The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-14 00:00:00

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, JUTS 19.

The Vicx-CitArfort,Lott disposed of all the cause peti-
tions, fifty-eight in number, which stood in the paper.
In the course of the day, the following notice, respecting
the arrangement of business, was posted up in tip_ :lourt:-..:.
" The Lord Chancellor, considering that, in many cases
now set down for exceptions and further directions, it may
be of great importance to the suitors to obtain decrees or
deeretal orders, in such time as to enable the Registrars tO
draw them up, and the Solicitors to proceed to execute the
same, before the closing of the offices in Trinity vacation_
and that these objects cannot be attainable if the bearing of
such cases should be deferred to the time usually appointed
for further directions after Trinity Term, doth think it
expedient that the Vice-Chancellor's Court should proceed
to hear exceptions and further directions on the second day
of next Trinity Term, and continue thereon de die in diem,
with the exception of the usual Seal days for motions'.
But this, however, is not to preclude the Vice-Chancellor
from hearing any cause or matter which, in his judgment,
may be required to be brought forward, under special dr
urgent circumstances."

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Juwx 13.
THE KING AGAINST CLEVERLY AND OTHERS.

This was an indictment for a conspiracy. against Charles
Cleverly, Alexander Milburne, and Henry Mills. The in•
dictment.alleged that Cleverly was in partnership with it
person named Hutcheson, and that they were insolvent and
about to become bankrupts, and that the defendante; inir
tendirrg to defraud the creditors of,Cleverly and Hutcheson,
conspired to ether to conceit a fictitious sale of the partneri-
ship goods to
The ATToati,x7GENxx.Ar., for the prosecution, stated
that gesirs. tleverlyanA'ff-futchesan Were linen drapers ii
Chiswell-street. In the beginning of March, last year,

they were- unable to take- up their bills, and Were in in-
solvent circumstances. Mills was friendof Cleverly's, and
had accepted bills for Cleverly and Hutcheson, which he
was afterwards obliged to pay. To him they resorted in
their distress ; he consulted his Solicitor, the other de-
fendant, Mr. Milburne. A meeting was held between the
parties, and Milburne wrote a circular letter to the creditors
of Cleverly and Hutcheson, summoning a meeting to " pre-
vent any undue preference, and that every creditor might
have an equal share of the property." Yet at this very
meeting it was arranged that Mills should have goods of the
insolvent to cover his debt ; and in consequence of the ar-
rangement, goods to a large amount were clandestinely con-
veyed to him in the middle of the night. The creditors,
suspecting all was not right, had struck a docket against
Cleverly and Hutcheson, who were now bankrupts, and
the history of the goods had come to light through Hutche-
son. He would be called and give his evidence, which
would be confirmed by the circumstance of the goods being
afterwards found in the house of Mills.
Mr. Hutcheson examined by Mr. ADOLPHUS—In the
beginning of 1826, we had a large stock of goods, but we
were greatly indebted, and were in distress for money,
Mills had accepted bills for us, which we had paid away
We had bills outstanding which fell due on the 4th of
March, and more bills were to fall due at the end of that
month. On the 3d of March, Cleverly asked me if I
could raise money by aay friend. I said I could, but we
should want more money, and I asked him if he had a
friend. Cleverly said he had, and named Mills. I said
we had better go and see him. We did go, and Mills
asked how he was to be made safe for the bills he had ac-
cepted, and appointed us to come the next day. We went,
and saw Mr. Milburne, the solicitor, and Cleverly then
proposed that Mills should have goods from us. We were
asked if we had leases of our houses. We said we had,
and Cleverly proposed that the leases should be assigned
to Mills. I said he might hold them, but nothing fur-
ther. Milburne then said, that we should write a circu-
lar letter to our creditors, and appoint a meeting. We
assented, and he wrote a letter, appointing a meeting at
the George and Vulture Tavern, Cornhill, on the 13th of
March, "to consider of our affairs, and on the propriety
of givinc, us time to meet our engagements, which we were
now unable to inset, and were, consequently, fearing legal
proceedings would be taken, which was our inducement to
call the meeting ; more especially as we were anxious to
prevent any undue preference, that every creditor might
have an equal share of the property." It was agreed
that Mills was to have goods from us. This was on
Saturday. The next day, Sunday morning, between eight
and nine, a letter came from Milburne, concluding with
these words—" whatever you de, destroy this." Cleverly
read the letter, and tore it up. It was to inform as, that
what was proposed the day before, about the goods, would
not be good in law, and appointing us to go to him in Mill-
man-street. We went accordingly, and Milburn° said he
must draw up an agreement as if Mills had lent his accept-
ances on the goods, and date it back, but I refused to con-
sent, and went away. Cleverly came after me. I told
him I would have nothing to do with the agreement,—
Cleverly went home to Chiswell-street, and packed up a
considerable quantity of goods, and they were taken at two
o'clock in the morning to Mills. They waited till the
young men were gone to bed, and observed when the watch-
men were off the stand. There were more goods taken
than were afterwards found at Mills's house. Or. the
Monday Mills and Milburne came to Cleverly and me.—
Milburne produced a parchment deed, and asked Cleverly
to execute it. Cleverly said I ought first to execute it. I
asked to see it, thinking it had been an assignment of the
houses ; but they would not let me see it, so I refused to
execute it. The next day I received a letter from Mr.
Milburne, enclosing a bill of costs, and demanding imme-
diate payment of it, as the behaviour of myself and of my
wife entitled me to no favour from Mr. Mills.

Joseph Parrington, accomptant, went on the 26th of
April to Mills's house, and found the goods. They cor-
responded with an inventory I had. I brought them away
by his wife's permission. The goods I brought away were
priced in the inventory at 156/. ; their value is about 100/.
Mr. Ashurst produced the commission of bankrupt. It
was dated the Bth of April, 1826. The petitioning credit
tors were Morrison, Pierson, and Crow, of Vore-street,
haberdashers. Witness produced one of the circular letters
written by Milburne, convening a meeting of the creditors:
At the meeting, Crow was in the Chair. The creditors
said, if Cleverly and Hutcheson could not pay 20s in the
pound, they would wish them to sign a declaration of
solvency. Cleverly refused to sign it, and Crow then said
the meeting would accept of no proposition unless they did
so ; for if there was any fraud, they could then make them
bankrupts and investigate it ; and if there was no fraud,
the creditors would not then avail themselves of the decla-
ration. Cleverly refused to sign it, and Hutcheson con=
curred in all that Cleverly did. Cleverly was arrested.—
I received in the May following from Milburne, in the
presence of Mills, the leases of the two houses- in Chiswell-
street.

Mr. BaoucHAm for Cleverly, and the COMMON-SER-
GEANT for Mills and Milburne, respectively addressed the
Jury, and several witnesses-were called, who gave Mills
and Milburne most excellent characters.

Lord TENTannim—The law says all the property of
men who fail shall be brought forward, and be distributed
among their creditors ; any attempt to prevent this is con,
trary to law, and a combination for that purpose is a con-
spiracy. Mills was the friend of Cleverly, and appears to
have acted very kindly both to him and to Hutcheson when
they 'first entered into business. Hutcheson's evidence
ought to be received with caution, but you are to judge
whether it is not greatly confirmed by Milburne's bill of
costs. The proposal that Mills should have the goods was
made at the time when all the parties knew that Cleverly
and Hutcheson were insolvent, and mast stop payment ;
and the delivery of the goods, and the clandestine manner
in which they were taken out of the shop, after the circu-
lar letter to call a meeting to prevent undue preference, are
for your consideration. The goods were afterwards found
in Mills's house.

The Jury immediately found all the defendants Guilty.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

BOW-STREET.—Mrs. Barker, a forbidding-looking
woman, advanced in years, was yesterday brought before
Thomas HALLS, Esq., the sitting Magistrate, upon a
warrant obtained against her, for not only having meditated
the destruction of her husband, and then Ler own, but also
for having attempted to carry the first part of her purpose
into execution on the night of Saturday last.
The husband, a mild inoffensive-looking man, a coach-
maker by trade, informed his Worship, that to his everlast-
ing regret, the prisoner at the bar was misfortunately his
second wife : he had been married to her about two years,
and during all that time had endured such a purgatory of
misery that no mortal tongue could describe it. I went to
market on Saturday night, as I am accustomed to do, and
brought home such provisions as ought to make a poor
tradesman's family a bit comfortable o' Sundays. pn
my return home, there was my wife disgustingly
intossicated ; but that was no new sight, your Wor-
ship. I begged of her to go to bed, and thinking
that I could relish a morsel of bread and cheese, and
a drop of beer, I went to the next public-house for a pint,
your Worship, and when I came back, there did I find my
wife, with not a flitter to cover her but her shift, your
Worship, a sitting upon the stairs. I tried to persuade her
to come in, but she would not, your Worship ; so thinks
I, I'll leave her there to please herself, and so I did, your
Worship, and had my bit o' supper, and retired to rest. I
bad not been long in bed, however, when my wife came into
the room ; she appeared to have something in her band, so
I called out to know what it was, your Worship ; and so
she said, I've something here to butcher you when you're
asleep,' and here's the thing itself, your Worship." Isn't it
a pitiful thing, your Worship, that a 12,A-working man
can't come home from his work without finding his partner
intossicated ?

• Mr. Hax.Ls—ludeed it is. Is it gin she drirks ?
Mr. Barker—Yes, your Worship. I wish a drop of it was
never to be had in this here world.

" I wish so. too, said the Worthy Magistrate. Th•
press say they do a great deal of good, and I am willing to
believe they do ; but they would, in my opinion, do an im-
mortal service were they to persuade a heavy 'duty to be
imposed upon gin."
Mr. Barker perfectly agreed to this remark ; and his
cara sposa was ordered to be locked up until she should
find bail.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.—Under the head of this
office there appeared a statement in a morning paper of
Tuesday last, describing the distressed situation of a family
named Skinner, and holding them forth as objects of much
commisseration and charity, that the " husband" was for
a long time out of work ; that by this the whole family
was reduced to the utmost distress, and the " wife" driven
to despair and drunkenness, which led to her clandestinely
pawning some property of her landlord's, for which both
herself and her " husband" were apprehended aid brought
to this office, where they appeared at the bar, surrounded
by their young children, in the utmost state of misery. In
consequence of this statement, pecuniary subscriptionscame
pouring in to the Magistrates of this office yesterday, for
the use of this family, as if the last spark of expiring virtue
were to be saved from extinction. What did the real truth
turn ont to be? Certainly, that the man Skinner is a
hardworking man at the business of foutidation digging,
which is his occupation, but not that he is out of work;

•
on die contrary, that he is in full employment; *141:11i,
female prisoner, whose name is Hannah Ewing', ow,
his wife at all, but a woman with whom he cohabits,
habitual drunkard, and not driven now for the first
4:11
to that vice by despair ; on the contrary, that to "I
her desire for gussling gin, she cares not what sacrifice
makes of the property of Skinner or others, or of tholes°
of her children.
J oY
MARYLEBONE-OFFICE.— Yesterday, Mr.
sad
Davis, an upholsterer, in Greek-street, Soho, Walt&
moned before Mr. RAWLINSON, by Mrs. Frances I,
lotte Trevor, of No. 19, Northumberland-street, Pnarlej
bone, to answer the charge of having sold furniture pis
by that lady in his hands, as security for money lea. io
Mrs. Trevor stated, that some months ago she wasto
want of money, and, for the purpose of obtaining it,
goods of a cottage, which cost 801., was offered to the;
fendant on sale. He was willing to give only 101.
chase, and therefore it was agreed that he should lenuA,f,
the sum (immediately wanted) of 61. 45., and bold the
niture as eeeurity. Since that time she had repaid 41•14,e
and he (as she said), without authority, had sold
goods.
Upon being asked for an explanation, Mr. Davis
Mr. Rawlinson, " I know nothing of this lady wheo;"
your Worship. The furniture was offered to me by slip
Davenish, of Upper George-street, and when I propo7
give 10/. for it, it was its utmost value."
00/
Mr. Rawuxsox inquired, how •
Mr. Davenish bees
party in the business?
1, IC
" I will explain it," said an elderly gentleman, et-,°
companied Mrs. Trevor. " This lady is wife to
Lord Dungarvon, and therefore it was not consistent
she should herself go round among the brokers, and Al
ployed Mr. Davenish." 0
Mr. RAWLINSON thought an explanation necese"'4o
the part of Mr. Davenish, and remanded the case 1".
future hearing.