The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-05 00:00:00

THE FAILURE OF THE ROYAL BRITISH

BA AK.

Such further light as has been thrown upon the
affairs of the Royal British Bank to-day is ""
tremely discouraging, and, although all the credi-
tors must be paid in full, there is reason to believe
ghat this will not be effected without a further
heavy call upon the proprietors, in addition to the
loss of the entire capital at present paid up. It
transpired this morning that all negotiations vvittl
the hope of inducing any other establishment to
interpose had come to an end. A large number of
depositors and shareholders who had met at the
bank without concert then endeavoured, with the
aid of the directors, to ascertain their real position,
and it was agreed among some of the principal de'
positors that they would themselves consent t°
wait six mouths, and would recommend their fel'
low claimants to do the same if any security could
be given that4he shareholders would supply sup'
cient funds to re-open the establishment and to in,:
sure payment at the end of that period. such
shareholders as were present were, of course, un-
able to decide upon the practicability of this plan
in the absence of a full balance-sheet to the latest
date, but a general willingness was manifested tg
make every effort to preserve the interests of a!".
parties. Meanwhile, Mr. Coleman, the accountant,
has been called in and a statement of affairs is V;
be immediately prepared, which will be submitted
to a general meeting on the 20th inst. According,
o thcir charter, upon one-fourth of tieeePita
being lost the directors were bound to call a me',,t.
~
ing, the bank being then liable to dissolution, um:
less shareholders to the amount of two.thira'''
should agree to carry it on and to pay off all die'
sentients. That an arrangement of the latter IR"
scription can be effected seems hardly probahlff
notwithstanding the desire expressed on all sides 'l°,
mitigate the disaster. It appears that the amoulo
sunk in the Cefn iron and coal. works, in Glamor'ganshire, exceeds 100,0001. (the original loss has'
ing been 25,000/0 ; that advances have been made
to formfr directors and to the late manager
which will probably involve deficiencies of more
than 50,0001.; and that bills of Mr. Edward Oliver,
of Liverpool, and bonds of the Westminster Iry
prove,nent Commission, are still among the assets.
If this be the case, already more than the Vill°ll
paid-up capital will be seen to have been swept
away without reckoning future law expenses,
such ordinary losses as invariably arise in the wine"
ing-up of. an estate. These losses will, perhaPsf
prove less than was feared yesterday, since the
t
cash credits are stated to be limited to alv11„,
150,0001., instead of 250,0001., but together with
the bills discounted they involve such a multitude
of small amounts as to shut out even under the
most favourable circumstances the prospect of an
easy settlement. The best assets have doubtless
been disposed of to meet the recent run, as it is he-
lieved that more than 200,0001. was paid awe,'
during its continuance, thus reducing the liabilities
of the bank from 810,0001. to about 600,001/. 'll,llh°
item of 23,680/. for " property in buildings," which
appeared in the last balance-sheet among the assets'
is represented merely by the Strand branch and other
branches, the South Sea-house having only been
rented although about 10,0001., or 15,0001., is Or
posed to have been lately expended in moving
thither. With regard to the management of the
Bank from its commencement seven years abef
and the character of the advances made to former
directors, a belief prevails that any disclosures
which may be made will be of the most unsati.si
factory kind. The present directors are e.el,
to be wholly free from the charge of having
obtained a single advance from the Bank, and;
although they must have been guilty of a total
want of vigilance, foresight, and firmness, they art
alleged to have struggled hard lately to brill°. the
establishment into abetter state, and to have been
deluded into the hope that its position might
yet be retrieved by the gradual increase in the
number of its custo ners and by effecting an Ltr'
tangement, which at one moment seemed practi-
cable, for the dispo-al of their iron and coal mines,'
Three of the numb 3r—namely, Messrs. Butt, ai"
lott, and Hurst joined the Board only last montn9
and the accession of some of the others was also
recent. Those who are mainly acccountable for
the ruin appear to have retired, but the whole his:
tory of the Bank comprises ro short a period that
there can be little difficulty on the part of the ere-
ditors and shareholders in dragging forth all its
leading facts, and this they are bound to do for the
satisfaction and safety of the public. After the
dissolution of the Bank on the 20th inst. thet
winding-up may be conducted by the Board, or
may be thrown, upon the petition of any share-
♦ holders, into the Court of Chancery, by whota
receiver will be appointed. The Bank beings cor-
poration creditors must in the first instance look
to the general assets, but upon these being
hausted they can proceed against individual share'
holders they may think proper to select. An
attempt to bring the Bank under bankruptcy er
pears to have been made this afcernc3n, but the
scope of the proceeding is rot at present under:
stood. It is certain that it will be for the interest
of all concerned to avoid law proceedings as much
as possible, except against those who may be shown
to have been deliberate participators in the dear'
quencie3 committed.
It was mentioned to-day that the difficulties ef
the shareholders in obtaining a clear view of the
accounts of the Royal British Bank were increasra
by Mr. Craufurd, the manager lately appointed tt.)
succeed Mr. Cameron, having been attacked with
sudden illness.

At the Court of Bankrupt:, 7 to-day a petitiont
was filed for an adjudication of ISankruptcy agaos
the Royal British Bank, the petitioning creditor
being Mr. Walter Morisse, of Jewin-crescent, grip-
plegate ; and tho solicitor, Mr. Chidley.—'L'ne3
City Article.

f
o
The excitement consequent upon the stoppage -r
this Bank continued unabated during the whole of
yesterday. From a very early hour in the morning
hundreds of persons surrounded the chief office i°
Threadneedle-street, vainly endeavouring to got an
interview with some person connected with the
bank. Finding they could not succeed, they i00k,,,
up their positions opposite the doors, and detail='
to each other their several losses, and the consc-
quences which were likely to arise therefroccl.
Many of the details were of a very distressing cha-
racter, and more than one peison, on leaving the,
place threatened to put an end to himself. Several
ladies, who had money in the bank bc.),ring deposit
informed the reporter that they had lost every
farthing they pc-sewed. One pculiarly hard cage
was a licensed victualler who was about to take
urge tavern at the West end of London. He had
paid a deposit of SC)/., and was tl complete the
purchase this day, for which purpc-e he came to
town yesterday morning to draw out the require
sum, 2,0001., when he found the bank closed.
has,therefore, not only lost his 2,0001., but the 500/.
deposit money for not completing the purchase.
Another publican, who rerantly kept a house ill
Bride-lane, Fleet-street, hes lost between Wl'
and 6C91. It appears that from the facilities of-
fered by the bank a large numb3r of tavern-keepers
are sufferers.

Great as the losses may be amongst the deposi'
tors at the chief offic; we are enabled to state that
they will be more severely felt in the neighbour
hood of the suburban branches, where the deposi-
)rs were chiefly small trade-4'olk, who only kept
the money in the bank until such time 's they bad
accumulated sufficient to pay their different trade
collectors.

At the Islington branch it was stated that nearly
the whole of the tradesmen in the district were
sufferers, as well as a number of retired shopkeeP"
ers who reside in the immediate neighbourhood.
The Borough branch had a very large number Of
customers, including the parochial collectors, the
parish funds, and the numerous charities in con-
nection with the borough of Southwark.
Lambeth was similarly situated, and in both in-
stances many little shopkeepers have lost all their
ready money.
At every branch largo crowds of persons had
assembled early in the morning, and did not leave
till dark last evening.

At the Sheriff's Court, R3(.1 Lion-square, 03
Wednesday evening, two extents from the Crown
were executed against the Royal British Bank.
Mr. Hall, the assessor, and a jury was speedily 01)-
tained, and evidence given showing that a collector
for stage carriage duties had paid about 3801. into
the bank, and an income tax collector about G 031•
The law on the subject was explained, and the
proceedings were necessary to obtain payment 1.0
full of about 9001, the Crown being the creditors, to
take the whole amount. The preliminary steps
were taken to enforce payment.

_. _..

A meeting of persons interested in the London and
Paris Bank is called for Tuesday next at the London
Tavern.

THE DONCASTER CIIP.—The piece of plate, valued a
300 guineas, which is the principal prize at Doncaster
Races, consists of a statuette equestrian figura of the
Emperor Louis Napoleon, manufactured in silver by Mr•
Hancock, of Bruton-street, after a model executed by
Mr. M'Carthy and M. Freret—the horse by the first
named artist, and the Emperor by the last. This group
was suggested by the authorities of the racecourse as a
compliment to his Imperial Majesty. On one side of
the pedestal on which the statuettes stand is a bas-relief
representing the meeting of Queen Victoria with the
Emperor, and on the other sides are the arms of Eng-
land and France, and the name and date of the race,
4540, The workmanship is very elaborate.