Connecticut western news., 1880-08-28
A Species of Blackmail.
HOW ENGLISH UsURERs TRY TO SQUEEZE THE SONS OF NoBLEMEN.

In the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, before MT. Justice Den man, on July IS the money lending ac- tion of Nevill agt. Smelling came on. The plaintiff, Lord George Neville, is the third son of the Marquis of Aber- gavenny. Some time previous to his coming of age he had received letter from the defendant Arthur Smelling, to the effect that he was willing to advance money. It appeared in the course of the evidence that the defendant is in the habit of seeking customers among the sons of noblemen whose names he finds in the Peerage by sending such letters. The Judge complained that he himself had frequently been troubled with simi- lar letters from money lenders. In June, 1877, some four months before he at tained his majority, the plaintiff applied to MT. Smelling for the loan of E50, and the loan was made and promissory note was given by Lord George Nevill to the defendant for $65, dated June 23, 1875, payable th1ee months after date, with in- terest at the rate of Is. in the pound per month after it should become due. Other advances were made to the plain tiff from time to time, notes for sS65 be- ing given for advances of $50, notes for e125 for advances of 910O, and note for e600 for the last advance of $400, which was made in November, 1878. The earlier notes were all renewed from time to time, and various sums were paid for renewal. ,.
 The plaintiff was dependent on his father, from whom he received an allow ance of e250 year up to his attaining majority, and after that an allowance of e4OO. In July, 1879, after the issue of preliminary debtors summons, the de- fendant presented petition in bank ruptcy against the plaintiff, and on the 20th of August following wrote to the Marquis of Abergavenny informing him of the plaintiffs liability, the proceed ings in bankruptcy, and that adjudication would be made on the 27th then inst. unless the money was paid in the mean while. The matter was placed in the hands of the solicitors of the Marquis, and this action resulted. The plaintiff claimed declaration that the promis- sorry notes were only to stand as secu- rity for the amount actually advanced, with interest at five per cent. per an- mum, an account on that footing, and an injunction to restrain the defendant from parting with the notes and prose- cutting the bankruptcy proceedings.
 The plaintiffs case was grounded in great measure on paragraph in his pleading that "the several loans were made by the defendant to the plaintiff without any hope or expectation on the part of the defendant that the amounts secured by the promissory notes would be paid by the plaintiff, but on the credit of the plaintiffs expectations as the son of a marquis, and in the hope and ex- pectation that, rather than to submit to the exposure attendant upon the plain tiff being made bankrupt or being sued upon such notes, the plaintiffs s father, who was we'll known to be large landed proprietor, or other members of the plaintiffs family, would pay the amounts claimed upon such notes."
 Mir. North, Q. O., and MT. B. Ward appeared for the plaintiff; MT. Cookson, o. O., MT. Everett, and MT. Glyn for the defendant.
 When the defendant was in the wit ness box his Lordship pressed him as to whether he had not relied from the first on getting payment on being able to squeeze the Marquis by means of bankruptcy proceedings, and the wit ness, in effect, admitted that that was 50. His Lordship at the end of the trial said he would give judgement in few days.