The Express.
London, England, 1868-12-17 00:00:00

Zt7.7717

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w. 1 • I‘' ILI a M tY.if f i*Jiaiwora irmulormin,
THE `°.4IIIIIIII36';'"THIIRSDAY I_EVENING;'• DEC:

iill7OE.

EQUITY 001IRT.—Dww. 16.
( ere Ticsthedseller Br 12 liekra.)
4111.11. v. WV" 1711 D oridde—causuai arirra
Ana 00. (ems).
The hearing of
ac
it& was weEisedire stotsing.
The bill iras Sled' od WEI/ at asd ether
chareholdirs et MIAS LAW sod bowkanh 11084
Harvey Lewis, F. B. J. P. Maras, J. '*aws,
Assedes (Manny ObeelesUilitas, LeasChteles
Bawl Bowsaw', lheegoi. Pins Duvet, Sir Jet=
Bart, (Ur Jells (hey, ILaislik J. -Parker (was of the
odious* of the Natioisal Derck and Charlesratired.r&g:Liadted), led Jame Bostf:Geotibarsbose
(Wlleisl lior of Charlet Leffitte sad Co. C 0.),, to reamer
a saw of 11001. of tile perlaership wbieli it
wee alleged bees misapplied by the of
Charles Witte sad Co., wed flw National Bank.
_ _ .

Mr. Huddhieons, for the plaintiff, stated that Watts
and Co. (Limited), a company formed for the
and extension to London of the banking
rilirsicriesem of Charles Lafkitte and Company, of Maria,
was registered on the Bth of December, 1886, and the
boned on the 9th of December. The no
ra;ertis 3,009,001., divided into 160,000 shares of JUL
each, upon which U. was to be paid on application, and
41. on allotment. The prospectus stated that two-thirds
of the purcbaee money of the business was to be taken in
shares by Charles Witte, who was to continue his support
to the company in the cal Snit president. =raves
directors were Sir John Beals, Sir I.
Gray, Harvey and Falser Heashaw—three to
form a quorum. The were dedroas of attla
a settling day in February, on the 13th of that
the nemeeery_certificate was farentilipkte the committee
of the Stock-Ezebange, signed by thellab-masager SI the
National Bank, and staling that the balance standing to
the credit of Charles Lake and Co. (Limited) amounted
to 237,660/. 4s. 2d. Subsequently Taffies and Co.
(Limited) was ordered to be wound ak. end it
appearing that of the 217,00 W., 230,000 i. had
the National Beak were called upoo to give=.67-
planatioa of the abominate:roe, and their statmaent was
that they applied it to the pa tof the liabilities
sit the Ireemapaosel Orestrad wider them
authority of two doeuressee signed by of Cheating!
Lanes rad Co. Whit the court wee informed of the, r
manner in which these documents were manufeetured, he
was satisfied they would be held to be utterly worthless.
Some negotiation appeared to have taken place between
the promoters of Charles Laffitte and Co. and the Otto-
man IF'namdal Company, of which Major Kitson wan
therms" and Messrs. Lewis end lienshaw were direeties,
and it was arranged that when the former company wee
established the Ottoman Financial Compani wars to tabs
36,000 of the shares, and to band over to Charles Laths
sad 00. the whole of their assets, and than gottn@
liquidation. Charles Watts, the head of the Peek
firm, bad declined to ell his benne., or to abet
the new company to be registered, till he WI
coated • guarantee that 40,000 shares w •
taken up. The manna of the Ottoman 1r
Company were not readily forthcoming, there 1
some &Scully. about getting the necessary • .
lion for obtaining a settling day, and the Ottawa •
pany made an application to the Inthreatiosal
Company, of which Major Linos, one of the
directors of Witte and Conaway, was else
The Ottoman Financial employ and the I
Contract Company appeared to have been in the of
endorsing each other a bills, and upon the appliance of
the former the latter company appeared to have sawed
into an arrangement by which they were to eppip to the
National Bank for assistance, sad Charles Ise - - *hose
businere was to be sold, arranged with the latennational
Contract Company that if they guaranteed the biking up
of 40,000 shares he was to pay them 24.0001. The Na-
tional Bank (of which the defendant Parker was the duly
registered public officer, and of which Mr. Harvey Lewis,
Mr. Henshaw, and Mr. now Sir J. N. McKenna, wore
director,, the two first-named gentlemen" being
also directors of the Ottoman Financial Company,
and proposed directory of Charlie Laditte and Company),
entered into an agreement by which they were to be ap-
pointed one of the banks of the new compaey, sad were
to discount promissory notes of the International Castanet
(zany to an amount sufficient to enable that company
tb take 4000 AIM in Laffitte and Co., and the directors
of Laffitte and Co. were to undertake to keep a bakes:re in
the bank during the currency of such notes of sufficient
amount to cover the advances made by the bank to the
International Company, and to give the bank authority to
apply such balance, CA io much of it as might be necemary,
in repayment of the advances if the promissory notes were
not paid at maturity ; arid it was also agreed that, is eon-
sideration of this loan or accommodation. thelnternational
Company should, out of the 24,0001. received from Witte
and Co.,,lrey 16,0001. to „Sugar, ea nominee or trustee
for the net:mull, Bar r, in fact, an agreement
that Witte and tries . r..Weable to pay 200,0001. fur
their ' dares •re lion of one of the
Wei Pkethinge, which absolutely for-
bids a llurdelking its own therm, and # was
a deception upon the pablie who took shares in newcom-
pang. On the Bth of December, the wee de the com-
pany was registered. Ileum. Kitson, Lewis, y, lion-
thaw, and Bate me by private arrangement the board
room of the Ottoman Financial Company, before any
shares bad boon subscnbed for or deposit paid, and agreed
to a resolution confirming the arrangement With the In-
ternational Contract temj any and the Mistiest:if Mink.
Immediately afterwards a letter was despatched to the
National Bank informing the directors, in the name of
leffitte and Co., that as soon as that company bad been
registered, and the prospectus published, they would take
a resolution engaging the company not to wittidiaw the
funds in the bank arising from the subscriptions on the
lii,iitio shares, e wept as from time to time the funds
might lie replaced. Mr. M•lienna took exception to the
form of the guarantee, upon the ground, among* others,
that it was signed by two directors of the Natirmat
Bank, and Beggs...tit d that the
as a reined to the ban dis-
countthe promissory notes of the iunal
Contract Company (Limited) to an t of
'..nar,oto/., the makers thereof having undertaken, if re-
qi.teted so to do, to apply for shares in tto and
l
Co., and to apply the proceeds of the notes for t pur-
thaha
tore, I.affitte and Co. undertaking till the
amount of the notes was repaid to the bank thee should
stand to the credit of Laffitte and Co. at the bank an
amount equal to the rum unpaid, and if the bills were not
paid at maturity, the bank were to be at liberty to meet
them out of the Wanes standing to the credit of Latta
padre., and to cancel the notes. This form was agreed
to on the rams day (14th Detember),. and was sealed with
a ring taken from Mr. Harvey Lewar's finger. This was
oneof the documents referred to by the bank as justifying
their appropriation of the sum in question; sad the other
was a litter of the 6th of February, which appear 1 to
have been written by the manager of the Netiaaal Bank,
and afterwards copied by Major Hines, inereseing the
guarantee in order to meet the requirements
of the Stock Exchange, it being fesod before
the settling day that the funds wen not suf-
ficient To this mond letter there was no reference
in the books of the y and it did not appear that it
was manctiosed by_ a board meeting duly weaned. In
acsonisasei with theme aningemente the International
Contract Compapy Love 93 notes for 10,0001 each, and
those noise being dishonoured at maturity the funds
to the credit of Aeries Witte and Co. et the
12Ia= Bank were appropriated to the payment. The
bank certified to the mannittee of the Meek Bathange
that Whey had in their hands available funds belonging to
Charles Lattte and Op, to the amount at 517,0001. but
kept back the fact that they were in pommies of letters
authorising them to charge 230,000 L against it, although
at the time two of the rotes were due and diehououred.
Some objection was taken to the position of the plaintiff,
the 61. a share on his 200 shares having been paid for him
by Major Kitson, but his name wee upon the bit of con-
tributories, and he was liable to a further payment of 161. a
share. In conclusion Mr. Haddlestone urged that the
facts he had brought under the notice of the court were
sufficient to justify, his honour in acceding to the
spryerra
of the bill that the directors of Charles Laffitte nCo
might be declared to have had no power or authority to
enter into the agreements of Decenibor 8 and February 5,
that the shareholders were not bound by them and that
they should be cancelled, that it was a breach of
trust or duty to authorise the application of the filial; of
the company in payment of the notes% and a breach of
trust on the part of the National Bank so to apply them.
Mr. Cotton and Mr. Fischer also supported the plaintiff's
cut.
Mr. Jenne!, for the National Bank, characterised these
proceedings as an attempt to make costa, and to cheat the
bank of 2:4.000i. Thu plaintiff was one of those persons
who were commonly called " dummies," he never having
had and never intouding to have • shilling in the concern,
but being a mere trustee for people who chose to keep in
the buck ground. The facts were that the Ottoman Financial Company were applied to to Goat this Charles
Laffitte and Co. iLimited), and they again applied
to the Inesraatiesal Company, who west to the National
Bank. The hue agreed to make advances, but the
money never serially passed oat of their hands, Cheques
were drawn nensinsßy lizereante foe shares, and these
cpmees made up the carried to the credit of
and Clempay. may advanced_ by the
National Bank wan_ ID faciAnass money that was
paid in hy MGM a these sad the very money
paid la antathrtelkin by the of Idemeld
Tbe Temteeffer odd Alagoas—the COllOOO.
Ike ad the Jilt made a with the
end the peaks the plaintiff a very wridgeterann
eyed, and be themiN ft would whops be bed for all
parties to bath the WI dining without oath
Mr. heed believed there would be no abjection by any
of the eliminate to ffiat coats.
Mr. Theddlnione Goad pot secede to the mudgeatiou.
rearileteionceedd not whore was. Transactions of this
meet be •
Mr. Jeissit in . ad
that for shares
shist=l3 quoted •
datenteat at Mr. Bileon's,
aseeeding 40,111111 wire made, andbf. pie share wee
Omsat ad the money produced.by the diseanting of
Om none et the Internannal Cleared Company
by the National Beek, and egad that ikk
omit was • Akinend fat the eato:rmar:l;.t andrael
*Oh the
Banana Beak se kir its havoc* win son-
enrsat, bat to sat amide the Wet. as oe which
the advance was made. He obj to the plaintiff aa
trustee far Kitson andeavousits to take adman* of the
beassethen to whisk linos *as a pasty, and be also sub-
edited that the pagodas raised woe one which ought to

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