The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-02 00:00:00

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.

Loanox,Auo. 31.—Wind, this day at noon, N.E.
OFF THE WIGHT, AUG. 30.—Jane, Brown, Quebec.
PLYMOUT
H, AUG. 30.—Wind, E.—Off; Sandwich,
Dominica.
DEAL, AUG. 30, A.M.—Wind, E. by N.—Arrd. Duke
of Manchester, Murray,
Jamaica ; Dorothea and
Ernestine, Meyer, Port Republican ; Adelgunde, St.
Marks for Hamburgh; Favourite, Baltimore for Bremen.
Sld. Grecian Queen, Rio ; Lady Ann, Gambia • Wel-
lington, New York ; Wanderer, Quebec ; dar and
Ann, Cape de Verds. y
FALMOUTH, Aug. 30.—Wind, E. S. E., fresh breezes.
—Off, Ocean, St. John's.
OFF PENZANCE, AuG, 29.—Blanche, Granada.
LIVERPOOL, Atm. 30.—Wind, S.E., light.—Arrd.
Sylph, La Guayra ; Margaret Forbes, New York ;
Caledonia steamer, Lott, Boston. Sid. luaima, Valpa-
raiso ; Delawarr and Onico, New Orleans ; Gem, Emi-
grant, and Lord Wellington, Quebec ; Promise and
Milton, Montreal. Off, Sister,Laguna; Pursuit, St. John's,
New Brunswick.
PORTSMOUTH, Auc. 29.—The Hudson, arrived oft
this port, experienced a heavy gale in the Baltic on the
18th to the 21st inst., and was obliged to lay to close
reefed. Saw a brig on her beam-ends twowith on
board, but could render no assistance. Afterwardsmea
fell
_
in with a Norway brig, and took the
five master and
s four
men from her, but could not rescue She
afterwards passed another Norway brig,
g,abandoned.

DICTIONAIIIE NATIONAL FEANCAIS.—The num-
bers which have already issued of this critical dictionary
of the French language are sufficient to found upon them
the judgment that, when completed, it will form not only
a most valuable work, as comprising all the new and
acknowledged words lately introduced into the French
tongue, but:a repertory of the critical and analytical notes
of all the other most esteemed dictionaries. M. Bescherellek
Aine, the author, has evidently bestowed on it great
labour and attention, as well as talent ; and his Majesty
the King of the French never showed greater jugdment
than when he took this great national literary work
under his immediate patronage. The publishers, M.
Simon, Rue des Fosses du Temple i Paris, and Alessi's.
L. and A. Ber and Co., of Blenheim-street, in this city,
have every reason to be satisfied with the §u"cess of this
undertaking.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, Aug. 30.
(Before Mr. Commissioner FAKE.)

THE LINENDRAPERY TRADE.-IMPORTANT JUDGMENT.
IN RE WILLIS AND DAVY, LINENDRAPERS OF OXFORD-

STREET.

After repeated examinations in relation to the bank-
rupts' extraordinary mode of carrying on their business,
this day was fixed for his Honour delivering his judg-
ment upon the bankrupts' application for their certificate,
and which was to the following effect !
" These bankrupts began business in May, 1840, with
1,375/. capital, and failed in July, 1843, owing 22,647/,
their assets have realised 7,5241. They apply for their
certificate ; only one of the assignees, Mr. Dillon, op-
poses, the other takes no part ; and the public is, in my
opinion, greatly indebted to Mr. Dillon for his faithful
performance of his duty, and I can only regret that the
other assignee should have taken any other course. It is,
in my opinion, the bounden duty of assignees to bring
every case that seems to demand investigation fully and
fairly before the Commissioner ; the assignees are trus-
tees for the whole body of creditors, and are not justified
in retiring from their duties, and throwing the burden of
opposition On individual creditors. Mr. Dillon has per-
formed his duty faithfully, and I thank him for it. Four
offences have been charged against the bankrupts-
1. That from the commencement of their business they
propped their credit by accommodation bills. 2. That
some of those bills were drawn on persons whom they
knew to be men of straw, and alsO drawn artfully so as
to appear like good trade bills. 3. That they raised
money at most extravagant rates of usury; and 4. That
they deluded Messrs. Dillon and Co. into giving them
extended credit, by utterly false representations. I must
pronounce them guilty on each of these charges. It ap-
pears that their first act was to lay out nearly 3,0001.
beyond their capital on the premises where the business
was carried on; and the natural consequence was, that
they were soon in want of money, while as early as
September, 1840, an accommodation bill was drawn.
Soon after a regular and extensive system of drawing
such bills was established, and, in pursuing it, they on
these occasions drew bills of considerable amount on a
person named Tucker, whom they knew to be a shopman
at Messrs. Hitchcock and Co.'s, in St. Paul's Churchyard,
at a trifling salary—addressed them to him as if residing
at Kingsbridg,e, in Devonshire, and made them payable
at Messrs. Barclay's, where he had no account. To
make the cheat more effectual they had the acceptances
written in pale ink. By degrees they became more and
more involved, and raised money at a most ruinous rats
of interest. A Mr. Berkley Wilson was examined, and
he said he had often advanced them money; on one
occasion he had received 104 for the loan of 1004
for three weeks, which is at the rate of 170
per cent. per annum. Lately he refused to lend,
because (says he) I knew that from the enormous
discount no trade could stand against it.' A Mr. John
Gould was examined, and he said that he had lent-
them money upon two bills of exchange, at 404 per
cent. per annum, but he had also lent them money at
higher rates of interest. The rates of interest (says
he) depended upon the urgency with which they required
money. If they came to me for 1001., and owed me no
more, I would, perhaps, charge them 2/. 2s. for a week,
or ten days; but if they wanted another 100/. before the
first was repaid, I would charge them 31. 3s.' This is at
the rate of about 1001. per cent. per annum. When
asked whether he could state any one transaction with
accuracy, he answered, I have had so many that I can-
not state with accuracy any one transaction.' When
one William Bryson was examined touching the nature
of his transactions with the bankrupt, he said—The
clerk would come to me for a loan, repayable the next
slay, or in two or three days--sometimes a week, but I
liked short loans ; he would then repay me with such
interest as we might agree on. If he came-for 501. for
two days, I should most probably charge him 30s. or 21.
fot' the loan. The rate of interest I have mentioned was
the neral rate of interest I charged to the bankrupts.
I may haat received more than 21. for the loan of 50/.
for ten dayslssis is very likely I have. I clear up every-
thing at the end the week, to keep my head clear of
the matter. I reqac,-e3 more interest when they were
more urgent, liecause it w.ll-thl probably cost more to get the
He began to lend beiri money
money. b, in August, 1841.
In March,lB43, when they wets.' in the most hopeless state
of insolvency, they were desirou., of procuring an ex-
tended credit from Messrs. Morrison, , Dillon, and Co.,
and with that view Mr. Wills called on the 22d, and said
to Mr. Dillon, We take stock twice a year. This year
our sales are increased one-third, and our profits are in-
creased. We are better off than we were ; besides our
own capital, we borrowed of Rogers 7,000/., but we have
paid off a part. We are doing well.' Mr. Dillon, in
consequence, agreed to give an extended credit. Now
the whole of this was false. Such is the complexion of
this case. It was urged in defence that the bankrupts
were justified in drawing accommodation bills, and
endeavouring to struggle on, partly because they were
supported by the credit of Mr. Rogers, a relation, and
partly because they looked forward to the spring of 1843,
when trade would be brisk. The latter ground might
have furnished some excuse had their circumstances
been less hopeless, but their right to deceive and defraud
Mr. Rogers, because he was a relation, I cannot com-
prehend. At all events, nothing will justify their reck-
less manner of raising money, their system of drawing
accommodation bills, which I shall always look upon as
a most serious offence, the fraudulent nature of some of
those bills, or their false statements to Messrs. Morrison;
and I do not think, considering the magnitude of this
case, that I should do my duty to the public if I were to
allow their certificates earlier than the 31st of July,
MR which will be five years from the date of the fiat
against them."
Upon an application by the bankrupts for protection,
The Learned Comartssmaza granted them protection
fur twelve months.

POLICE INTELLIC4ENCE.
(SATURDAY.)
BOW-STREET.
The Hon William Rose Touchet was to-day finZtlY
brought up and committed to Newgate to await his
trial. Mr. Smith is going on as favourably as can be
expected.
Two little boys, named Williams and Thompson, and a
girl, named Diana Hughes, were placed before Mr. Twy-
ford, charged With stealing in the dwelling-house of
Mrs. Early, -of Took-street, Adelphi, two watches, a
ring, breast-pin, and several other articles.
The prosecutrix stated that she left the prisoners in
care of her house on Friday, while she went out on some
domestic errand. On her return she found that her
boxes had been. broken open, and the articles named
above were gone. She immediately gave information to
the police, and in the. evening Pocock, one of the officers,
found Thompson, and upon his person he found dupli-
cates for some of the articles which had been stolen. He
said he had given .the other articles to a boy, who went
by the name of " Goose." The officer went in search of
this personage, and ultimately found him in a cellar in
St. Giles's. He immediately said, " Oh, I know what
you are come abAt ; you want the pin," and he pro-
duced the pin from his pocket. The girl, it appeared,
had pawned the articles.
The little boy, in his defence, admitted that he had
taken the articles in question, and given a portion of
them to Williams,
The girl said she-had no idea that the things had been
stolen when she took them to pledge.
The whole of the prisoners were committed.
On Friday Michael Reid, a well-dressed young
man, was brought up for further examination upon
the charge of stabbing and severely wounding James
O'Flaherty, a tailor, of 2, Dolphin-place, Holborn,
now an inmate of King's College Hospital.
The prosecutor, also a young man, was placed in
the witness-box in a very weak state, having been
conveyed from the hospital in a cab. The evidence
taken by Mr. Twyford at the hospital on the 19th
inst. was read over to him by the magistrates' clerk—
that he had knOwn the prisoner about a year and a
half; that on Saturday evening, the 17th inst., be-
tween nine and ten o'clock, the prisoner and a woman
of his acquaintance called at witness's residence in
Dolphin-place, where they drank and conversed
together in a friendly manner. At about half-past
eleven the prisoner told the woman that he wished to
leave, but she declined going, and consequently a
quarrel arose, during which he struck her ; this led
to the interference of witness, who desired him to
leave the house, and was endeavouring to put him
out, when the prisoner struck him a violent blow, and
knocked him down. While struggling on the floor
he seized a pair of button-hole scissors, and stabbed
him in the breast, arm, forehead, and groin, and sub-
sequently took up a large pair of shears, and cut a
deep gash in his back, leaving witness ultimately
wholly insensible. Witness was immediately attended
by two'surgeons, by whose advice he was afterwards
taken to King's College Hospital.
The prosecutor was cross-examined at some length
by Mr. Duncoinbe, the prisoner's attorney. He denied
having struck the first blow, or used any violence to-
wards the prisoner. They had been drinking a small
quantity of rum and some porter, but were not in-
toxicated. Witness's wife was present during the
scuffle, and also:Jane Furphy, the prisoner's com-
panion.
Joseph Friar, policeman 137 F division, stated,
that while on duty in Holborl.Lolrlbt.be
lnight in ques-
tion, the prisoner ran out of
a quarter to twelve o'clock), and p tn-p ace (at about
said, " Oh dear,
what shall Ido ?”, His hands
aT3rer? covered with
blood, and there appeared to be
what u
was the iseorcut upon
his thumb. Witness asked him matter,
and he replied, that a man had been knocking
about, and that he was very much hurt. He d hdelmd
that the man lived at No. 2, Dolphin-Place, and
pointed out the second-floor of the house, afterwards
observing that he must go home in a cab. In answer
to witness's inquiry, he said, that he lived at No. 8,
Amelia-place, Gravel-lane, Houndsditch, and then
went off in a cab. In about ten minutes afterwards
witness went into, Dolphin-place, and saw some
women looking out of No. 2; they were exclaiming
that " the man was stabbed," and having called to
witness, he went to the second floor, where he found
the prosecutor lying in his own blood, quite insensi-
ble, and attended by two medical gentlemen, who
said he was in a very dangerous condition. Witness
then prweeded to the prisoner's residence, and took
, him i'titfi 6hstody, having found him sleeping in bed.
- . Mr. tvart Thomas, the house-surgeon of King's
'College J-1-' ital, deposed to having admitted the
• __,.-. • Pioaecurii aenati,n-wpahtiicehnt
hadon tpheeneStruattleddaytmheorrniignhgt,
v., - .22.:.-I.„'"tvitkPatzer: ve wounds, one of them of a most clan-
\ c•-,.. - kelgi _ talk , in the back, caused apparently by a
4,1
\,.
~ continued in a precarious,state for a week,
11 wgOlow out of danger.
)r.Q.4.,