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assumed in a measure not only the conduct of the case, but
from time to time, the duties of the Prosecuting Counsel.
When the Acting Chief Justice came to sum up the case to the
Jury, he ignored altogether, the legal authorities and the
submissions based thereon, but treated the case as purely one
of fact, whereby in my opinion, the Jury were mis-directed
and Brewer wrongly convicted.
Before proceeding with charge one, it is unnecessary
for me to point out that a statement in a Report may be quite
honestly made although subsequently in a Balance Sheet that
same statement may become dishonest, by that I mean in one year
the person making the statement may quite honestly believe in
the financial stability and credit of a debtor, whereas in a
subsequent year he may well know that such financial stability
and credit has ceased to exist, and consequently, the statement
though perfectly honest in one year may become dishonest in a
subsequent year, hence the importance of the second and third
charges based on the Balance Sheet.
The first charge is based solely on the statutory Report,
which is filed when the Company commences business.
(52)
2
The statement complained of in the Statutory Report
is as follows:-
"B. The total amount of cash received by the Company
"in respect of the shares issued wholly for cash is
"$876,750".
Now the whole question on this charge is, what is cash,
is it limited to currency or has it a wider interpretation ?
Does payment for shares in cash mean only payment in the currency
of the realm, or has it a wider meaning. It has been
decided that where money is due from a shareholder to the
Company and shares are allotted to him as fully up in
settlement of the debt, such shares are for the purpose of
Section 25 of the Companies Act 1867 considered as fully paid
up in cash.
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