The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-01 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 1, 1867.

iirtuott.

I Kato inteiltirtnte.

EQUITY COURTS.—Fsz. ?S.
(Before the Master of the Bolls.)

IN RS THE CONTINENTAL BANK (THE CLAIM OF THE
LONDON AND COUNTY BANK.)
The question in this matter was whether the London
and County Bank was entitled to prove for the balance of
• debt of 55,0001., against the estate of the Continental
Bank? It appeased that the London and County Bank
some time slaw adnumed a sum of 55,0001. to the Conti-
-nettle Bank, which was to be repaid in a givpn time, at
the rate of I,OOW. per week. The Continental Bank sub-
sequently transferred all their property to the London
and Mediterranean Bank, which latter bank was to
take to itself all the shareholder, of the Continental
one, and to transact all its business in the offices
of the London and Mediterranean Company. The
balances due from the Continental Bank on general
accounts had been specially transferred to the London and
Mediterranean Bank, but there was also, in the ilooks of
the Continental Bank, a loan account which remained
untouched. The question, therefore, depended upon
whether there wan, under those circumstanoes, a discharge
or release of the 65,0001., so far as regarded the Conti-
nental Bank ?
Mr. Selwyn, Q:C., and Mr. Jason Smith appeared for
the London and County Bank.
t Mr. Baggallay, Q.C., and Mr. J. Napless Higgins for
ahareholdenan the London andlalditesranean
dare not heard b eito-.sovirt, which thought that their
,* towers represented by Mr. Jesse, Q.C.,
and Mr. Lindley, who appeared for the official liquidator
of the Continental Bank.

Lonl Remilly, after stating the facts of the case, and
referring to the authorities which governed it, held that
the circumstances did not amount to a release or discharge
of the balance still due from the original debtors to the
London and County Bank ; and that that company was,
therefore, entitled to prove for their claim, as misted on
by them.

(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood.)

DI RI TEI BOSNIAN (VTICAOUNNKY) IRONWORIR COMPANY
(LIMITED).-II PARTN WHITEHOUSE.
. . _ . .

This wes an application by Mr. John 'Whitehouse, of
Birchall-street, Birmingham, to be removed from the list
of members. The articles of association of the Russian
company were signed on the 26th April, 1865. Mr. White-
house's application for :40 shares was made on the 27tb,
and the registration of the company took place on the
214th. In August, 1865, Mr. Whitehouse heard that the
company could not get a day for settlement, and on the
r—hid of that month wrote a letter complaining, and repu-
diating the shares on the ground of discrepancy between
the articles of association and prospectus. He took no
step to have his name removed at that time ; but in
March, 1866, on having his attention called to the discre-
pancy between the prospectus and the memorandum and
articles of association with regard to the extent of the com-
pany's objects, he wrote on the 19th, through his solicitor,
applying for a return of his allotment money. He said
that until March, 1866, he had not the slightest
knowledge or idea of the discrepancy he now com-
plained of, and that hie former complaint arose
from the circumatanoe that the company could
not get a settling day on the Stock Exchange, in
consequence of the existence of a power in the articles of
association to increase the capital of the company, The
delay since May, 1866, was accounted for by negotiations
which had fallen through, for offering Mr. 'Whitehouse
debentures instead of shares. _ _

Mr. T. A. Roberta appeared in support of the applica-
tion, and relied upon the now celebrated decision in
Stewart's case in the matter of the same company.
Mr. W. Gill opposed for the company.
The Vice-Chancellor said he thought it would be dan-
gerous to strike off Mr. Whitehouse's name, after that
letter of the 22nd of August. It must be taken that when
Mr. Whitehouse put himself at arm's length with the
company, he was aware of all the grounds of relief he in-
tended to rely upon ; and it was not competent to him to
bring forward fresh instances of discrepancy from time to
time. Mr. Stewart's case was very different. He had
been invited by the directors to loin them in remedying a
particular discrepancy, and so might well comae that in
all other respects the prospectus and articles were in
harmony, and that he had a set of particularly straight-
forward people to deal with. Mr. Whitehouse having
taken no step until May, after having written that
letter in the August preceding, must be held to have lost
uhis aht to be removed, and the motion aunt be die-

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT.-o.tuult, FEB. 28.

Mr. Justice Wiles arrived here yesterday, and opened
the commission and attended Divine service. This morn-
ing his lordship charged the grand jury, and proceeded
with the trial of prisoners.
The calendar contains the names of only two prisoners,
one of whom is charged with murder and the other with
manslaughter; but even this isconsidered a heavy calendar
for Oalthant. There was no busineso. on the civil side.

Jo.oepla Hear!, Spene,r, a medical man who has lately
been practising at Hullatoo, in Leicestershire, was charged
with the manslaughter of Clara Bumpkin.
Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Graham appeared for the prosecu-
tion ; Mr. Bulwer, Q.C., and Mr. Palmer defended the
prisoner.
The deceased was the wife of a highly respectable
farmer residing at Wanlley, in this county. For sonic
time she had been in a delicate state of health, and on the
31st of August last she went to an archery party, where
ohe was seized with hysteria and headache, and was
obliged to return home and go to bed. The prisoner, who
bad been her medical attendant for some years, was called
in, and under his treatment she rapidly recovered, and on
the 9th September was nearly convalescent. On that day
her husband called on the prisoner and received from him
a bottle of medicine, which he gave to the deceased. Mr.
Bumpkin went up to bed soon after nine, and bad only
been asleep a short time when be was awoke by the de-
ceased, who said she was "so giddy." She then shud-
dered and screamed, and begged him not to let her legs
go to sleep. She was shortly afterwards attacked with
violent convulsions, her jaws where firmly clenched, so
that it was impossible to administer anything to her, and
she turned black in the face, and about an hour after the
attack commenced she died. The prisoner was sent for, and
on his arrival said that there was nothing but bismuth,
quassia, gentian and henbane in the meiliciue, and he took
a dose of it himself ; but it did not clearly appear
whether he shook the bottle before doing so. He was
very soon taken ill, and the symptoms were very much
the same as those of the deceased. It became neetaimuf
to call in another medical man to attend him, and it was
not till the afternoon of the following day that he was
able to go home. The result of a post-mortem examina-
tion and an analysis by Professor Taylor was that
the deceased had died from the effects of strychnine, and
the medicine was found to contain a very large quantity
of that poison.
' Mr. Bulwer, in addressing the jury for the prisoner,
contended that in order to make him criminally re.
sponsible there must be such an amount of negli-
gence as amounted to a crime and showed an
evil mind, and contended that the evidence here failed
to establish that; and was equally consistent with the
absence of negligence on the part of the prisoner as with
its presence. He 'strongly relied on the prisoner having
taken the medicine himself, and run the risk of sacrificing
his own life, as showing the prisoner's perfect faith in his
own care in preparing the mixture.
Mr. Justice Willes, in summing up, told the jury that
this was not the case of a quack, who had undo-taken
what he hail not skill to carry out, and it was not Rug.
gusted that the prisoner committed the act with which he
was charged from any evil motive. Before they could
find him guilty they must trace what he did to an evil
mind. There were three modes in which the strychnine might
have been administered. First, through the gross negligence
of the doctor, who might have kept his ordinary drugs and
poisons in such a way that he could not tell which he was
using. But it was not sufficient that it might have been
so, the prosecution must show that it must have been so.
Secondly, it may have been the result of a mistake ; but a
blunder alone would not make the prisoner criminally re-
sponsible. Thirdly, it was possible that it was caused by
an accident—that so-ue one else hail accidentally mixed the
drugs. The accident was moat lamentable ; but if an ac-
cident, it would be more lamentable that the prisoner
should be held criminally responsible for it. If
the jury were satisfied that the prosecution had
made out a case in which the circumstances showed
such gross and culpable negligence as would amount to a
culpable wrong and show an evil mind, they ought to con-
vict ; if not, they ought to acipi4.
The jury almost immediately returned a verdict of Not
Guilty, and added that they censured the practice of
keening such poisonous drugs in such a place.
Mr. Justice Willes said that it was a most proper thing
to send this case to be thoroughly investigated, and
having said that, he quite concurred in the verdict.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(Before Mr. Baron Channelt)

Elizabeth Gibbons, 17, and Eliza Arnold, 19, were
charged with a burglary in the dwelling-house of the
Rev. Charles Peter M'Carthy, and stealing 24 silver forks
and spoons, a number of coats and other articles, his
property.
Mr. Montagu Williams conducted the prosecution.
The prosecutor in this cue resides at Itiver•terrace,
~,,, , and on the night of the 7th January, when he
and fl•mily went to bed, the premises were left quite
safe, and all the doors properly secured. On the follow.