New-York tribune., 1870-01-15
VOL. XXIX....No' S,07,
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
GREAT BRITAN

tbis week OF a great mercantile cause Ce'eol" w
g-aafest indeed that has bccI IN onr courts iu' ~
lst half century and though al OF as are ,l'''S'
,5 tat IL is over Few are altogether sotsAed Win
a. c,n,Irsi,p. Rive wears ago the great Quaker
t,r.a nf Dycrcud & Guruoy was the largest ahu' "
..,,r,r1 srpearauccs thc most louushing discount
tos.o i'm the world. Tho original founders o. 'hs
tr. had died fall Of years and wealth. hIt u mao
,q.r.d no dimiuution under their sons ana success
SOS. The partners In tho Lombard-st house were
Intimately related by the lies Of blood ana oiu
t.1.hir 10 some Of the most famous and respecta-
Ee Of English mercantile familIes-Barclay s,
Homes BuxtJn's and Gumey's, formed soiV oi
c'sr. whom theircommon Quaker origin had u','ou
IN tEe frs. place. and constant iutCrmlrHages hou
b.r.d moro and more closely together Inc partners
n Cyr.a1's were mon Of the highest reputation out
g'ct'.irovu business. Their openhandedneSs was
r-.g.fIial. and there was scarcely charity Of I'M
p,-t.rce ia London TO which one or other OF tLom
dfnot subscribe literally. They made no ostenta-
tcqof tleir wealth, but lived quietly with their own
p-5r'e IN their own way. In short before 1900 any
IT.. ,'r,lt Euqlishman not behind tho scenes IN the
c.fy. wogIl have certainly named one OF more OF
fem if "a, had been asked to pick ont halt
a dozen Of our city princes as models OF
v,at tle high class merchant should be- NAen,
trr IL WAS notified in the usual way III the city that
tr Lusuess was 10 be sold to limited liability COM
NAVY. the Board Of which would consist of several OF
III, old partners, and a few new men OF trst-class
s.lrIing. every one with a few hundreds at their
bnkcrs and who could make any interest with those
vhoIsd the allotting of them fastened TO apply for
shares II was not poor parsons, haipay officers and
vlows-tlc classes am sorry to say, who, with us,
have generally been hit the hardest by defaultng
and fraudulent joint stock comDanies-who were
d1eli1g TO Lombard-st. after Oyerend & Gurncy
shares. No such list Of shareholders was probably
ever got together before The great clients Of the
Old firm hal been the steady country banks IN the
Provincial towns Of England, all of whom had large
deposits in their hands Great numbers Of these
country bankers and their best clients comfortable
country gentlemen who save so much year as part
Of their religion, and the leading tradcsmen Of
cathedral cities became shareholders. Even in Lon
don, where tho real state Of things is generally
known as TO any proposed conversion OF investment,
the financial and commercial worlds were thrown
entirely of their guard. Several of the steadiest
private firms of London bankers, men who had all
their lives had n supe7stitious horror OF all
investments but Government securities. actually
advised their investing customers that they
could not DO wrong in making venture
r. "a few shares Of Oyereud & Co.'S Limited.
sIe was something like feeling that benevolent
craze must have seized on the old firm, in the minds
Of ordinary investors but if the Gumeys were moved
e. part with the finest mOney-maknC machine in the
world for the benefit OF mankind, he must be fool
WHO would not stand in for share Of 1t. So the
So ratious i'm in shoals and the list was closed
h few days and then tie applicants thought them
selves lucky If they got third OF the shares they
ssked f5r. The capital was divided into ESQ shares,
Of which the prospectus confidently stated that 1t
would not be necessary to call up more than SIS.
That document IN other respects o sober, busi-
nes,l,ke statement setting ont that the good will
was worth half million. that the business
prosperous one, and that three Of the old
partners bad consented 10 come on the
bolrd Of the Company, and would retain
a4ree stal lo in the concern 1t was looked upou as
another good feature in the new company that no
deusye or exaggerated hopes OF profit wcTe Haunted
m ta ur0spcctus aud that IT c0ntrastcd iayOrsby
In ibis respect with many which were then before
tie public. The deed OF transfer from the old firm
va duly produced to the Committee Of the stock
Lycb1rge o settling day was granted without de-
mur tho shares went 10 y premium. and the holders
went about with tho comfortable feelings Of men
NLo had gotten q good thing The prosperity wasot
short duration. The bad times which had been
threatening I'D the Autumn Of IN5 came on IN earnest
iu the Winter Elmors Of great losses. which Ito
oil ru had sustained by advances entirely outside
th..r regular business TO Greek shipping companies
aud disturb the minds Of the shareholders. As one
after auot ~ of the great bubble companies, which
had started after te passing Of our last Joint stock
eomuIuies' act (which removed the last restraints
OF combination collapsed in the early months Of
iG6 O,ereud shares began 10 fall aud city experts
" shake thei heads. AT last, on the second Friday
IN May, lsj, the firm closed their doors ana,
believe, caused IN dong more widespread inoon-
yenicuce at the time ana more deepseated distrust
since In The money world than any event which has
happened within the memory Of the oldest jobber
from that time u the present of the affairs
Of tnc Company have bocn IN the lawyers hands.
Irst came the application for winding up IN
ch.aeery. When ,oint-,tock business concern goes
wrong with Us. we deal with it in this somewhat
expensive but very eifectud manner An order for
winding up Is made Oh the petition Of creditors, and
sn official Hqudator. who for the time Is an officer
Of The Court Of Clancery is appointed. All the
books are handed over % him and he proceeds to
collect the assets and distribute them, having power
~ make calls and DO whatever else may be eXpedlent
with the sanction Of the Court, with which be Is
constantly IN communication. In these winding up
Proceedings one OF the first results is that. II any
und,suaud negotiation or payment has been entered
into made either in the getting up Of the company,
u all now comes out THIS ii was soon made known
IN the ,sSr Of Oyerend s Quincy that at the time
of the conversion Of the business the old firm
practically insOlvent 1t true, that in 1865 they
werr yill continuing 20 earn an enormous income by
then rgnar business Of discOunting but 50 deeply had
they eddled with specuaons of one kind OF another
which had proved disastrous failures that had theys
beer then wound up, they wOuld not have paid more
than 10 shilling, in the e.. IL appeared that all this
hal been disclosed 70 the new Directors who had
ioned al the time OF the conversion with whom the
old partners had dealt with perfect Openness. They