The last failure is that of the Consolidated Bank. On
Sunday eight of the directors, Mr. J. Pemberton Heywood, Mr. J. P. Kennard, Mr. T. A. Hankey, Mr. F. A. Hankey, Mr. A. S. Kennard, Mr. F. Fairbairn, Mr. A. H. Novell, and Mr. W. Smith, closed a bank the shares of which, with 41. paid up, were selling at 71., and had been selling at 10/. The reason assigned was an injunction from Vice-Chancellor Kindersley. The directors had very hurriedly and rashly agreed to take certain assets of the Bank of London, pay depositors, but not pay acceptance-holders. The latter applied to the Court, which issued an ad interim in- junction against preferences, and the gentlemen named, instead of consulting the remaining directors, or repudiating the arrange- ment with the Bank of London under the order, or standing the run out, closed the bank, that is, fined their masters, the share- holders, one million sterling. Their motives of course were ex- cellent, but the incident certainly proves the utter worthlessness of experience.
