The Express.
London, England, 1855-02-22 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22, 1855.

...We hour of ealculatioa with the stewards and attorneys
•f a burdt DM and p n t e
"On the 17th March, 1793, Mr Pitt state' to the hou e
the terms of the leas (already given above), and he said
oh it he had desired to rcis the money in 4 and 6 per Cents.
but had found it impractisahle to do so. Ile admitted that
!ha &ctn.! tornts were mere onerous thaw he had expected,
but he bad loth no choice, for be bad received tenders fr••m
only one set of persons. After a few general objections
from Mr Pox, the subject dropped.
We fled the same statement in substance in the very
useful work by Mr. Greiner,* who says, ' It was originally
intended to have raised this loan in 4 or 6 per cent. stock,
hut the embarrassed state of commercial credit having
caused a scarcity of money. the minister only received Mien
from ewe set of subscribers; and as they preferred 3 per
omits . it was judged expedient to conclude the bargain In
that stock, at the prim of 72, although that pries was be-
twee. 4 and 6 per cent. under the current price.' And Mr.
Greiner odds, 'that Mr Pitt admitted that the terms were
much more disadvantageous to the public than might have
been expected, but baying dose everything in his power to
excite a competition but without effect, the terms were tko
hest he could procure.'
'Now if we remember that this loan was requiredabout
five weeks after the declaration of war had come suddenly
upon the nation, and in the midst of that commercial distress
which we have teen, compelled the government to interfere
specially in the very neat month (April), we may discern
emu reaseas why parsons having the command of capital
amid be willing to lend it to the government only on
Isms which left them a large =argils for meeting unfa-
"seeable coatlngencies.
But fort Mr, we have the statement of MacPherson,
that ' when the war was declared the funds immediately
hit the shock, and the Three per Cents. fell almost in
deafly from 791 to 70i.. This wee a fall of 9} per cent.,
and lailcated a degree of instability which no prudent con•
truest veld attempt to face, unless fortified by vet.
favourable term,. And favourable as the terms were, the
scrip of the loan bore no higher a prim on its appearance
then li-2 premium; and while that price wee never ex-
eeeded, so long as the scrip was in the market, the quota-
tion tell et one time to a small fraction above par. Such a
statement of Ike market value of the Feria is of itself strong
evidence that even at the rate of 72, the contractors fur
the loan were barely reimbursed for the risk attending the
operation.
'We may apply, however, another test. It may be as-
sumed that about the time of the coatract, the market
mined the several kinds of stock were as follows, and
at thee, price, yielded the rates of annual interest stated,
:

lan.
Muth, 1791. 3 MMt- 4 perCents.l3 paCents. Annuity.
- - -
g A l TeutePur.
Market Priem... ..... 77 9 19 214
Yielding per cut 1 3is 49 3 4is 2 410
per 111111t1111
Equated Prieto 77 10 111 ...

" Here we have a most striking depreciation of market
value of the 4 and 6 per Cents. as compared with Consols; a
depreciation of (10x89), 13 per cent. as regards the 4 per
Cents , and of (128-101) 24 per cent. as regards the 6 per
Cents. And it does nut require much financial skill to
understand, that if the minister had persisted in raising the
loan in 5 per Conte., he would have had to pay for the mom',
not 4/. 3s. 4d. per cent., but (as I have estimated for por-
poises of calculation to be presently refined to), at the very
least, 51.25. per cent , or 18.. 4d. per cent. more.
" What are we to say, then, to the aocusations of having
needlessly resorted to a close clique of contractors, and of
having extravegently selected the 3 per Cents. as the stock
in which to seek fee tenders ? There is no foundation in
fact for these censures; on the contrary, Mr. Pitt did every
thing in his power to excite a public competition, and to
obtain the money in a high rate stock. He did not succeed,
and for the sufficient reason that the difficulties of the
money market were too great, and the perils and union.
tainties of the time too perplexing to render it possible for
the British government, even when actin it through& minister
so popular and powerful as Mr. Pitt, to obtain the command
of a few millions, except upon terms which did not involve
any novelty, and which left a very considerable margin to
the subscribers. And we shell find as we proceed that it
was substantially the same sufficient reason which year after
year left the government no choice but to obtain the neces.
sary loans, aot in the form which they would most like, but
in that particular meaner which the exigencies of the time
rendered most attractive to those who had capital to spare."

Lab) inteilmente,

COURT OF QUEEWS BENCH.—Fes. 21.

lAN •T 11=1 TAMA —IILTOIOI_ LOAD CAILTUILL •aD • BPAZIAL

/Ult.

make these purtbases by the false and fraudulent represen-
tations of the defendants as to the value of the said mines.
The trial of this care occupied the whole of
Tuesday and the greater part of to-day. It ap-
peered that the plaintiff is a merchant at Liverpool,
and, like many othen, he had within the last three years
embarked in mining speculations. The two first-named
decadents were mining agents and sharebrekers, having
an office in bloorgate-street, and the third was resident at
Carlisle, but said to have embarked with the other two in
the promotion of they, mines. The details of the transac-
tions were somewhat complicated. This morning the Lord
Chief Baron intimated that a verdict mast parlor Jonathan
Cur, inasmuch as that the plaintiff had bought all his
&hares before he had ever seen that ge•tleman. A verdict
in respect of him was therefore entered. As regarded the
other defendants, the evidence went to show that they bad
been busily engaged in the formation of the companies to
work the mines, which were to he conducted on the cost-
book principle, the mines being under the management of
the defendants. The agents for the defendants at Liverpool
were Harrison and Co., share-brokers, who were constantly
receiving, sometimes three times a day, letters and tele-
graphic dispatches, detailing the proceedings of the flourish-
tog condition of the mints. It appeared that the plaintiff had
made two visits to Cornwall; that the first was satisfactory
to a certain extent upon the representation of the parties
he met there, end open his return to Liverpool upon
further information he was induced to buy an additional
number of 150 shares in the " Great Onslow." Upon a
second visit to Cornwall he made inquiries as to the " Bee-
canoe Mine," when he ascertained from a Captain Vivian
that the mine was utterly worthless, and that it would be
madness to expend a farthing upon it. Since that time the
mine had been ►bandoned. In March, 1862, the plaintiff,
in a visit which he paid to Cornwall, saw Bennett, who
gave hits • most flattering description of the condition
of the " Great Onslow Mine." In the course of the
ease several letters were put in, written by the defen-
dants, in one of which, referring to the shares not increasing
in value, appeared this passage " I know it is very difficult
to cram common sense into people ; a good dividend is
much assist' swallowed, and they shall have &taste of one."
A dividend of 2s. a share was accordingly advertised ; and
the dividend, it was alleged by the pliintiff, was a false
and fraudulent dividend, inasmuch as that it had been de-
clared, not out of profits, as had been stated, but out of pre:o-
mens and capital combined. The declaration and payment
of this dividend induced the plaintiff to make further pur-
chases of shares. In another letter appeared • passage to
this effect : The dividend we are about to propose will
satisfy the people—the', up go the sharer, and no mistake ;
and thou (the writer is a quaker) wilt see what thou shalt
see." In other letters there was an t solicitation that
the parties is London should use every exertion they could
to ob•ain an insertion of their reports, not only in the
Mining Journal, but in the Daily New., as that would
have a great effect upon the public mine, and the shares
would go up, Distinct evidence having been given that the
dividend of 2s. per share had been made out of capital as
well as proceeds,
Mr. Phinn said that upon that point he could net resist •
verdict being given for the plaintiff. At the same time he
was fully prepared to prove that there had been no fraud
practised on the pert of his clients. He was unable, how-
ever, to deny that this dividend was open to the objee-
tion which bad been takes. He bad, therefore, arranged
with his learned friends oa the other side that • verdict
should be taken for the plaintiff for the sum claimed,
namely, 2,2301.
Verdict accordingly.