THE LEEDS BANKRUPTCY SCANDALS.

West Coast Times, Issue 319, 1 October 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE LEEDS BANKRUPTCY SCANDALS.

. 7 — ' ' -- The Queen v v Welch. IN THE COURT OF QUKEn's "B HITCH. , (Before the Lord Chief Justice.) \ The Solicitor-General said Hhe trial of this indictment "i^as •postponed last term on the application vof Mr Coleridge, for the defendant, on the ground that Lord Westbury, who was a mateiiaKwHni ss, . was abroad. He felt on that occasion that he could not resist that application 1 , and ho h<d now to make a_ similar application on behalf of the Crown, viz.; twe absence of • the most material witness fur. the prosecution, the Rev. Mr Harding, vicar of St. Anns-hill, Wundsworth. Tbe affidavits of Mr Greenwood, solicitor to We Treasury, and others, stated that every possible endfeavor had been made to subpoena Mr Harning, but without the slightest possi-j bility of success for the present. They also stated that it would be unsafe to proceed to trial in Mr Hording' s absence. Mr Pollard, a clerk in the office of the Solicitor to the Tieasury, stated tha^ he had used every endeavor during the past week to find Mr Harding. That gentleman ha (3 left the vicarage, and taken away' his family,~furnitnre and servants, but no one knew- where ho hal gone. The beadle, the pew-opener, the police, and the tradespeople had been applied to, but they were unable to give any information as to his wherqnbouts. Letters by post brought to the . vicarage had been forwarded to Mr' Harding's son, 6, New Squaie, Lincoln's-, Inn-Fields, and Mr Greenwood v\rote to that gentleman enclosing n subpoena for lite father, but ifc was returned, the son stating thathewas unable to comply with the request. The Lotd Chief Justice. — Is there any prospect of finding him ? Tlie Soliciter-General — None, during the prc-ent sittings. The Lord Chief Justice. — But what is the use of postponing the trial if there is no means of ever getting the witness ? The Solicitor-i3-enetal.— Mr Harding is manifestly keeping out of the way. If the case were adjourned it was hoped Mr Haruing^voulu" be found sdme time or other. He felt it would be afailure of justice to go to trial without .Mr Havding. Mr Coleridge, for the defendant, said it was true the case was postponed, not on the application of the defendant, in consequence ot Lord Westbilry's absence, hut because the case stood s > low on the list that the probability was it would not be reached, and that therefore it was not worth while to hurry Lord. Westbur. home from Florence., In fact, the casej was not reached, and it had to be made a remanet. Jle eoul'd not deny that Mp Harding was a most material witness, and therefore he ought not to oppose the implication. The Loid Chief Justice. — How lately has he dr-:ippeaied? Mr Coleridge -said he seemed to h.ive gone away purposely t" avoid, giving evidence ou'-tlus-trial. The Lord Chief Justice said tbe absence appeared not to have been sufficiently lo'ig for him 'to qoncludc that it was hop 'le^ to find Mr Harding, and that in consequence the inditment ought" not to be kept hanging over -1 he defendant. The trial, he thought, ought to lie postponed until the next. sittings. Mr. Coleridge said, to be candid, he should be sorry to go to trial without Mr Harding. The trial was accordingly postponed.

The Jamaica committee had a quarrel with itself. The question came up for discussion whether Mi 1 Eyrtf- should be prosecuted for the'murdpr of Mr Gordon. Mr C Buxton, M P., the chairman," opposed that project, which, however, was carried "against him — indeed, so completely against him that no division w,ns taken on the subject. Mr Buxton went away from the meeting, sent his speech as 1 a" letter to the newspapers, and tagged on to it the announcement that, in consequence of the decision arrived at, he felt it necessary to xesigti his post. An open meeting of the committee was then called, when Mr Buxton was roundly censured for bis breach of gool manners;- and Mr J. S. Mill, M.P., was elected chairman of the committee, in the place of Mr Biixton The meeting also approved' the resolution of the executive committee in reference to the prosecution of' Mr Eyre, notwithstanding the positive rofusal.of Mr> Gordon to become a party to that proceeding. Wednesday, July 4, bein<r the anniversary of the American Independence day, the ships in Portsmouth harbor a'ld at Spithead dre.ssed in the full " crown" decoration, the" Victory and St. Vincent .flying the United States ensign at mainroyal mast-heads. At 12 o'clock a royal salute was fired from each ship. The United States war monitor Miantonomoh is now dying at Spithead, and is a cause of great interest 'to numeroui visitors.

CAPE OF GO OI3 HOPE

11. M.5. Challenger, arrived at Sydney, has brought Cape news to the 4th August. The news is not important., Robbery oi- 1 the Aliwat, Ba\k, axd Suicide of thk Robber. — The " Burghers.kss Gazette " says :—": — " It is neither possible nor desirable to palliate in any way the heinousness of the offence committed by the unfortunate deceased. It was a grievous dereliction from the path of rectitude, and also from his own rule of life hitherto, and fearfully he has expiated it. JNTone can extenuate the crime, even though committed in the frenzy" ( consequent "upon, losses and the prospect of impendingruin ; but all who knew the man will acknowledge his many merits, and deplore the sad end that has befallen one who justly before this commanded public esteem. • His disaster has beeh truly fearful; for cigntpert year's*, and more he has toiled and persevered to attaiu to fortune and the respect' of his fellow men ; nor. had his efforts been .in vahi. About five years N ago he retired from business 'with wealth and public esteem, and went 'to. his native land. jSlurrly after lie came 'back, and resumed, his former business, heartily welcomed in this and the sister districts by all ' Classes

of society. ' Since* then v his wealth appears to have been melting out of Ins grasp : ' and, maddened by heavy losses, that rendei'ed ruin inevitable, he forgot thcJntegrity which _h'<id hitherto ruled

his transactions, and by -hie act ol criiiv closed a useful and benevolent life with

ignominy, and-brought an-honorcdname into .dishonor. He did many good No other backsliding of tlii-. kind was charged to" his career before. But for all that ' The evils that men do lire after them, The' good lies buried with their bones.' A nd so, perhaps, it will be with Henry Bevgnvmn. Yet there will remain some in whom tI»C memory of the deceased must ever summon the tear of pity, who cannot east away the i remembrance x>f many good deeds done in truw benevolence of spirit — of many noble traits of kindne&s and good -faith : and these will regret his one backsliding, and marvel at the frailty of human nature, and feel humiliated by the lesson that even a good man can err grievously; The following is the substance of the c.itUmc.e taken upon this melancholy matter :—: — Nathaniel Harvey deposed he was an accountant in the bank. - On the 13th of July lie was in the han*k till after one o'' clock. Mr Bergmanu was there also.

and wvnt out with' him when he left for dinner; -when he wont to dinner he leit the safe unlocked, hut locked and barred the front door, and locked the si'le doo.i leading into <he lobby of the cashier's dwelling-house: He returned, tfnd Was engaged till three o'clock with the books. After that \e took the books to lock u;j in the. safe. He found the «afe robbed of about Lloo<^ in gold, the* bill pud, a pad of country notes of other biinkc. anc'f a- considerable number uf Aliwal notes ;\he immediately closed the bank, and, going to Henry Bergmaun, chai'ged him with having* played a practical joke upon him. Berginann denied the charge, and went with him to Mr Halse.Jhis co-referes, to acquaint him with the robbery All thiee returned to examine the premises,- and found uo other traces of an entrance having .been made into the bank than that some of the palings were broken off a gate ; aud the key of the back kitchen door of the house was ioand to fit the bank door leading into the lobby. Police sergeant Plough deposed thht, in consequence of suspicious circumstances, he caused a rigid search to be made in the privy in Mr Bergmann's dwelling-house yard. s He found two pieces of promissory-notes in its well, which were identified as fragments of bills belonging to and stolen from-the bank. In consequence o.f this hr> went to Mr Bergmann ,to apprehend him. Mr Berginnnn craved tluxt _he might not be paraded through .the nriin street, but taken through a back one ; aud that he might be allowed to change h4 coat 7 To both requests he acceded <anil Mr Bergmatm ,\vent to the bedroom for that purpose, the sergeant following liim to the door. On going in t Bergmann, after taking oiF his coat, pooped out, apparently .anxious to see his \viie out of the way, and then slammed to the door and locked' it on the inside. The constable immediately endeavored to force open the door, "and- while so ■doing "heard the report- of a pistol, accompanied by^tho fall of a heavy body. On the door beii.g opened, Mr Bergmaun was found on the* floor, dying from "a bvdj-et wound passing through one temple and out of the other side, of the head. Further search being continued, more of the notes stolen from the bank were discovered, in the well of the privy on the- store premises. \About LBOO in gold, in a bag, was.fouu'djbelow some" bags in the store, and a quantity of notes, gold, -Bee, also belonging to the bank, were found in the. safe and drawers of Mr "Bergmann. A great deal more evidenceiwas Elicited, winch clearly established Bergmann's guilt, but it is too voluminous for, insertion. His estate will prove hopelessly insolvent. " The -Aliwal branch, holds a very

heavy amount of Me Bergmann's paper, and it is feared will be a lpser to a considerable degree. The , portion of the recovered property of tlie bank is as follows:— Gold, L'63o; notes, L 1279 ; together with 279 pieces' of promissory-, notes, 1025 -pieces of Aliwal F.A.C. bank notes, and"Vwo pads or bill-cases.'' The " Graaff-lleinet Herald," referiiag to this , distressing event, .says :—: — " The circumstances of Mr BergmannV death/are so unhappily interwoven with the commission of a great crim.\ that human judgment wavers in. \ati tempting to explain his conduct. It

templing to exphin his conduct. It Was woll'known that, he was occe-ntrrf;, flighty in his manner : jukl many anccdovos are told in p:oof of ihK &ome years ago'he' was in the service. of Mr P.'Caro of this town, and because -Mr Caro would not consent to terminate the agreement with Vim he threatened to starve- himself to death, and abstained from (bod for three days. Mr Caro remonstrated with him on the folly of his conduct, and subsequently released him from his engagement. Since then he acquired a fortune in mercantile transactions, and latterly has speculated very largely, and lost heavily, "on wool and in other ways, tit is said that he is hoj)elessly insolvent, and the Supposition is a natural one that his reason had giveaway in anticipating the ruin which stared him in the* face. He is spoken of amongst the community where he -wj\s best known as a man*withan unblemished reputation for integrity. His disinterested benevolence, his frank , and kindly disposition, his 'position as one of the most influential men in the district, are all circumstances strangely inconsistent with that foolish yet daring' act of felony which led, him to comni't suicide to escape its 'consequences."