The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-22 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY—DEC. 2.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Fane.)

IN RE JAMES HOLMES.
This case, part heard yesterday, was to-day resumed.
Mr. Reed submitted that the whole of the bankrupt's
debts with Messrs. Kerr and Scott, of St. Paul's-church-
yard, contracted since 1848, were contracted by false
pretences, and on the same pretence he had obtained
forbearance of all his debts. The ground of the false
pretence was a statement drawn up iia 1848, and sub-
mitted to the creditors, wherein the bankrupt showed
himself to owe 20,3001., and to have assets worth

4,2001., with leases worth 12,0001., which were mort-
gaged for 6,000/. This would show a dividend equal
to 10s. in the pound, which the creditors agreed to
accept. Now, it appeared, that the debts were
1,500/. more than he had represented. The difference
was certainly not great in so large a sum, but after the
bankrupt had agreed to pay 10s. in the pound by six in-
stalments, amounting to 13,323/., he had actually paid
16,124/. His present balance-sheet showed that while
he owed 2,100/. to Lawrence Levy in 1848, he had paid
him 15s. in the pound while professing to pay only 10s.
In other words, he had paid a sum of 300/., given Levy
a bonus of 200/., and paid 1,0001. on the composition.
A creditor, named Price, also received 250/. more than
the amount of the composition. Though, in 1848, Mr.
Scott had warned the bankrupt against continuing his
dealings with Levy, and other money lenders, he
had continued to do so, without entering his trans-
actions in his monthly accounts, which were shown
to Messrs. Kerr and Scott, to whom also he had
stated that he had got rid of that class of liabilities. In
1851, he placed before them a balance-sheet, showing
a surplus of 41/. There again Price and Levy were
omitted from the list of creditors ; and he had, at a sub-
sequent period, shortly before the bankruptcy, admitted
to Mr. Parrington, the accountant, that debts amounting
to 5,618/. were omitted from that statement, and 900/.
of assets improperly included. Had Messrs. Kerr and
Scott known this, they would have discontinued to trust
him. Things went on thus till July last, when the
bankrupt having an acceptance due for 498/. in favour
of Messrs. Kerr and Scott, and being unable to meet it,
obtained funds from them for the express purpose, but
nevertheless failed to meet the bill. From an examina-
tion of his banking book, it appeared that after that
time he paid into his banker's upwards of 2,000/., while
cheques were drawn against this payable to " Self" and
"Selves," and which were found to have gone into the
hands of Price and Levy. On one loan, from a person
named Elliott, he had paid 60 per cent.
Mr. Strangwayes, for M. Jourdan, of Paris, a creditor
for 1,274 , opposed, on the ground that the bankrupt
Lad, in July last, induced M. Jourdan to make him an
advance in bills, for the purpose of protecting two of his
acceptances in favour of M. Jourdan, which he was un-
able to meet ; the desired advance, in a bill for 100/.,
was sent, but the acceptances were not taken up. M.
Jourdan wrote to the bankrupt, requesting him to return
the acceptance, but he refused to do so, and said he
would apply it to take up an acceptance for 751. due at
the end of the month. This, also, he had failed to do,
and M. Jourdan had to take up this bill as well as the
other two. It was further objected that the bankrupt
had 25 shawls of M. Jourdan's for sale, worth 179/. 10s.,
on commission, and that he had carried them into his
own stock. When he was asked for them, it appeared
he had deposited them with Messrs. Eyles, Evans, and
Co., of Ludgate-hill, to procure the forbearance of the
debt. There was no entry in the bankrupt's books as to
this transaction.
The bankrupt, in examination by Mr. Lawrence, mid
he had been occasionally in the habit of buying goods on
sale or return, and had kept them, if they met his ap-
probation, without communicating with the vendor be-
fore he took them into stock. He had had large trans-
actions with Jordan ; he was one of the persons by
whom the bankrupt had lost money prior to 1848 ; the
loss was 600/. or 700/. He had since gone on dealing
with him; they had been in the habit of exchanging ac-
ceptances from time to time to a very large amount.
He had begun business in Regent-street in 1830, and
had had traded advantageously up to 1840. Jourdan
had drawn on him for the shawls referred to. Se-
batard joined him as a partner in 1840 ; he had
paid his way up to 1848. Immediately he had called
his creditors, got time and ultimately paid 20s. in
the pound. The proximate cause of their insol-
vency in 1848, was losses sustained by the houses of
Robert and Benjamin Brown, and Robertson and Co.
He gave no instructions for the omission of an entry. In
the statement of his affairs he had also omitted a transac-
tion in indigo, which he held as security, not for a busi-
ness transaction. Since 1848 had never concealed from
Mr. Scott his transactions with money lenders. Mr.
Scott saw his cash book, and might have inferred
from the entries that 3,000/. or 4,000/. could not be
raised without having recourse to those persons. The
entries of " Self" did not all apply to Levy. The
regular returns at the end of the month would not
meet the payments. Had never withheld his books
from Mr. Scott or any of his creditors. He had
borrowed continually from Messrs. Kerr and Scott.
As to the omission of 5,168/., that was a mistake on
the part of Mr. Parrington. 1,897/., of this amount, was
entered in his sundry cash loans. A debt of 750/. to
Mr. Cocken was omitted through a mistake of the clerk.
His bankers would not overpay his account as they had
hitherto done. That he had 3,0001. of debts which were
pressing him (alluding to Price's and Levy's bills), which
he could have bought up at 10s. in the pound. At that
time he mentioned he had 3,000/. of debts. He proposed
that a cash-clerk should be sent into the house and take
all proceeds. The loan of 478/. was reduced by his
paper 350/. During the month of July, Scott trusted
him 1,200/., and 800/. or 900/., and at previous months,
some 2,000/. or 3,000/. He was speaking of Kerr and
Scott. This year he had been extremely pressed, and
parties who promisednot to hand in cheques had done so.
Mr. Lawrence submitted that previous to 1848 the
bankrupt, who had borne an irreproachable character,
had been very successful in trade, and the arrangement
of 1848 was his ruin. It had not been proved that the
balance-sheet he then produced was wilfully untrue in
any particular. Certain creditors had been omitted it
was true; but they had bided their time till the trader
was again on his legs, and then pounced upon him and
made their own terms. Any one who looked at the ba-
lance-sheet of '4B would see that it was impossible Mr.
Holmes could pay a composition of 10s. in the pound.
He was, in fact, mortgaging his future exertions to make
up the deficiency, and the creditors had no right to urge
against him that he was struggling with insolvency
since 1848. Mr. Scott, seeing entries in the books
of cash to and from "self," and the bankrupt's refusing
to tell from whom he was borrowing, ought to have ex-
cited suspicion that he was borrowing,money at a usurious
interest. When a man once got into the hands of money-
lenders he seemed to be the victim of an infatuation
which drove him into still deeper and deeper difficulties.
The amount of interest thus paid was upwards of
3,000/. ; the law expenses were heavy, and his time
and energies had been wasted in fruitless efforts to raise
the means. He had anticipated much from the Exhi-
bition, and it was well known that the season of the
Exhibition had been very disadvantageous to the Lon-
don trade. In 1851, Mr. Holmes was clearly insolvent,
as shown by the balance-sheet then made out, to the
amount of 2,000/. or 3,000/., and had Mr. Holmes told the
truth, that he was further involved 5,000/. to money lend-
ers, it would have been seen that he was much worse. He
(Mr. Lawrence) submitted that it had not been proved
that the bankrupt had wilfully misappropriated a sum of
478/., which had been paid him in cheques by Messrs.
Scott, to meet a partner's particular bill. There was not
the slightest fraud or false pretence in contracting the
(iebts ; consequently the case could not come within the
penal clause. The case of M. Jourdan was satisfactorily
explained ; the books had been well kept. Mr. Law-
rence did not ask for an immediate certificate being
given to Mr. Holmes, but he confidently contended tha
there was no fraud or false pretence in the case.
His Honour deferred judgment.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS—Dec. 21.

'Before Mr. Sergeant Adams, Assistant-Judge.)

THE FRACAS BETWEEN THE HON. BUTLER JOHNSTONE,

M.P. AND MR. OLIVERIA, M.P.

Shortly after the grand jury had been discharged, and
luring the trial of a case,
Mr. Huddlestone said—My Lord, perhaps I may be
permitted to take this opportunity to trespass on your time
for a few moments, to make an application to the court.
I believe the grand jury has been discharged, and I have
to apply on the part of the Hon. Mr. Butler Johnstone,
that the recognisances of himself and his two friends,
Lord Drumlanrig and Mr. Stirling, may be discharged.
Mr. Johnstone was bound over to appear at this session
to answer a charge of assault, but the matter I believe I
can say, has been amicably arranged privately through
the intervention of mutual friends of both parties, in a
satisfactory manner.

The Assistant-Judge granted the application, and
said—l am very glad to hear that this is so, for that is
the manner in which gentlemen ought always to arrange
such differences. This is as it ought to be between gen-
tlemen ; the sooner it is done, and the more privately,
the better.