The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-16 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

ACTION BY AN AUCTIONEER.—In the Court of Queen's
Bench the case of Aikman v. Low was heard. This was
an action of detenue to recover possession of a lease granted
to one Alexander Humphreys, an auctioneer, and most.
gaged by him to the plaintiff and also to the defendants.
Mr. Aikman, an attorney, and an old friend of Hum-
phreys, had been in the habit of lending money. Hum•
phreys took to betting, and became involved,
In March 1867 he applied to Aikman for a
loan of £lOO to redeem the lease in question from
one Palmer, and the plaintiff stated that he gave him his
sister's cheque for the amount ; that the same day
Humphreys brought him the lease and signed a document
assigning the lease to plaintiff ; that he placed the lease
and assignment together on a sofa in a room to which
Humphreys had access, and that afterwards he took the
lease and executed a rnortg.i,ge to defendants for advances
upon it,.and soon after absconded. Thereupon pit intiff gave
a notice to defendants, claiming an equitable title to the
lease, and defendants, supposing that he bad only such
equitable title, relied on their own legal title, and refused
to give it up. The assignment at that time was lost, and
when it was produced.. in court it appeared to convey
a legal title to plaintiff prior to that of defendants. Mr.
Brown, Q.C., said that he could not resist the plaintiff's
claim further, inasmuch as if the assignment to plaintiff
was genuine it must prevail, and he was not justified on
the materials in the case in imputing misconduct to the
plaintiff.—Mr. Justice Mellor said that it was an unfortu-
nate case for the defendants, who had ' been clearly
defrauded, and that their retiring handsomely from the
case was very creditable to them.

DEFRAUDING A COUNTRYMAN.-At the Middlesex
Sessions, Johann Emile was indicted for obtaining four
napoleons from Louis Adolphe Malatiere by fraud. The
prosecutor, who is a Frenchman, had only been in England
a few days when he met the prisoner, and after some con-
versation the latter gave him a card, on which was written
the name of Reinhardt. They went into a 'public-house,
and in a short time the prisoner left, but soon after returned
with a third person. The prisoner and his friend began
boasting of their riches, and induced complainant to play
a game known as " prick in the garter," at which the
accused appeared to win £lO from his friend. After soma
persumion, Malatiere was induced to stake four napoleons,
which he lost, and the prisoner's friend offered to lend him
£25, and was asked to go for a receipt stamp to give a
receipt for the amount, and on saying that he did not know
London the prisoner wentowith him. When the stamp had
been purchased, accused refused to return to the inn,
and gave the prosecutor a paper which he said was a £lO
note ; but the prosecutor said he would take it to a shop
and see if it was good, and thereupon the prisoner snatched
it away. Ultimately he was given into custody, and
at the station the acting inspector discharged him. He
was subsequently arrested again and committed for trial.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty. Mr. Pater having
taken an objection to the indictment as not being in
compliance with the requirements of the Vexatious Indict-
ments Act and Mr. Russell Gurney's- Act, Mr. Payne
reserved the point for' the opinion-of the Court of Criminal
Appeal, and postponed passing sentence until that point
had been determined.
THE COPYRIGHT ACT.—At the Lambeth Police-court,
several cases of breach of copyright were heard. Mr.
Graves, the well-known publisher, was the complainant,
and, in one instance, a Mr. Prince was the defendant.
From the evidence of a person in the employ of the com-
plainant it appeared that he had purchased at the de-
fendant's shop photographs of " Ordered on Foreign
Service," " The Acquittal," and " Waiting for the Verdict."
Mr. Graves proved that the copyright of the pictures in
question was vested in him. The prosecutor asked for a
fine of £2lO for 21 alleged offences. Mr. Woolrych re-
manded the case, bt,t accepted bail for the appearance of
the accused.
THE MASTERS AND SERVANTS ACT.-At the Mansion.
House, George Clarke, a working cabinetmaker, was
charged with a breach of the above-named Act. Mr.
Norton, a cabinetmaker, said the defendant worked by
the piece by verbal contract, and agreed to make a ward-
robe for £6. No time was specified for the work, but it
ought to have been done in three weeks. He worked on
witness's premises, and could have worked there from
seven o'clock in the morning until eight at night, but he
was given to drinking and neglected his duty. Witness
complained that the work was not done in the manner it
ought to have been, upon which the defendant cursed and
swore, and said he would not do it any better. Witness
had by that time advanced him £5 Bs. altogether in part
payment. The work was done in a very improper
manner, and it cost witness about £1 to have it finished.
The defendant left his service two days after he
foimd fault with him, and never returned. Wit-
ness now claimed compensation for breach of contract.
The wardrobe in question, which the defendant was
engaged to make, was part of a large order, and witness
believed he had lost an order to the amount of £5O through
the neglect of the defendant, and through the gentleman
who would probably have given that order calling by
chance and seeing the state in which the defendant had
left his work. The defendant, in answer to the charge,
said that he had asked Mr. Norton for materials to finish
the work, and he had refused to supply them. That Mr.
Norton denied, and said that the defendant was in the
habit of frequenting public-houses during working hours
and " muddling " himself. The Lord Mayor, as he was
empowered to do under the new Act, ordered' the defen-
dant to pay 20s. to his master by way of compensation,
and costs, with the alternative of fourteen days' imprison-
ment. The defendant, in default, was locked up for about
two hours, but towards the close of the day paid the
money and was liberated.

A little boy was lately. brought before the justices
at Lyndhurst for having stolen four pheasant's eggs while
bird-nesting on the Crown lando in the New Forest. The
youngster appeared to regard the matter as a capital joke,
till the justice fined him 21 for the offence, or ss. an egg,
and 7s. Gd. more for costs. Ile was sentenced to one
month's hard labour in default of payment ; and unless
the justices have by thin time reputed of their folly he is
now-untlergoingthat se-atencc in Winchester Gaol.
TIIItirATENINO LITTER-WRITING IN
The Rev.-11r., Collis, rector of Queenstown, has received
• a threatening letter, dated Cork, May 12, to the:
lowing purport :—" Your doom. ..Please yourself.
Live or die. (Skull and cross-bones.) As the lot
has fallen on me, I •am in honour, and under
pain of death, bound to carry -suf . our decisiOn:- - I
hereby tell you that if the Bible dep<st at Queenstown of
which you are the father, is not shut up within four days
from this date, you shall be shot through the head
without delay." On receipt of this letter the Rev. Mr.
Collis made a codicil to his - will, giving £l,OOO to the
.Trish Church Missions, on condition that after his death
he operations of the society should be maintained in
lueenstown. The writer of the letter is thought to be
Times.