The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-28 00:00:00

SHERIFFS' COURT, Nov. 27.

(Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BURCHELL and a
Special Jury.)

PRESS V. THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY.
In this case a question arose of " consequential
damage." The claimant is a florist at Hornsey, and a
small portion of his land, the value of which was 101,
was required by the company for their line. Ile,
however, made a claim for " consequential damage "
to his property, for which he was offered, as compen-
sation, 25/ , and subsequently, to avoid the expense of
the present proceedings, the sum of 961., which offer
was refused, and a special jury assembled to assess
the amount of compensation to he awarded.
Mr. EDWIN Janes appeared for the claimant, and
called several witnesses. He submitted that his client
was entitled to ample compensation. The company
would raise an embankment of 40 feet, overshadowing
the ground, to the serious injury of the claimant, who
some years ago had paid upwards of 7001. for the pro-
perty, w hich he cultivated as a florist for his support,
being nearly 70 years of age. The actual value of
the lend required was only 101., but he was sure the
jury would consider the "consequential damage" that
would be sustained, amounting as it did, in the opi-
nion of several witnesses, to about 3001.
Mr. BAXTER, as solicitor to the company, resisted
the demand as one of an extraordinary character, and
he hoped the jury would show the claimant, And others

like him, that the offer they had made was very
liberal. If the jury did not award more than the
sum offered each party would have to pay their
expenses, and that subject was a material one in the
consideration of the present case.
Tne Ls rued UNDER SHERIFF told the jury that
the claimant was entitled to compensation for con-
sequential damages beyond the value of the land
required.
The jury, after consulting for some time, assessed
the damages for the "consequential injury" at 250/.,
I and the value of the land at 101.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
.IVEW COURT.
(Before the COMMON-SBRGEANT
Frederick Williams, a respectable looking man,
surrendered to take his trial for embezzlement.
Mr. Ballantine prosecuted, and Mr. Parry defended.
The facts of the case were these :—The prisoner,
who had been for some years in the service of the
South-Western Railway Company, and was ticket
collector at the Richmond station, had, amongst his
duties, to receive at that station all excess of fares
from those persons who had taken tickets for the
intermediate stations, and had come on to Richmond.
All amounts so received were entered in a book im-
mediately after their receipt, and at night were handed
over to a desk appointed for their receipt. From
some suspicion that arose in the minds of the autho-
rests at the Waterloo-road station Thomas Bent, a
police constable, was instructed in the matter, and on
the 25th of August he instructed two young women
to take tickets as far as Putney, and then go on from
reere to Richmond, and pay over the difference,
amounting to ls. 4d., to the prisoner, which they did.
Upon examining the excess of fare bock the sums so
paid were not found to have been entered to the train
from which it had been paid, but other sums were
entered as excess of fare to trains at a later hour. On
the 2d of September two other persons went down,
and made similar payments by the 10 minutes past
4 o'clock train, and upon inspection of the books no
sums were found so entered, but, as on the former
occasion, sums were entered down to a train at a
later hour. In consequence of this, the prisoner
being unable to account for the circumstance to the
satisfaction of the authorities, he was taken into
custody, and after several hearings before the Rich-
mond bench of magistrates was committed for trial,
bail being taken for his appearance.
The cross examination proved that a great want of
due caution against the possibility of fraud by ser-
vants existed on the part of the company, the book in
which the amounts were entered not being in a printed
form, but merely filled in by the two ticket collectors
at the station, and the trains by which the excess
fares had arrived were also specified in handwriting.
It was also the custom of the company, during the
fine weather, to run extra special trains, so that
besides the traffic on the line being considerably in-
creased, sometimes the up and down trains would
arrive at the station at the same time, and the ticket
collectors would be too much engaged to make the
required entries separately, but would enter the
aggregate amount or else put down the sums to the
subsequent trains.
Mr. PARRY, in an energetic speech, commented
upon the character the prisoner had borne, and the
possibility that the whole charge had arisen out of a
breach of discipline on the part of the prisoner, which
had been provoked 1•y
y the style in which the company
had allowed their regulations to be neglected, and the
immense press of business that the extra trains im-
posed upon the station clerks.
, The jury having consulted a few minutes Acquitted
the prisoner.
Just before the rising of the Court a true bill was
found against Henry Bathurst Monkhouse for feloni-
ously shooting at and wounding John Farmer Monk-
' house, ss ith intent to murder bins.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.
A summons had been issued to Joseph Ady to
attend before the Lord Mayor to answer the cern-
plaint of Mr. Peacock, the solicitor to the Pest-
office, in consequence of his refusal to pay the sum
of 11/. 11s. due for the postage of his circulars all over
the country.
Mr. Peacock attended, and stated to the Lord
Mayor that Ady had called at the Post-office and
offered to pay the sum of 6/. as a compromise for the.
legal demand; that of course the offer was rejected,
and that Ady was inforu.ed that if he did not, before
the time appointed for the hearing of the case, dis-
charge the whole amount of the postage, the penalties
would be enforced, and that immediately before the
hour arrived at which the case was to be heard, he
again made his appearance, and put down the sum
required. Mr. Peacock added, that Ady had posted
about 1,400 unpaid letters on Friday last, so that si-
milar applications would probably be necessary in a
very short time.
The LOUD MAYOR expressed his readiness to grant
a summons for the payment of any future debt which
Ady might incur in the progress of his speculations.
The LORD MAiroit then requested that the public
prints would acknowledge his receipt of 51. for the
poor box from" A General Officer and his daughter."
GUILDHALL.
George Alexander Collie, of 40, Bermondsey-
square, was charged before Mr. Alderman Hooper
with stealing a number of shares in the Friesland
Gas Company, to the amount of 1,0001., and various
sums of money, the property of Mr. George Ogle,
of Great Winchester-street, solicitor; John Abra-
hams, of 12, Charlotte-street, Caledonian-road, Is-
lington, was likewise charged with receiving fifteen
of the shares, knowing them to be the property of
the complainant; and Edward Stuart Horneman,
who happened to be in the vicinity of the court, was
placed beside them, on a similar charge to that of
Abrahams.
Mr. Norton, solicitor, attended to defend Abra-
hams, and Mr. Nobler appeared on behalf of Horne-
man. _

Mr. Ogle, who conducted his own case, was sworn,
and said—The prisoner Collie was until lately my
clerk, and I placed every confidence in him, believ-
ing him fully deserving of it, as he was with me for
nearly six years. On the 28th of September last I
had occasion to leave town for Brighton, and having
to pay over to a Mr. Butler, a client of mine,
24/. ss. 81, I left a cheque on Masterman and Co.,
my bankers, with the prisoner, to give to him when
he called. On the 16th of October I returned
to town, and found, on examining my banker's
book, that the cheque had been paid, and,
therefore, I concluded that Mr. Butler had
received the money. About three weeks Idler
Mr. Butler called, and mentioned that the chi clue
had not been received. I immediately called Collie,
who said that the cheque had been sent down to Mr.
Butler (to whom it was due) about a fortnight after
I gave it to him. lie said that he sent it by post to
Henley-on-Thames. I then asked him why he
Chad
not followed my instructions as to the payment, and
he replied that he had received a letter from Mr.
Butler requesting the cheque to be sent by post. Ile
also said he kept no copy of the letter he enclosed
with the cheque. I made inquiries at my banker's
and found that the cheque was paid in gold the
following day—namely, the 29th of September, the
day after I had given it to Collie. I charged him
with falsehood, and he persisted in his statement
being correct, but on threatening to give him into
custody unless he told the truth, he said he had been
robbed at the Adelphi Theatre on the evening of the 1
day I gave it to him; which was also false. I then
dismissed him from my service. On the 31st of Oc-
tober a Mr. Pitt called at my office, and in the
presence of Collie gave a cheque of l. ss. 2d. to
pay the premium on a life policy. I gave him that
cheque to take to the Atlas Insurance. office, and he
returned me back the commission usually allowed to
solicitors. Supposing that Collie had the regular
receipt, I directed him to send it to Mr. Pitt, which
he did not do, for that gentleman called afterwards
and said he had not received it. The next charge I
make involves both the other prisoners. In the month
of February, 1848, a number of shares, amounting to
48, in the Friesland Gas Company, were deposited in
my keeping for certain purposes. They were placed
in a box amongst papers belonging to a Captain
Bristow. In December Captain Bristow, who bad an
interest in them, called, and I directed Collie to de-
liver them up. In February, 1849, from information
I received, I found that one share had been presented
in Paris, and the coupon received. I wrote to
Captain Bristow, and he returned 28 shares, which
were again placed in the box. On the 21st of No-
vember I heard that they were in circulation, and
also discovered that the whole 48 had been abstracted.
I found five in the hands of Mr. Smith, of Great
Russell-street, Covent-garden ; Mr. Lowental, of
Bury-street, St. Mary-axe, produced five more; and
Mr. Wallis, of Change-alley,", was the owner of 10
more.
The ALDERMAN wished to know if Mr. Ogle had
the numbers.
Mr. Ogle replied, that they ran from 730 to 777
inclusive. On the way to the station the prisoner
confessed to stealir-g the twenty-eight shares, and
that Abrahams was well aware the property was not
his when he gave it him, and a bill for 301. to get
discounted. The fourth charge was, that the prisoner
had used a policy of insurance foreloo/. on the life of
a Mr. Park, which was now in the hands of a Mr.
, Wallis as security for a 30/. bill.
Thomas James Harwood, managing clerk to Mr.
Ogle, corroborated the evidence of the prosecutor
relative to the conversation about his having sent
the money to Mr. Butler, at the same time further
stating that he himself posted it in Thregmorton-
, street, and he was quite sure that the cheque was
crossed.
Mr. Ogle informed the Alderman that it was in
consequence of the cheque not being crossed that he
i suspected it had not been forwarded to Mr. Butler.
Mr. Woodhead, of 8, Denby-street, Pimlico, fore-
, man to Messrs. Smith and Appleton, builders, said he

knew Horneman, who called on him the latter end
of last year with twenty shares of the Friesland Gas
Company-, and wanted to borrow 101. on them, which
he lent. The money was repaid in February, 1849.
In the meantime he sent one to Paris and received
the amount of the coupon. When he told Horne-
man what be had done he seemed rather surprised,
and said he wished he had not sent it away. 'Witness
afterwards returned the shares to Horneman.

Horwood said, he recollected Hornernan saying that
he bad received shares in the Friesland Gas Company
to raise money upon, and that after the money had
been with difficulty paid, he gave them back to Collie
from whom he had had them.
Al.lerman HOOFER asked who was the next wit-
ness ? Mr. Ogle replied, that he intended examining
the prisoner Collie on his oath against the other two.
Both Mr. Norton and Mr. Hobler objected to such
a course in a preliminary inquiry like the present.
They contended that his evidence could not be
received.

Alderman HoerEft decided that it was admissible
evidence.

Collie was then sworn, having been first asked if
he was willing to give evidence, and said—l know ,
the prisoners Abraham and Horneman. I knew the
former about two months ago and the latter about
three years. I remember the forty eight shares that
were placed in Captain Bristow's box, as I placed them
there myseV. I made use of the first twenty of them
about twelve months ago, as L was indebted to Horne-
man about 2/. or 3/ , and wished for some security for
it, and I gave them to him, and said they beloneed to
Captain Bristow, who had transactions at Mr. Ogle's
office, and therefore I must have them back soon. He
told me it would be all right, but afterwards said that
he ,had given them as security to a person in the
Strand to whom he owed money. He represented
that he was a glass manufacturer, but did not give his
name. I made several applications to Horneman to
return them to me, and a ventually, after many ex-
Cases, he returned them, less one, which, he said, had
been sent to Paris, to make inquiries. lie after-
wards seid that one or two payments had been re-
ceived on the coupons. I then told him that Captain
Bristow had applied for the lot, and that 28 shares
had been given up. This was previous to his return-
ing tbe 19, when he said that as application was made
for them it would be heVer if I destroyed them. I
am not sure whether Horneman or I destroyed the
one share.
- - - - _

Alderman HOOPER—I don't see that the evidence
touches Hornemar, as he returned the 19 shares to
Collie. _ _ _

Mr. liobler—And Collie says he don't know but he
might have destroyed the 20th himself.
Alderman Hoop Ea—l discharge Horneman ; and
now, is their additional evidence against Abrahams ?
Mr. Ogle said he should continue the evidence of
Collie.

Collie, in continuation, said—l first saw Abrahams
fourteen days before I left Mr. Ogle's service. I was
not then in the possession of shares, and he said if I
could get him some good security he would get the
hill discounted for me. I gave him the policy and ten
shares as security, as I was in difficulties; which I
told him. He asked for a reference at the office,
which I declined giving. I told him the shares were
not mine, and he irw.e no remark. He afterwards
said that he had deposited them with a Mr. James, in
Bow-street, Covent-garden, together with the policy.
He also took my acceptance. which I have not seen
since. I was at James's house with Abrahams, and
they quarrelled, about the 201. cheque, and James
told me that with respect to the 41. odd he had egret d
with Abrahams that I should tate it out in cigars.
Some of the shares were deposited with Mr. Harris
for a shell-fish supper, of which Mr. Abrahams, Mr.
Hunter, and a lady of the name of Norton, were
partakers. Abrahams was in the habit of visiting me.
I recollect cutting off the coupons of the 10 shares in
the coffrfe-room, and the five in the bedroom. I cut
som-, end Abrahams the other. Some shares were
destroyed by me afterwards. I think about 18.
Abrahams advised this course, as he said the shares
would look suspicious if they went out with the cou-
pons upon them, and therefore would be valueless.
He also asked for scissors to cut them.
Alderman lIOOPER.—Did you tell him whose they
were ? Collie—l told him they did not belong to
me, but to some one in tie office.
Mr. Norton said this was an important case as
regarded his client, and as it was then fast approach-
ing 5 o'clock, and as the night charges and usual
business of the court had to be gone through, he
hoped the Alderman would adjourn the case, as there
were a gnat number of other witnesses to be ex-

endued:
Alderman HOOPER said, that at the rate they were
going on it was very likely they would have to sit
there the greater part of the night. He therefore
should adjourn the further hearing.
Mr. Norton asked what amount of bail would be
required for his client ?
Alderman Hoorza asked the value of the shares
not recovered ?
Mr. Ogle said, that he estimated them at 600,
having recovered a portion.
, Alderman iloorEa said, he should require bail

the prisoner in 3001., and two sureties of 1501., with
24 hours' notice.
They were remanded until Tuesday next at 12
o'clock.