The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-03-14 00:00:00

POSITION OF THE MINISTRY.-LORD JOHN
RUSSELL'S -ILLNESS. • -

On Friday night, Lord John Russell appeared in his
place in the House of Commons, and took some part in
the proceedings, but we have strong grounds for believing
that his recent sojourn at the seaside has not been pro-
ductive of the benefit which was anticipated from it, and
that his health is still in a very unsatisfactory—not to say
precarious—state. The Herald states that the cares and
anxieties of office are too much for the noble lords
strength, and that a perseverance in the discharge of pub-
lic duties so onerous may even be attended with danger to
his lordship's life.
The Dublin papers state, as their news from London,
that it is everywhere stated that the Premier has deter-
mined on immediate retirement.

Meanwhile, the Times, which has been long known for
a quick discernment of the motions of the wind, writes,
on Friday, thus :

" A government less vigorous, less collected, less forward
than the people, is on the ere of rejection. The living expels
the dead.

" The people ask not revolution in the common sense, but
some decided progress; and if it cannot get that progress from
one minister, it will require him to abdicate, and
.q;ve place to
another."

No one can doubt the drift of these remarks. The
ministry is falling to pieces. We have not desired it, or
helped forward such a consummation. But if, as is truly
remarked, the present ministry is incompetent to the
work of the moment, we know not what remedy can be
found, save their surrender of their offices to some more
competent persons.

THE LIVERPOOL PHCENIX LOAN COMPANY

The annual meeting of the shareholders of this Com-
pany was held on Saturday, at the Clarendon-rooms.
The secretary having, a few months ago, gone off with a
large portion of the funds, gave more than usual interest
to the Proceedings, and about 30 shareholders were pre-
sent.—Mr. WILLIAM COUPS being called to the chair
said the directors had a short report to submit, and not a
very satisfactory one, but he trusted they would bear
with it as well as they could. In addition to receiving the
report, three directors and two auditors would have to be
elected.

Mr. HODGSON, the new secretary, read the report. It
stated that during the last six months the directors had
met with heavy misfortunes. The late secretary had ab-
sconded in December, and his defalcation (now ascer-
tained) was considerable, but they had a guarantee for
£lOOO of it. The Company had also suffered by the de-
pression of trade, and the suspension of the Liverpool
Banking Company. £3OOO was the Company's liabilities
to its bankers at the time, and as this had to be met, the
directors had to suspend their loans. The amount of
loans made was only £1365, and under the circumstances
stated, the Company had realized sufficient to cover ex-
penses. The accounts of the late secretary had been
checked by the auditors, and the shareholders at their
last meeting had testified their confidence in him, and the
directors could only regret that it had been misplaced.
At the same time several of the frauds were so ingenious
as to defy detection at the time. The balance-sheet then
submitted, showed the defalcations of T. Baskerville, the
late secretary, were £2533 Bs. 4d. which, with the other
expenses added, made a total of £9280. On the other
side the amounts received or to be received, made a total
of £9137 14s. 11d., giving a balance on the wrong side
of the ledger of .£l4l 19s. sd.
Mr. EVANS (governor of the Workhouse) complained
of the shareholders not being furnished with the ac-
counts some days before the meeting, so that they might
be tested and examined before the meeting had taken
place. He moved therefore that the consideration of the
accounts should be deferred till a subsequent part of the
meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Horsfall.
Mr. JOHN JONES, solicitor, said the society, if well
managed, might have become a monetary institution use-
ful to tradesmen, but now it was sinking into contempt
and insignificance. He pointed out some gross irregu-
larities in the management, some of which he said were
illegal. He was not satisfied with the accounts this day
submitted. He wished to see an account of the available
assets of the company. One third of the capital had been
lost by the acts of one man, and no doubt £lOOO more in
bad debts. It was, moreover, not certain, after the irre-
gularities committed, that the £lOOO guarantee would be
paid without involving them in a lawsuit. Some of the
directors themselves had not paid up their calls. The ac-
counts of the secretary should have been balanced
monthly ; and they could not have been well balanced or
the defalcation would have been found out before. He
brought some other charges against the directors.
Mr. GODFREY LEVI said the company had, at previous
meetings, passed the accounts without knowing their con-
tents, which was an error. He moved that two auditors,
not at all connected with the directory, should be ap-
pointed to inspect the accounts, and report to an adjourned
meeting.

Mr. EVANS seconded the motion.
After Mr. Brotherton had replied to Mr. Jones in behalf
of the directors,

Mr. EvANs again complained of the secret proceedings
of the directors, and moved that Messrs. Jones, Gibb,
and Kelly should be appointed directors for the ensuing
year in the place of the three gentlemen retiring by
rotation.

The motion was seconded, put, and unanimously carried.
In reply to a question from Mr. Evans, the Chairman
said the books were not in the room. Mr. Evans further
elicited, that on one occasion, at least, a director had
taken away with him a sum of money, .£l3, one evening
paid in, and the other directors were obliged to be impe-
rative in their demands before he would bring it back.
He urged other charges against the directors, stating that
he feared they had been ill-treated by others as well as
the late secretary. He proposed that henceforth it shall
be competent for five or more shareholders, holding in the
aggregate fifty shares, to inspect all books and papers be-
longing to the company, either by themselves or deputies.
He accused one of the directors of having become a surety,
and said the directors had to seize his property to realise
the amount.