The Sun. — 1859-02-09 (London, England)

THAMES.  A FRAUDULENT DEALER IN WOOD.—THE NEW ACT. ..-James Harren, aged 36, of No. 4, Charlotte-street, Willow-walk, Shoreditch, coke and wood dealer, was charged with fraudulently converting to his own use eighteen hundred bundles of fire-wood, value £3 35., the property of William Watts. Mr. Beard, solicitor, conducted the prosecution, and said it was instituted under a section of the new Act, called "An Act to make better provision for the punishment of frauds committed by trustees, bankers, and other persons trusted with property." The 4th section of the new Act, the 20th and 21st of Vict., cap. 54, stated if any person being a bailee of any property shall fraudulently take or convert the same to his ow-n use, or the use of any person other than the owner thereof, although ho shall not break bulk or otherwise determine the bailment, he shall be deemed guilty of larceny. In this case the prisoner applied to Mr. Watts, who was a firewood merchant, of No. 325, High. street, -.VVapping, for permission to carry out wood, and his cart was laden with 1,800 bundles. Three invoices were at the same time delivered to the prisoner, for him to leave with three persons to whom the wood was consigned, and upon each invoice was written, "Will call to-morrow," meaning that Mr. Watts would call next day for payment. The prisoner did not deliver the wood to Mr. Watts' customers, and it was not known what had become of it. Mr. Beard then put in certificates from the parties to whom the wood was consigned, and said that, after hearing Mr. Watts, he should ask the magistrate to remand the prisoner, and apply for three summonses for the witnesses to attend the noxt examination. Mr. Watts confirmed the statement of his solicitor, and said he was to allow the prisoner 3d. per hundred for the delivery of the wood to his customers. He made the arrangement with the prisoner on Thursday last, and on Fridayhe delivered to him 1,800 bundles of wood, and directed him to supply Mr. Foster, of Fore-street, Cripplegate, with 100 bundles, 500 to Mr. Norman, in the same street, and 300 to Mr. Gurney, in Ropemaker-street, Finsbury. He gave three invoices, stating what each party wa-; to receive, and the amount. He went to the respective parties on Friday ; they had not received the wood. He saw the prisoner yesterday, and said, " What have you done with the wood ?" and after making various excuses, he said, " Well, I have chucked it over the bridge. On the application of Mr. Beard, the prisoner was remgcled to the cltrkeuwvll del a of Dotvutiola for a weal  The Right Hon. Lord Brougham presided. Mr. HASTINGS, the secretary, opened the proceedings by reading a paper written for the occasion, in wkich the author (Mr. Dempsey) spoke of the question arising as to the desirability of entirely remodelling by a new act of Parliament the whole system pursued in this ancient and useful office, or of extending the duties of the coroner so as to make his office an unfailing check upon crime, a powerful sanitary engine, and one of the greatest boons founded by a liberal and wise administration. Although the law held the coroner responsible, under a fine, for not holding inquiries when called upon, yet county magistrates had, through a power they possessed, been in the constant habit in many counties of disallowing the coroner's fees, and to such a serious pitch had this system arrived, that inquests had not been held in cases the law imperatively directed they should be when coroners allowed themselves to be trammelled by the county magistrates, and the consequence was the law was evaded and justice might be easily hoodwinked. Very recently such a state of things was brought under the notice of the Home Office as occurring in Kent. The coroner had no protection at present against such magisterial interference; and the time had arrived when some more definite and intelligible rules should be laid down for the guidance of the coroner and the protection of the court. After then speaking of the coroner's as a people's court, " a shield against oppression and injustice," and drawing attention to its being a watchful guardian over the health of the community at large, the author observed :—" It is indeed highly dangerous to permit a meddlesome interference on the part of the magistrates, both county and stipendiary. The legislature for ages, it may be truthfully said, has considered the office of coroner a wise and salutary check upon crime, and a great protection to the people, especially as far as their health and lives are concerned, and therefore why an uncalled-for magisterial interference with its functions." He would have the coroners salaried and not paid bT fees ; he would give to the coroner's court a supervision over chemists and druggists in the sale of poisons and drugs, and the adulteration of food, as being injurious to the public health, should be an indictable offence through the court at the quarter sessions. Investigations in all sanitary matters should be left with the court, and parochial officials should be severely dealt with where death arose from their neglect, cruelty, or indifference. An important change the author further proposed as regards infanticide and concealment of birth. A case of infanticide was under existing circumstances, very hard to prove ; but he would check infanticide by obtaining a wider definition of concealment of birth, and punishing severely for the minor offence. In Scotland the law was much clearer on this subject, and there could be no doubt a large population was thereby saved to minister to the state, for the law there held it to be concealment of birth, not only where the body was concealed after death, but where the mother concealed her pregnant condition for a certain period before confinement; as it was urg she thus probably would sacrifice the child's life by not having medical and other assistance proposed to abolish inquiry into the state of mind of persons who had committed suicide, and the author in conclusion proposed to establish a coroner system in Scotland. A long discussion then took place upon the points treated of in the paper of Mr: Dempsey, in the course of which the necessity of making some important alteration in the office of coroner, for an increase in the powers of that officer, was strongly insisted on ; after which it was decided to appoint a committee to consider and report on the matters contained in the paper. The meeting then adjourned.