The Express.
London, England, 1857-11-25 00:00:00

BE-OPIENLIVO Off TEN WOLVILEHAMPION AND

BTAPPOILDBH.I2II BANK.

(Prom the Wolverhampton Chronic* of this day.)

In our last publication we had to perform tho
painful duty of announcing the suspension of payments by
the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Banking Company. In
our present publication we hove to fulfil the gratifying tack
of announcing that, owing to the judicious measure, devised.
the bank will be re-opened, and on a woad and assured
footing, should the coetemplatedansegementa be completed,
within a few days at the farthest. This important decision,
by which evils of the greatest magnitude hove bcen averted,
Is the result of various meetings of the proprietary and the
creditors, but more particularly of meetings of each, held on
Monday and Tuesday last (yesterday). The directors pledge
themeless to find 100,0001. as a loan for the purposes of the
bank ; that with a call of 61. per share, and the receipt odium
accruing to the bank, they wander the rum of 260,0001. widths
raised, which, with the 100,0001. advanced by themselves, will
give a working capital of 360,0001., and with this Nam it te
proposed to re-commence. Deposita and balances under 1001.
will be paid in full, if required, on the let of January next,
while larger amounts, whether deposits or Winces, will be
liquidated by payments at stipulated periods, the first pay-
ment being mods, if required, on the ensuing lad of January.
Interest on deposits and balance*, and on voluntary ad-
vances, which are solicited, will be paid at the rate of five per

We cannot undertake to snare the statement of liabilities
end sante pramented by the directors of the Wolverhampton
and Btatibrdshire Bank; ace so far ea the public is interested,
Lit necenary. That document, whatever, may be its malt
aspect, concerns almost altogether the proprietary ; it is chiefly
as a tart of management that other persons are interested in
it, and this management the directors themselves candidly
admit to have been indiscreet sad faulty. The state-
ment shows the liabilities to be 769,0001. • and the
wets, taking 244,0001. of doubtful debts at 122,0001., being
in the pound, to amount to 737,0001., Laving a de-
ficiency of 32,0001. From a call upon the ithareholdes,
the directors consider that 250,0001. will be speedily realised.
while they themselves are willing to lend 100,0001. to the
beak, making a total of 330,0001. Of this, It is seamed that
220,0001. or 260,0001. will be required for immediate nee.
leaving the open working capital of the bank at 100,0001. or
130,0001.—a sum certainly sufficient for the current business
of the bank, which will thus start dear of meat and heavy in-
cumbrances, and with the advantage, we should hope, of
benefiting by the experience and ability of Mr. Hill, under
whose management the bank for a long time proepered in so
remarkable a manner and to whom the shareholdece and
the district are under peat obligations for the valuable
services ha has already rendered in the exigency that has
arisen. . _

There Is yet another Important point to be considered.
The bank has many creditors; but it has also many debtors,
persona whose balances (without reckoning anything for
running bills) amount to no less than 422,0001., but which
are taken in the insets sa 350,0001. Now, this amount,
whichever we may select, is due from persons in trade; and
let us for a moment consider the embarrassment, and we
may ray the ruin, that must have ensued from compelling
the immediate payment of either of these sums—and paid
immediately they meat have been, if the bank bad been
wound up. We do not pretend to know in what direction
these advance' are made; bat we do know that wherever
they may be employed their sudden and peremptory
withdrawal could not have been otherwise than moot calami-
tous. These sums may be lent in large or small amounts, or
in both, for the sum is amply sufficient for both.
But, be this as it may, we cannot contemplate such
a call upon manufacturers or tradesmen without the greatest
apprehension 111 to the result. Bankruptcy, ruin, and enor-
mous sacrifices of property must have followed. Property of
every kind would have been add, and sold under almost
every circumstance tending to its deprecation.
Our subject is by no means enlivening, yet it is not with-
out SOM. redeeming features which it would be unwise and
improper to overlook. The suspension of payments by the
bank took place, as our readers are aware, on Tuesday morn-
ing (yesterday week), and great fears wero entertained that
the wags due to some thousands of workmen would not be
paid. This to some degree was the fact ; but it did not occur
to anything like the extent that was said to be expected.
Nor is the number of discharged and unemployed workmen
so gran as it was sid ft would be. In fact, in both particu-
lars the evil, though great enough, was much over-rated ;
and we are not without hope that It may still be much less
than circumstances may have led= to expect. The demand
for iron for the home trade, and for other places than
America, is tolerably good, and should it continue, will
materially help us through our trying times.