The Express.
London, England, 1857-03-05 00:00:00

ROYAL BRITISH BANK.

A general meeting of the depositors in the Royal
reknit Bask was held hug evening, at the Freemasons'
Tavern, Greet Qmen-street, forthpurpose of obtaining
their assent to the emepreraise proposed by the ehareholdere,
and which bad bean spproved by the iettimittee of depositors.
The meeting wee WIWI by thecommittee of depoeitors. Long
before seven o'clock, the hour appointed for the proceedings
to commence, the large room was crowded. A few minutee
before seven, some one present proposed that Mr. JADER
WTLD' the &minima of the communeof depoeitom, should
take the chair.
Mr.Dw Tut (who stated himself to be s depositor) opposed
this proordieg, ma the pound that it was premature. He
°N M etted to r. Wyld occupying the chair, m he had a
chairman hhimelf to propose.
A scene of indescribable confusion here 104 k place' a
tekirceman hang culled is for the purpose of removing Mr.
cr from the platform, but a number of those present ob-
ject to this mode of mew:ding, and order being somewhat
netored,_
Mr WTLD said he would not preside unless be had the
unanimous cogent of the meeting. He would therefore put
the stwetion, whether he should take the chair P
The quashes wee thee put to the vote, end the meeting
was divided. After half en hour, however, spent in the
greatest uproar and stonny diminution, Mr. N'yld was
allowed to take the chair, and Mr. Dwyer was fertility re-

sieved tan the pIMMMM.
The Cneetiff•el owl the imps dew of ear is da-
da impalimit maim dry me art le Ism&
bliseli4sereres t• ter dee degodiers the •
et view,
sell thought it Sze
=16,1= They beto my " eye er " se"
le the
lesitiele Midi WSW ha lead before them ; biet
base wee slat le de this a thought it nommary to
dela te the islemy et the mhunitous failure which
local le
lapelber di that occasion, and which be
le Is Mee the suepension of the bank down to
ohs mead ea Muir seeing the extent to which the
assels is sew likely to be available, the com-
mittee of led looked to the shareholders to me if
them was my dime effecting a compromise with them.
They boa lid I ismegarr. of the state of the law,
viduals who bediatiud dishes were humming those
shambeiders * selling their goo sa ds d turning
ear Mem ea( fete the Smite, not for the purpose
=bathe amass, bet to pry the enormous her erste
been beenei. (Rheum.) They feemil also that
• large ember of the Mareboldere vim mails maw
moms of their peopedy, other. were lu id rust!),
while beareptcysa insolvency were orb
week. It was true the depositors were
the possii—Mear)--but in this atate of things, aid paw
May wee then a tied being realieed? It was dm amok-
dried advisable to nessilele with the amain of Maw
bolded, who were salsa te ruse le ruse
and the committee of depeekon seeedimigly Ilm
list of solvent shareholders., and the amounts it MS
said they could contribute. After that edema het kiss
added to by the committee of depositor., it was dead by
the committee of shareholders to offer scum of fa, M. is
the pound, guaranteeing its payment by depordting • sew of
20,0001. The mormittee of depositors mouldered that It was
mod desirable to acoept this offer, and if tte ascent of the
huge body of depositors were obtainedi to it, he (the clink-
man) would see that it wee strittly carried out, and that be-
fore the expiration of the month of April. (Hear, hear.)
He considered this course a far wiser one than Marring the
lose which would neoessarily arise from further litigation. on
the hare chance of their being paid in full. They would thee
receive a total dividend of 15.. in the pound, and all further
vexatious delay and annoyance would he avoided. (Cheers.)
They bad, he knew, to contend against two dames of indi •
rids= ; one, the fraudulent shareholders; the other, them
who were emendating in the purchase of deposit accounts. It
was therefore necessary that they ehould look to their own
interests, and he could IWO no better way of doing PO than by
accepting the proposition which would be laid before them.
(Hear, bear.)
Mr. Roemer TAVILOO moved, "That in the opinion of
this meeting it it essential to the interests of the enslitore of
the Royal British Bank, that the primed compoeition of
fm. GI. in the pound, beyond the wets in bankruptcy, should
he accepted, and that the shareholders should be required to
pay the same by two instalments before the 30th of April
next." (Cheers) Ile should be meet willing to abandon
thie proposition, and to support any MOTO feasible One for oh-
tattling that which mu due to them ; but until such s scourer
could be pcinted out, he eememly called upon the meeting to
throw no obstacle in the way of the suggested arrangement.
Mr. K AIN seconded the resolution. Ile never expected to
receive so much as would ban ultimately received if the pro-
poeml compromise were effected, and ho would give it his
restoctipport.
Dr. Wee Ler rem to Arbors the meeting amidst mingled
Wing and airplanes. lie had been deputed bye meeting of
depositor, held the evening before, to move au amendment
MM. model= which heel been proposed. Ile contended
that it use moat unfair to accept this compromise, as there
were several men among the shareholders and directors who
were able to pay the depositors in full. They might be
abroad at the present mment, and defying the der...Sore,
but still if they were not let off they would ultimately pay.
Ho urged the nommity that a public examivation of the
shmehohleee who were thought to be able to pay !Mould take
plate, as to their means before they came to any derision on
the compromise now offered. (Cries of " No, no," and
cheers.) He deprecated the =me adopted by the committee
of depositors of going to the Attorney-General and asking '
him to pr.ss on the prepared bill in parliument before they
had get the assent of the depositors to any such measure.
He mainteined that every depositor would be able to get Me
in the pound, if they could only get bold of the shareholders
who were able to pay it. (Lang ever, and cries of "If you
can get
. hold of them," and " Why did you sell your de-
it
pe.") He concluded by. reeving as an amendment,
" That this meeting is of opinion that it is not expedient to
aceept nor offer of compromme from the shareholders of the
Royal Doti* Bank, until an official statement has been
lead before the depositors of the actual pecuniary resourcew of
the ehereholdere, nor without receiving the most ample and
eatiefactory security for the payment of any composition,
Mould any offer from the shareholders to that effect be ex-
cepted by this meeting."
?dr. Ktoo seconded this amendment.
Mr. Liss LATER explained the difficulties under which the
erediters of the bank had laboured in consequence of the
affair. hoeing been thrown into Chancery, and the sae= to
the creditor. which bad been effected by taking the concern
into bankruptcy. All the sorts which had been realised
KW been faithfully distributed, with the exception of 50,0001.
in hand, which would be distributed immediately. Had
there not been such ruinous litigation between the Chancery
and Bankruptcy tribunals, no doubt a larger and earlier
dividend would have been paid. Ile dmied in strong term.
the truth of the mieehievoue and exaggerated statements se
to the amount of the law expenses in Bankruptcy, and con-
tended that the misrepresentations which had gone forth on
the subject were most disgraceful. The amount of 200,000 e,
which was said to be the sum the shareholders were able to
conteibute, was, he believed, the utmost which could be re-
lied upon; and he earnestlyigurepreseed upon the meeting the
aeeeenty of their accepting the compromme now proposed,
which had been the remit of the meet careful examination
and omaideration of all the circumstances of the ease. With
regard to Mr. Humphrey Brown, who good an undisputed
debtor to the bank to the extent of 75,0001.. after that gentle-
man's speech at Tewkesbury he (Mr. Linklater) had, on the
part of the official asagaini, written to bier teeknow whether
the report of that gem* was correct, and whether he in-
tended to convey the messid aleb that report attributed
to him. In reply to the a•RUOR the following letter had
been received
"loyal British Bank.
" Westminster, Mardi 2,1867.
" nentlemeeffe—l Mg le adoseviseis the nostpt of your
letter of the Sikh ale, rellang le • made by me st
Team/bay, sal,Milli le ref whether or not I
intesid te day the .iesime es wry yeet et apt debt to the
Bak, I bog is thst I set mks say masement es-
reedy er le this an My email* threale.
out He itva= the Ain ot the Ss= I
have bees as ISMS( 63
my ma me maw 717" Disk, whim ems at-
tared le we nee alma is the was way es te ether
endemism, mired by ss 111 istleillaPl Sidle dor by the
Bak bream se mite b aver the whims. I sea set
allude sew Is the dessmehmees odor which am ammo
were ma•—lkii ism put et ths yea, saw gag wad
will ambles, you is dm mem 74 or bee mien am
to lomat the limeades is them mad= the
nand *limn sena I alai lees bete Mkasliesll%.l
ban bees at lemsmalisa fa 11 wsly Brat Is ww7 da
reens es beam imam their essiememe. Ima
spore* sad thei eidervelles hoe se pima spaketke
to yeaseine rte Ms adigme, bst Maki to hide tar-
eon te dm Matures es may lead sped me is Team
pane smarten—l es, gentheseu,
it H Booing.
" To Moms. Laker ma Co."
Mr. LINILLATaIt eessimiled by remarking that Mr. Brown
had expressed his determistion to resist to the utmost of his
twee proadiess lass spin him for the recovery of
Mir addbs
ra
Mem iliwllo6lll the criminal was
emit by • m mild
Mr. Mars ass mewoewinty " Thatlest it is Mashie that the
et sea aamgaaileley• zesdrity at the orators
Magog gist iisrftysea that a sat et
paismest fot samme ahead be the spina-
tit he whisk thls 'Mild Mal Ali; el
that as NO
saddle id
,herst oak set be
preseadie lea Moms et
Mr. P. Edam emeskil the eessides, tibia was eke
esiried.
The Midis referred to was mil le the modem the
=via wee that the legs amid messier the
et • bin Isar the gaped of remedylag ths
_t_shets is th• pada kiwi misfire to the Margery sad
up el jai Mit eseassim.
=ti anomie as the eas 110•11 le the elminmd,
esi Ms persliptualmada awl am alkdiassthey
' sierreseL