The Lord Mayor, about a fortnight ago, granted a warrant
against a merchant named Lewis Augustus Bennet, who had been engaged in several heavy speculations, for having committed forgery by obtaining the dates of bills of lading of 1835, by which he succeeded in defraud- ing ninny capitalists of large sums of money. The warrant was put into the hands of Roe, the officer, upon the recemmendation of the Lord Mayor ; but the forgeries, extensive and numerous as they were, were not detected until the delinquent had not only left London, but the kingdom. Roe traced him to a hotel at Liverpool, where he bad arrived from London, a week before the officer had received the war- rant, in the name of Brown, with his brother, and from which he sailed for America on the following Monday. It appears that he had with great ingenuity committed forgeries in policies of insurance, and in other securities, not one of which had been even suspected to be other than genuine until be was on his way to America. It is believed that he succeeded to the amount of between 40,000/. and 50,000/.. and that he carried away from 15,000/. to 20,000/. A French commercial house lost between 3,000/. and 4,000/. by him. Roe's pursuit elided at Liverpool ; but measures have, we understand, been taken by the parties who have been the sufferers to interfere with Bennet's enjoy- ment of the proceeds of this extensive and ingenious robbery.— it,rning Chronicle.
At the Mansionhouse, on Thursday, a private investigation of a case of alleged forgery on the Bank of England took place. No names are given ; but it is said that the agent and legal adviser of a person owning stock has forged a power of attorney, and obtained fraudulent possession of 7800/. The investigation was adjourned for a month, in consequence of the absence of witnesses.
At the Marlborough Street Office, on Wednesday, Louis Bernoit was committed for trial, on a charge of stealing a watch and some jewellery from the shop of Williams and Catchpole, jewellers, Regent Street. The witnesses were bound over to prosecute; but some of the jewellers present, according to the report in the Morning Chronicle, complained that it was of little use putting themselves to the trouble of prosecuting these thievish foreigners ; for if they succeeded in getting a verdict against them, and the sentence was transportation for life, the convicted party, by some piece of good luck, might be seen a few weeks afterwards walking about London.
(These complaints have reference to the pardon of Ernest de Mir- court and the suspension of the punishment of Caroline Lemaire, • who were both sentenced to transportation for stealing jewels. A controversy is going on between the Ministerial journals and a corre- spondent of the Times, as to whether Lord John Russell has rightly used the Royal prerogative of mercy in these instances. At present no ease has been made out against Lord John Russell.]
Previous page
