The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-25 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT-(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURT.
(Before the Lord Chief Baron.)
Joseph, Windle Cole, 45, a person of gentlemanly
appearance, described as a merchant, was charged with
misdemeanour, in having conspired with a person named
Maltby, who was not in custody, to obtain an order for
10,0001., by means of false pretences.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Gifford conducted the prosecu-
tion. Mr. E. James, Q.C., was specially retained, with
Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Ballantine, for the defence.
This case occupied the Court the greater part of the
day, and the circumstances of the charge appeared to
excite great interest in commercial circles, in conse-
quence of the magnitude and character of the frauds
imputed to the prisoner. The prosecutors in the first
indictment were Messrs. Lang and Campbell,
colonial brokers, and it appeared that they had had
very extensive transactions with the prisoner, who car-
ried on the business of a merchant and importer of fo-
reign produce upon a large scale in Mincing-lane. It
appeared that, in 1850, a wharf, called Hyam's Wharf,
at Southwark, was leased to the prisoner, and Maltby,
the person who was charged with being concerned in
the fraud imputed to the prisoner, had the charge of
that wharf. It seemed that it was the custom in com-
mercial circles for large advances of money to be made
upon the security of foreign produce, and it appeared
that, in July, 1853, the prisoner applied to Messrs. Lang
and Co. to advance him a sum of 41,0001. upon the secu-
rity of different parcels of tin and spelter, for which he re-
presented that he held warrants, and it appeared that,
on the 29th July a cheque forlo,oool. was handed to the
prisoner, and he gave as security his accounts for a large
quantity of tin and spelter, which was represented to be
lying at Hogan's Wharf. It appeared that soon after
this transaction some suspicion was created as to the
nature of the proceeding, and Mr. Lacy endeavoured to
obtain possession of the goods, but he was put off upon
various pretexts, and at length one of his clerks was sent
to see whether the property referred to in the accounts
was really in existence, and Maltby took him to a ware-

house above, and showed him a quantity of tin and

spelter, which he represented as the same that was re-
ferred to in the accounts, upon which the 10,0001. had
been advanced. It turned out that the warehouse in
question was not in any way under the control of
Maltby, and that it belonged to another wharfinger,
named Groves, and that the tin and speller were in
reality the property of another merchant named Pickers-
gill. It transpired in the course of the case that the
transactions of the prisoner with the prosecutor had
been to the amount of 200,0001., and it was said that
18,0001. had been advanced upon warrants of the same
description, but which referred to property that was not
in any way under the control of the prisoner, and, in-
deed, in many instances not even in existence.
The case was proceeding, and was likely to occupy a
considerable time. The defence that appeared to be
suggested was that Maltby, who has absconded, was in
reality the guilty party, and that the prisoner, who ap-
peared up to the time of these occurrences to have borne
a high character in the City as a merchant, bad acted
with good faith in the transaction.