The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-12 00:00:00

THE _ROYAL BRITISH BARK.

A meeting was beld last evening at the:Guild-
hall Tavern, in pursuance of a circular suggesting
that the shareholders should then meet to take
into consideration the propriety of subscribing the
sum necessary to carry out an arrangement under
which the creditors had consented to accept 6s. 6d.
in the pound, in aldition to 103. in the pound ac-
cruing from the estate.
After considerable discussion,
Mr. R. P. HARDING the official manager, said
the sum required was 180,0001. Of this, 65,0001.
had been subscribed ; and, without referring to
other shareholders, there were 69 who held 519
shares, from whom no offer whatever had begin re-
ceived. Steps had been taken to ascertain the names
of these parties, and it was calculated that a sum of
113,000/. could be obtained from them. It was
suggested that Messrs. Gillott, Mitchell, Harding,
and other gentlemen should retire into a separate
room and receive proposals. At the termination of
these interviews, Mr. Harding reported that, iu ad-
dition to the 65,0001. already referred to, 27,0001.
had been promised by former shareholders, 4,0001.
by Mr. Stapleton, the only director who bad as yet
subscribed, and 11,7001. by the 69 shareholders to
whom reference had been made. Tnis made the
amount 107,7001. out of the required 180,000/.,
and Mr. Harding expressed himself as having no
doubt that the required amount could be got.
Mr. PEARSE said he felt, after this, that the as-
signees were in a position to deal with every share-
Older as his case required, and that there should
be no delay in prosecuting their claims upon share-
holders who had not as yet contributed.
_ _

Mr. LINKLATER observed that the 27,000/. pro-
mised by the original shareholders was conditional
upon the other shareholders making up the required
180,000/. The assignees would give a release to a
shareholder who they felt had contributed accord-
ing to his ability, but they would never allow a
man to escape by payment of 500/. when he ought
to pay 5,000/. While there were shareholders who
had not contributed anything, there were others
who had not contributed their due portion.
It was ultimately resolved that Mr. Harding
should communicate with shareholders who had not
subscribed, stating to each the amount that would
probably secure him a release, and urging him to
return an answer within seven days as to his willing-
ness to pay that amount : and that Mr. R. Taylor
(one of the assignees), and Messrs. Gillott and
Mitchell, two of the shareholders, assist him in car-
rying out the resolution.

w It was stated during the proceedings that Mr.
Brockwell, who had succeeded in obtaining the re-
moval of his name from the list of contributories,
had still proposed to pay a sum to obtain a release.

TRIAL OP THE DIRECTORS OF THE ROYAL
BRITISH BA..VK.

Yesterday an application was made at chambers
before Mr. Justice Crompton by counsel, on behalf
of several of the defendants in this case, for parti-
culars of the charges to be preferred on the several
counts of the indictment, which consists of general
as well as of specific counts. Mr. D. D. Keane, Mr.
Coleridge, and Mr. Aspland appeared as counsel for
the defendants, and the crown was represented by
Mr. Joseph Brown. The application was opposed
on the ground that thcugh the special counts con-
tained overt acts, yet the charges in the special
counts were precisely similar to those in the general
counts, and the application was therefore an appli-
cation for the disclosure of evidence. Counsel for
the Crown, however, stated that he had put into the
indictment all the overt acts which he knew of,
such being the instructions of the Attorney-General,
and that if he should become acquainted with any
further overt acts before the trial he would apply
to amend the indictment by inserting them, but he
would give no undertaking to do so, or to confine
his evidence to the overt acts mentioned. To this
it was replied that the enumeration of the overt acts
in the indictment was an embarrassment instead of
a benefit to the defendants unless they were assered
that none other would be sprung upon them at the
trial. The learned judge was of opinion that so
important a case as this ought to be taken to the
full court, but his impression was against granting
the order, inasmuch as the counts, in his opinion,
did not contain specific charges. but only varied iu
this, that some stated overt acts as well as specific
acts, while others contained specific charges only.
It was then pointed out to his lordship that the
last count in each information was too general, as
it did not contain any specific charge, and he made
an order for particulars as to that count alone.
Three informations have been filed against the
defendants, because some of the persona named in
the different informations are not liable with re-
spect to the whole of the time for which the others
are. These informations, which have been filed at
the instance of the Attorney-General, are laid
against Humphrey Brown, Edward Esda.;le, Henry
Dunning INl`Leod, Lorraine de Wolfe Cochrane,
Richard Hartley Kennedy, William Daniel Owen,
John Stapleton, Hush Innes Cameron, Lockhart
Mure Valiant, and Frederick Valiant. The first
cunt, which, in fact, charges the material offence,
is that the defendants fraudulently conspired to re-
present that the affairs of the British Bank were iu
a prosperous condition during the whole of the year
1855 and the half of the year 1856, and for that
purpose, in order to carry out the conspiracy, to
publish a statement of the affairs of the bank, to
declare a dividend, when, in fact, no dividend had
been earned, to issue 500 new shares when they
well knew that the bank was approaching insol-
vency, and to publish false abstracts of time annuli
balance sheets. It further charges that they
did in fact publish such false statements, that
they had paid dividends, as if they had been earned
by the operations of the bank which had never in
fact been earned, that to keep up the credit of the
bank they put chased shares iu the market and paid
for tbein out of the moneys of the bank ; that they
issued circulars falsely stating that the bank was
prosperous, and published advertisements inviting
persons to become shareholders with the like object,
and had also published a notice that they were about
to issue a large number of new shares at a 5/. pre-
mium. With the exception of the last count, each
information which is a general court to cheat the
st I.l(3:Dents in the several counts are varied with
respect to shareholders, customers to the bank, and
leige subjects generally, the object charged being
to deli-dui by inducing ,ueh ptiNoLs to buy new
shares or to deposit money in the bank.
No day for the trial ila.l yet been fixed, nor is it
even yet known whether it will be a trial at bar
or not.

It has been definitely arranged that neither the
Attorney-General nor the Solicitor-General will
take any part in the tzial, :.nil that Si:. Frederick
Thesiger will lead the prosecution on behalf of the
crown. We underbtand that upwards of 50 coun-
sel have been retained fur the prosecution and
defence ; and, fr im the voluminous nature of the
evidence to be adduced, the trial will probably last
throe weeks.

A considerable number of German emigrants of both
sexel visited on Sunday the Louvre and other public
buildings of Paris. They nearly all left in the evening
by railway for Havre.

The depositions to-day were taken byMr. Veasey
the magistrates' clerk.. Captain Robertson, assisted
by Superintendent Barnes, conducted the case for
the prosecution, and Mr. Fitzjohn, solicitor, of
Stevenage, watched the proceedings upon the part
of the prisoner.
The following is the additional evidence given to-
day :
Inspector Hawkes, having been called, stated
the deceased John Starkins, was stationed at Ste-
venage. Witness saw him last alive on Friday,
the 3Uth of Oct., at 1 o'clock, when he went on his
usual beat. Not returning at 3 o'clock, witness
searched the town and made inquiries respecting
him, but vrithout.obtaining any information. On
the following day the search was resumed by wit-
ness and a policeman named Wilson, and from in-
formation he received he was induced to search the
neighbouring fields, in company with soma of the
neighbours. They had a dog with them and searched
the woods, but without effect that day. They also
inquired at the deceased's lodgings, but they had
heard nothing of him. On the Sunday he received
information that the deceased had been seen on the
railway bridge on the afternoon of the day on which
the murder was committed, and on Monday wit-
n,s3 summoned all his police force to join in the
search. They commenced searching early in the
morning, and about 11 o'clock police-constable
Isgate, who was in the next field to witness, called
to him to come to the pond. He went immediately
to hiM, when Isgate showed him the dead body of
Starkins lying in the pond. By witness's orders
the corpse was taken out of the pond, when it was
discovered that the throat was cut and the head
newly severed from the body. There were other
wounds found on the body. The deceased was
dressed in his usual policeman's clothes and had
his greatcoat on. About 20 yards from the pond
witness observed the marks of a dreadful struggle ;
the field was partly in grass and partly in turnips.
The spot at which the scuffle took place was in grass
and it was much beaten down, and was saturated
with blood. Some of it was in a coagulated
state. There appeared to have been between one
and two quarts of blood in that spot. The bloody
appearance was so great that it seemed as if a sheep
or some other animal had been slaughtered. There
was a'so an appearance as if a heavy body had been
dragged along the grass to the edge of the pond ;
the grass appeared t.) have been beaten down in
one direction. He saw no footmarks. The grass
was too high to leave any imprints of a man's feet
on the ground. He directed the body to be re-
moved to an inn in the village (the Chequers) and
left some officers to watch the spot. He then pur-
sued his investigation of the field, and about 95
yards from where he discovered the blood and in
a portion of the field covered with wheat stubble
he came upon another spot where there were marks
of a struggle, and on examining the ground he
found a quantity of wheat strewn about. The soil
was disturbed there a good deal and there were
marks of feet oa the ground, but not distinct. He
saw no traces of blood there. The wheat appeared
to have been spilt. Between the spot where the
wheat was spilt and where they found the blood,
nearer to the latter, a pair of handcuffs were picked
up by one of the police constables. There were
also marks of persons having passed between the
two ap )ts.
Mr. Prior—Was there any blood, or traces of
blood, upon the hands of the deceased ?
The witness replied that there were no such
marks.

Examination resumed—On Saturday following
the murder witness called at the house of the pri-
soner, and found that he had a wounded leg. He
asked him how he had hurt his leg, when he told
him that the injury was caused by a piece of wood
falling on it. He showed him the place, and it was
very black and swollen, bat th-, skin was not
broken. In reply to a que'tion he put to him the
prisoner said that ho had been working in one of
the fields on Mr. Horne's farm, andthat he hal come
home by the side of Gunwell's wood, and ire front of ,
the 2 cottages standing in the field; heals() said.that
he got home about half-past five. It was 1 o'clock
when witness called at the bous.e of the prisoner,
and he was surprised to find him home at that
hour. Ou Monday he went again to the prisoner,
and asked him where his knife was, and ho said
that he bad given it to his son. When they dis-
covered that a murder had taken place they sus-
pected the prisoner immediately. He had the pri-
soner stripped and examined by a sergeon, and
a'so examined his clothes, and saw what seemed to
he traces of bloo 1 on his boots.

The Rev. Mr. Prodgers—Have you any facts
upon which you grounded your suspicions ?
Witness—Ou the 21st of October I told Starkins
that I suspected the prisoner had been stealing corn
from his master's farm, and directed him to keep
his eye on him. I also told him which way he
went home from his work.

By Mr. Veasey—He took possession of the pri-
sltier'A clothes, and subsequently gave them to
Superintendent Barnes.

By the Rev. Mr. Prodgers—The pockets of the
deceased were not turn. There was no appearance
of a desperate highway robbery upon Lim.
Evidence was then produced for the purpose of
tracing the deceased to the last moment at which
he was seen alive.

Professor Taylor was. then called, and, having
been sworn, made the following statement :—On
Thursday, the sth of November, I received from
Superintendent Barnes at the cbymical laboratory
of Guy's Hospital the undermentioned articles—a
knife, a smockfrock, a pair of corduroy trovvsers,
a pair of boots, and a pair of gaiters. On Satur-
day, the 7th of November, I also received at the
same place from Superintendent Barnes a shirt, a
quart bottle containing a colourless liquid, a spade
without a handle, and a wicker basket. These
a titles have been submitted to a chemical and
microscopical examination. 1. The kuife.—The
blade was perfectly clean, and there were no marks
of Vood either on the blade or on the handle.
On removing one half of the buekhorn handle
from the plate of iron to which it was rivetted
there was a deep red stain mixed with ru=t
and dirt. It was found to consist of coagu
lated blood in a dry state. The blood must
have penetrated between the buckhorn handle
and the iron plate, and have there coagulated.
2
The smockfrock.—
Tiris was damp, and felt as if it
had been exposed to wet. It presented no appear-
ance calling for particular notice. A portion which
was stained was examined, but the stain was not
owing to blood. 3. The corduroy trousers.—These
presented many stains,
chiefly at the back and on
the sides. Five different portions were examined,
but they yielded no evidence of the presence of
blood. In the groove of a bone button taken from
the left knee there was found a firm coagulum of
blood. It had a bright red colour and was appa-
rently fre4i. In one of the holes of this button
through which the thread bad passed, there was
also a small coagulum of blood. The appearance
was such as would be produced by the wiping of
blood from the surface of the button. There was a
slight smear of blood on the cotton string
con-
ntcted with this knee. 4. The boots.—These were
much covered with sand, mud, and clay. Portions
of leather presenting the appearance of stains re-
sembling Mood were removed and examined. Tiler e
was no satid'actny evidence of blood, but in adrli-
tioe to s Ind there was found by the aid of the mi-
croscope a number of starch granules, having the
appearance of white starch. 5. The loather gait irs.
—These presented some dark stains, especially on
the left side. A chemical and microscopical ex-
amination showed that these steins were caused by
coagulated blood. Granules of wheat starch were
also found mixed with blood. - The leather near
these stains presented in some parts a rough ap-
pearance as if it had been scraped or rubbed. An
inside loop of the left gaiter presents a smear of
blood. This has be en left undisturbed. G. A siiirt.
—Numerous small spots were found on the back,
sides and front of the shirt. Some of these were
others were outside, and had not en-
tirely penetrated. One stain on the outside in
front presented the appearance of a smear. Stains
of iron mould were found in some parts, aed

slavin arising from blue vitriol was seen in front.
The left wristband was stiffened, and the stiffening
was found to be owing to its containing a quantity
of soap not washed out, and not found in the other
wristband or in the body of the shirt. This wristband
presented one long yellow mark arising from iron-
mould, and several greenish-coloured spots arising
from a solution of blue vitriol. There was not the
slightest trace of sugar of lead in this wristband.
Toe quart bottle contained a colourless liquid,
which was found on analysis to be a solution of ace-
tate of sugar of lead, without any admixture of
blue vitriol, or any preparation of iron or copper.
The spade presented mark of iron rust intermixed
with chalk, clay, and a few granules of wheat
starch. 7. The wicker basket.—On portions of the
wickerwork inside there were small stair's of a
bright red colour. These were found to be owing
to blood, the blood having apparently coagulated as
it came in contact with them. This blood, like
that found in the groove of the button, had the ap-
pearance of fresh blood. The conclusions which I
draw from this examination and analysis are,—that
there were stains of blood inside the handle of the
knife, on the button, and on the corduroy trousers,
on the outside of the gaiters, on the shirt, and on
the wickerwork of the inside of the basket ; that
the stains found on the inside of the handle of the
knife, on the button of the corduroy trousers, and
on the wickerwork of the basket, had the appear-
ance of coagulated blood. This appearance would
be assumed by blood issuing from the body of a
living person, or of one recently dead, that is, be-
fore the blood had naturally set or coagulated. That
some of the small bloodstains on the shirt have been
apparently produced by blood reaching it from the
outside. That the bloodstains above mentioned
present the characters of human blood. At the
same time there are no certain criteria by which,
in the dry state, human can be distinguished from
animal bleed. No certain opinion can be given of
the date at which the stains were produced on the
handle of the knife and gaiters. The stains found
on the button and the wickerwork of the basket
have the appearance and properties of recent or
fresh blood. Soap in large quantities and blue
vitriol have been applied to the left wristband of
the shirt—the soap subsequently to the washing
of the shirt, and the production of the stains from
blue vitriol. The lotion in the bottle would not
account for the appearance and condition of the
wristband.

Several witnesses were then examined, whose
evidence was taken before the reorder and reported
in The Sun of Tuesday last.
After the examination of those witnesses the pri-
soner was remanded till Tuesday next, and in the
meantime the police will make a further search for
the clothes of the prisoner, there being strong rea-
sons for supposing that a portion at least of them
have been burned, and that those taken by the
police on We Monday following the murder were
either some old clothes belonging to the prisoner,
orsoms that he had obtained from another labourer:
On this hypothesis the garden of the prisoner and
one or two others have been dug up. It is gene-
rally believed that the prisoner went out the night
after the murder for the purpose of concealing the
clothes, and also to dispose of the body of the mur-
dered man.