and that it is unnecessary to continue that letter any longer "We have the honour to be, Gentlemen, "Your obedient humble Servants, (Signed) in force. "The Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England." "J. RUSSELL. "CHARLES WOOD. "GENTLEMEN, "Bank of England, 23 November, 1847. "We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, in which you communicate to us that in consequence of the gradual revival of confidence in the commercial classes of the country, it appears to Her Majesty's Government that the object they had in view in the letter they addressed to us on the 25th October has been fully answered, and that it is unnecessary to continue that letter any longer in force. "We have the honour to be, Gentlemen, "Your most obedient Servants, "JAMES MORRIS, Governor. "To the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer." SECTION II. THE LONDON PRIVATE BANKERS. By the last Bank Charter Act (7 & 8 Vict. c. 32. s. 21), passed in the session of 1844, it was enacted "that every banker in England and Wales, who is now carrying on, or shall hereafter carry on business as such, shall, on the first day of January in each year, or within fifteen days thereafter, make a return to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes at their head office in London, of his name, residence, and occupation, or in the case of a company or partnership, of the name, residence, and occupation of every person composing or being a member of such company or partnership, and also the name of the firm under which such banking company or partnership carry on the business of banking, and of every place where such business is carried on; and if any such banker, company, or partnership, shall omit or refuse to make such return within fifteen days after the said first day of January, or shall wilfully make other than a true return of the persons as herein required, every banker, company, or partnership so offending, shall forfeit and pay the sum of 50%.; and the said Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes shall, on or before the first day of March in every year, publish in some newspaper circulating within each town or county respectively, a copy of the return so made by every banker, company, or partnership carrying on the business of bankers within such town, or respectively, as the case may be." This was the first time that any of the banking companies in London were required to make returns to Government of the number or names of their partners. All banks that issued notes were required, when they applied for a licence, to name their partners; but as none of the London bankers issued notes, they required no licence, and made no return. Nor did the joint-stock banks established in London, make any returns to the Government of their partners. For as they did not possess, until the year 1844, the power of suing and being sued in the name of their public officers, they did not register, at any Government office, the names of their partners, though, in some cases, these names were appended to the Annual Reports of the directors. This Act (7 & 8 Vict. c. 32) came into operation in January 1845, and we have now, therefore, for the first time, the means of obtaining the names of all the partners in all the banking establishments throughout England and Wales.* The Act not only requires that the bankers shall make these returns between the first and fifteenth of January in each year, it requires also, that the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes shall publish them before the first of March following, in some newspaper that circulates within the town or county in which the bankers making the return carry on their business. The returns from the London banks are published in supplements to the London Gazette, which we presume is considered to be a newspaper within the meaning of the Act. The particulars required to be returned by the Act, and * These are inserted every year in the Banking Almanack. stated in the Gazette, are, the name of the firm or company; the name, residence, and occupation of the persons of whom the company or partnership consists; and the name of the place or places where the business is carried on. The London banking establishments, each not having more than six partners, may be divided into three classes:I. Those who are members of the Clearing-house. II. Those located east of Temple-bar, but are not members of the Clearing-house. III. Those located west of Temple-bar. TABLE I. A List of the Private Banking Firms who attended the Clearinghouse in January 1845, and in January 1855. 64 63 6 44 5 5 4 2 6 5 4 4 3 5 Address. 4 56, Lombard-street. 4 50, Cornhill. 5 62, Lombard-street. 4 1563265426 73, Lombard-street. 4, Lombard-street. 11,Mansion-house-street. 68, Lombard-street. 6, Nicholas-lane, Lombard-street. 5 62, Threadneedle-street. 23, King William-street. 4 15, Lombard-street. 29, Clement's-lane, Lombard-street. 77, Lombard-street. 1, Lombard-street. 3 27, Gracechurch-street. 16 Prescott, Grote, Ames & Co............. 17 Price, Marryatt & Co..... 3 20 Sapte, Banbury, Muspratt & Co....... 21 Smith, Payne & Smith 22 Spooner, Attwood & Co................... 23 Stevenson, Salt & Son................................................. 24 Weston & Young....................................... 25 Williams, Deacon & Co.......... 26 Willis, Percival & Co....... Total 45232 4 6 6 5 6 ..... 112 103 * It will be seen from the above table that Messrs. Weston and Young, who were Clearing Bankers in 1845 were not registered as Bankers in 1855. This firm was afterwards changed to "Young and Son ;" and after the death of the Son, Mr. Young gave up the bank, at the end of the year 1847. The business of the bank was transferred to the Southwark Branch of the London and Westminster Bauk. TABLE II. A List of those Private Banking Firms located East of Temple Bar, but who are not Members of the Clearing-house. It will be seen from the above table that six firms registered as bankers in 1845, were not registered in 1855. These are Nos. 1, 3, 9, 15, 19, 20. We believe that No. 1 was rather a foreign broker than a banker. No. 3 still carry on business as bullion dealers, though they have ceased to register as bankers. No. 9 have merged their bank in the Clearing firm of Barnard, Dimsdale & Co., which now carries on business as Messrs. Dimsdale, Drewett, Fowler and Barnard. Nos. 15, 19, and 20 were bankers or agency houses for cattle-dealers in Smithfield. It will also be seen from this table that six firms marked a, b, c, d, e, f, not registered in 1845, were registered in 1855. Three of these firms are located in Smithfield. TABLE III. A List of the Private Banking Firms West of Temple Bar. 1 Bouverie, Norman & Murdock......... Cocks, Biddulph, Biddulph & Co. 6 Messrs. Drummond....... 7 Hallett, Robinson & Co................................... 8 Herries, Farquhar & Co.......... 9 Chas. Hopkinson & Co. ...................................... 10 Ransom & Co. 11 Sir Claude Scott & Co........................... ................ Address. 5 11, Haymarket. 43, Charing Cross. 58 & 59, Strand. 49, Charing Cross. 4 14, Great George-street, Westminster. 6 16, St. James's-street. 23, Regent-street. 3 1, Pall Mall East. 2 1, Cavendish-square. 3 217, Strand. 4 215 & 216, Strand. It will be seen from the above table that No. 3, Messrs. Cockburn & Co., who were bankers in 1845, had ceased to be so in 1855. Also that Messrs. White, Ludlow & Co. (a) who were not bankers in 1845, had become bankers in 1855. * This bank stopped payment June 11th, 1855. |