g to obtain an act of parliament, and it was first
intended that the sum of L15,000 should be divided between four or five
individuals. This, however, was not considered safe, and it was agreed
to divide the spoil more extensively. One gentleman put into his pocket
L2,500 of this money, and afterwards L1,500 as profit upon shares,
although he had not paid for those shares, but still owed L375 for them.
That individual, he continued, was Sir William Congreve, a member
of parliament: and was not, he asked, parliament called upon to do
something towards an inquiry into conduct so dishonourable? Never had
there been a fouler stain upon the house. After some remarks on the
Equitable Loan Company, the alderman moved, "that a select committee be
appointed to inquire into the origin, the management, and the present
state of the joint-stock companies formed during the years 1824,1825,
and 1826, and to report on the same, together with any special matter
touching any member of that house." Mr. Canning, in reply, objected to
the inquiry on account of its extent, asserting that for inquiry to be
useful it must be limited and precise. Enough had been said to show that
there was strong ground for suspicion, that in the affairs of some few
companies there was matter deserving inquiry; but the motion as it stood
involved many companies against the utility and management of which
no charge had been brought. He moved an amendment, therefore, that the
inquiry of the committee should be limited to the management and history
of the Arigna Company. He was supported by Mr. Huskisson, who, in
his speech, denounced the idea that joint-stock companies of every
description were public evils. He was astonished, he said, to hear men
of business talk of mining carried on by joint-stock companies as a
thing of recent date. No mine worked in this country had ever been so,
except by means of joint-stock companies. Without the formation of such
companies, those mines, indeed, would not have been explored. It
ought to be, he added, the policy of the law to encourage joint-stock
companies; for when embarked in properly and fairly, they are beneficial
to the public interests, and fraught with great public advantages. At
the same time, he was ready to admit, that those who had been concerned
in the speculations and bubbles of the last two years had disgraced
themselves; especially if they knew at the time they engaged in them
that they were not likely to lead