The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-14 00:00:00

COLOMBIAN BONDS,

A numerous Meeting of Colombian Bondholders was
held yesterday at the City of London Tavern, for the
purpose of taking into consideration the proposition of 1
tke Commissioners from Bogota, New Granada, Vene-
auela, and Ecuador, for the future payment of the arrears
of interest and the consolidation of the debt, with the
arrears of interest due upon the bonds. The original
debt amounts to about three millions, and the arrears of
interest to a larger amount.:
Mr. G. B. ROBINSON, the late M.P. for Worcester,
was unanimously called to the Chair, on taking which he
said, it had become his duty in consequence of being
elected the Chairman of the meeting, to state the cir-
cumstances under which they had met, and to put the
meeting in possession of all that had occurred with re-
lation to the Colombian debt since they had last met,
so as to enable the meeting to come to a decision on the
present state of their affairs. He need hardly inform
those present, that after having waited for a long time
in expectation that some proposition would be made
on behalf of the Republics of New Granada, Ven.
znela, and Ecuador, with respect to the settlement of
their bonds, the time Thad now arrived when it was ne-
cessary for them gravely and deliberately to come to a
wise and judicious decision as to the course proper to
pursue. He was afraid that, in presenting the docu-
ments he had to the meeting, some of those
present would be tempted to express themselves rather.
warmly, but he trusted that gentlemen would be so kind
as to avoid all unnecessary topics of irritation, and en-
deavour to come:to a decision on this great question, in
which they were all interested, in a manner becoming
the object for which they had met. With respect to
the mode of conducting the proceedings of the meeting,
he was sure if any circumstances occurred in which
it was necessary for him to interfere, he should be
supported by those present.—(Cheers.) He would
now proceed to state the object of the present meeting.
About six weeks or two months ago, afterit was known
to the Committee of Spanish American Bondholders
that the several States had sent three Commissioners,
and they had arrived in London, he was instructed, as
the Chairman of that Committee, to address a
letter to each of those gentlemen, which he
`ad done, requesting them to point out
to the Committee what their intentions were on the
subject. In answer to that communication he had re.
ceired a letter, stating that the Commissioners were en-
gaged in preliminary regulations on the subject, and
that as soon as their labours had been concluded,
on were in a proper state of forwardnessra commu-
ne:l%6ml should be made to the Commit'tee on the
sw'oject. Sometime having elapsed, and no corn-
ramnication having been received, another letter was
written to the Commissioners, stating that the bond-
holders had shown considerable impatience on the sub-
ject, and requesting them to state when it was probable
that a communication might be expected from them,
and stating that until that communication was
made, it would be impossible for the Com-
mittee to make any communication to the bondholders.
that letter was dated the 3d December, and on the
9th, six days afterwards, he received the following
communication from Messrs. Read, Irving, and Co.
The Chairman then read the letter, which stated the
terms which the Government of the State of Venezuela
proposed to the bondholders, to which it was necessary
to have the consent of the whole body of bondholders.
The debt amounted to 6,623,9501., with arrears of
interest. The proportion of the debt which was due
by the State of Venezuela was 23± per cent.
being the sum of 1,888,3901. The State proposed to
issue debentures for that amount, requiring the bonds
to be delivered up to be cancelled, and it proposed to
pay an annual interest of 2 per cent.—(Cries of
" Shameful !")—the first payment to be made on the
exchange of securities ; and the State engaged further,
that its agents in London should be in posses.
sion of the dividends six months before the time
required for their payment. The arrears of inte-
rest for thirteen and a half years to be entirely sur-
rendered.—(Cries of shame.) The Chairman then pro-
ceeded to state that on the receipt of that letter, and before
receiving any communication from the State of the
Ecuador, the Committee met to deliLerate on what
was to be done. The result was that he wrote a letter
to Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co., acknov,:edging the
',eceipt of the communication made to the Spanish
American bondholders, and stating that the terms
of the proposition hid excited in the :minds of the
Committee the greatest surprise and disappointment.
—( Hear, hear, hear.) He had stated further that the
amount now due on the bonds, including 1:31,- years in-
terest, was
.1.81/-, and the interest was 10/. 17s. per
cent., and on what grounds they were to accept of one-
fifth less, without say reference to the large arrears of
interest now due, he was at a loss to know. That the
Committee had called a general meeting of the bond-
holders when the proposition would. be submitted to
them. He had just one remark to make, cn passant.:
He hoped the meeting did not disapprove of the ler,er
he had written.—(Cheers, and cries of " No ; quite the
contrary.") The Committee did not think proper to
await the meeting of bondholders, but they had cau-
tiously abstained from expressing anything beyond their
surprise and disappointment leaving it to the general body
of the bondholders to take such steps as they might deem.
proper. On the 12th inst., in consequence of a letter
be had addressed to the agent for the State of New
Grenade, be had received a communication, announcing
the terms which that State was ready to propose with
respect to the two loans contracted in 162 e) and 18-'4.
The introductory part stated that the Government of
New Granada was anxious to raise its credit.—(This
announcement created some laughter.) The proposal
then went on to state, that according to the arrange-
ment made at Bogota, the sum due by the State of
New Granada was 3,312,975/. ; but they were
unable to pay the interest originally coat racted
for. They proposed to issue new bonds. for the
above sum, being half of the original debt, and to
pay interest at two per cent. per annum on the loans
so issued. They proposed also to issue new bonds for
i .the arrears of interest due, such new bonds to bear no
interest ; and they further proposed to set aside two
millions of fanagados of land, each equal to about one
acre, which might be purchased by the bondholders.—
(A gentleman here observed, " We might as as swell
have them in the moon.") The last proposal war
from the State of the Ecuador, which premise' l
that it had never received of the loan more than 4,00431.
It proposed to pay 30,000 dollars in the years lE 40
and 1841—in the years 1842 and 1843, 100,000 d ol-
lars per annum—in the year 1844 and thencefc ;di
140,000. He further proposed to give the the be lad-
holderossession of certain " valuable gold and sillveir
mines."—(Great laughter followed the reading of the
names of the different mines.) The Chairman ob—
served that none of the bondholders had the happiness•
of being acquainted with the names of these mines :
He had read all the documents ; and as he understoo,
there were several gentlemen outside who could not
cbtain admittance from the crowded state of the room,
he would propose, if it was the wish of the meeting, that.
they should adjourn to a larger room. This was accede 6.
to ; and the meeting adjourned to the large room of tiae,
tavern.

The Hon. Gentleman then read a letter which he had
received from Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co., of Token- •
house-yard, in answer to a letter he had written to thew,
stating that he had not truly characterised the proposi-
tion wade by the Government of Venezuela, because on
referring to their communication, it would be found they
had expressly stated the ground of offering the Reduced
Dividends was the state of the finances, which did not
justify any greater pecuniary obligation than that which ,
they had proposed. They also transmitted a letter whicl
they had received from the Minister, charged wit' a
the negotiation entering into particulars on the subject .
and expressed their feeling that it would be as much t.( )
the disadvantage of the bondholders as it would be in
jurious to the character and resources of the Venezuela n
Government, if engagements should now be enter' 2d
into beyond the means of the State to fulfil. In c;( ,re-
clusion, Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co. stated that in the
propositions they had made they had acted in st t ict
conformity with their instructions, and had no expec
tins
of being authorised to make any change, or ol Ter
any modification ; and it was therefore for the boo d-
hold ers to decide whether they would accept or reject tl he
terms submitted to them.—(Groans,and cries of Shame. •)
The statement alluded to in Messrs. Reid and Co. '5
letter as a justification for the proposals they had mad e
was a 3 follows :--,4State of the Annual Revenue re• • "
ceived into the Treasury of the Venezuelan Re public ,
years, com-
taken from the mean product
of the seven
mencing Ist July, 1831, and ending the 30th June,..
1838, and also the amount of the
public expendituse,7
according to the estimate formed for
the year beginnin
the Ist July, 1839, and ending the 30th June, 1840
--
Currentoney. Spanish Pounds Sterling *.
Revenue.... 1,396,416 1,117,132
1,038,638 £223,496 11 : '
Expenditure 1,323,360
211,737 12

-___________
Trthel 9s' 1.a.."
Dols. 73,059 Dols. 58,444 XI I
to which the following note was appended...-.
of 1,V3,360 dollars of current money of the county ~.. •,s
included the amount of 160,000 dollars. approprir,4" d
annually towards the foreign public credit by the 1„,,,, 0 c
26th April, 1638, which forms part of the sum (test'l
by the Government, for the payment of the 1 per cent
interest, as that portion of the foreign public debt be-
longing to Venezuela in accordance with the proposi-
tion, which the agents of that Republis have just made
to the holders of Colombian Bonds ;
" In the first column of the items of revenue and ex-
penditure of Venezuela, the figures represent ' Macaquino'
dollars being the current money of the country. The second
column represents hard dollars reduced at the ex-
change of 20 per cent., according to the legal exchange
of Venezuela ; and in the last column the same figures
are reduced to pounds sterling, at the rate of five
dollars per pound
Venezuela. , being the current exchange in
.‘ The total of the public expenditure is the same a
the estimate for the year 1840, presented by the G, ,
-
vernment to the Chamber for the present year." is i
He had also received a copy of a letter sent by ar -BY '
Fortegui to Reid, Irving, and Co, stating that, 4
che . S
would be sufficient for the payment of tl,,e annuale per cent. to the creditors, and that 01e Govern-
-9,