The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-21 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, May 20.
(Before Mr. Commissioner FANE.)
THE ITALIAN OPERA-HOUSE, COVENT-GARDEN.—IN RE

EDWARD THOMAS DELAFIELD.

It will be almost needless to state that this bankrupt
was the lessee of the above-named theatre, and a
member of the firm of Combe, Delafield, and Co.,
the brewers, from which he retired with a sum of
about 100,0001. It will be fresh within the recollec-
tioti of our readers that the bankrupt was to have
entered into a bond to pay the creditors 10a. in the
pound out of all future acquired property, upon which
ground no opposition was offered, and the certificate
was to have been granted of a minor class, but he
had failed to carry out the proposition, and to-day
was fixed for the certificate meeting, it being open to
the creditors to go into the whole of the facts of the
case. As at the previous sittings, the court was
crowded with anxious spectators, including ballet
dancers, chorus singers, &c. It is now some seven,
months since the bankrupt passed his last examina-
tion, and it may, therefore, be necessary to re-insert
some of the principal items of the balance-sheet
which comprises 36 folios, and shows a total o
145,856/.

111 r. Cooke (with Mr. Lewis, Ely-place, solicitor)
appeared t) support the bankrupt, and Mr. Lawrance
(with Mr. Eapin, joint solicitor to the fiat) appeared
to oppose. Messrs. Banks and Sons, Fish-street-hill,
the accountants engaged in the case, were again in
attendance.

The items were these :
From the 7th of November, 1845, to July, 1849:
Dn.
To creditors
To goods supplied, and services rendered
at the Italian Opers £21,626 12 10
Cash borrowed, and

—.
interest due thereon
Sundry other debts ...

9,050 9 2
2,660 14 6

£33,337 16 6

Creditor holding security
Liabilities
Includes judgment sustained against me
by Mr. A. Webster, in respect of tho
furnishing the mansion at" Willow-
bank, Fulham
Capital
Profits

3,037 10 0
2,934 8 4

92,383 2 10
14,164 6 1

1 _

Share of profit received from the firm
of Combe and Co., during the time I
was a part❑er .. 4,243 18 7
I❑terest on capital re-
ceived of Combe and

Co.
Differences in Consols

9,714 4 0
206 3 6

A:14,164 6 1

Total

• Ca.
By sundry debtors—Good

£314 6

_
II 1I Bad -. lOO 0 0
By liabilities per contra
By property
By ditto in the hands of a creditor
By outlay on estate at Willow•bank 8,536 5 6
By subscriptions due at the Royal Italian
Opera, charged to Mr. Beale, as further
security for advances made by him
By cash deposited in the bands of Scott
and Co., the bankers, to perfect the title
of the Royal Exchange Assurance Com-
pany to the bond held by them
Balance loss on the Royal Italian
Opera account, as under amount at
the Dr. of the old account, being the
balance of debt due to Beale, the

former lessee, from the payment of
which Me held my
indemnity
Expenses of carrying
on the performance

for the season 1848 78,765 1 9
Leis receipts 44,008 12 11
Expenses paid and in-
curred also for season
1849
Less receipts 29,407 0 10

Tofal expenses
Gift to Mr. A. Webster, on the 27th of
February, 1847
Losses upon the pertormanees of the
Brussels Operatic Com-
pany in the year 1846 2,368 18 5
Advances made to Mr. C.
Mathews, to carry on
the Lyceum Theatre
during the season of
1849, on joint account,
abandonel in conse-
quence of the specula•
lation turning out un-
profitable
Sundry other losves

5,000 0 0

Housekeeping and personal expenses...
Diffurence . .

21,012 7 2
22,228 8 9
96 16 5

Total

The espital account showed that on the 7th of No-
vember, 1845, the bankrupt had to his credit in the
books of Messrs. Combe and Co., 100,000/. It also
showed that he was entitle] to the re►ersion of a moiety
of 12 000/. under the will of his late father, valued at
3,037/. 10s.
To singers-1848, 13,349/. ss. 6d. ; 1849,

25,6441. 33.

13i11et accounts-1818, 8,1051. 183. Bd. ; 1849
2,526/. 64. 61.

Orchestra accounts-1848, 10,0481. 13s. 64. ;
1849, 3,3981. 17, 91
Rent.-1848, 4,042/. 53. ; 1849, 7741. 1.9. 111
To house disbursements-1848, 14,5261. 15s. 11d.;
1849, 8,5001. 2s. 10d.
To salary to people employed in the house-1848,
3,8851. 15s. 31. ; 1849, 2,6661. 133.54.
To fitting- the royal box-1849, 2191. 163. 6d.
Law expenses-1848, 1,500/. ; 1849, 6271. 7s. Bd.
T.) sundry other expenses-1848, 1,845/. ; 1849,
7071. 10s. 11d.
To receipts-1848, 44,0081. ls. 11d., 1849,
29,4071. 103. 10d.
To losses--1848, 34,756/. Bs. 103.; 1849, 25,455/. ss.
Mr. LAWRANCE said that he had the honour to ap-
pear before the Court on the'part of the assignees, to
draw attention to certain facts of the case, and crave
a jtrigment against the bankrupt, and' to offer a par-
ticular complaint on the part of Mr. Eversfield, who
Was one of the assignees. He thought, from the pre-
vious proceedings, that the Court would hare been
spared the time, and he would say the not affected
pain,
in going into the case of this young gentle-
man, but all that there was to be urged
upon the point of youth would come with
much more weight from his Learned Friend
Mr. Cooke. lie had to bring a strong case before
the Curt, which, if proved, and he fully believed it
would, would disentitle the bankrupt to a cer-
tificate altogether, or at all events, cause a long sus-
pension, and that being only terminated by a condi-
tion being annexed to such certificate, which the
Court had the power of annexing under the 198th
secticin of the nee, Act. It was in consequence of the
latter part of that section that Mr. Lewis
had made a proposition on the part of the
bankrupt to pay 105. in the pound, which was agreed
to by the assignees, not for the purpose of making
any bargain to defeat the justice of the case, but for
the benefit of the creditors. He had withdrawn that
proposition, and he (Mr. Lawrence) had to call the
attention of the Court to the facts of the case, the
same as in other cases disclosed by the balance-sheet,
and which showed as lamentable an
hexbtenkt of profli-
gacy
that he had ever witnessed. T
a young man just emerging from
hies mainorriltpyt, wands
coming to a capital of 92,0001., was introduced to
one of the most repectable firms in London,
engagement was entered into by which hewaasnd to re-
ceivean his share of the profits, and the interest4he re-
ceived on his capital amounting to 14,160ne year
they were not quite so large, but then it was prover-
bial than in 1847,
makin owing to the high price of barley,
brewers were not g large profits.
His Hosioua--I see there was a small loss one
year.
.{r. LANVEANCE-100/. If the bankrupt had acted
with anything• like approximation to prudence, he
would have
made a large fortune, and astnodtthoestivieondde
in which he should squander his money a
it in the loose reckless manner he bad done, instead-
ween
of making better use of it, was a question bet
Mr. Delafield and his conscience. He emerged from
the brewery gate with this large sum of money, and
he would have been justified in entering into ordinary
pursuits, or have made some return to those to whom
Providence had not acted so bountifully. That was
nothing, however, to do with the case to-day. Here
the case commenced, and after that the bankrupt was
found with a large amount of debts and very little
assets. The sum total on the balance-sheet was
145,0001., and it was quite clear that the bankrupt
had been possessed of 106,0001, but he had thrown it
away, and it was to the difference between these sums
where the creditors' complaints rested. The ques-
tion which the Court had to deal with was one which
involved the proposition whether it was any apology
for a man who had wasted this large amount of money
to say that it was his own. It was by the position
that wealth gave him that he induced people to trust
him without having a shilling to pay them, and with
out making ally proposition so to do. Delafield came
to this Court as an ordinary debtor, owing 33,000/.
without having a shilling of assets. It was true that
the losses were 81,000/., showing how a large pro-
portion of his fortune had been engulphed in the
Royal Italian Opera House, at Covent-garden.
His Horsouit.—l thought the other house was the
Royal Italian Opera ?
Mr. L/WRAINCE said that was her Majesty';
Theatre. In addition to the large sum of 81,0001,
the expenses in the former year were very heavy,
and he took credit for the sum of 2,0001.,
as the amount of loss sustained by the per-
formances of the Brussels operatic company, and
an advance to Mr. Mathews to carry on the Ly-
ceum Thestra, during the scum of 1849, on their