The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

IMPORTANT TO EMIGRATION BROKERS.

A case of the utmost importance to passenger brokers came
on for hearing and decision yesterday, at the Police Court,
before Messrs. Bolton and Smith. The case lasted a con-
siderable time, but the following w1:11 be found to contain
all the facts, Mr. William Frackleton, an emigration
broker, carrying on business in Waterloo road, NU summoned
at the suit of Captain Schomberg, chief emigration officer at
this port, at the prosecution of Mr. William Inman, ender
the 71 section of the emigration act, for having issued cunt; act
Vekets to passengers without the authority of the proper persons,:
Mr. Forshaw appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Almond
was for the defendant. The penalty under the act, for an
infringement of the section, is not less than £5 nor more than
£5O. Mr. Forshaw stated the case, from which it appeared
that Mr. William Inman is one of the owners and agent of the
Liverpool and Philadelphia Steam Packet Company, and that
the only persons in Liverpool, except himself, authorised to
issue tickets to passengers, were Messrs. Sabel and Cortis of
Regent road. It would appear that on the 21st February
Mr. Frackleton took two tickets from Messrs. Sabel and
Cortis, for two passengers, named WiMana and Eliza
Brooks, for which ho paid sixteen guineas, The pas-
sengers were to go by the steamier Kengaroo. Mr. Frackleton
was not authorised to issue tickets for the company, flOr was
he acknowledged by them at all. Having got the tickets Nal
Messrs. Sabel and Curtis, the defendant issued tickets front
his own office to the Brooks', and it seemed that instead of six-
teen guineas, ho obtained eigh'een guineas for the ticket,
although he had obtained a commission of five per cent on the
sixteen guineas paid to Messrs. Sabel and Cortis for the ticket.
When the ship sac cleating, the passengers Brook produced
Mr. Frackleton's ticket, Cut it was obj.-cted to, as he had no
authority to book passengers, but the vessel could not be
detained, and the passengers were allowed to proceed, as the
defendant alleged that he had given them the original tickets
issued from Messrs. Sabel's office. This was the general
complaint against the defendant, and consisted of the following
points. That he had issued tickets to passengers, vzithout any
authority from the owner, master, or charterer of the v$8501?
and that he had charged more than the regular price for
passages. Mr. Forshaw said the case was brought forward by
Mr, Inman, not only as a sense of duty to himself, but also a
duty which he owed to t'he public, in order to have passengers
protected, for if persons were allowed to act in the manner
described, the poor emigrant from the country would be
defrauded out of the differ-nee between the sums paid to
unauthorised agents and the sums paid to the legitimate parties.
In support of the complainant, Mr. Forshaw called Mr. Inman,
who proved that the defendant was not authorised by
him to issue tickets, nor did he know who the
defendant was, as he never saw him till that day. The only
persons in Liverpool who were authorised to issue tickets by
him were Messrs. Sabel and Cortis. He brought this case for
the purpose of protecting poor emigrants from the extortion to
which they were subject about the docks, and had he known it
in time, and that the passengers were not gone, he would
have charged the defendant with embezzlement. Mr. Sabel
was examined, and proved that the defendant had no authority
from him to issue tickets, nor did he give him any authority
to act between him and Mr. Inman. Mr. John Ennis, a
clerk in Messrs. SAel's, proved having issued the tickets to
Mr. Frackleton. He said the tickets were signed by him on
b3balf of the Philadelphia Company. Dr. Lancaster, one of
the emigration medical officers, Mr. S. G. Nicholson, a clerk
in Mr Inman's office, and some other witnesses were examined,
and it appeared that the defendant had stated that he cancelled
the tickets issued to hint by Messrs. Sabel and substituted his
ohwaan,oahnatrig teldt a
the
h hoe
emigrants had pai paid
18
only
guineas
ngenaisn elan s oof. i
fwili6ic.h he got
a commission of 5 per cent. from Mess:s. Sabel, but that he
were the points for the prosecution, whilst Mr.
.r;..m"dT(ahese
(after
making an able address for his client) contended That the
defendant had giv a the original tickets to the passengers, .4
well as his own, and thereby giving them a double security lot
their passage, He al gued that the defendant was- entitled to
act as a broker and receive his commission, the same as sub.
ordinates were under ,he act, and that Messrs. Babel were not
to monopolise the whole passenger trade of Liverpool. He
produced Mr. Rippard, a clerk of the defendants, whose
evidence went to show
,that the defendant had engaged the
passages, in accordance with directions from his Bristol agent,
and that he only received nine pounds insteads of guineas for
each, and that he had to pay about 183. each of that sum back
to the passengers. He had to pay five per cent, to the agent
at Bristol. He said the original tickets were given to the
passengers. Captain Schomberg was examined by the
evidencemagistra watesosn
not
te
material,par and after part of the prosecution,tersome
co
but
consul-
tation, his
andquitesatisfiedthattheythethe
were
by the defendant illegally and improperly, and that there was
a great deal of knavery carried on against emigrants. They
would fine the defendant in this case £lO and costs. Mr.
Forshaw said, in connection with the section, there was another
which gave discretion to the magistrates who convicted a person
under the former sectit.n, the power to annul altogether the
license of a passenger broker so convicted. He would not press
for it in this case, but he merely wished it to go forth to the
public, by means of the press, that there was such a section in
the act. Mr. Bolton said, in the present case, the bench would
not enforce that portion of the act. The fine watt at once
paid, and the court we,c cleared or a crowd tuba att94411,4
hoar ibu rats,