The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-25 00:00:00

BETTING ROUSES IN TEE CITY.

The neighbourhood of the Mansion-house was, during a
great part of yesterday, in a state of usual excitement, in
consequence of the apprehension of a number of persons by
the police, upon warrants under the Act for the Suppres-
sion of Betting-houses. The polide had some days ago re-
ceived instructions upon the subject, and opportunities of
entering suspectei houses were taken at the exact time
when parties were engaged in making their books for the
forthcoming races. At a little before three o'clock several
officers brought before Alderman Wire a room full of pri-
soners, to answer for offences charged under the act.
Mr. Stuchbury, from the office of. the City Solicitor, ap-
peared for the prosecution ; Mr. Buchanan attended for
two persons in ono of the batches pieced befor3 the Alder-
man. All the other prisoners were undefended.
Robert Collyer, John Vickery, 'Arthur Agat, and
Edward Woodhead, were the first persons charged.
Inspector Howard said---The defendants were takeninto
custody by me and my assistants upon this warrant.
About 12 o'clock to-day I went to• the Queen's Arms, in
Bishopsgate-street, and in the parlour on the ground floor
I found the four defendants. Collyer was pointed out to
me as Vickary, but he said his name was Collyer. I was
then told which was Vickary. I reduced my warrant.
On Collyer. I found 251. is. 6d. ,He said he bad nothing
else about him but a handkerchief, but I found upon him
a betting-book and several papers relating to horse races,
and a card relating to races.
Baker (635)—1 accompanied the inspector, and found
the four defendants there. I searched Vickary, and found
upon him 361. 15s. ld.
Upon the other two defendants were found some papers
relating to betting transactions.
J. Butt, house agent, said—On Wednesday, the 10th
inst., I went, about To'clock in the afternoon, to the King's
Arms, in Bishopsgate-street, and in the parlour, on the
ground floor, I saw four or five persons, amongst whom
was Collyer, who represented himself to me as Vickary.
He laid me 41. to 10s. against Flacrow, on a race to come
off at Ascot. I gave him a sovereign, and he gave me
four half crowns in exchange. He told me his name was
Vickary, and he asked me my name to enter the bet. I
gave him the nam3 of Butler. The card of the race was
lying on the table. He made an entry in his book. I had
been to the same place a week or ten days previously, and
I saw Collyer and others there then, and I saw him lay a
bet of 201. to V. upon a horse, and the person made ano-
ther bet with him, and paid him money on both bets. I
have been on two or three other occasions there, and seen
Collyer on each occasion.
Cross-examined by Hr. Buchanan--I have been accus-
tomed to betting. I asked Collyer what he was laying
against a certain horse, and he said 8 to 1, and I said I
would take it for half a sovereign.

Johnson (134) gave confirmatory evidence as to frequent
betting transactions by Collyer.
Mr. Buchanan submitted that the evidence was not
sufficiently strong against Collyer as to the alleged fact of
the betting to authorise a conviction.
Alderman Wire—There have been five distinct cases
proved against Collyer, who has been a common frequenter
of the place for the purposes charged in the warrant. I do
do not consider the case proved sufficiently against the
other three, and I shall diseharge them with a marked
caution as to their future visits to places of this kind. With
respect to Collyer, my brother magistrates and I have come
to the determination to inflict heavy penalties in all cases
of this kind. We have observed the dangerous effect pro-
duced by persons who encourage that sort of gambling; that
numerous robberies have sprung from the encouragement
given to young persons to appropriate the money of
their employers to betting purposes, and that the practice
increases in the city of London. We shall try our strength
and activity in checking so pernicious a vice; and I begin
with Collyer by fining him 251. and costs.
The next batch of defendants brought before the magis-
trate consisted of Edward Thomas, H. Jones, H. Jacobs,
R. Robinson, W. King, R. Stile, and T. Newcombe.
Inspector Shelford, assisted by his mon, took the de-
fendants into custody in the Punch Tavern, 99, Fleet-
street. Newcombe, it was proved, was the person who
took the bets. He had between 3001. and 404. in cash
and cheques, and several betting papers were found in his
possession. He said he was in the habit of betting as gen-
tlemen betted at Tattersall's, and he took the same odds.
Alderman Wire fined Newcombe 251. and costs, and dis-
charged the other defendants of the batch, after an admo-
nition.
The third batch consisted of Henry Osmond, alias Harris,
R. Noon, W. Andrew, J, Taplin, J. Burrell, and T.
Bowen.
Inspector Scott, aided by his men, took the defendants
into custody on the second floor of a beershop; at No. 10,
Talbot-court. Osmond was the principal character, and
he had in his possession between 501. and 601., and several
papers relating to races.
The Alderman fined Osmond 251. and costs, and dis-
charged the other defendants.
The cases were not concluded till near nine o'clock.

BANKING MONOPOLY—PETITION FROM
TIM CITY OF GGASGefir TO THE
ROUSE OF COMMONS.

The following petition lies for signature in the
Royal Exchange, Athenaeum, and Old Exchange
Reading Rooms, Tontine-buildings. We under-
stand that Mr. Buchanan, M.P. for the city, has
promised to present and support the prayer of the
petition. We have no doubt that it will be signed
by large numbers of the influential merchants and
manufacturers of Glasgow:—
Unto the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, in

Parliament assembled :
The Petition of the undersigned Merchants, Manufac.
turers, Shipowners, and others, residing in the city of
Glasgow and its neighbourhood,
Humbly showeth,—That there are 17 Banks in Scot-
land, composed of 13,991 partners, or shareholders, with
a paid-up capital of 11,726,2601. sterling.
That previous to the year 1844 the trade of Banking
in Scotland was free. Scotsmen, if they saw fit, were
entitled to associate and carry on business as bankers ;
and under this freedom from legislative restrictions or
control, Scottish banks were secure, and the Scottish
banking system was looked on as a model worthy of imi-
tation and adoption in England and the British colonies,
whilst the mercantile, manufacturing, agricultural, and
industrious classes generally received monetary accom-
modation on moderate and reasonable terwe.
That in 1844, however, through the connivance of two
or three interested bankers, who were assumed to repre-
sent the people of Scotland, but wholly unknown to the
people themselves—without the same ever having been
called for by them—without any reason ever having been
assigned—and when the vigilance of the Scottish mem-
bers of Parliament was lulled asleep by the declaration of
the late Sir R. Peel, when introducing the Bank Charter
Act of that year, that " all legislation affecting Scottish
and Irish banking would be postponed till next session,
1845," a monopoly was enacted by the substitution of
the words "United Kingdom" for the word England in
the said act, and the formation of new banks of issue in
all time coming was strictly prohibited.
That this monopoly was not only insidiously enacted,
but it was in direct opposition to the principles of free
trade recognised by the British Legislature, for it is im-
possible in the nature of things that there can be free
trade in commodities in the true sense, if the trade in
the very means or instruments by which commodities
are to be measured or estimated and interchanged is a
monopoly in the hands of comparatively a few privileged
parties, whose interest is adverse to the interests of all
other classes in.the community.
That in like manner the restriction of the issues or
bank note circulation imposed by the Act 1845, and pro-
hibition of any increase in the circulation except in pro-
portion to gold coin held in reserve by the banks, irre-
spective of all increase of population or extended trade,
or greater demands for monetary accommodation, was
equally uncalled for and equally impolitic. The holding
of gold is not only unprofitable, but it affords little more
than a nominal security to the public, inasmuch as it
just displaces capital in some other shape, but yielding
profit or returns, whereas the gold yields none, whilst
as a rule it operates most unequally and inequitably
amongst the banks themselves, having no reference
whatever to their different amounts of capital, circulation
or deposit. In fact, it is a purely arbitrary regulation,
without any valid reason or Principle for its adoption.
It constitutes no adequate security for the payment or
" conversion " of the notes, and far less does it guaran-
tee the deposits, whose " receipt" holders, if any special
security is necessary at all, require to be guaranteed just
as much as, if indeed not more, than the holders of the
" notes."
That, in the 20 years between 1825 and 1845 five new
native jointoltock banks were established in the city of
Glasgow, namely, the Union
Bank (now the Union Bank
of Scotland), Western Bank, Clydesdale Bank, Cityllank,
and Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank, But during the
last 12 years, or since the enactment of the monopoly,
not a single new bank has been established, although the
population, trade, commerce, and shipping of the city
and harbour, and demands for monetary accommodation,
have increased in a mud, greater ratio, in fact have been
positively much greater in these 12 years than during the
previous 20. As a consequence of this monopoly,
the shares of all the Scottish banks are at large premiums
—the dividends range from 6 to 10 per cent., the aver-
age being 8 per cent. But all this gain of the banks, in
virtue of their monopoly, just
implies high and usurious
rates of interest and discount
txacted from the public ;
the gains or prosperity of
one banks are simply synony-
mous with the losses
end injury of the commercial and
industrious and producing
for monetary acco e classes, who are dependent
m..si °dation on the banks. And such
losses and lip,-
will continue to be sustained so long as
the right o`` co mp -5'
„etition or of free-trade in banking is
denied
to the people—so long as the banking money in-
Ife protected and pampered by the Legislature.
That if the population, trade, and commerce of Glas-
gow, during these 20 years, could sustain five new banks