The Sun.
London, England, 1837-06-03 00:00:00

THE LATE FAILURES.

(From the Times.)
FRIDAY EVENING.—The expectation formed of the re-
sult of tile Bank meeting has
,been wholly disappointed.
After a sitting which continued till near 9 o'clock yesterday
evening, and at which '23 Directors were (resent, it was
decided by a majority of one only that no further assist-
ance could be given to the three American houses previously
under the protection of the Bank, and they have, in conse-
quence, all of them suspendel payment this !naming. Tbs.!
firms are those of George Wildes and Co , T. Wilson and
Co., and T. XViggiu and Co. Such an extent of failure
has probstdy never bofore occurred in the city in the same
day. The engagements of these houses have been mates._
!idly diminished since they first received assistance from
the Bank, and therefore the calamity will be much less
fatal iu other qUarters than would he anticipated. Had it
&loon-red six months ago, and taken the city by surprise, it
uould have been difficult to say who was entirely beyond
the sphere of its influence. S,Aeral versions are current
respecting the outstanding engagements of these houses,
but they are generally stated in the aggregate at not
higher than 2,000,0001., which we should imagine to be
far short of the truth, or perhaps only meant to apply to
those engag! meats now due, or on the point of soon becom-
ing due. The more immediate and severe loss will fall upon
those houses who have become guarantee for them is ith
the Bank, for sums varying from 5,0001. to 20,000/. or
more, and who must he very •numerous, as the aggregate
of the occassities given to the Bank is said to art:saint to
1,500,000/., the whole of which will b peremptorily
claimed for the protection of the Polak. Even with this
aid, the Bank will be, it is said, imperfectly proteoted,
but will have to take their chance of a division for a
largo amount with the other creditcsN, The house of
'l'. Wilson and Co. is largely eutmected, among other
parts of the world, Is.'iol ()lull, and held the agency
of several !!gotta q the security and future disposition
whisslt, as soon as the fact of the failure became
known, was a subject of much solicitude to the mer-
chants connected with that part of British America.
They were, however, speedily placed in other hands, as
follows s---Tlie account of the 4. Montreal Bank" with
Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Co, s that of the " Bank of
Upper Canada" with Messrs. Glyn, Mills, and Co.; that
of the " City Bank of Montreal" with the Bank of Bri-
tish North America in Great St. Helen's ; and that of
the ~ Commercial Bank of the Midland Districts of Ca-
nada" with the London Joint Stock Bank. The engage-
ments of this house are understood to be much more
widely spread than the other two, as they have done much
business in the Zsit Indies and China. Large acceptances
were given by them on bills drawn from Canton only a
few weeks ago. They have also had the agency for
the
payment of the dividend% on Brazilian and Danish Stock,
and were the contractors for various loans raised for dif-
ferent American states and banks in several parts of the
union. Their commercial engagements, as distinguished from
those of the banking department of the house, are also be-
lieved to be very large. With respect to the house of T.Wig-
gin and Co., it is understood to have been principally, if not
wholly, connected with America, as was that of George
Wildes and Co. The last stands in a position towards the
Bank of England somewhat different from the other two,
having relinquished business, and agreed to wind up their
affairs a few weeks ago, on the express stipulation of the
Directors, who made that a condition for affording the as-
sistance asked, and appointed persons to superintend the
performance of it. When the general stoppage, therefore,
took place this morning, it was at first supposed that this
firm would not be included in it, but would go on as before,
under the agreement with the Bank. It was soon ascer-
tained, however, that the Bank would not pay any more of
their bills. The parties who bold them are, it seems, highly
dissatisfied with this refusal, and some of them have given
notice of legal proceedings to compel payment. The firm
at least has had all along the impression that the Bank were
legally bound to pay all the outstanding bills at the time of
the agreement, and still more those which have been drawn
since, as the parties contend that they did so entirely on
the faith that the house was placed under the protection
of the Bank.
Some very critical escapes, as not uncommonly happens,
have occurred on this occasion. It was by no means cer-
tain at the commencement of business in the morning that
these houses would stop payment ; several draughts were
presented and honoured, and in one instance a bill on
Messrs. T. Wiggin and Co., for 1,6001., was presented,
and the money handed over to the party just as the notice
came in to the banking-house, that of Messrs. Jones, Loyd,
and Co., that the house had stopped, and that no further
payments were to be made.

It is considered a piece of groat good fortune for the
London trading interest generally, that the force of the
blow has been broken by the interference in the first in-
stance of the Bank. All those who had connexions di-
reedy or indirectly with the houses which have failed have
had ample time to prepare for the worst, and all bills con-
nected with American business have been in so much dis-
credit for a long time past, that those who at first held them
would not again engage in them after the set had run off.
The guarantees given, though they will entail in many
cases a very heavy loss, are not so great a sacrifice as
they would appear to be, since by forming the induce-
ment to the Bank to assist they have enabled the parties
to escape quietly from liabilities of a much more formidable
nature. This will be fuund to be the case, we believe, with
the majority of them, though a few persons who had no
such motive, and merely offered their guarantee out of good
nature, will pay a heavy penalty for so doing. In general
they are such houses as will bear the loss without much
difficulty. The guarantees of the bankers, so far as they
have been given, appear to have been very prudently and
cautiously entered into, as should be taw ease with persons
who have the custody of the money of other people as well
as their own,

There is no doubt that the contest in th© Bank parlour,
wilds) the discussion of last night was in progress, was a
very severe one, and it must not be concealed that many
of the Directors themselves must, as merchants, have a
very deep interest in the result. Some of those who were
in favour of support to the American houses up to a late
hour in the afternoon were so confident of carrying their
point that they intimated as much to some of their friends,
One gentleman, who has taken a prominent part in Bank
affairs, is said to have resented the decision of the Board so
highly as to threaten a resignation in consequence of it.
The Bank Directors can ill spare at this moment aoy of its
really effective members. There can be no error in saying
that the tenour of the last advises from New York. had a
material influence in turning the scale. The refusal of the
Government to accede to the wish of the merchants on the
subject of the public deposits, with the immense number of
failures daily occurring in New Orleans and New York,
carried with them the conviction that assets to anything
like the extent calculated upon could not be realized in
the United States, and that it was no longer safe there-
fore for the Bank to continue their support. Besides,
it is known that the additional assistance asked for,
either on the arrival of these accounts or shortly before
them, was so large, and so inadequately supported by
such securities as all banking must require that has
any principle or system in its management, that all pre-
text and apology for it was taken away. Though often at
variance with the Directors in their general management,
we do not believe that they will be found censurable for
having stopped here, but that they have gone as for as
they could do with prudence, and perhaps farther. The
hesitation of going with a portion of the securities, which
was mentioned yesterday, of course increased their risk,
and they found, too, that if they went on they must take
other houses under their protection, and carry on their on
ginal mistaken principle, as they might easily have done
under the circumstances, to the absorption of the whole
disposable means of the Bank.

It is greatly feared that the impression of these disasters
will be much more serious in Liverpool and Glasgow than
it has been in London. It would reach the former place
by express in the course of the afternoon. The reaction
from thence is very anxiously looked for. It must be tt
very long time, years perhaps, before the entire effects of
these failures is known, for they will extend, more or less,
over the whole world.

The funds have not been much affected, but there was
a considerable demand for money at the Stock-Exchange ;
still, however, not amounting to a scarcity.

Lady Drummond's death was occasioned by the in-
fluenza, which was prevalent at Naples, and her 'Ladyship
having gone to a party and caught cold. She was upwards of
50 3 ears of age.
JOHN FRASER, ESQ., INVERNESS.-011C of our
most respectable townsmen, Mr. John Fraser, lately Provost
of the Burgh, left his native town this morning for Canada,
having been appointed Chief Commissioner of the North Ame-
rican Land Company. Mr. Frascr's knowledge of business,
his general intelligence, an.l his active habits, well iit him for
this situation. —lnverness Courier.

SALMON FISIIING.—We cannot yet announce any
improvement in the take on the Tay. During the last week
or two the average at any one statiun has hardly exceeded one
tlsh durin,, a single tide, and we hear equally bad accounts
from the lower stations. The same remark applies to the nor-
then streams.—lnverness Courier.

A gold watch was found on the cliff near Herne
Bay this spring., which was lost by a visitor last summer, and
after ling such a length of time, and through such a severe
winter, it proves to be entirely uninjured. No owner lm
~)e.s
put in a claim for it.
The immense number of
4 continually imported
0.214
Ftamsgato from trance is ,truly astonishing. Scare°ly A day
poses that does not witness the arrival of one or more yes.
sels laden with them. They arc carefully packed in long
wrr,dn ho4e6, put on shore there, examined by the Custom_-
hOuse officers, and immediately shipped for London by the
hoys. In this manner upwards of twenty vessels are (:gia:afiantl<
ernploptl,