The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-02 00:00:00

THE CHARGE AGAINST INSURANCE BROKERS.

After our report left yesterday,
Mr. Sleigh, addressing his lordship on behalf of the
defendants, stated that he had no desire to prevent
them taking their trial at the Central Criminal Court on
any other ground than this, that no gentleman could be
placed at the bar of that or any other oourt without
having attaching to him a certain amount of obloquy,
irrespective of the pain and degradation which he might
feel. He did not for one moment entertain the
slightest doubt of what the result of any such inquiry
would be, because if his lordship was of opinion that this
was a ease for a superior tribunal, and if these gentlemen,
overwhelmed with difficulties by circumstances over
which they had no control, and brought to ruin, as other
merchants in the City of London had been, were tried by
a jury, they would be pronounced to have had no
act or part in anything that was fraudulent.
The words of the act under which these gentle-
men were charged were, that whosoever having
been entrusted with any money or security, with any
direction in writing to apply the same, should, in violation
of good faith and contrary to the terms of such direction,
,in any wise convert to his own use or benefit, he.. Now,
it was obvious from the act of parliament that the parson
who was to give the direction wee the person who en-
trusted the money. The act therefore was never intended
to meet the case of • person receiving money from third
parties. But was there a direction at all The letter
written on 20th April was in these words :—" You had
better remit the amount to Messrs. Bateson, Robinson,
and Morris." This was a communication from Wakefield,
Nash, and Co., for whom the defendants were in the habit
of acting as brokers, and Blain, Tait, and Co. became in-
terested in an entirely collater way, in consequence of
their executing certain repairs on the Trabolgan. Wake-
field, Nash, and Co. were the persons with whom they were
in the habit of dashiki, and they never teanamitted any
specific amount in respect of any particular immense°,
but kept current aecounta, and made periodical
settlements. But in this case the usual course of business
was not followed. Blain, Tait, and Co., having a claim
in respect of the repairs, and Wakefield, Nash, and Co.
being in liquidation, the joint authority for the collection
of the policies was given subsequent to the atth of May,
but in it there was no suggestion to do aught other than col-
lect the money. He contended, therefore, that there was
Do specific direction in writing, as was contemplated by
the statute, and that the money having been collected
the usual way was held back to prevent any undue prefer-
ence over other creditors, and that consequently there was
no attempt at fraud, however far wrong the defendants
may have been in withholding money received on specific
policies for a specific purpose.
The Lewd Mayor said he had little doubt that the trans-
action came within the meaning of the set, because these
gentlemen never represented that they had no orders, but
they went on telling untruths till they could be no longer
maintained, and then they turned round and said that Mem,
Tait, and Co. did not employ them to collect the money.
He therefore intended to commit the defendants for trial,
and if there were points of law to be determined the
would be determined before another tribunal.He should
aelmitthe dotal:dentate bail, but it would be of • heavyand
substantial quality. The whole of this transaction wastohis
mind one gross piece of dishonesty, and he should require
each of them to find two sureties of 5001. each, and to
enter into their own recognisance. for 1,0001.
Mr. Sleigh applied for • reduction in the amount of the
bail, but the Lord Mayor refused I. sonde to the appli-
cation.

-13Xsequeutly the neeestery bail was found, and both
defendants were released.