The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-20 00:00:00

THE ROYAL BRITISH BANK (This Day.)

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, GUILDHALL.
(Sitting at Nisi Priug, before Lord Campbell and a
Special Jury.)
THE QUEEN V. BROWN AND OTHERS.
SEVENTH DAY.

The trial of the information against the directors and
manager of the Royal British Bank for conspiring by
false pretences to defraud the shareholders and cus-
tomers and the public, was this day resumed.
The same counsel appeared as before.
The case was resumed this morning.
Mr George Anderson was called and examined by
Mr. Atherton with reference to the past due bills and past
due bills book having reference to the advances made
by the bank, most of which had been the subject of in-
quiry in the early part of these proceedings. He stated
he found the bills had been classified on the sth April,
1853, as follows : good bills, 17,1531 ; doubtful,
4,3171. 15s 4d; bad, 6,6281. 35 7d; bills in
liquidation, 17,1541. 7s 4d ; and under legal pro-
cess, 4,945/, 5s Bd. The classification commenced on the
31st Dec„ 1851, between these dates no addition had
been made to the past due bills, the outstanding account
remaining the same. A " money lodged and lent book"
ewes kept ; all the past due bills and loans were shown in
it. None of their bad kills were written off is "despe-
rate," but carried on as securities up to 29th August,1853. The amount of past due bills at that time • was
24,2601. 16s, being an increase of 5,0001. or 6,0001. since
December, 1851 ; the past due loans were, at that time,
10,7591. 15s 61 from time date to the 18th
Juno, 1855. On the 31st December, 1853,
tee outstanding duo bills were 24,7061. 14e 7d; on 31
April, 1854, 32,3041. 13s 4d ; on 30th June, 37,0181.
144 ld ; on 4th Sept., 40,3951. lle 2d ; en 30th Oct ,
59,5991. 19e lld ' • on 2ith Nov., 56,8931. 4s ld ; on 3d
Jan., 1855, 73,4161. 13s 7d ; on 12th Feb., 78,2031. laid;
on---12th sum, -Imam. 04- Aid; on 12th April,
83,9211. 184 101; on 14th May. 88,0101. 14e ; on 18th
June, 88,8441. 19a 5d ; and on 21et July, 92,3281. 81 Bd,
including 21,1171. 2s 2d, De Tart's diebonoured bills ; on
6th August, 1855, the past due bills amounted to
68,858/. 13s 5d ; oa Ist September, 70,3251. Se 8d ;
and on 17th Oct., 71,6341. Sc. Past due loans out-
,tanding on 18th June, 1855, amounted to 16,3271.
13s lld ; bills continued with collateral security,
3,3261. Os Id. Past due loans on let September, 1855,
amounted to 20,4771. 13e lld ; bills continued, &c.,
24,3431. 8s 3d. On 17th Sept. past due loans were
51,0731. 2e 9d; bills on collateral security, 24,3431.
8s 3d. The past due loans at this time, including Mr.
H. Brown's, brought from convertible securities,
amounted to 29,1851. 18r 101. Up to December, 1855,
the past due bile were 63,7561. 7e 4d ; the past one
loans, 17,7421. Os Id. ; bills continued, &c., 24,7841.
lle 9d : making a total of 106,2821. 19s 2d. The
"green ledger" commenced early in 1854, and
was kept by Mr. Cameron, junior, and Mr.
Munro. The accounts transferred from the other books
at first were written by Mr. Crawford. All the officials
had access to it. It contained the names of the bank
officials only. In it were the accounts of Mr. Baring
(director), Brown (director), Barnard (cashier), Cochrane
(director), Clarke (director), Cameron (general manager),
Chandler (auditor), Gwynne (director), Kennedy (three-
ter), Logan (late clerk), Macgregor (director), M'Cloud
(director), Mullens (late solicitor), Napier (late acceuu-
tant), Owen (director), Paddison (solicitor), Ruston
(director), the two Mr. Valiants ( iirectore), and Wel-
ton (director). During the ilipese of Mr. Cameron, he
was unable to say if the "green ledger" was from time
to time before Mr. Eedaile.
Mr. Atherton said he was prepared to show the state
of the accounts for 1856.
Sir F. Kelly said it was not required, because
it was not in this information. The amount of
bi le on which he calculated interest. in 1855 was
46,3891. 14s 7d, the interest was 2,6741. 2s 10e, which
was carried to profit. He was directed not to calculate
interest en certain bills after 1855, up to 16,0351.
By Mr. Sergeant Shee—The value of the bills for
calculating interest was ascertained from a knowledge
of the parties.
The witness was then cross-examined on the balance-
' sheet of 1355. It was a dry and tedious process,
utterly uninteresting and unintelligible without the
document,. He added that he had his suspicion when
he was told by Mr. Barnard not to value certain bills for
interest in June or July, 1855; that they were bad. If he
had known any part of the bills were bad be should have
gone to the directors and taken their instructions
thereon. A provision was made for bad debts in the
balance-sheet in addition to the reserved funl ; Mr.
Stapleton joined the bank after the publication of the
balance-sheet in June, 1855.

Sir F. Kelly examined the witness as to the drawing
up of the balance-sheet of 1855, which was reported to
him and net a report of which he took part in producing.
Lord Campbell—There is nothing on the face of this
balance-sheet that would undeceive him. He oid not be,
the balance sheet before it was printed, ha did not know
who gave instructions what should be left out and what
retained.

By Mr. James—He sever saw an item for past due
bills in the reports of English Joint Stock Banks ; the
sum of 89,0001. past due bills contained a portion of
Brown's debt, for which the Bank held securities ; it in•
eluded come of Oliver's and De Tart's liabilities, 21,0001.
for which the bank held a second mortgage ; it also
included Macgregor'e and Ditillene debt.
Mr. Sergeant Shee—The balance-sheet printed for
circulation is only an abstract at the balance-sheet.
The Jury said they were quite aware of that.
Lord Campbell—So far as I understand no objection
is taken to the form of the abstract.
By Mr. Slade—Mr. Owen (director) had a cred t
valance of 891. when the bank failed.

By Mr. Huddleston—iciCl3;;; had advanced to
him at tie beginning of 1854 12,0001. on bills, for which
he gave security, the Helen LludFay, the Magdalena,
and the Hero, and lodged a bill of sale of them. Early
in March that sum had been paid off, and before the
mortgage was given to Mr. Walton.
A juryman complainei tbat in crosF-t-xamining the
witness allusion had been made to other Joint Stocks
by name in comparison with thi,;, relative to the form
of their balance-sheet, which he thought a dishonour.
Mr. James said he had do:le so merely to show the
form used.

Lord Campbell said be thought the form unobjec
[citable.

[To ba continued in our last edition.]

SIXTH DAY.

[The fellevriug appeared in successive eslitiens •° The Sun
of yesterday : --]
The further inquiry into Mr. Cameron's debt to the
bank was proceeded with.
Mr. Anderson, examined by Mr. Welsby, said that in
Cameron's account i❑ the green ledger there was a dis•
count of a note for 500/. in the bill register ; it was
entered as a promissory note of Esdaile's, endorsed by
Ca►neron. It was continued on as a continuing security
in the register of the 6th of February. On the
16th of January, 1854, there was entered in the
register a❑ advance on convertible securities, a sum of
3,478/. 2s. 11d., which continued until the end of 1355.
It wait tele el out after the first balance that was struck
ou 31st December, 1855. On that day Cameron gave A
bill drawn on the National Bank of Scotland in favour
of the Royal British Bank for 3,500/., 21 days' date. It
was discounted and the amount placed to the credit of
his drawing account, which would appear as an asset.
He received the bill from the accountant of the bank,
with instructions not to present it. It was not entered
in the past-due bills book, but it remained on the list
of country current bills •till the close of the bank,
and to the debit of Cameron's discount account.
On the 31st December, 1854, Cameron's discount
account amounted to 15,396/. 14s. 6d. due from him
to the bank. On the 31st December, 1855, the amount
was 19,146/. 14s. 61 Nothing had been received on
it from that time up to the stoppage of the bank.
Mr. A nderson, cross-examined by Mr. E. James—The
bills produced of Cameron's were not initialled in the
proper manner by the directors, to indicate they
had passed the directors, nor had they been
entered in the past due bills book. lip to the time
Mr. Esdaile became a director, Ole could only trace
on the books the payment of the money but not the
order for its payment. The 50C/. hill of Mr. Esdaile's
was paid without renewal. By the system of book-
keeping adopted by the bank, they showed the payment
of 1,500/. for the 500/., which the witness explained, but
it was of so complicated a nature that few only could
understand it. The principal object appeared to be to
give the bank an advantage of interest and the saving of
the stamp.

By Mr. D. Seymour—Mr. Cameron's account was
kept in the usual manner as others of the yams class ;
there was no mystery about it. The bi 1 for 10,0001.
edd had reference to the purchase of some of the bank
shares.

A juryman asked if the "green-book" referred to was
a ledger or a memorandum-book fir the use of the
directors ; because there might be a difference as to the
actual state of the account in the ledger and in the
green-book,

Witness said that the "green-ledger" contained the
accounts that were more frequently referred to, and that
it answered all the purposes of a ledger.
Mr. Crawford, the accountant, said lie remembered
finding, in 1853, seven promissory notes of Cameron's,
amounting to 10,6001. He charged interest on them,
as he understood they represented original shares of the
bank, and the dividends would go against them. There
was a cash and drawing account. In 1854 the debtor
balance of Cameron's drawings showed 2071. 15A. ; the
balance of the cash credit account at the end of 1854 was
3,1731. 12'. Sd. against Cameron. During Cameron's
absence from illness, in 1855, Mr. Esdaile examined the
share register, and took a good deal of trouble with it.
Mr Esdaile on one occasion said, " Surely Cameron's bills
represent a great many more shores than are standing in
his name. The amount would represent 212 shares,
but there were only 51 shares registered in Cameron's
name. In June, 1855, Cameron said to witness the
directors were pressing him to give back 1,0001. of Lie
salary, but that he would take care to recompense
himself. Cameron afterwards gave a promissory note