The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-08 00:00:00

of his business, a letter from Bedfordshire having
been received conveying those facts.
Mr. Scudamore having offered no objection,
Mr. Traill said that the letter spoken of by Mr.
Ingle might apply to the inquiry before the coroner
as enabling the jury to arrive at a proper conclusion
as to a more painful question than that of attempted
fraud ; but the letter could not have that effect with
regard to the case being investigated in that court.
Supposing, for instance, that the person spoken of
did come forward and state that fie had been nego-
tiating for the business, and had paid a deposit,
that would not explain away the whole of the case
as it then presented itself. It would not even ex-
plain to his mind why the removal of goods pro-
duced had taken place ; and even if it did, there still
remained the question of putting larger values to
articles than those articles originally cost, and
which it had been proved had been removed by
piecemeal to a place of safety, the prisoner himself
assisting in such removal. The case was one
which would have to go before a jury from that
court. As, however, there was no opposition on
the part of! the company to the prisoner being ad-
mitted to bail, he (the magistrate) would not object,
and would therefore allow the same bail to be re-
newed as on the previous examination, viz., two
sureties in £lOO each, and the prisoner himself in
£2OO, for his attendance there on Friday, 15th inst.
The required bail was put in, and the prisoner
left the court.

TILE LATE DEFALCATION OF AN
INCOME-TAX COLLECTOR.

Yesterday afternoon a very respectable and in-
fluential meeting of the ratepayers ot the Ward of
Bassishaw was held at the Vestry-room of the parish
church, to consider what steps should be taken to
resist the re-assessment of the parish, consequent
upon the defalcations of the late collector and as-
sessor, James Henry Fox. Mr. Hyde Clark, one
of the committee appointed to inquire into the sub-
ject, was called to the chair.
Mr. S. GALE (ward clerk) read a report from the
committee, to the effect that a deputation of rate-
payers had waited upon the Commissioners of In-
land Revenue, who had directed them to memoria-
lise the Lords of the Treasury, as the only means
of obtaining relief from the double assessment made
upon the ward.
The CHAIRMAN said he would, as shortly as pos-
sible, state the position in which the ward and the
parish were placed by the fraud of the late collec-
tor of income and property tax. James Henry Fox
had been appointed to the office of collector in con-
sequence of his father having acted in a like capa-
city for years. No sooner had he been appointed
however, than the local commissioners for the
City of London appointed him assessor also, taking
as his security the joint and several bond of Mr.
John Kemp, of Bromley, and Mr. George Enoch,
of Hatton-garden. This bond had been renewed
from year to year, without any misgivings as to
the solvency of the parties, and the result was that
when they were applied to only £l5O could be ob-
tained from them. The ratepayers of the ward had
no means whatever of controlling Mr. Fox, and
there was reason to believe that his defalcations
were much larger in amount than could be covered
by the present re-assessment. From inquiries made
of the Commissioners of Taxes for the City of Lon-
don, it appeared that of £B,OOO received in the year
1856 Mr. Fox had failed to account for upwards of
£6,000. It would seem that Mr. Fox had been an
officer of the Government as an assessor during a
period that he was an officer of the Government as
a collector, and thus it was that he was enabled to
commit certain malversations. Knowing what was
the precise assessment of every individual and cor-
poration in the ward, he got receipts printed, when
he had actually no warrant to authorise him to
collect a single shilling, and by that means drew
large sums of money from the Chamberlain of the
City. of London and other persons. The answer of
the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to this part
of the case was, " Oh, you ought to have looked at
his warrant before you paid him." This, however,
was simply an excuse, as a man who could collect
money to which he was not entitled could have
been at no loss to find a warrant. Another feature
of hardship in the case was that some rate-payers
who had taken the precaution to pay their tax at
Somerset-house were re-assessed, on the ground
that the Commissioners of Inland Revenue had
only received the amount on account of the
collector. He (the chairman) accompanied a
deputation from the ward to the Commis-
sioners of Inland Revenue, and Mr. Pressley,
their chairman, had admitted the great hardship
of a double assessment, but threw the responsi-
bility upon the local commissioners. He (Mr. Clarke)
quite agreed with Mr. Pressley that if the local
commissioners had done their duty, such serious
frauds never could have been committed.

A RATEPAYER inquired whether the local com-
missioners could not be made to pay the money
themselves, as the frauds had occurred through
their neglect of duty ?
The CHAIRMAN said he feared there would be
some difficulty in making them personally respon-
sible, as they were unpaid officers. Under these
circumstances, and as the Commissioners of Inland
Revenue could do nothing except postpone the col,
lection until the Lords of the Treasury had been
memorialised, it was proposed that a memorial
should be drawn up and a deputation appointed to
wait upon the Premier and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer.
Mr. FULLER stated that he had brought the sub-
ject under the notice of the Coal, Corn, and Finance
Committee, and that they were willing to recom-
mend that the Corporation should try the legal
point with the Treasury, as ,they were of opinion
that the second assessment was illegal.
Mr. JACOMB, of Coopers'-hall, said he had paid
£l9B to the late collector, and had firmly resisted
all attempts to obtain from him a second payment.
After some discussion, a series of resolutions
were passed authorising the appointment of a com-
mittee to draw up a memorial for presentation to
the Lords of the Treasury. It was also agreed that
the question of law should be settled by an action
in which the Corporation of the City should be the
defendants.

A vote of thanks to thechairman terminated the
proceedings.

THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A

POLICE INSPECTOR.

At the Woolwich Police-court, yesterday, Ed-
ward Mark Council, a pensioner, 63 years of age,
was charged with attempting to murder William
J. Budd, sen., inspector of police at Woolwich
Dockyard, by shooting him with a pistol. The court
was densely crowded. Mr. Superintendent Mal-
lalieu, of the It division of police, was present.
A young woman, named Martha White, deposed
that about a quarter to five o'clock, on the previous
afternoon, she was near the dockyard main gate,
when she saw the prisoner walking close behind
Mr. Budd. She saw the prisoner level a pistol,
and immediately a flash and an explosion took
place, and witness perceived that Mr. Budd was
shot.
Police-constable Willis, 207 R, deposed—On the
previous afternoon he was on duty at the main gate,
and saw Mr. Budd leave his office, about 20 minutes
to five o'clock. Shortly afterwards he heard the
report of a pistol, and ran out, when he saw the
prisoner in the act of making off, but he was pur-
sued and immediately caught by Mr. Budd, who
was wounded, and who held the prisoner by the
collar.

Police-sergeant Ryan, 32 R, who was on duty
with the last witness, corroborated his evidence,
and deposed that he saw the prisoner in the grasp
of Mr. Budd, who held him tightly by his coat
collar, and witness saw that at this moment the
prisoner was in the act of cocking a second pistol,
when witness seized him and threw him down on
his back. The prisoner held the second pistol
tightly in his-hand, and witness had some diffi-
culty to get it from him. The pistol which had
been fired was thrown on the path by the prisoner,
who was secured by other constables, and witness
then assisted Mr. Budd to his own residence, and
sent for medical assistance.

From other evidence it appeared that the pri-
soner was searched at the station-house, and a letter
was found in his possession addressed to a waiter
residing at the Black Eagle Tavern, opposite the
Dockyard. This letter directed the waiter to give
up a parcel of papers and documents which were
delivered to the police, when it was found to be
addressed to Mr. C. J. Carttar, Coroner for West
Kent. The parcel was therefore forwarded to Mr.
Carttar, who found that it contained numerous
letters, memorials, &c., setting forth that the pri-
soner had been ill-treated and discharged without
just cause from his employment at the dockyard.
One letter, written closely over six sheets of fools-
cap paper, was specially addressed to the coroner,
and stated that at the time it was read by the
coroner the writer would be a corpse; but he wished
to send such information as would enable the jury
inquest
which arrive at a proper conclusion at the
which would be held, as he intended to shoot Mr.
Budd for committing perjury, and causing him (the
prisoner) to be discharged from his employment,
and he then intended to shoot himself. Another
document was a memorial addressed to Lord Pal-
merston by the prisoner in January, 1857. This
memorial extends over 24 pages,
--and contains the
following statement -`! My
Lord,—The writer of
this, Edward Mark Council, was discharged from
the Sappers and Miners aftor 21 years' servitude
on a pension of ls. 3d. per day. I fought and bled
for my country during the Peninsular war, and fit
the siege of St. Sebastian I was one of the storm-