The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-04 00:00:00

NORTHERN CI R C T.—Newcastle-upon• Tyne,

Aug. 2.
CIVIL SlDE.—(Before Mr. Justice WIOHTMAN.)
SPOWA RD u. YORK, NEWCASTLE, AND BERWICK RAILWAY.
This was the only record left this morning to try. The
action was brought under Lord Campbell's Act to ob-
tain compensation for the death of a relative of the
plaintiff by a railway accident. The parties agreed that
a verdict should be entered for the plaintiff for 351., the
sum to be apportioned as agreed to by the respective
Counsel.

CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice PATTESON.)
Join Hayes, Robert Bowey, Alexander Alexander, and
Robert Codling were indicted for conspiring falsely,
fraudulently, and feloniously toembezzle the sum of lot,
the property of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick hail-
way, their masters, the said money having been received
by the said John Hayes by virtue of his employment for
and in the name and on the account of his masters.

Mr. Otter and Mr. Digby Seymour conducted the pro-
secution; Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, Mr. Grainger, Mr.
Gray, and the Hon. A. Liddle defeaded the prisoners.
It appeared that for some time past the York, New-
castle, and Berwick Railway Company had been sur-
prised at a great diminution which had taken place in
the receipts on their branch line, which runs from
Newcastle to Tynemouth, which they did not conceive
was warranted by the state of the traffic. . Tne pri-
soners were all in the employ of the company on that
branch. Hayes was the station-clerk at Newcastle,
Alexander held the same position at the Percy Main
station, Codling was ticket colector at North Shields,
and Bowey was guard on the trains which run from
Newcastle to Tynetnouth. How any fraud could be com-
mitted it was difficult to ascertain; for the manner of ar-
ranging the tickets which were issued prevented any
fraud being practised. All the tickets which are de-
livered to passengers are stamped in a machine at the
audit-office of the company in York, with consecutive
numbers, and are theta made up into packets and sent.
to the different station clerks, who have orders to place
them in tubes kept at the different stations, in such u
manner that the ticket with the lowest number may be
at the top of the tube, that with the highest at the bot-
tom; and then by machinery inside the tube, the tickets
can be pushed up to the top of the tube one by one, num-
bered consecutively. In this manner they are deliveree
by the station clerk to the passengers, who deliver them
up to the ticket•collectors at the stations where they alight.
and it is the duty of the ticket-collector at each station
to make up into packets the tickets he receives, anti
to deliver them to the station clerk, who forward.,
them the next day by the ten o'clock train to the audit-
office of the company at York. The station clerks send
the account of the tickets they issue, the account of the
amount they receive, and the amount itself, at the close
of each day, to the olliee at York, and the correctness of
the receipts is tested by the amount of money received
agreeing with the tickets collected by the ticket collec-
tors. A fraud could not, therefore, be practised unless
several servants of the company should combine toge-
ther. A watch was placed on the traffic of the New-
castle and Tynemouth line the first few days of April
last by the agents of the company, and the third-class
passengers ware made to show their tickets to an officer
of the company as they proceeded to take their seats;
this was done in the morning and also in the afternoon
of several days, and it was then discovered that tickets
issued in the morning were re-issued in the afternoon at
the Newcastle station, the number on the tickets being
the same. Agents who went down the line I.kewise saw
the prisoners Codling and Alexander deliver small tete -
ceis of tickets to the prisoner Bowey, which was contrarj
to their orders, for the purpose, as suggested by tin
prosecution, of being conreyed back to the pristine'
tloyee, to be re-issued by him, so that the money received
by him frotn the passengers holding the re-issued tickets
might be embezzled. Upon these facts being diecovered
all the prisoners were given into custody, and their per.
soils and houses were searched; upwards of 50 ticket.
were found on Hayes, on Bowey's person and in hi-
house were found upwards of 4001. In Alexander's
house were found 501., and in Codling's 15/. 10s.
This beinz the case for the prosecution,
Mr. GRAINGER took objections to all the counts of the
indlettnent. rise principal one was, that there was no
embe-zzlement shown by the evidence adduced on behalf
of the prosecution, as no money was proved to have been
received by Hayes for the tickets oa the second time o
their issue, which was the money be was accused of em-
bezzling.
His .Loapeutr said, that that was so. He did not see
that there was any evidence to show that the passengers
who had received the tickets on the second occasion of
their issue had ever paid any money. His Lordship also
said that the evidence did not support the other count..
Tue jury was therefore directed to find a verdict of
Not Guilty.
Their Lordships proceed to Carlisle to-day.