The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-03-02 00:00:00

BANKRUPTCY COURT-YESTERDAY.

RIC SIDNEY- SHERLOCK.
This protracted inquiry came on again yesterday. before •
Mr. Commissioner Stevenson ; liabilities £20,000. Mr.
Simon appeared on the part of Messrs. Allsopp, and Mr.
Aspinall for the bankrupt. In reply to questions put by
Mr. Simon, it was elicited that certain sums of £2,100,
received with his wife, and £3OO borrowed, were not
entered in his banker's book. It was also admitted that
subsequent to 1839, be had not kept a cash-book ; and a
satisfactory account was not given of the omission of
£1,500 in the financial statement put before Messrs.
Allsopp. One of the unintentional omissions in this
statement was a sum of £2,500 owing to his lather; it
was trust money, which his father, as trustee, permitted
him to lend. The bankrupt also admitted that, at the
time of that statement, he owed £3,055 to various persons,
including his brother; and also that he executed a mort-
gage to Messrs. Allsopp, on his furniture and farming
implements. receiving advances on the faith of this to the
extent of £4,000. though there was a previous mortgage
in existence to Messrs. Robinson and Barton. To effect
this a second false statement was made out by the direction
of the bankrupt, by his clerk, in order to make his position
tally with the first false statement. The bankrupt's
attention was drawn to the following discrepancy in his
statements of debts due to him :-30th January. 1851,
£3,783 12s. 5d.; in a subsequent statement, £1,928 35.;
and in the balance sheet, £1,115 12s. 6d. He said that
money had been received between the first and second of
these statements ; and after the second, Mr.Wenman had
collected some, while receipts had come in of which he
was not aware. It was admitted that in the second state-
ment Sums of money, which were not due to bankrupt,
had been put down to the extent perhaps of £l,OOO The
sum of £3,000 195., entered as stock in bond, was pledged
at the time. Before the bankruptcy, seven pipes of port
wine had been pledged to Robinson and Barton, who had
advances due on ten, but only received seven. It appeared
that of seven pipes in a particular room, three were filled
with water. placed for show. In the assets of 1851,
a sum of £959 was included of stock at Birkenhead;
but the bankrupt thought that Messrs. Allsop had been
apprised of this. Mr. Barton, on being sworn, mentioned
that he at first supposed there were seven pipes of wine in
a particular room, and expressed his surprise when he
found that there were only four. Bankrupt said at the
time that witness must have made a mistake. The case
was adjourned till this morning.

RE-JAMES FORSTER.
This was an application for a certificate. The bank-
rupt is the inventor of the patent rapid water purifier.
Mr. Bedwell, the solicitor for the assignees, addressing
the commissioner, observed th•it his clients viewed the
case with approbation. The official assignee also testified
to the correctness of the books. The learned commis-
sioner, his notes referring to the last examination, showed
that the bankrupt passed with credit, he should therefore
direct that his certificate be of the first-class.

WHOLESALE PLUNDER OF AN EMIGRANT.
A young man, named John Christie, a printer, who has
a brother-in-law in the same business in the United
States, lately received irom him an engagement to go out
there, on the condition that if he did not arrive within a
certain time, the situation would be filled up. Accordingly,
he came to Liverpool with his married sister, and took a
passage in the new packet-ship International, through the
agency of Messrs. Will'am Maume and Co., emigration
agents, Waterloo-road. All his property, consisting of
wearing apparel, &c., was contained in a large box, which
was deposited in Messrs. Maume's office soon after his
arrival here. He went on ward the vessel, which was
lying in the river, on Saturday afternoon, and, after getting
there, he was induced, by receiving a hint from one of his
fellow-passengers, to search his luggage, in order to ascer-
tain whether it was all safe. On doing so, be was
astonished and dismayed to find that his box and parcels
had been opened, and articles to the value of about £l2
extracted. He was now in a most deplorable condition,
for the mate of the vessel would not allow him a boat to go
ashore again, and he was without money to pay for one.
However, in the course of Sunday, he managed to
get ashore, when information of the case was given to
Superintendent Clough, of the detective force, who de-
spatched two men, Grisenthwaite and Marks, in search of
the property. They went to the office of Mr. Maume,
where the goods had been placed prior to being taken on
board. He had discharged a clerk, named Nolan, on the
previous day, for irregularities, and there being no one
else he could suspect, he gave them his address, and
evinced great anxiety to afford every information which
might tend to the discovery of the delinquent. On re-
pairing to Nolan's house in Regent-street, opposite the
Clarence Dock, they were told by a female that he was
not there, and accordingly went round the docks in search
of him ; but after fruitless endeavours to find Nolan is
that locality, they were persuaded by Mr. Maume to
go again to his residence in Regent-street, that gentleman
feeling convinced that he must be concealed at home.
The officers insisted on searching the house this time,
when they found Nolan lying in bed, and in his posses-
sion the greater part of the missing property. They
conveyed him to bridewell, and yesterday morning he
was brought up for examination at the Police-court, when
the complainant and his sister appeared to substantiate
the charge. Mr. Maume was also present, to give any
information that might be required. Mr. Christie's
statement of his circumstances, and the details of the
case, corroborated what we have already mentioned as
the leading facts connected with it; and it further ap-
peared that it was in Nolan's hands he deposited his
property when left at Mr. Maume's office, the prisoner's
department, as storekeeper, making him responsible for
passengers' luggage. Mr. Mau me stated that the pri-
soner had been in his employ for a length of time, and he
never had reason, until now, to doubt his honesty. In,
fact, so much confidence had been placed in him, that he
kept the keys of the office, and consequently had
access to it at all hours. which would probably account
for the ease and secresy with which he had conveyed the
stolen property to his residence. About a week ago,
however, he had to find fault with him for drunkenness,
and on Saturday last he had to discharge him on that ac-
count.—The prisoner had nothing to say in his defence,
and he was about to be committed for trial at the next
quarter sessions, when Mr. Christie (the complainant)
urged upon the magistrate his inability to stay so long in
this country, so the case was summarily disposed of, Nolan
being sent to gaol for two months. The recovered pro-
perty was ordered to be restored to its rightful owner, who
had lost all his money and provisions, and was, conse-
quently, in a most destitute condition. Before retiring, he
took the opportunity of thanking the magistrate for his
kindness, and also Mr. Maume and the detective officers,
for the assistance they had rendered in bringing the mat-
ter to light. The case was heard in the magistrates'
private room, before J. Crosthwaite, Esq. This is but one
of many instances in which emigrants are fleeced of the
greater portion of their luggage. In the prisoner's pocket
were found some printed cards, stating his name and ad-
dress, and that " every information would be given to
emigrants." He was formerly in the Dublin police force.

CHILD DESERTION.—On Saturday evening a female
child was found deserted in Mill-street, Toxtetb-park.
ROBBERY IN CHURCH.—On Sunday evening last, a
lady had her pocket picked in St. John the Evangelist's
Church of a purse containing 20 sovereigns.
HOUSE ROBBERY.—On Sunday evening last, a house,
in Boundary-lane, was entered by thieves, and a variety
of articles of plate, wearing apparel, &c., stolen. Access
was gained by a back window.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE DOCKS.—About ten days
ago a man, named William Stark, fell into the hold of
the ship Washington, then lying in the Sandon Graving
Dock. He was conveyed to the Northern Hospital, where
he lingered until yesterday, and then expired.
SHOCKING DEATH FROM BURNING.—About five
weeks ago, a woman named Winifred Hartley, aged 52,
residing in Ashby-street, Toxteth-park, got inebriated,
and in that state laid down on a sofa. Whilst in that
position she pulled a lighted candle, which was standing
on a table close by, on to her, which had the effect of set-
ting fire to her clothes, and before assistance could be
rendered she was so much injured that she expired yester-
day, after prolonged suffering.
ATTEMPTED ROBBERY.—On Friday a man was disco-
vered. on the roof a house in Watkin-street, and there
being something suspicious in his movements, lie was dis-
turbed. but effected his escape. On examining the roof,
it was found that the slates had been removed preparatory
to an entrance being made to the house of a licensed
victualler named Gatcliffe. This system of effecting
admission to houses is becoming of frequent occurrence.
SHAMEFUL ASSAULT.—An Irish youth, whose wild
appearance seemed to intimate that he was " fresh from
the bogs," was yesterday sent to prison for one month,
for assaulting an elderly female named Sarah Miller, who
keeps" a cook-shop in Tithebarn-street. He had gone
into the shop yesterday morning, in company with some
coloured sailors, and after partaking of breakfast to the
amount of 4s. 3d., they refused to pay, and assaulted
Mrs. Miller by throwing her down violently, by which
tier left arm was severely injured. The prisoner was
pursued and captured by a police-officer, and subse-
quently brought before the magistrates in the course of
the day, when he received the well-merited punishment
we have mentioned.

HORRIBLE CASE.—A CAUTION TO DRUNKARDS.
Mary Ball, a married woman, aged thirty-seven years,
residing in Tempest-hey, came to her death in the follow-
ing dreadful manner : It appears that, on Saturday
evening, a party of men and women were drinking and
carousing for some hours at her husband's house, until
they were all more or less intoxicated. After the party
had separated, the husband went to bed, leaving the wife
sitting up alone. About six o'clock on Sunday morning,
without receivings
much
injuredsel•eral
that,
th burns.ough
h
set on
laidsh down
she
went
into
on the eb
fire also. This awoke the husband, who, after considerable
m
difficulty, succeeded in extinguishing the conflagration,
not, erdo w
hi ‘schi th
was her
soon, clothes in i n
course, flam s , and
she was removed without delay to the Northern Hospital,
where every attention and skill was made use of, she died
from the effects the same day.
PRIVATE SECRETARIES TO THE NEW MINISTERS.-..
The Earl of Derby has appointed Lieutenant-Colonel the
Hon. Edward Wilbraham to be his private secretary ; Mr.
C. W. Stronge, of the Treasury, is also acting as the
lis
second private secretary to the Premier. The Right Hon.
unfortunate h ow ever
wife
w a so
S. H. Walpole has appointed as his private secretary at
the Home-office, Mr. Spencer Percival, grandson of Mr.
Percival, the Prime Minister of George 111. The Earl of
Malmesbury has appointed Mr. George Harris as his
lordship's private secretary at the Foreign-office. Sir
John Pakington has appointed his son, Mr. John Slaney
Pakington, as his private secretary at the Colonial-office.
Mr. J. H. Cole, of the Treasury, is appointed private
secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.—Obeerver.