The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-28 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENGE.—(This Day.)

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commisbioner Franc)

IN RE G. ADAMS-THE WARE AND HERTFORD BANK.

To•day was appointed for the adjourned examination
of this bankrupt, who had carried on business as a banker
at Ware and Hertford.

The accounts, prepared by Messrs. Thomas and Cop.
ley, have already been published, and the only ground
for an adj')urument until to-day was for al amendment
in the account, as the bankrrpt hod placed a loan of
3,0001. dow❑ to personal expenditure and other items.
Johnstone had had transactions with a young gen-
tleman named Kay, whom he defrauded, and Kay,
when of age, filed a bill in Chancery against him, and
bankrupt was made a party, as some of the securities
had been deposited with him. The bankrupt, however,
did not like it to appear that he also had bee❑ duped by
Johnstone, and put the loan to him down as expenditure
and loss as ab2,ve stated, but the assignees did not
impute any fraudulent intent to the bankrupt, as nothing
could be got from the estate of Johnstone who had be.
come bankrupt.

The amendment having now been made the bankrupt
passed his examination.

CITY SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Prendergast, QC )
IMPORTANT TO BENEFIT SOCIETIES AND MEMBERS.-

DOOLET V. BISHOP.

This was an action brought against the defendant, as
the secretary of the National Mutual Benefit In.titu-
tion, Threadneedle-street, to recover the sum of 1/. 133.
4 the amount of a claim on the superauuation fund of
the institution.

Mr. Buchanan, Basinghall-street, appeared for the
defendant, and took an objection to the jurisdiction of
the Court on the ground that the suhject was matter
for arbitration, and Mr. Tidd Pratt had given his opi-
nion to that effect. The facts of the case are of contd•
derable importance. It appears that the society bad been
established a great number of years, and plaintiff was ad
mitted as a member in Feb., 1821. After some years he
declared on'the funds, and for Rome time received 20s. a-
week, but as he eventually became aim )et blind he was
placed on the superannuated list and received ss. per
week; but in January, 1850, in consequence of the sick
fund being much reduced the plaintiff consented to take
3s. 4d. In 1855 it became necessary to make a further
reduction, and plaintiff, with other members, a 'reed,
and the allowance was further reduced to 61 a week,
and the question now was whether the reduction was to
date from the beginning or end of 1856.
Mr. Buchanan said that the plaintiff ought in equity
to take the reduced allowance, for although he had only
paid in 401. he bad already received 1501. from the funds.
Mr. Bishop said that in 1850 it was discovered that
there had been an error in plaintiffs age, and he had been
for years paying the lower rate, but no advantage was
taken of that fact, and be was retained on the books, and
he was not even called upon to pay up the deficiency, but

it was allowed to stand to be deducted from the money
which will become due at bis death.

His Honour decided that he had no jurisdiction, and
it was then agreed by all parties that the matter should
ba referred to Mr Osgood, the clerk of the court, and
that his award should be entered as the judgment of the
Court.

Mr. Osgood now gave his award in favour of the
plaintiff, as neither the original nor amended rules pro-
vided for the case, and there had not been any general
meeting to rectify the omission. There was a rule as
to how a surplus should be dealt with, but not how to
make up any deficiency.
His Honour said that it was the case with most of
these societies ; they were too liberal at first, and never
calculated on a deficiency—they went on all very well
while the members were twenty-two and twenty-three,
but when they got to sixty, they all declared on the funds
at once.

NV
Judgments was entered for the plaintiff, but Mr.
Osgood said he did not consider it a case for costs except
for those out of pocket.