The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-16 00:00:00

NEWCASTLE COMMERCIAL BANK.

The following correspondence (says the Newcastle
Courant), originating from statements in the report of
the manager, has passed between the directors in con-
nection with this establishment :

(No. 1.)
TO THE EDITORS OP THE NEWCASTLE COURANT.

Tipperary, Bth September, 1350.
Sir,—The recent report of Mr. Wm. Walker, as
managing director of the Newcastle Commercial Bank,
which appeared first in your journal, and was after-
wards copied by other newspapers, introduced my name
in these terms
On the 10th March last, Mr. Walker was informed
by Mr. Alderman Kennedy that Messrs. James Sadleir,
Law, and Keating, three of the London board, had al-
lowed the funds of the Newcastle Bank to be used in
discounting orders of the Tipperary Joint-Stock Bank,
Indorsed by Messrs. Wilkinson, Gurney; and Stevens,
rby Mr. Gurney only. This, Mr. Kennedy stated,
had been done without his knowledge, or that of his co-
iirector and relative, Mr. Valient. This was the first
intimation of the fraud received by Mr. Walker.; and
the shareholders may readily conceive Mr. Walker's
chagrin, when he found that his friend at the board in
London, Mr. Alderman Kennedy,' on whose judgment
and integrity he chiefly relied, had allowed himself to be
imposed upon by other persons at the same board. On
the 17th of March Mr. Walker discovered that the sum
refiresented by these Tipperary orders amounted to
51,0001."
Having read those paragraphs, I applied at once to Mr.
Alderman Kennedy for his explanation of them, and re-
ceived from that gentleman the straightforward letter
which is endorsed. I then applied, through a friend at
Newcastle, to Mr. Walker himself, requesting him that he
would either acknowledge his mistake, or send me a
copy of any letter from his friend Alderman Kennedy
on which he might have relied as the basis of his repOrts.
With this application Mr. Walker has not thought fit to
comply, but states that be has examined the original
document, and finds it in accordance with his published
report. Under those circumstances, I trust that Alder-
man Kennedy's explicit letter to me, and my own distinct
denial that I ever allowed the Newcastle Bank funds to
be applied in discounting Tipperary Bank orders, will
be regarded as a sufficient answer to the statements con-
cerning me in Mr. Walker's report. Mr. Law, ghoul I
slso addressed, writes me the enclosed note. Bilsy I eg
of you to publish it along with Alderman Kennedy's
letter and this explanation, which I have mado'hs briet
as possible l—l am, sirs, your faithful servant;
R. KEATING.

(No. 2.)
Resington Lodge, Notting-hill, Aug. 21, 1853.
Dear Sir,--Mr. Walker is not justified in the use of
your name by anything he has heard from me, unless
through inadvertence I expressed myself so carelessly
as to convey some meaning I never intended. You
were present on the sth of March, when Mr. Law made
me acquainted, for the first time, with Mr. J. Sadleir's
misappropriation of the Newcastle Bank funds, and you
must remember that he distinctly charged Mr. James
Sadleir alone with the responsibility, and never referred
to you, taking to himself the blame of being deceived as
to the concluding part of the transaction and being an in-
nocent participator in it. This is all that I could have
communicated to Mr. Walker; but you may readily
believe that I was not very composed when wr:ting, and
I have no memorandum of the letter I addressed to him.
—I am,dear sir, very truly yours,
Robert Keating, Esq., M.P. R. 11. KENNEDY.
(No. 3.)
Reform Club, Sept. 6, 1856.

. . ,
Dear Sir,—ln answer to your note I cannot hesitate
to express my firm belief that you were no party to any
application of the Newcastle Bank funds in discounting
orders of the Tipperary Bank, and I ant certain I was
never consulted as to those discounts. When you and
I discovered them we did our best to repair the mischief.
—Yours faithfully, F. JOHN LAW.
Robert Keating, Esq , M.P.
The following letter, remarking on this correspon-
dence, appears in the Gateshead Observer :