The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-24 00:00:00

...-
COMMITTAL OF A ROCHDALE IVOOLST.APLE.,

FOR .P_ERJURY.

An investigation, extending over several hours,
took place at the City Police-court, Manchester, 011
Thursday, into a charge of perjury against Mr.
John Milnes, a woolstapler, carrying on business at
Rochdale.
Mr. Leresche, on behalf of the prosecution, stated
the case, from which it appeared that in Jan., 1859,
there was a bankruptcy pending in the Manchester
Bankruptcy Court against Messrs. Richard Roth-
well and Son, weelstaplers and flannel manufac-
turers, Rochdale, and on the 12th of that month, at
the meeting for choice of assignees and proof at
debts, in Mr. Commissioner Jemmett's Court, the
defendant made a proof, in which he said that the
bankrupts were indebted to him before the filing
of the petition in the sum of £126, for goods solo
and delivered to them at their request, for which
sum he, and no other person on his behalf, had re-
ceived " any security or satisfaction whatsoever."
It was upon this statement that the perjury was
proposed to be assigned, for it would be shown
that no less than five different bills of exchange,
amounting in the aggregate to upwards of £2OO,
had been received from the bankrupts by the de-
fendant on account of the debt, and paid away by
him. Mr. Charles Senior, usher at the Manchester
Bankruptcy Court, produced a file of proceedings
in Messrs. Rothwell's bankruptcy. It did not con-
tain the defendant's deposition of the debt due to
him, but in the list of debts this was placed at
£126. It also contained the appointment of the
creditors' assignees, bearing a signature purporting
to be the defendant's. The witness had searched
in every place for the defendant's deposition where
it was possible to find it, but without success. The
depositions of all. the other creditors, eight in num-
ber, were on the file.
Mr. John Lamb, Manchester, who had acted as
solicitor to the bankrupts, deposed that he saw the
defendant swear to the proof of the debt before it
was filed, and that on the 13th of March succeed-
ing he (witness) obtained a copy of the deposition
(produced), bearing the seal of the court. He also
saw the original deposition on the 17th of May.
A witness was then called to depose that the de-
fendant had obtained permission some time se to
O
look over the file at the Bankruptcy Court, with
view to show that the depositions must have been
abstracted by the defendant; but, as he could not
remember the precise date of the occurrence, hie
evidence was not taken.
Mr. William James Rothwell, one of the bank-
rupts, who had carried on the business with h!e
father, stated that bills of exchange, at the for
lowing dates, and for the several amounts specified,
payable three months after date (subsequently
dishonoured) were drawn by the defend
dant up
30.;
on
the firm in his own favour :—Sept. 1, f X5O
Sept. 22, for £7O 12s. 6d. ; Oct. 25, for £35 15e•
The first two of these bills the defendant told the
witness that he had paid away, and that the third
was in his possession after their failure. On the
7th Jan., 1859, the bankrupt endorsed two other
bills drawn upon John Charles Rothwell, brother
to the witness, for £34 2s. 6d. each, which the elder.
bankrupt gave to the defendant. At a meeting et
creditors held in Rochdale, about this time, a reso-
lution was passed agreeing to accept a composition
of 10s. in the pound from'the bankrupts, who, The
ever, were wishful to pay only Gs. Bd. The de
fendant strenuously opposed the smaller amount,
and the two bills named were giren by the bank-
rupts to guarantee 10s. in the pound to the defen-
dant in preference to the other creditors.
These were the circumstances having
reference to the charge of perjury, and Mr. Booto
Boote and Jellicorse), with Mr. Foulkes, who
ap-
peared for the defendant, by cross-examination eat
in defence, endeavoured to show that the present
proceedings were instituted on account of the part
which the defendant had taken in opposing the
bankrupts, and that he (defendant) had no interest
in making a false declaration before the bankruptel
commissioner. If the defendant had erred, it ivas
immediate
through ignorance, and not with any corrupt in-
tention.
Mr. Maude asked the meaning of the term
" corrupt." In this case it meant either that some-
thing had been said which ought not to have been
said, or that something had been kept back for
an improper purpose. What was the effect of the de-
fendant's conduct ? It was to give him a direct pea::
niary advantage over the other creditors. t bad
been said that the bills were worthless, but that was_
not really material to the charge. The defendan.t
must have received them supposing they were wor,ta
something, or why did he take them ? It henob tis'
matter which could be settled there ; but haa,
the broad fact before them that the defendant hau
gene and made a false oath in a judicial proceeding,
and he (Mr. Maude) was afraid it was getting too
common not to think as much of an offence of this
kind as it ought to be thought of. It was a serious
matter the way in which people paltered with their
oaths in some Of the courts. The defendant had pat
his hand to a direct falsehood, and ho must be coin-
mitted for trial.
On the application of Mr. Boote, Mr. Maude con-
sented to admit the defendant to bail, on two sureties
being found in £5O each.

----
MINES.—The Mining 8------hare Market has bees
rather languid this week and shows evident signs of the
near approach of the Christmas holidays. ln a few mines
a fair business has been done, and in one, East Russell, *
large amount of speculation has been going on. In fact,
during some days, it was difficult to deal in anything else ;
neatly every day telegrams have been received at the office,
and every change in the lode is duly notified blamedt agent,
be
who seems to be determined never to again
for withholding information I We believe it has been,
and is, the nature of the Great Devon one lode,
as
well as other rich lodes, to be at ono place rekably
rich, and at another comparatively poor; and if every
change were reported as it occurred in Great Devons Con-
sols, and were used for market purposes, what would be the
effect upon these shares solid and indifferent as they are
now to themarket altogether? There is one fact, however,
in connection with East Russell, that does away, in a grett!
measure, with the effect of these sudden changes, and whi.".
is, that at the 88 cast, 15 fms. have been driven througai!
course of ore which, though subject to sudden changes, w
worth, on an average, £6O per fm. ; and shareholders
will do well in future to bear in mind that it is the
nature of the lode to be bunchy, and that these changes
from rich to poor, and from poverty to riches,
should not alarm or influence them ; and we 118"
some general principle, which we may expect to bring forth
an equally satisfactory result in the case of the new o 00"
panics. We are satisfied, from long observation of ths
working of Irish mining, that the latter is the true hr,
thesis ; that the mines of that country are surely an _":,-
trinsically valuable, and be capable of becoming an in'Y'''
tant source of wealth to their proprietors and the countri
at large, if carried out in the same srit and under Arai:
lar circumstances, as mining is prosecuted in the prosperell-
districts of Great Britain. These we believe, for the rote'
sons we shall give, can at present, as a general rule, only
bo arrived at in the case of associations with a prepondera-
ting local interest or local management ; and torsch constee
gauntly, we predict a career of general prosptY, slmil
to that of the successful local enterprises we have referred to.
Every one familiar with English mining
.knows the
of local co-operation.' Without it, experience shows th,
generally successful mining is, as a rule on attainable br
the larger mining firms, possessing the confidence of a eon:
siclerable body of capitalists. The wide-spread independS!
ng, such as we see in Cornwall, is not possible thou
he aid of local interests. And, on a little consideration r
the reason for this is obvious. Success in mining, like suc-
cess in any other pursuit, we know is only attainable--el"
cept in a few rare and accidental cases—band steady persever;
ante in a judicious course of operations ; the confidenc
vial
necessary to induce this reasonable perseverance is only
erto,
bs eucgho ti
instances
au localces knowledgeofjudicious
perseverance circumstances
as and
see crowned with great ultimate success in Comic_ 11___
for instance, the recent case of Wheal Clifford--woul!i, 7:
venture to say, be impossible, and indeed unreasonabioe, ,t;
the case of a company not fortified by that conviction_ ri_,y
to be had by an intimate local knowledge, or itt least IT:
the concurrent testimony of those who possess it. In any
we c0ntiV......1T
ng district in whose prosperity some
noteties res.? _,..
in, or connected with, the locality are nteresteeVe7
mines may be said to be "in it, but not of it The De and
charact.. _
neighbours of a mine know nothing of its proceed4at.„ ill
the wholesome influence of public opinion so cultic' age_.
sphere, is entirely absent. When difficulties
o know'
and when do they not ?—the shareholders have n &uts,
ledge except at secondhand, and that either from
aeiene.
ralities of casual inspectors. That confideno,
necessarily interested, or from the generally ;TVeagainst
character
0 _
of the different agents, and which in Cornwall
all difficulties, derived from the knowledge of th
few dry words of half-praise from one man of a thoul..ol
times more value than a volume of exciting reports f ,sll.`.
another, is entirely wanting. The abuse of confidence mi
f local
placed in a bad man—an error which no person , II
knowledge of character would have fallen into--destrVed
confidence in a really good man both are confoult_
together in indiscriminate confidence or mistrust. pr,
thesecauses we continually see in such districts a serif
al.
ha
hi.
we
,chkrltehsys
,rendersst
errors in two opposite directions ; on the one side we h v
eannd i ture
equally o f sc he rn
recklesses
accountable abandonment of mines just at tho ant..
andan d ;impropero n the ot he exrp
when their vigorous prosecution presented the most hel_
ful chances of success. Consequently, except in tt:.
cases where a lucky hit puts a mine at once in sax; .
tial position, and repairs all errors, mining in such coWL
ties is rarely' successful except, as before stated, ot
the hands of the larger firms, whose position an
well -known character commands that confid en
which in other cases can only be reasonably or
shudtterly..
the_
safely given after some intimate knowledg P
e of
character of the concern and of the parties—
a knowledge
only to be had from locally instructed opinion. Such tehinaff
the experience of English mining,.. can -we be surprised t. 6
in Ireland ; and that while local enterprises as been !Teen
the results, both in success and failure, have been similar
cessful in the highest degree, that of distant pties
expected,hasb
generally unfortunate. It is what we might have
taken
and the remedy for the latter is the course now being
_ri! ,'
—the greater infusion of local capital and interesteinlerilrt
mining.. Not that we would desire to excludt ki.
vg., fish_,_
capitalists from adventuring
.in the sister counry,sbintaw:
should prefer seeing them going into those concern
to those of purely
present superior prospects of SUOCCSd
of business for
_English origin.aptitude of lrithinfn
which glish
gusted by native interests, satisfied that they ne9essarily
conducting. to a successful issue matters in .
_Fuzzy
Journal. ic-
'rl 's beautiful and P
management haS failed is not confined to mining.
NEWSTEAD ABBE Y.---- ....11 the abode
turesque residence, with the demense, formerly
be brought to
Col. Wildman will, we are informed, shortly
• London setae
the hammer. 'The sale will take place in
of Lord Byron, and recently in the occupation of the late
, .
time in May or Juno next.—Stamford Mercury.