The Express.
London, England, 1865-08-24 00:00:00

[TWOPENC

THE GARIBALDI FRIENDLY SOCIETY.

At the Mansion-boogie yeeterday, Mr. Willie,
barrister, waited upon the Lord Mayor, haviog been in•
strutted am he rid to make a etatemeat in referwieeto •

defeatist which wee made to his lordship • few days huh
respecting • society called the Garibaldi Friendly Loan aid
Life Immense Soddy, whisk if tuts was calculated to bring
high discredit upon this moiety. He was instructed by Mr.
Rees, one of the Madsen tithe relay, whose same had bees
mentiosed. Mr. Rees wee Messed • respectable gentleman,
having carried au business at Doekhend for about 20 years,
without any set upon his part which would disentitle him
to • character for honesty and uprightness, and who had
not derived any benefit from the society, but had made
advances from tin* to time to disabuse the jest claims
made upon it, sad he therefore felt most Irately the
charge that wee implied against him, that be with the other
directors hal defrauded the poor of their hard earniege. It
was mid that the directors had Weed • prospectus, which
set forth that the society had • inserted (astute* fund of
25,0001. At the time that prospectus was printed, _end emit
at **pretest thee thin were annelles in existence havisigthe
power of raising a guarantee feed by means of shares, and
the directors cif the Garibaldi thought ooefidestly that
they would n oche ell& authority teemthe Barliteal,
Gametal, and the premed= with that announcement wee
conesqueetly printed, bat at the last moment the registrar
disallowed it. The directors thin proceeded to strike it oat,
andooprospeetuawasainedwithsseharspresentsdoe. It was
tree, @shed bees stated by Mr. TIM Pratt, that it did appear
io as offecall appliat ea, bat that WI beau gives out mad-
viwteatty ; but that statement was mime eastained is any
prospectus, circular, or letterisened to In members. The
next observation of the Segistrar•Gemsral be alluded to
was that Mr. Stratton had been connected with the manage-
ment of the society. To this Mr. Rees gave a most un-
qualified denial. Mr. Stratton never directly or indirectly
had anything to do with the management of the society.
Theo as to what appeared in the circular about the society
being agents g government for the purchase of endow-
ment and annuities. By the 16 and 17 Vic., csp. 45, the
commissioners of the national debt were empowered to
grant sanitise. It wee thought the society would be a
good medium for obtaining from the commasiesete the
benefits of snob greets for the members of the society.
sod that wee what they meat to imply, s-3 that the di-
redoes could only thus be mid to have oommitted a mere
verbal mistake, and it was rather bard for that to charge
them with fraud, and • glance at the tables would bear out
that view of the matter, and that no bullied had been
effected in that breach. With raped to the terms for
the agencies, Mr. Willis was instructed that they were no
higher than other societies allowed ; and as to the vicioup
plans upon which the society wee managed. he could
only say that other societies were modueted
.1114
the earns principle, and worked very succiessfully.
It was stated that persons had been advertised as
trustees who had not consented to the use al their
names for each a pui pose, sod he was instructed to say that
all those parties whose names had been made use of had ver-
bally given their commit ; sad as to the ehrgymari whose
name was said to have been used without hie consent, he
was instructed that that gentleman had been to the Oboe
sod bad sanctioned the rules of the society, and it could be
eatidactorily proved that no person had been advertised as
meet, treatise, or other diem, but with his full consent.
With rived to the auditor, Mr. Pratt bad mule • mistake,
and had gem to the wrong Mr. Davey, it being the son of
Mr. Davey to whom Mr. Pratt applied who was the auditor,
and he was at pretest living in Derby. Thee came thi
very serious and damagieg @damsel that the offices of
this society was • very small room which was left
almost innately is the esarge of • boy during most pad
of the day. It most be borne in mind that the business of
the society was for the most part in the country, and
effected chiefly by agents, and therefor* an extensive place
was sot required. The office was open to all who went, sad
the fulled information was given to those who required it.
If the secretary had taken an expensive establishment, then
tb• charge against hint would have been for extravagant
and unwarranted expenditure. Touching what bad been said
about the society having provided eeriest any freed on the
part of the officers.orf raudulent dissolution, no power on earth
could insure • scrupulous discharge of duty, but the society
was formed under the add parliament, and the seoretaty
had doe* all in his power to effect that object. Something had
been said about a amulet having been issued having so Os-
ter's name. There was nothing in the circular that roald lied
the printer into difficulty, and therefore there was nothing
is that. Very serious diaries had been made against the
society, which, taken on the whole, were caltralated to
cause an impression, and had. in feet, done so. that the
society was not formed for the benefit of the members, but
for the rupees of defrauding the poor of their semiega,
sad enriching the directors. He hoped. however, hie state-
ment would remove such en imputation. No false pre-
tence had been made, no fetal bdanoseheet or statement
of amounts had been issued, and they had faithfully dis-
charged all the just claims made upon it, and had, up to the
time of the statement of which he complained. bees
snoreaful. With regard to what had been said about
the bumble position of the directors. the society was foe
the poorer class, and they, therefore, did not want
scything else but strict integrity and an endeavour to do
good, which would not be at all assisted by having high-
sounding names.
Mr. Tidd Pratt proceeded to make • few remarks upon
the explanation given by his learned friend, aed mid ha
did not think anything be had said in the course of hie
statement had done math to alter the statement which he
himself made to his lordship a few days beck. One of the
gentlemen advertised as • director was Mr. E. D. Emu,
of Fors-street, He had eadeavoured to find out Mr. Eric.,
and was told be was& cominereiel gentleman, who was then
in mart, rind would relate what had takes place. Mr.
Evans told him that Mr. Sees bad called upon him with a
printed paper and showed him hie Dante as • trustee, and he
told him he would have nothing to do with it ; and Mr.
Bees said his mune should be take° out.
Mr. Beek who wee also present, said he denied that in
tote.
Mr. Evans was then asked by the Lord Mayor whether or
not he had ever consented to his name being used se a
trustee to the society, sad he said he had not done an. Mr.
Rees showed him a prospectus with his nem, in it. Re
asked him what it was, and he said a new friendly iiodeq,
and he wanted his name to fill up as a form, that he wd
got be responsible, that a gentleman named George Adams.
from Derby, had contented, sad he had not been ashamdi
to ham his nuns there. He. however, refused to here asy.
thing to do with it, and requested that his name should be
struck out.
Mr. Pratt oestinsed ; sand said his complaint against the
society was, that it was not ate which was deserving if
assistance, nor one which the working chides could bad-
Really become members of. The act required that the
MOM elf the trustees should be lodged with him ; and
if Mr. Evart had not, with regard to the clergyman he
believed be certainly had been at the office, but
he understood that it was is consequence of having
received • printer's bill, and be weld to know who
was to pay it. With regard to the auditors, by
one of the rules the accounts ought to be laid
before two auditors twice in each year, and submitted to a
general meeting. He did sot know whether • general meet-
iog had been held, but the auditor had never seen the ac-
counts the whole time. Then as to what be cud shout the
amend at the London sad County Sink being • miserable
affair and meatently overdrawn, and that it was closed is
Int, Mr. Bees informed him that it was still open and as
d hehis asking him how muck had there. he sOmittal only a
few shillings. (Laughter.) &teethes had been said about
the expenses and mesagetneot. By one of the rule. 15 per
cent, if the substripttens were to go to the expenses of the
general ousageuset of the business of the society, whom
by the prospectus the agent wee to receive
50 per cent. The circular abated that the secre-
tary wee pemared to advance money to mem-
bers epee security, when by the rules any overplos was to
be invested is a particular manner, and the advancing of
any amts of money was illegal • and he did not know,
therefore, oat of what fund tga secretary could make
advsnees. The pcospectus, signed by Mr. Fairweether
as secretary, stating that the guaraintee fund was 25,0001.,
ems end to the agent, who from that, of mane, must
have reoommeaded the society as having that resented
fund. Os the whole, it did not appear In him that Mr.
statement, notwithstanding its ability, would am-
trediet what he had said upon the buit.oecasioe, that
the society wee one of those to whet' the work-
ing classes should not coati lined their bard earn-
ings. What he said about Mr. Stratton b.vl been
miacoustrued, sad it was stated tint Mr. Stratton
was eouneeted with this society. What he meent to im-
ply was that Mr. Stratton had been connected with a society
with which Mr. Hess was ineeneeted, but bad left it sad
had gone to another, sad had been mine* convicted of mis-
demeanour.
The Lord Mayer said be supposed that whea the mem-
bers had paid is their money to these and other societies,
they were supposed to have it again if they wanted it.
Mr. Pratt said that was to.
His Lordship rid b could ad at all see how, in the
event of their paying their agents 50 par mot.. they could
do that. If, for Instaner, the sum of 500:. were raised,
od they were called upon to pay it, It could not possibly
~f be deal, as only 2504 would remain.
of

A GOOD WOAD /OD • SIIIN/I.—The American
agrioulteuist takes up the midge& io &few* of tho despised
but seldom kicked skuak, and gives Min a good moths..
Our oontmnporary rays :—All summer loos he roams your
pas at eight, pickles fp beetles sod grabs. yoking with
letsatise potato kills where mew warms are at work. He
takes poessemon of the waodo who hes quartered
himself end family upon year ekser field or garden, Lod
makes short work with all the domestic. ermegemoot of
tiemiligated seiesues. With this white-hacked sentinel
around, you ma raise clover in pesos and tbe young turnips
will flourish. Tom hems will sot be prematurely :mapped
sod yew wawa owase.—New York Reatipg Jrzpress.
LoNoolg 011.11111176 COOIPANY (L 1311710).
.—Trafße reesigits for the week ending August '2O, 12,2531.
1.55. 2d.