The Express.
London, England, 1861-03-06 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
(THIS DAY.)

EQUITY COURT.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir W. P. Wood.)
THE LORD MAYOR, &C., Or LONDON, AM GOVERNORS OF ST.
THOMAS'S HOSPITAL, a. THE CHARING-CROSS RAILWAY
COMPANY.

The Attorney• General moved this morning in this suit to
restrain the defendants, the railway company, from taking
proceedings for the summoning of • jury to asses the value
of a piece of land and premises forming • portion of
St. Thomas's Hospital, adjacent to the railway ter-
minus at London-bridge. The object of this motion
was to prevent the carrying out of the Charing-cross Rail-
way scheme so far as it interfered with the hospital and so
far as its promoters proposed to take a portion of the land
or property thereof, unless the company should take the
entire hospital. It appeared that the company had given
the common notice requiring the hospital to treat for the
sale of a portion of land and premises situate
at the corner of the hospital property. Upon
this the hospital governors gave a counter-notice
requiring the court to take the whole of the property. The
plaintiffs' case was hissed upon the well-known class of caws
resting upon the section requiring a railway company
taking part of a house or premises to take the whole, it the
owners were desirous that each be done. The governors had
opposed the company's bill before the committee of the House
of Commons, and in consequence of that opposition, clauses
had been inserted in the bill binding the company's trains
to peas the hospital at a rate of not more than six miles as
hour, and also binding them not to use the whistle within
certain fixed limits. The value of the entire hospital was
put by the plaintiffs at 7150,0001.

Mr: Holt: Mr. Giffard, Mr. Baggallay, and Mr. Mac.
naughten were with the Atterney•General.
Sir H. Cairns and Mr. Osborne on the other side contended
that the governors of St. Thomas's Hospital were not "able,"
even if " willing," to convey to the company. The conten.
Lion on the other side that they were able to convey was
illusory, because the Charity Commissioners, upon whose
consent they relied, had not any authority to give an
assent to the sale.

The Vic
plaintiffs.

granted the injunction sought by the

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Holroyd.)

IN Ili LAURENCE, NORTDIORE, AND ECURADER.--THE GREAT

MATS= FAHAJRZ.--JUDGIIVITT OF THZ COVET.

This was the day appointed by his Honour for delivering
judgment on the certificates of Thomas Laurence, William
Mortimore, and Francis Benjamin Schrader, leather
factors and merchants, of St. Mary-axe, and of
LiverpooL The discussion of the case had already
occupied the court during twelve long sitting". The
bankrupts, it will be remembered, were opposed, on behalf
of the assignees, by Mr. Kanlake (instructed by Mews.
Murray, Son, and Hutchins); by Mr. W. Williams, on
behalf of the London Joint Stock Bank and the Bank of
London; and by Mr. Linklater, on behalf of Messrs.Leyland
and Bulling, of Liverpool. Mr. Lawrence defended the bank.
rupt Laurence, and Mr. C. E. Lewis the other bankrupt..
His Honour took his seat on the bench at half•p:ut 11
o'clock. The court was at that time densely crowded,
public notice having been given that the judgment would
be delivered at that hour. The bankrupts were all in ist-
tendance—Mr. Mortimore and Mr. Schrader oocupying seats
near the table, the other bankrupt 'Unsling in the crowd et
the back of the court.

His Honour said the case was an extraordinary one, and
he felt the importance of the duty which devolved on
him. The cure more particularly involved the considers.
tion of the use and abuse of negotiable paper. No doubt
the late failures in the leather trade had engendered much
distrust in other branches of commerce—for trade h.ul
been likened to the sea, which could not be lowered in ore
part without affecting all the others. Two of the leo:-
rupte in this case had been in business 30 or 40 yeal a,
the house at Liverpool having been established upwards of
fifteen yarn. It should be remembered what was the tun
use of bills of exchange ; they were bottomed on real valae,
and tended to increase the commerce and wealth of the
country. Of late years, the abundance of money in the
English market, and the competition in trade, had
given rise to • departure from this wholesome prac.
Um. Good bills could always it, discounted, whe-
ther drawn, accepted, or endorsed by • well-known
house. But the practice of drawing accommodation bills,
concocted for the purpose of raising money, was most
injurious, though not absolutely illegal. The system of
cross acceptances, or mutual aoaammodation, was most
objectionable, • double liability being thereby created.
The inducement to fraud was great, and sometimes even
to forgery. The practice of drawing and redrawing
was well known; and its effect on bankers was most pre-
judicial. The system was sometimes carried on for years,
and its evils had been well pointed out by Adam Smith. The
practice was difficult of detection, when the parties
had various channels of discount open to them, and varied
the names of the drawers and acceptors of the bills. The pre-
sent case had brought to light an extensive system of accom-
modation, and • glaring abuse of the facilities of credit,
though the bills were originally founded on the trade
dealings between factors and their customers. After citing
some remarks from the " History of Banking," his Honour
said it was much more dangerous for a bank t discount
accommodation paper than real paper, in the latter case
there being bona fide acceptors to look to ; while
in the former ease there was only ono person to meet the
engagements of the whole, and the chances of disaster were
much greater. The position of principal and surety was re-
versed, and the bank was deceived as to who were the real
sureties. In advancing cash on bans there was greeter
safety, because a certain limit was established. Discounting
a bill of exchange was the same thing as buying the bill ; if
it were endorsed, it was a sale with a war.
rarity ; if not, it was • pure sale. Every bill
imported two things—value received, and an engagement
to pay the amount on specified terms. Though the words
"value received" imported little more than the ordinary
fact, that might form one of several circumstances which
induced the discount of the bill. If a person made a
knowingly false statement, the contract entered into on
that statement might be said to be fraudently ob-
tained. The misrepresentations might be by deeds
and acts as well as by wands—that is, by
tho suppression of facts which ought to be stated. Where
bills were transferred as valid, when the transferee knew
that they were worthless, the suppression of that fact was
&fraud. An untrue warranty was fraudulent in law, either
with or without knowledge of the fact. If a party pros
cured the discount of a bill, knowing or suspecting that
the acceptor could not meet it, it was both a
legal and moral fraud. He might intend to meet
the bill himself ; but the banker ought to know
this, to elect whether he would accept the sole responsibility
of the drawer. It would be well that banking companies
should be more careful in opening discount accounts.
Printed forms might he used. anal ,other motto
Sloes might be taken. No person could complain that
too much faith was placed by a hunker in his own assertion.
The bankrupts had bought hides ou commission and sold lea-
ther ; taking acceptances at three or four months for the far.
liter class of dealings, and paying in cash or cheques for the
sales made for their customers. Had they confined them-
selves to this elm of dealing, making advances on consign-
ments, no harm could have arises. But the charge was
that they had carried on • reckless and unjustifiable system
of trade for years, making advances to houses not worthy of
credit, drawing accommodation bills, and obtaining the dis-
count of those bills by misrepreacritatiou. They we.e in the
habit of making loans to their sustoment, taking bills for
the amount, sod then renewina those bills when at ma-
turity, charging interest and cenirabalion. This system had
gone on for years, the bills being always met by drawing
others ; and the funds for meeting the bills haul always
been supplied by the discounters. Advance% had been
made in this way to 17 firms by the beralou
and Liverpool houses. There had been accommo.
dation transactions with Ryder, Mundy, and George
Schrader—means being adopted to irevent the Intakes,
from suspecting the real nature of those trio:roc.
tions. The accommodation with Ryder had amounted in
one year to 45.000/.. and was 114.0001. at the time of the
suspension—with Mundy about 50,00 - 25,000/. being out
at the time of the suspension—and with G. Schrader to the
amount of 27,501. F.--of which 1:1,750/. had been proved
against the estate of the Liverl home. The
acceptances of the failed firms had Man drawn for ma
sums, so as to give them the ale:a:armee of regular
mercantile transactions ; but iu snail cases they were for
even gems. In the four years mit,: to 1e57, the Lambe
and Liverpool houses had an average • apital of 1110,001/a
the largest amount. being 14-O,OIXV.on the Ist January, Vasa.
The London house had I,goOcustonima. the Liverpail hare
1,000. The average trade transaction:4 the London house
the four years prior to liti7 was 017,001/. per annum. :awl
312,0001. in respect of the failed homes ; of the Liverpa"t
house, au average of 450,000/.' and for the failed haelas•
50,0001. For the same period the nett profits of the Lon-
don house averaged 25,0001. per annual, aial of the Liverpeel
house,. 16.000/., showing that the bankrupts bad then
carried on a large and 11144t411.10 business. Tlwv
had a fine connexion, were in high repute, and were deeroad
men of great wealth. Had they confined themselves to
their legitimate business anal not become great lenders of
money, or rather raisers of money, they might have cata•
tinued so. Laurence mid that they had borrowed at 3 Per
cent. and lent at 5 per cent. anal 2 per cent. comnaiation
but if the bankers had known this they would not have
lent themselves to such practices, which tended only to a
simulation and dissimulation. It was observable that I
bankrupts bad given credit to the failed houses in more