The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-15 00:00:00

have proceeded as far as St. Paul's, not more than
one-third of the passage money has been expended.
Mr. Henry Isaac Coiling wood said—ln the month
of April last I called at 6, Copthall-court, for a
prospectus, but the true, I then obtained had the
name of Mr. Mangles as a director. The secretary
gave it to me and asked me for my name and ad-
dress, which I gave him. I wanted passage from
St. Paul's, because I wished to go ato Canada my
own way, but he said they could only take me
direct from England. I called again on the last
Saturday in April and paid a deposit of £2O by a
cheque of a friend on the London and Westminster
Bank, and on May 17 I paid the balance of £22,
and the defendant gave me this receipt :--
" British Columbia Overland Transit.
" Receipt for Passage.
" Offices, 6, Copthall-court, Throgmorton-
street, E.C., May 17, 1862.
" Received of H. I. Collingwood the sum of
£42 for a second -class passage* from England to
Canada, to sail in May, and from thence to British
Columbia by the Emigrnt Escort Train.
" £42." (Signed) "J. HEN SON, SEC.
Witness—l objected to the words " second class,"
because I believed I had paid for a first class pas-
sage. I received two circulars from the company
in April, one dated the 11th, stating that the dis-
tinction of classes would be abolished, and £5 extra
charged for saloon berths ; that the company only
provided provisions to Montreal ; that game and
fish abounded on the journey ; and that waggons
would accompany the train with provisions, which
the passengers would be allowed to purchase at
cost price. The other circular, dated April 28,
announced that the company had received letters
from their agents at Fort Garry, Red River Settle-
ment, stating that steam communication had been
opened for 200 miles above St. Paul's, and that
a steamer was then ready to run on the Red River
a distance of 180 miles, which would reduce the
land transit by 380 miles, and save five days in the
journey to British Columbia. I left London on the
29th of May for Glasgow, with about 30 other pas-
sengers, and sailed on the 31st in the screw-
steamer the United Kingdom. We arrived at
Quebec on the 17th or 18th of June, and travelled
by railway and boat to St. Paul's, in Minnesota, in
the United States, which we reached about the 27th
of June, and found that no provision whatever had
been made to forward us on our journey to British
Columbia, either in the way of waggons, provisions,
or the promised emigrant escort train. The com-
pany's agent from Toronto was there, and he said
he had no money to provide conveyance for us.
There were not even lodgings provided for us, and
after a week's stay I came away with powers of
attorney to act on behalf of my fellow passengers.
I arrived in England on the 20th of July, and on
proceeding to the company's offices I found the name
which was on the side of the door had been painted
out, and the company's offices removed. I could
not at that time trace where the company had gone.
I left my fellow passengers camped out under
canvas, where they were thrown on their own re-
sources entirely for everything they expected to
have been provided by the company.
Cross-examined—The company performed their
contract as far as St. Paul's without any cause of
complaint. We were to have gone on from St.
Paul's by means of four-horse spring waggons, ac-
companied by a numerous escort. There was a
firm in St. Paul's of the name of Burbank and Co.,
who have stages running to George Town, on the
Red River, but they refused to accept the agent's
drafts on the company in payment of our passage
by their conveyances. Captain Shrapnel], the bar-
rackmaster of Quebec, was then communicated with
by telegraph, and he directed the agents to draw
on him at 60 days sight, but Burbank and Co. re-
fused to accept such drafts. There is, I believe, one
steamer on the Red River plying between George
Town and Fort Garry, once a-week. It belongs
to Burbank and Co. I paid my money on the faith
of the prospectus, that it was a limited liability
company, and that all the arrangements, as adver-
tised, either had been or would be made. I have
no doubt I read the words, "limited—to be incor
porated," in the prospectus. I have not made any
application to the gentlemen named in the pro-
spectus for the return of my money since I have
come back. I have left the matter entirely in the
hands of my solicitor.
Re-examined—Messrs. Prichard and Collette are
the solicitors to this company, and Mr. Collette is
here to-day.
Mr. Collette—l do not represent the company in
any way in this matter.
Witness—The agent, Mr. Hime, told me that
the company promised to give him a cash credit on
the Bank of British North America, but that they
had failed to do so.
Mr. Philbrick here read a long correspondence
that had ensued between the solicitors on the sub-
ject of compensation, in some of which Mr. Harris
stipulated that his clients should be placed in the
same position as they were before taking their pas-
sage by the company's transit, and that they should
also receive payment for the loss of time, &c., nearly
all of which was acceded to in some of the letters
from Messrs. Collette and Prichard, and from their
general tenor the magistrate was favourably im-
pressed with regard to the bona fides of the com-
pany, but the concluding letter negatived all the
good intentions of making compensation, as will be
seen by the following, which is' a copy :
"British Columbia, &c., Company,
" 57, Lincoln's-inn-fields, Aug. 8, 1862.
" Dear Sir,—Some of the gentlemen whose names
appeared in the prospectus of this company have
attended the meeting to-day, an -I others have written.
They repudiate the authority of the promoter and
manager of the company, under whose instructions
we have written to you, and whom we have consi-
dered duly authorised to communicate to us on be-
half of the company. Those who were present also
disclaim our letter to you of the 31st ult. They
each intend to employ their own solicitors in the
matter. We are therefore under the necessity of
requesting you to consider our letters as with-
drawn, and while we truly sympathise with the
position of your clients, we regret that it is out of
our power to render them any further assistance
in the matter. When our names were used in the
prospectus we were assured that every gentleman
whose name appears in it had given his written
consent to act as director, which appears to be now
denied. We are not aware that any trading had
taken place until the present claim had been made.
"We are, Sir, yours truly,
" PRICHARD AND COLLETE.

" H. Harris, Esq."
Mr. Thomas Beddall, of Finchinfield, Essex, was
then called to prove the payment of the passage-
money for two of his brothers, and said—While at
the office I saw the defendant and three or four
clerks, who appeared to be very busy. I saw a
person who seemed to take an active part in the
business. That person I believe was Colonel Sleigh.
Mr. Harris proposed to call a witness to prove
that the route laid down was utterly impracticable.
Alderman Finnis saiu he could not go into that
question, as 20 witnesses would prove it was not a
practicable route, and a similar number would prove
the contrary.
Mr. Larratt Wm. Smith, a barrister from Canada,
said—l know Mr. Hime. He brought me the ori-
ginal letter from the company asking him to be-
come their agent. I advised him to have nothing
to do with it unless the money were deposited in the
bank. I am solicitor to the Bank of British
North America, and therefore know that no funds
have been paid in there for Mr. Hime, who has
never even been paid for his own services by the
company.
Mr. Charles Hastings Collette said—l decline to
say who authorised me to write the letter of the 31st
of July (according to Mr. Harrison's demands).
Cross-examined—lt was not the defendant.
Mr. James Elms—l was one of the passengers
who went out with Mr. Collingwood. I have heard
his statement to-day, and I adopt every word of it
as correct. I left St. Paul's about 16 days after
Mr. Collingwood, and up to that time not one of
the gentlemen who went out had received a single
sixpence of subsistence money from the company,
or been provided for in any way by the company.
I have come back at my own expense.
Alderman Finnis—Have the other passengers the
means of returning ?
Witness—No, sir; they are totally unprovided
for.
Alderman Finnis said this case had now lasted
so many hours that it was very desirable it should
be adjourned to enable him to proceed with the
other business of the court.

Mr. Philbrick called the magistrate's attention to
the fact, that nothing was stated of there being a
company at all, beyond the intention of incorpo-
rating one, and any promise to do a thing in the
future could not—such was the principle of law—
be made a false pretence. It was clear the corn
pang was not a sham, for these parties had been
sent as far as St. Paul's, two-thirds of the distance
of the whole journey, and a failure then occurred
in consequence of the disturbed state of the country
during the war. There was no evidence to show
that the defendant anticipated this failure at the
time he received the passage-money, and if he
servant
had, salaried •ervant, and chuld
had, he was merely
not be held criminally responsible for the
acts of the companY: Had not the company
been a genuine institution,
ernetoraLocfomeerresponsible for the
her
was not likely the
Majesty's forces in
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their
that advertisements
c o nvey a nacneds
fulfilment of the company's contracts as had been
company,
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proved.
prospec
and by
overland
The

lug;" g provisions to Montreal; 501 b. of
ai:ralinlulodwed to each passenger from St. Paul's.