The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-02 00:00:00

THE COUNTESS DA NNER.

COPENHAGEN, Sept. 28.—The mystery hitherto en-
veloping the cause of the ministerial crisis is by degrees
dissipating, and the reasons are becoming gradually
apparent. Your readers will remember the fact com-
municated some time time ago, that the Countess
Danner had been frustrated in her greatest wish and
ambition to be raised to the dignity of Duchess of
Wagrien, but had succeeded in her endeavours to obtain
a sort of official recognition of her position, and has to
thank her friend and protege, Herr von Scheele, for the
insertion of her name in the official "Staats-Calendar"
immediately after that of the King, and figures there as
" consort of the King by a morganatic marriage, and
countess of the kingdom in her own right."
But Herr von Scheele wanted to go a step further,
and proposed to grant the countess an appanage for life
from the revenues of the state. Against this the rest
of the ministers, however, set their faces, and the mea-
sure was most vigorously opposed by Col. Andrae, the
minister of finance, whose duty it would have been to
submit it to the General Diet of the kingdom, where
he knew it would never be sanctioned. The question
was, therefore, left for some time in abeyance, but
latterly taken up again with more energy than ever.
Still it met the same opposition in the cabinet, and led
to several animated discussions amongst the ministers.
As Herr von Scheele insisted on the measure being
adopted, Colonel Andrae preferred tendering his resig-
nation to the continuation of a discussion and offering
further opposition to a snbject to which he had made
up his mind never to give his consent.

It is well known that the Countess Danner and Herr
von Scheele afford each other mutual support ; she to
him through her influence with the King, and he to hit.
in the council of ministers. Great expectations are
therefore entertained that Herr von Scheele will be com-
missioned by the King to reconstruct the cabinet and
place himself at the head of the new administration.

THE LONDON JOINT-STOCK BANKS.

(From the Glaegoto Mercantile Advertiser.

The London joint stock banks, which are compara-
tively of recent origin, are now entrusted with enormous
sums of money by depositors. They would certainly
require to be well managed, for we perceive that the
paid up capital of these concerns bears but a small pro-
portion to the available capital placed at the disposal of
the directors.

To confine ourselves to the five establishments of
longest standing, which appear to have gained the confi-
dence of the trading community in the metropolis—and
we trust deservedly so—it will be seen from the authorised
statements we formerly published that the aggregate
amount of deposits in these five banks has reached the
enormous sum of 86,000,000/., whilst the paid up capi-
tal amounts to 2,594,2751. These banks would require,
as we have already said, to be well managed—they are
enabled by the comparatively small amount of paid-up
capital to pay their shareholders dividends of 16, 176,
and 22i per cent. It appears to us that, as they are
now entrusted with so much money belonging to other
people, they ought, one and all of them, to increase the
paid•up capital to double the present amount, and thus
increase the security of the public and be content with a
smaller per tentage on the capital invested. In some in-
stances the paid-up capital ought to be quadrupled.
There are in all eight joint-stock banks in London,
and we say nothing of the three which are of more re-
cent origin, commencing with the Royal British, whose
directors and other officials helped themselves to the.
entire paid-up capital, except that portion invested in
buildings and furniture.
Of the five banks referred to, it appears that the
paid-up capital of some of them amounts only to 6or
7 per cent. of the sums deposited with them. In our
opinion, this is by far too small a capital to trade
with upon so vast a scale. A question very natu-
occurs here, and we can suppose a case. For
example, if one of these banking-houses were to lose
in a bad year 6 or 8 per cent, of their available
capital inclusive of deposits, what would become of the
bank ?

If these companies would take a leaf, or rather two
leaves out of our Scottish system, they would place
themselves upon a much sounder basis. The joint-stock
banks on this side the Tweed have, in the first place,
double or treble the amount of paid-up capital in pro.
portion to their deposits (and some of them a great
deal more) ; and, in the second place, the per tentage of
the dividend to shareholders is not one half of that
paid by the London jointlitock banks.
We well remember that one of the Scotch joint-stock
banks, some year sago ,lost nearly a quarter of a million
sterling—the motley was not stolen or taken by directors
and officials--but although the shares of that bank
fell in their market value, the credit of the estab-
lishment, with a million of paid-up capital, was
not shaken in the slightest degree. But we may he
permitted to ask if a similar loss were now to oc-
cur in the case of one or other of the London joint-
stock-banks, what would be the consequences? We
could scarcely anticipate anything short of a severe run
upon such bank, which might lead to wide-spread ruin.
It appears to us that none of these joint-stock concerns,
intrusted with deposits to the extent of five, eight, or
ten millions, ought to feel satisfied with a smaller
amount than one million of paid-up capital. This, we
say, is the minimum sum with which they ought to be
satisfied, both for their own sakes and for the sake
of depositors. We would go a step further ;it is our
opinion that such banks as have from nine to twelve
millions of other people's money to trade upon, would be
as well to have somewhere about two millions of their
own paid up. The sooner these companies take steps
in the direction we have indicated, the better will it
be for themselves, if they desire to stand well in
the estimation of the public. Would not a great num-
ber of the depositors gladly avail themselves of an offer
from the directors, were it made to them, to convert a
certain proportion of their deposits into shares—we
throw out this suggestion to our English fr ends. But
it matters not how the requisite amount of capital is
raised, provided a sufficient amount is paid in, and re-
mains there as capital stock of the company.

REPRESENTATION OF TOTNES.—Mr. John Gregory,
a banker of London, has announced his intention of
contesting the borough of Totnes against the present
members, Earl Gifford and Mr. Mills, at the next
election. The hon, gentleman addressed a number of
the electors and non-electors of the borough on Fri-
day evening, at the Dartmouth Inn. Mr. W. Bantall
presided. A resolution, pledging the meeting, to
support Mr. Gregory, was carried unanimously, and
the hon. gentleman distinctly pledged himself to go to
the poll on the day of election.
ITALIAN OPERAS AT DARRY-LANE.—Enconraged by
the eucee;; which ha; attenLied his operatic representa-
Com,' in Dublin and the provinces, Mr. Beale has made
arrangements with Mr. E. T. Smith for a series ofeper.
formancos at Drury-lane Theatre, commencing n the
2,70 October. The company will consist of those
emi-
nent artistes at present under engagements with
Beale on his provincial tour, and will include Madame
m
Grisi and Signor Mario, Mons. and Mm
Gassier,adane
Madame Amadei, Signor Lorini, Signor Albicinl Signor
'Were, and Rya Formes.