The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-07 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.—TITURSDAY.
NEWTON V. LORD ALBERT CONYNGHAM.—RAILWAY
DEPOSITS.—This was an action brought by the plaintiff
to recover the amount of his deposits on certain shares
allotted to him in the Galway and Ennis Grand Junction
Railway Company, of which the defendant was one of the
managing committee. The facts of the case resemble
those which have been frequently reported in cases of this
nature, with the exception of the question of fraud in
point of law, the plaintiff alleging that he had been in-
duced, by the fraudulent representation of the defendant,
in his character of a member of the managing committee,
to pay his deposits, which he therefore sought to recover
back. The peculiarity in this case consisted in, the. at-
tempt to make the defendant liable for representations
made by the company before he became a member of it,
he not having become a member 'until after the plaintiff
had paid his deposits. After hearing counsel on both
sides, Mr. Justice Cresswell ruled, upon the whole of the
evidence, that there was nothing whatever to show that
any representations which could be considered fraudulent
had been published ; but that even if this had been shown,
as the defendant had become a member of the committee
subsequently to the payment of the deposit, there was no
ground of action as against him.—Plaintiff nonsuited.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.—FRIDAY.
LAMBERT V. THE MARQUIS OF CONYNGHAM.—This
was an action brought by the plaintiff, a silk-mercer in
Regent-street, to recover £7B, the balance of an account
for goods sold and delivered to the Marchioness of Co-
nyngham. The defence was, that there had been a regu-
lar deed of separation agreed to, and signed by, the Mar-
quis'and Marchioness; arid as the latter was allowed a
yearly payment, sufficit nt to provide for her support and
proper maintenance, that the noble defendant was not
liable for debts she had contracted since the date of the
deed of separation.—Mr. Justice Erle summed up, and
the jury, after a short consideration in the box, returned
a verdict: for the defendant.
BUNN V. JENNY LIND.—The trial of this cause has
been appointed for Monday, the 20th instant. A special
jury was nominated on Thursday on the part of the plain-
tiff. S'r F. Kelly, Mr. Cockburn, and Mr. Peacock will
conduct the plaintiff's case ; and the Attorney-General,
Sir F. Thesiger, and Mr. Hoggins will appear for the de-
fendant. The damages have been laid at £lO,OOO.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.—FRIDAY.
(Nisi Prius Sittings before the Lord Chief Baron.)

FRAUDS ON CLERGYMEN.—LEWIS V. SIMPSON.
This was an action on a bill of exchange for £lOO, dated
June 11, 1847, at three months, drawn by one J. Sydserff
upon and accepted by the defendant, and endorsed by
Sydserff to one R. Shires, and by Shires to the plaintiff.
The defendant's pleas alleged fraud and covin, and denied
the endorsement by Svdserff. This endorsement was
proved by a person in the service of Lewis Levi, the well-
known sheriffs' officer, and who is brother to the plaintiff,
an attorney, in Grosvenor-street, Bond-street: This
person swore that in June last he went to Peel's Coffee-
house by appointment, and there saw a person who called
himself Mr. Sydserff, endorse the bill. He had never
seen him before, or since, and knew nothing of him, or
his handwriting, except what he saw on that occasion.
This was the plaintiff's case. •
Mr. Dowdeswell, in the absence of Mr. Chambers, iu
opening the case for the defence, said he should have to
lay bare before the jury one of the grossest frauds that
had ever been perpetrated even in this metropolis. The
defendant was a clergyman of the Established Church,
residing near Bristol, and seeing an advertisement in the
Record newspaper, in the following terms:—

" Money.—The advertiser, the son of a Wesleyan
minister, has a surplus capital to advance, in one oe more
sums, upon landed and other available property • likewise
the responsible personal security of beneficed clergymen,
Dissenting ministers, and others of respectability,will not
be objected to.—Apply in the first instance, by letter
only, with particulars, in respect of which inviolable con-
fidence will be observed, addressed Mr. Sydserff, care of
Mr. Graves, 7, Belvedere-road, Lambeth, London."
wrote accordingly to Mr. Sydserff for the loan of £2OO,
and received an answer, requiring a statement of his cir-
cumstances. This he gave, and offered bills at twelve
months. To this letter lie received the following answer:
"7, Belvedere-road, Lambeth, London, June 9,1847.
" Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
yours of the 7th instant, and to add that, provided you
have no objection to the interest I charge, which is at the
rate of 5 per cent., I will make you an advance of £200;
but as you only offer personal security, I could not do so
upon a draft having to run for so long a period as twelve
months at one time, from the fact that life is at all times
very uncertain, and although I trust and pray it may
please our Heavenly Father to still spare your life for
many years to come, yet should the Almighty see fit to call
you home to himself shortly after, or when my security
may still have a long time to run before it became due,
my position in that case would not be so favourable with
regard to any claim I might have upon your estate or
effects as it would be if your draft or drafts were within a
short time of becoming due, in the event of your decease.
Likewise, the interest on the whole of the capital 'I invest
must be paid at least every half-year. Therefore, taking
these circumstances into consideration, and upon mature
reflection, I now propose to lend you £2OO on your two
drafts for £lOO each, at three and six months, giving you
a written agreement, should your life be spared, to renew
the draft at three months three times, and the one at six
months' date once, upon receipt of the interest half-
yearly; thus complying with the request mentioned in
your first—viz., giving you the use of the principal for 12
months. If this proposition (which I have endeavoured
to make upon strictly honest and just principles) meet
with your approbation, and my hearing from you to that
effect, I will (in case you require money immediately)
draw upon you and forward .the drafts, upon return of
post, for your signature, and as I must put the' address
where you are residing on the drafts, I shall feel, obliged
by you giving me that address in your next, provided you
accept of my offer, which I have been induced to make so
readily, both from your honourable station in society, and
owing to the liberal income you are in possession of; re-
lying that the only liability you have of any consequence
is the £2OO mentioned in your last. Thanking you for
your Christian kindness in enclosing me one of your little
pamphlets, I now remain, sir, yours very respectfully,
(Signed) "J. SYDSERFF.
" To the Rev. H. Simpson."
After the receipt of this letter some further correspond-
ence
send
defendant),
e—ttfplace,oehfnwa.dtnr aixanit
wntsl:oo the
principal
requiring
pofneangnlh. led::ai
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tadhetkgehmaeer
ea
crilonoeettut
tgvoeehefrr
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letter from Sydserff, not enclosing the money for the bills,
himbsiuxt ms(ttoalntreitni
signature to the acceptances, and the next day- he (the
defendant) received a letter from the plaintiff desiring to
know if he had accepted the bills, to which he replied that
he had. That was on the 14th of June. On the 15th
Sydserff wrote again to the defendant, saying that in his
hurry he had forwarded two 4s. 6d. instead of ss. stamps,
and that the bills which had been accepted were conse-
quently valueless, and enclosing two proper (55.) stamps,
and begging the defendant to fill them up at once and
forward them, and the money should be immediately re-
mitted to him. The defendant, if he had consulted any
legal gentleman, might have easily known that this must
have been a fraud, as there was no doubt that the 4s. 6d.
stamp was sufficient ; but instead of consulting any one
he at once fell into the snare, accepted the two new bills,
and forwarded them to Sydserff, with an urgent appeal
for a remittance. To this he got no answer. On the 19th
he again wrote, demanding the notes or the money. On
that day Sydserff wrote to him, saying that illness in his
family had called him from town during the past two days,
and that he would attend to defendant's business on Mon-
day, and expressing regret that his writing " this letter
will intrude upon your ministerial duties of the Sabbath,"
On the 21st the defendant wrote again, demanding money
or drafts, and expressing surprise why the two acceptances
on wrong stamps were not returned, to which Sydserff
replied, requiring to know "if you really prefer having
the drafts returned in place of the money." In a short
time the defendant, to his amazement, found that he had
got into the hands of a set of sharpers, and that his four
bills were hawked about for discount. He then inserted
an advertisement in one of the morning papers, warning
the public against discounting any of the bills, and de-
nouncing Sydserff. This person was a well-known cha-
racter, and had lately been convicted at the Old Bailey, of
fraud. It would be proved that in June, when he in-
serted the advertisement in the Record newspaper, he
rented an unfurnished room in the Belvedere-road, and
left in arrear. In order to evade a prosecution in connec-
tion with this transaction, he did not write the letters in
question, or the drafts or endorsements of the bills, but
got all this done by one of his confederates named Tucker,
so that if it should become necessary, he might be able to
show that he was not the drawer or endorser. On the
plea, therefore, that Sydserff did not endorse, the plain-
tiff confidently expected a verdict. On the plea of fraud
and covin it would be proved that Shires, to whom the
piaintiff, in an affidavit on this matter, had sworn that he
gave £lB3 for the two bills of the llth June, was living
from May to September in straitened circumstances in
Lambeth, and that the plaintiff had said to another per-
son that he knew nothing of him till he presented these
bills. The defendant had applied to plaintiff for Shires's
address, but was not able to get it. Was it likely that a
knowing attorney would advance £lB3 to a stranger on
these bills, or that he had not some knowledge of the
fraud by which they were obtained from the defendant ?
After the examination of several witnesses for the de-
fendant, the Lord Chief Baron, in summing up the case,
told the jury that the defendant, by accepting the bills,
had admitted the right of the person, whoever he was, or
whatever name he bore, to draw it, and to endorse it;
and that the evidence offered by the defendant did not fix
the plaintiff with any knowledge of the fraud practised
upon the defendant.
The jury, after a short consultation, found a verdict for
the plaintiff.

jXTENSIVE ROBBERY.-At the Central Criminal Court,
yesterday week, Anne Simons, a shopwoman, was found
guilty of stealing a large quantity of velvet, satin, silk,
lace, shawls, and other valuable articles, of the value of
£260, the property of James Marshall and another, and
g,racshi
taf
ontuton,
dhwahivnoe
.13elie indicted
n
locked draw-
ers in Mr. Hickman's chambers; but from the evidence
stolen,
or
twymi n:
was
s Philipae receiving
qDuei
tvtee
acquitted.
et.uhxe
Thesa rn Hickman,
epsame,
okpne
it appeared the prisoner Simons had access to them, and
Mr. Hickman offered every assistance when his rooms
were searched. His counsel offered no palliation for his
improper connection with the prisoner, but contended
that he was ignorant of her being a thief.. The case
created a great deal of interest, and the court was crowded
from the commencement to the close of the trial. On
Tuesday Simons was tried on a second indictment, for
goods of the value of £5OO, found at . , abb. - . . -
she was again found guilty, and se.., ~ .10. i
years' transportation. Her father • at- .. hj, )
guilty of concealing the goods, knowiA them t st b An, ,
and was sentenced to eighteen wont n
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