The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-07 00:00:00

rtiE SUN LONDON, TUESDAI EVENING, APRIL 7 1557,

LAW INTELLIGENOR—Mis

LTNES LEASE]

13evin2t2n) an excellent charaCter for integrity.several'
of them also gave Mr. Procter an excellent charapter.
The Learned Recorder having summed up,

;hr.' Pakli IZAILwAYs.

COURT OF BAIs.TKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commitnionr Hoiroyd.)

The jetty returned a verliet of guilty against Tobin
and I:,*ernon, end nct guilty against Messrs. Bevingtan
and Procter, and renintnended them to act witti a little
more caution in future in the punhase of goods.
The anneuncement wa3 received with applause.
There was a second indictment against the prisoner,
but no evidence was offered.

THE ROYAL BRITISII BANK.

A meeting was for the examination of alleged
debtors t•o this estate, but it was strictly private as on
the previous occasions. Thr, examination of Mr. Staple
ton, one of the directorz, will take place tomorrow.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Evans.)

Sentence on the other prisoners was deferred.

A SINGULAR BANKRUPT.—IN RE LAMINAR.— This
bankrupt had carried on business as a seed crusher,
&c., at Torrington Mill-4, Arundel, Sussex, and to-day
was appointed for choice of assignees.
Mr. Beard, from the office of Mr. Buchanan, Basing-
hall-street, appeared for the petitioning, and several
other creditors and assignees were chosen, and Mr.
Buchanan appointed selicitor.
_ _ .

STATE OF THE POLLS.—(This Day.)

MAYO (COUNTY.)

Palmer

790
813
779

Higgins
Moore

The bankruptcy is said to have arisen from a dispute
with a person with whom the bankrupt had formerly
been in partnership. The debts are stated at about
2,0001., and the assets consisting of the mill, plant, and
machinery, is valued at 3,0001.

SUSSEX (EAST)-10.45 a.m.
Dodson

560
517
393
351

Cavendish

Pevensey
Fuller

CITY SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Prendergast, Q C.)
MASON V. WALKER-COSTS IN VEXATIOUS ACTIONS AND

MEMBERS RETURNED.
MEATH (CouNTY)—Connelly and M'Evoy.

DEFENCES,

NOMINATIONS.
COUNTY CAVAN.—Maxwell, Anne3ley, Dease, and
Gartland.

This case had been adjourned at the instance of the
defendant, who resides at Hitehin, Herts, who under-
took to prove that 15s. disputed in the account had been
paid. He now came up a second time from Hitchin, and
his wife was also in attendance to prove the payment,
which the plaintiff in the first instance denied.
Mr. Buchanan said that he appeared on the first occa-
sion for the plaintiff, but was not now instructed ; but he
understood from his clerk that plaintiff had abandoned
the summons.

COUNTY DOWN.—HiII, Forde, and Ker,

MIDDLESEX ELECTORS.

The poll for Middlesex illustrates most forcibly
the increasing tendency on the part of electors in
popular constituencies to neglect their duty, and to
forego their privileges. Out of a constituency of more
than 15,000 voters, at the utmost, one-half only
take the trouble to record their votes. Thus the
Conservative candidate is beaten by the apathy of
his nominal political supporters. Though his party
has a clear majority of many hundreds on the re-
gister of voters, he cannot poll on his side a third
of the electoral body; and he is defeated, not by
the strength of his opponents, but by the dawdling
and apathy of his own professing friends. We do
not charge the Conservative electors of Middlesex
with this sad failing as an exception to their
brethren in other large constituencies ; we merely
cite them into court as a patent proof of the truth
of the assertion, that as constituencies increase in
numbers so the numbers of those individuals in
those constituencies who exercise their privileges
and perform their duties decrease. It is the same
in all the metropolitan constituencies. Can any one
say that the City of London with its 20,000 electors
was fairly polled out at the last election ? We do
not object—remember—to the result, but only to
the method by which it was obtained. Look again
at Marylebone, with its 19,700 voters. Does any
one ever remember a third of that constituency
being polled? Take Lambeth again. Were the
real views of its 18,000 electors registered at the
poll ? Take, again, Finsbury with 20,000 voters,
or a worse case than all, the Tower Hamlets. Did
the late poll represent the real views and wishes of
the majority of 24,000 voters included in that poli-
tical division ? It is needless to repeat the ques-
tion.--Morning Herald.

The defendant complained of these vexatious proceed-
ing, and claimed full expenses.

His Honour granted 1/. 64. for costs and expanses.
To show the imperfections of the present County Court
Act, as entailing heavy costs, it may be stated that Mr.
Buchanan himself had been retained by a person residing
at Gravesend, and was instrneted to go to support an
action in the Canterbury County Court. The defendant
however took no notice of the application for payment,
and Mr. Buchanan bad to take out a summons, and
attend at the Gravesend Court, as the business was not
transacted in London, or bring an action in one of the
superior courts. Defendant bad no defence.
His Honour (Mr. E:pinage) was aware of the incon.
venience, but all he could do was to allow costs.

AUSTIN V. GRAVE.-QUESTION UNDER THS INSOLVEN!

AST.

This was an adjourned summons, and since the last
hearing the defendant had obtained a vesting order and
protection from the Insolvent Debtors' Court. Mr.
Buchanan now urged that this was a bar to any com-
mitment at present, and if one issued, and defendant was
taken into custody, he would be immediately released by
the Commissioner.

The plaintiff said that the protection was not given
until after the judgment of this court had been ob•
tain ed.

His Honour—The defendant is a clerk, and earning
his money every week ; why can't h e pay ?

Mr. Buchanan—lf he did he would run the risk of
having his petition dismissed or subjecting himself to
some penalty for dealing with his property, which is all
vested in the Court of Insolvency after the vesting
order. Pending the interim order, I submit your
Honour has no power to commit ; all the cases are
in support of that proposition, although a question may
arise after the final order has been granted.
His Honour ultimately said that he would not make
any order in the present stage of ,the proceedings, but
leave the plaintiff to apply, after the Court of Insol-
vency bad given their judgment on the petition.
Mr. Buchanan said he did not anticipate such a result,
but if the petition were dismissed all.the plaintiff's rights
would revive.

CRIMINAL COURT—jII;.s Day.)

OLD COURT.

(Before the Recorder.)
John Tobin, 26, tanner, John Davis, 18, labourer,
John Vernon, 40, labourer, and John Roderick, labourer,
were indicted for stealing 2 cwt., 2 qrs., 18 lbs. weight

of leather, value 11/., the property of Mr. Arthur War-
ing. The case presented no particular features of inte-
rest, except in connection with a charge against Messrs.
Bevington and Procter, members of a high!y respectable
leather firm in Bermondsey, for receiving the stolen

goods. They were plaoad at the bar this morning, and
in the first arraignment pleaded not guilty. They were
_ .

.hen removed from the bar until the ?barge against the

first four prisoners was disposed of. • The Jury, after a
lengthened investigation, found the four prisoners

guilty.

Sentence deferred.

John Tobin and John Vernon were again charged
with stealing a similar quantity of leather on another
day, and Mr. Alfred Bevington and Mr. James Procter
were charged with receiving the goods, knowing them
to have been stolen.

Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Cooper prosecuted ; Sir F.
Thesiger, Mr. Sergeant Parry, and Mr. Robinson de-
fended Messrs. Bevington and Procter. The other

prisoners were undefended.
It appeared from the evidence that, on the 13th Jan
last, the prisoners Tobin and Vernon were seen on the
prosecutor's premises handling leather. They afterwards
employed a carter, of Bermondsey, named Buckingham,
to take the leather in question to Messrs. Bevington
and Proctor, and whilst loading the cart Tobin said to
Buckingham, " If you are asked where you come from
don't say, because they will be able to buy as cheap as us ;
but say you came from Edwards', of Croydon." At
Messrs. Bevington's, Mr. Neale observing the cart be-
longed to a Bermondsey man, said to Buckingham, "Do
you think these goods are all right ?" He asked where
the goods came from, because Tobin was a soldier, and
he added, "We don't know where these small men buy
their goods." Buckingham then told him "from Ed-
wards', of Croydon." The prosecutor's foreman said that
it was the ordinary course of things, in reference to the
glue trade, for men to go about and buy small pieces
such as those stolen, and that Tobin's father was such a
collector for upwards of 20 years. The prosecutor hav-
ing ascertained that he had been robbed, went, in conse-
quence of information he received, to Messrs. Bevington
and Procter's and saw the leather, which he identified as
his own. He inquired where the goods came from,
and a sale note was produced with Tobin's name
on it at 325. per cwt. Prosecutor expressed his surprise
'at their purchasing the goods at so low a rate, especially
as Mr. Neale, their traveller, had only a few days before
bought of him a ton at 725. per cwt., and said that if
that was the way they conducted 'their business no
tradesman would be safe. The leather was taken pos-
session of by the police. On a subsequent visit he asked
who fixed the price for the goods, and he understood
Mr. Procter to say that Mr. Bevington fixed the price
and he paid the money. The prisoner's books were put
in, which showed that regular entries were made of the
purchase of thisdescription of article, and an account with
Tobin's father, who was dead, continued with the son
(one of the prisoners) down to this transaction. The
leather in question was called " glue pieces," or " size
pieces," and was used for making a superior kind of size
used for paper making. These pieces were worth from
70s. to 755. per cwt. Mr. Bevington is at present
churchwarden of Bermondsey, and a trustee and trea-
surer of the Bermondsey Free Grammar School. The
prosecutor said that he had known Mr. Bevington for
upwards of 20 years. He had no vindictive feeling
against him, and added that he had always found him
most straightforward in his dealinge. Mr. Procter is a
young man about 22 or 23 years of age, and his father,
who was a partner of Mr. Bevington, died about the
time of the robbery and purchase of the goods.
Sir F. Thesiger, in an able address to the jury, said
that Mr. Bevington was the father of 10 children, and
had lived upwards of 43 years in the parish of Bermond-
sey. Daring that time he had performed all the duties
of the various parish offices with honour and credit to
himself, and had obtained the esteem and regard of all
who knew him. He called on the jury to acquit Messrs.
Bevington and Procter of any guilty knowledge in
,this transaction, and alluded to the fact of Tobin's father
being known in the trade as a collector of "glue pieces,"
and Tobin's desire to deceive them where the goods
came from.

Evidence was about being called to character, when

The Foreman said the jury were of opinion that such
evidence was unnEoessary.
The Recorder said that, under the circumstances, it
had better be heard.
Mr. Beriah Drew, a magistrate ; Mr. W. Mortimer,
of Clapham ; Mr. Hepburn, a magistrate of Surrey ;
Mr. S. Morris, of Dulwich•common ; the Rev. J. Davis,
Ordinary of Newgate ; Mr. John Neale, of Camber-
well ; Mr. H, Sterry, New Kent-road, surgeon ; Mr.
R. Sleigh, vestry clerk of the adjoining parish of Ber-
mondsey ; Mr. Chandler, warehouseman and wine
merchant ; and the Rev. J. Evans, secretary to the
Christian Knowledge Society, gave the defendant (Mr.