The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-28 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, \JAY 28,

LAW INTELLIGENCE--(This Day.)

COURT OF CIIA.NCERY.
(Bafore the Lord Chanodlor.)
TWO APPEALS- PARKES V. TASWELL,

The further hearing of these par`-beard appeals wag
resumed this morning. The plaintiff filed his bill for
specific performance of an agreement not under seal,
and not signed by the landlord, but by big attorney, in
his absence, for a lease of two farms and houses to be
built thereon, at Winstone, in the county of Durham,
at 2401. and 2701. per annum.
The defendant pleaded the statute of frauds and un-
certainty of the terms of agreement which could not be
enforced.

The Vice-Chancellor Sir John Stuart decreed specific
performance of the agreement by the defendant, but gave
no costs to the plaintiff.

The parties appealed.
Mr, D:►rt is now being beard for the defendant.
The bearing will probably occupy the whole of this

day.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
RESIGNATION OF HR. JUSTICE COLERIDGE.

The two Middlesex grand juries were this morning
sworn according to the usual custom. There was no
business to come before them, and Mr. Justice Coleridge,
the senior puisne judge, before whom they have to be
eworn, said it was the last time he would have an op-
portunity of addressing them, and expressed a hope
that if the institution was to be cmtiaued it would be
so modified as to lessen the inconvenience the public
bad of late years been put to from the happy change of
the times between the present period and the time when
the services of the grand jury of the greatest court in
the realm were in great requet.

SPORTING IN T E I.LIG EN CB.

TATTERSALL')-T HUM AY.

Tic few ,ttiiscribers that dropped into tha room
amused themselves by talking over the Manchester
events. The only quotable bet was 1,000 to 50 against
Merryman for the Derby, 1850.

MANCHESTER RACES.
(WEDNEs.DAY'S RACES CONCLUDED.)

The Sapling Stakes, of 10 soya. each, h.ft., with 100
added, for 2 yr-olds ; colts, 84 71h; fillies, B,t 41b
T.Y.C. 26 subs.
Mr. Copeland's Cripplegate, Bst 4:b (Knott) 1
Mr. W. King's Quicksilver, fist 7lb (Wilberforce) 2
The betting opened at 6 to 5 on Quicksilver, and
closed at 6 to 5 on Cripplegate, who won by three
lengths.

The Phillip's Handicap, of 70 sovs. About half-a-wile,
Mr. Baldwinson's Lizzie, 3 yrs, sst 41b (Bray) 1
Mr. T. Cliff's .Lady Hercules, 4 yrs, 7st 1 3lb (L
Snowden)
Mr. T. Dawson's Awful, 2 yrs, sst 41b (Madden) 3
The following also ran :—Raspberry, Unexpected,
Woodmite, Faugh-a-Ballagb, and Wooton.
Betting.-4 to 1 each agst Lady Hercules and Awful,
5 to 1 agst Raspberry, 5 to 1 agst Lizzie (at one time 5
to 2 was taken), 8 to 1 agst Wootton.
Won by a length ; same distance between second and
third ; moderate fourth.
The Maiden Plate, of 50 sous., for horses that have
never won 501. at one time. One mile and a quarter.
Mr. T. Taylor's the Little Red Rover, 4 3 rs, B,t 41b
(Wells) 1
Mr. C. Peck's Coxwold, 3 yrs, 7st (J. Wood) 2
Captain Verner's Turret, 3 yre, 7st (H. Withington) 3
The following also ran :—Lazy Lass, Lord of the
Manor, Lady of the Grove flay, Waterloo, Ravenstone-
dale, Lady of Rohallion, Darkie, and Giselle colt.
Betting-6 to 4 agst Cox:vold, sto 1 agst Little Red
Rover, 6 to 1 agst Waterloo, 7 to 1 agst Ravenstonedale,
8 to 1 agst Turret.
Won by two length ; a length between second and
third ; good lout th. Waterloo was fiftb.

1858.

SCUTTLING A SHIP ON THs HIGH SEAS.

-.MI-

SAN FRANCISCO, April 4.--A case of robbery on.
the high seas, with the ottject of defrauding insu-
rance companies in England, which has just conic
to light here is deserving of notice.
The story is a long tale of roguery, but the fol-
lowing are the main facts :
On the 4th of Fe bruary the brig Cornelia, com-
manded by one Henry Benet, a German, sailing
under Mexican colours, and a regular trader for
some time past between the Coast of Mexico and
San Francisco, left the port of Mazatlan with a
cargo of salt, &c., for this port. She had on board
19,000 Mexican dollars, shipped at Mazatlan by
the English house of Ballingall, Thompson, Lnd
Co., consigned to Mr. Thomas Bell, a merchant of
San Francisco, a British subject.
By the ship's manifest it was made to appear that
she had on board, in addition to the above $19,000,
silver to the value of $29,000 consigned to S. Hen-
derson, of San Francisco, by two bills of lading,
one purporting to be for $22,000, the otiv.r for
$7,000.
On the 27th of March news reached San Fran-
cisco that the Cornelia had been lost on the coast of
Lower California, and no suspicions were enter-
tained of the manner of her loss uutil three of her
crew, who arrived here on the 2611 i ult.. revealed
the fact that the captain and mate had scuttled the
ship and stolen the treasure. The captain and mate
being also here, an attempt was made to arraign
them before the United States' Cuurt of Admiralty
on the charge of robbery, but the attempt was ren-
dered ineffectual by the opinion of the United
States' District A torney that, the Court had no
jurisdic ion, and that he could not interfere, as
" the vessel and all concerned are foreigners."
The captain and mate were, however, arretted
by the police, and it was soon elicited that when
off San Quentin they scuttled the vessel; that
while the crew were below, on occasion of the ship
being becahied, these two worthies removed the
silver out of the vessel into the ship's boat and
covered it over that the crew could not see it ;
that some one of the men saw enough to excite
-his suspicions, however, and that, finally, aci the
brig was leaking badly she was abandoned, all
hands took to the boat, and landed on the coast of
Lower California. Here the captain and mat-, got
rid of the crew by some hocus-pocus, and gave them
money to carry them np to San Diego, where they
could take the coast steamer for San Francisco.

The crew suspected that after they were got rid
of the money was buried, and their suspicions
turned out to be well-founded, for the captain haQ,
since his arrest, confessed his guilt. Finding the case
going hard against him, he made a clean breast of
it to Mr. Bell, the consignee of the 19,000 dols. of
silver already spoken of, from whose affidavit,
kindly lent to me by that gentleman, I make the
following extract of the captain's confession :
" That the Mexican dollars (about 19,000) were, on
or about tEe Bth-of February last, landed from the
vessel at Cape San Lucas (on the coast of Lower
California) by him, Captain Benet, and the mate
of the said vessel, and• there buried by him the said
Capt. Benet alone." Hethen goes on with consider-
able naiveté to confess, in the second place, what to
ordinaryminds will appear startling enough, "That
the other amounts of specie (viz., the 22,000 dols.
and the 7,000 do's.) which he declared in Ws pro-
test to have been shipped at Mazatlan—that is (to
follow his own diction) one lot of 22,000 dole. and
another of 7,000 dols., were never received on board
of said brig Cornelia" and.that he had signed bills of
lading for these two lots of dollars at the instiga-
tion of —" (I suppress the name in a commu-
nication to be made public from prudential motives)
" of Mazatlan."

It thus appears that the two bills of lading for
the 29,000 dole. (one for 22,000 dole., and the otter
for 7,000 doll.) were false—fabricated to recover
the insurance—as no such or any other sum
represented by the bills of lading was ever
shipped. The consignee is also a fictitious
person "S. Henderson," of San Fran, isco,
being a myth. Benet bad, b3fore sailing from
Maz Alan, written to England for insurance
on his imaginary treasure, with a view of recovering
the 29,000 dole. from the underwriters; and bad
his scheme succeeded he would have made in all
48,000 d 01.,. by the operation, counting the 19,000
d,ls. stolen from his vessel and buried.
This latter sum the underwriters would also have
been mulcted in, for it was insured regularly, and
unless it is recovered they will still have to make it
good.
To return to the captain's confession ; he goes on
further to declare " that he was the only person
who knew where the money was buried ; and that
he was ready and willing to go down to the place
and deliver it up " lie was taken at his word, and
in pursuance of his offer Lloyd's agent chartered
one of our pilot boats, a swift sailing craft, and the
captain and his mate, whose name is given as Louis
Lenart, and who is said to be a Chilian, have been
taken down the coast in charge of three of the San
Francisco police with the view of recovering the
silver. They left on the 30th, and may be expected
back in two or three wteks.

The captain's confession was made to Mr. Bell
in the presence of the Chief of Police and of a mem-
ber of the force, both of whom have made affidavits
of its correctness. He wonld not sign a written

statement, and he denies having scuttled the ves-
sel; but no dependence cart b 3 placed upon this
denial, for he swore to a tissue of falsehoods in his
protest ; and the crew continue to assert that the
brig was scuttled some time before they left her.