The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-27 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT—(This Day).

OLD COURT.
(Before the Recorder.)

SERIOUS LIBEL ON THE VICE-CHAIRMAN OT TEX
SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH COMPANY.

Thomas Daimond Evans and Henry Thorn surren-
dered to their bail, charged with a misdemeanour in
publishing on the Bth of Asgust a certain libel reflecting
on the character of the Hon. F. W. Cadogan, Vice-
Chairman of the Submarine and European Telegraph
Company. In another count they were charged with
having offered to prevent the publication of the same
and a further count for having conspired to injure the
character of Mr. Cadogan. The defendant Evans, it
will be recollected, was formerly in the service of the
eompany, and the letter in question was written and
sent to the Times for publication in answer to a letter
from Sir J. Carmichael, the chairman of the company,
relative to an Indian telegraph message, denying, in the
most emphatic terms, that the cempany had ever be-
trayed the trust reposed in them by the public, or had
ever tampered with, or delayed any message entrusted
to them for transmiesion. Evans pleaded a justification
under Lord Campbell's Act.
Mr. Sergeant Ballantine, Mr. Bodkin, Mr. Giffard,
and Mr. Griffiths prosecuted ; Mr. Sergeant Parry de-
fended Evans ; and Mr. Robinson defended Thorn.
Mi. Ballantine said that this was a charge of
a somewhat peculiar character,] and involved cir-
cumstances that seldom arose in a criminal oourt.
The two defendants were charged with having published
a libel reflecting on the character of Mr. Cadogan, and
beyond that they were charged with having conspired to
publish the libel with a view of extorting money ; or of
abstaining from doing it, also with a view of obtaining
money. To those charges Evans and Tohrn had pleaded
not guilty; and in addition Evans had pleaded a justifi-
cation, viz., that hia statements were true, and were

published with a view to the public interest, and not
from private or malignant motives. The jury would
have to decide.first, whether the letter in question was
a libel, and whether Evans' justification had been made
out ; furthermore they would have to determine whether
or not the libel was published bona fide, and for the
benefit of the public, or for the purposes of extortion.
The defendant, Evans, was formerly in the Comport/its
service. Tho defendant Thorn was only known to them

as Captain Thorn, of the Prince's Club, Leicester-square

The learned counsel then referred to the circum-
stances connected with the libel, which arose out of
a telegraph despatch forwarded from India in August
last, which caused much excitement at the time in poli-
tical and commercial circles, especially in relation to the
funds. The learned sergeant then read the following

1
letter comprising the libel :
" Sir,—l beg to say I was superintendent of the in•
strument room of the Submarine Telegraph Company
from Nov., 1852 to 1854, when I resigned ; that during
the above period one of the directors of the company, the
Hon. F. W. Cadogan, was in the habit of visiting the
ins'rument room, and welting in the board room daily
—say from three to four o'clock, and I had special in-
structions from him to send up all messages of import-
ance, and, as a consequence, I can instance one parti-
cular despatch from Lord Stratford de Redcliffe to Lord
Clarendon, dated ' Constantinople, December 3,' re-
ceived aids Brussels, when within half an hour after the
message had been sent by the Hon. F. W, Cadogan,
the funds fell i per cent. Mr. Cadogan suddenly quitted
the office, and almost directly afterwards we received a
message from Edersheim, London, to Jacqueman, Paris,
touching this particular fall. There could, I assure
you, be no possibility of these parties having obtained
information only through us, and I am positive that
no clerk quitted the office. That the Hon. F. W. Ca-
dogan frequently looks at the contents of the forwarded
and received continental messages. At that time the
Hon. F. W. Cadogan gave instructions to forward news
to his private residence, and on one occasion I recollect
the contents of the Indian telegraph, received per Aus-
trian
Lloyds, addressed to the Times, being forwarded to
Mr. Cadogan. Another time I forwarded a despatch
to Mr. Seymour Clark by order of Mr. Cadogan. Again,
on arrival of important continental news there occurred a
fall in the funds for the moment, and the result was that
about noon a rush was made to the office by the first
stockbrokers of the day. Mr. Cadogan being in the in-
strument room said to me 'Are you busy ?' I replied in
the affirmative, whereupon Mr. Cadogan took up the pack
of messages-25 in number—which were lying by my
side, and, taking out from near the bottom of the parcel
a message from Rothschild of London to Rothschild of
Paris, placed it on the top of the pile, and requested me
to give it precedence. I told him that all the messages
were sent out in the order in which they were received,
and to alter the arrangement was doing the public a great
injustice. He desired me to do so, and I obeyed ; this
can be proved by reference to the file of messages, as on
the original message will be found a note of mine of the
fact in ink. I have not stated a single fact which lam
not in a position to prove by the officer or servants who
have been in the employ of the company, and by refer-
once to my diary, I will content myself with the fore-
going statement, which will no doubt completely answer
the paragraph in Sir J. Carmichael's letter, and will also
prove to the chairman and directors of the company and
to the public that you do not hazard opinions based on
rumours.

" T. W. EvAss."

Evidence having been heard on the part of the pro-
secution, the court adjourned at half-past five o'clock.
The ease wilt be resumed at ten o'clock to-morrow