The Express.
London, England, 1864-11-16 00:00:00

THE UNITY BANK FRAUDS.

Joseph Wakefield Terry and Thomas Burch were
yesterday again placed at the bar of the Mansion-home, in
custody of Detective Sergeants Webb and Moss, before the
Bight Hon. the Lord Mayor, to undergo a further examine.
tiro, charged that they, being respectively the manager and
secretary of a public company, called the Unity Joint Stock
Mutual Banking Company, unlawfully did circulate and
' publish, and 'mem in making, circulating, and publishing
a certain untrue statement, to wit, • balaneeohest of the
affairs of the said oompany up to Me Stith day of June,
1862, they then well knowing the mine to be false in divers
material particulars, with intent to deceive and defraud the
members and shareholders of the said company.
Mr. Lewis, jun., solicitor, of Ely-place, again appeared to
conduct the prosecution on behalf of the committee of
liquidators of the bank ; Mr. Sleigh, instructed by Mr. Wat-
son, of Cannonetreet, wu counsel for the defendant Terry ;
and Mr. MeteaUe, instructed by Mr. Wontuer, inn., of
Backlersbury, for the defendant Burch.
The court was, as on the previous examinations, crowded,
and the case appeared to excite the most lively interest.
Before Mr. Lewis proceeded with the case for the prose-
cution, Mr. Sleigh said he wished to ask Mr. lieuch a
question, be having referred his right to cones-examine that
gentleman.
Mr. Kenai was then sworn, and in answer to Mr. Sleigh
said—The resolution to prosecute the defendants was passed
three or four days before the warrant was lamed. The
meeting war held on the lot Nov., 1864. The operations
of the liquidators comma:toed in March or February. (The
resolution to prosecute the defendants wee reed at the re•
quest of Mr. Sleigh.)
Mr. Sleigh—The committee of liquidators common:Ad in
March. Have the liquidators been from the commence-
meet of the operations in communication from time to time
with Mr. Terry, and has he not rendered them every
PABiatADCO _

W itnaeri cannot say. He has bees examined by them
from time to time, and he attended for that purpose, but Le
did not give us all the aseistenos he could.
Mr. Skigh—Beindes his personal attendance, have not
the liquidators been in eorrespoodenee with him ?
Witoess—l don't know. It would be coudacted through
Mr. Howell.

la Uutt cot so?
Witasse-1 don't know for certain. I believe so.

In answer to Mr. Lewis witness mid facts which had
came to his knowledge he had not heard until meetly, and
' then a meeting of liquidators was called.
Mr. Oswald Thomas Bloomfield Howell, 40, Broad-street-
Wilding', &awl:talent. was again plead in the witness-box,
and his examination wee continued. He said there was •
=stoma of the bank named Parl. In June, 1862. he
owed the beak 7,2701. in peat due bills, and 1,3624 oa an
overdrexm amount.

Br Mr. lleicalfe—That is not included in the 7,0001.
Examination continued—He produced 181 dishonoured
hills of Mr. Pori's, which proved the amount of the 7,2701.
They appeared to have been diaboooured in 1861 and 1862
all before June, 1862. He found an entry of those bills in
the list of past due bills in the past dm bill book and gene-
ral ledger. In the former book it wee in the defendant
Terry's handwriting, and in the postal ledger it wee in
Burch's. Pinned to one of the bills he found the domunent
produced. The bills were banded to him by the bank soli-
citor. (The document referred to an sasienmeat of use of
Peel's acceptors in 1861, which Mr. Lewis mid was included
' in the goad meets in 1862.)
Witness continuing, said—The NUM of Peel had paid less
than IA in the pound. The figures 1931. 18s. Id., which
appeared in the assignment, were lin Terry's writing. The
whole oath. amount, 8,6001. odd, was carried into the good
*mete in the balance sheet of June, 1862, and included the
bills to which the amignment referred. He produced a
book called the malt article book, which purported to show
the cheques which were not cleared on the night of the
balance, and which would in the coulee of the next day be
presented. He found returned in that book a number of
Perl's bills ma the 28th June, 1862, included in a total of
16,0001. odd, and entered as out. They were needy the
whole of the bills, and were at that time dishonoured They
were the next day taken out, and entered in the pest doe
bills account, in the general ledger. There wee one bill after
that date appeared in the rash &Alois book. He produced
the minute book, and there was an entry of a minute at
every meeting, in the whim oflßarch, that the cash article
book, and past due bills had been examined by the directors,
signed by the chairman. Mr. Alderman Mardi, on one date
to which he referred. The 1,3631., the amount of the
overdrawn account of Pert, did not form soy portico
of the bills under discount or loans to customers. The item
was included in the overdrawn accounts which bad been
subtracted from the amount du. on current and other ac-
counts.

Mr. Lowis—The amount as cement and Wan arnounte le
represented in the balanciseheet as 1.50.0001. la that the
eight stun?
Witnem—No ; 11 should b. 13,6001. incwa. The 13,6301.
overdrawn by Peri west towards reducing the sum to
169,0001. To ascertain the amount due to customers they
ought to be taken from the consul amount ledgers. The
sorcunt in the general ledger only oho wad the amountd as after
debiting or deducting the amount which had bee. irregularly
overdrawn. The whole of the liabilities ought to have gone
on the debit side of the halance.sheet, and the overdrawn
en the other.

Witness iu continuation said—The beak had also a cus-
tomer, Frazi, who in June, 1862, was in debt to the bank
In the coin of mt. overdrawn bills, and 1681. for overdrawn
account. He produced the bills, tweutytin number, which
bad been dishonoured in 1861 mei 1802. la the board minute
book, under date of 28th February, 1862, there wee • minute
in Bureh's bandwritind to the effect that Fran should be
apprehended. Wither believed Frazi woe convicted of
forgery in March, 1862, upon the prosecution of the Unity
Bank (Yr. Lewis and Mr. Metcalfe examined the witness
at great length.) The sum of 11,241./., the amount of dishon.
cured bills, was included in the good assets, and the 1681.
was deducted from the amounts due to customers in the
balance-sheet of 1862. to the past due biU book there was
an entry of 301. received as • dividend on Frazi'a bills, which
was deducted from the total. The bank bad also customers
named Fowles and Co., who:owed the hank 4371. for dis-
honoured bills. That amount was posted into the cua.
timers' ledger, and appeared as an overdrawn account,
debited to Fowles and Co. Upon the completion of
that ledger another was opened, and that account appeared
in the new book, with some other accounts of • similar de.
scription, which were mitered at the end of the new ledger,
not in their alphabetical order. Witham produced • letter
which related to the bills, from a Mr. Douglas, one of the ac-
ceptors, who stated that the bills purporting to be accepted
by him were forgeries ; but notwithstanding this irregularity
they were debited to Fowles and Co., and appeared as as
overdrawn account, forming a portion of the 16,0001. which
had been subtracted from the book's liabilities to customers.
Mere. G. W. Hall were customers of the bank, and they
owed in Jana, 1862, 3,849/. la. Pd. He produced 41 dia.
honoured bills of Hall's, They were dishonoured in
1861. They were exhibited at the Court of
Bankruptcy under Hall's bankruptcy on 11th Juba, 1861.
There was no entry showieg that a dividend bad been paid.
There was an entry in the past doe bill book in the de-'!
fondant Terry's handwriting stating that • certain sum
amounting to • dividend of Is. was offered. !The sum of
3,8491., after the deduction of 79!. which bad been received
is dividend, had been included in the 207,01101. as good
sant& The bank bad customers of the name of Barclay
and Co., and they owed the bank 1,902!., is June, 1862, on
14 bills which he produced. The bills were diahormared in
1860. There were various entries in the current acocciet
ledger of dividend, amounting to 1,0951. The last dividend
received was in Nov. 1861, which left • balance of 8071.,
which sum was carried into the item of 207,0004 is good
asset, of the bud: io 1862. Amongst these dividends were ,
BOLDS as small as 2pi. in the pound. The bank had '
banns named Tsarina• and Co. They owed the bank,
after deduction of all dividends.. 9291. odd. The origiaid
sum was 1,5604 odd, in eight dishonoured bills. The books
of the bills were covered with marks of dividends, the last of
which wearsonived in N0v.,1661. laJnes, 1862,attordsdnidm