The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-29 00:00:00

iT kit
ibeening

LONDON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1848.

the question at issue between the directors of the
Bank of England and a large and influential body of
the proprietors of Bank Stock has, for the time being,
been decided in favour of the former by a majority of
fifteen votes only, the numbers being 138 in favour of
a dividend of 3i per cent., as recommended by the
directors, whilie 123 persons.supported the proposition
that 4?2- per cent. should be paid to the stock-
holders. If the immense influence of the Board
be taken into consideration, and the fact that
the contact practically resolved itself into a
question of confidence or no confidence in the body,
who (it was rumoured) threatened to resign en masse
if the determination 4t which they had unanimously
arrived, was rescinded by an adverse majority, the
only thing surprising in the result is that the dissen-
tients should have flocked so readily to the balllot and
carried on the contest with such vigour and energy as
to render tie result for some time doubtful.

An anxiety on the part of the directors practically
to increase the amount of capital at their disposal
by successive additions to the " rest," has for some time
been perceptible. There has been a gradual accumula-
tion going on. Special circumstances at one period might
exist to render it dellrable that extraordinary re-
sources should be retained within the power of the
Bank to enable them:to encounter without difficulty
any exigency that might arise. This would be a
sufficient justification for a smaller dMdend on a par-
ticular occasion, than the actual profits of the con-
cern during the preceding half-year would have jus-
tified. The proprietors were always ready to re-
spond to any such appeal, and willingly per-
mitted that, which in justice should have
been divided amongst them to remain, in the
coffers of the Bank on the tacit understanding,
however, that it should be distributed when the
emergency had passed away, and matters had re-
sumed their ordinary course. The Board of
Management, however, evinced the greatest disincli-
nation to part with any portion of the capital thus
acquired, and strongly objected to pay any amount
of money in the shape of dividends which had not
been earned during the half-year immediately pre-
ceding. This would have been very proper if the
fund out of which it was asked for was not altogether
composed of the fair and legitimate earnings
of the establishment, or if it in any
degree encroached upon the capital which had been
appropriated, for the carrying on of the concern.
But when this was not only not the case, but when
there was an amount more than sufficient to provide for
oily contingency that might reasonably be taken into
calculation, surely it cannot for a moment be asserted
that such a deduction from realized profits i
could be regarded in any manner as a pay-
ment of interest out of capital, as asserted
by some of tho.p- who advocated the views and sup-
ported the recommendations of the directors.

This feeling at length reached to such an
extent that marks of dissatisfaction became
apparent, and the proprietors generally were
appealed to against any further additions to the
red. The advocates of a full and fair division
of the profits, by which justice would be done to
annuitants and other parties having limited interests
in Bank Stock, conceded that a sum should be
retained, sufficiently large to meet any probable
loss that might occur, without in any degree
trenching upon the original capital. But they con-
tended that 3,000,0001. sterling was amply sufficient
for that pupose, and that any important addition
thereto was a virtual robbery of the parties imme-
'L
atelyingested in the fund for the benefit of those
entitled to the reversion. Accordingly, it was re-
solved in the beginning of 1847, that a bonus of one
•
per cent should he paid, in addition to the amount
of dividend recommended by the Board. This
was, after some discussion, acceded to, and
at the two following meetings in September, 1847,
and March, 1848,
a similar amount was voted, el-
though the commercial panic that had produced such
ruinous results to the community had occurred during
the literval. The high rate of interest recommended
by the well-known letter of the 23d October last had
indeed produced profits that would have allowed a
still larger dividend, but there were circumstances
that rendered it desirable for the Bank to stand in a