The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-17 00:00:00

several concerns of considerable extent. There were some
large colleries that he was working ; steel works at Bir-
mingham ; tube manufactory at Baskerville ; besides a
large factory in France, at Rouen, where he used to manu-
facture rollers for sale. At that time Mr. Attwood was
feeding those concerns with considerable sums of money
from the bank, and Mr. Spooner at length found it neces-
ary to put a stop to it. Accordingly, it was arranged
that Mr. Attwood should make over his estates in part
liquidation of the debt due to the bank. This was only
partially done. Mr. Attwood's debt reached, at the end of

11853, the sum of £420,000. He could not pay the money,
and, as his health was declining, it was thought the
best arrangement that could be made was that the bank
should take the estates of Mr. Attwood at a valua-
tion, and that the amount should be applied in the reduc-
tion of the debt. The estates were taken by the bank at
the sum of £167,000, and that amouut, as far as it went, was
applied in,reduction of his debt to the bank. The estates
were all now in the possession of the bank, and would have
to be sold to realise the assets of the bank. After some fur-
ther explanations, Mr. Whateley said that there was a sum
of £5,000 now due from the estate of the late Thos. Aurelius
Attwood ; and that in March, 1853, the amount due from
the Attwood family, after giving credit for all that the
estates of Mr. George Attwood realised, was £250,000.
Mr. LAUNDY7 the accountant, who had examined the
affairs of the bank, was then called upon, and gave the
following approximate statement of the position of the
bankrupt concern :—Liabilities--Due:on deposits, £718,973
19s. ; due to customers on current accounts, £271,136 ; but
there was to be deducted from that something like £50,000
of bills, which gentlemen had paid into the bank, on which
they drew no money, and which they might claim to have
returned to them ; so that the amount due to customers on
current :accounts was £221,136 ; the notes in circulation
were £19,370, and there was due for clerks' salaries and
other amounts to be paid in full about £l,OOO. The whole
liabilities of the bank, therefore, were £960,479 19s. The
assets show—cash in hand, £24,123 12s. 41. ; balance at Bar-
clay's, in the Bank of England, and due from the country
bankers, £52,264115. Bd.; bills of exchange in hand (less the
£50,000 mentioned as liable to be returned), £56,588 4s.
11d. ; the current accounts considered good, £234,825 ; cur-
rent accounts doubtful, estimated worth £46,069 lls. ld. ;
shares in public companies, £4,293 10s. ; freehold and
leasehold properties, £218,248 ; liable to debts and charges,
£18,000; reducing the amount to £200,248, making the
total assets £618,412 9s. 3d., and leaving a deficiency of
£342,000. Mr. Laundy added that these figures were put
down as near as he could judge, and without any desire to
lead them to think matters were either better or worse than
they really were. If they wanted the rough figures they
might take it in this way, that adding a little to liabilities
they might call them a million, and, by striking off £lB,OOO
from the assets, they might call them £600,000, and that,
which was very near the mark, was about 12s. in the pound.
(Loud cheers.)
Considerable discussion ensued, in the course of which
there was a unanimous opinion expressed as to the desira-
bility of keeping the estate out of bankruptcy.
On the motion of the Mayor, seconded by the Rev. Dr.
Miller, it was resolved, " That in the opinion of this meet-
ing the affairs of the bank ought to be taken out of the
control of the Court of Bankruptcy, and to be wound up
under private arrangement."
The following gentlemen, representing every class of
creditors, were appointed a committee to investigate the
position of the bank with a view to the speedy realisation
of the assets, viz. :—Messrs. Jeremiah Matthews, W. H.
Dixon, Alderman G. Turner, J. Gough, P. Bennett, J.
Hughes, J. R. Allen, John Shakell, and the Rev. Dr.
Miller.

The meeting, which was a noisy one, terminated with a
vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding.