The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-13 00:00:00

ROYAL BRITISH BANK.

Last night another meeting of the depositors in the
Royal British Bank was held in St. Martin's Hail, Long-
acre, to receive the report of !.7ie committee of depositors,
appointed at the meeting it ;he same place on. the pre-
vious Friday evening, witt. the view to obtain an imme-
diate investigation of the affairs of the hank, and to take
steps, legal or otherwise, for recovering payment of the
deposits. Mr. J. Wyld, of Charing-cross, was again called
to the chair. There were between 400 and 500 persons
present, all of whom were depositors, as each man pre-
senting himself for admission was obliged to show his
pass-book with the bank. The great majority of the audi-
ence seemed to be mechanics, small tradesmen, and
clerks, including a few women, with a small number of
persons in easier circumstances, and they might be taken
as a fair representation of the creditors of the bank.
Their demeanour throughout the proceedings was marked
by the greatest temper and decorum. It was stated inci-
dentally by the Chairman that the total aggregate
amount of deposits lodged with the bank was at this mo-
ment in round numbers 650,0001., showing the hold the
institution, which had not been many years in existence,
had obtained over the savings of the small trading com-
munity.
The CHAIRMAN said, in pursuance of the resolution
adopted at the last meeting of depositors, the committee
of depositors then appointed, with himself at their head,
met at the Royal British Bank on Tuesday last, and had
an interview with the directors, and, having laid before
them the resolution passed at the meeting of depositors
held at St. Martin's Hall on the previous Friday, re-
quested to be informed if they were prepared to carry
out the proposition submitted by the City committee to
that meeting on behalf of the directors and shareholders;
when they were informed by the directors that the pro-
position was not authorised by them, and they were not
prepared to enter into any arrangement to carry out the
proposition to repay the depositors—viz., ss. within one
month, ss. within 3 months, ss. within 6 months, and
ss. within nine months • although they stated that a
suggestion had been made to Mr. Sheridan and Mr.
Richardson on a similar basis, and that Mr. Sheridan
had been authorised to attend the meeting to be held is
St. Martin's-hall on their behalf. The directors further
stated that they bad no proposition to make until after
Mr. Coleman had made his report, which they stated
would be, they thought, of a more favourable character
than at first anticipated, and that after the reception of
Mr. Coleman's statement they hoped to make arrange-
ments with some other establishment for the repayment
of the deposits to the depositors, and that they were at
this time in negotiation with an establishment for that
purpose. They added, that the statement of Mr. Cole-
man would be completed before the end of the present
week. The committee then required that they should
he allowed an investigation into the accounts of the bank,
in accordance with the resolution of the meeting of de-
positors. After considerable discussion, the committee
requested that a reply, in writing, should be made to
them by the hoard ; and, after a lapse of two hours, the
following letter was received by the committee from the
Chairman of the bank :
" Royal British Bank, Threadneedle-street,
London, Sept. 9.
" The directors beg to inform the committee of deposi-
tors appointed under a resolution of the public meeting
held on the sth of September current, that the proposi-
tion' to pay the depositors of the bank by certain specified
instalments did not emanate from them; the gentlemen
representing the depositors, assembled at the bank on
Friday, the sth, having been requested solely to ascertain
whether an offer on the part of the directors to pay in-
stalments according to their ability would be a sufficient
inducement to the depositors at large to withhold the im-
mediate pressing of their claims.
" With regard to the application of the committee to
investigate the affairs of the bank, the directors beg to say
that a public accountant of eminence in his profession has
been employed to furnish a balance-sheet, exhibiting a full
and explicit statement of the value of the bank's assets for
the shareholders, which will be laid before the committee
when completed.
" In the meantime the depositors may rely upon the direc-
tors doing all in their power to protect their interests.
" EDWARD ESDAILE, Chairman."
Upon the receipt of tbis letter, which the committee did
not think satisfactory, another interview was demanded,
which took place, and the committee, finding that the
conduct of the directors was very unsatisfactory and
inconclusive, deemed it their duty to demand of the di-
rectors-Ist, If they were prepared to carry out the
arrangement proposed by the city committee, with their
sanction, to the meeting on Sept. 5. This proposition,
after much discussion, was repudiated by the direct>rs,
who wanted the committee to obtain the signatures of all
the depositors to the proposition before they would enter-
tain it. (" Shame I") It was asked, 2dly, if they would
furnish the committee with the means of investi-
gating the position of the bank, and allow measures
to he taken for the preservation of the funds at. pre-
sent in the custody of the directors I That proposition
was refused. 3dly, It was demanded that the directors,
during the time Mr. Coleman was completing the ac
counts, should allow the committee, or any two members
of it, to attend and become acquainted with all the acts
of the directors. That was also refused ; and the directors,
through the deputy-governor, desired the committee to
suggest to the depositors to wind up the affairs of the
bank in the Court of Chancery. (Renewed cries of
" Shame I") So that after discussing the matter with
the directors for nearly six hours on Tuesday, that was
the result—the directors repudiated the proposition to
which they had previously assented. That proposi-
tion the committee of depositors had thought was an
honourable arrangement, and one which would have
tended to the advantage of directors depositors, and
shareholders alike, inasmuch as its object was to settle
the affairs of the hank in an amicable way, and to
avoid, if possible, a protracted litigation. (Hear,
hear.) As the law now stood, the bank, not hav-
ing committed an act of bankruptcy, could not be
made bankrupt, The result was that there was no pro-
puny authorised person in charge of the effects of the
bank, and the directors at this time were subject to no
control in the disposal of the property of the creditors.
(Cries of " Shame !") He submitted that that was a
disgraceful state of the law, and one which he believed
obtained in no other country in Europe. The depositors
were now entirely at the mercy of the directors. He
had been told there was now 40,0001. in the hank, and
over that sum the directors had the solo control. He
taunted the directors with being guilty of an act of bad
faith with the committee, by repudiating the proposition
to which they bad previously assented, and with having
sought to rid themselves of the engagement it implied
by means of a quibble. Through the petitions which
had been filed by certain of the shareholders the
affairs of the bank would shortly come under the
jurisdiction and cognizance of the Vice-Chancellor,
and he urged upon the meeting the ,desirability of
immediately appointing a committee of depositors
to protect the interests of the general body of
depositors while the matter was before the Court of
Chancery. There was no doubt the depositors would all
get their money ultimately, but the question was whe-
ther they were to get it within the next six months or to ,
have to wait two or three years for it. He saw no rea-
son why, if the interests of the depositors were vigor-
ously represented before the Court of Chanceey, the af-
fairs of the company might not be wound up within the
next six months, (Hear.)
Mr. LINDO, a solicitor, described the proceedings
which had tskeu place in the Bankruptcy Court, in the
matter of the bank, as already reported in this journal,
and expressed an apprehension, founded on his profes-
sional experience, that the affairs of the company would
not be wound up in the Court of Chancery in less than
two or three years. He knew of no ground on which the
application of the shareholders to have the affairs dealt
with under the Winding-up Act could be opposed, inas-
much as it was a right with which they were invested by
law, but he recommended the appointment of a committee
of depositors to watch the proceedings in Chancery, and
see that there was no unnecessary delay.
Mr. RICHARDSON, one of the committee of depositors
appointed at the previous meeting, said, the proposition
which the directors had since repudiated certainly ema-
nated from the depositors, but the directors adopted it
when submitted to them. (Hear.) He had had several
interviews with them, and he had seen their disposition
for equivocation and deception. Besides, several of
them had admitted their own incompetence as directors.
One of them told him (Mr. Richardson) that he had been
dragged into the concern, that be did not understand the
business of a director, and was, therefore, not competent
to discharge it. (dear.) Another said he had been for
years a director of the bank, and had never looked into
its accounts at all. (Cries of " Shame !" and " Name!")
He declined to give the name, but would abide by the
statement he had just made. He concluded by moving—
" That the meeting, having heard from the Chairman
the report of the committee of depositors, expressed its
surprise and indignation at the repudiation by the direc-
tors of the terms assented to by them on the 51h of Sap.
tember as the basis for settling the affairs of the bank."
The motion having been seconded by Mr. Wilesssts,
a depositor, from Reading, was put and carried unani-
measly. _

Mr. SHERIDAN defended the equity of the proposit-
tion submitted to the directors, and agreed to by them
on the sth, and argued that it was not until the pro-
ceedings in the Court of Bankruptcy failed, by which
it was sought to make the concern bankrupt, that they
thought of repudiating it. He said he held in his hand
a statement made by the directors themselves, showing
they had at this moment 48,0001. in their hands, and
he should like to know what they were doing with it.
(Cheers.) He noticed that day that the City Article
of the Times, which was always written with great
care and discretion, pointed, though somewhat ob-
scurely, to something like loans between the directors
themselves ; and he should like to have that matter in-
vestigated. He proceeded to read and hold up to indig-
nation a circular letter addressed by Mr. Crawford, the
general manager of the bank, to the shareholders, so re-
cently as the 11th of August, shortly before it closed,
complaining that many of them kept accounts with other
banks, and urging them to transfer them to the Royal
British and use their influence with others to do the
f, awe. He added that other joint-stock banks were wil-
ling to lend assistance to the depositors in the Royal
British, citing the City Bank especially, which, he said,
had offered to advance half the amount of the deposits to
the depositors on the production and security of their de-
posit-book. He now moved "the appointment of a
committee of depositors to watch over and protect the
interests of the depositors at large, with power to add to
their number."
Mr. ALLEN, in speaking to the resolution, expressed
his belief that if the matter were fully inves-
tigated it would be found that many of the
directors had drawn very large sums of money
out of the hank, and were
not now in a position to
repay them, denounced the conduct of the directors
in taming money from the depositors up to the last mo-
ment before the suspension of the bank, and submitted
that, they would never have their deserts until they

were prosecuted for obtaining money under false pr
tences, if that were practicable. (Cheers.)
The resolution was also carried, and the gentlemen
nominated to act on the committee were Mr. Wyld,
Mr. Robert Taylor, Mr. W. Clothier, Mr. John Sheri-
dan, Mr. B. Foster, Mr. George Healy, Mr. W.
Richardson, Mr. S. Green, Mr. Mitchell, and Mr.
Gilling.
On the motion of Mr. B. FOSTER a subscription
was commenced to pay the expenses to which the com-
mittee may be put, and Mr. Robert Taylor of 61, Old
Bond-street, and Lambeth-terrace, was appointed trea-
surer of the fund.
The meeting then separated.