The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-23 00:00:00

The Rev. Mr. RUSSELL observed that they had at Cam-
bridge a similar institution as that at Oxford. It was called
the Mendicit7 Society, and the officers ascertained whether
the applicants were mere beggars, or were passing from one
place to another in search of work. Tickets were given,
and the mere beggars and vagrants did not like the tickets,
for they only wanted money, and moreover they could not
bear the ablutions. The society had the effect of reducing
the number of professional beggars in that town.
Mr. DIMSDALE, in acknowledging the vote of thanks,
said that when the society was first established Mr. Ches-
shyre was the treasurer, and the society owed its success
principally to the attenticn he had devoted to it, and to the
assistance he had rendered him (Mr. Dimsdale) by his ex-
perience. With regard to the architect, it was due to Mr.
Smith to say that he devoted a good deal of time to the
interests of the society, and that his estimates were always
prepared with so much care and judgment that in no one
instance had the costs incurred on any work exceeded the
estimate, while in some instances they were considerably
below it. (Cheers.) He would take this opportunity of
saying that the Hastings Society had established an excel-
lent benevolent fund in connection with the society, though
independent of it. They said a contribution of 18. per
share from each shareholder would enable them to establish
a fund for the assistance of their tenants in times of dia.
tress. The thing was found to work well, and was calcu-
lated to promote a kindly feeling between the shareholders
and their tenants ; and moreover it promoted prompt pay-
ment of rent. If any of the shareholders of this society
would like to join this movement, he should be happy to
receive their subscription for that purpose.
Mr. HATCILARD said, in reference to the large number
of tramps said to pass through this town, that the figures
did not actually represent the number of individuals who
passed through the town. If, for instance, a tramp re-
mained in the town a week, which was very often the case,
he would be entered seven times, and thus the number
would appear much larger than it really was.
Mr. LUDLOW proposed the thanks of the meeting to Mr.
Gosselin fcr his kindness in taking the chair, and for the
assistance he rendered to the society at the various meetings
of the board of directors. He hoped Mr. Gosselin would
long remain amongst them as a useful man and kind
neighbour.

Mr. AUSTIN, in seconding the resolution, said it was a
matter of congratulation that gentlemen of the neighbour-
hood came amongst them to take part in meetings of this
kind. With regard to the number of tramps passing
through this town, he had tried as a member of the Cor-
poration to get the actual number of individual tramps who
slept in the town in the year, but he had not been able to
do so yet. The Government only equired of the Corpo-
ration a return of the number of persons who slept in the
lodging-houses in the year, and as that included, in many
instances, the same individuals a number of times, he did
not see what good the return was. He still hoped to succeed
in getting the actual number of different individuals passing
through the town in the course of a year.
The motion having been agreed to,
The CHAIRMAN briefly acknowledged the compliment,
and the proceedings terminated.

Serious Charge against a Member of the
Stock Exchange.

On Saturday, Mr. John Bruce, a stockbroker,
carrying on business at 4, Bank-chambers, Loth-
bury, surrendered at Guildhall, on bail, before Al-
•ierman Humphery, a warrant having been previ-
ously issued for his apprehension, on a charge of
fraud, to answer the complaint of Mr. J. H. B.
Vivian, of King's Bench-walk, Temple, and Morden
Lodge, Tulse-bill, Brixton, who alleged that the
defendant had misappropriated the sum of £1,726,
he proceeds of certain London, Chatham, and Dover
stock entrusted to him to exchange for some shares
in the Recife and San Francisco (Pernambuco)
Railway.

Mr. Pawle, of the firm of Pawle and Lovesy, o
New Inn, Strand, conducted the defence.

Mr- Folkard, instructed by Messrs. Cardale,
Itiffe, and Russell, appeared for the prosecution,
and stated the leading facts of the case ; and added
that it was under feelings of a most painful charac
ter that Mr. Vivian had adopted proceedings, as
he and the defendant had been schoolfellows
together, and intimate from childhood; but the de-
fendant, having abused the trust reposed in him as
a broker, although no one would be more pleased
than Mr. Vivian if a satisfactory answer could be
given to the charge, it became his duty to ask that
the case be sent before another tribunal.

Mr. Vivian, who gave his evidence in a very ex-
citable manner, said—On or about the 22d August
last I requested the defendant to go the the Stock
Exchange and ascertain how many Pernambuco
Railway shares he could obtain in lieu of 48 £lOO
shares in the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway
and when he returned he said he could only pur-
chase 100, covering all expenses for commission
stamp duty, &c. I allowed him a commission o
61 per share on all purchases, but nothing on
the transfers, the same as I paid my regular broker.
I wrote out an order on my bankers for the delivery
to the defendant of all my London, Chatham, and
Dover stock, and waited in his office while he sent
his clerk with the order to the London and West-
minster Bank. When the clerk returned he brought
with him London, Chatham, and Dover stock to the
amount of £9,500, £4,800 of which I handed over
to the defendant with instructions in writing to sell
it, and to apply the proceeds in purchasing 100
Pernambuco Railway shares. I was about depart-
ing for Spain on the Ist of September, and I there-
fore gave him directions in writing to the effect that
if he could not make the purchase before 1 left he
was to purchase the shares for nie in his own name
At the same time I signed some blank transfers, to
be used in the sale of the London, Chatham, and
Dover stock, as the defendant said it would be more
convenient to sell and deliver the stock, and trans-
fer at once, without troubling me to come to town
about it. On the 25th of August I found that my
bankers had not delivered up all my London, Cha-
tham, and Dover stock, and I handed to the defen-
dant a further quantity to the amount of £2,000, mak-
' in g a total of £6,800, representin g 68 £lOO shares, and
requested him to purchase 40 more Pernambuco
Railway shares with the proceeds of them.
Alderman Humphery —What was the market
value of the £6,800 London, Chatham, and Dover
stock

Witness—L2,943 10s. I saw defendant repeat-
edly between the 22d and the 30th of August, and
he gave me an account of the purchases he had
effected, but I have since lost it. In it he stated
that he had sold the London, Chatham, and Dover
stock, and had purchased 140 Pernambuco Railway
Shares at £l9 17s. 6d. each. They were £2O
shares. I went to Spain on the Ist of September,
and was away for six weeks. On the 13th of
January, having sold the 140 Pernambuco with
other shares for the account, I went to the bank for
the certificates or transfers, and then discovered for
the first time that I had only 65 instead of 140 Per-
nambuco shares.

Aldermin Humphery—Did you not count them
when the defendant gave them to you?
Witness—No, sir. I believed there were 140
shares, and took them direct to my bankers, and
they did not count them. When I asked for them
I remarked that there was a deficiency, and the
bank clerk said he had only received 66ehares.
Alderman Humphery—What price did you sell
them at for the Recount ?
Witness—From £lB 10s. to £lB 12s. 6d. per
share. On ascertaining that there was a deficiency
of seventy-five shares 1 applied at the Pernambuco
Railway-office, and examined the transfer books
and found a similar deficiency
.there. I then went
to the defendant and showed him the account he
had given me, and told him I had discovered a defi-
ciency in the number of my shares, He said it was
all a mistake, and that if. I would go to my bankers
and look over my transfers I should find the certi-
ficates for all but about ten shares. I told him it
was not the case ; but not desiring to have any
words about it, I wished him good night, and on
my return to my chambers I found I had lost his
account which he gave me in August. On the fol-
lowing C3oFnlyg I went to my bankers, but did not
find the missing transfers. I then called on defen-
dant again,
iand told I had lost the account, and
asked him t he had it, as I thought I left it in his
office on the previous night. He denied having it,
and refused to give me a duplicate. I told him the
result of my visit to my bankers, and he then told
aie a very different tale. He said that I bad given
trim authority to use the shares for his own pur-
-1 pubes, and that I had lent them to him for that pur
pose. H e said that I had given him the transfers
signed in blank to enable him to convert the shares
ro his own use, which I had never done. I never
save the defendant any authority to apply the pro