Appendix creased. They now yield £765 per annum. By 31st July. the advance of this money, the Churchwardens will be enabled to spread the debt due to the Church (upwards of £2,000) over several years; and taking security of payment, realize the whole-a great portion of which would be lost if pressed for just now. As these debts are collected, it is our intention to invest them to meet the loan, or pay over the same when the receipt amounts to £500, as the College Council may desire; and to form a sinking fund out of the surplus revenue of the Church to meet the residue. SIR, KING'S COLLEGE OFFICE, I beg to remind you that the interest due to this The security is the very best that could be had, DEAR SIR, (Signed,) H. BOYS. TORONTO, April 29th, 1844. Your letter to C. Gamble, Esq., of the 22nd inst., (Signed,) The Council took into consideration an ap- SIR, W. WAKEFIELD. KING'S COLLEGE OFFICE, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th ultimo, enclosing a cheque on the Bank of Upper Canada, for the sum of £120, being for six months interest on the loan of £4,000 to the Cathedral Church of St. James, in this city, to the 11th of last month, and I enclose you the usual official receipt for the amount. We were both in error as to the day from which the Church was to be charged with this. I have now ascertained from the Bank that the interest on the Debentures were calculated to us to the 11th April, 1843; and as you will get interest on them from that date, that becomes the day from which we are entitled to claim interest from the Church. Appendix (E.E.E.) 31st July. 1. The receipt submitted to the Council by Dr. Gywnne, at the meeting held on the 20th April last. The receipt has been mislaid. It was dated the 2nd April, 1844, and was given by the Bursar to Dr. Gwynne for interest due on his account. 2. The Bursar's observations on the objections taken by Dr. Gwynne to the mode in which his account had been settled. (Read in Council, 24th April, 1844):— It has been my endeavor to place all the arrears due to this institution on a footing of bearing interest; and to secure this object, it has been my practice to take notes of hand from the parties indebted to us, which notes were made to bear interest. My book of notes of hand will show how generally I Appendix (E.E.E.) 31st July. Appendix have acted on this principle. I have treated Dr. (E.E.E.). Gwynne's case in the same way, except that I did not exact from him a note of hand, for I thought 31st July. that unnecessary with a person of his station in society. If, in some cases, I have neglected to act on this principle, it has been for some special reason: the party has come to settle within a short time of the proper time, or I have thought it a fortunate thing to get anything from the party; or for some reason or another, in the particular case, it has appeared to me to be to our own advantage not to apply the principle. But in Dr. Gwynne's case, I could see no one reason whatever for the remission of the principle. Dr. Gwynne came into possession of this property in the year 1834. The conditions on which the property was sold were, that the purchaser should pay the interest half-yearly; and if he did not do so, that extra interest should be charged for delay. Now, Dr. Gwynne departed from his contract, in not paying his interest half-yearly for nine years; in fact, not paying any interest whatever from the time he came into possession; and during the whole time, as I was credibly informed, and as he has himself since told me, he was receiving £40 a year as a ground rent for the premises, by which he has obtained nearly £400. I had also, in 1842, sent him a balanced account, calling upon him for settlement; and I have repeatedly since sent Mr. Hawkins to him for the same purpose. When I spoke to him, a few months back, he put the matter off till he should receive his salary as Professor; and on a former occasion, when I spoke to him, I remember telling him he might settle the account by a note of hand. Therefore, there could be no reason for dealing with Dr. Gwynne in a different manner from other people; accordingly I settled with him in the following manner :-I debited him with the balance of the account sent to him in 1842, namely, £274 1s. 5d., which sum consisted of £189 remaining due of his purchase money, and £85 18. 5d., simple interest thereon to the 10th January of that year. As he did not come to settle in 1843, I debited his account with a year's interest on the balance above mentioned, which made his debt £290 10s. 3d.; and this sum I carried on as a balance to the next year. On the 10th January, 1844, as he did not come forward to settle, I debited his account with a year's interest on the balance of the preceding year, which made him indebted £307 18s. 10d., currency. On the 2nd of this month, (April,) he came to settle, when he paid me £118 18s. 10d. currency, which, perhaps, I ought to have received as a sum on account of his balance; but, at his request, I inserted in the receipt that it was for interest on his account. What I have done appeared to me so lenient towards Dr. Gwynne, that I could but suppose, on reflection, he would not persevere in objecting to it. The Council must perceive the great advantage he has derived by keeping their money in his hands nine years, for seven years of which time the Council may, in all equity, charge him with interest. Appendix I will not pretend to judge of the legality of what I have done. I have done what I thought reason- (E.E.E.) able for the interests of this institution, though I am convinced, without pushing its claims to their full 31st July. equitable extent; and the part to which Dr. Gwynne takes exception, I have done on the principle on which merchants and bankers in England keep their accounts. Whatever opinion may be formed of the manner in which I have treated Dr. Gwynne's case, and the cases of others in arrears, the institution cannot submit to the loss of the income it ought to derive from the arrears; and we must either adopt the harsh measure of sueing for the whole of them, or devise some expedient of placing them on a footing of bearing interest. 1st. That the charge of compound interest is illegal in the circumstances. It is not pretended that the accounts in which the charge occurs were what are called, technically, settled accounts; that is, accounts settled between the parties at stated periods, and interest charged from the date of each settlement. When notes of hand were given, interest has properly been charged upon them; but where accounts have remained unsettled, the charge of interest is illegal, and the Institution is then subject to the charge (placed in the position) of making illegal demands to supply deficiences caused by remissness in not collecting debts legally and justly incurred. 2ndly. That the arbitrary power assumed by the Bursar, of charging interest on unsettled accounts, is illegal, unauthorized, and injurious to the interests of the Institution. The Bursar's office is ministerial, not discretionary, and should be confined to such transactions as fall strictly within his duties as an officer of the Council. If the charge of compound interest had been legal, it was his duty to have made it without regard to parties; and the exhibition of partiality manifested in his Report was improper and unauthorized. The exercise of this discretionary power would deprive the Council of an important and salutary check on the Bursar's accounts, inasmuch as, if the compounding of claims be left with him, it becomes impossible to test either the value of his discretionary operations, or the correctness of his transactions and statements. I have the honor, &c., (Signed,) I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of In the absence of any other than the usual agree- estate. But as the interest, when in arrear, is thus unproductive, the vendor has a right to enforce its W. H. DRAPER. Opinion of J. E. Small, Esq., Solicitor to the Uni- CASE. In the month of July, 1829, Dr. Gwynne became the purchaser of Lot 11, Church-street, Block D, in the City of Toronto, for the price or sum of £210, and paid at the time of purchase £21, leaving a balance of £189 due to the College, which was to be paid in nine years, with interest payable thereon half-yearly. On the 2nd Oct., 1834, Dr. Gwynne paid in the sum of £56 14s., being for five years interest to the 10th July then last. From that date Appendix interest of each person's debt, as it falls due, ought to be paid into the hands of the Bursar, who would (E.E.E.) then invest the amount in such a manner as to produce an increase to the funds of the institution. J. E. SMALL, (Signed,) Appendix On the 2nd April, 1844, Dr. Gwynne, having been furnished with his account so made up, paid to the Bursar £118 18s. 10d. in full of the interest up to that date, and, in doing so, stated that he objected to being thus charged interest upon interest, but did not pay it under protest, as I gather from the papers relating to the transaction. The question now submitted for my consideration is, whether, at law, Dr. Gwynne or other parties could be compelled, in case of refusal, to pay the interest computed in this manner? Moved by the Vice-President, Solicitor. That the sum of £55 4s. 8d., being the amount overcharged to his Lordship, the President, according to the opinion of the Attorney General, of the 25th October, 1844, be refunded to him with interest thereon. Which motion, being seconded by Dr. Gwynne, was put and carried. A marginal note by the Bursar, viz:-Paid to his Lordship on 8th December. CHAPLAIN. Dr. Beaven having withdrawn, it was moved by the President, Excellency the Chancellor of the University, stating I am of opinion that nothing can be clearer than think that simple interest only should have been But I conceive the receipt or non-receipt of this interest, by the Council, is a matter of very little importance, so far as this instance of Dr. Gwynne is concerned; but when the principle is applied to the money transactions of the institution generally, it becomes a matter of serious consideration; and, upon that point, I would merely state that I would hesitate to attempt the enforcing of a demand so constituted, but would recommend that, in future, individuals should have their account furnished to them annually, carrying the interest into the account as principal each year or half-year, as the case might be, in the same manner as is done by merchants and bankers; for there can be no question that the an allowance be made to him for his services, at the former day the Bursar reported that our present nual income. I am directed by the Chancellor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th ultimo, transmitting, for the special consideration of His Excellency, an extract from the minutes of the proceedings of the Council, of the 30th October, recommending an allowance, at the rate of £100 per annum, to be granted to Dr. Beaven, for his services as Chaplain, and in reply, to state, that the Chancellor, before offering an opinion on the subject, is desirous of being informed whether the ground of Dr. Gwynne's dissent from the resolution be well founded, namely, that the present expenditure of the institution exceeds its income. Whether this be so or not, however, His Excellency questions the expediency, in 31st July. |