The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-25 00:00:00

THE EXTRAORDINARY LIBEL CASE.

The case of Anne Royce Morgell v Sir Edward and
Lady Emily Gambier was resumed before Lord Chief
justice Bovill and a special jury in the Court of Common
Pleas. It will be remembered that the action was ono
for libel, contained in two letters from Lady Emily to her
sister, a Mrs. Searle, and said by the plaintiff to charge
her with destroying her brother's will. In them she was
called a "cheat :" but the plaintiffs pleaded that this
referred so a fraudulent removal of certain securities from
among the effects of her deceased brother. On the con-
clusion of the evidence in the case,
His lordship said he had looked over the depositions to
find when the letters in question got into the hands of
the plaintiff, and from the evidence of the plaintiff and
the deposition of Mrs. Searle, he came to the conclusion
that it was not until after the abandoment of the former
action. However,the time did not signify in point of law,
although it might in so far as it related to the question
of damages. Then with regard to the justification pleaded,
there was strong evidence for the lawyers that if the
securities were not the property of the deceased there was
no fraud. What the attention of the jury would be
called to would be the question of damages.
The Solictor-General was much obliged to his lordship
for thus simplifying the case. He then briefly summed
up the evidence for the defence, adverting to the fact that
the defendants had twice over distinctly sworn that they
never charged or intended to charge the destruction of
the will, and that Mrs. Searle had sworn that the defen-
dants never made such a charge to her.
Mr. Bidder replied for the plaintiff, denying that she
had been actuated by the motives imputed to her by the
Solicitor-General. Ore advantage she had over the de-
fendants was that she had come over from France to
refute, before the jury, the calumnies to which she had
been subjected for a series of years, and during her long
examination and cross-examination she had not swerved
from strict truth. With respect to the undertaking in
1867, to abandon further proceedings, the terms were in
reference to the matters." Now, inasmuch as she was
not aware of the letters to Mrs. Searle at that time, the
undertaking could not be held to apply to the present
subject matter, but only. to the verbal slander charged
against the defendants in 1866.
The Lord Chief Justice intimated to the jury that the
plaintiff's counsel had withdrawn the third and
fourth counts, charging the later letter, and accordingly
a verdict for the defendants must pass upon
them. On the first count, charging a general
libel in the letter of July 1866, the plaintiff was entitled
to a verdict, and they would have to consider what
damages ought to be given therefor. The second count
charged that Lady Gambier accused the plaintiff of having
destroyed her brother's will ' • and the jury would have to
consider whether that was the meaning of the words in
the letter, and assess the damages accordingly. His lord-
ship then read and commented upon the evidence at consi-
derable length, and asked the jury in the first place to say
Whether the words in the letter meant that the plaintiff
had destroyed the will of her brother, Thomas Royce
korgell ?
The jury at once found that there was no such imputa-
tion.
His Lordship said that was a verdict for the defendants
upon the second count ; and left only the first count for
disposal, being a mere question of damages. That it was
a libel there was no doubt, as it contained the word
" cheat." Upon this point he might say that it was
clearly understood that the plaintiff had not taken any
securities which did not belong to her. They were an
agreed upon that. The only imputation was that she re-
tn,...oved them for the purpose of defrauding the French
Government of certain fees.
The jury then found for the plaintiff on the first count,
with one farthing damages.
His Lordship refused to certify for costs, but ex-
pressed a hope that all the letters in the case would be
.i.von up.

Lord Ebury is seriously unwell. The noble lord
will be better remembered as Lord Robert Grosvenor.

An explosion of gas took place at Wrexham Col-
liery yesterday, causing the death of one workman and
aliuring several others.

THE MONEY MA.RKET

AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two o'CLocx.

Business on 'Change to-day was limited, but Consols
were the turn better. The improvement has extended to
the Foreign Market, and Railway Shares are also better.
Consols are now 921 to 921 ; ditto New, 921 to 921 ;
ditto Reduced, 921 to 921 ; India Five per Cents., 1111;
Bank Stock, 2341 ; Exchequer Bills, 5s prem.
In the Foreign Market Italian Bonds of 1861 are 58
to 59 ; Spanish of 1867, 31 11-16 to 31 13-16 ; ditto of 1869,
31 3-16 to 31 5-16 ; ditto Quicksilver, 11 to 11 prem ; Peru-
vian, 911 to 921; ditto New, I ton prem. ; Turkish Five
per Cents., 521 to 53 ; ditto of 1869, 631 to 64 ; and
Egyptian, 821 to 83.
The Railway Market—Metropolitan are 70 to 704;
Great Eastern is 40 to 40; ; London and Brighton, 431
to 431 ; Caledonian, 771 to 78; South-Eastern 761 to 77;
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 52; to 521 ; Great
Northern, 1221 to 1231 ; ditto (A),- 1321 to 1331; North-
Eastern, 1461 to 145 ; London and North-Western, 1291 to
130; ; Midland, 1311 to 132 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire,
1331 to 1341 ; Great Westefn, 721 to 73.
American Five-Twenties are 901 to 901 ; ditto Ten-
Forties, 871 to 881; Erie Shares, 191 to 191 ; Illinois, 1121
to 1131; Atlantic and Great Western Consolidated Bonds,
271 to 281; and ditto Debentures, 341 to 351.
Telegraph Shares—Falmouth are now 9 to 9; ; Anglo-
American, 16 to 161 ; French Cable, 141 to 15 ; British
Indian, 8 to 81 ; China, 21 to 21 dis. ; and Construction
and Maintenance, 261 to 27.
In Bank shares Alliance are quoted 141 to 154 ; Anglo-
yustrian are quoted 16 to 18 prem. ; Chartered Mercan-
tile, 30 to 31 ; Consolidated, 42 to 5 ; Imperial Ottoman,
41 to 41 prem. ; London and County, 50 to 51 ; London
and Westminster, 611 to 621; London Joint Stock, 341
to 321; and Union of London, 391 to 401.
The scrip of the Honduras Loan is at 2} to 21 prem.
The Buenos Ayres Loan is 1 to 11 prem.

The San Domingo Loan is 65 to 67.
Advices from Athens state that the company for cut-
ting the Corinth Canal has finally been established with a
capital of 50,000,000 drachmas (21,700,000). The pro-
moters are assisted by a powerful French and Austrian
combination, but the London Greeks have declined to
participate. M. Piat has arrived to begin the prepa-
ratory work, and he will ask for the concession of a
railway from Corinth to join the Turkish lines. The
formation is also mentioned of a French company with
capital of 24,000,000 drachmas (R 800,000), called the
Socidte Anonyme de la Plaine de Copais, to dry up the
Copais Lake, and the chairman is said to be the Marquis
de Richmond. The caution money for a waterworks
company to supply Athens with water has been fixed at
300,000 drachmas (210,000). All the requisite pre-
parations for the speedy resumption of cash payments
have been made by the National and lonian Banks.
At the meeting of the Varna Railway Company the
report of the directors detailing the terms of settlement
proposed with the bondholders was cordially approved.
At the annual meeting of the shareholders of the
Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of
the Industrious Classes a dividend at the rate of 44
per cent. per annum was declared.

A. bill has been introduced in the House of Commons to
facilitate compromises and arrangements between credi-
tors and shareholders of joint-stock companies in liquida-
tion. It provides that where any compromise or arrange-
ment shall be proposed between a joint-stock company in
liquidation and its creditors, or any class of creditors, or
between the shareholders, or any different class of share-
holders, the Court of Chancery may order a meeting to be
summoned, and, if a majority in number representing
three-fourths in value of such creditors or class of credi-
tors, shareholders or class of shareholders, present either
in person or by proxy, shall agree to a proposed arrange-
ment or compromise, it shall, if duly confirmed by the
order of the Court, be binding.
The Stock Exchange committee have appointed Wed-
nesday, June 22, a special settling day in the shares of the
Thetis Marine Insurance Company and the Mauritius
Gas Company (Limited), both to be officially marked, but
the latter company in the bi-weekly list only.

Messrs. William Gillam and Co. thus describe the state
of the Manchester market by telegram :—" The market
is very quiet, and sellers are unable to secure orders for
yarns or goods except at reduced rates."