The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-11 00:00:00

DEVONPORT.

DEVONPORT, May 10.
Mr. W. Ferrand, the ex-member, and the new
Conservative candidates, the lion. Reginald C.
Abbot and Mr. Raikes, addressed a large meeting
of the Conservative electors of this borough this
evening, and were very favourably received. Mr.
Ferrand, in introducing the new candidates, inveighed
against the Government for bolstering up thepetition
through which he was unseated, after it had been
abandoned by its original promoters. The Liberal
candidates, Mr.. Montague Chambers and Admiral
Dacres, are expected here to-morrow.

The Stoppage of Overend, Gurney, and Co,
The pr

panic has at length culminated in the most
important and serious stoppage ever announced in
the City of 'London. Overend,
Gurney, and Co.
(limited) were this afternoon Compelled to close
their doors. Their liabilities amount to about
£10,000,000, of which £6,000i030,500i50 •otooodiesptoosiutonrs-
,
who hold bills as security, and
covered depositors. The. paid-ui; capital is
£1,500,000, the nominal capital l>cigg £5 000 000
in shares of £5O each, on which £1.5 has been paid,
and the closing price this evening of the shares,
which six months ago were at nearly 10 premium,
was 81 discount. As the sum of £500,000 was paid
to the old firm for the goodwill on the constitu-
tion last August of the limited company, that sum
must vow in any case be regarded by the share-
holders as irretrievably lost, but it may be hoped
that the assets in hand will go far to prevent a total
exhaustion of the remaining £1,000,000 of paid-up
capital, since, as recently as the past week or two,
the managers firmly believed that at the meeting
about to be held they would be able to show profits
sufficient to recover all losses, including that from
the fraud of Pinto, Perez, and Co., and to admit
of the declaration of a dividend. The break-down
has been the result of a run of speculative sales of
the shares. The general public regarded the com-
pany with favour, and, although it was well known
that the old firm, whose property not many years I
back was reckoned by millions, had greatly dissi-
patecltheir resources by a series of imprudent ad-
vances, it was believed that those of the partners
who remained to manage the new concern would
henceforth conduct the business with an especial
amount of caution, owing to their full conscious-
ness of the Mistakes by which they had suffered
in the past. That they have faithfully endea-
voured to do so is still the general opinion, but
every circumstance has been against them. The
frequent recurrence of disasters affecting the assets
of the old firm constantly affected the reputation of
the new one ; the notorious failure of Overend,
Watson, and Co., the railway contractors, operated
injuriously from the similarity of name ; the heavy
fraud of Pinto, Perez, and Co., the.general break-
up of the Finance Companies, and the hourly ex-
pectation of a European war, were all calculated to
try them to the utmost. But there is no reason to
doubt they would still have worked through had it
not been for the persistent sales of their shares on
speculation. As soon as these operations had
brought the quotation to a discount, the depositors
began to take alarm, until at length the drain this
morning became too sharp to be resisted. Applica-
tion was made to the Bank of England, but the Go-
vernors felt it would be vain in a crisis like the pre-
sent to help one establishment, unless they were
prepared to help all that might be compelled to come
upon them. There was-no time to take any other
step, such as making a call on the shareholders, or
flecking assistance either fryw creditors-or-kindred
establishments, and, moreover, the pending diffi-
culty had become sufficiently known to render any
palliative useless. Accordingly, suspension was re-
solved upon, and the following circular was imme-
diately issuerl

"Overend, Gurney, and Co. (limited), London, E.C.
May 10.
" Sir, —We regret to announce that a severe run on our
deposits and resources has compelled us to suspend pay-
ment, this course being considered, under advice, the best
calculated to protect the interests of all parties.
"Mr. Turquand, of the firm of Messrs. Coleman, Tur-
quand, Young, and Co., and Mr. Harding, of the firm of
Messrs. Harding, Pallein, Whinney, and Gibbons, who are
now occupied in auditing the accounts, will prepare a state-
ment of the affairs of the- company, to be laid before the
shareholders at a meeting, which will be fired for as early
a day as possible.—l remain, your obedient servant,
"WILLIAM Bois, Secretary."

The question now is, What is to be done? The
stoppage of 0 verend, Gurney, and Co. will be the
signal for the suspension of every other large con-
cern that has lately been known to be under pres-
sure, and of every banking and finance company
whose position has been assailed by rumour, or whose
shares may be selected for attack in the Stock Ex-
change. Bills of parties whose engagements are
enormous, and whose fortune is believed to be
ample, have already this afternoon been returned,
and unless prompt steps are taken the close of the
week will be marked by disasters such as have never
been equalled in our commercial history. The
sole evil now to be dealt with is panic. The
cure of the Finance mania has long ago been
wrought, and the prices of the shares of these
schemes have fallen to a point to leave, as far
as they are concerned, little more to dread ; but it
is now for those who represent the wealth and
solidity of London to decide whether their sagacity
and resources aro so feeble as to render it im-
possible for them to devise any means of stemming
an insane torrent that must not only affect the
metropolis and all the great provincial centres of
our commerce, as well as our Indian, our colonial,
and foreign markets, but will at once lead to a
suspension of public works throughout the king-
dom, such as in every district to throw thousands of
people out of employment. By united action a few
days back they might have averted the calamity of
to-day, but on all sides there was perfect helpless-
ness. The time is now past for discussion or
counsel. The question of action in some way must
be decided in a few hours. It is the instantaneous
transition from a state of wild expansion of credit
to a total stoppage of credit that has brought us to
the present pass. The introduction of credit in a
new, safe, and legitimate way can alone supply the
remedy. To-morrow morning, without the slightest
avoidable delay, the leading institutions and firms
who see the jeopardy of the moment should form a
deputation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
with a request that he should authorise the Bank of
England to issue interest-bearing post notes in the
shape of ordinary Bank post bills, either at the cus-
tomary seven days or 30 days, or for any other
period that might be considered better, to any
extent they may deem necessary
and prudent
unquestionable security. If this or some
analo-
gous request be acceded to there
be
reason
expect an immediate subsidence of all unnecessary
to
_yen.
danger.—Times City Article, dated Thursday bul

MISCHIEF IN A CATHEDRAL On Sunday even-
ing some mischievous scamps effected an entrance
communion into
table.o lit the large candles on the
Cathedral,
Thehder'Ll'er WdrtS not discovered till nearly
of course he immediately
9 p.m., when the attention of ono of the vergers was Galled
to
g u itshhee unusuald t h e candles, light,
wwhichhen had been
iburning-
twolpleeslrhstarivnesi
oftwsihssiseso2
or three hours.— Kentish -Observer. •
[ADvEavrrsEmENT .I—Hollow ay' s Ointment
over and over again provecla.pthHpeioiebialeouswotanyfriond
and other painful and complicated complaints. Printed
afflicted with ulcerations, bad legs, sores, abs
'Os alterative pills
infistulas,tmaennat
perfect purity,
_ sof the cure, -to
veryr wra plainppe directions i rreoCut inodn seafeobr the application
should be taken throughout the
maintain the blood in a state
body
vanuean)datrou
tphrues-
Bad legs (old
without confining progress
_Vent the health of the whole
readilylocal
euro ailment,d , . 1y being jeopardise-d by the-
age 8 great-
drqyingim.from the mng the patient to bed or with-
pore-so miperativel _ nutritious diet and
grievance)
_ generous sup-
attack
advanced
~.earr.,_Manded 'when Weakening diseases
decrepitude. -. "_ 7! or constitutions evincing premature
.