The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-17 00:00:00

/12.

[-PRICE 41). STAMPED D•

Is RE ROYAL BRITISH BANK.

We have been requested t give pu'ilicity to the fo'
towing correspondence :
TO JAMES WYLD, ESQ., CRARING-CROSS.
Sir,—l be to inform you, as the chairman of the
Committee of Dep )sitors, that I was yesterday in a po-
sition to declare a dividend at the rate cif 4s. in the X
upon the debts proved in this matter (amounting to
upwards of 553,0001.), and that the payment of such
dividend is delayed only by the proceedings in bank-
ruptcy, which you are supporting.
On the occasion of our interview on the 3d October
last, you urged upon my attention the position of many
of the creditors, whose representative you claim to be,
and I promised that every exertion should be used to
realise toe assets, and to make an early distribution. I
have fulfilmel that promise by being prepared to pay 20
per cent, on the ain,iunt of the debts within one month
from he date of my appointment as official manager,
and I therefore think that you were not justified in mak-
ing the observations contained in your letter to The Sun.
I do not propose to reply to that letter.' but request
that you will read this communication to the depositors
at the next meeting.—l am, Sir, your most obedient
servant, R. P. klAßDiisio.
London, Nov. 13.
TO R. P. HARDING. ESQ.

Sir,—ln reply : o your litter, I beg to inform you that
your statement that the payment of the dividend is de-
layed by the proceedings in bankruptcy which I and the
other members of the committee of depositors are sup-
porting, is not true.
Tee committee of depositors saw from the commence-
ment that the int, rest of the creditors would be best con•
suited by upholding the bankruptcy, because they oou!d
thereby 01-tain a speedy and equal dietribution of the
available assets amongst the creditors at a cost infinitely
less than the enormous 64-age of thezCourt of Visacitern-I
to say nothing of its delays. If you consent to the funds
being handed over to the official assignee, a dividend will
be made under the bankruptcy within three weeks. If
that be not d ,ne the blame will rest with you alone, and
your opposi kyi to the creditors hitherto more than justie
fies me in tLe remarks contained in my letter to The Sun.
You and your advisers are well aware that, under the
winding-up judgment, creditors would obtain preferences
and must be paid first, whereas under the bankruptcy all
must stare equally. There are several judgments already
entitled to such preferences, and yet you have the cool-
ness to assert that you are consulting the interests of the
poorest depositors (who cannot afford to go to law) in op-
posing the oankruptcy. If you were sincere in your desire
to benefit the creditors, and if youlooked to their interests
alone, you would consent to the proposal made by Mr.
Rolt, the cow:veal for the official assignee, that the funds
now in hand should be distributed amongst the creditor,
at once by a third person, leaving the question as to your
own remuneration to be determined hereafter. If you had
strictly confined yourself to the legitimate means of
protecting your own personal interest I should have less
to complain of; but when I find that you and your ad-
visers have urged the directors to appeal against the
confirmation of the bankruptcy by the commissioners,
and have actually applied to the Vice-Chancellor's clerk
for leave to enable them to do so at the expense of the
estate, although you were informed by the solicitor of
the bank that they did not wish to do so, you cannot be
surprised that I should express my unmitigated indigna-
tion that you utterly dieregerd the interests of the cre-
ditors, and are guilty of the hypocrisy of pretending to
benefit them whilst you are doing all in your power to
create and prolong litigation, and then, having yourself
been the cause of locking up the money of the creditors,
you seek to make them believe that the delay is caused
by the proceedings in bankruptcy. You know that is un-
true. You say in your letter that you are ready to divide
the money in the bauk amongst the depositors. Allow me
to ask if you have yet obtained the authority of the Vice
Chancellor to part with a shilling of that money, and
whether there is any portion of it under your own con-
trol ? You know that the Bank of England has refused
to allow the money to be drawn out except upon the
authority and signature of the Vice-Chancellor himself,
the amount having been lodged in his name and yotr
own ; and yet you have dared to mock the creditors, by
holding out to them that you ars ready to divide the
money.

The assignees are also ready to divide the money im-
mediately, unless you prevent thous.
There may be some excuse for your zeal in the great
stake for which you are playing, as I find that accord-
ing to the act of P,irliame. t your remuneration upon
600,0001. would be no less than 21,0001., besides the
expenses of your clerks and others, which cannot be esti-

mated at less than 5,0001. more ; but you will by and
bye be able also to remember that you are playing with
the stake of starving families, ruined tradesmen, and
defrauded creditors, and for what ? For per centages
and costs; and public opinion, and not myself, will hurl
upon you and your advisers the bolts of its well-rneritea

. _
indignation.—l am, &c.,
Charing cross East, Nor. 14.

'JAMES W YLD.

SATURDAY CONCERTS AT THE CRYSTAL
PALACE.

On Saturday the first of the series of winter concerts
to be given on Saturdays took place, and was attended
with great success, in the newly constructed concert-
room adjoining the central transept. The room is a
commodious one, capable of accommodating nearly 3,000
persons. The awning over the room is not yet quite
completed ; it is intended to cover it with a material
known as toile metallique, which will have a very excel-
lent effect in keeping in the sound. The acoustic pro-
perties of the room appear to be very good. Madame
Ruderedoff has, we believe, been engaged for a series of
six of the concerts. She was the only ♦ocalist yester-
day, and she sang the fine scena of Weber, " Wie name
mir den," in very excellent style ; the old favourite
Scotch song, "John Anderson, my Jo," and the air
from " Roberto," " Robert, toi quo feline." The great
feature of the instrumental part of the concert was a
sole on the clarinet by M. Pap& consisting of a
fantasia on Schubert's waltz, "Le Desir . The
performance was brilliant and effective in the extreme,
and such as to show that M. Pape is a musician
of a very high degree of merit. We have seldom
beard a solo on this fine instrument played to greater
perfection. M. Gravenstein performed in a highly
creditable manner a violin solo. "Ma Celine," from
Hauman, and Mr. George Russell Mendelssohn's con-
cei to in G minor. The band of the Crystal Palace, con-
slating of 50 performers, played the overtures to the
" Siege of Corinth" and " Figaro," and a schetxo from
Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream." The
band played well together, and appears to be in excel-
lent training, under Mr. Manna. In addition to the
concerts on Saturday, it is intended, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Maims, the conductor of the band, to give
on Fridays performances of classical and romantic in•
strumental music. On these days the performance will
be entirely instrumental, and will consist of the sym-
phonies, overtures, and other works of the great masters,
and new compositions by the best oowposers of the day
in every country of Europe. The first of the Friday
concerts will take place next Friday, and will include a
symphony of H..ydn, overtures by Mozart and Berlioz,
and instrumental solos by Messrs. Watson on the violin ,
M. Pape on the clarionet, and M. Svendsen on the flute.
Halfcrown Day.—Admissions on payment, 475; by
season tickets, 2,726 ; total visitors, 3,201.

4NOVIER FRAUD DISCOVERED OF SEVERAL

2'HOUSANDS OF POUNDS.

During the pasn, week an extensive fraud has been
discovered in the eataiJishment of Messrs. Bennett and
Corpe, the eminent engimers of New Cross-road, Dept-
ford, committed by John William Stuart, their foreman
and managing man.
It appears that for the last 18 years Stuart has enjoyed
the fnA confidence of his employers, but owing to some
suspicion having been excited in the mind of Mr. Stout,
the head clerk to the firm, a rigid scrutiny of account,
took place, when some inefficient rendering appearing in
the " time" account, Stuart was sent for, who said there
was a mistake, which he would immediately rectify with
the men. He had no communication with either of the
men, but shortly afterwards returned, easing he had
made it all right, and altered the book. This led to a
further search, which resulted in the discovery of fraud
to the amount of several thousands of pounds, and the
abecouding of Stuart. With respect to the method by which
e
Stuart had carried on his fraud for so long a period, it
appears that he had made
from a
falseadeprivate
and
list, with sttiEmpe aangtr, i-
-1 ior lost t
p espayingime, the me
but himself charging the full amount.
He bad also been receiving from ss. to 103. a week for
each engineer's wages more than he had paid over to
them, and 2s. a week each in like manner for the la-
bourers. As far as bee at present been ascertained this
syst, m has been carried on bet • een twelve and thirteen
years, during which period his weekly salary of 31. 10s.
must have amounted to 101., there being employed upoi.
the premises between two and three hundred men.
Stuart had also been in the habit of employing the men
and material of the firm in the construction of lathes,
&c., and disposing of them for his own individual benefit.
The most heartless portion of the fraud, however, is the
receipt by Stuart of a sovereign from Mr. Bunnett for
an injured carman, which was never paid over. A search
warrant having been obtained, the police proceeded to
Stuart's residence, 4, Amersham-road, New-cross, and
brought away half a cart load of property (recognised by
Mr. Bunnett as belonging to him), conflating of house
chandeliers', gas lamps, corrugated iron ornamental ar•
-th
tides (including two aquaria, well stocked with ash),
manufactured from the material of his employers, wi
which the house was decorated.
Messrs. Bennett and Corps cannot tell
reac
t h
amount of the defalcations, but they at presthen
p re
e cise
several thousand pounds.

It is estimated that the shipments of specie by the
Peninsular and Oriental steamer Colombo, on the 20th
inst., will reach from 450,000!. to 500,0001. The whole,
principally silver, will be despatched to India, there being
no Chiva mail on this 000a5i012.