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Abbott & Bakkr. ** ** Messrs. Cross & Bancroft. Counsel f)r the B^endantSt Mesarsw BETHUNE & DUNKIN. ith» following inrj Was ettpanelled \— JAMES OLAXTOir^ Norton b. coase, tHOMAS DAVIDSOIf, OEORQB DOWKER, i. H. DORWm, JAMBS DOUOALLt BENJAMIN FItANCtSj DANIEL DRUMMOND, WILLIAM MANNINOt WILLIAM SNAITH, JOSEPH TUSKEY, JAMES JEFFREY. MOltTREAL i MllfTBD BV John 0. BBOKBT, 38, <3RBAl; 8t. JAltBIS tvS 1856. VMTEAu ^ hlBRA yj •^""vr^f^gn .a a fr:( W t^it'tn* ■ .mw.8 a;Mf;u ««.>!! «.H;u«f,ooa te t Leaves net value ok hjuid,. ■4 '. i/>|,iff.l . ;, t|)eir pnrchastjs were chiefly in Montreal, £10,183 lo 10 Les« one-fifth for profit and expenses of es« tablishment, &c., on £86,093 18s Od, be- •■ "*'■-;■"•'-' T .r** :'. ing sales since March. 1863 iei7,0ia 11 7 £»7,301 « £119,688 1 * £46,287 6 11 Stock as taken by measurement, 38th February, 1886, ' i I'-j >»/J h'if. 41,360 16 8 Reduced by depreciation at Stock takings, £6,036 9 8 :,^A il e^J83t ' STATEMENT NO. 4. Stock which should have been on hand as by above estimate, Showwg the Assets and Liabilities of the Plaintiflson the 28th February, 1856i Stoekonhandatcost, Cash on hand at Bankers and open accounts receivable,. ... 'k!» Off J H -g,.. Total amount of Asseu, £41,350 16 8 ' 700 14 5 £43,041 11 li Dadaet^Dm to randry penom on MoapiineM and notei p«y- ' •bl«, oalttandinf , X3t,00e 1 7 Dne to nndry p«nons on open aooonnu, payable, tiMt 1 AioieditorproltandloaeandiTided, IW 11 • Total amoani of UabUMei tO,effl 19 B Balanaw etandiaf at credit of paitnera, being net proMt of tlie Uiree sinoe they began biuinoM In May, lOW, aAer »i»^«'^ dedacting expense* of living, M,sas 11 S STATEMENT NO. 1. ShowingtliaSepaiata Aecounttof the Partners with the Finn, from Siind May, 18(W, to r asth February, 18M. ^ •■,.■ Jamis MoanoN, brought capital X104 II 1 ;^^- Has been credited with profit S,S3S 16 S ;„;i^ Total to his credit XS,«W 1 4 - .«^, And has been debited with, being at the ;*- v.)^'' , tl rate of £10S per annum, 487 17 6 \|'* ;' Learea balance to his credit «l,Mltll AlXANCAMUOlf, brought capital £M5 7 10 ,^^ Has been credited with profit S,UO 18 ^'''^'"'"w I r orf'j Total to hi* credit ..^'...'..loi. £a,(m • S n'-«i««l ,»<4 ' And has been debited with, being at the ''':?'';'' iu«ofX197 Os per annum 104 10 8 Leave* balance to his credit, i»387e 15 • <&:^^i>"^ > AuzB. Ehpr, brought caidtaL 748 17 • Has been credited with profit »M» 8 10 ''® " Total to his eredt 4,113 6 1 ,i-^{y^ ,.,.,^^ ^ ''■'■ " And has been debited with, being at the -^««<^^.«-.^ rate of Xl«6 10s per annum 791 7 Leaves balance to his credit S,8n "i^,"*-"-''- \- — — — Total amount of batamee* £9,3U 11 6 The following is the statement of claims, made oat and sworn to by Mr. Empey on the 3rd of May and 9th of Juae, refered to in Defendants pleas:— *^^'- ti -3^,,., — -.r,^«»w¥A "k-wwrti^M '>%,;,•$• ■ - • ..,■; ,...,''„ 1 ..V "'•K,''-'..''l!.l'.l'( ,, ill' ftl /• nil s \ :''\ ■^ •,■"- CO » o IS o iz; k I o 2 I I 1 I 03 4 I 1 n n -J .a SI ^•^ "^ i I I § P4 1 1 8 a' n CO oteor.xMOOi'ao^et-t t- aoiOK>e4eiOM «0 Mi-ii^ I O e ' r -T« '♦. /I • >* H TJ Oi .1 S » da iz: ■U o ;« (Xi ^ U •^ S , si •«j H^ V s g^3SSS33SS33SSS »• •'<' Q aiii d c5 o* d d o^ o «• o* d i ,j ., CQ O . 5 » e « § , s g 5.5: ?^?K??^???=»??? ^ • ■' I a S '^ III H 01 3 o :i l-s g.ss g, a-* <* 2 fci a « j;rtf Jj:'.Hs V*;^#!W' t« -i "* ■■T-l . WJjrlv' " * - . ■ •■' ■n CO I '" &f I I|:i i ;i. ■ w/ ^■^■■ District or Montreal, . Province of Canada. J !\\ •.'';? Persooally came aod appeared before me. one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the City and District of Montreal, Alexander Empey, one of the Firm of Morison, Cameron & Empey, who dotb declare that the annexed Sratements contain a true aod particalar account of oor Loss by the Fire of the Sixth day of April last, when the greater portion in yaloe of the contents of our Store were destroyed by Fire, commencing in the Second Story of the said Store, the cause of which cannot be ascej^o tained. I further declare that our Stock, at the time of the breaking out of the said Fire, was Fortv-one Thousand and Sixty-one Pounds Six Shillings and Five Pence, and that our Loss is Twenty-three Thousand Six Hun- dred and Ninety«six Pounds Two Shillings and Nine Pence Currencyy being as per Statements herewith delivered, to the best of my knowledge, and that the foregoing Insurances of Twenty-five Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Pounds v?era effected on the said Stock. .i ^ .>i?^ ^ ^ W Sworn at Montreal, ) >.«a:„-„jv a. -^. -'»>-» PMti.» ^ this Ninth day of June, 1855. ] The actual value of goods then on hand, at the time of the fire in April, and for wblch the In" surers Are liable, should be £41,713 ISs 6d., instead of the £41,061 6s 5d.^ which we claim, for they are not entitled to take advantage of this volun- tary denreeiation. But this case, involving rights dearer than money, the issue of which is either to clear the character and to reimburse my clients, or to send them forth to the world branded as swindlers and perjur- en I do not wish to rest upon the proof of one statement. It has been tested in five different ways, assisted by all the skill which the most compe- tent accountants could bring to bear on them. Viewing the difficul- tiat in which the Plaintiffs have been placed under the heavy imputa- iiofls east upon them, the care and anxiety of their position, the great expenses to which they have been subjected in preparing evi- dence, (much of which had to be procured from England and other countries,) they must have succumbed under them and been unable to have brought the cause before a Jury (at a cost equal to some men's for* tunes,) if they had not been supported by creditors who had every confidence in their personal integrity, and in the justice of their claims. — We are content to carry our investigations back to the day when they commenced business with their insignificant capital, with a small store and limited business, and show that the total value of their purchases since they commenced business were £165,875 7s. Id. ; that their total sales were £146,789 78. 7d. ; and deducting from this one-sixth for profit while purchasing in Montreal at the commencement of their career, and one- fifth after they became importers themselves, reducing the cost value of the goods so sold to £119,588 Is. 2d., we find that the stock which should have been on hand from this estimate to be £46,287 5s. lid. ; and deduct- ing £5,036 9d. 3d., for depreciation of goods, we arrive at exactly the ! ;-j 13 same result aa that afforded by the stock taking of 1855j and corroborated by the other checks. We will now prove the accuracy of this estimatei and of the stock-books by another test. The assets of the Plaintifis on the 28th of February, 1856, were,— stock on hand £41,250 168. 8d., cash ou hand and at bankers £790 14s. 5d., in all £42,041 lis. Id. They owed on notes and acceptances, payable, £23,009 Is. 7d., on open accounts £9,603 Os. 7d., and had at credit of profit and loss undivided j£l95 178. 6d.,~in all £32,807 19s. 8d.,— leaving a balance to the credit of the part- ners of £9,233 lis. 5d., or less than £3,000 a piece as the result of five years of most arduous labour, early and late, frequently protract* ed through the whole night until five in the morning. Yet it had been bruited about through the streets that this amount which they sought to recover from the Insurance Companies would go into their own pockets when in fact, it is all owing to their creditors. After the fire it had been a question of life and death with them whether they should not stop their business, call their creditors together, assign their property to them, and allow them to sue the Insurance Companies. This amount of indebted- ness is another proof of the correctness of their statement of their stock at the time of the fire. This case does not turn upon whether there has been an exaggeration of the loss since the fire, it does not hinge upon any im- posture or attempt at fraud since that time, but upon the question whether^ from the hour that these young mea commenced business, they have car- ried on a gigantic system of fraud and imposture, with false books, false entries, imaginary stocks, and this great web of imposture has endured from the first day they were in business until the final consummation of which it was the preparation — the fire. This is the real charge that is made here to-day. Because, if the accusations made against them are true, the misrepresentations are not of to-day, they commenced with the beginning of their business, were continued uniformly month by month and year by year throughout every one of their transactions down to the result prepared by one of the most stupendous systems of deceit, without a pa- rallel in conunercial history. There is no escape from this alternative } this dilemma is inevitable ; either this fraud has beea continuous, uninter- rupted, perpetual from the beginning of their career, or the statements ex- hibited to you are true, and my clients deeply injured men. The Defend- ants have not been bold enough to raise this issue, because it led to the infer- ence that the Plaintifis had wilfully set fire to their premises. If their state- ments are untrue, then every act of their life since they first entered business has been a damning lie ; this deception could not have been engaged in without an object which gained its consummation in the fire. Now let us take another proof, let us go back to the commencement of their career, and trace it through their books down to the time this loss occurred ; let us see what amount has been credited year by year to each individu&H r r I i ■- 1 ! iiJ' ! Hi: \ 1 u ]Mirte«r, and how this aetoant eorroborates the resalli obtained in the pre> TioM statements. If this account is fabnloos too, it mast have been fabri- cated year by year. We find that James Morison broaght into the concern a capital of X104 lis. Id., that be has been credited with profit to the amoant of £3,323 163. 3d., and has been debited daring abont five years with an annual amount of £103. This man, who is now charged with the worst of crimes, has been living at the rate of £103 per annum. What motive was there in a man of this thrift to commit the acts imputed to him ? Allan Cameron brought int;^ the partnership a capital of £245 Ts. lOd., and has been credited with a profit of £3,330 18s. 5J., and has been debited with asam of £127 Si, Od., for the support of himself and others dependent on him. Alexander Empey, by his first contribution, and interest subsequently obtained on money by inheritance, is a stockholder to the amount of £748 178. 9d., has been credited with profit to the amount of £3,368 8s. lOd., and debited at the rate of £166 10s. Od., per annum, on which he supported a wife and family. If yoa will compare this result with the amount of assets and liabilities at the time of the fire, you will find that, after receiving the amount of the insurance and paying all creditors, there is a balance of £9,233 to the credit of all the part- ners, the same result as that obtained by the other statements. Some of these statements have yet to be proved by the books, and we now come to the astounding part of the case. After the fire, the Insurance Companies, and I desire to disengage the Phoenix Company and its respectable agents from the cruel and malevolent proceedings of the subordinate of its own and other Companies, because I believe that when the facts become known that we shall have a prompt and full disclaimer of the cruelty exhibited to these unfortunate young men. I say the Insurance Companies obtained possession of all the Books of A(Xount of the Plaintiffs, and these they still retain ; they have refused to give them up to their owners, and we have been compelled to serve them with an order of the Court to produce them here. Does it look like the act of guilty men to freely place in the hands of the Defendants, at the solicitation of a gentleman who, I repeat, before this trial is over, will obtain a prominency and a notoriety he little counted on, every book and paper that could throw any light upon their claim ? - ,; ' For the elucidation of the circumstances after the fire, when for five months the Plantiffs were put off from day to day, subjected to extraordinary demands and unnumbered insults, 1 shall have to read to you a long and wearisome correspondence, but before doing so I will state to you that previous to the fire the store was so crowded with goods that they had to be placed endways in the shelves, so that each compartment held about three times the amount that it would do if displayed lengthways in the usual manner. The night before the fire, a great many of the goods had if ^ :*^-.. IS / Imod remoT«d from the ahelTes in the leeood storj wb«rt it originated to enable the fronts to be painted, and these so taken out were piled npoa the floor abootthe well and reaching up to the ceiling, and from the great bulk of goods thus lying around, ladders were used to get up to pile others oo the top. The Piaintifis were desirous of getting the fronts, of the shelves in the second flat painted as the next day was Good Friday, a holiday, and the Painters were at work, ft was to allow this to be done that the goods were removed from the shelves, a portion only being left in them, and these pushed back" to the wall. Plaintiffs were desirous of getting the Painters to work all night, that it might, be completed, and have time to dry the next day, that there might be no interruption in their business ; and, to induce them, they offered them refreshments ; but as they had only provided coffee, and the men wanted something stronger, they would not comply, and left. Of the great piles of goods thus dis- placed and crowded upon the counters, round the well and upon the floor, on the morning of the fire hardly a vestige remained ; and yet I expect some witnessess will appear on behalf of defendant to tell you that this fire had not burned a single piece of goods, although after the fire pieces of broadcloth fourteen feet from the place where the conflagration was fiercest were found burned through ; the lead of the inkstand in the office at the front of the building was melted, and the glass inside of it fused into a mass. Yet with a fire so violent, so intense as to reduce the most incombustible goods to a shapeless wreck, we are told that no goods were so burned as to be undistinguishable ; at least such testimony we have lately heard in similar cases, but fortunately they were not believed by the Jury. I will now call your attention to the volumnious correspondence which has taken place between the Plaintiffs and the Defendants relative to this loss and which will be put in evidence. Oo the 6th of April, the day after the fire, the following letter was sent by the plaintiffs to each of the Insurance Agents :— . ' • tr', MoNTRBAL, 6th April, 18&5. Sin, — We regret to state that between one and two o'clock this morning a fire iKoke out in the second story of our store and premises, by which considera* ble damage has been done to our stuck, partly insured with you. It will be abso- lutely necessary, in order to avoid still greater loss, that the goods partially injured and destroyed by the fire, be at once attended to, and we would feel greatly obliged by receiving any suggestionB as to the best meana of doing so, and also what particulars you will require from us, as to the nature and extent of our Iocs. We aliould be glad that you would appoint some one to represent your office alone, or in connection with the other offices in which we are inBured,^with whom we might put ourselves in communication, and whose suggestions' and instructions we might be able to follow. We remain, Sir, Your most obedient servants. (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPGY. '■.r I nil 'HI 1 ' V • i6 tTpon the 9th Mr. Glawford, the Agent of the Monareh, replied as foUowi:— , .>rf.. r.,..,* (.«. ^«.ri .^, « .♦ MoiiT»«AL, 9th April, 1865. Mmsrb. Mosibon, Camibon & Bmpbt, 'i '(I GiNTLiMRN, — I ha?e to aoknowledge the receipt oryour eommunioatioD, an- nouneing the fire which occurred on yoar premisea on Friday morning last. InuDMiateatepa will be taken by all the Companiea intereated (acting in con> eert) to look into atid edjaat the loaa. I remain yours, truly, :>s.wim«f *-.^;k#''fehn..j. -»w^^ ,. i« ri-.w (Signed) 5'wi cjt. HENRY A. GLAS3F0RD. iJpoD the lOth Mr. Chapman^ the GUAt ageht* wrote at President of the Committee of invefltigation, — .'^■^"^WA''' "i». h'Mpiii'iJ ^Oif! GLoBB INBURANOB AOENOT, ) ''>' MoMTRBAL, lOih April, 1856. \ -.^e^ GBHTLBitiN,-^! am directed by the Committee of Inveatigation to utate that they wouldb* glad to have an interview with your Mr. Morison and Mr. Empey, at my office, this aAernoon at five o'clock, in order to ascertain some further in. formation as to the circumstances cohnectud \^ith the fire in your premises. The Comir'*tee will thank you to send to them also, this afternoon, at 4 o'eloek, the following parties, viz :— Mr. Bernard, Mr. Barron, Mr. Betty, the storeman or porter, the party who last left the premises before Mr. Morison and Mr. Em> pey, the young men who had charge of the departments in^ and near, which the fire is supposed to have originated, together with any other of yonr employees, or •thers^ who can throw any light or give evidence upon the subject. I am, gentlemen, n^^^t. ^;.5 -.li^^v, , ^j^« , • Your obedient servant ^ '■ ■■ : . * ^k .,;-/ 1^4 utfi .:- Vn ■ - . (Signed) HENRY CHAPMAN, xT'i Agent, Globe Insurance Company, President of tbe Committee of luTeatigatlon. To Mesdra. Morison, Cameron & Empey, I Montreal. J i^^j^^^sus '>i:Bf5's'3 #''fl''v!W I And the following letter was received on the 13th from Mr. Chapman i-^ ;■) i Globb Insurance Aobnot, ) MoNTRBAi., April 13th, 1855. ) Mbssrs. Morison, Cambron & Emfbt, Montreal. ' Gbntlbhbn, — You will oblige the Committee of Investigation by furnishing them, at 5 o'clock this evening, with a statement of the stock on your premisee when the value was last ascertained, also, of the value of the goods subsequently ittoeived and sold. If'ypnr Mr. Cameron has arrived from England, the Committee would like to have an interview with him at the same hour. It would be also satisfactory to the Committee to have Mr. Empey's written declaration, embodying all the circumstances connected with the fire on your premises, which he is cognizant of. .,,., Yours respectfully, (Qigned) HENRY CHAPMAN, Chairman Committee of Investigation. This statement was sent, but no copy kept of it. The account rendered at this time amid the hnrry, the anxiety Morison's father, who, it appears, did make a charge of £150 for ser- vices. This was not known to the partners ; and it is not probable that so small a matter, of no interest to the issue was anything but an error. No doubt many were jealous of the success of these young men ; all sorts of rumours were in circulation to their prejudice; and in the magnitude of their interest in the spet'dy adjustmet of their claim they bad to submit # *■■ patiently to many indignitiea, bat now they feel that the day of expiation is come ; now they challenge a tangible shape to be given to these hinta and inueodoes ; they are prepared to meet them, and they ask of you that if you find in their transactions the slightest intentional fraud, that you will not allow any false feeling of sontimentalism to shield them from the con- sequences. To-day these suspicions, so freely bruited about, must take a different shape from the slur inflicted in the back olhce of an Insurance Company, which frequently destroys a character with a shrug of the shoulders; here at last they must appear in a tangible shape, or disappear for ever, like snow before the sun of summer. Having waited a week for tbe result of Mr. Geddes's report without communication, upon the 16th they wrote the following letter to the Secretary :— , i MoNTRiAL, 16th June, 1855. ^. A. GLANiroRD, Esq., -i*! , v. ^m.';^. -.,.■. ■;,;;,.. n "^ Boar/:?lSji;iter..&c. -I^^^^^l^^* Dbah Sir, — We are very deairouB of having some information ot the course likely to be pursued by the Companies in regard tu the iettlement of our claim, 80 as to be able to inform our crcditora in England, France and Germany, by the next mail, as to what is likely to be done. A large amount of our liabilities will become due on the 4th of July, and it is of the utmost consequence that we should be able to write our creditors that, from what the Companies hold out, we have reason to hope for a speedy and amicable settlement — or the reverse. We beg you, therefore, to let us know the views of the Committee with the least possible delay, so that we may be justified in writing them in explanation of oor position. ^, And we remain, Your obedient, humble servants, '' (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON 4iEMPEY.;_ To this letter Mr. Glassford replied the same day, that it would be sub- mitted to the Committee at a meeting that afternoon. On the 18th, the same gentleman, as Secretary of the Committee, wrote : — MoNTRSAi., June 18lh, 1855. Messrs. Morison, CAMBaoff &. Ehpet, Montreal. GiNTLKHKN,— I am led to think that no difficulty need occur in adjusting settlement of your claims on Insurance Companies. The only queation with them is as to the amount, which, in fact, is very large, and roquiret further proof before it can be admitted in its entirety. ( vvt«st; 'r' Your obedient servant. •fM ;-:h (Signed) The Plaintiffs replied as follows :— H. A. GLASSFORD, Secretary to Committee. ''^■ * * i* MoNTREALi 18th June, 1855. ,: H. A. Glassford, Esq., Secretary to Committee, &o. ' v'"": '- ^'s-'"".. Sir,— Yours of to-day we have just reoeived, and, in reply, beg to state, we were fully convinced that C. Geddes, Esq., whom you have employed to exam. .-.5 *^ini' ine our Books, Paperi, &,e,, to prore the amount of our partially deatrojed Slook Booka or Fobrutary, 1855, had carried with hlin auffieiant evidence of ita correct- neu ; but it appean Irom your letter that duch is not the caae. And will you be kind enough to grant ua a copy of the Report he aent in, er to gtv^ ua, in writ- ing, anytime before the Engliah mail oiusei itiia evening, what further proofa are required of ua in order to make it clear to all concerned. ;, <^., Your moit obedient aervanta, (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY, This Mr. Glassford decliaed to furnish without the authority of tbt Committee, as until adopted, it was not the property of the Companies to copy. On the following day, Mr. Glassford applied for the partially burned Ledger and Journal, Cash Book, Day Book, and stock sheets for 1853 and 1864, and other books and papers ; also, a small pocket Ledger, belonging to Mr. £mpey, as the Committee wished to get everything so as to clear up the affair. The books and papers were furnished at once, with the exception of the Pocket Ledger, which was a private book, and which Mr. Empey, ra a letter to Mr. Glassford, said he had no objection to show him, but which he would not have brought before a public meeting any more than a packet of private letters. We shall bear a great deal about this pocket edger, that all the books kept were false but this. J bhall say no more on this head, I freely give them all the benefits to be derived from it ; but I tell them to beware ; let Messrs. Geddes and VVhyddon beware how they speak of this little book. I have yet to learn that a private memo- andum book, containing a father's will, and all the little memorandums of private life from youth, and of domestic incidents is to be dragged into a case like this ; but let them beware ; they have been warned. Even his book was surrendered at last to the blandishment of Mr. Whyddon who professed a great friendship for Mr. Empey, and a desire to serve bim. After various interviews and communications, all leading to no sa tisfaclory result, on the 29th of June, the Plaintiffs wrote :— 'j ■:■;'' .!......",!.. r .:'.,.. .11 .';'.. '';'r" J ',' '" Monprkal, 99th June, 1855. H. A. Glassford, Esq., :^'^, ,1 Secretary, Committee of Inveatigation of Board of Underwriters, &.O., &c. DbarSir, — As it is now nearly aizty days since our atatements of claim for loss and damage by fire, to our guuds, on the morning of the 6lh of April last, was handed to the Board of Underwriters, duly attested, and since then an ex- amination has been made into our BookK, Invoices, 8cc., &c., and everything granted by us that has been demanded to prove its correctness — still, without coming to any conclusion on your part. And now, we bei^ to inform you that we shall hold all and every privilege of uur policies, notwithstanding all and every document we have heretofore presented to you; and also, to reiterate our request of the 18th of June, that you will state to us what points of our statements are not borne out by the proofs adduced. ■ ■.,' ..•;.: .-rv v'i '-■ <'• ■■■ '.'^^ "- Yours truly, ,y '^ I J!. .Li (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY. it^ 22 ! :im \m\ ' ' Oa the 2nd of July, Mr. Oluiford replied u followi :— , , : , ^ Monarch Firi and Lira Amuranoi Company, ) GiNIRAL AaiKT'R OmoR, > MoKTRiAL, Jaly 2ai, 1856. ) MiMM. MoRIBON, OaMIKON A, EmfRT, Montreal* Grntlihin,— I beg leave to acknowledge ' j receipt of jroar commanicatlon of the 99th ultimo, which haa been submitted to the Committee of the Under- writera to your stock, and duly considered by them. I am instructed, in reply, to state that the Committee have not yet been able to brin^ their enauirv to a satisfactory conclusion, and that they are not prepared to specify all their objections to your statements, until they have duly considered the whole aiFair I am further requested to state, with regard to the intimation contained in your letter, that the Companies presume you do not consider it a concession to them — your forwarding information from books and ibToices, with a view to make np for deficiencies, in detail or otherwise, of your acouunte ; also, that in desir* ing to adhere to the terms of their policies, as you profess to do, they have not expected you to relinquish any of your privileges under them, nor do they, on their part, waive any of their rights. YoQ will be duly apprised of the result of their enquiries as soon as they have brought them to a termination. I em, Gentlemen, , , Your moat obedient servant, "^ '^' " ' (Signed) " H. A. GLASSFORD, Secretary of Committee. And on the 3rd the Plaintiffs further asked by Letter :— MoNTRBAL, 3rd July, 1865. H. A. Glassvord, Esq., Secretary Committee of Insuranee Companies. Dbar Sir,— Yours of the Snd instant was duly received, and, in reply, we would enquire at what time the investigations of the Insurance Companies are likely to be terminated, and the result made known to us. The sixty days, from the rendering of our statements, have expired, and you must be aware that longer delay must entail very great inconvenience and serious loss to us. We think, after all the exertions we have made to satisfy the different Com* panies as to the particulars r''our loss, we are surely entitled to know what the objections are, if any, to the payment of our claim by the respective Companies. We shall still furnirii all information that may be required, but hope to learn the decision of the Committee without delay, in order that we may govern our> selves accordingly. Wo are, '■ ■" Your most obedient servants, ' (Sighed) MORISON, CAMERON &. EMPEY. At this moment Mr. Whyddon appears upon the scene. We shall become better acquainted with him presently ; he came to this country as the agent of the Beacon Insurance Company, a situation he no longer holds, but why, I cannot tell you. This is the gentleman who is to receire a service of plate for his disinterested services in defeating this claim ; but 1 will ven- ture to say that the metal from which it is to be made has not yet left the mine, and I am afraid never will. This gentleman, a London Attorney, I beliere, was supposed by the united Insurance Companies to be so good at ferreting oat fraud that the direction of the whole matter was now entrusted to him) and at once the proceedings assumed a more offensive shape ; a demand was made on Plaintiffs for a statement of their yearly expenses, ▼erbally, and they replied as follows : — MoNTKiALf 4th July, 1855. H. A. Glassvoro, Esq., '"^•- Secretary ,,.,.,,,. -,,, . Committea of Investigation, &o., &o. DiAR Sir,— In reference to r reqaeit made, verbRlly, tliis morning by Mr. Oeddee^ thst we should rurniih him, (br the Committee, with a etalement of our ezpenses, yeRr by year, from the eommencetnent of our busineu ap to tlie pre- sent time, we beg to address you, as SecretRry of the Committee, end remarli thRt we ARonot see what the Companies have to do with our expenses and chRrges, or how such r statement can at all affect the loss sustained by us to our stock ; and can hatdiv believe that such information is sought for by the Agents of BO many respectRble Companies^ end we should like to know if'^such is the case. We have yielded to the requirements of the Committee so far as to show even the private accounts uf one of,the firm, so desirous have we been to do every thing to satitify the Companies as to our loss ; and now, even if the above infor- mation is required, please inform us in writing, and the same will be forthwith furnished yon. We beg to call your attention to our note of yesterday, and hope for an early reply. We remain. Your obedient Bcrvants, (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON &. EMPEY. And on the same day Mr. Glassford replied : — MoNTRBAL, July 4tb, 185&II Messrs. MoRisoN, Cameron & Emfet, Montreal. Oentlsmbn, — In reply to yours of yesterday and to-dRy, I beg leRve to say thst I shRll Rdvise yon of theldecision of the Compsnies as soon as practicable ; but, Rt this moment, ORnnot fix the precise period when the Committee will close its enquiry. WhRtever liiformRtion Mr. Geddes or any member of the Committee may require, is asked for on Its behalf, and any hesitation in supplying it, when pos. Bible, seems only to protract the adjustment of your claim. Yours truly, (Signed) H. A. GLASSFORD, Secretary of Committee. And the Plaintifb sent the statement demanded :— Montreal, 4th July, 1866. H. A. Glassvord, Esq., Secretary, Committee of Insurance Companies. Sir, — We have just received yours of this date, and herewith forward you the statement demanded from us, this day, by Mr. Geddes, verbally i— OHARQBS lOR FRINCIFALS' SALARIES, INTEREST, OLERKB* WAQEB, Si.0. From May, 1850, to Februflry, 1851 £742 5 •t February, 1851, to " 1852 814 16 9 •« '« 1862,to «• 1833 1623 11 M •• 1853, to " 1854 2802 10 11 H •« 1864, to '• 1856 3159 9 7 Yours, &c., MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY; Lf^ / \\ . And oik the 5tb, the following letter was reeeiTed by the PlaiDtifls:— ,<. Canada Branch, « ,^ BrACON LiFB AND FjRB Inst7Ranob Co't of London, > MoNTRBAi,, 5th July, 1865. \ * MiMRB. MoRisoN, Cahbron & Empby, . ''^ Notre Damn Street, Montreal. Gbntlbmbn, — Seeing that your first Stock taken was in February, 1851, as per your letter, without date, addrcaaad to Mr. Glaasford, as Secretary of the Committee, and that the subject matter uf insurance, in question, is made up of sundry bnlances of unsold stock and of various purchases, from the opening of your business to the 5lh of April last, the Committee are compelled to ask for the Recapitulation Stock Sheets fur 1851 and 1853, and Goods account for 1852. At Mr. Empey stated, on Saturday last, that your Books could be balanced in a few days, the Committee are desirous that this should be done as soon as possi- ble, so that no unnecessary delay may be incurred m adjusting the matter now at issue.) I am, Gentlemen, ,„■ Your faithful uervant, -^ (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. '♦ And on \he same day another letter from Mr. Whyddon : — V<^« Montreal, 5lh July, 1855 Mbbsrb. Morison, Cahbron & Ehpet, Notre Dame Street. Gbntlemen, — In answer to yours of this day's date, I am authorized, on behalf of the Committee, to state that the Recapitulation Stock Sheet of 1851, and the Balance Sheet of 1853, being m Mr. Empey's power to deliver at once, as stated by him this mornirig, we shall wish the eamc to be shown us in the course of the day. Should you require to retain copies of the same, they sha'.I be prepared by Mr. Geddea for you, rather than that our investigation should be hindered. As I am, of necessity, obliged to postpone all my other business in order to bring this to a close, I trust this will be attended to to-day ; if not, fresh business will intrude itself, and .Mr. Geddes and mysell will h&ve to work over our figures again, to enable us to renew the subjtct — all which will be so much time lost. ^.m ^^M-iSWifev*::. HtJ'^o- ' *"'' Gentlemen, -;:•:;•• '■■"^l emvi! 'rU ^h::vii^jM: ... Your faithful servant, ,. • - (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. The next demand was for a statement of all the Exchange bought, and the amount of each bill, and the premium paid. These demands were com- plied with, although contrary to the advice of Counsel now first consulted, for at this time rumours began to be circulated of leaves being missing from their account books, and of false entries in books which had been for months in possession of the Insurance Companies. The next requirement was for the dates that the liabilities maturing became due. Plaintiffs hesi- tated to give this information because they did not know whether its in- jndicious use might not seriously affect their credit. And since the investigation of their claim efforts had been ms'' ) both here and abroad to injure their credit ; the unsatisfactory state of the investigation prevented parlies from giving them geods, who had before trusted hem. But they gave this information too. Then came the following demand :-> a- S' vtf n^t f> • irevented But they ? - MoNTRBAt.. 13th July, 1855. " Mimu, MoftiioN, Cameron 8c Ehfbt, ^f r^otre DaiDB Street. Gentlbubn,— Seeing how many books and documents are, by your Mr. Em* pey'a statement, burnt, by which the Committee had hoped to hate completed their invpstigation of your claim, I am compelled to call on you, on belialf of the oeveral Companies, for a statement of your Importatiuna from the commence- ment of yeur busiriess to tho S8th February, 1S54, and also for a statement of your Exchange for the years 1852,1853 and 1854; and, until the same are furnished, tbe investigation necessarily remains suspended. 1 am, Gentlemen, '' "■' ITour faithful servant, (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. i Then for a list of all the books and docvments owned on tbe 5th of April, (•bowing those, if any, lost before tbe fire ; and on tbe 14ih July, tbe Plain- U£& received the following letter :— mtfM "^ MoNTRBAL, 14th July, 1865. ; Mbssrb. MoatsoN, Cameron & Empbt, ji; Notro Dame Street. . ^; ^.^ Gbntlembn, — I am authorized by the Insarance Companies' Committee to ap- ply for a list of the sevei d buoks and documents which belonged to your firm on the 6lh April last, setting forth those vhich are for inspection by the Committee. Should any have been lost or mislaid prior to the above d>ite, ur their non>produo> tioc be attributable to any cause other than the fire, you will please to slate at what period such loss was first observed by your firm. Mr. Davison, one of the above Committee, has, by letter, addressed to Mr. Glassforo, called on him to ask you for an attested statement of the Goods that were totally consumed on the second flour, independent ot the Gouds ina: v^ere sent to Messrs. Benning & Barsalou's stores. As the Committee have figures only to govern them on the .StocU Sheets, this statemect should classify the Goods, so consumed, under their several heads, so far as practicable, as for example : — Straw Bonnets £ ' ^'^- '' ' '^^^ Other do £ 't't.vj ^^ij; -., Mantles and Capes £ ' '. i Cloths „ £ siikb je ' ' '■■'■'' ,...,., Velvets £ ^^^^ ^ Ribbons £ Laces £ :•'/.'. I &c., &c., &c,, as the case may be. Whilst this classification is requested, it is not wished to restrict the informa- tion to such narrow limits, leaving it to yourselves to render a document which will give ample details. - ^ ■.r«'i<.f: ^■.' I am, Gentlemen, .. ,vua,; -'i.??,^,, .-,;,!. Yours faithfully, ^ '-^ (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. It was manifestly impossible that FlantiSs could answear to all tbe items of £30,000 worth of goods, or make any catalogue or valuation of tbem whatever. While furnishing ail tbe oti^er informaMou required, tbey stated '■h ' •:! il: the impracticability of preparing the last statement, and offered to bring before the Committee competent and disinterested parties to attest that it was impracticable. But Mr. Wtiyddon persists in tiie demand, and this too after every demand for information had been liberally met. MoNTRiAL, 17th July, 1865. Mbisrs. Mormon, Cambron & Enpet, Notre Dame Street. GENTLiMBN,^Your letter of yeslerday'a date has been submitted to Mr. Da- Tiaon for perusal, who writes me to the effect that, if a complete itatement can* not be fumiehed, he is still desirous of having the next best statement that can be given, and that as the Goods referred to were all contained in the vicinity of where the fire broke out, he does not see that there can be much difficulty in fur> niahing, at least, an approximate statement of their quantity, qualities, and prices. In an establishment of such magnitude as yours, it is manifest that a system prevailed by which you could ascertain, at any time, if any particular portion of your fltook was running low or in excess ; indeed, it suggests itself as an almost moral certainty, that stock sheets composed of figures only, as yours, were gov. erned by some document for your clearer guidance, lif not, what check have you against peculation, or how can you prove that no portion of the stock of February, 1855, had been removed, to your loss, before the 6th of April last. I would further ask, if the assured states that he cannot identify his barnt property by his books, and fairly to make all proper efloru to attain that object, who is to do so 7 Up to the present moment, the burden of proof is thrown upon the Com> mittee ; but it cannot do without the production ot such a statement as Mr. Da- vison refers to. '/■'!* f'? '•■o> ;- -r.:^- ■•- '-'■ I «n>» Gentlemen, ,_,.„,,... ^,, Yours faithfully, (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. Plaintiff wrote to Mr. Davison, one of the Committee of investigation, to call on them. He came, and they explained to him the difficulty there was, in fact the utter impossibility of preparing any such statement, to be in the least degree reliable. Mr. Davison admitted the impracticability of the demand, and in the presence of their clerks, dictated a letter for them to send to Mr. Wbyddon, viz :— MoNTMAt, 18th July, 1855. J. Whyddon. Esq., Agent Beacon Insurance Company. Sir,— In reply to yours of yesterday's date, we beg to state that we are very anxious to render the Companies every statement, and give them every informa- tion^ it is possible for us to do ; but, in this ease, as our stock has always been regulated by the stock itself, and as we have never kept any such booh as you describe, the Board, as intelligent buciness men, will at once perceive the unsur- mountable difficulty we should have in making up so large a iitock, composed of BO great a variety. And we hope the Companies will not insist upon it, as we shall use our every exertion to give them all the information we can possibly obtain. , .. , And we remain. Sir, Your obedient servants, (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON db£MPEY. \.i 'It And OD the very next day went to a meeting of the Committee and moved the Resolution in the following letter from the Secretary : MoNTRBAL, Jaly 19tb, 1855. Mbmh8. Morison, Cameron & Ehpbt, Montreal. '' GxNTLXMBN,— I beg tu oonvajr to you the terms of a resolution come to, to- day, by the Committee, and to request, in its favor, your most serious considera- tion. " Retohed unanimoualy, — That the requirement embodied in Mr. Whyddon'a "letters to Messrs. Morison, Cameron & Empey, of the 14th and 17th instant, " be persisted in, and that the Secretary be requested to Intimate the same to " them by letter." I remain, dear Sirs, '•' ''*' ' ' . ' '' '" ''""■;'. , ! oY;.>'i nnj-fl •»'■ '■-) 5 > Your most obedient servant, ^y ir;^^ V.'^iu-^j!^'^'^ :>.:-:. (Signed) H. A. GLASSFORD, v.iiiiia^v,.*:^':.." ..■.■: :,:\, K-r, -.... -.■ Secretary. ^^ Thus condeming the ry act that he had recommended, and persisted in the demand. The Plaintiffs furnished the nearest approximate state- ment they could. Mr. Morison bad left for £ogland via Boston, and was then on board the Steamer, they telegraphed him to prepare a statement from his memoranda, or to return. Between Boston and Halifax be pre- pared it, it was corrected and checked by the clerks and made as perfect an approximate statement as under the circumstances could be produced* After this it was despatched with the following letter: — ? .. i' i ; rr^ . , Montreal, 2nd August, 1855. H. A. Glabsford, Esq., Secretary Committee of Insurance Companies. Sir, — In accordance with the resolution contained in your letter of the 19th ultimo, we herewith enclose an approximated statement of the Goods which, as near as we can arrive at it, were on the second story and first room of the third story of our store, on the night of the fire, and were then consumed. It includes those pieces which were so damaged as to be necessarily cut off from the goods invoiced at Messrs. Benning & Barsalou's, by order of the Underwriters' mter« ested, as well as those which were so charred and burned as to be wholly unin- voiceable. We have taken the greatest care to make the statement as correct as poisibie, under the circumstances, and we uelieve that the details of the state, ment are, in the main, correct, as far as it was possible to make it so. We, however, only send it as an approximate statement of the details of the Groods consumed, as it must be obvious there exist no means of verifying each item with a positive certainty. Hoping to have an early decision of the Companies, iu regard to the settlement of our claim, We remain ,' . Your obedient servants, (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY. And on the 16th of August the Plaintiffs addressed each company as follows :— MV / l» MoNTEEAL, 16th Augaat, 1855. WlUJAH LUNN, Eiq., Chairman Committee of Insurance Companies, Ac, &o. Dear Sir, — We are reluetantlj compelled to address you on the subject of our loBR, occasioned by the firn in April last, the particulars of which have been fur- nished to the Tarious ofiicea with which we effected Policies. We had hoped, not unreasonably we think, that the Committee would, by this time, have report- ed, and that the decisions of the various Companies would have been communi- eated to us. We have given our currant books, and the past year's invoices and other doou* ments, la the gentleman named by the Companies, when a particular investiga- tion ensued, and then, no decision having come to, we sent our old books and «)iat other documents we had saved, from the commencement of our business in 1650, to the delegates appointed ; and have, from time to time, prepared state- ments and given every information required by them, and we have endeavoured to HSbrd them all the facility in our power in the course ot their examination, for the four years previous to the first mvostigation. We are conscious uf having nothing to keep back ; but, on the contrary, have courted the fullest scrutiny and examination, as we do not claim one penny more than we most conscien- tiouuly buliGvo is our undoubted right. We do not wiah to advert here to some circumstances, hurtful to our feelings, which have taken place in the course of our communications with the delegates of the Underwriters, but they have so psinfully conveyed the impression of a general distrust in our statements, that it is due to our own character wc should now ask a candid communicatian, on the pa^i of the Companies, whether any and what objections exist to our claims. We fully reaognizothe right and duty of the Underwriters to scrutinize rigor- ously the details ut'so large a Iosib, and we should not have alluded, in the way of complaint, to what pursons, eircumstancod as we are, must be content silently to bear, in furnishing the tuchnical proof of their loss; but we do ask that the vague distrust, which seems to bo nttached to us, should give place to a candid communioa'ion of the distinct objections, if any, which the Underwritmn BW tp the payment of our claim. ;,C' It is nearly five raonthc since the fire took place, and it is needless for ua to point out the extreme inconvenience, to say the least, which the want of so large a sum of money eniaiU upon us. We remain, dear Sir, . . ^... ^ • ' Your obedient, humble servants, !^ "^ J . (Signed) MO RISON, CAMERON & EMPEY. Some answered this leUer, hut others did no^ ; the excuse for further delay was the absence of Members of the Comnaittee, and its not baring made its report. Nearly five months having now elapsed since the fire, after having made every concession, and put up with every indignity in the hope of an amicabia settlement, finding legal proceedings inevitable, on the 24tb of August, the pi^intiflfs applied to Mr. Glassford and Mr. Whyd- don tor their account books and papers. Mr. Turner on behalf of the Committee replied, that the Committee had not completed the examination of them, and must postpone their return. Mr. Whyddoa'a reply was a demand for a variety of new information. 29 // MoNTBiAL, S7th Aagnst, 1855.' ^,(,] MiMKs. MoKiBON, Cameron &. Empbt, ,, i^-^ Notre Dame Street. Gbntuchen,— On behalf of the Committee of Insarance Agents, appointed to investigate your claim, I have to request to be informed the dnte of first entry in Cash Book No. 3 ; aldo, date of first entry in Journal No. 2 ; a\ao, the date of which the New Ledger was opened, and with what account ; also, to be in- formed from year Exchange account, as furnished us, each private Bill and its sight, without which the Exchange cannot be made up. ;~ ' : . I am. Gentlemen, :?H,;»l»Hi{'m>/iS *hTh'6ii>' li-iiJ i'>rii-H':i ■"" Your obedient servant, ;rf a',r> ii»»:hf#:rt ^,y, ;; ,,, / fSIgned) ,.,;c,f; syyiut JOSEPH WHYDDON. This letter they were advised not to answer. Oo the following day Mr. Wbyddon made the following proposition : — MoNTKEAL, 28th August, 1855. * MllSEB. MORIBON, CaHBKQN & EhPET, ^ • -'y Notre Dame Street, ' :"" ; ' ''■•";'f ' ' '' '/ GKNTLBMEN,'-^On behalf of the Committee of Insurance Agents, appointed to investigate your claim, I enclose you draft of Affidavit to be sworn to by Mr. Empey, he being the partner who has had the soporvision of your bunks, and, therefore, most competent to supply the information sought for in the Affidavit, and which Mr. Empey has repeatedly expressed bia read mesa to make. When the draft has been approved, you will please return same to me, to be-fair copied for Mr. E.'s signature, to which will bo annexed copv of Balance Sheet for 1^51, as in old Ledger, and copies of Balance Sheets for 1853 and 1855, as supplied by you to the Committee. This document, when completed, will then be laid before the Committee, together with the report. MesFrs. Duvifon, Glassford and Maitland, three of the Committee, are expected home, from Canada West, this week, and I, therefore, trust you will put me in a position to place the report before them immediate/y on (Aet'r return /o Montreal. I am. Gentlemen, . '•: • ••.';''.ii.;v/ *iij.>»vHU ft-'-'-fcr ^.'i-/ ' Your obedient servant, '---■> '■■' (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. This affidavit was to be (aid before the Committee of investigation with the report which it appeared had never reached tbem yet. The affidavit sent, Mr. Eoapey could not swear to, it contained statements which were not true and others which could not be verified without reference to the books, and the Plaintiffs replied z-— MoNTRBAL, 29th August, 1855. J. Whvddon, Esq., Agent, Beacon Insurance Company. Sir, — We laid your letter, and the affidavit which you enclosed with it, before our legal advisers, and, anxious as we are to nnswer everv question and give every information, we have been recommended not to execute this document. Without adverting to the circumBtances of calling on us to sign a ready-made affidavit, embracing many matters which cannot, in any way, afiect our claim, you must be well aware it is totally impossible for us to verify the statements without a full examination of our books, which you retain, and have refused to deliver. We again repeat our willingness to give the various Agents every explanation and information, on any points, required; but seeing the, te us, apparently inex. pIiMbI« attitude aMam^d by the Companiet, with reference te oar olaime, we feel it inctunbent on us to be gnided by the legal advice we reoeive. We remain, Sir, '" -^ • '•'''•'■ i „ ',1 V '■■■■" Your obedient Nrrants, (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEV. This man attempted under the guise of consolation and sympathy, to entrap these young men into swearing a falsehood. We sent them an af- fidarit embodying all the facts, but that did not suit him. Mr. Whyddon finding his blandishment in vain, and that he could not obtain the affidavit he wanted, by promising us our money if we could sign it, retorts as follows :— Montreal, 29th August, 1855. Messrs. Mobison, Cameron & Empet, Notre Dame Street. 6lNTLBHBN,- ther these embrace many matters which cannot, in any way, affact your claim, is a point which remains to be proved ; but, even if they did not, there ought not, in my humble opinion, to be any hesitation, on Mr. Empey's part, to verify statements which he has repeatedly made out of book, and to substantiate which he need not refer to any one of the booksor documents now under the control of the Committee, but which shall be open to Mr. Empey, for verification on the points deposed to, whenever he is sworn. Under the conditions expressed in all the Policies granted to your firm, you are required to support your proofs by affidavit, whenever called on so to do, under penalty of forfeiture of claim, if not complied with. I again repeat that the affidavit calls on Mr. Empey, as having the superintendence of your books, to verify his r^ipeated statements made to Mr. Geddes and myself, accounting for the state in which those Books now are, and that it is drawn as to enable W.r, Empey to be sworn to the truth of the statements therein, without having occasion to refer to any one page or line of the books or documents there- in referred to. The original Balance Sheet of 1851 is with you ; those of 1853 and 1855 will be appended to the affidavit, and the several pages referred to, Mr. E. has the numbers already, upon examination. If, after this statement, you still decline to give the affidavit, I shall be under the painful alternative of stating, in the report, our present correspondence and its result, in which case, after this report shall have been transmitted to fjondon, it will be too late to remedy the evil. Waiting an early reply to this and to my letter of the 27th instant, on the points therein referred to, I remain, Gentlemen, Your obedient servants, (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON. Mr. Empey could not have conscientiously sworn to this affidavit em- bracing all the transactions of the firm, and identifying particular pages of books out of his possession without reference to the books, and it will be borne in mind thai >t is principally on this affidavit that the charge of false swearing is made, in the pleas of the Defendants. If this affidavit was intended in- good faith, merely to confirm the truth why were not the books produced to allow him to verify the testimony he was asked 31 to swear to. But he was told he must swear first, and then he might Te- rify his oath by the fact instead of the fact, by bis oath. And if he re- fused to make this affidavit, we were to forfeit all our claims on the Com- pany, the report would be sent to London, and it would be too late io remedy the evil. What care we for Mr. Whyddon's reports, or for Boards of Directors in London ; we have our own laws and our own Jur- ries ; it is for you to decide whether Insurance Offices shall be al- lowed to repudiate their contracts. I say that when the facts of the ease are known to the principals of the respectable Insurance Companies we shall have a prompt repudiation cf the acts of their subordinates. The Plaintiffs refused to have any further communication with Mr. Whyddon who had insulted them, and gone into their store and in the presence of their clerks, told them that he came there to get facts and not falsehoods, so, on the 30th august the Plaintiffs wrote Mr. Whyddon: Montreal, 30th August, 1855. J. Whtddom, Esq.. Agent, Beacon Insurance Company. SiB, — In answer to your letter of yesterday, we regret to say that we are more than ever convinced, by its tenor, of the propriety of the course reeommended to UB by our legal advisers, as mentioned in our last. As to Mr. Empey's state- ments "made out of book," and which you eall upon him to substantiate, you do not precisely point out what these statements were ; and it is evident the draft of affidavit must have been prepared by you under misapprehension of facts, for it is, in several particulars, erroneous. Nor could Mr. Empey, with every desire to meet the views of the Com- panies in geaeral, or your own views as representing one of them, have safely made the affidavit without correction and inspection of the books. We think it proper to add that, notwithstanding the long period that has elapsed since the fire, and the fullest access to our books and documents furnished to Mr. Geddes per- sonally, we are, to this moment, entirely in the dark as to the grounds up^^n which the Companies object to our claim, or as to the matters in the report which require explanation. Whatever we may think of the conduct of certain subordinates, we do not think that the various Companies can have any desire to resut our claims, unless on good and substantial grounds — and we have nothing to conceal or to be ashamed of. We believe our claim well founded in every re< speot, and we regret to be obliged to take steps to secure the fullest legal investi- gation into the nature and origin of the fire, and the amount of our loss. We are compelled to this course, not only to secure the recovery of what is justly due us, but to preserve our character above the petty surmises of parties desirous to have even a pratence for suspecting our conduct. At the same time, we beg to repeat that, if the report made by nir. Geddes some weeks ago, or the report which it appears you are about to make, is communicated to us, we are ready and desirous to give every information in oar power on points which may need it ; but, to this moment, we are ignorant of what these pcints are, and we again earnestly press the Companies to inform us fully on this head, injustice to US and to themselves. lu the absence of the members of the Committee and all official information as to the points to be cleared up, we do not wish to continue a correspondence with yon, as an individual, as to the propriety or impropriety of our declining to send you the affidavit, or as to the consequences threatened for our complying with the advice given us by our legal advisers. We would, however, again beg of you to send us baek our books, which have been for so long a time in your possession. We are informed that you are liable 82 to heavy reaponiibility in nut eomplyiDg with the formal Notarial demand made on you for them, and, although we can have no desire (with so large a claim un- ■ettlod) to get ourselves into unnecessary difficulty with yourseir or with any of the Companies, we are led to believe, from the course adopted towards ud, that we have no means of avoiding it — notwithstanding all our concessiona and all our efTorts to do so. We believe the way to prevent so painful and, to us, ao serious a result would be, by a frank communication, on the part of the Companies, of the real grounds of objection to our claim, and the statements and explanations given by us' in support of it. We are, 'rf; -> .<;'•;_•■/; .-Vm ;: ' •■';«.•.,'- -, i>'--ca'i-. ' r ■,• ■,&••«* c'j /;r,jiv-': - Your obedient servants, ■I (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON &, EMPEY. P.S. — We beg to say that we are just advised to give to tlie several Compa. nies copies of our correspondence with you, which we shall do accordingly ; and we also would state that, if specific questions are put to us by the Companiea, or any one of them, as to particular facts in either report or in our statements of claims, requiring explanation, we are ready to give our answers to them either with or without oath, aa they may require. M., C. St. E, And, on the following day, the Plaintiff's wrote each Agent as follows : MoNTKEALi Slat August, 1855. H. L. ROUTH, EsMm : ,.. ,. . ..'vit,. ; , -, , ,' Aeent, Royal Insurance Company. "' ' ^■' ." . ' ' i' Sir, — We beg iierewith to enclose you copies of oorrenpondence between Mr. Wiiyddort and oui selves, in reference to oui' claim, in order that tho various Compaii'es may be infnrnr)ed — in case his report should not contain the full cor- renpundence — of what hns pHssud between us Wn beg further to say that we conceive we liaVe reason to nomplain o( the delay which bus occurred in settling our claim, and would submit to the good faith of the respective Companies, whether we should be kept itninfurnied as to the real ground for not settling our claims. We cannot suiipose tho various Companies can sanction anything like unfair iiipinuatioiis >i(;ain us and our claim, from »ny subordinate person^, and we are advixed to appeal directly to the character and standing uf the respective Companies lor a lair sen lement, before piuceeding to litigation to secure our righta and preserve our character. V , . . -.,, Wo are, . . ,- . ;. ', Your obedient servants, '^ ' , ;,: (Signed) , MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY. On the 6ib of September Mr. Glassford applied to the Piaintiffd for the nventory of the goods taken after the fire claiming it as the property of the Insurance Companies which was relused, but they were offered refer- ence to it. On the 7ih Mr. Whyddon again wrote :— - Montreal, 8th September, 1855. ^ Saturday. . , .\ , Messrs. MoRisoN, Cameron & Emfby, ■ XMotre Dame Street. Gentlemen. — I have again to address yois on the subject of the affirmation required of your Mr. Empey An enquiry was instituted, lo which, I presume, you wil! not say you refused your sanction. My letter to you, uf the 2tith ult., required sutements to be made regarding certain specific matters of fact, in ac- cordance with previously reiterated allegations of Mr. Empey ; it neither involved qoesUone aa to objectiona on the part of the Companies, the respective treatment I ) 33 jT !■ , :> n .'. of any of the pftrties in this affair, nor a demand for book^all of which are ■UMoptible of diiouision apart from the object of my reqaeai, which I desire to keep dittinct from any embarraasment. The form of the affidavit prepared point* to specific facts, yet, as is shown on the face of it, the purport o( nature of the statements tu be made are to be given by the deponent. Permit me, further, to say that, in your several correspondences, as well as in your com* munioations from the first, your professions have been of the most extensive oha< racter ; yet, a request for a specific statement, as to a very limited category of Crtioulars, is met by a refusal, for which the only pertinent reason given is its ing erroneous in many particulars, which you do not condescend to point oat. While your profenions are thus, as I regret to find, so wide of your acts, what . are the Companies to think of the proposal, by you, to extricate yourselves from your position by repudiating my authority and declining further correspondence. Notwithstanding this, seeing that the return to town of the other members of the Committee may lead you to conclude that I would not arrogate to myself moie than a just share in their counsels, and being desirous that no personal allusions should have the least weight, I would again request you to reconsider this matter, trusting that further reflection will dictate to you the propriety of complying with my request. Should 1 not be favoured with a communication from you by four o'clock, p.m., of Monday, the 10th inst., I shall consider myself at liberty, and with your as. sent, to construe your silence into a refirsal to give the affirmation required by the Committee. « ,:.' u . I remain. Gentlemen, . J ^. 1 ii. .,: . Your obedient servant, (Signed) JOSEPH WHYDDON, Agent for Beacon Assurance Office, and , Appointed by Committee of ' ]' '' '^'^ ' ' ' Insurance Offices to investigate claim. P.8.— Mr. Geddes and myself are prevented from completing our report to the Committee, by your omitting to give me the information requested in my letter of the 27th alt., to which I have received no reply. And this was said to men who bad given up their books and papers, of which they were now refused possession, who had done everything in their power to facilitate the enquiry, and who, disregarding (be injarioas suspicion thrown on them in this investigation, so hurtful to the feelings of honorable men, had made every sacrifice and concession until further yield- ing became a crime — said to a man who bad laboured to all hours of the night, making up statements extending over an enormous business for a period of live years, until the number of statements and letters fyled in the Records of this Court amount to over 170 ! And the Plaintiffs replied as follows : — MoNTBEAL, 8th September, 1855. H. A. Glassford, Esq., Secretary to Underwriters, &c., fcc, &c. SiK,— We have received a communication, dated this day, from Mr. Joseph Whyddon, concerning the affidavit he sent us on the S?8th ultimo, and the corres- pondence which ensued. We now address you in reply, and beg to state, had Mr. Whyddon treated us with even customary respect during his investigations, we should not have de- sired to have no further correspondence or interviews with him ; but his manner became so impertinent and arbitrary, and his gross insinuations so broad and painful to our feelings^ that it became impera'ively necessary that we should have no further communication with him as an individual. We have already informed the various agents that we are perfectly willing to give them what affi. 34 ditrlU ihsy mnj reaitnnitbly and jurtly demand flrom na, and (hMgh w« hava bean adVaed that we hrtve complied with all the eonditldni or tbe Poliai«a, and already given all inlormation that can reaaonably nr legally be rrouirrd, yat, in ca^ the uthet oAoaM should. Tor reaaona which wa do not umlerttiand. deaire an affidavit or ihe taotn nliudcd lo by Mr Whyddon, and; with the vi, we must beg thut the aeparate C(>mpanies will eaeh eommunK' oaia with us, as we are fully persuaded they would never aanction tha cuuraa of pnh •«] ceeding tn which we have been aubjected. We rpgret to be forced lo add thai, i to prevent fun her lose uf inter^rt and to bring matt^ra to a eloav, we haire ini ' atrneted uur oounael' to institute proceedings without delay. ■> Concerning the infitrmationaafced for by Mr. Whyddon, wa will state that tba* ' firat entry in Caah Book No. 3 was made on the first day of October, 1859, anil ' the dale of first entry in Journal No 3 was thf firat of May. 1854, and the d«M> ' the new Ledger waa opened waa the firat of May, 1864. We cannot point oOt ' eaoh private Bills in uor Exchange Account, as many Bank Bills were boUj^C ' fronn private parties; and that we believe nearly all the Bills not marked 3 dav*''' were 60 days sight. We have no means at hand of ascertaining the sight of aaoh'' Bill to a positive certainly. We omitted to mention' above that tha first aeaoiint in nnw Ledger waa *• Gooda Account." ..-,..1.', And we remain, ; ait . «< j^ Your obedient aervants, ^ :;'.M;.;!ffi.j'J u.-i' t (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON &EMPEY. Access to their boolcs was denied them except in the presence of Mr. Gedd4>s, alihougb they had left them for months with the Com- panies. On the lOih of September a formal demand was made on Mr. Glasaford for these books, which was refused. On the 12ih, an affi- davit, such as Mr. Emper coaid swear to, was transmitted, atfesied, to thd . Comihittee. On the 24 h another demand was made for the books bj^ Messrs. Robertson, to which Mr. Turner, for Mr. Glassford, replied : — ^ MoMTaEAL, S4th September, 18S6. j^.iv,- To Missaa. A. & G. RoataTSON. GBNTLanBN, — Fn reply to ydui' note of this mottling,- 1 hate to atate that the' liooka placed in the hands of the Committee by Mesara. Moriaon, Cameron tt Empey, were furniahed in aupport of the claim aent in for lose, and were consid> ered, at the time, as of no value to the aasured in connection with theif general businesa. Aa these books are important only as bearing on the subject of the amount of loss actually »ufF«-red by the fire, and aa I have alwaya understood them, to be of no value as regards MesNra. M., C. & E.'s general business, unconnected with Buoh loss, I am somewhat surprised at their persisting in demanding they ahould be delivered up. At the same time, as there is no disposition on the part of the Insurance Companies to prevent access to and every reasonable iniipectiOn of the books, and lo extracts being made therefrom, the Committee hha no ohjec- tion to your clients ezam>n'ng them as often as Ihey wish, on the uitderstandmg, of course, that no attempt at seizure or forcible absttacliun of the booksbe ttthwj and, on hearing from you to that effect, I shall be happy to make arrangements ' accordingly. I have only to add that 1 should not have appendcjdany conditioiit whatever to the inspection of the books, were it not for this hostile position aV. aumed by your clients in regard to them. I am. Gentlemen, " Your obedient servant. ■si' N': (■ (Signed) H. A. GLASSFORD, Per W. ToBOTBtfv ?.(> n * And M (h» fotbWIng dajr, in aoiwer to a sittllar appHeation^ Mr.Glawni ford wrota : — ' ' ^"^^ MoNTRKAi^ 25th September, 1855. MUIKB. A. & 6. ROBIRTSON. Gkntleukn, — In reply to your note or lait evening, ta you inform us the bnoki ar^iweMlMry for (he praaeeution or the auiis you have inaiitiitrd, it muat occur to-^^tt iev should be HVnilabte to boih paniea cannot be deemed unfair. The Insurance Officea connnt but ex- prtita their surpriae, therefore, that a propoaal »> reaaonable aa thai coniained in my last not* abould be demurred to by your olienta, and tbey confidently trust that Meaara. M., C. &> E. will preaa the matter no further. I aoi, Gentlemen, ,, . • < -ij, ,, ,. I,.,,, .- -r- Youra truly, .v.^,,;.^; - ,, (Signed) H. A. GLAS8F0RD, '"* " M,*;o'»f ,{x:rMr^ ,v. Per W, ToniigK. r,t,;v i*-y;v:i B ^f^A> '.'4.("»' Legal proceedinga ware now inttitated, and after the caae was returned into Ceurt, and insinuations of the vilest character had been made aj^ainst the Flaidtiffir, the following proposal was daade to them on the 13tb Oct :— ■Ut s1 j!'.;;»^J ir.'VJj. MoNTaa&L, Oct. 13, 1855. .if.,)., ■.p".v!"i-'-W'r'( , fj« 'I I*. J; Maaaaa. MoRiaos, Camcron tt, Emtbt, Montreal. GaNTLBMSN, — I am dirroted to transmit to you the followinjf reaolution came to thiB day, at a general meeting of Underwritera on your stock, and to request that you will faVOlii- me with your reply at the earliest date poksible : — *' Samivtd unanimou$ly, — Thati with the view of aff.trding IVli>sars. Morison, "Cameron tn Empey an opportunity of amicably adjusting their claims on the " several Companies, it i* the opinion of ihis meeting that auoh olmm'', and all "queations connected therewith, ho submitted to arbiirutora mutual y chosen, *• whose decision shall be final — such arbitration to be conducted under bund of '* submission and according to conditions of Policies in which aaid claims are ** made, without waiver of any righta at present held by the Companies, in case *• of its rejection." I need scarcely "iiy that your acceptance of the proposal embodied in the above resolution, will receive my earliest attention. I remiiin, dear Sirs, Yours very reepectfully, i U; i . (Signed) H. A. GLASSFORD, , ■ ., . Secretary. I say at this time insinuations of the vilest character had been made against my clients, that attempts bad been made to destroy their credit in England and New York, instructions bad been sent from parties to this vile eonaph'acy to arrest Mr. Alorisoo for having made a fraudulent claim for an imaginary loss — and after this the parties to it wished to bush it up in the baek office of some Insurance Company, under a bond of arbitiation. No, gentlemen, perish the money we seek to recover, but send us forth with our character unscathed ; we will not take one farthing less than our claim, if that it to be coostructed into an admission of dishonor. Let the case if^ 36 ■Uad or fall upon the question of fraud or no fraud, offer of arbitration as followa :— We replied to thii MoKTaiAi, 19th October, 1850. H. A> OLAHroRD, Eiq., Seoretarj Inaarance Companiet, Sib, — We deemed it our duty to lay your letter of (he 13th initant before our legal adviuri, in whoae handi our olaimi againtt the reipective Iniuranoe Com- paniea had been placed. We need not lay that had the propoaition to arbitrate been made to ui in the firat inatance, we ahould unheaitatingly and cordially have aaaented to it. We waited for a long period without having any apeoifio ground of objection to our claim atated to ue, although aollcited by ua. No mode ofeettlement whatever wai pro- poaed. We could not learn whether our claima were recognized or not, and it ware only after an interval of five monthi that we were reluctantly obliged to go into Court. During that period, you are aware that a courie wai puraued by cer- tain parties, who claimed to repreient the Underwriters, calculated to thifow a !;rave atain on our character. We were virtually charged with having made abricated statements — with intentional mutilation of our hooka and aooounta } and other repreaentations were made, on which we need not now animadvert, of a still more painAil nature, and our very books have been withheld from us as a means of proving these charges. We are far from imputing the responsibility of these proceedings to all the Offices — from the Managera of some of which we have privately met with aym> pathy and consideration, — but you must be well aware that the course which, if they have not impliedly sanctioned, has hitherto received the weight of their name, has attained a most hurtful publicity ; and in justice, not only to our own character, but to those frienda who have continued their support through this oala* mity, we eannot dispense with a public investigation so long as the odium ofunsus- tained imputations rests upon us. We, therefore, beg you to inform as whether all the Companiea are disposed, now that they have had full opportunity for a detailed examination, unqualifiedly to withdraw all imputations upon us, and that the queation for arbitration is simply to adjust the amount of our claim — a point which, we are advised, might, with propriety, be settled by competent and dismterested parties. When we are favoured with an anawer to this enqniry, we will at once give a definite reply to your propuaal. Weare,Sir, r5f^;..irt.!.}^•,; as ..v^-. .. .^^^ v!&v:.:,:^-% iiflf^:.-! i Your obedient servants, * f (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON & EMPEY. And Mr. Glassford answered :— ; ' ' , v •i:i'. i--. i ■ I Monarch Firb and Life Assurance Company, ) General Agent's Office, > Montreal, October SOtb, 1866. ) Messrs. MoRiBON, Cameron & Ehpet, .>-I Montreal. ' > -■ - — -• ^> . . - . Gkntlehbn, — Without discussing the correctness or incorrectness of the various statements contained in your favour of the I9ih instant, respecting the course adopted by the Insurance Companies interested in your claim, but cnnfin- ing myself to the subject of arbitration, I beg to say in reply, that, were arbitra- tion to be adopted as a means uf disposing of your claims, the Companies would expect to submit to the arbitrators all matters in diflTerence between you and themselves, as provided by one of the conditiuna of their respective policies ; but, as such a submission would seem, from tlie terms of your letter, to involve mat- ters afifecting your character, and that, consequently, yuu are unwilling to dis- panae with a public investigation, I am instructed to state that the Companies I -I S7 .■! it Secretary to Companies An arbUration by rote of Court was offered us, but this would have afforded ui no public TiDdicatioo ; the stii^na would still have remained and my clients replied in the exact terms of Mr. Glassfotd's letter of the 18tb June:— MoMTRiALi S2nd October, 1S55. r HiNRT A. Glasifobd, Epq., Secretary. &o., &c. ■ '•-"'i ' ;'"■ •"' '•- _^_' Sift, — In reply to your let'er or Saturday we beg to eay that we infer from its tenor that our conditiun aa to a withdrawal of all imputations on our character, before any arbitration could be acquieaeed in iy us, has not mat with the appro- val of the Companies. We regret this, as by declining to accede to this oondi- tion, the Companies may be thought to endorse the surmises and hints of certain parties, connected with some of the Insurance Offices, against us, which we ere desirous to meet in some tangible and distinct shape, so as tube able to know what they are. Wo must, therefore, adhere to the condition, from a sense of what is due to ourselves, and lt,ave the result to await the proceedings. At the same time, we may state that we have bren, and alill are, perfectly willing to have our claim settled by oontpelent and disinterested parlies, who can ascertain the loss, and take all matters connected with its amount into consideration. This miy be done by rule of Court, or otherwise— as may be agreed on. We cannot, however, consent tn leave questions of law to arbitrators, and we wish the mat. ters they may have to consider should be simply the questions connected with the amount and character of our claim. We remain, ' • i ^ '. ■ ', " Your most obedient servants, : ' •' (Signed) MORISON, CAMERON b EMPEY. Either this is a case of damning fraud) such as no commercial community has ever witnessed, or one of unparallel ad oppression. Let the Defendants not shrink, as sbriwk they will, from pushing it to the legitimate conielu- sions of their defence, as one of imposition, of fraud and perjury, for that is the amount of their pleas. After having taken possession of our goods, sold them, and pocketed the money, on the 25th of October, five months after, they offer us the amount of the sale at Benning & Barsalou's, £1046 68 lid. This suit has been brought under great disadvantages ; our books were necessary to us, and they could not be obtained, a mere examination of them at their Office was not sufficient to enable us to prepare the elabo- rate statements required to support our claim. We were desirous of submitting to the inspection of Messrs Spiers and Rufford, two of the first accountants in the city. The Plaintiffs are not practical book-keepers, and they wished that competent men should investigate them, and see what was this wdHh of the errors imputed to them. These gentlemen ;V' 88 X m pictlged themselves if \bty w«re allowed to do aOf aod iMnove theM nfor ^bat purpose, that they would restore them in the same condition as sood '' as the examination was completed. The Insurance Companies would only allow access to them in the presence of Mr. Wbyddon and Mr. Ged- '■' des. To make the necesiary investigation would have occupied fourteen days of constant labour ; and their possession was refused to these gentle- sMnen. Have these men, Mr. Joseph Wbyddon and Mr. Charles Geddesi ' of all men in the world, a monopoly of all the honesty of the coontry,'that it should be presumed that Messrs. Spiers, Court andRufibrd wure 4eagind with the Plaintiffs to falsify these books, it is a laonstrous instauatien. The extent of the Plaintiffs business, the regularity and methoJ with wh^ch it is conduc'ed will be proved to you by the i^UoflHes to be examined. We will exhibit to you every book which they possess from the eomfiiaiice- ^-.inent of the career of men who are fast raising (be city and oonotry 4o the - SQale of commercial in^ortanee, who are branded as perjurers, swtadtars and impostors; character is of so much importance to ^^ that wa dea^re /,,to remove from your minds the smallest shade of suspicion. We wiU show vryou that so perfect is the check established in their business that it is Imposnhfe for goods to have left the premises without p»98ing ,4br(H)igh ttbeir books, and we will prove to you by a number of current .pfoofS) that at the time of the fire, their stock was literally what we claim it to have been. Whatever discrepancies there may have baeoaince iq staterotatc? are .of little value, if we show that we were in possession, at the time this loss ^ occured, of the amount of stock represented by our claim. I caiti on ypu to follow me step by step in this pn of, and 1 will pour oa yon such a flood of light as sball satisfy ycu of the integrity of my clients, and that they have been the victims of a gross and cruel oppression, and I will defy the most incredulous sceptic to take the Evangelists in his hand, and «)gr he %eter has been groundlessly assailed. J^mes Blundell, sworn. — Is a shoemaker in Notre DaneStreet,.qppqsite ' Mesr.irs. Morison, Cameron and Gmpey ; recollects the fire in tb^tt s^re. HAdtjpea up reading a paper when be heard an, ai%rnLX>f.fii«frqptu^- 39 ^jc^ltaHU); went out and Jooked in and a»w tba flames inside Plaiatiffs ttoltore ; this was. beiween 12 and i on the nigbt qf 6tb of April. I tried to §»4 out wbere Mr. Morisoa lived and in about a quarter of an bour, found ., him at Duclos' ; told bim bis place was on fire and asked bim for tbe key. 't Wbttn 1 returned some person broke in tbe door with an axe, and then tbe I'fire bnrst out of tbe upper windows. There was some delay in tbe fire- '^oeii playing on it. The fire lasted from tbe time I saw it until out, about r^ two hours. I went into the store after the fire, tbe damage was very grea». Ii> Cross-examined. — The fire lasted two hours fully. I did not go to bed l^ttftgain until half-past three, there was then a great noise. Did not go into # jftie store that night. The fire was in tbe middle floor of the building. Tbe '>'iahalving was most burned on the side next Laurie's. I have bought ga- 4 loons and other goods in my line from that side ; they also kept flowers on h the eonoter, and en the opposite side cloths, and along the railing silks, nnd ladiev* capes, and also near about the front part of the store. :ii John Gardner, sworn.^ — Is a Druggist and iivas opposite Morison, Cane- jfi'ron and Empey ; I beard an alarm of fire at a little before one, and got up; l^my room is directly opposite Morison, Cameron and Empey's; saw a blaze 4>thn>ogh tbe middle flat window, apparently at tbe back olltbe store ; won- :#'ilered why Mr. Morison was not there. In about a quarter of an hour Mr. ^0 Morison came and opened tbe door, when the fire broke out through the >^Window ; afterwards saw Mr. Morison go up a ladder with a man with the |?«bose to play on the fire. The fire lasted fully two hours, if not more. — _H?"t went into the store tbe next day, and saw a great deal of damage, burnt (i goods, ashes, &c., lying about, and goods blackened on the opposite side '^ito wbere tbe fire appeared to have been heaviest. J Croes-ex.amined.-^Tbe fire was burning a quarter of an hour before Mr. ,1^' Morison came ; ten minutes after bis arrival the engines came. Tbe en- , i-|;inea played jhalf an hour before the firemen got into the upper window. -V'l em quite sore of this. I was present there the whole time. Mr. Mori- - 'Son was on the ladder at the same time with the fireman, and they stood >»*ttbere a long time, as though uncertain what to do, on account of tbe 4>)8moke. ■ lix .Hfrt.ifoi ;s;^i!jitjt::^-;ij ■f,i,'fi »;*;) IrrB ^'im■iiih\~:Af■. 'iffi ■:'<''fi c.irt<' * James Raldane, sworn.— I am a Shoemaker, and lives opposite Morison, I Cameron and Empey's; heard an alarm, jumped out of bed and opened the I window ; asked tbe policeman what was the matter ; be said, « I think ''this store is on fire ;" I saw there was do doubt of that, from the smoke coming from the roof. I prevented people from breaking open the door ; Jny this time ;Mr. Morison had arrived; the door was broken in and the jfira then burst out fromthe upper window ; I had qeen no flame before.— jCbft fire The heat was so intense, that it was impossible to stay any time ; the heat extended to the garret ; the goods and every thing was hot, as though the whole place was on fire. The fire extended all around the building from back to front, the ends of pieces of goods next the wall were burning ; I took some out of the shelves and threw them into water. The balustrade was burned; there was a great heap of the burned ends of valuable goods choking the balustrades. The smoke was very great, and the heat so intense, that in attempting to c^en a plate glass window at the south I burned my hand. The iron railing round the well was gone, and I hung a lamp to prevent any person falling down. When I burned my hand on the south window, it was an hour or an hour and a half after the fire commenced. Any goods piled around the well must have been totally consumed, as tb^ counters were burned. After the firemen left, the fire broke out in the (c ^vJ story; the flames were rush- ing up behind the plaster as through a Ou n y ; I assisted to put it out. This was two hours after, and day was begii/r^f .3 dawn. The office was burned ; I must have seen the reflection of fire tor rng from the front be- fore I left home ; the engines had not then arrived. Saw bales of carpet- ing so burned that 1 could not tell what they were. The damage done was immense ; I handled the wreck of much valuable goods ; it is im- possible from the wreck to estimate the value of those destroyed. Cross-eramined. — The fire was equal all over, although the damages was most at the north. The partition rf the office was gone, also the railing round the well, and part of the ^ aters; I was ptrticularly struck 41 / witfai the fact of the ends of th; goods next to McOill Street side, and far- thest from the fire, being burned. Mr. Empey told me the principal books were saved. The fire broke out in the third story, two or perhaps three hours after the first ; I went home and changed immediately after, and I then returned when it was quite clear, about five o'clock. The new fire broke out in the third story, nearly over the north side ; it was behind the piaster, and burning fiercely, roaring ; the shelving had to be torn down to get at it. I saw the fire raging there, behind the shelving, whether the shelving was on fire or not I cannot say. George Nunn, sworn. — I am a painter, and a fireman also, my men were employed the evening before the fire in painting the store, worked until after 10; Mr. Morison asked them up to take some coffee or other refresh- ments; but the men refused, wanting something stronger. They left their pots and paints ; I heard the alarm, and went to the fire ; it was beavyjand the smoke so dense that it was stifling the men, I broke a win- dow to give them arr, and clear off the smoke. I had requested the goods to be moved well away, as last year they said I spoiled goods with paint. Round the well great quantities of goods were piled, and upon the coun- ters. I was at the fire, I am Captain of an Engine. When the fire was raging, I did not see these goods, and I am certain they were burned. The ashes and plaster on the floor after the fire was twenty inches thick in some places. Cro8S>examined. — I do not know what time it was when the fire oc- curred ; when I got there there was an engine there, but don*t know the name of it. I asked the Chief Engineer if my engine should pump ; he said no, two were sufficient. One engine pumped through the office win- dow, when I was up stairs opening the back window to give the men air. The bulk of the fire was next to Laurie's. The goods round the well were burned so as to be unsaleable ; I did not pay much attention to the quality, but I did to the condition. I cannot tell the value of them, I am not a dry good merchant but a painter. William Stephens, sworn.— Is a saddler, lives in McGill Street, was in bed and heard the alarm ; saw the reflection distinct ; thought it near, and dressed and went there. Stopped at the door until Mr. Morison came ; there were from 50 to 100 people in the shop below. I attempted to go up stairs, but the fire and smoke were so great I could not. After a while I returned again, when the chandelier in the well bole fell, almost on my head. When I went up stairs I found the broad-cloths on fire ; I helped to put them out ; this was on the side next to Nichols', others I could not put out. The flames were chiefly next to Laurie's, but went all round to Nichols's side. Mr. Empey came to the door while I was there, much excited. I went into the shop next day, and saw a great deal of burned m^ rubbUb, I puUed tbe piles off thi couatem round the well wbile burning ; on tbe side next Laurie's, tbere were sbglves with silks on fire, wbich I pulled down. It was over two bours, from the time the fire commejaced until it was out. Cro88-ezamined.~I got to the fire between 12 and 1; stopped until 8; was there before tbe Engine ; don't know bow soon after me the engine arrived. I got up stairs about half an hour after I got there; they bad not ceased pumping when I went up stairs. One engine played into the window, and one up tbe stairs. I took silks on tbe side next to Laarie's on fire, and threw them into the water. Tbere was a large space of shelv- ing burnt ; in one place about six feet square burned, but also all mund I eaw many pieces of carpets burned ; it was hard to get round Ibe well, there was such a pile of burned goods ; I was up to my knees in water and rubbish. There were more goods consumed by fire than watc;r. Joseph Keefe. — I am porter to Morison, Cameron & Empey ; did not know of the fire until I w^at to Mr. Morison for the keys the next morn- jng. He always locked tbe place himself. Mr. Morison was walking about his room in bis night dress ; he said the ^tore was open. I went there and found everything in a ruinops state. On the 12ih of April I carted 21 loads of goods damaged more or less; aud on the 14th fourjoads to Benning & Barsalou, — the last were tbe worst; they were undisiin- guisbabie ; no person could tell what they were, except from fragments of ■«*) rir i,j!> rU=?3;.T}MBi;p Cross«examined. — I did not see tbe inkstand or the burned books until tbe second day after the fire, when Mr. Empey called me into the office to remove them; they were on tbe desk opposite tbe front window — some on a safe or book-shelf. I look two books to Mr. Empey's house, and packed them in a box tbere with others— so tpany I could not count them. They were long narrow books. Tbe back of one book was burned, and tbe opening part of tbe other that I carried. I put them into the box in the garret of Mr. Euipey's house. The others were carried by other parties, and were lying on the floor when I put them into a box and case. This was sometime in the week following the fire. Tbe two carried by me were given me by Mr. Empey, who told me to take them to hisbouse : ibis was the day sftertbe fice. I doji't kpow w-hati^rt of the offi«e^Uk«se 1 1 m$ «•»• Aom ; Bfrieer «aw them in the office. I should know these two book.i if I saw them again : tbej were given up to vhe lasoranee Company. Mr. Rose a^ked the prodaction of the books by the Defendants, which Wiss rufused at the present stagey with the assurance that at the proper >atage they would t>e forthcoming. Examination resumed. — The other books in the box and ease were each •8 the check books used by the clerks. Cross-examined.— I did not take the books to Mr. Olassford, but was sent for them ; I have been told that they were sent to him. Daniel McNevin. — Fitted up the shelving after the fire : the fire com - menced near the stairway leading to the third floor on the side next Lau- rie's ; swept round both sides of the well-hole, and scortcbed the opposite side so bad that all had to be renewed. Front and rear windows had to be renewed. The fire burned through the third floor round the truss beami and some of the shelving was burned. AH the counter and shelving next to Laurie's were completely burned ; the shelf could not have been burned mittl the goods were burned off it. The stairs leading to the third story was also burned ; the joists of the floor also. The remains of burned goods round the welNhole were 18 or 20 inches deep. The drawers were about 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet long, and 9 to 11 inches deep. The goods lying roirad^be well-hole were not worth carrying away. The pilasters On the baekcside of the building had to be made new. Lost about £5 above what was awarded by arbitrators by the amount of damage being so much greater 4han £ estimated it at sight. Cross-examined. — The shelving next to Laurie's was 25 to 30 feet long, 3 feet at bottom) and 20 inches at top. The drawers reached 3 feet, and the shelving to the ceiling, 10 or 11 feet high from the floor. On the other side the shelving was 50 feet or thereabouts, and the same depth There was some 14 or 15 feet shelving burned next to Laurie's. There was a bannister and hand-railing round the well, with open shcl/ing 18 inches deep. Round the circular part this was all burned. The bonnet stands were entirely destroyed. The railing of the office was destroyed — the upper part swept away in toto. The door was in the same state as the rest; that end of the office was gone entirely, burnt out. I noticed this the morning of the fire. . f ^ Mr. Pape, sworn. — I am a clerk in the employ of Morison, Cameron, and Empey, and was there at the time of the fire, have been in two of the largest wholesale houses in England, Foster, Porter & Co., and Bradbury, Greatorex & Beal, London, and Messrs. J. & D. Lewis, of Montreal. For weeks previous to taking down stock, we were occupied in measuring gpods, taking the lei^gth and selling price, the cost price was on the goods, doji bapdto^ the stock ftpm the ^xturfi8}^pd|^Te it to one who stood • r4 '■'I I m : 44 by Mr. Morison, who took down the price and number of yardi, wbieb be called to me in tbe lower story ; another young man stood next to Mr. Morison, and checked bim if he made any mistake in price and quantity, and handed tbe goods to another, who placed them on the shelves again. Anything sold off a piece of goods, previous to the final stocktaking, was marked on tbe ticket. At tbe stock taking, the shop was closed, and business suspended. If a piece of goods was found without a stock taking ticket, it was passed into a box to be measured. The stock books are plain books of paper, ten or twelve pages. In stock taking, I wrote down the yards and price, if there had been aoy error in tbe statement of quan- tity and price, as the goods are passed to a clerk, be would have checked it. There was no possibility of a mistake, or of goods being taken twice. The stock sheets were headed Cloths, &c., but each article was not enu- merated. Tbe numbers of these stock sheets were consecutive, and they were extended after the stock taking. The stock taking was a short time previous to the fire ; all bands were kept in from 6 at night on an average, till 2 o'clock in tbe morning ; I have left at 5, at 6, and 8, in the morning. I wrote down tbe stock downstairs with Mr. Morison. Tbe second story was taken by Mr. Empey and Mr. Neal. I believe they also took the upper story ; I never lived in a store where there was so much uniformity of system, there is a fine of 7id for putting tbe price before the number of yards ; up to 2:^, tbe price is put in pence, and a fine for not doing this ; if yards are omitted after the number, the same ; and if in measuring, tbe ticket is left on the counter, instead of being pinned on tbe collar of the clerk measuring, there is also a fine. I have not tbe shadow of a doubt that the goods entered into the stock books, were in the store previous to the fire. After I serve a customer, I make out a bill, which I get another young man to check, having found my bill correct, I enter the amount in my book, which checks the cashier's book ; I then write on a ticket my number, and tbe amount of tbe sale ; I then call cash to the shopwalker, who receives tbe amount, and takes it to the Cashier, after my loudly announcing tbe amount; the Cashier sits in the centre of tbe store, and files my ticket on a file for the purpose, and enters tbe amount in his book before be gives change. The shopwalker receives tbe change and brings it to me, I check it, and give it to the customer. By this means, my book checks the cashier's, and tbe tickets on the file must tally with both. Thus a perfect check is obtained of all goods sold. We had a very heavy stock previous to the fire, heavier than we ever had before ; tbe trade of the summer previous had been slack. Tbe goods were put on tbe shelves endways, by which we put in three piles into a shelf, and this was universal in the whole establishment, there was not a particle of available space that was not so occupied. Starting from Laurie's, where the ft^re originated, were kept Paramattas, Alpacas, Merinos, and Dress Goods, in M-i U'. 45 the drawers, haberdashery, &c. The day before the fire, a large qiiint% of silk was brought up from the lower story, to bare mantles cut off, a Tery large quantity was brought up for this purpose ; thus, for instance, forty yards might come up, from which but four or five were cut. Mr. Morison frequently took such goods up at night for this purpose. The night previous to fire, the painters were there to paint the shelves ; the greater portion of the goods were taken out of the shelves, and the others turned round, so that the shelves would still look as full. There were always piles of gocds on the floor. The piles taken from the shelves reached up to the ceiling, in as compact a state as possible, and as tight as in a packing case, and holding twice the amount of ordinary piles. Many of these goods were Paramattas and Merinos, worth from 4s. to 10s. per yard. The stock was worth, before the fire, about £46,000. I left at half-past eleven, before the fire, two hours after the painters ; the Plaintiffs wished them to atop all night, but they left because they could not get any refreshment stronger than coffee. When I returned the next day, the goods piled up were a mass of rubbish. I have no doubt the stock taking of the year, established the real amount of stock in the premises. The night before the fire, a quantity of ribbons arrived which were taken to the upper floor to be marked off. The most valuable goods were on the second flat. There were sometimes 4,000 bonnets on the stand; there was the largest stock we ever had, on the premises, at the time of the fire ; none were saved. I have no doubt that the goods I saw piled up in the second story, were burned in the fire. There was a clock, not near the shelving or goods, fully fifteen feet in the centre of the stairs. We had a large stock of furs over the bannister of the stairs ; very valuable furs. One drawer would hold 100 mantles, worth on the average, $10 each. We had mantles worth £12 10s., and shawls worth £10 to £15. I saw shawls very much burned. There was a strict watch kept day and night after the fire. We were divided into parties of three, until the underwriters had got through taking stock. The young man who sells the most each day, gets Is 3d, and each week 2i 6d, and at the end of the year, the highest salary. We imported largely by the Cunard Steamers, in the month of December, as much as 30 cases at the time. The Stock was taken by the valuators after the fire, in the same manner as before, it was taken a second time to ascertain if the first was correct, by the order of the Insurance Company, the difference was about 183 on £20,000. The last was taken by the clerks without the partici- pation of Morison, Cameron, and Empey. We scrupulously measured every thing sent to Benning and Barsalou that was measurable ; much could not be measured, for instaace, the hut ends of pieces of Merino at lOs. per yard, and others burnt sideways, half through, these were chiefly • 4& r ■ , .1:- . ;:iri i; on the M<6iU Street ride; I am not sarprised that Xhttf^ wtt £16000, aninvoiceable, I have no doubt tbat there was that quMttly deetroyed; Cross-examined.— 1 wrote down into the Stoek sheet at the St;ecktalring of 1855 in ttie lower itorjr, 1 filled 15 or 16 stttclt sbeete; I do net reMieril- ber the names of tbe youn^ men wbo assisted. 1 bitt€ beeft itf Pralntifflr employment four years. 1 was not confined toth« Lower story ; I was M mueb in the one as tbe other. In the lower sbdp, the gtfods were glofetj hosiery, whitti shirtings, faney trimmings, peaKs, and ftabei^isbery, ttiMtf were tbe most important. In tbe drawers thd retail steck Of haberda«bery^ In the rear, prints only ; in tbe drawtei^, plain muslins ; ori the other sid«, colored eobourge and faney delainel, plain F^encih delaines, and colored Freneb Merinos; and the dra«^«rt under, netts^ and comatotthtteli In the draweii(>6diid tbe counter^ ribbotis and silks ; tbesii were the tttlt I ba?e ennmerated. Tbe valae of this in the LoWHr Story I sfaAiaW Mil about £16,000 at selling price, or £12,000 cost:, On tbe second stoty, nlsxt to Laurie's, on tbe sbelvHlg, tbet« «aBBIaek French Merittos^ Blaek Paramatlas, Black Henriettas-, Cobourgs, Alpaeca$> Silk Wat'lustres, Watered OHeans, Figured Serges, Fr«niih Delaiae ; lar|^ assoiliKtent of monming Dry Goods ; this was caRed the' ibbttiing departmttdt ; hi t%nd story ; each either had a separate depart- meht, or assisted in it. The PlaintifTs nevier Sold dn credit except Where the clierks was responsible for it ; that is the rule. The night of the fire there w^ a large pile of goods on tbe floor near the chimney, about 4i^ feet by 5 feet high, I do not reinember its cohtents ; it ui^aaily stood there I ani not aware that there was a case of shawls anopfehed. Several case csm^ in that night, and one casis of ribbons Was opened. I sWear thosi^ ribbons weris ht>t eilrried down stairs that night. They were placed on title side next Nichol's, near the sweep of tbe well — I should think its value was £80,-1 think the bulk of them was left up stairs, one or two cartoons might have gone down stairs. I assisted in the stock taking of 1854, also below ; the stock books were nambered in rotation, independent of tlie -3- I I m / 48 • paging, I belieye, in both years. I do not recollect of the stock sheets in 1864, being marked at the head with the advance, it is not necessary, u the entries are made in the advance price. I assisted in 1853 also. 1 do not remember the amount in each year. I have never thought of the value of the stock until now, my estimate is a guess from memory, and it may be thousands less or more. I would unhesitatingly swear that the stock books represents the actual value in the store. We occasionally sold small wholesale lots of goods, with a discount of ten per cent for cash. /« >.. Patrick M<6uirk sworn.— Is a clerk in the Silk Department of Morison, Cameron & £mpey : in the stock taking, helped to measure and mark the goods. At night helped to hand down the goods, regularly from the top to the bottom all round the store. In my department nothing could have been set down in the stock book wrong without my noticing it, in quantity or value. Many of the silks in my department were taken up stain the night of the fire ; after the fire I found many of my goods missiog which I never saw again. The greatest value of goods was on the second story. The goods were set in endways all over the store, and there were piles on the counters and floor. Before I left, the night of the fire, the clerks up stairs were engaged in taking down goods and packing them on the floor and ttie counters, the next morning these were all missing, destroyed, the remains on the floor in places three feet deep. I left the evening Mire at half-past nine, and saw the clock going at that time. I called off the stock to sa> tisfy the valuators at the second valuation for the insurers, enumerating the articles, which had not been done before. I called off from window to window ; Mr. Morison told me to do it, but did not interfere with me, we came within 18s. of the previous stock. I am satisfied that at the regular stock taking all the articles in my department wer9 correctly taken, and in the same manner as in former years. ^' ^ • "• --r s; =^y' v^:*^-' ' - ' Cross Examined. — At the second stock taking I have mentioned the goods were not remeasured, as the lengths were not disputed. The stock was always more correctly taken in Morison, Cameron and £mpey's than in Mussen's and others where I have lived. I should consider the stock on the second floor as equal to that of both the others. The Stock of Mr. Mussen is very valuable, and when I left him to go to Plaintiffs 1 expected to find theirs of an inferior value, but was surprised at its exceeding it ; his was three years ago, and their stock has largely increased since that time. Mr. Mussen keeps fifteen clerks. Plaintiffs about forty. 1 believe Plaintiff) have sold goods since the fire to the amount of about £45,000. „.; V SECOND DAY. ^ .,>m ..^ ^..^^ ^■^^:^^^.. Archibald McDonald, sworn.— Is an Architect and civil engineer, proves the correctness of the plan exhibited from actual measurements. ; . -1 49 .>/i)J)t.,/«;v.,:) >£• '}l'>r .,w:i Crou-examined. — I am not aware that (his plan shows the state of the bailding before the fire, of my owa kaowledge,bat from instructions given by Mr. Morison, the measurements were made. The Court here announced that since yesterday the Court House bad sunk two inches, and this particular room six inches, and that in all pro- bably it would be down before the trial was over, and advised gentlemen to keep off the centre of the floor. ' '."',", Thomas Betty, sworn. — Is a clerk in the employ of Plaintiffs, in the de- partment of mourning goods in the second story. Is aware that all the goods in this department were measured in the usual manner at the stock taking previous to the fire. The store was very full ; all the goods in my depart- ment were destroyed by fire. Corroborates the evidence of other witnesses as to the quantity of goods on the counters, floor and shelves. Left the store after eight the night before the fire. Mr. Morison sent for me at four in the morning ; these goods were all gone, and I have seen nothing of them since, but burned pieces. I watched the goods afrer the fire was ex- tinguished lest the fire should break out again, and after day light, I found delaines on fire. I have no doubt the stock was correctly taken at the stock taking before the fire. Cross-examined.— I cannot tell the exact value of the mourning depart- ment, it was very great. I have had 18 years experience ; without mea- suring my department I could not tell the value. Ths greater part of my department was destroyed, but little was left invoiceable ; the greater part was reduced to ashes and burned pieces. The fire commenced about Laurie's chimney, and the shelving was burned about there, and a good piece beyond. In my department, in the drawers, were stays, and other goods I do not recollect what. jEdouard Portevin, sworn.— Is a clerk in Morison, C. & £.'s in the cloth department of the second story, on Mr. Nichols' 8ide,is the chief of the depart- ment ; assisted at the stock taking. If Mr.^£mpey bad made any mistake in calling off the goods, I must have noticed it. All the goods were properly measured and ticketed, I have no doubt that the stock was cor. rectly taken. The night before the fire I made a large pile of cloths and cassimeres so high that I had to use steps to get on it ; I tightly packed it and two other piles ; these were valuable cloths, all the best. The next morn- ing these were nearly all destroyed. In the shelves I used to put in end- ways, ten or twelve pieces of goods ; all the shelves throughout the store were so filled. The shelving now erected is the same as before the fire. I could check any error made by Mr. Einpey in stock taking, 1 did so check an error of half a yard on a piece of cloth ; the clerk on the other side could have checked it, we were there for that purpose. I corrobo- rate the statement of Mr. Pape as to the ipanner of taking stock. I / 50 I ■ -j: 7,' have no doubt that an error of £100 in the whole could iioi bare Meiir^d. I have seen stock taken at Laurie'a and other placet I haVa IiTed| boVAe^r saw it done more carefully. ; y_^.^'^ ^ J ^'\!'">:. *^ ^ Cross-Examined.— The cost p^rfeeVu ndton' the' stolilr'ii^iMt.' The goods were entered on the stock sheets at the selling price. Hild' nothing to do with the entering the goods into the stodk sheets. The adtth^n was marked by Mr. Morison or some of the pat'tneri. I hair* beeta tea years in tbie business, but cannot tell the value of stock in my departOaient. I did not pack the sheltes on the night before the fire as to\\ at they could hold endways ; I have nerer told any one that I did to. One pile of cloth was put near the back window on a table ; this pile was 6 or 7 feet hi|^ the table was filled ; I was obliged to use the steps ; the tecohd, round the well on the counter, endways, five or six feet high. The table wat ibout a yard and a quarter wide but much longer. The third pile was on the floor, rery high, arranged endways ; tbit ttoiod near the office, and the bonnet ttahd. I cannot tell the ^ize of thtt pile, or bow arrtoged. I went into the ttore, the morning aftef the flrel about half-past 8, and near^ all these piles we're burned ; 1 cannot tett the proportion. I did not tee a piece of those on the counter left the next morning' ; there wat a gr^at qtnu tity of athea, but I cannot tell if they were the rem'aint of my olothsl I did not see the clothe pUeed neaf' t*'^ oflke, the next momiag; 1 hare never seen any of them since. Re-Examined. — Mr. Morison hs ing to do with making Uie ttoek tickets, but only the original ticket. There wat never a leeond price made In the Establishment. In removing the goedt the night pretibnt'tji the fire, T put as much lengthwayt as I could into the shelvet^ td m fq leave sufficient room for the painters to work without aolKug'thiml I made the tame ttalement tt'tlila to Mr. Oeddet, when ioferdgABxeniAn- Edward Bernard, tworn.— Has be«n thred yeiirif Cti^k fh'jlDf. C.'&'£f.>$ in the email ware and haberdashery, in th^ eediATa a^d thiJfiPi/lfdfieiV The stock was taken in the third stcry, at 76 peV eebt ob tisif lit»rKl7|: l took every package In my departiili/4'bi and niiiltlti it, tnfostif !^'cfri'|/Mfil packages unbroken, every brokeb package 'v^a^'iii'e4^tifycr'ok''b61Sdi( orders were to be very particulalr; we ha'dfihes to ttJ^Ki'US'iS.' ihif^ no doabt that the stock in my department wU^ ed^ry^tl^ t'iikbfiJ TbeilUl! was taken by me with any clerk I called; «irVdid't^ ihM'tiiiAWir tUtfV the rest was taken. The moi^i valiiabte jiH' 6t vaf siock 4)ii 6n m second story, very valuable fribgfcs and tHtt'^1ti|ss. I Uii l^^fdfii't^e'Hi^,' at half-past eleven, turning out the ligiili, and le^vli^gf vi'ith Mh TAdiiM' who always left last, locking the doors hiiiilelf vi/tiUti in iHirti. Vfi liilff been marking new goods the night of the fir^ ; ik^ J^iHtili tU Iflfi'w^ w time befdra. I helped to moTn goods that night, and law the piles of goods about, I could not say the height. The goods were all put in the shelres endways before the Are. The small wares were marked and sold at wholesale, but many went downstairs and were sold at 100 to 110 per cent on the sterling. 1 came to the store the morning after the fire, and saw a great amount of damage, I took goods out of which three fourths were homed at the back part of the shelves. Of the goods round the well some of them were burned in the very centre of the piles, these were cloths; of the mourning department, so little was left that they were hardly distin. guishabte. The stock of 1854 was £28,000, (hat of the year of the fire was much greatef as we had more goods and business had been dull ; I don't know the ra.\te at the time of the fire exactly. Cross-examined.— I had any young man I called to assist me in taking the stoiek. I do not recollect exactly who. Both the cost and the selling price were marked on the packages in my department. My department Was not the only one on that floor ; I cannot tell the value of my depart- ment. I hetii that the stock of 1854 was ^£28,000, 1 believe both before and after the fire. I believe I asked the book-keeper myself. 1 have been out of the establishment shortly after the fire. Thomas M ^eal, sworn.— Was Plaintiffs book-keeper at the time of the fire ; left them on the 1st May, 1855. I prepared the blank stock books, twelve pages, numbered 1 to 45, the pages running consecutively. The day before the first of March, Mr. Empey and I went to the third storyj and be called and I wrote, most of the goods were arranged so as to be taken without moving. The goods which were not taken were thrown out into another room, and taken after ; also some carpets were measured aferwards. The stock was correctly taken. Witness corroborates the manner of stock taking as deposed by Pape and other witnesses. The price and quantity were marked on stock sheets, and sometimes the articles, but not aliivays. I am certain that any error must have been detected by the clerks assisting and standing by ; I extended the stock sheets, or I checked them ; I have no doubt of this, they were then added up ; the ad- ditions were checked by myself or others, always passing through two hands ; they were then entered by me into the recapitulation book, thus book one, page one, and then book two, page thirteen ; the amount of each book is also extended. The paper produced is a copy made by me from the recapitulation book. After making the deductions the stock was worth at 50 per cent on the sterling £41,250, 16s 8d. This is the copy I handed to Mr. Chapman'for the Insurance Companies, at six in the evening, about a week after the fire, about the 13tb of April. This recapitulation sheet was sehtin answer to a requisition from Mr. Chapman for it; it was not com- pleted at the tilde of the fire, I wtis ctrecking the additions and entering / \\\ :ii m m \ t-i 52 tbem in the reeapitulatian book, I left some on my desk the night before 'the fire after entering them, the rest were in the safe. I took then^ one by one from the safe to enter, and once entered they were left o^ the desk) I cannot conceive how there could be any mistake in entering them. Mr. Empey checked them afterwards page by page with me. A considerable quantity of goods were received between the stock taking and the fire. On the lot of March 1855, I am prepared to swear there was in the store goods to the amount of £41,250 at cost price, 50 per cent on sterling. I have no doubt of this. This is a statement of the Cash Sales made by me from the cash book, between March 1st, and the fire amounting to £3,764 15s 2d ; the cash book is taken from the daily sales book ; I am prepared to swear to the amount being corre-t. There were goods received between the time of the fire and March Is! ; taken from invoices in the safe, the amount was ascertained by me, in all £2,845, 83 6d. I helped to take thf stock after the fire both times, it was exactly in the same way as before • at the second time the Insurance Valuators asked us to take it specifying the articles, it took three times as long; the difference of valuation by the two stock-takings was about 19s. I left between 8 and 9 before the fire, the clerks bad then began to take down the goods, I saw some around the well, and the pile of cbths described by Mr. Portevin. I went to Mr.Mait- land's office with Plaintiffs, taking the remains of the stock^books, and they were left there. I recognise the gentleman in court; this was a few days after the fire ; the office was in the Place D'Armes. For some time after the fire I supposed the stock-sheets were saved, until some were found missing, which I recollected to have left on my desk on the night of the fire. The books were numbered consecutively from 1 to 32 — then, by a mistake, a clerk took No. 45, the pile having been reversed and con- tinued on. This accounts for jumping from book 32 to 45. I remarked that it had happened to Mr. Empey, and asked him if I should alter the pages, and he said No. One was afterwatds used for a recapitulation book. 1 discovered this on making the extension. The morning of the fire, while it was going on, I met ooe of the young men with part of the books, I went and got a carter to carry them to Mr. Empey^s bouse, I lef' them there, and afterwards worked at them at his house. After re- turning from Mr. Empey's, I saw fire in the third story, goods were burned there ; shawls were handed down fron the shelves on the M'Gill Street side of second story, on fire on the side next the wall, and I dipped some in the water. The fire appeared to have run round at the back of the goods. This was after the firemen had left, some time before day ; 1 recognize this paper to b« a valuation of saved stock, made by Mair and Roy, to the amount of £20,013 2j 7d. ; they checked them ; the valuators were very particular, and took things that were not usually taken. I -I , . •7 i- ;•/ 53 went to the Insurance Office, and was examined by the Insurance Agents ; they had then the stock books ; I gave them what information I could. The Talues were true, but I could not distinguish what the kinda were. Before the fire, there was a case in the store without an invoice, which bad come throagh the Custom House without an entry; it might have been gloves, Mr. Empey told us not to open it till the invoice came, and duty paid on it. The gtas8 of the inkstand in my office was melted, and the tin invoice-holders were all crumpled up. The weekly wages for making up dresses and mantles were about £60 ; there were also goods out manufacturing, these goods were entered in tbe stock books after the fire. Mr. Empey sent Miss Robertson round to ascertain tbe amount in the bands of the work people. There were 40 clerks in the establishment. Cross-examined. — I do not remember the precise day on wbich ibe stock- sheets were taken to Col. Maitland's, whether it was before the 1st of May. My examination was a few days after this. I entered each book in my Recapitulation as soon as it was properly extended and checked. 1 began to extend the book afterwards, on the Recapitulation, as ihey were finished, without regard to number. Every sheet was checked before enter- ing. I made sure they were right fif st. I cannot tell what number of books I left on the desk on the night of tne iire ; theie might have beeasix or only three. I do not know how many stock-sheets 1 bad entered at that time, or on that day. I tbink the whole number was 36. iSome of those I bad en- tered, I think were put in the safe before the tire. The stock-taking was finished 1st March, and from that time I was engaged portions of the time in entering and checking tbe 8tock-sheeis« I recollect that I lett some on my desk ; these were those 1 hnd been occupied at on that day. I was called down to convert an invoice from sterling, and forgot tbem. 1 did not recol- lect this tiOtil I found some were missing: portions of them were found burnt. I numbered the stock-sheets myself from 1 to 45, besides paging tbem. I tbink I left stock-sheets on my desk two or three times, and they were pot away by Mr. E^npey. I left after eight ; I left Mr. Empey there to lock up the office and the safe ; I do not remember altering the number of pages of the stock-books ; I might have done so to correct an error; I was careful. Each book contained 12 pages. The rates of advance marked on this recapitulation sheet sent to Mr. Chapman, I was told to put on by Mr. Empey. The stock was taken at the selling price. Tbe figures on the head of the stock-sheets was to distinguish them. The pencilF"); oa this paper looks like Mr. Empey 's; they are not mine. (Tbe Defendants file the original stock-sheets.) I recognize them, and the recapitulation- sheets, and the pieces of burnt ones also. Tbe mark 100 on the top of this sheet is to distinguish the goods in it from the 75 ; the goods are sup- posed to be marked at that advance, bat do not average that ; also on the / m 54 reamant I see the same mark. I recogDJze this figure 21 on this sheet as mine ; alio the No. 11. I do oot reineinber when T saw bained jremnants for the first time ; I think the day after the fire, .t the store, or at, Mr. £mpey's honse. The safe, 1 think, contained all the books in use ; of the others, two, a journal and ledger, were on the top of 4be safe, fhe body of the writing in this recapitulation-sheet is mine ; the pencil marks and snmmings in red ink are not; the word recapitulation and figures ou the top look like Mr. Empey's. I can't point out the figures of the amount of fixtures from this book £798 15s Id ; if i uad the sheets I think I could. I have examined the sheets aad cannot find them. I can't say whether I entered these burned books into the recapitulation book the day of the fire, but am not sure. They were entered from time to time as I bad finished them. I checked them all, the acionnt jjind addition. 40 times 7^ is 2ds ; I find it entered in this burned book at j£2JS. It is my extension, and has been checked by some one else. I presume it has be|^n added up so. 1 am sure this is one of the stock-sheets which I entered into the recapitulation-sheet. This docuipent is an affidavit made by me, and this is my signature, sworn before Mr* Labadie. (Affidavit put in.) The affidavit was drawn by Mr. Robertson. I did not intend to state some things said here of the stock-sheets. [ identify the figure thirty-six in the recapitulation sheet. The mark on the head, 75, means an advance of 75 on the sterling cost, but the mark of 100 does not necessarily follow that this is an advance of 100 per cent. Mr. Empey told me to put this rate on, and I put it on it: the entry on the original sheet, 87^^, is in. Mr. Empey 's hand— I had nothing to do with it. This 87^ in pencil on sheet 26 are not mine, nor do I know them ; the meaning is, tnat the goods average this advance ; the 75, was a specific rate, but the 100 was a mere distin- guishing mark of different rates. 1 have no recollection of telling any one otherwise.— Mr. Geddes enquired this of me, and I directly told him it was merely a distinguishing number. Those not marked were taken into the recapitulation sheet at 87^ per cent ; books 26,^23, 2, are of these. Re-examined.— With respect to the error of £25, it is an error which may have been deducted from the foot ; but, if an error, Morison, CameroQ & Empey knew nothing of it. There are several classes of goods, but in some departments there are goods which are at different advances, and this mark 100 was placed on the stock-sheets to distinguish the mixed depart- ments; the other advances were actual; this one had nothing to do witb the actual advance. These that have no mark are of departments con- taining exclusively goods of 87^ per cent. In the affidavit I speak cer- tainly of the numbers of the stock books ; I did not intend to do this, but merely to say that these were missing, and, I supposed, must hav^ been left on my desk the night before the fire. ' r ? , , ' T ", " in / 55 J. 61^ Mackenzie, ^wprn. — I am acquainted with tbe plaintiffs and have known tliem someyearaj am a Director of the Sqnitable Insurance Co., one of the defendants, I am not aware of what the Company has done with regard to tbe withholdidg the books of accounts of plaintiffs. 1 am not prepared to give an opinion as to the propriety of the proceeding. I ..have sold to them befipre and after the,fi/e, from the day they .commenced business ; I had a high opinion ot Mr. Morison. I have sold them since th« fire to the amount of j62,(KX), half of wtucb is^£|id j plaiatijs,i)f 4. a large stock previous to the fire. •] ■; r :> : *? -^^ stf it,.^,.r . f^ , r- r 'Cross-examined.— About thirty thousand pounds is a large stock, I should call Mussen's that, and Benjamin's forty thousand. '-.:,, s„ . Mr. Itufford, sworn.— 'I am an Accountant, largely connected with busi- ne^ 21^ year^, and was onrtitte a mieraberof the Imperial Parliament.— '■it have ^en engagdfiittce February last in investigating the accounts of ^plaintiffs'. Apipfiftfations were made to ^defendants for tbe Account Books, %hicfa were necessary for the elucidation of their affairs, which we did not obtain. (The witness here entered into an elaborate statement of the affairs of tbe Plaintiffs, the same as given in tbe opening address of Mr. Rose, and distailed the Oiethod by which the results were obtained, and o^e statement verified by another.) liie books from which I bad to pre- pare these statements, wei-e tbe Cash Book down to the time of tbe fire, and thO Journal and Ledger from tbe Ist of May, 1864. I have bad in my possession the sterling invoices of the purchases up toiBSOO; I have also seen' a Custom House cienificate, which comes to within Xl,fiOO, and if the Custom House makes its advance at par to an equal sum. Fifiy-two or three per cent advance is about the cost of tbe goods imported by tbe plaintiff" I am aware that tbey imported goods by the Cunard Steamers by bilh charges passing through my hands. I start 00 tbe basis of the stock, 1st May 1864, previous to that tim*^^ I dd not the books. I took a letter from Mr. Em-^^^y to Mr. Glassford, equesting the books for investi- gatioUj, from tbe Insurance Compan ', a message came in two days that we ibuld not have them, x'he balance sheet shows, that in April, 1856, the {daintiffs had a stock worth £42,000, bes' ^es over j£3,000 of profit. I bad to test this in several ways as the only data I bad, wanting the books. I marked off and compared the Foices of purchases between the stock- taking and the fire, with their sales, and the total amount of tbe stock on the night of the fire was £41,061 6s 5d, of cost. These statements have cost me months of labor, and I an) nr ctly satisfied that they are correct. Assuming that the stock in 1854 correct, then tbe amount of goods iii the store at the time of the fire was fully equal to that claimed. I produce all |i|ie accounts, invoices, and customs receipts, which have been examined tnd tested by me. I have the bulk of the notes that were liabilities at tbe y '■ Si' ^56 time of the fire in my possession, all that are paid, I have traced them all. As an experienced accountant I say these results are the true ones, which appear from their books, and I have no doubt they are. > Cross-examined.— I predicaiu all my statements upon the assumption - that the balance sheet of May, 1854, is correct. By adding the amount of the purchases in March and April of the same year to the stock account, ' and deducting the cash sales, I found the amount of stock on the 1st May, 1854. The result is within £10 of the balance struck in May. There - was nothing off for profit on the sales of March and April. The goods purchased from May 1st, 1854, to the night of the fire, I ■ checked the invoices with the entries in the Journal, the sterling ptir- chases were to February 28, 1855, £25,470 Is Td— £30,988 9i 9J at par of 9^ per cent. The American purchases were £360 18^ Id, without Uie c advance of 15 per cent ; goods purchased in town, £5,243 13s 2d, exclu- sive of cash purchases ; £3,000 by estimation by invoices and bills pay- able. 1 had vouchers for all these purchases. I estimated them by repre- sentations of the parties, if they are not purchases, they are charges. I had some invoices and memorandums. I have included interest and discount in the charges. The shipping charges were £1,496 ; agents chargeM £1,100; duties over £3,000. (Account Books belonging to Plaintiffs put in by De- fendants.) This Journal terminates in September, 1853; this book would not have aided me ; the Ledger produced would have done so in my ia- vestii(&tion of the affairs of 1854 and '5. Of the foreign invoices some are duplicates, but most are original, and nine-tenths bear the Custom House stamp. I did not ascertain by this stamp whether these goods bad been taken into stack at the time of the fire, many of them are very faint. I can furnish the details of the £3,000 estimated as cash purchases ; there is about £1,000 for mantua making; the Cash-book states Goods Dr. to Cash, so that I cannot tell the precise articles. There was a few bills from Laurie's and Morgan's, and other shopkeepers where they sent for goods which they bad not ; I had some bills to the amount of £700, and I believe that the sum of £3,000 was thus had either for merchandise, or it was for charges. I am quite satisfied of this. I have verified the amount of sundries unsettled exhibited to me, d£3,732, being the last item in the goods account, and found the unsettled account, £3,400. This difference is in Plaintiffs favor, making the cost of the goods more than I had allowed. , ,, ., .. .. .4.,.. -, ,.-^-:v,^v.; -^ .- ,v-:, ^^^•y^^^: ^:■^■i■^■,^i^<:;r,^^^i:, ;,:..;, James Court, sworn. — I am an accountant, I have been employed 8 or 10 days, verifying the accounts of Messrs. Morison, Cameron andEmpey, assuming the same things as Mr. Rufford has done ; I have come to the game conclu on, and I believe them to be substantially correct. I have If IX 67 •een nothing in these account! either fraudalent or wrong, and no greater errors than will ordinarily be found ; I find their stock at the time of the fire to be £41,250. I have verified all Mr. Rufford's statements, and cor- ri>Liwrate them ; we have checked the liabilities with the bills, and the cheques to pay them in Canada at the time of the fire, and find them correct, with the exception of two, said to be yet outstanding. I believe the accounts to be bona fide. The sterling bills we have checked and compared in different ways, and I have no doubt it was also a bona fide liability. I have also checked the statement of open accounts with the evidence put before me, and I believe it to have been due at the time ; I have minutely examined the invoices from Feb. 1854, to Feb. 1855, I find invoices to within £100 of Mr. Rufford*s statement, his being in cur- rency, and mine in sterling. I have examined the validity of the in- voices as genuine documents, by various evidences, internal and other- wise, deductions for packages, addition to convert sterling into currency, the checking of the goods, and the custom house stamps, and I am satis- fied that tbey are what they pretend to be. Some of the goods were in the store Ist March, and these had ought to go to the purchases for 1854 ; and on enquiring, I was informed that the system of the firm is not to charge goods until paid for, and these were deducted from the stock book of that year. Generally I verify Mr. Rufford's statements assuming the balance sheet of May, 1854, to be correct. I had no idea of the magni- lode of the establishment of the Plaintiffs, until I commenced this inves- tigation. I entered upon the examination with a bias against these gen- tlemen, from the opinion of many friends of that opinion, and 1 say solemnly, having carefully examined everything, that 1 see nothing sub- stantially wrong in their statements. I have verified the daily sales book. ' . , ., - Cross-examined. — £ did not ascertain whether the fixtures were in- cluded into the stock of 1855. I first verified Mr. RufTurd's balance sheet of May, 1854, by the Ledger, and have since verified the stock ac- count to March 1854, and found it within the estimate, to £9. It was not necessary to make my deduction for profit, and it was not done in this estimate. About half the invoices have Custom House stamps, the in- voices immediately previous to the fire, have nearly (.11 the Custom House marks. John Spiers, sworn. — Is an Accountant, I have examined the state- ments produced and testified to, by Mr. Court and Rufl'ord, I have no doubt that the value of the goods in the store on the night of the fire, was of the value claimed, provided the balance sheet of May 1854, be correct. The bills previous to Feb. 1854, for that year paid, as checked by the Ledger produced by Defendants, are £12,000. Assuming the balance, / ,]^hat of ftlay J854, ta ba cwr?pt, and ta]^og,,t{ie ,9,^hWj^ai^ter9 fojp^^oe- Uf:efation, I have no do^bt the stock in tl^e p|f njiiiaa oii,|b« jb|||;bi; pf Jbe firei was of the value clain^pd. Cross-examined.— I corroborate Mr. ^pjarJ^'s^tfitiUinony with, t^J^- tr^yed goods, mostly on the north side. Cross-examined.— The damage in the loirpr jtory iraa chiefly, by water and smoke. The second stpry w>smach bur^^d>,lsaw.W(K^len.ai^,|fiik burned to a crisp. 'riRt'i^/**. ■fum-^i ;.*4}-ri^fe;»'. ^ ik^- j^i ^,/«.:r-.i'u'>« ,H. A. Glassford, sworn.— I^royes exhibits j Jlr. pavison,a«]tfA>'<*' !^* Fhoenix Insurance Company as a mtimber of the ,CQm,i|iit|tee.^p|ip|f)te4jto investigate the claim of ^orison, Cameron and ^mpey. IThe ConmiUf e cMtsisted of JMlessrs. Wood, Lunn, Olassford, and \¥hy4don. I hi^re beard nothing of a service of plate. The agreement of the agents of jlha. Companies was, that the majority of the Committee should, decide ^e question of paying the loss. The Cjompanies have paid over •^500 to Messrs. Geddes and Whyddon for the services in tbifi case, out of a com- mon fund subscribed by the companies, £300 to l^r. Geddes, and J^^ to Mr. Whyddon. I am aware that the Companies agreed to the valua- tion of the depreciation assessed by Mair and Roy. I recollect ^he amount sold JFor by Beoning and fiarsalou ; the money is to my credit in trust for the owner. The advertisement of this sale shown me, 1 dp npt think, was authorised by the Insurance Agents. I presume the gpodis were sent to Benning and Barsalou's by the appraisers, jointly named by the Plalntifis and the Insurers. The tender of, the money, arising from the iiale at Behhiiig and Barsalou's, was mad^ iifter the institution of ii^is James Benning— of the firm of Benning and Barsalou, sworn, tbe goods were sent from tbe Defendants appraisers ; we had communication with Mr. Glassford, the last witness, and Mr. Ganlt, Mr. Lunn, and Mr. Murray, the two former were the acting men. We recer<^<^|aiDtiffs premifiBi; in Jaoaary) I Ffil)ced tjirough the store with one of the partpers. 1 reiparlfed tbe size of the atO(;kf it was accpanted for by . tbe T'l^oi^/ra* T^be gopd^ were kept in, too small a space. The stock was rery be||Ty> and I remarked , that it vras a wonder they sboald keep so large a stock. I received i^o orders from , the JPlaintiffs regarding the sale of these gopds ; had the sfile gone on at the time first advertised, they would have sold for £500 I9pre,tiii«^r( they ,^)d. The sale w;a^ stopped by Itlessrs. Lnnn and Murray. : (Cross-examined.— The goods invoiceable were inroicedby the Pleintjffii. The advertisement was inserted, on the authority of Messrs. Glassford aotd Gault: i believe it was submitted to the m, but am not sure. James Ferrier sworn. — I am tbe owner of the premises occupied by Plaintiffs. I was in tbe store-house shortly before the fire, and observed the premises were very full. The store was very crowded, and one of the part- ners asked me if I could get a piece of ground to build larger premises. He showed the daily sales to be for cash £250 to £300 a day. I am aware they gite do credit, not even to my family. I was there tbe morning Of thfii fire. I Went to see tbe cause of the fire : tbe whole, shelving round the second flat were burned and the goods on them charred : the fire seemed to have acted all around. There was an immense mass of burned goods on the floor. Tbe stair railing was destroyed, and tbe counter round the wel] was burned, and the goods on it either burnt or lying among our feet. Cross-examined. — Tbe larger portion of tbe fixtures below stairs are mine, those above belong to Plaintiffs. , . ->«<«'«:">-« «T<«.n William T. Kay, sworn. — Had the superintendence of Benning & Bar- salou's establishment at tbe time of Plaintifl's fire ; there were brought 25 loads to our premises, part were put iiiside, part in the front, part in the back yard ; in tbe last place were put 6 loads sold for £24, in tbe front tbe four loads we had to pay to take away. It is impossible to estimate tbe value of these by their appearance ; they were utter ashes. Tbe invoiceable goods were very valuable, a general assortment. The goods sold for £1,090. The sale was postponed to the 9th of May. H. L. Routb, sworn.— I am agent for the Royal Insurance which has a risk on tbe same stock as tbe Defendants are sued for. I havie examined the Plaintiffs claim as far as I could ; I saw tbe statements of Mr. Gedd^s, and Mr. Whyddon. I never heard of any service of plate to Mr. Whyd- don. The Royal Insurance Company has contributed pro ratatowardis the expenses of Messrs. Whyddon and Geddes ; I have every confidence in these Gentlemen. I have never desired to settle this loss apart from the other Companies. --^- -■■ '•J m 1 60 mi-m ■);. 1^ i. '• By the Court.— The statements of Messrs. Geddes and Wbyddon, of which there were several, were seen by moi and were in the possession of the Compaoies some time before the action was instituted. I know no reason why tbe objections to the claim should not have been communicat- ed to the Plaintiffii, but presume tbe investigation was not over ; 1 was in favor of arbitration. "' '^ " "" • ' ^^^' "" "■ Cross-examined. — I ^as in the premises of the Plaintiffs next day after the fire, and also on tbe same day. John Campbell, sworn.— I was in tbe Premises of the Plaintiffs on the night of tbe fire ; I got tbere just at the same time as the engines, the flames were then breaking out of the front window. I remained until tbe flames were subdued so as to allow me to enter. I saw J. A. Matbewson tbere and many others offering assistance. We got a lantern 1 went up stairs ; tbe cloths on the sidti next to Nichols' were burning on the shelves i tbey were taken down still burning, some pieces were burnt to the middle, and on the side next tbe wall we;e burning also. I saw shawls also burn- ing and taken down and dipped in water, in the front of tbe building near the bonnet stand. The accunnulption of the burnt goods on the floor was so great that the water was dammed up above my knees. The gas chan- delier fell in the well from the heat although some feet from tbe shelving. I went up stairs with Mr. Matbewson and searched for, and helped to put out the fire on tbe third flat, this was two hours or two and a half after I got there. Case for Plaintiffs closed. Court adjourned. \}K \/ , , . . . .. ■ * T ' ,-4 t' ^ »/»' iii '!.7 ,;i ■. S et.;' M^j-! « *■!# ^ ' n ^ an addition of je700 to their stock. This item of £700 thus gained may not have been inteoded as a fraud before the fire, but it became so afterwaras by the claim being based upon it. There is another significant faci as connected with these stock sheets — the l6 saved average about JC1,UOO of valuation each^ but the 17 missing average about £2,000 each, those that we cannot check are double the average of those we can. From the wit- nesses produced by Plaintiffs, clerks in their store who have been wiiti them tor years, nothing in the shape of an estimate of the stock t>e^ore the fire coiiM be got; they had abundance of information oh other subjiBCts, but when it came to this there was a stoppage. Mr. Pipe estimated the lower story at £12^000 which was near the mark, and he was the only man tbit^swore to a loss of £16,000 upon the second story ; but with tiie exception of his own department be is all at sea; he estimated the third story at £2,000 instead of £6,000, and the Attics £75 instead of £700, and did not estimate enough to cover the claim put in. The others would not • value of' guess anything. They believe the stock-taking to be peifectfy correct and the aniiounif of it undeniable in the gross, but when they aw, caUed upon to show how they arrive at this conclusion, and to test ttiB details^ they cannot cbhdesend to particularise, but deal in' genieraliiiies alone* Attempt to locate this imaginary stock, and value tbem department by departnient, and the thing wont work out ; they cannot account for half the goods reptresented to have been on the second story, and yet we were expected to pay it without a question. We find in these stock sheeis £796 of fixturiBS carried in with the goods, and although we had no insurance on fixtures, and they were paid for in other offices, yet this goes to swell this fuKus pocus of a claim against us. Fixtures are more liable to damage from fire than goods, yet we find that the loss on these was only a fourth of the value, while the claimed damage on goods at their own valuation is vastly greater ; although wood burns easier than wool, we contend that the stock sheet are utterly unreliable ; we have shown in them overcharges to the amount of £1,500 and probably there is more. The Committee of Investigation was not satisfied with these figures, and, to test them, made an effort to locate the goods. Stock*book No. 17 was put into Mr. Empey's hands, and he was asked to tell what the goods were upon tbat sheet, and where they were situated at the time of the fire. The answers made by him were of such an evasive and an unsatisfactory character, that one of the gentlemen malde the memorandum — " £mpey shirks." Foiled In the attempt to find what these goods were that had disappeared in rubbish and ashes, and then place in tlie inventory, Mr. Geddes set to work to go over the Invoices of importations, and thus attempt to verify th>3 stock- book. Mr. McKenzie has told yon that £30,000 is a very large stock for a retail Dry Goods establishment ; men of his stamp could not be got to m 11 jjU^j thi^t £40^000 was a probable stock forsucb a store. It suits the busi- ^. ness purposes of tbis firm to let f be clerks and others nhderstand bow eoor- ' dopus tbeir stock is, how much greater than that of Mr. A. or Mr. fi. ; it is a irick of the trade; theirs is an advertising House, which now and then ^ODpunces that it is selling off at 25 per cent below cost, not that 1 believe i^ does so as a rule, but durib^ the bad season of 1854, with an enormoos stbek, slow of Sl^lo* and witL a! necessity to obtain means to meet tbeir ecyiagements, I have no doubt that they did. Mr. Geddes in his attempt to verify the sto(;k of 1855, assumed that the stock shown as a balance in, ^854 was correct ; he added to this the amount of goods on the face of the invoices, and deducted therefrom the cash sales, less the assumed piofit, UQ^ the calculation broke down with a deficiency of £3,000. It has been sa^d that Mr. Geddes in this investigation discovered an error of £386 17s 6dJn fairpr of the Plaintiffs, for which they made an additional claim upon the 26tb of May ; the discovery was not ma4e by Mr. Geddes nor was be at all satisfied of its correctness. The stock sheets and balance of 1854 were no more reliable than that of 1855, and by estimating in these some sta(e;neat8 at cost price, and others at selling price, errors to a large amount WjBre made Id the sales between March and May, 1854, amounting to over £1,000. It has been said that Plantiffs did stricdy a cash business, and at fixed profits, upon which their final profit is predicted. Now, it will be shown that credit is given, and that ten per cent, is deducted to wholesale pur- chasers. This seriously interferes with the profit of one-fifth, whieh they start upon, which is the basis of all the calculations submitted to you as proofs of the amount of ctock in either years. The larger the apparent profit, the larger the estim#led stock on hand. The able and honest account- ants who were examined yesterday in support of this claim, have told you that these goods, estimated to cost them, laid down, £150 currency for the sterling hundred, in reality cost them from £152 to £153 ; therefore, to make this suppositious profit of one-fifth, they would have to sell their goods at an average of 90 per cent, advance, instead of at their average of 87}. If they did not do so, they never got this profit of one-fifth, and away go all these calculations. Admit all my premises, and I will prove anything. And this is the amount of the evidence of these gentlemen. Granting that the balance of 1854 is correct, and that the goods account of 1854 and '6 is correct, and the rate of profit correct, why, then, the stock in store on the night of the fire was £41,230. I don't deny it ; the calcu- lation is perfectly correct ; establish the truth of your data, and the results follow as they have been stated, as a mathematical demonstration. Bat we deny that any of the premises are true, and thereon the whole fabric built upon it crumbles down. Figures caa be made to lie tremend- A f m '^'.'.x^jiil'<^.(A -■ ^w .;'t ■ outiyi and (he man who accepts tbem as infallible is a great fool. The amended claim was fyled in Jane, fall of flaws, errors and Inconsisteneiesi and the books were called for to Terify and unrayel tbese contradictory statements ; end now, for the first time, we became aware that the old joar- nal and ledgsr were partially destroyed. Pages were missing from both, — tbe former barnt off, and others partially so. There was also a private ledger, with a lock, belonging to Mr. Empey, out of which he had giren the committee information which could not be found else- where ; and they asked for this too to aid them ii. clearing up matters which otherwise they had no clue to. Mr. £mpey demurred to giving it up, as a private book, which he would no more allow to be brought before a public meeting than a bundle of private letters, that it con- tained nothing more than was to be found in their perfect ledger. Now these perfect books, upon examination, we found to be altered ; to contain falsifications and erasures, with many leaves and pages abstracted. Tht casual glances which the Committee got satisfied tbem that instead of pri- vate memorandums, it contained information relative to the affairs of Mori - son, Cameron k Empey, to be found nowhere else. We have demanded the production of this book, and served a notice for it, but no doubt we shall have as much trouble in obtaining it as we had in getting at the amount of goods turned into ashes. Difficulties constantly multiplied about this in- vestigation ; whatever information was wanted had got burned, and every- thing that was particularly looked into crumbled away before our eyes. The books were so mutilated as not to explain themselves, and when we asked for iuformatioa we sometimes got an answer and sometimes not. There is no doubt that the chief part of this burden feH upon Messrs. Geddes and Whyddon. I'he stock sheets of 1863 were burned ; those of 1854 were in an unsatisfactory state from erasures. In order to check these, a goods account, from the commencement of their busi- ness, jvas required ; and on the 6th of July, a paper purporting to be an aoeount, Cr. Cash Sales and Dr. Groods Purchases, was put in. The accountants who had examined it will tell you its peculiarities. Almost as soon as it was looked at a glaring error was perceived, and the list was At an end>-knoeked into a cocked hat. Another was prepared to put in, and Plaintiff asked to be allowed to withdraw the first which was not granted. More was coming out about burned books, and on the 14th of June Mr. Whyddon wrote to the Plaintiffs for a statement of quantity, descrip- tion and value of all the goods burned into ashes, and a list of all goods and documents burned in the fire, and of any missing before that time. Apropoi of this last question, comes the answer, we lost no book or docu- ment previous to the fire. In the list of burned books now furnished were many of great importance. Much has been said about the statement re- 7S quired by Mr. Wbyddon of tbe deMription, quantity, and Talue of the goods totally consumed ; and it has been attempted to be represented as a demand for a thing which was manifestly impossible for tbe PiaintiA to supply— a document literally accurate. We nerer expected, we never asked for it ; all that we required was an aproximate statement, according to the terms of the policies issued by us ; the best eridenoe which the In- sured was capable of giving. There was no desire to entrap these unfor- tunate men, as they are termed by the learned Counsel ; we asked for no more than our perfect tight ; for what we have been labouring to obtain for months ; for let it be remembered that the written communications put in, form but a small portion of the correspondence. We were in daily, almost hourly, communication with the Plaintiffs, and all our efforts f:om the time of the fire had been directed to obtaining something like an ac- count of the enormous loss claimed, its quality, quantity and value. We had had calculations of all sorts ; accounts running back to tbe commence- ment of their business ; everything except what we wanted, ftive us a list, we said, of what was destroyed, as near as you can make it ; surely there was no trap in this, and no unreasonable demand. But, Gentlemen, this was exactly what the Plaintiffs did not want to do ; they did not dare to trust their case upon this foundation, and they do not do it now. The first goods account furnished was full of errors ; tbe second, called a corrected statement, differed materially from the first ; but the errors were greater, and there were radical changes in it, to which I shall refer hereafter. And now, when it became so necessary to us that we should be able to check and examine, and disentangle these contradictory statements, we found that these perfect books, as Mr. Empey called them, were imperfect, just where we required them. Great stress has been laid upon the efforts which the Plaintiffs made to supply us with information, of their anxiety, in spite of distrust, unjust suspicions, and the oppression of the Insurance Offices, to supply us with every possible explanation eoo- ceroing their affairs. If promises were of the same weight as performances, this would be literally true. When anything wai<; psked of them, we had an immediate reply, " Oh ! yes, certainly ; we will obtain it for you im- mediately ;'' but we never got beyond the promise to its consummation. They were like the son in the parable — he was always saying, "I go," but went not. We could get abundance of information that was of no use to us, and of calculations which we did not need. We asked for bread, and they gave us stoaes ; but the simple and easy reply, to be given infor- formation which we did need, we could not get. We told them to locate this loss, show us what this £16,000 of burned goods consisted, and how they were placed— make this apparent. We have had generalities enough with regard to tbe loss ; now let the truth come out— let the spear of Ithu- u I' ■) ri«iltoQeb;U»'*i>dJetapiiffiB>t|ie fa«ti. It bu bttn eq^pIaiQtd th«t, for iQQotlu, Wft kept back oar grouods of objection to this eUi'n, and that we al)oi)ld have put in specific reasooa and made specific requirements for proof* Tbis is a iqere evasion. From the moment that this claim was madoy it was known to the Plaintiffs that we were not satisfied with it — that we oonld not believe it possible, either, that they had such a stock) as they illegf d» in their possession, or had snffered ai|iy snch loss as they set op* We asked for proof of both ; the want of it was tbe sole objection to ita payment, at first. We had a right to know tbe particulars of tbe clajm w.e were called on to pay; we had a right to demand reasonable proof of i( i w* did not get it, and this was oar objection. Others arose after, and evf ry deoaiaod for information was a clear intimation of what we requirad. Goipplaints haTObeen made at Mr. Whyddon's enqoiries, and J)is rnde. napi No doubt, they came in coi^tact under painful circumstances— pain- ful to botb parties. It was not an enf iable ofi^e for Mr. Whyddon to- tell, apy man.^at he doubted what he said — that this claim was a fraudulent one, and^that the, books which were intended to support it had been altered, deffcjed, ibf^tractfd and mutilated. It is said that be endeavoured to en- trap iMr* Empey into swearing a false affidavit, and of being liberal of blandishments to do so. The party assured is bound by his policy to make one oath, w\:^n required, of a atatemeot of his loss, and the circumstances attepding it. These circumstances bad been stated to Mr. Whyddon again and again, by Mr.Empey, and the former more than doubted them ; he used no blandishments— if anything, it was bullying; there was neither blandishment or in^ntion to entrap ; the parties were not on terms of this kind—they bad already come into unpleasant coUiiiion. When Mr. Whydflon found out the imposition attempted to be practised, the disap- pearance of the stockrsheets and books, the abs^action of leaves from the books of account, the elaborate be-puzzling of what remained, and the mys- tery ,ot (bis little ledger and the doubtful explanations, be gave Mr. £m- pey that affidavit as a cbalUnge — he said to him, I test you; swear it. Do you call this entrapping; it cast down the gauntlet to him to verify these repeatad statements, and to give them an enduring form. The affi- davit was full of blanks. It was not asked of him to swear this, although it suggested his former statements ; he could alter it at his pleasure, and the notas at the aides pointed this out. Mr. Empey refused to swear it, and swore something else. What he refused to do is of very little conse- quence; what we have to deal with is, what be did depose to. There is thi«> approximate statement, too. After great pains to prove the impossi- bility of preparing, we get the thing; it is made, as it wasj on board a ateam^boat, when the Agents insipted that they would have it in black and white what was destroyed j but it was neither signed nor attested, nor if . Miii ^ it to^liii 4»jr. A,i^d tbat if all we have got except the burnt eoda of the damagejd |oods aold, aod set down ftt 20 per eent., of the raloe of ^804 lis 9^^in the shape of detail for the J616,Qpp that disappeared in this fire* What was there, ia ^be persistiog in the demand for this infor^Datioo, ex- traordinarjr or QDJust. Let any one look at this approximate itfitement and Bay ttl|it be belieres such a fire, so faint and da,ll, smoalderini for « few n^ini^tcs^ ppt aetiTe enpu^b to b^irn tt|9 ccfit^t^rsand the parti;iPB8*-t V|[,bicb left the shelTiog up anp the stairs unhurt, and plenty of goods unin- jured, utterly destroyed and swept away, without leaving a trace or ves- tige, but these apneryphal cartloads of rubbish, £16,500 of woollen cloths, bulky, inconsumable, and of no great value relatively ; if he can, 1 have done ^i^b it. After the Plaintiffs bad ^exhausted all their ingenuity in the concoction of t^is list, they were conjielled to add to it the small sum of i;(iQ9 for sundries that could not be forced otherwise. There was XlOO fojr pi|tr|tB9ls ; there might have been a few, but that amount is not likely. The great mus are bulky woollen goods, not inflammable ; goods that would not bum as fast as wood — that had been packed as close as tb^ could be, and thus protecting themselves. I say that it is perfectiy certain that nothing like the quantity claimed could have been destroyed, unless the whole building bad gone, too. We allege tbat the affidavit of Empey, which sets forth this loss and the extent of it, is not true ; and tbat the affidavit of Neil, relative to the burning of the stock books, we stamp as false, and procured by Plaintiffs for their benefit. Now, I come to the cir- cumstance of the books and stock sheets ; it will be proved to you that, the day after the fire, one of the Plaintiff stated to several witnesses tbat they were all saved; after a considerable time, we are told that some are burned ; then, more are missing, just as they were wanted. The stock sheets, said to be at £mpey'8 house in the booise of extension, have also disappeared, and the missing ones are just those that are required to verify the approximate statement. We are told that these were left out on the night of the fire, and not discovered to be lost until some time after. Tb'e statements made by Plaintiffs at different times, respecting these sheets, are as contradictory as possible. Then comes this dark, blue, private led- ger, so sedulously concealed, and afterwards defaced. The learned coun- sel for the Plaintiffs has threatened as with some terrible infliction on this bead ; alabotUuur, we shall traverse this somewhat, and shall not fear to fight this battle, if tendered to us. The reason why the specific objections to this claim were not made before, was simply because the investigation was not terminated, and the report of the Committee was not made until the 18th or 20th of September, after this action was instituted. Mr. Routh was mistaken when he stated in his evidence that this report was made bef ^, American Porchases . 369 18 1 ',u\ haJMTw a<> 9l i\v\ <;5sr» v.^^ ,»3C,ci'iiv-! vV;Mn^;^:^.'^< £3o968 3 o' ' ^'"''^' The rMumsgiven by the Custom itdnse, and wlbteti will be proved Irjf' lis officers, show only these amouhts :— . { BJujropean Parchases,. V. £37,378 17 9 ^^,.,. ^ ' ' Atnerlcan Parchases, 840 14 3 f' .J __— ■ "■;'' £27,919 16 11 Th'4 difl'erenei Witveen the two8tatementl,b^lng on this item alone £3,2^ 12^ 4d. And the Customs returns show also that within a very short time after, about a week, there was taken out of the bonding Warehouse an ambunt which would cover this discrepancy, or about £4,000. These g^ds bllon'ging of right to the following year. It was the same result Which had in the first place staggered B4^. Ge^des in his investifation ; he first came upon tbis mistake of j^l>06!^) tben this other of £8^ of ^oods i^b^ teebived iiito stock, yet' cai>fled to it, then ckme this' estimation olf prottts ki n: ■S 99 ■•■w - Mj,' ott«i.ftlth wbieh was biMd opon the ••rauptioo thtt tbeN g«odt eost tlMU •i) average adranee of 60 per cent oo the itirllof » wbea it was etldent'ti bin and bu been proved by tbeir own aceoontanta tbattbey itood tbem ib fl2 or 58 per cent, wbicb i bowed tbat even if tbejr told at an average advance of 87]^ per cent, wonld not bring oat tbe profit of one>fiftbon Wbieh all tbeae ealenlations are based. Now with regard to tble a^an^i the kind of biosiness done by tbe Plaintiffs, tbe bad season from tbe Cboleraj the neeeesity wbieh existed of a firm holdingi so heat^ a stock open a small eapttal to realize the means of meeting its current liabilities even at a sacri- fiee, ciMnbined to make it qaite evident that as regarded the operations of 1^64tf no such profit conid be presumed. Plaintiffs statement No. 8 is of the same kind, it is predicated upon unproved aasomptions, all of wblcb require to be granted to obtain the required result ; it is a repetition of tbe old joke of goin]g fh>m London to Westminster by way of York ; it extends to the transactions of all the years tbe Plaintiffs have been in business, sebi forth the gross amount of their purchases, deducts the total sales, adds to the result the Imaginary profit, and amount for depreciation, and brings oat a balance to prove a foregone conclusion. No dependence in to bis placed on this system of retrograde arithmetic. There are mistakes upon mistakes in ah these statements, and in all the accounts and calcoYalions on which they are founded. 16 the goods account of 1853, wie find tbe sum of £1,373 abstracted from its proper position as charges, and converted intb goods ; the corresponding item in that account, for which it is submitted being, £617 Ifis 9d, while the sane sum of £1,272 in tbe charges account so abstracted, remained still under its proper bead, and was carried on to the next page as charges, and added onto the final result of that accotint, £2,900, and ledgered so. When was this change made f Tbe alteration was clearly after the posting, and we shall prove it. The folio of the charges account lis 12, that of Goods 6, tbe figure 12 has been changed to 8 but the alteration is not completed, and bears over it a pencil entry of " Goods only''— £617 16s 9d ; it has been cboked to bring about the required result. Instead of the account being made up from the books, tbe books have been manufactured to fit the accounts. Other alterations and erasures have been made, other entries carried from tbe proper place, to swell the amount of tbe supposed stock, and to build up a foregone conclusion of an exaggeration, on which to erect tbe fabric of this claim, and to convince us that these stock-takings and balances, proving each other by a novel species of arithmetic, are all correct. We are also charged with fixtures upon which we had no insurance, but which have been covered by Poli- cies in other offices, and which have been settled for, carried into the gobds account, from which the claim against us is drawn, a sum of £79&15s Id ; by these, and a third small error of £23 5s, we gtt a s'tim of oVer estimtt. \ i lion of btoeJr, admittiog the bcoek sheets to be otherwise correct, of £1,522 lOst Tbe stock sheets of 1853 are siissing altogether, said tc be baraed. The Goods Acccunt in the Ledger is burnt oat, and of the entries oovenng four pages thsre remain but a few figures ; almost the last amount which can be traced in that account is a balance of £1S,760 14s l^if and not £23,067 lis Id pretended to have been and set forth in these statements as having been tho balance at tbe end of that year. The Journal ends in Sep- tember or October, 1858 ; the Day Book, although it contains entries up to the 8th of February, 1865, is prepared in such a way as to give no infor- mation from February, 1854, to July 1854. What then becomes of the stress laid upon the repeated demands of the possession of these books by the Plaintiffs as necessary to support their claim ? They could not hare been, in their then state, of any possible utility to the Plaintiffs, and the demand was plainly, like the comments on It, 'or mere stage effect. Then we come to the gaps in these books, all occurring just where information was required tn check the validity of others, just where we need light, and turn towards it, it disappears through some mysterious and incomprehensi- ble accident. The gap in the Journal and two others were found at the same time, and then it was found uecessary in our own defence to retain these books. When Mr. Empey was told of the absence of these four leaves, and the book was laid open before him, he told the story of the Clerk, Rutherford, having spilled the ink over them, and of his having scolded him for it, that it was proposed to start a new book, but it was finally deter- mined to tear the leaves out. But in turning over the leaves he pointed out the place of another gap as the location of this abstrartion. What woQid have been proved if the contents of these pages had remained we cannot tell ; they might have been of the last importance to us as establish- ing thereat amount of previous stock balances apart from the stock sheets, the effect to us is that we cannot verify anything from 1851 to 1854. I am aware tha<^ a sort of insinuation h made that the abstraction of these leaves has been tho act of the Defendants or their agent*, and done atter these books passed into tneir posseHsion ; the insinuation is too monstrous for belief that such a diabolical conspiracy existed to bring the Plaintiff:! under the impcttttion of 'vrong doing, and to deprive them of the advan- tages of their policies. I tell the learned Counsel and the Plaintiffs in this case that they had better pause ; that they had better take care, for by Jove there ard some things which cunnot be borne. In withholding these books, we k/new exactly the kind of risk we ran, and were prepared to stand the brunt uf it. In om own d'^fence we had to keep thea)» they contained a large poition of our evidence in the alterations, abstractions and erasures, which bad been made for the purpose of supporting this Mtounding claim. We could arrive at no other conclusion tbM) that these 81 were positive and undeniable evidence, that, not before but since the firo the book9 bad been erased, mutilated and destroyed to obliterate tbe traces of « dishonest act, and to foil the detection of gross fraud, broad imposition, and false swearing. This is the conclusion which the Defendants came to; on my hocor, so^ry as I am to come to it, it i? mine also: and when you have beard the evidence, it will be yours. And now, genilemeoy having placed before you these grounds of our defence, 1 shall without, farther comment proceed to lay before you the evidence on which they fMt. I hope I have kept the promise which I made you at the beginning of my remarks not to travel out of the record, to mako no assertion that is not within our proofs, to cast no imputation that is not warrantable, and unavoi- daMe, to exaggerate in no manner the sufficiently dark features cf this caiv^ I have had a painful duty to perform, one that I would jiadly have abruok from, one that my clients but from imperative necessity would gUdly have escaped from. I tell you, as a gentleman, as a niian, that my instruc- tions have been rather to extenuate than to exaggerate, and to push noth- ing further than the truth would warrant, and their rights required ; and on my honor, gentlemen, as a professional maq, I tell you had more been n iu this approstfroate statement of their loss, as we allege, gross exaggeration, broad imposition^ and fraud, supported by false swearing, you will not shrink from your duty and give my clients a vardict which on my oon- science I believe they richly deserve. The Notice to produce Books of Accounts was then read ; as also the several affidavits of the Plaintiffs referred to and in the records. Wil''t Church saw a ladder go npjAitdtii brambman playing on it.- By kbis-iime-tbe fire bad aUckentd, and I ^l^nt into tbe building, there was a good deal of fire on the side of ' Lavriefs.' Tbe engines played about 12 oi 16 minutes; 1 supposed the fire was 'niit;hable. Tne rail of the office was mostly i^one ; none of the b of the stair we^re gone, but were charred. It there was any- thing lying upon the office board next the rail it would have been com- pletely destroyed, but not fiom off the desk. Mr. Morisou told me the bookawete saved. Mt. Rose — I have nothing to ask Mr. Bertram. I thank him for his evidence ! fiythe Cjurt. — From the time I got the alarm until the fire was coniTmed could not exceed twenty or twenty five minutes. From the npiiear- ancvof the flame when I got to the fire, I cannot tfll hnw long the gnoda had been burning. I once Maw a house which had b^-en o'» fire with tbe door shut) and the fire went out of its own accord. This building was closci and without dratt until the door was opened. '^^ iSamuel H. May, sworn.— I was Captain of the Union at the tiihb of the fire; when I got there the fiie was nearly out. I wet^t up stairs; the bulk 01 the fire bad been on the »i(ie nex' Laurie's; on tbe side next Notre Dame Street, near the well, I saw a good many honiiets biirned. I did not see any gooda on the side next Nichols' which were so burned but what I 1. m m coald distinguish them. My impression is the goods could not have been burning more than half or three quarters of »n hour. The fire was put out quieiily, I saw no goods burned on the third story. Tbere were ashes in the lower story which had come down from above. The burned shelving next Laurie's was about 6 or 7 feet. . [ Plainiifis Counsel. — No question to asic the witnnss. ^'^ Jean Baptiste Dubuque, sworn. — I was Fire Inspector, and of hot air furnaces, 1 was in the premises on the morning of the Sre between 6 and 7. I went up stairs, at the north east gable, ten or twelve feet shelving was completely destroyed, with the drawers. I was told that the Ribbons in the drawers were worth £500. I saw Merinos and Coburgs on the side ijDOst burned, and remains of bonnets about the stand, and thrown down. Bonnets also in the drawers, wetted. A good deal of Broad-cloth on the opposite side charred with the fire, but in their places. Mr. Morison, so far as I remember, said that the books were saved. The railing of the office was burned and broke away. The damage appeared large. U I'^^nf; Cross-examained. — M;. Morison did not specify what boolcs were saved. H. L. Routh) sworn. — I am the Agent of the Royal Insurance Company ; after the fire, having gone to Plaintiflfs with Mr. Davison, Mr. Chapman and Mr. Wood, I had conversation with Mr. Morison and Mr. Empey, they said the boolis were safe, that nothing was burned. They said that they had just taken stock, and the stock sheets had been taken to Mr. Empey's bouse to have them extended, and it would take two or three days to com- plete them. The inference I drew from the conversation was that not a single book or paper had been burned. tv -. /::.. , 'r f:(> .if ~ ' .?• Cross-examined. — The conversation was opon the Saturday or Monday after the fire ; I was either in their office or looking over the rail ; 1 saw no papers burned in the office, or on the desk, ( r books either. I did not pay much attention. I saw a mantle marked £9 damaged slightly. Robert Wood, sworn. — 1 am Agent for the ^tna Insurance Company. I had not heard of the fire before Friday morning ; the counters and the lower flat were covered with gooJs; these were not burned, but wetted — I went up stairs and saw Mr. Ronth, and Mr. Glassford ; I said to Mr. Empey, are your books safe, and your stock sheets ; he said, yes. The impression made on my mind, was, that he said that it was fortu ate that the stock- sheets had been taken to his bouse to be extended, t then said, that if your books are safe, and your stock has been so recently taken, there will be no difllculty in settling your loss. The railing of the office was burnt on the outside, but not inside ; I saw no books or papers in the office, except some remnants in a letter slip on the wall. I considered the whole side Of the store next to Laurie's as a total loss. In the centre was a stand, with the remains of straw bonnets, near the window there was a pile of Ladies' mantles ; Mr. Empey said they were worth about £5 each ; in that ease, O".'- 85 the losa was in that pile £500. The shawls were harned on the fold and destroyed; the cloths were burned through some folds hnt moch of thenn was good. I estimated the los invoiced, they were burned two or three ply deep, but were distinguishable. Having exa .lined the approximate estimate I do not believe that the goods here set down were on Laurie's side at all ; the goods there were mostly thin stuffs. I have made a careful calculation of the value of a Dry Goods stock like that destroyed, and am satisfied that it is about £10 per superficial toot. I have confirmed this by actual measurement. Cross-examined. — 1 measured at Mr. Mussen's last night ; the square foot is a true way of estimating dry goods. (Sensation and laughter.) I saw very few Henrietta Cloths as fine as that produced ; I suppose it is worth 6s or 7s a yard ; 1 could tell the value of 50 pieces better than one, there is about 40 yards in the piece. Mr. Mussen's cloths were put in end- ways, and some longways. Mr. Mussen said that my estimate was about correct. James Stirling, sworn. — I am in the employ of Lautie, next door to Plaintiffs. I heard the cry of fire near ona o'clock, I dressed quick ; the engines had not arrived, they came a quarter or twenty or twenty-five minutes after that. I could see the fire in the window of the second story. The engines played in about ten minutes, they had not played more than tenor fifteen minutes before I felt our place safe. I went in to the store the morning after the fire, I saw where the bulk of the fire had been in the second story, next to our place. I did not notice anything particular, but the flue which I went to look at, as the supposed cause of the fire. — The value of our stock in the Spring, is about £10,000. If a fire took place in our premises, I think I could teli within a few hundred pounds the amount of the loss. - Cro^s-examined. — We titke stock twice a year, specifying the kinds of goods as well as values; we keep twelve clerks; our goods are put in side- ways. I will not swear that I could tell the value of stock burned if it had been removed from the shelves and mixed up. ):.-:> 86 ^.'»« v\^i||ig||, Luna, sworn.— I am Agent- for Ibi^ Equitable' Ia8W«n««>0flke. I was in Messrs. Morisoni CameroD & Bmpey'd the morning af(«rt.'"tbe measure of it, it was between the stair*case and the rear. The foeds-on the opposite 8i;^ J$fi^^y to say he had at tinies taken books home. James Davison, sworn : — I am the sub agent of the Phoanix Insurance Office. I visited the premises of Plain iffs after the fire; I went in with Mr. Empey. I saw the goods in the shop, but noticed them more partiou. larly 'uje next day. There were no goods uniovoiceabia except in tbeiSe- cond story. On the siile next to Laurie's were said to be mourning g^ii^ds, CoHurgs, &c. ; in the drawers, trimmingi>; I carefully examined the goods on th( ground ; on the top there was nothing but ashes — underneath, pieces of Coburg— further down, bunches of velv^"* trimming, also cotton fringe;; — and, further down, they were less damage J. No doubt there yffl» a total loss on that side ; and} if a proper statement bad been made, we 8^» ^)ild,bAT,« paid it. BeyoQd this* oatt^e flpor^n^oit of ,tb« goods yftexe io- ,,;rqiC0a|[>|e, except the boQDets; these were represented as hewing oa the ^l^od KS^Qie of the crowns were ieit. On the other side there was nothing ^)>Uiined so as not to be ioroic<>able, although much that was destroyed, such ^^ shawls and cloths burned through the, folds, and others charred. I asked ,Mr. £gnpey what bad better be done with the damaged goods;. he said, tb^ best plan would be to^sendthem to auction. Mr. Enapey told me all ,4;,b.ebook8.,9nd papers, w.er«4iaved; that was the impression made on my ^minidjand I left with that impression; I saw no remain? of papers. On ,tbe first of May 1 was at a meeting at the Montreal OjQice, and suggested .that Mr. Gault should be put on (he Qojnmittee ; we had before us a recapi- tulation hook which we could make nothing of; we, therefore^ asked for .^ ti^e stock sheets. I estimated the loss, withoiit professing to be a judge of goqds, as very heavy — about £1.000 cpnpmed, a good deal of damaa;e by smoke and water — in all £10,000, and I reported tbis to the Home Office. I bad a conve^satyDn with Mr. Motison concerning the stgck sheets; he said ihattbey would, he ready in a few days; they w^re then being ex- teinded at Mr. E npey's. house. Tbis was some days after the fire; he did ,ppt say any had been burned. Mr. Empey told me that the stock in March, 1854, was about £28,000. I did not see the stock sheets until the lOih or 12th of May ; some had been burned, and there were pnarkson the Jop of some of them — some 100, some 75, and some 50. I considered ., there could be no difficulty about the claim, if the Plaintiifj would furnish ■ft^M^mePt of thejoss. Tbis they declined doing, as impracticable ; af- tt^rwards, an approximate statement wa$ furnished. 1 am manager of the Phcemix Insurance Otfice, under Gillespie, Moffatt & Co. In July, I saw . Mr. Empey, who told me he was much disturbed about a report of leaves be« .ing.t)iken out of the books, and that he could not sleep ; he said the leaves ,. bud been laken out because a clerk bad blotted the book. Crpssrexamined:— Mr. Empey appeared much concerned about these leaves. My impression was that Mr. Empey stated that the clerk. had ,,tAken th«>m out ; thatt when he came to recollect the circumstances, this ...jwas the only way he could account for it. I had an interview with the Plaintiffs about the 17th of July, respecting the attested statement of the .l|9ss; they said it was impossible to make out a statement. 1 knew the i.Cact thatv as far as regards the mourning department, the goods had been .^removed. to allow the painters to work. I did not express myself satisfied ,,.that they could not make tbis statement. I said, « send a reply to Mr» -iWbyddon's note, and say what you can do; if you can't do it you can't ,.do it,.4od it will be for the Companies to say whether they will press it." I never. dictated ^y.reply such as was sent ; I positively swe^r I did not .do so; 1 never saw. that letter or heard the words of it, or any other of sub- V3g|a|j^ally jhevsaipe^phi^tactt'r} until the. letter was received from Plaiptiffs. ^ I was not sativfipd that the flrivingortheinforinatioD aought wu impoaatbl*, or pvt>n difficult; and I did not sug^gost the course adopted, and had n» knowlede*' nf it. I can declare ibat my iropresiiioQ at that time was, thai tbf Plaintiffs were endeavouring to entrap me into making admiuions to be uspd I hereafter. I did not go to them as the asrent of the Phcenix, orio any offioia! capacity, hut simply as a private individual, in reply to a note signed hy the firm. I believe the Plaintiifj have not bad, since the fire, one word of communicHtion with Gillespie, MoS'att & Co., tbe General Agents of tbe Phoenix, the business of tbe branch being done by me. I have sRid to the Plaintifft that if, in tbe couise of the investigation, I found that the general features of the claim were correct, I would not stand in tbe way of its settlement on account of any trifling diffisreneea. To the best of my knowledge I never stated that I was, myself, satisfied of tbe rorrectness of tbe claim, and that the statement asked tor was only for the Head Office. William Murray, sworn. — I am the Manager of the Montreal Inxuranee Company ; after tbe fire I went to the premises with several other Insur- ance Agents. Mr. Empey told us that tbe books were all safe, in tbe safe ; and that some of tbe stock sheets bad been taken home to make oat tbe extensions. There was nothing said of any books or papers being burned. From my examination of the damaged goods, I should say three fourths of them could be invoiced, and that there could be no difficulty in stating what were the goods upon tbe shelves destroyed. I considered tbe loss would be about a third of tbe insurance between £8,000 and £9,000. At a meeting of the Committee Mr. Empey stated that some goods were sold less than cost, and some at a profit of 100 per cent. The goods apan tbe side next Laurie's were generally the most valueable, but taere was more bulk <*alue on the opposite side. I showed a stock-sheet to Mi. Empey, in which the amount seemed large, but be would not or could not tell me where tbe goods were placed, or whether they were silks or woollens. Mr. Hose — I have no question to put tbe witness. H. A. Glassford, sworn.— I am tbe Agent of tbe Monarch Insurance Company ; I was at the fire and assisted in putting it out. I got there about one, my residence being close by, and I left at day break. The engines only worked for a short time ; the fire was quickly extinguished ; I arrived after the first engine. I have been a Dry Goods Merchant, and \ estimated the loss and damage, the latter being the largest item, at £10,000, and 1 advised my bead office so. I have since made an estimate of what amount of goods described could be put in tbe space burned. I took equal quantities of Henrietta cloths, Coburgs, Orleans, Alpaceas, Silk warp Lustres, De'aines, &c.; I call the space of shelving destroyed .30 feet run of from 20 to 24 inches deep, and 7 feet high, tbe goods being put in endways ^8 close as they will pack, and I liod that their total value will be £2,667 \i:. 89 16< 3d. I »nmined the premiMt after the fire, going aboat wi'b a lamp ; I looked round tb« office; it waa carefally arranged, and I saw oo bookt or papers tbere ; the impreimion Irft on my mind waa that office bad broD propetiy cared for the night before. It waa at a meetina: at Mr. Murray's tbai I found ont about the burned atock abeets. At another meeting, I •4kod Mr. £mpey to show ua the locality of the gooda entered upon it; with conaiderable beaitation and difficulty be did place some of them. I have a minute of this meeting taken at the time in pencil. I was so impieaaed by bia manner at the time that 1 made a memorandum, <* Ennpey sbirkn." The sincksbeets marked at 100 contain a third of the ▼•lue of the whole or £14,000. Either Mr. Empey or some of ibe persons in the establishment told me that the marks on these atock shreta repre- sented the advance charged to convert the sterling cost price, into the sel- ling currency. Cross-examined. — Mr.Neal, the Plaiutiffs book-keeper, was present when I made the memorandum, "Empey shirks," 1 understood from what passed, that he unequivocally refused to give the information required, that be knew where the goods were and would not tell. I believe I made this memorandum when Mr. Empey was present; itisininkf the balance in pencil. The question was with regard to the locality of the stock upon sheet 17. I saw no book<) in the office oo the night of the fire, and I think there were none. When I wrote « Empey shirks," 1 meant to put down the impression bis conduct produced on my mind ; I cannot tell the expres- sion be used. Court Adjourned. FOURTH DAY. M. H. Gault, sworn.— I was not consulted by Mr. Benning, or any one else, as to the advertisement of the sale of damaged goods, from Plaintiffs. David Mair, sworn. — I was one of the Appraisers of the saved stock, a week after the fire. The goods sent to Benning k Barsalou's were those most destioyed ; we examined all the goods in the building. The fire was ronfiiiOd to the second story ; some were charred in the third story, but not consumed ; this was at the top of the stair. The shelving next to Lauries, contained black stuff goods, half of this was consumed ; near the well there were many ashes, also much burned on the bonnet stand ; next to Nichols' the goods were no' totally consumed, but damaged, there were portion;> of each piece invoiceable. The bulk of the silks were down stairs on the counter nnd in dra^rers. I could not tell the value of the goods on this flats before the fire. The damage might be guessed by parties acquainted with the premises to wi hin a few thousand pounds. In the drawers of the HHi «■ / M 9§0 : ffflond storj ^nn verjr^iTAlttable tr4Mauagt««lao midb. ««((oi>> ) Thcifetpk !/Si«M<4»k«o •(jMCOod Uiae«>ib«cana«iiaU)« first U^i|>M.,pot«uJ9uBi«AUji4de- ,(f«iill«d; ta («8t it wt^weot oirer it,(igaii)| dMCii^iqg «verj arUcl«}^(i.^- > U»ne«T«Mi»infld.-- 1 bad not a abadowt of a doubt tb»t oa 4>o(b^«oqp|HiujipB I th»isMck>waioori«ctlj taken. Tbe advance oatbe |;o9d», was 7&,«^d '87^ percent on ib« sterling. Witbout baviagraaflQ tbe |food$,OQ tbUKfe- ; cond ilal before tbe fire I could notteUitbeii vailue. < Re^> *>.»■ i(<>-'XiibBve DO doubt bo'b stock takings were perfectly correct. Tbe private cost mark was given us. Ezra H. Merrill, sworn. — I v*as in Plaintiffs premises ;ifter the fire. I ^am a Dry Goods Mercbent. I suppose there ^wouid be i > difficuity in a ■,-perjnaof the I establishment setting down and making a statement of tbe , Io«8; if the fire had tfposUMi tc|,p4ge ''SintbeLcdgeryaod Changes A«count: tQ.fMge 12. Ibaver'goosLtl^r^gh 1«tl '4lM»>toolMl*lora.witb-th« Pe ff f d ante' AU«ni«yi,aadfo«Kdib*«atriei • bPMigbt fromtfae daji-booh meotli'bf aofl(b,«xeept Umss. (Sbaett awmit )(ibatimtr» in atithfl (imejUiift waa)P«at«d. Th».«nlr]r N. S. ^WbitBey,Md tMi'W. ilill & Co4)iare mioefflh* pMtjng Mr. Ennpey'd— rtb* amount, loo, riiaaoine. >rThi>r« is«iJMank in Ledger from 113 lo laSexolaniveyaiicI Ido )4Wtfioi} the fMiMaflrof ;Uii«a««niriea«-lhe datea are March, 1863. Xh«re j(i« a^Maoliiint the Ledger Upm 126 to 131 alto},i|ba,pagP8 bave «x>(|ted 4mm>ihe direk of • ih^^fKNlinit by Mr. Enpey. li^xamioedv pace S44 in 'Hth» Jouroal Qooda. AoccMint ; (ha 9rjgiaal entry waa in: myibaod ehargei ; jitiiaa)tieoni«UeD«d to goods f Iraf^niaethe aiteratloa av Mr. Eopi^y's; 1 b7lbi«; £l%72i has^een carried' fwQ Charges Account to Gqoda Acoount— . )tbi$ i» in Feb., 1863. <£Ulntiff»^C9unftei-rr Admit the /act.> rTbe p»acil- )iing, ) iQ.Mr..Em(>ey'a;Viitijng. Oo d8.AA««mnt,'wbere(jt^ey v^araiftarriediwevioaaly to the Cbarges.Ac- Muint. jTbe figure ever the,, Arawre on the burnt piece of the fragtB^nt riiwippoeed ta be.^rtof page 308 of the Ledger, Iieciogpise asMr. Empey's. Crons'examined.— These entrie IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 [fi^l I.I 1.25 2.5 12.2 ^ 1^ lliiio 1.8 U III! 1.6 Va /i A .-Sv /A ■''^ y Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 t^ \ s ifp ■ V 'A I ;%« Charles GeddM, sworu. — I was employed by a Conmittte of Inanranee Agents, to look into the claim of Piaintiffn. The first entry io the Ledger shown me by Mr. Enpey, was £'24.107 I63. 8d., in goods aecoiMtt and is subsiantia'rd by a letter from Mr. £npey; the date of this entry is 1st May, 1854. I traced this account to ?eb. 1854, the time of stock tfaking, because they started with an aceonnt of £28,000; I then take off one fif'h from the sales in the interim. By this, I fi((ared the stock at £37,695 81. Gd., on the first of M.sy, 1854, instead of £28,404, as represented. I tested by turning up the etock sheets of 1864, 1 made the result £27,192, 4^. 2d. Mr. Empey claimed to add to that goodt oat on approbation, £282 19 j. lOl., from which deduct a fifth for profit, it leaves £226 7s. lid ; he further claimed for shop fixtures and faraitare, £586 lOs. 8d. I believe he waft dissatisfied with the result, and be fur- ther claimed £399 18s. 2d., because he maintained I had taken a fifth off goods charged at currency, which I had put down at 87^ per cent. 1 have my doubts as to this being the recapitulation sheet of 1864. I find writ- ten on it, goods on approbation, and petty balances, which I never could have passed over as part of a stock account. There is an erasure of a line which I do not recollect to have seen before. The recapitulation foots up £-28,748 with corrections. I recognize the Ledger and Journal pro- duced, partly burned. I saw them first in Mr. Glassford's office, on the 22nd or 30th of June, and also the cash-book, day book, and stock she Mrt^WfcjrAilaah Mid^tblt froor fifteaa to twairajr pagaa badnbeaa Uhmroatf. 0» i90ti^' Aofustlsaw ;bab 7kfortbe lasttimD', io Mr. Wbyddon V "ofBedet Mill Empty was prasemt;' Mr< Wbyddon asked me: to gosinrer it amf pag f^ityn aDfd> I took ooias frooa it. i beard Mr. Enpey say he 'bad takes oal' is irregularly pagad^i part fobo and part single? pagiagwi. I bate seab ntbkK f^tiy Salaooe Book piodiieedt^'Mru GlassCsrd took'it firoin Ibe'aalsi'c Mrot Eapey said it was'lbepeity baiaaea' book ^aataiaing laeeooDta frdim^^jKi to^y«i On exarauiatioa 1 tbink tbis isnot tb«' bonk.- Ob two pagvt^ foglBd'i£1^100in two'«ntri«»;'« TbavesaM^on mf^ imod\ii>aa'tbVt tbpre waacredit given^ and' for'^tnoaMt^^t Partief >ttth ari-* dit^eat orerfi^a monibku T toidMrv^Empay fbat'tbi^did not loek<4ikl&: oaly'doiag a eatib bnsiaassj^ I iookeu oa tb«se>ea«rM8'^asao'mtfehtiot'ifl ttst thd'Onvfi Isaw-tberat Mr. Neil^ tbe^booh^keepev^ told me'COCMttrainiK tbtfitmartaftt oii> meat. ' I did not ask Mr, Neil specially wi^ regaid' to the ad«>artca^ibbFlt^ of^lOO.' 1 asked leave to maabara ibe'^sbalviDg'Of tbi^ storey arid Mr«;< Eolpey ga? a ma a little assistaneeV My obj^at ' 'wMlo ^asa«rtdiA>drpafi<> mant by 'departanent tbe anouot of goodsifbey woaid contain. Tu#i Frota my aaleut&tions,' andsttcb knaw"' ledge as I ooald obtaia frotm their ownMnvolMs'of (ha'quality of tbe'toodt^ in stock, and upon this flat, 1 am qtme satisfied tbat a valuation offlS.OOO)^ for tbe wbo4e at seitiog price of 87^ per cent> advanoa on the sterlibg coatyand that'tbis amount wHi fill tbe 'seabnd'Mory wb ere tbe fire wasj as' faliy dlMction of douMMlj^irefusady^ I paced it, boweverv and ascertained the siz^^' In making tbiil esMmatt^ I fiiifd tbe wbola sbelving dravsera, and spacesytuadar tbe sbelviitg, wittV' articles sucb as descsibed to have-beea'therie^'iat- tbdavaraga valaa df' plaiaiiffd impettatiofla^aiid^lliOQO filladbblwMa£to' ■ I m be|iMMa%:f Ibwrmtke ieoi^ oooiit«fnr^ imdroiiDdlbi^^dl. I tbiofc^«rith«o otffttM gottdtf'being^bOfft^toiirovrHj'tbsttbis catealiB^oir is asfsv afpopti siUvMA^et* I bfttranratimated tb»gabii> as pat in eir dwtl^ iX' OiWM>e I dedaottbetvboto profit of ihaMr. ^Enopeyi 1 tbiok it Btmst be tbe tame^ (GkMiF8eitMrtlofi.> i 8eetb«'WordrfoattxcepMbosa'>^nhKb Mr. Empey, Mr« Wbjildoor>^ andtMnGiti^ife Bgreed-to. 1 cunsidered tbeubseoer of ibis: leaves rerjrj impoirtifttj^and I prefacH a Biemorandumef tbe'leaves oiiMittgroothe fifsth disced} of any being «bsent; I bave itoot bere, batwiUfurnisb ii; tbifr memoranduitt^aB'inadtf be1«M tbe monfb of September. On tbe> 19«4i or'i 20tfr>^ Septcm1nt''Igas%'intb^>raactiiuiBbe»>flaiasiagy\teMir»Wiifddon; I ^ w«nr'Dv<»r tbem with Mr^ Wbyddon, and afterwards cbeoktM it mjttMih Tbi story of Mfi Rutherford, and (bat (be enemy had done it; when asked tbei'^ namv oftbd enemy be said it did not do to mention names. I took me--" moradda from the pages and contents from the private ledger of M^'Em«i- pey;r Mr. Whyddon hat this paper, which he vaiues so much that her; refurtd'to part with it to meyenterdayt when [ askod him for it. I first i sawtbis'lrdger after lltb.bf May, and the last Umeabout 20(b of Augusts Mr. Whyddon discovered the pages misiiing'fforo it ; I never pxamined ii this book except in tbe presence of Mr. Empey ; it was never left with us wheh' Mr. Empey went to dinner. I have no memoranda'of tbe pages tt taken out. It wasen -the 20tti of August I ticked off thei leaves of this i book*; Mr; Whyddon asked me to take tbe paging $ I did it rafMdly ; Mr4 • Eidpey was presents I turned the leaves and took (he memorandum } Mr.^ WbyddOR has it, 1 think I saw «* Bills payable*' on one of the pagesr«fi< tbei book before this dayy but I did not see ittheb, butitmigbt have been ^ these. The tmpressrbn made en my mind was that there were pages taken r, froibit ; the leaves flipped up in one plac^. I felt no doubt that ieaves bad- > I -S: :% i\u. \ii8 b«en taken oat. Mr. Wbyddon will teatify to tbif . 1 caonot help boiUT- ing that there were leaves oat more than accounted for. I do not know whether I shoald recognize this book again. I cannot say that 1 observed the erasures in the itock sheets of 1854, at the time I cheeked the recapi- tulation sheet with Mr. Empey ; I cannot swear these are the samoi fhey have been out of my bauds into those of Mr. Wbyddon for the Companies. I remember an altercation between Mr. Cameron and Mr. Wbyddon, which was unpleasant to me, and I left then. Mr. Cameron aihded to insinuations thrown out by Mr. Wbyddon, that something had been done by plaintiffs) which should not hsve been done. I made a report io the Investigating Committee ; in it I recommended tbey should not settle with- out a balance sheet ; this was in June. I made a second report on the 18tfa September ; Mr. Wbyddon and myself made a joint report between these timei. When Mr. £mpey refused to allow me to measure the premises it might have been after tbe institution of the action. Tne book placed in my hands I cannot identify as Mr. £mpey's private ledger without ax- amination. Upon comparing it with my memorandum, I find the paging does not accord. I have got on my memorandum <• lable oi artificers" at page 90, and I find it on the same here. My memp^tndam says 60 has been altered. 1 cannot recognize this as the book; I ks exhibited ; this is tbe ledger. I examined the goods aeeonnt with'Mt. fitop^j', and were stoppeii because it was balanced in April, IS51, instead of February, and there was an er. ror. A new one was inisbed, be taking back the looks With biidQ. On receiviflg this and jnroeeeding with the examination, On Ibdkibg the goods account over for 28(h Peb.^ 1853, I fbubd an ectrv bf jel,2!t2^i to ibe debit of goods aeeonnt ; I endeavowred to trace it mtn '.hci journal, and after great difieolty got it thus, goods accoMt df. to MiAdHee, (pigi 244,) charges being Changed Into goods and carried oifit ^i chmgit bp6n th)^ other side. The entry of saote date in (he ameadtid aeebaht stodd at £tili 1% 9d only. I found all the entries making dp this ftotii tMitid ie the account of < he parties as charges and not as goods. On the "SSth Februifry I89S, the books bad been balanced ; I found set down iai sundries £1,464, which stood thus in tbe journal— goods accodtlt suhdfies dr. to c4sh ac-^ cooqt £l,4&t. I fried to verify this by the day book, but the iilbnttis of March and April were goo^. There was a differbnce betWeeh the balance of 180 1, and tbe reanty of that amount; Mr. Empey verified this witU me ; when I foqnd the gap in (he day book I sent for Mr. fimpey, and told him I had an unpleasant duty to perform to allude to sheets taken odtof the books ; he repudiated it at first, but then, when I pressed it, said that the books had met with an accident through a clerk ; this was tl e gap 75 to TO; the next day he referred to 129 as the place, the others be coiild noV agco^Q^.for; I noticed on going over the leaves he counted one, two, th|^e,.four ;, of the pages in the ledger missing be could not give any sa- tisfaetbry explanation ; on my pressing him he said an enemy htH done it ; I asked him to sho^ me how the accident occurred with thb ink; he put the books together and safd'the iifk waff spilled overbbth, i(nd the leaves torn out on that account; There isagaji in* the lettgW at page 126, ac- cepted bills; I could obtain no satisfactory evidence to aecoubt for these gaps. The examination took place in the prMeoce'dt Mr; finopey ; onb morning the clerkbrougbt up the books^ and on opening'them I found Vtit pieces torn off. I drew Mr. Empey 's acttention to it ; he professed his ig- norance, bit be said his little boy might hav» ddtieii, and he promised t^ return the pieces to me ; the pieces were sent back with other burb't' pieces ; rsaw^a erasure- made evidently since the fire ; I think 12 was there before, and the alteration is ti, the effect is to carry charges to thV amount of £195 tb th^ debit of goods; this was the year 1^3. Thb' bofks were.halanced; I found in several peaces the word goods inserted where i^^arges had formerly been ; these charges are at page 148, intereit, discount and commission ; this is the s».cje as altered in tbe journal, and several others are the same. I got a statement of Plaintiffs European im- Q mmmmm nrnm. 98 portatioDs between 28(h Feb., 1854, and the same time in 1855, paning through the Castom House,— it is £27,378 lis 3J currency, the American were £340 14i 3d, in all £27,719 Us 6d. I have no doubt that they did not receive more than these goods ; I believe they did not receive more than ibis amount, because they did not pass through the Custom House ; I canot mean they did not receive them otherwise } invoices are credited before the arrival of the goods in all well-reg atated establishments. When Mr. Geddes consulted with me with regard to the re-examination, he told me of Mr. Empey's private ledger, which he considered important ; I ap- plied for it and he objected ; after great difficulty he showed me the book in a qualified sense, holding the book he shewed the beginning, the middle he passed rapidly over as private, although T could see the items were large j at the end he said his father's will was, and some calculations. At another interview, when I pressed him for it again, he told me some leaves, had been taken out of it ; be brought it to me and reluctantly gave it me. When I came to the part he had called private, I found the pages were ho longer there ; at the end I saw some measurements, and at the same time he showed me where the leaves had been taken out ; he told me there were on these calculations of American exchange, which did not affect the bosiness ; I asked why he bad taken them out, he said he could give no reason. I saw the book on another occasion and counted the pages, V found the numbers came out right, there being no ledger pageing in it ; I counted twice to be certain, and either on this occasion or another I-, sketched the entries of one or two pages ; this is the memorandum it al-* ladee to— "Bills Payable," '< Rate of Exchange,'* and "Accepted Bills ;". thedatesoftbese were 1853 and 1854; I think the last is Fob., 1854. The inference I drew from these was that they bad some connection with their affairs. Istaeaff by the $olemnity of this CouW, that this memoran' dum i$ the one I took, at that time, from Mr, EmpeyU private book, > I went to the store to get the evidence of the young man ; Mr. Cameron ^ objected, but I told him I must do so ; and saw the young man in the cloth , department. Mr. Empey challenged me to prove that he had taken twenty ', of the pages out of the private ledger. I told him that I bad not said so, , but was prepared to prove that he bad taken fifteen or twenty. He ' showed the book to Mr. Geddes, who saia that it appeared to be altered. , The book exhibited is not that private ledger, but a very clever imita- , iionf I (Great astonishment and sensation in Court.) The witness here j asked the Plaintiffs counsel if the book had been repaired ? ; ^ u Mr. Rose«— Ob ! Mr. Wbyddon, let us hear what you have to say i about it. ,^i 3;^tv>i4,.o>^4.^>;^wn5-6*.'i^.! {.'•-•' "i-''--^^ '^' )'^*'' ^-'is■^^;'■^.K■5fi«• Witness continued i— Well, then, when I saw the book before there wae ' a peg missing which is here now. 19 yn The Coort.— It ii astoDishiog yon can tell apof* if gone wtaen yoa hart not looked into the book 1 Wiloess.— A ptgi a pegt your honor. (Laughter.) ^*' ' ' • t'f ^"^ "^s^ The Court. — Oh I a peg. WeU, is it a peg to bang an argument on f (Laoghter.) Witness*— By the sanctity of this Court, 1 solemnly believe it i» not the book at all/// (Great sensation. The witness here ex- amined the tK>ok on the outside and inside with a microscope) for a long time, as though searching for some mark, which seemed to amuse the learned Judge, and caused considerable merriment to the whole Court, which, at this time, was excessively crowded.) The real book had some Insurance regulations written on the inside of the cover in red ink, that is not here now. Mr. Empey told me a friend had given him s(nne valuable advice on that subject. / have no hesitation in saying this is no! the book, I see nothing in it to lead me to believe it is ; it is evidently new, and much larger than the one I saw} the ink and paper show it to be 80. On page 118 there is an entry of packages of goods which was not there before ; the book is totally di£ferent, it is not the same. In the other there was a peg missing, and it lapped over as if the pages bad been taken out. The Insurance directions in the old book were in red ink un the cover ; / ^nd them now in a ^etewt place. Mr. Empey acknowledged that more pages had been taken.out besides those at the end, but that they had nothing to do with the business. Cross Examined. — I have been four years in Canada. In May, 1854, 1 became Agent of the Beacon Insurance Company. I was formerly an at- torney in England. I am not now Agent for the Beacon but for the Atbe- nsBum. I yet retain the books and papers of Beacon Company until my account is adjusted. I have not been threatened with an action for the recovery of these books ; there is a correspondence going on concerning them. The memorandum exhibited to me is I believe in Mr. Geddes' writing, but I am not sure. On examination I believe it to be the verita- ble document made by him as testified, as it is also the one given in my charge, snd which I was unwilling to part with, and referring to the pri- vate ledger. I do not recollect Mr. Geddes taking any notes from the, private ledger, except checking the paging, which he did at my request.^ I swear that the boolc was never left in my possession while Mr. Empey^ went to dinner ; and on my oath, 1 never had it except when he was present. This book is externally and in its general appearance like it, but it is not the origional one. I endeavoured to make a mark on that to recog- nise it by in case it might be altered. I noticed the pegs of the back fast- ening were worn, and one was out; on this they are new and perfect. (The witness went over to the Jury to explain, and one of the Jury here pointed out to Mr. Why ddon that the peg be was speaking about was < In the Ledger shewn me before at the end was a copy of the will of Mr. fimpey 's h- the(»« Wd sQpft learef torn evt ; tnere we th*^ ?''■>• io tl>>> I ^9 not rvKember seeing, a loose thread in the centre t>f. this book, ai^d speak"- ing to Mr. Cnneron. concerning it. I had a sonTersation with Mr. Cameron about tbie ledger and he said if he had knowo that it contained any information idattive; to the bnsiness it jfoald jaot ,1i|t« bean^ffitbheld one day^ lii •) muT (.b?hvroi3 i[bvi«it»dx» kbw .smiJ kith )« ,flr)iit«/ ^tiiirti) By the Coart.— I considered that the pages ramoved from the private ledger eontiuned an epitome of the whole affairs of the firm. And this wtts Mr/Gtdd^ti* sti^position too. ibelfvvif noV that if we coald have get that beok in its original condition, at the time we received the fthit 'ritattt^ ment of loss from Plaintiffs, we could have settled the exact 'anH>iint of It th three months. I cannot give ttoy reason fo^ this Bapposittofr ether thatf that was my Impression ttom the casual axatnination of it I obtained. I can prove this by nothing but my generd impressions; I eiinddt say that anything contained in tbir book would have any effect opod the stoeki sheets of ISS?, or upon the balance- sheet ef f&94$Vd»^ i§t -itiigM^htiH fbund In this book errors and discrepancies Which wbdid have affeeted the final result. I know of no sdch errors; but if by chance they had been there, itadbeen unexplained they woufd have done so. On this'^aeeoant the poasesSion of this buok was- important to us. '*-•» ' '° ''^S^' y'o-^aj'^* John Jordon, sworn. — I am a Custom House officer, the 3rd in the De- partment, first landing waiter ; I have prepared a statement of the Impor- tations of PlaintifGi from 28th September, 1851, to the tiide of the fire, (kpm the reeordj this shows the number of packages; these are all the goods entered by Morison, Cameron & £mpey ; .it,,^Q^i|^ J^i^^i^BlF^^^ul'H^ Altered by Willixn Coiote in his own name. ., . ,^ .. ,^ ,!. "PriheisCrainpton, sworn.— Is second clerk of the Customs produces a statemert of the value of the imp^riations of the Plaintiffs ftom^ 5tli Jao^ 1854 16 1855, it was ie26,795. 1 ba[ViB not o» the 17tb>Jnly^ 1864, £57 1 lds9d; noronthesamedaytjC^SsSd; nor on 17th iB14 6ft lldi. I have t nto other entries on theee dates. '■'■ i » n. -. > .i d,.. Caseof Ihe.Deftente closedi' ' ^' '''''' ^^''-''''-i^a 'i ^«fiu ^i/vT Ai.-^i^m: •iiBl ;a»«f; •i(U lo e^,ftff>(1.< !.■>'} ii • »")-}.! ru-u 5!i'.' (ii ,i'.:> :\-\ ^Hi'- ^i/^ ■■■', >■, 'n'.v -Af '■>'>•■■.■ t'.riy-; ,.- . = .>.- , ■Kfi ''■} . MiiV. •i / or 101 ■^'.y>, Jii J.I*.;. II).' ii-- . . it I -hoim 'i''*-. /fti '•■■ «i. ''\' .^if-v '«• -ov/ - ,ttva-fM lo ;«»it '-MX 01 ,11 IN REBUTTAL* .>!'«'ow lo \^-\ .'it-ii' . ^f",'*" FHmeli Rnfford.-- ^rr Samuel Benjamin, swom.-^l tried with Mr. Wbitdey and Mn Brown to place the goods containod in the: Plaintiffs approximate statement upon the shelves of tbe store. We counted out the quantities) we took every itemion thftilistjand here ia the result of our laborruponithe plana produced « after finishing the Ii8t,;,iii leaves 110 vacant shelves, 28 drawers, and all the](ables.i We workeH.ittiiee nights, and did it with the greatest care — thisiis fteaik^ tbe approximate statement at fair cost pricee«<) I (-)>:' .^ \ n>^T. CiieB&-ejBamined.-rKWe took the data from^ the aversfipe coft of an ordi- < naiy stock; for instance, Broadoiotba at from five to twentynGtva shillingfu - currency. No shelving tcontained more than one depth ■■ of goods. I' was ' very, particular ; so mpcb so, that tbe PlaiiKtiffs complained. I had my own way, without any interference «n tbe part pC J^laintiffs. ■.^^, ^ N. S. Whitney, sworn. — Corroborates the statement of Mr. Cenjamin. jTajnes Bcown.— Not sworn. Corroborates Mr. Benjamin's and Mr. Whitney 'sevidencQ., I (i ,b^:iDK9 8BV7 .id : \nh 'irf? tnfr?-«ifn r-tij i .i iri : V .^ Mf.Pnnhjn.—Itis not necessary to swear Mr, Brown. ,,., ,„yA. \^ .,rr KtH. Fanoii8,:8wom.~r| was brought up: a practical. Chemist. lam aeqiMinted withi.tbe .compositiooof wpol^ and effect of fire or heat on it. Woiol:or woollen goods will bf^i desttoy^^d at^^muchJower temperature . than anjr^etbei organic or ipfiifgamc fabric.. The reason of it ia this, wool ,., contains bothioil and sulphur wbich are volatilltedetA.tempeiatnrenot greatly exoeedingjtb4|t,of boiliqg, ufa'tef , and in ,%at act burst tbe cells in , wbich they are enclosed, converting the original substance into a puffed up, sbapelfssif^indi^r, wb^^ph qin afford .nor clue to the original appearaiice of it. In |i)h,e, (tQUBse of this trial, a doubt Arose on my mind ^s,to tbe £act of the possibility of the complete destruction of the large piles of. woollen goods described, in a close building, and in a short time, with so little injury to m4i t * w mHaM i teiin i *m p nn 103 6^ 'li k the wood-work. To laliify my own mindi I tried the experimtnt of eub- Jectiiig a tight roll of woollen, lixteen folda thick, to the heat of an o?en| by the eide of a pieee of thin pine. The result wai, that the woollen waa charred to the heart, and the piece of pine — not more than tha six- teenth of an inch thick—was not discolored. Close heat, like that of i bonding, or fire without vent, chars without destroying wood. TbaS| wood may he suhjecled lo the action of long continued heat, in a elote re- tort, and it becomes converted into charcoal, retaining the shape it possessed before; and it is not until air is admitted to convert it into carbonic aeidy that it consumes. Wool, on the contrary, and all fabrics of it, are utterly destroyed by beat alone, without the necessity of air, and retain no trace of their original appearance. Pewter melts at about an average tempera- ture of 600, more or less, according to the composition ; glass requires to melt at a temperature much greater; the boiling point of water being 212 « . A heat in which these would melt, would utterly destroy woollen goods. Dr. Hall, sworn.— I was formerly Lecturer on Chemistry, in the School of Medicine here. I have heard the testimony of the previous witnesti and I corroborate it. I have made no experiment, but the other statements are substantially correct. i .: Cross-examined. — The effects would be the same as to the quick destrneM^ •'< tion of wool, whether the agent was close heat or flame. '^*^* Samuel J. Davis, sworn.— I am a Custom House agent; I have ex- amined the statement fyled as the amount of importations of the Plaintiffs, the gross amount £87,166 8s 6d from September, 1861, to the 6th April, 1866, being £3,000 larger than that put in by Defendants. (Statements ' ^rom all shippers of foreign ports fyled by the Plaintiffs.) I have exam, ined all these shipping statements, and they exactly agree with the amounts passed here at the Custom House, less the packages and discounts. These statements are sworn to by the shippers. John Garvin, sworn. — I know Williams the fireman, an upholsterer ; I saw him on the night of the fire ; he was excited, and in liquor. I saw Mr. Morison go up the ladder, passing me ; lama fireman. Afterwards the Union took our ladder ; I saw Williams strike a man ; Williams had not gone up the ladder when Mr. Morison went up'. Hudson was dis- charged the next day for drunkenness. The firemen had been paid their quarters salary that night, and they had been drinking— Williams, Hudson, and others ; they quarrelled with a policeman ; at the fire there was a row between the men of the Union and the Proteetor, and some fighting for • few minutes. • ^ '••" Cross-examined.— I did not see Mr. Morison come down the ladder. It was after the fire broke oat of the window thftt he went ap. I was cot drank. I do not drink. (ffjit «;? xlMihn^f^b 108 Thomas M.Neal,recn,|«d.— The book prodneed iithronlyp'ttjbalaoM book we had at the time of the tire, (be one Mr. Geddes did not recognise. Partiea get goods on approha'ion lo choose trom, not paid for at the mo* ment; other anriounts are charged to the clerk". I have known ihe firet families of Montreal rpfu^e'l credit a> the PlainiiflT;*. 1 hor, covered with duit which had been there ever since I had. I identify the hook produced at Mr. Empey's private ledger, I identify my own initials in it to the pay- ment of my salary month by month. I aerer i(|W Mr. fimpv bfi?« aoj other book but this. "^- ^r- x -••'•"-•"■•*•' '-'t Cross-examined.— I see entries on the petty balances book of itemi carried to a new book, these are not in my handwriting, but have baea tutered since I left the establishment in May, 1855. I itbcar that I *n» Urtd my iniliaU on th\% book at the moment I received the amounte eet down /Acre.— (Loud Applause.) ,. ...,» ..„.,fc«*^rt ^tt, ni vwrt'I .iJR <^i David Gillespie, sworn.— 1 know this to be Mr. Empey's private ledger, these are my initials opposite the payments every month. I can swear to this book posit tveZy. On the 27th July, 1 went over to Mr. Whyddon*B office, concerningthe missing leaves of the day book and ledger with Mr. Er/ipey. Mr. Whyddon brought them down "vitb reluctance, and told me to reica'u in the public office while he had a private conversation^be evidently did not want me there. When we got the books, I went over them page by page, verifying every leaf four times, tivice with Mr. Whyddon, and twice with Mr. Empey. I made notes at this time of what I observed ; these notes I have here; Mr. Empey also made notes. When I made this ex- amination of the old ledger then in Mr. Whyddon's possession, the pages 177 and 178 were not out. I take my solemn oath of that fact, the leaves were not out then. I did not know that they were so, I never heard of it until I saw the books here in Court. Another copy of the memorandam made at this time, in case I might lose my book or leave, was made and certified. (Memorandum put in.) I examined the day book before it wu taken to Mr. Gtassford's; I went over it because some accounts were not kept according to the rules of book-keeping in which I had been brought up ; I went over it page by page and item by item to test its correctness ; there were no leaves out of it then. I saw it afterwards in Mr. Whyr'don'a office, and or i(oingover it, found pages 76 and 77 out ; they had evidently been torn out, for pieces of the paper were yet sticking to the threads ; tome of them can be seen yet. When I was going over this book wltb Mr. Whyddon, oonntiqg the pages and came to this spot, I wanted to call Vr var, >.,^ .^■'::^.!>'-Ctf:--; - '? •■ J|;v^?:i■>^f ii!F O:.';,. ,>. '^.> (s.^-,,,,; hit fttt«ntien to it^ and I said^ *< Hbld oq, Mf* WbyaMdo, I Ukft nothing for gianted." fH replied, ** Pass on, pass on, I have no time to waatoi^ evidently desirous of wifbdrawingmy ezaoiinatiou' from it. IH thB check- in^r of pages, .Ar, Empey gave me his memorandam to check>rand I gave miae to Mr. Wbyddon, and he called his clerk and made him take down a- Hat of- the pages^ I was very patticalar, and I was so because T had stie|yielonsof-fottl play: I told my suspicions to Mr. fimpey, and. said he w«» a simpleton to allow his books to go out of his -bands. I am certain that the pages 177-and 178 were in the Ledgftp when IJaatsaw these booke in Mr > Whydden's ofBce^ I onequHrocally swear that this is thp trutb*T- 06 the 17th of Jaly, Mr; Davison of the Phoenix.Office, came4o PJaiotiffli; ofllee in compliance with a note from them, in reference to, a request .that bM been made through Mi. Whyddon for a statement of thetqutUitities,., qualities and values of the goods utterly destroyed. The Plaintiffs want Oi%r tbe premises with him, explaining the number of tbe articlea sold ia thefr btisittejs^ and thu other difficulties in tbe way of making a statement wbich could be at all relied on in its dQtia|ls,,and not such an-. one. jaa 'had* been asked fbr^ an attested verification of certainties.. Mr.i)avi89nistat«dt> to Mr. Empey in my presence, that he was quite satisfied, that the -state- V ment asked for was impossible. Mr. Empey asked him what heshotfid, do ; Mr. Uavison replied : — » Write to the Secretary of the €ommitte« . aadtell bin tfaaA Ihey^ as intelligent business men, perceive the iosHrmountp ahltt.diffieultyof makit»g a 8tatem«nt of so large a stock compo^d of soi great « vairiety,*' Mr. Empey copied down these words from Mr..Davi8on'8 dictation withht twenty inebse of his ey^s. I recognise this memorandum, pfedmed ^v the same. Mr* Empey frequently worked until 2 in ihe DMcoing^and sometimes later, making up the various stateratntsJemainded.! by^he insora<»ce Companies ; he injured his health by it, I remonstrated with him, and Advised him to let the insurance offices ppint ont the errora.. in hleclaim after he had sent it in. I wes also much employed-in g^ttisfr up these statements. Thie petty balances book sworn to by.Mr.Neal,ia. the identical one shown to Mrk Geddes in Mr. Empey's office, in my.pn- seace ; tbere.was no other. There is no credit given j this book is kep^, foeantacin-g goods on sight. Some of the first families of Montreal have . bsea lefnsed etedil in 4heir establishment. An^Vf^ Hpbfs^i^, sworn*— I hava actad am j^\^ite certain this .is it} I am perfeistty acquainted^ *w4thi it MMi^'' naMyji^and also with M* 9^^xit^\ Mr«£mpey has shown- it to'difl'OftM^" froqi the, , begMining, to fix the investigatioa after (he< fitei Tfiif % th««' bojqk; | ha^ve no.dpubt pf it. I recognize the aceaaats inside 'Whibb'Iani"' a9(maij9t|i|^ ;ij7ith^ 1 id^nti^ad. tha iwtt leaves >prodaoad «» thi'^ aUribbons ; it is my writing $1 wrotd'jt all onthe 28th Feb., at Ftock-tai;-' ingji know the prtvata' ledger of Mr. Enpdy.' These are ' my enfral'^ initials, from Mareb 1863, 1 pat everymdnth opposite the amount of my' salary as it is received ; this is done at the time of rec^iiri4g It. Thare ts' no credit given; each clerk ia responsible for any thing i61d and not pdd fdh' Mr. Sunlrin briefly repUcid, and admitted that after the evidence thkf' had been adduced, be was free to admit that, With regard to theidehtiQ^" of the littla ledger, the witnesses for the defence->-6eddeir and Wbyddoii'' —rhad been entirely mistaken ; they had doubtleks stated what fhejr beliet^ ed, bat Ihey were wrong ; itiathe booUi The ac^aintanee with tt had ' baeneuual; it was supposed tdbi of great'importai^da to the^ease^and'^ there was a ' degree of suspicion about i t. It was a mistake of ihdiihtity j ' and he felt called to acknowledge it. FIFTH DAY. iif{tri?5jti- W ft;) Ufranth^ opening of the Court, Mr. Rose, on behalf of the Plaintiffs, and at tW desire of the Jury^ expressed the evening before, asked Uave to prbduiee the Boole of the Fire Department, showing the record of the dis- missal of the Defendants* witness, Hudson, as a fireman, from the force, for drnhkenness on the night of the fire ; also, the clock destroyed in the pre> misesbf ilie ^lamSiffip, at a great distance from the fire. And he was disi- rouisj also, of exaininiLg Mr. Kay, the salesman of Banning, the Anctioneery who had made a calculation that (he uninvoiced rubbish iu the shed and i ^p 106 ytrd reprfisntf d goods to the TBhis of X10,000| a fact of whieh h* wai not aware at (he time Kav was examined. Mr. Ounkin, on b< half of the Defendants, chjected. The efidenee wu nowcomplet(>, and the case was closed; if it was re-openeJ, he slibaid claim the right ot biingiog evidence in rebuttal, and no one knew whert this would end. The Court ruled '.hat the objection must be sustained; no farther efU' dence could be brought. ru*j*l»iia-<::j^ jw(rf«'.n -t^nj ?*7'r-H -"■■'■■:!>ir>>3 /■'•>'-, ^ ' .'iVS. VMi ■^iyito^'-f- *•'■•■>■_ 1-' MR. ROSE'S REPLY. Mr. Rose, Q. C, addressing the Jury, said :— I rise to address joa with feelings far different from those which impressed me at the opening of ibis trial. Conscious, from the outset, that I advocated an boaest cause, and had deep wrongs to vindicate, I yet trembled with a painful anxiety. Now, 1 tremble for very confidence, lest, in the inscrutable wisdom of Him whose aid you have invoked to guide your deliberations, injustice and error should, for the time, be permitted to prevail. And yet, I cannot persuade myself that any lengthened observations, on my part, are needed in reply. I have watched your unwea'ied and intelligent investigation of every fact connected with this painful and complicated investigation, and I thank you from my heart for it. What is my clients' case to-day, may^ be that of any one of you to-morrow, and though I would not willingly exhaust your already over.tasked patience, I trust you will bear with nr.e while I perform what, in this instance, is done more in compliance with a conventional duty, than from a conviction of the neceesi^ity of a cloi*^ ing address. I feel that my clients but await the formal recording of your verdict to restore them to that position, in the estimation of their fellow citizens, from which the events of the past twelve months threatened, most unjustly, to banish them. I have no desire to over-estimate the impor- tance of the result ; still, less humbly to aigsume on their triumph and the utter discomfiture of their traducers. I bad hoped for equal magnanimity on the other side, and that, as each charge was disproved, each suspicion shown to be groundless, and each fact explained away — as, in short, the various grounds of defence, one and all, disappeared like the moving oiist, the Defendants would, last evening, have submitted to a verdict against them. Had they been left to their own honest impulses, 1 feel persuaded that your duty and mine would have, ere now, been ended ; but the Defendants cannot sever themselves from the Association with which they are linked. Yet, let them resist and struggle as they please, they cannot long avert the issue, for I know, and every one who hears me shares the conviction, that, before the sun which is now fast ascending to the meridian shall have passed it, justice wilt have triumphed, and the eloiid whicb \uu oveiihadowed my clients will have vanished forever. ' ^'^ ' ' ' -^f- >*^-- - 107 Too isw, GenUemrn, as the evidence for (he defence progreseed, is every attempt of ibe Defendants to establish fraud wan baffld and becama > —I had almost said ridiculoasiy— abortive, after every blow which they aimed at us rebounded on themselves, you saw the tone of my learned friend (who bad atrognted lu himself, at tbe outset, the position of publie prosecutor) al'.ered to one of depreciation and apology ; for tbe question if not now, as he seems to admit, whether the charges they made are proved, but whether tbe Defendants ever had any grounds which justified, or even extenuated, their placing the charges on record at ail. My learned fii^nd also told you that be bad it, in instrnctico from his clients, to exaggerate nothing and to distort nothing; but to conduct the case with perfect fair- ness and candour. I can well believe it, for my free acknowledgment of their honorable and high-minded fair dealing, is based on more than tea years of close personal intimacy and professional relationship with the Agents of tbe Defendants, fi'it, Lowever high a meed of respect I accord to them, I must assert tbe same for my own clients. I do not hesitate to avow that I entered on the investigation of this case, if not with a preja. dice, at laa^t with a. doubting and suspicious mind. Unknown, friendless, and without having attained that assured position which requires years of inceess, in a commercial community, to establish— claiming a loss to a far larger amount than Underwriters are generally called on io make good from a single calamity, they come into Court under every disadvantage. Men could not believe that offices, noted for their liberality and justice, would have combined to resist a claim which was even moderately honest, or that fifteen Companies would have leagued together but to expose some gigantic attempt at fraud, which they had it in their power to defeat. . Add to all this the natural proneness of every mind to suspect evil inourfel. low men, and you can well see how fearful the odds against my clients were. I doubt if even your minds, Gentlemen, were entirely free from bias when you entered the box. Under all this, nothing but a consciousness of their own integrity, and a dependence on Him who is alike the fountain of jus- tice and the protector of innocence could have sustained them. No man with guilt on his head would have dared to have submitted his cp *' we viMtaiaed bf fire uo the oiKht of the 6th dayofApril, 1855; mod, m y«QE. *< ierioua aeeusationa tin pleaded againat ua, we feel it oor boundeo duty to ;oa. <' aa«n hon»rable man, now to Inrornryoir, 1h«l if, dating th^cdarae bftltecrlii' •' •£lte;oo« fiied-to.take' piaoeoD Monday, 13th inaunt, you«ra tenvineedtthenj'! *' i^ppfifj-a, to-be hnj ,' Freud,' ' Imposition' or * Fa!ae aweering,* un oui: piatttin. " mtikingami auataining'oor elaim, we ahall relieve you from further advocating *' oaaea funoded on aoeb a fiMindation. ■■■iA::'•i■V■ivl^'^^*■!:^l^■^sw *• 'W9 remain, • ■ '- ■ "kij iV'^M >\n^|"'.i^,aii«r .jv"i to*l>l-y»!-^£'>t t , "Tour moat obedient eerrwit^;- =?'-'--n-^' .b?-;-.9iS*S'» nJ itin'ri.a 4' (Signed) J. MORISON,r b!nt ,>•>.'«; " A. CAMERON, ,v.., ALEX. EMPEY." '^^ ' (Signed) u The Pl,aintiff8 were utter strangers to me q^ntil my professic^al eonpee-] tion^ wi^tb th«m in tb^s caose, and I must publicly avow that the iqtei;|»>urM b^s resulted in my now entertaining the highest respect.^nd. warmest^ admiration for their 9haracter8. In every circumstance, howeve^ trifliog an(l aiiQute from the first to tbe last they have sbpwn a str^igbt-fo^^arid and bigii-miniiled honesty pjf purpose. And these ^re the men thatja|rec!»^i^ nonnced as guilty of fraud, falsehood and pejjijiy l^II | wii|,ip^(. rei;pmi-^^ nate. though my heart qwells vj^ith indign at^ those wbosc) ^ov^aR^,. suspicious natures prompted ^he accusation de/spas i* the wjpgg; ii^flicte^^l I trust that their accusers may p^ver tbemselyeA b^^ pl9p9d in a Hl^a.,-, strait Ab^ Gentiemeujit may seem, tosuperfij^ialobfervera t^t my clients^^ are men of callous, bustling natures, who have, since tbe occurrence of^^h^ . fire,^^ pursued their Uade unafifected by the 4tain on their ehar9,ct49[r;v^biph^, these cbarg^ involve I But Gpd forbi<| that jou or ai^y pn.e defrtaypu, should have to pass through the same terrible ordeal, hpneleD^, ep^anip^^ . less the object of distrust apd suspicion, whether j^n business rplatipps or , socia! intercourse. Gpd forbid that yon should ever be called on to )Svitoes^ in your own circle the safiused and downcast eye, t^e swelling boart, and choking utterance which bespeak the inward anguish of au honest spirit sinking ,t)uder a sense of unmerited suspicion. Bfit he who punishes .] guilt as surely protects innocence and tbe uAu^erited obloquy which has been heaped upon us wiir soon under God's help be r^mpved. We have beep spiqewhat tainted with npt s!ib!|iiMtinf tiie i^ne t(i| ff^z ^ tratipn,! but, as I declared at the outset, itbepa;ne wit|^t^aque8tipnpfg^i^ „ or inpoeenpe, character or no character, ^raudpr bpnepty^ ^n,^, I butq^jf^yej., *o^ou ipy instruction^ when I te^I you, emphatically,, ,an|^ upmist^^blf .. that we will have no compromise— that \ye, stake i^l on J^h^tisj^^pj.wej,,, will not consent to receive the smallest coin to which a legal value can be attached, if you believe,— if you bave even a lurking suspicipp pf ^jKlsf^T dealing, give us all or aothing. If you canupt by tb9 Japc^ii^)^]^ that Book pn whjypbyPjV bM^i^ypked Qod>.aid and directioDy avouob that.w<« afe wholly and clearly innocent, make no compromise between right and ifti 109 '..;' lympatby— be not detened from fear of conseqaencM from the lolenn diity of recording yoar Terdiet againet at* ^m tfftiA.r- «.^^ -.a^vK,^.! #•> Bat let me now proceed to review the CTidence. I see by year |oo|m thati it is neediessy that mind and body are ezbaiuted, and I shall be brief. . There is in reality bat one question to determine. ^Vere ^|ie goods in the store the night of the fire ? The Defendants say they eould not have been consumed. Bat it is useless to speculate on the duration or inten- sity of the fire, because if they were there they have dUappeared, and) if Iqst to tfie extent we say, the claim is substantially a just 000, an^ the|e can have been in no material thing imposition or jl[alse swearing. » r..^. ^ The learned Counsel then reviewed at great length the whole evidence, as to the nature of the fire^^its duration and its intensity ; be reconciled those diffjuences of opinion as to the time it was burning, ^artioalarly that of, Captain Bertram and the .witnesses for tie Plaintiff. He showed that a opnsuffiiable time most have elapsed from the commencement of ^he fire until it became apparent, from the alarm until the messenger reached Bertram's residence, in Dalhousie Square, more was consumed in arousing him, his dressing proceeding through streets in the worst condition, nnither wjbjeeUng nor sleighing, but a mixture of ice, sbow, and mud. The time tlMis occupied, short as It might appear to those eng^aged, was sufficient to> have enabled the fire to gain great headway, and to be distinctly visib'fl from tbe> Place d'Armes, as what Captain Bertram called a dark light, ifo estimate could be formed on the mere (Question of time as to the amount of destruction, which fire would do ; be called to the remembrance of t^e Jury the great conflagration in 1^. Paul's Street a few years ago, when in not one quarter of the time, admitl^d'by the defendants that this lasted, large stocks of valuable goods, and the stores which contained tl^em, were utter- ly destroyed. As a scientific corroboration^ he adduceid the important evidence of Mr. Parsons' and Dr. Hail, to show that the very nature of the' stock destroyed was such as to make its utter destruction in the intense heat of its confined space ciertainandicomplete, and he called to mind the all- impbrtant evidence of Bertram j the' Defendants witness ;— "It was not the Biiilding, but the Goode (bat were burning."' The evidence of the value of the stock on the premises at the time of the fire was ais perfect as it could be ; there were the stock wbeets, and the books, the corroborative testimony afforded by th's accountant aftek-'lin elaborate investigation of the whole biisiniii^thinsactiobs of tfi^ 'Plaintiffs, sihciB ^e beginning. Not one fact alone, nor oni p^bof, bnt a st^c^^ssidh of evidences dovetailing and fitting td^ether until they tesnmedlh^ form of ubimpeachable certainty. They had h(^d the teSttniiniy'df Mr; C«ah, k geofieman of the highest standing id' tfa« tdtniiiunity, tf Witit rieetitnile and calm judgment, who had told th«iU that he carried to (his iaveslig^tion a strong bias against the Plain- ■lin m. iiW 'l4 m ■:.. ;• n s:-'.' ■ir; ■\],tv 1 w 110 * tift, and they had beard him declare with a folemnilj that thoe* who knew his character coald alone eatimate, that after the fullest investigatioOf on hit eonecienee be believed the claim to be a good claim. Msaart. Raf- ford & Spiera, able accoantants, none more bo, had testified to the same ; they bad subjected tbe statement of tbe loss to every test which a practical knowledge could suggest and they bad arrived at the conclusion that it was in truth and fact no less than it was made. But the case did not rest on mere opinions. Had we not inroicea for every shilling in value of the goods ? Had not tbe stock been taken mi- nutely and accurately, and when no possible motive existed for exaggerat- ing its quantity or value ? Had it not been taken at a reduction to bring it down to its lowest cash vdw ? Hau the Jurj^not tbe original bills which the Plaintiffi had given for their purnbases, stamped and bearing such con- clusive marks of genuineness as that even the Defendants could not doubt their authenticity ? Had they not the returns from tbe Custom House f Had they not the entries in the Plainti& books carried from year to year all corresponding? And did not all these united form « mass of corroborative testimony such as was seldom offered in any Court of Justice t ' It was said the Custom's Report exhibited a discrepancy of some £3)000, but this was an entire mistake. Mr. Davis had examined tbe Plaintiffs importations from the beginning of their business, and they tallied ex- actly with their statement. The difference between it and the Defend- ant's return was this, — that a certain part of their goods had been entered in the name of tbe forwarders which did not appear in the Defendants' statement, as they bad no means of knowing the fact, and besides, the De- fendants took the value as entered for duty, which is the actual ready ^aah value^ and is 6 per cent, less than the invoice or credit price actually paid for tbe goods. These two items accounted for the supposed defi- ciency. So murb, then, as to the existence of the goods. And bow let us come to tbe accusations of fraud, imposition, and false swearing. Never, I believe, were such gtave charges made on such slender, unsub- stantial, frivolous grounds; never was so much respectable and powerful, countenance more unwarrantably or causelessly given ! Compelled to wage a contest wbich involved not only pecuniary ruin, but the loss of character, a contest wbich, but for tbe confidence of their creditors in their • integrity, they never could hafve found the means to carry on, agajnst a. confederation of Insurance Companies, armed with all the power which wealth and influence gave tbem ; tbey bad been deprived even of tbe books necessary for tbe preparation of such a statement of their affairs as was imperative on thei' defence. To such an extent had this persecution been carried, tbat tbey and their creditors were even deprived of tbat security in tbeir busineii wbich was their right ; the Companies had, since the fire, refused to insure their stock, and tbey were compelled ia ft grea i «)>■<) it t.iifi 1.- lU i ici 8v**il vortf .laill .siii ^iu ■•Mttre, to becoDit their own intaren. We bare heard of proseeations iostituied against laboring men for eombioations to raise the rate of wageS) and agaioat baliera for endeavoring to enhance the price of bread, and of puoisbment inflicted on them tor such acts; but what are these in com- parison with a combination of Insarance Companies to deprive the Plain- tiffs, hy withholding their books, of the means of establishing their legal claim,— -then of an organised resistance of that claim itself, and finally by exelnding them from the right which is accorded to the humblest man in the community, if be be respectable, of protecting himself from disaster by insmance. '■■'■ ''M' ■'•:*■:■••• We have been told that in the proceedings on this case, ther^ is ho "dis- tinction between the Agents of these Companies and their principals, that the one endorses the acts of the others ; if this is the troth, M it go forth thravgb the length and breadth of the land, |that parties insured may know what they have to expect when the misfortune of a loss against which they have endeavored to sesnre themselves, comes upon them. Let it be known that accusations of fraud, of imposition and perjury, are to be made upon vague suspicions and foregone coneliisions, upon the mere inferences of evil minds, Without tangible proof, or a shadow of teatimony, and that to the loss of property is to be added the loss of character, when they attempt to claim the indemnity of their contracts . I say that Insurance Companies must be taught, and I believe the result of this trial will teach them that they are not to be allowed to assail character with impunity, that when they are called upon to investigate a claim, they are to proceed to it in good faith, and not to comiiteniBe it with a foregone conclusion of imposition, supported upon such weak premises as an error here, or an erasare there, and stories of private books, on which to found accusations of fraud. They must be compelled to meet men who claim from them the fulfilment of their contracts as honest men, and not lightly or needlessly raise such issues as those upon which this defence is based, it is useless to say that they ignore the graver charge of arson, that they repudiate the intention of imputing a fraudulent^ destruc lion, and conQne themselves to the plea of imposition, fraud, and fals» swearing, since the fire The whole course of the defence goes to show that if fraud there was, it was not of to-day ; that it com. menced with the first day that my clients began businesp, that it has been continued from year to year for the specific ultimate purpose of a criminal destruction of property, and a felse claim. This conclusion is inevitable, it cannot be avoided. The Pleas in the defence, if proved, would have established a deep and damning crime, a depth of infamy of which the commercial history of the world affords no parallel. .Int« what then do these charges resolve themselves ?-<-that the half burnt books which have been produced and the stock sheets were destroyed since I MW—nrriiift-- ---■ "'H"'TrT*n'7*f mimimiSltseSSSSfTSTS v» ' >'' lie (h« fire, that they hare bean matilated, and that the « little private ledger/' <(f irjiicb we ^are beard so nacb, Nu also been lain and denreyad 10 as to bide the real position of tbe PUinUtfs basinesi ; and, AoaNjytbM we We piaimed for some £100 odd for flxtnrei, at part of ear'stoele. ;B«ally ti^e aosweriag of sacb far-strained arguments and errsneous asaertiona sf^ms lil^e cqmlrating with a sbadow. The witnesses by whose testimony it fifas intended these charges should be auppoited, Messrs. Oeddei siHd IjIRiyddQQi werf self-eondemned ; you saw their confusion, their selfHson- (radiction, the embarrassment of their looks and of their ideas ; and 1 migk* dHaiiss their testimony withont a word of oempient. I shenid hare done 83, for they are to be regarded more in pity than in anger ; one ef Hkem at least, Mr. Geddet, having cridently found out bis mistake and evinced a disposition to acknowledge it. Take as a spseinen Ae reoafntttlatfon stock sheets ^ you remember the mysterious sblemnity with which he an- nounced that be did not belieTo, or doubted it was the first sho#n t» him ; and yet be finds, and admits on cross examination, that tibe pencil initials and coneetions shown to him on it are hit own ; that he had gone over it, ^guif by figure, column by cokunn with Mr. Eoiipey, kndAiinsiff Verified its correctness 1 1 1 ' •".|Kii- *.!;«■,.,_« h<(.h i,iv^tt' .,»'■ c^^.^n., And now let us come to the FrioaU Leigw />// iflt. OUdtlito ednscientt'- ously expressed some doubt as to it» identity, bat you reeolleet Mr. Whyd- don's microscopic and prolonged examination of it, outside and in, back and front, and tbn air of self'«omplaeency, and tone Of voice with which he laid it down and pronounced it "a clever imitation." iTou remember^ also, when hard pressed, with what solemnity he asserted that hecotiUnof be tniitaken ; that the real Book was a much larger Book, and bow posi- tively he declared as if sitrprised at my persistence in the interrogation that the one produced was not the Book, That jrcu may comprehend the full force and importance of this evidence, Imust call to your recollection *hat the mutilation of this Book is the key stone of the defence. It waa this Book from which Messrs. Geddes and Wbyddon had declared at least fifteen or. twenty leaves had been extracted. In the affidavit sent by the latter to Mr. Smpey, he, Empey, swears that no leaves whatever were taken out ; and after this tbe mutilation is averred in the Pkae, acdf Mr. Empey's denial of it on oath is formally set forth and specially set out as the false swearing, by which the claim is forfeited. We must, therefore, aw0 pose that Messrs. Geddes and Whyddon were prepared, beyond ail doubly' to prove the mutilation between tbe intervals when it was exhibited id them. Now, mark^he issue. They knew before going into tbe witness box, (for tbey had hei^d it ,at tbe outset of the case) that we would prove, by the testimony of all tbe Bookbinders in town, that not a square inch of paper ever had, or could, have been taken out of the Book ; and they saw that the ouly alternative was either, on the one hand, to persist in that a>- the WM tlie Mr. I the sop- onbt, id to ItneM ire, saw itai- .I'.fJ b 1 1 lis 1 — * / I ■n lertion r. hich would have been so triumpbaotly disproved, or, on the other, to throw a dou*>t on the i(tenli*y of tbe Rook. Partly honest, p".riiy puzzled, thay stack oti tbe Utter horn of the ililemma. Bai how di<* '.lai avail theoi f The defendent", it is (rue, at first, threw all aidnner'>> doubt about its iden- tity ; but you remember the nponianeous burst of applause which greeted the manly, suaigbtforward aa< bad fifty unim- peaebable witnesses to support him, tbe defendants bent beneath the mighty wave of truth, which they felt poweJIeM to -breast, and my learned friend depreeatingly admitted that there bad 6een a viUtake and that the Book ■mat be the very Book indetd /ft f-isutnidij^iof »;i9W &mU lo^esiti »d'i ' What then becomes of tbe hlunderinf^ self-eorfiderice of Mr. Whyddoi>| the nonchalant air with which be produced the extracts he had mado from the " little book" at the time, and which be did not find in It now, aa conelusive proof that it could not be the same ? We were all struck with this. I, myself, was staggered, confounded, and, for the moment, mis- trusted the whole case. Every man '.r Court beid his breath, and felt it was inexplicable. The only solution which occurred to me was, that his eztiaet, must refer to some other book. I could not believe any man would have wilfully fabricated such a memorandum ; and yet, bow eould ther« be any mistake committed in relation to a paper which, as Mr^ Geddes stated, was considered, by Mr. Whyddoo, " too sacred" to be entrusted even into his hands? • >i>i'?i''>'rtii.'» ;;,ii-ihn>Hi!x'i <»ii; iwiino na'i •di i; And yet^ Gentlemen, sO it is I Tbe man, all tbe while, wai referring to another book, and that other book is the half •burnt Ledger, which has ever since. been in A.i8 possession. Did be calculate on our not making the discovery during tbe hurry of the trial 7 If he did he reckoned in vain, for here is tbe page and here tbe entries, not in tbe little book, but in that L^dge^r! (The learned Counsel here, amid great sensation, shewed the book to the Jury, and pointed out the entries; and then took up tbe other memorandum of Mr. Geddes, wbich tl^at witness bad shewed he made from the private Ledger, and shewed thfO Jj^iy tbat it indisputably proved the td,entity,— having reference to entries coi^tained in tbe different pagasj bearing peculiar marks. These explanationf.were given amid great sen- sation.) The Counsel epntinued, at some length, to review tbe evidence of the^e witnesses on oth^r points, and, turning to the Counsel of the De. fondants, said, he hoped their clients were satisfied that they had got full value fq^ the f 600 p^i^. (or it. .. ,.„ i,.,*,^,^^^ «^,„ jj \iim ,f\Hni -^di V He also showed, fron^the small privatt; Ledger, that Mr. Empiey, bM tMK income from another source than his business— enough to support him well, without all this toil and anxiety of 4>usi«ess ; as it had been said, since tbii trial commenced, « How could a man, with a family, live upon J6166 a-year ?" 114 Bl-: I He ibovred them tbat no eharge had ever been made on the Defendantf for fixtures, as alleged ; tbat altbongh they had been properlj introdacad into the amount of the general stock, yet they bad been credited to tlif m •a so much saved. He proceeded to explain away the supposed misen- tries, and showed that even had they been all that tbey were represented, yet they involred no eridenee of fraud. The items of charges afterwards transferred to goods, he admitted had been so done since the fire. But it was openly and honestly done, in presence of plaintiffs clerks and to Mr* Whyddoo*s knowledge, when one or two items were found to hare been wrongly charged in the year 1853, b^ a careless clerk. He contended that the first entry was an error which the Plaintifi had a right to correct. The mass of these were for premiums of exchange, and commissions paid for negotiating loans, the proceeds of which enabled them to purebaae with cash in foreign markets, obtaining thereby discount far greater than the interest ; and while the price of the goods was thus diminished on the one hand it was strictly correct that there should hare been added to it, the charges incurred on the other. The declaration of Mr. Empey after the fire tbat the books were safe, and in the safe did not allude \o books oat of use, but to the current books of account that were in use ; the very sixe of the safe, one of the very smallest kind, only capable of containing these was an evidence of this. The learned Counsel concluded his address by a recapitulation of the issues which their verdict must decide, and the man- ner in which, if in favour of his clients, this must be done ; and an appeal to the Jury under the extraordinary circustances of the case, the grave charges that had been made against his clients, end the utter failure to esta- blish a single suspicion of wrong doing, that in addition to this, if they were satisfied that they were innocent men that they should make such • special return in addition, as would publicly record their opinion of their honest and honorable conduct. • ^fisi) >t^^r ^ The learned Counsel closed his eloquent address about 12 o'clock. (The Court, which had been throughout the whole of this long trial full of at- tentive listeners, was now absolutely crowded.) Mr. Dunkin desired before his Honor charged the Jury to make an ex- planation purely personal to his own position. He had examined the matter of the Fixtures, and he was free to admit that he had been misinformed on that head ; there could be no doubt tbat the amount of them had formed no part of the claim against the Defendants. He trusted it would be believed that he was entirely unaware, that be had no suspicion of the truth, until it was exhibited by the learned Counsel. Had be known the fact, the aceQ«itioo would never have been made. V^\ .ffiSin.wk-tiw-i 1. ] ■^r-trci- hi^n U'ii i^us l^'imi:i:u «.'•• i u' 115 ,/ liClOD Id be \ki^t THE CHARGE. His Honor Mr. Juitiee Smith, laid :— Gentleinen of the Jury,— At lut we havi arrired at the termioation of this case, which has, throughout so many days, occupied your attention. It is one of great importance, not only as affecting the position of the Plaintiffs as merchants, striving to establish and carry on an extensitre business on the basis of their personal respectability and credit, but also for the large amount involved in it, and the implications of moral turpitude on their character. The case resolves itself inti a simple point. I confess to you, when it first commenced, I tbonght that there were great doubts of the validity of the claim set up by the Plaintiffk, and of their conduct in its proof; but as, from day to day, tbe enquiry proceeded, these doubts have, one by one, disappeared, and now I have none. " '*"" ' '; Gentlemen., it is not for me to control your verdict ; the law makes you the masters of the facts, and I do not desire, by a wbisiper of mine, to influ- ence your decision. And I shall make no remarks on this, but what i feel necessary to be made, of which I know the responsibility, and which I shall willini^ly assume. The claim is for a proportion of a loss incurred by the Plaintiffii by fire on their premises, on the night of the 5ih ot April, 1855, as covered by two policies of insurance, that proportion being the ratio which the whole loss bears to the aggregate of the whole of the insur. ance. Your verdict, if for the PiaintiffV, will be for this proportion, as set forth in the statement in the record. You have nothing to do with the origin of the fire — this is not challenged. The extent or duration of it is DO sound conclusion of its eff'ifcts ; no man can limit the amount of destruc tion, the intensity or eflfect of fire. It is an agent whose power cannot be estimated, that cannot be bound down by any given rules ; its power is only to be judged of by its effects. It is not for you to decide what amount can be destroyed in a given time, but how much was destroyed in this con- flagration, its duration has been variously estimated from twenty minutes to two hours ; it has been set up that it is a physical impossibility that the amount of toss claimed could have taken place in these limits. The fire must have burned some time before it was discovered, a further time must have elapsed beforethe arrival of the engines, it had then reached such a head that tbe flames were visible at a great distance, and the fact that it was easily put out proves its intensity; the inflanfiable nature of the goods, and the rapidity with which they were consumed, was also a reason why they abould be easily quenched. A few minutes of such a fire were sufficient to destroy a great amount of goods. It has been proved that it burned a long time ; but it is not with the time you have to deal, but with the re- sults. If it is proved to you that the quantity claimed was in the premise previous to the fire and that they have not been seen since, and you art satisfied they were not taken away, it is in vain for any man, or any set i\ \ ( t .116 of mani to lay that it it not pMilbl«fot thtn to bare b«an burnad. Thar* if Qo ineasura for fire ; you caoaot tall what it aao do nntil it ia,4oM. If yoi| ara satiified the goods ware in tb^ franiiaiy (haia auppoiitiona etuu>t be brought at evidence against the fac(«. It baa alio bean attempted to be shown that it wu insposslble that the apace would contain the wnoupto/ goods described. On this bead you have the eridence of the wiitnasaesi Ban. jamin and Whitney, to prora that, not only was it not impossiblai but that they actually placed them. It is in vain for any parson to sat up nara opia- ion« against the practical knowledge and axparience of thasa gaBllaman. It is alleged for the Defence that the Plaintiffs have claimbd for an aanoant of stock which tt|ey did not possess, that they have supported tbia elaim by faUe statements, erasures, mutilationa and falaa stock-shaats, and that the overcharge thus made has been supported by false awearipf. Tba real issue, then, before you to-day is, whether the Plaintiffs did acluaJly pof^ass this stock ; for, if they did, the other pleas fall to tba ground. The f iaintiffi hare attempted to establiiih this fact by witnessas^by tbair booka and documents, extending over a number of years, and tba balance sbeata annually struck. Fraud is so mingled up with this question that, if yoa aliandon tba idea of it bavitig, from the first, tainted all these avidatieaa — preceded and pointed to the final consummation, — the delenea falla to.itbt ground. Sucb a cours ) of systematic falsification could net bava baen commenced at so distant a period, and extended orer sucb a term of yean, except to prepare the way for a gigantic fraud— a fraud, I am bound to say, without a parallel, and almost beyond the limits of belief. The docu. ments and books which they produce must, unless destroyed^ be taken ai substantial evidences in their favour. A merebant^s books are bis legiti- mate proofs ; it be to be denied the benefit of their testimony, wben veri- fied by documents, examination, and every test which Uift'tldll of aceoun- tapts can subject them to? If so, they become so manj^tm|lsfor bim and for Qtbers. If they are to be taken against bim, and tigafaist i thai" sense, a4d used 88 evidences to constitute fraud, while he is dens^ed the benefit of tbeir proof, they become' so many traps to anaaate bim ivlieii the time,c9Ji>es,.to charge bim with fraud. If tbeie boobs acenotaiiiieient tealinqooy in bis cause, then Gentlemen, I am at a loss taaay whatiit. We come now to the consideration of whether there was furnished tetUiin- aarfr^^ViUcbia preliminary statement of the quantity, and qaali^««d value of.tjie loss aa they have by the conditions of their policies the rifbt.i%fdl^ tf),e]U(|t. The conditions of their contract give to the Inamance Goii)|>iniies t]lke,r|gi)t toask the best evidence which the assured can give of th«< nature and extjept^of hit loss ; this is just and reasonable. The abtenee of thift only, afiectftthe tight of action, but it does not affest the merits of the chiiai. T^l^rightipr action dees not acerae lo the insured vnlil this stiitemeilt is 9^^a4. i;hle thea it the first point of the defsaoe. We find' (Mi Ihto 117 lai^qnacfl CompiMUU did raceiva noUee of Um firt) thay lock poM«Mioo of the ifi^MHi gQ9d«»4old them, receiTed and ceUioad tba mooay} ibey. •])*( ^ poJDtad jointly with tba Plaintiffi, appraiian to valua the amount of d%*i'^ mtigt, upon tbose remaining, and acceptad tbeir report. Tbeae acts d«> Btroy tbia plea, and establiib aatiafactoriljr tba mndiog of tba praliqaioary •tatanant. It ia aaid tbat tba docamaot subinitted to tba eompanias wk^ a mere precU or recapitulation of the atock-taking, containing diacofdaat; elemenu, with no proper description of tbe goodsi but a mere statement of yards and values ; wbetber aucb a manner of taking stock is usual I do not- know, bnt I know I am bound to assume, as no eridence has bean bfougbt to establish the contrary, tbat it is so. If tbe steok was taken in the uaual manner, and you believe tbat, by this it was possible to anivw at a satisfactory result, then it is eitablished as a proper evidence. There if, verbal testimony wbich is sufficient evidence to sbow tbat, on tbe second story pf (be premises, there was, on tbe oight.of the fire, the qu&ntity ,of goods stated to be there. If these evidences be not impeached, then a prvnafotia case Js establisbed for tbe PlaintiA. There is no occasion to go into minute details of tbis matter, you are far more conppe.tent than I| to Judge, of tbem> if tbey do not strike at tbe gaperal result, if yf>n are aa-, tisfied of the accuracy pf tbe mass, tbese need not be touched } and yon are able to test tbe value of the figures subinitted^o you, better tban the Court can ditect you. The Plaintifis assert that tbe value of tbeir stock, was what tbey have set out ;— tbey go back to the balance of 1854 ; shopr the amount of their purchases and sales, and establish that tbe balr^ ance and stock sbeets of 1855 are accurate in all essentials. When fur- ther called on to verify this, they start from the beginning of tbeir basioe^S; in 1850, and trace it up through all its transactions to the date of the firej and when all are compared and verified the difference of result is so small, and trifling tbat it is not worth mentioning. The chief objection is that the stock-taking of 1854 is not verified by the invoices, tbat the amount set forth in tbe one is £30,000, while there is nothing to sbow tbat more than £27,000 p9^sed through tbe Custom House. Admitting this to be true, is tbat an evidence that goods to the amount of the difference were not, received otherwise, or that tbe stock'takiog of that year is wrong. Unr less you come to the conclusion, of wbich there is no evidence, that Goods were put down on these inventories which were not upon the premises, there is nothing to justify yo^ in considering this a solid objection ; it is merely a supposition against tbe actual measurement and valuation of 185^. Unless there is something on tbese documents which canbeim- peaebed, sofnetbing which takes the eye as a manifest exaggeration, I don't see on what principle you can come to the conclusion that tbey do ' not represent tbe quantities and values which tbey set, fort|>. Now to the. ;,^ plefu let up by ^he Defendants, which I have placed before yon in a sub'fr.: ii;i I illl m %i m itaotial form. They allege, Ist :— That the stock of the amoant and Talae claimed was not on the premises upon the night of the fire. 2ad :— That the statements furnished to them were insufficient ; that no proper description of the quality, quantity, and Taiue of the loss was ever given them, but that those rendered were inadequate and supported by false re- presentations, ^"ffr-charge, and false swearing: and 3rd:— That the Flaintiffi bad included in tbeir statement of loss, property which was not insured by them ; and that therefore on these accounts the policies are vitiated. I will now call your attention to these different features of the case. In the first place, that they had not the amount of goods : that may be, and still the Piainiitfj not be chargeable with fraud ; there might be mistakes, errors, and miscalculations, which had produced false results, but this does not constitute fraud, and therefore this would only go to diminish the amount recoverable on proof. The real question, however, is this fraud. I must admit that when this trial i.rst began, my suspicion wa« that the fraud charged extended over a peci<>d of years, and that yon would be calif d upon to try issues involving the characters of the Plain- tiffs for a series of years. The dffendants disclaim the charge of fraud, as thus involved, and allege only fraud since the fire. From the moment the charge was so put, as not to go beyond the fire, you have nothing to do with anterior ciicumstances. If there Vf&s no fraud previous to the present state, menis, that charge cannot be proved by going back from 1855 to 1850, and endeavouring to show that the entries in the books of these years were evidences of a fraud which did not come into existence until April, 1855 I do not mean to say that you cannot go back to prove fraud, but this is difl^^rent from making these entries establith z crime which it is admitted they did i:ot coiitemplate, and, therefore, they could not be secondary evi- dence of. If this fraud had been contemplated when these entries were made, before the effecting of this Insurance, and with a view to some ob- ject—for object there must have been, — and that object, the only one to be predicated on them, the fire, I say no language can paint the magnitude of the crime. The fri of Plaintiffs books; I confess 1 cannot see the weight of the argument as it stands alone. If errors and erasures in mer- chants' books are to be brought up to proclaim him guilty of fraud, no man will be safe, no character, however high or honourable, will be able to •land the test, and the most hon<^st may be brought up as criminals. This if the charge — because there are erasures, therefore, there is fraud. It io competent to trace back these things, not to show fraud then, but as evi- dences of fraud now. Now, let U9 look at the value of the evidence on this important point, extending back to 1850. You have heard of little piecei of fraud, alterationa and erasures, from the witnesses Whyddonand i' Ud Gtddea — littl* scrapes and marks rubbed out, and leaves raissiag. Gentle- m«D| if i bad not beard tbe ebarges contained in Defendant's declaration, I sbould bave stopped tbe case long since. All tbis amounts to notbing but mere suspicion. Wbere is tbe evidence to sbow, or bow is it possible to sbow, if even all tbese accusati??* are true and uoezplainable, that tbey amount to cbarge of fraud, or in any way cbange tbe position of affairs. Fraud must have a result, end if tbat is not contemplated tbere is no fraud. What description of evidence is tbis, made up of all tbese petty minutia, to establhb a cbarge so grave ? If it had not been to allow tbe PlaintiiTs the opportunity of complete vindication, not to satisfy my own mind, but yours, and those of every one to whom tbis evidence shall come, 1 sbould have stopped tbe case at once ; I allowed it to proceed only to effect tbis result. The charges which have been withdrawn ought never to have been made ; they have been disclaimed by the counsel for the Defendants, and they have relieved your mind and mine. What evidence has beep adduced that the Flaintiffii, in their statement, made any overcharge, or were guilty of fraud, falsehood and imposture. Wbere is the fraud tangi- ble to your minds ; wbere is tbe single act brought up subsequent to tbe fire— a single act or a single piece of paper, upon which to found a charge of fraud, after it. You have heard how these accusations were made and supported by the witnesses Whyddon and Geddes — of these little peddling matters of marks and erasures ; tbey amount to notbing, and I shall not enter in*o their details. There has been no prooC given that the leaves torn out of the Books of Account were so removed with a fraudulent inten- tion, after the fire. If at all, tbey were taken out before. How is this to support a charge of fraud after the fire, unless it can be shown that it waa done to avoid tbe detection of false statements of loss,* involving a design of intentional burning. The marks and erasures on the stock sheets are nothing, and I dismiss them. The question arises, by whom were these leaves torn from the Books of Account, and for what purpose. The Plain- tiffs have a right to say tbat their loss casts a suspicion on Defendants Agents. I shall not go into this matter ; it is sufficient for me to say tbat, if their absence does not alter the result of Plaintiffs statement, tbis con- tains no charge of fraud. If it could be shown that their loss was less than they claimed, even to the extent of one farthing, and the overcharge was made intentionally, their policies are void. Now, what other evidence have you besides tbese leaves torn out, and these marks and erasures T Tbo last and most important item io tbe alteration of entries from the charges account to that of goods, by which they magnified tbe extent of their stock ; you have had the evidence of able business men, and can de- termine on its value. But, even if tbis was wrong, there was no evidence of its being designedly so. Whether these charges were such as legili> mately go to the price of goods is a question of book-keeping, but it does ■'1 m 1} i ki I 1 120 OJS not affect the reralt to which yon have to come. If the entry was a wrong one, its discovery only goes to diminish the value of Plaintiffs Steele. Thtc> entry of the fixioras into' tbeir claim, not having beisn explained^ if suW^ stautiated and done intentionally, would have been a point difficult to get > over J but that has been disproved, and has been withdrawn. The third>^' and last point is the false swearing, founded on the affidavits made since ' the fire. It is stated in evidence that the morning after the fire, one of<'! the Plaintiffs said that the books were safe ; this evidence is given by severan witnesses in different forms ; one says they were safe, another that tbeiy'^'^ were all safe ; and that afterwards they were found to be burned. Plain- ; tiffd swear they were burned in the fire; acd this evidence has gone to.' you. Considering all the circumstances could the Plaintiffs have intended ; to say that all their books were saved, or only such as were in use ; or was. ' not the statement made under excitement natural to the occasion with tbo i belief that it was true. Some of the books have been produced to yon, T and you have seen that they are burnt, and yon must believe if they did ><7 so state boldly and positively that all their books werie saved, that thosafx^ were burned since. But one cf the witnesses qualified his first statement, • by adding that the books saved were those required in business, the eurreni j books of the time. Is this evidence sufficiently satisfactory to your minds £> tb^t their oaths have been false? If there is no othdr circumstance of ': 'fraud to be found in this case, if there is nothing else in it to arouse sus»< ' pioion, is this sufficient ? It is inconsistent with human nature, and con* ■> trary to our knowledge of the human heart, to believe that men who bad s been hitherto honest, who had, upon their personal integrity during fiveo- years, carried on a most extensive business, without suspicion of wrong- • doing, would suddenly have become such rogues as this implied, and in a. ^ manner so easily detected. No, gentlemen, it cannot be believed, and I whatever admission was made was either misunderstood, or referred only U; to such books as were in use. in the safe, and not to the old ones. Beyond.) i this there is not a tittle of evidenc« of false swearing. If you find for thft< < Plaintiffs on these issues, then it is an instruction from the Court that yoiij> may express an opinion beyond the issues submitted to you. You cannot /. fail tO have observed the peculiar hardships Imposed upon the Plaintiffs in ti prosecuting their claim against these wealthy and powerful companies, '< acting in consort. To support what they considered their legal rights,^' they had a powerful enemy to meet; and thus under circumstances of n great disadvantage. Deprived of the books of accounts, and everything. K concealed and kept back from them, they had to make their way against ! circumstances hardly ever witnessed in a Court of Justice. These books i withheld from them, this combination of powerful influences, these grave il' suspicions, iojuring their character and credit, and finally, these charges o otU 00 you, when you return your verdiet| if you find that the defendants i' ' 121 hftTe failed, under all these cireumitanees of adrantage, to establish •galkist tbAi ode single iota of fratid^ imposition^ or fabe sw«aring, tc naiee a return to that effeet^ It is of great importance id the character of the Plaintiffs, that you should declare it if you are satisfied, as I, for my part, am, that these charges^ of fraud, are utterly destituts of/OUndation^ When the Judge concluded bis charge a loud burst of applause rose in the Court House, the officers of the Court having some difficulty in restor- ing order. His honour then again read over the issues of the case to the Jury, commentiDs; ahortlyion each of then) as he went along, and finished speaking about 3 o'Cloek, occupying 3 hours in charging the Jury. ' o The Jury was desirous of rendering a verdict uoanimqusly without leav- ing the box, but in order to arrange its technicalities they retired. , - Oa returning into Court, they rendered a yerdict for the Plaintiffis unani- OAOusly, upon all the issues, as follows :«^ Did the Defendants execute and deliver to the Plaintiffi the two Poli- cies of Insurance fyled in this cause hy.the Plaintiffs, at the r riods they respectively bear date ; and were both such Policies in force, and all pre- miums due in respect thereof paid before and at the tim^ pi the fire in the Plaintiffs declaratibti referred to f ' ' Yes.' ">"."' Was the stock of d^y goods in the said two Policies referred to, and there- by assured against loss by fire, burnt and consumed by fire, as in Plaintiff deetaralloii 'Stated, either in whole or in part, and if only in part to V, ^ (From the Comnureial Advertiser^ May 17.) ii. rt*it . // Insvramce Cask. — This case, which we continue to-day, terminated yesterday, after a strong charge from the Court in the favour of the Plain- ti&, and emphatic declaration of the total failure of proof of bad faith in every particular, in a verdict in their favor for the full amount claimed, as the proportion of the Phoenix Company of the whole amount of the loss* i:!: a This verdict covers all the other cases, fifteen in number. **'"' ' ' *^' *'^*'< The jury were desirous of returning a verdict without leaving th? box ; and by their foreman, through the Court, declared that they had entered on the investigation with a prejudice against Messrs. Morison, Cameron & Empey, the Plaintiffs, but that they were entirely satisfied of their perfect innocence of the charges set up in the defence, and congratulated them upon leaving that Court without a taint of suspicion, established in character as upright honert honourable men. The charge of the Judge, and the delivery of the Jury, were received with loud acclamations from a crowded Court. Of the great pains bestowed on our report, and the enormous labour it has involved, the reporter having been engaged on it five days and three nights without rest or interval, we shall say no more than to express an . opinion, without vanity, that few such labors have been accomplished in the same time by one hand. If we have gone beyond and far beyond the ordinary limits of such pro- ceedings, it has heen with the desire of presenting a perfectly faithful and I r ns 1 reliable reeord of a ease not only of great private ioterest and paramonnt^ pnblie importaDce. . .^ It is gratifying to us to know that it bas received the highest encomlams of the Bench, the fiar, aod the parties interested, as accurate and disinter- ested. It will, probably, require two publications more to complete. (Mr. Pickup is indebted piincipally to this report for this pamphlet.) , %v;;,i*^- {From the Montreal Heraldf May n.) ^^^'^'^ MnsRs. MoRisoN, Cameron & Empet vs. Thc Phsniz Insdrarob CoMPAMT.— We publish, this morning,'the result of this trial, which bas occupied so much of the public attention and interest dur:ng its continu- ance ; and we need scarcely add that we do so with the most unfeigned satisfaction. That the case was a complicated and difficult one, we think DO disinterested and candid man will dispute; it is therefore extremely gratifying to find that, after so complete and thorough an investigation — so trying an ordeal — not only have the Plaintiffs obtained their just rigbia, but that, alike by the charge of the Judge and the verdict of the Jury, they are exonerated from even the suspicion of anything inconsistent with honorable aod straightforward dealing. , vr'oivi&i, r .ast i '^ r^ fii ai>3i?}ti ;! (From the Montreal Witneis, May 19.") - v^w H »» > Grbat Insurance Cask.— An Insurance case, involving a very large amount, (£23,000,) in which Messrs. Morison, Cameron and Empey of this city were the Plaintiffs, and fourteen or fifteen Insurance Companies acting in concert were the Defendants, although nominally the suit was against only one of them, has just terminated by a verdict for the Plaintiffs, to the full amount claimed. This case was deeply interesting, from the fact, that the Insurance Companies had leagued or combined together with reference to it ; the minority, supposing a difference of opinion to exist, being bound to submit to the majority, and in this way, very probably, the whole of the companies kept each other in countenance, to do what* no one would have ventured to do individually. It appeared that the Plain- tiffs had been treated with harshness and suspicion, in the investigations following the fire, that their books had been kept from them, and that they had been accused of misrepresentation, fraud, and false swearing. They had consequently declined an offer to arbitrate, feeling that as accusations had been raised against their character, they must have an open trial, and either get all they asked with a complete clearance from suspicion, or lose all if they were guilt}. They had thus come through a year of very great mental and commercial trial. In the progress of the case, which occupied four or five days, the proof of their loss was made satisfactorily; and the evidence relied upon to con- vict them of fraud and perjury completely broke down, so that Ihe counsel m 1 1 for the Plaintiffs, Mr. Rose, wm eaabled, to make one of the.^09,t conviajunc ^ and triamphi^nt appeals to th^ Jary we ever heard. ^ j ^ • This case suggests tome reflections upon the Insurance busines^f to WDieh ' we lake the liberty of asking the attention both of Insurance pbmQ^hieaL and of the public. 1st. There is no doubt that Insurance Companies are often sadly imposed upon and rictimized ; and, that as a general rule, they are very liberal in settlements, seldom taking adraatage.of merei teebnkai 4r clerical errors, if tbfi intpntjoiv ^af.beenobiTiously idght oi^ th(( P)|i;j.pf ,th«;4ofuredi} an4 often, even winking bar^ a|t w^t they w, copyiaced; is , frau^i^enty fia^l'>: i than go ^ into Court.; ,.;...-..r.T :,... ,...t>.^„;i,. -.i'^iiii :i.i;"k, ibbai.fiK'u>)iH«»of 2ad. Tbi^t when they do go into Court they are very probably defeated^i an4 incut an amoui^t of odium, which is both paioful to their feelings>andii injurif^ to their interests. 3rd, That all this tends to induce wealthy and hoaorable eompanietto'c^ withdraw from.the business^sererat have, we believe, already doneso-^'«^' or, to false their rates of premium so. as to mak* thehonest pay' forthet- ' dishonest, thus entailing a. great bardeia.on the community generally* ' For these reasons, it is obvious, that besides its absolute injustice, nothing can be worse policy. in.a public point, of .vie W., than> to make Insurance Companies pay in all cases whether rights or wrong. But on the other hand, honest men who have paid their money for in- '^'^ surance, and who sustain a loss, should not be subjected to dark suspicions and insulting doubts s should not, in a word, be treated as if they wAre- eheats and rogues, as is too much the practice with some agents of Insut> - aoc3 Companies, but should, after a courteous investigation, be paid at once. If a company insures a party at all, it should be prepared to treat ' him with the ordinary courtesy between respectable persons, unless,^^ thera^^' is good reason to suspect wilful fire raising or fraud. w ^ ■ < • . - ., - -j^ ^ i ..-- . I., >„- Above all, an honest man should never be subjected to the necessity of going to law for his money ; as before he can recover it in that way he may be brought to bankruptcy, or, at all events, have to make enormousj : sacrifices, and sustain an aroount of anxiety sufficient to make his hair prematurely gray. It is of little consequence to a great company to go to law when the most it can lose in addition to its liability will be th6 costs ; ' but it may be a matter of life and death to the assured. Here, however, the question arises, how is the Insurance Compaqy to know who is the honest, and who is the fraudulent claimant — it being,,, evidently their duty to pay the one promptly and pleasantly, and to resist, the other to the last ? and we admit that this is a practical difficulty of no small magnitude. Nevertheless, we think it might be got over to a very.^^, Sv V ^ii6 / ■>i.^ great extent if till Wri^itj^ HilSi' Were^ atf6]|)iid/'# hn only what all other kiadi'of boMn«s» men hare to Meprataliy rate:^ 1st. Let a satitfaetory intrbdufltion and teferenfie be rr^iilred befb'te imtiringfor any one who is not well known ttf the office, and let a irea- iobably earefulinvestigatlon be made into the iebak-aie^er for intiegfrity, ptu- deflee^and sobriety, of the j|>er9on assartng. Let, in Aict, 6acb offiiee ba?e its fcostomers whobe eharanter and cireaiiistahbe it knoW's, jdistisa Bank has, and if (he party insured wishes to chaUge his odce, let biU apply to another; giring bit references, jost as he Might ebange his'ab* oettotfrsm oneBank to'anotber. '; ^^iK^^ '"'^'^"^^ a-^m-^m v;^* ;s;i"' 3nd. In ease of loss, involYing points of diffitiatiy, erhploy disWei^led aoconntants, of high character, long experience and dtolid judgnieht to in- vestigate the circanietanCes> and re|kiort to the office ; men wbbie natortii will 1)0 alike removed frbm the low suspicion that'seeb frand in eVery- tbiug^ and from the easy cenfidenee which takes etery thing for g^abt^d. AAd upon the repoirt of each inrestigators^'pay the claim, ottestst it,'ai (he ease may be. Were some sueh system as this adopted, charaetef wonfd bite Its dtid weight, as it always ought to hate ; the* ordeal would be setere ^oodgb to deter, to a great extent, international fraud; the honest man Would be paid without suspicion or harassment^ and the rate of. insurance could, we are convinced, with these precautions, be materially reduced to the pnb« lie, whilst the Insurance Companies would make a profit on their bust-* ness, as they ought to dO| instead of a less, as has been the ease with most or all of tbem in Canada hitherto. To these remarks, we would just add, as a bint to those ^Sbeting iii- suranoeS) look carefully to your policies, read the conilitiohs on the back, see that (he description of the risk is correct, and report at once if siny building is erected, or any thing takes place that alters it ; in a word, act in perfect good faith with the office, as you would have otbers act with youy and see that every thing is in due form, and nothing depending on conversations or understandings which may be forgotten or repudiated • and especkally be oareful to deal with a respectabe and trustworthy office and agent. v iFromt7i6 7hieWUne83f JMaym.) 'THii k^ehiy contested case of Messrs. Morison, Cameron & £mpey v. the e< PLffihtk Insurance Company," terminated last week with a verdict altogriiber in favor of the plaintiffs, who have thus passed through the ordeal unscathed, and with unblemished reputation. In the words of the. JSfbMreal Iftra^—" Alike by the charge of the Judge, and the verdift of the Jury, are they — the plaintiffs— exonerated from even the suspicion of fl^tbibtrineMUikMtit witb hoiioVaBl^ and sti^aigMfo^^aril tleaiingl^' m ♦ ii_i '■[ (From the Montreal TVaiuenpfi May 19.) The lati Assuramob Triaz..— We congratulate Menn. Moriaon C*- merom & Empey vpoD the triumpbaot reanlt of the trial in which they have been engaged— one aa momentoas and important as ever came beiore a Coart of justice. In its issue was involved, not the credit ot the plain- tiffs only, but their character also ; not the twenty-three thousand and odd pounds, of which for the last thirteen months they have been unjustly de- prived, and by which, had it not been for the assistance of those who re. posed a high confidence in their integrity and honesty, they would have long ere now been compelled to wind up their business, and so effectually prevented from either bringing or prosecuting a law-suit against rich and powerful Assurance Companies— but all that a man holds most dear, — bia reputation and his fair fame. The ordeal through which they have passed has been a very painful and searching one ; they have come out of it puri- fied from every stain upon their character; unscathed in their repulatinn ; with the admiration of the crowded court who witnessed the trial,and the sympathy of the public at large. Never men went into court with such a clot:d hanging over them— so suspicious, and so suspected : seldom has there been so good a deliverance ; so full and axple a recognition of inno- cence wherever and however called in question. We cannot help expressing our surprise that with such a case the Assur- ance Companies ever ventured to come into court. They must know that with the strongest evidence to prove fraud, they have, as a general rule, failed in getting a veidict : that the leaning of a jury is towards the weak and against the strong ; and that the poor individual, if his claim has a leg to stand upon, will be sustained against the rich corporation who seeks to contest it. What madness, then, to risk ** the glorious uncertainty of the law," to hazard their position and standing before the public, and involve three respectable merchants in ruin and disgrace, without the smallest amount of evidence to sustain them — without a particle of proof to support the least of their allegations ! The combined Assurance Companies now occupy the very same place they would have assigned the Plaintiffs in the cause : the latter they accused of fraud, false swearing, and falsifica- tion of accounts : they will themselves be looked upon now as banded to- gether to resist a just claim — to persecute those who sought to sustain it— and crush them even before coming into court with the weight of public condemnation and censure. We regret that it should be so. But we can- not hesitate to say that, by this trial, public confidence in these companies will be grievously 8l\aken ; and that it will take a long time to eradicate the seeds of doubt and suspicion this case has sown in the hearts of the public. \ ...,'.:. ^r.--, ■,:^..: ---,-•;)■ ^ •fc.V.-ul^v We belieTB most of the offices who contested this claim bare beta l\ V 127 deee'iTed throughout, and wilfully misled. They have reposed too much trust in others; and have failed to examine natters as they should bare done themselvest They have been imposed upon by imaginary dis- crepancies in the plaiotiffi books; or by the scratcbings seen through th* spectacles of Mr. Whjrddon the Attorney. To the jealous, ** trifles light u air, are confirmations strong as proofs of Holy Writ." The accountants who examined the books on behalf of the Companies would appear to have determined upon making some notable discovery therein ; and dia- eased imaginr' ns must have conjured up all the bugbears they brought forward to frighten us with. These gentlemen appear to have been the medium of communication with the plaintiff:) : had the Assurance Compan- ies attended to their own business, this case, we are convinced, would never have come into court. There are some offices, Life, as well as Fire, iu this city, who, we ) regret to sny, contest every claim — no matter how substantiated — that is brought before them. They pocket the premiums with the greatest non- ^- chalance, but pay only on compulsion. And there are stories afloat io regard to them and others which it would be well for the Government to inrestigate. It would be satistactory to the public, at least, to know that in the event of their claims— should they ever unfortunately have any — being sustained, they will be liquidated in the end. It would be satisfae. tory, we should thinii, to the different offices to have their stability ascer- tained and certified by officers appointed by Government for that purpose. (from La Patrie.) MoRisoH, Cameron & Emfet, vs. the Ph(xnix Insvrakob Compamt or London. — Tbis important case, which the people of Montreal have re- garded with extraordinary interest, was terminated on Friday, after Ave days of scrutinising and impartial investigation. Tbe Jury delivered their verdict immediately after tbe close of the evidence, without deliberation, giving tbe whole amount claimed, with costs and interest. Judge Smith de- livered to the Jury a charge at once eloquent, and remarkable for sound sense. He placed in strong contrast tbe honorable and upright conduct which had all along characterised the dealings of the Plaintiffs with tbe very equivocal pro- ceeditigs which it was evident the Defendants had, without compunction, resorted to. The Judge's charge was received by the audience with ap- plause; and on the verdict of the Jury being pronounced, it was followed bv a burst of acclamation. We have perused the detailed report of the TVanscript and Advertiser, who published in a complete and impartial manner the whole of tbe proceedings. We cannot comprehend bow such hitherto honorable Companies, wLo claim high commercial position and consideration, to deserve the unlimited confidence of the public, could come with such pitiable reasons into a Court of Justice, to contest a claim — the strict justice of which was made at once evident, both to the Court, Jary^ and the public at large. w^ \i lit 188 '!\t, MTh« tdvaeitM of tbt Dtftndanhi, with their wall-ltnown tt]»nlf, (•talljr lailed in invefing the conduct of their elienti with pwn •■ $enUianc$.^ Xiiikittf and all Iheir rflorts to sustain the poitition onfy eodeu in proving • tlie bad faith of ib<> Insurance Cnmp^hi«a : we regret to say that the conduct of the Insurance Companifs concerned in ihi» affair was any thiii)( but bou- orable. Not aatiifird with reia'ning trom Morisoo» Cameron & finnpey lor a whole year, the amount claimed by thrm ; Kome at least, o( the asaurera.at tempted by every lueana in their power to injure the charecterN ot the young merchants, and contemptibly charKed them with fraud. The i:ija- rioQs re porta, so freely circaUted, bad pi« ;r > Messrs* Morison, Caoneroo & Kmpey triu^nphaQtly gained their suU» notwithstanding all the efforts of their influential adversaries :,and thif ciUie wiilhave the effect of ibaking tbe firm much more extensively and fyvoral^ly kbown. Every one who listened to tue proceedlbgs in Coart, appreciated the extent of their conmercial operations, and learnt' that thty . ar;f conducted in a tnaqner at once upright and, hoQOrablc|. The Coiiii- panies felt sure of being able to destroy tbe reputation of Morisppj Caine- ron & Empey, but lb the attempt they not only failed, but drew iimm themselves much well deserved public odium. There are hoDorable eMv eeptioQs among tho Assurance Companies; Jo the .previoto. rdaaaiks w«!' do not wish to make any particular aliusion to t|ie PbcBnifK Cfuhfinaff,^ its afiairs have, hitherto, been conducted with great liberalityi by jts influ- ential and highly respectable Agents. On this: occasion they have allowed tbi^ipselviis to, bjB Ifd ai>;de, tgr^ fdlse repreMnitations, ^\^of ttbejjt i)^a)|y b^Adrftble oieibbd of doihg"'6usine8is. But' there ar* ainong them. certain Cbinpanies, t»hMe gond faith is greatly doubled, abd who pay, onlV After^ they have used every means to evade the claim. \Ve hope this affair will learn them a lesson^ We say little of certain individuals, who, during the proceedings, played a game li^le calculated to retain tbeir hold upon tbe public esteem ; and whose evidence was far from carrying with it tbe ap- pearance of troth I We leave it to their consciences aad the public judg- ment. Througboat the whole proceedings, tbe Court was crowded by a nui^erf 001 audiedcek including many ladies, who evinced ipuch interest in the trial. Ourii^ the last speech of Mr. Aoie, the ej^es of many lat the fair spectaton eoQld be seen moist with tears, at the recital of the wrongs that bad Neo endared by Morison, Cameron & Empey, abd at the attempts thiit luid been made to ruin tbeir charadters. ... \. ,,, . ...... ^^'itvVirjM:. i)UE ^JrwswfE a 4SS?«s>» fltilw ■'SfiM>3 ■■' ■ -' •' ,5a»Mvdte3'cf'v*fi &!>;'*« hs« ri;>ij{'vy 'isi wjijsu^ Jaiiis sd)-- w •I ■•*■ ■V -1 ■ 1, '■• talijr ^•.¥ >*>ng duct bou- lor a rsat the nin. / IJIJO* Wll V low* Mdo • of iiaib for- and 1 / m (flu- ■'■ »' ked fy tain fter' will rinor 1 ipOQ ap- idg- IK (bat opts . -, . ■- '■','■"* " ' " f ^ t'--A : y.' ;■ ^ '., -" . $"' » -^ li