The Express.
London, England, 1852-11-25 00:00:00

THE POLICE COURTS.

MANSION-HOUSE.

A great number of penona, who had paid the parasge
money to Australia, attended the justice-room, in pursuance
of a summons which had been imucd the day before to a
broker of respectability for the violation of the Pazeengera
Act.

Captain Lean, the London agent to the Emigration Com-
missioners, attended to represent the circumstinems upon
the part of the complainant, on the decision of whose care,
it was said, depended the result of upwards of 1.50 more
charges.
Mr. Clarkson, instructed by Messrs. Oliverson, Lavie,
and Peachey, of the Old Jewry, 'peened for the defend.
ant, whose name wu not mentioned publicly, es very strong
assurance.* had been made to the Lord Mayor that the mat-
ter forming the ground of complaint sprung from a dispute
between the oeiginal owner of the vessel and the person who
had contracted to purchue her, the latter of whom, after
having regularly employed the defendant to engsge pas-
sengers fur the voyage, threw up the contract, and thus
fixed upon a blameless individual this large and most griev-
ous responsibility.
Mr. Clarkson said the gentleman for whom he was in-
structed to appear had, upon learning that the contract had
been violated offered to return at once the passage money
in every instance, and was ready to pay any reasonable de-
mand made upon the parts of the sufferers to defray the ex-
pease* incurred by the delay. The learned counsel sub-
mitted that the act which, it must be allowed, had been, in
consequence of unavoidable circumstances, infringed, never
contemplated tie punishment of persons whenever intended
to effend, end he was convinced that the Lord Meteor would
readily place reliance tipm the promise of the highly res-
pectable firm by whom he was instructed, that the whole of
the claimants should, by 12 o'clock next day, receive back
the sums they bed paid as passage money, and such com-
pensation for the delay and diumpoinment as his lordship
should consider a broker so placed by the unexpected and
unforeseen conduct of his principal ought to be celled upon
to give.
The Lord Mayor said it would give him great pleasure to
dispose of the case in the manner suggested, because neither
the interests of the poor man nor the character of the
broker, whose respectability he had no reason to doubt,
would be likely to sustain injury by such a decision.
Gaptain Lean said the numbers of men in the justice
room had called upon him in great dismay at the sore dig-
.4Ppointment to which thay had been subjected upon finding
that the vessel for conveyance in which they had paid their
money was under a peremptory interdict. They said to
him they could not deny that the passage money had been
offered to them by the broker to whom they had paid it, but
they complained that the necessary remuneration to which
under the Passage Act they were entitled, was to be with-
held.

Mr. Clarkson said the fact was thedemands made by some
of the men as compensation were so exorbitant, that it was
' found impossible to deal with such preposterous claimants,
and his client hoped the Lord Mayor would interpose the
authority with which his lordship was invested, in mitiga-
tion of enormous charges upon a man who was not a prin-
cipol, but the agent of the purchaser, and whose conduct all
through had been irreproachable.
The Lord Mayor said be could not for a moment sanction
any attempt to impose a heavy expense upon the defendant,
and by believed Captain Lean to be eminently qualified to
decide upon the various claims. Ho would direct that •
room should be prepared in the Mansion House next day at
eleven o'clock, for the reception of all who had paid the
osmium m9ney, iu order that ample justi.* might be ren-
dered to them through the hands of an officer who had
done so much for pour men who had been placed in greater
difficulties.—The multitude then retired perfectly satisfied
with the result.

Frederick ...teams was charged with having forged a bill
of exchange for 27/. 10s., with intent to defraud Williams
Fuwues, innkeeper, of Linn. There was a vast crowd le
witness the proceedings.
Mr. Fownes said—l nave known the prisoner four or fin
haars, and have bad transactions in business with him. I
ve purchased corn of him, and was in the habit of paying
for the corn by my acceptances at two months. After I had
had dealings with him he asked me to accommodate him
with my acceptances, which I agreed to do. My first wee
fur 171. odd, which he ultimately pdd. The second was
for 201., and the third was for 251. It wee is the year
18.50 he asked me for the accommodation of my acceptance.
The 251. bill become due on the 7th of June. Shortly be.
furs that day he said to me that he would not be able to
take it up. He told me that he bad won 301. on the hone
Dan O'Rourke at the Derby, and that the shop had been
shut up where the money bail been left. Ile silica me to
give him my acceptance for 20!., and said that that with
what he had would enable him to take tair the bill for 251.
I gave him my acceptance for 201., and I was after",
sued on the 2.M. bill, and I paid the amount and costs (in
the whole 41!. 16x.) I saw the prisoner about the time 1
paid the money in Leaden/mall-street. He then mid the
201. bill would be all right. Soon afterwards the 20!. bill
became due, and I received a letter respectinif it. A Mr.
Strick'and called upon me subsequently at Leith with a
bill which looked much like the bill 1 had accepted for
the prisoner for 201. The amount was 271. 10s. The
acceptance seemed to be that which L bed given to the pri-
soner for 201. The words " Twenty pounds' were written
in the body of the bill. I n gave the prisoner any
acceptance for 271. 10s., and I never Authorised him to
alter any acceptance from 201. to 271. lOs. lam now being
sued in the County Court, at Dartford, upon that bill. Is
.li. left corner are the figures 271. 10e., which were not on
the bill when I accepted it. That part of the bill was es-
tirely blank, there wee a great space between the word
"'Twenty" and the word " Pounds," and the word
" Seven ' has b en squeezed in and " Ten shillings" added.
Mr. Binns crow-eaamined the witness, with the object of

showing that he was not quite qualified to decide it the
time he gave the acceptance for what amount he had
given it.
The witness, on re-examination, said the prisoner, upon
being told he had committed forgery in the bill, stated that
it would be all right, and that he would take up the bill and
send it to Erith.
Robert Hogg, clerk to Mr. Milligan, of llungerford.
wharf, Strand, corn merchant, said—ln June therisoner
was indebted to Mr. Milligan, and on thl 7th of June he
called to purchase twenty quarters of oats, and gave me the
bill for 271. lOs , purporting to be accepted by Mr. Fuwncs,
to put to his credit. I delivered to him an account, in
' which I gave him credit, and alter the hill was dee I ad-
vised Mr. Fownes that it was dishonoured, and I gave It to
Mr. Strickland. It is now in the same state in which it was
when I received it. . .

The prisoner sou remanded, bat was told that bail in
two sureties of 501. each, and his own security in 1001., would
bo accepted for his appearance.

•DHALL.

ll'illiams Weeka sud/OTWeiVrii4 were brought up on
remand before Sir Peter Laurie, the former charged with
stealing 16 dosen of port and other wines, value 601., from
the premises at Mr. Burgh. of 42, liartholessew-.lass, and
tM latter with rmudviag a Foils of Ow lam•r knowing It
M hays been stoles.

From the evidence given on • termer mansion in this
ease, it appeared that ue the 24th of August last the prose-
tutor discovered his wine.cellar bad been entered from the
back of his premism by a hole made in the wall, and his
entire stock of wine taken away. He iminediatalv gave in-
formation to the puFce, who were, however, unable to ob-
tain any clue to the parties committing the robbery until
Saturday evening last, when • man of the name of
Hughes met the officer, and, being drank, Insisted
upon being taken into custody as a disorderly cha-
racter, and while at the station he divulged the names
of the prisoner Weeks, and a man of the name of Hurley,
the latter at present in the Home of Correction, at Hollo-
way, for an assault upon the police, as the offenders, and at
the same time described the manner in which the robbery
was effected. On being brought cote roan, however, to
give evidence against the prisoners, he denied everything
he bad stated, or that he bad ever stated anything concern-
ing the matter to the officer at all. The prisoner Week%
when apprehended, said he had had two bottles only, and
it was no use pumping" him, for he should say nothing
else. Grady 'Omitted he had bought two bottles of wine of
Weeks fur la.

Welling, a lad about 14 years of age, said be had
been under-deputy at the lodging-house, 2 and 3, Back-
court, running at the rear of Mr. Burgh's premises, and
remembered in August last going down stairs toward, the
kitchen, when he was stopped by " Sailor Jim" (Hugh, a),
who told him to go hack, as some men were tossing in the
kitchen. Witness afterwards went down and saw " Billy
Weeks" making • large hole in the ground, and subse-
quently saw him with Hurley and Sailor Jim coming up
stairs with bottles of wine under their arms and in their
pockets.
Bir Peter Laurie—What time in the day did this take
place ?—Witness—Seven o'clock in the morning.
Sir Peter Laurie—Was this kitchen adjoining Mr.
Burgh's cellar ?
Witness—lt was, sir, and almost on a level with it, so
that by boring through the ground in the kitchen they
came upon the wall at the back of the eviler.
Sir l'eter Laurie—Three is quite sufficient to place the
witness Hughes in the deck on the charge of robbery.
Sir l'eter Laurie then ordered Hughes into custody, and
said that in all his experience he had never heard of such a
determined mode of entering a house as that of burrowing
under ground, and with such a system no person was safe
from depredations night or day.—lhe prisoners were then
remanded to be brought up with Hurley.