The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-01 00:00:00

A BISHOP STABBED BY A PRIEST.

In a telegram dated Rome, Nov. 26, the Corre•
epondent of the Morning Post says :

A most serious assault is reported from Aci Reale,
in Sicily. Two days ago the director of the College of
San Martino, a monk of great reputation and erudi•
tion, aged 48 ',pars, went to the bishop's palace to
complain to Bi,-hop Genuardi, 'Who had refused ad-
mittance to the seminary to a young nephew of his.
Father Tomasso Patane first remonstrated loudly and
then, drawing a dagger, attacked the bishop, who
defended himself courageously until the servants sue.
needed in disarming the monk. The news created
great sensation in Ad i Reale. The monk was arrested
at once. To the evening the whole of the population,
with band and bannera, .a4sencibled under the windows
of the bishop's palace, and mad 9 a, demonstration of
sympathy with the bishop, who was fortunately only
slightly wounded.

The wife of a Nest= (Cheshire) fisherman has
given birth to three children (boys), all of whom are
doing well.

THE RIVER PLATE BANK ROBBERY.

In London, on Monday, at the Central Criminal
Court, before Mr. Justice Ste?ben, George Warden,
aged forty-four, and John Davis Watters, aged thirty-
one, were indicted for stealing and re-eiving various
foreign securities of the value of £150,000, the pro-
perty of the River Plate Banking Company.
Sir Hardinge Giffard, Q C., Mr. Poland, and Mr.
F. M. Abrahams conducted the prosecution; Mr.
Edward Clarke, Q.C., Mr. Fillan, and Mr. H. T.
Brown defended Watters • Mr. Pope, Q.C., and Mr.
Besley appeared for Warden.
The •prisoner Warden pleaded Guilty to all the
charges.
Sir H. Giffard proceeded to open the case for the
prosecution.
Mr. Justice Stephen said be thought it would be the
better course to sentence this prisoner at once, in
order that it might be understood that be had nothing
to hope and nothing to fear from any evidence that he
might give.
Mr. Begley said Warden was already fully impressed
with that idea, and Mr. Pope was desirous to urge
some observations in mitigation of punishment and as
to character

Mr. Justice Stephen said he did not believe the
prisoner had any idea that his sentence would be
mitgated, and he considered it to be the best course
that sentence should be passed befere the witness
Warden gave his evidence.
At the request of Mr. Bealey the matter, however,
stood over.

Sir H. Uhf aid then proceeded with his address, and
he stated that while in the service of the bank the
greatest confidence was reposed in Warden. His
salary was raised from £6OO to £1,500, and be was in
the enjoyment of that salary, and was engaged as
manager and secretary, at the time these occurrences
took place. The learned counsel went on to say that
the broad facts of the case appeared to be that both
prisoners, Watters bin ir what is called an outside
broker, gambled upon the Stock Exchange, and the
amount of their losses at length became something pre-
posterous, their account in different securities
amounting to fourteen millions sterling, and in order
to supply the losses that occurred from this account
securities of the value of £116,000 were stolen by War-
den from the bank and were handed over to Watters, in
order to be used as covers for liabilities, or were sold
to pay the amount of the differences that accrued
against the prisoners upon the settling day on the
Stock Exchange. The learned counsel then proceeded
to enter into a short detail of the proceedings that
were taken by the defendants to avoid discovery. It
bad been suggested that the bank had been somewhat
careless in the management of their business or such
an enormous fraud could not have been committed.
The jury, however, had nothing to do with this ques-
tion, and the only thing they bad to consider was
whether the evidence satisfied them that the prisoner
Watters had taken these securities into his possession
with the guilty knowledge that they bad been stolen
by the other prisoner Warden, who had pleaded guilty.

At the close of the address of the learned counsel,
and before any witnesses were examined, the prisoner
Warden was brought up for judgment.
Mr. Pope, in pleading for merciful consideration ol
the prisoner's case, said he hoped it would not be for
gotten that he had upon one occasion acted with the
greatest bravery, awl at a time when every one else
was flying from pestilence he alone remained behind,
and conducted the affairs of the bank to a successful
issue. The explanation he had to give of his conduct
was that he had unhappily speculated with money
that belonged to a sister, and, having lost this money,
be had nude use of his employer's property in a
desperate endeavour to recover the money that had
been lost.

Sir H. Giffard said that having regard to the pri-
soner's former character he was instructed by the
directors of the bank to recommend the prisoner, so far
as the law would permit, to a merciful consideration.
Mr. Justice Stephen said there could be no doubt
that the prisoner had formerly been a man of high
character, and he had no doubt shown sincere repent-
ance for his crime, but he (the learned judge) could not
allow that Matter to operate upon his mind in passing
sentence. He considered that the prisoner had been
guilty of the it ost grievoqs and terrible frauds—frauds
that might have had serious consequences to the bank
that had placed so much confidence in him. He took
into consideration his conduot on the occasion referred
to, and hit for that he should have passed a more
severe sentence. The sentence he should pronounce
under the circumstances would be that the prisoner be
kept in penal servitude for twelve years.

The trial of Wafters was then proceeded with, the
principal witness for the prosecution being the convict
Warden.
The case closed on Tuesday, when Mr. Poland
stemmed up the evidence for the prosecution, pointing
out that it was not the intention of Mr. Clarl-e to call
auy .vitnesses for the defence, although Waiters had
c'erks in his office who could have given testimony.
The learned counsel maintained that Watters's beaks
gave a corroboration of Warden's statement, and that
Watters had known that Warden was secretary to the
River Plate Bank, and must have surmised that the
securities were not his property.
Mr. E. Clarke' in addressing the jury for the de-
fence, hoped that they would not believe the evidence
of Warden. It would be a monstrous injustice to
accept the word of a man who had confessed himself
guilty of a crime rather than that of a man who up to the
present time had borne an irreproachable character. He
asked the jury to look at the case apart from the tes-
timony of Warden. Apart from that evidence these was
nothinK either criminal or suspicious in Watters's trans-
actions. There was no evidence beyond that of
Warden to show that Watters knew the securities had
been stolen from the bank. Written; had believed, in
common with others, that Warden was a man of un-
impeachable integrity, and, therefore, credited his
representations that he was actinv for gentlemen con-
nected with the River Plate. Under those circum-
stances there was no reason for suspicion or distrust of
Warden, or for asking the names of the persons for
whom Warden had asserted to Watters that be was
acting.
Evidence having been given as to the high character
which the prisoner had hitherto borne,
His lordship then proceeded to sum up, and address-
ing the jory, said the question for the jury to decide
was whether Watters knew the securities had been

Ptolen, He could not advise them to so utterly dis-
regard the evidence of Warden as Mr. Garke had
asked them to do. It did not appear that Warden
could have hoped for any advantage by giving evi-
dence against Watters. because he had been already
sentenced. Unless Warden had a feeling of anger
• against Watterr, there appeared to be no motive on his
part for giving false evidence against Watters. They
had got two stories before them. Which was corro-
borated ? Warden had undoubtedly been looked upon
as a man of unimpeachable integrity, although one
piece of evidence, not upon the depositions, had shown
that the present was not Warden's first theft. The
assertions of Warden respecting the loan to Watters
which he hal covered, were strongly borne out
by Watters's books. Watters declared that the
transactions on the Stock Exchange were legiti-
mate translations entered into at the request of
Warden, and that he was utterly ignorant of the mode
in which this prisoner had obtained possession of the
property. He said that according to Warden's own
story he had lasen guilty of a base trick to obtain pos.
session of some of these securities, and if men would
descend to the position of a pickpocket, no precautions,
as it appeared to him, could prevent such proceedings
as these from being carried out. Unfortunately there
were thieves in every class of life, rich and poor, and
not only those who were in the street, but persons
who were situated in a much higher position, and it
was for them to say whether Vie prisoner was one of
them. _ _ _ _ _ -

The prisoner, when tbe learned judge had concluded,
said he could explain the meaning of the words "general
account " in his books; and he went on to say that this
was done at the request of Warden. He then made a
statement relating to the case generally, and the pur-
port of which appeared to be that the evidence given
by Warden was false.

The jury retired at ten minutes past six o'clock to
delibarr,te. They returned into court in about twenty
minutes and returned a verdict of guilty of receiving
the property feloniously.
The learned Judge said the prisoner stood convicted
of feloniously stealing a large quantity of valuable
securities. It was an offence ot great magnitude, and
he was afraid that it was illuatrativ3 of the evil conse-
quences of the spirit oi gambling that prevailed at the
present day. He must sentence him to the same
punishment as that inflicted upon Warden—namely,
12 years' penal servitude.
The prisoner: I declare before a higher Judge than
yourself that I 4n3 innocemt.
Mr. Justice Stephen; I cannot help that; you have
had a fair trial.

The pdsoner was then removed from the dock.