Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-22 00:00:00

TE(E MANUFACIURE OF ACCOMMODATION

BILLS:

The examination of Mr. Macdonald, before the Sheriff 'm Glasgow
revealed the following rather startling facts:—air. D. Macdonald
said, " We first found it necessary to resort to accommodation bills
in 1e45. The business was then increasing, and we needed additional
capital to carry it on. At that period our accommodation blls were
to alimited extent, not exceeding, in 1845, £8,003 or £lO,OOO. The
party from whom we chiefly had that accommodation was our
father. Our capital, or sum at era lit of steels in 1845, was £13,800.
At that time we had no current bank account—that is, a credit
account on bond. Onr increasing business obliged us to find caeital
in this way. Besides onr father, the parties on whom we drew at
first, were our :meats—we drew against goods when they had them.
Until the year 1853, we did not keep our books so as to distinguish
exactly between accommodation bills and trade bills—
although all the bills wore entered in our bill-book. Our
acoommodat en paper as at Jane, 1849, had reached the amount o
£16,003 or thereby; at July, 1850, to £39,030; October, 1851, to
£48,003; October, 1853, to £63,003 ; at October 1853 and 1854, it
we' on each occasion about £BO 000 ; at October, 1555, £85,03 ; at
October, 1855, £iBB,o 0. lam able to speak with more certainty to
tbese two lost years, because from 1855, onward, the ac 7otal nolation
Lilts mere classified in o'er books. With reference to the former years,
I wish it nederstood that the sums mentioned are merely approxima-
tions. At the tine of our suspension in October latt, our total a .com-
modatioa pep ir liel reached £383 000, of which the proportion for
our behoof was £359,000. This is exclusive of the accommodation
parer current between us and Ross, Mitchell, ant Co., amounting to
£60,000, and which was wholly for their acconernedarioa, with the
exception of XII 000. The progressive increase in the amount of
accommodation from 1849 to 1653 is accounted for by the cor-
responding increase in the extent of our business, and our
system of having very few lens payable. because ae made
our disbursements chiefly in cash. In 1853 the Hawser. street
building was commencee, but, as ee gave the tradesmen bills for
their instalments, the increase of accommodation paper occasioned
by that undertakine does not ap sear use it 1856, when the trades-
men's bills an[ balances were paid off: and our accommodation
increased from £B5 009 in 1855, to £lBB,OOO in 1856. This increase,
however, is in part attributable to extension of business f hoeing
our taking possession of our new promises. The heritable loins
which, of com=e, re laced our accommodation, amounted to £51,c09.
The charge upon our business lecrersed with the increase of our
accommodation bills. Taking the sear 1849, the discounts on all
bills that year, or rather the balance of interest, was £2,500, but I
cannot give the pr: portion applicable to accommodation bills.
After a lapse of five years, taking the year 1854, the belan:e
of interest on all bills had increased to £l4OOO. In
1856, it was 009, and in October. 1857, it was £40,00.
As only one interest account was km it, 1 cannot tell the
proportion beiween the trade and accommodation bills, but I consider
that two thistle of the amount might be a fair approximation (for the
latter). The number of parties from whom we got accommodation
grew with the amount of the accommodation received. In 1853 the
number of parties greeting accommodation was s ill limited, being
cro felled to seven individuals. These seven included our agea's,
James Show at London, Alexander Mackenzie at Manchester, and
William Lock at Belfast. The other four were MeWilliam Johnston
at London, Michael Baines at London, and It. and G. Wilson, New
York. These agents, particularly Lock of Belfast, had eenerally
goods in their heeds to cover in part the hills drawl upon then, but
the other parties had nothing. In 1854, the parties giving an-
cornmoilatioa had increased to 10 ; in 1853, to 13 ; in 1856, to 20;
and in 185 e, to 75. , Many of them hal ne commission;
but the greater part had a commission varying from 1 to le
per cent. The statement in the appendix of tie trustee's
statement, headed " Accommodation bills," contains the names and
residences of the parties fcc n whom we had a commefation in 1857,
and tee smennts we held from each. With 20 out of these 75 we
had business other than for accommodation, but not so with the
remaining 55. Some of them we dai not know at all. About 31,
or thereby, we di I not know, unless by their names on the bills, and
from tee in 'orenstion of those who oetained them, who certified them
to be respectable parties. Five of these parties were obtained by
Michael Baines, of oadon. These five were—Wagstaff and Ce.,
London, W. Crowe, J. Payton, and J. Popham. Mr. Baines also got
for us the names of A. Howell and E. liosquet. I understood teat
these parties were all in business in Loedm as drapers, and the two
lasenarned were females, and milliners. We hal transactions
•in business with James Cappell, of Gutter-lane, London. He
got for us thirteen names by way of accommodeton. These
were--Joseph Brown, L. Collins and Co., J. Gruger and Co.,
Hollins and Co., J. Johnson and Co,. G. Rodgers and Co., Joseph
Ranger, J. Roe, T. Stock, 'sS. Stable, Waters and Co., /tinware,
Brown, and Co., and G. Spencer—all of London. These were all
represented to me to be drapers er outfitters in London. We had
transactions with Messrs. Francis and Alston. and they obteinrd
eight names for us, there are—G. Chin chill, Fletcher and lion'ds-
worth, 11. Ford aid Co., Ford and Co., G. H. Fletcher, H. Hine,
W. H. Truss and Co., R. Francis and Co , all of London, with the
exception of R. Francis and Co., who were of Ipswich. They were
all represented t) us as being in a respee'able way as drapers or
shopkeepers. I observe the names of six parties in the statement
described as J. Howard, WelharJarnes E. V. Manners, J. Sutton,
H. Hine, Whitehall and Co., got by Josiah Huntford and S. H.
Brigs, both of Nottingham. The last two got all the six. We did
not directly pay any commission to the parties whose names have
been mentioned as procured for us. Any allowance that they had
mast have been paid out of the commission given to these parties,
which wee, as before mentioned, 1 and le per cent. In every instance
my firm Wes flat drawer of the bills upon these parties. This system
of procuring names commenced in March of the present year, and was
intended to be temporary. At the close of 1556, it was intended
there should be a large reduction of accommodation paper from the
spr ng sales of onr stock, whiten was sufficiently large to have
effected that reduction if it had found a remunerating market. It
was with this view that we opened a house in London and one in New
York, so ins to help off the sale of our stock, but trade was dull, and
goo:13 del not sell freely. Expecting each month might bring a
favourable chaege, we proposed to Francis and Alston and J.
Compel, to cm as agents in disposing of our goods, and that they
should sop n credits on parties purchasing such goods, whom we
would protect by handing them the goods which we ware not able
to dispose of. This was accordingly arranged. I was introduced to
some of the parties who were to accept on these intended credits,
and others were got. Goods were not pat in the possession of the
prrties so drawn, pr ncipally because they were not mike I for. Had
they asked for them we stem i hare supplied them. That
stock now forms the principal asset of our estate. Had we
succeeded hi disposing of that stock it was our intention to
have limited onr business to a manageable compass. It was chiefly at
the Western Bank that these accommodation bids were discounted
We experienced no soffit:silty in gettine t:.em discounted until last
snmmer, when the de.lre was expressed by the hank that we should
reduce our disc lent account on the aggregate. lam not aware that
tee Wester.s Bank charged snore than its ordinary rates of discount.
We never directly or indirectiy gave intro than the ordinary rate of
interest. lam no': aware, and was not a party to any practice, if such
was resorted to, to give the parties on whom those accommodation
bills were drawn a repute t r which tsey were not °untied. The im-
mediate cause of suspending pa ments arose out of the inve,tigation
which the Western Bank set about snaking into several of their ac-
counts in September la t. Up to that time my firm was in its usual
good credit. Our name having been mentioned as one of the
parties whose accounts were being so investizated, we found oar
discounts restrieted at the Commercial and City Banks. I com-
plained of teis to Mr. Taylor and Mr. Fleming, of the Western
Bonk, and mentioned that we would require temporary enlereemeats
of our discounts at the Western. owing to the restriction placed on
our discounts at the other banks. This was declined by the
Weotern Bank, and they put themselves in communication with the
other banks, tsith the view, as 1 understood, to take a fair share of
our discounts. 'i he result of that interview was that though the
City Bank was wiling to take its share, the Commercial, on learning
the state of our account at the Western, stopped our account
entire'y."

BURSTI'SiG OF TfIE UPPER POOL, NEAR

BIRMINGHAM.

A'mui half-pl,t nine o'clock on Thursday morning, o le of the most
disastrous occurrences that has f a. some time happened in the neigh-
bourhood of Birmingham, though fortunately anat.-traded with loss
of life, or injury t person, took plat' at Upper Witten Pool, in which
locality the new works for the water supply of r irntirytilam have for
some time been in progress. From inquiries made on the spat, it
appears that the pool in question, now ombracine an area of sour a 12
or 13 acres, and containing an aver,rge depth of from eight to nine
feet of water, had boon considerably enlarged, and every precaTion
which engineering skill could suggest, and workmanship carry out,
had been taken to render the embankments sufficiently secure to re-
sist the extra pressure of the water. 'the works at this pool war •
completed some seven montes since, and the water was then run into
it ; and, until Wednesday night, there was not the srghtest indication
of anything wrong. On that niok', however, a slight leakage was
observed by a watchman. He caused information to be at once for-
warded to Mr. note, the engineer to the Waterworks Company, and
aiso to Mess-s. Branson & Gwyther, the contractors for the works. A
body of workmen were at once dear:ale:fel to the spot, and were em-
ployed during the whoie night in endeavouring to avert the threatened
c slamity. The embaorkment where the leakage was observed had been
greatly strengthen d, and measured aeou f 70 feet in thickness by about
15 feet in height, besides being paddled with &ay, a deep sheeting of
the some material being also carried into the bed of the pee'. These
precautions, which at a moderate calculation had increased the resist-
ance of this embankment to three times its original strength, seemed
ample, but the mbseqaent event has, unfortunate y. proved the con-
trary, for on Thurs ray morning the emliankmiint yielded to the
pressure against it, and in an locredibly short space of time, with a
noise resembling the roar of a park of heavy art Very, the mighty body
of water buret from its bends, a d rushed, with tee impetuosity of a
milt race, over the adjacent roads and country, boiling, foaming, and
eddyinr, like a raging sea. Much destruction of property of course
ensued, the rushing waters spreading on all sides, and speedily over-
flowing the only outlet, a small rivulet intended to carry off the
superfluous water of the pool. Laden and empty waggons, carts,
wheelbarrows, workmen's tools, planks, and, in fact, everything used
in the furtherance of the works, were carrie i away in an universal
debris, some to the distance of half a mile. Workmen and horses
employed in the neighbourhood escaped with much difficulty, and had
hardly time to get out of the course taken by the water. For
fully three quarters of an hour, and until the pool was completely
drained, the water continued to flew through the aperture, which,
although of such great thickness and height, now presents an ap-
pearance as though it had been purposely cut away, and an inex-
perienced pars m can scarcely understand how such a vast amount
of earth could be forced from its position Fortunately, there was
only one house standing immediately in the direction taken by the
restless current, viz., that of Mr. Dugard, of Birmingham. It was
speedily surrounded by water, and the lo wer apartments flooded to
the depth cf four feet, the fu•nitnre, &c., being tumbled about in
the utmost confusion, the floor of one of the rooms being blown up.
Ths family, consisting of Mr. Dagard, his wife, and five children,
were luckily enabled to effect their esrap s up stairs; and for some
time so great was the rub of water against the house, that fetes
were entertained that it, too, would be swept away, the water rolling
against one side of it to the depth of seven or eight feet. The cries
for aid were gallantly responded to by a workman, named Gardner,
and he praiseworthily, and at much personal risk, endeavoured to
convey succour to those in the house. The effort was, however,
unsuccessful, and nearly cost the poor fellow his life. He was swept
away by the current for more than 150 yards, and was saved by
clinging to the trunk of an elm tree, where, for more than twenty
minutes, he remained without help. At length, another workm .n,
named Taylor, volunteered with a rope to his assistance, and thus
saved the peer fellows life. The buildings near Aston School were
aso flooded, as were some farm buildings, and in the latter a
number of pigs were set floating, but none were drowned. By the
foresight of Mr. liofe, the valve at the lower pool, now in coarse of
coestraction, was closed, and the greater portion of the water finding
its way into this pool, further damage was prevented. This pool is
about 20 acres la extent, and the seater now lies therein to the depth
of about three feet, together with a number of waggons, &c.,
swept down from the neighbourhood of the upper pool.
Had not this valve been closed, the water must have found its way
into the canal, and the moat direful consequences must have followed
had such been the case. A tramway, used for the purpose of the
excavations, was in some parts almost entirely destroyed, the iron
rails and sleepers being broken up and carried great distances ; and
part of a new horse road, with a large heap of sifted gravel upon it,
was swept away to tee depth of about seven feet. The traces of the
flood are perceptible throughout its entire course ; and, altogether,
such a scene of devastation is presented that has seldom resulted
from a similar occurrence. Not the slightest blame can attach to
any one, for every endeavour had been made to render the works
permanent and secure. It is expected that a week will be required
for the clearance of the wreck before the work, can be resumed.—
linfaingham Doily Port.