were too indefinite. There was an acknowledgment of the debt, but it was accompanied by a statement that the defendant would not pay unless his position improved, and his position never had improved -at all events, not substantially, the increase of £14 in one year being inconsiderable. The appeal must, therefore, be dismissed. IRISH CHANCERY DIVISION.-Nov. 16. (Before the Lord Chancellor.) KINGSTON v. EXECUTORS OF EYRE. This cause stood for a final decree. In the month of February, 1845, the Tipperary Joint Stock Bank, which had been promoted by the late John Sadleir and others, covenanted to advance, on the security of the Earl of Kingston's estate, between Mitchelstown, in the county of Cork, and Ballyporeen, in the county of Tipperary, a sum of £50,000 to the Earl of Kingston to enable him to pay off his debts. From time to time further advances were made which amounted ultimately to £100,000, of which half was paid by a loan from the Albion Insurance Company, and the remainder was claimed to be due to the executors of Henry Joseph Eyre, who resided in Bath, and who had advanced to John Sadleir the money lent to the Earl of Kingston. The bank having failed, it was discovered that Eyre advanced the money. A bill was subsequently filed by the late Robert Earl of Kingston, against the Tipperary Bank, and T. J. Eyre, who had gone into possession of his estates as creditors, alleging that as mortgagees in possession they were overpaid. In 1855 a decree was made referring the matter to the late Master Litton to take an account; he delivered a judgment in 1868, but died before he made his report. He was succeeded by Master Brooke, who was discharged from office. The matter has been before the Lord Chancellor since 1874, and some short time ago he made a decree finding £40,000 due to Mr. Eyre's representative by the executors of the late Lord Kingston. The funds in court amounted to £15,000, secured by three policies of insurance. For Lord Kingston it was contended that the money was advanced by the bank and not by Eyre, and that the trustees of the bank were mortgagees in possession, and should account as such, and that there was a sum of only £12,000 due. Master Litton found that the plaintiff should get credit for £5,500 on the question of wilful default by the late receiver. The estate is worth £20,000 a year. Messrs. Frederick Walsh, Q.C.; W. Ryan, Q.C.; and Bond Cox (instructed by Messrs. Kennedy and Dalton), appeared for the plaintiff. Sergeant Sherlock, M.P.; Messrs. James B. Murphy, Q.C.; and D. Sherlock (instructed by Mr. H. V. Kennedy), appeared for the defendants. Counsel on both sides having been heard on the question of costs and some matters of account, The Lord Chancellor said he could not dispose of the question of costs without further consideration. On the question of cross costs, they should be set off against each other. Mr. Walsh-Yes, generally speaking. The Lord Chancellor said he had found £43,000 principal, interest, and costs, was a charge upon the earl's personal estate and upon policies mentioned in the deeds. It was objected that he did not name the particular policies; he wished to see the deeds in which the policies were mentioned. Mr. Bond Cox said there were policies to the amount of £14,000 in the English Court of Chancery. Sergeant Sherlock said the payment of these policies of insurance had been delayed by the insurance companies on various pretexts. One company kept back for eight years the payment of money into court. There was no objection to letting his lordship peruse all the deeds. The Lord Chancellor-The part of the case about which I had a scepticism all along was that there was no fund in the background which would comfort those who had been engaged in this arduous litigation, there not being 6d. to the credit of the cause. It has lasted for thirty years, and whenever I inquired about any property I was told it was in various suits, presenting insuperable barriers to the acquisition of anything for anybody. Mr. Bone Cox-There are policies in England and Ireland to the amount of £32,000. The Lord Chancellor-It gratifies me to hear that. ACTION FOR DISHONOUR OF ADVANCES DRAFT. The action of Clarton v. The Bank of New South Wales has been concluded in the Supreme Court, before Mr. Justice Barry and a special jury of twelve. The plaintiff, Mr. H. T. Clarton, was an auctioneer and general agent at Benalla. He had been in the habit of making advances to farmers and selectors, obtaining from them bills for the advances, sometimes secured by their leases. He dealt with the Bank of New South Wales, with which he had an overdraft. In December last he made an arrangement with Messrs. Fraser and Co. to accept his drafts on them drawn against grain. He asked the manager of the bank at Benalla to negotiate these drafts, and the manager (Mr. Moore) on being shown a letter from Fraser and Co. agreed to do so. The practice then was that the drafts were discounted, and the proceeds were placed to Mr. Clarton's cre lit. Some of the drafts were at one day, then they came to three days. Some of the drafts were paid before they became due, but none of them were ever accepted. Fraser and Co. only paid when they had received sufficient consignments of grain from Clarton to cover the amount of the drafts. On the 25th March the plaintiff drew for £2,500, which, as usual, was placed to his credit, and the draft sent to Melbourne. It was presented to Fraser and Co., and there was some conflicting evidence as to what occurred about it. Mr. Millidge, the accountant of the bank, said he asked Mr. Uther (Fraser and Co.'s manager) why they did not accept, and Uther said they never accepted; that he then ascertained from Mr. Uther that Fraser and Co. only paid when the grain arrived. Millidge said he had not known that, and he must insist upon acceptance or payment for the future. The bill of 25th March was due on 1st April, and was paid on that date by Fraser and Co. In the meantime the plaintiff had drawn another bill for £2,400 on Fraser and Co. on the 30th March, which the Benalla branch discounted on that day, placing the proceeds to his credit. The draft was presented to Fraser and Co. on Tuesday, 2nd April, for acceptance, an answer being insisted upon. They refused, and the draft was returned to Benalla dishonoured. The amount of the draft was then placed to Clarton's debit, and the result was that cheques he had drawn in favour of Fraser and Co. for £1,267, and some cheques for smaller amounts for other people, were dishonoured. The plaintiff claimed damages for this dishonour, alleging that the course of dealing was that Fraser and Co. were not to be called on to accept till the due date of the notes. Themanager of the bank at Benalla denied that he had made any agreement that the drafts were not to be presented; all he had agreed to do was to negotiate the notes and send them for acceptance. The bank officials at Melbourne said they were not aware of any agreement not to insist on acceptance. It was also contended for the bank that, even taking the plaintiff's version to be true, he nevertheless had not enough funds to his credit, as a draft he had drawn on Blake and Riggall for £500, and an order on a savings bank for £69, had, owing to some mistakes, not been honoured, and that the bank, having given cash for them, was justified in debiting him with the amount when they were returned. Mr. Justice Barry left it to the jury to say whether the agreement alleged by the plaintiff had been made or not. The jury, by a majority of eleven to one, gave a verdict for the plaintiff, damages £2,790. In an action by the Bank of New South Wales against Clarton (plaintiff in the above action) to recover a balance due for money lent, a verdict was given for the plaintiff's bank for £1,737.-Australian Banking Record. Reports of Joint Stock Banks. ANGLO-EGYPTIAN BANKING COMPANY, LIMITED. REPORT of the directors presented at the ordinary half-yearly general meeting of the company, 21st November, 1878: "The directors have much pleasure in presenting to the shareholders the accounts and balance-sheet for the half-year ending the 31st August last. They show a great improvement in the position and resources of the bank, and fully justify the patient and cautious policy pursued by the board since the crisis of 1876, for although refusing no safe and profitable business, the directors have thought it advisable to limit their operations until a sounder system of finance had been established in Egypt. The shareholders will find that the profit and loss account is in a most satisfactory state, showing a net balance of £249,850. 28. 8d. to the credit after valuing the Egyptian stocks held by the bank considerably below the present prices. Out of this balance of £249,850. 28. 87, the directors recommend a dividend of £1. 10s. per share, free of income-tax, being at the rate of 7 per cent. per annum; they further propose to set apart £100,000 as a reserve fund, carrying forward the sum of £29,850. 28. 8. to the next account. The directors are confident that this mode of dealing with the balance, tending as it does to strengthen the position of the bank, will meet with the approbation of the shareholders. The shareholders will learn with considerable satisfaction that the Egyptian Government have paid off upwards of £500,000 of the old advances due to the bank. On the other hand the directors have anticipated the contingent Hability of the bank in Paris, arising out of the transactions of 1875 and 1976, and which at one time amounted to nearly £500,000, and have entirely liquidated the whole amount. When the occupation of Cyprus by the English Government became known, the beard seized the opportunity of estab lishing branches at Larnaca and Nicosia, the two chief places in the island, and from the short time they have been in operation the directors feel assured, that when the new state of things is more developed, these branches will prove both useful and profitable. The abilities and labours of Mr. Rivers Wilson, upon the commission of enquiry, have already produced most important changes in the government of Egypt, and the directors cannot but congratulate the shareholders upon the acceptance by that gentleman of the post of Minister of Finance, and it will be the pleasure and duty of the board cordially to cooperate with him in any measures having for their object the improvement of the finances and the development of the resources of the country." Dr. Balance-sheet for the half-year ending 31st August, 1878. Capital-80,000 shares of £20, fully paid Fixed deposits Accounts current Balance of profit and loss.. £1,600,000 00 31,765 0 0 440,662 19 249,850 2 8 Cr. Accounts current Bills receivable Securities in London and Alexandria-6872,740 Unified- £2,322,278 20 £1,314,297 1 7 35,298 0 0 640,871 19 4 331,811 1 1 £2,322,278 2 0 THE thirty-fourth half-yearly general meeting of the above bank was held at the head office, Queen Street, Auckland, on October 29th last; Dr. CAMPBELL in the chair. The GENERAL MANAGER (Mr. D. L. Murdech) read the advertisement convening the meeting, the minutes of the previous half-yearly general meeting, and of the special meeting held afterwards on the same day; also the report and balance-sheet, as follows: Thirty-fourth Report of the Directors of the Bank of New Zealand to the halfyearly general meeting of the Proprietors, held at the Banking-house, Auckland, on Tuesday, October 29th, 1878. The directors have again to congratulate shareholders on the favourable result of another half-year's operations. The net profit at September 30th, after making very full appropriations for all bad and doubtful dependencies, and in reduction of bank premises and furniture, amounts to To which has to be added— Balance of undivided profit at March 31st, 1878 £36,250 0 0 To proposed increase to reserve fund The dividend and bonus will be payable at the head office, Auckland, on Thursday, the 31st Oct., and at the branches on receipt of advice.-For the board of directors, J. LOGAN CAMPBELL, President. AGGREGATE BALANCE-SHEET OF THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND AT 30TH SEPT.' 1878, INCLUDING LONDON OFFICE AT 31ST JULY, 1878. By balance of profit and loss at 30th September, 1878.. 183,280 5 3 4,983 3 £88,263 9 0 |