Star.
London, England, 1805-08-24 00:00:00

ISSIZES.

Yoalte Avoca? 15.-- I homes: Lee was indiaed for
concealing and embezzling part of his perfonal elate
to the value of aol. and upward% after he became a
bankiupt, with intent to defraud his creditors.

The following is an cutline of the cafe as Rated by
the leading Counfel for the profecution :
Thomas Lee was a linendraper and grocer at Pock-
lington, which bufinefs he carried nn there for feveral
years, to a confiderable extent. in the month of Sep-
tember, iBo3, he withdrew himfelf from his dwelling
houfs, to avoid, as he affirmed, an arrefl ; in cenfe-
quence of this Rep, a commiffinn of bankrupt was
..taken out againft him ; and hi, in doe courfe, was, by
the CommiUioners, declared a bankrupt, and a legal
*wise iffued, to require his furrinder. On the gth,
45th and sgth of (Mabee, he furrencleted himfelf to the
Commiffinners, on which !aft day he alfo made a final
~difelofure of all his property and effells, and ac-
!minted to the Commiflioners for the canfe of his
infolvency. This account was conlidered by them
as fatisfaCtory. nor was 'the prifoner furpetled of
baying withheld any pin of his prnperty from his
erediors, who granted him his certificate. In the
rear tBes, the prif,.ner relidcd at Hull, and, on Come
sicount, which the Connie! dii nnt Rate, his houfe
was !earthed by virtue of a warrant from the Magif.
trees of Hull, when, among ether papers, the fol-
bswing feeurities and bills were found : •

Aceountahle !veers front Masa. Broadly and Co•
•. Bankers. Hull. for - troth a

bra Mozon and Co.
Vote frOm Thomas Wray, of Paddington. for
1111, dated !Roe. for • • .
e.sVth dank den
And

Thomas Wray was then called, and fisted. that
he lives at Pockiingtein, and heed known the prifoner
for 14 or i 6 years; that the prifoner came t' him in
March, iBt34, and defied the witnels to take of him
931. which he laid had been given to him by his re-
lations and friends, but which he was afraid of keep-
ing, for tear his creditors thould this': he had wtong-
ed them ; the Prifoner had fume thoughts of taking
a licit, limp at Hull, fore or Al. rent, to et.deavout
to get a livelihood, and then he would take the
money from him a little at a time as he wanted it.—
The witreti gave him his note for the money : the
witness alto depofed, that he bad not been at Hull
for upwards of twenty years, except to attend the
Prifoner's examination. That he never depot:red
any money in any of the banks at Hull, no: audio.
rifed the Prifoner to make life of his name; and be-
lieves that the Prifoner had no vilible means of ob-
taining property ; the Prifonet's relations, he Paid,
were people in good circutullances, and he was a
favourite with his ta tends; he did not recollect all the
converfations he has had with the Prifoner —and, to
a farther quehion on this fubjed, he anfwered, with
much Implicit y, " I could recolleit it if I knew what
it was." He laid he had heard of an uncle of the
Prifoner, who was a man of confiderable property.
The evidence on the part of the profecution being
doled, the Counfel for the Prifoner offered the fol-
lowing ohjeilions:
The petitioning creditor's debt had not been prov-
ed ; as parole evidence only was offered to prove
the contents of a written paper, when the original
documents might and ought to have been produced.
The ail of bankruptcy againft the prifoner had pot
been proved, as it was not fufficiant to prove that
there was an intention to delay his creditors, but an
actual delay moll be proved, which had not been
done. The precife ail by which the prifoner became
a bankrupt, he contended, ought 411.4) to have been
let forth in the indictment : this had not been' done,
and the omidion, in his opinion, was fits' to the .in-
dictment. Nor was the crime charged in the indiit-
ment proved, as no evidence had been given to ella-
blith the point that the prifoner had not accounted
for, and*furrendered, this property to the commiffion;
fo that if they could prove that he did actually em-
bezzle, yet, if he did not alfo conceal, the crime was
not couted, and the prifoner was entitled to his
acquittal.
Againfi thefe objeaiooe' the Counfel for the pro-
locution made a learned and elaborate reply ; but the
Judge prev.ented the Counfel for the priloner from
defending them, by (eying, it was unneeeffary.
The Learned Judge then proceeded to flare, that
though there was likely to be a failure of public jut.-
Om Which fie much regretted, and which, indeed,
was always the cafe, when a caufe could not go fair.
)V to the jury, yet he could not permit a cafe incum-
Tiered with to many
ferions legal difficulties, and
fame of WIWI trenched upon the moll fundamental
.iltaiints, of *law, to go to a jury, without abandon.
ing and ailing contrary to the elides of his office.—
He then proceeded to recapitulate the objections,
with tome obfervations upon each, and concluded, by
Airefling the Jury, to find the prifoner Not Guilty—
iihich they of courfe iimmediately did.
The 'Co** was much ctowded ;—and the puff°.
titer behaved with great equanimity, both during the
trial. and when the tettiiEt acquittal was pro-
.llollllced. •
. •.; .4,A .P 't :. •