Aftenposten
- Chief Director Rygg's testimony before the Court of Impeachment.
- Helan går — sing hopp falleralla la la la!
- Director Colban.
The page was dominated by the second half of Norges Bank chief director Rygg's testimony to the Court of Impeachment. Rygg defended the secret 1923 rescue of Den norske Handelsbank as a measure to stop rumour-driven panic from spreading through the whole Norwegian banking system. He listed the package, including a 25-million-krone state deposit and 15 million taken over by the private banks, and described how Bratlie and Throne Holst were placed on the bank's board. Alongside it, the physician Harald Natvig mocked prohibition in a column about small children singing drinking songs, farm families pouring home-distilled spirits and Black and White whisky delivered to the door. A short item, cut off on this page, marked the diplomat Erik Colban's 50th birthday.
Translation
Chief Director Rygg's testimony before the Court of Impeachment.
The necessity of the support operation. — The imminent danger, “the boat barely held.”
We print here the rest of Chief Director Rygg's testimony before the Court of Impeachment yesterday:
What made the situation so dangerous was, as already mentioned, that our banking system as a whole was exposed to the most serious test, and this came out clearly in the discussions that took place in Norges Bank. Thus the arrangement adopted is recorded in the board's minutes of 28 May 1923 with the following introduction: “In a series of meetings, partly in consultation with a number of members of the Supervisory Council, the situation has been discussed that has arisen from the growing nervousness which has particularly troubled Den norske Handelsbank and which threatens to undermine confidence in our banking system as a whole.”
It was perfectly clear that it was not the fate of Handelsbanken that was at stake, but quite different and far more wide-ranging interests. If it had only concerned Den norske Handelsbank, one could of course have taken plenty of time and carried out closer investigations, but everyone was clear that the danger was so imminent that it was necessary to act quickly, if conditions were not to arise that would justify the gravest complaints of failure to act in the country's interest. It was also stated clearly that it was not for Handelsbanken's sake that action had to be taken, likewise in the meetings the board held with a number of members of the bank's Supervisory Council.
On 26 and 27 May, at my request, conferences were held in Norges Bank between the members of the board and the following members of the Supervisory Council: Thallaug, Pettersen, Møystad, Frisak, Arnesen and, on 26 May, also Holtsmark. The minutes state: “At the meetings Director Rygg gave an overview of the general economic position and stated that, owing to the prevailing nervous mood, which was partly fed by unreliable talk and rumours, the situation was such that if the mood were allowed to spread it could become ruinous for our credit and for our country's economy as a whole, consequences that would be due solely to confidence undermined by the rumours and would not be grounded in the actual conditions. The Director reports that meetings and conferences had been held with representatives of the Government, Norges Bank and the larger private banks concerning the situation and the cooperation considered necessary to avert such disasters. — Director Rygg gave a detailed account of the planned cooperation and presented drafts of the various declarations forming part of the contemplated arrangement, which were expected to be adopted, with only minor changes, at a later meeting with the other parties. All those present at the meetings found it necessary, under the existing circumstances, to take the measures contained in the above-mentioned drafts.”
During these meetings I reported in detail on the arrangement that had been proposed, and so at the meeting on Saturday afternoon the main points of the proposal: Continuation of Norges Bank's credit of 35,000,000 kroner. Release of the deposits that had been placed as security for this credit. The banks' takeover of engagements for 15,000,000 kroner. The State's deposit of 25,000,000 kroner. Norges Bank's commitment to further rediscount credit in case it should be needed.
The gentlemen were of course already acquainted with the gravity of the situation, and I also gave an account based on my own experiences and negotiations with the Government and the large private banks. I maintained that a suspension of payments by Handelsbanken, as the position stood both at home and abroad, could have catastrophic consequences. I maintained that the remaining banks could not in that case manage. I expressly emphasised that it was not Handelsbanken that was at stake. For these negotiations I otherwise refer to the account of 8 May 1925.
During the negotiations one had to proceed on the assumption that Handelsbanken was solvent. As explained in more detail in Norges Bank's account of 8 May 1925, a solution was first sought in a rediscount credit at Norges Bank. In this connection it was put forward as strong evidence that Handelsbanken had been able to withstand the violent onslaught from the creditors' side. Norges Bank was faced with the choice between a large increase in the credit to Handelsbanken or accepting the calamities that would otherwise ensue. It was said that these consequences would in that case be quite incalculable, and that there would be a violent increase in the note circulation. In this connection I pointed out that Norges Bank could not responsibly tie its fate to a single institution, that there was admittedly no reason to doubt Handelsbanken's solvency, but that Norges Bank must in any case reckon with the possibility that an assessment by others might give a less favourable result. I also said that a couple of days earlier it had been demanded of us that we should carry out a review of the banks and issue a reassuring statement. Now Norges Bank was to stake its position sans phrase.
If there had been an opportunity to carry out an investigation, for example on 26 and 27 May, one also had to attach weight to the men who stood at the bank managers' side and who vouched for their statement. The main thing was that such changes had to be made in the bank's management that a full guarantee was thereby obtained that a thorough investigation would be carried out, and that the institution would in general be run in a manner that deserved confidence. This was in reality the same way one had proceeded in the earlier support operations for Centralbanken and Bergens Kreditbank. Men were put in whom one believed one could trust fully.
One of the conditions for the support operation in 1923 was that the bank's board declared itself willing to have the management supplemented by a new member, appointed by the Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank. This was a separate agreement between these two, while the private banks stood outside this point. This was also done. Out of regard for the bank's articles of association, the declaration from Handelsbanken's board had to be altered so that the board would propose to the bank's Supervisory Council the election of a man designated by the authorities. Before the documents were signed, bank manager Volckmar approached me in writing asking that this demand for the right to put a new man into the bank's management should not be bound to a written agreement, but be a private understanding between bank manager Volckmar and myself. This of course entailed no change in our position.
No change was made in the bank's management at once. The choice of the new member was the subject of discussion between Prime Minister Berge and me, and at a meeting in September I gave my assent to the Prime Minister's proposal that the then chairman of the Supervisory Council, Commissary General Bratlie, should join the board, while Director Throne Holst took over the office of chairman of the board. Concerning the appointment itself there is the following letter from Norges Bank of 25 September 1923, addressed to Bratlie and Throne Holst: “With reference to the conferences held today, we will not fail to inform you that the board of Norges Bank would welcome Commissary General Jens Bratlie joining Handelsbanken's board as a member, while Mr. Director J. Throne Holst is elected chairman of the board. As matters have developed, we believe that such an arrangement may help to strengthen Handelsbanken's standing.”
These two gentlemen, Commissary General Bratlie and Director (Continued on page 6.)
Helan går — sing hopp falleralla la la la!
By Dr. med. Harald Natvig.
“HELAN GÅR — — — —!”
The idyll dates from this summer, from the centre of the capital, more precisely from the area around St. Olavs plass: there I met an enchanting pair of siblings, a boy of about 5 who came marching proudly along, singing at the top of his voice and dragging at arm's length his little 3–4-year-old sister, who hung back because she could hardly keep up on her small legs. And how he sang, so that it rang out: “Helan går — sjung hopp falleralla la la la!”, and from the tiny little sister, who at 3–4 lagged a good way behind both in step and in time, and who could not yet manage g and r, came a fainter echo: “Helan daal — sung hopp fallelala —”. The sweet children — so eager to learn and so clever!
But since development is swift, I met the next stage only a few weeks later at roughly the same spot, the performers this time a tiny bit older, a boy of 6 and a girl of 5. These too came hand in hand, but with the marching beat already stamped in, they shouted more than they sang: “There was plenty in the bottle when we came, boom, boom! but when we left, boom, boom, it was empty, boom, boom!” It sounded splendid, and my thoughts went involuntarily back to my own childhood and my own children's songs — to my own shame, naturally, for the development was indeed striking.
From my boyhood days until today I have roamed every corner of our country, as a tourist and later as a hunter. But Norwegian hospitality in the old days was simply poor; you got a little sour milk and flatbread and cheese and cured meat, but a proper dram was never on offer. No, things have become quite different since the days of prohibition; now home-distilled spirits are served in hospitable toasts, and it is not only the man of the house who drinks along, no, the wife and the daughter and the son join the welcoming toast too — and no stinginess — one more for the other leg!
A companion of mine was to put together a hunting ground in one of the country's central, most densely settled rural districts. Before 11 in the morning he called by car on 6 farmers, and all 6 offered home-distilled spirits, and one even showed his hospitality by opening the gate for the newcomer — with the dram bottle in his fist. Yes indeed, the hunting lease was arranged; but the next year it was not home-distilled on offer but Black and White. Why bother distilling yourself, when you could have as much Black and White as you wanted brought to your door? Spirits are made and bought the way shares were made and bought in the speculation years. And the coastal population, our old sober fishing folk, who hardly knew what spirits were, are no longer dull either — oh, far from it! They too have been awakened and are in on the sport. I saw some of them along the coast last year, full of spirits and already far beyond good humour, mind you, with numb faces and numb legs.
Social life in the towns? — Yes indeed, there is development. Who still remembers the quiet parties with red wine with the meal and perhaps a glass of fortified wine with dessert? No, now it is a dram with the fish or a dram with the fowl, and the “avec” has swelled into a dazzling collection — 14 assorted slender and pot-bellied bottles is the record, wheeled in on a trolley together with the coffee, and beaming record faces all over. There was a time of chocolate with the late supper, but now just as often a dram and “Helan går —”
How many have died of prohibition I have not yet seen statistics on; the dead, after all, do not speak for themselves, but there will surely always be someone left who can arrange the percentages. Well, then we shall just have to wait for the future — and for
Director Colban.
Erik Colban turns 50 tomorrow. Erik Colban was indisputably one of the very ablest men in our foreign service. He showed it as head of division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as legation secretary in Stock-
Context
Why the Berge government stood before the Court of Impeachment
Rygg was testifying in what became the last impeachment case in Norwegian history. According to the Storting's own historical account, the government in 1923 supported Den norske Handelsbank with a loan of 25 million kroner in state bills, and it did so in secret, without putting the decision before the King in Council or the Storting. The government justified the secrecy by the need to avoid panic among the bank's customers. In 1924 the Storting granted a state guarantee of 15 million kroner without being told of the first loan. The bank failed anyway, the Storting was informed in January 1925, and on 14 July 1926 the Odelsting voted to impeach. Prime Minister Berge and six ministers were charged with granting the support without a decision of the Storting and with breaching their duty to inform it afterwards. The ‘State's deposit of 25,000,000 kroner’ in Rygg's list of the package is the sum at the heart of the case. The court eventually acquitted the accused on the ground that the charges had become time-barred under the law then in force, a verdict that came only after the testimony printed here.
Why Rygg framed the rescue as a defence of the whole banking system
Nicolai Rygg had chaired Norges Bank's board since November 1920, and the central bank's own history says that handling the banking crisis marked his working days from 1920 to 1925. His testimony puts Norges Bank at the centre of the 1923 operation: he called the conferences of 26 and 27 May, presented the draft declarations, held the existing 35-million credit open, and agreed with Prime Minister Berge on placing Bratlie on Handelsbanken's board. His central argument, that rumours rather than real conditions threatened the credit of the whole country and that the remaining banks would not survive a Handelsbanken suspension, matches the official reason later given for keeping the support secret, namely fear of panic among depositors. The page prints Rygg's own justification of decisions he helped to shape. Within it he conceded that the negotiators simply had to assume Handelsbanken was solvent and that others might judge the bank less favourably, and the Storting's account records that the bank failed despite the support.
Natvig's column on the eve of the 1926 prohibition referendum
Natvig's satire appeared three days before Norwegians voted again on spirits prohibition. Store norske leksikon records that the Storting adopted a permanent prohibition law by a narrow majority in the autumn of 1921, and that the ban soon produced smuggling, valued at 50–60 million kroner a year, with 600,000 litres of spirits seized in 1923 alone, as well as prescription abuse and home distilling. Those documented effects are exactly the scenes Natvig draws: farm families pouring home-distilled spirits and, a year later, Black and White whisky delivered to the door. The issue also linked the column to the trial reported beside it, because Prime Minister Berge had made repeal of prohibition a question of confidence in the summer of 1924 and was voted down in the Storting. The new referendum, which the encyclopedia dates to 18 October 1926, produced 531,084 votes (55.7 per cent) against prohibition and 423,031 for it, and the ban was formally repealed in 1927. Natvig's claims about children's songs and the coastal population are his own anecdotes; the encyclopedia figures give the measurable side of the problem he lampooned.
Erik Colban's career by October 1926
The truncated birthday item begins listing Colban's posts, and the reference record confirms its sequence: Store norske leksikon gives him as head of division in the Foreign Ministry in 1906, legation secretary in Stockholm in 1908, and chargé d'affaires and consul general in Rio de Janeiro in 1911. By 1926 he was no longer serving in the Norwegian foreign service: the same encyclopedia says he was employed by the League of Nations from 1919 to 1930, and Wikipedia describes him as fundamental in developing the League's Minorities Section. In the very year of this article, when Germany received its permanent Council seat, Colban began tutoring Stresemann on how to handle minority affairs. The item's ‘tomorrow’ does not quite fit the issue date, since both reference works give Colban's birth date as 18 October 1876, three days after this 15 October paper.
Original
Chefdirektør Ryggs forklaring i riksretten.
Kjøp Nydalens Bomuldstøier Abonner paa og averter i» UKENS NYT «. «Aftenposten» s landsutgave. Chefdirektør Ryggs forklaring i riksretten. Støtteaktionens nødvendighet. - Den overhængende fare, " det var saavidt baaten bar ". Vi hitsætter resten av chefdirektør Ryggs forklaring for riksretten igaar: Det, som gjorde situationen saa farlig, var, som allerede nævnt, at vort bankvæsen i det hele var utsat for den alvorligste prøve, og dette kom tydelig frem under de drøftelser, som fandt sted i Norges Bank. Saaledes refereres den trufne ordning i direktionens pro tokol den 28de mai 1923 med føl gende indledning: «I en række møter tildels i samraad med en række medlemmer av repræsentantskapet er drøftet den situation som er opstaat ved den stigende nervøsitet som særlig har genert Den norske Handelsbank og som truer med at undergrave tilliden til vort bankvæsen i det hele». Det var helt paa det rene, at det ikke var Handelsbankens skjæbne det gjaldt, men ganske anderledes vidtrækkende interes ser. Hvis det bare gjaldt Den norske Handelsbank, kunde man jo git sig god tid og foretat nærmere undersøkelser, men alle had de paa det rene, at faren var saa overhængende, at det gjaldt at handle raskt, om der ikke skulde indtræde tilstande, der vilde berettige til de alvorligste anker for forsømmelse av at handle i landets interesse. Det blev ogsaa sagt ty delig fra, at det ikke var for Han delsbankens skyld, at man maatte optræde, saaledes ogsaa i de mø ter, som direktionen hadde med en række medlemmer av bankens repræsentantskap. Den 26de og 27de mai holdtes efter min anmodning konferanser i Norges Bank mellem direktionens medlemmer og føl gende medlemmer av repræsentantskapet: Thallaug, Pettersen, Møystad, Frisak, Arnesen og den 26de mai ogsaa Holtsmark. Det heter i referatet: «I møtene gav direktør Rygg en oversikt over den almindelige økonomiske stilling og uttalte at situationen paa grund av den herskende nervøse stemning, der tildels var næret av upaalidelig snak og rykter, artet sig saadan at hvis stemningen fik brede sig kunde den bli ødelæggende for vor kredit og vort lands økonomi i det hele, følger som utelukkende vilde skyldes den gjennem ryktene undergravede tillid og ikke vilde være begrundet i forholdene selv Direktøren oplyser, at der var holdt møter og konferanser med repræsentanter for regjeringen. Norges Bank og de større private banker i anledning av situationen og det samarbeide som ansaaes nødvendig for at avverge saadanne ulykker. - Direktør Rygg gjorde i detalj rede for det planlagte samarbeide og fremla utkast til de forskjellige erklæringer, som indgaar under den paatænkte ordning og som ventedes vedtat i et senere møte med de andre parter, alene med mindre ændringer. Samtlige under møtene tilstedeværende fandt det under de foreliggende omstændigheter nødvendig at træffe de foranstaltninger som ovennævnte utkast indeholdt». Under disse møter refererte jeg i detalj den ordning, som var fo reslaat, saaledes i møtet lørdag ef termiddag hovedpunktene i forslaget: Fortsættelse av Norges Banks kredit paa 35, 000, 000 kroner. Frigivelse av de deposita, som var stillet for denne kredit. Bankenes overtagelse av engagements for 15, 000, 000 kroner. Statens indskud paa 25, 000, 000 kroner. Norges Banks tilsagn om ytterligere rediskonteringskredit i tilfælde det skulde trænges. Herrene var selvfølgelig paa forhaand kjendt med situationens alvor, og jeg gav ogsaa en fremstilling, bygget paa mine egne erfaringer og forhandlinger med Regjeringen og de store privatbanker. Jeg fremholdt, at Handelsbankens stans, saadan som stillingen var, saavel indad som utad, kunde faa katastrofale følger Jeg fremholdt, at de gjenværende banker i saa fald ikke kunde klare sig. Jeg understreket uttrykkelig, at det ikke var Handelsbanken det gjaldt. Jeg henviser forøvrig om disse forhandlinger til redegjørelse av 8de mai 1925. Under forhandlingene maatte man gaa ut fra, at Handelsbanken var solvent. Som det nærmere er forklart i Norges Banks redegjørelse av 8de mai 1925, søkte man først løsningen i en rediskonteringskredit hos Norges Bank. Det blev herunder fremholdt som et sterkt bevis, at Handelsbanken hadde hat evne til at motstaa de voldsomme angrep fra kreditorenes side. Norges Bank stilledes valget mellem en sterk økning av kreditten til Handelsbanken eller at ta de kalamiteter, som vilde indtræde i motsat fald. Det blev sagt, at disse følger i saa fald vilde bli ganske uberegnelige, og man vilde faa en voldsom økning av seddelomløpet. I denne forbindelse gjorde jeg opmerksom paa, at Norges Bank ikke forsvarlig kunde knytte sin skjæbne til et enkelt institut, at det vistnok ingen grund var til at tvile om Handelsbankens solvens, men Norges Bank maa ialfald regne med den mulighet, at en bedømmelse ved andre kan gi et ugunstigere resultat. Jeg sa ogsaa, at for et par dage siden var der blit krævet av os, at vi skulde foreta en gjennemgaaelse av bankene og avgi en beroligende erklæring. Nu skulde Norges Bank sans phrase sætte sin stilling ind. Saafremt der hadde været anledning til at foreta en under-økelse f. eks. 26de og 27de mai, man maatte ogsaa lægge vekt paa de mænd, som stod ved bankchefenes side, og som indestod for sin erklæring. Hovedsaken var, at der maatte bli foretat saadanne ændringer i bankens styre, at man derved opnaadde fuld garanti for, at en grundig undersøkelse blev foretat, og at instituttet i det hele blev ledet paa en maate, som fortjente tillid. Det var jo i virkeligheten paa samme maate, man var gaat frem ved de tidligere støtte-aktioner for Centralbanken og Bergens Kreditbank. Man satte ind mænd, som man mente at kunne stole fuldt paa. En av betingelsene for støtteaktionen i 1923 var, at bankens direktion erklærte sig villig til, at ledelsen skulde suppleres med et nyt medlem, opnævnt av Finansdepartementet og Norges Bank. Dette var en særskilt avtale mellem disse to, mens privatbankene stod utenfor dette punkt. Dette blev ogsaa gjort. Erklæringen fra Handelsbankens direktion maatte av hensyn til bankens statutter forandres derhen, at direktionen vilde foreslaa for bankens repræsentantskap indvalgt en mand, som myndighetene utpeker. Før dokumentene blev undertegnet gjorde bankchef Volckmar skriftlig henvendelse til mig om, at dette krav om adgang til at sætte en ny mand ind i bankens styre ikke skulde bli bundet til en skriftlig avtale, men være en privat overenskomst bankchef Volckmar og mig imellem. Dette medførte selvfølgelig ikke nogen ændring i vor holdning. Der blev ikke straks foretat nogen forandring i bankens ledelse. Valget av det nye medlem var gjenstand for drøftelse mellem statsminister Berge og mig, og i et møte i september gav jeg min tilslutning til statsministerens forslag om, at daværende ordfører i repræsentantskapet, generalkrigskommissær Bratlie, skulde indtræde i direktionen, samtidig som direktør Throne Holst overtok hvervet som direktionens formand. Om selve opnævnelsen foreligger følgende skrivelse fra Norges Bank av 25de september 1923, adressert til Bratlie og Throne Holst: «Under henvisning til idag stedfundne konferanser vil vi ikke undlate at meddele Dem, at Norges Banks direktion gjerne ser at generalkrigskommissær Jens Bratlie kommer med som medlem av Handelsbankens direktion, samtidig som hr. direktør J. Throne Holst vælges til direktionens formand. Saadan som forholdene har utviklet sig mener vi, at en saadan ordning kan bidra til at styrke Handelsbankens anseelse». Disse to herrer, generalkrigskommissær Bratlie og direktør (Forts. 6te side.) Direktør Colban. ger - aa langt ifra! Ogsaa de er blit vakte og er med paa sporten. Jeg saa en del av dem langs kysten ifjor, spritfyldte og allerede langt paa den anden side av det gode humør, san, med lamme ansikter og lamme ben. Hvor mange der er døde av forbudet, har jeg endnu ikke set statistik over; de døde taler jo ikke selv, men der blir vel altid nogen igjen, som kan ordne procentene. Ja, saa faar vi altsaa vente paa fremtiden - og paa
Helan gaar — sjung hopp falleralla la la la!
Meld Dem strax! Helan gaar - sjung hopp falleralla la la la! Av dr. med. Harald Natvig. " HELAN GAAR - - - -! " Idyllen skriver sig fra i sommer - fra hovedstadens centrum, nærmere bestemt fra strøket omkring St. Olavs plas: Der møtte jeg et fortryllende søskenpar, en ca. 5 aar gammel gut, som kom stoltelig marsjerende og syngende av fuldeste hals, slæpende paa lang arm sin lille 34 aar gamle søster, som hang bakover, da hun vanskelig kunde følge paa sine smaa ben. Og saa sang han, saa det ljomet:» Helan gaar - sjung hopp falleralla la la la «!, og fra den lille spæde søster, som med sine 3-4 aar laa adskillig tilbake baade i tritt og sangtakt, og som endnu ikke klarte g og r, lød som et spædere ekko:» Helan daal - sung hopp fallelala - «. De søte barna - saa lærvillige og saa flinke! Men som udviklingen er rask, saa møtte jeg det næste trin allerede nogen uker senere paa samme sted omtrent, de agerende denne gang lite gran ældre, en 6 aars gut og en 5 aars pike. Ogsaa disse kom haand i haand, men med marsjtakten allerede stampende indøvet skrek de mere end de sang:» Der var plenty paa flaska, da vi kom, bom, bom! men da vi gik, bom, bom, saa var den tom, bom, bom! «Det lød storartet, og mine tanker gik uvilkaarlig tilbake til egen barndom og mine egne barnesange - til egen beskjæmmelse na turligvis, for utviklingen var jo slaaende. Like fra guttedagene og til idag har jeg streifet rundt i alle kroker av vort land som turist og senere som jæger. Men den norske gjestfrihet i gamle dage var bare skidt; man fik nok litt surmelk og flatbrød og ost og spekekjøt, men en real dram vanket der aldrig. Nei, da er det blit anderledes greier siden forbudets dage; nu vanker der himebrændt i gjestfrie skaaler, og det er ikke bare husverten, som skaaler med, nei, konen og datteren og sønnen skaaler med til velkomst - og ikke noget knusleri - en sup tell i det andre beine! Min kamerat skulde arrondere et jaktterræng i en av landets centrale, tykkeste bygder. Han gjorde visit med bil hos 6 bønder inden kl. 11 formiddag, og alle 6 bød himebrændt, og den ene demonstrerte endog sin gjestfrihet ved at aapne grinden for den nyankomne - med drammeflasken i næven. Ja vist blev der jaktleie; men næste aar vanket ikke himebrændt men Black and White, hvorfor skulde man bry sig med at brænde selv, naar en kunde faa saa meget Black and White, man vilde ha, bragt for døren? Der lages og kjøpes brændevin som der lagdes og kjøptes aktier i jobbetiden. Og kystbefolkningen, vor gamle ædruelige fiskerbefolkning, som knapt nok visste, hvad brændevin var, er heller ikke kjedelige længer - aa langt ifra! Ogsaa de er blit vakte og er med paa sporten. Jeg saa en del av dem langs kysten ifjor, spritfyldte og allerede langt paa den anden side av det gode humør, san, med lamme ansikter og lamme ben. Selskabeligheten i byene? - Ja vist er der utvikling. Hvem husker længer de stilfærdige selskaper med rødvin til maten og kanske et glas hetvin til desserten? Nei, nu er det dram til fisken eller dram til fuglen, og» avec-en «er svulmet op til en straalende kollektion - 14 forskjelligartede smale og storbukede flasker er rekorden, rullet ind paa hjulbord sammen med kaffen, og straalende rekordansikter all over. Det var en tid chokolade til natmaten, men nu like saa ofte dram og» Helan gaar - «Automatiske vinduspudsere netop ankommet til lager. Priserne er nu meget fordelaktige. A / S. Auto Supply Co. Tivoli indg. Bakkegt. Telefon 11216 - 12109 - 13040. Vi hitsætter resten av chefdirektør Ryggs forklaring for riksretten igaar: Det, som gjorde situationen saa farlig, var, som allerede nævnt, at vort bankvæsen i det hele var utsat for den alvorligste prøve, og dette kom tydelig frem under de drøftelser, som fandt sted i Norges Bank. Saaledes refereres den trufne ordning i direktionens pro tokol den 28de mai 1923 med føl gende indledning: «I en række møter tildels i samraad med en række medlemmer av repræsentantskapet er drøftet den situation som er opstaat ved den stigende nervøsitet som særlig har genert Den norske Handelsbank og som truer med at undergrave tilliden til vort bankvæsen i det hele». Det var helt paa det rene, at det ikke var Handelsbankens skjæbne det gjaldt, men ganske anderledes vidtrækkende interes ser. Hvis det bare gjaldt Den norske Handelsbank, kunde man jo git sig god tid og foretat nærmere undersøkelser, men alle had de paa det rene, at faren var saa overhængende, at det gjaldt at handle raskt, om der ikke skulde indtræde tilstande, der vilde berettige til de alvorligste anker for forsømmelse av at handle i landets interesse. Det blev ogsaa sagt ty delig fra, at det ikke var for Han delsbankens skyld, at man maatte optræde, saaledes ogsaa i de mø ter, som direktionen hadde med en række medlemmer av bankens repræsentantskap. Den 26de og 27de mai holdtes efter min anmodning konferanser i Norges Bank mellem direktionens medlemmer og føl gende medlemmer av repræsentantskapet: Thallaug, Pettersen,
Direktør Colban.
at sætte en ny mand ind i bankens styre ikke skulde bli bundet kommissær Bratlie og direktør (Forts. 6te side.) Direktør Colban. Erik Colban fylder 50 aar imorgen. Erik Colban var uomtvistelig en av vor utenriksetats allerdyktigste mænd. Han viste det som byraachef i Utenriksdepartementet, som legationssekretær i Stock -