EDINBURGH LAWYER TRIED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 4144, 8 June 1876, Page 4

EDINBURGH LAWYER TRIED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT.

' HIGH CCgJRT OF JUSTICIARY. ; i trial of j oseph Dawson Wormald, WiS./Edinburgh; On-five charges included under . the designations of theft/ breach pf ,trust and embezzlement, and; falsehood, fraud, and wilful imposition, commenced in , March last, Sin the r High 1 Court of Justiciary* before the Lord; Justiee-General and a jury. ; The Solicitor-General and •Mr Gloag were the prosecuting counsel. Mr Mair, advocate, and Mr Fraser, advocate, were retained for the defence. were. five charges against the prisoner, included under the designatibnaj of theft/ 'of trust and embezzlement, falsehood, fraud,: and.’ wjlful^imposition, the sums alleged';tp have,. ’ ’ been appropriated amduhtiug ; to: L4,50i6 : 2s Id, •r, in-; dicWaen't charged' -the prisoner that, while; he ;waß' iu jjhrtnPrghip'with Mr Charles Anderson* ;and carrying on business'. übder. ■ the firm of Wbr.mald add the'firm was employed as? law agents of/Andrew Donaldson*causewaylayer, Bucdieuch ptreet; whom . it .is said he-induced to lift money from'

the bank J to be invested in heritable 'security. Slims of L 404 and L 236 so lifted, Worm a Id. applied to his own use,-and rendered to Donaldson a false account current that he had, invested L6OO- of the said sums of money on his behalf, - and that interest would be payable to him-,, halfyearly. - The third charge sets forth that', by. ; falsely . fepreaentiug to 'Alexander ijenfy that be. was pro.

prietor of Graigleckhart; estate and Allan's Park, or [ifart thereof, of : the ! value of L 21,000, he induced that gentleman to advance him L 3,.000, on the, handing oyer of~a pretended bone, upon the estates in question. The fourth charge f is ; that he-appropriated tp himself Ll3l of a sum given to. him by" John Thorhburn, cooper, Gorebridge, to pay debts. The-fifth charge seta forth that Mr .. Wormald, ®*having been employed as agent ,or secretary-: of the Army,. Navy,, and Association (Limited), which can-led * pH;; biismess in! Princes street, and is now wound up, lie on various'occa'si6tis ; represented: to the. directors that creditors of the association wefe urgently pressing for payment of debts, and by this means, induced them to sign cheques for sums amounting in all to JQ733 7s, which he appropriated; to his <pwa uses anchpurpqaes. Prisoner, pleaded not guiltyi-; In the

course of the trial some of the charges were departed from;'and after hearing evidence, the Lord President* in charging the jury, said,the first question the jury had to .consider was as regardejd the- alleged- theft? or embezzlement of £6OO belonging'to Donaldsoni Hnd the aecbnd charge related to the embezzleinent of .£7OO belonging , to the Army Hfid -Navy Supply The after being absent for abdiit ten minutes, returned into court" with a unafiimpiiS verdict of guilty of breach of trbst and embezzlement on all the Charges. Ihe judge; in passmg-tjetr-tcnce, said .that to ’a person of the prisoner's Ability .and 'education, it was, .needless to say one word as to the. charaoter pf‘tWpharges of which he had been found./.guilty. You must be painfully conscious’ that they are of a olftiracter which must bp followed-; by sentence; - He couldhot db 'less,Athah^'pass/jliehteiloS: ; ,i6f five 'years’ ppijial .servitude. Tlie prisoner,;., who heard his sentence with great calmness and collected ness, was then • removed from the dock. : '