The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-10 00:00:00

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rEdUNITED KINGDOM MUTUAL ANNUITY
SOCIETY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
BENEVOLENT FUND.

-O.trfIICIAL INVESTIGATION BY ORDER OF
—THE POOR-LAW BOARD.
Mr. H. B. Farnall, the Poor-law Inspector, OD.
Friday last attended at the Board-room of the offi-
cers of the City of London Union, in St. Mary-axe,
for the purpose of further investigating charges
brought against the Rev. F. Pearce Pocock, the
chaplain of the union, in relation to his connexion
with the United Kingdom Mutual Annuity Society
and the United Kingdom Benevolent Fund. a
Mr. Selfe, the magistrate of the Thames Police.
court was present, and appeared to take great in-
terest in the proceedings. Mr. Warwick, one of the
vice-chairmen, and a large number of the members
of the Board of Guardians, were also present, as was
also Mr. Bowring, the clerk to the guardians.
Mr. Farnall opened the proceedings by stating
that it was his intention upon that occasion to
examine the accountant who had been entrusted
with the investigation of the accounts of the two
societies now before him. Mr. Selfc, the magistrate,
was also present, and would give them every in-
formation in his power.
Mr. Edmond Pullein, of the firm of (Harding,Pullein, and Co., accountants,' of 3, Bank-buildings,
City, was then sworn, and, in answer to questions,
said :—.The report handed to me is mine. I made it
from the books of the societies, but they are very
imperfect. I have not been able to obtain all the
books, but I believe we have the result substantially
correct. I find an advance made by the Rev. Mr.
Pocock to the society, amounting to £B9l lls. ld.
This is a balance of an aceaunt. There does not
appear to be any security taken for these advances.
It is all cash. Some of these advances appeiarin
the banking books of the London and County
Bank, and at Messrs. Barnett and Co.'s, end
con-
sider every item I have passed in the Rev. Mr.
Pocock's account is sufficiently vouched. I think
it my duty to state that I knew nothing of the
Rev. Mr. Pocock until employed on this report,
that Mr. Pocock knew nothing of the report until
it was completed, and that from time to time he has
attended me, and done his best to clear the ac-
counts. The policy ledger is missing, and I cannot
give a list, with correctness, of the annuitants now
living. I know that a person named Harrison ob-
tained an annuity of £lO from the Benevolent As-
sociation, and Harrison's friends subscribed £l5O to
get it. Harrison in this case wss not benefited by
the public subscription to the Benevolent Fund.
Mr. Pocock has an annuity for £l2 10s.
Mr. Pocock endeavoured to clear up for
me any difficulty I met with in the books,
besides which he brought me vouchers for pay-
ment made by him for the society, and for these
we give him credit, unless we find them already
entered in the books. They form part of the £B9l
lls. ld. He worked the balance out of the books
and the vouchers. We never admitted Mr. Pocock's
verbal assertion that he was owed anything. He
had vsuchers for everything. The Mutual Annuity
Society is insolvent. The advancement to the Rev.
Mr. Pocock commences witlih£loo, made -in: Dec., - ,
1852. The only considaration in cash received by
the Anglo-Australian Company was £1 9s. The
purchase money for annuities which they undertook
to pay was £3,200, together with the sum of £513
2s. 9d. As to loans, the largest is £230. Bills were
taken for these loans, but no other security, but as
the largest loan the security was an account of £BOO
due to,a. solicitor, This was the best secured loan.
The later published reports of the funds could not
have been made up from the books which have come
into my hands. That is my opinion.
Mr. Selfe, at this stage of the proceedings, said
that having business to attend to at the Thames
Police Court, if the inspector wished him to answer
any questions in relation to the societies, the ac-
counts of which were under investigation, he
should be perfectly willing to do so. At the same
time he might state that it was his intention to
publish a pamphlet in relation to the subject, and
this would be ready in about ten days, and if the
inspector pleased he would submit it to him as soon
as it was completed.
Mr. Farnall—l think I had better leave the mat-
ter to take its own natural course, without any in-
terference on my part. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Selfe said that although he should have very
serious accusations to bring against Mr. Pocock,
yet he wished to take that opportunity of publicly
stating his opinion that Mr. Pocock had not, to me
a common expression, pocketed any of the money
of the societies, or made anything out of them.
The examination of Mr. Pullein was then re-
sumed. He further stated that the secretary for-
merly employed was quite unfit to keep a set of
books. One of the directors was a printer to the
society, and he was paid a considerable part of the
sum of £984 for stationary and Printing. The
books had never at any time been balanced. He
thought that an annuity of £l2 10s. was assigned
to Mr. and Mrs. Pocock. On an advance made to
the Benevolent Fund of £3OO by the Rev. Mr.
Pocock, they had given him credit for 5 per cent.
interest. The sum of £B9l lls. ld.) the balance
due to Mr. Pocock, did not include the directors'
fees. It was a bona fide debt. £56 10s. was
granted by way of annuities to Mr. Pocock and his
family. The previous annuities were £l7 10s. to,
Mr. Pocock, and they were all up to the time of
the transfer. These annuities were all paid for.
Witness had no means of showing the exact amount
of subscriptions received by Mr. Pocock for the
society. Mr. Pocock did not deduct 10 per cent.
for the total amount of subscriptions received by
him.

Mr, Farnell said that this was all the evidence
he intended to take. He should make his report
to the Poor-law Board, and their decision would be
given on as early a day as possible.
The proceedings then terminated.

THE MYSTERIOUS MURDER AT' .ROAD.

The private investigation into this case, which
was commenced last week by Mr. Slack, solicitor,
of Bath, seems likely to be rendered abortive by
Mr. Kent declining, on the advice of his counsel and.
solicitor (Mr. Edlin of the Western Circuit, and Mr.
Dunn, of Frome) to submit himself and the mem-
bers of his family for examination. The course in-
tended to have been taken by Mr. Slack was to hear
the evidence of every person who was supposed
capable of throwing any light on this mysterious
crime, and then to report the result to the magis-
trates of the Road division, who, under the sanction
of the Home-office, would determine whether there
was a prima facie case for a public charge being
preferred against any person. Mr. Slack's labours
are expected to last for another week. Mr. Kent
has, through his solicitor, written to Mr. Slack,
stating, if he were really engaged on behalf of the.
Government every assistance should be rendered
him. To this Mr. Slack replied that he was e` u
d &your
larly instructed by a proer authority to endeavour
to detect the murderer,' and inquired,
the rest of the
dence of Mr. and Mrs. Kent and
rifn the evi-
dence would family should be required, whether they
7to be at-
tendex-
at his offices on Mondayo 1
intimating that as
amined. Mr. Dunn rejoined,
ek was not preparing
Mr'anS application fora erim.
he could not tell that
evidence for a local paper, an
Bath Chronicle 1-
i
nal information against
be averse to having
been threatened, he should
itsatisfied on the proceed in
the matter until he w point. Mr.
those who instructed Slack replied that meted him were
anction of
acting under
ethsat Mr. a the Government, and
again requested..._r
Dunnand Mrs. Kent should be
forthcoming. M
of . then wrote, saying,—
As you epeak.acting under instructions which
have the sanction of the Rome Secretary, I may
inform you that Mr. Rent received this morning
a communication from Mr. Waddington relative
to a proposed public inquiry, in which no mention
e of
whatever is mad
yourbeing employed by
the Government, nor is any request made that Mr.
Kent should put himself in communication with
you." Mr. Dunn goes on to say that Mr. Kent is
still most willing to submit himself, his wife, and
every member of his household to examination, on
oath or otherwise, by any magistrate of the county
or other competent official whom the Government
may appoint ; but that, acting on the reeommenda-
tion of counsel, Mr. Kent will not accede to the re-
quest to attend at Mr. Slack's office, believing the
course now being adopted to be calculated to defeat
1 the ends of justice.

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