The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-28 00:00:00

Hotel ; the other passengers, after receiving medical at•
tendance, were conveyed to their homes.
" The signal by which the train ought to have been
proteAed appears either not to have been used or to
have been disregarded, the statements of the respective
parties on this point being conflicting.—l remain, Sir,
your obedient servant,

" W. O'BRIEN, Secretary."

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF APPEAL.
IN BANKRUPTCY-EX PARTE WRYGHTE IN RE MARK

BOYD.
This matter came before the Court on a petition pre-
sented by Mr. Wryghte, the official manager, under the
Winding-up Act, of the Royal Bank of Australia, against
a decision pronounced by Mr. Fane on the 26th of June
last, whereby he allowed the bankrupt an immediate
certificate of the first class. The petilion prayed the re-
versal of that judgment ; and further, that the bankrupt
might be refused any certificate whatever. The principal
objections which were made by the petitioner to the
allowance of auy certificate at ail were that, as he con-
tended, the bankrupt had, in two instances or more,
been guilty of fraudulent preference ; and also, as a
member of the board of directors of the Royal Bank of
Australia, bad sanctioned the payment of dividends out
of capital when he knew that its affairs were in a state
of hopeless insolvency. In support of the charge of
fraudulent preference, it was stated that the bankrupt
in one case received 1,0001. from Mr. Hudson, out of
which he paid to Messrs. Black and Co., on the day of
his bankruptcy, 6001., as creditors of the firm of B. and
M. Boyd, stockbrokers, although the Messrs. Black had
not issued any process against him, or were not very
pressing in their demands. Another charge of fraudulent
preference was with regard to a sum received in respect
of the purchase-money of a debenture of the bank. The
debenture was sold three days before the bankruptcy,
and the bankrupt stated that his reason for selling
it was because, seeing the hostile attitude Mr.
Wryghte had taken against him, he was making arrange-
ments "to wind up and transfer a business that had
existed for 20 years in the City of London into other
hands." With respect to the charge of the bankrupt, as
a director of the company, being a party to a declaration
of dividend out of capital and not out of profits at a time
when he knew the concern was involved—the proof of
that consisted in the fact that two days after the annual
meeting, on the 30th of June, 1846, when an increase of
one per cent. in the company's dividend was made, Mr.
Wray, the manager, who wrote to Mr. Robinson, in
A.ustrialio., that the bank was in a serious dilemma, with
respect to certain bills to heavy amounts coming due,
and for which they depended upon receiving ample funds
from him (Mr. Robinson), and that if remittances were
not on the way to meet them, the result would be " not
only the immediate winding up of the establishment and
the sacrifice of our present advantages in the colony, but
we shall also be open to the severe attacks of those who
will naturally accuse us of having misled them." Another
objection to the certificate was with reference to the re-
presentations made in 1849 by the bankrupt to Mr. Borth•
wick, an accountant sent up from Edinburgh to investi
gate the affairs of the bankrupt, to the effect that his
brother owed him 26,7771. on balance of consign-
ment, when in truth, as it was alleged, it even-
tually turned out he was indebted to his brother
70,000/. on that account. It was also alleged that
the Commissioner had prevented the bankrupt an-
swering many of the questions which had been put
to him by Mr. Roxburgh on behalf of Mr. Wiyghte,
when he (the bankrupt) was under examination, and
that the Commissioner had stated no reason for prevent-
ing such questions being answered by the bankrupt.
In the course of the arguments on the appeal, a letter
was read, written by Mr. Benjamin Boyd (when on
board ship bound for Australia) addressed to Mr.
Sutherland, a director. From that letter the following I
are extracts :—" Plymouth, 9th November, 1841.—As
I am now starting for the colony, I wish to direct your
attention to a few suggestions which I should like ad.
hered to as nearly as possible during my absence.
. . . If any proprietors apply for a statement
of the affairs of the bank, you must reply to them in
very general terms. It is quite sufficient to tell them
that the concern is going on steadily, but that the direc-
tors thought it prudent, in the unsettled state of affairs
of Australia, to do very little until these commercial
difficulties had blown over. If this is not enough to
satisfy them, it will be well if their shares can be bough,
up, as they will prove troublesome proprietors." The
general facts of the case have already appeared in the
S/6/t. The arguments in support of the petition of ap-
peal were not nearly concluded when the Court rose.
Mr. Daniel and Mr. Roxburgh were for the appeal.
Mr. Swanston for some of the shareholders.
Mr. Bacon, Mr. Selwyn, and Mr. Needham (of the
common law bar) for the bankrupt.