The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-30 00:00:00

The Release of a Convicted Banker

Yesterday a special meeting of the Leeds Chamber
of Commerce was held in that town for the purpose
of considering whether any and what steps should
be taken in consequence of the discharge from Leeds'
County Gaol of Edward Greenland, who had been
convicted of making false returns of the paper issue
of the Leeds Banking Company. It will be remem-
bered that in January he was tried at the Central
Criminal Court, to which the case had been removed
from Yorkshire for good reasons, and he was sen-
tenced to 15 months' imprisonment, with hard
labour, the Judge observing that the sentence woull
have been penal servitude but for the prisoner's ad-
vanced age and increasing infirmities. The prisoner
was liberated by an order from the Home Secretary
on Wednesday morning last, and great was and still
is the surprise in the town in consequence. Mr. D.
Lupton, the President of the Chamber of Commerce,
in addressing the meeting yesterday, said he never
remembered anything which had affected the busi-
ness men of Leeds so much as this strange release of
Mr. Greenland from prison. He referred to the
peculiar eircumstancc3 on account of which for
some time after the failure of the Leeds Banking
Company all attempts to prosecute Mr. Greenland
failed. At length, however, with the assistance of
the Board of Inland Revenue, though not at all at
their expense, Mr. Greenland was convicted of
swearing to false returns of the yearly issue of paper
money by the bank. These crimes, said the chair-
man, were insignificant in themselves compared with
the greater crimes that all Leeds knew Mr. Green-
land had been guilty of. He held in his hand a list
of the shareholders in the Leeds Banking Company.
It was a melancholy list to look over, for there were
no two of them consecutively who were not reduced
to wretchedness or misery, or were dead. At the time
of the stoppage of the bank there were 243 share-
holders ; but now there remained only 51 ; and
there were about 20 estates of deceased persons.
The list had been carefully looked into, and at least
25 had died, directly or indirectly, in consequence
of the losses which they had sustained. In addition
to that there had been two or three suicides, but
these really did not present the most lamentable
aspect of the case, for there were widows and
spinster ladies who had lost their all, and were now
objects of wretchedness and misery. It was not
necessary to dilate further upon these things. He
proceeded to mention, however, the case of Scaife,
John W. Marsden's cashier, who, he said, was in
Armley Gaol, undergoing a sentence of 15 years'
penal servitude. He said that man never would
have been in that position but for Mr. Greenland,
and he could not for one moment conceive why if
mercy was held out to Greenland it should not also
be extended to Scaife. Alderman Tatham moved
" That the frauds proved against Edward Green-
land, late a prisoner in the Leeds County Gaol,
were of a most flagrant kind, and this meeting having
learnt that a free pardon has been granted to the said
Edward Greenland, is of opinion that the grounds
on which such pardon was granted should be made
public." Mr. F. Baines seconded, and Mr. Ludolf
supported it. When it was carried, Mr. Lishman
proposed that a petition be presented to the House
of Commons praying it to ask that copies of the cor-
respondence and memorials having reference to such
pardon be laid before it, and further praying it to
institute an inquiry into all the circumstances at-
tending the case. The petition was adopted after
several of the leading merchants had denounced the
mistaken compassion shown to Mr. Greenland, and
a desire was expressed that the names of the persons
should be published who had assisted Mr. Greenland
in getting up a case for the consideration of the
Home Secretary.

rILEFEILEN CB SHARES.
Bristol and Exeter 4 per cent stock, 82
North Eastern, Y ork, 11. and Selby purchase, 9/
IREFERENCE SNARES AND STOCKS.
London and N.-WestQrn 5 per cent., 1041
LINES LEASED AT FIXED RENTALS.
London, Tilbury, and Southend, 77
FOREIGN RAIL WAYb.

Dutch Rhenish,
Ditto, .t 3
Great Luxembourg, Ai
South Austrian aad Lombardo Venetian, 141
FOR.E1(.11•1 MINEb,
St. John del Rey, lim., 53

DOCKS.
London and St. liatharine,gls,
BAIN ISIS.

Alliance, line., t 3
800- .I.ustrian, 81 -A
Australasia, 64i•
Chartered Aer. of India, London, and China, 26
Consolidated, lim., 41
Land Mortgage Bank of India, lirn.,
London Joint Stock, 411
London and 11 estminster, 1031 3
National Provincial of England,
Ditto, ,d and 3d issue, 404
Union of London, 39 f

MISCELLANICOUB;
Anglo-American Telegraph, Dm., 18
Atlantic Telegraph,
Dit.o, 8 p,r cent., 72)
Ceylon Company, 8)
Ditto, A shares, 31
Credit Foncier 01 England, 11m., 31
Crystal Palace, 25)
Home and C donial A ssurancle,
11 udson's Bay, 14j
International sand Credit, lim., 2
London Cieneral Omnibus Company, lim, 21
London Financial Association, lira., 6
Peninsula and Oriental Steam, 471 II
Viceroy of Egypt (Mortgage) L0an,:671-

We have reason to know that her Majesty has
been pleased to confer the dignity of a baronet
upon the Lord Mayor of London, in commemoration of the
visit of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan and his Highness
the Viceroy of Egypt to the City. The Queen hag been
further pleased to direct that the honour of knighthood be
conferred upon the two sheriffs (Mr. Alderman Waterlow
and Mr. Francis Lycett), in consideration of their having
been associated with the Lord Mayor upon the occasion
of the reception of the two illustrious Sovereigns. His
lordship is understood to havo received a communica-
tion to that effect from the Earl of Derby yesterday
evening.

FRANCE AND PRUSSIA.—If we are not misin-
formed the result of the identical language which
has been held at Berlin by the representatives of France
and Russia is likely to produce excellent results. The
Prussian Gcvernmont is represented as being very willing
to listen to the friendly advice which has been tendered to
it ; and we may therefore look for a satisfactory solution
of the North Scleswig question which has given rise to so
many tu4Tyarrautable surmises.

M&S• YELVERTON'S CASE—This Day.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

APPEALS -JUDGMENT - LONGWORTII (OR YELVER-
TON), PAUPER, APPELLANT, AND TELVERTON AND
.A.NOTIIER RESPONDENT.

In this well-known case, lately argued before their
lordships, judgment was delivered this morning, and
a large number of persons crowded the approaches
to the anxious to obtain admission. Only a
few comparatively could be accommodated.
Neither Mrs. Yelverton nor any of her friends
attended.

The Lord Chancellor took his seat on the wool-
sack at a quarter before eleven o'clock, and there
were also present Lord Cran worth, Lord Westbury,
and Lord Colonsay. Lorl Camoys took a scat in
the body of the house apart from the law lords.

The Lord Chancellor stated the circqmstances
under which the appeal was brought in an interlo-
cutory judgment from the Court of Session in
Scotland, and explained the nature of the previous
appeal to the house of Lords. After that appeal
the present appellant alleged that Major Yel-
verton had, in the presence of his brother,
the Hon. Frederick Yelverton, and in the
presence of a nurse, named Marsh, who was since
dead, stated that he had been married to the appel-
lant, Maria Theresa Long worth. This person
meant was alleged to have mentioned the fact to
the Rev. Edward George Campl'ell, the chaplain
of the Courthouse at Leeds, who, in his turn, in-
formed the appellant. Then arose the question
whether Major Yelverton might not be put upon
oath in the matter. It had been held by the Court
of Session that the admission to oath was incom-
petent after the judgment had been extracted, but
he held that the reference to oath was competent at
the time when the minute was taken. But then
again it was held that it was incompetent in a de-
clarator of marriage, and where other persons were
concerned. He was of opinion that since the Acts
11 George IV. and 1 William IV., transferring con-
sistorial matters to the Court of Session, which had
been referred to such reference to oath, was not ad-
missible ; that it could not be admissible in the
description of evidence involved in this case. He
held, too, that the reference could not be made
when the interests of third parties were involved.
It was before them that Major Yelverton was mar-
ried to Mrs. Forbes, and if the first 'marriage Was
legal the second marriage was clearly illegal. Then,
again, he held that a reference to oath in this case ne-
cessarily involved an admission of criminality. He
must confess that he had been guilty of bigamy, and
no one was compelled to declare in suarn turpitu-
dinent. If, on the other hand, he refused, Mrs.
Forbes would bo deprived of all her rights. He
considered the Court of Session was right in the
exercise of a sound judicial discretion in refusing
the reference, and in his opinion the appeal must
be dismissed.

Lord Cranworth said the Lord Chancellor had
been kind enough to show him his judgment, and
as he fully concurred in it, it was not necessary for
him to offer many observations. No doubt refer-
ence to oath had been permitted in some matrimonial
cases. But if there had been no marriage with Mrs .
Forbes, he doubted whether there would have been
any reference to oath in this case, because, in a
declaration of marriage, there must necessarily be,
under all circumstances, the interests of third parties
involved. On general principles he thought that
such reference ,should be excluded in all cases
of this sort.

Lord Westbury said it was not his intention to
pronounce any formal judgment in this case. He
had attended on the first day of the hearing, but
had been unable to be present on the subsequent
days, in consequence of a very severe domestic
affliction. Reference bad been made to his ab-
sence, and he bad felt bound, therefore, to advert
to it. At the same time he felt bound to say that
what he heard on the first day showed him very
clearly that the apchant had no ground on which to
rely, lie felt bound to offer these few remarks in
explanation.

Lord Colonsay said that after the expression of
opinion by the noble and learned lords who had pre-
ceded him the case was practically decided, but in a
case of this sort he felt it most desirable that the law
of Scotland should be made clear upon the point.
When the matter first came under his consideration
in an earlier stage, he came to the conclusion that
the reference could not be maintained. Since that
he had considered the case more fully, and saw no
ground for altering his view. Having explained
very minutely the law of Scotland as it bore upon
the point, the noble lord said he had come to the
conclusion that there was no ground in the case for
maintaining the reference, and that the judgment of
the court below ought to be affirmed.

The Lord Chancollor then put the motion that the
judgment of the Court of Session be affirmed, and
it was carried nem. dis.

The Appellant (Nlrs.Yelverton) has therefore been
defeated in another stage of her case.

ROLLS COURT.
(Before the Master of the Rolls.)
BOVILL V. COWAN.

In this case the plaintiff applied for an injunction
to restrain the defendant from using an apparatus
applicable to mill purposes, fur which ho had ob-
tained a patent. The defendant denied that such
apparatus was any novelty, or that he had used it
at his mill.

His Lordship, in delivering judgment to-day,
said that he was clearly of opinion that the patent
had been infringed, notwithstanding, as was usual
in cases where there was a desire to evade the law,
some alterations had been made in the apparatus by
the defendant. The plaintiff might have availed
himself of some of the existing inventions which
he combined with his own to produce results not
previously realised, and according to such combina-
tion was considered a novelty, and had a right to
be protected. He would accordingly grant the
injunction.