The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-17 00:00:00

THAMES.

A DISHONEST WATCHMAN AND IMPUDENT DEFENCE.—
Win. Archer, a watchman, in the London and St. Kathe-
rine Dock Company, was brought before Mr. Paget,
charged with stealing 21bs. of tea and a pint of port wino.
Frederick Potter, a dock constable, said the prisoner was
on duty as night watchman last night. The prisoner had
been suspected of pilfering for some time, and was carefully
watched this morning at half-past 6 o'clock when he came
off duty. The prisoner tried to sneak out of the dock and
was stopped and searched. He found 21bs of tea concealed
between the pooket and the lining of his coat. He also
found a bottle of port wins in one of the prisoner's pockets.
Mr. Paget—ln what dock was this ?
Witness—ln the St. Katherine Dock, sir.
The prisoner, in defence, said it was not for stealing he
did this. He picked up the tea and the wine. He thought
no real harm in doing what he had done. There were
thousands of chests of tea: and thousands of casks of wino
in the St. Katherine's Dock, and great temptation was put
in the way of a poor man. Ho only received 2s 6d per
night for doing duty as a watchman, and he was upon
duty for eight hours. He had been overtaken with family
afflictions. He was employed 14 years by the Corporation
of Liverpool, and was a man of good character. A thing
of this kind never happened before, and he had no objec-
jection to pay a small fine on anything of that sort.
Potter was recalled, and said there was a cask of wino
plundered on the dock-quay, where the prisoner was on
duty last night, and a small syphon was found alongside
that cask.
The prisoner said ho should like Mr. Mumford to be
called.
Mr. John Passmore Mumford, the superintendent of the
London and St. Katherine Dock Company's police, said
the prisoner had been in their service since March last.
The company received a good character and many testi-
monials in his favour, or ho would not have been employed.
Ho held those testimonials in his hand.
Mr. Paget said that confidence was reposed in the pri-
soner because he came to his employers' service with a
good character, and that confidence was grossly abused by
robbing the very property he was bound to protect and
appointed and paid to guard. The defence was an impu-
dent one. He felt bound to pass a severe sentence. 11110
case was put before him to exercise his summary jurisdic-
tion, and he should inflict the most severe sentence in his
power, which was two months' imprisonment with hard
labour.

`TIRE AT BELGRAVIA (THIS DAY)._,fin alarming
fire took place this morning in the premises of Madame E.
Lloyd, a Court milliner, at 6, Grosvenor-street West, near
Belgrave-squaro, which did considerable damage, but,
owing to the exertions of the firemen, was coa:led to the
part of the premises iu which it originated.

In the table of traffic receipts which appeared in
The Sun of Saturday, it was stated that the receipts
on the above line for the past week amounted to
£30,357, it should have been £20,357.

Another Joint-Stock Company Scandal

(From the City Correspondent's Article of the Times)
___ _ _

A committee, consisting of Messrs. Edwards, Bevan, and
Cheesewright, formed, with the concurrence of the direc-
tors, to investigate the affairs of "Smith, Knight, and Co.
(Limited),"—a company started some time back, with a
nominal capital of £4,000,000, to take over the contract
business of that firm—have issued a report, to be submitted
at a meeting on the 26th inst. This document is of an ex-
traordinary discouraging character, and will operate as the
most efficient warning that could be conveyed to investors
in undertakings which involve the purchase of the good-
will and plant of such establishments. It states that the
purchase-money agreed to bo paid was £230,000 (£130,000
in cash and bills, and £lOO,OOO in 20,000 shares with
£5 paid), and that it does not appear either that
any balance-sheet of the firm was ever submitted, or that
any valuation was obtained or inventory taken of the
plant and effects until months afterwards. In the opinion
of the committee, the goodwill of the contracts handed
over was worthless, and these contracts, taken as a whole,
were not only unremunerative, but burdensome. It is at

the same time intimated that there have been improper
additional payments to Messrs. Smith and Knight to the
amount of £22,747, and that further sums amounting to
£72,000 have been privately disbursed; also that two
calls on the shares held by Messrs. Smith and Knight
aro in arrear. The committee regard the general cha-
racter of the business with " the greatest alarm," and
add that, to raise money to meet pressing demands, the
most improvident engagements have been made by the
issue of promissory notes and debentures—a prac-
tice, perhaps, at the root of the largo dividends,
which some of the companieswho direct themselves to that
class of transactions aro enabled periodically to declare. A
repetition of such borrowings, the committee believe, "must
infallibly lead to utter ruin, and in the end to every solvent
shareholder being called upon for the full term of liability
of .£5O per share." As a set-off, however, against this,
there is the fact that important contracts undertaken by
the company since its formation have been sublet at a profit,
to yield, if they can be depended upon, about .£177,500 over
tho next three or four years as the works progress. It is
finally remarked that—

" The cominittee are persuaded that even with this as-
sistance nothing can save the company unless the share-
holders resolutely intervene at this moment. The committee
are of the decided opinion that no new business should be
undertaken ; that a voluntary liquidation should forthwith
take place, and that the creditors of the company should be
negotiated with to postpone their claims ; that the expenses
of the administration of the company should be cut down,
and that three shareholders and two directors should be ap-
pointed liquidators. The committee further advise that all
relations of the company with Mr. Smith and Mr. Knight
should cease ; that their 20,000 shares should be at ones
forfeited, and that they should be proceeded against for the
amount of the two calls, as well as the sums improperly re-
ceived by them. It being provided by the articles that Mr.
Knight should hold the office of managing director, with its
benefits for seven years, unless removed by a special resolu-
tion, such special resolution would be necessary to be passed.
The committee are convinced that it is only in this way that
it will be possible for the holders of the remaining 20,000
shares to recover ultimately a portion of the money they
have invested, after satisfying the claims of the creditors.
In conclusion the committee earnestly recommend that the
shareholders pay up the present call, that they may bo en-
titled to attend and vote at the ensuing meeting."
The entire report seems to have been drawn up with
care and conciseness that diminish the hope of its state-
ments being materially softened by subsequent explana-
tions, especially as it manifests no personally hostile feel-
ing toward the directors, against whom the charge is that
of neglect, and not of general participation in the proceed-
ings of the manager.

Death from Impalement.

Yesterday (Monday) an inquest was held at Guy's Hos-
pital, before Mr. W. Payne, coroner for the City and South-
wark, on the body of C. W. Palmer, aged 12, whose death
occurred under the following circumsatnces :
Leah Palmer, mother of deceased, wife of n basket-
maker, residing at 23, Kent-street, stated that the boy loft
home at two o'clock on the afternoon of Friday, the 6th
inst., for the purpose of going to the parochial schools of
the Trinity district of St. Mary, Newington, situate in
Swan-street, Dover-road. On that afternoon, about four
o'clock, she heard her child was at the above hospital, when
ho told her, " Mother, don't be angry, it is not my fault."
He explained how it happened by saying that the master
had sent boys, according to rule, to clean out the cistern.
.After having done it they vfeie about getting down, when
one of the boys for a game removed the steps into the
schoolroom. The deceased endeavoured to get down, and
being somewhat alarmed, slipped and fell on some spikes.
Thomas Hewitt, muter of the school, handed in a plan
showing the position of the cistern and the approach to it,
and its height from the ground. The deceased finding that
tho steps had been removed,had proceeded along a wall,
and in endeavouring to descend fell upon a spear-headed
pike, which entered the rectum and he was literally im-
paled. The boy (Henry TowerseY) who removed the steps
was a very sensitive lad. He did it in a playful manner,
and was much grieved at the result of his practical joke.
Several of the Jury obseried that cleaning this cistern
appeared to be dangerous work altogether.
Eventually a verdict of "Accidental death" was re-
turned, with a recommendation that in future a proper
person, instead of boys) should be employed to clean the
cistern.

Mr. Hewitt, the master, undertook that this should be
done.

MARKETS—This Day.

HAY.

SMITHFIELD.--Meadow hay, £4 4s to £5 ss; clove;
£5 5s to 16 6s ; and straw, 11 6s to £1 13s per load.
A slow trade.

CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, £4 4s to £5 10s; clover
£5 5s to £6 10s; and straw, £1 7s to £1 15s per load.
Trade quiet.
WIIITECHAPEL.—Meadow hay £4 4s to £5 ss; clover,
£5 5s to £6 6s ; and straw, £1 Gs to £1 13s per load.
A quiet trade.