Charitable Corporation - in Parliament

In Parliament

The shareholders then petitioned Parliament in February 1733, and the House of Commons enquired at length into the matter. In March, an Act was passed to "encourage and compel George Robinson and John Thomson (sic) to appear ... and disclose the effects" of the Charitable Corporation A Royal Proclamation was made on 17 March for apprehending Burroughs and Squire with a reqward of £500 from the Treasury. The assignees in bankruptcy advertised a reward for those who would disclose his effects, reminding them of the penalty in that Act for not doing so.

Parliament quickly passed an act to compel Robinson and Thomson to appear, or be guilty of a felony. The Commons appointed a Committee to investigate, and this produced a detailed report on the affair. At the end of the session, two further Acts were passed. One appointed Commissioners to determine the rights of the shareholders and creditors; for the Charitable Corporation to appoint an assignee in bankruptcy in respect of Thomson and Robinson, and to compel John Thomson. the warehouse keeper's father to appear before the commissioners in England on pain of being declared a felon. The other required, Sutton, Grant, Bond, Burroughs, Wooley and Warren to deliver particulars of their estates to the Barons of the Exchequer. William Squire was required to surrender himself and do the same, while Burroughs was committed to the Fleet Prison until he complied. All of them (except Squires) delivered inventories accordingly, and they were printed by order of the Commons Committee. It is probable that Squire remained abroad, as no further reference to him occurs in the London Gazette.

Neither Robinson nor Thomson complied. However, during the next session, Thomson offered to return under certain conditions, and an Act was passed extending time and requiring him to appear before Parliament (or a committee of it) by 30 March 1732 and before his bankruptcy commissioners by 4 April. If he complied, he would be rewarded with a fifth of the assets overseas, which he delivered up, and one tenth of those in Great Britain. Thomson complied and appeared before a Commons Committee, which produced a further report. Two further Acts were passed at the end of the session. One was to confirm an agreement between the Charitable Corporation and its three-quarters of its creditors and make it binding on those under disabilities. The other authorised a lottery for the relief of those who suffered from the frauds, specifically excluding Robinson, Thomson, Wolley and Warren from benefitting. It also extended the time for submitting claims to the Commissioners. A further Act was passed in 1735, extending the time for claiming prizes.