New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-05-12
A BRITISH SPECULATION.
THE FALL. OF ALBERT GRANT.

HALF MILLION DOLLARs--GREAT WORKS OF
ART SOLD At REDUCED PRICES.
,FRoM THE REGULAE CORRESPONDENT or THE fRlRuNE'l
LONDON. April 2S.-Air Abort Grant has been
before the public this week in two characters uh-
ike ON the surface bat intimately connected below
Ia appears "a defendant in an action to recover
.ioney wrongfully taken by him, and as the owner
he nominal Owner-Of the very remarkable COZ
cction of pictures disposed Of yesterday ana TO-DAY
under the hammer Of MCSsrs. Christie " Manson
Perhaps il is because Of the great interest the SAFE
bias excited that the legal proceedings have eNei'en
90 little But they are enormously more important
Tbcv compcl Mr.. Albert Grant TO diSgorgc once
more a certain part OF the plunder "Il'n
his trade of promotion brought him. They
adopt and carry out the principle affirmed hy the
Court of Appeals in the case of the New SomDrcro
pboSphate Company against Eranger. stated the
f,cts and the law a. declared in that at the time
of its decision The law has still to be affirmed 10y
the court Of last resort but there is reason what
ever 10 suppose that the decision of the Court OF Ap
peals will be reversed. The reargument is only for
DELAY lust as in the case still better known 70 you
OF Tuycross against Grant tisisbon Steam ITanwayS
Co,npanyl whore the opinion of the court proceeds
on similar lines Both of them rest III fact III
statute enacted long before and recorded in one OF
the earliest law books we havo-ENoduS Xxx, 10
The courts of England have once more vindlcat"i
their claim-by no means always made Cood-to be
the guardians Of public morals and Justice.
Inced not state The facts in Bagnall against Carl
ton at any length. They resemble III all essential
points those with which other and notably the
Emma Mine. have made You familiar. The case is
one Of promotion Mr. Albert Grant ana others
were the promoters. They issued one OF those pros
pectuscS intended to induce the public TO invest
their money on the faith of representations either
untrue in fact or untrue in the sense of cOncealmg
Tlp Nere
Sl5OOOOO. believing that they were TO pay this
sum for the property to be owned 10y the company
In fact they paving moro than oncfourth OF IT,
$4,000. into the pockets of Mr. Albert Grant
and his confederateS. This was promotion money,
and the promoters were, il il now Judlc.ally DE-
clared, the agents Of the company whom They thus
defraudcd They violated the Obligations imposed
b. their fdu"iary relationship. Mr.. Albert Grant
once testified tbat the risks and expenses OF promo
ton were so large that only small portion OF the
sum n greed upon "a promotion money could be con-
sdcred clear profit But here is q case where these
details have been gone into. Out OF the Sl2o,OUO
MI Albert Grant received S325O0O, and
out of this sum he expended about %l5OOO,
leaving S2SOOOO rs the ret proceeds of his
industry or per cent on the whole capital OF the
company. This sum Mr.. Albert Grant put INTO hs
own pocket. and this sum the Ncc-ChIncclinr now
declares belonged not to linn bat TO the company,
McSsrs Carlton and Grant are dccreed to be jointly
and srvcraly liable to pay the whole $4,000,
with interest at per cent; aud VIII have to pay H. or
to return dcbenturcs 10 that amount. They sought
10 reduce the by putting in a claim for reason
able commission, hut the Yico-Chance!lor would not
listen To IT, e. can make no such allowance he
Saws II can form no estimate of what sucl allow
auccs should be- and am of opinion, further, that thc
defendants. by their conduct in coIccang what
|.fg anu
night they had to commission Aud they have to
pay the plaintiffs costs wcll-a mattorof some
Thousands of pounds. Could Nir. Grant have fore
seen that the courts were g0Cg 10 interfere with
his bushes, in this way, he might well have COM
putcd the risks at a larger sum than he did.
As for the pictures. which the auctOuccr describe
in terms that might seem rather strong for gallery
of Titiaus and Turner'S, they arc an as.mblage OF
many of the most celebrated English works of re-
cent years. Mr.. Grant bought. rs Mr. Sam Mrnlo
did Before him, under the advice Of the picture deal
ers Messrs Agucw of Manchester and London. lie
bought the pictures OF the year from the walls OF
the Royal Academy, and the pictures that figured
most largely M Chsics sales. lie bought, that Is,
what was in fashion. and bis reckless commissions
helped maintain the inflated and often insane prices
At which of late wears dealers have found 10 for their
interest 10 maintain the works of certain artists.
Such names as thoseof Ward and Frithard Lorseiey
aGorn this catalogue. The more respectable names
OF Land ,eer and Nillas there also. but NEST of
the, more important titly, represent prices which
must be- set down as ictitioUs price, which The I'M
aided merit Of the picture, would never have pro-
ducod This gallery. 10 Is said, would have been sold
last year brtforthc fear that the times were too hard
This wear they ere harder still. aud the difficulty
Of parpafuatiug au artificial standard Of art values
was proved in the first days sale. It, total repre-
SCENTS hear not more than two-thiris Of the total
sum paid by Nh. Grant. This, too, in spite of
decree of public excitement most skiIitliy aroused
and prolonged bv those vino bad IN interest i'm the
matter For. if Iumors OF very definite Kind can
he trusted many of these pictures had never been
paid for by Mr. Grant; many had hr, pledged by
him and. on the whole, 10 Is c0ui'ctUred that the
interest of Mc,srs. ATeW n the sale is creator tran
the interest of Mr. Albert Grant. In many cases. OF
course Mtssrs. Agucw must be content TO buy their
own pictures rather than Def them 60 at price less
than the snm they have advanced or less than they
desire to 81 for similar works 10y the artists.
The mysteries of the trade are beyond the ken of
outsiders All these motives and Influences com
bnod have not prevented a falling OF estimated at
80 Der cent on the original cost of the gallery. !
annex a list Of some of the principal pictures with
the prices of to-day and former prices where they
can be given. G. W. S.
Tho sale realized an aggregate total OF s1O3211 being
ai22.5 Tor the first DAY. and sGO92G for the second
day The highest price realized the first day Tor
"rbp Morning Of the Wreck" by G. Stauie.l, X. A.,
painted I'm 1914 for tho late Mr. Bicncl, engraved by
linden I'm the Royal Gallery of British Art purchased
b MI Grant the sale OF the collection of the late Mr.
john Brooks in ST. measuring about 56 inches by 81
inches. This Guc example was received with great