The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-27 00:00:00

reasons best known to himself, tempted his fate br
returning to this country, he was at once sued by.
the " official managers" of the notorious London
and Eastern Banking Corporation. It is true teat
he surrendered and claimed the protection of the
Bankruptcy Court, but the right of action tielong-
,
ing to the plaintiffs was not affected by. this act
and, failing to get their demand admitted by
that
Nor
Court, they reverted to their remedy at I.'sw:
they
did they stop here. Having issued their aNvrit
is,e for
made an affidavit that they had probable ca',i
believing that the defendant was about to quit
England, and got an order directing him to find "IT
sureties in £50,000 each for his appearance. Thi
s it
seems he was unable to do, and the consequence
.10
that for some time past he has been residing J°
Whitecross-street Prison. An application was ma'a e
not long since to a Judge at Chambers to procure.
his discharge from custody, but after a careful argue,
ment it was refused with costs. He then applied
to Mr. Commissioner Goulburn, but here he met
with opposition from the assignees, whose expe-
rience of Colonel Waugh made them as unwilling
as the plaintiffs to let go their hold of him. How-
ever, that opposition has now been withdrawn, and
the Commissioner has resolved to grant the dis-
charge for which the Colonel petitions, in case
no appeal should be lodged within a fortnigtit
by the detaining creditor. Until that time tbl
dangerous gentleman remains in durance, and
must postpone any arrangements which he may
have made for his return to the more genial climate
of Spain. The grounds upon which Mr. Commie
stoner Goulburn vindicates his judgment are of
very unequal validity. That which he puts first and
foremost is the advantage to the assigneos and
creditors of obtaining a fuller disclosure Ulan they
could otherwise expect. "It was obvious ,to every
person of common sense that neither the accoa•ntan.ts
eater)
nor by the Court (Messrs. Brown and I) is)
nor the solicitor to the assignees (Mr. Link, later)
could make proper inquiry into the case whilt 3 the.it
bankrupt remained in prison." Upon such a p vin:
as this we readily bow to the Commissioner's k
s
on ; but, obvious as this may be, it is not I, ee
pion
obvious that the interests of justice would be st.'!'
more seriously defeated by the bankrupt's abscond "
ing, and rendering no accounts at all. It is aatis.
factory to know that very voluminous balance-sheets,
are in course of preparation, but we have heard
enough of the Eastern Bank to make us very scep-
tical as to any new figures being introduced on the
side of assets, and enough of Colonel Waugh to
diminish our confidence in the value of Ills service;
as an accountant. The Commissioner te:lts us that
the primary object of the 112th section Of the
Bankruptcy Act passed in 1849, permitting suet!
releases, was to facilitate a complete discovery of
the bankrupt's estate and effects. This may be true,
but we cannot help observing that this very section
recognises an exception in the case of persons w;`l°
are confined " for any debt contracted by fraud or
breach of trust," as well as those who have been
convicted of offences less heinous than those alleged
against Colonel Waugh. Assuming, as we are
bound to do, that the Commissioner has kept wit Ill°
the letter and spirit of this exception, we think it
plain that the Legislature did not mean the d;e-
cretion of the Court to be exercised, if it could be
helped, in favour of bankrupts who deserve no i
dulgence. Besides, the section empowers the Cou.vt
to insist on its own conditions, one of which
might reasonably be the production of adequate
bail. We should have the more right to expect
this security to be taken if, as in the present in'
stance, a very large sum had been already fixes by one
judge and approved by another. On the other hand,
it is fair to mention, for what it is worth, the state-
ment of the Commissioner as to the nature of the
plaintiffs' claim. It is by no means clear that the
having attempted and failed to substantiate it id
Bankruptcy, would be a bar to proceeding by way
of action, but if it be true that " the debt wet'‘
barred by the Statute of Limitations before the arrest'
was made," even Colonel Waugh is entitled totile
benefit of that fact. We can hardly doubt that it le
the consciousness of this flaw in their own case theft
has deterred the plaintiffs from carrying it an,
le
further for eight months. It is possible that on til
ground, which the Commissioner will not ahoy/ to
be the main one, the substance of his decision niel,
be confirmed on appeal. With the expressions that
fell from him in deprecation of prejudice agate"
the bankrupt we can have.no sympathy. Execs;
sive bail" may, no doubt, be need as an engin.e
oppression, and is prohibited by our law ; but it le
difficult to say what bail is excessive when the per;
son arrested is one who has diverted hundred!. of
thousands of pounds from the pockets of ottiers into
ea"
his own, and bus made off when detection was
rain. Colonel Waugh stands self-condemned. 1-10
fled this country when it was vital to his chars
that he should remain. He chose disgraceful 11?"
punity rather than the choice of establishing
pis
innocence, because he then believed that chance to
be desperate. What his motive for now bravifig
the latter alternative may be we cannot say ; but
until he clears himself every presumption must be,
and ought to be against him. Should he succeed
io
giving this last proof of his genius, he may revive,
it he pleases,the erilliant entertainments of Campde.ll
House, and dazzle London, like Cagiiostro utter
ul
imprisonment in the Bastile. But to undo the re.
that he has wrought, and to silence the biV•erhi,
proaches of those who were induced to trust 'O,
is past his power, even if his conscience be tel.'s
of suggesting the desire.