The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-19 00:00:00

TWENTIETH REPORT of the DIRECTORS
of the COMMERANK of LONDON for the
HALF-YEAR.,endino4,the 31st December, 1858.
At a RALF‘YEARIa .1'..,14441ERAL MEETING of the
5/143111441ail JOIRS, laehlartUbe Banking "Rouse, Lothbury,
on weiutwAY, the 18th of January, 1859 :
DIRECTORS.
MARK HUNTER, Esq., Chairman.
EaliarktiStillingtleet Cayley, 1 Sir Joseph Paxton, M.P.
Robert Stacey Price, Esq.
Jobli Alfred Chowne, Esq. John Savage. Esq.
George Clivo;-Esq., M.P. Herbert Taylor, Esq.
Jonathan Hopkinson, Esq. Joseph Thompson, Esq.
William Jackson, Esq., M.P. Thomas Winkworth, Esq.
MANAGER—Mr. Alfred Cutbill.
SOLICITORS—Messrs. Tatham, Upton, Upton, and Johnson ;
and Messrs. Norris and Son.
Present :—Forty-eight Proprietors.
The Manager read the advertisement calling the meeting,
and afterwards the following
REPORT.
The Directors have now to lay before the Shareholders of
the Bank the balance-sheet for thd half-year ending 31st De-
cember, 1858, showing a net profit (including £1,391 Bs. ad.
brought forward from last half-year) of £13,822 Is. 5d., after
payment of all expenses and making provision for bad and
doubtful debts.
The -Directors propose to declare a dividend for the half-
year at the rate of £6 per cent. per annum, payable on and
after the 31st instant
The dividend will require £9,000 ; and after allowing £3,420
19s; sd. for rebate on current• bills not yet due, there will
remain a balance e £1,401 2s. Od. to be carried forward to the
present half-year.
. COMMERCIAL BANK OF LONDON. .
BALANCE SHEET TO 31sT DECEMBER, 1858.
DR.
_ _

Capital subscribed £1,500,000
Capital paid up £2O each on 15,000 shares ~£.300,002 0 0

Guarantee Fuild
75,000 0 0
Balances due to the customers of the bank
Balance of undivided profit, 30th
June, 1858 £1,391 8 3
Net profit for the half-year ending
31st Dec., 1858, after paying in-
come tax and deducting all
charges and expenses, and
making provision for- bad and
doubtful debts 12,430 13, 2
Balance carried down .

13,822 1 5

£1,291,700 7 0

CR.
Cash in the bank and at call at the Bank of
England, Exchequer Bills, India Bonds, and
Government Securities £255,645 4 6
Bills discounted, loans on stock, and other
securities 1,003,061 2 6
Strong-room, fittings, and furniture (premises
held on lease)...

DR.
Dividend at the rate Al £6 per cent. per an-
num, for the half-year ending 31st Decem-
ber, 1858
Rebate of interest on current bills carried to
profit and loss new account
Balance carried to next half-year

3,000 0 0

£1,291,706 7 0

£O,OOO 0 0

3,420 19 5
1,401 2 0

£13,822 1 5

MR. BRIGHT'S REFORM BILL.

CONFERENCE OF REFORIvIBRS AT BRADFORD.
BRADFORD, TUESDAY.
This afternoon a conference was held in St.
George's Hall, Bradford, to take Mr. Bright's
scheme of reform into consideration, and at which
the hon. member attended for the purpose of ex-
plaining any points upon which it was thought
desirable to have a more definite explanation. There
was a very full attendance of gentlemen from the
surrounding districts.
Mr. TITUS SALT took the chair, and having
opened the proceedings,
Mr. FOETSER (of Leeds) said he thought that,
however much they might differ with regard to the
details, they were tolerably unanimous as to the
general principles of .the bill described by Mr.
Bright on the previous evening. For himself, he
should be very glad to see the second reading of
such a measure in the House of Commons, feeling
satisfied that any trifling defects which might be,
contained in it would be easily = remedied in com-
mittee. It was necessary, however, that the people
themselves should take an active part in support of
the bill, and he therefore trusted that the result of
the cenference would be the formation of a society
to carry on the battle of Reform in the West Rid•
ing of Yorkshire. (Hear, heir.)
Mr. BUCK (Burnley) believed that Mr. Bright
had mistaken both the disease and the remedy.
The real disease to be removed was ignorance, and,
as the only remedy was increased intelligence,' he
thought that any new., Reform Bill ought to be
based upon the educational test.
.Mr.„;FAIg. (Bradford) wished to know how it-wits
that Mr.-I:fright, after stating that the territorial
interestiwas at present adequately represented, both
in the Lords and Commons, could consistently add
more members to the counties,: and leave such
places as Dewsbury and Skipthn. unrepresented.
After some remarks from Mr. KENNON,
Mr. KELLY (of Heckmondwike) , believed the
object of . the conference was to elicit the opinions
of gentlemen connected with various parts of the
Riding with respect to the proposed measure of
Reform, and expressed a hope tbatthc conversation
would be entirely limited to that point. (Hear.)
Mr. LUPTON (of Leeds) said, It appeared from the
report of Mr. Bright's speech ;that Leeds, Liver-
pool, and other large towns to which additional
members were to be given Were to be divided.
Now, he had misunderstood the speech of the hon.
member if that was really the ase, and wished to
know whether his impression correct.
Mr. JORN CROSSLAND •Said, e was deputed by
the Halifax Household Suffrag and Ballot Asso-
ciation to represent the feeling: f the members of
that body on the present occasi . They were most
anxious to assist Mr.Brightint e arduous struggle
in which Ie was at, present enga ed, and were fully
convinced that a measure so extensive in its nature:
could not be carried without a strong and united
effort on, the part of the adv4cates of Reform.
(Hear, hear.)
After several other gentlemqn had given their
opinions
Mr. Moss (of Bradford) wishid to know what
Mr. Bright proposed to do wit respect to those
populotis and. important villages which were so
anxious to secure the right of voting.
Mr. EDWARDS thought that the first thing to be
done was to request Mr. Bright to draw out a pre-
amble of the bill he had siiggestdd on the previous
evening, in order that it should be placed in the
hands of every elector in the kingdom.
Mr. A. ILLINGWORTH (of Bradford) apprehended
that they attended that meeting as reformers to
discuss the question of reform. They had no notion
of the Government passing any bill without, in the
first instance, ascertaining the feeling of the great
majority of the constituencies on the subject. They
*ere now anxious to receive such suggestions as
were calculated to produce an organised mode of
action which should give tone and character to the
present reform agitation.

Mr. HARTLEY (of Pickering) was of opinion that
the bill' as proposed by Mr. Bright would consoli-
date the interests of the true Liberals of the king-
dom, promote those of the population generally,
give increased strength to the constitution and
at the same time add to the firmness of the
Crown. It was one which was deserving of the
best support of all Liberals:
Mr. BRIGHT-Mr. Chairman, I am very glad to
have the opportunity this morning of meeting so
large a number of those who are anxious on the
question of reform. After the meeting which was
recently held at Edinburgh we had a conference
very much of this character, and before the meet-
ing at Glasgow there was a small meeting of a simi-
lar character. I believe the effect of the coming
together of persons from different parts of those
districts in Scotland was very much to help forward
a united movement in that part of the kingdom,
and I believe the result of this meeting will be to
put things in train, so that the effect of last night's
meeting will not merely be the pleasure—if it were
a pleasure—of hearing a speech on a great subject,
but of carrying out in succeeding weeks and months
a movement which shall bring about a great result
in the country. (Cheers.) Various questions h&ve
been put to me to-day respecting niy proposed
measure. You probably observed last night that I
spoke, unfortunately, fbr a considerable portion of
the time with much difficulty (sympathetic cheers)
and I was not able to give that clear and minute
account of the changes I have proposed which I
should have wished to do. But the day before the
meeting I had posted a copy of the schedules con-
taining the arrangement of the representation of
all the boroughs and some, of the counties of the
united kingdom as I proposed it should stand in
case the bill becomes law, to newspapers in Edin-
burgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Man-
chester, Birmingham, Bristol, and London. As far as
I know, I sent them to all the daily morning papers
the names of which I happened to have, and it is
possible that this very day in many of those paper
such schedules will be published. I think, therefore,
the object of one of the speakers will be pretty well
accomplished, because befoie a week has elapsed,
those schedules will be in the possession of all
who read the newspapers—(hear, hear)—and if
there is any point on which I have not quite ex-
plained myself they can refer to these schedules,
and, with the exception of any slight error which
may have crept into the figures and calculations,
they will be able to obtain a pretty accurate idea of
the changes I contemplate. There is one point
which has been referred to here with respect to
Schedule F, which describes the boroughs that are
to have four members each. It is intended that
each of those boroughs should be divided into two
wards, each elector to be registered in one ward
only. I need not enter into any detailed argument
on that point now, nor go into the reasons which
induced me and those earnest men with whom 1 am
acting:to adopt that principle;. I can only say that
long before this bill goes before a committee of the
House of Commons—if it should ever have the good
fortune to reach that stage—the opinion of the
country will probably be unmistakeably signified
on that point. I have told you before that it is
utterly impossible for any human being to produce
a plan of reform on the basis of apportioning the
representation to the population with arithmetical
exactness unless he cuts the country up into elec-
toral districts, and it is probable that no plan
whatever could be drawn up which would not have
to encounter the strongest objections. Suppose I
adopted the basis of giving three members to
boroughs with a population of 54,000, on the one
side it would be said why not adopt 64,000 as the
basis, and on the other 34,000. I say that you must
draw a line somewhere and submit it to the fairness
and good sense of the country, trusting that they
Will look at it as a whole, and give it that general
,support without which no scheme whatever can be
carried. There is another point I should like to
explain. You will find towards the end of these
schedules a general abstract showing the result of
the proposed change. It puts the boroughs into
six classes, and these classes are based chiefly on
their population, but with respect to the taxation
return, which is not exactly similar, I begin with
boroughs having a population under 16,000. Then
there is a step from 16,000 to 25,000, where I leave
things pretty much as they are now. From 25,000
to 54,000, which doubles it, and a little more, I
make another step from 54,000 to 130,000, which
doubles it, and a little more, then from 130,000 I
go to 270,000, which doubles it and a little more,
and then I get to the largest boroughs of 300,000
and 400,000—there arc five of them, and I propose
to give six members each to them. Whether a town
like Manchester should be divided into two wards,
with three members to each, into three wards with
two members each, or into six wards with each one
member, will be for the consideration of the Parlia-
mentary committee, and I hope that the arrange-
ment I have proposed will bethought advantageous
to the country. (Hear.) A gentleman here put a
question to me with _ regard to the counties, upon
which I must make an observation in reply. Last
night I stated that I thought, so far as the land was
Concerned, that the represchtation of 'the counties
in the House of Commons, Conjoined with the repre-
sentation of the land which exists in the House of