The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-20 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 20, 1853.

Consul, and to Lloy..s' sg. tat, who both told him that be I
must pay the amount. and he was obliged to do so before
he was allowed to leave the port. The entice value of his
cargo woo 1'20,000/.
At this stage of the trial it was agreed between the parties
to refs the question to an arbitrator, upon the meri!s,
without refertnet to the pleadings ; such arbitrator to have
the power of calling in an average taker.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCT.-YESTERDAL

IN ItZ OPPIN zt -PAILVDO PORKION BILLS,

Thi;.as-the certificate meeting in the @use of Simon
Lazarus Oppenheim, merchant, of Broad-street Buildings.
The accounts, prepared by hewn. Quitter, Ball, and Co.,
extended from the Ist January, 18.7,1, to the date of the
failure. At the former period the bankrupt appears to
have bad * capital of 5.3971. He now owes to creditors
7,6111 ; liabilitie., 12,2121.; ditto on bills, 1,1001. ; ditto
not expected to be proved, 5,2821. His property was esti•
mated at 8591.; doubtful debts. 11,9081. The profit. bad
been 2,374!. ; trade expenses, VAL • personal ditto, 1,4491.
Mr. Lawrence supported the bankrupt, and stated that
no one appeared to oppose.
His Honour made inquiry as to the circumstances of some
bills which had been drawn in this country, but purported
to be drawn in Natal. . .

Mr. Lawrence gave an explanation, showing that the
bankrupt was not • party to the drawing of the bills.
The bankrupt said the bills had been brought to him by
Mr. Jackson, who bad drawn them on behalf of Messrs.
Jackson and Co., of Natal. He accepted them.
Mr. Hawkins appeared for the London and Westminster
Bank, who held one of the bills in question. He wished to
call the attention of the court to the greet injury which
had resulted from the sync= of drawing bills in this
errantry, without stamp, on the pretence of their being
drawn in Natal. Amongst others, the London ant West.
imitator Bank had been extensively defrauded by discount-
ing some of these bill,.
Mr. Lawrence objected to Mr. Hawkins being heard. The
bank had not proved ogsinst the bankrupt's estate, and no
notice of opposition had been given.
His Honour said he would not shut out the opposition
on that account in a case where it was alleged that the
bankrupt had committed a gross fraud. To do so would
bee denial of justice. In adjudicating on a certificate, it
was a question of conscience with the commissioner, and
had always been held so by Lord Eldon. He could not
certify that which he did not know to be correct.
Mr. Hawkins produced one of the bills, dated, " Hotel.
15th of Dec., 1852," 3001, purporting to he drawn
by Jackson and Co., as a foreign bill, accepted by the
honkrupt, and by him put in circulation. It was drawn la
the form in which foreign bills were usually drawn; it was
discounted by the London end Westminster .Bank ; then the
bankruptcy occurred, and it was found that this bill and
others were utterly worthless, and the proofs were rejected.
The Commissioner—l think the party who cu ht to he
punished for all this is the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
(Laughter.) Not the present Chancellor of tee Exchequer
in particular, but the one who made a law the effect of
which is, that one man may commit • fraud and another
may be punished for it. This is the second caw of the kind
which has come before me in the last few months. A
bankrupt had drawn a number of bills without stamp,
purpwting to be butted abroad; then when the parties
came here to prove they found they had been cheated out
of their money. lam quite willing to have the matter pub-
licly discussed here, in order that attention may be drawn
to it through the newspapers.
Mr. Hawkins said it was a great hardship on the owners
of the bills. Had they sued Mr. Oopenheiot they could not
have recovered, for they would not have been allowed to
get the biUs stamped.
The bankrupt, in examination, stated—The bill pro-
duced was accepted in my office. Several of the same kind
were made, to the amount of about 4,0001. I know that a
bill drawn in this country requires a stamp. Theo were
drown as from abroad. I did not obtain :discount for the
bills nor receive any of the money. I accepted them as the
agent of Bergtheil and Young. Jackson, the drawer, is
their agent in Natal. Bergtheil and Young have an office
of their own in London, but I was in the habit of accepting
on their account.
The

that ease, it would appear that
Bergtheil and Young are responsible to your clients.
Mr. Hawkins—But they are not endonen.
The bankrupt further stated—The bill was not an ao-
commodation bill for Messrs. Bergtheil and Young.
The Commissioner—You ought to get some of the law
reformers, who are so plentifull in these titan, to give their
attention to this species of fraud.
Mr. Hawkins—The effect will be, if the system cella:
to a much greater extent, that foreign bills will
almost worthless in this country.
His Hoaour—But is this can the bankrupt does not ap-
pear to have been a party to the fraud, but to have done
this in ignorance. Then he was encouraged by the common
feeling on the part of the public, that they may do any-
thing to cheat the revenue. When a man pays money, he
says to his neighbours—" Oh, mind a stamped re-
ceipt."
Mr. Hawkins pointed out the fast that though the bill
was drawn and accepted on the same day, which was
known to the bankrupt, the date of the drawing was made
two months earlier than the date of the acceptance—a
proof of collasion and fraud.
Mr. Varner, who represented Messrs. Overead, Gurney,
and Co., complained of a similar fraud by means of a four
months bill for 2501., which purported to be drawn at Do-
minica. On the credit of that bill, Hewn. Gurney, who
discounted to aa immense extent every day, had given
value for that amount. The bankrupt admitted that he
knew the bill, if drawn in London, woull require a stamp.
His Honour—But he might not be aware that be ran the
risk, in saying a few sidllings in the stamp, of defrauding
namehody of the whole amount. Being a German, who has
only been in business two years in London, he might easily
not be aware of the anomalous and iniquitous state of the
law in this respect.
Mr. Vallaop isolated that there must be fraud in passing
• bill as a &nip bill, which he knew to be drawn in Lon-
don.

The bankrupt said that he was not the acceptor of this
bill ; he had simply endorsed it, and got it discounted with
Messrs. Gamey. He received it from one Joyce, to whom
he gave value for it. The acceptor of the bill was Mellott
also a bankrupt.
Mr. Vallings said the bill had been presented for proof
against Helloes estate, and refused as waste paper. He
understood that Bellot had received a first class certificate.
Mr. Lawrence said that was so ; he had pleaded perfect
Mammies of the violation of any law; and this was allowed
by Mr. Commissioner Evans, who granted hint a first class

Mr. Vanier slid it had been stated, ow the occasion
referred to, that Messrs. Overfed, Gurney, and Co. were
privy to the fact of these bills being made in London.
There was not the slightest foundation for such a charge.
The Commissiooner—At all events, if it were so, Messrs.
Gurney would conduct their business in a very different way
from what I expect they do.
Mr. Lawrence referred to the feet that the bankrupt had
begun with a large capital, had made considerable profits,
and had been ruined by the failure of Serrated and Young,
and another house. 'The estate would ultimately pay a
considerable dividend. The bankrupt had been guilty of
no mercantile or moral offence in respect to these bills. He
might easily suppose that bills drawn for foreign transac-
tions came under the denomination of foreign bills.
The Commissioner-1 should have no difficulty whatever
in granting Mr. Oppenbeim a first class certificate had it
not been for the difficulty arising out of his having know-
ingly accepted bills here which were dated in Natal,
though actually drawn is London. Beyond this there
is nothing whatever in any part of the case to deprive
him of a first class certificate. He says he was
not aware that the drawing of a bill in London, and dating
it in Natal, was a transaction contrary to the laws of this
country in any way ; and in support of that allegation one
ought to consider the circumstance that he was a German,
and bad been only two years in this country. He might,
therefore, very possibly have been ignorant of the fact that
the stamp laws of this country impose disabilities on all
persons holding bills of that nature, and that collateral
effects might be produced far beyond the evasion of that
fair contribution to the public necessities which every per-
son is bound to furnish io conformity to the law. Mr.
Lawrence has put the case somewhat ingeniously. He says
the bankrupt might not he aware that the drawing of •
bill in London, sea foreign bill, in respect of • Natal tress-
setion, was at all am evasion of the law. If I could bring
my mind to suppose that the bankrupt had acted in this
belief, all difficulty as to a first class certificate would
vanish. The question is, had he a guilty knowledge that
he was evading the stamp laws ? If so it would be
impossible tor me to grant him a first class certificate.
The Commissioner (to the bankrupt)—lf you knew that
bills drawn in this country required a stamp, why did you
accept those without a stamp ?
Bankrupt—Because I did not suppose as they were in
respect of foreign transactions that they required a stamp.
The Commissioner—You are prepared to swear positively
that you were not aware, when
_you accepted this 4,0001.
worth of bills on account of Bergtheil and Young, that
there was anything illegal in drawing bills in London, dated
at Natal, in respect of a Natal transaction ?
Bankrupt—l had not the slightest idea of it.
The Commissioner—Do you know that this is commonly
done in London ?

Bankrupt—Yes, every day, in all homes. or I should not
have dooe it.

Mr. Veiling' said be must deny the statement that this
was done by any regular mercantile house, and it was most
desirable that the practice should be entirely stopped.
The Commiseioner—l quite agree with you there; and
I also think it highly desirable that some other means of
enforcing the stamp laws should be adopted, Under the
present system, in order to enforce the right of the govern-
ment to • few shillings in these transactions, • most cruel
injury is indicted on innocent individuals. It would be
muck better to declare an evasion of the stamp-laws •
crime and punish it with imprisonment, than render void
the transactions in consequence. To make the punishment
fall upon third parties is a mode of proceeding which de-
-1 serves to be characterised as monstrous. Alter hearing all
that an be said on the subject, I am of opinion that Mr.
Oppsalseim did ant know, under the circumstances in which
he accepted that bill, that he wee assisting Jacket,* itt Co.
•in ma evasion of the stamp laws. I am inclined to think
that he erred in ignorance; and as every other part of the
ease is entirely in his f (he haecsrried on business in
• most respectable manner, and has fallen into difficulties
through the lailere of other persons), I think he is entitled
to • first-clue certificate.

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT.—VesTuDAT.
MORN war 00111101101011 LAW.
IN (1 010101 mitt ILVIU SWIMM.
Thin inrilvoot, a tailor sad draw, is Whiteeltapol-cowl,
who woo opposed by the Commercial Credit Mutual Area-