New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-28
".JABEI.'
THE STORY OF A FRIEND OF HUMANITY.

uo.,iro md ia heirg taken back TO England to DO
tried f,r the wholesale crimes with WHEN ne 10
charged II one-half OF the ACCUSATIONS as"S' nm,
be trne he must ran. one OF the very foremost
evirdlors OF the age. Scarcely since the purstih5
of the South Sea Bubble has there been a hhaie'"i
scheme SO widely ru!nous 10 coatidlng investors 40
his operations The losers through the coNapsc VI
his companies were literally to be numbered oy
hundreds OF thousands These were largely '"e
very people who could least afford TO lose-"Iuo"s
and orphans and aged people OF small means. ihey
had boon Induced TO invest because MT. Bailour
was arch 4 good man" His father ana fhol"e' "aA
been temperance lecturers. lie was a 'eihpe'""o'
lecturer He was leader In church anairs par
ticuIary eloquent in public prayer ana e"ho''s
ton lie looked with the strongest nisapp'o'.,
uoon theatres, musc-hals. cards, dancihs' anu Az
such worldly things. lie was, moreover 'iei"
OF the House OF Commons. where he was one u
the most enthusiastic followers OF MI "iaus.ohc'
one Of the stanchest champions OF Home hu.s
and orc NJ the s,ernest reprovers OF the House OF
Lords for its plutocracy and its contempt ior III"
common people He was. In brief. the one s'mo"-
pure Atwood warranted-to-wash Friend OF human
lty Surely such a 10 be trusted
This truly good man began his fnanclering many
years Ego choosing building and loan associa'
tons as the most promising field for his peculiar
talents. Strange as II may appear, ne iaio t"e
founda Ions Of his colossal scheme upon the ruins
OF various similar schemes that had ended IN ais-
aster-to their conading stockholders. THE LID
OF tho Alliance National Land Building and IN
yestrnent society-wth which two Of his later col
leagues the Rev. Dawson Burns and Mr. Dipiey'
were associated the former having acted as auditor
and the Estates Bank and number OF o'ner
allied concerns known the Alliance Group These
u,dar,alings were popjary associated with the
United Kingdom Alliance. though after the crash
the latter body very empaatcally declared mat thS
companies had no connection with its organiza-
ton The bank closed It's doors in ls0o ana wide-
spread distress the result attracting TOO httle
attention amid the more colossal failures OF that
disastrous wear Yet the whole Alliance Group
had been formed to afford safe investment for the
funds OF thrifty temperance adherents. and Japez
Balfour so far from being discouraged by It's iate
found in IT the idea Of all his future operations
The Alliance Group had insenously suggested ,.
temperance and the Alliance OF Manchester There
fore said JabeZ we must revive this principie'
ioin temperance and religion and appear 70 the
same saving classes. Having previously haa some
experience In the Office OF firm OF Parliamentary
agents he came modestly before the world In
1867 as the virtual founder OF the LANDS AiIo'eh'
Company from which seven months later wa'
Developed the I.iberator Building Society. ina
basis OF the organization was expressed In iV'
Ia,in motto: "Libera sedes liberum facit'-a free
home makes a free man It's name was SUI
cess. hundreds OF Congregationalists were ar
tratel by its prospectus, from vague IDEA 'hae
:, had something to do with the Liberation So
cety and possibly trading on this be.ief an appeal
was made to Nonconformist ministers ana othei'
connected with temperance and religious socleuSS
all over the land promote its benehcent oDJec's'
r, The first year they received per cent commas
sion on the shares and deposits. ana Subsequently
!, per cent and in the end a round sum OF ''o'V',
vas maid IN this way How thoroughly the moral
idea was present in these proceedings was SHOW"
when in ISL on the society removing 70 us Tic"
offices A resolution was adopted that on the occN-
sion OF taking possession this day OF our ne"
deSir
a,sa ~ thaukfulness FOR the prosperity with
wblch as they believe. God has hitherto pesset
,hei- efforts I'm the establishment OF TINS ousihess
T, starting these companies It was, OF course oe-
cared that they were essentially safe, because tne.
main business was the legitimate one OF a ouiic-
ing society" In point OF fact. though THIS co''ii-
nod IN no I'D 10 the very eve OF the Smash, 'i'
KEYNOTE OF all the published statements, tho pu.-
~ the transactions had become o., "iueH
different character In 1875 another association "'
Matched the Lands Allotment Company VITA
practically the same directorate and Jabez spen-
Ger Ralfour as the controlling genius Inc tei~
tions between these were extensive ana pecui'hfS
IN five years the Liberator had financed the o'he:
tWo 20 the extent OF SsG9Vc, IFS SHAREHOLDERS anu
depositors knew lttle II anything OF the STATE 81
affairs while according 10 the examination III tI.c
Bankruptcy Court rs leading directors and oih'
c,ls were equally innocent of all knowledge-tns
one thing in which they all agreed being Implicit
and unlimited confidence in Mr. Balfour
From this period onward there was regular
succession OF new companies II mas oeeh Wen SAL
thai the secret o. Balfourian finance was "Wnen
in difficulty start a new company mus ,nea
followed I'm succession Hobbs N %, the boi n
and General Bank the Building Securities com.
Company and the Sherlngham Development Com
pany. III most OF these concerns there was Iesu'
holders and per cent 10 depositors The reckless
discovered progressive Dulli.r az OrO!i1 nat 90
Hobbs, man in comparatively small way "a
Lands Trust Sucn large amounts We're advanced
to Hobbs that in lsS5. when he WAS ucany n.
building Securities Company and Hobbs Co Qim-
te successiyey started 70 iaSe Ip 'h1 10 fh,
mean time constructed those huge blocks, the
Whteh2 Court on b the bn2Wes s,ene Badns
Carlisle Mansions and oihers-th!s Limited concern
So 4s501 From isS5 forward there was no choice
but TO make fresh and eVer-tresh advances 20
Claims and negotiate first. second and third mort
cages in front OF It's own The system on which
company took some of the liabilities OF the
old ones and hsse were pn, 1o ya ss so
some profit and splendid security-or as The phrase
went. IA large and noble property'-to the Lib
Apart from these transactions. the Baifour
snecnIaye character ali over the country There
were the Ilford the Tbury and the Romford ss-
the Hockey Hall Coery and sundry chemical
works All these involved scores OF th1usan dis OK
gard to real value The advances TO friends were
on an equally liberal scale The sum of $685. 900
allowed 10 Mr.. Kenyon Benham who alleged that
ne had an interest I'm a VIII said 20 have been
lost on the Underground Railway. but never legally
proved. Richard Kenyon Benham and Albert Benz
nett Benham for their share in these proceedings.
Including the forgery OF the WILL are undergoing
terms OF fourteen and five years penal servttuds.
respectively.
Space would fail to tell Of the manner in which
the Balfour Group financed Newman. another pro-
gressive builder. who also formed. like Hobbs,
into limited company. Newman has been sen:
fenced to five years. Hobbs 10 twelve years and
Henry Granville Wright, a solicitor. intimately
mixed up with all these proceedings. twelve
years penal servtude Though disaster followed
these concerns from first 10 last dividends were al
ways found in the new subscriptions and deposits,
and directors remuneration never failed. Under
the latter head Jabez Bafour and his colleagues d.
Vided among them from the seven leading
MICS n total of 1892 10. The total amount OF ruin
brought upon investors through the Anal crasn may
be reckOned thus Liberator Society stockholdersk