company's shares, 
 
 estimatcdat 100 
 
 Loose tools, stores, etc., estimated at 20,200 
 
 Debtors, good 765 
 
 Estimated amount to be received on completion of vessel now 
 
 building for the Russian Government, say 1,400 
 
 Surplus security with creditors contra 4,950 
 
 £27,496 7 2 
 
 Amounts under £10, and to be paid in fuU £138 17 11 
 
 Salaries, taxes, rates, and other charges 939 15 !) 
 
 1,078 13 8 
 
 Household furnitui'C, etc., stands at cost 1,023 3 2 
 
 £26,417 13 6 
 
 It was expliiined that the assets will realize about 5s. in the pound if the stock 
 be sold by auction, and anotlier valuation (could arrangements bo made to secure an
 
 APPENDIX. CIX 
 
 incoiniiip; purchaser) shows about 10s. In 1852 the estate exhibited a surplus of 
 £13,000, but losses have since occurred, and these, with tlie irjterest on borrowed 
 capital, private expenditure, and the difference in cost and estimated value of 
 premises, have caused tlie deficiency. One creditor complained of the manner in 
 which his debt had been contracted shortly before the suspension. A su<ificstion 
 was made to wind-up by inspectorsliip, but several creditors thouorlit that an offer of 
 composition would be accepted. Mr. Coleman stated tliat if the creditors would 
 agree to take 6s. 87. in tbe pound, he wouM endeavour to make arraufjenients for 
 the payment of that amount within two montiis. Tiie ranjority supporting this pro- 
 position, a committee was appointed to carry it out, and a memorandum was drawn 
 up, and signed by many of tlie parties present. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. GOTCH AXD SONS. 
 
 The creditors of Messrs. Gotch and Sons, the bankers, of Ketterinp:, agreed to 
 wind-up that estate by inspection. By this course it was tliougbt a dividend of 10s. 
 in the pound would be realized. The debts and liabilities of the firm were stated to 
 be £132,026, and the assets £82,003. As in many previous instances this suspen- 
 sion arose through advances made without adequate securities. The following are 
 the statement and report prepared by the accountants, Messrs. Harding and 
 PuUein: — 
 
 Statement of Affairs, Jcxe 9th, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors uiisecirred £132,026 9 6 
 
 To sundry creditors holding security £4,600 
 
 Toestimated value of securities held, as per cow^ra 7,580 
 
 Surplus, as _per COM fo'a £2,980 
 
 To amount belonging to Kettering Savings' Bank 
 payable in fuU and deducted from the assets, 
 as per contra £427 18 4 
 
 To liabilities of bills rediscormted, but wliich are 
 
 expected to be paid by the acceptors £8,773 4 8 
 
 £132,026 9 6 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bycashinhand £880 
 
 By bills receivable, considered good 1,548 6 5 
 
 Less 2,428 7 1 
 
 Amoimt immediately payable to Kettering 
 
 Savings' Bank, as per co»^ra 427 18 4 
 
 £2,000 8 9 
 
 Sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 23,848 5 6 
 
 doubtful 72,174 11 
 
 Estimated to realize 5.v. in the poimd 18,043 12 9 
 
 Considered bad 21,010 5 9 
 
 Property held by creditors — 
 
 Estimated to realize 7,580 
 
 Less amount of charges thereon 4,600 
 
 Surplus 2,980 
 
 Carried forward £16,872 7
 
 ex APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £46,872 7 
 
 Property unencumbered 3,120 
 
 Stock at tan works and factory 20,960 17 5 
 
 Groods consigned to Australia, etc 3,000 
 
 Stock and plant at Howell Brewery 1,500 
 
 28,580 17 
 
 Estimated surplus from the separate estate of 
 
 Mr. J. D.Gotch 3,375 
 
 Ditto of Mr. T. H. Gotch 3,175 
 
 6,550 
 
 £82,003 4 5 
 
 12s. 6d. in the poimd ^\i]l reqim-e £82,516 10.?. lid. 
 
 The accountants' report, of which the following is a copy, was presented by ilr. 
 Harding: — • 
 
 " To THE Committee of Cbeditobs of Messrs. J. D. and T. H. Gotch. 
 
 "Gentlemen, — In pursuance of your instructions, we have prepared a statement, 
 showing the present position of the affairs of Messrs. J. D. and T. H. Gotch, of Ket- 
 tering, by which it will be found that there is now due, in respect of deposits and 
 balances upon drawing accounts with the bank, £'110,306 19s. 2d. The amount of 
 notes in circulation on the 8th instant, at the time ot the suspension, was i'9,805 ; 
 of these there have been since tendered by debtors the siira of £'2,215, which they 
 claim to be entitled to set off against the balances due from them ; upon these being 
 allowed, tlie amount of notes out will be reduced to £7,590. The amount due to 
 creditors at the tan works, manufactoi-y, and brewery, is £14,129 lOs. 4'i., making 
 a total of £132,026 9s. 6i. due to unsecured creditors. The claims of creditors of 
 the firm who are fully secured amount to £4,600, and there is a sum of £427 18.?. id., 
 moneys belonging to the Kettering Savings' Bank, which, under the Savings' Bank 
 Act (3rd William IV.), must be paid in full forthwith ; that amount has, therefore, 
 been deducted from the assets. The firm are also liable as the endorsees of bills and 
 promissory notes not yet due, and which amount to £8,773 4s. 8^.; but it is not 
 expected that any claim v/ill arise from tlicse bills against tlie estate. Tlie assets 
 consist of cash in hand and bills receivable, amounting together to £2,428 7s. Id., 
 but from this sum we have deducted the amount payable to the trustees of the 
 savings' bank, leaving a balance of £2,000 8s. 9d. There is due from sundry 
 debtors (considered good), in respect of overdrawn accounts at the bank, and over- 
 due bills and promissoiy notes, the sum of £17,531 17s. lid., and from debtors 
 (also considered good), for goods supplied from the tan works and manufactory, 
 f 5.281 7s. 7d. The books of the brewery at Rowell being considerably in arrear, 
 we have been compelled to estimate the good accounts due to that business at about 
 £2,500, and we have no reason to suppose that, when the accounts have been com- 
 pleted, tlie debts will fall short of the estimate. The total amount of debts consi- 
 dered good is £23,845 5s. 6d. The doubtful debts amount to the sum of £72,174 
 lis.; and, after a careful inquiry into the circumstances of the debtors, we have 
 every reason to believe that about £18,000 may be realized. Althougli each debt 
 was considered separately, it will be seen that an average of 5s. in the pound will 
 give a somewhat similar result. The bad debts amount to £21,010 5s. 9J. The 
 property held by secured creditors is estimated to realize £7,580, and after payment 
 of tlie mortgages, etc., thereon, is expected to leave a surplus of £2,980. The other 
 property belonging to the firm consists of plant and stock in trade at the tan works, 
 factory, and brewery, and freehold and copyhold property unencumbered ; these, 
 together, are estimated to realize the sum of £25,580 17s. 5d., and there are goods 
 consigned to Australia, Lima, and Natal, which are estimated to realize £3,000. In 
 addition, the sum of £3,375 is expected to arise from the separate estate of'Mr. J. D. 
 Gotch; and the sum of £3,175 is expected to arise from the separate estate of Mr. 
 T. H. Gotch, making a total of £82,003 4s. 5d. for assets available for distribution, 
 which, if carefully realized, will be equivalent to 12?. r>d. in the pound. The sepa- 
 rate estates comprise the freehold and copyhold farm land in Rothwell and Ket- 
 tering, and some otlier copyholds together, of tho estimated value of £18,750 ; but 
 there are mortgnges, etc , thereon, to the amount of £10,000, and the balance is 
 subject to tlio payment of £3,000 to the Rev. F. W. Gotch, and for which he holds 
 a joint and several bond — this bond was given about November, 1852, in pursuance
 
 APPENDIX. CXI 
 
 of the tnrms of the will of the late Mr. Gotch, who bcqueatlied that amount to his 
 son. The other portion of the separate estates consists of lionseliold furniture and 
 effects, etc. Tlie difference between the amount of the liabilities and of the apscts 
 will be found to amount to £50,023 5s. Id., and if to the amount of the bad dchls 
 (i'il.OlO 5s. 9iL) be added the difference between the amount of the doubtful debts 
 and the sum now expected to be realized therefrom (£54,130 18.?. 3r/.), it will be 
 seen that the losses by debtors amount to .±75,141 4.?., being .425,117 18s. llf/. 
 bej'ond the present deficiency; this was about the amount appearing in the books 
 as the aggregate capital of the partners in June, 1852. Although the debtors are, 
 as may be expected, very numerous, we find that .i'46,417 2.s\ 4d. (almost the 
 amount of the deficiency) is due from two persons only — one a well-known clergy- 
 man, who formerly lived near Kettering, the otlier a farmer and shoe-factor in the 
 neighbourhood, also well known. In the case first mentioned, we find that, at the 
 decease of the late Mr. Gotch, in May, 1852, there was due the sum of £2,852 11.?. 
 6(1. About December, 1852, he left this neighbourhood for a foreign country, where 
 he has since resided ; and, shortly after his arrival there, he appears to have engaged 
 in patents, mines, and other speculative undertakings. He at first applied for small 
 advance!, holding out promises of immediate repayment, and that the old balance 
 due from him would speedily be liquidated. These drafts continued to increase, 
 without a single repayment, and, although no draft exceeded c£'200 in amount, yet 
 the account has increased by this course to its present magnitude (£24,892 6s. 2c/.). 
 The only reason apparent for the continued payments appears to be the fear that any 
 refusal would involve the loss of the whole debt, and the belief, arising from the 
 individual's representations, that the enterprises in which he appeared to be engaged 
 would enable him to repay every shilling in a very short time. We have perused 
 the letters received from tlie person in question since January, 1853, and find that, 
 on many occasions, he stated that his property was far more than sufficient to pay 
 Messrs. Gotch ; but it does not appear that on any occasion those statements were 
 tested by investigation, or that any steps were taken to compel repayment of the 
 amount drawn. Whether or not any considerable portion of the debt will be reco- 
 vered, is still a matter of uncertainty. The security held will not produce more 
 than £1,000. In the second case, the sum of £14,902 3s. lOd. was due at the 
 death of Mr. Gotch, and must then liave been very doubtful, yet the account has 
 since been allowed to increase to 121,524 16?. 2d., the amount now due. From 
 this debt but a small dividend is anticipated. The assets, as before mentioned, 
 show nearly 12s. 6d. in the pound, and that amount will be increased in the event 
 of either of these large debts producing more than 2s. in the pound. We have 
 carefully examined into the recent transactions of the firm, with the view of ascer- 
 taining whether or not any preferential payments have been made, and we have the 
 satisfaction of being able to state that nothing of the kind has taken place; indeed, 
 we have every reason to believe that the suspension of payment was not contem- 
 platel many hours before it actually took place, and was not determined upon 
 until after four o'clock on the Monday afternoon (the 8th instant). 
 
 " Upon investigating the position of the affairs of the firm in May, 1852, the 
 date of the death of the late Mr. Gotch, we find that a considerable portion of the 
 debts now considered bad and doubtfiil were then standing in the books, yet we 
 have every reason to suppose that, had the operations of the firm been then closed 
 and wound-up, the estate would have been solvent, and that the real estate of 
 the late Mr. Gotch would have remained available for the trusts of his will. The 
 bequests amounted to £9,000, of which £2,500 only have been paid. The sum of 
 £3,000 is still payable to the Kev. E. W. Gotch, and for which he holds a bond, 
 as before mentioned. The balance passed upon the death of ilrs. Gotch and Miss 
 Frances Gotch to J. D. Gotch and T. H. Gotcii, and has remained in the estate. In 
 conclusion, we think it due to the Messrs. Gotch to say, that all their books and 
 papers have been placed at our disposal, that every facility has been afforded by 
 them for the most searching investigation, and that they have most readily given 
 the information we desired ; in fact, that they have submitted themselves and tlieir 
 affairs to their creditors, at the request of the committee, as completely as if an 
 adjudication in bankruptcy had taken place. 
 
 "We are, gentlemen, your obedient servants, 
 
 " Hakdinq and Pulleiw. 
 
 The estate was ultimately wound-up in bankruptcy.
 
 CXll APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. EVANS, HOAEE, AND CO. 
 
 A numerous meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Evans, Hoare, and Co., enfjnged 
 in the Australian trade, who suspended business on the 9th of June, 1857, was held 
 on the 3rd of July, Captain Denny in the chair, when the follo\vin<^ statement, 
 prepared by Messrs. Turquand and Young, the accountants, was exhibited. Mr. J. 
 Linkiater represented the firm ; and Mr. E. Lawrance attended on behalf of Mr. 
 Hoare : — 
 
 Statement of Affaies, 10th June, 1857. 
 
 To creditors unsecured : £59,252 2 4 
 
 To creditors partially secui-ed 19,641 3 2 
 
 To creditors fully secured— Claims £77,665 11 10 
 
 To invoice value of security 107,073 1 10 
 
 Per contra £29,407 10 
 
 To liabHities on bills— Payable £13,954 16 5 
 
 Of which mav prove against the estate 3,500 
 
 To liabiUties ou bills— Eeceivable 72,124 16 3 
 
 Considered good. 
 To UabQities to creditors of the fii-m of E. D. 
 
 Moore and Co., estimated at 500 
 
 but which will be paid by that firm. 
 To liabihties in respect of lease of premises at 
 
 Southgate Street, held on lease for — years, 
 
 annual rent 350 
 
 £82,393 5 6 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bydebtors £2,572 1 2 
 
 Good £822 1 2 
 
 Doubtful and bad £22,299 5 11 
 
 Estimated to realize 1,750 
 
 £2,572 1 2 
 
 Bycash 84 17 2 
 
 By stock of wines, etc., as per statement 1,740 2 11 
 
 By stock in the hands of creditor 
 
 By estimated sxirplus, as per statement 1'16 4 9 
 
 By consignments unencumbered at cost, as per statement 1,153 12 1 
 
 By office furnitm'c and fittings, valued at 75 
 
 By surplus secui'ities, ^Jer contra, being consignments at invoice 
 
 price 29,107 10 
 
 By ditto at cost price £ 
 
 By value of our interest in the firm of E. D. Moore and Co., 
 
 estimated, if sold, to realize 1,500 
 
 Deduct (to be paid in fuU) — 
 
 Dock charges £368 18 7 
 
 Salaries, etc 245 13 11 
 
 £36,679 8 1 
 
 614 12 6 
 £36,064 15 7 
 
 The creditors, at the commencement of the proceedings, complained of the 
 delay in preparing the accounts, particularly as it was well ascertained that tlie
 
 AFPEXDl.V. CXIU 
 
 assets are all of a doubtful nature. When the figures were explained their dissatis- 
 faction increased, the prospects of the result of the realization of tlie consignments 
 abroad beiii';; considered discouraging. It was intimated that Messrs. Evans, 
 Houre, and Co. arc riot in a position to make any proposal for an arrangement, and, 
 consequently, their only course is to submit to wiiatever steps are dictated. Great 
 sympathy was expressed for Mr. Hoare, who took into the firm i.'5,000, besirles a 
 credit for £6,000, winch has been absorbed — his family liiicwise l)eing cliiimants for 
 goods supplied to the extent of i'18,000. Mr. Lawrance placed these facts before 
 the meeting on behalf of Mr. Iloare, and stated that liis friends would Ijave 
 endeavoured to assist the firm in making a composition, but for tlie disastrous 
 position in which tlie assets were placed. Some discu-sion occurred with regard to 
 the probable returns from Australia, whither the principal consignments, beer, 
 spirits, etc., have been sent, and a great difference of opinion prevailed. Several 
 creditors alleged that goods had been obtained from them a few weeks before the 
 suspension, and wlien it was evident the house would be compelled to pull up. In 
 answer to questions, it was stated tliat the deficiency under the old estate of Mr. 
 Evans now proved to be £16,000, but that he estimated his capital in December, 
 1855, taking the value of consignments, etc., into consideration, at £22,000. On 
 an appeal to Mr. Linklater for his views, he said the only suggestion that could be 
 made would be in favour of a liquidation by inspection ; but the great miijority of 
 the creditors dissented, urging that the estate should be administered in bankruptcy. 
 A resolution to this effect was then passed, and the necessary measui'es for facili- 
 tating the proceedings will at once be adopted. Proceedings in bankruptcy were 
 subsequently carried out. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. EOESTEE, EUTTY, HALL, 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of the above-named firm, who failed in the Scotch 
 and Manchester trade, was held on the 14th of August, 1857, when tlie following 
 statement of affairs was presented by Mr. Parrinton, of the firm of Parrinton, 
 Ladbury, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors £18,282 11 5 
 
 Less securities held by them 3,154 7 2 
 
 £15,128 4 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills drawn upon and accepted 
 by other persons for tlie accommodation of 
 
 Messrs. Forster, Eutty, Hall, and Co 10,000 17 6 
 
 Less value to acceptors, who it is supposed wiU 
 
 pay tlieii' acceptances 1,3G0 16 1 
 
 ^ 8,640 1 5 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, discounted, 
 
 considered good 14,818 3 4 
 
 To ditto ditto bad 1,111 2 
 
 To liability on promissory notes of the firm 
 delivered to the acceptors of accommodation 
 bills 2,817 4 11 
 
 £54,882 5 10 
 
 CKEDITOK. 
 
 By stock in trade at cost £11,341 2 3 
 
 By book debts, good 6,283 15 8 
 
 Ditto doubtful £98 19 1 49 9 6 
 
 Ditto bad 566 12 2 
 
 By cash and bills in hand 8 16 3 
 
 By balance at bankers' (deducted from their 
 
 claim) 69 18 
 
 Carried forwanl £17,683 3 8 
 
 H
 
 CXIT APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £17,683 3 8 
 
 By trade funiitiu'e, etc 171 9 
 
 By bills received (dishonoured) amounting to 
 £3,419 19s. 2d., held by acceptors of ac- 
 commodation bills as collateral security £0 
 
 By bills receivable, amounting to £1,906 2a. 6d., 
 
 estimated at 1:654 7 2 
 
 Held by creditors as secui-ity upon advances 
 of £1,350 :— 
 
 Bv leases and fixtures of premises, ]S'os. 64 
 'and 65, Friday Street, and ^'o. 40, Cheap- 
 side, held fo/ unexpired terms of 17, 12, 
 and 12 years respectively, at a total rent 
 of £980 iDcr annum 1,500 
 
 Mortgaged to Mr. J. Thomas, as security for 
 his debt. 
 
 Deducted per contra £3,154 7 2 
 
 17,854 12 8 
 Less rent, taxes, salaries, etc S02 13 10 
 
 £16,951 18 10 
 
 It was explained that the estnte shows about 6s. in the pound, but it is questioned 
 ■whether this amount will be realized. The deficiency to be accounted for is £37,000, 
 in addition to profits stated to have been miide during tlie eight years' trading ot 
 £54 000. Mr. Panington gave a most discournging narrative of the condition of 
 the firm, v.-ith regard to their mode of conducting business, tlie state of the books, 
 and the drawiiijTs of the partners. No proper balance-sheet has ever been t.iki'U 
 since the commencement of the trading. The cash account has been traced through 
 the counterfoils of cheques ; and to bring the ledgers, etc., into a satisfactory con- 
 dition three months' labour must, it is alleged, be expended. The present state- 
 ment must, tlierefore, be considered more as approximating to, than verifying, 
 actual results. It is not presumed that any dishonesty or concealment has been 
 practised, bu" the great recklessness exhibited will render it necessary that a strict 
 investi<'ation of the accounts shall be carried out. The loans and repayments have 
 been of a most extensive nature, and the absence of good bookkeeping lia*, conse- 
 quently, increased tlie confusion. The principal parties who are secured are the 
 bankers', and a relative of Mr. Forster's, who lias advanced about £8,000. It 
 appears that the drawings of the partners gradually increased as thtir business 
 extended, although it was conducted in such an unsatisfactory manner, and without 
 prospect of ultimate amendment. The joint estate may be benefited to the extent 
 of £300 by a surplus from the private estate of Mr. Forster, but those of Mr. Rutty 
 and Mr. Hull are fully absorbed by claims upon them. A lengthened conversation 
 then took place as to* the best course to be adopted for cfl'ecting a liquidation. It 
 was proposed, and eventually resolved, that the partners should be requested to sign 
 a declaration of insolvency, that the estate should he wound-up by inspection, with 
 the view of facilitating an early distribution of assets, and that recourse should be 
 had to bankruptcy, if the accounts, on investigation, should exhi^ features 
 requiring the interference of that tribunal. Tlie suggestion for an inspectorship 
 emanated from Mr. J. Linklater, who considered it a more desirable proceeding 
 than an ordinary assignment. The three partners were then introduced, and 
 havinn- signed the declaration of insolvency, some of the creditors interrogated 
 them on various points. The most important facts elicited were the admission by 
 Mr. Rutty that the firm had known for several years they were in a doubtful 
 position, and that, accoi'ding to a rough statement which he had prepared, the 
 deficiencv, etc., in the accounts w-ould be found to consist of the expenses of business, 
 interest and discount, and discount allowed to customers on purchases, etc. In- 
 spectors, with tlie general concurrence of the creditors, having been appointed, the 
 meeting adjourned.
 
 APPENDIX. CXV 
 
 THE ESTATE OP IMESSES. CAEE BEOTHEES AND CO. 
 
 A general meeting of the crertitovs of Me?si-s. Cnrr Brothers, of Ncwcnstle-npon- 
 Tyne, coal owners, etc., was held on Tuesday, August 18tli, 1857, Mr. Stimuli 
 George Smith, of tiie firm of Smith, Piiyiie, and Smith, in tlie chair, when the 
 following statement was presented hy j\lr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant. Of 
 creditors amounting to ^670,000, ahotit £540,000 were represented, the principal 
 parties being the Bank of England, tlie Nortlmmberland and Durham District Bank, 
 the Commeriial Bank of Scotland, Messrs. Carr, Gl_)n, and Co., the National Dis- 
 count Company, Messrs. Bailey, etc. 
 
 Geneeal Statemekt of the Liabilities and Assets of Messrs. Caee 
 Brothers and Co., of Newcastle-upon-Ttne, Axfgust 1, 1857. 
 
 full claims and assets. 
 
 To amount due to creditors fuUy secured £301,549 
 
 Ditto, partially secured 202,091 
 
 Ditto, on acceptances discounted 149,072 
 
 Ditto, on acceptances for colliery stores and working purposes 13,395 
 
 To creditors on open accounts 12,500 
 
 £678,607 
 
 By value of collieries £439,315 
 
 By value of shares, etc 179,990 
 
 By coal, stock, and simdries 10,953 
 
 By sundry debtors 66,382 
 
 By surplus from the separate estates of the 
 
 partners after payment of claims thereon 20,000 
 
 £716,640 
 
 LiabUities on bills discounted, the whole of which it is expected 
 
 wiU be duly honoured at maturity 40,947 9 1 
 
 £719,554 9 1 
 
 CLAIMS AND ASSETS AFTER DEDUCTING SECURITIES HELD BY CREDITORS. 
 
 To creditors wholly secured : — 
 
 Estimated value of seciorities £468,640 
 
 Amount of clahn 301,549 9 
 
 Surplus £167,090 19 3 
 
 To creditors partially secured ; — 
 
 Amount of claims 202,091 
 
 Estimated value of securities 75,665 
 
 £126,426 
 
 To credii ors on acceptances 149,072 
 
 To ditto for coUiery ptirposes 13,395 
 
 To d itl o on open accounts 12,500 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 £301,393 
 
 By estmuted svu-plus on English collieries and on shares £167,001 
 
 By estimated value of Welsh mines 75,000 
 
 By coal, stock, and sundries 10,953 
 
 By sundry debtors estimated 66,382 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Canned forward £319,426
 
 ex VI APriCXDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £319,426 
 
 Bv surplus from tl\e separate estates of the partners, after pay- 
 *ment of claims thereon 20,000 
 
 £339,426 
 
 Liabilities on bills discounted, tlie whole of which it is expected 
 
 will be duly honoured at mat urit y £40,947 9 
 
 Mr. C. Freshfield stated the circumstances under which former consultations 
 took place respecting the liquidation of the estate. When the bills of the firm 
 were first dishonoureii, Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith, as interested parties, pro- 
 posed an investigation, and the Bank of England being also creditors, it was agreed 
 that Mr. Coleman should be despatched to Newcastle to look into the accounts, and 
 make a report. Tliat object having been accomplislied, the result was coniinuni- 
 cated to several of the principal creditors, and it was thought that it would be for 
 the interests not only of ilessrs. Carr Brothers, and the creditors, but of the locality 
 itself, if an arrangement could be eflected for a liquidation under inspection. Mr. 
 Coleman, having fully investigated the estate, was now prepared to explain its 
 position, in order that a conclusion might be arrived at. Mr. Coleman, in reply to 
 the Chairman, announced that the estinitite of the surplus of the propertj', which he 
 before took at £40,000, will be now modified, and placed at £38,000. The principal 
 assets consist of collieries in the North of England and in South Wales. Tlie 
 collieries in the North were valu. d in 1854, by Mr. Forsttr, at £466,000, but it is 
 not considered prudent to take them at more than seven years' value of the pro- 
 duce; and, therefore, the amount is reduced to £364,315. With regard to tho 
 South Wales collieries, they had been valued at £116,000. Not being, however, in 
 full operation, and the coal appearing less in demand than that obtained from the 
 other collieries, the opinions of qualified persons have been accepted, who consider 
 that they may safely be placed at £75,000. These two items constitute the total of 
 £439,315 for the collieries. Tlie shares described as valued at £179,990 consist of 
 Blyth and Tyne Eailvvay shares (the line having been originally the property of the 
 firm), the preference descriptions paying ten per cent., and the ordinary descriptions 
 six percent. These have been taken at the market prices of the day, which, it is 
 believed, form a fair representation of their worth, unless heavy sales take place, 
 and they are forced to a depreciated point. The items of coal stock and sundry 
 debtors will, it is expected, be realized, and the separate estates of Mr. Dryden and 
 Mr. Juhn Carr m.ay yield £20,000. The debt of the Northumberland and Durham 
 District Bank is about £200,000, for which they hold ample securities upon the 
 collieries, but the directors are willing to remain in the same position in which 
 they at present stand for twelve months, to see if the liquidation can be eflected, 
 reserving to themselves the right of receiving only the interest on the mortgage. 
 Among the other secured creditors are tlte Edinburgh Insurance Company, the Na- 
 tional Assurance Company, the North Britisli Assurance Company, and Lord Ravens- 
 worth, most of whom liold Blyth and Tyne shares. The best mode of arranging the 
 debts of the esttite, it was contended, will be by inspection, an appeal to bank- 
 ruptcy, under existing circumstances, being wholly out of the question, and the 
 credit'irs were therefore urged to support tins plan. In answer to questions, it was 
 stated that the names of the ptirtners in the coilieri.s are Mr. John Carr, Mr. Charles 
 Carr, Mr. W. Carr, Mr. Pnillipson, Mr. Dryden, Mr. Pemberion, Mr. Burnett, and Mr. 
 Roger, and that Mr Swan has not been admitted into the firm. A sum of £2,5(0 will 
 be required to complete the workings of the South Wales Collieries ; and the produce 
 for the next year from the Northern collieries will, it is asserted, reach £45,000. A 
 point was raised with respect to the acceptances of parties wiio had been connected 
 with Messrs. Carr Brothers, and it was replied, that if not solvent, they will have to 
 pay the penalty of their indiscretion. A long discussion ensued, reltitive to the 
 responsibility of creditors in agreeing to a liquidation by inspection, if the pro- 
 perty became deteriorated, or the results estimated were not realized; but it was 
 asserted that, under the deed of inspection, the necessary precautions will be 
 adopted to avoid any such contingency. As to general claims it was argued that 
 one common course of action is desirable, the in>pectors representing the entire 
 body of creditors, a preponderance of whom were present on this occasion. It 
 was then resolved that Mr, Bigg, of tho Northumberland and Durham District 
 Bank; Mr, Anderson, the manager of the brancli of the Bank of England, at
 
 APPENDIX. f.WU 
 
 Newcastle; and Mr. S. G. Smitli, of the firm of Smith, Payne, and Smitli, be 
 appointed inspectors, with power to investigate and ascertain tlie position of the 
 several parties who are liable upon bills, and to inform the holders of the same 
 of the views they entertain of any propositions that niay be made for a settlement, 
 the holders to have seven days' option of assenting to such arrangements. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. TIIO]MAS ASHMOEE 
 AXD SONS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Thomas Ashmore and Sons, engaged in 
 the drysaltery trade, who were compelled to suspend, was IjeM on the 25th August, 
 1857, "when "the following statement was presented by Mr. H. Chatteris, the ac- 
 countant : — 
 
 Thomas Ashmore and Sons' Statement of Affairs, August V, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £7,835 7 7 
 
 To creditors holding security £26,719 G 10 
 
 To value of securities in their hands 32,550 18 6 
 
 Surplus carried to (?o«frrz £5,831 11 8 
 
 To liability on dislionom-ed bills £15,858 18 1 
 
 To less dividends from other estates 12,869 2 2 
 
 . 2,989 15 11 
 
 To liabilitv on bills wliich it is supposed will 
 
 be duly'honoured £12,628 14 8 
 
 £10,825 3 6 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By merchandise on hand £235 7 11 
 
 By surplus property in the hands of creditors in excess of claims 5,831 11 8 
 
 By debtors 1,026 15 8 
 
 By cash 5 10 10 
 
 By office furniture 90 
 
 £7,189 6 1 
 
 Less to be paid in full 66 2 9 
 
 £7,123 3 4 
 
 It was explained (hat the accounts show a nominal dividend of about 13.?. Ad., 
 but that the amount wliich may be expected is lO.v. in the pound. This difference 
 will arise from losses on consignments, consisting of acids and argols, to America, 
 where the operation of a new tariff has unfavourably influenced the value of these 
 articles. Tiie books of the firm, it is stated, have been well kept, and everything 
 connected with their affairs has been conducted in an honest and straightforward 
 manner. The house previously failed in 1846, when a composition of 12s. in the 
 pound was accepted, and subsequently business was resumed M'ith every ap- 
 pearance of success. In 1851, tlieir accounts showed a surplus of £5,000, but it 
 gradually decreased through bad debts and other unfavourable contingencies. At 
 the commencement of the present year, the annual statement prepared by the 
 partners exhibited a small balance in their favour, but it could not be considered 
 accurate, as they had not allowed for bills upon wliich there were claims against 
 them in association with other houses whose estates were winding-up. The ere-
 
 CXviii APPENDIX. 
 
 ditors present having received these explanations as fully accounting for the 
 position of the firm, a resolution was immeiiiHtely passed in favour of an assiga- 
 m.-nt, the trustees appointed being Mr. Crcckat and Mr. H. Chatteris. 
 
 THE ESTATE OV MESSES. MELEQSE AND HUSSET. 
 
 A meetlnp; of the creditors of Messrs. Melrose and ITussey, ironfouiirier?, whose 
 failure was announced on the 6th, was held on tlie 26th August, 1857, when the 
 following statement was submitted by Messrs. Thomas and Cates, the accountants: — 
 
 Statement of Affaiks of Messes. Meleose and HrssEY, Phcexis Woeks, 
 
 TlYID-iLE, >"EAR DrDLEY. 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £11.904 3 2 
 
 To creditors partially secured £41 ,612 19 10 
 
 Less value of security 22,808 5 10 
 
 18,804 14 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, considered good £7,361 14 8 
 
 £30,708 17 2 
 
 ceeditoe. 
 
 By debtors, considered good £2,593 10 6 
 
 Doubtful £408 2 4 
 
 By stock, plant, etc., realized under execution, 
 
 say 12,006 
 
 £2,593 10 6 
 
 It appearing that the stock and plant have been seized by one of the principal 
 creditors under execution, no compromise could be entertained, and it was resolved 
 to wind-up the estate in the Court of Bankruptcy, which was eventually done. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. BEUEOED, DYEE, AND CO., 
 
 BEISTOL. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of this firm was held on the 31st of August, 1857, at 
 the banking-house of Messrs. Baillie, Baillie, and Co., Bristol, Mr. A. B. Savile. of 
 the firm of Miles and Co., bankers, in the chair. Mr. Thomas, of the fii'm of Bar- 
 nard, Thomas, and Co., accountants, reported the result of his invesiigation, which 
 showed as follows: — 
 
 Total Liabilities. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 Secured and tt j 
 
 Unsecured. Unsecured. 
 
 On acceptances and promissory notes £118,390 9 £118,390 9 
 
 Open account 19,637 17 4 19,637 17 4 
 
 Acceptances, receivable, considered doubtful 
 
 andbad 14,119 15 14,119 15 
 
 Creditors holding security 18,425 
 
 Bills under discount 87,299 11 7 20,000 
 
 £257,872 12 11 £172,148 1 4
 
 APPENDIX. CXIX 
 
 CEJiDIXOE. 
 
 Total Assets. Available Assets. 
 
 Available assets £89,815 £80,815 
 
 Property held in mortgage 18,425 
 
 £108,270 £89,845 
 
 Bad debts and losses ascertained £57,717 6 5 
 
 Estimated loss on bills 20,000 
 
 £77,717 6 5 
 
 Mr. J. G. Shaw thereupon moved, nnd Mr. T. P. Jose, muster of the Society of 
 Merchant Venturers, secoufled the resolution, requiring the members ol' the firm 
 forthwitli to execute a deed of conve^'ance and assignineut of all their respective joint 
 and several real and personal estate and effects to Messrs. H. H. Hareford (of Miles 
 and Co.), G. 0. Edwards (of B.ullie and Co.), Joliu Bates (of tlie West of Enjrland 
 and South Wales District Banking Company), W. G. Coles (of Stuckey's Banking 
 Company), John George Shaw, Tlionias Cliope, and John Wood, merchimts, Messrs. 
 Henry Biittan and Son, and Savery, Clark, and Fnsseli, were appointed solicitors, 
 and Messrs. Barnard, Tliomas, and Co., accountants to the estate. The resolution 
 was signed by or for nearly fifty creditors, who are interested to the extent of 
 upwards of i'220,0G0. It is expected that with the amount to be contributed by 
 Mr. Beeston, one of the members of the firm, the dividend will be at least 13s. Ad. 
 in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. EOSS, MITCHELL, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., in the Canadian 
 trade, who failed on the 13tli of October, 1857, took place on the 23rd, at the Guild- 
 hall CofFce-house, Mr. D. Price in the chair, when the following statement, showing 
 the surplus of £57,000, was presented by Mr. Henry Chatteris, the accountant: — 
 
 Statement of the Affaies of Eoss, Mitchell, a?jd Co., in London, on 
 October 13, 1857 ; and in Toronto, as on January 31, 1857. 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain, unsecured £101,267 7 3 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain, for advances on acceptances 99,617 5 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain holding acceptances in favour of 
 
 Toronto house 25,703 6 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain holding secui'ity ... £6,522 17 9 
 Less estimated value of securities 9,250 
 
 Surplus earned to contra £2,727 2 3 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain partially secured . . . £3,973 17 
 Less estimated value of securities 2,400 
 
 1,573 17 
 
 Total creditors in Great Britain £228,161 5 2 
 
 To creditors in Canada on open accounts £41,871 3 9 
 
 To creditors in Canada on bills payable 23,888 11 6 
 
 To creditors in Canada for ad- 
 vances £60,168 6 9 
 
 Less securities held 13,608 
 
 46,560 6 9 
 
 Total creditors in Canada 112,270 5 
 
 Total creditors, carried forward £340,431 10 2
 
 CXX APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £340,43110 2 
 
 To liability upon acceptances which are expected 
 
 to be ]i roved upon this estate £41,790 12 10 
 
 To liabihty upon acceptances 
 which should, and it is be- 
 lieved will, be met by the 
 
 drawers £22,837 10 11 
 
 To liability upon bills receivable 
 
 under discount 106,778 15 4 
 
 Out of which it is expected 
 tliere will be claimed of this 
 
 estate 14,394 5 9 
 
 Less cash in the hands of bill- 
 holders 333 11 6 
 
 ■ 14,060 14 3 
 
 Total proveable liabihties 55,851 7 1 
 
 Total claims on the estate 396,282 17 3 
 
 Surplus 57,290 12 11 
 
 £453,573 10 2 
 
 Note. — In addition to the above siu'plus, Ross, Mitchell, and Co. will have a 
 claim upon the estates of the various parties for whom they have incurred the 
 hability of £55,851 7«. \d. From these estates they expect to realize a consider- 
 able sura. Thev also estimate their net profits in Toronto since Febniarv last at 
 £1.5,000. 
 
 CTJEPITOR. 
 
 By freehold property in Renfrew and Cast let on, 
 
 cost £12,300 
 
 Mortgaged for unpaid balance of purchase- 
 money 4,000 
 
 By ditto premises in Toronto, estimated at £6,480 
 
 'Mortgagedfor 4,000 
 
 8,300 
 
 2,480 
 
 By surplus securities in the hands of creditors 2,727 2 3 
 
 By 105 bonds of £100 each of the Ontario and Simcoe Railway, 
 
 ■ estimated to be of the value of 7,875 
 
 By Canadian debtors who remit direct to the London house 25,622 13 7 
 
 By debt due from J. Ross and Co., Melbourne 38,673 10 10 
 
 By stock of goods not yet shipped 6,340 13 4 
 
 By bills receivable on hand 12,804 11 10 
 
 By cash in hand 120 
 
 By office furniture 117 18 2 
 
 By debts due to Toronto house considered good 118,596 13 8 
 
 By ditto doubtful £52,084 9 6 
 
 Estimated to realize 34,622 7 1 
 
 By stock of merchandise 27,859 13 8 
 
 By goods shipped to Toronto since February 1, in excess of re- 
 mittances ".. 29,133 6 
 
 By bills receivable, good 52,370 6 9 
 
 By ditto, doubtful £28,683 17 5 
 
 Estimated to realize 17,603 3 5 
 
 By cash in hand 4,3iJ6 16 
 
 By debts not at present available, but for which secm'ities are 
 
 "held 56,729 13 7 
 
 By Ross, Mitchell, and Co.'s interest in grocery store at Toronto 7,200 
 
 £453,573 10 2
 
 APPENDIX. CXXl 
 
 It appeared from tlie report of Mr. Cliattevis that the cause of stoppaore was the 
 sudden discontinuance of accommodation between the firms of Ross, Slitchell, and 
 Co., and other parties who have hitely failed. Tlie house took stock annually, and 
 at their last balance in February of tiie present year, the joint capital was £134,063. 
 About three years ago one of their buyers came to this country and purchased 
 goods to the extent of £100,000 beyond the amount he was instructed, and more 
 than their demands required. This circumstance is alleged to be the first cause 
 of their difficulty, and of their obtaining advances upon bills to meet their payments. 
 The balance-sheet shows that the house have raised nearly £100,000 by the discount 
 of their acceptances through the agency of parties who have since suspended. 
 Exclusive of this amount there is a further sum of £23,000 accommodation bills, for 
 which Ross, Mitchell, and Co. have received no value whatever. Mr. Chatteris pro- 
 ceeds to say: — 
 
 " The claims against the estate being £396,000, I have directed my attention to 
 the nature of the assets which are available for meeting this large sum. The 
 assets amount in round numbers to £450,000, and they may be classified as 
 follows: — 
 
 Stock, debts, and convertible securities, which Messrs. Ross, 
 Mitchell, and Co. consider may be realized witliin eighteen 
 months from the present time £329,470 
 
 Debt due from J. Ross and Co., Melbourne, which they consider 
 
 may be realized within three years 38,673 
 
 Debts for which security is hekl, and which may be converted 
 
 during the next tliree years 56,729 
 
 £424,872 
 WTiich would be more than sufficient to meet every demand, and 
 
 would leave other secm-ities amounting to £28,700 
 
 Available for any contingencies, besides the dividends Ross, Mitchell, and Co. will 
 
 be entitled to receive upon the mcUrect liabilities they wUlbe called upon to pay. 
 
 "Assisted by a report of Mr. Fisken (the partner in Toronto) as to the character 
 of every one of the Canadian debts, I have dissected and divided the assets as you 
 see them in the balance-sheet, and have v/ritten off a very large sum from the 
 amounts at which they were taken down in the balance. It appears to me, there- 
 fore, that you may very safely assume that the assets generally will realize the sums 
 at which tliey are set down, always supposing that no hurried or forced realization 
 be insisted upon, for in that case it is probable that a very large loss would arise." 
 
 In answer to questions, it was stated that some time since, when Mr. Ross pro- 
 posed to retire, the surplus was about £130,000, but that circumstances which have 
 lately occurred have reduced the total to the pi-esent amount. The books have been 
 well kept, and show in every respect the transactions of the firm. One or two of 
 the creditors complained of the accommodation bills, which were regarded as an 
 unsatisfactory feature. Mr. Reed, of the firm of Reed, Langford, and Marsden, 
 explained the proposal which Ross, Mitchell, and Co. were desirous of making to 
 satisfy their creditors. It was their intention to pay 20s. in the pound, with per 
 cent, interest, by instalments of 5s. at six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four 
 months, from the 1st of January, 1858, allowing at the same time the appointment 
 of a committee to inspect their books as they progressed with the liquidation. 
 He stated that the date is placed in January, 1858. because it will take some 
 time to obtain the consent of the creditors, and to prepare the promissory notes, 
 while the firm will depend upon the proceeds of the winter trade to pay the 
 dividend at one period, and those of the fall trade to pay the dividend at the 
 other. In this way they hope to preserve punctuality on the 4th of July and the 
 4th of January, until the whole amount is discharged. A conversation followed, 
 during whicli it was suggested that it would be better to place tlie estate under 
 inspection at once, but it was asserted that this would defeat the object of the 
 firm, who propose to continue business and incur fresh liabilities, the larger 
 creditors being favourable to this arrangement. The committee appointed to look 
 into the bills will, it is said, have the power of preventing any renewal of 
 accommodation engagements, which have produced this disastrous result, and the 
 house will now have to concentrate business more within the sphere of their 
 legitimate resources. After some discussion, during which the representatives of
 
 CXXU APPENDIX. 
 
 eevcral Scotch houses accorded their assent previously to the meeting which is 
 to take place at GluSgow on Monday, the annexed resolutions wire agreed to : — 
 
 "At a meeting ot tlie creditors of Messrs. Koss, Mitchell, and Co., of Gresham 
 Street, London, and of Toronto, Canada West, merchants, holden at the Guildhall 
 Coffee-house, King Street, L nidon, on Friday, the 23rd October, 1857, Mr. David 
 Price in the chair, Mr. Cliatteris, accountant, liaving read a statement of Messrs. 
 Ross, Mitchell, and Co.'s affairs, and given various explanations respecting them, 
 and ^Ir. Keed, solicitor, having informed th'j njecting tliat Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, 
 and Co. proposed to pay their creditors the full amount of their debts, with 
 interest at six per cent, per annum, by instalments of 5s. in the pound, at six, 
 twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months, from the l.st January, 185S, and to 
 deliver the promissory notes for sucli instalments to the creditors on or before 
 that day, and also that for the satisfaction of their creditors Messrs. Boss, 
 Mitchell, and Co., proposed to submit tlieir books and affairs from time to time 
 until the instalments are paid, to the inspection of a committee to be appointed 
 by this meeting : 
 
 " It was Resolved — That Messrs. Ro?s, Mitchell, and Co.'s proposal be accepted, 
 and that Mr. David Price (Price, Coker, and Co.) John Dillon (Morrison, Dillon, 
 and Co.), and John Porter Foster (Foster, Porter, and Co.), all of London, and 
 Messrs. W. Wingate (Wingate and Son and Co.), and James Arthur (Arthur and 
 Fraser), of Glasgow, be appointed a committee for the purposjs mentioned in such 
 proposal; but the agreement of creditors to tliis resolution is to be without pre- 
 judice to their claims against third parties, or to any securities they may hold, 
 and to b3 subject to the consent of such third parties (when necessary) being 
 obtained." 
 
 An adjourned meeting of the creditors of Mjssrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co. was 
 held at the Guildhall Coffee-house, on the 29th June, 1858. 
 
 A strong feeling was generally expressed against the mode in which the house 
 have conducted their affairs, especially since this was the second occasion on which 
 they have been compelled to seek the indulgence of their creditors. In addition, 
 also, to the doubtful nature of the assets, which it was proposed should be trans- 
 ferred for the benefit of British claimants, the opinions expressed with regard to the 
 state of the Canadian law were of iinpoitance, as conveying to the traders in those 
 provinces the sentiments of the manufacturing interest concerning the system of 
 preferences so extensively followed out. The chairman was Mr. Price, of the firm of 
 Messrs. Price, Coker, and Co.; and among those who took a very prominent part in the 
 proceedings were Mr. Dillon, Mr. Morley, Mr. Foster, Mr. Greatorex, and the repre- 
 sentatives of the Western Bank of Scotland and the City of Glasgow Bank. Several 
 legal gentlemen were in attendance to advise with the creditors on the best course 
 to be pursued, the principal being Mf. Reed, of Messi-s. Reed, Lnngford, and Mars- 
 den, and Mr. Murray, of Messrs. Murray, Son, and Hatchings. In accordance with 
 the arrangements previously made, the committee appointed to superintend the 
 original liquidation prepared a report, which was now brought forward by Mr. H. 
 Chatteris, the accountant. That document was as follows: — 
 
 " London, June 29, 1858. 
 " Gentlemen, — The committee nominated by the creditors to inspect the books 
 and affairs of Ross, Mitchell, and Co., until they paid their creditors 20s. in the pound 
 and interest, have called you together to make known to you that this firm inlbrms 
 tliem that it is no longer in a position to p.iy 20y. in the pound. Tlie communication 
 was made to them in a letter, dated Toronto, June 5, 1858, and the purport is an 
 offer of lis. 6rf. in the pound, at one, two, three, and four years. The accounts upon 
 which the offer of lis. 6i. in the pound is based, are as follows: — 
 
 Statement of Affairs in London, June 22, and in Toiionto, as on 
 May 15, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors in Great Britain, viz. : — 
 
 On promissory notes £320,846 13 8 
 
 On open accounts 12,113 5 2 
 
 Carried forwrajd £332,959 18 10
 
 APFKNUli. CXXlll 
 
 Brought forward £332,959 18 10 
 
 Less amount to be provided I'or by other parties 79,G31 
 
 £253,328 18 10 
 
 To creditors in Canada unsecured 12,889 9 6 
 
 Ditto secured £143,233 15 2 
 
 Value of securities held 199,462 17 4 
 
 Surplus to cow^ra £56,229 2 2 
 
 To Alexander Mitchell, of Manchester 10,281 17 
 
 Claims to have an assignment of Murray and 
 
 Co.'s debt to the extent of 10,000 
 
 281 17 
 
 £266,500 5 4 
 
 CEKDITOE. 
 
 By freehold property iii Eenfrew and Castleton, 
 
 cost £12,300 
 
 Mortgaged for 4,000 
 
 Estunated of no value ' £8,300 
 
 By premises in Toronto — estimated value £6,480 
 
 Less mortgage thereon 4,000 
 
 £2,480 
 
 By John Ross and Co., Melbourne £36,429 12 5 
 
 Estimated to produce 6.000 
 
 By Whan, M'Lean, and Co 2,607 18 9 
 
 By A. Mm-ray and Co 17,392 
 
 Less claimed by A. MitcheU 10,000 
 
 7,392 
 
 Bycashmhand I.SIO 
 
 By biUs receivable 5,638 18 11 
 
 By ditto L. Atterbury and Co £12,060 0' 
 
 Estimated at Is. 3(Z. per pound 753 15 
 
 ASSETS IN CANADA. 
 
 By debts, mortgages, and bills receivable, the 
 
 reahzation of which is undoubted £90,149 16 
 
 Ditto, which -will be paid with time. 156,131 3 6 
 
 Ditto, which may be good alter a long and 
 
 doubtful period 52,168 15 9 
 
 £298,449 15 3 
 Less in hands of secured creditors 199,462 17 4 
 
 98,986 17 11 
 
 Less stock in trade 29,361 16 10 
 
 Less cash in hand 232 11 10 
 
 Less surplus securities in hands of creditors 56,229 2 2 
 
 Or 15s. lOc^. in the pound 210,893 1 5 
 
 Less deficiency , 55,607 3 11 
 
 £266,500 5 4 
 
 " It will be perceived by this statement that tlie assets are sufficient to pay 
 15s. lOi. in the pound, even assuming: that the claim set up by Mr. Alexander 
 Mitchell is a just one. If the asset to which he lays claim should be found avaihible 
 for distribution amongst the general body of creditors, it would make tlie ns,sets 
 sufficient to yield 16?. in the pound. '1 lie committee think it right to leave Messrs. 
 Eoss, Mitchell, and Co. to explaiu to their creditors the principle upon which they
 
 CXXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 make the offer of lis. Gd. in the pound. The committee have endeavoured, since 
 the date of their appointment, to prevent any creditors obtaining preference over 
 the general body ; but so fur as the Canadian creditors are concerned, their efforts 
 have been of no avail. The statement now prepared shows tliat, with a trifling 
 exception, tlie whole of the Canadian creditors are secured ; and that, if no pre- 
 ferences existed, tlie assets would be sufficient to pay all the creditors a dividend of 
 17s- 4af. in the pound. Apart from the question as to wliethcr this ineeting shall 
 accept the offer now made to tl)em by Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., or any other 
 offer of composition, the committee are of opinion that this meeting should express 
 its disapproval of tlie state of the law which enables a trading tirm in Canada to 
 divide its creditors into classes, and to prefer out of tlie common assets any creditors 
 whom it may choose to favour. 
 
 "Signed by order of the Committee, 
 
 " Henry Chatteris, Accountant." 
 
 The discussion, which was of a diffuse and irregular character, tended at first in 
 the direction of the causes for the depreciation of the assets. The two principal 
 items were the debt due from Messrs. John Ross and Co., of Melbourne, and the 
 l.irge amount deducted for bad claims in Canada. The difference in the value of 
 the freehold property in Renfrew and Castleton likewise excited comment, it having 
 been before placed at a favourable price, while it is now stated to be unsaleable. 
 These discrepancies, it was considered, required full explanation, apart from the 
 objectionable nature of the proposal for composition, and the manner in wliich it 
 was suggested it should be completed. "With respect to the preferences to the 
 Canadian creditors, that was a question whicli it was thouglit could be dealt with 
 at a later stage of the proceedings, when explanations from the confidential emploi/e 
 of Messrs. Ross, Mitcliell, and Co. were obtained. In reply to questions, Mr. 
 Chatteris stated that the offer of composition was lis. Gdj in the pound, leaving the 
 firm to wind-up the estate by instalments of 2s. 6d. on the 1st February, 1859, and 
 subsequent payments of 3s. at the same date in 1860, 1861, and 1862, the chief 
 assets consisting of debts, mortgages, and bills. Not until after February in the 
 present year were tlie committee aware that the creditors in Canada were preferred 
 in any shape, and then only to a limited extent, tlie statement invariably being that 
 ample assets existed to pay 20s. in tlie pound. The fact that claims to the extent of 
 ^'200,000 had been so arranged did not transpire before the latest accounts were 
 received. In the case of the consignments to Australia it appeared that a person 
 had been sent out to look into the books, but he having died on his voyage home no 
 accurate statement could be secured. There were some letters from him showing 
 that the goods had been disposed of at depreciated prices, but it was supposed that 
 he intended his explanations should be verbal. The details of the deficiency, placed 
 at £112,000, including the surplus at first estimated of i;57,000, and the adverse 
 balance of ±'55,000, presented by the latest figures, was accounted for in the 
 following manner : — i'18,000 over-due interest on promissory notes ; expenses and 
 drawings of the partners since suspension, i;3,280 ; Renfrew property, formerly 
 placed at i'8,300, now valueless ; loss on the Melbourne account of Messrs. J. Ross 
 and Co., .=£30,429 ; loss by L. Atterbury and Co., 4:11,307 ; bad debts written off, 
 ^42,900, etc. Although the account exhibited 15s. lOd. in the poiunl, it was con- 
 sidered essential to make deductions on some classes of the debts to the extent of 12|- 
 and 25 per cent., wliicli, being equal to ±'36,228, left a balance which would pay a 
 dividend of 13?. 1^^^/. ; but the partners, presuming that a further allowance should 
 be made for contingencies, proposed the 11*. 6,/. as stated. It was intimated that 
 there had been no reason to suspect tiiat the accounts were wrong, because, after 
 the figures presented in October, a balance-sheet received in January not only con- 
 firmed the original position, but increased the surplus to the extent of .11 ,500. Mr. 
 Ross, it was stated, had gone out at tlie instance of the committee, with the view of 
 preparing for the July payment ; and the reason for Mr. Fisken, the partner, not 
 returning to this country, but sending tlie principal clerk instead, was alleged to be 
 fear of arrest. Mr. Mitchell remains in this country, and his attendance could be 
 secured, if it were considered desirable ; but it was believed that Mr. Snelling, the 
 party deputed, and who was also a lawyer, could afibi'd more information, particularly 
 respecting the Canadian establishment. The arrangement concluded with the 
 English creditors was for payment in two years, by four instalments, and that with 
 the Canadian creditors in three years ; the dates being April and October, whereas 
 the others were July and January. Although instructions were sent out that the 
 Canadian creditors were not to be paid unless the partners saw their way clear to
 
 APPENDIX. CXXV 
 
 satisfy tlie Englisli dividend in July, tlie injunction received no attention, and tiie 
 first instalment liad been discharged, "and," thus observed one of the creditor.", 
 "we were let into a trap." After some conversation, it was agreed that Mr. Siielling 
 should be introduced to tender an explaiKition of the serious difference in the 
 appearance of the accounts, and state the ground on which tlie partners made the 
 offer of U.S. 6d. in the pound, when, at the lowest computation, the assets showed 
 13s. Id. Mr. Suelliug, witliout any lengthened prelude, entered into an elaborate 
 narrative of the position of the house. He asserted that the great discrepancy 
 apparent arose from the London balance-sheet having been founded on a str.tement 
 of the Toronto business in the early part of the year, unaccompanied by accurate 
 knowledge of the prospective condition o( business, ■which could only be ascertained 
 when the new season commenced. When the roads became opened, and sleighing 
 began, tl)at was the period for the arrival of their customers, who then settled 
 accounts, paid, or obtaiiied an extension of time. On the late occasion, and after the 
 first accounts had been pi-eparcd, it was discovered that the amount of indebtedness 
 was enormous, without corresponding means to meet it. The traders were, conse- 
 quently, obliged to announce their inability to pay, to give mortgages of their pro- 
 perty, and to seek increased time, while, in many cases, tiie debts wore altogether 
 bad. These unfavourable circumstances had so altered the appearance of the assets, 
 that, instead of the surplus anticipated, a deficiency was immediately manifested. 
 The nature of the business of the provinces was such that it was impossible to arrive 
 at accurate results until the season turned, when these accounts were adjnsted. The 
 prospects being discouraging, and doubts being still yet entertained of the ultimate 
 realization of some of tlie accounts, the firm considered that they would not be 
 justified in proposing more than lis. 61. in the pound, contingencies having to be 
 provided for. The alleged preferences to creditors in Canada, he appeared to think, 
 had constituted a subject of unnecessary complaint, inasmuch as he contended that 
 the course pursued had in a measure protected the property for the parties interested 
 in this country. The banks, having received from time to time collateral securities 
 from Messrs. Eoss, Mitchell and Co., could have taken proceedings against the 
 customers, and thus effectually denuded the estate. The amount of ±199,000, which 
 was the aggregate secured to the Bank of Montreal, the City Bank of Montreal, and 
 the Bank of Toronto, comprised the principal, and these arrangements had been 
 progressing from about the 25th of October. The firm in Canada possessed no 
 knowledge then that the house in London had stopped, but tuey had reason to 
 believe that embarrassments existed, because remittances were not going forward in 
 a regular manner. The effect of the crisis in New York had been experienced, and 
 as it was speedily developed in the Canadas, the banks who held past- due notes 
 would have proceeded, had not these arrangements been agreed to. He had advised 
 the London firm, every mail, of the progress of the deposits made with these insti- 
 tutions ; but it apoeared that, although the resident partner received them, he 
 neglected to inform the committee of their contents. Mr. Morley and some of the 
 other creditors saiil that this was most disgraceful, and that it was evident, from 
 these mortgages and other settlements, a great injustice had been committed against 
 the English claimants. In defence of the conduct of the firm, Mr. Snelling gave a 
 most graphic description of the excitement that ensued wlien the ravages of the 
 panic became apparent. Great depression existed in January, but it was succeeded 
 by an alarming sacrifice of property in February, March, and April. Horses, cattle, 
 and land sold at a fearful depreciation, special descriptions not being able to find 
 buyers; the local coui-ts were inundated with cases, and although those which were 
 litigated were numerous, a great number were settled with only a preliminary 
 recourse to law. It was in consequence of this state of things that the general assets 
 liad become impoverished, and he regretted to learn that the proposal was not likely 
 to be well received. From having ascertained the feeling of the creditors, he had 
 since consulted with Mr. Mitchell, and he was authorized to submit amended terms 
 — say, a total dividend of 12s. 6(/. in the pound ; the first payment to be 3*. 6d. in 
 March, 1859, and tliree other payments of 3*. each in succeeding years, to make up 
 the amount, the extension of a month being asked to allow for the benefit to be 
 derived from the sleighing season to facilitate collections. Mr. Snelling having 
 withdrawn, an animated debate followed; Mr. Morley, Mr. Dillon, and others, loudly 
 censuring the conduct of the firm. Mr. Greatorex said that, although a considerable 
 creditor, he was prepared to waive the question of dividend, if any recommendation 
 could be made to stigmatize such a state of things. The conduct of Messrs. Ross, 
 Mitchell, and Co. had been most discreditable, and their mode of transacting 
 business in the Canadas was open to severe reprehension. Mr. Morley intimated
 
 CXXVl APPENDIX. 
 
 that he was quite sure, from what he knew was passing in this particular branch of 
 trade, that furrlier losses would be esptTienced, unless great cnutiou was exeicised 
 in giving credit. He was averse to individuals of tliis description receiving any 
 countenance, the more so tiirough tlie preferences given to the Canadian creditors. 
 Mr. Reed and Mr. Murray both considered that the form of deed should be looked to 
 wliicli gave the powers asked, and that if the question of composition were enter- 
 tained a committee should be appointed to investigate the security, etc. Tne repre- 
 sentative of the liquiiintors of the Western Bank of Scotland, who are creditors to 
 the extent of ilOO.OOC, while repudiating any notion of justifying the proceedings of 
 Messrs. ]{oss, Mitchell, and Co., impressed upon the meeting tlie desirableness of 
 accepting 12*. 6/. in the pound : the accountant of the bank, who had visited New 
 York, liad also gone to Toronto and investigated the books, and his outside estimate 
 was 14v. ill the pound. Bankruptcy would scatter the estate, and leave only a 
 limited distribution. Mr. Morley questioned whether any dividend could be secured, 
 and Mr. Foster said he was not inclined to accept less than tlie statement showed, 
 viz., 13«. The representative of tlie City of Glasgow Bank and the Glasgow 
 creditors, whose debts reached i'70,000, supported the views urged by the liquidators 
 of the Western Bank of Scotland. The question of the imperative necessity of an 
 assignment was now mooted, and it was received with favour. Others advocated a 
 composition of I3s. in the pound, in five half-yearly instalments, but the bulk of 
 creditors, as represented by the Western Bank and the Bank of Glasgow, were 
 inclined to adopt the proposal of 12.s 6d. Mr. Morley said little sympathy should be 
 shown to the Western Bank of Scotland ; the directors hail encouraged over-truding 
 to an alarming extent, and, mixed up with Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., were the 
 notorious names of Macdonald and Co., Monteith and Co., and others, whose 
 accommodation transactions had created great mischief in trade. Mr. Gieatorex 
 was against any plan which would suffer the firm to re-enter business. The present 
 case was only a repetition of what formerly occurred in 1847 ; they then failed for 
 a large amount, and promised a full dividend, which was not forthcoming; and now, 
 after pretending to su.-pend with a surplus, a large deficiency was the actual result. 
 The course they pur.-ued in Canada was ruin to the trade of the country, and the 
 sooner ihey were cleared from the field the better it would be for more scrupulous 
 and disinterested merchants. The very fact of securing the hanks was to get them- 
 selves into credit again. The Chairman advised circum.<pection; he should know 
 what to do if they required credit of him ; but he was not prepared to cast altogether 
 aside the prospect of a dividend. After a long debate, it was agreed to accept a com- 
 position in the modified form proposed in the following resolution, and the opinion 
 of the meeting was recorded against the practice of allowing preferences in Canada. 
 A petition to the Legislative Assembly- was signed in the room, to be forwarded to 
 Toronto, requesting a repeal of the law which sanctioned such invidious distinctions 
 between the creditors resident in England and Canada : — 
 
 "Resolved to accept a composition of 12s. 6d. in the pound, at dates to be 
 agreed upon by a committee of five creditoi's, who are also empowered to decide 
 as to the nature and the extent of the securities to be given for the payment of tlie 
 composition." 
 
 THE ESTATE OP ^^m ALFEED HILL. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Alfred Hill, ship and insurance broker and 
 commission merchant, who failed on the IStli of October, 1857, was held on the 
 2nd November, when the following statement was presented by Mr.H. Chatteris, the 
 .iccountant: — 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors imsecured £6,993 13 10 
 
 To ditto for freight 979 9 11 
 
 £7,973 3 9 
 
 Liabilities on acceptances for the accommoda- 
 
 tiou of the drawers, but wliich are expected 
 
 to be proved on this estate 42,029 18 2 
 
 Carried forward £50,003 111
 
 APPENDIX. CXXVU 
 
 Brought forward £50,003 1 11 
 
 To liabilities on accommodation acceptances in 
 favour of Ross and Mitchell, who are arrang- 
 ing to pay in full 8,447 17 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances which should, and 
 it is beheved will, be met by the parties on 
 whose account they ai-e accepted £4,564 18 8 
 
 To liabihtics on bills receivable, negotiated, and 
 
 supposed to be good 7,644 17 9 
 
 £12,209 16 5 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, which are ex- 
 pected to be proved on tins estate « 2,817 30 
 
 £61,268 8 11 
 
 CREDITOE. 
 
 By debtors, good £8.828 1 8 
 
 By ditto, doubtful £4,625 7 8 
 
 Estimated to produce 2,613 16 3 
 
 By bills receivable, good 530 4 4 
 
 By cash at bank 12 9 3 
 
 By chtto in hand 190 14 3 
 
 By consignment to America, estimated to 
 
 produce 100 
 
 By fixtures, estimated to be worth 70 
 
 By A. HiU's capital in the firm of A. Hill and 
 
 Co., Liverpool, estimated on Dec. 30, 1856... 4,106 17 4 
 By A. Hill's capital in the firm of Hill, Ander- 
 son, and Co., London, exclusive of profits 
 
 since June last 678 2 5 
 
 By household furniture, estimated to be worth 300 
 
 £17,430 5 6 
 
 It wns stated that the trade debts of Mr. H'll amounted to £7,973, and tliat the 
 assets represented £17,430. Accommodation transactiors, however, had been entered 
 into with Messrs. Ross, Mitchell, and Co., Messrs. Macdonald, and other p;irties, for 
 a sum of npwiirds of £50.000, and thus the liabilities had been increased until they 
 reached a total of £61,268. This imprudent proceeding had been accompanied by 
 the very que-tionable feature of churning "a commission" on such operations. The 
 proposal made on behalf of Mr. Hill was, to pay to the general creditors a compo- 
 sition of 5s. 8d. in the pound by instalments, and to pay the trade creditors a further 
 sum of 2'-'. id. in the pound fiom the contingent claims against the drawers of his 
 accommodtitiou acceptances. In the course of the discussion, it wns mentioned that 
 the estate of Messrs. Ro'^s, Mitchell, and Co. will no doubt realize 20s. in the pound, 
 with interest, and that other firms with wliom Mr. Hill lias bi en connected would 
 prove equally solvent. With regard to Messrs. Macdonald and Co., it would be widely 
 difi'erent, their accounts exhibiting an enormous deficiency. The following com- 
 prises the generi'l terms of the resolution adopted : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Mr. Alfred Hill, commission merchant and 
 shippins agent, of No. .35, Milk Street, City, held at the Guildhall Coffee-house, 
 King Street, Ciieapside, on Mondiiy, Novembtr 2, 1857, a statement of tlie afi^dirs 
 having been read by Mr. Chatteris, the accoimtant, Mr. Van Sandnu, solicitor for 
 Mr. Hill, proposed to pay the creditors a composition of 5s. Sd. in the pound, by 
 three instalments, viz., l.s. 8d. in the pound at fonr montlis, 2s. in the pound at; 
 eight moiuhs, and 2s. in the pound at twelve months, from December 2, and to pay 
 the trade creditors a furtlier sum of 2s. 4'/. in the pound, to be secured to them by 
 an assignment to trustees of A. Hill's contingent claims against the drawers of his 
 accommodation acceptances."
 
 CXXVIU APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. NAYLOE, VICKEES, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Naylor, Yickers, and Co., steel manufac- 
 turers and iron merchants, whose suspension was announced on the 5th November, 
 1857, was iield on the 24th, at Sheffield, Mr. J. P. Budd in the chair, when it was 
 resolved to accept payment in full in four instalments, with interest, at the averai;e 
 Bank of England rate. Tlie following are extracts from the rep ^rt of Messrs. Har- 
 wood, Banner, and Son, accountants, of Liverpool, showing the full solvency of the 
 firm, and the prospect of an immediate and favourable liquidation : — 
 
 "Tlie p;irtiiers constituting the houses in Sheffield, New York, Boston, and Liver- 
 pool,* are all identical, the various establishments being branches merely of the one 
 concern centered in Sheffield, so that there is no distinction of accounts as regards tlie 
 present adjustment, which contains one set of assets and one set of liabilities, amalga- 
 mated from the books of the concern in the four places. The statement of the affairs 
 is as follows: — 
 
 Assets in England. 
 Book debts and advances on 
 
 consignments .£'30,629 3 1 
 
 Estimated surplus in the hands 
 
 of creditors holding security 1,065 2 10 
 
 Stock in trade, consisting of 
 
 steel and iron, valued at . . 90,765 6 9 
 Property, land, buildings, ma- 
 chinery, etc., after deducting 
 
 mortgages as per valuation.. 24,356 5 
 Tools, implements, furniture, as 
 
 per valuation 14,119 14 7 
 
 Estimated value of unrealized 
 
 consignments to New York.. 19,496 5 
 Shares in foreign steel works 300 
 
 Cash balance 644 10 
 
 Total assets in England.... ■ £181,376 2 8 
 
 Assets in America. 
 
 Cash in hand £5,564 
 
 C in warehouse £'141,682 ') 
 Metals ] in transit to [ 182,546 
 
 (United States 40,864) 
 Advances on consignments se- 
 cured by metals 30,825 
 
 Property in New York and 
 Boston, af.er deducting mort- 
 gages 26,294 
 
 Bills receivable on hand .... 71,531 
 
 Book debts 91,798 
 
 Total assets in America. . 408,558 
 
 Total assets £589,934 2 8 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 Acceptances in England .... £119,265 17 8 
 
 Ditto in America 22 828 
 
 Creditors on open accounts in £142,093 17 8 
 
 England 73.712 4 2 
 
 Ditto in America 134,218 
 
 207,930 4 2 
 
 Creditors holding security, after deducting the 
 
 value of securities held 14,262 18 11 
 
 — 364,287 9 
 
 Leaving a surplus of ,£225,647 1 11 
 
 Which is at the credit of the partners in various proportions. 
 
 * Since this date, the firm have opened a house in London, for the couduct of a portion of 
 their operations.
 
 APPENDIX. CXXIX 
 
 " The books balance exactly, and are most beautifully and admirably kept. 
 
 "In addition to tin's surplus, there will be the private estates of the partners, 
 which, after satisfyinrf private liabilities, will leave for the general estate a surplus 
 of £30,000 to £40,000 in increase of tlie margin sliown to the creditors to exist. It 
 will be observed tliat the largo portion of these assets is in America, and at first 
 sight, looking to the pi'esent position of matters on that side, there might be thought 
 to exist some uncertainty as to their value being realized ; but, considering tlie 
 large proportion that is in stock, the character of the debts, and the number of the 
 parties (about 800) amongst whom they are distributed, bearing in mind, also, the 
 fact of these being, in the majority of instances, old-establislied customers, and 
 making the largest allowance lor contingencies, we do not see any ground of appre- 
 hension as to the ultimate result to the creiitors. The statements of the foreign 
 houses are sent over montiily, and we have them complete by October 1st. The 
 average sales there during the last five years have reached something like £570,000 
 per annum, wiiile the bad debts have not exceeded £2.000 per annum, a very strong 
 fact in confirmation of the excellence of tiie business tiiere. 
 
 "Creditoi-s are the best judges of their own interests, and it is scarcely for us to 
 suggest the course which shouhi be adopted in tiiis matter, but the circumstances of 
 the case are so peculiar, everything connected with it; is so bond fide, and so perfectly 
 free from anything speculative, arid tlie character of the parties for exactness, 
 ability, and integrity is so entirely beyond question, that we do not hesitate to say, 
 that the wisest plan for all concerned is to leave in the hands of Messrs. Naylor, 
 Vickers, and Co. the management of their own affairs, under such a deed, or letter 
 of license, as will save them from molestation, fixed periods being allowed for the 
 payment of their debts in full, by instalments of S*. in the pound, the first maturing 
 on the 15th July next (by wliicli time the remittances from the spring sales will be 
 coming forward), the remainder at successive intervals of three months each from 
 that time; interest on the whole at the average Bank of England rate, to be paid in 
 cash with the last instalment." 
 
 " Sheffield, November 24, 1857. 
 
 "At a meeting of the croditoi-s of Messrs. Naylor, Vickers, and Co., held at their 
 offices in Sheffield, on Tuesday, 24th November, 1857, J. P. Budd, Esq. (a principal 
 creditor), in the chair, it being premised that the house stopped payment on the 4th 
 November, inst., Mr. II. W. Banner, public accountant of Liverpool, read statements 
 and balance-sheets of the house. When, after much discussion, the following 
 resolutions were agreed to, moved by James Spence, Esq., seconded by Wm. S. 
 Koden, Esq.: Eesolved — 
 
 " * That the report read by Mr. Banner is approved and be adojited. 
 
 "'That, under the peculiar circumstances of this house and their estate, it is 
 desirable, and will best promote the interest of the creditors of the house, that the 
 partners should pay, and the creditors accept, their debts (that is, 20.s'. in the pound), 
 with interest at the average Bank of England rate, by four instalments of 5x. in tiie 
 pound each; on the 15th July, 1858, 15th October, loth January, and 15th April 
 following, the interest on the wliole to be paid in cash with the last instalment. 
 
 " ' Tliat new acceptances of the house be given to each creditor for the instalments. 
 
 " ' That a deed be prepared by which the creditors on receipt of the acceptances 
 will covenant not to sue the house, but give time until the acceptances are duly 
 paid when :ind as they respectively fall due, and if and when they are all duly paid 
 the house to stand released.' 
 
 "Carried with one dissentient voice. 
 
 (Signed) "J. P. Budd, Chairman.'" 
 
 The following is the circular announcing the resumption of payments in full: — 
 
 " Sheffield and Liverpool, Jtfar/ 17, 1858. 
 " Sib, — "We beg leave to inform you that we have this day resumed payment in 
 full, and every demand against us, matured or unmatured, in bills or in accounts, 
 will be settled in cash on presentation at our respective offices. As the average of 
 the Bank of England rate is below 5 per cent, interest will be regulated at 5 per 
 cent, per annum. 
 
 " With sincerest thanks for your kind indulgence, with which the even to us 
 unexpectedly rapid realization of our demands in America now enables us to 
 dispense, " We remain, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 *'Natlob, VickivRS, and Co." 
 I
 
 CXXX APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF jMESSES. AV. AXD H. BEAND, 
 
 A meetinfj; of the creditors of Messrs. "W. and H. Brand, engaged in the "West 
 India and American trade, was held on the 11th November, 1857, •when the 
 following statement was presented by Mr. G. H. Jay, the accountant : — 
 
 Stateme?;t of Aff.virs, October 26Tir, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors on open accounts £5,920 12 8 
 
 To rent and salaries 71 5 
 
 £5,991 17 3 
 
 To creditors on bills payable, as per statement... 164,669 9 3 
 Less amount which it is expected will be re- 
 tired by drawers 88,487 10 7 
 
 76,181 18 8 
 
 To creditors fidly secured, as per statement 11,960 17 7 
 
 To amount of securities held 20,788 15 9 
 
 Balance — surplus canned to coHifra 8,827 18 2 
 
 To Uabihties on bills receivable 319,169 18 2 
 
 To amoimt expected to be brought against this 
 
 estate, inclusive of Dennistoun and Co.'s 
 
 acceptances, amounting to 59,577 2 9 
 
 To Westei-n Bank of Scotland 67,000 
 
 To City of Glasgow Bank 27,000 
 
 153,577 2 9 
 
 To liabihty to Kake, Kimber, and Co., Middles- 
 
 borough-on-Tees, on a contract for building 
 
 an iron paddle steamer, on account of G. P. 
 
 Watson, of Demevara, amount of contract . . . 8,750 
 
 Less first instalment, paid on account 2,150 
 
 Considered good 6,600 ■ — — — • 
 
 235,750 18 8 
 
 Deduct creditor- under £20 each 226 6 6 
 
 C235,52t 12 2 
 
 ruEBTTon. 
 
 By cash on hand, viz., at London Joint-Stock 
 
 'Bank £58 18 2 
 
 In the house 1 14' 3 
 
 £60 12 5 
 
 By bills receivable, in hand 18,328 2 9 
 
 Estimated to be of the value of 11,015 12 2 
 
 By sundry debtors, considered good 12,093 15 8 
 
 'Considered bad 55,920 10 3 
 
 By surplus security held by creditors 8,827 18 2 
 
 Estimated to produce 3,000 
 
 By sundry pro]icrty 95 19 7 
 
 By surplus of private estates of the partners 1,268 
 
 £30,563 19 10 
 Deduct creditors under £20 each 226 6 6 
 
 Total £30,337 13 4 
 
 Deficiency carried forward 205,186 18 10
 
 APPENDIX. CXXXl 
 
 Statement Accounting for Deficiency from 1st Jancary, 1857, 
 TO 26th October, 1857. 
 
 To balance brought over, being deficiency brought from statement 
 
 of affairs *. £20.5,186 18 10 
 
 To partners' capital : — 
 
 At credit of Wm. Brand £i,587 10 4 
 
 At credit of R. T. Brand 6,214 15 6 
 
 To profits, 1857, viz. : — 
 
 Commissions 3,549 1 8 
 
 Discounts 384 17 
 
 Interest 458 10 10 
 
 Sundries 175 3 
 
 10,802 5 10 
 
 Less : — 
 
 Charges £187 19 7 
 
 Loss per " Tyne" 460 
 
 Discount on bills 588 9 5 
 
 Insurance 141 10 9 
 
 Interest 220 12 11 
 
 Law charges, say 50 
 
 £4,567 9 9 
 
 £1,948 12 8 
 
 2,618 17 1 
 
 Total £218,608 1 9 
 
 By balance at debit of J. Gr. Gamer, but subject to the hquidation 
 
 'ofhisaffah-s £55,903 11 7 
 
 By Anderson and Smith — bad debts 16 18 8 
 
 By bad habihties, as per statement of affau's 153,577 2 9 
 
 By estimated depreciation in realizing secm'ities held by creditors 5,827 18 2 
 
 By estimated depreciation in realizing bills receivable in hand ... 3,282 10 7 
 
 £218,608 1 9 
 
 It was explained by Mr. Reece, the professional representative of the firm, that 
 their embarrassments have arisen from a connection with Mr. Garner, of New 
 York, wlio, although previously in very prosperous circumstances, has been brought 
 down tbi-ough the American convulsion. With respect to tlie actual condition of 
 the estate, much will depend upon the liquidation of the affairs of the Western Bank 
 of Scotland, the City of Glasgow Bank, and Messrs. Dennistoun and Co. The 
 assets, under the most favourable view, show about 6*. 8f/. in tlie pound, but should 
 the liabilities not diminisli, the dividend will scarcely exceed 2*. 6d. Of the drafts 
 of Mr. Garner for about i'110,000, about ^'52,000 will be retired, and with the 
 exception of the facilities afforded that gentleman no irregular bill transactions what- 
 ever have occurred. The firm possess an interest, to the extent of i'l 1,000, in the 
 shares of the Demerara Railway, which are now marketable, and the principal assets 
 consist of £30,000 exhibited on the face of the accounts. As tlie partners, owing to 
 the suspension of Messrs. Dennistoun and the Western Bank of Scotland, are not in 
 a position to make any proposal, they desired to place themselves entirely in the 
 hands of their creditors, surrendering for their benefit every fraction of property. 
 After some discussion, a proposal to wind-up undir inspection was generally agreed 
 to, a resolution to that effect being carried.
 
 CXXXll APPt;NDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. J. HALY AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. J. Ilaly and Co., -who had recently failed in 
 the American trade, was held on the 12th November, 18.57, when the following 
 statement was presented by Mr. Quilter, of the firm of Quilter, Ball, and Co., the 
 accountants: — 
 
 StATEMEXT OF AfFAIRS, OCTOBER 28, 1S57. 
 • DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors £30,264 13 2 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claim ' £5,667 16 2 
 
 Value of secui'ity 5,408 7 2 
 
 Deficiency 259 9 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of secui'ity £6,300 
 
 Ainouut of claim 2,962 9 7 
 
 Surplus carried to credit £3,337 10 5 
 
 To liabilities on endorsements — • 
 
 Considered good £20,974 12 6 
 
 To Uabilities on acceptances 43,233 4 11 
 
 Considered bad — Jacot, Taylor, and Co 6,678 4 4 
 
 E.H.Brett 10,306 16 4 
 
 16,985 8 
 
 £47,509 2 10 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash balance in liousc £216 1 3 
 
 „ at Bank of England 33 14 8 
 
 219 15 11 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 14,601 7 1 
 
 Considered bad £7,906 18 5 
 
 Considered doubtfid £3,028 7 
 
 Estimated at 1,000 
 
 By bills receiTable — 
 
 Considered good 2,146 2 9 
 
 By consignment of railway iron to New York, in the hands of 
 T. Delion, of New York, and on joint account with him : — 
 Our half net proceeds of 2,355 tons 7 cwt., remaining un- 
 sold, estimated at 9,000 
 
 By shares in vessels : — 
 
 4-64ths of « Pride of Canada," 
 
 cost. May, 1855 £1,167 15 3 
 
 4-61tlis of "Queen of the 
 
 Lakes," cost, Sept., 1855 ... 877 2 11 
 
 Valued at £2,000 
 
 By mortgages held by T. Dehon, New York, for 
 our accoimt, witli power of sale, viz. : — 
 3-16lhs of "Ellwood Walker," 
 12,000 dolliirs, supposed 
 
 total value £11,000, 8av £1,500 
 
 28-64ths of " City of Manches- 
 ter," supposed total value 
 £9,000 2,500 
 
 1,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 Curried forward £32,997 5 9
 
 APPENDIX. CXXxiil 
 
 Brought forward £32,'J97 5 9 
 
 By counting-house furniture 100 6 
 
 By surplus securities in hands of creditors, as per contra 3,337 10 5 
 
 By dividends from the estates of Jacot, Taylor, and Co., and R. 
 
 H. Brett. (Should the dividends to arise from our own 
 
 estate and the estates of these two firms together exceed 20.?. 
 
 in the poimd, a benefit will accrue to om* estate equal to such 
 
 excess.) 
 
 £3G,435 2 2 
 Less sundry preferential payments, as rents, salaries, expenses, 
 
 etc 300 
 
 £36,135 2 2 
 By deficiency carried forward 11,374 8 
 
 £47,509 2 10 
 
 It was explained that the accounts show a deficiency of £11,374, and that the 
 suspension has been occasioned through the failure of Mr. R. II. Brett, of Toronto, 
 and Messrs. Jacot, Taylor, and Co., of Liverpool. Two yciirs ago tlie firm possessed 
 capital equal to £19,000, subject to bad debts of about £5,000. The estimate of Mr. 
 Brett's estate, for present purposes, is taken at 6s. %d. in the pound; but should a 
 dividend of 13y. 4(/. be realized, as anticipated, in Toronto, the Messrs Haly and Co. 
 will be solvent. Under any circumstances the assets, consisting of shares in vessel*, 
 iron, and book debts, may, it is thought, produce from 10?. to 15^. in tiie pound. A 
 conversation took place with respect to the course proposed to be pursued. Some 
 of the creditors .appeared to think that an oifer of composition would be accepted ; 
 but, as it wiis stated that one of the partners was abroad, a doubt was entertained of 
 a result being immediately arrived at. The suggestion of Mr. J. Linklater, that a 
 liquidation under inspection could at once be proccL-ded with, leaving the question of 
 arrangement in abeyance until the views of the absent partner were ascertained, was 
 eventually acted upon, and a resolution agreeing to this mode of proceeding was 
 adopted. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. JAMES SCOTT AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. James Scott and Co., of Queenstown, 
 shipowners, who suspended a short time previously, was held on Thursday, 
 November, 19th, 1857. Mr. Edmund Burke having been called to the chair, Mr. 
 Jameson, solicitor, laid before tiie meeting the following statement of the present 
 financial circumstances of the firm. 
 
 The total liabilities amounted to £129,376, of which the secured debts were 
 £47,679, leaving a balance of £81,697 unsecured. The available assets amounted 
 to £109,225, which, deducting the secured debts, £47,679, left £61,546 to meet the 
 unsecured debts amounting to £81,697. There thus appears to be a deficit of 
 £20,151. The assets were made up as follows: — Ships, and freights due thereon, 
 £53,000; houses, £44,600; other property, £11,625; total, £109,225. The house 
 property is liable to two mortgages, for £10,000 to the Provincial Bank, and £4,000 
 to a firm in the City, with a contingent mortgage of £5,000, also to the bank. Tlie 
 ships are liable to mortgages of £8,000. The house property is let at an annual 
 rental of £2,570, and includes some of the handsomest parts of Queenstown. 
 
 Tlie failure of the firm was stated to have i-esulted from that of the Liverpool 
 Borough Bank, together with the general pressure of the money-market, and the 
 depreciation in the value of siiipping. 
 
 Mr. Jameson then said lie was authorized on the part of Messrs. Scott to submit 
 the following proposition to the meeting: — " That the property should be placed 
 in the hands of trustees, and that the creditors should take acceptances for a com- 
 position of 12.5. 6f/. in the pound, payable in three instalments, at intervals of six, 
 twelve, and eighteen months." 
 
 The statement was received favourably by the creditors, several of whom 
 declared their entire confidence in the honour and integrity of the firm, insomuch
 
 CXXXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 as one of tliem suprp:ested tbat the Messrs. Scott should be permitted to work the 
 concern tlietnsi'lvcs without the intervention of trustees; but this proposition was at 
 once refused by the Messrs. Scott themselves. A committee of iusi>ection was 
 appointed on the suggestion of Mr. Jameson, with power to employ an accountant 
 to examine the books of the firm and ascertain the correctness of the statement as 
 to their liabilities and assets. Slioiild they report favourably, the creditors expressed 
 themselves ready to accede to the proposed arrangement. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. WILSON, MOKGAN, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. "Wilson, Uorgnn, and Co., wholesale 
 stationers, of Clieapsidc, who suspended on the 12th of November, was held on 
 the 22iid of November, 1857, when the following statement of their affairs was pre- 
 sented by Mr. H. Chatteris, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement of Affaius, Novembbr, 12, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOK. 
 
 To creditora unsecured £19,325 5 6 
 
 Ditto under £10 195 6 10 
 
 1:19,520 12 4 
 
 To Mr. Samuel Smith 4,520 12 5 
 
 Less estimated value of security held by bun 2,075 
 
 2,445 12 5 
 
 To creditors partially seciu'ed 1,041 10 5 
 
 Less estimated value of secvirities 656 3 10 
 
 385 6 7 
 
 To habilities on acceptances which should be 
 
 provided for by the drawers 1,452 8 9 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be proved 
 
 on this estate 35113 9 
 
 To liabihties on bills receivable under discount 20,984 1 3 
 
 Supposed to be good 17,062 4 4 
 
 Expected to be dishonoured 3,921 16 11 
 
 Less cash in the hands of bill-holders 995 14 6 
 
 2,926 2 5 
 
 £25,629 7 6 
 
 CREDITOn. 
 
 By stoc'k and utensils in trade, at cost £5,005 7 6 
 
 By debtors — good 4,411 8 3 
 
 „ doubtful £229 14 4 
 
 Taken at IO5. in the pound 114 17 2 
 
 Bad 2,045 13 4 
 
 By debt due i'rom Thomas Wilson — bad 6,777 9 
 
 £8,822 14 1 
 
 By cash in hand (17 ] 
 
 Estimated Aaluc of a printing plant assigned to us for a bad debt 300 
 
 £9,898 13 11 
 Less rent, taxes, salai-ies, etc., to l)e i)aid in full 400 
 
 (About 7*. 4 Jd. in the pound) £9,498 13 ]1 
 
 Deficiency 16,130 13 7 
 
 £25,629 7 6
 
 APPENDIX. CXXXV 
 
 The debts and liabilities amount to i-25,629, and the assets to iy,499, showing 
 a deficiency of i;16,l30. The affairs of the house appear to have been for some 
 time in a doubtful state, owing to the involvement of the two original partners, Mr. 
 William and Mr. Thomas Wilson. The first retired three or four years ago, in con- 
 sequence of some liability incurred through an insurance company, and the second 
 left tlie firm at a later period, having encountered responsibility in connection with 
 the Royal British Bank. The firm were believed to be solvent in 1854, including a 
 debt due from Australia, for consignments, which has since proved to be bad. 
 When Thomas Wilson retired Morgan assumed that aniount witli the other assets, 
 and it was agreed to allow Mr. Wilson an annuity, with permission, if he chose, at 
 any time within a certain date, to re-enter as a partner. Mr. H. N. Smith having 
 temporarily joined Mr. Morgan, his father advanced money for the business, and was 
 now secured to the extent of ±'2,075. The proposal was to pay a composition of 7*. 
 in the pound by instalments extending over a period of twelve months, but some of 
 the creditors, including Mr. M'Murray and others, insisted that as the business was 
 valuable a better arrangement should be attempted. Ten shillings, or a settlement 
 under the arrangement clauses of the Bankruptcy Consolidation Act, was the point 
 discussed at some length, and after a consultation among the parties, a kind of 
 compromise in the following shape was agreed to : — 
 
 "It was proposed and resolved by tlje creditors present to accept a com- 
 position of 85. 6d. in the pound, by three equal instalments at three, six, and nine 
 months, from December 1, the last instalment to be secured to the satisfaction of 
 Messrs. M,Murray, Templeton, and Pollock." 
 
 The estate was subsequently wound-up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. BiVEDGETT AND PICAED. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Bardgett and Picard, who failed on the 
 16tli November, 1857, in the corn trade, was held on the 9th December, when the 
 following statement of affairs was presented by Mr. Turquand, of the firm of Tur- 
 quand, Youngs, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement of Affaies, Noa'. 14, 1857. 
 
 BEBTOU. 
 
 To creditors unsecui-ed £33,596 8 
 
 To creditors partially seciu'ed £38,890 12 9 
 
 To estimated value of seciu-ities 33,687 14 8 
 
 To creditors fully secured 17,556 3 
 
 To estimated value of secxu-ities 18,981 10 8 
 
 5,202 18 1 
 
 £1,425 10 5 
 To liabilities on bills of exchange 112,652 16 
 
 Considered good £65,023 3 8 
 
 bad 47,629 12 4 47,629 12 4 
 
 Deduct cash per contra in 
 
 the hands of bill-holders... 1,285 14 5 
 
 46,343 17 11 
 £85,142 16 8 
 
 CREDITOK. 
 
 By cash in hands of bankers and bill-holders... 
 
 Deducted from liabihtios 2)er contra — 
 
 By debtors, good 
 
 By ditto, doubtful and bad... £7,481 12 6 
 
 Estimated to realize 
 
 Carried forward — £4, 558 6 5 
 
 £1,285 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 3,623 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 935 
 
 3 
 
 3
 
 CXXXVl APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £4,558 6 5 
 
 Bv debtors in America £38,6'16 1 
 
 'Estimated to realize 10,000 
 
 Bjproperty l,9:il G 
 
 £16,482 12 5 
 
 Deduct claims payable in full 376 
 
 £16.106 12 
 
 Bv doubtfid assets — 
 
 Property £6,824 
 
 Surplus secui'ities ^er contra 1,425 10 5 
 
 £8,219 10 5 
 
 It was stated that the assets show about 5s. in the pound, but that there is not 
 the prospect of the whole amount being realized, in consequence of tlie large pro- 
 portion of debts due from America. Tlio operations of the firm have been on an 
 extensive scale, and the dilliculties are attributed to losses, bad debts, and tlie de- 
 preciation in tlie value of grain. In 1856 the .accounts exhibited a surplus of £24,314, 
 but an accurate estimate of the debts had not tlien been made. The house not being 
 in a position to make any distinct offer, the partners are prepared to adopt any 
 course which may be suggested for the arrangement of their affairs. After some 
 discussion an adjournment of a week was agreed to, three creditors being meanwhile 
 appointed to look into the books, with the view of recommending the measures that 
 should be resorted to. At an adjourned meeting it was determined to appoint a 
 committee to consider the propriety of accepting 2s. Qd. in the pound. 
 
 The estate was subsequently wound-up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. BROCKLESBY A^^D WESSELS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Brocklesby and Wessels, who failed on the 
 18th November, 1857, in the grain trade, was held on the 3rd December, when the 
 subjoined statement of their afl'uirs was presented by Mr. G. H. Jay, the accountant: — 
 
 Beocklesby and Wessels' Statement of Affatks, November 18, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundi-y creditors unsecured £31,793 4 2 
 
 To rent, taxes, etc 392 18 6 
 
 £32,186 2 8 
 
 To sundry creditors fully secured — 
 
 Amount of claims £18,354 13 11 
 
 Amount of security 27,357 16 6 
 
 Balance — surplus to contra £9,003 2 7 
 
 To sundry creditors, partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claims 50,570 4 11 
 
 Securityheld 42,269 11 4 
 
 • 8,300 13 7 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances for sundry cargoes, 
 
 of which we are relieved by the consignees 
 
 suspending the dehvery 2,804 17 7 
 
 To liabihtie-s on bills receivable per list — 
 
 Considered good 21,101 8 5 
 
 To Uabiliiies on guarantee of Levy and Ai'udt's 
 
 drafts, not expected to become claims 4,319 5 
 
 £40,486 16 3
 
 APPENDIX. CX XXVll 
 
 CREDITOH. 
 
 By cash at bankers' £1,695 11 11 
 
 Retained by them against bills per contra — 
 
 In ihe house ...., 19 13 11 
 
 At the National Bank 92 18 2 
 
 £112 12 1 
 
 By bills receivable in hand, as per statement, 
 considered good 5,609 15 
 
 By snnch-y debtors, as per statement — 
 
 Considered good £6,795 18 
 
 DoubtM £190 say IVO 
 
 Bad 2,538 3 1 
 
 6,965 18 
 
 By stock in hand 1,200 
 
 By sm'plus secm'itv held by creditors, as 'per 
 
 contra \ \ 9,003 2 7 
 
 By coimtmg-house furniture 40 
 
 By debts due to consigners, not collected 956 8 3 
 
 £22,931 7 8 
 
 It was explained that the estate showed a dividend of aboul lis. 3cZ in tlie 
 pound, the nssets consisting of erain taken at a fuir valuation, and wliich cnn be 
 steadily realized. The whole of the trnnsactions of the firm have, it is stated, been 
 characterized by regularity, and tlie bankers being satisfied witii the conduct of 
 Messrs. Brocklesby and Wessels, have agi'eed to abide by the general decision of the 
 creditors. Mr. M'Leud, the professional representative of the firm, intimated thiit if 
 a liqnidation under inspectorship were adopted, a first dividend of 5.?. could be 
 speedily declared, and a second of 2?. Qd. within two months, leaving the further 
 distribution in the hands of the gentlemen appointed to act under the arrangement. 
 General testimony having been borne to the satisfactory mode of transacting 
 business by tlie house, a resolution was passed authorizing a liquidation by inspection. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. J. AND A. DENNISTOUN 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of creditors of Messrs. J. and A. Dennistoun and Co., of Glasgow, 
 with branch houses at London, Liverpool, New York, and New Orleans, whose 
 suspension was announced on the 7th, was held on the 26th November, 1857, when 
 the following statement of affaii-s was submitted by Mr. Coleman, the accountant : — 
 
 Balance Statement of Affairs to November 7, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accoimts £91,947 10 8 
 
 Ditto, holchng seciu-ity 217,276 1 9 
 
 Ditto, on bdls ])ayable (this amount includes our acceptances 
 (£296,687 17.?. 5f?.) given for the account of Dennistoim 
 Brothers and Co., of Austraha) 1,833,478 3 1 
 
 Liabihties £2,142,701 15 6 
 
 To amount of capital standing to the credit of the several 
 
 partners £560,897 2 9 
 
 Ditto, Liverpool Borough Bank, shares cost 208,873 2 11 
 
 709,770 5 8 
 
 Balance of profit and loss account, etc. 23,520 7 5 
 
 £2,935,992 8 7
 
 £9,038 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 2,500 
 
 
 
 
 
 26,360 
 
 
 
 
 
 111,786 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 CXXXVIU APPENDIX. 
 
 CKEDITOR. 
 
 By cash in hand 
 
 By counting-house furniture, etc 
 
 By produce on hand 
 
 By bills receivable on hand 
 
 By debtors in Great Britain, etc £213,010 7 11 
 
 Ditto and property in America 1,58-1,215 14 9 
 
 1,797,226 2 8 
 
 By securities with creditors 187,080 12 10 
 
 By amount to debit of Dennistoun Brothers and Co., Austraha 354,345 14 6 
 
 Inclusive of acceptances amounting to £296,687 17*. 5c?. 2,488,337 9 
 
 By further separate estates of the partners available 190,379 16 8 
 
 By debts due to separate partners in America 4-8,392 
 
 By Liverpool Borough Bank shares, contra 208,873 2 11 
 
 £2,935,982 8 7 
 Claims and Assets after Deditctixg Contea Enteies. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £91,947 10 8 
 
 Ditto on biUs payable £1,833,478 3 1 
 
 Less balances to the debit of parties for 
 whose accoimt the bills are accepted, 
 the principal part of wliich are con- 
 sidered good 1,214,414 5 3 
 
 To creditors partially secui'ed 177,142 14 11 
 
 To secm-ity held 142,531 15 
 
 Creditors fully secured — 
 
 Secm-ity held 44,548 17 10 
 
 Clauus 40,133 6 10 
 
 619,063 17 10 
 34,610 19 11 
 
 4,il5 11 
 Liabilities on bills discounted, £51 1,769 10*. 4c?., of which it is 
 
 estimated there may rank on this estate 50,000 
 
 £795,622 8 5 
 
 To liabihties in respect of letters of cretlit. 
 
 Ditto of partners on Liverpool Borough Bank shares or any 
 other company. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 By cash in hand, etc. (subject to the due payment of bills dis- 
 counted by Commercial Bank of Scotland) £9,038 10 9 
 
 By couniiiig-houses, furniture, etc 2,500 
 
 By produce on hand 26,360 
 
 By bills receivable on liand 111,786 9 3 
 
 By debtors and property 582,814 17 5 
 
 By surplus from seciu'ities, coH^;*fls 4,115 11 
 
 By amount to debit of Dennistoun Brothers and Co., Austraha 
 
 (mclusivc of acce})tanccs amounting to £296,687 Vis. tid.) 354,345 13 6 
 
 By further separate estates of the partners availalile 190,379 16 8 
 
 By debts due to the separate partners in America 48:399 
 
 £1,330,039 18 7 
 
 By Liverpool Boi'ough Bank shares, held by tlie several j)artners £208,873 12 11 
 
 Mr. Coleman explained that in the above account only one item is estimated 
 arbitrarily — viz., the profit and loss ; and that the value set on the produce is
 
 APPENDIX. CXXXIX 
 
 calculated from tlie price between the 7tli and 14tli oF November. The debts and 
 property in Ainerira may be thus classllied : — 1695,000 is represented mostly by 
 goods and bills receivable of customers ; .i'325,200 consists of other bills receivable ; 
 £140,000 puarantt^^cd securities ; .4'151,000 open accounts, and the remainder is 
 composed of railway bonds, mortgages, and various securities of that character, but 
 of tlie best description. The house of Dennistoun and Co., of Australia, being a 
 distinct firm, tlie creditors in connection with that business will be in a somewhat 
 better position than the ordinary creditors, as the returns from Australia will accrue 
 more quickly than the proceeds to be expected from the realization of the American 
 assets. Messrs. Dennistoun, as large shareholders in the Liverpool Borough Bank, 
 are necessarily subject to a heavy liability on account of the failure of that institu- 
 tion ; but it is believed, not only that the £5 call already made will be sufficient to 
 clear off all claims, but tli:it there is every probability this sum will be returned. 
 All the i;ransactions of the firm have been on a sound and legitimate basis, and no 
 discreditable act can in any way be imputed to them. Mr. ftlurray, their London 
 solicitor, then made the following proposition on the part of Messrs. Dennistoun, 
 namely, that the creditors of the liouses in Great Britain and the United States be 
 paid in six instalments, namely, 3s. in the pound on or before the 30th of January, 
 185S ; 2'?. on the 31st of July ; 3.?. on the 31st of December ; 4s. on the 30th of 
 June, 1859 ; 4.?. on the 31st of December; and 4?. on the SOih of June, 1860 ; with 
 5 per cent, interest on eacii instalment ; and that the creditors through the 
 Australian house should receive 6s. 8d. in the pound on the 30tli of January, 1858 ; 
 3s. 4d. on the 30th of June ; 5.?. on the 31st of January, 1859 ; and 5s. on the 31st 
 of July, also with interest at the rate of 5 per cent. In answer to a question, Mr. 
 Murray stated that when the first payment is made, promissory notes for the 
 remaining instalments will be given and the present acceptances cancelled. lie 
 hoped the proposal would be accepted, as such a course would prove of the greatest 
 assistance, both morally and legally, in the realization of the assets and the enforce- 
 ment of the claims in America. It was further stated that the accounts from the 
 United States were encouraging, and that a possibility exists of the instalments being 
 paid before the dates fixed, although, on considering the whole circumstances of the 
 case, Messrs. Dennistoun could not feel certain ot being able to carry out better 
 terms. After a short discussion, a resolution accepting the proposition was passed 
 unanimously. 
 
 The estate has paid 20*. in the pound with interest, having anticipated some of 
 the instalments. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. BEXNOCH, TWENTYMAN, 
 AND RIGG. 
 
 A numerous meeting of creditors of IMessrs. Bennoch, Twentyman, and Eigg, 
 extensively engaged as manufacturers in London and Manchester, was held on tlie 
 27th November, 1857, Mr. Foster presiding, when the subjoined statement, prepared 
 by Mr. Parrinton, of tiie firm of Messrs. Parrinton, Ladbury, and Co., was submitted. 
 Mr. Reed represented the firm ; Mr. J. Linklater, Mr. Bower, Mr. Crowther, and 
 Mr. Abrahams, various creditors. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors as per list £167,552 5 10 
 
 Less secui-ities held by them 6,722 5 3 
 
 • £160,830 7 
 
 (111 the above claims, £50,950 11*. 9d. is 
 included, depr*eciation in the value of silk 
 ill the hands of the brokers.) 
 
 Bills accepted by consignei*3 £99,663 IS 9 
 
 Less bills fidly or pai'tly secui'ed by goods 
 
 onhaud 62,680 13 6 
 
 36,983 5 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, discoimted, 
 
 considered good 127,511 14 10 
 
 Carried forward £197,813 5 10
 
 CXl APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £197,813 5 10 
 
 Ditto, ditto, cousidered bad £23,547 6 11 
 
 Less security, held on account thereof 550 
 
 22,997 6 11 
 
 To Habilities on guarantees, in respect of which it is considered 
 
 there wiU be a claim of 3,000 
 
 To creditors of Messrs. Lovatt and Gould, whose debts Messrs. 
 
 Bennoch, Twentyman, and Eigg have undertaken to pay 33,884 3 2 
 
 £257,694 15 11 
 
 By stock in trade in London and Manchester, 
 
 cost £65,768 5 8 
 
 Estimated at £39,195 18 4 
 
 By book debts, good 41,347 5 2 
 
 Less debts on consigners' account 10, 191 1 
 
 31,156 5 1 
 
 By book debts, doubtful and bad 16,267 18 1 
 
 Estimated at 5,057 15 4 
 
 By bills receivable on hand 7,248 7 
 
 By less portion due to consigners 435 13 9 
 
 ~ 6,812 13 3 
 
 By cash in hand and at banker's 874 13 4 
 
 By cash at banker's 2,028 16 4 
 
 Deducted from their claim of 5,000 
 
 By fixtures at Manchester 154 
 
 By furniture, etc., at Wood Street 300 
 
 By shipments to Melboui'ne, Sydney, New 
 
 York, etc., amounting to 41,021 5 11 
 
 Subject to advances and claims thereon ... 20,163 10 1 
 
 £20,857 15 10 
 Estimated at 12,794 
 
 By value of shares 100 
 
 By securities deposited with creditors, and de- 
 ducted per contra £6,722 5 3 
 
 By leases and fixtures of premises, 77 and 78, Wood Street, and 
 
 land in Silver Street 1,400 
 
 By stock, book debts, utensils in trade, furniture, etc., of Messrs. 
 
 Lovatt and Govdd, of Leek 4,382 11 
 
 By equity of redemption in freehold land and mill of Messrs. 
 Lovatt and Goidd, subject to mortgage of £10,000. 
 
 £102,228 5 2 
 Less rent, salaries, etc 781 11 8 
 
 £101,446 13 6 
 
 Deficiency £156,248 2 5 
 
 It was explained tliat the accounts sliowed a deficiency of £1.56, 24S, the differ- 
 ence between £257,694 debts and liabilities, and £101,446 assets. The dividend, 
 therefore, taking the balance-sheet as it stands, would be from 7s. lOrf. to 7*. \\d. 
 in the pound; but as a portion of the assels consists of silk, they are still liable to 
 some fluctuation. Tlie firm in 1848 commenced witli a capital of £9,410, which 
 subsequently increased until it was taken in December, 1856, at £38.247. This, 
 togetlier with tlie profits in trade, by .silk, commissions, and the amount of deficiency, 
 constituted a total of whicii the firm had to discharge themselves. It could, how- 
 ever, be readily done; for although some of the items presented unfavourable results, 
 they accounted fur the several amounts. The loss on the depreciation of silk, now 
 held by themselves and the brokers, was £50,900; the depreciation of other stock, 
 £26,573; loss hv the firm of Messrs. Lovatt and Gould, of Leek, £41,728; loss 
 by Messrs. T. S.'Rced and Co., of Derby, £16,692; loss by Mr. John Taylor, of
 
 APPENDIX. CXli 
 
 Coventry, £17,426 ; and these, with other amounts, inchiding the drawnigs of the 
 firm, £5,838; loss on bills receivable, £23,547; on shipments, £7,100; trade ex- 
 penses, £8,213; and bad debts, £14,510, represented the aggregate. The assump- 
 tion of the debts of Messrs. Lovatt and Gould, amounting to £33,800, arose from a 
 joint connection, by which Messrs. Bennoch and Co. became liable with them in silk 
 purchases from Messrs. Durant, and eventually they took the property of Lovatt 
 and Gould, and arranged to discharge their engagements. In the case of Messrs. 
 Reed and Co., of Derby, the loss accrued through depi'eciation, the same being the 
 result with the firm of Messrs. Taylor and Co., of Coventry. Being consignees to 
 Messrs. Bennoch and Co., they had overdrawn to an amount in excess of the value of 
 the goods as now estimated, Mr. Bennoch and Mr. Twentyman being at the same time 
 partners in the firm of Messrs. Reed and Co. Mr. Reed, as the professional advis>;rof 
 the firm, showed that the chief injury to the estate had ensued through depreciation, 
 the further sacrifice, ever since the suspension, having been at least 10 per cent. 
 In a period of depression like the present, it was impossible to predict what might 
 be the result; but it was hoped that a favourable reaction might ensue and increase 
 the value of the assets. Wtiile explaining the miiiutite of the business with Messis. 
 Lovatt and Gould, Messrs. Reed and Co., and Mr. J. Taylor, he showed tbat 
 they originated under proper influences, and that no bill transactions of a doubtful 
 or irregular character had occurred. The proposal to be placed before the credit- 
 ors did not include any specific offer, because, looking at the nature of their 
 estate, Messrs. Bennoch and Co. felt that it would be impossible for them to make 
 an arrangement which would be satisfactory. They had therefore determined to 
 yield to any course of action that might be stiggested with the view of liquidating 
 their estate in the best possible manner. It was not presumed that bankruptcy 
 would be proposed, but it was believed that, through the process of inspection, 
 affairs mi>iht be wotmd-up without delritni'nt to existing interests. The separate 
 estates of Mr. Bennoch and Mr. Twentyman each presented a small surplus, which, 
 if required, could be made available for the benefit of the joint estate, but th<it of 
 Mr. Rigg exhibited a deficiency. After a lengthened conversation, in which it was 
 elicited that the operations of the fii"m in silk had been based on hondjide purchases, 
 they having acted in the character of silk dealers as well as manufacturers, it was 
 agreed that a liquidation under inspection should be effected. In the course of the 
 proceedings, Mr. Reed intimated that it would in all probability be found advisable 
 to give the inspectors power, after a dividend to the amount of 6s. had been declared, 
 to deal either with the members of the firm, or with other parties, for a final 
 arrangement, and, this view being agreed to, the suggestion was incorporated in the 
 following resolution, which was immediately adopted: — 
 
 " At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Bennoch, Twentyman, and Rigg, of 
 Wood Sti-eet, London, and of Manchester, merchants, holden at Guildhall Coffee- 
 house, King Street, Cheapside, on Friday, the 27th of November, 1857, Mr. Foster 
 in the chair, Mr. Parrinton, accountant, read a statement of Messrs. Bennoch and 
 Co.'s affairs, and gave various explanations with reference to their estate. Mr. 
 Reed, solicitor, stated that, in consequence of the serious reduction in the present 
 value of the assets, Messrs. Bennoch, Twentyman, and Rigg were unable to pi-opose 
 any offer of composition which would be safe for themselves, and, at the same time, 
 satisfactory to their creditors, and, from the magnitude of the liabilities, it was 
 doubtful whellier they could find an adequate guarantee, even if the creditors 
 assented to a composition ; that, witli the hope of securing to tlieir creditors the 
 present value of tlieir assets, at all events, and a greater dividend than is at present 
 shown, should a better state of things ensue, Messrs. Bennoch and Co. propose to 
 realize their estate under inspection, in the usual way, but that the creditors shall 
 give power to tiie in.specturs, when the estate shall have been brought within 
 smaller compass by inspection, and the payment of a certain amount of dividend 
 (say 6*. in the pound), to dispose of the remainder of the estate to Messrs. Bennoch, 
 Twentyman, and Rigg, or one or more of them, or to any other person, at such 
 price and on such terms as the inspectors may think proper. Mr. Reed also stated 
 that Messrs. Bennoch and Co. placed themselves unreservedly in the hands of their 
 creditors, and would adopt any course that the latter might consider must conducive 
 to tht-ir interests. 
 
 "Resolved — That Messrs. Bennoch, Twentyman, and Rigg's estate be realized 
 under inspection, in accordance witli their proposal ; that inspectors be appointed, 
 and that it be let! to those gentlemen to decide (on behalf of the creditors) upon the 
 terms of the died of inspection, including those upon which Messrs. Bennoch, 
 Twentyman, and Rigg are to obtain their release. The assent of creditors to this
 
 Cxlii APPENDIX. 
 
 resolution is to be witho\it prejudice to their claims against other parties, or to any 
 securities they hold, and to be subject to the consent of third parties (when 
 necessary) beinor obtained." 
 
 A dividend of 6$. 6d. in the pound paid, and a release given to the partners. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE INfESSES. BROAD WOOD AND BARCLAY. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Broadwood and Barclay, engaged in the 
 West India trade, who failed on the 9th November, 18o7, was held on the 10th 
 December, when the following statement was presented by Jlr. J. Weise, of the firm 
 of Messrs. J. E. Coleman and Co., the accountants: — 
 
 Statement of Affaies, November 9, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £959 
 
 To ditto on biUs payable £259,51-7 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be provided 
 for by the parties for whose account the bills 
 wereaccepted " 133,410 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 126,137 
 
 To creditors after they have retired their drafts 10,865 
 
 To creditors on undei'WTiting accounts 1,829 
 
 To ditto, fidlv secured , £11,300 
 
 To ditto, security held 14,300 
 
 Sm-plus co«im 3,000 
 
 To creditors, partiallv secured 66,500 
 
 To ditto, security held 44,500 
 
 Deficiency 22,000 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable 117,917 4 3 
 
 Of which it is anticipated there will rank on this estate 50,230 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 £212,020 
 Liability on Ships CirxinERED, 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Bycashonhand £89 
 
 By bills receivable on hand (good) 660 
 
 Byassets 2,360 
 
 By debtors (good) 23,982 
 
 By ditto, doubtlld (estimated) 1,000 
 
 By surplus froni creditors fully secured {contra) 3,000 
 
 £31,091 
 Less sundrj' small debts, salaries, etc., to be paid in full 400 
 
 £30,691 
 
 By Mayaguez rcfinerv, stands at debit £81,097 12«. 3rf 25,000 
 
 By Decastro, Lindegren, and Co., stands at debit £61,550 11*. 4rf. 10,000 
 
 £65,691 
 
 It was explained that the accounts showed a dividend of more than 5s. in the 
 pound, the assets being taken at the lowest valuation. The large amount of bills 
 accepted, and the capital sunk in the sugar refinery at Porto Eico, represent tlie 
 principal causes of the suspension, which, together \vitli the fall in produce, exhibit 
 the total deficiency. It appears that Messrs. Decastro, Lindegren, and Co., of Porto
 
 APPENDIX. cxliii 
 
 Eico, have authorized the payment of a composition of 10s. in the pound, by three 
 instalments, to the holders of their drafts; and it was mentioned that the necessary 
 precautious have been adopted to secure the sugar refinery for the benefit of the 
 creiiitors. As this item represents so hirge an asset, it is proposed to continue tlie 
 operations for some period in order to effect a sale of the stock, and also, if possible, 
 of the property. The capital absorbed since 1849 has been £70,000. A lengthened 
 discussion took place respecting the general condition of the estate; and eventually 
 resolutions were passed, authorizing a liquidation by inspection, Mr. Kirkman Hodg- 
 son and Mr. A. Klockniann being appointed to act for the creditors. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. J. H. BAIKD AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. J. H. Baird and Co., in the Australian trade, 
 was held on the 10th December, 1857, when the following statement of affairs was 
 presented by Mr. C. F. Kemp, the accountant: — 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £1,813 14 4 
 
 To ditto on bills parable 13,661 9 3 
 
 Unsecured £15,475 3 
 
 To ditto on bills payable in respect of consignments secured 3,729 6 
 
 To Uabilities on bills receivable 7,609 6 
 
 Of wliich it is expected will be paid in fidl 5,038 9 10 
 
 Estimated dividend 1,606 13 1 
 
 Leaving 953 17 7 
 
 Estimated further loss on bills held as collateral, 
 
 securitv and bills over-due 1,100 
 
 £2,053 17 7 
 £21,258 7 11 
 
 Assets. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash in hand £45 
 
 By debtors, good 34 
 
 „ doubtful £404 3 3 
 
 .„ estimated 269 8 10 
 
 Bv bills receivable, held as collateral security by 
 
 "the City Bank .'. 3,960 12 8 
 
 Less overdrawn account 140 
 
 By cash advances on consignments 1,082 18 6 
 
 By advances by bills per contra 3,729 6 9 
 
 By bOls of lading held by City Bank 2,670 10 6 
 
 By brandy cert ilicates '. 300 
 
 3,820 12 8 
 4,812 5 3 
 2,970 10 6 
 
 By commission on consignments secured 7,395 12 1 3uO 
 
 By shipments to C. and L. "Wliarton and Co., 
 
 on joint account 37,579 
 
 Less drafts, two-thirds 25,052 13 
 
 By remittances on account 3,500 
 
 Can-ied forward £28,552 13 £12,25117 3
 
 Cxliv APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £28,552 13 £12,25117 3 
 
 By insurance and freight 159 17 7 
 
 By cash paid to Mr. Baii-d 36 5 11 
 
 £28,748 16 6 
 By balance due to J. H. Baird, or respective of 
 
 profit on the above 8,831 3 6 
 
 £21,083 9 
 
 The iminediate cause of the suspension was stated to he the discontinuance of 
 remittances from Messrs. Wharton and Co, of Melbourne, with wliom Messrs. Baird 
 had been connected In business. It wns finally resolved that Mr. Baird sliould pro- 
 ceed to Anstraiia to make the best arrangements in his power, and Mr. Kemp was 
 instructed to act in his absence. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. SANDEESON, SANDEMAN, 
 
 AXD CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Sanderson, S^ndeman, and Co., tlie bill- 
 brokers, who suspended on the 11th November, 1857, took phice on the 10th 
 December, Mr. W. Prescott presiding, when the following statement of accounts 
 was presented : — 
 
 Messes. Sandeeson, Sandeman, and Co.'s Statejient of Affaibs, 
 November 11, 1857. 
 
 DEHTOR. 
 
 To creditors uuscciu-ed £378,827 U 10 
 
 To creditors partially secured £237,864 5 4 
 
 Less bnis of exchange held as seeiu-ity 230,205 9 5 
 
 This bahuK-e will be increased by amount of such bills as may 
 ultimately prove bad. 
 
 To creditors secured £2,810,008 5 3 
 
 To bills of exchange held 
 
 as security £2,959,468 9 6 
 
 To Government stock 45,497 10 
 
 3,004,965 19 6 
 
 7,658 15 11 
 
 S\ir\)\us 2ier contra £194,957 14 3 
 
 To habUities on bills re-discounted 2,015,585 2 11 
 
 Of this amount it is impossible at present to fonn an estimate 
 of what may prove bad and come against this estate. 
 
 £386,486 10 9 
 
 Interest to date of this statement has not been calcidated on debit and credit 
 balances. 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By cash and bank shares £1,725 10 9 
 
 By bills of exchange on hand, viz. : — 
 
 On houses considered good £ 10,891 
 
 On houses which have suspended payment 52,81-7 13 10 
 
 93,738 13 10 
 
 It cannot at present be estunated what this item may ulti- 
 mately jiroduce. 
 
 Carried forward £95,464 4 7
 
 APPENDIX. CXlV 
 
 Brought forward £95,464 4 7 
 
 By loans and debts for which securities are held £79,701 It 11 
 
 Estimated to realize 73,500 
 
 By sundry debtors, viz. : — 
 
 Good 1,544 19 9 
 
 Debit balances, £206,315 7*. 6d., estimated to 
 
 realize 86,980 18 5 
 
 88,525 18 2 
 
 By partners' private estates, about 40,000 
 
 £297,490 2 9 
 
 By surplus securities, as j9er eoH^ra 194,957 14 3 
 
 This item will be reduced by amount of such bills as may 
 
 ultimately prove bad. 
 
 £492,447 17 
 
 It appeared from the statement made by Mr. Turquand, the accountant, that of 
 the .£5,298,990, the total liabilities for which the firm were responsible at the date 
 of the failure, about jt'2,013,600 have run off. The bills returned in this sum 
 represent about £91,000, of which £49,000 it is estimated will ultimately be paid. 
 Valuing tlie rnmaitider at about lOs. in tlie pound, the loss in this respect will not 
 exceed £20,000. It is estimated that there will be a further sacrifice of about 
 £30 000 on the £3,000,000 of paper which has yet to arrive at maturity, notwith- 
 standiriyr it is considered to be of a hiirlier character. The firm have discounted 
 £"132,000 for the Liverpool Borough Bunk, but an amount of about £60,000 has 
 run off, and the remainder is asserted to be secured by promissory notes. The assets 
 are now in course of collection, about £19,000 having already been paid into the 
 Bank of England, the proceeds being invested from time to time in Exchequer bills. 
 The capital originally was about £34,000, but at the date of the failure it had 
 augmented through the accumulation of profits to £83,820. A proposal for winding- 
 up the estate under inspection was unanimously agreed to, and although no doubt 
 was expressed with regard to the payment of 20.?. in the pound, nothing transpired 
 to indicate whether a reorganization of business will be attempted. The liquidation 
 may, it is thought, last a year ; but all expedition, with due regard to the interests 
 of the creditors, will be used to bring affairs to a close as soon as possible. The 
 principal discussion was with regard to the release to be given to the surviving 
 partner, the power being left in the hands of the inspectors. The lesolutions in 
 favour of the liquidation were carried unanimously, Mr. W. 6. Prescott, Mr. L. 
 Lloyd, jua., and Mr. Robertson being selected to superintend tlie administration of 
 the estate. 
 
 At present dividends to the extent of 11?. in the pound have been paid, and 
 others are expected. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. HOAEE, BUXTON, AND CO. 
 
 A numerous meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Hoare, Buxton, and Co., lately 
 engaged in the Swedish trade, wliose suspension was announced on the 17th 
 November, 1857, took place on the 14th December, Mr. Hawkins presiding, when 
 the following statement, prepared by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant, was 
 presented : — 
 
 Statement, December 14, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accoimts £16,986 1 5 
 
 BiUs payable 337,12112 2 
 
 To creditors holdmg security : — 
 
 Security held £122,545 3 9 
 
 Claims 105,739 18 7 
 
 Sxirplua to contra 16,805 5 2 
 
 Carried forward £354,107 13 
 
 K
 
 Cxlvi APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £354,107 13 7 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable £3 11,495 8 6 
 
 Of which there will not be met at inatiiritj 112,193 7 2 112,493 7 2 
 
 Leaving the amount expected to be duly 
 
 honoured at maturity £229,002 1 4 
 
 466,601 9 
 
 To capital £38,192 12 8 
 
 To profit and loss, Jan. 1, to Nov, 16, 1857 . . . 15,939 4 8 
 
 54,131 17 4 
 
 £520,732 18 1 
 
 CHEDITOE. 
 
 By cash in hand and at bankers' £7,118 6 8 
 
 Less amount retained by bankers against 
 
 loans on security 5,727 18 1 
 
 £1,390 8 7 
 
 By bills receivable on hand 12,604 19 1 
 
 By debtors 315,794 14 
 
 By merchandise 24,578 
 
 By office furnitm'c and sundry assets 802 1 3 
 
 £385,170 2 11 
 By surplus from creditors holding security 16,805 5 2 
 
 £401,075 8 1 
 
 By partners' drawings 6,264 2 10 
 
 By liabihties on bills receivable pei' contra 112,493 7 2 
 
 £520,732 18 1 
 Estimated Liabilities axd Assets. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £16,986 
 
 To bills payable £337,121 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be provided 
 for by the parties for whose account the 
 
 bills were accepted 172,138 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 164,983 
 
 To creditors holding security : — 
 
 Security held £122,545 
 
 Claims' 105,740 
 
 Surplus £16,805 
 
 To habilities on bills receivable £341,495 
 
 OF which it is known there wiU not be met 
 
 at matmity £112,493 
 
 Amount exjiected to rank on this estate in 
 
 respect of the last amount 75,000 
 
 75,000 
 
 Leaving £37,193 
 
 ; £256,969 
 Which will be taken up by the drawers, etc. ■ 
 
 CKEDITOE. 
 
 By cash balance £1,390 
 
 By bills i-eceivablf on hand £12,605 
 
 Carried forward £12,605 £1,390
 
 APPliNUIX. 
 
 cxlvii 
 
 Brought forward £12,605 £1,390 
 
 Of which there are considered good 6,977 U 6,977 
 
 Leaving £5,628 
 
 By debtors considered good 10,327 
 
 By debtors considered doubtful 1 14,071 
 
 £119,699 
 
 Estimated at 7.S. 6(7. m the pound 56,137 
 
 By amount fir which parties will be debtors after retiring tlie 
 
 bills accepted for theu- account 19,258 
 
 By merchandise 24,578 
 
 By olUce furniture and sundry assets 802 
 
 £119,469 
 
 These accounts exhibit a dividend of about 9s. in the pound, but the assets are 
 still liable to some fluctuation. The liabilities on the underwriting account are 
 taken at i'5,000, and the sepai-ate estates of the partners at j02O,OOO; and it is, con- 
 sequently, hoped that the general amount of distribution may be increased, and not 
 diminished. The two items on the credit side, which will mainly aft'ect the dividend, 
 are the debts, estimated to produce £56,137, and the amount, .il9 258, for which 
 parties will be debtors after retiring the bills accepted for their account. It was 
 stated by Mr. Coleman that he is sanguine of a favourable result being arrived at, 
 and thai the estimate will be fully realized. At the date of the suspension the 
 accounts showed a surplus of =t54,130, and it was anticipated that arrangements 
 could have been effected which would have enabled the partners to resume business. 
 The subsequent fadure of Messrs. Carr, Josling, and Co., with the other disasters in 
 this particular branch of business, rendered the attempt nugatory, and hence the 
 depreciation of assets and the present large deficiency. The whole of the operations 
 of the house have been legitimate, and conducted on a purely mercantile basis, the 
 capital absorbed, including the separat3 estates, bting upwards of i72,O0O. Had it 
 not been for the effects of the crisis in Sweden, there -would have been ample to pay 
 the English bill-holders 20s'. in the pound. As it is, the assets first to be dealt with 
 may, in the course of the next two months — tiiat is to £ay, in February — produce 
 about 3s. 4t?. in the pound ; and when this shall have been accomplished a better 
 estimate of what may be the prospect of further payment can be formed. A 
 liquidation under inspection was the course projjosed, but before the resolutions 
 affirming that determination were agreed to, some discussion took place with regard 
 to the position of Mr. Kleman in connection with the firm. It transpired that that 
 gentleman was a partner, but, in addition, transacted business (.m his private 
 account. His affairs are in a very involved condition, and his property, including 
 landed and mineral estates, being situate in Sweden, it is expected he will have to 
 aviiil himself of the process of bankruptcy in that country. In the books of Messrs. 
 Hoare, Buxton, and Co., there stands to his debit a sum of ^31,000. Great 
 sympathy, in the course of the proceedings, was expressed at the position in which 
 the liouse is placed, and as it is considered desirable to take immediate action in 
 winding-up, three representatives of the creditors (who, it is suggested, shall have 
 the assistance of two of the p.irtners) were appointed lor the purpose. 
 
 Dividends to the amount of 10*. in the pound have been paid, and others are 
 expected. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ME. G. H. T. HICKS. 
 
 At a meeting on the 14th December, 1857, of the creditors of Mr. G. H. T. Hicks, 
 described as an East India merchant, who suspended on the 19th November, the 
 following statement, prepared by Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, and Co., showing very 
 discouraging results, was presented. The assets exhibit a dividend of not morethan 
 3s. in the pound, and the debts and liabilities reach the large total of £151,900. 
 Affairs were arranged to be wound-up under inspection.
 
 Cxlviii APPENDIX. 
 
 Statement, December 14, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOH. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £67,488 3 9 
 
 To creditors holding security partly covered ... £91,653 3 9 
 
 Deduct estimated value of secui'ity 39,700 5 8 
 
 51,952 18 1 
 
 To creditors holding security fully covered £67,385 1 2 
 
 To liahilities on account of Birrell and Co. : — 
 
 Partly covered £7,462 6] 6 
 
 Deduct securities held 5,500 
 
 1,962 6 6 
 
 Fully covered 3,7 45 1 8 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, likely to be claimed against 
 
 e.state 28,697 19 6 
 
 To liabilities on bills, payable over and above amount included in 
 
 crecUtors 1,798 16 3 
 
 £151,900 4 1 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By property held as security by creditors fuUy 
 
 covered, esthnated at £83,652 9 11 
 
 Deduct amount of theii" claims 67,385 1 2 
 
 £16,267 8 9 
 
 Bv debtors 1,723 3 3 
 
 Bycashinhand 57 2 6 
 
 By homeward freight per " Queen of Ava " ... £2,000 
 
 By ship " Kossuth " £5,000 
 
 Average recoverable 2,000 
 
 £7,000 
 Deduct debts secured on ship 3,745 1 8 
 
 3,254 18 4 
 
 By ship « Tudor," 4-64, about 650 
 
 By ship " Carnatic," 4-64, about 400 
 
 By iron for Hastings 1,345 3 7 
 
 By office furnitiu*e, about 50 
 
 By bills of lading of goods shipped to Rangoon £750 
 
 £23,747 16 5 
 
 By BuTcU and Co., balance of account current, 
 
 about £30,000 
 
 By ships " Arabella," and three-fourths of 
 
 " Royal Albert," assigned to creditors of 
 
 BirreUandCo £10,000 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. MENDES DA COSTA AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. Mendes Da Costa and Co., West India 
 merchants, wliose suspension was announced on tlio 2iid, was held on the 15th 
 December, 1857, wlien the following statement was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, 
 the accountant : — 
 
 Statement, December 15, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £38,117 
 
 To creditors on bills payable £217,689 
 
 Carried forward £217,689 £38,117
 
 APPKNDIX. Cxlix 
 
 Brought forward £217,689 £38,117 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be jiro- 
 vided for by the parties for whose account 
 
 the bUls are given 46,833 
 
 Leaving to raTik on this estate 170,856 
 
 To habihties on bills discounted £9 1,20 1 3 2 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be duly 
 
 met at niatiu-ity .*. 69,004 3 2 
 
 £25,200 
 
 Less security held 2,500 
 
 22,700 
 
 By bUls piu-cliased, negotiated, etc., £36,475 16.?. 7d., expected 
 
 to be duly met at maturity. 
 
 £231,673 
 
 £208 
 
 1,830 
 
 21,599 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 By cash at bankers' 
 
 By railway shares and shares in the bank of St. Thomas 
 
 By bills receivable on hand (good) 
 
 ' Ditto (bad) £8,022 15 
 
 Bv debtors (good) 7,57i 
 
 ' Ditto (doubtful) £47,425 18 8 
 
 Ditto (bad) 42,592 11 6 
 
 Amounts due by parties after they have retired the bills 
 
 accepted for their account 12,520 
 
 By property, consisting of houses and stores at St. Tliomas, be- 
 longing to Mr. Da Costa, sen., cost £15,000, estimated to 
 
 realize 10,000 
 
 Bv cargo of sugar, wood, etc., per " Lotus," on hand, estunated 
 'at 2,000 
 
 £55,731 
 
 Amount due from Messrs. Da Costa and Co., of St. Thomas £112,311 1 10 
 
 Ditto, old firm of Charles Da Costa and Co 2,558 / 1 
 
 Amount estimated to be reahzed from doubtfid debts and bills on 
 
 hand £30,000 
 
 It was explained that this house, like many others, scarcely expected to find 
 themselves in their present position a month ago, and that when, about the middle 
 of Noviember last, the partners sought the assistance of their bankers, they thought 
 they would have been able to proceed with their business as usual. The devastation 
 which has since occurred among mercantile firms, through the money pressure, has, 
 however, involved them in the general ruin ; and early in December they were 
 compelled to succimib. Between the partnership in the London firm and that in 
 St. Tliomas there is a distinction, Mr. J. Mendes Da Costa being alone interested in 
 the foreign establishment. The liabilities of the London firm are £231,673, and the 
 assets £55,731. The amount due from Messrs. Da Costa and Co., of St. Thomas, is 
 £112,311, arising out of purely mercantile transactions, and fully represented on the 
 other side. According to the accounts of the 30th of August, the assets were then 
 in due order, and it is expected that the result will be as follows : — It is estimated 
 that about £42,000 of bills will go back upon the house at St. Thomns ; that the firm 
 are liable for and owe about £10,000 ; and that the damages and interest on bills 
 will reach a further sum of £10,000, making a total of l£'62,000, and leaving a. 
 balance of £50,000. If forbearance is exercised, and assistance aff'orded, it is 
 reasonably hoped that £30,000 of the amount may be recovered. Tlie general 
 statement will then stand in this position :— The assets of £55,000 will be increased, 
 bv the addition of the £30.000, to £85,700 ; and the liabilities decreased from the 
 £231,000, by the £31,000 bills paid at St, Tlioma.«, to £2u0,000, showing a dividend 
 of about Ss.'dd. in the pound. The capital absorbed, after allowing for the drawings 
 of the partners, has amounted to £50,000. The only discuss^ion was in relation to 
 the liquidation of the estate, the process of inspectorship being agreed to. It was
 
 Cl APPENDIX. 
 
 8t:itcd at the close of tlie proceedincs that the partners are denuded of everything, 
 and that consequently, if Mr. Da Costa, jnn , proceeds to Porto Rico to protect the 
 interests of the creditors, it will be necessary to make him an allovrance. 
 A dividend of 7s. in the pound paid, and a release given to the pr.rtners. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSRS. GOREISSEN, HUFFEL, 
 AND CO. 
 
 At the meeting held on the 17th December, 1<S57, of the creditors of Messrs. 
 Gorrissen, HiifiFel, and Co., enga'j;ed in business as banking and exchange agents, 
 wliose suspension was announced on the 18th October, Mr. E. Cohen presiding, the 
 subjoined statement was presented by Mr. Quilter, of the firm of Quilter, Ball, and 
 Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, December 17, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR 
 
 To sundry creditor.s, as per statement £84,13-1 12 3 
 
 To creditor holding security £7,757 
 
 Estimated value of seeuritv 7,000 
 
 757 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances, viz. : — 
 
 Provided for since the suspension £255,898 7 3 
 
 Not yet provided for, but which it is expected 
 
 the drawers will meet 196,683 12 11 
 
 Assumed claim on the estate 19.332 2 6 19,332 2 6 
 
 £171,914 2 8 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per statement £337,296 16 6 
 Of -which those considered likely to prove 
 
 claims amotmt to 21,613 11 1 
 
 Less cash and surplus securities retained by 
 
 bankers 2,157 1 7 
 
 19,186 9 6 
 To liabilities on charter parties 1 ,600 
 
 £125,310 4 3 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, considered good, as per list £5,331 15 
 
 Ditto, belonging to other parties £2,601 18 
 
 By sundrj' debtors, considered good £61,179 1 6 
 
 ^ Ditto,' doubtful £15,346 17 2 
 
 Estimated to produce , 6,400 
 
 Ditto, bad £3,235 13 6 
 
 67,579 1 6 
 By sundrj- merchandise on hand, as per statement estimated at... 11,070 
 
 £83,980 16 11 
 
 It was stated that the debts in America, nmounting to i'33,000, mny be con- 
 sidered good, and that, consequently, the estimate of 167,579 under the licad of 
 assets, in which that sum is included, maybe realized. A large amount of liabilities 
 on acceptances has been provided for, so thnt the genornl total since the date of the 
 suspension has been greatly reduced. According to the figures exhibited the 
 dividend will be about 13s. 4d. in the pound, and at the suggestion of Mr. Hollams, 
 the solicitor, it was ajireed to follow out a liquidation by inspection, i^lr. E. Cohen, 
 Mr. J. 11. Schroeder, and Mr. Melville, being appointed to act as the committee. It 
 transpired in the explanation rendered concerning the deficiency that the losses 
 liave been i'58,000, and that the capital at the commencement of the year was 
 about X'6,000. 
 
 Dividends to the extent of 4.?. in the pound have been paid.
 
 APPENDIX. Cli 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. ALEXANDER HINTZ AND CO. 
 
 At a meeting on the 18th December, 1857, of the creditors of Messrs. Alexander 
 HIntz and Co., merchants, whose suspension took place on the 24tii November, Mr. 
 WuUf presidinn;, the annexed statements were exhibited by Mr. Quilter, of the firm 
 of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co. : — 
 
 Statement, Decejiber 18, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured, as per statement £31,899 10 7 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amoimt of claims £37,5-50 4 10 
 
 Less estimated value of securities 26,225 3 11 
 
 £11,325 11 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of securities £17,703 10 3 
 
 Amount of claims 15,078 3 7 
 
 Surplus £2,625 6 8 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances — 
 
 For account of other parties £169,118 7 8 
 
 Assumed claims on the estate 28,192 5 9 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per state- 
 ment 171,039 6 4 
 
 Of which it is estimated the claims on the 
 
 estate will amount to 26,522 13 11 
 
 To liabilities for goods piu'chased principally 
 on account of continental houses, and which 
 should be paid for by them, assumed claim 
 onthisestate 3,500 
 
 £101,439 11 2 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash at bankers' — 
 
 Subject to bills curi-ent, but considered good £5,620 11 
 
 By biiis receivable on hand — 
 
 "Considered good 12,284 Oil 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £1,388 Gil 
 
 Estimated to realize 462 15 8 
 
 By simdry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 9,165 14 11 
 
 Ditto, doubts 14,480 17 10 
 
 Estimated to produce 5,000 
 
 Considered bad 2,085 1 8 
 
 By sundry merchandise on hand, as per state- 
 ment, estimated at 6,187 16 2 
 
 Bv surplus securities, in hands of creditors . . , 2,625 6 8 
 
 By office furaiture 200 
 
 £41,546 5 4 
 
 Statement accouxtixg for the Deeiciexct exhibited bt the Statement 
 OF their Aff.uhs, November 25, 1857. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To deficiency, November 25, 1857 £59,893 5 10 
 
 To capital, January 1, 1857 £16,537 1 1 5 
 
 Add subsequent profits 11,166 14 1 
 
 27,704 8 6 
 
 Carried forward £87,597 14 4
 
 Clii APPENDIX. 
 
 Brouglit forward £87,579 14 
 
 Noie. — It appears from these figures that, at 
 the date of the suspensiou, the capital acfoiint 
 stood thus : — 
 
 At credit, as above £27,704 8 6 
 
 At debit, as ^<>/' coH^ra 6,004 14 8 
 
 Balance at credit £21,699 13 10 
 
 £87,597 14 
 
 CREDITOH. 
 
 By expenditure and losses incurred and ascer- 
 tained xip to the date of the suspension, 
 Norember 25, 1857, viz. : — 
 
 Trade charges £779 6 
 
 Bad debts and sundries 2,543 5 8 
 
 Partners' dravrings 2,682 3 
 
 By losses accruing ii'om and since the date of 
 the suspension, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated loss on bills receivable 
 
 Ditto on doubtful debts 
 
 By depreciation in merchandise on hand thus — 
 
 'Cost £46,355 14 6 
 
 Value 33,384 3 7 
 
 £925 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 9,480 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 12,971 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 £6,004 14 8 
 
 By liabilities in respect of bills which should be 
 provided by other parties, but which, it is 
 assumed, will be claimed on this estate, viz. : — 
 
 On our acceptances £28,192 5 5 
 
 On bills receivable 26,522 13 11 
 
 23,378 
 
 54,714 19 4 
 
 By habilities in respect of mifulfdled contracts. . . 3,500 
 
 £87,597 14 
 
 The asspti=, it was explained, show a dividend of about 8«. in the pound, but if 
 the liabilities are increased through fresh failures, this amount will not be realized. 
 The suspension of tlie firm at tlie period indicated has, it appears, proved beneficial, 
 and the balance at the bankers', it is considered, may be relied on, should an impor- 
 tant house at Hamburg be able to struggle through present difficulties. Mr. Hol- 
 lams, the solicitor, intimated that the course of arrangement suggested was the 
 process of inspectorship, and that the creditors proposed to select Mr. Brown, Mr. 
 Ca?sar, and Mr. Abegg to watch over their interests. Much sympathy was expressed 
 for the position of the firm, and resolutions assenting to this mode of liquidation 
 were passed. 
 
 The estate wound-up under inspection, and dividends to the extent of 6,y. 
 already paid ; others anticipated. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. ALLEN AND SMITH. 
 
 At a meeting, on the 18th December, 1857, of the creditors of Messrs. Allen and 
 Smith, whose suspension was annoimced on the IStli of November, the subjoined 
 Btaleincnt was presented by Mr. l?ali, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., 
 showing, on a trading of eight months, a deficiency of £15,762. This was princi- 
 pally created by the failure of houses at home and abroad, connected with the 
 Swedish trade : —
 
 APPENDIX. cliii 
 
 Statement, Decembek 18, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To svindry creditors £1,032 4 2 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances not expected to be proved against 
 this estate, viz. : — 
 
 Drafts fron\ Stockholm against securities 
 
 deposited there £13,653 10 4 
 
 Ural'ts on account of persons who will 
 
 probably provide for tiiem 9,958 14 6 
 
 To sundry other acceptances 984 5 11 
 
 £24,596 10 9 
 
 To liabiUties on acceptances on account of par- 
 ties considered bad 9,825 8 5 
 
 To liabihties on bills receivable — • 
 
 Considered good £2,485 7 2 
 
 Considered bad 9,620 17 2 
 
 Less secui-ities held 2,472 6 
 
 7,148 16 8 
 
 To liabilities in respect of estimated amount of 
 loss on simdry unfulfilled contracts for salt- 
 petre ' 2,300 
 
 £20,306 9 3 
 
 By cash in hand £17 11 
 
 By bills on hand £1,000 
 
 Estimated to reaUze 750 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 280 10 3 
 
 Ditto doubtfid £1,250 16 10 
 
 Estimated to realize 230 
 
 Estimated bad 7,579 4 11 510 10 3 
 
 By consignments outstanding, estimated to 
 
 realize 1,000 
 
 By one-third share of the ship " G. B. Carr," 
 
 of the estimated value £5,000 1,666 13 4 
 
 By timber on hand, estimated to reahze 480 
 
 By office fimiiture, estimated value 120 
 
 £5,544 4 6 
 
 Balance, being deficiency carried forward 14,762 4 9 
 
 Note. — This deficiency is hable to increase to the extent of 
 any amount of the above liabilities, estimated as good 
 provmg bad. 
 
 £20,306 9 3 
 
 The feature in this case, according to the statement of Mr .M'Leod, was the posi- 
 tion in which the senior partner was placed. Having joined Jlr. Smith, they com- 
 menced with a capital belonging to Mr. Allen, of £5,000, which was subsequently 
 increased to £7,000, and, after trading for the sliort period stated, they were com"- 
 pelled to suspijnd. Tlie assets of the joint estate do not exceed £4,544, and they 
 may be increased by tlie separate estate of Smith to the amount of £500. The 
 separate property of Mr. Allen is, however, considerable, and there appears no doubt 
 but tliat tlie wliole of the creditors will receive 20*. in the pound. Mr. Murray, 
 who represented large and infinential claimants, agreed to the course proposed, hut 
 some legal arrangements will have to be effected before the entire separate estate 
 of Mr. Allen can be made available for the joint creditors. An immediate dividend
 
 Cliv APPENDIX. 
 
 of about 5?. in the pound will be declared, pending tbe proceedings for the realiza- 
 tion of the other assets. In answer to a question, it was mentioned tliat the sus- 
 pension was necessary to prevent the sacrifice of the whole of the property of Mr. 
 Allen. Resolutions were then passed ior a liquidation under inspection, and Mr. 
 Ball was appointed official inspector to superintend the winding-up of the estate. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSRS. BAEBEE, EOSENAUEE, 
 AND CO. 
 
 The attendance of creditors, on the 18th December, 1857, at the meeting of 
 Messrs. Barber, Rosenauer, and Co., whose suspension was announced on the 3rd, 
 was very numerous, and the proceedings were of a ratlier protracted nature. The 
 chair was occupied by Mr. J. \V. Mitchell, and the statement presented by Mr. Henry 
 Chatteris exhibited the subjoined unsatisfactory results: — 
 
 Statement, December 18, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £17,771 16 6 
 
 To ditto, partially secm-ed £33,091 13 7 
 
 Value of securities held 25,476 9 1 
 
 7,615 4 6 
 
 To creditors fully secured 398 13 6 
 
 Value of securities held 1,009 10 3 
 
 Hm-plus couira £610 16 9 
 
 To liability on bUls payable which should be re- 
 tired by drawers 2,768 10 5 
 
 Expected to be claimed on this estate 1,509 15 6 
 
 To liability on bills receivable negotiated 55,451 16 10 
 
 Expected to be dishonoured £6, 119 7 1 
 
 Less balance due to acceptors in- 
 cluded with creditors £735 11 11 
 
 Less cash at bankers 92 4 11 
 
 827 16 10 
 
 5,591 10 3 
 £32,488 6 9 
 
 CEEDITOR. 
 
 By produce abroad expected to realize £631 6 7 
 
 Less due to consignee 58 9 10 
 
 £572 16 9 
 
 By wine on hand 35 18 9 
 
 Bv debtors considered good 1,993 1 11 
 
 By ditto, doubtful £916 14 2 
 
 Estimated to rcahzc 136 
 
 Bv disputed debts £657 5 11 
 
 Estimated to realize 220 
 
 By bad debts £3,202 2 3 
 
 By surplus securities held by creditorB 
 
 By cash in hand 
 
 B V olTi ce furniture 
 
 GIO 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 127 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 £3,796 10 11 
 Less rent and salaries, to be paid in full 46 6 1 
 
 Carried forward £3,750 4 10
 
 APPENDIX. clv 
 
 Brought forward £3,750 4 10 
 
 Bj defifiencT 28,738 1 11 
 
 £32,488 6 9 
 
 The circumstances elicited in relation to this estate were of the most discouranring 
 description. Having traded between two and three yeai'S to an enormous extent 
 upon a limited capital, there is, upon debts and liabilities amounting to £32,488, a 
 deficiency of £28,738. The remaining a.ssuts are of a very doubtful nature, and 
 thei'e seems to be little expectation of a dividend. Tlie firm commenced in 1854, 
 with a capital of about £4,000, and at the end of 1855, the profits reached £1,048, 
 but tlie partners drew to the amount of £1,139. They continued to operate without 
 the least regard to the probabilities of success, and in the end the net loss at the 
 date of the present year when they suspended was £30,101, inchided in whicli were 
 bad debts for £10,103, and depreciation of merch^indise £13,967. Not confining 
 their transactions to any particuLar branch, tliey traded in everything, but loss was 
 invariably the consequence; and to illustrate the amount of their business, it was 
 stated that tlie value of merchandise which passed throtigh tlieir liands in 1856, 
 •was £213,000, while this j-ear it represented £187,000. Complaints were made of 
 the conduct of tlie partners in endeavouring to lead individuals to believe that their 
 estate was better than it really appeared to be, especially as it transpired tliere was 
 no separate property, and that, Mr. Barber had settled his furnitiiie, and a policy of 
 insurance for £2,000, upon his wife. To a firm trading desperately lil^e this, tiie 
 certainty of a suspension must be apparent; and, as a creditor very sagaciously 
 remarked, it would be sure to follow wiiether "the rate of money ruled at 2 or 10 
 per cent." The discussion which subsequently occurred, was directed to the 
 measures tliat should be adopted to wind-up the estate, and tlie great majority 
 being in favour of bankruptcy, the annexed resolution was passed: — 
 
 "Tlie creditors, after hearing a statement of the affairs, resolved — That the 
 estate be wound-up under bankruptcy, and tliat Messrs. Barber, Rosenauer, and Co. 
 be requested to sign a declaration of insolvency." 
 
 This estate was wound-up in bankruptcy. _ 
 
 THE ESTATE OF :MESSES. KRELL AND COHN. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Krell and Cohn, commission agents, who 
 failed on the 7th, was held on tlie 21st December, 1857, when the following state- 
 ment was presented by Mr. CoUison, of the firm of Messrs. Parrinton, Ladbury, and 
 Co., the accountants: — 
 
 Statement, December 21, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors as per list £13,517 4 5 
 
 Less amounts secured by goods in their hands ... 104 11 6 
 
 £13,412 12 11 
 
 To creditors in respect of bills drawn or accepted by Messrs. 
 Krell and Cohn, and discounted, for which they have had 
 valueinfull 6,187 10 9 
 
 To liabilities on bills accepted for persons who have failed, and 
 
 which will be proved against the estate 2,290 4 2 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable discounted, con- 
 sidered good £20,406 7 4 
 
 To liabilities which will he proved on this estate 2,181 9 4 
 Less cash in the hands of bankers, who hold 
 
 the bills 554 17 
 
 1,620 12 4 
 
 £23,517 2
 
 Clvi APPENDIX. 
 
 CEEDITOH. 
 
 Bj stock in London and Lyoii3, at cost £1,547 5 9 
 
 Bv stock with agents at Berlin, Yienna, Milan, 
 
 ■Hamburg, Rotterdam, etc £2,698 10 6 
 
 Subject to claims thereon 104 11 6 
 
 2,593 19 
 
 By book debts, good 8,551 7 3 
 
 By book debts, doubtful, bad, and disputed £'4,746 10 6 
 
 Estimated at l,21fi 6 1 
 
 By cash on liand 6:i5 1 4 
 
 Bv bills receivable on hand, good 2,358 10 11 
 
 Bv bills receivable on hand, doubtful £836 12 9 
 
 "Estimatedat 568 3 10 
 
 By cash at bankers' 113 16 7 
 
 By cash with bankers (held against bills dis- 
 counted) £551 17 
 
 By fixtures in London and Lyons 60 
 
 £17,634 10 9 
 Less rent, salaries, etc 96 15 
 
 £17,537 15 9 
 
 It was explained that the assets, according to the statement, show a dividend of 
 about 14s. l\d. in the poun(i, but that since the accounts were made up bad debts 
 have increased. The firm pnssessed establishments both in London and Lyons. As 
 commission agents, purchasing exclusively on orders, they should hold no stock, and 
 that which is in their hands has been returned through the unsettled state of affairs 
 on the Continent, buyers not having completed their transactions. They commenced 
 business without capital, and last year their balance-sheet sliowed a surplus of about 
 i£'l,700. Tlieir difficulties are wholly attributed to the progress of the panic through- 
 out Germany, wliich has involved them in a large amount of loss and bad debt. Mr. 
 Reed, their professional adviser, detailed at length the circumstances under which 
 the firm suspended, and the prospects of the creditors. Messrs. Krell and Cohn were, 
 he stated, ready either to facilitate a liquidation through bankruptcy, to make an 
 assignment, or to comply with any arrangement under inspection. With regard to 
 a composition, they felt themselves placed in a doubtful situation, the state of busi- 
 ness abroad and the difficulty of collecting debts not permitting them to make so 
 good an off"er as they should wish. Although the accounts exhibited 14*. lie?, in 
 the pound, Messrs. Krell and Cohn were not prepared to propose a greater amount 
 than 10s.; and if the creditors appeared inclined to accept it, they will endeavour to 
 obtain security for the last instalment. Several of the ci-cditors considered that the 
 margin allowed between the assets represented, and the sum required to pay 10s. in 
 the pound was too large; but Mr. Heed and Mr. Parrinton both intimated that, 
 owing to the situation of affairs in Il'tmburg, Berlin, and other places, the debtoi's 
 felt that they could not hope to realize a hirger amount, though they stated their 
 readiness, if an eKcess were obtained, to make it available for the general benefit of 
 the creditors. After some discussion, in wdiich the agent of the foreign bankers bore 
 testimony to the honest nature of the transactions of Messrs. Krell and Cohn, the 
 following resolution was agreed to: — 
 
 "Resolved — That it be referred to a committee, consisting of the Chairman, Mr. 
 Dunn, Mr. Kohnstammer, and Mr. .John Scott, to consider and decide on the propriety 
 of accepting the offer of composition made by Mes.srs. Krell and Cohn, or any larger 
 amount of composition, and wliat security should be required for the last instalment, 
 with liberty to require a variation in the times of payment." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. EEIIDER AND BOLDEMANN. 
 
 The creditors of Messrs. Rehder and Boldemann, who failed on the 25th of 
 November, 1857, in the German trade, held a meeting on the 21st December, when 
 the following stMtement was presented by Mr. Ball, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, 
 Ball, and Co., the accountants : —
 
 APPENDIX. Clvii 
 
 Statement, December 21, 1857. 
 
 To sundry creditors unseciu'ed £39,952 3 2 
 
 To creditors partially secured 
 
 Amount of claims £9,498 9 8 
 
 Estimated value of securities 3,8741 4 
 
 To creditors fully seciu-ed — 
 
 Estimated value of securities £20,528 8 7 
 
 Amount of claims 15,984 17 
 
 5,624 5 8 
 
 Surplus 4,543 11 7 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances 114,348 14 5 
 
 Secured to the extent of the value of consign- 
 ments on hand of the estimated value of 32,922 2 6 
 
 Assumed to be claims on this estate 2,070 11 9 
 
 To Uabihties on bills receivable 
 
 as per statement £136,294 19 6 
 
 Of which those considered hkely to prove claims 
 
 amount to 10,208 19 2 
 
 Less cash balance retained by bankers 982 16 6 
 
 ; 9,226 2 8 
 
 To estimated claim in respect of goods bought and not delivered . . . 1,000 
 
 £57,873 3 3 
 
 creditor. 
 
 33y cash and bills receivable on hand, considered good, as per 
 
 statement £4,312 12 
 
 By cash retained by bankers, per contra £982 16 6 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good £5,474 10 10 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £5,199 9 11 
 
 Estimated to produce 1,9-19 16 3 
 
 Ditto, bad £642 17 11 
 
 By sundry merchandise on hand 
 
 Athome £18,090 1 1 
 
 Abroad 306 
 
 7,424 7 1 
 
 18,396 1 1 
 
 By sundry property 550 
 
 By surplus securities held by creditors, per contra 4,543 11 7 
 
 By property deposited as security for certain returned bills, 
 
 which it is considered will be paid 2,273 
 
 £37,499 11 11 
 
 Statement accounting for the Deficiency. 
 
 To deficiency, November 25, 1857 £20,373 11 4 
 
 To partners' capital — - 
 
 January 1, 1857 £6,991 1 9 
 
 Add subsequent profits 3,698 18 3 
 
 10,690 
 
 £31,063 11 4
 
 ,'lviii APPENDIX. 
 
 CHEDITOR. 
 
 By trade clmrges £1,152 16 8 
 
 By losses on merchandise realized, estimated depreciation in 
 value of imrealized stock, now valued at £43,437 9*. Sd., and 
 sundries ,,,,>..,,,,...... 15,128 6 
 
 By bad and doubtfid debts, viz. : — 
 
 "Estimated loss on doubtful £3,249 13 8 
 
 Bad 642 17 11 
 
 3,892 11 7 
 
 By partners' drawings, from January 1, 1857... 2,096 14 2 
 
 By labilities, viz. : — ■ 
 
 On acceptances £2,070 11 9 
 
 On bills receivable ..... 10,208 19 2 
 
 On goods bought, but not delivered 1,000 
 
 £13,279 10 11 
 
 Less produce held bv creditors 4,486 8 
 
 8,793 2 11 
 
 £31,063 11 4 
 
 These figures exhibit a dividend of iibout 12s. 6;/. in tlie pound, but it is not 
 certain that this amount will be realized. The firm commenced business on the 
 1st of January in the piesent year with a capital of £6,991, and the failure, it 
 appears, has been caused by the depreciation of produce and the failure of other 
 houses. In answer to a question, it was stated that tbei-e had been no accommo- 
 dation transactions, but bhmk credits have been opened on foreign account to 
 the extent of i'114,S48. On these, however, only a small amount of claim is 
 anticipated. Some of the creditors appeared to believe tliat there is little diffeience 
 between the terms "blank credits," and " accommodation transactions." Mr. Hol- 
 lams, who attended for Messrs. Rehder and Bohiemann, intimated that these gentle- 
 men are not in a position to make any proposal, and that it has been suggested 
 the most prudent course would be, to eflect a liquidation through inspection. The 
 deficiency between the assets and liabilities is £20,000, but the depreciation on 
 produce has been upwards of £23,000. The produce in which the firm is inte- 
 rested consists of tea, cotton, and other articles, and cunsiqucntly the estate could be 
 readily put in process of liquidation. It was eventually agreed to wind-up under 
 inspection, the following creditors being appointed to superintend : — Mr. Maureu- 
 ei-cther, Mr. Alvers, and Mr. J. Trueman. 
 
 This estate has already paid dividends to the extent of 6s. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. HEEMAN SILLEM AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Herman Sillem, Son, and Co., in the Ham- 
 burg and German trade, was held on the 22nd December, 1857, Mr. J. li W. 
 Schroedcr in the thair, wlien the following statement was presented by Mr. Quiller, 
 of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, December 22, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured, as per statement £61,084 6 7 
 
 To creditors in respect of bills receivable, to be 
 
 given up 33,033 11 5 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances £3 14,851 1 9 10 
 
 Actually canceUed £67,934 13 5 
 
 Interfered for, referred, or gvun'anteed 153,431 12 10 
 
 Carried forward £221,366 6 3 £61,084 6 7
 
 APPENDIX. elix 
 
 Brouglit forward £221,366 6 3 £61,084 G 7 
 
 Not interfered for at present, but believed to 
 
 begood 101,388 6 10 
 
 Estimated to be claimed on this estate 22,097 6 9 22,097 6 9 
 
 £314,851 19 10 
 To liabilities on bills receivable and bills nego- 
 tiated, as per statement, £171,274 IS*. §d., 
 of which those considered likely to prove 
 
 claims amount to £10,889 8 5 
 
 Less seem-ed by balance at bankers', and 
 
 an amount due on biUs negotiated 1,023 2 9 
 
 9,866 5 8 
 
 £93,047 19 
 
 CHEDITOE. 
 
 By cash at bankers' £9,281 7 
 
 Less hable to pay bills receivable, considered 
 
 had per contra 517 17 10 
 
 By biUs receivable on hand at the date of the 
 
 suspension £66,512 2 5 
 
 Less bills to be given up 33,033 11 5 
 
 £8,763 9 2 
 
 33,478 11 
 
 B\ simdry debtors — 
 
 'Considered good £42,444 18 11 
 
 Ditto doubtlul £6,736 6 1 
 
 Estimated to pi'oduce ... 2,455 5 1 
 
 Ditto bad £1,037 15 1 
 
 — 44,900 4 
 
 By lease of house, No. 2, Crosby Square 317 lo 
 
 Surplus of the private estate of the partners, 
 
 estimated at 2,000 
 
 £89,459 14 2 
 
 Tliis estate showed nearly 20*. in the pound, and the expectation was, tliat a 
 dividend of 6s. 8d. might be paid at the end of February, when the position of 
 the bills not interfered for shall have been ascertained. There was cash at the 
 bankers' bearing interest, £25,000 ; balance at the bankers', £5,000; CHsh at 
 the Bank of England, not bearing intt-rest, £7,000; with good bilL^ on liand, £8,000, 
 milking a total of £45,000. The amount of the capital of the firm was £32,000, 
 and this, together with a further slight sum, has been wholly absorbe dtlirou'di the 
 disasters which have taken place in Hamburg and Germany. Previous to these 
 events, the house, as proved by the accounts, was solvent. Although the liabilities 
 on acceptances have reached tlie large total of £344,851, the estimate of the amount 
 to be claimed on the estate was £22,097. The sum not interfered for was £101 388 
 but the character of the houses they represent led to the expectation that tiiey 
 would be paid. A distribution cannot be made before the end of February or 
 the commencement of March, as some of the bills will not run off before that date. 
 In answer to questions, it was stated that the open credits have been granted to 
 first-class houses in the regular course of trade, against consignments, etc., and that 
 it testifies greatly to their stability to find that the estimated loss, so far as can at 
 present be ascertained, will be only £22,000. The proposal for a hquidation under 
 inspection was moved by the Chairman, and immediately seconded, the gentlemen 
 appointed to act being Mr. T. Baring, M.F., Mr J. H.W. Schroeder, and Mr. L. Mieville. 
 
 Dividends to the amount of 20a'. in the pound have been paid, with interest.
 
 clx APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF JNIESSRS. DRAPER, PIETRONI, AND CO. 
 
 The creditors of Messrs. Draper, Pietroni, and Co., ia the Mediterranean trade, 
 assembled on the 22iid December, 1857, Mr. Fitzpairick, of the firm of Mnudsley, 
 Field, and Co., presi<iing; when the subjoined statement was presented by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, the accountant: — 
 
 Statement, Decembee 22, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors on open acooiints £40,467 14 7 
 
 To biUs payable £189,369 18 4 
 
 Of which it is expected there will bo pro- 
 vided for by the parties for whose account 
 the bills are accepted 134,284 5 10 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate £55,085 12 6 
 
 To creditors partlv secured — 
 
 Claims .' £19,639 1 
 
 Security held „ 18,895 8 3 
 
 Deficiency £743 11 10 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Security held £120,022 3 8 
 
 Clahns 106,440 8 6 
 
 Surplus to co«^m £13,581 15 2 
 
 96,296 18 11 
 
 To Uabilities on bills receivable £175,237 16 11 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be duly 
 honoured at maturity 171,984 14 9 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 3,253 2 2 
 
 £99,550 1 1 
 
 Further liabilities on account of the Transatlantic Steam Navigation Company, 
 in respect of credits opened for their account against bottomry bonds on the vessels 
 of the company, £26,440; of which amount the company have accepted bills to the 
 extent of £8,460. 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By cash at bankers', subjected to bills discounted now running, 
 
 considered good £3,465 4 2 
 
 Bj' bills receivable on hand 5,325 9 6 
 
 By debtors, good 11,734 12 11 
 
 By amounts for which parties will be debtors after taking up the 
 
 bills accejited for their accoimt 10,598 13 11 
 
 By debtors doubtful, £18,385 11*. 9d., estimated at 34-. 6rf. in 
 
 the pound 3,217 9 4 
 
 By debtors, bad £22,897 18 5 
 
 By silk on hand, etc 3,456 11 
 
 By surplus from creditors holding security, contra 13,581 15 2 
 
 By shares and 8\mdry assets 2,477 
 
 £53,856 16 
 Less creditors to be paid m full 294 19 
 
 £53,561 17 
 
 Amotint claimed by Messrs. Draper, Pietroni, and Co., of the Transatlantic Steam 
 Navigation Comp:my, exclusive of all liabilities, .£33,000, subject to the delivery of 
 1,285 shares to the company. 
 
 From the explanations afforded by Mr. Coleman, it appeared that there was a
 
 APPENDIX. clxi 
 
 prospect of a divideiul of from IO5. to I2s. Gd. in the pound, and that lO.s. at least 
 might be considered certain. The solidity of the connections of the house may, it 
 was thought, bo estimated by the fact that, of the large amount of the bills, only an 
 amount equal to two per cent, of the total is likely to come against the estate. The 
 creditors on open account included i'15,000 on behalf of the Transatlantic Steam 
 Company. With respect to the assets, the cash and bills were considered good, the 
 debts stand secured, and the surplus from silk would, it was expected, be realized. 
 The connection of Messrs. Draper and Pietroni with the Transatlantic Company was 
 entered into at length, showing how tlieir claim against the directors arose, and it 
 was distinctly alleged that the neglect of the company to provide remittances had 
 necessitated the suspension of the tirm. It appears that Messrs. Draper and Pietroni 
 entered into an arrangement with the Transatlantic Company to provide one-fourtli 
 of the capital. A contract for the construction of seven vessels was then entered into. 
 Four vessels were built at a cost of £'260,525, the contract being for A'-100,000, but, 
 since it has not been cari'ied out, instead of taking the 3,000 shares, as originally 
 intended, they accepted 1,715 shares, and claim i'32,000, the ditference between 
 that number and tlie quantity for which they at first subscribed. These and other 
 points would be submitted to the consideration of parties who might have to deter- 
 mine the question of account, Messrs. Draper and Pietroni being quite ready to 
 meet the Transatlantic Company on fair business ground. It was stated that the 
 company were about to settle with the contractors an amount of i:13,G00, and if 
 such was the case, the liabilities would be diminished to that extent. The defi- 
 ciency shown by the statement was X'42,000, which was fully accounted for through 
 bad debts and liabilities, the capital of the firm having been about £'45,000. No 
 definite proposal could be made, but a liquidation through the process of inspec- 
 torship) would permit facilities for arrangement. A considerable dividend, it was 
 believed, may be paid in February, and then the partners would be in a situation 
 to see wiiat further can be done in settling fixed terms by their promissory notes 
 for future payments. Tlie assets in hand were about £'12,500, and the collection 
 of everything would proceed as expeditiously as possible. After some conversation, 
 it was agreed that the estate should be wouud-up under a deed of inspection, and 
 the following representatives of creditors were selected to act : — Mr. Eennie, Mr. 
 Yames, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Price. 
 
 A dividend of 3s. in the pound has been already paid, and further distributions 
 ai-e expected. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ME. THOMAS MELLADEW. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Thomas Melladew, commission agent, who had 
 recently failed, was held on the 22nd December, 1857, when the following unsatis- 
 factory statement of the debtor's position was presented by Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, 
 and Co. A proposal was made to pay 3y. in the pound, cash down, and a com- 
 mittee of two creditors was appointed to investigate and to report to au adjourned 
 meeting: — 
 
 Statejiext, Decejiber 22, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £19,5 li G 2 
 
 To creditors holding seciu'ity, partly covered . . . £71-1' 8 1 
 
 Deduct estimated value of secui-ity 555 2 
 
 159 G 1 
 
 To creditors holding security, fully covered . . . £17,295 18 3 
 
 See contra. 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable, over and above 
 
 amoimt included in creditors 7,370 18 8 
 
 Deduct amount considered likely to be retired 
 
 by parties for whom same were accepted... 911 15 3 
 
 To liablitiea on biUs receivable £10,011 8 7 
 
 6,456 
 
 (None of wliicli it is expected will be claimed 
 against this estate) 
 
 £iG,159 15 8
 
 olxii APPENDIX. 
 
 OnEDITOlJ. 
 
 By debtors, good £1,857 Oil 
 
 By ditto, doubtful £1,238 3 7 
 
 Considered worth about 200 
 
 By ditto, bad 7,89G 4 2 
 
 By property imenciuiibered 1,785 
 
 By bills receivable in hand SI 3 5 
 
 By property held by creditors— 
 
 Estunated value £17,598 15 8 
 
 Deduct creditors' claims 17,295 18 3 
 
 302 17 5 
 
 £4,199 1 9 
 Deduct creditors to be paid in full 32119 7 
 
 £3,877 2 2 
 
 At the adjourned meeting on the /5th Janufiry, a composition of 35. was accepted. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. E. SIEYEKINa AND SON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. E. Sieveking and Son, connected with the 
 Swedish trade, who failed in December, 1857, took place on the 23rd of the same 
 montli, Mr. Meinertzhagen in the chair, wlien the subjoined statement was presented 
 by Mr. QuiUcr, of the firm of Quilter, Ball, and Co., accountants:— 
 
 Statement, December 23, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundi'y creditors, as per st atemeut £77,229 3 1 
 
 To siuidry creditors partially secured, as per 
 
 statement ! £18,000 
 
 Less estimated value of seciirity 15,8G6 Oil 
 
 To sundry creditors fully secured — 
 
 Amoimt of claims ... .'. £4,970 9 2 
 
 Value of seciu-itv 7,000 
 
 2,133 10 I 
 
 Siu'plus to coM/m £2,029 10 10 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances, as per list £45 1 ,090 2 4 
 
 Of wliich it is expected claims will arise on... 125,01't 1 4 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per statement £348,956 12 
 
 Of which those I'cckoncd as bad and claimable 
 
 on us amount to £57,110 4 R 
 
 Deduct securities in the hands of holder.-^, 
 
 as per statement ;),]22 3 
 
 53,988 1 1 
 £258,3G5 5 4 
 
 CUEDITOP. 
 
 By bills receivable on liand, ai^ per list — 
 
 Considered good £2G,191 15 2 
 
 Ditto doubtful C9,()tl 3 
 
 Esti)ii:il((lal 2,000 
 
 Cairied forward 28,191 15 2
 
 APPENDir, clxiii 
 
 Brought forward £28,191 15 2 
 
 By sundry debtors, as per list — 
 
 Considered good £56,900 13 1 
 
 Ditto, being represented by mei'chandise on 
 
 hand, as per statement 45,195 4 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £24,810 1 3 
 
 Estimated at 10,800 
 
 Ditto, bad 7,677 2 7 112,895 17 1 
 
 By siu'plus secm'ities iu the hands of creditors 2,029 10 10 
 
 £113,117 3 1 
 
 This estate shows a dividend of from lO^. to lis. in the pound, and it was imme- 
 diately agreed that the most satisfactory mode of proceeding would be a liquidation 
 under inspection. The deficiency which the accounts exhibits is fully explained by 
 the losses incurred through failures since October, amounting to ^206,603; the 
 capital of £72,000, with a small balance of £2,000 for commissions and interest, 
 being likewise swept awav. Of the £182,000 represented by bills, £125,000 have 
 reference to Sweden, £18,000 to Hamburg, and £39,000 to the West Indies and 
 other places. There is no separate pi-operty of the partners except furniture, and 
 this, it is believed, will be little more than sufhcient to satisfy private claims. 
 With respect to four of the largest items of liability connected with establishments 
 at Stockholm and Gottenburg, amounting to £36,555, it was mciitioned that the 
 partners take a more favourable view than the accountants of the probable residt. 
 Much sympathy w\as expressed for the position of the firm, and the representatives 
 of Messrs. Ilambro and other influential houses intimated a desire that the furniture 
 and plate belonging to the partners should not be interfered with. The inspectors 
 appointed to superintend the liquidation of the estate were Mr. H. Huth, of the firm 
 of Messrs. F. Iluth and Co., and Mr. W. H. Goschen, of the firm of Messrs. Eruhling 
 and Goschen. 
 
 The estate has already paid 7^. in the pound, and further dividends are anticipated. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. HIESCH, STROTHEE, 
 AND BEISI. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Hirsch, Strother, and Brisi, who suspended 
 in the early part of the month, ivas held on the 23rd of December, 1857, when tlie 
 following balance-sheet was presented by Mr. Maynard, the accountant : — 
 
 Statiijient, December 23, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors imsecured £12,198 15 1 
 
 Ditto, partly seciu-ed £10,472 6 3 
 
 Secm-ities valued at 7,383 10 9 
 
 : 3,088 15 G 
 
 To creditors secured £9,416 14 9 
 
 Securities valued at 10,048 18 11 
 
 Siu-plus carried to contra £632 4 2 £15,287 10 7 
 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 On bills payable £25,481 2 
 
 Wliereof there has been or is 
 expected to be provided for 
 
 by other obligat ions £3,706 10 6 
 
 Ineluded in unseeiu'cd credi- 
 tors 7,612 19 10 
 
 11,319 10 4 
 
 £14,161 9 10 
 
 Carried forward £29,449 5
 
 Clxlv APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £29,449 5 
 
 On biUs receivable £80,502 17 9 
 
 ^Miereof there has been pro- 
 vided for bv other obliga- 
 tions '. £2G,G97 4 9 
 
 Expected further to be pro- 
 vided for bv others 37,918 17 5 
 
 G1.G1G 2 2 
 
 15,886 15 7 
 
 Ourapeoil 1,000 
 
 Bought abroad for delivery in London con- 
 tingent on the vendor's enforcing dehvery. 
 On contracts for forward deliverv of tallow ,,. 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 On contiiigencics £5,000 
 
 £47,335 16 
 
 Xole. — It is probable tliat other contingencies will arise, out 
 of which claims may be made against the estate to the extent of 
 (say) tliis amount. 
 
 Ledger Balances. Estimd. Value. 
 By oil and seed on hand £677 13 10 £677 13 10 
 
 By cash and bills receivable 
 
 'on hand £1,775 3 3 1,775 3 3 
 
 Ditto at bankers' retained 
 
 against advance 2G4 15 2 
 
 By contracts £5,17118 8 1,000 
 
 The realization contingent on 
 the business being con- 
 tinued and oia* hriii being 
 able to make dehveries in 
 confonnity therewitli, and 
 of the parties being able to 
 pav dilferences. 
 
 By debtors, good £4,210 7 3,000 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £7,54118 11 1,000 
 
 By bills receivable £269 16 
 
 Belonging to other parties. 
 By surplus securities 632 4 2 
 
 Held bv creditors. £10,152 17 1 
 
 £902 2 
 Deduct salaries, rent, and sun- 
 
 dries, W. Culverwcll, one 
 
 year's salary to 31st De- 
 cember, 1857 £80 
 
 Less paid on accoimt 78 19 5 
 
 1 7 
 
 S. W. Moens, one year's 
 
 salary to 31st December, 
 
 1857 250 
 
 Less paid on account, per 
 
 ledger 210 18 G 
 
 9 16 
 
 Carried foi-ffftrd £10 2 1 £10,452 17 1
 
 ArrENDix, clxv 
 
 Eroiiglit forward £10 2 1 £10,452 17 1 
 
 Tlioiiias Reynolds, Great tSt. 
 
 Helen's, one quarter's rent 
 
 to 31st December, 1857, at 
 
 £75 per annum 18 15 
 
 Queen's taxes (sav) 30 
 
 Creditors, imder £10 GG 1 
 
 Sundries 150 216 4 275 1 1 
 
 10,177 16 
 Deficiency 37,158 
 
 £47,335 16 
 
 Tlie operations of the fa-m were considered in some respects to Lave been of an 
 irregular character, but still it was proposed to wind-up through the process of 
 inspection. A proposal to make a composition of 3s. 6.7. in the pound (2?. 6'1. 
 down, and Is. in six months), a release to be given on the payment of the last 
 instalment, was well received, but one creditor objected, and it remains to be seen 
 whether it can be carried out. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF IMESSES. HADLAND, SHILLINaEOED, 
 
 AND CO. 
 
 At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Iladland, Shilllngford, and Co., in the 
 Manchester trade, held on the 23rd December, 1857, the appended statement was 
 presented by Mr. C. F. Kemp, the accountant. After some discussion, a resolution, 
 agreeing to accept a composition of 16s. in the pound by three instalments of 6s., 
 6f., and 4.'!., at three, six, and nine months' date, the last secured to the satisfaction 
 of three of the principal creditors, was adopted. Annexed is a copy of the balance- 
 sheet presented to the meeting :— 
 
 StatemenTj December 23, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors, as per list £29,063 17 6 
 
 Ditto under £10 184 18 1 
 
 £29,248 15 7 
 
 To liabdity on bdls receivable, £7,300 os. 8(/., of 
 wliich it is estimated Mill come against this 
 
 estate £1,968 6 8 
 
 less balance held by Fuller and Co 13 10 6 
 
 1,954 16 2 
 
 Surplus 639 10 
 
 £31,842 12 7 
 
 CUEUITOK. 
 
 Bv debtors, good £10,473 4 3 
 
 ' Ditto, doubtful and bad £1,334 14 2 
 
 Estimated to realize 941 11 8 
 
 By cash on hand 1,120 
 
 Bv bills receivable, on hand 3,930 1 8 
 
 "Estimated to realize 3,5.37 1 6 
 
 Bv stock on hand, at cost 16,108 5 9 
 
 Byfixtures 200 
 
 Carried forward £32,380 3 2
 
 Clxvi APPENDIX. 
 
 Brouglit forward £32,380 3 3 
 
 Less salaries, taxes, and rent, to be paid in full 537 10 7 
 
 £31,842 12 7 
 
 13y surplus £639 10 
 
 And Mr. Hadland's private estate. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. LICHTENSTEIN AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Lichtenstein and Co., who failed in the 
 German trade, was held on the 23rd of December, 1857, Mr. Brown presiding, when 
 the following statement, prepared by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant, was siib- 
 mitted : — 
 
 Statement, December 23, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors on open accoimts £1,907 15 10 
 
 To creditors on bills payable £11,597 13 G 
 
 Less debit balances due by the parties for whose 
 
 accounts the biUs were accepted 12,071 12 8 
 
 2,526 10 
 
 To creditors partially seciu-ed £5,5-40 6 5 
 
 To security held ". 3,621 
 
 — 1,919 6 5 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Seciu-ity held £1,470 10 11 
 
 Toclaims' 4,330 2 V 
 
 Contra £140 8 4 
 
 Direct liabilities £9,413 3 1 
 
 To Habihties on biUs discounted, negotiated, etc. £47,680 4 8 
 Of which it is expected there will be met at 
 
 maturity 32,601 17 11 
 
 15,078 6 9 
 
 Toliabilities on open contracts 1,010 
 
 £25,501 9 10 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash balances £2,815 W 7 
 
 By debtors, good 3,498 
 
 By debtors, doubtful £12112 4 
 
 Estimated to produce 10*. in tlio pound 00 16 2 
 
 By goods, etc., in hand 3,960 7 3 
 
 By bills receivable in luuuV 481 2 
 
 By surplus securities with creditors, iwr con Ira 1 10 8 4 
 
 By amounts due from parties after takmg up the di-afts for their 
 
 account 155 9 5 
 
 £11,144 18 3 
 
 Less amounts to be paid in full 119 18 3 
 
 Li respect of the bills, amountuig to £15,078 6*. 9rf., which will 
 at present rank on this estate, it is expected that reclamations 
 will be made from the acceptors to some extent, hi wliich case 
 such reclamations will be available for division amongst the 
 
 general creditors. 
 
 £11,025 
 
 Policy for £2,000 on the life of S. Lichtenstein, effected in 1853, 
 in the Scottish Widows' Fund Assvirance.
 
 APFEiXDlX. clxvii 
 
 It Avas explained tliat the difHcuUies of the house had wholly arisen from the 
 failure of individuals abroad, and that a dividend of about 10s. in the pound was 
 anticipated. The cash balance of goods iu hand represent together £0,805 ; conse- 
 quently a distribution of 5s. in the pound might bo made by the 1st February. At 
 the commencement of the year the capital was £8,000, but the disasters in Hamburg 
 have entirely absorbed it, and left tliem with an additional large amount of re- 
 sponsibility. Both Mr. Coleman and Mr. Nicholson, the professional representative 
 of the house, bore testimony to the legitimate character of the operations, and it 
 was finally resolved to carry out a Ii(|uidation under inspectorship, Mr. Carey and 
 Mr. Schroeder being appointed to act i'or the creditors. 
 
 L'ividends to the extent of 5s. Od. in the pound have been paid, and I'urther dis- 
 tributions arc anticipated. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE jMESSliS. C'HAELES NICHOLSON 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Charles Nicholson and Co., of Cannon 
 Street aud St. Paul's Churchyard, who failed in the Manchester trade, was held on 
 the 24th December, 1857, when the following statements of affairs were presented 
 by Mr. Parriutou, of the firm of Parriuton, Ladbury, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, December 24, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors, as per Hsfc £17,317 10 7 
 
 To liabilities on customers' bills discounted, which will be claimed 
 
 on thisestate 1,182 5 2 
 
 To liabilities on bills for which value lias been received by Messrs. 
 
 C. Nicliolsou and Co 1,314 15 U 
 
 To Uability on jomt promissory note 200 
 
 To liabilities on customers' biUs discounted, con- 
 sidered good £20,637 11 11 
 
 To liabilities on biUs to be provided for by other 
 
 persons 1,337 13 
 
 £56,314 11 6 
 
 CXlEDITOli. 
 
 By stock in trade at Cannon Street, cost £17,267 13 'J 
 
 By stock in trade at Angel Street, cost 6,270 10 11 
 
 £23,538 4 8 
 
 By book debts : — • 
 
 'Good 13,414 19 5 
 
 Donbtfid £1,138 7 2 
 
 Estunated to produce o6D 3 7 
 
 Bad 3,594 13 
 
 Estunated to produce 150 
 
 By cash and bills on hand 973 6 2 
 
 By lease of premises, Nos. 39 and 40, Cannon Street, "West, and 
 No. 20, Friday Street, held for a term of about 90 years, from 
 Christmas, 1856, at the aimual rent of £1,200, cost with 
 
 lixtures, etc 8,903 9 
 
 Held by Messrs. Candy and Co., as a collateral seciu-ity for 
 customers' bills discounted. 
 
 By lease, fixtures, and utensils at Angel Street, cost 582 
 
 By ten shares in the Unity Bank, on wliich £50 per share has 
 
 been paid, estimated at 150 
 
 By surplus expected from customers' bills, claimed in the sum of 
 "£1,482 55. 2rf.,i;er core^ra 1,944 12 5 
 
 Carried forward £50,225 15 3
 
 clxviii APPENDIX. 
 
 Uronght forward £50,225 15 3 
 
 Less rent, tuxes, gas, and salaries 1,515 11 5 
 
 £48,710 3 10 
 
 Bv debt due from Messrs. Charles Nicholson and 
 ■ Co., St. Paul's Churchyard £13,387 5 6 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors as per list £15,428 5 9 
 
 Less security held by creditor on tills estate ... 4,110 
 
 £11,288 5 9 
 
 To Uabihty on bills receivable — 
 
 Discounted, considered good £001 18 G 
 
 Ditto, chtto, bad 282 7 1 
 
 £11,570 12 10 
 
 To debt due by tliis estate to C. Nicholson and 
 
 Co., Cannon "street £13,387 5 6 
 
 CEZDITOB. 
 
 By stock in trade, at cost £11,482 IS 3 
 
 By book debts — 
 
 Good 2,G20 19 1 
 
 Doubtfid £660 18 330 9 
 
 Bad 771 4 2 
 
 By lease of No. 61, St. Paid's Clnu'chyard, held 
 
 for an miexpu-ed terra of about eight years at 
 
 £350 per annum. 
 By lease of No. 62, St. Paul's Chm-cliyard, held 
 
 for an imcxpired term of about thirteen years, 
 
 and of Nos. 58 and 59, Paternoster Row, held 
 
 for an unexpired term of about five years. 
 
 The Avhole at a reutal of £405 per annum, esti- 
 mated with fixtures in the last balance-sheet at £6,962 
 Deduct — 
 By mortgage debt due to Captain 
 
 Baguc's executors, owing by C. 
 
 Nicholson and Co., Cannon 
 
 Street £1,815 
 
 And mortgage debt and uiterest 
 
 owuig to Messrs. C. Candy and 
 
 Co. by C. Nicholson and Co., 
 
 St. Paul's Chm-chyard 4,1 10 
 
 5,955 
 
 1,007 
 
 £18,411 G 4 
 Less rent, taxes, gas, and salaries 823 15 
 
 £17,617 11 4 
 
 Although tlierc avo two estates, it was proposed to treat tlicm as one, with the 
 view of obviating difficulties in an arrangement. Mr. Nicliolson has a partner in 
 the Cannon Street business, and also one in the London Mantle Company in St. 
 Paul's Churchyard, and the accounts have been in a great measure kept distinct. 
 The assets exhibit nearly lO.s. in the pound, but the valuation of the stock, as made 
 by Mr. Parrinton, could not, ^Ir. Nicholson asserted, he realized ; and, therefore, 
 he considered himself only in a position to make an offer of 12«. 6d. in the pound, 
 payable by instalments, extending over a period of sixteen month?. The stock,
 
 Al'l'ENDIX. Clxix 
 
 ■which wns Ftutcd to bj extensive and of a peculiiu" fiescrlptlon, o?pccially in St. 
 Paul's Churchyard, would require to bo cautiously dealt with, and could not be for 
 a lengthened period disposed of. The time consequently asked for the ultimate pay- 
 ment was stated to be not too long, considering the difficulties Jlr. Nicholson will 
 liave to contend with in completing this composition. The failure is attributable to 
 over-bought stock, and trading beyond due limits, his capital in his early career 
 having been very limited. Considerable discussion took place respecting the pro- 
 posal, and it was eventually accepted by the great majority — the order of payment 
 being Ss. G(f. in the pound at four months, 3.s. at eight months, 3s. at twelve months, 
 and 3s. at sixteen months, the last payment to be secured to the satisfaction of the 
 three principal creditors, the estate to go to bankruptcy, if the arrangement be not 
 concluded within a specified period. The necessity of co-operation among the 
 creditors was strongly urged to prevent litigation and the certain sacrifice of assets. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. SYENBSEX AND JOHNSON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Svendsen and Johnson, coal and iron 
 merchants at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and general commission merchants in London, 
 was held on the 30th December, 1857, when the following statement was presented 
 by Mr. Ball, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants ; — 
 
 Statement, December 30, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditovs unsecured £17,745 11 7 
 
 To creditors secured — 
 
 Estimated value of securities r £2,258 G 4 
 
 Amount of claims 2,119 3 4 
 
 Surplus, jw c'o«/r« £139 3 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances, £78,828 10^. M. Of which it is 
 
 expected claims will arise on 34,286 2 4 
 
 To habilities on bills receivable, £74,389 Is. 6d. Of which it is 
 
 estimated will prove claims on this estate 10,993 Ki 2 
 
 £93,025 13 1 
 
 CEEDITOI!. 
 
 By bills receivable on band £1,417 18 
 
 By debtors, considered good £7,939 4 6 
 
 'Doubtfid, £5,748 10s. 10(f., estimated at 1,437 2 8 
 
 Bad, £3,737 16*-. lOf/ 
 
 9,37G 7 2 
 
 By share of ship, estimated value 1,000 
 
 By merchandise and sundries on hand, estimated at 231 14 2 
 
 By surplus securities in hands of creditors 139 3 
 
 £12,165 2 4 
 
 It appeared from the general explanations that the firm commenced business in 
 Newcastle about September, 1854, with i'381. A branch was subsequent!}^ opened 
 in London, and business extended, but the system of blank credits had again proved 
 unfortunate, involving the partners in heavy engagements. They had also been 
 connected in bill transactions with Messrs. Iloare, Buxton, and Co., and Messrs. Rew, 
 Prescott, and Co.; and the amount of loss wdiich had thus altogether accrued was 
 upwards of i'75,000, out of a total deficiency, as shown by the statement, of i80,800. 
 At the commencement of the year the accounts of the London house showed an 
 adverse balance of jf3,000, but those of the Newcastle establishment presented a 
 surplus of i'3,000. The assets consist of a share in a ship, and good debts in 
 Sweden and Norway. To collect the latter one of the partners proposed to visit 
 those countries, and it was thought that he might be successful in realizing a con-
 
 Clxx APPENDIX. 
 
 sidcrable proportion. Tlu} books of the firm had not been well kept, but it appeared 
 to be considered that they pretty accurately represented the general results. Some 
 of the creditors were desirous that the debtors should make an offer of composition, 
 and it was suggested that 2a'. 6(7. in the pound would probably be accepted. It 
 seemed, however, that they were not prepared to make any definite proposal, owing 
 to the uncertainty of the realization of some of the estates with wliichthey have had 
 transactions. After general discussion and further explanation with respect to 
 matters of detail, it was resolved to wind-up under inspection, Mr. W. Geipel, of 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Mr. (jullter, tlie accountant, being appointed inspectors. 
 This firm eventually wound-up witli a composition of Is. G:/. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. AV. J. POWELL AND SON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. ^V. J. Powell and Son, engaged in the 
 ?i[anchester trade, was held on the 31st December, 1857, when the following state- 
 ment was presented by Messrs. Parrinton, Ladbury, and Co. : — 
 
 Statement, December 31, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors, as per list £43,932 10 2 
 
 Less amount seciu'cd 1,3(35 9 9 
 
 — £12,567 5 
 
 To hability on bills discounted, which wUl be 
 
 claimed on the estate £2,186 l- 
 
 Less scciu'ity held by ci'cditors '.'... 1,056 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills discovmted, considered 
 
 good 25,052 19 9 
 
 To liability on acceptance due March 4, sc- 
 
 ciu-ed by consignment to the fidl amount ... 1,000 
 
 1,130 1 
 
 £43,697 1 5 
 
 By stock in trade at cost £18,563 16 10 
 
 Hy book debts — 
 
 Good 20,542 1 6 
 
 Doubtful £3,18119 8 918 18 7 
 
 Bad 962 16 2 
 
 By cash and bills in hand 806 2 10 
 
 By cash and bdls in the liands of Messrs. 
 Barclay and Co., and Messrs. Weston and 
 Laurie, wliich they hold against bills dis- 
 
 coimted 1,629 I 9 
 
 Less claims thereon 1,0.>6 3 
 
 573 1 
 
 By lease of business premises and fixtures K'os. 
 
 10 and 11, rriday Street, hchl for a term of 
 
 21 vears, from IMidsummcr, 1852, at a rental 
 
 of £300 per annum 2,150 
 
 II eld by Messrs. Stagg and Co., as sccuritv 
 
 for their debt of 1,365 9 9 
 
 1,081 10 3 
 
 By lease of buslne?? ^ironiises and fixtures, iN'o. 9, Friday Street, 
 held for a tenn of 17 vears, from Michaehnas, 1857, at the 
 rental of £500 per anniuu 150 
 
 Carried forward £ 12,638 11 9
 
 APPENDIX. Clxxi 
 
 Brought foinvard £42,G38 1 1 9 
 
 Less rent, taxes, gas, aucl salaries GOO 7 7 
 
 £42,029 4 2 
 
 I>v amount of (he private estate of Mr. W. J. 
 
 rowell £2,063 
 
 The position of tliis estate, it appeared, was rather anomalous, and it ■will he 
 perceived by the figures that a dividend of nearly 20.s. in the pound is presented. 
 The trading liad been of a satisfactory character, tlic returns being from £160,000 
 to ±'170,000 per annum. The capital, when the firm commenced business in 1852, 
 "was i'23,000, brought from another large establishment, andtlic cause of suspension 
 is entirely attributed to the drawings of the senior partner, which have been at the 
 rate of £'3,000 to £4,000 per annum. liis private property show!? a surplus of 
 ±'2,065, including a considerable cpiantity of wine, but the creditors expressed con- 
 siderable dissatisfaction at the want of prudence so painfully exliibited. The situa- 
 tion of the son, who has not drawn more than ±150 per annum, was the subject of 
 deep commiseration, and it was proposed that he shall in future carry on the 
 business. The offer made to the creditors was 17*. in the pound, but some discussion 
 arose with respect to the period of payment. It was ultimately agreed to arrange 
 the instalments at three, six, and nine months, from the 15th January; and a 
 committee was appointed to determine the security. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP IVIESSES. CAEE, JOSLING, AND CO. 
 
 There was a numerous meeting, on the 7th January, 1858, of the creditors of 
 Messrs. Carr, Josliug, and Co., lately engaged in the trade of the north of Europe, 
 who failed on the 23rd November previous, when the following statement was 
 pi'esentcd by Mr. J. E. Coleman, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement, January 7, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £50,686 2 
 
 To bills payable £164,384 2 2 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be pro- 
 vided for by the parties for whose accoxmt 
 the bills were accepted 110,571 14 4 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 53,812 7 10 
 
 To creditors fuUv seeiu'ed — 
 
 Security held ' £15,004 7 
 
 Claims 12,500 
 
 Suri:)lu8 to coH^ra £2,510 7 
 
 To habilities on acceptances for account of 
 
 other parties to whom Carr, Joshng, and Co. 
 
 liad granted credits, but which parties have 
 
 since suspended payment, or from other 
 
 causes are unable to meet their engagements... 72,112 5 2 
 
 To liabUities on bill receivable, chscounted £159,390 19 3 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be duly 
 honoured at maturity, or taken up by the 
 ch-awers '. ' 121,334 19 4 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 38,055 19 11 
 
 Liabihties £214,996 13 1
 
 Clxxii APPENDIX. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash at bankers' £2,09116 t) 
 
 Less amount which will be retained against 
 
 bills discounted 151 17 1 
 
 £1,939 19 8 
 
 Bv bills reeeiTable on hand, good 2,122 16 
 
 By bnis doubtful £1,083 17 9 
 
 Estimated at 7y. Gd. in the poimd 1,531 9 
 
 By shares and sundry assets 7,210 11 11 
 
 By debtors, good ...' 69,551 8 11 
 
 By debtors, doubtful 55,418 7 2 
 
 Estimatedat 11,440 
 
 By consignments of goods 10,831 9 10 
 
 Surjilus from creditors hokUng secm'ity, per 
 
 contra '. 2,510 7 
 
 £110,168 2 !• 
 Less creditors to be paid in full , 250 18 7 
 
 £109,917 3 9 
 
 By surplus from sepai-ate estate of O. B. Carr 18,833 7 4 
 
 (In respect of the bills amoimting to £38,055 
 19s. lid., wliich w-ill at present rank on this 
 estate, it is expected that reclamation will be 
 made from the acceptors to some extent, in 
 which case such reclamations will be available 
 for division amongst the general creditors.) 
 
 Assets £128,750 11 1 
 
 GrENEEAl BALA>'C'E StATEJIEXT, EROM JclT 1, 1855, TO yOA'EMBEE 23, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To Habihties as above £214,996 13 1 
 
 To capital (includmg separate estates) 76,878 17 8 
 
 Toprofits 44,208 2 5 
 
 £336,083 13 2 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By assets, as above £128,750 11 1 
 
 By cash retained by bankers 151 17 1 
 
 Loss by bad and' doiibtful debts and bills, amounting to 69,730 11 2 
 
 By other' losses ! 21,036 18 7 
 
 By habihties on bills discounted, ^er cow^/'f? 38,055 19 11 
 
 By ditto, on acceptances 72,442 5 • 2 
 
 By personal expenses of partners 5,915 10 2 
 
 £336,083 13 2 
 
 The above figures show a dividend of about 12.-.-. in the pouml, and Mr. Coleman 
 estimated that an amount of lOs. might at least be realized. It was expected that 
 the assets would he increased through the reclamation of bills in connection with 
 estates in Sweden, the Government of which country is making great exertions to 
 assist its commercial interests. No exaggerated value had been placed upon the debts, 
 but the amounts at which they liad been taken would, it wns believed, be secured. 
 Tlie surplus of the private estate, i'18.900, and the property in shares, will assist to 
 increase the general assets available by the creditors. It was intimated that, in 
 addition to the general statement, a balance statement had been prcpaicd in order to
 
 APPENDIX. clxxiii 
 
 show tlie capital find pro/);re3S of the firm, and to combat an opinion expressed, tliat it 
 was the practice of accountants, at these meetings, to avoid entering into sufiicient 
 details. Altliough Mr. Carr, wlio commenced business in the year 1829 with a capital 
 of .i2,050, exclusive of personal bequests since received of i;12,.')00, has, during the 
 latter part of his career, been making i'4,000 a year, his private expenditure has 
 not exceeded .1'900 a year. Ilis operations in the north of Eurojie, where ho has 
 Lad extensive connections, have occasioned his failure. As a circumstance illus- 
 trating his position and credit, it was mentioned that, of the total of the open 
 accounts included in the statement, i'3S,O00 is represented by money deposited in 
 liis bands at interest. Mr. Lawrance, of the firm of Lawrance, Plews, and Boyer, 
 the professional adviser of the firm, stated the course proposed to be adopted. In the 
 first instance, Messrs. Carr and Josling thought of oftering a composition, but sub- 
 sequently it was found that this could not be satisfactorily accomplished, and, 
 therefore, it was proposed to liquidate under inspection. The proceedings taken in 
 connection with the private arrangement clauses of the Bankruptcy Act had been 
 only to protect the interests of the general creditors against any special creditor who 
 might have been disposed to seek an undue advantage; and in the succeeding steps 
 for winding-up the estate, care would be taken to obtain the affidavits of claims in 
 proper form. The inspectors appointed, in accordance with the resolutions adopted, 
 are Mr. Stephen Cave, Mr. Melvelle, and Mr. Bowness. 
 
 The amount already distributed has been 4«. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. C. A. JONAS AND CO. 
 
 The meeting of the creditors of Messrs. C. A. Jonas and Co., engaged in the 
 Baltic trade, who failed on the 4th December, 1857, was held on the 7tli January, 
 1858, when the following statement was submitted by Mr. Ball, of the firm of 
 Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, Janv.vby 7, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured £19,705 5 30 
 
 To cTeditors partially seciu'ed — 
 
 Amount of clahns £9,753 14 4 
 
 Less esthnated value of security 0,59G 2 
 
 3,157 14 2 
 
 To creditors fidly secured — 
 
 Estimated value of seciu-ity £4,457 2 
 
 Less amount of claims 3,922 17 5 
 
 Sm-plu9 £53i 2 9 
 
 To liabilities on billa receivable — 
 
 Considered good £17,136 16 2 
 
 Considered bul £4,161 
 
 To less estimated value of security 3,470 4 
 
 690 19 8 
 
 To liabilities on accpianecs — 
 
 Provided for £16,863 9 7 
 
 Secured 12,410 15 9 
 
 Outstandng 22,852 12 9 
 
 £52,126 IS 1 
 or whicli .'t is csii'i.atcd will prove on \hxi cdate 8,591 5 
 
 £32,145 4 S
 
 Clxxiv APPENDIX. 
 
 CltEDITOTJ. 
 
 By casli on hand £277 10 9 
 
 By cash detained at bankers' £ ] ,010 1 
 
 By bills receivable on hand — 
 
 Considered good 2,922 13 10 
 
 Considered donbtful, £1,500. 
 
 Estimated at 7.?. 6f?. in the pound 575 
 
 By siuidry debtors— • 3,497 13 10 
 
 Considered good 11,420 4 4 
 
 Considered bad 590 10 2 
 
 By office fumitiu'e, estunated value 100 
 
 By surplus seciu'ities, j^jer CO ;ifra 534 2 9 
 
 £15,829 11 8 
 Less rent, salaries, etc., payable in fidl 100 
 
 15,729 11 8 
 Bydeliciency 16,415 13 
 
 £32,145 4 8 
 
 According to the explanations afforded, the estate showed a dividend of about 
 10s. in the pound, and of the deficiency of ;£16,415 presented by the statement, 
 special losses to the extent of £'14,273 had occurred from the failure of other houses 
 during the recent crisis. On the 1st January, 1857, the apparent deficiency was 
 £2,307, but the father of one of the partners advanced 4.0,000 to carry ont opera- 
 tions, for which he is now an unsecured creditor. The profits of the year exceeded 
 the ordinaiy losses, private drawings, etc., and the trading, it was stated, had been 
 perfectly legitimate. Another feature was, that the books had been well kept. 
 The whole of the explanations being regarded as satisfixctory, the resolutions pre- 
 pared by Mr. IloUams, the solicitor, for a witiding-up under inspection, were 
 agreed to. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF IMESSRS. WIENHOLT, WEHNEE, 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Wienholt, Welmer, and Co., in tlie East 
 Indian and Australian trade, who failed on the 11th December, 1857, was lield on 
 the 7th Januaiy, 1858, when the following statement, prepared by Mr. Clarke, 
 the accountant, was presented: — 
 
 Statement, Janxjaey 7, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured, as per statement, viz. : — 
 
 Trade £29,758 V 9 
 
 Permanent family loans 17,597 7 
 
 £17,355 15 3 
 
 To creditors partially secui'ed — 
 
 Amount of claims £52,70G -i 7 
 
 Less estimated value of sccm-itics 43,975 
 
 8,731 4 7 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of securities £ 10,855 8 
 
 Amoimt of claims 41,757 12 7 
 
 Surplus, jje>' coH/r« £5,097 8 1 
 
 To liabililies on accoplanccs £140,907 1 5 
 
 Carried forward £50,080 1 9 ]
 
 APPENDIX. CIXXV 
 
 Brouglil forward £5G,080 19 10 
 
 Viz. :— 
 
 Protected by otlier parties £16,304 11 7 
 
 Secured by the dociunents 
 
 of produce iu voiced at £S2,7SG 10 
 To ainoimt of bills 75,675 10 75,675 10 
 
 To si\.r\T\u9 per eonfra £7,111 
 
 Estimated to be claimed on the estate 21,926 19 10 21,926 19 10 
 
 £116,907 1 5 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per statement £152,196 7 
 Of which it is estimated will be proved on 
 
 theestate ^. 12,500 2 
 
 To creditors to be paid in full 550 
 
 £93,514 1 8 
 
 Capital on January 1st, 1856 £30,758 7 7 
 
 Balance of profit and loss from January 1st, 1856, to December 
 
 11th, 1857 35,000 
 
 £65,758 7 7 
 And permanent family loans £17,597 7 6 
 
 CKEDITOE. 
 
 By cash and surplus securities in the hands of bankers £4,624 2 10 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Good £21.270 18 11 
 
 Doubtfid £13,874 1 1 
 
 Esthnated to realize 7,000 
 
 Bad 500 15 4 
 
 £28,270 18 11 
 Less creditors to be paid iu fidl, «er co;;/r« ... 550 
 
 27,720 18 11 
 
 By surplus securities in the hands of creditors 5,097 8 1 
 
 By siu-plus on produce 7,111 
 
 By merchandise and other securities, as per statement 13,321 15 9 
 
 Bv office furuitm-e 150 4 
 
 £58,025 9 6 
 By outstanding debts and assets in India £66,871 3 8 
 
 Wliieh at only 7v. 6(/. in the pound, will yield 25,071 IB G 
 
 £83,097 3 
 
 The estate, it will be noticed, showed about 17s. 9d. in the pound ; but as the 
 assets are principally Indian, the actual dividend could not be accurately estimated. 
 They included a small indigo factory, and consignments of goods, which it was 
 lioped might be realized without any great sacrifice. With the view of conducting 
 a liquidation which should be satisfactory to the creditors, it was proposed to adopt 
 the process of inspectorship, and three gentlemen were appointed to act with the 
 debtors. In answer to questions, it was stated that the failure had been solely 
 occasioned through the crisis, and that the item of permanent family loans had not 
 been diminished. After the ordinary resolutions introduced to the notice of the 
 meeting by Mr. Peachey, of the firm of Messrs. Oliverson, Peachey, and Co., were 
 passed, one expressing sympathy at the difficulties of Messrs. Wienholt, Wehner, and 
 Co., was brought forward and carried. It was then announced that although the 
 permanent family loans were unsecured, further assistance would have been rendered
 
 clxXvi APPENDIX. 
 
 had the partners entertained an impression that they could liave surmounted their 
 embarrassments. Several creditors testified to the honourable conduct of Messrs. 
 ^Yienholt, Wehner, and Co., in their various business engagements. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. LUPTON, IIOOTOX, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Lupton, Hooton, and Co., in the Manchester 
 trade, -who failed on tlie 1st, was held on the 11th January, 1858, when it was 
 at^reed to accept a composition of 17s. in tlie pound, payable by instalments at thi"ee, 
 six, and nine months' date. It will he noticed from the following statement, 
 prepared by Messrs. Parrinton and Ladbury, that the estate shows a small surplus. 
 Some surprise was, therefore, created when it was announced that an offer of 16.9. 
 was about to be made. After a short discussion, it was resolved to take the amended 
 proposal, a committee having been appointed to superintend the arrangement. 
 Should the estate when investigated not be able to pay the composition named, it is 
 then to be wo'.ind-up under inspection. The cause of suspension was the withdrawal 
 of capital which had been left in the firm by a previous partner : — 
 
 Stateme>'t, Jaxuaey 11, 18'8. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors, as per Ust £29,786 11 5 
 
 Less security held by creditors 2,705 8 10 
 
 To liability on bills receivable discounted, and which will be 
 
 proved on this estate 
 
 Ditto, ditto, considered good £7,597 16 
 
 To liability on acceptance, for which the firm has received a 
 collateral secimty, but the acceptance will be proved on tliis 
 estate 
 
 To surplus (wliich would be increased by any value that may 
 arise from the collateral sectirity above-mentioned) 
 
 £27,081 5 
 
 7 
 
 515 6 
 
 
 
 1,100 
 
 
 
 913 16 
 
 
 
 £29,910 7 
 
 7 
 
 £12,783 13 
 
 3 
 
 10,399 17 
 633 10 
 
 10 
 2 
 
 136 1 
 255 6 
 
 
 
 
 By stock in trade, at cost £12, / 83 13 
 
 By book debts — 
 
 G ood 
 
 Doubtful £950 5 3 
 
 Bad 1,007 11 7 
 
 Estimated to produce 
 
 By estimated surplus to arise from acceptances charged jter contra 
 
 By cash in hand and at bankers' 359 16 1 
 
 Less — retained by bankers, against loss 83 18 6 
 
 •" 275 17 7 
 
 By bills in hand £5,805 12 5 
 
 "Estimated to produce 5,718 19 11 
 
 By lease of premises and fixtures, Nos. 53 and 
 '54, Bread Street, No. 6, Star Court, and 
 IS'os. 79 and 79i, Wathng Street, held for 
 the tenn of 21 years from Clu-istmas, 1857, 
 at the annual rc:it of £ 100, taken in balance- 
 sheet, June, 1857 1,700 
 
 Expended thereon smcc that time 1,005 8 10 
 
 £2,705 8 10 £30,203 5 9 
 
 Held by cash creditors as sectirity for their debts, and deducted, 
 
 percontm £30,203 5 9 
 
 Less rent, taxes, gas, and salaries , 292 18 2 
 
 £29,910 7 7
 
 APPiiNDix. clxxvii 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. SABEL AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of tlie creditors of Messrs. SaLel and Co. was held on the 11th 
 J.annary, 1858, wlieu the following statement was submitted hy Mr. SafTery, of the 
 lirm of Palmer and Sall'ery, accountants: — 
 
 Statement, Januarv 11, 1858. 
 
 CLAIMS. 
 
 To sundry creditors unsecured, viz. : — 
 
 On acceptances £15,396 14 
 
 On open accounts 8,432 C 3 
 
 £23,829 3 
 
 To creditors partially secured £917 12 
 
 Less seciu'ities held 850 10 (5 
 
 . 07 2 
 
 To creditors for advances on 300 shares in the 
 
 London General Paper Company, as i)er contra £700 
 
 Less value of life poUcy also held 50 
 
 050 
 
 To Uabilities on acceptances on account of other 
 
 parties £5,856 1 4 
 
 Of which it is expected claims will arise on 2,400 5 3 
 
 To habilities on biUs receivable £12,323 9 4 
 
 Of which it is expected claims will arise on £2,424 12 2 
 
 Less cash at bankers 200 15 
 
 2,223 17 2 
 
 £29,236 4 8 
 
 To balance deficiency £11..556 12 
 
 To outstandmg hability of the late firm of Sabel 
 
 andSabel £12,755 17 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 By cash hi hand £323 / 9 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, considered good 1,423 10 3 
 
 By ditto, doubtfiU £503 3 3 
 
 Estimated to realize 5?. per pound 1^0 la 10 
 
 By sundry debtors, good "^ '^^J 1^ H 
 
 By consignments, balances outstanding 315 17 11 
 
 By property — 
 
 'stock in trade, cost £5,415 9 
 
 Offii;e furniture, estimated to realize 200 
 
 Household furnilui'e, estimated to realize 400 
 
 0,015 9 9 
 
 £15,270 17 5 
 Deduct clauns to be paid in full 591 ^ 2 
 
 £14,679 12 3 
 By bulaneo " deficiency " 14.556 12 5 
 
 £29,236 4 8
 
 Clxxviii APPENDIX. 
 
 Statement accottntino tor Deficienct. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To deficiency as above £11,556 12 5 
 
 To capital, Jiily 1st, 1856 V30 17 11 
 
 To subsequent pi-oiits 5,763 4 7 
 
 £21,050 14 11 
 
 By cost 01 shares — 
 
 In Loudon General Paper Company £1,500 
 
 (Held by creditors, joer contra.) 
 
 In Caillaud's Patent Tanning Company 750 
 
 £2,250 
 
 Ey trade cliai'gcs, from June, 1856, to December, 1857, viz. : — 
 
 Interest, discount, commission, etc £2,357 13 5 
 
 Salai'ies, rent, travelling expenses, etc 4,703 9 2 
 
 7,061 2 7 
 
 By E. Sabel, drawing account 1,936 7 1 
 
 Bv losses prior to stoppage, viz. : — 
 
 "Doubtfid and bad debts £3,697 5 
 
 BiUs receivable (doubtful) 122 7 5 
 
 Consignments 113 
 
 4,232 7 10 
 
 By losses on realization, viz. : — 
 
 Household furnitui'c £380 
 
 Office fm-nitm-e 300 
 
 680 
 
 By losses in respect of biUs, which slioxdd be provided for by 
 other parties, as pe7' contra, viz. : — 
 
 On our acceptances £2,466 5 3 
 
 On bills receivable 2,424 12 2 
 
 1,890 17 5 
 
 £21,050 14 11 
 
 Mr. Lawrance appeared for the principal creditors, and after some discussion tlio 
 meeting was adjourned to allow Messrs. Sabel and Co. time to consider tlie possibility 
 of making a deilnitc offer of composition of 9*'. in the pound to the creditors. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ME. EDWAED SMITH. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Edward Smith, woolstapler, who failed on tl;e 
 15th December, 1857, took ]il;icc on tlie 13tli January, 185S, sit wljich the following 
 statement was presented: — The liabilities on bills appcnr very large, and an amount 
 of X'109,397 is expected to be proved against the estate. It was proposed to pay Zs. 
 in the pound, secured at three months; but subsequently tlie creditors, M-ithout 
 accepting or rejecting the offer, appointed a committee to carry out a further inves- 
 tigation, and to report to an adjourned meeting. 
 
 St.\ti:iient, Januauy 13, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £68,967 12 1 
 
 To creditors holtUng security £133,874 17 10 
 
 Less value of seciu-ity held by them 109,274 11 11 
 
 To creditors fully secured £1,630 1 4 
 
 To value of secui-ity held by W. C. Huigh 9,219 12 8 
 
 Surplus available as an asset contra £7,589 11 4 
 
 21,600 5 11 
 
 Carried forward £93,567 18
 
 APPENDIX. Clxxix 
 
 Brought forward £93,5G7 IS 
 
 To liabilities on endorsements of bills receivable :t201,721< 10 8 
 
 Of which tliere are expected to be proved upon 
 
 tliis estate £109,397 G 9 
 
 109,397 G 9 
 
 £202/JG5 4 9 
 
 CEEDITOH. 
 
 By stock on hand, estimated at £25,163 17 4 
 
 Bybookdebts 285 15 6 
 
 Bycash £14G 111 
 
 (Retained by bankers to meet liabilities.) 
 
 By cash wdth country agents 1G9 G 5 
 
 By sui'plus stock in hands of creditors , 7,589 11 4 
 
 £33,208 10 7 
 
 Less rent, taxes, and small debts proposed to be paid in full 551 10 
 
 £;]2,G57 9 9 
 
 By value of private estate, estimated at '?5G 11 9 
 
 £33, 11 1 1 G 
 
 At the adjourned meeting the estate was pLiccl under bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE ]\IESSES. S. BEG^a AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mc5f=r3. S. Bogg and Co., engaged in the Australian 
 trade, who failed on the 7th December, 1857, was held on the loth January, 1858, 
 when the subjoined statement, prepared by IMr. Tappling, tlie accountant, was pre- 
 sented. The debts represent £18,769, and the assets £10,239, showing a dividend 
 of about 12,5. in the pound ; but as some of the latter wei'e considered to have been 
 over-estimated, the nearer amount was regarded as 10*. A proposal to p.ty 8,?. by 
 instalments, the last one secured to the satisfaction of a committee, was, after a 
 genci'al discussion, adopted. The professional representatives of the firm were 
 Messrs, Hudson and Francis. 
 
 Statemeijt, Januaex 13, 1858. 
 
 m Ti • DEBTOR. 
 
 lo creditors, viz. : — 
 
 Of S. Begg and Co .-61,387 10 5 
 
 OfS. Begg 12,116 G 3 
 
 In Melbom-ne, September 30tli, 1857 1,574 11 5 
 
 £18,108 8 1 
 
 To creditors secured 3,792 111 
 
 To cstunatcd value of property in their hands 3,906 2 G 
 
 Surplus, see co«//'rt , £114 7 
 
 To liabiUties, viz. : — 
 
 On bills receivable 12,410 
 
 On consignments 1,110 G 6 
 
 £13,550 6 G 
 Of which sum is considered bad ..<,,.. ^^'^ " 2 
 
 £18,769 10 3
 
 clxXX APPB^DIX. 
 
 By debtors, viz. : — 
 
 Good £1,000 
 
 DoubtfiJ £678 14 
 
 Estimated to produce 339 7 
 
 £1,339 7 
 
 Bad 1,120 9 
 
 By debts in Melbomnie on Sept. 30th, 1S57, estimated at 1,700 
 
 By estimated value of property in the hands of creditors over and 
 
 above the advances thereon Ill 7 
 
 By property, viz. : — 
 
 'inMelbourne £3,170 2 7 
 
 By shipments in or on the way to Melboiu-nc 3,250 
 
 By life pohcies 250 
 
 By balance of cash, viz. : — 
 
 At London and Westminster Bank 3 IS 9 
 
 Inhand 386 13 8 
 
 Bv biU receivable 21 11 10 
 
 6,670 2 
 
 415 7 3 
 
 By deficiency : 8,530 12 10 
 
 £18,769 10 3 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. SEWELLS AXD NECK. 
 
 A numerous meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Sewells and Neck, lately engaged 
 in the trade with Norway, who failed on the 5th December, 1857, was held on the 
 14th January, 1858, at the London Tavern, when tlie following statement, showing 
 a surplus of .£'57,581, was presented by Mr. W. Turquand, of Messrs. Turquand, 
 Youngs, and Co., the accountants: — 
 
 Statement, Janttary 14, 1858. 
 
 DEETOK. 
 To ci'cditors nnsecitred — 
 
 On open accounts £40,632 1 2 
 
 On bills pavable 60,790 5 
 
 On femily deposits 22,656 7 4 
 
 £124,078 13 6 
 
 To creditors holding scctiritv — 
 
 Securities held ! 42,809 19 
 
 Claims 41,389 8 3 
 
 S urplus subjcc't to interest £1,420 10 9 
 
 To liabilities on bills iiayable ac- 
 cepted on account ' of the 
 
 drawers, who are returned as 
 
 creditors for certain amounts, 
 
 subject to their retiring our 
 
 acceptances, as per statement 
 
 page £97,618 5 4 
 
 Of which it is estimated will bo 
 
 claimed against this estate . . . 10,825 16 3 
 
 Cnmed forward £97,618 5 4 £10,825 16 3 £121,078 13 6
 
 AITENDIX. Clxxxi 
 
 Brought fonvard £97,618 5 4 £10,825 IG 3 £121,078 13 6 
 
 Accepted oil acc-oiiiit of drf.wcrs 
 ■nlio arc debtors after retiring 
 our acceptances, as per state- 
 ment page 101,802 4 10 
 
 Of which it is estimated wall not 
 
 be retired by the drawers 9,742 
 
 £202,120 10 2 
 
 20,567 16 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable — 
 
 Amount rmi oil' and paid £108,322 1 
 
 Amount run olF, not met by 
 accejitors, but expected to 
 be retired by di'awers or 
 
 endorsers ...' 29,766 1 
 
 Expected to become claims ... 4,118 5 10 4,118 5 10 
 To amount still rumiing, ex- 
 pected to be met by acceptors, 
 
 drawers, or endorsers 137,972 1 
 
 Expected to become claims 1,911 10 1,911 10 
 
 6,029 6 8 
 
 £282,089 6 11 
 
 £150,675 16 5 
 To balance, being surplus of joint estate 37,581 3 10 
 
 £188,257 3 
 
 CBEDITOR. 
 
 Ey balances at bankers', subject to repayment 
 of loan and to liabiUties on bdls under 
 discount £5,755 17 10 
 
 By bills receivable on hand £34,820 17 10 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Considered good 86,619 9 
 
 Considered doubt fid 1,634 7 7 
 
 Considered bad 11,394 16 7 
 
 £13,029 4 2 
 
 By property, estimated value 18,990 
 
 By Borregaard estate, estimated value, after dcductuig mortgages 
 
 and other claims 30,000 
 
 By bills of exchange and cash deposited as collateral security for 
 
 payment of bills discounted and negotiated 14,826 13 5 
 
 £188,257 3 
 
 Bv balance, being surplus of joiut estate brought 
 
 'down £37,581 3 10 
 
 By partners' private estates, estimated to reaUze 20,000 
 
 £57,581 3 10 
 
 Statemext snowiNO the Position of the Firm on 31st December, 1856, 
 
 AND ACCOUNTING EOR PRESENT SURPLrS. 
 
 To capital, December 31st, 1856 £72,834 10 £72,834 10 
 
 To Mr. Joseph Sewell's de- 
 posit account £5,700 
 
 Carried forward £5,700 £72,834 10 £72,834 10
 
 Clxxsii APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought for^-arcl £5,700 £72,834 10 £72,834 10.0 
 
 To familv deposits 22,G56 7 4 
 
 28,356 7 4 
 
 101,100 17 4 
 
 To profits from Dec. 31st, 185G, to Dec. 5tli, 1857, viz. :— 
 
 To iutei-cst account balance £7,656 6 10 
 
 By commission 13,217 14 6 
 
 By insin-ance 825 10 
 
 By brokerage, postages, etc 462 14 3 
 
 22,162 5 7 
 
 Less expenses 2,071 14 2 
 
 By partners' accomits, from December Slst, 
 
 1856, to December 5th, 1857— 
 By ch-awings of Mr. C. Seu-ell and Mr. Neck ... £2,916 4 G 
 By Thomas Sewcll, balance at his debit in 
 
 general ledger 2,210 15 8 
 
 5,127 2 
 Deduct — Joseph Sevrell, amount to his credit 
 
 since December 31st, 1856 1,903 7 2 
 
 By losses, viz. : — 
 
 By sundries — balance of profit and loss account 4,348 10 
 On estimated realization of 
 
 debtors £13,029 4 i 
 
 By property 795 1 8 
 
 By Borregaard estate 600 4 4 
 
 By securities held by credit oi's 1,420 ]0 9 
 
 By Ilolmsund stock 2,000 
 
 By shippmg m Nonvav 3,329 19 11 
 
 •^ ' 21,175 10 
 
 20,090 11 5 
 £92,925 1 5 
 
 £3,223 13 
 
 By liabilities — 
 
 On bills payable 20,567 16 3 
 
 On bills receivable 6,029 6 8 
 
 By surplus, as per statement of affairs 37,581 
 
 25,523 1 8 
 
 26,597 2 11 
 3 10 
 
 £92,925 1 5 
 
 The .nnnounccment that the cst.atc showed 20.?. in the pound, leaving a large 
 surplus, was received with mucli satisfaction, particularly when it was ascertained 
 that of this sum £20,000 is derived from the separate properties of the partners. 
 The Borregaard estate, valued at £30,000, after deducting mortgages and other 
 claims, was originally purchased for £43,000 ; and the remaining assets can be 
 steadily realized. It was explained by Mr. Hollams, tlie professional representative 
 of the firm, that the suspension was entirely voluntary, Messrs. Scwells and Neck, 
 notwithstanding the ofFer of assistance from the Bank of Ihigland and private 
 friends, having declined to proceed owing to the uncertainty wliicli prevailed a few 
 ■weeks since with regard to the trade of the north of Eui-ope. 'i'hey were not then 
 aware that Norway could have so well withstood the effects of the crisis as has now 
 proved to be the case, and tliey consequently hesitated to jeopardize the funds 
 which would have been supplied for their use. The local government having 
 stepped forward to the assistance of the mercantile community, tliey have been 
 enabled to contend with their difficult' , and in credit they now present a strong
 
 APPENDIX. clxxxiii 
 
 contrast to other neighbouring countries. TIio assets being principally in Norway, 
 the only favour Mcoro. Sewells and Neck ask at the hands of their creditors is an 
 extension of time, and it is proposed to pay 20^. in the pound with 5 per cent, 
 interest, by instalments, at six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months. The 
 resolution containing tlie proposal included a suggestion for the appointment of 
 inspectors ; but two of the creditors, Mr. Boyson and Mr. Cliurchill, intimated that 
 there was no necessity for this provision, it being the interest of Messrs. Sewells 
 and Neck to efloct a liquidation to the best possible advantage. Great sympathy 
 was expressed during the discussion for tlic position to which the firm had been 
 reduced through the panic of November and December ; and it was unanimously 
 decided that it was not desirable to enforce any supervision. 
 The arrangements for 20^. in the pound were carried out. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. EEAY, PEESCOTT, AND CO. 
 
 A numerous meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Eew, Prescott, and Co., engaged 
 in the Swedish trade, who suspended on the 14th December, 1857, took place on 
 tlie 15th January, 185S, at the Guildhall Coffee-house, Mr. Prescott, the bauker, 
 in the chair, when the following favourable statement Avas presented by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement, JAytXAEY 15, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accoimts £33,008 10 11 
 
 To ditto on bills payable £81,G25 1 8 
 
 Of wliicli it is expected there will be pro- 
 vided for by the parties for vrliose account 
 the bills were accepted 52,'708 IS 11 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 28,910 2 9 
 
 To creditors fuUv secured — 
 
 SecLU-ity held .' £3,004 18 2 
 
 Claims 935 8 
 
 Surplus to coH/ra £2,0G9 10 2 
 
 To amount due to the executors of the late 
 
 IT. J. Prescott 25,9G3 8- 
 
 To liabihties on bills receivable 69,057 9 11 
 
 Of wliich it is expected there will be taken 
 
 lip by the di-awers or endoi'sers 61,211 10 1 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 7,815 19 10 
 
 Liabilities £95,703 14 2 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash and short bills in hands of bankers £5,108 11 8 
 
 By cash at Bank of England, etc 58 3 (> 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, expected to bo dulv honoured at 
 
 maturity " 10,682 16 4- 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, the payment of wliich may be 
 
 dcfcrrctl, but which are expected ultimately to be paid in fidl... 5,778 16 11 
 
 By debtors, considered good 73,103 18 1 
 
 By ditto, doubt fid £14,979 3 9 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, doubtful 2,680 10 6 
 
 £17,60 3 
 Estimatedat 6,623 10 
 
 Carried forwar.l £101,655 16 G
 
 clxxxiv APl'KNDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £101,05510 
 
 tSm-plus from creditor?, contra 2,000 10 2 
 
 £103,725 6 8 
 Less creditors under £10, and to be paid in full 274 3 5 
 
 Assets £103,451 3 3 
 
 The cash and short hills -u-ith the hankers will be retained by them until the 
 bills which they have discounted arrive at maturity. 
 
 Peo-fohma Balance Statejient from JAxrAEY, 1847, to December 1 1, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To liahiUties as above £95,703 14 2 
 
 To capital at commencement 48,295 18 10 
 
 To profits £128,574 3 6 
 
 Less charges, etc £26,740 8 1 
 
 Less losses, etc 19,061 5 7 
 
 45,801 13 8 
 
 82,772 9 10 
 
 £226,772 2 10 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By assets, as above £103,451 3 3 
 
 By amoimts dra\^^l out by the partners 45,817 3 11 
 
 By portion of the late Mr. Prescott's cajntal 
 'paid to his executors £30,000 
 
 By ditto, now due 25,963 8 
 
 55,903 8 
 
 Bv estimated losses in 1857, by doubtful and 
 'bad debts, and bills receivable 13,72 1 15 2 
 
 By liabilities on bills that have been disho- 
 noured wliicji ought to have been provided 
 for by other parties 7,815 19 10 
 
 £220,772 2 10 
 
 TIic estate, it will be noticed, exhibits 20>;. in the pound, and a surplus of about 
 £8,000. The assets and liabilities have been carefully examined, and Mr. Coleman 
 asserts that there is every prospect of these results being realized. The operations 
 of tlie house, which is of old standing and great respectability, have been con- 
 ducted with prudence, and liave not been based upon irregular bill transactions 
 or open credits, which have unfortunately distinguished many other recent cases. 
 The debts due in Sweden are connected with firms of the highest character, the 
 trading relations of Messrs. Rew, Prescott, and Co. abroad being of the most un- 
 doubted description. The profits, during their trading of eleven years, have 
 amounted to 182,000, or at tlie rate tf ,17,.'jOO a yi ar, and the drawings of the 
 partners have been i45,000, or at the rate of .1' 4,1 50 a year, leaving .i37,000 to be 
 carried to capital. Tlie losses during the last year, including liabilities on bills, 
 amount to i,'21,540. It is proposed that Messrs. Kew, Prescott, and Co. shall con- 
 tinue business, taking the management of their afairs entirely under their ow:i 
 control, and that they shall pay 20.s. in the puuiul, with interest at the rate of five 
 per cent., to the wdiolo of theii' creditnrs. Tlic fir.st jjaymcnt is to be 5.v. in cash, on 
 or before the 31st of March, 1858, with subsequent distributions, at the rate of 2v. 
 in the pound, at intervals as speedy as the realization of the assets will permit. 
 Great sympathy was expressed for the position of the firm, and the resolutions 
 approving of the plan of liquidation were moved hy Mr. Burmestcr, and seconded 
 by Mr. Tottie. 
 
 The estate was finally liquidated by payment in full with interest.
 
 APl'lCNDIX. clxXXV 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSRS. ALBERT PELLT AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Albert Pelly and Co., engaged in the Norwe- 
 gian trade, who failed on the 7th December, 18.57, was held on the 16th January, 
 1858, Mr. W. Tottie in the chair, when the following satisfactory statement was 
 presented bj- Mr. G. H. Jay, the accountant : — 
 
 Statement, Janvaey 16, 1858. 
 
 DDBTOE. 
 
 To sundry creditors — 
 
 On open accounts £11,945 11 6 
 
 On our acceptances £2,286 11 1 2,286 14 1 
 
 To creditor for cash loan se- 
 cured by Mr. A. Pelly ... £12,751 6 
 
 To liabihtics on om* accept- 
 
 ances, given on account of 
 the drawers, as per state- 
 ment 84,31115 6 
 
 Wlio, it is expected, will 
 be unable to retu-e 
 
 them to the extent of... 10,000 
 
 To creditors for amount duo 
 to them after retu-iug our 
 acceptances in their favour, 
 amounting to 20,659 16 1 7,081 7 
 
 14,232 5 7 
 
 Total acceptances £107,258 5 S 
 
 17,081 7 6 
 
 To liabilities on bills receiv- 
 able £78,929 14 6 
 
 Of which it is estimated 
 
 will prove claims 5,000 
 
 Total claims £36,316 13 1 
 
 To surplus 49,425 5 10 
 
 By cash at banlcers, viz. : — 
 
 Bank of England £34 10 9 
 
 Barclay and Co 1,433 10 1 
 
 By bills receivable in hand £6,818 8 4 
 
 Considered good £5,444 13 3 
 
 Doubtful, £1,373 9*. Id., estimated at 10*. 
 
 in the poimd 687 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Secured £14,921 17 8 
 
 Unsecured 31,178 
 
 £85,741 18 11 
 
 £1,468 10 
 
 £6,131 13 3 
 
 £49,099 17 8 
 
 Considered good 31,687 4 
 
 Doubtfid, £14,412 13s. 8d., estimated atlO.y. 
 
 inthepound 7,206 6 10 
 
 41,893 10 10 
 Carried forward £49,493 4 1 1
 
 clxXXvi APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forvrarcl £10,493 -1 1 1 
 
 Bv private estates of the partners for csti- 
 
 "mated surplus £49,000 
 
 Thereof less creditor seciu'ed thereon, per 
 
 contra 12,751 G 
 
 36,218 11 
 
 Total assets £85,741 IS 11 
 
 Statement snowixG the Estimated Eesxtlt of the Firm's Opeeations 
 
 FKOM JaXTJAEX 1 TO DECEMBER 7, 1857. 
 
 To capital, January 1, 1857 £17,127 14 
 
 To balance of profit and loss to December 7, 1857 G,190 13 
 
 To private estates of partners included in statement of assets ... 49,000 
 
 £72,318 
 
 CliEDITOR. 
 
 By claims anticipated to be made on om' acceptances in favom- 
 
 of drawers unable to retire them £10,000 
 
 By claims anticipated in respect of bills receivable considered bad 5,000 
 
 By loss anticipated in realizmg the bills receivable in hand 686 15 1 
 
 By loss anticipated in realizmg the debts due 7,206 6 10 
 
 By partners' drawings, nil 
 
 By balance bei:ig present surplus as per statement of affairs 49, 125 5 10 
 
 £72,318 7 9 
 
 Tlie estate thus exhibited debts and liabilities of £36,31G, and assets £85,741, or 
 20s. in the pound, with a surplus of £49,425. It vras explained that the account had 
 been drawn out M-itli great cave, and tliat there was every expectation of the assets 
 producing the aniounis respectively set forth. The suspension was solely occasioned 
 by the crisis, the capital on the 1st of January, 1S57, having been £17,127, and tlic 
 private property of tlio partners £49,000. It will be noticed that this latter item 
 now represents £86,248, and that it constitutes the piincipai proportion of the sur- 
 plus. Very little discussion was entered into, but great sympathy was expressed 
 for the position of the firm, who, like Messrs. Sevvells and Neck, and Messrs. Rew, 
 Prescott, and Co., have suddenly been brought to the ground. Mr. Tecsdale, the 
 Ic^al representative of the house, announced the proposal for the payment of the 
 creditors. It was satisfaction in full for all demands, with interest at the rate of 5 
 per cent, per annum, by four equal instalments of 5s. in the pound, at six, twelve, 
 eighteen, and twenty-four montlis, from the 25th day of February next; the exten- 
 tension of this date being necessary to obtain the consent of the Noi wegian claimants. 
 Messrs. All)ert Pelly and Co. were immediately to resume and carry on their busi- 
 ness, and retain uncontrolled possession of tlieir affairs, the creditors declining to 
 avail themselves of the privilege of appointing inspectors. The resolutions empower- 
 ing the I'ulfdment of this arrangement were proposed by Mr. Boyson, and seconded 
 by jMr. Penning. 
 
 The payment of 20.v. in the pound was, under this agreement, effected. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSliS. T. II. ELMENHOEST AND CO. 
 
 Tlie meeting of the creditors of Messrs. T. II. Elmenhorst and Co., who sus- 
 pended on the 11th December, 1857, took place on the IGtIi January, 1858, when 
 tiic annexed statement was presented by ]\ir. Quilter, of the firm of Messrs. (jniltcr. 
 Ball, and Co., the accountants. It showed debts and liabilities equal to £11,167,
 
 APPENDIX. clxXXvii 
 
 and assets £14,281, nomlnnlly sufficient to pay 205. in the pound, !\nd to leave a 
 surplus of £3,114. The lioiise wns engaged in the Swedish and Norwegian trade, 
 and the foiiiire was caused liy the suspension of other large establishments. The 
 partners not being in a position to make a definitive offer, and an amount of bills 
 having still to mature, it was agreed that the best course to adopt would be a 
 li(luidution under inspection: — 
 
 Statement, January 16, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To suncli'v creditors, as per statement £51G 15 2 
 
 To crcclilors fully secured, as per statement, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated value of sccm-ity £1,000 
 
 Amount of claim 208 7 
 
 Hnryilns, ppr cojifra 791 13 5 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances, as per statement... 71, 180 11 G 
 
 Of wliich claims are expected to arise on, say 8,816 9 S 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per state- 
 ment 47,537 17 1 
 
 Of which, considered bad 2,830 
 
 Less balances in the hands of bankers, held 
 
 agamst liability 995 12 5 
 
 CEEDITOB. 
 By bills receivable on hand — 
 
 As per statement £G,359 14 5 
 
 Considered good 5,200 12 5 
 
 Doubtfid £1,159 2 
 
 Estimatedafc 579 11 
 
 1,834 7 7 
 £11,1G7 12 5 
 
 £5,780 3 
 
 By svindry debtors, as per statement^ 
 
 Considered good 4,209 16 10 
 
 Considered bad £317 10 5 
 
 By surplus seciunties in the hands of creditor, 
 per conira 791 13 5 
 
 £10,781 13 8 
 By dividends on the liabilities per contra, 
 treated as claims, say Gs. 8d. in the pound 
 thereon, viz. : — 
 
 On acceptances 8,816 S 
 
 On bills receivable 2,830 
 
 £11,616 9 8 
 Say 3,500 
 
 £14.281 13 8 
 
 The estate was realized, and produced 20.9. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSRS. WILLIAM DEAY AXD CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. William Dray and Co., agricultural Imple- 
 ment makers, who failed on the 19th Dec, 1857, was held on the 19th Jan., 1868, when 
 the following statement, prepared by Messrs. Tnrtpiand, Youngs, and Co., v.-as pre-
 
 clxXXviii AI'l'ENUlX. 
 
 Ecntcd. On tlie part of tlic debtor nn offer of 10s. in the pound was made, and a 
 committee of creditors was appointed to investigate and report to an adjourned 
 meeting. 
 
 Statemint, jAXVAi^r 19, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To creditors unsecxived £11,516 5 8 
 
 To creditors lioldiiig seciii'ity partly covered ... dCl,8S7 17 7 
 Deduct estimated value of security 1,350 
 
 To creditors fidly covered 4,39:i 1 2 
 
 (See contra.) 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, expected to become claims against 
 
 theestate 51-7 3 
 
 To liabilities to bankers on overdrawn accoimts, 
 and on bills receivable, expected to become 
 
 claims against the estate £5,515 1 2 
 
 Less estimated value of securit v 3,652 13 9 
 
 1,862 7 5 
 
 To liabilities to Deane, Dray, and Co., miccrtain as to amount 
 until the partnership accounts arc closed 
 
 Totalliabilities £44,493 13 8 
 
 CEEDITOH. 
 
 By debtors, good £8,605 11 2 
 
 Less 10 per ceut 860 11 
 
 7,745 2 
 
 33y creditors, doubtful £914 17 5 
 
 Estimated to realize 250 
 
 By ditto, bad 1,518 17 8 
 
 By distillerv accomits 4,355 2 1 
 
 Estimated to realize 2,000 
 
 Bycashinhand ISO 2 
 
 By stock at Swan Lane and various warehouses 5,431 19 10 
 
 Bv stock and debts at Paris 2,160 12 10 
 
 ' Ditto at Vienna 350 
 
 Ditto at Farningham 2,148 17 
 
 By farming stock at Faraingham 4,053 
 
 Bv horses and carts in Lo)idon 501 7 8 
 
 By shares in Oxford Distillery 300 
 
 By consignments, estimated at 370 
 
 By property held by creditors 4,550 
 
 Deduct amount of t heir claims 4, 392 4 2 
 
 157 15 10 
 
 By lease of farm at Farningham 
 
 By lease of warehouse. Swan Lane 
 
 By licenses of distillery patent 
 
 £25,948 15 4 
 Deduct creditors to be paid in full amount, iindcv £5, rcnf, (axes, 
 
 etc 793 1 5 
 
 Totalassets £25,155 13 11 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSRS. POWLES BEOTIIEES AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of creditors of Messrs. Powles Brothers and Co., South American 
 mcrcliants, whose suspension was announced on the 4th of November, 1867, was
 
 APPENDIX. clxxxix 
 
 lield on the 19tli of January, 1858, wlien tlie following bulance-slieet was sub- 
 mitted by Mr. Moates, the accountant: — 
 
 Statement, January 19, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £15-t,411 7 
 
 To creditors secured — 
 
 Claims £18,38i G 1 
 
 Value of secm-itv 15,267 10 
 
 3,11G 10 1 
 
 To liability on bills bearing our endorsement, 
 ■which will be paid by the acceptor at 
 
 maturity 14,823 18 5 
 
 To liability on bills -which are expected to be proved on this 
 
 estate...: 2,811 9 10 
 
 £160,369 12 6 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash in hand £13 11 11 
 
 By bills receivable in hand, accepted 2,902 4 5 
 
 „ unaccepted £6,485 
 
 Bv shares 908 5 
 
 By book debts 62,787 12 10 
 
 By capital iu fii-ms in New Granada 20,738 18 2 
 
 £87,350 15 4 
 Lesg rent, taxes, and small debts, proposed to be paid in full... 100 
 
 £87,250 15 4 
 By value of private estate, estimated at 1,000 
 
 £88,250 15 4 
 
 The dividend will thus be rather more than 10s. in the pound, but will depend 
 upon the fair realization of the assets in South America, which form a large portion 
 of the estate. Liabilities may also accrue from Mr. Powles being a shareholder in 
 several companies which are now in process of liquidation. It was resolved to 
 wind-up the concern under inspection. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. KIESEE AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Kieser and Co., lately engaged in the 
 continental trade, who failed on the ord December, 1857, was held on the 20th 
 January, 1858, Mr. Valentine Corric in the chair, when the following statement, 
 prepared by Mr. G. H. J.ay, the accountant, was presented : — 
 
 Statement, January 20, 1858. 
 
 rr 1 T. DEBTOR. 
 
 lo sundiy creditors — 
 
 Open account £1,435 17 1 
 
 Brokerage commission and exchange 650 
 
 Grunelius and Co., subject to theii* retu'ing 
 
 om* drafts on them 2,410 5 8 
 
 • £kJOG 2 9 
 
 To sundry creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claim .' £2,523 8 3 
 
 Seciu'ities estimated at 2,311 16 2 
 
 181 12 1 
 
 Carried for ^vavd £4,677 14 1
 
 CXC APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought fonvavd £t,G77 11 10 
 
 To sundrv creditors fidlv secured — 
 
 Amoun^t of clabn ....'. £2,G00 
 
 Securities estimated iit 2,839 II 5 
 
 Surplus carried to co«^;'a £239 14 5 
 
 To liabilities (oiu* acceptances) £18,660 7 6 
 
 Less amount accepted for, and since retired by 
 
 drawers £8,656 6 
 
 Loss amount accepted for, and ■will be retired 
 
 by drawers at matm-ity 1,100 
 
 Less amount accepted against secm-itics lodged 
 in the hands of Jacob and Son, and which 
 arc reported of sufllcient value 4,500 
 
 Leaving to rank upon the estate 4,104 1 6 4,104 1 6 
 
 £18,660 7 G 
 
 To UabiHties on bills receivable — 
 
 Foreign drafts , £22,201 16 7 
 
 Considered good 12,259 15 9 
 
 £9,942 10 
 
 Less securities held against Messrs. Depen- 
 
 dorff's di-afts for 2,356 8 1 
 
 7,585 17 9 
 
 Less inland bills, considered good £4,331 9 5 
 
 Note. — Cash held by Messrs. Cohen, against 
 
 £3,964 3.9. 5f/. of the above, carried to co»/rrt 1,200 
 To liabiUties on suuch-y open contracts, estimated at 900 
 
 £17,207 14 1 
 
 By cash at bankers' and in the house £2,160 2 3 
 
 By biUs receivable, considered good 2,309 2 8 
 
 By sundry merchandise — 
 
 In hand, at market value £5,581 15 4 
 
 Sundries, estimated at 100 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good £3,185 16 11 
 
 Doubtful £392 15 9 
 
 Estunatedat 200 
 
 Bad 260 5 3 
 
 5,684 15 1 
 
 3,685 16 11 
 
 By suii^lus value of securities held by creditors, per contra 239 14 
 
 By surplus to bo received of Messrs. Cohen, j^;e/- co«/;vf " 1,200 
 
 £15,279 11 7 
 
 Note. — Further assets may be expected to arise from reclamations to be made on 
 other parties tin-ough whose suspension claims liavo arisen jicr contra, and the 
 amount, as far as at present can be ascertained, will enable Messrs. Kicscr and Co. 
 to pay 20a. in the pound. 
 
 Although the liabilities of the firm represent about X'50,000, the amount which 
 will be proved against the estate is not likely to exceed i'17,267. The assets arc 
 expected to realize 20.v. in the pound; but the creditors appear inclined to refuse the 
 acceptance of more than 17.v. High testimony was all'orded to the conduct of 
 Mr. Kicser, whose transactions have been regulated by a scrupulous regard to
 
 APPENDIX, CXCl 
 
 honour. The faihire has been caused by tlie Hamburg disasters ; but notwithstand- 
 ing tlie iirm could have proceeded lor some months longer, it was considered 
 essential for the interests of the body of the creditors to suspend. At the termination 
 of the proceedings most favourable resolutions were passed, of which the subjoined 
 is an abstract: — 
 
 " That the partnership now subsisting between Messrs. Kieser and Jacob being 
 dissolved, Mr. Kieser be at liberty to resume and carry on his business; and that the 
 creditors, notwithstanding the desire of Mr. Kieser to undertake the payment of 
 20s. in the pound, accept payment of their demand by three instalments, amounting 
 together to 17s. in the pound; the first 10^. in the pound, on the sanction of the 
 creditors being obtained to this arrangement; the second of 3s. Gd. in the pound at 
 four calendar months; and the third and last instalment of 3s. 6d. at eight calendar 
 months from the date thereof. That the creditors beg to express their sympathy 
 with Mr. Kieser under his present position, and their entire approval of his conduct 
 throughout." 
 
 Au eventual settlement of 12s, 8c/. in the pound was accomplished. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. HEEMANN, COX, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Hermann, Cox, and Co., engaged in business 
 as general merchants, who suspended on the Ist of December, 1857, was held on the 
 21st of January, 1858, when the following statements were presented by Mr. Ball, of 
 tlie firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants:— 
 
 Statement, January 21, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR, 
 
 To sundiy creditors imsecured £88,53117 2 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claims £52,546 7 5 
 
 Less cstuna ted value of security 39,852 17 
 
 12,093 10 5 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of secm-ity £7,800 18 1 
 
 Less amount of claims 6,506 10 
 
 Sui-plus £794. 7 7 
 
 To liabilities on bUls receivable — 
 
 Outstanding amount £244,224 5 
 
 Estimated to prove clauus on 1 he estate £42,302 19 1 
 
 Less cash and secvu'ities deposited 2,080 19 5 
 
 40,221 19 G 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances outstanding £64,536 2 2 
 
 Estimated to j^rove claims on the estate for 4,464 6 2 
 
 Estuuated claims in respect of goods piu-cliasod 9,000 
 
 £154,911 13 3 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash and good bills on hand £14,950 2 G 
 
 By sundiT debtors — 
 
 Considered good 38,549 3 
 
 Considered doubtful £52,095 13 6 
 
 Estimated at 65. 8t?. in the pound 17,365 4 G 
 
 Estimated bad £17,168 7 7 
 
 By sundry merchandise on hand 13,320 11 2 
 
 Carried forwavd £84,185 1 2
 
 CXCU APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £84,185 1 2 
 
 Bj surplus securities, juf;- roH/ya 794 7 7 
 
 By consignment to Sydney 400 
 
 £85,379 8 9 
 
 Less rent, salaries, etc., payable in full 250 
 
 £85,129 8 9 
 Deficienev G9,782 4 (> 
 
 £151,011 13 3 
 
 I^ofe. — Since the suspension, the cash and short 
 bills in hand have been increased by merchan- 
 dise sold and debts collected to ' £31,037 2 10 
 
 Statement accocntino tor tub DEFiciExcr. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To deficiency 1st December, 1857, as per statement of all'airs £G9,782 4 G 
 
 To capital, ist January, 1857 40,410 3 11 
 
 Profits, viz. : — 
 
 Commission £7,900 19 11 
 
 Cotton 280 10 2 
 
 Insurance 94 9 7 
 
 Interest 425 11 6 
 
 Suncbies 5,087 10 9 
 
 13,789 1 11 
 
 £123,981 10 4 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By trade charges — 
 
 London and Liverpool £5,G91 3 2 
 
 U. Cox's drawings 2,0G7 G 11 
 
 7,758 10 1 
 
 By sundry losses on produce 8,556 IS 5 
 
 By bad and doubtful debts, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated loss on doubtful £34,730 9 
 
 Bad 17,168 7 7 
 
 51,898 IG 7 
 
 By liabilities proved bad 47,767 5 3 
 
 By estimated claims in respect of goods purchased 8,000 
 
 £123,981 10 1. 
 
 Tlie estate, it was explained, showed about lis. in the pound, but there was 
 every reasonable prospect of lO*-. being secured. The assets already in hand were 
 sufficient to pay a dividend of 4,s-., hut a distribution could not be made until the 
 whole of tlie liabilities shall have run oil". March was the period wlicn the result 
 in this respect would be ascertained, though the total was diniitiished by L1G0,000. 
 The estimate of the doubtful debts was taken on a fair average; and the assets 
 since the failure had increased, through the sale of mercliandisc and the collection 
 of debts. The cause of the suspension was heavy lo.*ses through the depreciation of 
 produce, etc., the cqiital on the 1st of January, 1857, having been .l'4t),000. The 
 jjroposal made by Jlr. Hollams, the profe sional representative of the firm, was a 
 li(iuidati()n, through the process of inspection, which was generally assented to, and 
 some of the creditors were appointed to act on belialf of the general body. 
 
 A dividend of 4s. in the pound has bein distributed.
 
 ArrENDIX. CXCIU 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. BISCIIOFF, BEEE, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. BIschoff, Beer, and Co., engaged aa mer- 
 chants in London, Switzerhmd, and Calcutta, who failed in November, 1857, was 
 lield on tho 27tli January, 1858, wlicn the following statement was presented by 
 Mr. Weisc, of the fu'm of Messrs. J. E. Coleman and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, Januaey 27, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To ercflitors on open accounts JC7,358 9 3 
 
 To creditors on bills payable £15,038 2 1 
 
 Amount expected to be taken up by other 
 parties 
 
 Amount expected to rank on this estate 14,007 19 G 
 
 To creditors holding secui'ity — 
 
 Secm'ities lield 
 
 Amount of claim 
 
 Surplus to co»^ra £377 7 G 
 
 To liabilities on bills — 
 
 Eeceivable discounted £29,042 8 1 
 
 Of which it is expected there will be paid 
 
 at maturity 15,G94 2 
 
 Leaving to rank on tliis estate 13,348 7 11 
 
 1,030 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 2,951 
 
 2,574 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 5 
 
 LiabUities £34,714 16 8 
 
 CEEDITOH. 
 
 By assets, consisting of goods in London office, furniture, etc., £87 
 
 By debtors, good 2,291 10 5 
 
 By ditto, doubtful, estimated to produce 1 IG 12 9 
 
 By sm'plus secm'ities with creditors, per contra 377 7 G 
 
 By consignments, etc 1,928 IS 9 
 
 By amoiuit due fi-om Bischoflf and Co., of Cal- 
 cutta £11,G5S 9 11 
 
 Less amount due to Bischoff and Co., of 
 
 Teufen, Switzerland ' 1,953 9 11 
 
 9,705 
 
 £14,53G 9 5 
 
 Less amounts under £10, and to be paid in full 127 12 11 
 
 Assets £14,408 10 G 
 
 General Balance Statement from JANtTAEY 1855, to Notembep. 2G, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To liabilities as above £34,714 IG 8 
 
 To amount standmg to the credit of P. Beer 229 7 
 
 £34,944 3 8 
 
 By assets as above £14,408 10 G 
 
 By losses by doubtful and bad debts 1,480 10 2 
 
 By ])rofit and loss balance 5j/0G 9 1 
 
 By liabilities on bills receivable discounted , 13,348 7 11 
 
 £34,9 1 1 3 8
 
 CXCIV APPENDIX. 
 
 It Avas stated that, although a longer time had elapsed tlian usual ia convening 
 a meeting, it had not arisen I'rom any irregularity in the accounts, hut solely from 
 a desire to ascertain the position of the houses at Calcutta and Teufen, in order that 
 the creditors of the London estahlishmciit niiglit have the henefit of any assets to 
 be received tliencc. It appeared that Mr. BiscliofF had since arrived from Teufen, 
 and Lad explained that if time was allowed the Calcutta house, there -was every 
 prospect of realizing nearly the entire amount which that lirm was indebted to the 
 Loudon partners. Mr. Weise having entered into the full details of the statement, 
 intimated that Messrs. Bischofif, Beer, aud Co. of course placed tliemselves unre- 
 servedly in the hands of their creditors, either to liquidate under inspection, or 
 through any other medium which might be thought advantageous. Looking, how- 
 ever, to the nature of the assets, the greater part depending on the Calcutta house, 
 which, if at all pressed or interfered with, would probably not show favourable 
 results, it was considered advisable to request Messrs. Bischoff, Beer, aud Co. to bo 
 pi'epared with au offer to pay a composition, and to retain the management of the 
 estate themselves. The proposal was a payment of 7*. 6i. in the pound, by instal- 
 ments of 24'. at two months, Is. at five months, 2<. at eight months, and Is. 6(/. at 
 ten mouths, the last to be secured, which was ultimately accepted. In answer to 
 questions, it was stated by Mr. Nicholson, the legal representative of the firm, that 
 the establishments in Calcutta and Switzerland had suspended, laid that the security 
 for the last instalment would be approved to the satisfaction of the creditors. The 
 house in Loudon commenced without any capital, and it stood in the relation of 
 an agency between the firm in Teufen (who were manufacturers of Swiss goods, 
 and who exported at the rate of from it'30,000 to £40,000 a year) and the firm iu 
 India. At the conclusion of the proceedings, two inspectors were appointed until 
 the payment of the first instalment, and the approval of the security for the last. 
 
 The estate eventually paid 7*. 6/. in the pouud. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MK. PETER BEOAVN. 
 
 At a meeting, ou the 2iid Fcbi'uary, 1858, of the creditors of Mr. Peter Brown, 
 engaged in business as a carpet warehouseman, who failed on the 21st Januarj-, the 
 following satisfactory statement, showing 20^. in the pound, with a surplus, was 
 presented by Mr. Turquand, of the firm of Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, aud Co., the 
 accountants : — 
 
 hJxATEilE^'T, FjiBlilTAKY 2, 1858. 
 DEUTOr.. 
 
 To creditora imsecm-ecl £29,G30 5 5 
 
 To creditors holdirig security (see cowfra) i;l,181 4 1 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable over and above 
 
 amounts included in creditors 415 15 8 
 
 To liabihtics on bills receivable 1G,148 10 
 
 Considered good 15,09116 4 
 
 Expected to be clamied against the estate ,,,... 45G 13 8 
 
 £30,532 14 9 
 Surplus carried down 7,719 5 
 
 £38,251 15 2 
 
 CllEDITOlJ. 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Good £7,966 15 10 
 
 Doubtful G38 11 
 
 Estimated to pi'oduco 159 10 
 
 Bad .' 1,091 18 10 
 
 By cash in hand 25 
 
 By biUs receivable in hand 157 12 10 
 
 Carried forward £8,308 1 8 8
 
 APPENDIX. CXCV 
 
 Brought Ibrwaid CS,308 18 8 
 
 By bills deposited with the bankors — 
 
 Considered good 5,037 18 1 
 
 Less amount advanced thereon 2fid() 8 4 
 
 l',:ji.7 1) 
 
 By stock and fixtures 2i,0!0 110 
 
 By property 1,3^0 
 
 By ihtto, in the hands ol' creditors £3,825 9 11 
 
 Less amount of their claims 1,181 4 -1 
 
 ■ 2,614 5 7 
 
 By bills taken as liabililics, ^Jc=r co«/;'a 445 15 8 
 
 •15G 13 8 
 
 £002 9' ■]. 
 Amount likely to be recovered , 580 19 4 
 
 £38,251 15 2 
 Surplus £7,719 5 
 
 It was explained that the position of the debtor had been principally produced 
 by the pressui-e of one creditor, and that, although the estate exhibited such a 
 favourable ])rospeet, there was no other resource than to adopt the present proceed- 
 ings. Mr. Brown, it appeared, commenced business in 1851 with £300, and had 
 since gradually extended his connection until the present period, when his accounts 
 showed 20s. in the pound, with a surplus of £7,700. Universal testimony was 
 oilered to his straightforward conduct and economical expenditure, his drawings 
 having only been £250 par annum. Mr. J. Linklater, as his legal representative, 
 stated that it was at iirst thought that a proposal for the payment of 20*. in 
 the pound, by instalments of 5s. in three, six, nine, and twelve months, with 
 interest at the rate of five per cent., should be made, but that Mr. Brown considered 
 payments at four, eight, twelve, and sixteen months would better meet his con- 
 venience, if the creditors had no objection. A liquidation under this arrangement, 
 was then unanimously agreed to, and full confidence being reposed in Mr. Brown, 
 it was considered umiccessary to appoint inspectors. 
 
 Payment of all debts was eventually effi^cted at the I'ate of 20.y. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. IIENRT IIOEEMANiV 
 AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Henry Hofi'raann and Co., engaged in 
 business as general merchants, who failed on the 30tli November, 1857, was held on 
 tlie 3rd of February, 1S58, when the following statement was presented l)y Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, of the firm of Messrs. Coleman and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, Febetjaiu' 3, 1838. 
 
 DEBTOiJ. 
 
 To cvc.litors on open accounts £12,155 3 
 
 To ditto, on bills payable £108,639 13 9 
 
 Of wliich it is expected thei'e will be pro- 
 vided for by the parties for whose account 
 the biUs were accepted 49,632 12 1 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 5i),007 1 o 
 
 To creditors fully seciu'ed — Secmdty held £13,136 12 1 
 
 Claims 12,018 18 
 
 Surplus, which will be retained against bills 
 
 discoimted £1,417 14 1 
 
 Camed fonvard £71 1G2 2 4
 
 cxcvi ArrEXDix. 
 
 Brought forward £71,102 2 4 
 
 To creditors parluiUv secured — Claiuis £G0,91G 5 2 
 
 Securities held ..'. 41,66116 2 
 
 Deficieuey — -^ 10,254 9 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, discounted . . . £221,905 G 7 
 Of which it is expected there will be duly 
 
 honoured, or taken up by the di-awers ... 185,321 10 10 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 36,583 15 9 
 
 £124,000 7 1 
 
 Liability as shareholder in the Australian Auxiliary Steam 
 
 Clipper Company (Limited.) 
 
 CKEDITOK. 
 
 By cash and bills on hand £215 5 •!■ 
 
 By smidry assets, consisting of consignments, etc 2,0 14 3 G 
 
 By debtors, good 19,115 11 3 
 
 Estimated amount due to H. Hoffmann, as partner in thcfmns 
 of Ivii'chner, Sharp, and Co., of Melbourne, and Kirchncr 
 
 and Co., of Sydney, accruing ti-om his share of profits 30,000 
 
 Amount for -which parties will bo debtors after they retire the 
 
 drafts accepted for their accoimts 858 1 1 
 
 £52,233 1 2 
 
 Less creditors imdcr £10, and amoimts to be paid in fidl 213 9 6 
 
 £51,989 11 S 
 
 GO sliares in the Austrahan Auxiliary Steam CHpper Company 
 
 (Limited), £10 paid £6,000 
 
 300 tUtto, ditto, £15 paid 4,500 
 
 £10,500 
 
 Gexeh.\l Balanci: troji JAxuAiiY 1, 1850, to Kovembee 30, 1857. 
 
 DEBTOK. 
 
 To Habilitles as above £124,000 7 1 
 
 To capital hi the firm of II. Hollmann and Co. £1,152 16 
 To ditto, in the firms of Kirchner and Co., of 
 Svdney, and Kirchner, Sharp, and Co., of 
 
 Mclbom-ne 30,000 
 
 . 31,152 16 
 
 Toprofits 68,645 13 5 
 
 £223,798 16 6 
 
 By assets, as above £51,989 11 8 
 
 By shares in the Australian Auxiliary Steam 
 
 'Clipper Company £10,500 
 
 Bv ditto, Australian, London, and Emigration 
 
 "Company 2,500 
 
 13,000 
 
 By sundry bills upon failed houses 4,010 2 10 
 
 By surplus secvu'jties in the hands of creditors held against bills 
 
 discounted 1,417 14 1 
 
 By personal ex))cnses for eight years 11,910 10 3 
 
 By trade ditto for eight years '. 17,997 8 10 
 
 By losses ' 58,372 2 
 
 By estimated losses from bad and doubtful debts on Nov. 30, 1857 28,487 11 1 
 
 By liabililies on bills receivable discounted, contra 36,583 15 9 
 
 £223,798 16 6
 
 .vrrKNDix. cxcvu 
 
 It was stated by Mr. Coleman tliattlie cause of tlic failiu-c in this case was the 
 pressure of the period, and the suspension of other houses with which tlic firm 
 ■was connected. The amount of hills ])ayahle likely to rank upon the estate was 
 £59,000, and it principally arose from the adoption of the system whicli liad liitherto 
 pi'ovcd so fatal, viz., that of open credits. The connection of Jlessrs. IIofTmann and 
 Co. with Messrs. Rugin and Hoffmann, of Zurich, who had since failed, would still 
 leave the latter creditors on this estate, throu,(i;h the account current, and bills 
 for whicli they were liable, for upwards of iCoO,000, after deducting the total of tlie 
 securities, was then valued. The assets, consisting of consignments, might be 
 realized, and it was hoped that tlio amount of good debts would be secured, but 
 the greater part of these had to be collected from abroad. The principal amount 
 of £30,000, which was exhibited on the creditor side of the account, was the esti- 
 mated sum due to ilr. II. Iloflmanu, as partner in the firms of Messrs. Kirchner, 
 Shai'p, and Co., of Melbourne, and Messrs. Kirchner and Co., of Sidney. It Ava.s 
 stated that there was no distinct articles of partnership existing between these 
 respective parties, but that the correspondence showed the actual position in 
 which they stood in relation to each other. Although no regular accounts had 
 been furnished, some statemont.s were in existence which led to the presumption 
 that Mr. Hoffmann was entitled to about £40,000, and, making allowance for bad 
 debts, which might have since been incurred, the ovitstanding balance was taken 
 at £30,000. It was alleged that the object of the debtor had, for several years 
 past, been to concentrate his connections in Australia and California, believing that 
 from those resources he would make a favourable position. He was also a share- 
 holder to the extent of £10,500 in the Australian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Company 
 and, notwithstanding assiiranccs had been given that the liquidation would bo 
 satisfactory, it had not been considered advisable to place them at any value in the 
 usual category of assets. As four-fifths of the amount estimated to bo realized 
 depended upon the Australian partnership, it was thought that the presence of Mr. 
 Hoffmann in Port Philip and New South Wales might expedite remittances, and 
 since Mr. Kirchner, who was then staying in Germany, was about shortly to return 
 to Australia, it was suggested that Mr. Hoffmann should also proceed tliitlior. The 
 firms in Australia were understood to bo thoroughly solvent. In answer to a ques- 
 tion, Mr. Nicholson, the legal representative of the debtor, intimated that there was 
 no question but that the partnership was valid. After some general conversation, in 
 which the opinion of the creditors appeai'ed to be in favour of Mr. Hoffmann pro- 
 ceeding abroad to arrange with the Sydney and Port Philip firms, for the trans- 
 mission of his share of profits, resolutions were passed agreeing to a liquidation under 
 inspection, and Mr Cahlmann and Mr. Drcutlcr were appointed to act on behalf of 
 the general body. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP INIE. CHAELES FAUNTLEROY. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. Charles Fauntleroy, engaged in the wool trade, 
 who failed on the 31st December, 1857, was held on the 5th February, 1858, Mr. 
 Barber in the chair, when the following statement was presented by Mr. Quilter, of 
 the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants: — 
 
 Statejiext, FEBiirARY 5, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors iinsccuved £19,212 18 10 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claims £95,408 
 
 Less estimated value of securities 4 l',Gll 3 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Esthnated value of securities £14,371 17 7 
 
 Less amount of claims 12,972 12 8 
 
 50,790 10 
 
 Surplus £1=399 4 11 
 
 Curried forward £70,039 15 4
 
 CXCVUl AITEXDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £70,039 1 5 4 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances, as per list 5,409 14 5 
 
 EstLinatecl claims iu respect tliei'eof 2,693 10 4 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, as per list £13,635 15 2 
 
 Estimated claims in respect thereof 3,609 14 
 
 £76,342 19 8 
 
 CREDITOH. 
 
 T.y cash in hand £41 19 1 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, considered good 484 8 
 
 By ditto, bad £430 11 
 
 By sundry debtors, considered good 2,464 6 7 
 
 By ditto, doubtful 1,13G 19 5 
 
 Estimated to prodiice 284 4 10 
 
 By ditto, bad 404 10 2 
 
 By stock of wool in hand G.64G 13 4 
 
 By niiuiiig sbares, estimated value 1,429 3 9 
 
 By house and office furniture, estimated value 900 
 
 By surplus securities in hands of ci'editors, per contra 1,399 4 11 
 
 By plant and utensils at JIarket Harborougb, Coleman Street, and 
 
 Bermondsey 
 
 Less creditors to be paid in full 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 
 £15,649 13 
 157 16 
 
 2 
 9 
 
 £15,491 16 
 
 5 
 
 The debts and liabilities being £76,842, and the assets £15,491, a rlividend of 
 about 4?. in the pound was exhibited, which, it was thouglit, with careful manage- 
 ment, might be realized. The connection of the insolvent with Messrs. Haigh and 
 Jlessrs. W. Cheesbroiigh and Son, of course raised suspicions v.'ith respect to his 
 trading; but, although the debt due by him in tlie one case is £20,000, and in ihc 
 other, £28,000, the amount of accommodation paper, properly so called, has been 
 limited. About eighteen months since, the insolvent possessed a capital of £35,000; 
 but the depreciation in wool, and extensive operations in English mining shares, 
 liave absorbed the whole, leaving, in addition, a serious deficiency. The books 
 throughout have been very l)ad!y kept ; and, notwithstanding several of the creditors 
 appear to consider that the insolvent has not been actuated by improper motives, his 
 conduct in this i-espect was severely censured. The question of an administration 
 under bankruptcy was raised, but it was stated that the present system would involve 
 too great an outlay. A suggestion was offered with a view of promoting reform in 
 this direction; but, after some discussion, it was agreed to effect a liquidation under 
 inspection. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF IVIESSES. B. 0. T. aEAY AND SONS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. B. C. T. Gray and Sons, Canadian mer- 
 chants, wlio failed on the 13th January, 1858, was held on the lOtli February, Mr. 
 II. Lancaster in the chair, when the following statement Avas presented by Mr. 
 Quilter, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants : — 
 
 Statement, FEBRrABY 10, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecui-ed £27,773 19 3 
 
 Deduct estimated amount of interest, commis- 
 sions, and charges to be placed to sundry 
 accounts 800 
 
 £26,973 19 3 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claims £.5,929 6 4 
 
 Estimated value of security 4,750 
 
 Deficiency 1,179 6 4 
 
 Carried forward £28,153 5 7
 
 APFENDIX. CXcix 
 
 Brought forward £28,153 5 7 
 
 To creclltoi'3 fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of security £8,660 4 1 
 
 Amount of claims 7,965 9 11 
 
 Surplus, ;jer contra £694 14 2 
 
 To liabilities on acceptances running £72,722 19 4 
 
 Of which it is cstunated will prore clauns on 
 
 this estate 9,215 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, considered good £48,056 7 8 
 
 By cash in hand £283 8 
 
 By cash at bankers' 329 13 
 
 By bills receivable — 
 
 Considered good :ei,023 3 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £112 10 
 
 Estimated to produc3 60 
 
 £37,368 5 7 
 
 £612 2 
 
 1,083 3 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Considered good £1G,221 8 5 
 
 Ditto, doubtful and bad ... £17,216 13 3 
 
 Estimated to produce 1,263 y 
 
 17,481 9 1 
 
 By merchandise on hand, estimated value 1 ,20 1 15 6 
 
 By surplus securities in hands of creditors, per contra 69114 2 
 
 By 4-61th3 of ship " Queen of the Lalces," estimated A'aluo 320 
 
 By life policies, estimated value 400 
 
 By sea ins\irance policies 120 16 7 
 
 By land in Australia and New Zealand, value cannot be estimated 
 
 £21,920 4 
 By deficiency 15,448 5 3 
 
 £37,368 5 7 
 
 Tlio debts and liabilities, according to this account, stood at ,i'37,368, and tbo 
 assets at £21,929, sliowiug a dividend of about 12s. in the pound. It was, however, 
 not expected that this amount v/ould bo fully raali/.ed, a considerable portion of tlio 
 assets being due from mercantile housos in St. Vincent's and Bermuda. The cause 
 of suspension was alleged to have been the absence of remittances from Halifax. 
 The capital on the Ist of January, 1857, was ^'14,434, and the transactions of the 
 firm had, on the whole, been regular. Some open credits had existed in favour of 
 establishments abroad, but produce had generally been forwarded to meet the drafts. 
 Among the secured creditors were personal friends, wlio advanced £6^000 shortly 
 before the pressure of the period compelled the firm to suspend. The debtors not 
 being in a position to make an offer, left themselves entirely in the ban Is of the 
 creditors, and, tlu'ough Mr. Ellis, their solicitor, expre.Bsod their readiness either to 
 submit to bankruptcy or to agree to a liquidation by the process of inspection. The 
 majority of the creditors intimated that the latter would be the pi'oper course to 
 pursue, and, in accordance with this opinion, resolutions were passed, authorizing 
 the arrangement, and appointing two creditors to represent the general body. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. COTTON AIST) TRUEMAN. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Cotton and Trueman, metal brokers, who 
 failed on the 20th November, 1857, was held on the 15th February', 1858, when 
 the following statement was presented by Mr. G. H. Jay, the accountant : —
 
 CC APPENDIX. 
 
 Statement, Febettaey 15, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundry creditoi*s — 
 
 Unsecured, per list £1,000 12 
 
 Underwriting accounts 903 9 
 
 £l,90i 1 10 
 
 To creditors holding securities, as per state- 
 ment, claims £37,949 8 2 
 
 Deduct estimated value of metals and shares 
 
 held as security 35,470 11 8 
 
 — ■ 2,478 10 G 
 
 To habihties on bills payable, per list, amount- 
 ing to .' £71,290 8 8 
 
 To be met by the drawers, who will then have 
 
 claims amounting to 9,219 6 S 
 
 To liability on bills payable, accepted for the 
 Mexican and South American Company, per 
 
 statement .' 10,000 
 
 Which it is expected this estate will be 
 rchevcd from by the Company liquidat- 
 ing in full. 
 
 To liabilities receivable, as per list 41,080 17 9 
 
 Of which ^^ill be proved 2,954 
 
 To liability on underwriting 
 
 Estimated risks '. 300,000 
 
 To liabihty on joint and several promissory notes 
 for £3,000, estimated share of liability in 
 respect thereof 
 
 Less creditors to be paid m fuU. 
 
 5U0 
 
 
 
 £17,056 5 
 
 590 7 
 
 
 
 
 £10,459 17 
 
 G 
 
 £190 18 
 459 2 
 
 
 11 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Ey cash at bankers' 
 
 13y biUs receivable — 
 
 In hand, considered good 
 
 By promissory notes of the IMcxican and South 
 
 American Company £13,932 11 G 
 
 To be given xip on payment of bills ac- 
 cepted for £10,000, and balance of ac- 
 count current for £4,041 2*. 7d. 
 By s\mdry debtors, per hst — 
 
 Considered good £3,753 15 G 
 
 Allowed 10 per cent 375 2 G 
 
 3,378 13 
 
 Mexican and South Amei-ican Company, 
 
 balance due .'.. 4,041 2 7 
 
 7,419 15 7 
 
 By stock of copper in hand, estimated at 5,300 
 
 By counting-house furniture, estimated at 100 
 
 By private projiertv, considered worth 1,080 
 
 By 4,800 "Wheal Tor shares, cost £7 per share. . . £33,000 
 
 By premiums due on luulerwviting account ... '1,303 12 5 
 
 £1.5,155 10 G 
 
 Less creditors and expenses to be paid in full 1,090 7 G 
 
 £14,059 9
 
 AITENDIX. CCl 
 
 It was explainod tliat tlic accounts showed about 17.?. in tlie pouud, but tliat 
 there was the expectation of 2().')'. being obtained. Tlic failure was caused by tlie 
 breaking-up of the Mexican and South American Association, to whom the debtors 
 were brokers, and for wliom they had conic under engagements to tlie extent of 
 £1(5,000. The firm originally possessed a capital of £'33,600, -whicli was invested 
 in the Wheal Vor Mines. The assets would be increased by any rise which might 
 take place in the price of metals, and the balance due from the Mexican and South 
 American Company would be recovered, as, under the operation of the Winding-up 
 Act, the contributors must provide for tlie outstanding claims. After some discussion, 
 it \s-a3 agreed to placj the estate under tlic process of inspection, and sympathy was 
 expressed for the position in wliich the firm was placed. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF 3IESSE8. HEINE, SEMON, AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Heine, Scmon, and Co., bankers and 
 exchange brokers, who suspended on the 10th December, 1S57, was held on the 
 17th February, 1858, Mr. J. II. W. Schroeder in the chair, when the following satis- 
 factory statement, exhibiting a surplus of £52,832, was presented by Mr. Turquand, 
 of the firm of Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, and Co.: — 
 
 Statement, FEBurAKY 17, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 To creditors imsccurcd — 
 
 Open accounts £15,115 3 9 
 
 Ellis payable 42,353 11 6 
 
 £57,168 18 3 
 
 To creditors ]>artially sceiuvd — 
 
 Amount of claims £9,316 6 
 
 Value of securities 3,913 10 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 A'aluc of securities ^33,263 2 4 
 
 Amount of claims 28,734 15 1 
 
 Siu'plus taken as an asset, per contra £4,528 7 3 
 
 To liabUitics on bills payable £517,709 19 10 
 Acceptedfor accoimt of par- 
 ties who are creditors, 
 subject to their retiring 
 
 such acceptances 290,157 6 8 
 
 Returned and cancelled ... £198,301 11 11 
 
 Guaranteed 10,401 4 2 
 
 208,702 16 1 
 
 Leaving outstanding £81,454 10 7 
 
 AVliich will all be retired 
 
 by the cb-awers. 
 
 Accepted on account of par- 
 tics who are debtors, 
 after rctu'ing such ac- 
 ceptances 227,552 13 2 
 
 Returned and cancelled ... £187,845 16 9 
 
 Guaranteed 300 11 6 
 
 188,116 11 3 
 
 Leaving outstanding £39,406 1 11 
 
 Carried forward £62,871 8 9 
 
 5,402 10 (3 
 
 £62,871 8 9
 
 ecu AIPENDIX. 
 
 brought forT\-ard £62;87l 8 9 
 
 Of ^ liich it is expected there will be claimed 
 
 against the estate 8,780 
 
 To Uabilities ou bills receiv- 
 able, discounted £508,514 15 9 
 
 To ditto on foreign bills ne- 
 gotiated 371,104 11 8 
 
 £879,619 1 5 
 Eiin off, viz. : — 
 
 Eills receivable £187,22113 8 
 
 Foreign bdls 352,077 19 
 
 Of -nbich there have 
 been returned un- 
 paid, and will be 
 claimed against the 
 estate, viz. : — 
 
 Eills receivable £132 17 
 
 Foreign bills 21,300 
 
 To amount still running, viz. : — 
 
 Bills receivable £22,093 2 1 
 
 Forcigubnis 18,226 12 8 
 
 40,319 14 9 
 
 £879,619 7 5 
 
 In respect of which it is anticipated tlicrc will not be any 
 claim against the estate. 
 
 21,432 17 
 
 £93,084 5 9 
 
 To balance, being surplus of joint estate, carried down 37,832 11 
 
 £130,916 17 ] 
 
 * CUEDITOK. 
 
 13y cash at bankers' and in liand £4,043 7 1 
 
 "Bills receivable in hand £49,382 19 10 
 
 By sundi'j foreign bills i-e- 
 
 'ceivablc £11,571 1 11 
 
 Estunated to reahze ... 12,000 12,000 
 
 61,382 19 10 
 
 Carried to losses £2,571 111 
 
 By sundry debtors — 
 
 Considered good 36,000 
 
 Doubtful £1,582 11 6 
 
 Bad 971 10 7 
 
 £2,554 9 1 
 Estimated to realize 1,004 7 
 
 CaiTied to losses £1,554 2 1 
 
 By property £8,685 8 8 
 
 Estimated to realize 4,932 2 11 1,932 2 11 
 
 Carried to losses £3,753 5 9 
 
 By property held by creditors 
 "fully covered, surplus as 
 per contra ''1,528 7 3 
 
 Carried for^^•ard £110,886 17 1
 
 APPENDIX. CClll 
 
 Brouslit forward £110,886 17 1 
 
 By amount estimated to be 
 recovered upon bills ti'eated 
 
 as liabilities, viz. :— 20,030 
 
 Bills pavable £8,780 
 
 Bills receivable 21,132 17 
 
 £30,212 17 
 (A8 j^er contra.) 
 
 £130,910 17 1 
 
 By balance, being surplus of joint estate brought 
 
 downi £3/, 832 11 4 
 
 3H partners' pi'ivate estates estimated to realize — 
 
 "Mr. R. Heine's 1,500 
 
 Mr. C. Semon's 13,500 
 
 £52,832 11 4 
 
 Statement showtno the Position of the Firm on the 31st of December, 
 1856, and accornting for present surplrs. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To capital at credit of partners, Dec. 31, 1856 £48,293 10 10 
 
 Profit from Dec. *31, 1856, to Dec. 10, 
 1857, viz. : — 
 To profit and loss accoimt, balance, sundries... £1,332 12 6 
 To interest, commission, etc £12,472 8 6 
 
 £13,805 1 
 Less expenses 1,55 1 13 8 
 
 To partners' private estates, as per statement of afllui-s, viz. : — 
 
 Mr. E.Heine £1,500 
 
 Mr. C. Semou 13,500 
 
 12,250 7 4 
 
 ■ 15,000 
 
 £75,543 18 2 
 
 creditor. 
 
 By partners' di'a\vings — 
 
 R.Heine £1,034 9 4 
 
 C. Semon £1,372 10 9 
 
 Ditto, furniture 2,243 
 
 3,615 10 9 
 
 By losses on estimated realization of asset .^, as per statement of 
 afiairs, viz. : — 
 
 On foreign bills on hand £2,571 111 
 
 Ondebtors 1,554 2 1 
 
 Onproperty 3,753 5 9 
 
 By liabilities, viz. : — 
 
 On biUs pavable £8,780 
 
 On bills receivable 21,432 17 
 
 £4,650 1 
 
 7,878 9 9 
 
 £30,212 17 
 Deduct amount estimated to be recovorod 20,030 
 
 10,182 17 
 By surplus, as per statement of affairs 52,832 1 1 4 
 
 £75,543 18 2
 
 cciv .vrriiNDix. 
 
 It was cxplaiueil by Mr. Tarquand that the reason of the mcctinp; having hcen 
 so long deferred had arisen from the desh'e of Mcssi's. Heine, Semon, and Co. to 
 ascertain the result of the hills running, heforc presenting a proposal for the 
 arrangement of their estate. Being now in a condition to do so, tliey were able to 
 exhibit Ter}- favourable accounts. As proving not only the care with which opern- 
 tlons have been conducted, but as also showing tlic sound and satisfactory position 
 of the business relations of the house, attention was directed to the debtor side of 
 the statement. The total liabilities -which were running at the dale of the suspension 
 were, on bills payable, upwards of .i'51 7,000, and on bills receivable i'50S,000, in 
 addition to foreign bills negotiated, A'371,000. The total amount of bills not met, 
 or which it was anticipated might not be met at maturity, in respect of these three 
 items, was .=£'30,312, of which, out of the hills receivable, amounting to no less a sum 
 than £'371,000, the loss figures only for the very small amount of il32 ; so that of 
 liabilities amounting to nearly .4'1, 500,000, the comparatively limited amount of 
 i'30,312 alone would rank against the estate, of which it was anticipated 4'20,000 
 would be recovered. Besides this amount of £30,312, Messrs. Heine and Semon 
 Lad returned to them prior to their suspension foreign bills receivable, included 
 among the assets, to the amoimt of £14,571. With respect to this total a recovery 
 of X'12,000 was also anticipated, which would leave the entire loss on liabilities at 
 only about i.'12,571. There was ahso another fact which it was thought right 
 should be mentioned, viz., that the great bulk of the hills which had not been met, 
 or were known to Messrs. Heine and Semon, would not be met, at maturity, at or 
 before the date of their suspension. Since thsir stoppage on the 10th December, 
 hills bearing the endorsement of Messrs. Heine and Semon had only been returned 
 to the amount of 18,000, and bills receivable only to the amount of t2,900, for which 
 ample security was held to cover them. Mr. Nicholson, the legal representative of 
 the firm, in alluding to the causes whicli led to their suspension, stated that the 
 decision had not been come to without mature rcllection, although the j'artners had 
 received offers of assistance both from personal friends and the Bank of England. 
 Painful as the alternative was, the liouse, having incurred large liabilities on bills 
 and possessing extensive business relations with banks in Germanj^, considered that 
 it would not be prudent to accept loans from friends, Avhich might be jeopardized 
 by the current of events abroad. Altliough at that date they had every expectation 
 of being enabled to exhibit as favourable a balance-sheet as now ])reseuted, still 
 they could not but regard some circumstances with suspicion, especially when large 
 special remittances were intercepted, and funds which they had a right to rely on 
 failed to arrive in due course. Notwithstanding the partners had refrained from 
 availing thcmselvesof the assistance offered, they nevertheless now desired to return 
 their best thanks to those friends and to the Directors of the Bank of Enghmd for 
 the overtures made at the time they found it necessary to cease payments. The 
 proposal made by Messrs. Heine, Semon, and Co. was to pay 20^. in the pound, 
 with interest at the rate of 5 per cent., on the 25th ^^larch ; but if certain arrange- 
 ments then in progress could not be carried out, then the ilrm would on that date 
 pay 10.J. in the pound in cash, and give their acceptances or promissory notes, 
 payable at three months' date from the 25th ^Nlarch next, for the balance, with 
 interest. It was, howevei*, considered that the full payment would be made in the 
 manner and at the period described. Jlr. Melville moved, and Mr. Abegg seconded, 
 the annexed resolution, which was unanimously passed, great sympathy being 
 expressed at the unfortunate situation in Avhicli the firm has been temporarily 
 placed : — 
 
 "Kesolved unanimously, — That the proposal now made by Messrs. R. Heine, 
 Semon, and Co. be accepted, and that the time necessary to carry the same into 
 edect be granted. And the creditors now present do for themselves give, and 
 recommend to absent creditors to give, to Messrs. R. Heine, Semon, and Co. free 
 leave and license in as full and ample a manner as if a formal deed had been 
 executed." 
 
 Payment in fall, with interest, as proposed was cflccted. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE I^IESSES. EOCHUSSEN AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Piochnssen and Co., who failed in the 
 Mogadorc trade, was held ou the 26tli February, 1858, Mr. F. J. Price presiding.
 
 ArPEXDIX, ccv 
 
 when the following statement was prescntcil by Mr. A. young, of tlie firm of Messrs. 
 Tiiriiuanil, Youngs, and Co., the accountants : — . 
 
 STATEMilNl', Fjn5RUAliY 2G, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open aecounts £ t,GGl IG 4, 
 
 „ on bills payable 11,105 5 4 
 
 To ci'editors seciu'cd — 
 
 Value of security £800 
 
 Claims thereon 750 
 
 Surplus, ^j^'/' co« //-a ... £50 
 
 £10,127 1 S 
 
 To liabilities on bills re- 
 ceivable £2,023 7 7 
 
 Of which considered bad 483 8 2 
 
 To liabilities in respect of oiu' 
 acceptance for balance of 
 purchase money of "Pau- 
 lina" steamer £7,575 
 
 Secured by mortgage of 
 the steamer, which cost 
 £9,150, but, if realized by 
 bill-holders, may not pi'o- 
 duce ". 5,000 
 
 £10,009 9 10 
 
 £2,575 £10,009 9 10 
 
 CSEDiXOE. 
 
 By cash in hand £30 
 
 By bills receivable on hand, 
 
 good 191 9 10 
 
 £221 9 10 
 
 By doubtful £1,583 11 
 
 Estunated to realize 227 17 
 
 By bad 222 18 4 
 
 By sunch'y debtors — 
 
 Considered good 542 19 11 
 
 Doubtful 1,832 10 5 
 
 Estimated to reahze 508 3 
 
 Bad 37 3 4 
 
 By sundiy debtors on current accounts 3,745 2 10 
 
 Ilokhng goods on consignment, their ac- 
 counts being debited with the prime cost 
 of such goods. 
 By consignments not yet realized, at cost price 1,590 
 
 By stock at wharves, etc 319 
 
 By olHce fimiiturc 50 
 
 'By sm'iAns, 2}er coiifra 50 
 
 By amounts in hands of creditors in anticipation 
 
 ofchvidend 1,159 10 
 
 £8,143 19 10 
 Deduct crecHtors to be paid in full 181 7 
 
 8,259 19 3 
 
 By vendors of the " Paulina " 4,050 4 
 
 By amount of oiu- clabn for breach of contracr. £8,259 19 3
 
 CCVl APPENDIX. 
 
 The debts aud liabilities being ;C16,609, uiul the asseta £8,259, a dividend of 
 about 10s. was presented, but as an iniliviJual cveditor had commenced proceedings 
 against the insolvent, it was aij;reed that he should make an assignment to trustees, 
 aud that the estate should be wound-up in bankruptcy under the Private Arrange- 
 ment Act. The causes of his suspension were stated to be the absence of remittances 
 from Mogadore, and his connection with the houses of Messrs. Leopold Sampson 
 aud Messrs. Ward, of Liverpool, botli of which have failed. A claim exists against 
 the vendors of the "Paulina" steamer of £4,056 for a breach of contract. The 
 estates of the Liverpool tirnis would, it was believed, pay satisfactory dividends, and 
 in this case the creditors of Messrs. Rochusscn and Co. were likely to obtain some 
 benefit. Through an attempted arrangement, before the notice iu bankruptcy ^vas 
 served upon the insolvent, he had endeavoured to effect a composition, and some 
 parties therefore received small sums hi anticipation of dividend. The feeling of tlie 
 creditors present was favourable to the proposed proceeding, and it was agreed that 
 Mv. Price should act as trustee, iu conjunction with Mr. Graham, the official 
 assi";uce. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. CHAELES WALTON 
 AND SONS. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Cliarks "Walton and Sons, engnged in 
 business as sliipbrokers, who failed on the 19th January, 1858, was held on the 16th 
 March, Mr. Johnson presiding, when the following statement v.'as presented by Mr. 
 J. E. Coleman: — • 
 
 Statement, LIaech 15, 1858. 
 
 DKBTOE. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £9,259 15 7 
 
 Ditto imderwritiug ditto 19,458 8 11 
 
 £28,718 4. G 
 
 To creditors on bills payable £19,689 13 5 
 
 Less amount expected to be provided for by 
 parties for whose account tlic biUs v.ere 
 
 accepted 11,221 4 3 
 
 Leaving to rank on the estate 8,468 9 2 
 
 To creditors fidly seciu'ed — 
 
 Securities held £23,610 
 
 Claims 18,138 C 8 
 
 Surplus to co;;7;-a £5,201 13 4 
 
 To creditors partially seciu-ed — 
 
 Claims '. £14,634 3 5 
 
 Securities held 11,300 
 
 3,334 3 5 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, discoimtcd £29,012 IS 2 
 
 Of which it is expected tliei'c will be duly met 
 
 at maturity 28,685 17 9 
 
 Leaving to rank on the estate 327 5 
 
 £40,847 17 6 
 
 CKEDITOR. 
 
 Ey assetij, consisting of cash in hand, office fumitiu'c, etc £186 8 10 
 
 By debtors, good 3,139 10 4 
 
 By surplus seciu'ities with creditors, 2^0' contra 5,201 13 1 
 
 Carried forward £8,527 12 3
 
 APPENDIX. CCVU 
 
 Brought fonvavd £8,527 12 3 
 
 Leas credit 01-3 under jBlO, a:ul salaries, etc., to be paid in lull G28 19 7 
 
 dt7,8'J8 12 8 
 By amount due Iroui the eseeutord of C. Walton, deceased 8, 120 19 4 
 
 £16,319 12 
 
 Geneeal Balaxce-siieet EKora Apkil 15, 185G, to January 18, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOa. 
 
 To Uabilitics as above £40,817 17 G 
 
 Toprofits 10,932 17 1 
 
 To amoinit due to the separate estate of C. Walton £3,866 6 8 
 Less amount standing to his debit 3,243 14 8 
 
 £622 12 
 To amount due to the separate estate of W. ^Valtou 1,451 6 
 
 2,073 12 6 
 
 CREDITOH. 
 
 £53,854 7 1 
 
 
 
 By amoimt as above £16,319 12 
 
 By suspense account (amount paid into Court on account of t-liip 
 
 "Hope") ^311 9 9 
 
 By partners' drawings 3,907 2 5 
 
 By amount paid for furniture, etc. , 669 7 
 
 By charges and expenses 5,881 4 3 
 
 By estimated loss on bad debts (new accounts) 4,063 4 9 
 
 By two-thirds estimated loss on bad debts (old accounts) 4,794 17 4 
 
 By losses on shipping, etc 17,580 9 2 
 
 By liabilities on bills receivable discomited , 327 5 
 
 £53,854 7 1 
 
 The accounts, it •will be noticed, showed debts and liabilities to the amount of 
 £40,847, while the assets were not placed at a greater sum than £7,898. It was 
 explained that the present was the residue of an old estate, for, notwithstanding 
 the sons have been identified with tlie firm, the chief of the indebtedness arose 
 tlu-ough the transactions of the father. At Lis death it was supposed he was a 
 person of consideriiblc wealtli, and probate was taken out for £50,000 ; but it 
 lUtimately appeared that his affairs were in an embarrassed condition, large losses 
 having been incui-red through a Mr. Cochrane, in addition to the depreciation in 
 the value of vessels. The dividend, according to the statement, was about 3*'. lOt^. 
 in the pound, but it was believed 3.s. 6d. might be realized if a liquidation under 
 inspection be resorted to. Both Charles and William Walton carried on business 
 on separate account as underwriters, and these estates would have to be wound- 
 up. No difficulty was likely to be experienced in the case of Charles Wallon, a 
 committee of creditors at Lloyd's having arranged to adopt the liabilities in con- 
 sideration u. / .ag allowed to deal with the assets, and a negotiation was pending 
 for a similar settlement, if possible, with regard to the affairs of William Walton. 
 The deficiency presented was thoroughly entered into, and it was shown to arise 
 from bad debts, losses on vessels, and shipments to Australia. Mr. Ellis, the legal 
 representative of the firm, intimated that ilcssrs. Walton were quite prepared to 
 abide by any decision arrived at, and would, if necessary to facilitate proceedings 
 in bankruptcy, sign a declaration of insolvency. At the same time, if it were 
 wished, a liquidation by inspectorship could be pursued, and they would endeavour 
 to realize at least to the extent of 3s. G<!. in the pound, procuring security for
 
 CCVlll APPEXDIX. 
 
 the last payment. Several creditors and their representatives, while concurring 
 ill the proposal for a winding-np in tlie manner described, objected to a release 
 on the distribution of a ilxed amount, and a variety of questions wei'e put, ■with 
 the view of eliciting information respecting mattei-s of account, etc. A long con- 
 versation eventually took place in relation to the sale of the " Sarah Sands," 
 a vessel in which the debtors possessed an interest. Althougli the explanations 
 appeared to be complete, an investigation was desired previously to adopting reso- 
 lutions in favour of a liquidation, and an adjournment was consequently agreed 
 to. The feeling of the meeting evidently tended towards a winding-up, as pro- 
 posed, it being considered advisable to avoid the expense of an appeal to bankruptcy'. 
 
 The sepai'ate estate of Charles Walton showed debts and liabilities, principally 
 on underwriting account, of £11,074, and assets £8,656. The sep.arate estate of 
 William Walton includes debts and liabilities, £4,776, and assets, £2,993. In this 
 latter case the risks, it was understood, were not of so favourable a character. 
 
 The estate was subsequently wound-up in the Bankruptcy Court. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF ]MK. II. P. MAPLES. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Mr. IT. P. Maples, insurance broker and Custom- 
 house agent, who suspended on the 24th, was lield on the 31st March, 1S5S, Mr. 
 Gore presiding, when the following statement of aflairs was submitted by Mr. J. E. 
 Coleman, the accountant ; — 
 
 Statement, Maech 31, 1S58. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To amount of general creditors, above £10 £8,230 
 
 To amount of creditors on insurance accoiuits above £10 5,695 
 
 £13,925 
 To amount due to the London and Brighton 
 
 and the French railwavs for advances on five 
 
 steam-boats ". £38,100 
 
 To cost of these five boats 60,000 
 
 To cstunated value of the five steam-boats, as 
 
 sliipsatwork 54,300 
 
 To amount due to other creditors, for advances 
 
 on steam-boat " Brighton " 5,600 
 
 To estimated value of steam-boat 5,600 13,925 
 
 To iuidcr\\ riting liabilities. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By amount of debtors £3,050 
 
 By sundi-y assets 520 
 
 By shipping cost £6,102 
 
 By estimated value 3,000 
 
 By dillerencc between estimated value of steam- 
 boats as working vessels £54,300 
 
 By charges on same 38,100 
 
 £6,570 
 
 16,200 
 £22,770 
 
 Premiiuns due on underwriting account. 
 
 It was explained that the diillculties of the debtor liad arisen from his having 
 entered into an arrangement with the Brighton and Western of France Railway 
 Compauics to develop the traftic by steam-boats between Shoveham and Jersey, ami
 
 APPENDIX. CCIX 
 
 Newliaven and Dieppe. Tlie trade was a lucrative one, but its enlargement Lad 
 boen too rapid for tlic means of Mr. Maples, and he liad boon brouj^bt to a stand, 
 not being fully able to carry out the arrangements with those companies. Tiie 
 accounts, although the books were not yet balanced, presented nearly an accurate 
 statement, or at least sufficient to show what was the condition of his affairs. In his 
 character as insurance broker, etc., his liabilities were about £13,925, and the assets 
 to meet them £G,570. With respect to the agreement witli the I^ondon and Brighton 
 and the Western of I'rance Railways, the value of the fleet, as working vessels, was 
 placed at £54,300 ; while the advances made had been £38,100, leaving a surplus 
 of £16,200. This, added to the assets, constituted a total of £22,770 to meet 
 £13,925. Without relying on such a favourable issue, it was hoped that the 
 creditors might receive 20.v. in the pound, but it was considered that the first step to 
 be adopted was the appointment of a committee, who could assist the debtor and his 
 legal adviser, Mr. Pearcc, in opening a communication with the companies, in order 
 to arrive at a settlement. In tJie course of a month the committee would be able to 
 report to a future meeting, and as the pressure of the unfavourable season had 
 passed, and the traffic was becoming remunerative, a satisfactory^ arrangement was 
 deemed probable. So late as January the estimate of tbe value of the boats was 
 formed, and hence it was presumed that the companies would not object to come to 
 terms on a fair and iionourable basis. Preparations for the adjustment of the under- 
 writing account were in progress, similar to those effected in the case of Mr. C. 
 Walton. At the conclusion of the meeting the committee appointed to act were 
 Mr. Wheeler, Mr. F. Morris, and Mr. Brett, who were likewise empowered to effect 
 arrangements for the sale of the steam-boat "Brighton," which was mortgaged for 
 £5,600, with the view of s.atisfying the claim upon the vessel. An adjournment 
 then took place, as recommended, for one month. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting, held on the 28th May, it was agreed to accej)t a com- 
 position of 7s. Gd. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. MAITLAND, EWING, AND CO. 
 
 At a meeting held on the 21st April, 1858, of the creditors of Messrs. Maitland, 
 Ewiug, and Co., in tlie China trade, who failed on the 3rd, the following statement, 
 showing a surplus of .£28,650, was presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, of the firm of 
 Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, Youngs, and Co. : — 
 
 Statement, April 21, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecm'scl — 
 
 On open accounts £5,152 13 10 
 
 Ou bills payable 26,725 18 2 
 
 £32,178 12 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Amount of claims 67,909 11 9 
 
 Estimated value of securities held 52,228 5 11 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Estimated value of secui-ities held 52,866 
 
 Amoimt of claims 39,51i 5 6 
 
 15,681 5 10 
 
 Surplus taken as an asset, j^p;* coji^ra £13,351 U 6 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable, etc. — 
 
 For account of Moncrielf, 
 
 Grove, and Co £105,067 19 8 
 
 Ditto, ditto, part of letter 
 
 of credit for £10,000 ... 8,316 18 6 
 
 113,411 18 2* 
 
 Carried forward £113, ll-l 18 2 £ 17,859 17 10 
 
 * Tlie whole of the bills drawn by Messrs. Moncrieff, Grove, and Co., avo iu our opinion fully 
 represented by produce and other properties in their hands ; and we have every reason to bclievo 
 that Messrs. Moucriefl, Grore, and Co., not knowing the depreciation of prices in England, 
 considered that the produce and remittances already forwarded by them were sufficient to meet 
 
 O
 
 CCX AVPENDIX. 
 
 liroughtfonvard £113,4U 18 2 £.7,859 17 10 
 
 "^^ "^ss 'i:^':T.:^ 16,268 ^ 6 
 
 Of which parties for whose 
 account tliev were drawni 
 
 wiU provide to the ex- ^ 3 124 4 5 
 tent of ^^'^^^ ^-^ ^ ' 116,539 2 7 
 
 To liabiHties on bills receiyable, as per state- ^.^ ..^^ ^ 9 
 
 Ortiiis' amount" it is not expected anytliing 
 
 ■n-Ul come against the estate. £164,399 5 
 
 To surplus 
 
 28,650 16 9 
 £193,019 17 2 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 £5,237 2 11 
 
 By cash and bills receivable on hand 
 
 By debtors— £11,543 2 3 
 
 Considered good 1 3-^1 11 10 
 
 Secured _J_1 12,804 14 1 
 
 32,239 6 3 
 
 Doubtiul 5000 
 
 Estimated to realize __; 5^000 
 
 Carried to losses 
 
 £27,239 6 3 
 
 By Moncrieff, Grove, and Co.— 
 
 Balance to theb- debit, after crediting the 
 
 estimated value of produce unsold con- ^^^ ^ ^ 
 
 signed to us by them ■•■•■••••. I' ' 
 
 Amount of bills accepted for then- account, ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ 
 
 per contra [ 123,999 7 6 
 
 Bv produce on hand — . ^ n i i 444 
 
 'On oiu- own account-estimated value i,^^ 
 
 Consigned by MoncrietT, Grove, and Co.- ^^ ^^^ ^ ^ 
 
 Estimated value ' 25,034 7 
 
 Bv adventm-es outstanding— ^^ ^^^ ^ -j^q 
 
 Balance in ledgers ^'^qq q q 
 
 Estimated value __; 4^600 
 
 ^ • j^ 1 ., ... £6,413 4 10 
 
 Carried to losses 
 
 By shares in ships— 6 257 13 
 
 'Balance in ledgers ^'oW 
 
 Estimated value ; 3^000 
 
 ■£3 957 3^3 
 
 Carried to losses rvS'V'Jr^^^.iu' 13,351 14 6 
 
 Lane, estimated value 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 £193,586 19 
 537 2 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 £193,049 17 
 
 2 
 
 Deduct sundries to be paid in full. 
 
 thebmstbatl.aven.atured. In eonseqnenee of t,e a^ ef « a^^^^^^ 
 advices strongly urged the necessity of speedy remittances, ana 
 readily respond.
 
 APPENDIX. CCXl 
 
 Statement showixg Position of the Firm at Decembkh 31, 185G, 
 AND Accounting fok present Surplus. 
 
 debtor. 
 
 To capital, December 31, 1856 £50,086 14 1 
 
 Brought in since, less drawings 4,073 2 10 
 
 £54,159 16 11 
 
 To profits, from December 31, 1856, to April 
 3, 1858 :— 
 
 Adventures 5,451 13 5 
 
 Connuissioii, int('r(>st, insurance, etc 9,103 14 11 
 
 — 14,555 8 4 
 
 €68,715 5 3 
 
 creditor. 
 
 By estimated losses on realization of debtors . . . £27,239 6 3 
 
 By adventures 6,443 4 10 
 
 By shares in ships 3,257 13 
 
 £36,940 4 1 
 
 By habilities on bills payable 3,124 4 5 
 
 Statement of affairs — surplus 28,650 16 9 
 
 £68,715 5 3 
 
 The whole of the explanations were received as satisfactory, the ch-cumstances 
 attending the suspension of the firm, and the connection between Messrs. Maitland, 
 Ewing, and Co., and Messrs. Moncrieff, Grove, and Co., being fully entered into. 
 Tlie last advices from Messrs. Moncrieff and Co., together with the personal testimony 
 of one of the partners, Mr. King, led to the impression that that house was perfectly 
 solvent, and able to meet the whole of its engagements. The position of the bill- 
 holders created the only ditEculty, and these parties, represented by the London 
 Joint-stock Bank, the Mercantile Bank of India, and the Agra and United Service 
 Bank, requiring time for intelligence from China, a short adjournment was suggested. 
 It was, however, intimated that such a proceeding could not be adopted without 
 danger, since, as bills continue to become due, some of the small creditors might 
 throw the estate into bankruptcy, which would seriously depreciate the assets. 
 Besides, the situation of the bill-holders had already been in a measure secured, by 
 i£10,000 having been paid in to the Bank of England on their account. In answer 
 to questions, it was stated that Messrs. Moncrieff, Grove, and Co. had no important 
 connections with any other house except Messrs. Deunistoun, Cross, and Co., of 
 Melbourne, and that the whole of their transactions with Messrs. Maitland, Ewing, 
 and Co. had been on the most sound basis. The original proposition that the estate 
 should be wound-up under inspection, Mr. Hugh Mattheson, Mr. Alexander Ander- 
 son, and Mr. John Scott, the chairman, acting for the creditors, was then agreed to, 
 and it was thought that a first payment of 20 or 25 per cent, might be made within a 
 month, and others at a correspondingly early period. Every confidence was ex- 
 pressed in the position of Messrs. Maitland, Ewiug, and Co., and also in that of the 
 house of Messrs. Moncrieff, Grove, and Co., great sympathy being exhibited at the 
 slightest interruption to the business of the former. With respect to the books of 
 Messrs. Maitland, it was stated that they were in perfect order, a trial balance 
 having been produced immediately after the announcement of suspension. 
 
 The estate has paid 206'. in the poimd with interest. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE ]\IESSES. JA:MES HOSKIXG AND CO. 
 
 At a meeting of the creditors of the estate of Messrs. James Hosking and Co., 
 who suspended at the end of March, 1858, held at the office of Messrs. Lawrence, 
 Plews, and Co., on the 29th April, the following balance-sheet was presented by Mr. 
 Turquand, of the firm of Coleman, Turquaud, Youngs, and Co., accountants: —
 
 CCXll 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Statement, Apkil 29, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecaired £3,917 11 6 
 
 Ditto, partially secui-ed 883 G 10 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable, \iz. : — Good £1,575 3 11 
 
 Bad '. 1,64.7 1 3 1,647 1 3 
 
 £3,222 5 2 
 To liabilities on bills receivable, viz., good 2,890 16 3 
 
 As per statement £6,113 1 5 
 
 To liabilities on accoiuit of goods supplied to 
 ship "Lyme Eegis," for ■wliich we guaranteed 
 the payment, as per statement £442 6 9 
 
 To liability to owners of sundry vessels for freiglit on 22 vessels 
 chartered to load with guano at the Kooria Mooria Islands, 
 but which, from unforeseen difBcidties, were obhged to leave 
 
 the islands without obtaining cargoes 64,926 19 2 
 
 Kote. — These vessels have proceeded to various ports to obtain 
 freights, the amount of which would go in reduction of 
 this habihty. 
 To habUity to owners of simdiy vessels for freight on four vessels 
 
 chartered for a similar pm-pose 9,431 4 8 
 
 Hofe. — These vessels are advised to have commenced loading 
 
 with guano, and if successful tliis liabiHty for fi'eight woidd 
 
 be discharged. 
 
 To liability to lessees imder Government of the Eooria Mooria 
 
 Islands for claim for royalty and license fees on an engagement 
 
 to import 30,000 tons of guano 
 
 This liability is disputed. 
 
 £80,806 3 5 
 
 CREDITOE. 
 
 Ey cash balance in hand, 18th March, 1858 ... £150 1 
 
 Deduct since paid in fuU for salaries, etc., as 
 
 per statement 70 
 
 £80 1 
 
 By debtors :— Good 171 9 1 
 
 Doubtful £569 8 3 
 
 Esthnated at 10s 284 14 1 284.14 1 
 
 £28i 14 2 
 Bad, as per statement 195 9 G 
 
 480 3 8 
 
 By property, as per statement 368 5 7 
 
 £901- 8 10 
 Deduct rent for one quarter to March 25, 1858, payable in full... 35 
 
 £869 8 10 
 
 By nine cargoes of guano in iran.iitn fi'om 
 
 Kooria Mooria Islands, canying about 4,440 
 
 tons, estimated at £9 per ton £39,960 
 
 Sulijcct to claims of owners 
 
 for freight, dead freight, 
 
 labour, and dcuuuTaKO ... £28,18117 6 
 
 Carried forward £28,181 17 6 £39,960
 
 APPENDIX. CCXlll 
 
 Brought forward £28,18117 6 £39,960 
 
 And lipciiso fee and royalty 
 
 on three cargoes 1,496 
 
 29,677 17 6 
 
 ■ £10,282 2 G 
 
 And snbjcet to claims of parties who have 
 entered into agreements to participate in 
 profits 2,458 7 1 
 
 As per statement £7,823 15 5 
 
 After some discussion, it was decided to leave the manacjcment of the estate in 
 the hands of Mr. Turquand, and for him to call another meeting of the creditors 
 wlieu circumstances should I'ender sucli necessary. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. CHEISTODULO AND 
 SUGDURY. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Christodulo and Sugdury, engaged in the 
 Levant trade, wlio suspended some months previous, was held on the 4th May, 1858, 
 Mr. G. Lascarldi in the chair, when the following statement, prepared by Mr. Weise, 
 of the firm of Messrs. Coleman, Tur(piand, and Co., was presented. Altliough the 
 estate appears small, the interests involved were important, the firm having been 
 connected with other establishments at Constantinople, Marseilles, and Odessa. 
 Attempts were made by the partners to arrange their own afl'airs, and previous 
 meetings had been held on tlie accounts, but with the exception of appointing a 
 committee of examination nothing was done, and it was at length determined to call 
 in professional aid. 
 
 Statement oe the Affairs op Messrs. CnRiSTODULO and StroDTJET, of 
 
 GrRESHAM HOTTSE, OlD BrOAD StREET, MERCHANTS, EXCLrSIVE OP THE 
 
 Liabilities and Assets op the other Houses in which E. Christodulo 
 IS A Partner, March 31, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £8,344 4 3 
 
 Ditto, bills payable £6,362 15 6 
 
 Less amount standing to the debit of parties 
 
 for whoso account the bills were accepted 26 17 0' 
 
 6,.335 18 6 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Securityheld £1,384 2 4 
 
 Claims 1,100 
 
 Surplus to eort/ra £284 2 4 
 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Clahns 4,800 
 
 Securityheld 3,800 
 
 1,000 
 
 To liabilities on bills discoiuited, the whole of 
 which arc expected to be met at maturity ... £7,725 2 
 
 Liabilities £15,680 2 9
 
 CCXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 By assets, consisting of cash at bankers' and office funiitiire £1,901 12 2 
 
 By debtors, good 882 5 9 
 
 By sui'plus seciu'ities with creditors, fer contra 284 2 4 
 
 Assets £3,068 3 
 
 By Sugdury, Son, and Co., Odessa 5,975 1 
 
 By E. Siigdury, Constantinople 47 2 
 
 By Emanuel Clu'istodido, JMarseilles £5,737 14 3 
 
 Less capital standing to his credit 4,000 
 
 1,737 14 3 
 £10,827 16 7 
 
 Geneeal Balance-sheet, feoit Decembek 1, 1857, to March 31, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To habilities, as above £15,680 2 9 
 
 To profits £15,733 15 6 
 
 To three-quarter share, credited to Emanuel 
 
 Clu-istodulo, of Marseilles 11,799 17 1 
 
 3,933 18 5 
 
 £19,614 1 2 
 
 Messrs. CLristoduIo and Sugdury mil also be liable for about £100 on the safe 
 arrival of the ship " Adele" at Ibraila, to which place she is now on her way. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By assets, etc., as above £10,827 16 7 
 
 By loss on bad debts 574 12 9 
 
 By loss on consignment, etc 16,656 7 2 
 
 By charges and expenses 3,675 13 1 
 
 £20,906 13 
 By three-cjTiarter share debited to Emanuel 
 
 'Christodulo £15,680 6 
 
 5,226 12 6 
 
 By G. Sugdury 's drav.ings 3,559 12 1 
 
 £19,614 1 2 
 
 Thei'e is a sum of £160 to be recovered on the policy of the sliip 
 " Arpadina," but it is very doubtfid, on account of various 
 clauns, -whether anything wUl be available for the estate. 
 
 It was explained that the estate was in an involved position, owing to its rela- 
 tions with other houses abroad; but it was at tlie same time stated that the books 
 were well kept, affairs having apparently been conducted in a straightforward 
 manner. It was also intimated tliat the creditors of the head house, viz., E. Chris- 
 todulo, of Marseilles, had agreed that all the firms in which Mr. E. Christodulo was 
 interested should be considered as one, and tliat the proposal of settlement made, 
 25 per cent., had been accepted by a large majority. After a lengthened discussion, 
 it was agreed to wind-iip the estate tlirough the ])rocess of inspection, the creditors 
 appointed being Mr. Lasearidi and Mr. Zarifi. The individuals present recommended 
 that when the creditors of the three otlier houses, viz., Messrs. E. Christodulo, of 
 Marseilles ; Messrs. Sugdury and Sons, of Odessa; and Mr. E. Sngdnry, of Constan- 
 tinople, liad agreed to accept the offer tliat Mr. E. Chiistodulo, of Marseilles, made, 
 that the English creditors should agree to such off<!r, and for that purpose hand over 
 tlie English assets to a general fund for the payment of the said 25 per cent.
 
 APPENDIX. CCXV 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. FELIX CALVERT AND CO. 
 
 The investigation into the affairs of Messrs. Felix Calvert and Co., the brewers, 
 of Upper Thames Street, having been completed by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., 
 the annexed statements were issued on the 4th May, 1858, for the information ot 
 tlie public, with the accompanying memorandum: — "We are authorized to state 
 that a full investigation of the affairs of Messrs. Felix Calvert and Co. iuis now been 
 gone into, under tlic superintendence of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., and the I'ol- 
 lowing is a copy of the statements prepared. From those it would appear that, it 
 the assets could he realized at their estinnited value, the joint estate would show a 
 surplus of ,{;242,;j13 3?. 2d., a sum more than sufficient to cover the estimated deti- 
 ciency shown on the private estates, and it is therefore hoped that, if the settlement 
 can be effected, as proposed, under a deed of inspectorship, all parties will be paid 
 in full, with interest. But it appears, in the event of unfriendly proceedings, and a 
 consequent hostile liquidation, so many questions will arise among the different 
 classes of creditors, that it will be very doubtful whether all the creditors will be 
 paid in full, besides that great delay and expense will necessarily result from the liti- 
 gation that will ensue." This memorandum emanated direct from the representatives 
 of the firm, and it may therefore be viewed as the commentai-y of the partners on 
 their own position. Looking at the figures themselves, it appeared that the amount 
 owing to depositors and customers was £471,000, and that the loss by the West- 
 minster Brewery was between £50,000 and £60,000. Although it was attempted 
 to be assumed that the Westminster Brewery was a distinct concern, from what is 
 publicly known, there was little doubt of the validity of the partnership. To meet this 
 £471,000 liabilities, the assets were taken at £713,450, and stood represented by a 
 variety of important items. The brew-house estate and public-house property, 
 although valued on the same principle as the formation of the existing firm in 1854, 
 is probably over-estimated, and that to a considerable amount, because those 
 acquainted with the trade entertained an impression that, in the interim, the actual 
 value of this class of property has declined. 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Messrs. Felix Calvert and Co., 
 April 10, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To sundi'y creditors, viz. : — 
 
 Depositors £326,435 16 2 
 
 Trade accounts 144,501 16 
 
 To creditors fully secured, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated vafue of property £739,705 13 7 
 
 Estimated amount of claims 265,131 6 
 
 ^viv\)\\is, ppr contra £474,574 13 1 
 
 To liabilities, viz. : — ■ 
 
 On account of the Westminster Erewery £19,110 14 11 
 
 On account of debts sccm-ed by, and expected 
 
 to be paid out of, the private estates of the 
 
 partners 40,000 
 
 £59,110 14 11 
 
 Note. — This statement is made out on the assiunption that 
 
 the Westminster Brewery is a distinct concern, and that the 
 
 arrangements now in progress for carrying it on h'respcctive of 
 
 Messrs. Calvert will be completed. 
 
 470,937 12 7 
 
 £470,937 12 7 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash at bankers' £4,138 16 8 
 
 By sundry debtors 125,550 10 6 
 
 Carried forward £129,689 7 2
 
 CCXVl APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £129,689 7 2 
 
 33 \- brewery estate, plant, iiten- 
 
 "sQs, etc., £261,865 
 
 Deduct mortgages 128,540 7 5 
 
 £133,321 12 7 
 
 By leases and freeholds of pub- 
 lic-houses, etc., estimated at 
 what they would realize if 
 
 sold to a tenant £468,692 15 8 
 
 Deduct claims secured by de- 
 posit of deeds 127,412 15 2 
 
 . 311,250 6 
 
 Being surplus, i^er contra 471,574 13 1 
 
 By malt, hops, etc 11,622 10 6 
 
 By ale, stout, and porter 17,912 
 
 Bycasks 13,122 5 
 
 By viiwc establishment (debts and stock) 3 1,000 
 
 By surplus of private estates, viz. : — 
 
 John Jolmson's, estimated at £30,000 
 
 N. Calvert's reversionary interest in Irisli 
 property at the decease of his mother, esti- 
 mated at 2,500 
 
 32,500 
 
 By Westminster Breweiy £40,000 
 
 Isote. — The brew-house estate and tlie public-house property 
 have been valued on precisely tlie same principle as was adopted 
 at the time of the formation of the present lii'm iu 1854. 
 
 £713,450 15 9 
 
 Statejiext of tue ArFAiKS OF THE Peivate Estates of Edmond Caltekt 
 AND Felix Ladbeoke, Afeil 10, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOB. 
 
 To creditors holding bonds and notes £127, 164 
 
 To creditors unsecured (private deposit accounts) 203,324 18 5 
 
 To creditors fully seciu-ed — 
 
 Esthnated value of property £630,853 6 8 
 
 Amount of claims 362,107 10 
 
 Surplus, j?;e;- coK^m £268,745 16 8 
 
 £330,788 18 5 
 
 ceeditoe. 
 
 By pi-ivate estate of E. Calvert £200,200 
 
 Deduct mortgages thereon , . . 1 82,307 10 
 
 £107,892 10 
 
 By private estate of P. Ladbroke 3 40,653 6 8 
 
 Deduct mortgages thereon 179,8^ )0 
 
 160,853 6 8 
 
 £268,745 16 8 
 By deficiency 62,043 1 9 
 
 £330,788 18 5 
 
 A very nnmcrously-attcnded and highly influential meeting of ladies and 
 gentlemen, who had deposited monc^y with tlic firm, was lield at tlie T-ondou Tavern 
 on the 12ili of Alay, 1858, for tlie purpose of agreeing tliat the buc^iness sliould 
 be worked for two years under inspect jrs, in order to avoid tlie ruinous litigation 
 and disastrous losses which would cnsuo if the business were broken up, and the
 
 APPENDIX. CCXVll 
 
 nffairs of tlie company placed in the liands of tlie gontlomen of the long robe, for 
 thy j)urpose of being carried tlirough the Bankrnptcy Court. Mr. Willimn Smalley, 
 the Secretary of the Incorporated Society of Licensed Victnallcrs, and a depositor 
 to a considerable amount, was unanimously requested to preside. 
 
 Tlie Chairman commenced liis observations by requesting any person who 
 might not happen to be depositors to v/ithdraw, inasmuch as it was only that 
 class of creditors wlio were concerned in the proceedings which were about to 
 take place ; and, in reply to a question, he stated that persons representing 
 societies would be considered depositoi's, but would only be entitled to one 
 Toto. lie had attended at the brewery on the previous Saturdaj^, in con>pany 
 with persons representing £15,000 or £20,000. They heard the deed read, and 
 were requested to sign it. By the desire of some of his friends, he asked a few 
 questions of the partners and other persons present. Tliey thought that as they 
 were very large creditors — the depositors being in fact tlie largest creditors — they 
 were entitled to some explanation as to the means the firm had of paying the 
 principal and 4 per cent, interest in two years. The first thing they had to look 
 at was the magnitude of the sums in the hands of Calvert and Co., which, 
 according to the balance-sheet of Messrs. Quilfer and Ball, amounted to the sum of 
 £32(),43i5 IGs. 2d. The amount of claims (advances by way of mortgage) were 
 £2(35,131 0.<. (3'/., and the total amount on which interest would have to be paid 
 was £591,566 16s. 8d. If they looked at the foot of Messrs. Quiltcr and Ball's 
 balance-sheet, they would see tliat the private estates were completely exhausted. 
 They were valued at £630,853. There had been issued on bonds and notes 
 £127,464 ; private deposit accounts, £203,324 ; issued by way of mortgage, 
 £362,107. All this bore interest, and he was not aware at what rate; but as the 
 private estate was a separate account, that did not concern them, and so much the 
 better. — (Hear, hear.) Supposing it realized all that it was valued at — which was 
 very seldom the case — taking that into consideration, if Messrs. Calvert and Co. 
 paid interest at the rate of 4 per cent, on these deposits and mortgages on the 
 partnership estate, it would amount to £23,662 per annum. — (Hear, hear, and Oh.) 
 He did not learn on Saturday morning, but he had been since informed by Mr. 
 Morse, that the trade debts— that was, sums due to hop-merchants and otliers — were 
 entitled to i-eceive 4 per cent, interest, because they had agreed to wait for their 
 money. The trade debts amounted to £144,501, and the interest on that sum 
 would be £5,780. The total interest on money payable at this time was £29,442, 
 and interest receivable £3,590, making the annual charge for interest £25,852. 
 There must be a large business done to pay off that sum in two or tliree j'cars. — 
 (Hear, hear.) Next, he had asked the partners in what way they thought they 
 could realize this money. They said first, that they could save in 'the brewery so 
 much per quarter on so many thousand quarters of malt. He found that to be a 
 very large sum, and they did not quite agree with him as to the figures. The 
 total sum proposed to be saved was £20,000 per annum ; of this, £6,000 a-year 
 would be on malt. Whether this was to be saved by the skill exercised in buying 
 it, or the dilTercnce of the markets, or by paying cash instead of taking long credit, 
 he did not know. Stables, £2,500; annuities, £1,000; public-house repairs?, 
 £7,000; salaries, £2,500; total, £20,000. This was the only direct information he 
 could get. He suggested to them that they should not simply call their creditors 
 together to read a long document which no one but a lawyer could understand, and, 
 even when they had read an abstract, some could hardly tell whether they ought to 
 sign it or not. When he went to the brewci'y some weeks since, Mr. Dewen told 
 him that one of the gentlemen connected with the Royal Exchange Assurance 
 Company was engaged to be one of the inspectors. This was not now the case. 
 He was also given to understand that the private est.ates would realize £300,000. 
 The deposits amounted to about that. The object of these proceedings was, of 
 course, to try to avoid bankruptcy, if possible — (Ile.ar, hear, and loud applause.) 
 He was a depositor, and he had also a near relative who was a depositor, and he 
 could tell them that there was a likelihood of getting their money, if they would 
 have patience and forbearance one with another — not one man saying, I will have 
 my money, thinking he will be paid. — -(Hear, hoar, and applanse.) Let them share and 
 sh.are alike. — (Hear.) For his part, he would r.ather take a small dividend than any 
 one else should have the preference over him and his friends — (Hear, hoar.) He would 
 now read the accounts to them. He had conversed witli Mr. Quiltcr on the subject, 
 and Mr. Quiltcr seemed to have gone into the accounts in a very careful mauiier, 
 but ho had arranged the items in a sonn-what different waj- from that gentleman. 
 The first item of the debts due by Messrs. Calvert and Co. was as follows; — To
 
 CCXVlll APPENDIX. 
 
 sundry creditors, £326,435 16s. 2d. That formed 445 pei* cent, on the whole amount 
 of their liabilities, so that they (the depositors) were the largest claimants in the 
 whole matter. The second item was, trade accounts, £144,501 16s. 5d. That was 
 as near 20 per cent, as possibk- (19.1). The creditors fully secured were on property 
 valued at £739,705 13a-. Id., that was on the brewery, plant, leases, freeholds, and 
 public-houses (359 in number), on wliich these mort<r:i,gcs were fully secured. He 
 had arranged these accounts in a different way from Quilter and Ball, putting all 
 the liabilities together, as being better adapted for a mixed audience — (Hear, hear) 
 — in oi'der to show the exact position of the debts and assets. The total sum on 
 which they would have to pay interest was £736,068 13s. \d. Under any circum- 
 stances the mortgages must be paid, if they wound-up under an inspectox-ship, or if 
 they went through bankrujjtcy, and wliatever loss there was to be borne would fall 
 twice as much on them as on the trade creditors, and therel'ore it was right for them 
 to consider how much they would be likely to realize when this £265,131 for 
 mortgages was paid off. Though the debts were large, there were not many items. 
 They lay in a small compass, and could easily be analyzed. Messrs. Calvert and 
 Co., when consulted about that meeting, advised them to take their own course, and 
 if the meeting wanted any question answered Mr. Quilter was at hand, and would 
 give the required information. — (Hear, hear.) Now, what were the assets of the 
 firm ? The first item was, cash at bankers', £4,138 I65. 8(7. This was an easily 
 realized and available item. Sundry debtors, £125,550. Of this £79,000 was for 
 loans to different licensed victuallers, and the rest was for rent and for beer. 
 Then they came to the two principal items, which were the brewery estate, plant, 
 utensils, etc. If they took them together, they would be represented by the sum of 
 £730,557 15s. Sd. He said, if they were "taken together," because cf what use 
 would the public-houses be without the brewery, or the brewery without the public- 
 houses ? — (Hear, hear.) Without the public-houses the brewery would be simply a 
 freehold, with so much frontage and fixtures. If sold off, it would bo at an 
 enormous loss ! It would now perhaps not more than pay the mortgage of 49 or 
 nearly 50 per cent. The public-houses were mortgaged to the extent of 26 per 
 cent. These public -houses were valued, not exactly at the valuation of the 
 present day, but as they were valued in 1854, when the new firm was formed 
 by the admission of the new partners, Messrs. Johnson and Phelips. On paper 
 these figures showed a surplus of nearly a qtiarter of a million, but what would 
 there be if sold off ? That was the point for them to consider. A'700,000 had 
 been invested in the brewery, in public-houses, and in stock of one kind or 
 another. He could not, of course, tell what the profits of the brewery were ; still it 
 appeared to him that i'700,000 sunk in a business ought to yield a large profit — a 
 profit which, with the saving they could effect, would go far to pay the interest and 
 a part of the principal, till by gradually diminishing the principal they would get 
 into such a position as that capitalists would be found to come in, pay off tlio 
 liabilities, and carry on the business. The mortgages on the brewery were only 
 held by two firms, and, being fully securerl, he should say they would have no 
 objection to wait for their money. The mortgages on the public-houses were held 
 by only seven firms. He was telling them this in order to show them how few hands 
 the thing was in. The trade creditors were not more than a dozen, except under the 
 item " tradesmen's bills, about .^3,000." About £141,000 out of il44,000 was held 
 by twelve parties. Therefore the only difliculty was the depositors, who were 369 in 
 number altogether, including forty-four benefit societies. They had all these con- 
 flicting interests to reconcile. The total amount of the claims of those parties was 
 4;11,627 13s. 5(7. That was not a great sum, but under this deed he feared it would 
 be impossible to pay any of them out at present, though he did hope that some mode 
 might have been devised of doing it, as 4t7. in the pound on the whole liabilities 
 would have sufficed for the purpose, and besides gratifying so many persons, it would 
 have made the firm popular. — (Hear.) Now, under the act in conformity with which 
 this deed had been prepared, he found they must have six-sevenths of the creditors 
 for number and value to make it legal. No doubt they could induce cx'editors to sign 
 in the required proportion of the value, but the difficulty would be with regard to 
 number, for it was generally small creditors who were the most troublesome. Tl.eir 
 interest, liowever, was at stake equally with that of others who were creditors for 
 larger amounts, and if they did not come in he feared the result would be a bank- 
 ruptcy. There would then be a depreciation in the value of the property of more 
 than 50 per cent. ; but if it once found its way into the Court of Bankruptcy there 
 was no knowing where it would end. — (Hear, hear.) They knew what lawyers 
 were, and what saturnalia the bankruptcy of Calvert and Company would afford
 
 APPENDIX. CCXIX 
 
 tlicm to revel in. He understood tliat tliere was one ffcntlcman, a creditor for a large 
 amount, who was not disposed to come in, no doubt from tlie cxpeotation tliat he 
 Would get his money ; but he could assure him tliat he would not ; and if any one 
 was to have it before another, he should much prefer that it should he one who needed 
 it, rather than one who had his thousands. — (Cheers.) It was a hardsliip for all of 
 them, no doubt, for tlie richer among them might want the money to settle on their 
 wives, and they ought all, tlierefore, to learn to suffer together, and assist each other 
 in their common object. — (Hear, hear.) He had inquired that morning — for he 
 knew that in the history of public companies it had been seen to be a favourite 
 scheme to bring in more capital to go on with — he had inquired whether it would be 
 possible for any party, during the two years that tliis deed of inspectorship would be 
 in operation, to bring more capital into the concern. It certainly would not be ; for 
 the profits belonged to them, the depositors, and if the business would not suffice to 
 pay them, they could not want money for extending the brewery or building moi'e 
 public-houses. On the other hand, if it could not pay interest, and a part of the 
 principal of the debt, it could not be in a healthy condition. — (Hear, hear.) The 
 number of public-houses they had was 359. This was a large number, and the fault 
 of the firm appeared to have been that they were too anxious to extend their opera- 
 tions, and had gone into the wine trade, when the brewery was enough. Their 
 speculations had, consequently, been very heavy, far exceeding the fair limits of 
 trade, and they had used their deposits as if they were never to be asked for them. 
 There had, no doubt, been great extravagance and mismanagement, but up to the 
 year 1846, there were no mortgages on tlie property at all. In that year, however, 
 the mortgages commenced, but he was assured that the money which was produced 
 by the mortgages was laid out on the brewery, and in tlie business generally, and not 
 diverted to otiier speculations. That being so, the value of the plant and house 
 ought to be much greater than it was some years ago ; but he had not had access 
 to the books to investigate how that was, and could only glean his inferences from 
 the statement of Messrs. Quilter and Ball. What a time would they be in getting a 
 dividend if they went into bankruptcy ; and then, after paying off the mortgages, it 
 would be very doubtful whether they would realize a large dividend. — (Hear, hear.) 
 Having now laid tlie facts of the case before them, he had to express his strong hope 
 that all parties who had to address the meeting would do so in a calm and temperate 
 spirit, and that they would not suffer their feelings to oversway tlieir judgment. — 
 (Hear, hear.) They were all subject to reverses, and when they did fall on us it was 
 unwise and unmanly not to grapple with them in the way that promised the best and 
 speediest deliverance from them. — (Hear, hear.) He could conscientiously say that 
 he had endeavoured to advise them for their benefit, and hoped they would unani- 
 mously agree to accept the view of the case which he had offered them. Little had 
 he ever thought the day would arrive when he should see the firm of Calvert and 
 Company in such a position. It was indeed painful to reflect upon ; but, bad as it 
 was, he did believe that by judicious and careful management, their prospects would 
 be retrieved. If they had confidence in the inspectors, if tliey believed them to be 
 men of integrity of purpose, ready and anxious to carry out tlieir wishes, and to act 
 generally for their benefit ; if tliey believed that, thej- might confidently expect 
 much good to be done. — (Hear, bear.) A great hardship had been inflicted on the 
 benefit societies, and it was enough almost to make men declare that they would not 
 be provident any more. Out of evil, however, might come good, if they would only 
 look the matter calmly in the face, and not be led away by any rash desire of driving 
 that great concern into bankruptcy. — (Hear, hear.) There was one suggestion he had 
 to make to the meeting, and it was one to which even the firm itself, as he apprehended, 
 would not object. He did not think the number of inspectors was sufficient. The 
 inspectors were Mr. H. Kingscotc, of Eaton Square ; Mr. W. R. White, of the firm of 
 Wigan and White, hop merchants, Hibernia Chambers, London Bridge ; and Mr. 
 Morse. The latter gentleman was connected with the brewery, but he did not want 
 his name struck out. If one or two more gentlemen were added to the list, he 
 thought the arrangement would work better.^(Hear.) He shouhl also propose that 
 the inspectors repoi't to them from time to time, say at the end of six, nine, or twelve 
 months, in order that they might then be sooner able to judge with moi'e correctness 
 of their situation. It was possible, though he believed the contrary would be the 
 result, that much mischief might be done before a year liad elapsed. Tiie parties 
 who already were to act were undoubtedly highly respectable, but he imagined that 
 if one or two more were added to their number, their responsibility to the depositors 
 would be increased, and the depositors be more likely to get a good dividend. His 
 own idea was, that the liabilities of the firm might be ultimately so much reduced
 
 CCXX APPENDIX. 
 
 as to render ifc worth while for wealthy parties to come in and get rid of the debt 
 altogether. — (Hear, hear.) He had now communicated to them all that was neces- 
 sary or interesting that they should know, and in doing so, he hoped he had not 
 detained them too long, or indulged in too sanguine expectations. — (Hear, hear.) 
 He had simply endeavoured to explain the accounts to them ; he believed the views 
 lie had expresse I concerning them to be well founded, and he hoped that in the course 
 they were now about to take, they would show that they were influenced by judg- 
 ment and discretion, and not led away by the rash promptings of passion. — (Cheers.) 
 
 Mr. FuNNELL, referi'ing to the Chairman's last suggestion, which he thought a 
 very valuable one, proposed that they should ask any member of the firm who might 
 be present, whether thei'e would be anj^ objection to allow one or two more gentlemen 
 to act Avith the inspectors already named, on behalf of the meeting. 
 
 Mr. Morse said that question could only be answered by a member of the firm, 
 and there was none present. 
 
 The Chairman stated that he had been assured, in the presence of two of the 
 partners, that they would not oppose such a proposition. 
 
 A conference here took place between the Cliairman, Mr. Paine (of Chartham, 
 Canterbury), Mr. Foster, and some other gentlemen, after wliich 
 
 Mr. Paine stated that they had considered the point, and found it would be im- 
 possible to effect the necessary alterations in the deed, and obtain over again the 
 signatures in sufticient time, namely, by Thursday next. Thej- were, therefore, of 
 opinion that they had better let things stand as they were, and, for one, he was per- 
 fectly satisfied with the arrangement. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Jones said that the deed would require to be signed over again, and 
 it would be impossible to get through that by Thursday. "Without signing the deed 
 again nothing they might endorse on the deed would have the necessary force. 
 
 Mr. FuNNELL said he had no doubt that, at the request of the meeting, Mr. 
 Smalley would at any time be allowed to look at the accounts. If they could not 
 appoint him an inspector, they coukl at any rate pass a resolution, requesting Mr. 
 Smalley to inspect the accounts, and report upon them to the depositors. He should, 
 therefore, propose that that be done. 
 
 The Chairman here read an abstract of the deed of inspection, stating that it was 
 framed under the 224tli section of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act of 1849. 
 
 Mr. L. Paine, a creditor to the amount of ,£4,000, eventually proposed tiie fol- 
 lowing resolution, drawn up by Mr. T. Jones; — " That this meeting strongly recom- 
 mends that the proposed three inspectors do allow Mr. Smalley, the Chairman of 
 this meeting, to act on the part of the depositors, and to be allowed to inspect the 
 books of the firm that now exist, and which may be in future used; and the three 
 inspectors be requested to supply Mr Smalley with every information that he may 
 require on the part of the depositors; and that Mr. Smalley do report to a future 
 meeting of the depositors to be convened when and for sucli purposes as he may see fit." 
 
 Mr. Wood, of Chelsea, seconded it. 
 
 On the question being then put, the resolution was carried unanimously. 
 
 Mr. Paine next moved the lollowing resolution, which was also drawn up by Mr. 
 Jones, expressing his confidence that it hiid down the true line of policy for the 
 depositors to follow: — "That this meeting is of opinion that it would be most 
 advisable, for the interests of all parties concerned, that the business of Messrs, 
 Felix Calvert and Co. should be carried on under the inspection proposed, and 
 pledges itself to use its utmost endeavours to carry out that arrangement, and 
 tliat the depositors present do now sign the deed of inspection." 
 
 Mr. Wood seconded the resolution. 
 
 Mr. Jones, in support of it, stated that he had been consulted with a view to 
 proceedings in bankruptcy, but so strong was the feeling with which he received 
 the proposition, that he replied that, rather than have his name tarnished by 
 such a proceeding as striking a docket against the firm, he would forego all future 
 connection with his client. (Hear, hear.) Such a course on his part would have 
 been nothing short of murderous as regarded the interests of others, and he told 
 him so, adding that, were he to follow it out, he would be pointed at i'n the streets. 
 Let them imagine the consequences of 359 houses being sent into the market, as 
 they then would be, and their property would bo sacrificed to the extent of 10, 
 15, or 20 per cent, during the next four years. A greater act of imprudence 
 could not possibly be committed, and, after such a warning, it would liave been 
 premeditated murder to persist in it. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 The resolution was then put, and unanimously agreed to, in the midst of loud 
 and general cheering.
 
 APPICNDIX. CCXXl 
 
 Mr. FuNNF.LL next moved a vote of tlianks to tlie Cli.iirmau for tlie lucid and 
 able statement he liad made, the pains he had taken to investigate the matter, 
 and the judicious advice he had piven. 
 
 Mr. W. IIarbison, of Thames Street, seconded the resolution, which having been 
 unanimously agreed to, 
 
 Mr. Smallet, in reply, said he had felt great anxiety in undertaking to preside 
 over that meeting, and it was tlieir kindness, rather than his own ability, that 
 bad led to so good a result. It was seldom, indeed, that a meeting of creditors so 
 numerous, and having such diiferent interests, were seen to come together in 
 such a spirit of mutual sacritice, desirous only of their success as a body. He 
 thanked them most sincerely for the gratifying mark of their confidence, and 
 felt highly gratified at having endeavoured, with so much success, to save that 
 great concern from falling into bankruptcy. (Hoar, hear.) In conclusion, he would 
 urge all present to sign the deed at once, lest, from the want of only a few names, 
 the scale might be turned against them in number. Let them sign immediately, 
 and depart with the perfect assurance that the best would be done for them. (Cheers.) 
 
 The business of executing the deed then went rapidly and orderly forward, and 
 among the large number of depositors present there was scarcely one who did not sign. 
 
 A second meeting of the deposit creditors of Messrs. F. Calvert and Co., the 
 brewers, took place on the 27th June, 1859, Mr. Smalley in the chair, to consider 
 a proposal of the inspectors under liquidation to conduct the business by means of a 
 joint-stock company. It is intendetl that the creditors shall have the option of con- 
 verting their claims either into ordinary shares of the undertaking or of taking 
 debentures at the rate of 15?. in the pound, redeemable in seven years. The last 
 proviso is introduced to meet the convenience of trustees or representatives of friendly 
 .societies, clubs, etc., who may be legally precluded from becoming stockholders. The 
 present plan is suggested to prevent a piecemeal realization of tlie estate, which 
 might result in a disposal of all the public-houses, so as to depreciate the value of the 
 brewery itself and render it nearly unsaleable. A suggestion had been made for the 
 disposal of the business in one lot at a reduction of 22 per cent, upon the valuation, 
 but the plan was found unsuccessful. During the past year the profits of the brewery 
 have been ,£44,990, and the beer supplied has been of equal if not better quality than 
 formerly. It is therefore estimated that with a continuance of the present returns, 
 of which there appears every probability, a sufficient sum may be realized not only 
 to pay a 5 per cent, dividend, but to provide a fund applicable for the redemption of 
 the debentures. After a long discussion it was resolved on a division that the pro- 
 posed company be formed, only three or four creditors voting against it. In the 
 course of the proceedings it -was stated that the private estates of one of the partners 
 have not realized the original valuation, while in another case there has been a con- 
 siderable excess. 120 public-houses have been sold for about i'95,000, or about 9 
 per cent, below the nominal estimate. This result is considered favourable, as it 
 was believed that the loss would have been as much as 25 per cent. The proceeds 
 have been applied to the iiquld'ition of secured claims. The debts provable on the 
 estate represent a total of i726,000, of which i"315,000 is for deposits, ^252,000 
 private debts, and i'159,000 trade debts. 
 
 THE ESTATE OE MESSES. ROBEET BEOWNE AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Robert Browne and Co., East Indian and 
 Australian merchants, who suspended on the 15th April, was held on the 20th May, 
 Mr. C. G. Grainger in the chair, when the following statement was presented by 
 Mr. Glegg, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co, : — 
 
 Statement, May 20, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOB. 
 
 To sundiy creditors unsecured £577 15 8 
 
 To creditors fully secured, estunated value of 
 
 secm-ities £6,082 7 8 
 
 Deduct amount of claims 5,690 9 6 
 
 Surplus to fow/ra £39118 2 
 
 Carried forward JL'577 15 8
 
 CCXXU ArPEXDlX. 
 
 Brought forward £577 15 8 
 
 To liabilities on drafts accepted or guaranteed 
 by us, viz. : — 
 
 Secured bv produce, amount of acceptances £27,352 4 
 Deduct estimated value of securities . . . 25,832 9 2 
 
 1,519 11 2 
 
 Unsecured 30,391 8 7 
 
 Note. — These liabihties ai'e subject to reduction by the value 
 of any securities that may have been lodged against the 
 
 drafts on Cevlon. 
 
 £32,488 15 5 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash and bills on hand £1,263 2 11 
 
 By sundiy debtors — 
 
 Considered good 137 16 8 
 
 Dittobad 21 7 9 
 
 By sundry pi'operty 2,119 5 7 
 
 Bv siu'plus secui'ities held by creditors, per 
 "contra 391 18 2 
 
 By debt at Melbourne, £2,887 4*. lid. esti- 
 mated to produce 2,000 
 
 £5,912 3 4 
 
 By J. SwanaudCo., Colombo £1,320 12 10 
 
 By Melbom-ne firm, in Uqnidation 952 3 
 
 By deficiency carried forward 26,576 12 1 
 
 £32,488 15 5 
 
 It was explain<?d that the operations of the house had not been conducted on a 
 very extensive scale, and that the connection with Messrs. J. Swan and Co., of 
 Ceylon, had produced their emban'assments. Bills to the extent of £'31,000 had been 
 accepted on account of tliat firm, and the absence of remittances to meet thoni had 
 necessitated the suspension. The total liabilities vpere estimated at £'32,488, and 
 the assets are £5,912. The principal creditors were the Oriental Bank and tl:e 
 Mercantile Bank of India, the ordinary claimants representing only about £'1,500. 
 After some discussion it was resolved that a composition of 3«. 4i. in the pound 
 should be paid to the general creditors, exclusive of the Mercantile Bank of India 
 and the Oriental Bank, the period fixed to be within one month if the banks 
 agreed to this liquidation. It was also arranged that the creditors should not be 
 prejudiced or aff"ccted by these proceedings as to their rights or remedies against 
 other persons than the said Robert Browne. 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. E. BAINBEIDGE AND CO. 
 
 An adjourned meeting of creditors of Messrs. R. Bainbridge and Co., of London 
 and New York, who suspended during the late cidsis, took place on the 4th of June, 
 185S. From the report of a committee appointed on the 5th of January, it appeared 
 that a confidential agent was despatclied to New York. After considerable difli- 
 culties, which led to the waste of much valuable time, he was permitted by Mr. 
 Bainbridge to examine the books and accounts, and found them to be in such utter 
 disorder, that it was impossible readily to discover the actual position of affairs. 
 Many of the balances were thus supplied by Mr. Bainbridge himself, and not from 
 tlie books, particularly the estimates of the stock in trade and real estate. These 
 were taken too low ; and, again, the claims of the English creditors were calculated 
 at an imduly high rate of exchange. The result was, that there was a difference in 
 tlie valuation of assets by the two parties, Mr. Bainbridge and the creditors' agent, 
 of £12,000. Supposing the statement of the latter to be correct, there was suflicient
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXIU 
 
 to pay in full. No legal means, liowever, existed to enforce the claims of tlie 
 creditors, except by an expensive and doubtful course, there beinp; no Court of Bank- 
 ruptcy in New York. In the meantime the usual preferential payments had been 
 made, the American creditors receiving the whole of their claims, which had tlie 
 following effect : — The total net liabilities assented to by the insolvent were £47,000, 
 ■with admitted assets of £37,000, or about 15«. 9(^. in the pound. Providing for the 
 American claims, however, the matter stands thus : — Assets, £17,000, to meet 
 English debts of £27,000, or about 12s. Gd. in the pound. This calculation was 
 irrespective of the amount in dispute as understated. Mr. Bainbridge, v^fitliout 
 attempting to controvert the positions of the agent of the creditors, had already 
 determined on his course of action, and offered a composition of 12a-., boldly stating 
 the estate would realize no more. After considerable delay and long negotiations, 
 an agreement was at length come to to pay all claims under £10 in full in two 
 months from the 17th of March, 12s. Gil. on claims between £10 and £100 in six 
 months from the 20th of March, and 13s. -id. in four instalments extending over two 
 years from the lOtb of February on debts of £100 and upwards. A guarantee was 
 at llrst positively refused, and it was only after repeated pressure that certain 
 securities were obtained, worth about £10,000, or nearly 9s. 6fl. in the pound of the 
 composition. The report concluded with a recommendation that the terms be 
 accepted, and accordingly a resolution to that effect was passed unanimously. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. EAWSON SONS AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditoi-s of Messrs. Rawson Sons and Co., engaged in the East 
 India and China trade, whose suspension took place on the 2ad June, 1858, was held 
 on the 8th, when the following satisfactory statement, showing a surplus of ^£48,000, 
 Avas presented by Mr. J. E. Coleman, of the firm of Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, 
 Youngs, and Co. : — 
 
 Statement, June 8, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on open accounts £39,344 
 
 To creditors on bdls payable £489,634 
 
 Less, expected to be provided for by parties 
 
 for whose account the bills were accepted 125,038 
 
 Amount to rank on tliis estate 364,596 
 
 To creditors partially secured 156,731 
 
 To secm-itiesheld ..'. 138,520 
 
 18,211 
 
 To creditors fully secured — 
 
 Securities held 359,891 
 
 Clauus 274,923 
 
 Contra £84,968 
 
 To liabihties on bdls receivable, £297,310 12s. M., the whole of 
 
 which will be duly honoiired at maturity. 
 
 £422,151 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 By cash balance £2,613 
 
 By biUs receivable on hand 22,733 
 
 By sundry assets, consisting of shares, etc 650 
 
 By debtors, good 36,506 
 
 By debtors after taking up the bills accepted for their account . . . 13,067 
 
 By produce on hand 12,580 
 
 By surplus from creditors holdmg securities, contra 8 1,968 
 
 By amovmt of various exports esUmated at 125,000 
 
 By amoimt standing to debit of Blenkin, Kawson, and Co., of 
 
 China 32,902 
 
 Carried forward £331,019 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 CCXXIV APPENDIX. 
 
 Carried forward £331,0] 9 
 
 By amount standing to debit of Ker, Rawson, and Co., Singapore 7,3()5 
 
 Ditto, Leach, Eawson, and Co., Calcutta 42,<J10 
 
 By cajiital of T. S. Rawson and S. Rawson, in tlie firms of 
 
 Blenkin, Rawson, and Co., and Ker, Rawson, and Co 53,560 
 
 By estimated proportion of commission of profits since April 
 
 "30,1857 22,515 
 
 By sundries from the separate 
 
 estates of the partnei-s £12,595 
 
 Creditors to be paid in fidl £522 
 
 £457,399 
 
 It was explained by Mr. Coleman, that although the foregoing was only a. pro 
 forma statement, it showed as nearly as possible the correct position of the firm, 
 and tliat in consequence of the admirable manner in which the books and accounts 
 had been kept he had been enabled to lay the results thus early before the creditors, 
 so that they might be connnuiiicated by the mail which left on the 9th. With 
 respect to the aggregate of liabilities, £125,000 of the bills would be taken up, 
 leaving only £364,000 as chargeable against the estate. Of the bills receivable, 
 representing £300,000, the whole would, it was thought, be met, and they were not 
 likely to constitute tie least liability. The assets were of a favourable character, 
 and the cash and bills might be considered a very respectable item. The good debts 
 consisted of balances due from correspondents, brokers, and prompts, all of -which 
 ■would be speedily available. It appeared that the produce in liand, and the surplus 
 prodiiced after the payments of the loans, amounting to £97,548, had been estimated 
 at the value on the date of the suspeusion, and that also a portion had been taken at 
 prices at which offers had been actually made, wdiile some descriptions had slightly 
 advanced in value since the estimate was completed. In connection with the exports 
 calculated to produce £125,000, it was believed that they Avould before that have 
 been sold, and the proceeds would be in course of remittance. About two-thirds of 
 the amount would, according to the examination, be receivable by the shippers, and 
 must go in reduction of acceptances to a similar extent, and the remaining third 
 would be appropriated to the general creditors. It was stated that the balances due 
 from the Cliina, Singapore, and Calcutta houses, amounting to £83,216, the £33,560 
 of the capital of T. S. Rawson and S. Rawson, and the £22,500 the proportion of 
 commission and profits, were all ordered, in December and January last, to be for- 
 warded to this country, and that an acknowledgment of the recpiest had been 
 I'eceived. It was, therefore, anticipated that the bills to represent the greater 
 amount were also in course of transmission. No doubt was entertained of the 
 value of the India and China assets, since they had been thoroughly investigated and 
 reported upon by a gentleman of experience from Manchester. In answer to 
 questions it was intimated that Mr. T. S. Rawson and Mr. S. Rawson were directly 
 interested in the houses in India, Singapore, and China, and that Mr. C. Rawson 
 possessed an indirect interest through the father. The cause of suspension had been 
 the absence of remittances, and the indisposition to force £400,000 produce in the 
 hands of creditors as security sU'ldeidy upon the markets. The reason of the private 
 estates appearing for so small a total was that the senior partner had not long since 
 brought in £83,000, independently of other contributions previoush', to meet tlie 
 recent losses, which were taken in round numbers at £125,000. These exjilanations 
 having been received as satisfactory, Mr. Charles Freshfield submitted the propriety 
 of effecting a liquidation under inspection. The application of bankruptcy to an 
 estate of this description would be liighly prejudicial, and not warranted by the 
 circumstances of the case. The assets showed 20.s\ in the pound, with a largo 
 surplus, including the private property of the partners; and if the usual process were 
 adopted, the house could recommence l)usiness without interruption. Tlie opinion of 
 the creditors being unanimously in favour of this proceeding, after a short conversa- 
 tion, during wliich it was stated that no bills could come back from India or China 
 imless they were document bills, resolutions were at once passed agreeing to the 
 proposition. At the close of the discussion it was distinctly ixnder-tood that the 
 houses abroad should be advised by the morrow's mail, that without they felt them- 
 selves perfectly competent to meet all matiu-ing engagements it would be their duty 
 immediately to suspend, and not to allow any priority or preference. Before the 
 meeting finally separated a strong feeling was expresseil witli regard to the 
 honourable conduct exhibited by the partners, and to the satisfactory position in
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXV 
 
 which tlie accounts were found, confidence at the same time being entertained in tlie 
 result of tlie liquidation. Annexed are the resolutions, passed in official form : — 
 
 At a nieetinji of the creditors of Messrs. Kawson, Sons, and Co., held at their 
 offices. No. 62, Moorpate Street, on Tuesday, the 8th day of June, 1858, Mr. Kichard 
 Durant in the chair, Mr. Coleman, the accountant, produced and read to the meeting 
 a statement of tlic liabilities and assets. 
 
 It was proposed and seconded, and resolved unanimously — 
 
 " 1. That it is tlie opinion of the meeting that the affairs of the house should be 
 liquidated under inspectorship, and that the following gentlemen be tlie inspectors — 
 George Dewhurst, Esq., Alexander Mackenzie, Esq., and W. Lyon, Esq. 2. That 
 a proper deed of inspectorship be prepared under the approval of the inspectors, and 
 be executed by or on behalf of each creditor, on or before payment of the first divi- 
 dend. 3. That such deed shall contain covenants by the partners to liquidate the 
 affairs of the house according to the rules of administration adopted in bankruptcy, 
 and covenant by the creditors not to sue, which shall operate as a release upon the 
 inspectors certifying that the liquidation has proceeded sirfficiently, and upon the 
 partners executing an assignment of any remaining assets to trustees for distributinn 
 among the creditors. 4. That such deed shall be a deed of arrangement, within the 
 meaning of the 224th section of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, and the 
 228th section shall be applicable thereto, and the creditors executing it shall not 
 be prejudiced as to any securities or lien they may be entitled to, or as to their 
 rights against third parties. 5. That the private property of the partners, after 
 payment of their separate liabilities, shall be applied in the payment of the debts of 
 the firm, according to the rules of distribution in bankruptcy. 6. That the inspec- 
 tors shall have power to make to the partners such allowance as they may think fit 
 for their services. 7. That instructions be sent out by the mail on the morrow, to 
 the several firms in India and China, to adopt all necessary measures for protection 
 of consigned goods and their proceeds, and to send home statements of all goods on 
 hand, and account of sales of such as have been sold, with remittances direct to the 
 respective consignees where no advances have been made. 8. That the partners be 
 at liberty to transact business on their own account, on their covenanting in the 
 inspectorship deed not to use, either directly or indirectly, any of the existing assets 
 of the firm, and to incur no new engagements which could by any possibility be 
 thrown on the existing assets. 
 
 (Signed) "R. DvBkNT, Chairman." 
 
 THE ESTATE OF JklESSES. BEISTOAV, AVAEEEI^, 
 AND HAEEISON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Bristow, Warren, and Harrison, who failed 
 in the wholesale grocery trade at the end of June, 1858, was held on the 2nd of July. 
 The subjoined accounts, prepared by Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, Youngs, and Co., 
 exhibit a dividend of about 15s. in the pound. A heavy depreciation had occurred 
 in the stock of sugar, and other losses had been considerable; but the partners, it 
 transpired, commenced with a capital of upwards of ±3,000. At the close of the 
 meeting, the firm leaving themselves entirely in the hands of their creditors, a com- 
 mittee of six, including Mr. C. Coles, of Messrs. B. and J. Coles; Mr. R. A. Boyd, of 
 Messrs. Goodby and Co.; Mr. N. Martineau, of Messrs. Martineau and Co.; Mr. Har- 
 rison, of Messrs. Harrison and Wilson; and Mr. J. Redpath, of Messrs. Wackerbath 
 and Co., was appointed to look into the estate, and. report, on a future occasion, the 
 best course that can be recommended for carrying out a liquidation. 
 
 Statejiexx of Affairs of Messus. Beistow, Warren, and Harrison, 
 Jr.xE 26, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors on opeu accounts — 
 
 Trade £29,334 5 
 
 Cash 1,387 
 
 To ditto on bills pavable 14,161 6 5 
 
 Carried forward £14,882 6 10 
 
 P
 
 CCXXVl APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £44,882 G 10 
 
 To creditors pai-tially seciu-cd — 
 
 Claims .' £14,264 14 3 
 
 Security held 9,949 10 
 
 4,315 13 5 
 
 To habihty on contracts for pxu-chase of goods 
 of ^Yhich -we have not taken delivery, esti- 
 mated at \ 365 17 6 
 
 To liabUitics on bills payable, which will be 
 
 retired by the drawers £590 8 6 
 
 To liabihties on bUls receivable, the whole of 
 which are expected to be duly met at ma- 
 turity ,' 23,500 12 8 
 
 £49,563 17 9 
 
 By cash balance at bankers' £796 9 6 
 
 By bUl receivable on hand 173 6 10 
 
 By debtors, good £32,809 12 
 
 Doubtful £3,421 14 4 
 
 Estimated at lO.y. in the 
 
 pound 1,710 17 2 
 
 1,710 17 2 
 
 1,710 17 2 34,520 9 2 
 
 Bvditto,bad 243 13 
 
 Camed to losses £1,954 10 2 
 
 By stock, viz. : — 
 
 'in warehouse £1,233 2 11 
 
 Docks, wharves, etc 2,787 5 
 
 4,020 3 4 
 
 By lease of premises in Rood Lane, cost 300 
 
 By office furnitui-e and trade utensils, csti- 
 'mated at 50 
 
 Deduct sundries to be paid in full £214 S 8 
 
 Estimated expenses of liqiudation and al- 
 lowance for realization of debis 1,500 
 
 £39,860 8 10 
 
 1,714 8 8 
 
 £38,146 2 
 
 The liijuidation of this estate was favourable, and a dividend of 1G«. or 17s. was 
 realized. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF TilESSllS. SKEEN AND EKEEMAN. 
 
 The failure of Messrs. Skeen and Freeman, thnber brokers, which took place on the 
 30th June, 1858, proves to have licen more disastrous in its results than was generally 
 anticipated. Not only had their suspension shown that their own resources had be- 
 come completely cxhaustetl, but it was quite clear that, throufili their l)ill transactions, 
 they had involved other individuals. Among several who found tliemselves placed 
 in difficulty through this state of things wei-e ilr. E. A. Skeen and Mr. C. Fnewin, 
 botli of whom were seriously compromised, and had to surrender their estates to 
 their creditors. The circumstances of the stoppage indicated a reckless course of 
 trading, but the principal responsibility restctl upon the junior partner, who, in 
 these days of competition, was entrusted with the finance department, and had com- 
 mitted a variety of irregularities with respect to warrants, cash advances, etc., illus- 
 trating the desperate straits to which he was driven to support the position of the 
 firm. Tlic senior partner had, it was represented, not exercised sutlicient control, and, 
 having been engaged at tlie waterside in the practical pursuit of the business, was
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXVll 
 
 uot fully acquainted with the whole proceedings. So discreditable were some of the 
 transactions that, under the estate of Messrs. J. Lilley and Co., of the East and West 
 India Docks, who were recently made bankrupts, the funds which arose from the 
 sale of stock, and which, in regular course, should have passed to the ollicial assignee, 
 were retained and absorbed by Messrs. Skeon and Freeman. Other operations of an 
 equally discour.aging character were disclosed, and the attendant risk was propor- 
 tionate. A meeting of the creditors took place on the 2nd July, at which the fol- 
 lowing statement was presented, exhibiting debts and liabilities amounting to 
 j£33,690, and assets of £6,237; but as the representatives of the press were excluded, 
 no autlienticated abstract of the discussion was furnished. The property set forth 
 showed a dividend of about 3s. 8d. in the pound, but this amount would not be 
 secured through a private aiTangement or an appeal to bankruptcy. So dissatisfied 
 were the creditors with the explanations furnished by the accountant and the part- 
 ners, that after a lengthened discussion it was agreed that a declaration of insolvency 
 should be signed, and that the firm sliould be forthwith placed in the Gazette. The 
 old plea of the avoidance of bankruptcy on account of the expense was not lis- 
 tened to in this case, because it was felt, from the nice legal points and other 
 difficulties, that a public investigation was essential. 
 
 Statement of Affairs of Messrs. Seeen and Feeeiian, oe Xo, 75, Old 
 Broad Street, June 28, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecvu'ecl — 
 
 Opeiiaccoimt • £12,463 17 6 
 
 With acceptances 8,928 10 2 
 
 £21,392 7 8 
 
 To creditors with security — 
 Value of securities — 
 
 Bills of Exchange £2,180 4 11 
 
 Goods 13,901 6 
 
 Debt with documents 1,134 1 7 
 
 £17,215 12 6 
 
 Amount of claims 16,919 7 7 
 
 Surplus, jjer coH^ra £296 4 11 
 
 By liabilities — 
 
 On bills receivable £48,614 19 
 
 Of which amount will rank on this estate... £12,298 11 
 
 To creditors, viz. :— 
 
 To be paid in full 100 
 
 £33,690 18 8 
 
 CEEDITOE. 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Good £4,671 7 6 
 
 Doubtful, £465 Is. 8d., estimated at 80 
 
 £4,751 7 6 
 
 Less creditors to be paid in fxdl 100 
 
 r £4,651 7 G 
 
 By bills receivable £1,16117 3 
 
 'Yaluedat 250 
 
 By property available to estate 1,040 
 
 By sm'plus securities, per contra 296 4 11 
 
 £6,237 12 5 
 
 This estate was wound'Up in bankruptcy.
 
 CCXXVIU APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. HYDE, HODGE, AXD CO. 
 
 A meetinp; of the creditors of Messrs. Uytle, Hodpe, and Co , merchants, who 
 stopped on the 4th, took place on the 14th August, 1858, when tlie following state- 
 ment was presented hy Messrs. Coleman, Turqnand, Yonngs, and Co., accountants: — 
 
 State jiENT, August 14, 1858. 
 
 DEETOR. 
 To creditors imseciu'ed — 
 
 Open account £14,587 13 2 
 
 Billspayable 55,65119 
 
 £100,239 12 2 
 
 To creditors in Hondm-as — 
 To creditors partially secured — 
 
 Claims ; £103,213 11 
 
 Estimated value of secu- 
 rities, 44,100 
 
 59,113 11 
 
 £159,352 13 1 
 
 To creditors fully secm-ed — 
 
 EstLmated value of secm-ity £16,255 8 2 
 Claims 12,325 3 11 
 
 Sm-plus, !■)€)• contra £3,930 4 3 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable, 
 
 partially covered and' good 7,550 10 1 
 
 To liabilities on bills receiv- 
 able £209,533 10 10 
 
 Considered good £70,140 10 
 
 Covered by credit balances 47,106 15 2 
 
 The balance amounting to 80,280 5 8 
 
 May rank against this estate '■ 86,280 5 8 
 
 £209,533 10 10 
 
 £245,632 18 9 
 
 CKEDITOK. 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Considered good £8,540 17 9 
 
 Considered doubtful £8,935 18 1 
 
 Estunatcd at 1,350 1,350 
 
 £7,585 18 1 
 Considered bad 4,774 3 
 
 £12,360 1 1 
 
 By bills receivable — 
 
 Estimated to produce : 300 
 
 By property — 
 
 Mahogany in docks, valued 
 
 at.. £400 
 
 One-eighth share of ship 
 
 "Maria Gray" 1,000 
 
 1,400 
 
 By surplus scciu-itics, per 
 coii/ra — 
 
 Arising from goods esti- 
 mated at 500 
 
 Carried fonvard £500 £11,590 17 9
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXIX 
 
 Brought forward £500 £11,590 17 D 
 
 Arising li'om bills, good, 
 
 estimated at 1,350 5 
 
 £1,850 5 1,850 5 
 Arising from bills, doubt- 
 ful.. 2,079 19 3 2,079 19 3 
 
 £3,930 4 3 
 
 B_v assets in ITondm-as 88,915 14 4 
 
 Being the balance appeai'- 
 ing at the credit of the 
 firm, February 28, 1858, 
 as per balance-sheet, fur- 
 nished by the agent there, 
 $551,133 = £110,226 12 
 
 From which deduct sub- 
 sequent remittances, and 
 proceeds of goods sold 
 and held as secm'ity 
 £40,621 8*. llcl 
 
 Less draughts on London, 
 
 £19,310 lis. 3d 21,310 17 8 
 
 £88,915 14 4 
 
 £102,356 17 1 
 
 By fi-eehold land in Honduras, 100 estates, containing 1,676 
 
 square miles ^ 1,072,640 acres 
 
 By partners' private estates — estimated suqilus £2,000 
 
 The assets immediately available in this coiTutry vrere thus .£'13,441, in addition 
 to which there were about 2,900,000 feet of mahogany coming forward, and a 
 quantity of logwood, estimated to produce £'51,290. Further shipments were also 
 expected to the amount of £'9,570. In tlie bills receivable the aggregate sum tliat 
 could be proved upon the estate was £86,280, which would make the total liabilities 
 about £245,000. In the event, however, of other houses continuing in safetv, 
 not more than £26,000 would come against the firm, reducing the liabilities to 
 £185,000. It was stated that the freehold land in Honduras was good and produc- 
 tive, .and that, at the lowest calculation, it oi;ght to realize sulUcient to shov,^ a 
 considerable surplus. Emigration is going on from .lamaica to the colony, and 
 sugar and corn .arc already being cultivated. Since 1855, losses have been sus- 
 tained to the amount of £95,000. The capital, at the commencement of the year, 
 was affirmed to have been £22,000. Some discussion took place upon the valuation 
 of the timber, 5| per foot, when it appeared that tlie calculation was based upon 
 the estimates of two persons well acquainted with the trade. A fear was also 
 expressed that the creditors at Belize would contrive to secure payment in full, to 
 the prejudice of the English claimants ; but it was stated that, contrary to the former 
 practice, the settlement of colonial debts canuot now be preferentially enforced. It 
 w.as ultimately resolved to wind-up the estate under inspection. 
 
 The dividend already ptiid is 5s. 6.7. in the pound. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. JOHN CAEMICHAEL AND CO 
 
 The following is the statement presented at the meeting of creditors of Messrs. 
 John Carmichael and Co., on tlie 14th September, 1858, at Liverpool, and although 
 it showed on the face of it ISv. 6d. in tlie pound, it was not anticipated that the 
 estate would realize more than 5s., as was originally intimated. The discussion was 
 of a protracted nature, and the creditors unanimously were of opinion that a 
 liquidation under inspectorship was the only course that could be adopted.
 
 CCXXX Al'PENDIX. 
 
 Geneeal Statestent of the Apfairs of ili{. JoHX Carmiciiael, of 
 
 LlVEEPOOL, MeKCIIANT, SEPTEMBER 14, 1858. 
 XIABILITIES, 
 
 Acceptances iinsecvired flS^jGlG 8 6 
 
 Expected to be retired by di-awers 21,888 11 2 
 
 £132,727 17 1 
 
 Acceptances partially seciu'cd £23,020 19 6 
 
 Deduct securities held 6,704 8 1 
 
 16,31G 11 
 
 Creditors on open account unsecured 56,932 9 !• 
 
 Ditto, ditto, partially secured £83,297 1 1 
 
 Deduct secvuitics held 58,467 18 9 
 
 Bills receivable, estimated bad £108,500 
 
 Deduct securities aijphcable 14,625 
 
 24,829 2 7 
 93,875 
 
 Total £324,681 8 
 
 Liability to Grlyn and Co. on promissory notes 
 of A. MontgomeiyandCo.,cou8idei'ed covered 
 by remittances to come from Melbourne £15,000 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 Good debts £64,106 8 3 
 
 Doubtfuldebts £11,620 5 10 
 
 Bad debts 47,690 7 1 
 
 £59,310 12 11 
 
 Estimated to produce 6,000 2 1 
 
 Cashbalance 1,026 11 1 
 
 Bills receivable 144 
 
 Produce and goods on hand 1,730 
 
 8-64th shares of barque 
 
 " Guatemala Packet " £316 13 4 
 
 8-64th shares ditto ditto 
 
 «' Salvador Packet " 350 
 
 666 13 4 
 
 Adventures to West Coast 1,258 
 
 Shares in Canadian Steam Company, estimated 2,500 
 
 Surplus securities in hands of creditors 50 
 
 Household furniture, estimated 1,000 
 
 Office furniture, ditto 50 
 
 Property at Grey town, ditto 1,000 
 
 H0>T)UEA3 ACCOTJNTS. 
 
 Claim of former concern of 
 John Carmichael and Co. 
 iipon Honduras govern- 
 ment £29,784 10 
 
 Advances on account of Car- 
 michael, Tidal, and Co. ... 46,831 9 4 
 
 607 shares in the Anglo- 
 French Company 60,913 11 7 
 
 £79,531 14 9 
 
 137,529 1 9 
 
 217,060 16 6 
 
 Deficiency £107,620 4 2 
 
 Of these shares 367 arc applicable to claims of creditors as scciu'itics held by
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXXl 
 
 tlu'iii, aiul when the vakie can be ascertained they will be so ti'eatcd, and the 
 statement altered accordingly. 
 
 Deficiency forward £107,620 4 2 
 
 Aeconnted for as follows : — 
 
 Bad and donbtfid debts £59,310 12 11 
 
 Less estimated to produce 6,000 2 1 
 
 53,310 10 10 
 
 Depreciation in shipping 3,102 5 11 
 
 Simdrv losses — 
 
 On produce 7,417 9 7 
 
 Property, Greyto^\^^ 1,000 
 
 Land at Oxton 6 15 8 10 
 
 Shares in Canadian Steam 
 
 Company 385 
 
 Adventm-es 133 14 10 
 
 9,581 13 3 
 
 At debit of profit and loss 21,994 14 4 
 
 BiUs receivable £108,500 
 
 Less at credit of acceptors 89,169 2 
 
 19,330 19 10 
 
 £107,620 4 2 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. A. MONTGOMEEY AND CO. 
 
 At a meeting on the I5tli September, 1858, of the creditors of Messrs. A. Mont- 
 gomery and Co., engaged in trade as Australian and Honduras merchants, who 
 failed on the 1st, the annexed accounts were presented by Mr. John Young, of the 
 firm of Messrs. Coleman, TurquanJ, Youngs, and Co. The cliair on the occasion 
 was occupied by Mr. Caldecott, and among the parties interested were Mr. Moi'ley, 
 of Messrs. Morley and Co.'s, and Mr. Howell, of Messrs. Ellis and Everington's ; the 
 legal representatives were Mr. Oliverson, of the firm of Messrs. Oliverson, 
 Peachy, and Co. ; Mr. Murray, of Messrs. Murray, Son, and Hutchins ; and 
 Mr. Parker, 
 
 Pro forma. — Messes. Montgomery and Co., No. 2, Great Winchester 
 Street. Statement op Aefairs, September 1, 1858. 
 
 BJiBTOR, 
 
 To creditors on open accovmts £15,432 8 2 
 
 To creditors on biUs payable £36,072 4 6 
 
 To last amount wliicli wOl be provided for by 
 
 parties for whose accoimt the bills were 
 
 accepted 3,322 19 11 
 
 Leaving to rank on this estate 33,749 4 7 
 
 To creditors who claun a lien on remittances on accoimt of joint 
 
 shipment [MF] 14,824 4 
 
 To habihties on bills receivable £35,410 10 8 
 
 Of which there are expected to rank on the 
 
 estate £14,000 
 
 To liability on joint guarantee 4,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 To liability under marriage 
 
 settlement 8,000 
 
 Liabilities £81,005 13 1
 
 CCXXXll APPENDIX. 
 
 CHEDITOR. 
 
 Bv bills receirablo on hand, <;oocl £369 IG 6 
 
 Ev debtors, good '. £2,857 9 3 
 
 „ doubtfid £26,811 8 G 
 
 „ bad 7,017 13 G 
 
 £33,892 2 
 
 Estimated to realize 8,217 5 G 
 
 8,217 5 6 
 
 Carried to losses £25,G7-1 16 6 • 11,07 1 1 1 9 
 
 Bj counting-house fimiitnre and lease of premises, cstunatcd at 300 
 
 By Dun Copper Mining Company shares, estimated value 250 
 
 By household furnitm-e and lease of bouse, estimated value 500 
 
 By adventures consigned to R. Bowdon and 
 Co., of Melbourne — 
 Invoice price of goods on hand, 14th of Julv, 
 
 1858 .'.. £17,866 17 10 
 
 Estimated to realize 16,859 5 7 16,859 5 7 
 
 Carried to losses £l,007 12 3 
 
 By joint adventure [MF] consigned to E. 
 
 Bowden and Co., Melbourne — 
 By invoice price of portion on hand, 14th of July, 1858 11,0 13 8 4 
 
 £40,397 5 2 
 Bv creditors under £10 25 3 7 
 
 Assets £40,372 
 
 Statement showing position of the Fiem on 1st of Jani'aey, 1858, and 
 accounting foe the peesent deficiency. 
 
 BEBTOE. 
 
 To capital, Janiiary 1, 1858, as per statement £6,595 12 11 
 
 To profits £1,679 10 6 
 
 Less charges and interest 1,602 2 
 
 77 10 4 
 
 To difference in books 27 16 9 
 
 To deficiency, as per statement of affairs 40,633 11 6 
 
 £47,334 11 6 
 
 CBEDITOK. 
 
 By drawings, as per ledger £727 11 7 
 
 By estimated losses, on shares — 
 Dun ]\Iountain Copper 
 
 Mining Company £557 4 
 
 Berlin Waterworks 1,11112 9 
 
 £1,668 13 1 
 
 On adventures — 
 
 Shipment 11 to Costa Rica £90 1 1 
 
 Costa Rica advcntiu'e 24 17 G 
 
 No. 3, ditto 99 9 4 
 
 Nos. 1 and 2, ditto 52 2 G 
 
 Sundries, ditto 686 110 
 
 Paper, ditto 13 11 4 
 
 N— L, dhto, A. M. & Co. 156 7 3 
 
 1,122 10 10 
 
 On comiting-house furnitiu-e 140 19 G 
 
 Carried forward £2,932 3 5 £727 1 1 7
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXXm 
 
 Brought forward .62,932 3 5 £727 11 7 
 
 On bad and doubtfid debts 25,G7 1 16 6 
 
 28,G0G 19 31 
 
 Liabilities na per statement of atTairs 18,000 
 
 £47,331. 11 G 
 
 It was explained that the assets nominally showed something under 10s. in the 
 pound, but it was not supposed such an amount would be obtained hj the creditors. 
 The debtor, it was stated, had been engaged in busiu:ss with a firm in Australia, 
 Messrs. R. Bowden and Co., to whom lie had made considerable consignments, and 
 he had also been the London agent of Messrs. J. Cnrniichael and Co. In this latter 
 capacity he was under liabilities to the extent of 418,000, ihe principal on accom- 
 modation bills. With respect to Ids operations in Australia, they were uuderslood 
 to represent a partnership ; but the amount of assets which it was thought will be 
 received from that side was limited. There were also some Honduras claims 
 ncluding a small island, the property of Mr. Montgomery, in the Bay of Honduras, 
 but from these the returns were not expected to be large. A question was raised 
 respecting advice lately sent out to Australia to mal;e special appropriations from 
 remittances derived from recent consignments, but it was understood that this and 
 other points could be hereafter investigated, and eventually a resolution was passed 
 agreeing to a liquidation, through the process of inspection, five of the principal 
 creditors undertaking the management. In the course of the discussion it was 
 elicited that the capital, according to the books, on the 1st of January, 1858, was 
 i'6,595 ; but that if proper allowance had been made for bad debts, etc., there 
 woi:ld have been a slight deficiency. That sum had beerr subsequently increased 
 through the liabilities incurred on account of Messrs. Carmichael and Co., Australian 
 adventures, losses on shares a'.ul liftd debts, to the amount representing the difference 
 as exhibited by the present balance-sheet. 
 
 This estate was wound-up in bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. PAEDOE, HOOMAXS, 
 AND PAEDOE. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Pardoe, Hoomans, andPardoe, lately exten- 
 sively engaged in trade as carpet and tapestry manufacturers, was held on the 17th 
 September, 1858, at Kidderminster, Mr. J. Pitman, the Chairman of the Stour- 
 bridge and Kidderminster Banking Company, presiding, when the annexed account, 
 prepared by Messrs. Kettle and Dauiell, accountants, of Birmingham, was submitted. 
 It will be noticed that it showed a discouraging state of affairs, and it was believed 
 the prospects of liquidation A\ere very unfavourable. After explanations and dis- 
 cussion, it was agreed that the estate should be imm.ediately wound-up under the 
 inspection of Mr. W. Gro.svenor, Mr. G. B. Lea, of Kidderminster; and Mr. E. Waller, 
 of Manchester, through the operation of the private arrangement clauses. 
 
 Statement of Affairs, Seftembee, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOB. 
 
 To amount due to creditors — 
 
 On bonds, notes, etc., unsecured £22,380 G 4 
 
 Ditto to trade creditors, on open accormts , . , . . 6,521 17 3 
 
 Ditto on bills overdue and rimning 29,216 9 
 
 To amount due to London Life Association, for which they hold 
 
 a mortgage upon properties and life policies, as ^;er co»^i-ff 18,450 
 
 To amount duo to a creditor, for which she holds a second mort- 
 gage upon properties and life policies, as j?er co«/r« 1,312 2 2 
 
 To amount due to bankers, tmsecured 2,849 17 5 
 
 Carried forward £80,730 3 11
 
 ccxxxiv Arpi:M>ix. 
 
 Brought forward £80,730 3 11 
 
 To amount due to bankers, forwliieli they hold a third mortgage 
 upon properties and life policies, and a fiu'ther security on the 
 
 Caldwell Mill and Ticar .Street properties, as ^:>er coH^;-« 20,90G 13 7 
 
 To amount due for rent, taxes, and salaries, to be paid in 
 full £700 
 
 £101,636 17 6 
 
 'So hability is likely to come on this estate in respect of bills 
 of third parties endorsed and discoimted ; after careful 
 consideration, it is beUered the whole ^xiU. be didy met at 
 maturity. 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 
 Ey stock of goods, materials, and stores, as per inventory £14,439 10 1 
 
 By cash in hand 25 
 
 By amount due from debtors, supposed will realize 2,690 18 4 
 
 By thirty shares m public rooms, Kidderimnster, say 200 
 
 By manufacturing plant and machinery, looms, patterns, etc., 
 deducting steam-engines, boilers, and machinery, in the nature 
 of fixtures, which are included in the mortgage secm'ities, at the 
 
 value appearing in Messrs. Pardee and Co. 's accoimts 18,740 
 
 By priyata elFects of partners 1,500 
 
 £37,595 8 5 
 
 Deduct rent, etc., to be paid in fvdl 700 
 
 By freehold properties and life pohcies, subject to three mort- 
 gages, as ^e;* contra, at the valuation appearing in Messrs. 
 Pardoe and Co.'s accounts — 
 
 Old mill premises, and shng premises, the property of T. Par- 
 doe, Gr. Hooman, and J. Hooman £28,000 
 
 Engine, boilers, and fixtures 2,260 
 
 Old factory, Oxford Road, the property of 
 
 T. Pardoe, Gr. Hooman, and J. Hooman 2,000 
 
 Warehouse, offices, and dwelling-house, 
 Worcester Street and Oxford Eoad, the 
 property of T. Pardoe 4,000 
 
 Scotch factoi'y and dwelling-houses in 
 Worcester Street, the property of G. 
 Hooman and J. Ilooman 1,500 
 
 Lion Fields factory and laiad, the property 
 
 ofG.Hooman 1,200 
 
 Life pohcies— Mr. Thomas Pardoe, £2,000; 
 Mr. George Hooman, £3,000; Mr. James 
 Hooman, £3,000 ; and ]\Ir. James Par- 
 doe, £3,000 ; cstmiated vahie 6,000 
 
 £36,895 8 5 
 
 By property held by bankers as further sc- 
 rity— 
 
 Freehold land and house at Caldwell, the 
 property of T. Pardoe, G. Hooman, and 
 
 J. Hooman 300 
 
 Caldwell mill and land, leasehold, the pro- 
 perty of T. I'ardoc and G. Hooman 1,291 
 
 Premises in A'iear Street, leasehold, the 
 
 property of G. Hooman and J. Hooman 600 
 
 £44,960 
 
 £2,191 
 £84,046 8 5
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXXV 
 
 THE ESTATE OP MESSES. J. PLOAVES AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of creditors of Messrs. J. Plowes and Co., merchants, who stopped on 
 the 7th, took place on tlio 28th September, 1858, when the following balance-sheet 
 was submitted by Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, Youngs, and Co., accountants : — 
 
 SxATEilEXT OF THE AfFAIES OF MESSRS. JoH?r PlO"WE3 AXD Co., 
 
 SEPTEjrBER 28, 1858. 
 
 To creditors miseeurecl £28,419 13 
 
 To creditors having recoui'se on Plowes, Son, and Co., Rio 7,678 9 
 
 To liabilities on bills payable, accepted as advances on shipments 
 
 to Plowes, Son, and Co., Eio £68,912 12 9 
 
 Deduct, expected to bo retired by drawers, 
 who will then claim on the Eio house 
 for net proceeds of their goods 27,300 19 10 
 
 Deduct liabihties on bills parable, drawn by 
 Plowes, Son, and Co., but which are ex- 
 pected to be paid by them 4,382 11 2 
 
 Deduct liabihlities on bills receivable, none 
 of wliich are expected to be claimed against 
 tlic estate 5,031 4 5 
 
 41,611 12 11 
 
 CREDITOE. 
 
 By cash at bankers' £839 5 4 
 
 Less amount considered specially remitted . . . 334 14 1 
 
 £77,709 15 4 
 
 504 11 3 
 
 By bills receivable in hand, part of which is claimed as special 
 
 remittances 6,255 14 7 
 
 By debtors, good 2,936 1 8 
 
 By produce in liancl 981 8 7 
 
 By private property of J. H. Plowes 5,360 
 
 £16,037 16 1 
 
 DOUBTFUL ASSETS. 
 
 By balance due from consigners of goods to Rio £4,996 4 
 
 Plowes, Son, and Co., Eio, balance of general 
 
 accovmt £24,276 3 5 
 
 Estimated proceeds of goods against which 
 advances have been made to parties who 
 are unable to retire then' draughts, esti- 
 mated as sufficient to cover advances fer 
 
 contra 41,611 12 11 
 
 65,887 16 4 
 
 £86,921 12 9 
 
 The estate thiis shows a surplus contingent upon the realization of the doubtful 
 assets. It appeared that there were two houses, one in London, consisting of Mr. J. 
 Plowes, only, and the other in Rio do Janeiro, in which, besides that gentleman, 
 there were three partners. The suspension was caused by one of the latter, Mr. 
 Westwood, incniTing losses by private speculation, and secretly giving acceptances 
 in the name of the firm to the amount of £55,000. Against this sum he had cash 
 and shares worth about i'30,000, and it was therefore hoped that the firm would 
 suffer from these transactions to the extent only of *25,000. The liabilities of the 
 London house included advances by bill to consigners of goods to Eio equal in the
 
 CCXXXVl Al'PKNDIX, 
 
 afrgrefrate to £63,912. Of this total, £27,310 were estimated to be retired by tlic 
 drawers, who would tlieu claim the net proceeds of the sale of tlieir cousitrnments 
 in Brazil. The remaining £41, Gil was covered by the merchandise on which the 
 advances had been made. The position of the concern at liio on the 30th June, 
 after writing off all bad debts, was as follows: — Assets £170,000, and liabilities 
 £145,000, leaving £25.000 to the credit of capital. In answer to questions, it was 
 stated that the irregular acceptances above mentioned fell due in August, September, 
 October, and November of that year. The house was in no way connected with one 
 bearing a similar name in Buenos Ayres. After a long discussion, in the course 
 of which a very favourable feeling was expressed towards Mr. Plowes, it was 
 resolved to wind-up under inspection. 
 
 This estate has paid 4s. 6J, in the pound ; about 145. is anticipated. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF BIESSES. GEOEGE CHAIMBEES AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. G. Chambers and Co., fancy liardwarc manu- 
 facturers, who failed on the 11th September, 1858, was held on the 1st October, when 
 the following statement was presented by Mr. G. H. Jay, the accountant: — 
 
 STATE:\rEXT OF THE AFFAIRS OF MESSRS. GeOBGE CnAMBERS AXD Co., 
 
 September 11, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured — 
 
 On open accounts £2,794 2 11 
 
 On bills payable 7,571 19 7 
 
 To creditors holding security, fully covered — 
 
 Value of security .' £29,786 11 6 
 
 Less amoiuit of tlieia- claims 20,445 14 1 
 
 Surplus, per contra £9,340 17 5 
 
 To Ualjilities on bUls receivable, the acceptors 
 
 of which have suspended payment 11,571 11 5 
 
 N.B. — Subject lo any remittances that may 
 be made in respect of goods consigned to, 
 or in the hands of, the acceptors, and which 
 amount at cost to £11,425 7s. These con- 
 signments may be so alfectcd by the faiku'e 
 of the consignees, that, untd advices are re- 
 ceived, it is not possible to fonu any esti- 
 mate of the extent to which this claim may 
 be reduced. 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable £27,946 12 4 
 
 Not expected to rank again.<t this estate. 
 To liability on bill ])ayable, accepted against 
 
 goods shipped to tlie East Inches £119 7 
 
 Less estimated value of goods unsold 329 3 
 
 90 6 9 
 
 CREDITOR. 
 "By cash — 
 
 At bankers' £10 1 6 
 
 In hand 80 18 11 
 
 £22,028 8 
 
 £91 5 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 Good 462 19 2 
 
 Doubtful £870 13 9 
 
 Estimated at 10*. in the pound 435 6 10 
 
 Bad 59 6 4 
 
 Carried forward £989 6 5
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXXVll 
 
 Broiiglit forward £989 C 5 
 
 By stock — 
 
 "in Russia Row £2,191 7 H 
 
 At Sludlcy 1,305 12 2 
 
 £3,49G 19 10 
 Estimated to realize 
 
 By implements in trade at Studley 
 
 By office fittings and fixtures 
 
 By consignments unsold 
 
 By surplus consignments, as per con/ ra 
 
 By consignments in tlie hands of failed con- 
 signees, as j)er co«^r« 11,152 7 
 
 LeS8 creditors to be paid in fidl, rents, salaries, etc. 
 
 2,500 
 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,472 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 9,340 
 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 £15,405 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 43G 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 £14,9G9 
 
 o 
 
 8 
 
 It was explained by Mr. Lawrance, ■who I'epresented the estate, that the suspension 
 ■was entirely caused by the failure of Messrs. John Plowes and Co., between whom and 
 Mr. Chambers business connoctions had for several years subsisted. The liabilities 
 of the house were stated at i'22,028, and the assets at £'14,969, but tlie former 
 included i'11,571 on bills. Had it not been for this amount, a surplus of £'4,500 
 would have been shown. It appeared tbat Mr. Chambers, having made consign- 
 ments to the firm of Messrs. Plowes and Co. at Rio de Janeiro, obtained advances 
 upon them, and in this manner the liability legitimately arose. The goods des- 
 patched were valued, at cost price, at £11,452, and if these should not have been 
 appropriated, and were favourably realized, the estate would be relieved of any 
 claims in this respect. The b.ioks had been well kept, and the transactions con- 
 ducted in a regular and business-like manner. After some discussion and explana- 
 tion, it ■was agreed to carry out a liquidation by inspection, the creditors generally 
 being in favour of that course. 
 
 This estate is winding-up, with the sanction of bankruptcy, under inspection. 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. AVESTEUPP AND CO. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Westrupp, millers, of Bromley, who recently 
 suspended, was held on the 12th October, at the offices of Messrs. M'Leod and 
 Stenning, when the following statement of affairs, prepared by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, 
 Jay, and Co., was submitted and explained by Mr. W. Quilter. The figures showed 
 that the assets were equal to a dividend of 7*. Gd. in the pound; and, after some 
 discussion, it ■was agreed to accept a composition of that amount, provided it be paid 
 in cash, so soon as the whole of the creditors should have agreed to the arrangement. 
 It was expected that the realization of the estate would be anticipated by the friends 
 of Messrs. Westrupp, and that they would consequently be enabled to give effect to 
 the terms proposed. At the close of the proceedings, resolutions were passed in 
 accordance with these arrangements. 
 
 Statement of the Affairs of Messes. E. akb E. F. "WESTRrpp, 
 Seftember 28, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 To creditors unsecured — 
 
 On open accounts £11,124 8 7 
 
 On bills payable 2,738 8 
 
 To creditor holding security — 
 
 R. M. Last £510 
 
 Estimated value of security 510 
 
 Carried forward £13^862 16 7
 
 CCXXXVIU APPENDIX. 
 
 Brought forward £1 3,8G2 IG 7 
 
 To liabilities on bills receivable £489 6 9 
 
 Ex2)eeted to rank against this estate -10 7 6 
 
 £13,903 4 1 
 
 CREDITOE. 
 
 By cash in hand £375 
 
 By debtors — 
 
 'Good £2,844 2 4 
 
 Less 10 per cent, for collection 284 2 4 
 
 2,110 
 
 Doubtful 550 17 8 
 
 Estimatedat 208 
 
 Bad 227 G 
 
 By stock 2,856 11 2 
 
 By lease and fixtiu'es, held by creditors, as per 
 
 contra 510 
 
 By horses, implements in trade, etc 220 
 
 Less creditors to be paid h^ full 447 2 
 
 Estimated expenses of Uquidation 100 
 
 £5,769 11 2 
 
 547 2 
 £5,222 9 2 
 
 THE ESTATE OF MESSES. JAMES DAVIES AXD SON. 
 
 A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. James Davies and Son, wholesale boot and 
 shoe manufacturers, who suspended on the 27th November, was held on the 13th 
 December, 1858. Mr. Mortimore, of the firm of Messrs. Streatfield, Laurence, and 
 Co., presiding ; when the annexed statement, prepared by Mr. G. 11. Jay, of the 
 firm of Messrs. Quilter, B.ill, and Co., was submitted. The principal creditors were 
 represented by Messrs. Wriglit and Bouar, and Mr. John Liuklater appeared for 
 some of the provincial creditors : — 
 
 Statemext of Affairs of James Daa^ies and Son, November 27, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOR. 
 
 To creditors unsecured £84,959 16 7 
 
 To creditors for advances on goods consigned to 
 
 them £131,968 7 7 
 
 To value of consigiunents 177,455 15 
 
 Surplus, i)er contra £45,487 7 5 
 
 To creditors partially seciu'ed — 
 
 Amount of claims £1,130 
 
 Value of seciu^ity 150 
 
 980 
 
 To creditors fuUy secured — 
 
 Value of secmuty 553 13 6 
 
 Amount of claims 381 13 6 
 
 Hu.v]A\x%, per contra £172 
 
 To habilitics on biUs receivable — 
 
 Considered good £82,299 5 7 
 
 £85,939 16 7
 
 APPENDIX. CCXXXIX 
 
 By casli at bankers' £17 5 G 
 
 Inhouso 70 
 
 By bills receivable on hand — Considered bad... £2,560 2 
 
 By sundry debtors — Considered good £5,166 18 6 
 
 Ditto, doubtful £2,917 8 2 
 
 Estimated at 1,458 
 
 Considered b;id £1,137 14 2 
 
 £87 
 
 6,624 18 6 
 
 By stock in trade — 
 
 London £16,682 18 1 
 
 HackuevRoad 802 16 
 
 Kortlmmpton 2,061 5 2 
 
 Norwich 300 
 
 • 19,846 19 3 
 
 By surplus on goods consigned, as ^e/" CO); ^>'a 45,487 7 5 
 
 By siu'plus seciu-ity in hands of creditors, per contra 172 
 
 By lease of premises, as pev valuation 3,000 
 
 Less amoimt borrowed on to pay wages since 
 
 the date of suspension 750 
 
 2,250 
 
 By fixtures, machinery, utensils, etc., estimated at 1,285 9 
 
 By property 163 15 
 
 £75,917 14 8 
 Deduct creditors imder £10 each, rent, rates, salaries, and 
 
 sundries 342 8 4 
 
 £75,575 6 4 
 
 It was explained that the general figures in the balance-sheet showed a dividend 
 of about 17s. or 18s. in the pound ; but, of course, it remained to be ascertained 
 what would be the proceeds from tlie surplus of consignments in Australia, which 
 stood at i'45,487. Taking, however, the assets in this coiintry at i'30,000 against 
 the £8.5,900 debts and liabilities, there was a prospect of a payment of 6s. 8d. 
 With regard to the £82,200 liabilities on bills receivable, it was stated that not the 
 least difficulty was anticipated, the several firms with which they were connected 
 being considered solvent and able to provide for the required amounts. Tlie losses 
 of the firm were very heavy, the total of account current sales, received from 
 Australia between June and September, showing a sacrifice of about £'30,000. 
 Soon after the turn of the half-year instructions were despatched to the colonies to 
 advise caution in the realization of the consignments, and in tlie early part of that 
 month the circumstance of the suspension was announced, accompanied by the fact 
 that no more goods would be forwarded. Some of the creditors expressed dissatis- 
 faction that the meeting could not be adjourned to allow of the statement of accounts 
 being examined before a decision Was arrived at, but it was intimated by Mr. Jay 
 that it had been found necessary to consult thus early in oi-der to prevent bankruptcy, 
 proceedings having already commenced, which would mature in three days. Under 
 these circumstances the accounts themselves could only be considered as presenting 
 an approximate position, the details of deficiency not having been completed. The 
 great question discussed was the advantage to be derived from the process of 
 inspectorship, contrasted with bankruptcy in winding-up an estate like the present. 
 The large majority of the creditors supported the views of the Chairman, Mr. J. Link- 
 later, and Mr. Jay, in awarding preference to the former course, the arrangements 
 necessary for dealing with the consignments rendering tlie exercise of prudence 
 essential. Others advised that too great reliance should not be placed in the proceeds 
 of the consignments, but to look to the assets here ; and these, estimated at 6.?. 8f^, 
 in the pound, if carried into bankruptcy would, it was asserted, soon be reduced to 
 3v. It was mentioned, however, on behalf of Messrs. Davies and Son, that the 
 transactions entered into were with the most respectable Australian houses, who 
 would not force sales, nud whoso conduct would be perfectly regular. A creditor
 
 CCXI APPENDIX. 
 
 said he ivas pleased to hoar tins, but they would no doubt charge the colonial rate 
 of interest — a question of consideration. Mr. F. Parbury, as representing the firm 
 of Messrs. Parbury and Co., distinctly announced that he for one would not do so. 
 It was eventually agreed to pass resolutions in favour of inspectorship, and Mr. 
 Mortimore, of Messrs. Str-jatfisld, Laurence, and Co.; Mr. Morris, of Messrs. Beving- 
 ton and Morris; Mr. Somcrville, of Messrs. Somerville and Co. ; and Mr. II. Pound 
 accepted the tiust. 
 
 Tills estate has paid a first dividend of 35. in the pound, and is wluding-iip 
 under inspection with the sanction of bankruptcy. 
 
 THE ESTATE OY MESSES. HICKS AND GADSDEN. 
 
 At a meeting of the creditors, on the 24th December, 1858, of Messrs. Hicks and 
 Gadsden, who recently failed in the American trade, the following statement was 
 presented by Mr. Jay, of the firm of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the accountants: — 
 
 Statement of ArFAiES, Decejiber 6, 1858. 
 
 DEBTOE. 
 
 To sundry creditors £9,015 4 2 
 
 To creditors fully secured, viz. : — 
 
 Estimated value of securities £4,400 13 2 
 
 Less amoiuit of claims 1,959 8 9 
 
 Siu'plus, ^je;- contra £2,441 4 5 
 
 To liabilities on our acceptances, as per list ... £60,488 18 11 
 
 Against shipments of cotton, etc., in hand or //?- 
 transitu, on which claims may arise on the 
 sale of the cotton 54,198 3 2 
 
 Unsecured £6,290 15 9 
 
 Of which it is estimated wiU prove claims 6,13 / 15 9 
 
 To Uabihties on bills receivable, as per list 49,185 10 3 
 
 Expected to rank as a claim Ill 
 
 To liability on lmder^^■riting 100 
 
 £15,326 19 11 
 
 CEEDITOR. 
 By cash at baiikers' held as secru'ity against loan £147 4 5 
 
 By simdrv debtors, as per list, considered good £6,018 12 2 
 
 By doubtful £9,368 19 11 
 
 Estimated to produce 3,500 
 
 Considered bad 13 8 10 
 
 By consignments outstanding and simdry pro- 
 perty on hand, as per list 9 10 9 10 
 
 Estimated to realize 650 
 
 By surplus securities held by creditors, 'per contra 2,441 4 5 
 
 £12,609 16 7 
 Deduct creditors luider £10 each, rent, etc., payable in full 70 
 
 £12,539 16 7 
 By private estate of G . A. Hicks, estimated at 2,200 
 
 £14,739 16 7 
 
 The assets, including .£2,200, the separate property of Mr. Ilicks, showed 
 nominally a dividend of about 18s. in the pound, but no estimate was off"ered of tlie
 
 APPENDIX. CCxli 
 
 probable realization, tliongh it was expected to be satisfactory. Of liabilities on 
 bills for i'G0,488, .£54,198 were covered by cotton, leaving little more than i'6,000 
 to come against the estate. At present the sales on that account showed encouraging 
 results, and the expectation seemed to be that the amount, as explained, would be 
 provided for. The principal creditors were in Liverpool ; and the cause of the 
 suspension was attributed to the depreciation in cotton, and losses by the failure of 
 Messrs. Francis and Frere, of London, and of Messrs. Reed and Nash, of New York. 
 Of the £15,000 debts, £7,000 to f8,000 was repi-esented by the Liverpool firms, but 
 the relatives were also interested through loans to some extent. On the 1st of 
 January, 1858, the house possessed a capital of about £10,000, the proportion due 
 to Mr. Hicks being £7,-10S, and to Mr. Gadsden, £2,497. During the same period 
 the partners' drawinss did not exceed £1,700, the trade charges at the same time 
 being limited to £275, law costs to £80, and interest and discount to £942. A 
 lengthened conversation ensued on the course to be adopted for effecting the liquida- 
 tion, Mr. Jay intimating that the debtors wore prepared to follow any steps which 
 might be suggested. They were anxious that the whole of their assets Bhould be 
 appropriated, even to the separate property of Mr. Hicks. Bankruptcy he con- 
 sidered not applicable to the realization in that case, as the creditors abroad, 
 especially in New York and New Orleans, would be less likely to respond to the 
 demands made upon them through that channel than if application were sought 
 under the process of inspectorship, associated with the representations of the part- 
 ners. This view was eventually concurred in, although meanwhile an attempt was 
 made to obtain an adjournment ; and at the conclusion of the proceedings a resolu- 
 tion was passed, authorizing the appointment of creditors to represent the general 
 body by a deed of inspection. 
 
 This eetate is winding-up under inspection, and has paid a first dividend of 4s. 
 in the pound.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 {_Tke Figtires refer to the boij of the work, ths Nmmrals to the .Lppen^Ux.'] 
 
 Agency, Commercial, in America, 126. 
 Agriculture of United States, 103. 
 Albert Pclly and Co., 47. 
 Alexander and Co., 53. 
 Allen, Smith, and Co., 52. 
 America, agriculture of, 103. 
 
 „ bankrupt law wanted in, 137. 
 
 „ commercial ijrospects of, 106. 
 
 „ commercial reputation of, 105. 
 
 „ failures in, 6. 
 
 „ financial movement in, 107. 
 
 „ jobbing in, 121;. 
 
 „ railways in, cost of, 111. 
 
 „ railway system of, 101. 
 
 „ revulsion in, 1857, 110. 
 
 „ specie payments suspended 
 in, 7. 
 
 „ South, gold and silver in, 21, 
 
 „ trade of, 103. 
 American banks, 96, 105. 
 
 „ commerce, crisis in, 5. 
 
 „ faUures, 33, 122, 136. 
 
 „ and foreign failures in 1857, 
 
 185. 
 
 „ crisis, 92. 
 
 „ seciu-ities, depreciation of, 3i. 
 
 , stocks, lluetuation in, 115, 1 13. 
 
 Appendix to the " History of the Com- 
 mercial Crisis," i. 
 Australian gold-fields, 25. 
 
 Bainbridgc and Co., 52. 
 Baird and Co., 53. 
 Balance sheets {see Estates). 
 Bank Acts Committee, 50. 
 
 „ Committee, Report of, 57. 
 
 „ Select Committee on, 31. 
 
 Bank failures, losses by, 4. 
 Bank Indemnity Bill, speech of Sir 
 
 G. C. Lewis on, 193. 
 Bank Indemnity Bill, speech of Mr. 
 
 Disraeli on, 205. 
 Banking system, undue development 
 
 of, 32. 
 Bank movements in America, 107. 
 Bank of England, loans by, 6. 
 Bankrupt estates {see Estates). 
 Bankrupt law wanted in America, 137. 
 Banks, Auierican, 34, 96. 
 
 Banks, banking-liousc?, aud importers, 
 145. 
 
 Banks in America, statistics of failures 
 of, 126. 
 
 Banks in difficulties, or stopping pay- 
 ment, 2, 5. 
 
 Banks in New York, 140. 
 
 Bank rate of discount advanced, 151. 
 
 Bank stocks in America, 143. 
 
 Barber, Rosenauer, and Co., 53. 
 
 Barclay, Brothers, and Co., 53, 53. 
 
 Bardgett and Picard, 52. 
 
 Bensusan and Co., 54. 
 
 Bennoch, Twentyman, and Rigg, 52. 
 
 Bills, accommodation, in Scotland, 50. 
 
 Bischoif, Beer, and Co., 53. 
 
 Booker, Sons, and Co., 53. 
 
 Boston, banks of, 96. 
 
 Bovet, F. and A., 53. 
 
 Boyds and Thomas, 54. 
 
 Brand and Co , 52. 
 
 Broadwood and Barclay, 52. 
 
 Brocklesby and Wessels, 52. 
 
 Bruce, Wdkinson, and Co., 52. 
 
 Bruce, Buxton, and Co., 51. 
 
 Buenos Ayres, houses connected with, 
 50. 
 
 Bullion, increase of, 32. 
 
 California, gold-fields of, 25. 
 
 „ gold produce of, 109. 
 
 „ trade of, 102. 
 Carmichael, J., 50. 
 Castellan, Sons, and Co., 54. 
 Carr, Josling, and Co., 52. 
 Caudery, W., 53. 
 Cochineal, fluctuations in, 212. 
 Cockered, Larpent, and Co., 54, 56. 
 Cocoa, fluctuations in, 211. 
 Coffee, fluctuations in, 211. 
 Cole, Gordon, and Davidson, 11. 
 Connnercial crises {see Crises). 
 Commercial Panics {see Panics). 
 Committee on Bank Acts, Report ©f, 57. 
 Corn, fluctuations in, 212. 
 Cotton, fluctuations in, 212. 
 Cotton in America, fluci nation of, 114. 
 Cotsworth, Powell, and Pryor, 51. 
 Coventry and Slu-ppard, 54.
 
 ccxliv 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Credit Fon<jier, 8. 
 
 Credit Mobilier, 8, 40. 
 
 Crises compared, 44. 
 
 Crises, review of, 45. 
 
 Crises of 1817 and 1857 compared, 51. 
 
 „ perioilical, 93. 
 
 „ American, 92. 
 Crisis of 1826, 15. 
 Crisis of 1847-48, 7. 
 Crisis of 1857-58, 46. 
 
 „ of 1857, statistics of, 51. 
 Cruicksbanks, Melville, and Co., bl. 
 CLU'rency, obseiTations on, 12. 
 
 Decades, panics in, 31. 
 
 Dennistoun, Cross, and Co., 35, 47, 52. 
 
 Disraeli, Mr., on the Eank Indemnity 
 
 Bill, 205. 
 Dividends on bankrupt estates, 48. 
 Douglas, C, and Son, 54. 
 Draper, Pietroni, and Co., 52. 
 
 East India goods, losses in (1857), 115. 
 East India houses, 45. 
 Edwards and Mattliie, 52. 
 Estates : — 
 
 Albert Pelly and Co., clxxxv. 
 
 Allen and Anderson, bci. 
 
 Allen and Smith, cHi. 
 
 Anderson, Bernard, lii. 
 
 Asbmore, T., and Sons, cxvii. 
 
 Bainbridge, E., and Co., ccxxii. 
 
 Baii'd and Co., cxbii. 
 
 Barber, Rosenauer, and Co., cliv. 
 
 Barclay, Brothers, and Co., xviii. 
 
 Bardgett and Picard, cxxxv. 
 
 Bates, E. M., Ixxxiii. 
 
 Bcgg, S., and Co., clxxix. 
 
 Bennocb, Twentymau, and Eigg, 
 
 cxxxix. 
 Bensusan and Co., ii., iv. 
 Bisclioff, Beer, and Co., cxciii. 
 Braggiotti and Co., xxi. 
 Braine, G. T., i., Ixxi. 
 Brand, W. and H., cxxx. 
 Bristow, Warren, and Harrison, ccxxv. 
 Britisli Bank (see Eoyal). 
 Broadwood and I'arclay, cxlii. 
 Brocklesby and Wessels, cxxxvi. 
 Brown, Peter, cxeiv. 
 Browne, E., and Co., ccxxi. 
 Browiiiug, T. E. and W., and Co., 
 
 xxi. 
 Bruford, Dyer, and Co., exviii. 
 Bidt, James, Son, and Co., xxxix. 
 Calvert and Co., ccxv. 
 Calvert, E., cexvi. 
 Campbell, J. and G., and Co., i. 
 Canuicbael, J., and Co., cexxix. 
 Can- Brothers and Co., cxv. 
 Can-, Josling, and Co., clxxi. 
 Carter and Co., Ixii. 
 Caslclli and Co., xxiii. 
 ChanilK-r.'*, F., xxxviii. 
 Chambers, C, and Co., cexxxvi. 
 
 Christodulo and Sugdury, ccxiii. 
 CoUmann and Stolterlbht, 1. 
 Copland, Baraes, and Co., cvi. 
 Cotesworth, PoweU, and Pry or, ii. 
 Cotton and Triieman, cxcix. 
 Cruikshank, Melville, and Co., vi. 
 Currie, Dale, and Co., Ixx. 
 Davies, J., and Son, ccxxxviii. 
 De Lisle, Janvrin, and De Lisle, Ixxt. 
 Dennistoun and Co., cxxxvii. 
 Draper, Pietroni, and Co., clx. 
 Dray, AV., and Co., clxxxvii. 
 Elkin, E., and Sons, Iv. 
 Elmenhorst and Co., clxxxvi. 
 Evans, Hoare, and Co., cxii. 
 Ewbank and Gray, xxxii. 
 Ezponda, CoiTcdor, and Co., xxxii. 
 Fauntleroy, C, cxcvii. 
 Foster, Eutty, Hall, and Co., cxiii. 
 Fox and Henderson, xciii. 
 Franghiadi, Sons, cii. 
 Fustana, W., and Co., and Caluta 
 
 Brothers, cii. 
 Gorrissen, HiilTel, and Co., cl. 
 Gotch and Sons, cix. 
 Gray, B. C. T., and Sons, cxeviii. 
 Gray, T. and H. G., and Co., ci. 
 Hadland, ShUbngford, and Co., clsv. 
 Haly, J., and Co., cxxxii. 
 Heine, Semon, and Co., cci. 
 Hermann, Cox, and Co., cxci. 
 Herman Sdlcm and Co., clviii. 
 Hieks and Gadsden, ccxl. 
 
 Hicks, G. H. T., cxlvii. 
 
 IliU, Alfred, cxxvi. 
 
 llintz. A., and Co., cU. 
 
 Hu'sch, Strother, and Brisi, clxiii. 
 
 Hoare, Buxton, and Co., cxlv. 
 
 HolTmann, II., and Co., cxcv. 
 
 Hooper, C. and B., xlvi. 
 
 Hosking, J., and Co., ccxi. 
 
 Hyde, Hodge, and Co., ccxxviii. 
 
 Jonas, C. A., and Co., clxxiii. 
 
 Keith, Shoobridge, and Co., xlii. 
 
 Kieser and Co., clxxxix. 
 
 Krell and Cohn, civ. 
 
 Krohn, S. M., ixvi. 
 
 Ladbrokc, F., ecxvi. 
 
 Liclitenstein and Co., clxvi. 
 
 Logan, "Walt ei-, and Co., xxxvi. 
 
 Lnpton, Hooton, and Co., clxxvi. 
 
 ]\rGregor, T., Hv. 
 
 M' Henry, J., Ix. 
 
 ]Vlackey, lladow, and Co., xb. 
 
 Mackenzie, Sir E., and Co., Ivi. 
 
 Maitland, Ewing, and Co., ccix. 
 
 Maples, H. P., ccviii. 
 
 IMave, C. J., and Co., Ixxiii. 
 
 Marzetti and Sons, xc. 
 
 Mclladew, Tliomas, clxi. 
 
 IMclrose and Husscy, exviii. 
 
 MeiuU^s da Costa and Co., cxlviii. 
 
 Montgomery, A., and Co., ccxxxi. 
 
 Morewooit and Eogers, Ixv. 
 
 Nay lor, Vickers, and Co., cxxviii.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ccxlv 
 
 Nicliol, A., and Son, Ixxii. 
 
 Nicholson, Charles, and Co., clxvii. 
 
 Oliver, E., Iviii. 
 
 Pardoe, Iloomaus, and Pardoe, 
 ccxxxiii. 
 
 Panl, Sir J. D., Ixxxiii. 
 
 Pcarce, 11., Ivii. 
 
 Pelly, A., and Co., clxxxv. 
 
 Pitcher, W., cviii. 
 
 Plowe.s, J., and Co., ccxxxv. 
 
 Powell, W. J., and Son, elxx. 
 
 Powles, Brotliers, and Co., clxxxviii. 
 
 Quarles Harris and Co., xxx. 
 
 Rawson, Sons, and Co., ccxxiii. 
 
 Rehdor and Boldemann, clvi. 
 
 Rew, Prescott, and Co., clxxxiii. 
 
 Ritchie Brothers, xhv. 
 
 Rochussen and Co., ceiv. 
 
 Rogers, Lowry, Kolyland, and Co., 
 Ixvi. 
 
 Ross, Mitchell, and Co., cxix. 
 
 Royal British Bank, xcvi. 
 
 Rncker and Sons, xxvi. 
 
 Russell, J. Scott, and Co., Lxxxv. 
 
 Sabel and Co., clxxvii. 
 
 Sanderson, Sandenian, and Co., cxliv. 
 
 Scott, D., Richmond, and Co., Iviii. 
 
 Scott, J., and Co., cxxxiii. 
 
 Sewells and Xeck, clxxx. 
 
 Sieveking and Son, clxii. 
 
 Silleui, H., and Co., elviii. 
 
 Sinauides, P., and Co., civ. 
 
 Skeeu and Freeman, ccxxvi. 
 
 Smith, Edward, clxxviii. 
 
 Speu" and Co., i. 
 
 Spencer Ashlin and Co., xxviii. 
 
 Strahan, Paul, and Bates, Ixxviii., 
 Ixxxii. 
 
 Strahan, W., Ixxii. 
 
 Svensden and Jolmson, clxix. 
 
 Swayne and Bovill, ev. 
 
 Syers, Walker, and Co., Ixxxviii. 
 
 Trueman and Cook, xix. 
 
 Walton, C, and Sons, ccvi. 
 
 Walton, Viney, and Co., Ixviii. 
 
 Warwick, Harrison, and Warwick, 
 liii. 
 
 Westrupp and Co., ccxxxvii. 
 
 Wienholt, Wehner, and Co., clxxiv. 
 
 Wilson, Morgan, and Co., cxxxiv. 
 Young, W. O., xci. 
 Elmenhorst and Co., 53. 
 Expenditure, private, enormous, 38. 
 Exports, 32. 
 
 Failures in America, 33, 113, 123. 
 „ in 1857, 171 et seq. 
 „ seven in one day, 160. 
 Failures in 1857, list of, 52. 
 Filler, W. B., 53. 
 Financial historv of 1857, 170. 
 Fitch and Skect, 52. 
 Fluctuations in Stock and Share Mar- 
 kets, 1859, 155. 
 Foot, J., and Sons, 52. 
 
 France, alleged gold discoveries in, 26. 
 
 Frazer, W. T., 5i. 
 
 Freights in America, fluctuations of, 121 . 
 
 Frencli empire, 10. 
 
 French loan of .t20,000,000, 150. 
 
 Fry, Griffiths, and Co., 5i. 
 
 Gambling, commercial, 33. 
 
 Giles, Son, and Co., 51. 
 
 Gold and silver, production of, 24. 
 
 Gold discoveries in California and 
 
 Austraha, 7, 9. 
 Gold-fields of Australia, produce of, 28. 
 Gold-mining companie.'i, 25. 
 Gold, yield of, 29. 
 Gorrissen, Huffel, and Co., 52. 
 Government Letter, the, 49. 
 Gower and Nephews, 54. 
 Grain in America, fluctuations in, 116. 
 
 Hadland and Co., 53. 
 
 Haly and Co., 52. 
 
 Hambm-g, commercial crisis in, 190. 
 
 Hanseatic cities, failures in, 40, 42. 
 
 Hastie and Hutchison, 54. 
 
 Heine, Semon, and Co., 47, 53. 
 
 Herman, Cox, and Co., 53. 
 
 Hermann, Sillem, and Co., 52. 
 
 Hicks, G. H. T., 53. 
 
 Hill, A., 52. 
 
 Hintz and Co., 52. 
 
 Hirsch, Strotlier, and Co., 53. 
 
 Hoare, Buxton, and Co., 52. 
 
 Hoffman and Co., 53. 
 
 Hyde, Hodge, and Co., 50. 
 
 Imports into New York, 140. 
 Im]5ortation of precious metals, 32. 
 Indigo, fluctuations in, 212. 
 Industry, revival of, 1827, 16. 
 Iron districts, faiku'es in, 36. 
 Iron, fluctuations in, 212. 
 
 Jellicoe and Wix, 52. 
 Jobbing in America, 124. 
 Johnson, Cole, and Co., 54. 
 Joint-stock companies, mania for, 14. 
 
 „ banking, mania for, 4, 8. 
 
 „ companies, 1825, 14. 
 
 Jonas and Co., 53. 
 Jose P. de Sa and Co., 52. 
 
 Kieser and Co., 53. 
 King, Melville, and Co., 54, 
 Kingston, J., and Co., 54. 
 Krell and Cohn, 53. 
 
 Lackersteen, A. A., 54. 
 Lands, waste, in America, 104. 
 Leaf, I3arnett, Scotson, and Co., 54. 
 Lewis, Sir G. C, on the Bank Indem- 
 nity Bill, 193. 
 Legislation and private enter^irise, 27. 
 Lichtenstcm and Co., 53. 
 Liverpool Borough Bank, 35, 37..
 
 ccxlvi 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Liver^iool Banking Company, 53. 
 Liverpool Borough Bank, 50. 
 Loans, foreign, 14. 
 Lyall, Brothers, and Co., 54. 
 
 Macdonald, Monteith, and Co., 50. 
 
 Maitland, Ewang, and Co., 56. 
 
 ManufoctiU'ing industi-y, 17. 
 
 Manufacturing districts, 47. 
 
 ^Mauritius, trade of, 45. 
 
 Metals in America, fluctuations of, 117. 
 
 Jrcndes Da Costa and Co., 53. 
 
 Mexican mines, 23. 
 
 Mexico, commerce of, 24. 
 
 Mines m Spanish America, 22. 
 
 Molasses, lluctuations in, 211. 
 
 Morley, J. and W., 54. 
 
 ilorning Herald on the Crisis of 1857, 
 
 54. 
 Monetary panics, 12. 
 MoutgomeiT, Arcliibald, and Co., 50. 
 Moutoza, Saenz, and Co., 53. 
 
 Naylor, Yickers, and Co., 35, 37. 
 
 Nevins and Allen, 54. 
 
 New York, banks of, 96, 140. 
 
 New York the centre of finance, 113. 
 
 New York, unports into, 141. 
 
 North of Eiu'ope, crisis in, 38. 
 
 Northimiberlaud and Dui-ham District 
 
 Bank, 50. 
 North and South Wales Bank, 53. 
 Note circulation in America, 96. 
 Notes, yearly average of, 88. 
 
 Open construction account, 102. 
 Open credits, 33. 
 Operatives, effect of crisis on, 36. 
 Over-trading, 18. 
 
 Panicofl825-6,183G-7, 1817-8,1857-8, 
 
 19. 
 Panic of 1859, 148. 
 Panics, oi'igin of, 1. 
 Panics, from the year 1793, 12. 
 Panic of 1857, 11. 
 Panic of 1857-8, 30. 
 Pajier-money, 4. 
 
 Paper-cuiTency in the United States, 97. 
 Peabodv and Co., 49. 
 Pelly and Co., 53. 
 Pennsylvania, trade, etc., of, 97. 
 Pereire, J., and the Credit Mobilier, 40. 
 Periodical Crises, 93. 
 I'erkins, Schlusscr, and Mullins, 54. 
 I'eru, productions of, 21, 21'. 
 Pliilac(cl])hia, banks of, 96. 
 IMiQips, L., and Co., 54. 
 Political troubles, commercial effect of, 
 
 8,9. 
 Powell and Son, 53. 
 Powles, Brothers, and Co., 52. 
 Produce in America, fluctuatio} of, 114. 
 Produce, fluctuations in, 211. 
 Prosperity in 1836, 16. 
 
 Eailway system of America, 101. 
 
 Eawson, Sons and Co., 56. 
 
 Reay and Reay, 54. 
 
 Rehder and Boldemnnn, 52. 
 
 Reid, Irving, and Co., 49, 54. 
 
 Report of Committee on Bank Acts, 57. 
 
 Rew, Prescott, and Co., 47, 53. 
 
 Rice, lluctuations in, 212. 
 
 Rickards, Little, and Co., 54. 
 
 Rio Janeiro, houses connected with, 50. 
 
 Robinson, W. R., and Co., 54. 
 
 Ross, Mitchell, and Co., 52. 
 
 Rougemont Brothers and Co., 54. 
 
 Royal Bank of Liverpool, 53. 
 
 Rum, fluctuations in, 212. 
 
 Ryder, Wienholt, and Co., 54. 
 
 Sadleir, John, 11. 
 Saltpetre, fluctuations in, 212. 
 Sanderson, Sandeman, and Co., 35, 52. 
 Sanderson and Co., 54. 
 Scott, Bell, and Co., 54. 
 Select Committee on Bank Acts, 31. 
 Sewell and Neck, 47, 53. 
 Silver, drain of, 29. 
 Silver and gold, production of, 24. 
 Sieveking and Co., 52. 
 Slaveiy, effect on commerce, 104. 
 Specie payments suspended in Ame- 
 rica, 7. 
 Speculation, 18. 
 
 Speculativefeeling of the Americans, 99. 
 Spu-its in America, fluctuations of, 119. 
 Statistics of American failures, 126. 
 Stock Exchange, suffering at the, 43. 
 Stock Exchange, panic of 1859, 14-8. 
 Stock Exchange, scene of excitement 
 
 at, 162. 
 Stocks, American, 100, 115. 
 „ fluctuation in, 1859, 155. 
 „ stocks in ibuerica, fluctuation 
 of, 115. 
 Sugar in America, flvictuations hi, 118. 
 Sugar, fluctuations in, 211. 
 Suspensions m 1819, i. 
 
 „ in 1850, xxi. 
 
 ,, in 1851, xxi. 
 
 „ in 1852, xxi. 
 
 „ in 1853, xlix. 
 
 „ in 1854, xlix. 
 
 „ in 1855, Ixiv. 
 
 „ in 1856, Ixxxiv. 
 
 „ in 1857, 171. 
 
 „ in 1858, 192. 
 
 „ in 1819, 1. 
 
 „ in 1856, Ixxxiv. 
 
 Svensden and J olmson, 52. 
 
 Tallow, fluctuations in, 212. 
 
 Tea, fluctuations in, 211. 
 
 Q'liomas, Son, and Lefevre, 54. 
 
 Thurburn and Co., 54. 
 
 Thurneyssen delinquency, 41. 
 
 Tipperary Bank, 11. 
 
 Tobacco in America, fluctuations, of, 120.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ccxivii 
 
 Tol'lorpli and Co., 53. 
 
 Trade, foreign, extension of, 32. 
 
 Trueman and Co., 5 1. 
 
 United States (see America). 
 Usborne, T. and Son, 5 1. 
 
 Ward, T. G., 53. 
 
 Weinholt, Wehner, and Co , 53. 
 Western Bank of Scotland, 35, 50. 
 
 Willey anfl Co., 53. 
 
 Wilson, Morgan, and Co., 52. 
 
 Wolverhampton and Stalfordshire 
 
 Bank, 30. 
 Woodley, W. and J., 51.. 
 Wool in America, lluctuations of, 
 
 120. 
 W's, the throe, 20. 
 
 Year 1857, progress of, 170. 
 
 THE EXD. 
 
 Thomas Uarrild, Printer, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, LDndon.
 
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