The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-31 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL BOROUGH BANE.

A general meeting of the proprietors and contri-
butories was held on Thursday, at the Banking-
house, Liverpool, for the purpose of considering an
account made up by the liquidators, showing the
state of the company's affairs, and the progress
made in winding up the same down to the expira-
tion of the second year after the passing of the re-
solution for winding up the affairs of the company,
and a report stating the reasons why the winding-
up had not been completed.
Mr. BRAM LE k-MooitE said hewas much surprised
that after the lapse of a year the liquidators had
not given the shareholders any more information,
though they had had ample time and leisure for
examininf, the books and searching into matters
connected with the management of the bank. To
the chairman the shareholders more especially
looked that their interests should be attended to.
Since laSt year ho (Mr. Moore) had obtained certain
information at great cost, which he maintained the
liquidators might and ought to have given the
shiripholders -gratuitously. (Hear' bear) Of this
infaikmatior he would give a sketch merely. Up to
1841 the, business of the bask was conducted upon
the sound principle that whenever a debt became
bad or doubtful it was written Off, and .so
remaiiud until dividends were brought to its
credit by parties owing the bank money.
'1 his system, in consequence of the bank getting
into debts which they were probably afraid
to lay before the shareholders, was given
up, and a bad and doubtful debt account opened,
which went on to 1846, when a heavy failure
occurred. Up to that time the reports and state-
ments issued by the directors were duly signed in
accordance with the deed of settlement, but from
1848 and 1849 to the close of the bank, there was
not a single statement so signed. This was a grave
and serious matter, and its truth could be perfectly
established by a reference to documents in his (the
speaker's) possession. Next with regard to the
management—no minutes were kept until 1849,
and then the minutes entered were meagre and
miserable in the extreme. (Cheers.) Having given
a summary of the dates of these minutes, and ob-
served that comment upon them was unnecessary,
Mr. Moore said that no security-book was kept till
1856-57. They had been told that the directors
were ignorant of what was going on in the bank,
but he found that there were discussions and reso-
lutions of secrecy signed on more than one occasion.
On June 30, 1846, it was decided that, " in order
to prevent a public discussion arising out of the pre-
sent state of the bank, which under other circum-
stances would be inevitable, and in order to make
way for other arrangements; Mr. Rotherham be re-
quested to retire from the direction." Now, if the
proprietors were informed at this early period of
the state of affairs, would they have allowed mat-
ters to reach the culminating point of losing all
their capital, and having calls to pay besides ? No
man of common sense would have done so. So far
from giving anv information, however, to the share-
holders, a resolution was passed actually to burke
all information. There was then a minute that all
advances should be limited to £20,000, but this
was found so inconvenient that it was rescinded in
_ _

1853. Why ? Because it had been transgressed
to an enormous extent. On November 20, 1856,
there was a minute, " That no open accounts
should exceed £lO,OOO, except the following," and
then followed a list of gentlemen, comprising soae
hundreds of thousands of pounds, every one of
whom had failed. (Cries of " Name, name.") Mr.
Moore did not think it necessary to name them at
present, though if it were desirable afterwards he
would do so. Having noticed the fact that the
original founders of the bank, widely awake to the
course which was being pursued, left it in 1846,
Mr. Moore complained that accounts were carried
forward year after year as good, when the direc-
tors must have been aware that they were utterly
worthless. The account of Stockdale, who failed in
1846, was not written off-until 1856. (Distippro-
bation.) Next citing a few instances of the "good
management" as to securities, Mr. Moore stated
that the first was an advance of £28,078 to a brewer,
the security being a lease which was worse than
worthless. Next, 434,600 to a person never worthy
of credit for a tithe of the amount ; next, £34.598,
no security ; next, £33,000, security £6,800, but net
worth anything of the kind ; next, £44,247, inte-
rest on this account being charged to the end of

1854 ; when, to mend matters, the directors paid up
other debts belonging to this individual, in order to
get the management into their own hands •, next,
£29,174, security utterly worthless ; next, £44,859
to a surgeon whose gallipots were quite as good a
security as that offered. (Laughter.) Next, £47,183,
upon the deeds of ironworks not worth half the
money. Tho Doherty and De Wolff accounts he
passed over as too well known already. Next was
a mortgage on land, 17,609 yards, at £3 and £4 per
pard. In 1854 this was debited in the accounts
£13,000, but it had since gone on increasing by the
accumulation of interest until it had now reached
£17,000. Having enumerated other accounts in
which the value of the securities bore a similar
proportion to the advances, Mr. Moore men-
tioned that the case of Eccles stood in
the accounts at £316,654, and that the
balances of another firm—three firms under
one head—amounted, in 1854, to £214,341; in 1855,
to £221,722 ; in 1856, to £311,912 ; in 1857, to
£324,319 ; the balance, when the bank closed, being
£317,160. Now, he (Mr. Moore) could show that
the directors knew the position of these accounts as
early as 1854, and, notwithstanding this, they kept
increasing the accounts in one case to the extent of
£86,000, after they had received a warning from
one of the parties as to his dangerous position. Mr.
Moore here read passages from various letters of
creditors and customers to the bank in support of
his statements. He next alluded to the " bad and
ruinous" system of re-discounting. It commenced
in 1863. And why ? Because the bank was in
straits and wanted money. It went on increasing

PRICE 4P. STAMPED, SD.

from year to year, and in 1856 the re-discounting
amounted to ~/;14,224,533 ; iu 18 i 7, to £15,216,999 ;
and from June, 1857, to the 27th Oct. it amounted
to £3,755,262. Commentary upon this was unne-
cessary—(cheers)—and he put it to the meeting
whether ignorance could have prevailed within the
building of the rotten state of the bank so far back
as 1853 and 1854 ? (Hear.) Mr. Moore' then' en-
tered into a detail of the shareholders who were
debtors to the bank, and said that there had been
displayed a systematic violation of the deed of set-
tle/neut. Nothing, in fact, could have been worse
than the management of the bank's affairs, and no
other result than the disastrous one which had oc-
curred 'could have been reasonably anticipated. On
the occasion of the last meeting some indignation
had been manifested, *hen he (Mr. Moore) used
the phrase, "Delinquent directors," but he asked,
whether what had taken place did not justify the
expression ?—(hear)—and in support of this view,
he quoted the expressions used and comments made
by the Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Wightman,
and Mr. Justice Hill, in the case of " Scott v.
Dixon." 'ln conclusion, Mr. Moore regretted that
he should have had the necessity laid upon him to
wake these remarks.
The CHAIRMAN stated that by being consenting
parties to the examination of the books, &c., under
the authority of the Master of the Rolls, they had
in fact given all the information which they could.
They did not think it their duty as liquidators to
take proceedings against the directors.
Mr. DIXON thought he had been hardly used in
having well-known facts raked up against him.
The deficiency was only £58,000 on a million at
the time he agreed to the report alluded to, and
the outside directors did. not know till the bank
stopped ; all the facts which have since come to
light, and the faults ascribed to him were due to
the Liverpool system of bank management, parti-
cularly as to privacy of the accounts of customers.
He never thought that the report he signed would
deceive the public, or he would not have signed it.
He also domed that personal. connections influenced
the directors in their business Afith the customers of
the bank.

In answer to Mr. 'ROGERS,
The CHAIRMAN said that the liquidators hoped
to pay off £50;000 of the loan early next year.
After some further discussion, the proceedings
terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

SIR JOSEPIi -P4XTON ON RIFLE

CO "P".

A meeting of considerable interest took place in
the Boys' School-iooni, Matlock, on Tuesday, to
take into consideration the necessity of forming a
Rifle Corps for Matlock, Matlack Bath,' Cromford,
Bonsall, Tansley, and Darley. Sir Joseph Paxton
in the chair.

The CHAIRMAN first read the published bill call-
ing the meeting, and stated his reasons for taking
the chair on that occasion. He then remarked
' upon the present excited feeling of 'the. '"country
which had originated the rifle movement; • and
stated that 'there was' no' adequate cause -for alarm
as far as retarded the French people. He knew
them *ell, being often in France, and he must say
no.feeling of hostility on the part of the French
people or Government existed, as far as he could
.discover ; but, on the contrary, a desire
'to- maintain friendly relations, with us. Ten
.years ago (1848-9) we, had witnessed very
extraordinary revolutions. on the continent of
Europe, which had induced all the • States to
increase their armies to a war .footing, so that not
less than, two millionsa-of men were in arms, belong-
ing to the four great powers of the continent,
France, Austria, Russia, and Prdssia ; and, on look-
in„ at the present uncertain state of the continent,
no man could answer for the consequences that
might occur, even in a month, with this high state
of preparedness for war, and the yet unsettled state
of mlitical affairs in Italy and elsewhere. Con-
sidering what the first Napoleon did, and the vast
armies he speedily raised and made such effective
use of, and looking, too; at the facility with which
this Napoleon, the present Emperor, moved 200,000
men into Italy, fought and gained five battles
With wonderful rapidity and precision, we ought to
be ready Tor any eventualities that may happen on
the continent, which may involve ourselves in dif-
ficulties; and, looking also at the defenceless state
of out masts, and the extraordinary change effected
by'steam power, it sax necessary that a great effort
should be made to place us in a position to main-
tain our superiority both by land and sea, and be
ready to repel any hostility that might be attempted
on our shores. He rejoiced in the present move-
ment to form rifle corps, and should aid it all in
his power ; for, considering the small number of ov.r
regular army, such efforts were absolutely needful
to strengthen our position, and he hoped our rifle
corps would become as expert as riflemen as our
ancestors were in the use of the bow. He stated
that, if the French ruler had any aggressive inten-
tions against this country, he could organise a flotilla
in every harbour opposite our coasts ; and giving an
order, sayat 8 o'clock in the evening, to each division
of the force, directing each to meet•on our coasts at
especial period, a considerable force might thus be
landed without the possibility of our helping it.
Our fleet might be quite useless on the occasion from
not being privy to such a movement. He thought
the present movement a good one, but he considered
we ought, at the same timeto increase our effective
force. He should recommend a permanent Militia
Corps, and for this purpose it may be necessary to
resort to the ballot again. Here he referred to the
plictice pursued in Switzerland, where all the
youth are trained to the use of the rifle, and conse-
quently these young men, when called into the
field, prove the best soldier,s in Europe. He then
briefly reviewed our gigantic commercial relations
throughout the world, which would be injured to a
fearful extent by war. A want of security would
be instantly generated, and the premiums on in-
surance would be vastly increased.
The first resolution was proposed by Mr. RAD-
FORD, of Tansley Wood, and seconded by Mr.
ALDAM, of Rock House, Matlock—" That efforts
should be made to form a rifle corps, to consist of a
company or companies embracing Matlock and the
surrounding district."
Carried unanimously.
The second resolution was proposed by Mr.
BLACKWALL, and seconded by Mr. CAMPBELL:—
V That a committee of persons residing in Matlock,
Bath, Cromford, Bonsall, Dorley, Tansley, and the
neighbourhood be formed for carrying the foregoing
resolution into effect."

The third resolution was proposed by Mr. CHAD-
WICK, and seconded by Mr. WALKER:—"That those
persons who are not eligible to enrol themselves on
the committee be invited to assist the corps by
doaations."

The fourth resolution was proposed by Mr.
BROOKER, and seconded by Mr. ADAM—" That two
secretaries be appointed;" when Mr. Thomas New-
bold and Mr. Chadwick were unanimously elected
as honorary secretaries.
The bankers appointed were Messrs. Arkwright,
and Wirksworth.

The amount of cash subscribed before and at the
meeting was stated to be £136 55., which will be
shortly published. The men already enrolled are
40 in number, but it is proposed to raise the force
to a corps of 60 or 65 men, with one captain, one
lieutenant, and one ensign.
Sir lOSEPIT PAXTON stated he should be surpriiod
if ho did not succeed in raising the corps to its full
extent, and ordered his name to be put down for
10 guineas. Other gentlemen also subscribed.

MR. DARBY GRIFFITH, M.P., ON RIFLE CORPS.
—Mr. Darby Griffith, M.P., has addressed the
following letter to a local paper :—" There is a
point of a strictly practical character, upon which
it appears to me that some uncertainty of appre-
hension prevails on this subject. It may be well
to reduce the entrance-money, as a minimum, to as
low an amount as possible, in • order to open the
door widely to the admission of large classes of the
community. But what I would ask is this—ls it
thereby intended that comparatively opulent
tmh
mem-
bers of a corps should refrain from providing the
cost of their own uniform, and should, in fact, avail
themselves of the opportunity of obtaining
their outfit at the minimum established, it
may be presumed, for the benefit of the
least opulent members ? lam not completely aware,
and am in fact desirous of eliciting, what is the
exact impression of the efficient members upon this
point; but from what has reached nee personally I
apprehend that the honorary or subscribing mem-
bers are not under the expectation that the sub-
scriptions are to be devoted to the outfit of those
members who are probably as opulent as many of
the subscribers themselves. Believing that in an
association of this kind it is essential that no lurk-
ing misapprehension be allowed to remain unex-
plained, I trust I shall require no apology for sub-
mitting this subject to the publicity which usually
elicits the most definitive elucidation of public
opinion.—l am, &c., C. DARBY GRIFFITH.—
Devises, Dec, 27."