The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-06 00:00:00

DEFERRED SENTENCES.

George Gibbs and Benj•smin Greedy, for burglary, ten
years' penal servitude : George Bailey and John Berry,
for burglary, six years' penal servitude ; Henry Bray and
Frederick Emery, for passing bad money, twelve months'
imprisonment with hard labour ; George Jones, for pass
ing bad money, eight months' imprisonment with bar',
labour.
Nist Pasts COURT.—(B. f ire Mr. Sergeant Cl.annell.)

BASKERVILLE V. THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY co.
Mr. M. Smith, Q C., and Mr. Edwards fur the plain-
ff ; Mr. Butt, Q.C., Mr. Sergeant Kinglake, and Mr.
Stone for the defendants.
This was an action for compensation for dismissal from
the performance of a contract, and was one of many si
collar cases arising out of the mania for railway exten-
sion in 1847-8. At that period the Great Western throw
out a line in competition with the Central line. It waq
promoted by as independent company, who got a
bit
for what is known as the Wiltf,, Somerset, and Wey-
mouth line, who, after entering into contracts and coo,-
mencing the undertaking, at length abandoned it to the
Great We-tern. The present plaintiffs were contractots
for a portion of the line called the Ansford contract, and
sued the defendants as representatives of the Wilts.
Somerset, and Weyluonth Company. The works, whic.
have been long in abeyance, are now beqig revived, and
the plaintiffs are desirous of carrying out the contract,
but the Great Western Company are completing thr
works by other partieQ.
The case h ecarcely been opened when it was agreed
• hat it shou!d 6e referred, and that the opinion of the
Court of Qieen's Bench should be taken on the issues
raised.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLoucEsTEu, AEG. 5.
CitowN. COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice Wighttnao.)
CHARGES OF EMBEZZLEMENT AGAINST A i3ANIZ MANAGER

AT TEWKESBURY.

Theodore Evans was arraigned on several charges o
larceny and embezzlement all7ged against him while act.
hig as manatzer of the Twekesnury branch of the Glon
cLstershire Banking Company. The case excited a grew
deal of intere,t on aeccunt of the extent of the allege(

defalcations, and the highly respectable position which
tto prisoner had occupied up to the time of making the
charge. He had been hailed out, but on the case being
c4lled on he surrendered, and took his place in the dock
with other prisoners. Mr. Huddleston and Mr. Cripps
conducted the prte,ecutt,,n, aed Mr. Ski. ner defended
the piisoner, 7he trial occupied three hours On Mon
when the priemier as indicted for stealing sums co
1,0001., 5001., and 2501 , the moneys of the b ►nk. The
following is a summary of the facts :
The prisoner was manager of the Tewkesbury Branch
Bank from Sept., 1849, to April last, when, at the re-
filest of thedirectors, he resigned. His successor,
pleby, on going through the accounts, found several dig•
crepancies, and a df,fieioney of 3,2501 was apparent off
the a‘sets. On the day when he mado the discover)
(July 2 last), the prisoner told Mr. Appleby that he had
lent sums of money amounting to 1,7501. to certain par-
ties, without making entries in the bank notes of the
transaction. viz, 1,0001. to Mr. H. Brown, M.P. ; 5001.
to a Mr. Waller; and 2501. to Mr. J. Nind, and he pro-
duced two cheques of 5001. each to pay Mr. Brown's
1,0001., and told Appleby to plans the 7501. lent to
Allen and Nind to his account. He refused, however,
to account for the remaining 1,5001. The way in which
he had been enabled to make these advances without
the knowledge of the Bank was this : when the quar-
terly balances were made up he directed a clerk named
Chadborn, by whom the work of taking out each cus-
tomer's credit balance was done to make up the defi
ciency by stating the balance due to different customers
I at sums from 5001. to 2501. less than the actual amount

Thus, at the Michaelmas balancing in 1355 he told the
clerk Chadborn that there was 1,750/. deficient, and be

was to take it out of such balanc,s as would bear it.
Chadborn accordingly, in making out the balances on
that quarter, stated the balan.43 due to Mr. T. Smith at
789/. 9.3. 2d instead of 1,281/. 9. 2d. (the actual balance
then due to Mr. Smith) Mr. %V. Smith's balance was
set down at 1,0311. 133. ld., instead of 1,5311. 13s. id. ;
Mr. Strickland's balance at 4421. 2s. 10d., instead of
6921. 23. 10d., and Mr. Tombs' balance at 2,5761. 16,.
61., instead of 3,0761. 164. Id. These four balances
showed an aggregate of 1,7501. less than the actual
amount due to the cuvtlenerg. This plan was repeated at
the December balancing, tae deficiency being further in-
creased, and so again at the Lady-day balancing. There
was also a false statement of 5001. as to the amount of
stock notes in hand.
To prove these and collateral facts the following wit-
nesses were examined :
Mr. N. Hartland, managing director of the bank, who
proved that the prisoner had no authorfty to lend money
of the bank without having the transaction recorded if,
the book, and that he had never told him (Mr. Hartland)
of any advance made to Mr. Brown, Mr. Allen, or Mi.
Nincl. He went through the quarterly balar nee with the
prisoner, and they appeared correct at Michaelmas,
Christmas, and Lady day. The prisoner's salary com-
menced at 250/ , and was increased to 4001. He bad for-
bidden him making advances without due precaution.
Evans held ten shares in the bank. _

Mr. Appleby, Evans's successor, proved the di• covery
of the deficiency, as mentioned above, and the circum-
stances attending the interview of the 2d July. Mr
Brown's cheques are dated April, 1855. WitneFe received
them in July, 1856. Evans said he had lent the money
secretly, as he did not wish Mr. Hartland to know any-
thing about it.
Mr. Chadborn gave in detail the instruction of Evans
as to the mode of " cooking" the quarterly balance. On
remonstrating with him, he said he alone was responsible.
At the close of the examination and cross-examination
of the witnesses, his lordship said he thought there was
not sufficient evidence of the prisoner's intention to com-
mit a felony, for the bank appeared to hold him respon-
sible for the money, and he told the jury they must find
a verdict of not guilty.
The jury, accordingly, returned a verdict of not
guilty upon the charge of f-lony.
Mr. Huddleston then said there were other charges
against the prisoner of stealing the 2501. advanced to Mr.
Nind, which had been repaid by that party with interest,
but which bad never been credited in the bank book.
It was therefore arranged that this case should be
gone into before a fresh jury to-day, the prisoner's bail
being enlarged in the meantime.
On the case being called on again this morning,
Mr. Huddleston, addressing the court, said the bank
had considered the view which his lordship had taken on
the previous day that the case did not come within the
criminal category, and that they considered the charge
of embezzlement would rest upon the same grounds as
that of felony, of which the prisoner had been acquitted.
Mr. Jastice Wightman said it appeared the prisoner
was at liberty, as it were, to help himself to the moneys
of the bank. He was not a clerk, but the manager.
Mr. Skinner said there bad no doubt been some irre-
gularities, but nothing more.
Mr. Huddleston added that no doubt the bank would
have approved of the advance of Mr. Nind, bad it been
mentioned to Mr. Hartland. The hank would treat this
as an irreenlarity and not as a fraud, and he should
therefore offer no evidence upon it.
His lordship remarked on the difficulty of tryiug a per-
son for embezzling his own property. The accused was
a ehareholder in the bank.
The accused then left the court with his friends.
CHARGE OF MURDER.
William Hoskins was charged with the wilful murder
of Joseph Beitherall, at Redborongh, on the Bth June.
Another indictment charged him with the manslaughter.
The fncts were these :
Oa the morning of Sunday, June 9, the police of
Strout: found in the road at Rodborough the dead body
of the deceased, which had been tracked a distance of 200
yards by blood, as if flowing from a watering pot. On
the preview night prisoner and deceased bad been seen
di inking and quarrelling together at a public-house, and
it appears that about midnight they proceeded along the
road together, and were not seen after. Next morning
Prisoner was observed to have a black eye, and blood on
his clothes. When apprehended on the charge, he said
the deceased had attacked him, that they fought on the
road and went along the road together, quarrelled again,
and that the deceased, returning once mere to the attack,
he (prisoner) " drew his knife and put into him?' Seve-
ral frightful stabs were found in the deceased's abdomen.
He was found guilty of the mans!atzghter. Fifteen
years' transportation.