The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-03-10 00:00:00

FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE
BWINDLRIt&

At Bow-street Polies-court on Saturday, Charles
Wicks, alias Howa,d, and Martha Howard, whim
were brought up on remand, the man @barged wilts
forging • considerable number of cheques upon the
London and County, National ProvinMal, and other
hanks, and the woman with uttering one of the forged
olmquea
Mr. Mullen., solicitor to the Banks& Association,
conducted the prosecution; Mr. Sleigh, the barrister,
saw appeared in one can., on behalf of the Bankers'
Asisoci.tion. The prisoners were defended by Yr.
Lamle, sen. _ _

It appeared that the male prisoner bad for years
carried on, in • peculiarly precise and methodical manner.
a wholesale syetem of forgeries on bank. in Laodoo amt
elsewhere. His plan was to open • fictitious account
with • bank and obtain a cheque-book. afterwards lidos
the cheques to opm other fictitious amounts at
other banks, by depositing large cheques, and then
obtaining change of small ones. Fie carried this
system on with marvellous success till February
net, when, with the female prisoner, who had been
living with hies se his if. at Clines* Cottage,
awanage, he made an attempt to leave the neighbour.
hood clandestinely. Two policemen, geeing theeist-wooers
walking from floanage to Wareham at one o'clock On
the morning of the 15th February, and carrying • trunk
between them, watched them to the Red Lion, at Ware-
ham, and then gave information to Mr. Hales, the
saperintendent of the Wareham polies, in consequence
of which they were apprehended. Upon the female
was found a number of oheque•booke various
teiTi of
bearing upon the counterfoils of the used cheques
memoranda, in the male prisoner's handwriting, of the
circumatames flier which they bed been mad, and
series of diaries extending over ten years, from 1858 to
1068. All them documents Wen In the male prisoam's
handwriting. The diary contained • minute amount of
the primmer, e mediae from day to day, including many
trivial oirenmstanees, but also giving details of the
various treads committed apes haulm The priemere
were detained, and after an examisation before the
local magistrate', were seat up to Logsdon and charged
at this were.

_
The prineipal charges against the male prisoner arms
out of • transaction of • some abet Intricate character,
by which he obtained &host £lBO from the managers of
branches of the London and Comity Bank. On the
29th of December the prisoner called upon Mr. Randal,
of the erre of Randal, Wigan and Mercer, at Maid-
stone, and opened an account with • slimes for £1,500,
drawn on the Welverlsampton Beak, mid signed J. R.
Aston, which he said was his name. He then obtained
a cheque-book, for which he paid 4s. He then proceeded
to Gravesend, where he called tend r. Merritt, the simmer
of the Gravemod branch of the London end Clountyßank,
opened an acc,unt for the same amount, £1,500 in the
same name, and giving •eimiliar cheque; there also be
obtained a cheque-book, for which he paid 2s. 14.
Returning to London, be purchased • new mat at Mewl.
Mame, and called at • prinnet's for same cards
(for which be pail) of " Mr. William Lee," and "Mr.
Wilson Lee." The Woodlands, Westford, Maidstore.
The next morning, the 30th, be had his haircut, pawned
his old coat, a "Sandringham," for El Se., put on the
new one, land a ,new hat par/dosed that morning, called
at Mr. Lee's home in Upper Ground-street, and lacer.
t•ined that Mr. Lee was out of town. Alter this he
proceeded in cabs to live branches of the London and
County Bank, and obtained money by forged Merlins
at each. In each instance he co:maned by proposing
to open an account for £1,500. saying that his name was
Wilson Lee, and that he was the nephew of M. William
Lee, M.P., one of the directors, and exhibiting the two
cards mentioned above. He said he Lad • large account
at Randal, Wilgus, and Mercer's, but he wished to open
• small amount for privets use in London, as be wee
about to take • house in town. Having given a cheque
for £1,500 on Raedal and Co., signed William Lm. he
next asked for cheap°, • cheque for £35 12s. 7d., dated
Dec. 28, 1864, and purporting to be drawn on the
Gravesend branch of the London and County Bank.
by F. H. Southgate, and payable to Wilson Lee,
Esq. In each case be obtained the money, and in
each case, with one ezeeption (the Coventicardeo
branch), he took away a cheque-book. Them manna-
station are explicitly detailed in the diary, with the
addition of the following particulars: "Dec. 30. Cash
received this day. By balance, in hand, Ba. 6d. Received
for " pop" of "Sandringham," £1 5'.: cash from
London and County, Clarendon-road, £3512,. 7.1.; ditto
High Holborn, £35 12s. 7.1.; ditto Henrietta-street,
Covent-earien, £35 12s. 7d.; ditto Victoria-street,
£35 12s. 7i1.; ditto High-street, Kensington. £3512'. 74.;
total, 1:179 16r. ild." It is mentioned Viet, at the
Holborn branch. Mr. Sykes, the manner, staked him to
draw his own cheque for the amount, as they had • rule
against giving crossed cheques. He accordingly cave
his cheque, and got the money.
Evidence was given in proof of these circumstances,
and also that all the cheques were forgeries, no such
persons as "Wilson Ice" and "F. H. Soutbgete"
being knows at Randal and Co.'s, or at the London
and County Bank, Gravesend. In another case, ia
April. 1866, he obtained a sum of £55 ss. from Mr.
Seephens, the London manager of the National Pro-
vincial Blink (Baker-eireet ), when he repre-
sented himself as a Mr. C. Ciboria, and mid he was
r.owsmeadott by Mr. J. M. Lawrk, the chairmen of
the company. He opened an account for £l,OOO with
a cheque (forged of course) upon Messrs. Scams, of
Rocliford, saying that he had a large setae In the
neighbourhood. Here also he purchased • cheque-book.
Remade a great point of having one of the largest,
which contained 240 cheques. He tendered a £lO note
In payment, and received nitse sovereigns in change,
after which, as if by sitar thought, he asked for change
of the obeqms. It purported to be drawn by Mr.
Warington W. Smyth in favour of C. Osborne, Erg.
It appeared that the prisoner knew Mr. Smyth's hand-
writing, having eorresponded with that gentleman with
referents, to some land of which he had obtained
possession, and which, he said, °outsized some mineral
wealth.

717hr-priamarr wan remanded for further eirklasce.

POOLE.

BILZAD Fl3l(l3.—The distribution of bread tickets
continues, and we understand nearly 6,500 tickets were
distributed in the last two weeks.

_
Lon. or ems zresur.—This schooner, belonging to
Melon. Ballard, of this town, and laden with clay, for
Sunderland, was lost of Winterton, on Wedn.sday,
through ooming into collision with the brig Esther.
The latter vessel was injured and obliged to put in to
Yarmouth. Fortunately no lives were lost.