The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-08 00:00:00

those supplied by the colonels, but he could not say
so much for the trousers.

By the Chairman—There could be no doubt that
the greatest benefit would result to the soldiers and
the public if the clothing of the regiments of the
line was made on a plan similar to that of the ar-
tillery, supposing that a depot with a staff of mili-
tary tailors could be formed for the different regi-
ments. The line regiments had depots at different
places; but that was not the case with the artillery,
whose head-quarters had been at Woolwich for a
century or more.
Mr. Turner asked tho witness what his pay was.
Witness replied 7s. 10d. a-day, with 2s. addi-
tional for lodging money. That, he added, was his
pay as a quartermaster. lie was not paid any-
thing additional in respect of the services he ren-
dered in the clothing establishment, and there were
no perquisites connected with his duties there. The
cuttings in the tailoring department were sold by
Quartermaster Grant, who rendered an account of
them, and the proceeds went to defray incidental
expenses connected with the establishment.
Mr. Turner, at a subsequent part of the day, ad-
dressing the witness, said—l have heard, among
other things, that you keep racehorses here, but I
confess I cannot believe it ? . . _

Quartermaster Taylor—l have none in training
at the present time.
This answer produced a considerable sensation
among the Commissioners and the people in the
room.
Mr. Turner—ls there any foundation for the
statement that you have kept racehorses ?
Quartermaster Taylor—Yes.
Quartermaster Grant—He has an independent
fortune

Quartermaster Taylor—But I hope it will not be
supposed that I can keep them out of my regimen-
tal pay. I positively assert before everybody that
I have no advantage, direct or indirect, from any-
thing in the establishment.
Quartermaster Grant—lt is right that it should
be known that Quartermaster Taylor has on his
own side an independent fortune, and that his wife
has also an allowance, so that he is in circumstances
to keep racehorses if he wishes to do so.
Mr. Turner said he had felt it his duty to ask
the question of Quartermaster Taylor from infor-
mation that had been given him, and it was also
lint fair to give the Quartermaster an opportunity
of explanation.
Quartermaster Grant was recalled, and, in reply
to.questions put by Mr. Turner, said the tailors'
cuttings in the Artillery clothing establishment
were disposed of to a contractor named Wolfe, who
came from London from time to time and took them
away. An account was kept of the whole of the
proceeds of those cuttings, and the money went to
defray petty cash expenses in the establishment,
such as postage, carriage of parcels, and many other
small charges. The proceeds from the cuttings—.
but he spoke only from memory—might be from
£lOO to £125 a-year. The balance, after paying
incidental expenses, remained as cash in hand, and
he had the custody of it. At present it might
I amount to £9O. Witness afterwards produced the
book containing an account of the cuttings, which
showed that the proceeds of them for a year from
July, 1857, to the end of June last, amounted
to £2BO, and that he had now a balance
in hand of £l7l. He wished it, he said, to be
understood that the establishment he conducted,
which had been in operation about 18 months, was
a large regimental tailor's shop, and that in ordi-
nary circumstances the cuttings would be the per-
quisites of the person who had charge of it.
The Chairman—ln fact, you have no " cabbage ;"
that's the English of it ? (A laugh.)
Witness said that was so:
Quartermaster Mutch, who was next called, said
he was Commissary of Clothing for the Royal En-
gineers. The clothing was made in the same estab-
lishment at Woolwich as that of the Royal Artil-
lery,-but the duties and accounts of each corps were
kept entirely distinct. He had filled his present
office of Commissary of Clothing since April, 1856,
and was previously senior clerk in the Adjutant-
General's office of the Royal Engineers. The sys-
tem of providing the clothing for the engineers was
precisely the same as that of the Artillery. There
was a difference in the colour of the clothing—the
men's jackets in the Engineers being scarlet and
their trousers of Oxford mixture. The cloth came
from Weedon, and at first was not good ; but it had
improved latterly, and he expected that before
long it would be up to the mark. He had no voice
in the quality of the clothing.
By Col. French--The corps of Engineers had
always had better clothing than the Line.
Witness handed in a statement, showing the com-
parative cost of the several articles of clothing for
the Royal Engineers under the late contract system
with' that now being carried on at the clothing
establishment, Woolwich, and the saving on each.
The Chairman said the paper put in by the Quar-
termaster was the most startling thing he had seen
for a long time. For instance, the present cost of
the rank and file tunic was 17s, 81d., as compared
with £1 1 ls. 6d., under the contract system.
Witness said the total saving on a year's supply
of clothing, after deducting establishment expenses,
was £3,731 14s. The corps of Royal Engineers
was close upon 4,000 in number, and the men had
each two suits in the year—a uniform suit and a
working suit. The number of garments to be
furnished annually might be taken as 16,696—viz.,
4,180 tunics (uniform), 4,180 trousers (uniform,)
4,168 working jackets, and 4,168 working trousers.
He explained that the clothing for the Engineers
being made in the same building as that of the
Artillery; the cost of gas, coals, and the like, was
not taken into account in the above calculation ; but
the Artilley had got the saving on the Engineers'
clothing to set against those expenses. The total
expenditure of the establishment, so far as Engi-
neers were concerned, £269 for salaries and wages,
and about £4O for incidental expenses. The cut-
tings in the Engineers' • tailoring department were
accounted for in precisely the same way as thos,e of
the Artiller as described by Quartermaster Grant.
He (witness) was virtually the .storekeeper as well
as the Commissary of Clothing, and was account-
able to Colonel Stanton.
By the Chairman—There was no security taken
from him (witness). For the value of the stores
under his charge it would be hardly worth while
risking his commission.
Mr. Dolan, army
_clothing contractor, was called
at his own request, and stated that the contract
with which the comparison had been instituted by
Quartermasters Grant and Mutch was made just
before or after the war, when everybody connected
with the business of army , clothing was busily
engaged and all parties contracting got large
prices. Stephens and Clarke, the contractors for
the Artillery, under the old system, got much larger
prices than they had ever done before, owing to an
alteration in the pattern of the tunic after the con-
- tract had been entered into. He submitted ' that
the question at issue was not what the clothing of
the Artillery was supplied for in a time of war,
but what it could be 'supplied for now if it were
again put up to. contract. He was sure the Govern-
ment could get the clothing for the Artillery now
made. by contract 'quite as cheaply as it was now
made at their own establishment by Quartermaster
Grant. Again, the standard of the men had been
reduced considerably since the change in the
mode of supplying clothing, and a saving in the
cost of the garments had been the result. He
admitted the prices of Stephens and Clarke were
very high, and if Government were now to contract
they could get the clothing made much cheaper.
The Chairman asked what was to hinder equally
high prices being paid again in a state of war ?
Witness said the clothing they supplied in 1854,
during the war, was about the same price as that
which they furnished a year or two before when
there was no war.

The Chairman asked if the witnesss had not
within the last 12 months given any douceurs ?
Mr. Dolan said he declined to answer that question.
Quartermaster Grant stated, in reply to a remark
made by Mr. Dolan that the contract of Stephens
and Clarke, with which the prices of making cloth-
ing for the Artillery at the Government establish-
ment had been compared by him (Mr. Grant), was
taken a considerable time before the war, and be-
fore any influence connected with a time of war
could have affected the market prices.
Mr. Dolan said he did not defend Stephens and
Clarke's prices, and he would supply clothing equal
in quality in every way for both the Horse Artil-
lery and the battalions, at the same prices at which
they were now made in the Government establish-
ment, and to any extent the Government might re-
quire.
The Commissioners then adjourned.

EXTRAORDINARY RUN BY A SAILING SHIP.—
The Mersey line clipper Black Eagle, which sailed from
Liverpool for Melbourne, on the 28th ult., loft the steam
tug at three the following• morning off Holyhead, and
was off Queenstown at thee p.m. on the 29th—making
the run from the Bell Buoy to abreast of Queenstown in
24 hours, and from Holyhead (where she left the steamer)
in HI hours. The distance between Holyhead and Queens-
townbeing 164 miles, the speed _obtained was 141 knot per
hour, and it is believed to be the quickest run on record,
either by sailing vessel or steamer.
[AnvEßTmEmENT.]L—Holloway's Pills.—Liverpool com-
plaints and General Debility.—These pills have an influ-
ence upon the human frame, which is more like enchant-
ment than the ordinary effect of any other medicine ever
heard of. They turn a sick man into a sound one. with a
rapidity that reminds us of the sudden changes in a panto-
mimic show under the stroke of the wand of harlequin.
People bedrideen for years, gbastly and woebegone a few
days before, after taking these pills, have emerged gaily into
the streets or fields, to the utter astonishment of their old
acquaintances. In cases of general debility they are a mar-
vellous restorative, and in liver complaints the fiction of
these inestinaahleTills is equally-safe,. speedy, and effica-
cion4

OBTAINING SUGAR BY FRAUD.

On Friday Henry Bell, who formerly carriea on
the business of a grocer in the Borough, and "It vho
had been remanded but admitted to bail upon the
charge of obtaining ten bags of sugar from Me ssrs.
Whistler, Dawson. and Co., agents for the as le of
sugar, Fenchurch-street, appeared before tit -; Lord
Mayor, at the Mansion-house, for further ex mina-
tion.

The court was densely crowded during tl le in-
vestigation by wholesale grocers and others who
had charges against the defendant.'
Mr. Brand again appeared for the prosec
and Mr. C. Lewis for the defendant.

It. Bell, metropolitan detective officer, M 1 3, who
apprehended the defendant, said—From in forma-
tion I received I proceeded to the house ( )f Mr.
Langtrce, a grocer, in Salmon-lane, Lim: hen ise. I
there found five or six bags of rice at the t lack of
the shop. I saw no barrels or bags containing, sugar.
I afterwards went to a carman named Wm. Keene,
and from what he said I returned to Mr. Lang-
tree's, where I obtained further information.
W. Keene said—The defendant employ-tA me to
cart some goods from him, and towards die latter
end of Sept. I received a paper from him. I think it
was on Monday. He told me to get ten be. rrels of
sugar from the London Docks. I did so, a:ad took
them to his shop. By his directions I pulled one or
two out of the van, and he broke the heads..pff. He
said, " These sugars are very wet ; I don'tknow what
to do with them." By his direction I afterwards
placed them all in the shop. He sent for me to
conic to his shop next morning between 8 and 9.
He then gave me another order, andl brought home
10 bags from the West India Docks. He then or-
dered me to take 10 brls of sugar to Mr. Langtree's.
Mr. Brand—Did you take these barrels to Mr.
Langtree's before the bags came ?
Witness—No ; after I brought them home.
Mr. Brand—Have you always stated as you are
telling me now—have you told a different story to
the detective officer ?

Witness—l told him that I brought the bags and
barrels home.

Mr. Brand—How was it that you did not take
the barrels and bags together to Mr. Langtree's
shop ?
Witness—l don't know.

Mr. Brand—Did you tell the detective officer
that some of the barrels were not taken ott of the
cart at all ?

Witness—l might have done so.
The Lord Mayor—This is a most important com-
mercial inquiry, and I am determined to go through
it'most thoroughly, and to sift it, if I possibly can,
to the very bottom. No one can conceal from him-
self the fact that this man is giving his evidence
with great reluctance. He does not give his evi-
dence as a respectable man would.
Mr. Brand—Upon your oath were all the barrels
taken out of the cart at all ?

Witness—One or two were first taken out, and
then the others.

Mr. Brand—And you swear that they remained
in the defendant's possession for a night at least ?
Witness—Yes.

Mr. Brand—lf you ever said that some of the
barrels never left the cart you said what was false ?
witness—Yes, if I §aid that ; I might have said
so.

Mr. Brand—Did you say that—you must know.
Witness—Well, I say that I did say so. When I
met the detective officer on Monday I was agitated.
Mr. Brand—Did you say to Mr. Bell that two or
three days after you had delivered the barrels
on the prosecutor's delivery order you took ten bags
of sugar straight to Langtree's shop.
Witness—l unloaded them into the defendant's
shop first.
Mr. Brand—Did you not state that they never
left the cart ?
Witness—l did say so then. I unloaded them
and put them into the van, and took them away. an
hour or so afterwards, I was employed for this job.
I was not in the service of the defendant. I had
only two transactions with him. I removed his fur-
niture to a furniture warehouse in the New-cut. I
swear that I did not remove for him any other goods
than those of which I have spoken, but there were
plenty of carts at work there in addition to my van.
Mr. James Langtree—l am a grocer, and live at
9, Salmon-lane, Limehouse. I never had any trans-
actions with the defendant. About Sept. 27th or
28th last, or it might be later, a waggon driven by
the last witness came to my shop with ten barrels
of sugar. I did not deny this to Bell. I had no in-
voice with the sugar. I showed Mr. Dawson the in-
voice of the ten barrels, but that invoice did not
come with the barrels. It was delivered to me by
person I bought them of. I bought them of a person
named Jones, who called upon me with a sample of
sugar, and on the next day, or the same day, or
within a very short period at all events, the sugar
came. Jones himself brought the invoice about a
week after the sugars were delivered. The invoice
is dated Oct. 1. I intended to have brought it with
me, but accidentally left it behind on my counter.
The sugars were not equal to the sample, and were
useless to me. They were very footy.
The Lord Mayor—Where does Jones live ?
Witness—l don't know his residence, although I
have known him for some time. He has been
selling goods of this description for the last two or
three years. I did not tell Bell that I had bought
these sugars in a publichouse. I alluded in that con-
versation to rice. When I complained to Jones
of the sugars being footy, he said, " I'll find you
something to work them off with," and I would
not consent to them unless he made me some allow-
ance for their inferior quality. I cannot tell where
Jones is to be found. Some time ago he lodged at the
Railway Hotel. I gave 445. per cwt. for the sugars.
The Lord Mayor—ls it usual with you to deal
with a man who does not give you his address ?
Witness—He is a man that dresses well. He was
in my shop two hours on Monday last, and just left
previous to Bell's calling. The invoice I showed to
Mr. Dawson related to 11 bags of rice, 10 barrels of
sugar, and five, boxes of Valencias.
Mr. Brand—The testimony of those witnesses
would not justify me in asking your lordship to
commit the defendant for trial. This is a case of
very great importance to the commercial community,
and I ask for a further remand, in order that Jones
may be produced. The whole evidence has disclosed
a series of frauds, and the perpetrators of them
ought to be brought to justice.
The Lord Mayor—lf you had Jones here, per-
haps he could not do you much good.
Mr. Brand—Very likely not.
The Lord Mayor—There cannot be two opinions
as to the character of the whole transaction. You
see the evidence which these witnesses have given,
and they are witnesses for the prosecution.
Mr. Langtree—Every word I have stated is truth.
I do not buy goods of every person who comes into
my shop. I missed Jones for tour or five months till
very recently. He has left samples with me, and
nine times out of ten I have not bought his goods.
There are hundreds of persons in London who get
their living in the same way.
The Lord Mayor—l cannot detain the defendant
upon the present charge, but if you get further
evidence against him you can apprehend him again.
The charge against defendant was then dismissed.
Mr. Brand—l now prefer another charge against
the defendant. On the 15th of September last he
called at the warehouse of Messrs. William and
Russell Jupp and ordered II bags of rice, two for
himself, and nine for a friend in the country. The
11 bags were delivered to him and taken direct to
Langtree's shop.
Mr. Langtree—l bought .the rice for more than
it was worth, and, shall lose- a cwt. by it;
This charge was not entertained for want of suffi-
cient evidence.

Several other persons stood forward, and said
that the defendant had obtained chests of tea, cani-
sters, Sze., from them. These cases were not gone
into, owing to the want of evidence to show that
the goods had been obtained under false pretences.

GAMBLING IN BELGIUM.—The company which
farms out the gambling-rooms at Spa, in Belgium, and
whose lease expires at the end of 1861, has just obtainei a
prolongation of it from the municipality for nineteen years,
that is, to the 31st Dec., 1880. The conditions are these :
After deducting the expenses from the gross receipts, 5 per
cent. on what remains are, as heretofore, to be taken for the
hospital and the bureau de bienfaisance ; 4 per cent. instead
of 7 aro then to be taken for payment of the director up to
1861, after which he is to receive a fixed salary ; and on the
sum which may then remain 50 per cent. will go to the
Government, 20 per cent. to the town of Spa, and 30 per
cent. to the company. The renewed lease is now under
consideration of the Minister of the Interior, whose consent
is necessary for its ratification.

THE WOOLLEN TRADE IN BELGIUM.2--The fol-
lowing account of the woollen trade in Belgium is given by
the Annalee die Commerce Exterieur. The principal seat of
that branch of commerce is Verviers, in the province of
Liege. During the last fifteen or sixteen years the con-
sumption of wool in Belgium has more than doubled. In
1855, the quantity of cloth and other woollen goods im-
ported into Belgium was 28,510 kilogrammes ; in 1856,
29,530 ; and in 1857, 34;000. These imports for the most,
part consist of a description of articles which are not
manufactured in the country. The export of cloth and
other woollen goods made in Belgium amounted
in 185.5 to 20,210,094 fr., the value being calculated at 18fr.
the kilo. ; in 1856 to 22,164,660 fr., and in 1857 to
20,065,600 fr. The commercial crisis which prevailed in the
United States and in the principal commercial centres of
Europe during the last three months of 1857 caused a fall-
ing of in the exports of that period of 10,000 pieces or
120,221 kilog. The import of woollen yarn into
Belgium in 1855 was 150,E63 kilos. ; in 1856,
148,321; and in 1857, 174,891; the exports in 1856
were 344,088 kilos., and in 1857 450,455. The
.exports of
'
woollen *oven goods, exclusive of cloths, were, m. the year
1855, 106,709 kilos. ; in 1856, 118,593 ; and in 1857, 108,484..
These exports like that of cloths fell off materially
during the last three months of 1857. Flannel is now a
very material branch of Belgian manufacture, and in many
markets that article enjoyS a complete monopoly,