The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-11-09 00:00:00

THE CITY OF GLASGOW BANK.

In an article on the affairs of the City of Glasgow Bank,
The Times of Saturday remarks :

. . . " The pressing question of the moment is what
amount the first call of £5OO per share is likely to pro-
duce ; and that, because on this depend the further
questions, what the second call is likely to be, and how
many of those who are able to stand a second call are
likely to survive a third. These are questions which
it is too true, affect a small and constantly diminishing
number of the shareholders; but to this residuum they
are questions of the deepest consequence. Excluding
the shares held by the bank, the capital available
for calls is, roundly, £850,000. A call of £5OO per
share on this amount would yield only £4,250,000, if
every one paid in full; and another call of £lOO per
share would he required to make up £5,009,000. In
the best possible circumstances, therefoie, a call of
£650 or £7OO per ceut, would be required to meet the
deficiency and pay the cost of liquidation. But every
one knows that such a solution of the difficulty is quite
out of the question. To suppose that the first call
will be paid on £500,000 of stock is, perhaps, as fsvour-
able an estimate as there is warrant for—some men
here think it to favourable. Supposing, however,
that it has been realized, that result will not have been
attained without cleaning out a large number of share-
holders, and making another large portion of the stock
barren in view of future calls, Here, in a tabular
form, is a hypothetical estimate of the results of suc-
cessive calls of £5OO each :

Ist Call of £5OO on £500,000 of Stock .. £2,500,000
2nd „ 600 „ 300,000 „ _. 1,600,000
3rd „ 500 „ 200,000 „ 1,000,000
4th „ 600 „ 160,000 „ .. 750,000
Total .. .. ..

£5,750,000

-- - -
"Thus, calls amounting to £2,000 per share would
not yield much more than the sum required. This
estimate is, of course, only conjectural, but the
opinion of practical men is that it will not be
found very wide of the mark. The conviction of
some is that the bulk of the stock will be exhausted
very rapidly—in the first and second calls—and
that the remaining calls will have to be made on a
dozen or a score of men at most. It is evident
from the list of the shareholders that the mass of them
are persons of moderate means. They are for the
most part professional men and commercial men of the
middle class and persons who have retired with a,
competency adequate to meet frugal wants. The sub-
stantial men in the concern, even when trustees are
included are very few; and there is the less chance,
therefore, of their escaping with much more than the
akin of their teeth.

Last Saturday, Mr. James Stewart, one of the direc-
tors of the City of Glasgow Bank, was released from
custody, the Lord Advocate having accepted bail to
the amount of fifteen thousand pounds.

A public meeting of the citizens of Glasgow, convened by
the Lord Provost, was held on Monday to consider the best
steps to be taken with the view of relieving the distress
occasioned to the shareholders by the failure of the City of
Glasgow Bank. The meeting was largely attended, and
amongst those present were numerous wealthy merchants of
Glasgow. The Lord Provost intimated that without any
public appeal having been made, about £50,000 had been
subscribed. Mr James White, of Overton, moved—

"That this meeting sympathises in the very disastrous
effects which the stoppage of the City of Glasgow Bank will
entail on the commercial community, especially on share.
holders; and as many of these are ladies and families who
may thereby be deprived of their means of subsistence, this
meeting resolves that a national fund shall be raised through-
out the country for the relief of shareholders who, in con-
sequence of calls against stock held by them, or otherwise,
may be left in destitute circumstances or in need of
pecuniary assistance for their support."
This motion was seconded by the Rev. Dr. Donald
Macleod. Sheriff Clark moved the appointment of a general
committee for the purpose of procuring subscriptions. On
the motion of Sir Wyndham Anstruther, MT.' an executive
committee was appointed, and on that of Mr. John Mathie-
son, the Lord Provost was requested te communicate with
the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and with the provosts and
chief magistrates of the principal towns of Scotland and
England, as well as with the conveners of different counties
In Scotland, in order that committees may be formed in
every district to obtain subscriptions.
The Glasgow Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons sub-
scribed 160 guineas to the fund.

On Tuesday afternoon a second private conference, called
by the Lord Provost, was held in the Council Chamber, to
consider what steps ought to be taken, by means of a public
appeal, to raise a fund for the relief of the sufferers by the
failure of the City of Glasgow Bank. The Lord Provost pre-
sided. After consultation, it was resolved to hold a public
meeting in the Music-hall on Saturday, and a committee
was appointed to make the necessary arrangements. At
the close of the conference subscriptions to the amount of
Upwards of £4lOOO were promised by a few of the gentlemen
present.
On Tuesday the subscriptions to the Shareholders' Relief
Fund amounted to upwards of £63,000.