The proceedings of the Ha...
The Times, 1824-09-17T00:00:00

The proceedings of the Half-yearly Court of Bank Pro- prietors are reported clsewhere at considerable length: but why sucb meatings are helai at all, is a matter which solme- what perplexes us. The professed object of the meeting is " to contsider of a dividend." Now, in the ordinary course of human affairs, when a queItion it s' considered" with a view to deterMine ay or no upon it-much more, when one man, possessing entire kinowledlge of a practical subject in all its bearings, proposes it for joint "considera- dtion" with another, who has no means of acquiring the slightest knowledge of it but from the lips of the proposer himself-it seems to be at least A reasonable expectation, that the knowing person should furnish his ignorant friend with some sort of materials by whieh to govern his opinidn. Hiow much more imperative is such a diity, *hen the un- informed memlber of this uAsited council has h.is 1 luatli intetests at stake, an . ,epeiaetnt on the decisioH sought for; but alove all, when he who invites the consulta- tion has been acting for him whorn he professes to consult, ia the very business upoll wlikh he desires his judgment whent, finally, ',e has been exercisiing unlimited power over thle al os utlitited property of the other-when his wholel a,nAracter has, in 8hoft, been that of a trustee, demanding an acquittance from his przncipal up to a certain period of. t;he trust! Such wYe' take go be a fair description of the: luty devolving on sucl a r.vrsonage, in point of inttegrity owards his neighbout<, and ,of common pruadence as regards is own reputation, 4.pply, then, this simple statement of c case to the partice who weere yesterday assetrbled,- rsmbled to ' con$( er" what shaie of the Profils on their. own stock they should divide amongst themselves from last April to the enstling October. " lYe recommend to you," say the managers to the rest of the owners, " that you ac- " cept a dividend of 4 per cent." " But," reply the owners, " only two years ago we had 5 per cent; wli*i do you ask uus to reduce our incomes? What grountds do you offer "us for such a resolution ? Are our profits less ? and how "much less? You have managed for us: how and to "what extent have you reduced our profits? Do tell ('us something of our own affairs. Are we rich or "poor? Are we prospering or declining? Wlhere are "the books-where your vouchers ?" To this there is not one word of answer. The doubting parties are told that they ought to have "C confldence" in their Directors- that they are most respectable, most honourable men, these Directors. (We unquestionably admit such to be the fact.) Nvow it is all vastly well, so long as opinions arc unanimous upon the merits of the Directors ; but every man has a right to doubt another's honesty, where the property of the sceptic is at the mercy of Iiin whom he distrusts: and sup- pose Mr. GUNDRY or Mr. SELWYN to rejoin to the above panegyrics-.- You tell uLs the Directors are the best men " in the world; bult what reason do you offer as an induce- " ment to believe it.? Wehope they are upright; but they 'C have had immense power, and with it enormous tempta- " tions. 'We have a right to know that the reduction of "our dividends has not ariseii from fraud or incapaci- " ty." Can any thing be more just and reasoonable thani suchl a remonstrance? WVas ever any thing more out- rageous than the stifling such dliscourse by a gene- ral clamour for the question-or by a reference to the numerical strength of the Bank Directors, their partisans and allies, as always exhibited on a vote? We.shiould like to hear the Minister of the country (a well-judged illus- tratien of Mr. SELWYN'S) tell the House of Commons, that they must vote a string of financial resolutions, without proof, or voucher, or document of any kind, but on the sole authority of his high personal honour. We should like to see a Receiver in a Court of Equity refuse an exact account to the MIaster, and yet insist on having a discharge in full. And whenceis this mysterious loftiness? Is it that there can be any,thing at the bottom of the Bankof England unsound, and ill calculated for inspection? We observe, that when Mlr. SELWYNI,in the course of his argument, adverted, and with strict logical closeness, to the mismanagement of the Direc- tors before 1797, as a reason for refusing, them his ulnqua- lifield confidence at this moment, he was called to ordler by one worthy Gentleman, and accused of irrelevancy by the Clhairman. Such soreness cannot fail to be discreditable, because it is manifestly liable to suspicion, thc taint of which ought to be beyond the enduranee of innocent and upright men. What have the Directors of the French Bank evcr lost or risked by the frankness of their Rerio- dical disclosures? In England we are forced to take for granted that prosperity of our Bank which is demonstrated in favour of the Bank of France. And we once more ask, what has the establishment of our neighbours lost in the way of credit or emolument ? What have the French Directors suffered in dignity, popularity, or reputation ?