The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 25, 1869.

7ROCETDINGS AGALATT TU&' DIRECTOPS
OF OVEREND, GURNEY, AND CO.

The cri urinal suit against the directors of Overend, Gur-
ney, and Co. (Limited) was resumed in the Court of
Queen's Bench, at the London Guildhall, on Saturday,
before the Lord Mayor and Sir Thomas Gabriel. The
court was crowded as before.
Mr. Lewis, jun., conducted the case on behalf Dr. Adam
Thom, the prosecuting shareholder, and the six defendants
(who occupied seats below the counsel) were represented as
follows :—For Mr. J. H. Gurney, Mr. E. H. Gurney, and
Mr. R. Birkbeck—Mr. Serjeant Ballantine and Mr. J.
C. Mathew appeared ; Mr. Barclay was represented by
Serjeant Parry and Mr. Montagu Williams ; Mr. Gordon
by Mr. Serjeant Sleigh and Mr. Ledgard ; and Mr.
Rennie by Mr. Hardinge Giffard, Q.C., Mr. Poland, and
Mr. Gardyne.
The proceedings commenced with the re-examination of
Mr. Edwin Watkin Edwards, the official assignee of the
bankruptcy, whose connection with Messrs. Overend,
Gurney, and Co. -was the subject of some amusement in
;ourt.

Mr. Lewis then went over a few of the transactions in
which witness had been acting for Messrs. Overend,
Gurney, and Co. Witness received £5OO a year from
Xenos, who was the agent for the Greek and Oriental
Company, and this was known to Messrs. Overend,
Gurney and Co.
Mr. Lewis : In your difference with Mr. Birkbeck you
said he used coarse language about you being the cause of
certain losses. What was the language used?
Witness : Mr. Birkbeck said, "You have been connected
with all the losses."
The Lord Mayor : I suppose there was something put in
•otto voce before the " losses." (Laughter.)
A letter from Mr. H. E. Gurney was received on the
following day, in which they gave him a release from
further services, on the ground that the business he had
been previously connected with was about to close.
The Lord Mayor : That is a testimonial.
Mr. Lewis : And you had £20,000 placed to your credit
n 1864?—Yes.
Mr. Lewis : You knew all the secrets of the heavy
losses of Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co.; and I sup.
pose it was that for which you received the money?
Witness : I did not know the secrets.
Sir Thomas Gabriel : You have told us that you received
C 5.000 a year, and how do you account for receiving the
C 20.000?
Witness hesitated, and then Mr. Serjeant Ballantine
explained that it was in respect of the agreement up to
tat January, 1868.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine : Are you still an official
zssignee?—Yes.
And you are a partner with Mr. O'Beirne in the City?—
Yes.

Examination continued : First became acquainted with
Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co. in 1859, through Mr.
D. W. Chapman, to whom witness gave advances.
Did 'not it seem odd to you that a member of the old
Srm should want money ?—N9. Thought Mr Chapman.
might not want the firm to know. The first money
advance to Mr. Chapman was after he received the first
salary from Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co.
Are you prepared to say that you had no transactions
or advances with Mr. Chapman eighteen months previous
to that?

Witness : No ; not before I advanced him my £5,000
salary from the old firm. Chapman never paid it back

again.

Mr. Serjeant Ballantine then handed to witness a letter
'vim Mr. Birkbeck, who accused witness of being the
cause of all the heavy losses of the firm ; that witness had
'one everything that was injurious to the firm ; and that
they would dispense with his services.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine : And you received a testi-
monial from Messrs. Gurney shortly afterwards. You
went from the rude hands of Mr. Birkbeck to the open
arms of mild Mr. Gurney.
Witness was then pressed hardly about the payment
of £20,000. He said, in answer to Sir Thomas
Gabriel, that it was in consequence of an appli•
cation made to the firm that he received a
letter (which in the course of the examination
was spoken of as a " testimonial") giving him the notice
that Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co.'s connection with
witness ceased.
Sir Thomas Gabriel : Did any of the companies that
you were connected with for Messrs. Overend, Gurney,
snd Co. pass through your hands as official assignee ?—No.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine : Did not Mr. John Henry
Gurney come from Norwich in 1861 to investigate the
losses of the firm caused by you ?—I utterly deny that I
was the cause of the losses.
Mr. Serjeant 13allantine : I know you would deny any.

thing.
Witness : May I add with regard to the Atlantic Com-
oany, the debts increased monthly when the ships were
m the stocks ; but had they turned out equal to their
work, instead of a loss of £BOO,OOO there would have been
a dividend.
Sir Thomas Gabriel : Messrs. Palmer and Co. and
Messrs. Samuelson had the building of them. Did you
receive anything by way of commission with reference to
these transactions?
*Witness : No ; not a shilling.
Dr. Adam Thom, of Bedford-square, London, the nomi-
nal prosecutor, was recalled by Mr. Lewis.
Were you aware of the existence of any second deed
before taking shares?—l was not. Took the shares
because of my opinion of the honour and veracity of the
narties connected with it.
Mr. Lewis then intimated that this was all the evidence
on which he relied for the committal of the defendants for
trial on the charge of conspiracy, set out in the informa-
tion for which this summons was issued.
The court then adjourned, and on re-assembling,
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine began to address the court. He
said he felt it impossible to allow the matter to pass by, as
there had been a great deal of public comment, without
referring to the manner in which it had been conducted.
lie did not corn-plain of its having been instituted, nor
lid he complain of the expression of the public in
court, because it was only natural that in the
case of a great failure it was to be expected, when
people expected large gains they must think of the risk;
and he lard down this proposition rather in connection with
the feeling in the affair than as regarded the particular
case under discussion. He was sorry to see such persons
as the defendants before them, who were to be subject to
comments. He appeared for the old members of the firm,
and be did not follow his learned friend Mr. Lewis with
regard to the other defendants ; but he was empowered to
say that the old members had no longer the know-
ledge that would be necessary to implicate them.
They had no connection wi h these speculations ; they
were carried on by Mr. Chapman, who was no longer
connected with them. He was almost staggered at the
nature of the transactions between Mr. Edwards and Mr.
Chapman. Going into the history of the Gurneys' connection
with the old firm, he said John Henry Gurney lived at
Norwich, on a large estate, quite ignorant of the par-
ticulars of the business, as lie had 1,600 shares in the con-
cern, and it was not till 1858 that Mr. Gurney learnt that
the firm was embarking on a hazardous enterprise. The
defendants heard there velations of Mr. Edwards to-day, and
they were surprised at it. The failure of the concern had
brought the defendants to a position of penury, whilst
Mr. Edwards was rolling in wealth. He would not defend
the Messrs. Gurney in not having stopped the business
when they found that the losses were increasing ; they
ought to have stopped it. But there was a weakness in
the nature of the Messrs. Gurney, and they did not wish
to abandon the enterprise when they were being held by.
The charge was that the defendants had conspired to
defraud ; there was no evidence that they were aware of
the existence of the loss. He therefore thought the case
was not ripe to go before another tribunal. He bad
looked at the case, and he admitted they had been guilty
of great carelessness, but not of that which was
charged against them. Mr. Edwards was mixed
up with all their losses, and he dished up charm-
ing companies, and, probably through the medium
of Mr. Chapman, told the Messrs. Overend, Gurney,
and Co. that the parties with whom they were
dealing were likely to come round. When they find out what
had been going on they began by dismissing Mr.
Edwards, and they wished to return to their own legiti-
mate business as bill-brokers. They thought if they could
get fresh capital theywould likely come round ; and under
those circumstances the public must have known that
when fresh capital was wanted, there was something
the matter. The Messrs. Gurney had lost everything ;
end he thought the court ought to take that into
tonsideration in dealing with this criminal charge,
There was no criminal intent.- The Messrs. Gurney had
their private estates of £1,500,000, so that when they were
going to throw that in, the risk that they were turning
over would be reduced to £1,500,000. They did not. think
then that the new company would be a failure ; they did
not think that the change of name would affct public
confidence, and bring down a great immediate demand.
The public suspected that something was wrong, and
accordingly business was diminished. It turned out that
the estates had only realised £700,000, and that was a
mistake of calculation. He asked whether the judgment
the defendants formed of their circumstances showed a
'riminal intent.
The Lord Mayor : Yon are not quite accurate. In
dealing with the figures you ought to be correct.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine said he was dealing with the
matter generally on the question of criminality, and the
defendants might fairly, without any criminality, estimate
their affairs in the way he had suggested. The Norwich
!state had been expected to realise £2,300,000.
The Lord Mayor : I never heard of that.
Mr. Lewis (interrupting): All the matters of which you
have been speaking there has been no knowledge of, and
it is contrary to what has been done.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine said he was dealing particu-
larly with Messrs. Gurney, and he had only mentioned
the fact of Mr. John Henry Gurney not having been
aware until 1861 or 1862 of the losses. Mr. Birkbeck and
Messrs. Gurney attempted to come to an understanding
to do away with the hazardous part of the business, and
they expected to clear themselves, and that everything
afterwards would be plain and successful sailing. The
learned counsel then spoke of the issue of the prospectus.
He contended that there was nothing like fraud in it.
These men never dreamt of fraud, they never thought of
such a thing ; and he hoped the court would say that these
gentlemen, however careless they might have been, had
no criminal intent. The learned counsel sat down,
after hoping that his clients would not be committed.
(Applause and hisses )
Mr. Serjeant Parry (who appeared for Mr. Barclay)
submitted that his client had not been guilty of anything
+hat would send him before a jury.
Addresses were also delivered on behalf of other defen-
d4lo,llollo e9llll adi9ilr4e4 Until Wednesday.

FOREIGN NOTES.

TERKEY AND GREECE.

The Paris correspondent of the Times repeats his state-
ment that Turkey made no reservation in authorising
her Ambassador to sign the declaration of the Con-
ference. The adhesion of the Porte was given unre-
servedly. The only question mooted was as to the manner
in which diplomatic relations should be resumed between
Turkey and Greece ; but the principal point being the
adhesion of Greece to the decision of the Conference, the
mode of resuming relations will not be more than a matter
of form. An equally good authority—the Independance
Beige—gives a different account. It says the Turkish
Ambassador did not sign the collective declaration, but a
separate document. He will not add his signature to those
of his colleagues until the answer of Greece arrives. The
Belgian paper confirms the statement of the Times that
a question was raised about the resumption of diplomatic
relations. It is added that M. Walewski takes with him,
in addition to the declaration, a letter from the French
Foreign Minister to M. Delyannis, strongly representing
the advisability of Greece giving way, not to Turkey, but
to Europe. Such a letter would, perhaps, be more
acceptable from another quarter. Throughout the diplo-
matic negotiations which preceded the Conference, France
was the most energetic supporter of Turkey.
The mixed commission appointed to settle the affairs of
the Enosis is still sitting at the Piraeus, on board the
French corvette Forbin. The Liberti thinks the case is
not likely to go in favour of Turkey, since it was in Greek
waters that Hobart Pasha sought to compel the Enosis to
chew its flag. Should a verdict to this effect be given, it
will prove to the Creeks that Europe does not side with
Turkey in this quarrel further than the interests of law
and justice demand.
War preparations still go on. There cannot be the
least doubt that both parties are preparing for the worst,
albeit the chance of peace has considerably increased since
the surrender of Petropoulaki. The arsenal at Constanti-
nople is ceaselessly active, every day increasing the muni-
tions of war. At the command of the Porte a consider-
able supply has been sent off in an ironclad frigate for the
use of the army, now distributed over the Greek frontier.
From Greece come deplorable accounts—too numerous to
be questioned— of the distress caused by the military and
naval preparations of the Government. A levy of sailors
has been made, and the Ministry is making every effort,
legal or arbitrary, for the purchase of two ironclads,
in addition to the two already possessed. The
country is overwhelmed with an inconvertible paper
currency, and confidence is seriously weakened by the
unanswerable demand of the Government for a loan from
the leading banks. War or peace, this waste of re-
sources and abuse of power are alike discreditable. The
President of the Cretan Provisional Government, who is
now i i Paris, announces his intention of seeking a loan in
America. Has he nothing to sell Mr. Seward ?

merged powder. Among those killed was Captain
W. L. Churchill, U.S. Navy, long favourably
known in connection with science. I regret to add
that the highly educated wife of this gentleman, a
cripple, without friends or money, is at the Bel-
mont Hotel, Fulton-street, and the public will,
I trust and believe, at least furnish the funds
to enable her to reach her home in Georgia. The
City made its appearance last Saturday, the price
three cents, other weeklies are projected, and two
are to be fused into one. The Press, an evening
journal, was launched last week. Mr. Charles
Sweetser runs the City, and Mr. Paul Nichol-
son the Press. The New "World is to be devoted
to romance, travel, discovery, hygiene, the farm
and kitchen, art, poetry, and humour. Each
number is to have a bill of fare for each day
of the week, with directions for its preparation.
The Hearth and Rome, an illustrated weekly, pub-
lished in New York, which has now reache 1 four
numbers, is making some stir, and has done a " deal"
of advertising. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe is
in charge of one department, but the editor.
in-chief is Mr. Donald G. Mitchell, known as
" lk. Marvel." There are some good illustrations
and some excellent papers, and the periodical is
well adapted for the country and the class among
whom it circulates. The Mother at Home is a new

monthly magazine, by Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher;
indeed we are being overrun with good thing, for
which some of the caterers, I suspect, will have to
pay. "Running a newspaper" is fascinating work
for an American, for which we all consider ourselves
particularly qualified by nature, and many of us
find out that we are awakenel to a disagreeable
reality, when we have to pay for our whistle.

Mr. Washburne, of Illinois, has reported a bill
from the Appropriation Committee, proposing con-
siderable reductions in the navy. A million of
dollars is stricken from the pay of petty officers and
seamen, and another for the preservation of vessels,
&c. The navy yards of Norfolk and Pensacola each
loses $20,000, while the naval station at Mound
City is pulled down from $27,000 to $5,000 The
Marine Corps is to be limited to 1,500, with one
colonel arid one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, one
adjutant and inspi,ctor, one paymaster, ore quarter-
master, one assistant quartermaster, twelve cap-
tains, eighteen first lieutenants, eighteen second
lieutenants, the sergeants and corporals being re-
duced two-fifths, the persons discharged being de-
cided by lot. The total appropriation i 5515,273,672,
being a reduction on last year of $2,091,578.

We extract the followiing from the letter of a
friend in Washington, under date 6th inst., whose
communications we frequently publish : •
" The Union League, headed by the Mayor of
Washington, has secured the Rotunda of the Capi-
tol and the Hall of the Representatives fora grand
Hall on the 4th Al arch, Mr. Covode, Chairman of
the House Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, having reported the resolution conferring
this privilege. So the new Administration will be
ushered in with feasting, and dancing, and music,
and the capitol itself will be grandly illuminated.
May the scene on the 4th March, 1873, be as joy-
ous ! In my last—and you must allow lam some-
thing more than " An occasional correspondent"—
I alluded to the Census, in the hope of getting the
figures before mailing my letter. lam enabled now
to report, according to the Bureau of Statistics,
that there are in . the United States 32,109,827
whites, and 4,633,371 negroes, a total of 36,743,198.
Since the Census of 1860 there has been an increase
of 5,134,282 whites and 163,866 negroes ; a total
increase in the population of the United States of
5,298,118. This is an increase of 19 per cent.
among the whites, and 3 2-3da per cent. among the
negroes. The regular Census, as you know, is not
taken till 1870, when some are sanguine enough to
believe it will show a population of 40,000,000.
The Grand Jury dismissed the case against Surratt
on the ground that the President's Amnesty Pro-
clamation absolved him of all past treasonable
offences against the Government."
The State Council of the Union League of Ame-
rica for the State of New York was in session at Albany,
on the 6th inst. Charles W. Godard of Kings was elected
President ; Wm. V. Alexander of New York and Lyman
R. Bass of Erie, Vice-Presidents; Charles E. Pinckney of
New York, Tmasurer; and Thomas G. Baker and Na-
thaniel Appleton, both of New York, Secretaries. Among
the members of the Executive Committee elected are J.M.
Schertnerhorn of Die, li. C. Fisk of Allegany, C. H.
Thompson of Steuben, Jas. Terwilliger of Onondaga, E.
M. Madden of Orange, J. H. elkreg of Tompkins,
Joseph Reeve Df Kings, and Benjamin Do Vue of Broome.

MONEY lAD BUSINESS.

(From the AC2O Toth Tribune.)
NEW YORK, Wednesday, Jan. G.

Gold opened at 131 L sold at 1351, closing 135. The
Bearings at the Gold Exchange Bank were $58,837,000,
and the balances $2,702,018 43. The Cunard steamer
Russia took out $60,000 in specie to-day.
Governments opened strong and active with a heavy
demand both for investment and speculation, The ad-
vance was fully one per cent. on the new bonds from the
lowest price of yesterday, and the ea.ier tone of the
money market stimulated largo purchases of all classes.
State bonds were more buoyant with an increased de-
mand for all classes. Tennessee 6's soldat 661 ; New Bonds,
66 ; orth Carolina New Bonds, 624; Old Bonds, 621 ; Mis-
souri 6 per cents., 88; Louisiana 6 per cents., 68; Louisiana
Levee Bonds, 621 to 63. The State has paid her January
interest at New Orleans, and the Governor in his Message
is very hopeful as to the future financial prosperity of the
State. He says :—The entire bonded debt, exclusive of
bonds owned and held by the State, is $6,750,000, and the
floating debt is nearly $62,000,000, which latter can be can-
celled by the special tax already levied, and the surplus
of half a million left. Miscellaneous shares were dull and
neglected. Pacific Mail sold at 1181 to 1191, closing 1198
Railway shares opened with a firm tone on the improved
condition of the money market, and the dealings were
marked with great firmness throughout the day. New
York Central opened at 15G-1, closing 1568 156. The trans-
actions were moderate and without special interest. Hud-
son, Harlem, and Erie were dull. Reading was strong,
opening at 924, advancing to 948. Michigan Southern was
the most buoyant, advancing 51 per cent. on rumours
that the dividends would he advanced to 10 per cent. per
annum. Cleveland and Pittsburg was active. Fort
Wayne, also, was higher on a sharp demand from the
shorts. The North Western shares continued firm at the
opening rates. Rock Island sold at 119, 1198, 1194. St.
Paul stocks were strong at an advance of 1 per cont. from
the opening price. Ohio and Mississippi, common, sold
up to 331, and was steady. The feeling prevailed that
the most of the money stringency has passed, and that no
further attempt to force high rates would be made. The
current has now changed from the West to this point, and
funds will now commence to accumulate here. At the close
the market was a fraction lower than the highest prices,
but closed steady at quotations.
Governments close str ng, after a heavy day's business.
The investment demand was very large, and all bonds
were in brisk demand. The out-of-town orders were
heavy.

The following were the bi
Stocks:—
New York
AT:inhattan
Union
America
Phenix lO3
Seventh Ward

ds for New York City Bank

IBank of North America 108
Shoe and Leather l2O
Commonwealth
Importers and Traders' 123
Park 145
Central National
Fourth National lOl
Ninth National
Chatham
Ot RAILROAD MORTGAGES.
Chi. Sr N. W. Ist M
Tol. & Wab. Ist M Ex 93
Gt. Wester❑ 2d M '93 76
Mil. & Pr. du Ch. Ist M
& Chic. Ext 100
Gal. & Chic. 2d M 95
Chi. & R. I. Ist M 98
Chi. R. I. & Pacific 7'5... 93
Cleve. & Tol. S. Fund... 89
N. J. Central Ist M —
N J. Central 2d M
Pitts. Ft.W.,!&Ch. Ist M 99i
Pitts. Ft. W , & Ch.2d M 95
Pitts. Ft. W. &Ch. 3d M 93
Cleve. & Pitts. 2d M
11Chic. & Alton, S. F. Inc
Chic. & Alton, S.F. lstM 9Bl
Mil. & St. P.m! Ist M 103
Mil. & St. Paul 2d M B3
Marietta & 'in. Ist M —
Morris & Essex Ist M 96i
Morris & Essex 2d M 92
Joilet & Chic. Ist _
Chi. & Gt. Easen Ist M '74
N. Y. & N. H 6s
Dubuque &S.City,lst M -
Peninsula Ist M
'Ohio & Miss. Ist M 9l
Ohio & Miss. Con B5
Tol. P. W. Ist M. E. D —
Atlantic & G. W. Ist M 76

Commerce
America❑ Exchange ll3l,
Bank of the Republic l2O

CLOSING QUOTATIONS Fl
N. Y. Central 6s, 1883 901
N. Y. Central 6s, 1887 90
N. Y. Central 6s, It Est 86
N. Y. Central 6s, Sulfa 86
N. Y. Central 7s, 1876 100
N. Y. Cen. 7s, con. 76 —
N. Y. Cen. 7s, '65-'76
Erie Ist Mort, Ex 101 i
Erie 7s, 2d Mort, 1879 98
Erie 7s, 3d Mort, 1883 93
Erie 7s, 4th Mort, 1880 86
Erio 7s, sth Mort, 1888 86

Long bock Bonds
Buff.N.Y. &E. lst,M, 77 B2
R.'is, Ist M, '69.-100
ILId. R. 7s, 3d M, '75 —
Harlem Ist M, '6B '72 99
Mich. 0. Ist M, 69'72-1191
Mich. now Ist M 85,'82 110±

Mich: 40., 7 p. c. 2d. M --
N. Ind. Goshen Line '6B
Mich.S.&N.l.S.F'd7p.e. 96
111. Cen. 7 p. e, '7O 114-i
Alton & T. H. lrt M 89
Alton &T.H. 2d pfd B3
Alton & T. H. 2d M. Inc
Han.& .LnndGrants 105

Ilan.StSt. J. Con
Chi. B. & Q., Ist M 111 i
Sc N. West, S. F 96

Chi. & N. W. Con Cony.
Chi. & N. W. Ex'n 8....

Money increased in ease to-day, the highest rate being
1-16 commission on currency irterest, and at the close
loans wore made at legal rates, the average rate, however,
was about 1-32 over legal interest. This sudden let-up is
due mcro to the fact that lenders were fearful of being pro-
secuted for usury than to any sudden increase of loanable
funds offering.

The Chicago Journal of the sth says :
" The banks wore greatly relieved on Saturday by a
large iulltut 91 Currency from the luteri9r. At thin Tfritiug

some of the banks report as large receipts to-day as Sa-
turday at the same hcur, while others do not.

"Exchange was exceedingly firm on Saturday, and it is
still firmer to-day. It commands 10 per cent. premium
over the counter, and 50 cents between banks. Tho rate
of interest remains at 10 per cent. per annum."
The following is the statement of the Public Debt of the
United States on the Ist of January, 1869: