The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-10 00:00:00

COLONIAL BANKING COMPANY.

The half-yearly general meeting of the shareholders
in this company was held on Tuesday at the London
Tavern; Mr. Cuarles I.‘lerryatt in the chair.
The bECRETARY read the report, which stated that the
collection of the doubtful outstanding debts of the cern-
patty was proceeding, as the directors had anticipated,
slowly but not unsatisfactorily, and that their anticipa-
tions had also been verified by increased operations and
profits at the branches. With respect to the dividend
they recommended the continuance of the same prudent
course which had been pursued for several half-years,
feeling assured that such a line of conduct was better
calculated to further the permanent interests of the
company than a small and premature increase in the
dividends. They therefore trusted the proprietors
would agree with them in thinking that a dividend of
I per cent. should be declared out of the net profits of
the half-year. The present state of the accounts
is as follows : Debts: circulation, 175,3371. Si.;
deposits and other liabilities, 723,224/. 2s. Id.; paid-up
capital, 500,0001.; fund to meet bad debts, 71,7611. 9s.
lld ; total, 1,4701,3421. 17s. The assets are—Specie,
220,9781. 14s. 6d.; duo to the bank, in the colonies, on
bills discounted and purchased, and on cash credits and
current accounts, 865,7731. 1 ls. 3d.; due to the bank
in London on bills remitted, cash at bankers, &c.
384,6451. 6s. 2d.; bank premises, &c., 13,155/. 7s. sd.
Total, 1,484,5521. 192. 4d. Leaving a profit of 14,210/.
2s. 4d. Major Buchanan complained of the omission in
the report of any details relative to the losses and lia-
bilities of the company, and moved that the meeting be
adjourned in order that a more explicit statement of the
accounts might be laid before the shareholders.
The CHAIRMAN said the estimated amount of the
losses of the company was 210,000/. With regard to
the liabilities, a fuller and more explicit statement would
be given by the directors as soon as the circumstances,
of the Corporation would justify them in doing so, which
they did not consider to be the case at present.
Mr. CAVE, a director, said he believed the business
transacted by the company in the West Indies, and
other colonies, was conducted upon sound and good
banking principles, and that it would yield a safe and
increasing profit to the proprietors. his firm opinion
was that their present position was most satisfactory,
and that the time was not far distant when the divi-
dends might safely be increased. He hoped the motion
would be withdrawn, as ho could not but consider it as
tantamount to an expression of want of confidence on the
part of the shareholders.
After considerable discussion, Major BUCHANAN with-
drew his motion, and the report was unanimously
adopted.
A dividend of one per cent. was then declared, and the
proceedings terminated.

GROTTO PASSAGE RAGGED SCHOOLS.—Yesterday
a very numerous meeting of the supporters of these ragged
and industrial schools, and refuge for destitute boys, was held
at the Royal Bazaar, Baker-street, Portman-square; the
Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury in the chair. The pro-
ceedings having been opened with prayer, the Noble Chair-
man spoke in favour of the system they were met to promote,
alluding to the ascertained honesty and good behaviour of the
" shoe-black brigade," as establishing the fact that the class
from which its members were taken was not, however de-
graded, beyond the reach of improvement. Industrial schools,
as a preparation for future emigrants, and as producing vast
moral as well as material results, he highly lauded; and
emigration, he said, must be for a very considerable time the
great means of rescuing the degraded classes from the mi-
sery and ignorance under which they had so long suffered
The secretary next read the report, which showed that dur-
ing the year 37 boys had been boarded, lodged, and edu-
cated by the institution ; that 100 children of each sex had
been under daily instruction ; that 75 had been taught
industrial occupations; that 25 of each sex were provided
daily with dinner—the condition being that they worked for
it ; that there had been an average attendance of 140 at a
Sunday school set in operation ; that 16 of their boys had
emigrated to Australia, and 9 had been apprenticed to the
merchant service; that the attendance at the evening school
had averaged 50, and that at the infant school 100. The
adoption of the report was moved by Mr. A. Mills, who men-
tioned cases in which loans lent to boys emigrating had bee°
partially or wholly repaid, as affording ground for a
_r;
that such
asasistance might ere long be granted on s
tallisihed•
scale, and self-supporting system of emigration est -having
The Rev. Mr. Power followed, and other gentle l 3
spoken, the meeting separated with a vote of thamneas to the
chairman.
no.—Notwith-
WHAT EXPENDITURE ON GIN CADY--
ties and the i
sf ctnee working c
standing the increase of temperance 0 !
proved habits (in regard to drinking)
lions of poundslases
of Great Britain, still fourteen nlynithis is the are
an-
forthe construpctriocnisoefsuhmis
nually spent in gin alone!
which Mr. Asa Whitney
Junction Railway.
Atlantic and Pacific Ocean , If the work-
ing men of England would abstain from gin drinking for
e proprietors of that or a
seven years, they 1 If a
, Sir, la million of in
e tthrades, by' saving a penny a
similar railroad. n) i,
ei g5ll t
I.)hs ei
dc oi
amr
en connected
with building and
t,scsouutld forymhmore than half this great
day for seven yearrisi
tribu or might have, at the end of that
work, and each co
time, 50 acres of land. Apenny-raised capital great enough
to complete so gigantic an undertaking, might at first seem a
dream of the imagination of a Bedlaraite ; but so would have
been deemed at one time our penny post, our Parliamentary
railway trains, penny steamboats, penny savings' banks,
penny cyclopxdias, and other penny matters. We live in
a pearly era; and rely on it, Sir, that it is possible to carry
out this penny buggestion.—Corrapndent of the Builder.