The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-12 00:00:00

STEAM TO BRAZIL.

GRANT 01? A CHARTER TO THE PROPOSED
NEW LINE FROM LIVERPOOL.

Some months ago announcemsents were inserted in our
columns to the effect that, very shortly, the formation of
a new line of screw steam-ships, .of large size and
power, to run between the Mersey and Rio de Janeiro,
might be expected. Various parties were then in the
field (we believe not less than three), endeavouring
to effect the establishment of such enterprises.
Some time ate", however, we learned that of the
three projected companies, one only was likely to be
carried, for the present at least, into practical operation,
and recently oar columns announced that an application
for a royal charter had been made, in order to set the
remaining enterprise fairly and authoritatively before
the mercantile community. It is now in our power
to announce, that on Saturday last an order was
issued by the Lords of the Treasury authorising
the grant of such a charter, and therefore expecta-
tion may fairly be indulged that at no distant period
the desideratum so long desired, an independent line of
first class steam-ships running direct from Liverpool to
Rio, will be realised. We understand that the company
wilt be entitled the South American and General
Steam Navigation Company, the directorate will
include some of the first mercantile men of
Liverpool and Manchester engaged in commerce with
the Brawls ; that the line (the shares of which will
to a large extent be held in Manchester) will
comprise four first-class steam-ships, with a branch
steam-ship to run to and from Rio and the River
Plate; and that the departures will be once per month
from either end. For the present we refrain from ad-
ding further details, but we cannot forbear to express
our sincere congratulations on the auspicious result thus
prognosticated. We have long urged the creation of
such a line, and even now, when the competition
of the West India steam-ships from Southampton must
be felt, indulge the hope that its financial success
will be brilliant. Of its importance as a line calculated
to convey late letters between this port and Rio de
Janeiro the arrival of the clipper-ship Columbus, last
week, with fresh accounts from all the South American
ports affords lull guarantee. Probably at a future date
we may be enabled to place our readers in possession of
more minute details.—Liverpool Albion of this day.

EXPERIMENT on the BARRACK FIELD.
WooLwicir, AUG. 9.—Major General Lacey, Di-
rector-General of Artillery; Colonel Campbell, Su-
perintendent of the Royal Military Repository ;
Colonel Gordon, Inspector of the Royal Carriage
Department ; Colonel Cruttenden, Inspector of Drills ;
and Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers, Assistant Director-
General of Artillery ; with several other officers
of the
Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers,
assembled on the barrack field in front of the Royal
Artillery Barracks on the afternoon of Tuesday last
to witness an experiment to test an invention
submitted by Captain Groetaers of the Engineers
in the Belgian service, for ascertaining the dis-
tance of an object when it may be found necessary to
erect works for cannonading or bombarding it. The
invention appears to be very simple and gave the dis-
tances of three objects taken very nearly correctly,
and sufficiently so for military purposes—one of the
objects being found to be within two inches of the
distance indicated, although the ground when mea-
sured was upwards of 1,000 yards between the ob-
server and the object. In the two other measure-
ments the distances were when measured within a
foot of what they were shown to be by the indicator
or graduated scale of measurement. The apparatus
consists of a piece of wood about three feet long and
one inch square. On the upper square is a brass
scale and a piece of tin about six inches long by
three inches wide, painted about two inches red at
two inches white in the middle, and two
of tin of
o'nueesofrtehdeat the bottom, made to slide on the scale.
th:nwgineer officers in attendance
as the one -11 had a piece
used
ensize and painted in the same manlier
The engineer
graduated scale rod of the in-
ventor.eight
or
nine,
yards
fr r officer stood a a distance of
cohi the inventor, and a coraintP,

The offence imputed to the defendants was that of
having conspired unlawfully together to obtain from
Major Graham, and a gentleman named Head, the
sum of 1,5001., by falsely pretending that the plant
and other property in a distillery at Lambeth, which
was carried on by the defendants under the firm of
Whitehead and Co., was their own property, and that
they had consequently the power to mortgage it for
that amount. It appeared that shortly before the
month of June last the younger Whitehead entered
into communication with Major Graham upon the
subject of a loan to be advanced by that gentleman
upon the security of his lease and the plant, horses,
waggons, &c., connected with the distillery, and the
defendant represented to Major Graham that the
property was worth 5,0001. or 6,0001., and that he had
expended a large sum in improving it.• At first Major
Graham was solicited to become a partner, but
this he declined to do, and at length an arrangement
was enters into by which he agreed to advance
1,5001. to t defendants upon their executing a bond
and bill of sale, by which they agreed to pay 401. a
month for the loan of the money for a period of five
' years. It seemed that Major Graham was at first
struck with the liberality of the interest that was to
be paid, but the younger Whitehead got over this
difficulty by telling him an extraordinary tale of the
quantity of spirit that could be purchased with ready
money, by which they should save threepence a
gallon, and afterwards make a much larger
profit by it when it was worked up into different
spirits and compounds ; and at length the bond and
bill of sale were drawn up by Mr. Sandilands, the
attorney for Major Graham. This gentleman, it ap-
peared, had no money of his own, and the amount
was advanced to him by Mr. Head, a gentleman of
fortune, with whom he was acquainted. Very soon
after the money had been advanced, it was ascertained
that the defendants were merely the holders of the
lease of the premises, which had two years to run ;
that they had no title whatever to the plant,
and that the horses and carts used in the business
were merely hired, and that the property, in fact,
belonged to a lady named Sinclair, and in the com-
mencement of the present year the firm be-
came bankrupt. The evidence against the defendants
John Whitehead, senior, and George Wyatt, merely
went to show that after the money had been advanced
they bad countenanced the assertions that had been
made by the younger Whitehead, and had stated that
according to the value of the property 2,000/. more
ought to be advanced upon it. Upon the cross-exa-
mination of Mr. Sandilands, Major Graham's attor-
ney, that gentleman admitted that although he was
aware of the existence of a lease he did not take the
trouble to look at it ; and it also appeared that he
had handed over a considerable portion of the money
to the defendants before the bond was executed, taking
their promissory notes as a security. It also appeared
that the defendants had been in negotiation with Mrs.
Sinclair for the purchase of the plant, &c., of the dis-
tillery, and that a sum of 1,100/. had been agreed
upon to be paid for it; but the negotiation went off
because they could not raise the amount. It like-
wise appeared that, although during the whole time
the negotiations and inquiries connected with the po-
sition of the defendants were going on, a person con-
nected with Mrs. Sinclair was upon the distillery, not
a single question was ever put to aim, either by Major
Graham or any other person, with reference to the
ownership of the property.
Mr. BALLANTINE addressed the jury at some length
in behalf of the defendant, contending that the legal
offence of conspiracy had not been established, and
also commenting upon the want of proper caution that
had been exhibited, not only by Major Graham, but
also by his attorney, Mr. Sandilands.
Baron ALDERSON, in summing up, said the question
the jury had to decide was, whether the defendant
bad wilfully conspired with the other two persons
whose fumes had been mentioned to make the false
representation that they were the proprietors and
owners of the plant of this distillery, in order
to obtain the money of the prosecutor. He
could not help expressing his surprise that
a gentleman in the position of life of Major Gra-
ham should have been a party to a transaction which
was certainly of a most usurious character, or how
he could have been foolish enough to suppose that it
could be an honest transaction in which be was to re-
ceive 5201. a year for a loan of 1,5001. There could
be no doubt that the representations which had been
made by the defendants with respect to the property
were false ; but he must say that there had been not
only a great want of caution evinced by Major Gra-
ham, but that Mr. Sandilands had acted very care-
lessly and imprudently, when he knew that a lease
was in existence, in not asking to see it, for if he had
done so he would have seen in a moment that the re-
presentations of the defendant John Whitehead, jun.,
were false, and that the plant of the distillery was, in
reality, the property of Mrs. Sinclair, and that they
had nothing whatever to do with it.
The jury, after deliberating a short time in the
box, expressed a wish to retire. They were absent
about half an hour, and they then returned a verdict
of Not Guilty.

OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Monmouth, Aug 9.
The assizes here closed to-day at four o'clock.
Mr. Greaves, Q C., assisted yesterday in trying pri-
soners. All the business, with the exception of the
following charge of perjury, was disposed of last
evening. The other case was not disposed of till too

bite for post.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice ERLB.)
Thomas Griffin Philpotts, attorney-at-law, was
charged with having committed wilful and corrupt
perjury at the last assizes for this county.
Mr. Keating, Q.C., and Mr. Huddlestone, conducted
the prosecution; and Mr. Sergeant Allen and Mr.
Gray the defence.
Mr. HEATING, in opening the case for the prosecu-
tion, after dwelling on the enormity and danger of
the crime of perjury generally, said that when a per-
son who appeared in a cause as an attorney was pre-
sent at the trial, understood, or supposed he under-
subject under inveatigation, SAW,
stood, the law on thg