THE BANK SWINDLES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 7821, 28 July 1896, Page 4

THE BANK SWINDLES.

ANOTHER DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR.

A JUDGE'S REMARKS,

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Me_box7ENK, July 27,

The examination in bankruptoy of 11. W. Ferguson led to strong comments by the Judge on the bankrupt's connection with Mr Longmuir, manager of the late City of Melbourne Bank. Ferguson's personal liability to that institution amounted to £178,000, while hie company owed an additional £122,000. The Judge remarked that he hoped that kind of manager was extinot. He hoped there was no living bank manager who wouid make a similar arrangement. To go outside his bank to speculate as a partner in a land transaction, whioh speculations resulted in a loss of £300,000 to his bank, was a most disgraceful business, and he 'wondered that the witness was'not ashamed of himself. They were partners in land and bouses, and the shareholders of the bank knew nothing of their transactions, and, so far as appeared, the direotors knew nothing, and the next thing the witness did was to file. He oame into Court with nothing but £10 worth of clothes, and his partner manager failed for £75,000. It was a disgraceful transaction between him and ihe deoea.ed manager—a disgraceful thing to an honest community. Ferguson endeavored to explain how pure his dealings with the manager had been by stating that at one time he threatened to take away his acoount. The threat caused the Court to laugh incredulously. The

Judge said there were now innocent shareholders and creditors walking the streets destitute booause of these nefarious practices,