Vice-Chancellor's Court, ...
The Times, 1824-11-04T00:00:00

LAF W ApoRj p_-luse~ and Bli. .... f u- iur, resuimede in this ~ause,end 1h P'~~oN ws head against the bill. fkled 'by -AdmnIa1 Jabat. lie recited the pleadings, the substance of which 'we gave yesterdaiy. Thist bill was, lie said', filed by the plaintiff for thle Purpose of endeavouring to substantiate a claim upon a loan wh'ich was- negotiated with the Spanish Government, through the hands of Mlearz. Campbel ianda Sir John Lubbock and Co. The plaintiff, in hMs bill, usserted that he was entitled to be paid a certain dtebt duo to him by the Government of Spain, out of the produce of a large amountof iniri-plions whbich had passied through thehands of certain SpanishConrsmissionersinto those of Sir JohnLuibbock andCo.i for the isurpose of being used in raisling money by way of loan, pur- sualit to adecree of the Cortes. The agreementof the Spanish Go- vernment, or rather of their commissioners, through the superin- tendence of Don Antonio M7artinez, with Campbell, Lubbock, and ~Co., Was, that they shoulld receive a certain amount of the inacrip. tions entered in the great book of Spain, and partly apply thle produCe arising from thieir tale in -the market to take up dishonour- ed bilS, which had been drawn, in pursuance of the contract after- wards aninulled, ~spn the house of Bernales and Co., atid partly to atisfy othcr British claimantst upon the Governmenxt of Spain. It was Yesterday asked if the aintiff founded his claim al being one ,of these British claimants: Ca did not-he founded no equity upon 'that grTound. What he said in lila bill was that ther ha beenori- -ginally a vote of credit for 44,000,000 of rea's, given by, the C-ortes in what were called iniscriptions in the book of the publicdebt of Spain, and that Bernales and (36. had agreed to negotiate the loan thiere- itpon, and advance money for the pay-ment of claimants upon thie SP21Anis Government-o~ne of whom and recognized asi such, was -'he palintiff. He further sLait, tha`tfthis contract with Bernales and Co. was afterwards resdnded by the Cortes, owing to the Spanish bills having been dishonoured-; end that a new agreement was enter. -ed into by commisigioners on the part of dthe Spanish Governinent, -and the houses of Carrpbeil, Lubbock, and Co. I and the latter we-re empowered to raise money upon the Spanish inscriptions and certificates, which mone'v was to be applied as before specified in the arrangeraent with Bern'ales aind Co., with a provision that 50,000 hard dollars were to be paid therefrom to the plaintiff, to liquidate, certain payments to a larg~er ronount which ne had made in this country in behalf of the Spanish GovernmenL. The plaintiff also countendted that thes 59,000 hard dollars were intended to be includ- *ed, and were atal part of the amount of the inscriptions de- posited with Campbell. Lubbock, and Co., and ought by them to be accounted for to huui,. Thisq was the manner ini which the plaintifF had by his biU attempted to miake out hiis case. But he was mis- takeni thiroughout anl the inferences which he had drawn from the niew arra(ngements made with Camnpbell,Lubbock, and Ce. Truecit was, tbat in the original arrangement between the Spanish Comntis- stoners and Bernale.q and Co., 50,000 herd dollars were to have been appropriated for the liqujdation of the plaintiff's claims : trueitwas, thaxt these'5G,00() hard dollars formned a part of the loan of 44,00,000 of reals, but equally true it was, that in the contract since mnade with Campbell, Lubbock- and Co. there was a specific appropriation of pa-rticu ar inscriptions Jcposite,l with thern, which did not include the plaintiff'Is claim. The appropriations in the arrangement made with Camnpbell, Lubbock, and Co. were these :-They were out of t,Z oney arising from the sale of thenew inscriprionsin the market ukTY '584,000 dollars to) meet the bills dishonoured by Beroaldes and Co., 24,000 dollars to satisfy other Olritish claimants, and 125,000 dollrs ereto e rsered ar he ommssion antil charges of the heua,an th t hal yers'divdenanel interest firsatccruingupon thelon:butt~eynevr roide fr hepayment of the 50,00 har dolar t Adira Jaat no di, n fact,these 50,000 hardl dolar inan mane pas ntoth hadsof Campbell, Lubbock, The VicE-.rACE~xLLO.-1m Did they receive the funids of the loan generally for other purposes ?"~ Mlr. PEALBERTON...." By the agreement wvith Campbell, Lob- bock, and Co., which arose out of the decree of the Cortes of the 18th of July, 1823, these wvere all the specifications.1" 1 Tie V5CE-CHANCELLOIL- " I'h'e loan was negotiated by com- missioners,froM Spain what was the duty of the commissioners ?" Mlr. PEimETI.To,5... There were certain commissioners sent over to negotiate in the Market 44,000 000 of reals." The VICE:-CHIANCELLOR.-"In~a'e' to raise aloan." `lIr.PEMnBER.T0o, replieri...Certninly,tilat was the plain innvost of their compmission, and they required of Campbell, Lubbock, and Co. to transact the business of the contract, whichi, as to the house ot' Bernales and Co., had been resceinded in consequence of the dlis- honioured bills. The Spanish Governnment had, in pursuance of the first contract with Bernales, drawn bills to the amount of 800,0001., 70,0001. of whiich had only been honoured by Bernales; and in the niew con tract with Campbell, Lubbock, and Co. the necessary amount of inscriptions for abiove 40,000,000 of reals was transferred to their management. The authority of the commissioners employed by Spain was, first to issue certain certificates for different amtounts, pjayable with Interest to bearer, and to Invest them with Lubbock and Co. ; next, to superrintend, out of the prodrice of these certifi- cates, the payment of the claims of British creditors In the manner which he had already described. The V1CF-CUANCELL0R.-." Were not these certificates not in point of fact to be sold, but to be delivered ovef to the creditors specified ?" The SOLICIT011nGEYERAL L- That is a very material clause -in the contract." Air. PEMDBERTO2i raid, thiat the clause provided thne delivery by Milessrs. Campbell, Lubbock, and Co. of these certificates to certain specified creditors--..narnely, British claimants who hed( the dishio- floured bills, and Admiral JIabat dil not profess to be one of thesec. On the 29th of August, 1823, the certifieates were delivered by the Spatnish superintending commissioner for the purposes he had al- ready recited, but for no other; and no mention wfas made of the amount so deposited, including, 50,000 hard dollars for the plaintiff. All the specific appropriations had been made in ursuance of the agreement, and Mtessrs. Campbell, Lu~bbock, and & were justified in replying to this bill, that they hadi no property upon which the plaintif-waff,ertitled in equity to claim a lien. T-he SOLICITOR-.GENEfTAL was heard in support of the bill. He reminded the Court that theplaintiff in this cae had acted ais the Amrbassador and Miniister Plenipotentiary froni the Cortes and King of' Spain to the Government of Great Britain, and in his bill had set forth, that he had a lien tupon the funds of the Spanish Go- Yerriment'%ir the hands- of Cam bell, Lubbock. and Co., to the akmount of 271,0001I. and upw/ards, for an actual outlay which he had providted for tie erigencies of his Government, exclusie of his claims for personal expenaes,&c.,in this counitry, as their recognized Minister. H-e further setated, that Camnpbell, Lubbock, and Co. were entrusted with certain certificates for the purposte of paying off the claims upon the Government of Spain, and were bounid,for so much of these claimns as remained unsatisfied, to issue whatever inscrip- tions zemnained unappropriated irs their hands, and pay the aerount in liquidation of his clainm. He contended that the second contract, so far from creatingc a new trust, was madec actually the better to en- force the first; andt at all events wvhether the precise claini of Jabat was specified or not in the secoQ~ contract, it was quite clear, that if there remained an unappropriated suirplus in the hands of Camp. hell, Lubbock, and Co., it ouglit to bee applied to theliquidation of this debt; not the least doubt itentitled Admiral Jabat to what hle praved sn one part of the bill,-to have an account r-endered of the appropria- tion of the Spanishi funds which had been nsegotiated withi Cani phel end Co. W1hat were the intendmentst of the cormmissioners when they negotiasted this loani with Campbell, Lubbock, and Co. ? Was it likely that wheti they provided for dishonoured bills, sand for Br-rish claimants, that they intended to overlook so important a claim asi that already- recognized in behalf of their own amnbassador? It' they were supposed capatble of' omitting to perfonn suchi an In,- peratLi,e duty, would they deseive on any f'uture occasion to a " curier, much less an envoy, to 'act in their service ? it was, he thought, quite clear that whatever might be tire ulti. JIia'e efFect of the application, the plaintiff' was entitled to know what hiad been the appropriation of tunds in whichi he lead obviously so considerable an interest. Mlr. Ko-E was also heardi in support of the bill, the details of wfhicli lie recited in the maiiner we published themn yesterday, Mir. HAftT rose to re-ply, but was intetrrupted by Tire VICE-CHAirCELL01a, who said he hiad miade up his mnind uapon the case. It was, lie thouglht, extreinely clear in this case, that the plaintiff had ma demand upon the Spanish Government, atid to all aperance, a demand to the amount whilch he had stated in lsis bill t was equally clear that the Spanish tiovertmnent had, in the tikie and manner describedl, graintedI to commissioners thte power of' ne gotiating certain attock to meet the plaintiff's demand, as well as the demands of othiers who appeared in ithe formn of credlitors. Eqiually clear was it, that in, tie original appropriation of whiat were 6lled ~he inser-iptions, the plaintiff hian, beyotid all doubt, a lien to 'the'aitiount of Iris deirand. But tlie question *hich now arose was, had the plaimitill' a lien upon the iniscTiptions afterwards, nadt by virtue of a newv -eement deposited with Campbell, Lubbock, and C-o., who had received them, to proceed at their pleasure in riypropriating the aiaorunt 4ecording to a particrilar classifi- cationi or specificationi agreed upon between theM andi certaini Spanish Conimrissioncrs. For what purpose had they received those inscritions-to pay certain dishonouredl bills, and to present cer- tain certificates to Britich claitNants to a Iiunited anmouqt. Not a word was specifically said of rise plaintiff's particular debt: lie did not appear as a Britishi claimainit. On readling the bill and the plea, therefore, the Court was clearly of'opinion that thiere was nothiing on the face of the transaction to slhow that these funds were assigne'd to thieni to meet this partictular claimii; but, on the contrary, theres was enough to show that the inscriptions were investedl witilr them for gibter purposes; and the conclusion imust itievitably be, that the plaiti. tiffrcould tiot claim upote funds so placed. But it wag said that thecse f'unds probably excerded the amnount of the specified appropriations, arid that it was onily equitable to have an account produced for the urose of ascertainting that fact, as there would then be a nrode of ;,irdping r tore or liquidating the claimis of other bome/ ide and o,- 4~owledged creditors. Tire Coturt hail nor a.doubt trat dIte Spanish Commissioners wvho had negotiated tire loan with Camipbell, L,ub.. tVck, and Co-, wer conipetent to call for such an account : such an . JdZ% be rendered betwveen principal anid agent; it necount ...~~- - 1--hv~byany creditor generallyI couild not, however,"'i equilty De ea)I.. unlmeshewas preAirci to8show collusiotli hretvecentrite agset lndpin cif,al, whlich was not insainuated hiere;, so thiat on the whole tIreCor a)~ clearly of opinion that the, plea of the defendanits neust be ni- lowed, ain!l the bill of the plaintiff disimisised. -VICE-.CHANCELLJOWS 6OURT.-Ntv- 4 I L" -u THE SPANISH GOYERNMENT. : T. --l~m ~-,T* hea |, A LU,"BECXAl" Co he LI_~ ~ ~ o.-