Considerations On The Equ...
The Times, 1824-06-14T00:00:00

I A1nVFRTI^ftr-'P- I This bill authorizes the establishment ofa Company, whose capital wll be two millions sterling, to be employed in loans on personal effects at such a rate of initerest as that no dividend exceeding seven and a balf per cent. shall ever be received. Honoured by the patronage of his Royal Highnes the Duke of Yoik. The affirs are by the bill committed to VICE.PREVlVTnr'rR, C1tAIRnrAZ. Sir William Congreve, Bartb 2. P. DIRECTOB3. TREASURERS. AUessrs. Frys and Chapman. MAessrs. Spooner, Attwoods, and Co. Each of these officers are holders of 300 shares of 401. each, and several opulent individOals hold many hundred sharei. The pro. prietary aLso includle many gentlemen whosefortune talents, pn- dence, and philanthropy may well claim public'confiJeice andgreat re%ecet. Adesire to diminish crimes, compassion for the poor, lidi'nAtion at the- frauds and oppressions to which the nlecessitods sub:nit, with an expectation of a fair, tbolgh very moderate kemdnirlzontth far the investment of capital and dedladion of their time, have origi. Opinions eSprexsed by British and foreign writers en police, the testintony of well-informed magistrates, and the experience of con- tinental states, had concurred to evince that pawnbrokers encou. raged theft, augmented indigence, and extorted profit that brought wealth to them, and ruin to the poor. Colquhoun, in his publication on " Indigence," announced that there were about240 pawnbrokers in the mektopolis, who, obtaining an interest of thirty-thrce and trne-third per cent., oh an average, received aboitu one milllon pounds a year for the use of temporary loans, and he expresses his opinion that " gucfi a state of things me- rits legislative inquirry to discover whether thc necessary ac- ommmodation could not be aflbrded in a cheper and better way through the maedium of public institations, and whether through such a nmeaiurn, unnecessary snd lnjutrious accommodation& might not be withheld." Since that publication, pa*nbrokers have beconie more numerous and evils aie increated, There Is ni flagistrate Or officer connect.t with police, who does not know the oppressons practised on the pft unable to obtain redress against pawribrokers wealthy by illegal galns, and associated and comtbined . nor is there a Judge m the criminal courts wlho is uninformed that pawnbrokers are the receivers of stoleiu goods in at least every third case out of the thousands of prosecutions yearly occurring. and vearly incresing, for domestic thefts. And in April Last, at the Old Bailey, where jewels, plate, and valuable articles, had been stolen by a servant to Mrs. Keighley to a large amoDnt. Air Jstlsice Bet Plublicly " de. precated the conduct or pawnbro6ech in teceitltig property of such great value withwut any inquiry whatever, and declared that hDo man's property could be sfe while such places existed where Atolen pro; pert, coald be With sttch facility concealed, and money obtained." The utility of the establishmejuts denominated " Les Mdtts de Pi s in Italy, the Mediterranean States, end In FrAnce, where they are especially connected with the Goverhment and with charitable in- stitutions, hadalso produced a hope that similar establishments in England ..might ditinish existing evils, and euply relef. In Franee M Batot, in 1816, eulogizing the lont de Pi'tg at Par's, had published, " a fait disparaitre ces hideux preteurs sargage, ces infames bureaux de prets sur nantissCeens.-godures otiverts et garc6s par l'avarice et l'infid6lita..o,x Vteiaiert s'engloutir jour- nellement la parure du luxe Et les vetemens de l'indigence" The full employment of British capitn. during the war had, however, re- tarded the design 1 but the recent pubUcaetion of offi&ldo tet4ans to the Parisian establishent, in " Les Iecherches Staetiit6 u siUr Ia ViUle de Paris, pour l'an 1823," and the ptiseiit abundance of money determibetl the promoters of the '" Equitable Loan Bank" to make a useful and benevolent attempt withott further delay. Frem-P,awnbrokers who daily violate the law, as- to the Interest they recetve, and the amount of their loans-from jobbers and ware. houseoten, who by various means extort from manufacturerl and im- porters enormous profit for short accommodation-and from usurers, who profelssbydisounting bills andeommis.ldnsi snd dther artlficeg- to mneet the temporary exigencies of needy bitt honsuratrle men- they expected calumnyand execration, but they also ex ected, as ther rheceivc, the encoueagemtnt of the good, the liberal.minded, There have beo some objections, which they are happy to refute. Sonie objections were of a general nature, nRd not particularly ap- plicable to their institution; and as they proceeded from high and revered authori:ies, they have been cheeeftilly removed. Their bill, therefore, does not contain any lncorporatiodL-ndr any clauses ex- empting the propfietaiy froni liability to bankrdptcy, or beyond the atuounts which they stibtcrlje.; .gut it evedi contains i clause com- plying *1th the Ceuent ofders of ild tdiesedtltdds an,d ddaring tWIt all Shareholders shaU be conjointly and severalty llab to the amount of ell their fortuncs for anv debts the Company may incur. Nor will they object to render tits 'deOlT4itlou rnore explicit iR any manner that the wisdom of the LCgl5l4ttur1 9; OuF B ut it has been objectei. Di-e -t L. 'at lgnty respectable persons now Vice-Presidents and Directors may retire. And it i2 replied, That no person can occupy those situations who does not hold 50 shiares, being 2,5001. of thte joint-stock, and bein-g mnore than is necessary to be a Directorof the East Indii Company or the Bank. 2. That the promoters are prompted onlyby a soraid desire of gain. And itisgreplied, that they are restricted to a receipt of seven and a half per cent., for which they employ, their capital, andl devote thei atenton nd heirtim; a~ wichmay affdrd smiall profit if another war shou1do3m, or the public funds decline. 3. Thuaty theConipany5j. inorest,would not be sub. Aecttoe~issIpndlti~ with iawpbrol~er, nor wouldbe punishable aeed Codare e Su ject to rosecutions for usury ifthey ex- ceedthe oderte o8ita st!atc.m by the act, as the Comnpany are in every matter madc liable by the ict to double the penalties to hich painbrokers are liable, and as those Penalties are to be re- covered by the ronstsummary proceedings before one ustice and bv distress - lYhilst it h notorious that pawnbrokers elude or defeatjuit cOnvictions by delays and expenses which their poor injured victims cannot overcome, and often retain stolen ,oods, ordeter their-owners from attempting their recovery by very litigant proceedingp, and by the dread of enormous costs. 4. That they cannot prevent a deposit oFstolen goods. And itis replied, that it is thc interest of the pawnbrokerw to re- ceive stolen articles, on which theiradvances are low, and whrfi are rarely redeemed; but that the servants of the Company havng no such interest, and being responsible to the Company for any loss, wil exercise just vigilance, and ever diseountenance and detect, ra- ther than encourage-crins 5. Tha, Pawnbrokers will be ruined by their succes, And the resut is dentied. The capital will by z;o m4nny meet ;pablic,wantsa vast trade will remain for the pawnbrokers-they I will not be ruined, but correctd and irmproved; and the usud con- sequence Of competition will ensue, for the borrowers will be more honousrably;treated, and existing aIbuses disappear.. 6. That the public may be prejudiced by the speculation, if debts shoulid.be incurred &nd lo,s arise. And It is answered, that as the act prohibits tbe Company from borrowing. and as the sole purpose of the Csmpany is to lend out on security, the capital which the Companr advance, they can incurno other debts, nor can individual or public prejudice result. And 7, and mainly, that the Company is inconsistent with free- dom of trade, and that individual industrv and capital should not be opposed bycombinedtinfluence and wealtfi. And itui replied, 1. That the Dank of England, the East India Company, the Assurance Societies, and many extended partner- ships, even though monopolies (and this Company seeks no mono- Poly) haveproduced great public good. 2. That acording to the soundlestrulesofpoliticaleconomy,theobjection isunwise, and is only a revival of theprejudicesagainst Canals, Mlachinery, Steam-engines, and improvernent, whichitis needless io refute. 3. Thatthc Company will be equally subject with the hurbkst pawnbroker to inyestiga. tion and to magistrates. 4. That the establishment of the Company will not impede but promote the freedom of trade. The pawnbrokers resemble not brewers, bakers, or any other tradesmen, but are per. feGtly anomalous; they are a body exclusively privileged and pro- tected; they may receive 20 per ceitt., and do obtain much larger amounts, while other persons may only receive five per cenL They are associated and united, and by no individual capitalist of moderate fortune can be opposed. And 5,. That the establish. ment of this Company, leaving the pawnbrokers aU the benefit of fair conmpetition_never receiving more than ten per cent-, and never alIo wed to divide more than #even and an half per cent., will be, not the establishment, but the subversion of a monopoly, and the break. lng down, and no: the erection, of an injurious privilege; and will produce to the poor and the public a saving of at least four hundred thonsand pounds annually, whiOn pawnbrokers at present extort; and by the existence of th.s Company that amoant will be saved, in diminution of the poor rates-in favour of saving banks-in allevia- tion of individual distress-and in aid of the public wealth. AdditionaUy attached to the design in proportion as it is consi_ dered, the Company are not surprised that it should have nmet with general and high approval; and that whUst they limit their labours to the metropolis, other parLs of the empire should desire to profit by the suggestion and to imitate their Plan. They know that mis. representatio2s vill be abundant, and that the clamouTs of the in- terested might confound the unthinking: but they rely on the ex. alted-the reflecting-the compassionate-and the patriotic for sup. port. Sanctioned by some of the high authorities, well knowing that no evil can posibly result from a legislative aanction of their act, whilst its rejecton would perpetuate frauds, cruel extorions, and encouragements to crime, the Company respectfally invite that consideration and assistance which they feel that they deserve, and which will really add another to the numerous and useful institu lions which are the greatestglory of their nativeland. June 10, 1824. I6'NSIDERATIOXS ON THR EQUITABLE LOAN I BANK BILL.