LAWYERS AND TRUST FUNDS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 149, 25 June 1908, Page 6

LAWYERS AND TRUST FUNDS.

: ,■__: _J^ THREE SOLICITORS SENT TO >^ PRISON. At Edinburgh/ on April 26, Lord Ardwall presided at the High Court of Justiciary to" deal with three prisoners from the West of Scotland who had -pleaded guilty to the respective charges of embezzlement against them, and' who had been remitted for sentence. , They were Henry Lamond, John Stewart , Lang, and John Scrymgeour Hepburn. The/ case against Lamond and Lang was taken first. The charge, was one of having embezzled £7500' between May 14, ! 1892, and May 30, 1907, of funds be- ' longing to the trust estate of the deceased Andrew Wilson, spirit merchant,' Broomielaw,. for which trust the prisoner's firm acted as law agents and factors. Lamond admitted embezzling £6100, and Laiig £1400. ;Mr Scott Dickson, K.C., on behalf of Lamond, said his client-was sixtyeight years of age, and since 1859, when he was about' twenty years of age, he had acted as seeertary to the infirmary, and .succeeded his father in that office, His. salary, was £50 to:begin with.* .It was raised to £100, and subsequently to £150. When Lamond and Lang were asked, to make good money unaccounted for a sum of £2500 was,repaid. For a number of years past Lamond had. been suffering from severe ill-healt'b, and he asked his Lordship* to' take: these circumstances . into consideration, and pass as'-lenient'a sentence as he saw fit. Mr .McClure," X.C/, said that, in asking".his Lordship' to deal witli. Lang^s, case,''.lie' would have'to bring, some' circumstances tj» his/ Lordship's' knowledge" which. v would, excite sym--, pathy: ~' Larig entered' the',office of' Messrs'-H1. and R. Lamond .in 1880. His apprenticeship; being concludedin 1886, he started in business for himself. , Two years afterwards he was invited by tne^ partners of the firm to return to his old office as a partner, and did so, the firm then becoming H. and R. Lamond and Lang. He paid £200 in cash for entry-, into the firm, and received in return one-fifth share, of the profits. Both of the-partners of the firjrL' at the time were verging orl insolvency. Lang ■ never thought or ■ inspecting the- books prior to his entrance into the "firm. Robert Lamond ..was sequestrated in 1891,, and his brother granted a trust deed in 1892,, so that after some four years Lang had lost .£2OOO. To a certain .extent he was ,there because he had" been, unconsciously or consciously un* .der the influence of an old man with whom!'he served ,his apprenticeship. ' "Lord Ardwall,. addressing Lamond; said" his: acts of embezzlement had ex-' tended apparently over sixteen years, and had been perpetrated perfectly deliberately and in full' knowledge that .he was committing a crime. His Lordship'1 had been unable to see the circumstances stated in mitigation going ails' way to palliate the. offences to .which hed had pleaded guilty. Undoubtedly he had done some considerable wofk for this institution, to which he was secretary, and for which' -work he had received a salary. In regard ,$o his age and state of health, he would, in accordance with what he knew to be practice of the Prison Commissioners, receive the most considerate treatment from them during the term of his sentence. • But in determining what" sentences were to bf. pronounced in this case his Lordship i felt himself bound to take into consideration the nature of the crime, the frequency ,or infrequency of it, and the duty of the Court to pronounce sentences ■of such severity which- would, in the quaint language of our old indictments, "deter" others from committing like crimes in all time coming." As to the nature of the crime,, it was one of the most detestable methods of appropriating property belonging to others. •It was much worse than theft or robbery. At one time the crime was comparatively rare, but of late years, by reason ap-

parently of a general moral deterioration' exhibiting itself in increased extravagance of living, in reckless gambling and speculating on the Stock Exchange, and 'disregard for the rights and interests of others, this form of. crime liad apparently increased.greatr; ly in frequency. That day there were three lawyers who had pleaded guilty to this crime. Within the last three months two Edinburgh lawyers—F. M. H. Young and R. Scott Chalmers —had absconded, and fled from justice to escape prosecution for the same crime. Thus, in Lhe first four months of this year five cases of embezzlement by lawyers had. been brought to light, while in his Lordship's own "personal knowledge, there had been bad cases, only one of which had been brought to trial, occurring in Perth, Inverness, and Castle-Douglas. This all led to the reflection that the sentences pronounced in such cases in the last ten years might havener red on the side of excessive leniency, and the lowest sentence consistent with his duty that he could impose was one of five years' penal servitude. ' Addressing Lang, iiis Lordship said he had pleaded guilty to embezzling £1400. His Lordship did not know whether the\-e should be in his case any difference from the sentence -upon his partner. But in respect of the sentence which had been imposed upon Lamond, and considering that Lang was in great measure the tool of the elder man with whom he had the misfortune to enter into partnership, his Lordship would' limit the sentence to one of four years' penal servitude. STOCK EXCHANGE SPECULATIONS. Me Orr, K.C., then moved for sente'njce in the c»se against. John Scfymgeour Hepburn, - law agent in Rothesay, residing at Eaglesham Xiodge there. The following were the charges against him:—(l) That yoft did, between. August 22, 1905, and April, ft, 1906, while acting as town clerk or Rothesay, embezzle £1008 2s 9d; (2) that on November 30, 1907, while acting as law agent to Margaret McKay, Kir Buildings, Rothesay, you did receive from her the sum of £250 to be invested on her behalf, and did embezzle the same; (3) that you did, on February 20, 1908, while acting as -judicial factor on the estate of the Jate James Ramsay, Newhaven, Leith, rceeive from' R., M. Miller and €k>. ,„ S.S.C., Leitk, £172 3s 6d on behalf of the estate, and did embezzle the same ; and (4) that you did, on March 23, 1908, while acting as law agent for Alexander McCallum, baker, Tighnabruaichj receive from his £152 16s 6d, to be given on loan to G. B. Symington, -merchant, Tighnabruaich, and did* embezzle the same.

Mr McLennan, K.C., said the losses had arisen in connection with Stock Exchange speculations. Lord'Ardwall said they had nothing to.do with how the money was used. The sentence would be five years' penal servitude.