The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-20 00:00:00

the public would now be convinced that a change ought
at once to be made in the present system: The
balance-sheet of the committee stated the receipts to be
195/. 14s. 10.y1., while the expenditure had amounted
to 2181.
The report having been adopted, a series of resolu-
tions in furtherance of the objects of the committee,
were agreed to, after which thanks were voted to the
Noble Chairman, and the meeting, which was very nu•
merously attended, separated.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 19.
(Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before the CinEr
BARON and a Common Jury.)
LANGLEY V. ELLIS.
This action was brought to recover the sum of
771. 12s. Bd. for work and labour done by the plaintiff as
attorney and solicitor.
Mr. Crowder appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr.
Martin for the defendant.
It appeared that the plaintiff, Mr. Charles Langley,
carried on business at Chudleigh, ik Devonshire, and that
the defendant, Mr. Samuel Burton Ellis, was a lieute-
nant.colonel in the Marines, and one of the directors of
a scheme called the Direct Exeter, Plymouth, and
Devonport Railway, which was commenced in
1845, and, like many others which originated in
that year, was ultimately unsuccesful. In under-
takings of that kind it was necessary to appoint
local agents on different parts of the line for the
purpose of taking the reference and attending to other
matters in connexion with it, and the plaintiff was ex-
clusively eutployed in that capacity at Chudleigh. The
main question in the case was with reference to the lia-
bility of the defendant. It appeared that the company
was projected in Sept., 1845, and about the latter end of
that month a number of appointments were made of offi-
cers and agents to carry out the undertaking, and amongst
them was that of the plaintiff. The defendant did not
become a member of the company until the 4th of
October, when by his consent and approbation his
name was inseri.ed in the prospectus as a provisional
committeeman, and on the 7th he was present at a meet-
ing at which he was appointed one of the managing
committee. From that period he continued to attend
the meetings from time to time, and took an active
part in the proceedings, and it was presumed could not
but be cognizant of the plaintiff's employment by the com-
pany. Upon those grounds it was sought to fix the
liability of the defendant for the amount of the plaintiff's
claim.

Mr. MARTIN, for the defence, said that this was
another instance of a number of attorneys putting their
heads together for the purpose of getting up a railway
scheme, and inserting great profits into their pockets,
and then, when the scheme proved unsuccessful, of com-
ing against an unfortunate director, who at their
request had become connected with it, for the amount of
their exorbitant claims. He did not deny that Mr.
Langley had done the work, but be contended that he
never had any expectation of being paid by the
defendant or any individual director, and that he only
looked for payment out of the funds of the company.
Besides, the defendant did not become a director until
some time after the plaintiff received his ap-
pointment as local agent at Chudleigh. The fair and
legitimate inference to be drawn when an attorney got
up a scheme of this kind, and asked gentlemen to give
their services as committeemen, was that they depended
upon the deposits for payment, and not to the directors.
If the scheme succeeded, he knew that he would be will-
ingly paid enormous profits, and, therefore, he got it up
as men did other commercial speculations, upon the
principle " heads I win, tails I lose." The real question
was whether the defendant, either expressly or im-
pliedly agreed to pay the plaintiff's bill as any of the
jury would engage to pay an attorney whom they had
employed in their business.
The Learned JUDGE having summed up,
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff of
761. 19s. 4d.

THE LATE ROBBERY AT ST.
PANCRAS W ORK HOUSE.
At the,parish vestry held on Wednesday, the chair-
man, Francis Healey, Esq., related all the circumstances
which had come to the knowledge of the board of direc-
tors, founded upon the evidence they had obtained, and
the rigid investigation they had, with the aid of Mr.
Inspector M`Culloch and Mr. Lockerby of the detective
force, pursued in the matter. Mr. M'Gahey, the vestry-
clerk, states that he went in company with his son to the
London and Westminster Bank (Bloomsbury Branch)
about four o'clock on the afternoon of Thursday, the Bth
instant, and brought away the sum of 1551. in silver, and
the remainder of the money in notes. The silver was in
three bags, and they brought it back to the vestry-rooms
in a cab, and young Mr. M`Gahey took the silver into
the office to be counted, in which Mr. Plaws, the junior
clerk, asssisted him. The vestry-clerk left the pro-
mises, taking the notes in his pocket, having previ-
ously placed the 201. in gold in the cash-box in the press
cupboard in the strong room. It appeared that Mr.
Plaws sometimes assisted young Mr. M'Gahey in
placing the money away in the strong room, but he did
not do so on this occasion. Young Mr. M`Gahey states
that he placed the money away as usual in the press
cupboard in the "strong room, locked the door and
placed the key in the inkstand drawer on his father's
table in his private office, where it was always kept—a
fact which was known to every one in the place, and he
(young Mr. M'Gahey) states that he then left tho pre-
mises. One remarkable thing was, that when the money
was placed in the strong room it was customary to light
a gas at the end of the passage, whiCh threw a light into
the strong room, but on this occasion it was not lighted
at all. It appeared that when young Mr. M'Gahey
went to the strong room to place away the money, Gill•
man, the beadle, followed him, for the purpose of depo-
siting a book there, and he (Gillman) states that all he
did was to put the book down, and *sew out; he ob-
served, however, young Mr. M'Gahey at the press cup-
board with a bag or bags, he could not say which. With
regard to the key of the strong room being put in such a
place- as the inkstand drawer, the vestry-clerk states
that this occasion was the exception, and not the rule,
and that it was his practice, when money was there, to
take the key home with him. When the board of di-
rectors assembled on Friday morning to pay the perma-
nent poor, the key of the strong room could not be
found. After some time a duplicate key was procured,
and on the door of the strong room being opened, the
press cupboard was found to be broken open, and all the
money gone. The cash-box was also broken open, and
in addition to the 201. iu gold abstracted therefrom, there
bad also been taken three deposit receipts of the London
and Westminster Bank, for the sum of 1,000/ each.
Immediately after the discovery the police were commu-
nicated with, and on the arrival of the inspector and
Lockerby, the detective constable, it was found that the
room at the entrance of the hall leading to the closets
was locked, and a key was found amongst a bunch in
the office to open it. Mr. Laimbeer, one of the direc-
tors, was the first to enter, and he then discovered on
the wash-hand stand a crowbar, a screwdriver, the
key of the outer door closets, the key of the door lead-
ing from the main passage into the workhouse garden,
and some lucifer matches ; but the key of the strong
room was not to be found. The window looking into
the front yard was left partly open, and marks were
made to induce the belief that the thief must have made
his escape that way. After the most minute inquiry, the
detective police and the board were of opinion that all
this was a mere ruse, and that not only had the party or
parties not made their escape by the window, but that
the robbery had been perpetrated by some one intimately
acquainted with every part of that building, and as in-
timately acquainted with the operations of every part of
the establishment.—(Hear.) Another strange circum-.
stance happened on this evening. Mr. Jaques, the chief
clerk of the vestry-clerk's office, on getting into the road
recollected he had not locked the office door, and went to
Lamb, the porter at the workhouse-gate, and asked him
to do so, but Lamb forgot it. All the officers of the es-
tablishment had undergone examination before the
board, and now came the most mysterious part of the
business. On the Friday morning four new skeleton
keys were picked up in the front garden of No. 15, Cook's-
row, three doors from the new vestry-rooms, and al-
though no doubt they were thrown there to mislead,
still it was a singular fact that these keys opened
every door in the place. Since that another skeleton
key bad been found in the garden fronting
No. 16. Cook's-row, and what was most mysterious
of all was the fact that Lockerby, the detective po-
liceman, had on the previous day produced to the board
of directors a dark lantern, which was found on Friday
morning in the garden of No. 15, but which was not
given to the police till Saturday morning. This lantern
was perfectly new, and very small, of the size No. 1,
and has at the bottom the private mark of the trades-
man who sold it, which is R. L. The bottom of the
lantern was full of wax, showing that a wax taper such
as was offices
burnt in the of the vestry-rooms, had been
used,
and of a burnt lucifer was in the socket, as.
iAfliltthhaedseb things,
been placed there to keep the taper firmly fixed.
mysterious
theyr
to
wusaesrtehey merely
were, only
confirm the belief that delude
the authorities into a belief that the parties meant
re
who com-
mitted the robbery were regular burglars. The police
have ascertained thatadttheheefurcerxszreebsar is not such a one
hasasisbmeeaudembaydethefurtr
at:
hlascuhhroppuhs
purpose
but
by
yt hsautmi
et
smith. These were all the factsp
come to the knowledge of the board, but hvegeur.elfarsetyteed.t
to say that no clue had been obtained to the
ties. The chairman added that he was ready tol answer
any any questions, and in reply to what had been done with
the officers, he begged to say that the board of directors
bad felt it their duty to suspend the vestry-clerk for one
week, and had given him six weeks to make up all his
accounts.
Mr. STOCKTON wished to know if it was to be under-
stood, by making up all his accounts, included the re-
payment of this money which was lost? .
The CHAIRMAN—Decidedly, all the money.
Several vestrymen requested that the resolution come
to by the board of directors should bo read.
The CHAIRMAN said, as far as he was concerned, he
had no objection, and in order to show that he wished
to conceal nothing, he would desire to be read not only
the amendment, which was carried, but the resolution,
which was proposed and negatived.
Mr. JAQUES (vestry clerk pro tent.) then read the fol-
lowing
Resolution—" That in consequence of Mr. M'Gahey's
continued inattention to the duties of his situation, his
repeated neglect to pay banker's cheques into the
banker's hands as soon as he receives them, and parti-
cularly his gross neglect in not taking proper care of
the keys of the strong room, when moneys were placed
there by him, or by his direction, this board do recom-
mend to the vestr y his dismissal."
Amendment— "That the vestry-clerk be suspended
from his office for one week. That he be required to
make up and ,7 the balance of his accounts on this day
six weeks. The he be required to be punctual in his
at!endance, and attentive to his duties, andthe least
failure or onaissii min the performance of on
his duties, or in
the neglect or 01:4 136101 i to pay the balance dtio on the day