The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-29 00:00:00

The bankrupt Edward Nairne was described on
the fiat as a stockbroker, who carried on business at
No. 2, Warnford•court.
This was the day fixed for the last examination.
Mr. Hilleary, of Fenchurclnstreet, was solicitor
for the assignees, and Mr. Plews appeared for the
bankrupt.
Mr. HILLEARY wished to call the attention of the
Court to the facts of this most wicked case. The debts
and liabilities were about 35,0001., whilst the assets
were comparatively insignificant. The bankrupt had
not surrendered, but was, he believed, at this moment
enjoying himself at Boulogne on his wife's fortune,
which amounted to 6001. a year. He would mention
a few instances of the bankrupt's conduct. A gen-
tleman whose name it was at this stage of the pro-
ceedings useless to mention had, two months previ-
ously to the issue of the fiat, handed over to Nairne
4,500/. tbr the purchase of Great Western Railway
shares. The bankrupt duly advised the gentleman
that the shares had been purchased, but it turned out
that not a single pound's worth was bought, and the
money was wholly lost. A second case was where a
clergyman residing in a rural district had forwarded
1 8001., with directions to Nairne how to invest
it. The bankrupt wrote to say that the money had
been invested, and actually paid the dividends from
time to time, but it now appeared there had
been no investment whatever. A third case was
where a retired publican, named Spurgin, had sent
him 1,6001. to be invested in Exchequer-bills. It
seemed that Nairne did make the purchase. Spurgin
having been so advised, wrote to Nairne to say that
his residence was on Hounslow-heath—a lonesome
unprotected place, and that, as he did not wish to keep
such an amount of property there, he would feel ob-
liged by the bankrupt depositing it in the public
chest in the Royal Exchange. In a day or two the
bankrupt wrote to say that he had done so, snd Mr,
Spurgin rested content that his money was safe. It
was now clear that the bankrupt had converted thoee
public securities into money for his own use, There
was a fourth case still more grievous and distressing
than any. A tradesman, residing in Isling-
ton, had placed in his hands 2,500/.—the hard-
earned savings of 3ears. The money had all
disappeared. The whole of the assets to meet this
heavy amount of debts and liabilities were 1,2001;
400/. of that sum was obtained from the sale of furni-
ture, and 8001. in this way :—At 11 o'clock in the
day the petitioning creditor came to ask his (Mr.
Ililleary's advice as to what steps he ought to
take for the recovery of his claim. He (Mr.
Hilleary) at once advised the issue of the fiat.
At one o'clock the fiat was issued, and before
closing hour at the banks 8001. at Nairne's banker's
was impounded and placed in the hands of the
official assignee. The bankrupt, having duped as
many as he could, and done all the mischief in his
power, set off to Boulogne, where he had since re-
mained, probably laughing at the credulity of his
creditors, and making merry upon their honest gains.
Vills such a person to go unpunished ? Was a petty
larceny to be dealt with according to the rigour of
the law while such transgressors as the bankrupt, by
merely taking a passsge in a steam-boat and passing
over to France, might laugh to scorn those whom
they had so grosily defrauded ? But there was
another incident in this case worthy of mention. The
bankrupt had a clerk named Beaton. It appeared
tliat a few days previously to the issue of the fiat the
bankrupt had transferred 2,0001. to his account at a
different banker's from that at which he (Nairne)
transacted business. Beaton went several times to
Boulogne, and finally the 2,0001. was disposed of in
mere stock transactions on the Exchange—" differ-
ences" as they were called, for which there was no
consideration, and in which no money passed. Was
not the state of facts to which he had drawn theatten-
tion of the Court, and which he was prepared to sub-
stantiate by undoubted evidence, of a most grave and
serious nature, and was such a person to be dealt with
as an unfortunate and honest debtor ? It would be a
disgrace to the law if there were not heavy and signal
punishment for such misdeeds. There was one fact
obvious. The bankrupt was entrusted with the
money of others to deposit in a particular manner.
He violated the trust and applied the money to his
own private uses. There was another fact apparent
also. The bankrupt owed between 30,000/. and
40,0001, and at present the assets were only adequate
to the payment of 9d. in the pound. Nairne had set
the law at defiance, for he had not surrendered to his
fiat. Now, the main body of the creditors, whom he
represented, were of opinion that this was a case
which ought to be thoroughly sifted and exposed, and
they were willing to forego their share of the assets
in order to prosecute the bankrupt, and, by punishing
him, deter others from pursuing so unworthy a course.
He agreed with them, and asked his Honour to assist
him to the utmost of his ability in bringing this
offender to justice.
Mr. PLEWS said he believed the bankrupt would
surrender.

The COMMISSIONER said it was the best course he
could pursue.
Mr. BLAXLAND, a solicitor, called his Honour's
attention to the system which prevailed upon the
Stock Exchange, and hoped this case, and the publi-
city it acquired, would show the public the necessity
of exacting their accounts from stockbrokers upon the
settling day, instead of allowing them to be " carried
over," as had been done in this case. Had his client,
the person to whom Mr. Hilteary had alluded, in-
sisted upon his scrip of Great 'Western shares on the
settling day, he would not have been defrauded in the
manner he had been.

A proclamation of outlawry was made against the
bankrupt, and a day was fixed for the further hearing
of the case.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

(Before Mr. Sergeant ADAMS, Assistant-Judge, and
a Bench of Magistrates.)
__.

Yesterday morning the Court sat at'the
Westminster, in pursuance of the provisions of the
Act of Parliament, for the purpose of disposing of
what are denominated " Westminster " cases. Of
these cases, however, there happened to be but one,
and so the Court, in due course, then proceeded to
try the cases from Clerkenwell which were still un-
disposed of.
A marine store dealer of the name of Browne,
whose shop is in New Montague street, in the
neighbourhood of Whitechapel, was placed at the bar
under the circumstances which are now detailed.
On the previous day Joseph Gage and James Payne
were indicted for having stolen a number of pewter
pots. Gage pleaded Guilty, but Payne said Not
guilty.
The cases of theft were all clearly established
against the prisoners by one of the police force, who
stated that when he had apprehended Payne, a week
subsequently, he found upon him 181 b. weight of
pewter in a melted state. The man accounted for
having such a large quantity of pewter in his posses-
sion by saying that it was the property of his master,
Mr. Browne, of New Montague-atreet.
The evidence for the prosecution having been
brought to a conclusion,
Mr. PAYNE, on behalf of the prisoner, said that the
jury would find, supposing his instructions to be cor-
rect, that the police had made a mistake as to the man
for whom he appeared, for he should call several wit-
nesses, all of whom would distinctly state that he was
not near the public-houses from which the pots were
alleged to have been stolen at the time alleged. The
Learned Counsel then called

Browne, who in the outset said that the pewter
which had been found upon Payne, who was in his
employ, was his, and not the man's. He had sent him
out to sell it, as he wanted to make up a particular
amount of money that evening. He had known the
man for about eighteen months, and he could give him
the best of characters as respected his honesty.
By the COURT—The shop he kept was that of a
general dealer. He sold all sorts of things. lie
dealt in anything, indeed, by the purchase or sale of
which he could gain a profit. He was a bookseller,
and kept a novel library, but he called himself a
general dealer. . _ .

The Learned JUDGE-1
shop, is it not ?
Browne, with some hesitation—Yes; and amonly,s
the articles he dealt in were old iron, nails, bones, rags
old lead,---

A marine store-dealer's'

The Learned JUDGE—And old pewter too, do you
not ?

Browne, with increased hesitation, admitted, that
old pewter was one of the articles in which he usually
dealt, if it came in his way. As to this particular
pewter, he had bought it in the customary way, hut
he did not buy it of Payne. Payne had worked for
him something like 18 months, and he was a strictly
honest man.

The other witnesses having been examined,
The Learned JUDGE left the case for the considera-
tion of the jury, who returned a verdict of Guilty.
The Learned JUDGE said he had not the least doubt
but that the evidence the witness Browne had given
had been one series of perjury. That witness either
bad not known Payne for the time he had stated, or,
if he had, he must have been well aware that he had
been convicted of felony.

Browne sAid he had 'never heard of the conviction
before.

The Learned JUDGE toll Browne he did not believe
him. lie was not quite certain but that he ought to
cause him to be prosecuted for perjury. He had not
the slightest doubt that the man Payne had been
in this man's service by selling to him, for trifling
sums, old pewter and any other articles he might
have possessed himself of. These marine store-
shops were great encouragers of thieving, for without
their existence such men as the prisoner, as well as
many others, would have no means of disposing of the
things they might steal. He should give directions
that this shop which Browne kept, slaould be closely

George Russell (34), of the city police, said, in
consequence of information which I received from
Watson, I went to the house of Kight, the
British Coffee House, in Blackfriars-road. I told
him a stolen 201. note ha 1 been traced to his possession,
which he had paid to a Mr. Tu!loch, of 171, Shore-
ditch, grocer, on the 14th of September. He said he
had done so, and I told him he need not answer any
questions, but that I was a police officer, and would
ask him where he got it from ? He said he
had it from a person named David M'lntyre,
a fighting man; that he had let M'lntyre
have 2/. on the note, and that there was 45. besides.
I asked him how he gave Mclntyre the 21. He said,
that 30e. was a bet upon a fight, and 10s. was for
attending at a police court to bail his wife out; 2s. Gd.
he had lent him the night before, and ls. Gd. for re-
freshments, and that he owed M'lntyre 16s. on ac-
count of the change of the note; that M'lntyre went
with him to his grocer's to get the note changed, but
stopped outside, where he was seen and spoken to by
the grocer's porter ; that M'lntyre stopped at a beer-
shop in the road, opposite the Eastern Counties Rail-
way ; that the name of " 'Watson" was on the note,
and that M'lntyre had written some name on the left
side of it; but that at first he was going to write
underneath the name of Ilratson, but left off writing
there and commenced writing at the left hand side of
that name; and this morning Hugget, the officer, and
I went again, and Kight took us to M'lntyre and
pointed him out as the man who had given him the
note. M'lntyre denied all knowledge of the note,
and we took them both into custody. Kight said he
had given the money he had received from Mr. Tulloch
to I\l'lntyre.
Mr. Wontner—Have you found in the course of
your investigation into this matter that what Kight
told you was correct ? Witness—Yes.
Mr. J. R. Bushby, clerk to Messrs. Jones Loyd
and Co., bankers, produced a 51. note of the Banbury
Bank, which had been paid in by Messrs. Roberts
and Co., at the counter, on the 26th of September.
" Tuiloch, Shoreditch," was written upon it, and
under that was the name of " David M'lntyre, Sep-
tember 14, 1849."
Russell said, that another of the notes paid away
by Mr. Tulloch, in change fur the 201., was traced
from banking-house to banking house, till it was at
last traced to Tattersell's.
Mr. William Tulloch, of 171, Shoreditch, grocer,
said, on the 14th of September Kight called and paid
me an account of 3/. 2s. with a 201. note. This is the
note, and this is my writing upon it. I gave him two
il. Bank of England notes, and a Banbury Bank note
for Si. I made Kight put his name to it, and I paid
it into the London and Westminster Bank.
Mr. Wontner—Do you not know that Mr. Kight
is a very respectable man ? Witness—l have no
reason to think otherwise. He has always settled his
accounts with me punctually.
The LORD MAYOR, remanded the case till Friday.
His Lordship accepted bail for Kight, himself in a
surety for 100/., and two sureties for 50/. each, but
refused to take bail to any amount for M'lntyre.
GUILDHALL.
George Quantock was brought up on a warrant,
charged with obtaining manufactured goods to the
extent of 30/. 10s. 31, the property of Mr. Lee, to-
bacco manufacturer, under false pretences.
Mr. Warrand, a solicitor, said that, perhaps before
calling his witnesses it would be better to give a short
statement of who and what the prisoner was. He
was only the previous day discharged at the Insolvent
Debtors Court, after suffering over two years' impri-
sonment; and the Commissioner, when releasing him,
said that it was with great regret the Court had been
imposed upon to grant any relief from the funds with
which it was entrusted, to enable him to come up for
his discharge, as there was no doubt but that he was
nothing better than an itinerant swindler. In his
schedule he was described as George Quantock
laßatna
Battle-bridge,
e -übder
dirdeogr3s'ei don,eiKd gei,ansb.
yreotos-sr7k as
ihki
inerreen;;
(commonly known as George Wood), of St. John's-
geandSlaacllseo,
Goat-street, Swansea, provision dealer • George
Lock, grocer, Market-street, Romsey, liampshire;
draGGpeeeroore Lock,
George Self, grocer and provision dealer, at Gains-
borough, Lincolnshire, and Hanley, in Staffordshire ;
George Turner, of the firm of George and Jas. Turner,
at Acton, in Middlesex, grocers and drapers ; George
Quinn, candlefactor, and dealer in soap ; G. Slade,
Haywood, near Manchester, grocer, draper, &c. ,
Lloyd, Wood, and Co., grocers, drapers, dealers in
snuff; tobacco, toys, &c., of Whitchurch, in Hereford-
shire ; of Waterhouse-lane, Hull, Yorkshire, cabinet-
maker; again as grocer and dealer in almost every-
thing at Selby; and finally of 146, Old-street, St.
Luke's, Middlesex, out of business and out of
employ. It appeared that he had swindled persons
to the amount of some thousands of pounds under
seven different names, which be had changed again
eleven times. He never stopped in one place more
than six months, and never paid any rent, but disap-
peared suddenly, leaving debts to a large amount at
every place which he visited. It would appear that
in the present case the prisoner called on Mr. Lee, and
made certain representations, besides giving two re-
ferences (one of them being the swindler Wright,
who was lately tried at the Old Bailey and trans-
ported), which appeared to be satisfactory, and the
goods were supplied ; but Mr. Lee, on making in-
quiries, found that there was no such firm as Lloyd,
Wood, and Co., Northchurch, Berkhampstead, and
he had never seen the prisoner until he met him in
the Insolvent Debtors' Court the previous day, when,
upon his discharge, he was taken into custody on the
present warrant.
Mr. Morris Lee, of 34, Holborn-hill, tobacco
manufacturer, said in the latter part of the year 1846
the prisoner called at my warehouse, and stated that
he had a grocery and drapery establishment at North-
church, Berkhampstead, and he was doing a large
business in the cigar and tobacco line. He wanted a
list of prices, which I gave him, and he then said he
would not make a large purchase, as he had a partner
to please as well as himself, but would take some 51.
er 6/. worth of general assortments, and would write
me from their place of business at Berkhampstead.
About a fortnight after, the prisoner called again, and
said he would buy a certain description of goods, and
gave two references, one being in some court off Fleet-
street, and the other being a Mr. Wright.
Aldermaa GIBBS—Did you go to referees ? Mr.
Lee—l applied to Mr. Wright, and from all appear-
ances everything seemed respectable.
Alderman Gies—Where did Wright live ? Mr.
Lee--I can't exactly recollect, it is so long ago, but I
think it was in St. John's-wood. The prisoner called
again, and gave me an order to the amount of
161. 17s, 3d.
Alderman GIBDS—When the first order was given
what directions did he give ? Mr. Lee —He told me
they were to go by the carrier, Bell, Warwick-lane,
addressed " Messrs. Lloyd, Wood, and Co., Berk-
hampton," and showed me a bill bearing the name of
such a firm, at the bottom of which it stated that