The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 17, 1870.

THE MONARCH INSURANCE FRAUDS.

FURTHER EXTRAORDINARY DISCLOSURES.
At the Mansion House yesterday, Major the
Hon. Augustus George Frederick Joscelyn, Mr. Joseph
Taylor, Major John William Carnegie, and Mr. George
Edward Bulmer, formerly directors of the Monarch
Life Insurance Company (Limited), were summoned
• .
before the Lord Mayor to undergo further examination
upon the charge of unlawfully conspiring together to
defraud the public by means of false representations, and
by publishing a false statement and balance sheet in
reference to the affairs of the company.
Mr. William Henry Hodges, the manager of the
company, and Mr. Wright and Mr. Heyward, two other
of the directors, were also included in the charge, but
they did not surrender at the former examination, and
they were now again absent.
Mr. Frederick Maynard, public accountant, of Old
Broad-street, the official liquidator of the Monarch Com-
pany, proved that he took possession of all the books and
papers at their offices in Finch-lane. It appeared that the
defendant, Major Joscelyn, was allotted fifty shares on the
Ist June, 1869. Major Joscelyn did not pay anything
upon the shares that were allorted to him.
Mr. Ribton observed that it was well known that it
was a common practice to allot shares to directors in a
company without any money being paid.
Mr. Lewis said he must deny that this was the case,
and it was a very improper and dangerous course to
adopt.
Mr. Maynard went on to say that fifty shares were also
allotted to Mr. Bulmer, and be appeared to have paid ten
shillings per share only upon application, and nothing
upon allotment. The defendant, Major Carnegie, was
also allotted fifty shares, but nothing was paid upon those
shares at the time of allotment. The same number
of shares were allotted to Mr. Heyward,
but nothing was paid upon them in 1869.
Mr. Hodges, the manager, had 100 shares allotted to him,
and he only paid ten shillings per share upon application.
Mr. Wright had fifty shares allotted to him, and he only
paid ten shillings per share. On the 31st of December,
1869, the total amount of capital paid up
was only £BlB. On the 14th of July, 1869, a
cheque was drawn by Mr. Heyward, Mr. Wright, and
countersigned by Mr. Hodges, for £4ll is. Bd., which was
stated to be on the counterfoil to be given for selves and
first directors' allowances. Cheques were also drawn for
£25 for Major Joscelyn, £5O for Mr. Wright, £5O for
Major Carnegie, and £5O for Mr. Heyward. These
cheques were dated the 19th of October, 1869.
Mr. Lewis : I believe these cheques very nearly ab-
sorbed the total amount of the paid-up' capital of the
company? . . . .

Fiirtlier evidence was given by which it appeared that
the profit represented to have been made by the company
to the 31st December, 1869, was over £5,000, no such
profit having been in fact made, and also that application
had been made for shares, and that apparently large sums
were paid on account of these shares, but that no credit
appeared for these amounts on the books of the company,
with the exception of £BOO.

The examination was then adjourned till to-day
and the defendants were admitted to bail.

THE SUPPOSED FENIANS.

At Marylebone police-court yesterday afternoon John
Wilson, aged 43, who described himself as a gun and pistol
manufacturer, Birmingham, was charged with having 50
six-barrelled revolvers in his possession and not being able to
give a satisfactory account of the same ; and Michael
Davit, about thirty, was charged with loitering on the
platform of the Great Western Railway, Paddington, as
it was supposed, for an unlawful purpose. Mr. William-
son, superintendent of police, Scotland-yard, watched
the case. The prisoners were apprehended at
the railway station. Wilson was taken as he was
leaving the train, with the revolvers in his pos-
session, and the other prisoner while waiting to receive him.
Davit had about £l5O in his possession. Mr. Williamson
said he had reason to believe that the prisoners were con-
nected with the Fenian movement. Mr. D'Eyncourt re-
manded the prisoners.

THE RELIGIOUS TREATMENT OF ROMAN
CATHOLIC PRISONERS. - -

The select committee of the House of Commons pro-
ceeded with their inquiry into the above subject yesterday.
Mr. Maguire in the chair.
Captain GARDINER, the Governor of the City and
County Gaol, Bristol, gave evidence in reference to that of
the Rev. Mr. Myers, Catholic priest. He said he did not
tell the Rev. Mr. Myers he could visit without
being sent for. Mr. Myers having visited a sick prisoner
once might have dune so again, but he did not think it
necessary to tell him so, as his impression was he must
have known it. They did not recognise Mr. Myers as a chap-
lain, and he had only been to the prison four times in five
years. There were 132 prisoners confined, nine-tenths of
whom were Church of England. There were four Roman
Catholics who did not the Church of England services,
and two who did. During the last twenty years most of the
Roman Catholics attended Church service, and the rest
remained in their cells. He certainly should not allow
a priest to celebrate Mass in the prison without the sanc-
tion of the visiting justices. No application on the sub-
ject had been made to the visting justices. He objected
to Mr. Myer's evidence, and contradicted it on many
points. He did not think there was any objec-
tion to Roman Catholic priests being admitted
to prisons, and, if necessary, holding services there.
There had never been a refusal on the part of the officials
for a prisoner to see the priest if he desired to do so,
neither had any complaints been made. If a regular
appointment of a priest was made he should consider it his
duty to give him the same assistance as he did the Pro-
testant chaplain.

The Rev. Father ZANETTI, Catholic priest at Millbank,
described the system in force there. All the cells contain-
ing Roman Catholics had the letters "R. C." over the
door. There was no doubt, he said, that religious teaching
in prisons was necessary, as, besides tending to reform the
prisoners, it made them more willing to work and more
obedient to the prison rules.
The committee adjourned.