The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-06 00:00:00

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

Much has been hitherto said in reference to the
liability of provisional committeemen, and many
views of the case hare been given forth to the public
on both sides. It is a question that involves a vast
amount of capital, and one deserving of the most
serious consideration.

Upon this question of liability we find some of the
learned occupants of the judicial bench differing from
others, laying down the law in various ways, and,
hat is still more anomalous, we find the same judge
ruling one way at one time and differently at another—
one holding " that provisional committeemen are
liable," another " the reverse ;" but, unfortn nately,
those judges who conscientiously believed in their
just liability, refusing to be governed by their own
judgment, because their brethren in another court
take a different view of the case. It is really time
that the law should be laid down and finally settled,
that the English public may know what is and what
is not the law.

Let us consider the formation of a company, and
the mode of carrying out its plans. The idea, of
course, is the production of one head origins illy—he
calls to his assistance one or two others, and they
resolve on their proceeding. Then comes the pros-
pectus containing the names, it may be of 50, 100, or
even 200 highly respectable noblemen and gentle-
men, merchants, and traders, who give their written
consent to he placed on the committee. Th.e• next
thing is to obtain credit with tradesmen and others ;
one supplies the stationery, another advertises the
concern in the newspapers, and thus the pubaic are
induced to take shares in the project; enginevr s and
surveyors are set to work to prepare the necessary
plans for Parliament ; the stationer prints the share
certificates and supplies the paper, the adveitising
agent is employed to announce to the work' the
names of the committee, the objects of the comp any,
and, perhaps, that no further applications for lit ares
in the " important" undertaking will be received
after a given day, &c., &c. The shares are all otted,
go into the market at a premium, and all go, es on
swimmingly; each of the committee helps his fi is nds
and himself to allotments, his own claim being- sel-
dom less than 200, and often a much larger nun ber,
which during the palmy days of speculation he
usually disposed of, say at 20s. premium, at once ob-1
taining a clear profit of at least 200/. The shar ea in
the companies projected in 1845 did not, how 'ever,
stop at such a premium ; there were inst. ances
of their coming out at 51., and going up
even to 91. premium, and the committe•ei nen
cleared enormous profits. Such an appeal to. the
cupidity of mammon-hunters was responded tc • as
might have been expected; numbers launched! into
every project, hoping that these golden days Juld
last; but a change came over the scene. The, 25th'
of October, 1845, ushered in the panic in Itl l its
terror, the golden dreams of the committt !men
vanished, and many of those very gentleme a fled
to foreign lands, to avoid the responsitr ilities
they had incurred. Who were the sufferers ?' The
tradesmen, advertiting agents, and engineers.- The
secretary had obtained credit of those parties t qi the
strength of the solvency and acknowledged z 'e 3pect-
ability of those whose names appeared on 6EI list of
the provisional committee. The day of re( 11 zoning
came at length ; those very gentlemen who 1 a per-
haps realised large sums by their connexion v ith the
project repudiated all liability ; the parties w' so 3 gave
them credit, and who had paid away large st ims of
money on their behalf, in the full belief o f their
solvency and honour, were set at defiance, and the
only means left to the unfortunate creditor was to
bring actions, and to plunge into a doubtful RA •ation
in order to recover the amounts of this fair dena ands.
The judges now rule that the committeeman is not- 1i able,