The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-04 00:00:00

INVERNESS AND NAIRN.

The half-yearly meeting was held at Inverness on
Tuespay—Mr. Mlntosh in the chair.
The SECRETARy read the report, an abstract of
which appeared in The Sun.
Mr. MATHESON, M.P., approved the course the
directors had pursued. They had plainly stated the
real facts of the case, and had not attempted to
"cook the accounts°" as had been but too often
done in the vain hope that thingswould come right
in the end. Such conduct ought to increase the con-
fidence of the shareholders in the board.
The CHAIRMAN said it was peculiarly gratifying
to the shareholders to hear the largest shareholder
in the company thus expressing himself ; and he felt
the directors could not but be encouraged to put
forth every effort in their power to improve the
position of the company. He had no fear whatever
as to the future of the line. It would speedily im-
prove, and as they would in a short time have one
1 unbroken line from Inverness to London their tra-
ffic would so increase as that the line must be a pay-
ing one.
tithe report was then adopted, and the meeting
was made special to authorise the directors to get
through Parliament to create a preference stock
and otherwise raise funds to complete the works and
extension of the line.

All the resolutions were passed unanimously.

THE BANK OF FRANCE AND THE NEW

FRENCH

(From the Economist.)

The Bank of France is one of the greatest cora-
mercial institutions on record. It was established in
1800 by the first Napoleon, and has therefore existed
now upwards of half a century. It has had to con-
tend against all the political changes and revolu- I
tions which have happened within that eventful
period, and beingthe bank of the State, and almost
under the direct control of the State, it may natu-
rally be supposed that it has been exposed to extra-
ordinary coercions and temptations dangerous to its
solvency and credit. During the first 15 yearn of
its existence, the resources of France were drained
to the dregs to sustain the great Euro-
pean conflicts in which Napoleon was engaged,
and during that period the Government was often
pressed for supplies for the military chests. On
more than one occasion the Bank of France had to
witness all the French securities it held reduced to
less than one-half of their original value. After a
long interval it had to meet the difficulties of the
Revolution of 1830, succeeded by more than one
period of severe commercial and monetary crisis,
similar to those which the Bank of England encoun-
tered in 1837 and 1847. Next it had to cope with
the reckless and unscrupulous Provisional Govern-
ment which ruled France in 1848, and to meet the
serious difficulties of that and the following years.
During the whole of that time, and throughout the
whole of those political dangers, we are not aware
that at any one moment the' credit of the Bank of
France was ever doubted, or that its solvency was
ever in danger. It is true that in 1848 the Provi-
sional Government authorised the Bank to suspend
cash payments, and made its notes a legal tender
throughout France ; but nevertheless the Bank did
not upon any one occasion avail itself of that autho-
rity. In every case in which its notes were pre-
sented for payment they were duly redeemed in
cash, and at no moment therefore did they suffer
the slightest depreciation. These facts are conclu-
sive as to the advantageous character of the consti-,
tutioe of the Bank, and equally, or even more so,
as to the prudence and ability of its management.
Of later years the deepest depression in the affairs
of the Bank of France was in 1849. Iu that year
the total business of the Bank, in the shape of ad-
vances of every description, was reduced to
48,659,000/. In 1847, the year preceding the
Revolution, it amounted to 74,155,0001. From
that the increase of the transactions of the Bank
has been steady and rapid, and remarkable in
amount. In 1852 the amount of the business was
represented byadvancesto the extent of 95,800,0001.
In 1853 they rose to 155,500,000/. ; in. 1855 to
189120,000/. ; and in the last year to the enor-
mous sum of 223,105,5761. In the- latter year '
the amount of bills discounted in Paris was
60,483,000/., and in the branch banks 116,302,
6701., making together 176,716,3921.
Not only, however, have the transactions of the
Bank of France risen to this unparalled amount,
but the gains have increased in even a greater
proportion, caused no doubt, by the high rates
of interest which have been current during the
last two years. In 1854 the gross profits amounted
to 746,5281. ; in 1835 they reached 906,964/. ;
and last year they rose to the extraordinary sum
of 1,350,512/. Of course these sums are subject
to a certain deduction for the expense of manage-
ment. The entire capital represented by the
shares of the Bank of France is 3,600,000/., so that
a dividend of between 20 and 25 per cent. has
been paid with little difficulty upon the
original value of the shares. It is under these
circumstances that it is now proposed to double
the amount of the existing capital, a . course
suggested by the obvious desirableness of having a
broader basis of security for transactions of such
magnitude. That the operations of the Bank will
continue to increase there can be little doubt • not,
nowever, as a consequence of the increase of the
capital, but as a consequence of the further deve-
lopment of the trade of the country. Taking, how-
ever, the condition of the Bank as it now stands,
what will be the immediate effect of this increase of
capital ? It is proposed that 3,600,0001. shall be
subscribed and invested in French Rentes, which
may be done at a rate which will give about 4 per
cent. interest. The only increase of profit which
will be derived, therefore, from doubling the capital
will be a sum of 144,000/., to be added to the gross
profits made in the last year of 1,350,572/., while
the number or shares and the amount over which
the net profits will be divisible will be doubled—
that is, it will be raised from a sum of 3,600,0001.
to one of 7,200,000/. The effect will therefore be
to reduce the dividend upon the shares of the Bank
of France to little more then a half of the present
rate ; which reduced rate may still, however, be
computed at about 12 per cent. The original
amount of the shares of the Bank of France was
1,000 f., or 40/. ; the new shares are to be issued at
1,100/., or 44/.. which will still give nearly 11 per
cent. dividend. Inasmuch, however, as the new
shares are to be issued to the existing shareholders
in proportion to the number of old shares which
they hold, no injustice will be done by the low rate
at which they are fixed.
The operation on the part of the Government
assumes the form of a loan. The new capital is to
be invested in Three per Cent. Rentes at the price
of the time, to be created and added to the present
amount of the national debt of France. The direct
effect will therefore be to take out of the money-
market 3,600,0001. of floating capital towards the
ordinary expenditure of the country in addition to
the taxation of the year. It is, in fact, raising a
loan in the timeof peace inorder to pay the current
expenditure of the year. The investment therefore,
of this sum in Rentes will not, as has been supposed,
be to improve the value of public securities, but to
diminish them by the creation of so much more
stock, and to increase the severity of the pressure
for money by withdrawing that amount from the
capital now applicable to business. It appears,
therefore, that inasmuch as the charter of the pre-
sent Bank of France does not expire before the
31st. of December, 1867, full ten years hence, the
chief reason which bas induced the Government to
anticipate that event and give a renewal now is in
order to make it the means of raising a loan of
money, which would be regarded as more objection-
able in the ordinary form, but which in point of
fact is the same thing. In the arrangement, how-
ever, which is now made, the Government stipu-
lates for a condition, the effect of which will be
that the Bank of France will allow interest upon
the Government deposits up to a certain amount.
This is to be effected in the following manner :
The bank is to make an advance to the Govern-
ment upon Treasury Bonds to the amount of
3,200,0001., without any charge for interest, ex-
cepting for such portion of the amount as shall be
in excess of the public balances from time to time :
so far the Government has made a good bargain
for the public.
To the Bank of France, however, the arrange-
ment is most favourable. The charter is to be ex-
tended by 30 years—that is, until the end of 1897.
It is quite obvious from this proceeding that the
Government has 'decided to follow out the policy
which has been acted upon so much during the last
seven years, and to extend the branches of the
Bank of France so as to embrace the banking of
the whole of France*. In that case there can be
no question that its operations must go on extend-
ing, so as in a few years to give as large a dividend
upon the new amount of capital as it has recently
done upon the present amount.

MURDER AND SIIICIDE.—A woman named Knight,
residing near the parish church at Rotherhithe, has mur-
dered her son and committed suicide. A day or two ago
the husband lost his senses, and, to prevent his laying
violent hands upon either himself or his family, he
was placed under restraint in the asylum, and his
wife and child were taken to reside in the house of the
uncle, at Rotherhithe. Upon arriving there she seemed
to be greatly depressed in mind, and complained bitterly
of her state. Her friends, however, cheered her up as
well as they were able, and at length considered that
she had become reconciled to her fate, and advised her
to go to bed with her child. The next morning (Thurs-
day) the uncle got up between 5 and 6 o'clock—his usual
hour to go to work—when he retired to the yard to wash
his face, and in drawing the water from the butt he was
terrified at seeing his relative, Mrs. Knight, rise to the
top of the water. Not knowing whether she was dead
or alive, he gave an immediate alarm and sent for the
aid of the police and others. In the course of a few
minutes Police-constable No. 247 of the M division at-
tended, as well as some of the neighbours, who succeeded
in pulling the unfortunate woman out of the butt, when
they found that life was extinct, and had been so for
some time. In another water butt was found the body
of the infant child. Mr. W. Carter, the coroner for
East Surrey, yesterday held an inquest at the Europa
Tavern, Rotherhithe. From the evidence adduced it
appeared that the unfortunate woman for some time had
been predisposed to insanity, and, there being no doubt
that she drowned the child and also herself, the jury re-
turned that Susannah Knight destroyed the lite of her
son, George Frederick Knight, when in a state of in-
sanity.
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