THE WHITAKER WRIGHT CASE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11692, 19 September 1903, Page 8

THE WHITAKER WRIGHT CASE.

CABLE NEWS.

ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. United Pres? Association—By Electrio Twc?r*p h—Go p vri gb t. LONDON, September 17. Whitaker Wright has been committed for trial. The affairs of the London ami Globe Company, of which Mr Wright- was the eeoiivl tiguie, are by tins time familiar to most of tlie public. Tim company had a capital of £2,090,000, on which it paid dividends at tite rate of 15 per cent, for eighteen months. Then its dividend fell to 10 per cent., and finally vanished completely, which was no: altogether surprisUi£, si'lift' when the actounts were examimd by the Official Rcoeiv. r it appeared that these dividends had only been earned upon paper by dealings in the shares of subsidiarv companies. The final crash came at the close of 1900. when an attempt was made by Mr Whitaker Y\ right to “corner” the shares of a Most Australian gold mine, i\ ported to be of prodigious richness. The "corner, however, failed lamentably, and as the result- of the losses which that failure brought upon a large number of firms on the Stock Exchange no fewer than thirty members of the Stock Exchange were ‘•hammered.” The main charge which Air Whitaker Wright will have to meet may be stated thus:—On the eve of the collapse a bal-ance-sheet was produced by the company, with Mr Whitaker Wright’s name at the but tom. This document- represented the Globe Corporation to be solvent—indeed, to have a credit balance of £2,650,000 — though, as subsequent investigations before the Official Receiver showed quite clearly, there was nothing in the company's treasury but money borrowed at an exorbitant rate of interest for the purpose of making a display. Efforts were made by interested parties to prevent a compulsory liquidation of the corporation, but those eiforts failed, and the muchdreaded public scrutiny of the company's affairs followed.

The disclosures were such as to suggest tho importance and necessity of a public prosecution. But to the general surprise of the world, the Attorney-General stated in the House of Commons in the summer of 1902. when questioned as to the course which lie intended to follow, that "he did not propose to instruct the Public Prosecutor to take action." 'ihe case was further discussed in the House in 1903, but the law officers obstinately maintained that there was no cause for action. The matter was not allowed to rest with them, and through the efforts of a number of publicspirited citizens funds were raised for the purpose of taking proceedings against Mr Wright. In March of this year Mr Justice Buckley made an order directing the Official Receiver to institute a criminal prosecution of Mr Wright and authorising the employment of the assets of the company for the expenses of the prosecution. Before the order was made, Mr Wright disappeared, taking, as it subsequently appeared, a passage for the United States under an assumed name. He was traced and arrested in New York on March 15th, and extradited last month.

On August sth he appeared at the Guildhall, and listened unconcernedly to the reading over of the charges against him, which filled two large sheets. Detective Willis proved the arrest, and the prisoner was remanded on bail amounting to £50,000. On a subsequent date the bail was increased.