Meeting Of The Creditors ...
The Times, 1824-11-15T00:00:00

LFrom a Sunday Paper.] At half-past six o'clock on IFriday evening, a meeting of the creditors of the abovc firm toek place at the Freemasons' Tavern. pursuant to invitation by a circular lctter. Prior to the chair being taken, a desultory conversation took 1 place, in which It was stated that the present assignces were dis- gusted with their situation, owing to some mistepresentation on the part of the bankrupwts. the discovery of which caused a material al- teration in their opinion as to the amount of the dividend likely to accrue to the creditors. About lialf-past six, Air. Parkins entered the room, and was soon after ionnitiated to till the chafr, to which, after some opposition, he consented. Milr. KNIGHoT then rose, and said, that what he was about to state to the meeting was of thc deepest importance to thenm as creditors of the late firn of marsh, Stracey, anm Co. It waa of the first import. ance to them that men of honour and indepenrlence should be ap- pointed as assignees under the comnmission of bankruptcy which bad been issuetd against that firm. He should therefore call their atten- tioni to their present condition with respect to the assignees and the commissioss itself; and psior to doing so, lie would make but one observation-that if they suffered the present opportunity, which was the period to act with promptitude, to escape them, it was more than probable that another never would be aff'orded them. Mtr. Scott, the petitioning crelitor under the first commission, was a gentleman of great respectability, but, related as he was to one of the bankrupts, he must have private feelings of his own incompatible with the general interests of the creditors. IIr. Heir was no creditor to the estate, and it must, therefore, be a matter of perf'ect indifl'ercnce to him whethera large or small di,idend mighlihercaftwr bh sared amongst thiccredirtors. I-low was it, he woukl ask, fitat if out of four or five hundred creditors, almost all shrunk from the concern ? How was it, If persons thus deeply interested withdrew, that Mr. Heir, a person who had appa- rently no interest, should consent to become an assignee to the estate ? He (0r. Knight) would riot hesitate to say, that he must have some motive of whliti the creditors were ndt aeWare. MIr. Bol- land, another asignee, was ihe representative of a Society who claimed from the estate the enormous sum of 47,0001.: and herc he would take leave to say, thiat that claim oughit never to have been adminttet. If the crediters had opposed it ao they ought have done, it would not have been allowed. Mlr. Bolland was no crediter hirn- selt; anti why, thcrefore-when in fact his interest, as represeuta- tive of the buropeaa Society, was opposed to that of the Credi- tors, with whom he had no comnmon interest-why shlould he be appointed assi-tee, and why was it that the creditors whom lie had then til honur of addressing were to be treated as if they had no interest in th estate? Mir. alYt was selected byjthe petitioiiing creditor, a relation of one of the bankrupts, and doubteess he hadlsomcobjectin making thatselection. Air. Bolland'sinterests, as he had already stated, were opposed to those of the creditors; for it was hardly to be expectel that, as assignee, he would takeeener- getic measures to oppose the reception of a lebt of 47,0001., when, at thle samne tirne, he was the representative of the party rnaking the claim for that VerV sum aigainat the estate. If that sum were ex. eluded, it would'make a serious dlifference in the amount of divi- dend which the creditors would recover froms the bankrupts' estate. Of all the assignees he had the highest opinion as So their charac- ter and respectability and none mote thaa Ir. , whose name ItC hoped wouid applear on any future fututre list ef assig- nees wvhlich might be presedted for their adoption, but hethought that lis exertions, counteracted by the feelingsof the others, could be of little benefit. He thought that the present assignees were, from what he had, stated; of aU nen thc least eligible-they were, in fact, entirely choisen by tie ban.htupts5 under a com- mission which he vould p)ledge himself the Lord Obhareellor would supersede on the petition of a single creditor. In fact, its defects were so obvious, that a second comnmission had been issued, and it was under that commission he entreated that they would step for- ward andl show that they were not to be slighted with impunity. He would shortly state to them his view of their situation with re- spfect to the bankrup ts, the commi ssioners, and the ass3ignees. lr. leymotir, the petitioning creditor under a second commission, had been for years the confldentlal adviser of the bankrupts. Was it pos- sible to repofse confidence in sudcha persdn 1 hiesweverresptetable tmilht be his clharacter for integrity ? Wlhvy wais it, he would ask, that a pe- riod exceeding a month in duration had been fixed for the next meet- ing under the commission ? Why had an application been made to the Chancellor fex thepuipose of extendinq that time ? (as we understood him). Why, but for the purpose ot preventing the creditors from proving their debts upon the instant, that they might not have the opportunity of combining for the protection of their intereSts ? He begged to state, that this was not a private meeting, as had been by one gentleman assetted; it was nlot, it was true, as numerous as miglit be wished, but it certainly was not a partial one. The view he bad taken, he would now state: it was, that a committee should be formed for the purpose of nominatinxg independenst gecntlemen, as fit and proper persons to become assignees to the estate; which com- mlttee shoul report to a general meeting the personi thus nomi- nated, for their approval; and also, that measures shoald be taken to convene, by publie advertsiement, as full a meeting a8 possible, In conclusion he would only ask them to look steadily to their own interests, and he doubted not but they would experienc'e a bceneficial result. (Loud, applause.) M r. FRsOST said that it was material that it should be known who it was that had convened thRe present meeting, as well as the degree of interest they possessed in the contcerns of the bankrupts, as thus an idea might be formed of its respectability and importance. DIr. lIu'rcusa said that he was one of the persons whso had called the meeting, in conjunction with a few others who were now present. Hae however, thought it of little importance who convened the meeting, if the purposes for vvhich it w/as convened were calcu- lated to serve the interests of the creditor6. Ie would observe that he had been sent on the part of the bankrupts, and requested to sup- port a certain list si'genslemen for assignees, which he declined. i-t thein proposed the fi.st resolution, to the efl'et that it was the opinion of the meeting, that assignees should be chosen for the estate of Alarsh and CO., consisting oE bonajfde creditons. Thu CstrrsrAa now put the question, which w3s carried by a considerable majosity. A Gentleman inquired as to the number of cred-tors against the estate of the bankrupts. Mir. HUTCsls said about 300 or 359. Another Genttleman said, they were nearly 1,000 in minuber. Dlr. HUTCRISS replied, tbat there were certainlv a vast num- ber of small debts due, to the amount of 21. and 31. or 41., vwhich bad lain for years in the I3ank unclaimed, but ivhich, as a tmatter of course, had regularly been carried forward in thc books of the firm. It was absurd to reckon those as claimants. He thoglhttthe claim- ants, if not the creditors, might be comprised in the number he had stated. The followipg gentleinen were then nominated as a committee, for the purpose of nominatinu gentlemen proper to become gssugneea to thle bankrutitk ' estate:-Glr. Stephenson, Mr. Riley, Mr. Wool, , ir. Staine, Mlr. Lloyd, hMr. Reader,, Mr. Garnet, Dir. Bait, Dir. Parkins, Dlr. Fleming,, Mr. Byers, Mlr. Galt, Mir. Hutchins, The 29th of November wai now fixed upon as that on which the public mneeting should be convened, being one day previous to the meeting of the conmnmissioners inder the last petition. Thanks were then voted to the chairntan, after which the mecting separated. MEETING or 'rnr CRRfDITOR.Vop AIAR.RO? SrRACEr, GR4A 11AMJ, AND FA UNTLEROY.