The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-04 00:00:00

LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

B.lNii

I:.e annual general rnee•ii.g of the proprietors of this
the was yes,t;rday held, at tie Bank in Lethbury, for
purpose of transacting the ordinary busiiiess of the
co j-, and also fur the purpose of submitting for con-
rmat:on the election of Joshua Walker, E q., who t al been
nominated by the board of directors as a director in the room of
Patrick M. Stews, t, M.P., deceased ; and also for the put-
Pose of appointing, three directors, in the room of Trios. Pim-
e"'be, Esq., David Salomons, E,n., and H. Bosanquet, Esq.,
Who retired by'rotation, and who, being eligible by re ap-
P.eintrnent, offered themselves for re-election, and also to eon-
81der the propriety of appointing two additior al directors and
electing the same should such be considered necessaiy.
The chair was taken at one o'clock, by D. SALOMONS, Esq.,
Who, having stated the object of the meeting, cubed upon
the Secretary to read the report.
The SECRETARY accordingly proceeded to read the report
al follows :
"The directors had to commence their thirteenth annual
report with expressing their deep regreet at the death of
their esteemed colleague, Patrick Maxwell Stewart, Esq.,
eel ell
114. P., a regret which the were sure the proprietors would
ually tmselyve
The vacancy occasioned by this lamented event had
been supplied by the election of 3oshua Walker, Esq., subject
to the confirmation of the present meeting.
:The Profits of the past year, after defraying the total ex -
fi).eu3e, of the establishment, tnaking, allowance for all bad and
?4
doubtful debts, and paring the income-tax, amounted to
51. 14 9d. Out of these profits the directors had paid
._°‘ September a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent. per
rnum for the half-year ending the 30th June, and they now
triared a dividend at the same rate for the half-year ending
thBlst December. They also declared a bonus of eight
etrings per share, which was equal to 200 per cent. upon
L. Capital. After the payment of these dividends and this
the 12os, making together 64,000/., there wou!d. reain out of
Profits of this rear a surplus of 10,175/. 15s m.
9d. to be
added to the " reserved fund, which then amounted to
98,424 E. 12s. ld.
Tlae directors considered that the time had now arrived
Tiri_clistributing the ten thousand unappropriated shares.
Thep had accordingly determined to issue them to the prese.:t
irl°Prietors at par, in the proportion of one to every four
ares alreay held'. The details of this arrangement would '
!tilted tot he meeting, and subsequently communicated by
circular letter, addressed to each shareholder. The paid up
eispital of the bank would then amount to the sum of
'ss°,ll,'°°°l-, and the subscribed capital 5,000,0001."
b -e report went on to state that —" With the extended
should
and capital of the bank. it was desirable that there
I_l4 Itlablan increase in the number of the directors. It was
therefore
proposed to the present meeting to appoint two
members of the board. Should this suggestion be
;clePted, the meeting would then proceed to the election.
en, duly qualified, had declared themslves
eaha-Z,ieduiatentiteivieniand had riven the necesi•ary notices. 1 hose
were Henryl.Buckle, Esq., of the firm of Messrs.
Jolfoekle and Co., merchants, and John Garratt Cattley, Esq.,
ththrm of Messrs. Cattley and Carr, Russia merchants.
p4:ce three directors who retired by rotation were Thomas
itoZilt)e, Esq., Alderman, David Salomons, Esq., and Henry
for luet, Esq but being eligible, they offered themselves
re
71..0.tt0n.
befor7 rullowing profit and loss account of the bank was laid
e the meeting :
'43lrient of the dividend on Sept. 10, 1846, a. J.
tabt,.thi_e rate of 64 per cent. per annum, for
Pa ° half-year ending June 30, 1846 24,000 0 0
YMent of the dividend, now declared at the
rate of 6/, per cent. per annum, for the half-
'blear ending Dec. 3, 1846 24,000 0 0
'rent of the bonus of two per cent., now
t.,selared
•••
Man" of unappropriated9B,424 12 1
profits

£162,424 12 1

k 1
anilines of _ .
unappropriated profits on 31st
Irecem ber, 1845
t_Prefit of the year 1846, after defraying the
ratat expense of management, paying the
bcoMe-tax, and making provision for all
ad and doubtful debts

£162,424 12 1

1311allee of unappropriatd rofits £98424 12 1
IRLbe balance-sheet oftthep company up to 31st, Deeember,
--', Was also read to the meeting by the Secretary :
1.
Dr. £. s. (To •
800 000 0 0
1,..
_,proprietors for paid. up capital
'l,' the Public for deposits ... 3 280 864 0 0
... P • ,ta the Public for circular notes ...
,i," Profit on the past year
40 Rest, or Surplus Fund 88,248 16 4

£4,250,013 3 4

Cr.
938,717 10 0
.117 Government securities .
. 2,676,720 1 10
r other securities... OOOOOOOO .••••
634.575 11 6
cash in hand

.C 4,250,013 3 4
„The CHAIRMAN then said that it was his duty to call upon
re meeting to receive and adopt the report which had just
been read. He would take the opportunity of snaking a few
remarks
upon some of the items in the report. The first part
.0 which he would call the attention of the meeting was
the sum made and earned by the bank during the last year,
arisin from the legitimate business of the bank.—(Cries
g_ of " Hear, hear.") Had the directors felt inclined to
go into a business of a more hazardous character,
they might have been enabled to divide upon the present (ie..
caslon a larger dividend than that proposed in the report.
The total earnings of the company during the past year had
been 74,1751., which upon a paidl up capital of 800,0001.
Would be equal to about nine per cent.—( Hear, hear.) The
',Mount of earning was during the past year
Pea.. ter than it had been in any preceding year.—
,tear, hear.) The directors had continued to make additions
to the reserve-fund, in order to insure a continuance of the
Z.° and sound mode of conducting the business of the coin-
1-mb, Y,„.• Which had hitherto characterised the management of
eeuairs. That reserve-fund now reached, in round mim-
s, to a sum of nearly 100,000/.—(Hear, hear.) This
„ t. d had arisen solely from the annual savings of the bank
:va the 6 per cent, interest which it had paid to the proprie-
w;horai and from the legitimate transactions of the bank.
ith respect to the payment of 6 per cent, dividend, he
thought the directors might have, if they wished to obtain
a little temporary eclat, divided something more than that
rate of interest; they thought it, however, more necessary
to have a large reserve fund to to i . fall back upon, than n
~,erekase the rate of dividend et en to 7
.per cent.—( Hear.)
• next part was the increase of the capital of the company.
With respect to the capital of the bank, he would say that
They
bank was intended to represent a capital of 5,000,00 N.
t_4403.' began business with 1,000,000/. In the years 1836 and
'e 1841 new shares had been issued, and the directors now
Prete posed to put the apex on the pyramid, the base of which
"4eY considered sufficiently broad, by proposing that
the .
s,„ capital of the company should be made up to the
6...`"' amount of s,ooo,oool.—(Hear, hear.) These new
taTires would be issued at par, and the value of
ete°l„ would, if they were sold in the market
ii-„.,.`"e present time, realise a:profit of 50 per cent.—( Hear,
e,47.) He did not anticipate any difficulty in the trans-
--",(13 of the bank during the ensuing year, but still he had
goubt but that ample opportunity would be afforded for
eore employment of the increased capital then asked
of • With respect to the increase of the number
ties reetors, he would say, that great responsibili-
Ras thrown upon the directors. A large capital
to be taken care of, which was in itself
Whitbytask, and also the duty of employing that capital,
fo 4° Was of still greater importance. He thought, there-
ofe ai? r that the proposed accession to the strength of the board
at
would be cordially concurred in by theproprie-
take "(s
"(sear, hear.) With respect to the mode in which
ttlditZtoaresd shares were to be issued, and the amount
the Paid, he would inform the meeting that
having come to the resolution to issue
.the
stock 10,000 shares, in order to complete the capital
eaeh„lth,. the bank, ani thereby augmenting the paid-up
th"o-"" from 800,0001. to 1,000,0001., they had resolved that
te shares should be offered to those proprietors who stood
Petered in the books of the bank on the 15th inst., iu the
They
41;
:I?eerti
;taro: one new share for every four shares which they
that the shares should be issued at par, viz. 201. each,
Et that the payments should be 71. per share on 15th April,
on 15th July, and 71. per share on 15th October.
of aYi had also decided that every proprietor being the holder
1141 rac.tional part of four shares, should, on the payment of
of pre Instalment in October, stand a creditor for the amount
tl4 rallm realised in the market upon the sale of such frac-
of tt Part, which amount would be allowed in part-payment
pre last instalment upon the shares, and in the case of a
aetor being the holder of less than four shares, and en-
pr`iieel twone fractional part only of a new share, such pro-
a..„.(9r receive the amount remiom which such
ai`dlorlal part might have produced, together with the
Ws, payable in September next. No interest.
•"' to allowed for prompt payment, and
!aterest at the of Si. per cent. would be charged if the talalments were not paid on the appointed days. The
:directors had also resolved that the receipts for the instal-
rats should be transferable on delivery, and that the new
area should be entitled to any dividend that
.might be de.-
o'l,ated. in the transactions of the bank, commetoing (in the I.st
etzly
tnetxtt.• These arrangemer,te he hoped would be satis-
proprietors.—(Hear, hear.) He would, there-
fore, love that the report now read be adopted, printed, and
circulated among the proprietors.
Mr. TrrE wished to know whether the directors had made
alt their mind as to the amount to which the reserve fund
should be allowed to reach ? He quite concurred in the pro-
taition to add two directors to the nnmber of the board.
2e wished to know what was the maximum number of
mtLectors allowed to be appointed to the board ?
the The CHAIRMAN said that the directors looked upon the
ta.,l of the bank, as so much 6 per cent. stock, and
fund ' thought it necessary to keep up a sufficient reserve
that Meet any contingency that might arise; he hoped
rth wou leave the amount othe
itt lae proprietorsad
ev the hands of the directors; he did not thinrkeserve that
pe 4, ould starve the present generation for the
ar:sew of feeding posterity out of the " posterity
as it had been called at the last meeting.
hayoaed that they would never be so unfortunate as to.
ee to fall back upon the reserve fund for the purpose of tileualising the dividends.—(Hear, hear.) With respect to
„Plusher of directorg he believed the maximum was 24.
!Lila:7w% ::::11baealvi wished to know whether the directors
gilt, that after the issue of the 10,000 additional shares,
Present? able to pay the same amount of dividend as at
The
pa CHAIRMAX said, that as so much depe.ndeld.
sriel6a contingencies of the future, it would not bc, ac
it n'euto promise any rate of dividend for the future;h
d be a most disagreeable thing if, in order to keep. the
ter°le which might be maele at any time by the dtieuct,
the thePprietary, they should be obliged to fall back p,
,Jserve fund.
th41.0.* LEVY objected to the name of " posterity fund" being
oVt"ad to the reserve fund. He wished that fund to be kept
ban:sech an amount as might render the transactions of the
edi erfectly secure • but still be did not see any reason
eeri';'S a dividend of '7
per cent, could be paid, and the rei
eaeuklond be kept up to a proper amount, that that dividend
adopt not be Paid.--( Laughter.) He thought if the could
realise the clearing system, the directors alight be able. to
csoset a aivideral of at least 12 per cent. upen the capital.—
Nlr
That was his opinion, at all events.
feed altatinsta:v thought it impoi tant that the reserve
oertf-1 uld not be intrenched upon. He thought that an
of the ahould be made in the salary of the clerks and officer
le establishment, now that the concern was in so flourish-
"g a state
salTsrhiee.,e_ttiittatax said that the directors had increased the
l also in'tiOr the clerks by ten per cent. in the last year, enc.
Josh "e Present year.
44411* NYalter, Esq., Thomas Farncornb, Esq., "Henry Bo-
eettlevi Esq., Henry Buckell, F... 1., and Julin Oarret
eoapin were laniinously chosen directors of the
kr, ii
_ rate ofd HEAD moved that the sum of 4 5001, being at the
the
.aervree; per `tannin, be set apart as a remuneration for
iii'KSir _ et the directors.
A
r.%)3I.IRRELL seconded the motiaa.
UDSLEY thought the proposed sum too much ; he