Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

24 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

...... EXTRACTS FROM MR. BRIGHT'S…

. EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE.

THE LOCK-OUT IN THE IRON TRADE

THE STOPPAGE OF ATTWOODS,

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

THE STOPPAGE OF ATTWOODS, SPOONER, AND CO.'S BANK. The people of Birmingham and the surrounding district awoke last Saturday scorning to hear of an occurrence which 13, perhaps, as great a calamity ai has ever befallen any locality. The stoppage of a bank must be always at ended with more or less 01 hardship, disaster, and mUerv, but this ill a case very far out of the ordinary way iu that respect. Here was a bank occupying the very highest place in public confidence, persons in almost every rank aud station of life resorting to it, and in countless instances consigning their all to its keeping. ° ° When Birmingham retired to rest on Friday night, very few persons had the slightest idea of the great disaster im- pending. ThIs mornltlg", fcoon :dter daylight, the sad news spread like wildfire; the local papers told the story, but people, unwilling to believe, pouted into New-s'reet to be convinced of the truth. On the door of the bank the follow- wgwas posted :— "It is with feelings of the deepest concern and distress we announce that, owing to circumstances over which we have no control, we are comp- lied to suspend payment." ATTWOODS, SVOONER, MARSHALL AND CO. "March 10, 1865." There was no longer room to foubt the occurrence of the terrible disaster which rumour had totd the excitement and consternation ari-ing from such a blow may he imagined, the effect of it is to be felt horeatter; and at that time it was too early to estimate it; but the feelings of dis- may spread abroad, depicted in thousands of faces told of the anticipated misery and ruin. Between 9 and 10 o'clock there weresigns that the news of the stoppage had reached the district; from the agricultural localities eppecially the early trains brought In hundreds, for in all probability more than three fourths of the neighbour- ing population kept their accounts at Attwoods'. Persons of every class deposited their moneys there in countless cases, too, these were the had savings of the humblej-t. There were deposits in the bank which had remained un- touched for a generation. Who would hav9 dared to ven- ture the expression of a doubt as to the s'abili'y of A tt- woods and Spooner ? Such was the tone of public feeling. In thpse circumstances it is needless to say that the ruin will be wide-spread, and affect an immense number of persons and interes's. Ladies, and others of the sex in lower stations, were a very numerous class of depositors trust moneys, the funds belonging to different societies, and many other instances might be named in which the amounts were deposited at this hank. The liabilities, it is said, exceed 1,000,0001., the deposits alone amounting to 700.000Z. and on Friday notes 10 the amount of 20,0001. were found to be in circulation. It is said that there are about 3,{)00 depositors, and one deposit is said to amount, o 15 00ù1. and people have gone on (ull of confidence placing their deposits with the firm, yet there cao be little doubt that the bank ought to have been closed years ago. The accounts of merchants, manufacturers, and ethers of that cltis* were not so numerous as they were a few years asio many have been transferred to joint stock companies, but there wf-s still a sufficient number of such accounts with this firm to do an immense amount of mischief, and the inconvenience felt "n Saturday was enormous, mitigated as it was to som > extent by the assistance afforded by the joint- stock companies. Sot the slightest indication was experienced of a run on either of the other private banks, but all through the day the crowd remained In front of Attwoods," gaz'ng on the dingy wal s, stilt ueeming to doub'. whbther the Old Bank, to which a sort of homage has been paid for two or three generations—the honoured name of which was a magical word transmitted from father to son—had reaby closed, Far into the evening the people lingered in front of the build- ing- rhere were rumours of cases of "pecuUar hardship,' arising from the circumstance of amounts of money bsing received at the bank up to the last moment; but these are not" peculiar" Cases; they are of ihvariabl" and inevitable occurrence when a bank suspends payment, so that what- ever may have be»n the faults ot the Aim there is no blame which can be fairly imputed to them on that account. It is right, too, to add that when the contemplated arrange- ment for an ama'gamat'on with the Joint-Stock Bank jvas broken off there was scarcely the de'ay of an hour in Th bluing to cl^te the bank. neighbol?*1? tIjroughout the day that presented itself in the character <?d of tho Bat)k was °' the Most distressing doors, and 200 or 300 persons congregated about the to their ast'onis? the most melancholy faces gave expression their chances 0j t^t at wha'had occurred, and discussed As on all such 00 What they would recover out of their lms. blow, gave way, ana h s' there were many who, at the first was the most they despondlngJy declared 6d. in the pound looked forward to the"?in wh'lst the more sanguine individual cases of great h i1 £ he Pouncl- l'here are many incidents might have been hlp' ail(1 some very touching door of the bank, Placed*^63', 0nelad* carae the 7 wincr as If she had r»cRi» hand nlj0n it and stood K in' o tears Another p^;d a violent blaw, and then ? Tvierrial masters could creature whose notions « cZ f lT bS she could n«t realisation 0 J! on the step dete*™1"^ was her own, resolutely sat on seor £ >ined not to go till she got her •» j that 1,61 from sea. Nor was It f alone Rave wav Men who bad not heard calarcUy overtaken their fortunes ca ti.em .^aDk. and find- ing its doors closed agatns^t th before them almost fainting, whilst °th red on seeking admittance, and in their faces seem y. Surely they will give vie seme but it was in vai against tv,tho*e doors, onte finally closed, were sealed an gainst the en treaty of friends, the imprecations of the exasperated suffereis, and the appeal for mercy and eon31<1 eration cxthe poor small depositors. There was yet an<?' fF „.lri were to be seen about the bank and the streets, th dejected countenances, talking of that which n'Ie^ of every man in the town These were not the depos these were men with nothing to deposit and nothing to •> to but the labour of their hands for the support 1 families; but their employers being amongst the sufferers the question arose in their minds, where were their wages to come from. and many a family would have gone without a diuner on Sunday but for lhe prompt, energttic and liberal course pursued by ths Birmingham Joint-stock Blink. Itwa* the suhj ct of some complaint that it should have been Lund necessary to close the bank on a Friday, that being a day upon which large amounts were generally paid in, and Saturday the day on which it is necessary to make large draws for the purpose of paying wages, &c. Whilst the old Bank was the scene of so much despair the Joint-stock Bank was the scene of the greatest activity, for they at the earliest possible moment announced that they would open credit accounts to relieve the immediate necessities of customers. For this purpose the Bank was kept open long after the usual hour, and from the manager down to the porter no one that long and anxious day could spare time even for refreshment, and the result was that over two hundred credit accounts were opened, and the wages of many hundreds and even thousands of workmen paid who otherwise must have remained unpaid. The tradesmen and manufacturers have thus found relief, and it seems quite clear that the classes who will suffer most are the agriculturists and the men with small savings ^Th^petition in bankruptcy was filed on behalf of Mr. Henry Marshall, the only surviving partner, who issued the following :— It is with feelings of the deepest concern and distress we announce that we are compelled to suspend payment, and this at the moment when, after several months of ne- gotiation, we had confidently trusted we should obtain such assistance as would enable Wi to carry into effect our part in the preliminary agreement for the amalgamation with the Birmingham Joint-Stock Bank. In this hope we have been disappointed. Sums of money to a large amount were drawn out of the bank some years since by the family of the Attwoods, To this circumstance it can be clearly shown at the proper time our failure is to be attributed. For the last ten years every effort has been made to redeem the loss thus occasioned but this has only been partially ac- complished. The assets of the bank are, however, sttllvery considerable, and there are real estates of great value be- longing to the bank, and but slightly encumbered. We hope that in our suspending payment we shall be considered as taking the best and only step to insure a jmt and equal dis- tribution of our assets among our creditors."

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----AN EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH…

THE EXECUTION OF CAPTAIN BEALL.

THE LATE DUKE DE MORNY,

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EXTRAORDINARY SCENE.

THE REAL AND THE IDEAL!

EXTINCTION OF THE NATIONAL…

RAILWAY COMPENSATION FOR ,DAMAGES.

THE ENGLISHMAN IN THE FRENCH…

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A GOOD GENERAL.

TRAVIATA IN PARIS.

THE MARKETS,