What is this notice about?

[Nell]

FindMyPast newspaper collection has

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/records/...e&pageNumber=1

Reuben is listed with others under the heading "Dividends at Guildhall". What is it about?

[Phoenix]

Do the names appear in the London Gazette as bankrupts?

Could it be that their businesses did actually pay a small percentage among their creditors?

[Nell]

Well Reuben was declared bankrupt a year earlier. And previously in Colchester there was an auction to satisfy his creditors.