The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-11-10
ANOTHER OFFER MADE.
Will the Mechanics and La
bOrerS' Bank Victims
Take S12o, 600?

City, which went TO pieces In 1878, was
held in Germania Hall, yesterday after
noon. Altogether there are about eleven
hundred depositors, mostly workingmen
and women. The meeting WIS held to
discuss the proposition to compromise on
the part of the managers OF the defunct
concern. against whom suits and litiga-
tions are now pending. by the payment OF
sl20,000 in cash. Many favored the ac-
ceptance of the compromise. while others
thought 1t best to hold out and demand
the full amount OF their deposits. A
hearing will be granted all parties inter
ested by Chancellor McGill in the Chanc-
cry Chamber next Thursday morning.
At yesterdays meeting letter was
read from Receiver Washington B. Will
Jams. in which he sets forth the position
of the savings banks suits as follows;
-FOUR CLASSES OF CLAIMS.
The Chancelior's Judgment is for sl65,
0c0. This amount is made up of thirty
niue different claims. Every claim is not
against the same defendants. because the
defendants held office for different pc
4 RODS, and some of them had nothing to
do with some claims. Eech defendant is
held only for what was done during his
4
"There is on many Of these claims a
conflict Of evidence. so that some Of them
may possibly be reduced by the Court of
Appeals. They cannot be increased.
80, also, there is some conflict of evil
dence as to the times for which some of
| the defendants held Office SO that a
! change may be made by the Court of Ap-
peals in finding how many of the claims
such and such defendants are liable for.
s'fhe claims are OF four classes First,
| the losses by discounting notes as busi-
ness. i think these are fully proved. and
| that this class will be surely sustained By
| the Court of Appeals. This class amounts
to about $4,000
"But there are serious questions as to
| the liability OF Mr.. Farrelly, and some
| others for large part of these. II the
Court OF Appeals should reduce their
claim against these two persons it would
| lose two of our most solvent parties To
| that extent, and leave us to more doubt
full ones.
1.-The second class Is the loss by impro-
per mortgage loans, and is about $40 600.
think this class will be fully sustained
by the Court of Appeals, but there must
be some change here also as TO the per-
sons liable, but not of much importance
TO us. We may consider this item safe.
1.-The third class consists Of loans TO Mr..
Halliard on his bonds and notes of about
$50, 900. This amount will not be changed,
but there is good deal of difficulty as to
who is responsible for these loans. No
doubt the Reilly estate will be held for
$4,000 out of the $4,000. But
as to- the remaining $4,000
the evidence is not clear against Reilly,
and it may be placed by the Court OF Ap-
peals only on the committee in Office at
time. and these persons are Of very doubt
full solvency:
ffnn0T-
tant in amount, being about 5000 1t
consists of claims for money, which seems
TO have disappeared very early IN the his
tory of the bank-before November, 1872.
This was in the time of Mr.. Hallanan,
and his books and checks do not give
much light on the matter, nor enable us
to trace clearly how it got away, nor
where il went 10. OF course Mr.. Halliard
and Mr.. Hallanan were the persons who
knew about it and were primarily respon
sible for it. But there is hardly any evil
dence TO connect Mr.. Reilly with it as
treasurer and his claim was that he was
not responsible for it at all. This is one
of the cnief grounds on which the Reilly
estate has appealed. 1t Is a doubtful
matter. II Reilly should be relieved
from this by the Court OF APP
peals then 1t would fall on only
seven persons, Halliard. Beyans, Carroll.
Fitzpatrick, Keary, Peryeil and Sheeran.
OF these seven Halliard has died insolv-
ent; Keary has died, leaving but a small
estate and that is claimed by mortgages
whom l have already sued to see what
real truth there is in their claims. Shee-
ran is worth hardly anything and Carroll
and Fitzpatrick have sold out all their
property and are good for only small
proportion of this large claim. Ii we lose
the Reilly estate in this claim in the
Court of Appeals we as good as lose $40
co.,"
Ii 1.tt
the attention of the depositor5 TO the fact
that the next term OF the Court of Ap-
peals would continue only TWO weeks,
and it was clear the case could not be
reached this term. He was ready TO
argue it, however. He further said the
defendants had brought a number OF
cross suits against each other, seeking to
throw the liability on the Reilly estate or
on to the committeeman holding Office
from time to time.
THREATENED LITIGATION.
Farrelly. Murphy and Kelly claimed to
throw ali the loss on the others because
they never served on committees And
other grounds were set up as to the
proper distribution OF the liability for
these large sums among these parties. II
was plainly shown that of the losses by
discounting notes, which in all We're over
$40, 900, there was only about 5000 dis
counted during the time of Dr. O'Calla-
CHAN and MIR. Kelly, and only SO 900 Of
the $40, 900 during Mr.. Mckay's time, OF
the losses on mortgages, about $40, 900 in
all, only about twenty thousand were in
the time of Farreliy or Murphy, and OILY
twelve or fourteen thousand under O'Cal-
lahan, Kelly or Mckay. He thought the
Court of Appeals would desire to adjust
those matters SO that no one shall be
made to pay more than his proper share.
This would cause considerable delay, as
these cross suits may all be appealed, and
this adjustment might easily result in
leaving him with some OF the claims sus-
tanned only against insolvent persons.
In this position of affairs Mr.. Williams
said he found he had TO go 60 the Court OF
Appeals On foueteen different appeals,
involving thirty-nine different claims,
many OF which may be altered either as
to their amount or as 10 the parties to be
held liable. He might have TO wait the
result of number OF cross suits among
the defendants until it is determined
which of them shall pay first and how
much. He must bring separate suits
against any OF them VINO have tried to
convey or conceal their property and had
already started three OF these suits He
must run the chance of large reduction
in the fourth class of claims of having it
thrown on insolyent people, and also run
chances of more deaths aud depreciation
OF property, as in Mr.. Meehan's case. who
once Thought he was worth over $50 coo,
but his estate now turns out on a careful
examination to be not as much ps $4,000
THE $4,000 OFFER.