For a long time Henry N. Smith has been one of the most conspicuous bear leaders in Wall-street. Addison Cammack and the German firm of Woerishoffer alone have divided the honors with him for most prominence in this direction. Cammack, Woerishoffer, and Smith have been close partners, and things financial have been in such shabby shape generally that they have largely fashioned the course of things in the Street to their own liking. But not long ago Messrs. Cammack and Woerishoffer saw the error of their way, and when the Vanderbilt interest sought to provide a bull market Cammack and Woerishoffer did not stand in the way. They are generally credited, indeed, with having put their shoulders to the wheel to help things around. Mr. Smith was left standing alone. He was deserted, betrayed, say adherents whose rhetoric is a trifle strong. Three weeks or more ago Wall-street was filled with rumors to the effect that he was ruined. He stoutly denied these rumors and affected to be careless of the gossip that abounded on every side. But the Soutter failure disclosed him as a heavy debtor to that firm, and the squeezing process that is so well understood in Wall-street left him little further hope of fighting the battle out successfully. The writing was on the wall. He went under yesterday without a murmur.

It was fate that the Vanderbilt vengeance should be wreaked. Mr. Vanderbilt in inviting Mr. Cammack and Mr. Woerishoffer into the new bull regime had carefully guarded, so the story goes, against allowing any benefits to accrue to Henry N. Smith. Indeed, Smith's prop was removed. He could not win with his enemies reinforced by old-time friends, who possessed his secrets and the key to all his movements. There are specific charges made against the Woerishoffers by the Smiths, one of which may lead to legal complications. It is alleged that Mr. Smith and they were lately joint partners in a bear account involving 180,000 shares of stock, with differences on the market reaching a very large sum. Mr. Woerishoffer is reported to have promptly met the differences on his half of this, leaving the other half to be cared for by Smith, and the Smith following, going further, ever that Mr. Woerishoffer then went long of the stock and sent up prices on Smith. Now the customers of Heath & Co., who are naturally the persons most interested, claim that upon the grounds of a legal decision rendered in a case brought by Deacon S. V. White some years ago Woerishoffer can be held liable for the differences on the remainder of the account that one partner in a joint account cannot withdraw by a settlement in such way, but must continue responsible for the whole liability till all is settled. This claim is likely to lead to much intricate litigation before an end is reached. In the interest of Mr. Woerishoffer it is asserted that there is no "joint" account whatever, and that this claim will not be considered seriously on the Stock Exchange.

Henry N. Smith has an interest as special partner in the brokerage firm of Charles I. Hudson & Co. It represents $100,000 all paid in. Mr. A.H. De Forest, of this firm, is the brother-in-law of Mr. Smith. The firm of Hudson & Co., in a public statement yesterday afternoon, explained that the failures of the day had no bearing upon their business; they were in a prosperous condition, and could suffer no embarrassment through Mr. Smith's connection with them.

Some feeling was manifested on the Stock Exchange over the charge that though Heath & Co. were alleged to have drawn up their assignment on Thursday night they renewed contracts yesterday before announcing their failure. This grave accusation may lead to serious entanglements. A large portion of Heath & Co.'s liabilities consists of due bills for dividends on the many high priced stocks of which the firm has been short for many months. It is the custom when stocks are borrowed to protect short sales for the borrower to give due bills for the dividends as they accrue, and fully three-eighths of the losses are due in this way to the owners of the stocks. Among the brokers the firm is supposed to have been daily borrowers of not less than 150,000 shares of stock, and have paid out vast sums in the way of shaves for the use of such stocks as commanded a premium for use.

The stocks settled at the Stock Exchange comprised the following lots, and were bought in without creating any excitement: Two hundred shares of Michigan Central, 100 shares Canadian Pacific, 200 shares Delaware and Hudson, 200 shares Louisville and Nashville, 400 shares Omaha preferred, 300 shares Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, 4,700 shares St. Paul, 700 shares Missouri Pacific, 500 shares Union Pacific, 1,200 shares New-Jersey Central, 5,900 shares Northwest common, 300 shares Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, 4,600 shares Lake Shore, 10,400 shares Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, 4,900 shares New-York Central, and 9,100 shares of Western Union Telegraph in all 43,700 shares. In addition the following long stock was sold for account of the firm: One thousand two hundred shares Philadelphia and Reading, 1,100 shares of Erie, 600 shares of St. Paul common, and 200 shares of New-York Central, 3,100 shares in all.

Giovanni P. Morosini has begun a suit in the Supreme court against William Heath & Co. and has obtained from Judge Donohue an attachment against the property of that insolvent firm. In his affidavit to procure the attachment Morosini said that for several years he has had $480,000 in cash on deposit with Heath & Co., subject to his draft, and that the only debit that could properly be made against that sum was for 2,380 shares Manhattan Railway stock and 25 Metropolitan Elevated Railway second mortgage bonds, which he ordered the firm to buy for him, and which in the aggregate cost $215,000. He therefore asserts that the firm owes him $265,000 in cash on account of his deposit, and also holds on deposit for him the stock and bonds mentioned. Mr. Morosini said that he called for his securities and money yesterday and was informed that Heath & Co. could not deliver them, as the securities had been hypothecated or sold and the cash otherwise disposed of. He said he had never authorized the defendants to make use of his money and securities, and he charged them with defrauding him and intending to defraud their creditors generally. As an additional reason for the attachment he said that Charles E. Quincy, the junior member of the firm of William Heath & Co., is in Europe and has no residence here.

Mr. Smith was an ardent lover of horseflesh, and many years ago bought a farm near Trenton, which he has gradually improved and added to until it is now known all over the country as the Fashion Stud Farm. When a few years ago the noted trotting mare Goldsmith Maid, which died the other day, was in the height of her fame, Mr. Smith bought her for $35,000, and it was as his property that she made her record of 2:14 in September, 1874. Among the other noted horses belonging to Mr. Smith are the stallions Jay Gould and Socrates, both now at the Fashion Farm, which has been for several years owned by his wife. He has never been very prominent in society, residing quietly at his house at the corner of Forty-fifth-street and Fifth-avenue. In the Winter he is always to be found at the opera, owning a box at the Academy of Music.

Mr. Smith's wife owns the house used by Mr. Smith for his home, at Forty-fifth-street and Fifth-avenue, as well as the house adjoining. There is also said to be other city real estate in Mrs. Smith's name, with property in New Jersey. Mr. Smith owns a seat in the Stock Exchange. In the assets of Heath & Co. are to be estimated to Stock Exchange seats, worth $25,000 each, one in Mr. Heath's own name and one in the name of his partner, Major Charles A. Quincey, who is now on his wedding trip in Europe. William Heath & Co. have for several years past done probably the largest commission business on the Street. The house was founded in 1860, and has passed through the vicissitudes usual to Wall-street houses in times of panic, having suspended once or twice before yesterday. In addition to the New York business, they have a branch in London under charge of Thomas E. Davis, and have been engaged in enormous arbitrage transactions between the New-York and London markets. While credited with large profits for years, they are supposed to have suffered losses aggregating $600,000 during the advance of the past few months. The firm had a branch in Paris for several years during the speculative excitement growing out of the boom of 1879, but gave it up a year or two ago. Heath gained considerable celebrity at the beginning of his business career for the rapidity of his operations and the celerity with which he got from one side of the market to the other when he found himself wrong. His figure is one of the best known in the Street, he being fully 6 feet 6 inches in height, gaunt and angular, with a huge drooping mustache. He is as quick in his locomotion as in his operations, and this peculiarity has gained for him the sobriquet of "The American Deer," which was first bestowed upon him by London brokers while he was there managing some gigantic operation many years ago, and which has stuck to him ever since.

At the time of the Black Friday panic William Heath & Co. were among the brokers acting for the Gould-Fisk syndicate. When the crash came Heath left the United States and went to London, where he remained for over a year. At the time the impression was very general that had he remained in the city revelations attendant with great loss to Gould could not have been prevented, and that his temporary absence was due to the wish of Gould and Fisk to have him out of the way until the storm had blown over.

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