The Queen v William Murphy

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 15 February 1850
• Date: 15 February 1850
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal

Crim. Appeal.

THE QUEEN

and

WILLIAM MURPHY.

Beasley's caseUNK 2 East, P. C. 1010.

Regin v. CreedENR 1 Car. & Kir. 63.

Rex v. HodgsonENR 3 C. & P. 422.

Regina v. NormanENR Car. & M. 501.

Rex v. MurrayENR 1 Mood. C. C. 276.

Rex v. GroveENR 1 Mood. C. C. 447.

The Queen v. WaiteENR 2 Cox, 245.

Regina v. NorvalENR 1 Cox, 95.

Rex v. WillisENR 1 Mood. 375.

Regina v. WelchENR 1 Den. C. C. 199.

Regina v. JacksonENR 1 Car. & Kir, 384.

Rex v. WilliamsENR 7 C. & P. 338.

Regina v. CainENR 2 Mood. C. C. 204.

Regina v. MillerENR 2 Mood. C. C. 249.

Rex v. HallENR 1 Mood. C. C. 474.

Rex v. BurtonENR 1 Mood. C. C. 237.

Rex v. JensonENR 1 Mood. C. C. 434.

The Queen v. Tucker 1 Cox, C. C. 235.

H. T. 1850. Crim. Appeal. THE QUEEN v. WILLIAM MURPHY.* (Court of Criminal Appeal.) Feb. 15. Trim prisoner William Murphy had been indicted, tried and con- An indictment ployed charged k cler as victed of embezzlement at a Commission of Oyer and Terminer for A, being e th mat - the County of the City of Dublin in December 1849. to T. M. and The first count of the indictment charged that he, on the 17th of - others, did re ceive into his - December, in the twelfth year of the Queen, being employed as possession a certain sum of clerk to the Reverend Theobald Mathew and others, did receive into money and did embezzle the his possession a sum of money, to wit £29. 15s. 8d. of their money, same. The evidence in and did fraudulently and feloniously embezzle and steal the same, support of this indictment against the peace and statute, &c. was, that the p was The second count stated that the prisoner was the clerk of therisoner Secretary and Treasurer Theobald Mathew, Thomas Hughes and Patrick Brophy ; but in of a Fri endly of other respects was similar to the first. Society, and that the pro It appeared upon the evidence that the prisoner was the Score- perty charged to have been tary and Treasurer of a Friendly Society called " The Princess embezzled was vested in cer Royal National Total Abstinence Tontine Society," and that he had, tarn members as trustees. whilst acting in such capacities, received the subscriptions payable That on the October guar by the different members of the society, and that there was a balance ter-day the prisoner ac- in his hands of such subscriptions, over and above all disbursements counted and returned a thereout, amounting to the sum of £29. 15s. 8d. up to and for the balance in his hands ; that on the Christmas succeeding the next quarter-day it was the practice of the society to distribute the surplus remaining in the hands of the prisoner, but that shortly before that time he absconded with these funds without having brought forward his inter mediate receipts between September and December, and that he was styled Treasurer and.Secretary indiscriminately. Held, that the prisoner being employed to receive this money, and having underÂtaken the duty, he thereby virtually became clerk to the society, and responsible to it as such. Semb/e-That secretary and clerk must be considered synonymous terms within the meaning of 10 G. 4, c. 56 (the Friendly Societies' Act). Held also, his having accounted with the trustees did not alter or vary his posi • tion as clerk, or place him in the situation of trustee. Held also, the prisoner having passed his account, and a balance being struck in September, and in the December following, and not having given credit for the interÂmediate receipts, but absconded, that this was sufficient evidence to go to the jury of an intention to embezzle. * BLACEBURNE, C. J., CRAMPTON, J., PERRIN, J., RICHARDS, B., • LErnoy, B., BALL, J., and Moons, J., presiding. H. T. 1850. 17th of September 1848. That Patrick Murphy, a member of the Crim. Appeal. society, the Reverend Theobald Mathew, Thomas Hughes and THE QUEEN v. Patrick Brophy (in whom the property was laid in the indictment), were the President and Stewards of the society at the time when the offence was committed by the prisoner. The certified rules of the society were produced and proved, and by the 23rd rule the President and Stewards for the time being were declared to be " the Trustees of the Society, and that all moneys, goods, chattels, " effects and property whatever belonging to the society should be " vested in them as such trustees for the use and benefit of the " society and the respective members thereof, and such trustees " should, when properly authorised by the society, bring or defend " any action, suit or prosecution concerning any property, right or " claim of this society." The rules also named the Reverend Theobald Mathew President of the society. It further appeared that the members of the society were in the habit of meeting on certain quarterly days for the purpose of auditing and settling the accounts of each quarter, and that the 17th of September 1848 was one of those quarterly days of meeting, and the 17th of December 1848, another quarterly day of meeting ; but the 17th of December 1848 having fallen on a Sunday, the meeting took place on the 18th of that month. That it was the course...