The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-12 00:00:00

BANKRUPTCY COURT.-YESTERDAY.

Er parte POOLEY in re POOLEY.—His -Honour de-
livered judgment as follows :—This was an application
by the bankrupt, John Pooley, for the allowance of
his certificate, which was opposed by Mr, Hull, attorney
for Messrs. Crowe and Williams, creditors for the sum
of £336 Bs. 9d., of which the bankrupt had received in
timber in the present year to the amount of £9B. Their
timber was used in or towards the construction of a church
at Birkenhead. The allowance of the certificate was also
opposed by Mr. Martin, attorney for the assignees ; and
it was supported by Mr. Evans, attorney for the bank-
rupt. It appeared that the bankrupt, who had commenced
business in August;lBsB, with a capital of £lO3 17s. Bd.,
engaged in ten contracts for building in the neighbour-
hood of Liverpool and at Peterborough, by which he bad
lost £3,651 6s. 4d. ; while, upon four contracts he had
made a profit of £378 14s. la. ; that by the first con-
tract, which was that for building twelve cottages at
Watford, in August, 1858, he bad lost £220 2s. 9d., or
more than twice his whole capital, and having lost
a small sum by the second contract, about £45 by the
third contract, which was th 4 for building the Wesleyan
Chapel at Seacombe, finish in October, 1859, he had
lost £B6O 18s. 7d. The bankrupt's occupation, before he
entered into business oh the 10th of August, 7858, had
been that of a contractor's agent, under itlessrs. Arthur
and George Holme. A contractor's agent, he represents
to be, a person employed to estimate the cost of and
to superintend the works to their carrying on and com-
pletion, and one upon whom the profit or loss depends.

He admitted that he had had a very large experience.
Mr. Hull complained that the bankrupt had giVen"
preferences to the Messrs. Rankin to the disadvantage
of his other creditors. A steam engine erected upon
premises in the occupation of the bankrupt at Peterbo-
tough, and for which the Messrs. Rankin had charged
him £3OO, and a saw-bench which had cost him £lOO,
in January, 1859, were sold to the Messrs. Rankin. in
the December following for £2OO ; and to the same cre-
ditors, as a security for past debts, in consequence, as
the bankrupt alleges, of a previous understanding on the
subject, he assigned iu March of the present year a sum
of £2OB hs., residue of a contract entered into for build- .
ing Birkenhead Church, and in April a sum of £l7O
due from the Great Northern Railway Company. The
bankrupt had timber of Messrs. Crowe and Williams to
the amount of £93 on the 26th of March in the present
sear. The petition in this case was filed on the 18th of
‘fay. Mr. Martin not only complained of the bank-
on business when he was losing such
rags carrying
large slims by his contracts, and of the alleged pre-
ferences granted, to Messrs. Rankin, but brought under
the notice of the court a transaction connected with the
contract for the building of the Presbyterian Church at,
Birkenhead. The bankrupt, through his brother, had
given in a contract for the building of that church, the
amount of which was £2,260. The architect is said
to have wished to he remunerated for previous plans
made, and therefore requested that £lOO should be added
to the estimate, which was accordingly done, and the
tender was accepted by the architect. This arrange-
ment was communicated to the bankrupt, who paid part
of the £lOO himself to the architect, and directed the
other part to be paid. Mr. Evans, on behalf of the bank-
rupt, urged that his business was so scattered that he
was obliged to devolve much of the duty of preparing con-
tracts upon his brother, who had had almost the entire
management of those for Seacombe Chapel, Newcastle
Chapel, Finch-street Church, Birkenhead Church, and
Harwich, by which losses bad been sustained to the
amount of £2,576125. 9d.; bathe admitted tha t his brother
had previously been manager for some years to one of _the
largest firms in. Liverpool, and that he believed him to
he capable of rendering him competent assistance.
The explanation furnished by the bankrupt as to his not
having posted up his accounts shall be given in his 'own
words When I commenced business I intended to
remain at Peterborough entirely, and cultivate the Great
Northern and London and North-western connection,
having made large profits when with Arthur and George
Holme, but through the influence of friends I Was in-
duced to depart from that intention and to take contracts
in this neighbourhood, which necessitated my establish-
ment here. I was anxious to work as economically
as I could, and I thought I could do all the clerk's
work myself. Several contracts came in hand at
once, necessitating my absence. I then felt I ought
to have a special book-keeper, and intended so to do
when I should have been able to give a few week's
personal attendance with him to start the books, and
explain the papers tip to that time. Under the pres-
sure of the work this opportunity did not offer. An
accumulation of accounts [took place], making it diffi-
cult for a stranger to take up the affair, and hence
the present complicated state of affairs." Now, as to
this, I will only remark that if a trader engages in
contracts for buildings at such a distance from each
other, and employs no book-keeper to register his
transactions, he must in this court, be taken to be

aware of losses, if losses have been sustained, and in
this case they have been very heavy, the losses bearing
the proportion to the profits of nearly ten to one; added
to this, he neglects advice offered to him by his brother,
a competent judge of the magnitude of his transactions,
so that he erred with his eyes open. I think the bankrupt
might have sufficiently ascertained the state of his affairs
to be satisfied that he could not go on as early as the month
of November or the beginning of Ilecember, 1859, and
he ought then to have come to this court for the general
protection of his creditors, and not to have commenced
that practice of benefitting one creditor, the Messrs.
Rankin, at the expense of the rest, which began in
December, 1859, or January, 1860, and ended on the
6th of April last. The transaction with respect to the

contract for building the Presbyterian Church, though
highly censurable as a breach of good faith towards the
employers of the bankrupt, who are not his creditors,
has resulted in no loss to the estate ; but upon the case
of reckless trading which has been shown by the evi-
dence, I think that the allowance of the certificate
should be suspended for twelve calendar months, and
that protection should be withheld for eight months
from this day. The certificate, when granted, will be
of the second class.

PRINCELY LIEERALITY.—Sir Cursetjee Jamsetjee
Jejeehhoy, the distinguished East Indian, *0 has been
on a visit to Liverpool daring the last week, in leaving
yesterday sent the following letter to our worthy Mayor:

TO T. D. ANDERSON, Esq., ItIAVOR, LIVERPOOL,
Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, Sept. 10, 1860.
My dear Sir,—l cannot leave Liverpool without again
thanking you for the attention which you have shown
me during my stay here. I need scarcely say that I
have been greatly pleased with all that. I have seen in
this populous and flourishing town. Amongst other
things some of your charities have attracted my notice,
and yon will therefore, I hope, excuse 0y asking
you
to distribute the enclosed cheque for tall as follows
£lO to the Blind Asylum,-LlO. to the beat` and Dumb
Institution, £lO to the Eye and Ea-llnfirmary. Assuring
.
you that I shall carry away me -1, • 1. •
rin. pleasing re
collections of my visit to Liverpool, believe me,
With-, .
with
best: respeat.,,vburs very faithfully, . .
JAMSETJEE JEJEEDHOIrt

THE HIGHLAND VOLUNTEERS AND

GARIBALDI'S AGENT.

Last evening we had the pleasure of being present at
the drill of this very recently established corps of rifles
at the Devon-street drill-ground. What enhanced the
pleasure of the evening. was the presence of Capt. Hampton,
oneof Garibaldi's officers and his agent in this town, with
his sergeant-major. The presence of Captain Hampton
was an unexpected honour to this corps, but although
such was the case, there was a large muster, under the
command of J. Petrie and limes Macpherson, Esqrs.,
who had been nominated by the company as lieutenant
and ensign respectively. Some of the company were
clad in the full highland e:Atm-tie, which consists of u
fawn grey doublet, a beautiful kilt or the clan Malcolm
tartan, Glengarry bonnet, with ho,e sud plaid to snatch.
After the men had gone through their exercises for a
short time Captain Hampton came upon the ground,
and soon after they were ordered by the drill-sergeant
to "stand at ease," upon which
Lieutenant PETRTE said,—We have a great honour
conferred upon us to-night, and that is in having present
with us Capt. Hanipton, (cheers,) a captain under the
renowned liberator of his country, Garibaldi. (Great
cheering.) As the captain has another engagement,
which will call him away, I will not detain
you, but hope that he will address a few words to
you. I may add that the captain, as the agent
to the renowned liberator, has visited Manchester,
where he has had a greater amount of success than he
anticipated (immense cheering), and he is only waiting
for orders to start, and join iu the good cause with a
large number of volunteers. (Cheering.) I have only
one more duty to perform to you, and that is, to intro-
duce Captain Hampton. (Great cheering.)

Captain HAMPTON then advanced in front of the
company, and as he did so he was most vociferously
cheered by the men. He said—l am an Englishman,
you are all Scotchmen ; and so I do not know whether
my taste is correct, but; I. must say that it has struck me
on looking at you, that yours is a very pretty, a very ser-
viceable, and I think it is a very cheap dress. I see one
of the corps at the head of the line; I suppose that is
the real uniform of this company,. and a more hand-
some one have not seen. I hope it is not too great an
expense. (Cries from the ranks of "No, no.")
Ensign INNES MACPHERSON—It is only £4.
Captain HAMPTON—I am glad to hear that; for one
great point in the volunteer movement is the cheapness
of the uniform, for then all parties can take part in it
at a small expense, and that will add to the popularity
of the movement. He concluded his remarks amidst
the most enthusiastic cheering, by advising the men to
pay particular attention, in the first instance, to their
facings. It was one of the most important points that
could be attended to ; and however monotonous it might
appear to them in the first instance, it was the only thing
which would make them good soldiers, when their services
were required. He said : Gentlemen of the Highland
company, take my advice and attend to your fours and
facings for a week or a fortnight. It will appear to you a
very long time, but never mind that, for after you have
learned them you will be better able to use your rifle ;
and I tell you that at a review the facings are the first
thing that a general will look at. They will look at
that before they do the marching, or the proficiency of
the rifle, and I have seen persons carrying a rifle who have
not the knowledge how to use it. lam sorry to say that
I cannot stop longer ; but I have seen you go through
the drill to-night, and perhaps there may be some who
have never attended before, but I must say that you will
become a fine body of men, and eventually of great
service to your country, which will, doubtless, be proud
of you. (Cheers.) I wish you every success.
Three cheers were then called for Captain Hampton,
and three cheers for Garibaldi, which were most enthu-
siastically responded to.

Before leaving the ground, Captain Hampton was
enrolled a member of this corps amidst the greatest
cheering.' From our visit we can only say, without
casting disparagement upon any previously estab-
lished corps, that it possesses every quality for forming
a most excellent company. We understand that as
speedily as possible, this company will be officially
enrolled, when a gentleman of the highest respectability,
and occupying one of the highest positions in the trade
and commerce of this port, will be elected its commander
—of course, as it is avowedly a Highland company, he
will be an eminent Scotchman—one capable and
willing to be a leader in this great movement.

ST:- MARY MAGDALENE)S-CHURCH,

FINCH-STREET,

This church, since its opening, has been a decided
success, which may chiefly be attributed to the great
exertions of the Rev. Rector Campbell, and the respected
incumbent, the Rev. H. Baugh. When this gentleman
eommenced his labours in this populous district, which
comprises 1,260 houses, and a population of (1,500 persons,
in the autumn of 1859, in the new church, the room pre-
viously need for divine service was made' available for a
mixed day-school, no school whatever having previously
existed, though the want had been much and long felt.
The room provides for one hundred children, but it is
very inconvenient ; still it is always full, and an
average of ninety children have been in daily attendance,
and since the Midsummer the ntimbet has been upwards
of one hundred. More than three hundred children are
at present on the books ; and it is a remarkable fact—
the only instance it is believed in Liverpool—that
every child resides in St. Mary. Mag,delene's district.
Nearly all these children would be in attendanee
were the accommodation suitable and adequate, and
by little effort the number might be doubled. Thus
it will be found that school accommodation is re-
quired for at least 500 children, and a gentleman, who
takes a deep interest in affording school accommodation
for the children of this extensive district, has very
liberally offered two large and substantial houses in close
proximity to the church which will afford every accom-
modation ; and the purchase and the adapting it to
school purposes, will not require a sum exceeding
£l,OOO. This offer has been accepted by the congre-
gation of the church, and an appeal has been made to
the inhabitants of this ecclesiastical district, which lies
within the boundaries of Moss-street, Islington, Norton-
' street, Seymour-street, Copperas-hill, Moor-place, and
London-road, having Finch-street for its centre, and
comprises twenty-six streets and seventy-nine courts.
The appeal, it is to be hoped, will beliberally responded to
by all, as it is intended to canvas every house, and re-
ceive contributions in one sum or weekly payments. The
latter mode, we doubt not, will be hailed with delight
by the principal inhabitants of the district, who,
generally speaking, are of a class that cannot afford to
give a large amount, but whe, from their constant
attendance at the church, and the interest they take in
the schools, will willingly contribute their mite.

CHARGE UNDER THE NEW TARIFF.
REGULATION ACT. '

Yesterday, at the Police-court, before Mr. Ratiles,
Mr. Alexander Sparrow, of the Albany Chambers, Old-
hall-street, was summoned at the suit of the Custom-
house authorities, under the 22nd and 25th sections of
the Customs Tariff Act.—Mr. Tyndall appeared for the
Customs, and said the case was not brought forward in
any hostile spirit, nor for the purpose of having penalties
imposed; but merely to take the legal opinion of the
bench on a point of law, which Mr. Sparrow was of
opinion he had interpreted right, in regard to the act
just mentioned. From the further statement of Mr.
Tyndall it appeared that on the 18th July Mr. Spairow,
as the agent of Messrs. Shaw and Co., of Birmingham,
shipped six packages of goods on board the steamer
Braganza for Lisbon, and that the Messrs. Bibby, the
owners, signed six bills of lading for the same, with one
general bill of lading containing the six. This was the
usual way. It appears, by the new tariff, that the
agent or shipper is obliged to return to the customs
authorities, within 24 hours, a duplicate of the bills of
lading, with a one and sixpenny stamp. Mr. Sparrow
returned (as he thought it only.necessary) the one general
bill of lading with the regular stamp, whilst the Customs
contended that he should return the six. However,
Mr. Sparrow furnishes the Customs with a copy of the
general bill of lading, stamped with a one-and-sixpenny
stamp. There was a second general hill also, and these
were•prodnced to the Customs, but no capies of the six
other hills of lading were furnished. The Customs
authorities contend that they should have had copies.
The general bills of lading were compared with the
ship's manifest, and it was found that there were six
bills of lading ; and the Customs say, "We want a
copy of the six bills, with a one-and-sixpenny stamp On
each ;" when Mr. Sparrow says, " No, I have given you
one general bill, and that is enough." Mr. Tyndall said
it would be, therefore, important to the Customs to
ascertain whether the general bill was sufficient in place
of the six, for if so it would have great influence on the
income of the Customs. He then read the section of the
act referring to this point, and all that was required was
the interpretation of his worship on the law of the case.
He argued that as the six bills of lading were sent out
to the consignee he could give them to six other
parties,onehadifgoods,only
been sent only one person could claim toe
contended that the legislature did not contemplatesuch
without the entering of the duplicate in each case, with
the is. Gd. stamp on it. Delivering one general bill
instead of six was evading the stamp duty. There was
no hostile feeling in this case, but merely to try the
question. When the act came into operation some mer-
chants were in the habit of doing as Mr. Sparrow, but,
on the matter being pointed out, to them, and on the
opinion of the Crown lawyers. it v;,te,, given up. .
Mr. Sparrow said be was not informed of this fact ;
be had stated that he would be bound by the proper
opinions on the subject. He was ready now, if it were
decided by the Customs, to act as desirej, if the Customs
Commissioners had so decided.

"Air. Tyndall said, therefore, on the WI vt a„t Crown,
that was 94fficipt.
. _

Mr-Sparrow said he was quite ready to adopt the
course, and then the matter terminated.