The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-17 00:00:00

The Scandals of joint-Stock Enterprise.

Dickens, in his " Martin Chuzzlewit," drew a
picture of sharp practice in America, which fur-
nished the ground-work for many similar paintings
of the unscrupulous trading of our Yankee cousins.
But the annals of every country would be sought in
vain to produce a parallel to the infamous rascality
revealed in London during the year 1866. In 1865
we had our Eden, as it appeared on paper, and in
1866 we have our Eden as it appears in reality.
The splendid buildings and well-formed streets of
that imaginary town, as depicted on the plan, were
not dissimilar to the shameful reports, the lying
figures, the gross exaggerations of the Directors of
most of our Joint-Stock. Companies. The deluded
shareholders rushed to participate in the benefits of
their Edens, with much the same feeling as "Mar-
tin Chuzzlewit" started for his Eden. Gradually
their high-toned hopes sunk, drearier and drearier
becomes the prospect, little by little the truth begins
to dawn, the deception becomes apparent, and
eventually the wretched shareholder stands, like
Dickens's hero, in the centre of the Dismal Swamp
—his means gone, his spirit broken, deprived of all
the necessaries of life, without the consolation of
such a companion as Mark Tapley. This is no
overdrawn picture, as the Directors of numberless
swindles would see,. could they but look through
the roofs of thousands of English houses, and 'wit-
ness the ruin, misery, and tears, of these English
homes laid bare. Thebody of men who have wrought
thiiwicked work are for the most part people standing
well in society ; in fact, whose end and object is to
be what they call respectable. Their establishments are
respectable, their appearance is respectable ; habits,
manners, customs, all are respectable. A few stray
lords grace the respectable throng, and baronets in
still greater number,—here and there an ex-gover-
nor, many M.P.'s, while even military clubs lent
some of their members to add what dignity the
war-like professions could give to the trading gang.
The crowd had its gradations from Financial
Ministers, who presided over great undertakings,
down to half-pay majors, who lent their names to
smaller swindles. England was fairly beguiled by
the weight of respectability, and came forward with
scores of millions for these people to manipulate.
Banking establishments sprung up, as if every man
had suddenly become rich, but banking business
was too slow for the growth of Young England
ideas, and finance became the order of the day. As
usual in this country, when the people had fairly
mounted their hobby, they rode it till it dropped
beneath them. . The joint-stock hobby was not a
bad one in its way, but it soon followed the career
of all over-done new ideas. A rare opportunity was
offered to bankrupt concerns to palm off their busi-
ness on the unsuspicious public, The real movers

I were for the most part a set of needy and unprin-
cipled ruffians—an unprincipled promoter, an
unprincipled attorney, and an unprincipled manager
set the concerns iu motion. A few of the greedy
respectables were bribed to lend their names and
intluenc a---a prospectus promising large gains.
together with a market rigged to place the shares
at a
Premium ;—advertisements which paid the
ttinokn and suicide,
newspaper press enormously, and a trifling call
within. everybody's means, caught the unwary.
The names were registered—the credit gained—
and the company started, on its fatal career. As
rats forsake a sinking ship, so sneaked from
these concerns the more wary directors. First
came the collapse of Smith, Knigitt, and Co.,
followed by the smash of the Joint Stock
Discount. The public began to open their
eyes to the style of men to whom they had intrusted
so vast an amount of power and responsibility. The
climax was reached when the house whose name
stood highest in England proved to be a hollow
sham, and with the smash of Overend, Gurney, and
Co. went all the belief in the respectability of the
respectables. Since then the expose has been com-
plete ; it,Svery inagnitude—in a measure—screening
the delinquents from the punishment they have so
justly merited. When the Courts open in Novem-
ber next it is probable that a story will be told that
will remain a lasting scandal to the English name.
Are these people to escape scot-free ? Is England
jesateiml6Yosu toilizg gthroukh the with con-
mud ? litany of the promoters and directors of the
'
tears,
con-
temptuous nbi
pl be
et spottedat ohuess epipt
yoevoaeptrl
people
with
their
drive misery, b
failed companies were the post active agents in
bringing to the ground the concerns they had
erected. Some profited more by the destruction
than by the construction of their handiwork. The
information possessed by these people of the in-
trinsic rottenness of the companies with which they
were connected enabled them with security to " bear"
the shares on the Stock Exchange, which ended a
few months ago in bringing them down like a house
of cards. We have in our mind's eye a history of
a small manufacturing concern, situated in the West-
end of London, which an attorney built up, and as
unscrupulously pulled down, the whole ending in
the utmost disaster to the shareholders of which the
thing was capable, and in the shortest possible time,
but we are not yet aware whether the attorney pro-
fited most by the beginning or end of the under-
taking. Can these people act thus, ruining all who
place any confidence in them, destroying all faith
of man in his fellow-man, and go unscathed by law,
and continuing to hold their position in society?
When DICKENS or any other great writer wants a
subject to illustrate the wickedness of unscrupulous
schemes, there will be no necessity for travelling
out of London. In no other city will ho find a
richer mine of villainy all fresh to his hand.
We have not done with this subject—we will
watch the proceedings which are yet to come off,
and gibbet as far as in us lies some of the men who
have earned a notoriety which we hope and believe
the press will not deny them, but, on the contrary,
will cause their names to be as widely known as the
English language.—Anglo-American Times.

The Enlightened American.