The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-25 00:00:00

Charge of Libel.

At the Guildhall police-court yesterday, the Hon. Cap
John Colborne, of the 60th Rifles, stationed at Aldershot
(brother of the Earl of.Sefton), appeared before Mr. Alder-
man Lusk, in answer to a summons charging him with
unlawfully and maliciously publishing a certain defama-
tory libel affecting the character and reputation of Mr.
James Phineas Davis, solicitor of No. 15, Clifford-street,
Bond-street.
Mr. Gifford, instructed by Messrs. Humphreys and Mor-
gan, attended to prosecute ; and Mr. Sleigh, instructed by
Mr. Lewis, jun., of Ely-place, conducted the defence.
The alleged libel was contained in a pamphlet entitled
" Money to any amount advanced at one hour's notice ; or,
the vampires of London," and the title-page went on to
state that it was " an expos 6 of the usurers of the metro-
polis, and how they share their victims," by Aperitdmos.
In one passage of the work, the writer, speaking of the
way in which victims are caught in the nets of the money-
lenders, says—" The clubs are full of their prisoners, and
we brush against them at every West-end ball ;we sit next
them at every dinner party. To be convinced of the fact,
go to any office of the first Jew solicitor, whose clients'
names are generally displayed in a most conspicuous manner
on large tin boxes round the room ; go to the office of the
notorious Arch Vampire' (a recent photo. of this worthy
represents him with horns, sitting in a hot region), Finny
Davis, off Bond-street, for instance, who has ruined no less
than 300 gentlemen of property, and involved five scores of
estates in irretrievable rfiin by kindly lending money to
carry on lawsuits, which have ended by both sides being
well looted." In another part the writer says, " Teach the
vulture to live on grain, the wolf on roots, but despair of
making the fraternity get their living honestly : that
hellish fraternity take counsel together." And a note re-
ferring to the above says :—" Their name is legion ; but
here are the names of a few—Jarer, Finny Davis and
Brothers," &c. It was urged that the libel clearly referred
to Mr. Phineas Davis, as he has offices within three doors
of Bond-street. The only knowledge Mr. Davis had of the
defendant was that at one time he had transacted some
business of a private nature for him, for which he made no
charge, and had also lent him £5 without interest, which
it was alleged had not been paid.
Evidence was then gone into showing that the defendant
had assumed the names of Fitzherbert and of Athol, in his
negotiations with the publisher and the printer of the
pamphlet.
For the defence it was maintained that the pamphlet was
directed against a class, and not against an individual, and
%hat it was published for the public benefit.

Mr. Alderman Lusk committed the defendant for trial,
but admitted him to bail, he himself in £5OO, and one surety
of £l5O.

Mr. Sleigh applied that he should not be committed to
the next Old Bailey sessions, but his application was over-
ruled, and he was told to apply to a judge if he wanted the
trial adjourned.
The bail was tendered and tho defendant liberated.

THE WEATHER IN SCOTLAND.---A keen frost,
which set in at the end of last week, though broken
by one or two short intervals of semi-fresh weather, during
which showers of snow fell, have prevailed for several
days past. On Monday the lochs in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh were covered with ice, and a number of skaters
appeared on Duddingston, Dunsapie, and St. Margaret's
Lochs. The ice, though otherwise good, was not suffi-
ciently strong to bear any considerable weight, and the
consequence was several immersions, though fortunately
no serious accidents took place. The Holyrood Curling
Club met at Dunsapie Loch in the morning, and found
the ice in very good condition. Last night the weather
continued cold, and several heavy showers of snow fell.—
Scotsman.

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