The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-19 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER.

SERIOUS CASE OF WOUNDING.—John Jervoise, a gentle-
man's servant, was placed at the bar before Mr. Payntert
upon the charge of seriously cutting and wounding another
person in the same position of life.

The prosecutor, in consequence of the injuries he had
received, was taken to St George's Hospital, where he at
present remains in a very precarious state.
George Harris said, " I am brother of the injured man.
I was passing along the Exhibition road at half-past 10
last night, in company with my brother and another
man. Prisoner ran up the road. I saw he had some-
thing in his hand, He made un observation as he passed
us, but I did not hear what it was, The moment after
this I heard a scuffle. I was a little in front of my brother
and friend. I turned round, and heard my brother exclaim,
"stabbed or cut." I saw him bleeding from a wound on
the face.

Mr. Paynter---110 you know how he was stabbed ?
Witne3s—l do not ; it was done very suddenly, and after
the prisoner had passed me.

Mr. Paynter—WEs there any instrument found ?
The police produced a formidable knife sharpened to a
fine point.

Mr. Paynter—Was there any blood upon it ?

Witness—There was.

Cross-examined by Mr. Lewis, for prisoner—l have told
all that passed. We did not assault him yesterday, in the
afternoon. I certainly pushed him. I did not promise to
do for him. I did n- t strike him with my foot yesterday
afternoon; I merely lifted my foot. We were not waiting
Inr him till he came our of his master's house to ill-use
him. lam not aware that he was seized by the throat that
night. I have not Leard that he was. We did not turn
the knife upon him, but his hand was cut.
William Lockyer—l was with the last witness and his
brother, but I did not see what took place. I suddenly heard
t cry, anl found last witness's brother stabbed.
William Draper, police constable, sworn—l took the
knife produced out of prisoner's hand ; it had blood upon it.
Prisoner said the others had attacked him.
Mr. Lewis—My client had been ill-treated and ;threat-
ened in the afternoon, and took the knife out for his own
protection and to frighten them from attacking him. When
they did so he merely drew it to intimidate them, and the
man was cut by accident.

Mr. Paynter—The prisoner is remanded for a week,
Mr. Lewis—Will yvu not take ball ?
Mr. Paynter—l cannot, in consequence of the serious
nature of the injuries.

THE COLUMBIA TRANSIT COMPANY.

Mr. F. H. F. Berkeley has addressed the follow-
irg iett.r to the 71mo:—
Will you permit me to correct an error seriously affecting
my character which you have fallen into, I presume inad-
vertently, in a leader in your paper on the late Columbia
Transit Company ?

You state " that Mr. Berkeley knew quite enough to
m..ke it his duty to k, ep a close watch on Colonel Sleigh's
proceedings, especial.), after receiving a quid pro quo for
his name and position."

Now, air, Mr. James Henson explicitly states in his evi-
dence that he never mentioned Colonel Sleigh's name to
me on any occasion, and was not aware that I knew of
Gol. Sleigh's being engaged in the formation of the com-
pany. I call to your attention that I positively stated on
oath that I never heard of Col, Sleigh in any way being
connected with the company,

How was I, then, to keep a Close watch upon Colonel
Sleigh? and what becomes of the assertion that I received
a quid pro quo from that person for my position P
Will you allow me to state shortly that which the evi-
dence proved ? Mr. Henson solicited me to become a
director in this company. Having acceded on certain
conditions, I thereby gave tacit permission to my name
appearing on a preliminary prospectus. Mr. Henson
was authorised so far to make use of my name. Any
publication of my name beyond this, or any state-
ment that a company was formed, and that I was one of
the acting directors, was distinctly false, and without my
knowledge or consent. No prospectus can be published cor-
rectly of a company formed without the officers of that com-
pany, solicitors, bankers, auditors, &c., being named, and
no such functionaries can be appointed without the sanc-
tion of a Board of Directors. No board meeting ever took
place. I was never asked to attend one. Who, then, ap-
pointed the man Sleigh to be manager of a company not in
existence? I would have indignantly refused to belong to
any board or to any company in which Col. Sleigh held
any °ince whatever, or of which I knew that he was a pro
meter. Col. Sleigh was the whole time kept sedulously con-
cealed from me. Waiting his time, nefariously using a
preliminary prospectus, and acting in the name of a com-
pany which did not exist, and was not even registered,
Colonel Sleigh had the audacity to announce himself as a
manager of such company, and he made me appear as one
of the directors. I never saw the advertisement, and I never
saw Mr, Maugles' repudiation of the company. If I had
my repudiation would have followed, as it did when toe late
to save me from a verdict.
The injustice you do me is to assume that I was aware or
in any way a party to Col. Sleigh's proceedings. I consider
that 1 suffer injustice from the verdict, because the Court
assumed that if I did not know I ought to have known what
was going on.