The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-16 00:00:00

EDWARDS AND THE OVEREND AYE

GURNEY CASE.

Yesterday Mr. Edward Watkin Edwards, whose extra.
ordinary evidence in the Overend, Gurney, and Co. 'case
caused such excitement, attended in Mr. Commissioner
Holroyd's court to make his explanation.
Mr. Edwards in the beginning said there were man,
circumstances—especially a severe illness which affected
his fiemory—to pi.event him giving such answers at the
recent inquiry as he otherwise would have done. In
alluding to the evidence, he said the gift of the steam'
yacht from Mr. Xenos must have been a matter of public
notoriety, and he trusted he should receive due protection
from the Lord Chancellor, his Honour, and a just apprecia.
Lion of what he had done at the hands of the public.
As regarded his attending at board meetings, he submitted
such work had not in any way interfered with his court
duties. When he joined the company the days for board
meetings were altered to Wednesday, and on that
day his duties were light at the court. The same
answer applied to his connection with Overend.
Gurney, and Co. (Limited). He could prove that
he attended at Overend, Gurney, and Co. (Limited)
after office hours at this court. As regards the sum of
210,000 in reference to commission upon the Millwali Iron
Works, or even £5,000, he begged to say be had received
no such money. Unfair questions were put to him ulOll
this point, and hence the misunderstanding that had arisen
in the public mind. With regard to his public duties and
his work in the office of Overend, Gurney, and Co-, he
could explain that just before the Act of 1861 came into
operation, he wished to state that his emoluments fall'
ing off, he was anxious to increase his receipts. 118
had a conversation with a member of the firm, in
which it was clearly understood that he was to advise
the house in its large discount business, and to be paid
for this ; but at the same time he was, to be at perfect
liberty to receive payment for any work he might perform
for other houses with whom Overend, Gurney, and Co.
might be doing business. One of these houses was Art.'
Xenos's, and for that he was to be paid 2500 per annual'
Another of the houses was Mr. Scott Russell, and upon
some advances made to him Mr. Edwards considered he
was also entitled to commission. He reiterated that the
partners of Overend, Gurney, and Co. were fully aware of
these matters, and at the time they paid him £5,000 10
allusion was made to him by any member of the firm respect.
ing these transactions. In Pearson's matter all the fade
were perfectly well known to the firm, and it must be clear,
then, that there was nothing irregular in his taking COl'
missions from other houses, nor was there anything calling
for public comment. An agreement was made for five years,
at a salary of £5,000 per annum, to commence from 1862.
Soon after Mr. Birkbeck complained that all the losses
suffered by the firm couldbetraced to him (Mr. Edwards)'
Of this Mr. Edwards complained very strongly, but no new
matters were put into his hands. In 1864 another convey.
sation took place, in reference to the severance of his r°ll.
nection with the firm. He received a memorandum from
Overend, Gurney, and Co., and demanded that he should
he put right before the public, and receive compensation
for the loss of his position. His demands were adynittea
by the house as fair subjects for discussion and arbitration.
Ire contended that he had acted in all things openly, fairly,
and honestly, and for twenty years he had filled his public
position without complaint or neglect at all. He urgel
that there was no ground for the suggestion that he use
his position as official assignee to assist Messrs. Overend,
Gurney, and Co. in their business. He had received
no work from that house which had the slightest conned
ion with that firm, and he had never in any way neglect
nis official duties in the court, nor used his position f
lar
.ny purpose. He courted the fullest inquiry, and v;ou.
prove that he had not been properly understood in
this matter. What more he had to answer he should like
to know. In answer to the suggestion that his connection.
with Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co. was the result el
an underhand negotiation, he entirely denied it.
had, it was true, lent Mr. Chapman £5,000, but 3-1'
Chapman was an old friend of twenty years' standing'
and he (Mr. Edwards) looked upon him as a monbef
of one of the oldest, best-known, and richest firms in Ens:l
land. His money received from Overend, Gurney, An uu
Co. was earned by hard work and giving up of '—
annual holiday.
His Honour said the matter would be referred to tne
Jord Chancellor, and must now abide his decision.

The Dundee Advertiser says an Education Bill Or
2 cotland is now being prepared, and will probably
&ought into Parliament early in the session.
An Admiralty order received at Chatham Dock'
yard directs the discontinuance of a number of intricate
and useless returns. The result will be that a vast aranlift
of unprofitable labour on the part of the clerks will we
entirely got rid of.
Colonel Churchill, the author of various Or
ld
on Syria, the Lebanon, the Druses, &c., died at I3eYrt
on the Ist of February. He arrived from Jerusalem by t'"
Austrian steamer, feeling very unwell, and dropped de'v(ll4
dead on reaching his house. It is supposed his death vi
;
caused by rupture of the intestines. He married an Arai
Princess some years since, and consequently his funer t
was numerously attended by Arabs, who had a grea
respect for Churchill Beg.
.1 COUNTY FINANCIAL BOARDS. —Four boards of
e
guardians in Cornwall unanimously adopted the folloWin:
resolutions during the past week :—" 1. That the entil/ta
and constabulary expenses having been so largely increase
of late years, the guardians of this union consider tbat th°
time is come when an elective financi 1 board should i:
appointed for the purpose of representing the ratepaYse-t
in all matters connected with county expenditure. 2.
this union do petition the House of Commons urging ;$
expediency of the appointment of county financial board'
to consist of magistrates and members deputed frorn
the
Various boards of guardians, it being contrary t° ;gt
brinciple of the Constitution that taxation should e:c-t
without representation." Proper notice has been given $
several other boards to consider the resolutions.
0,1
PROPOSED REDUCTION OF WAGES IN THE
ay.
TRADE.—On Saturday morning last circulars were issued
by the solicitors to the Blackburn Masters' Association
to
each of the manufacturers within the district, desirin
be informed by return of post whether he is in favour, desiring}
of
reduction of wages, and to what extent. A meeting
8.9
delegates was held at Accrington on Saturday, whie%-ere
adjourned until the following day at Blackburn, 1",
a numerously attended and enthusiastic meeting swasDeoi.
when it was resolved to issue circulars to each 1133-0
facturer within the district, embracing a circuit of le,
miles, to be presented by deputations of worhIle°1)00
desiring them to answer the queries contained in, of
circular in such a manner as to convince the I%ll's°d
Association that they were opposed to any reduction

wages at the present time.
HIGHTIDE IN THE THAMES. On ci,Ti
the
morning, between four and five o'clock, the tide ill
Thames rose to an extraordinary height, inundatingh°Lig
and lands, and causing great destruction of property. Aleut
four o'clock it was noticed that the tide had risen at Tits
a couple of feet above the usual high-water mark, 1111'
effect was soon apparent in all the low-lying distric%•
Lambeth, Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea,- Wan-
ere
worth, &c.—for the streets leading to the river Wo'6
the course of a short time converted into running stre9cat
11-
the water bursting in with such force as speedily to °'o
the roadways and footpaths, and ultimately, when
tide had risen still higher, finding its way into all lytge
houses and shops which are not built on high ground•
tide appeared to attain its greatest height about 1131"700
four o'clock, when the most damage was done. 'frau,
neighbourhood of Windsor, Datchet, and Eton is itg

overflowed.
Whiny
AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY. —A story,
we are somewhat unnecessarily told must be receittle
ve
" with caution," comes from Carmarthenshire.
girl, named Sarah Jacob, the daughter of
.31r. -'fo
Jacob, a small farmer at Llethr-Neuadd, in the Parish 0
Llanfihanget-Gelarath, Carmarthenshire, is said 0' of
have partaken of food since the' 10th anY va
October, 1867. The following are the eire,rt-h;
stances, as related, of this extraordinary ease
poor - child, who is near 12 years of age,
taken suddenly ill while at school, and vomited a o.Ml'l3;iiy
of blood. She was taken home and put to bed, and
:s.e,-
there without moving, seemingly asleep, for thirty "ae
She revived a little, but could not be prevailed on to Par but
of any sustenance. She is now perfectly conscious,
will not eat ; she spends much of her time in reading, L'lly
°
is so weak that her mother has to aid her in turning veof
the leaves of a book. She has received a great number
visitors, who have been attracted by curiosity.
KILLED BY AN ELEPHANT. —A wild elephant ri
been doing sad havoc lately on the mountainous Partceta°r
the western coast. During the past week the woo
reports that four men who bad been working mi
hills to the north of Teravuttar, near PalpanabbaPnli:ol
were descending to the plains, when the elephant, .er sod'
appears-to have been shot at on several occasions, old
denly rushed upon them from the thick jungle' the
men all took to their heels, and three of them rna'e roe
best of their way to their homes at Nagercoil (5:134
twenty miles distant) and reported their adventure so
the fact that one of their number was missing. 'bet io
and other relatives of the missing man then set '9,13-iled
search, and found his dead body where the elephsn"
seized and killed him. A report is current that the ivee
phant has since been destroyed by two adventurous 03t
who ventured into his " hunting-grounds " for that Poe
pose. The unfortunate victim of the elephant's filr!7: hsS
a mason by trade, and belonged to Nagercoil, where ''`e re.
left a widow and young family. The elephant bad!
viously killed nine persons, making a total of ten Per
who have fallen victims to his rage withi' '.short
rgt Timm &Ail& -

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