The Standard mentions a report, which it has not been
able to au- thenticate, that another person, besides Mr. Smith, has been placed in custody on a charge connected with the Exchequer Bill fraud ; and that Mr. Smith has inculpated others by name.
The following details are communicated by a correspondent of the Times- " We have been informed that the origin of this fraud dates from a period long antecedent to the attempt of Louis Bonaparte on the coast of France. It is said that the idea of the fraud originated between the Clerk in the Ex- chequer Office now in custody, and aperson well known at the Stock Exchange, since deceased, named Solari; who, in his turn, was associated with a broker whose name has several times been before the public, but more especially as the agent who hired the steam-boat in which Louis Bonaparte embarked. This gentlemen, it is said, has acted extensively for Mr. Smith in speculations in the Foreign Funds ; and has been in the habit of receiving from him Exchequer Bills, upon which money was obtained upon deposit, or which were deposited as security for certain differences arising out of extensive stockjobbing transactions. With this gentleman, it appears, three or four other persons connected with the Stock Exchange were acting, two of them having extensive the third only limited credit. As the transactions embraced large amounts, and some of these agents were not in best odour in the money-market, various Exchequer Bills were deposited to cover any contingent differences; and these again were taken up or redeemed by others of similar character when necessity or the fear of de- tection rendered such step advisable. The speculations of the principal being almost invariably unfortunate, each succeeding transaction became larger in amount in hope that a successful coup might cover all previous losses and thus enable him to withdraw the fabricated documents from the hands in which they were placed. With this view, at every account fresh Exchequer Bills (fa- bricated) were placed in the hands of the brokers employed by the principal; who, in their turn, raised money upon them by depositing them with numerous individuals who are in the habit of accommodating Stock Exchange people with loans upon similar security. Eventually two Exchequer Bills, being of similar dates and numbers, fell into the hands of a person, who, imagining the mistake to have originated in the Treasury, instituted the inquiry which led to the discovery of this singular fraud." [An instance is then given of 5,0001. in Exchequer Bills having been paid into the Exchequer Bill Office ; and of other bills, since known to be spurious, having been examined at the Treasury and pronounced to be genuine.] "We are not at the present moment at liberty to state the names of the parties given to us who have ignorantly or otherwise been the agents in this fraud; but it is sufficient to v they are more than well known in the City." "It is quite clear that four if not five brokers on the Stock Exchange have been dealing (whether ignorantly or otherwise, we do not pre- tend to say) with fictitious securities ; and it remains with the Stock Exchange and the Government to follow up the clue now in their hands in order to lead to a discovery of the really guilty parties."
Previous page
