“RAISING THE WIND.”

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1077, 23 May 1882, Page 2

“RAISING THE WIND.”

L’he Correctional Tribunal of the Seine have just passed judgment on a group of financiers. The story, as ••old iu the papers, was this:—A nerson named M. Jean Laurent , Brugerolles, a financier, who had D een unsuccessful, and was apparently a t his wit’s end to make a living, e lartcd iu 1376 a ’ Company o£

Departmental Banks,’ the objects of which are not clear. The first board of directors was composed of M. de Mordy, Baron Tharreau (who had been a perfect under the Empire), and the Comte de la Bassetiere. One of these gentlemen was succeeded by Baron Kerveguen, and M. Mordy, owing to a criminal prosecution, resigned. Now, all these gentlemen seem to have been unaware of a certain article of the Companies Act of 1867, providing very stringent punishment for those who make false statements as to the subscriptions with a view to attract the capital of the public. The fourth part of the capital, which is statutorily requisite before a company can begin operations, was not really subscribed. That was the first fraud. To pay the shareholders a new concern had to be created. It was a financial paper i for pushing the shares of the | Banques Departmentales, whose share- | holders were paid in shares of the new paper. This was followed by a corn- | grinding cotnpany —the Societe Generale des Frangaise Minoteries— I created for the same purpose —capi al, 15,000,000 francs M. Brugerolles bough n mill, in return for which 1 and his high financial position he claimed 6000 shares at 500 francs each, half paid. This company paid a I high dividend, owing to a false tnven- ' tory —another offence punishable very severely. The result was a great rise in the price of its shares on the market. This encouraged Brugerolles to start another company for the making of pales alimentaires. He again obtained a handsome portion of the shares. Some shareholders at length finding no profit accruing from their securities put themselvesin communication with thejudieialautho rities, and Brugerolles decamped, and has not been discovered. The sentences just passed were five year’ aimprisonment and 500 francs fine, and ten year’s deprivation of civic rights on Brugerolles, being the maximum penalty ; six months’ imprisonment and 500 francs fine on M. Tharreau the ex-prefect ; 500 francs on Baron de Kerveguen ; and M. Boyer, another director, 1000 franes fine.”