The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 8, 1860.

THE CHARGE OF FORGERY AGAINST
A LIVERPOOL TEABROKER.

At the Liverpool Police-court yesterday Richard
W. Powell, partner in the firm of Scott, Powell,
and Co., teabrokers, Pekin-buildings, Harrington-
street, was brought up on remand from Monday,
charged with having been concerned in seve-
ral cases of forgery. The magistrates on the
bench were Messrs. Raffles, Aikin, and Booth.
The prisoner is a young man of respectable appear-
ance, and the case having excited a good deal of
interest, the court was crowded in all parts. Mr.
Robinson, of the firm of Lowndes, Bateson,Lowndes,
and Robinson again conducted the prosecution, and
the prisoner was defended by Mr. Deighton, bar-
rister, instructed by Mr. Cobb. Mr. Edward Ab-
solom, senior partner of the firm of Absolom,
Crocker, and Townsend, wholesale tea merchants in
London, was the first witness called. His evidence
was chiefly in explanation of the nature of the busi-
ness transactions which that firm had with Scott,
Powell, and Co., of Liverpool, from which it ap-
peared they were in the habit of supplying the last
named firm with large quantities of tea, the terms
being settlement at three months, subject, however,
to their own discretion. This the witness explained
to mean that if at any time they were dissatisfied
with the state of Messrs. Scott, Powell, and Co.'s
account they reserved to themselves the right of
withholding supplies of tea. In August last the
state of their account was not satisfactory, and Mr.
Scott, jun., was seen by witness's partner, and it
was arranged that a guarantee should be given by
Mr. Scott, sen. At that time acceptances of Messrs.
Scott, Powell, and Co. were overdue. A guarantee,
purporting to be signed by John Scott, sen., for the
sum of £5,000 was given by Scott, Powell, and Co.
This guarantee had been frequently spoken about to
witness by Scott, jun., but witness had never seen
or conversed with the prisoner about it. The sales
and such arrangements as those spoken of were not
managed by the witness, but chiefly by one of his
partners. George Absolom, the Manchester repre-
sentative of Messrs. Absolom, Crocker, and Town-
send was examined at great length, but his state-
ment did not vary in any important feature from that
which he gave on Monday. In cross-examination,
however, he admitted that in all the transactions
relative to the bills which purported to be endorsed
by Mr. Scott, sen., he had communicated exclusively
with Mr. Scott, jun., and had no communication
with the prisoner relative to them except reading
over to him the matter and sums and dates which ap-
peared on the face of them. One of these was for
£484 25., another for £462165. 2d., and the third for
£482 is 6d. The endorsement on the back was not
shown by the witness to the prisoner. The sums
and dates of the bills were copied by the prisoner
into the bill-book of the firm. Mr. John Scott, sen.,
father of John Scott, of the firm of Scott, Powell,
and Co., said that up to the let August last he had
lived at Llangollen, but on that date removed to
Liverpool, and in a day or two afterwards he went
to Southport, where he resided for a month. Since
then he had lived in Chatham-street, and had not
been in Llangollen since the Ist August. He was
shown a guarantee for £5,000 purporting to be
signed by the witness, but the signature was not
his. He was also shown the three bills referred
to as bearing his endorsement. These signatures
were not in his writing. The first intimation he had
of his name having been forged to any documents
was on Monday week. Me never received any com-
munication from Messrs. Lawrance, Plews, and
Boyer, attorneys in London, in relation to any trans-
actions with Scott, Powell, and Co. He gave a
guarantee for £2,000 on the Union Bank in favour
of Scott, Powell, and Co., but that was the only
guarantee he ever gave. The prisoner saw him
write his name to that guarantee in the bank. In
cross-examination the witness said that was the
only time Powell saw him write his signature. He
was not in business with his son, but used to super-
intend the business before the prisoner became a
partner with his son. Powell brought £3,000 into
the business about two years ago. Witness's son
managed the business for him, and had signed the
contract in his behalf for the building of Pekin-
buildings in Harrington-street. His son had only a
verbal authority to sign that contract, but never had
any authority to sign his name to any other con-
tract, or to the guarantee or to the bills referred to.
A letter dated on the 21st Nov. last, written by the
prisoner to the London firm, was put in. It stated
that Mr. Scott, sen., would leave Llangollen on the
following day for London, to arrange about the
matter referred in the letter of Messrs. Lawrence,
Plews, and Boyer, to him (Mr. Scott). Chas. Wells,
jeweller in Liverpool, said he knew the prisoner
and his partner (Mr. Scott, jun., very well. About
three weeks ago they called at his shop, and looked
at some jewellery. They selected three diamond
rings of the value of about £6O, which Scott urged
the prisoner to take. This he refused to do three
several times, but at last be yielded to the urgent
representation of Scott, and took them away on
approbation. Since then he had never seen the
rings nor the money for them. On applying to the
prisoner for them a day or two ago, in gaol, he told
witness that Scott had taken them and bolted with
them. The prisoner was committed for trial at the
assizes. An application to have him admitted to
bail was refused.

work—a fact which is painfully illustrated in the
present case by several tobacco pipes having been
discovered in the pockets of the deceased persons.
The manager of the works (Mr. J. Phillpotts),
regardless of cost, availed himself of every material
calculated to effect the object he had in view—viz.,
to save life, and mitigate the sufferings of the sur-
vivors and relatives. The manager of the Monmouth-
shire
Railway and Canal Company placed the com-
pany's staff at Mr. Phillpotts' disposal, and special
trains were appointed to convey the requisite mate-
rials to and from the scene of the disaster. It is
only very recently that the Risca Coal Company
have, at a very great cost, erected one of Struvee's
ventilators, thereby supplying a current of air to
the pit far in excess of the best ventilatory methods
previously adopted at Risca, and which has met
with the approval of some of the most practical
viewers of the day. Experienced firemen are
engaged by the company, whose duty it is to
examine the mine every morning before the men
are allowed to proceed to their work.
It is quite evident that, unless a colliery manager
is enabled to punish severely all cases of infringe-
ment of the colliery rules, all the care, energy, and
experience he may display in the management of
the mine will be of no avail; for in collieries subject
to firedamp, and although placed under the very
best and improved system of ventilation, the lives
of the whole of the colliers may be entirely at the
mercy of one reckless person.
In addition to the fearful loss of human life, the
company have lost horses to the value of about
£l,OOO.

percentage, and, as responsible customers are not
plentiful enough for the supply of the article, a
corresponding sacrifice must be made in the
security. When really good " paper'' is not
forthcoming in quantity sufficient to absorb all
the capital seeking employment, " accommoda-
tion paper" comes in for a chance. All this
promotes trade, no doubt, and is generally bene.
ficial ; but we shall not be far wrong in sup-
posing that it accounts for " the catastrophes of
the leather trade."