The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-05 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENGE.--(his Day.)

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Goulbqrn.)

IN' RE L. SAiIIUEL.

To-day was appointed for the further examination of
this bankrupt, who was a diataond merchant, &c., in
Bury-street, St. Mary-Axe. _ _ _

The bankrupt was again brought up in custody, hav-
ing been taken in execution, the original examination
having been adjourned since, without protection, in con-
sequence of the incredible statemect made by tho bank-
rupt with respect to his dealings and his conduct on some
occasions, which was such as to lead to doubts as to his
sanity.

Mr. Chidley ultimately obtained leave for the bank-
rupt to be again brought up, and several meetings have
been held, during which witnesses and the bankrupt
have been examined at great length, but the bank-
rupt's statements are still deemed unsatisfactory,
Mr. Chidley, who has taken up tbe bankrupt's case with
great zeal, as unless the truth of the bankrupt's state.
ments can be borne out he must remain in prison for
an indefinite period, now applied for a further adjourn•
ment for a fortnight, when, he had no doubt, he should
be able to adduce evidence to corroborate the bankrupt.
Mr. Norton, for the assignees, objected, as they were
obliged to bear the expenses, there being no estate ; but
his Honour ultimately granted the adjournment, on the
understanding that bankrupt should pay the costs of the
day, and deport 51. to meet further expenses.
Mr. Chidley said that would be done, and he had no
doubt he should ultimately be able to convince the Court
that the bankrupt had stated the fasts.
Adjourned accordingly.

CRIMINAL COURT.—(This Day.)

OLD COURT.

The January sessions of the Central Criminal Court
commenced this morning, at the Old Bailey, before R.
Gurney, Esq., the newly appointed Recorder, the Lord
Mayor, Alderman Farncombe, Alderman Sir F. G.
Moon, Bart., Alderman Kennedy, Mr. STlard Mechi,
Mr. Sheriff Keates, and the Under-Sheriffs Crosley and
Anderson.

The learned Recorder, in charging the grand jury,
said that he regretted he was unable to give them the
information that might be necessary with reference
to many of the charges in the calendar, in con-
sequence of the late period at which the depo-
sitions had been returned to the Court. He had an im-
mense number of depositions there before him ; but as
none of them had been returned before Saturday—some
of them late on Saturday night, and others relative to
the most important cases since he had taken his seat on
the bench—he could give them no information or guid
mace with reference to the cases to which they referred ;
but should they, in the course of their duties, find any
difficulties arise, he should have much pleasure in giving
them his advice and assistance. He was sorry to find
that the calendar contained no less than four
charges arising out of matters connected whh
the loss of human life. In one of those
cases he had only received the depositions that
morning. It was the case of a mother charged with
the murder of her two infant children, but he did not
apprehend any difficulties would arise in the case with
regard to their duties. They would consequently, if
they found there wero sufficient prima facie grounds
for doing so, put her on her trial, leaving it to another
jury to investigate the state of her mind, or any other
circumstance that might arise in reference to the com-
mittal of the crime. The other cases affecting life were
charges of manslaughter ; one was that of a man giving
deceased a blow which forced a tobacco pipe down his
throat ; the second was that against a cab driver, who
took up a fare when in a state of intoxication, and from
his negligence was thrown of his box ; the horse then
ran off at a furious rate, and came in contact with an
omnibus, the pole of which struck the fare, and death
ensued. The remaining case was one of rather an un-
usual character, that of a schoolmistress causing the
death of one of her pupils, from not giving it sufficient
wholesome food. .There were two other charges of great
importance in the calendar, but which would not, he
was sorry to say, be brought before them immediately,
in consequence of the great number of wit.
nesses to be 'brought from the continent. It bad,
therefore, been found necessary to put off the inquiry
into these charges for a short period, and that after they
had finished the other business to adjourn till the fol-
lowing Monday, when the cases would be brought before
them, and the learned judges who would have to try the
cases would attend and dispose of them. The first
charge was that against three men, named Pierce,
Burgess, and Tester, for stealing gold bullion on
the South-Hastern Railway, and he found from the
depositions that the proof of the charge against the
prisoners rested very much on the evidence of a witness
who was a party to the robbery, and who was now un-
dergoing a sentence for another offence of which he had
been convicted. It was not usual in such cases, and it
would not be safe to do so, to act on the unconfirmed
testimony of an accomplice, and in this case there would
be a large quantity of evidence produced tending to
confirm the statement of the accomplice. To such an
extent did it appear to be produced that the evidence of
the accomplice might be said to give a meaning and con•
nect facts that would be proved by independent witnesses
on whose character, so far as he was aware, there was
no imputation. The other case was that of Leopold
Redpath and others, charged with defrauding their
employers, the Great Northern Railway Company.
The case bad attracted considerable public attention,
partly probably from the position the prisoner occupied,
and partly from the large amount of money of which the
Railway Company had been defrauded. Supposing
the facts contained in the depositions were esta
blished, there could be little doubt but that the
prisoner Redpath was led into these frauds in order
to repair the losses he bad sustained in great
speculations he had been engaged in on the Stool-
Exchange. He (the Recorder) was led to think, on
looking at this case, that such precautions might be
taken to prevent, or at all events to greatly diminish,
such temptations as those into which Red path had
fallen. It appeared that the business of the Stock
Exchange was carried on through the instrumentality
of brokers, and he thought that the gentlemen who
carried on that business should show more caution in
their transactions with persons in confidential posi-
tions. Cases had lately come before him in which
it bad been proved that, had a little more inquiry been
made by the brokers, it would have been discovered
that the persons employing them had no means of paying
any losses that might arise except out of the coffers of
their employers, and a very slight inquiry on the part of
the brokers would also have proved that the employers
would not have retained such persons in their service for
a single moment after knowing the kind of speculations
they were engaged in. He was aware there was no law
to which persons acting in such a manner in their
position was amenable, and, indeed, it would be very
difficult to frame a law which would render them at all
liable ; but still he believed that the brokers of the me-
tropolis would admit that in conducting their business
they awed a responsibility to society of a higher charac-
ter than those attached to the breach of any human law.
There were men of the highest character in that profes-
sion, and it was only necessary that their attention
should be directed to these suggestions, to induce them
to exercise more caution than appeared to have been ob.
served in many of the cares which bad come before
I Criminal Courts.

Henry Phillip Artily, 20 years of age, respectably con-
nected, and described as a surgeon, was indicted for
forgery and uttering an order for payment of money,
with intent to defraud, and also on several indictments
charging him with obtaining jewellery and articles of
wearing apparel from various tradesmen at the west-end,
The prisoner is what is called a "fast young man;" he
used many aliases, and, among others, that of Lord
John Hay.

The prisoner 'pleaded guilty to the charge of misde-
meanour and not guilty to the charge of forgery. On
which the prosecution offered no evidence.
Mr. Metcalfe, whs appeared for the prisoner, said that
he had pleaded guilty to what were no doubt three
charges of fraud of a systematic, and serious nature, and
it was hoped that the ends ofj uetice would be sufficiently
answered by the punishment that would be inflicted on
him for those without entering on and branding him
with the charge of felony. One of the cases certainly
involved a question of forgery, which was that of giving
a fictitious cheque, merely to obtain a position, but
not for any commercial fraud. The prisoner, who was
still under age, was respectably connected, and had
been entered as a student at St. Thomas' Efosplll, at
which time he had ample means ; but having indulged
in a life of great extravagance, he had been led into
these acts of swindling. Tie was still entitled to pro.
perty in his own right, which would be distributed
amongst those he had victimised. The prisoner
had gone to the Crimea, and after his return com-
mitted those acts, and he (Mr. Metcalfe) was sorry
to say that tradesmen too frequently afforded facilities
for these frauds, as in one case the prisoner bad obtained
upwards of 401. worth of jewellery for which he could
have no use. The friends of the prisoner were desirous
that he should leave the country, and they would under-
take that 234 coon as his term of imprisonment expired