The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-13 00:00:00

rAYS.

action with reference to iron and coal mines in the
north and in Glamorganshire, on the latter of which they
advanced 48,0001. out of the 50,0001. paid up capital,
and the losses in connection with these works amounted
to 120,000/. In the balance-sheet of 1855 the director
stated that out of 26,5011. bills discounted the doubtful
bills amounted to 6,3721., whilst out of bills amounting
to 112,847/. only 18,9741. were good, showing an actual
deficit of 93,5401. The learned pntleman then referred to
dividends, which in some cases amounted to 6 per teat.,
the consequence of which was that they could not have
been paid out of profits. The question therefore was,
were these circumstances known to the directors ? He
thought he should have no difficulty in proving it,
because he should be able to show that the affairs of the
bank were divided under certain heads, and placed under
the direction of different directors as members of the
various committees. The learned gentleman then pro•
ceeded to enter into the details by which he should
establish his case, reading from documents and letters to
show the knowledge of the directors of the separate acts
charged to them, and the time they joined the bank,
which will be better understood from the evidence. The
all-important and most painful part of the inquiry re-
lated to the conduct of what he was compelled to call
false misrepresentations which were made from time to
time by all the directors who were defendants ou this
record with respect to the actual state of the bank, and
representing that instead of being helplessly insolvent
it was in a flourishing condition, and who had been
guilty of resorting to the deceptive means to entrap the
public into connection with the bank, which theiz
fidelity to society and their honest integrity to
other■ should ha►e not led them to do. The bank
never was in a solvent state, and was started with a ridi-
culously small capital for the amount of business aimed
at. No profits bad ever been made, and what dividends
had been paid must have been paid out of capital. In
June, 1851, the bank was in that state, yet a
supplemental charter was obtained for the raising
of 200,0001. by new shares, when circulars were
issued inviting the public to become shareholders,
the object of which was to supply the vital capital,
without which its existence would be at an end.
As it was undesirable sbare• should go into the market,
it was arranged that as the directors could not deal with
them, Cameron and Hempson, solicitors to the bank
should purchase or intercept them, the directors making
' advances from the bank to enable them to do so as
required. The shares were not taken up, notwithstand-
ing their vaunting and flourishing them forth to the
public by the circular they issued, and they wereobliged
to have recourse to their issue on several occasions.
In these circulars they stated the bank had not been
less successful than much older banks, if re
comparison were made of corresponding periods of their
existence. Several persons were at last attracted by the
statements put forth in their circulars, and went to the
bank respecting them. One of them, Mr. Marcus, a
respectable tradesman, went to Tokenbouse-yard,
where the bank was then carried on, and saw
Mr. Esdaile, the deputy-governor, and on his asking
him how it was they proposed to issue shares at par
when the bank was so flourishing, and asked to be in-
formed about the state of the bank. Mr. Esdai:e handed
to him the balance-sheet of the previous half-year, in
which it appeared there was a reserved fund of 12,5001.,
which the new shareholde--s were to anticipate at 5
premium. He said that the number of shareholder■
were limited, but that they wanted to increase the busi-
ness of the bank, which was in a most flourishing con-
dition, notwithstanding the prestige of the London and
Westminster Bauk, which he said it fairly rivalled, and
he advised Mr. Marcus to lose no time in getting shares
from the number of applicati•ins that were being made, or
he would be disappointed. Mr. Marcus then became the
purchase of 20 shares, and he had in consequence been
ruined. Mr. Alderman Kennedy was present at the
interview. Alderman Kennedy called on a friend
of his named Nichol', and in February or
March, 1855, anl asked him to take shares to
qualify for a director, to which he replied that before
doing so he should like to examine the accounts, but he
was told he could not do that unless he became a share-
holder. Alderman Kennedy presented Mr. Nichol'
with one of the circulars, and that gentleman was
induced to become a shareholder,

[ro be continued in our last edition.]

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—(This Day.)

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT.

'Bzfore Vice-Chancellor Sir William Page Wood, and
Mr. Baron Bramwell.)
MONEYPENNY V. DERING.

This cause was fully heard before Vice-Chancellor Sir
William Page Wood, and Mr. Baron Bramwell, and
Mr. Baron Watson last term, and stood over for judg-
ment. The point in contention was, whether the
plaintiff had contracted a legal obligation to burden bis
estates generally, and in particular his estates in the
county of Sent in favour of the defendant.
Mr. Baron Bramwell delivered, in writing, the joist
opinions of himself and Mr. Baron Watson, this morn-
ing, to the effect that in point of law the plaintiff had
not contracted a legal obligation to burden his real
estates either in general or particular. (Cumminieg
Digest, p. 4, Devises.)
The Vice-Chancellor, Sir W. Page Wood, was of the
same opinion in equity. The case will afterwards be
disposed of in accordance with the opinions delivered.

TIM WEATHER IN THE EAST.

A letter from Constantinople of the 3d, in the
Gazette du Midi, gives the following account of the
severe state of the weather at that place :
"It is almost impossible for me to give you an
idea of the extremities to which this city is reduced
by the snow, which night and day has been falling
in such abundance that it lies in the streets to the
depth of upwards of six feet. In the outskirts of
the city, in parts little frequented, it is still
deeper, and in the country there is no lcnger
any trace of a road, and the ravines which are $0
numerous in the neighbourhood of Constantinople,
are all filled up to a level with the roads. The
cold is most intense, and men, horses, and whole
flocks of sheep have perished. All the horpitale
in the city aro filled with poor people who have
had their feet frostbitten. Certain parts of the
heights of Pera have been for some days corn'
pletely unapproachable. The Sultan one dal
left his palace to proceed to Yeni-lieuchk, below'
Tcheragan, but the Imperial carriage could not
proceed far on the road, and was compelled t°
return. The port of Constantinople has been frozen
over for the last four or five days, with the exceP:
tiou of a very narrow channel in the centre.
number of wild fowl congregated together in this
stream, and afforded some amusement to sports'
men. One man in his eagerness to get hold of a
wild duck which he had killed went on seine
ice which was rather weak, and, falling through,
was drowned. To add to these horrors,
wolves have come down from the mountains, and
have approached the gates of the city. So daring
have these animals become from hunger that, in
front of a cafe near the artillery barracks at Pell
a horse was attacked and devoured by a pack °
them. At Scotari a poor woman was killed
others at only a short distance from a guardhouse,
and in the country parts the most dreadful
ravages have been committed. The blocking up
f
of the roads has prevented the usual supply °f
fuel from reaching the capital, and the price of
charcoal has risen to one franc a pound.
Ouan•Cahan, a boat laden with this article, which
was moored off the quay, was so besieged 10'4
customers that two persons fell into the vat,
and were drowned. A more than ordinary ctua"..,
tity of snow has also fallen this year in Asia Mined
At Messina it continued heavily for 32 hours; 3
completely buried the Greek convent of Alaka .1)3
was with the greatest difficulty that a passage cool
be cut in order to release the monks from their.
perilous position. The operations for releasil6
them were directed by a Turkish officer of engioe'..:
who had been sent on a mission to Messina to OM
a plan of the town, which is about to be rebuilt
and fortified on a new system."