The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-09 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, Oct. 8.
(Before Mr. Commissioner HOLROYD.)
IN RE ABRAHAM SOLOMONS.—JUDGMENT.

The bankrupt was a merchant of Basinghall-street.
The particulars of the case appeared in our journal of
Thursday last.
His Hoeioua to-day gave judgment, as follows :
It is unnecesary for me to recapitulate at any length
the facts of the case. The statement made by Mr.
Read on the part of the assignees was clear and ex-
plicit, and in its general tenor was very properly ad-
mitted by Mr. Lawrence to be a faithful and consi-
derate delineation of the bankrupt's conduct as a
trader. The charges against the bankrupt are reckless
trading and improper book-keeping—grave charges
against one in the position of Mr. Solomons. Mr.
Solomons was not young or inexperienced—he had
been in business thirty years ; nor is it pretended
that he was betrayed into slips of unwariness, elated
with the charms of former continuous prosperity.
Unhappily Mr. Solomons had experienced vicissitudes
of fortune. He had on two several occasions resorted
to the Insolvent Debtors' Court for relief, and on the
second occasion an adverse judgment against him
affecting the liberty of his person must have emphati-
cally reminded him of the duty owing to his cre-
ditors. I do not say that this sentence had not a
salutary effect. Indeed, I think the course of Mr.
Solomons' career for many years afterwards,
and till within a short period of his bankruptcy,
tends to show that he profited by it. Re-
volving the experiments which he had previously
made upon life, he seemed to have gained wisdom
from his mistakes, and caution from his miscarriages;
for looking at the state of his affairs in 1849, there
appears at that time a balance in his favour of about
2,0001. I wish I could stop here, or could say that
the bankrupt had continued a course creditable to
himself. Towards the end of the year 1849, whether
actuated by an eager avidity for gain, or by extrava-
gant hopes, or by what other motives does not appear,
be began to extend his purchases, and in the course
of six months, from 2,5841. in March, 1850, they
amounted in July of the same year to above 11,0001.,
and during part of August alone (the month in which
he became bankrupt) to 2,7301. The goods pur-
chased were immediately consigned to agents abroad
for sale, the bankrupt receiving advances upon the
goods consigned to the amount of about half their
cost. The principal consignments were made to a
person of the name of Hezekiel at Hawburgh, with
whom the bankrupt had similar dealings during se-
veral years before, with some short intermission.
With the assistance of the official acsignees I have ex-
amined the bankrupt's books and accounts as to the
transactions with Ilezekiel, and although during the
six months to which I have referred goods are con-
signed to Hezekiel to the amount of 20,0001., no single
letter of advice or information of sales made, or of the
state of the market, is to be found from Hezekiel to
the bankrupt until very shortly before his stop •
page, and that was as one parcel of goods. It is true
that he there made some remonstrances, but it was
too late, and the only excuse for this appears to be,
that he had similar prior transactions with Hi ze-
kiel for several years. These, however, were of much
less magnitude. The fact was, he was sending goods
to a falling market, the state of which he must or
ought to have known, or have taken the ordinary
steps to make himself acquainted with. In the re-
sult a loss is incurred of about 8,0001. Now the
bankrupt having little or no available capital, his
means of paying fur the goods, for which he pledged
his credit, depended on the proceeds under the sales
on his account. Surely these transactions with He-
zekiel, amounting to between forty or fifty different
shipments, and those of a like kind to Nathan, and
some few other persons with whom the bankrupt had
had no previous dealings, exhibit a course of trading:
speculating as it were in the dark, with property
scarcely to be deemed his own, which calls for severe
censure. They appear to me to be characterised by an
improvidence differing from dishonesty rather in
name than in nature. I have already freed the bank-
rupt from the imputation cast upon him by Mr. Sar-
good, on the part of Messrs. Cox. The dealing
with that firm was so short a time pre-
viously to the bankruptcy as naturally to excite
suspicion, but no proof was adduced of obtaining
goods from Messrs. Cox by any artifice or device,
which, in my opinion, is essential to the criminality
of a fraud. It was urged against the bankrupt
that he had duly met his payments on a prior dealing
with Messrs. Cox, but I think without reason, for the
bankrupt disbursed the money which he had received
upon his consignments in the ordinary course of his
trade ; and had not Hazekiel ceased to make further
remittances there is no ground for believing that he
would not have paid Messrs. Cox in due course. I
think, therefore, these gentlemen have no just cause of
complaint apart from that of the general body of cre-
ditors. Next as to the book-keeping. " Retrospects
to bad reckoners are troublesome things," and so it
has proved to Mr. Solomons ; for although he ulti-
mately succeeded in satisfying the Court that his
bankruptcy had not arisen from fraud or extravagant
expenditure, nevertheless, by reason of his imperfect
book-keeping, and having made entries under ficti-
tious names and titles, suspicions as to his honesty
were naturally roused in the minds of his creditors,
and long hung over him. Hence much time was
consumed, and trouble and expense necessarily in-
curred, in the investigation of his dealings, and the
bankrupt was obliged to bring over from Berlin a
former clerk and bookkeeper to explain transactions
which by his books were inexplicable. One woad as
to the appeal made to the Court by Mr. Lawrence on
account of the bankrupt's family. The sufferings of
relatives and friends of offenders are, to a certain
extent,inseparable from commercial as well as from
other delinquencies ; and this should operate as
a strong preventive against the deviations from com-
mercial rectitude. We must remember, moreover,
that legislative provisions have not the individual for
their object but the species, and are not made for the
convenience day but for the regulation of ages.
In onclu
should observe, that the bankrupt has
devoted hist3csion o flth e
time and attention since his bankruptcy to
the satisfaction of his assignees, and the hearing of
the certificate was delayed by the vacation. Giving
the bankrupt the benefit of this, and having carefully
considered all the circumstances of the case with due
regard to the interests of creditors, I feel bound to
suspend the allowance of the bankrupt's certificate for
a period of twelve months from the Bth day of August
last, that being the earliest day on which the applica-
tion for his certificate could have been made; the cer-
tificate when granted to be of the third class.
Mr. LAwRANcs applied for protection. The bank-
rupt
was giving necessary information to his assignees,
and it was desirable that he should not be deprived of
the liberty which would enable him to continue to
do so.
1‘
Irp.
HONOUR READ h
twas
protection il
said, y desired by the assignees not
to
o tiask y
pblewithheld.
His in the absence of that application,
protection would be granted for a month, with liberty
t
that it be renewed upon giving notice of the
application to the assignees.
said he would undertake that the
assMigr. neeliAwsshßolußldcEhave due notice of any such appli-
cation.
Protection for one month granted accordingly.
IN RE J. WESTLEY.

This bankrupt was abookbinder in Playhouse•
yard. To-day was fixed for the meeting for choice
of assignees. The bankrupt's accounts are in course
of preparation by Messrs. Harding, Pullein, and Co.,
Guildhall-chambers, from which it would appear that
the failure is a very extensive one, and that the assets
are likewise considerable.
Assignees having been chosen,
Mr. LAwRANca applied that the bankrupt be
granted an allowance of Si. a week.
Mr. LINKLATER said that the bankrupt's debts and
liabilities might be 30,0001, although the bankrupt had
computed his debts to be no more than 16,0001. The
assets were stated at 5,0001, to 9,0001., but the realisa-
tion was uncertain. The bankrupt's conduct would
form the subject of future remark. He (Mr. Link-
later) ought to observe that the assignees considered
it to be such that they were desirous that a small
rate of allowance-21. 103. a week only—should be
allowed.

Bankrupt, having six children, was allowed 31. a
week.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.
Mr. Josiah Westley, of Blackfriars, was brought,
in the custody of John Forrester, the officer, before
Mr. Alderman Wire, upon the charge of having forged
bills of exchange upon the banking-house of Sir R.
G. Glyn and Co. Lombard-street.
Mr. Mullens, of the firm of Bush and Mullens,
solicitors to the' Committee of Bankers for Protection
from Felonies and Frauds, appeared for the prosecu-
tion ; Mr- Humphries attended for the prisoner.
Mr. Mullen& said he merely wished to give so
evidencermeumcahndofthe
at that moment as would justify the
prisoner, who had been but a couple of
hours before apprehended at the Gourt of Bankruptcy,
and that the evidence would affect two bills of ex-
change which he held in his hand.
Mr. Owen T. Williams, man aging clerk at Glyn's
bank, said--I know the prisoner. He kept an ac-
count with us about two or three years. These two
bills of exchange, which are produced by Mr. Mul-
lens, have been discounted at the prisoner's request.
(Here one of the bills, which was for 1131. 15s , was
handed to the witness.) The drawing and the en-
dorsement of this bill are, I believe, in the handwri-
ting of Mr. Josiah Westley, the prisoner. I have
seen letters addressed to the firm and to myself by
him, and I have also seen his cheques, and I think
have seen him write. The signature Josiah Westley,
as the drawer and endorser, are in his writing.
(The bill, which was dated the 26th of February,
1851, purported to be drawn by the prisoner upon
Mr, Q. Marla, printer, Leeds, at six months after