The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-08-30 00:00:00

_
The convicts were then removed from the bar, and
thus terminated this remarkable trial.

The Tunes, in a leader, gives the following hintory
of the case:—

The ji;Fence for the prosecution was so conclusive that
the counsel both fr r SI acdonnell and for Gem go Bidwell dee
Mined to address the jury, and these two prisoners con.
teased their guilt, endeavouring at the same time to Noreen
their companiona This proceeding can only be regarded
as the final stroke of desperate Ingenuity, and It malutsins
to the last the determined and calculating character of
the fraud. The scheme has, indeed, been executed wth
a persistency and a 11111 not unworthy of Its msg.
allude. But for one trivial blunder it not merely
sre,uld have been, but actually *as, successful, and our
readers will have observed that even on the Verge of con•
victims the prisoners and the,r friends made a bold attempt
to evade the gresp of justice. Ileavy bribes seem to have
beer offered to some of the warders of Newgrate, and if, as
In allezed, the three thus corrupted were t i hove been on
duty together in the prison at eight, the scheme might
ban proved temp warily successful From the outset,
moreover, the plans of the compiraton had been so laid as
so provide for the escape ot at haat some of their
number. Austin bidwell hod left England when the forged
bills were presented, and Noyes was protected by a
fictitious do urnent representing him as engaged to
serve as clerk to the former prisoner. All four men
deserve the credit of having maintained in an unusual de-
gree tee touour which it rather proverbial than customary
amobit thieves. They have Ineu stanch to each other, met
hove fought the law with extraordinary audacity and re.
source. But for their entanglement with women who be-
tters,. d them It might have he. it mach less nay to teems their
proceedings and to convict them ; nor, perhaps, would a less
powerful 'coy than the Bonk of Etiolate' have prom c oted the
investi,ation with equal en. rgy Hut the comptiacy has at
length been defeated at every point. Alter the first false step
the tolls gradually closed mond the prisoners, and *hen two
of them attempted by a pertial confession is rave the other
two they played their last stake.
The fraud was more than once characterized during the
trial as the most extervive which had ever been attempted
by similar means, and It is also probably, the :newt elaborate.
It Is not Improbable that, as ancdonnell mated, the
I conspirators when they first came to this country had
I not formed any ortinite plan of operations Before ding so
they would naturally wait to ecoeire somse familiarity with
r the csninse of littihou in England; hut this aflords no ergo-
, Merit whatever against the preeumption that they were (corn
' the first contemplating female of some kind According to
Macdonnell, a preened. whlfh Is customary in America In
cashing accepted bills is omitted in England. It is esual there
to send round the acceptances to the persons accepting to be
' initialled," and It au when et was discovered that this
formality was dispensed with in London he saw his way to
this attempt. However, Austin Bidwell, George Pidwell,
Mid Ma otonnell came to this country In the Spring of last
year, and there is no doubt that they proceeded without le.
lay to set on foot • scheme of fraud. Bs the nnenspectlng
good nature of a tailor in Simile-row A osUn Bidwell pro-
cured in Sley an introduction to the Western Breech of the
Bank of Eogiand, nod Pm some months patiently left
in deposit there, under the name of Warren, a sum
of about £2,0e0. It was not until September that
he commence(' any huger transaction.; ; he then
asked the Manager to sell for him £f3,oeo of Por-
tnguese Stock. and he drew 42.000 on account. Be ropre-
seated himself as an American contraetrie foe hittoducing
Pullman's can into Europe, and laid he *as building them
at Birmitutham. Having thug established some credit
With the Bank, the crnspiratora proceeded to acquaint
themaelveri with the namel and position of the great com-
Mercial bonus of this country and of Europe, arid for this
purrose durieg September arid octoher they were actiVely
r imaged In various chin of the Continent. An Illness of
Macdonnell seems to have delayed their " operations ;" hut
between N vernher end January Oleorge Bidwell procured a
large number or genuine bills, which served two purposes.
These were paid into Warren's account, and thus maintained
his credit ; bet they also served as models for the intended
forgeries. As mem as this wars accomplished the scheme ems
ready to he put in prectioe, hut the prisoners
be tnroeneawda,
further difficulty. When the forged bills had been ll.cnte
hiiw were they to distribute the pleader without affrellne •
chi° by which they might all lie traced ° Amain Bidwell,
whose gent would, of comae, he at once known, sees to be
out of Eeglard before the hills were presented . but how
were the others in escape % For this purpose an 11011012nt
was opened In another name at the Continental Bank, so
that the money obtained in the account of Warren at bar.
limit 'n-gardens raleht be peti to the credit of Hortor. In
Lombard-street. and there drown out in another form, More-
neer, George Bidwell and aludonnell, no the direct agents in
the forgery, thought it prudent to sided themselves by em-
ploying a fourth agent to deal with the mosey For tilt.
purpose Nein was arnm.orled from Amerlea, and es h 3, too,
would °betels!, he implicated In the crime es soon as it be.
came known, he took the preeitetion of advertising for a
place as clerk, and making • formal ergagelnent with
Horton, or A nntin Bidwell. The di sign was in/1,143141y that
when the forged bills matured, Macdonnell end George tfld-
well should have followed Austin Bidwell Ahmed, that Noyes
should he the only egent mem whom the authorities could
lay treir hands, arid that be sheuld be aisle to repreeent
himself as an innocent dupe But who was to present the
bills et the Bank of Moslem' l Austin Bided', As we hare
Bald, was away, Macdonnell and George Bidwo!! Were to be
kept in the hockground, and Noyeel.los to be confined to his
apparent desks work in the cur. At this point Antal. Bid-
well'. itoragiriary factoriee at Birmingham came Into play.
Heviog one (lay rerreshmi his credit, by presenting fa-trite a
genet,e bill of the Messrs. Rothschild he intocinntl the Mene-
m i hat his Mildness at Birmingham -es trmoming very active,
and that in the course of the nest month he expecte a his
transac ions to be very Wee. His rent communications
accorditigly, or rather the next communications in MS tame,
were addressed to the Manager from Biertitigham. Mac-
donnell and George Bidwell proceeded to transmit in quick
el:MC.8101i from flirnrinohare, tinder cover of letters pur-
porting to be written by Austin Bidwell, the forged bills
they had prepared, end by the end of the mouth of
February forgeries to the Mount of £102,11 were
actually discoueted at the Bank; the rjoney was duly
transferred to Horton's account, and then a further
ileinCs was resorted to for the patron of obliterating
traces of the traneaetion Notes were obtained !rem the
Cot thental Barb these were then taken by one of thn
conspirators to tee Bask of England and teehran;;-ed for
Rohl, mid then, In the course of the same dm, another of
the conspirators tcok the gold Smack to the Bank and ob-
tained (ithee notes tor It the proceeds were then ievested
in visions Amerlcar securities, and large sums were
autually sent to \ow York. Raceme seemed complete, when
one day two bills were handed to the Bark on which the
date of acceptance hal, by an oversight ol the forger,
been omPted. Inc Beek, Mill neglecting nothing wrong,
sent to the accepler toot the ondeston might be supplied :
the forgery wee ditcovered. and the whole scheme collapsed.
Such iv. generally the end of all net schemes of fraud.
They need so long a Arai,s of attention that, moner or
' later seen slight blunder Is nearly sure to be committed, by
which the whole design is frustrated. Yet it is alarming to
see hew very newly so gigantic a robbery was effected, and to
observe the opportunities which the modern system of
credit tiler. to criminals of MOH and audacity. As Mac-
donee!' said, his "business" has of late years " made
very great strides. It has become an art— and though
a very wretehed, unhappy, miserable, and contemp-
tible art. it may be to a certain extent called
"an art, nevertheless." The opportunities for fraud are now
sutPc'ent to attract the enterprise of men of considerable
talent and edecatlon, and as comments ext,nds they are
not likely to un. '••1.11, There are hut two modes el
counterse:lng therm la the first place. It is difficelt not
to think that greater precautions might be taken In dis-
counting bills than were °emceecu in this case. If it Is found
pomp'« In America is test all acceptance. by presenting
hills to he 'um aied, it n.ight at least be Poulhie
in this country, when dealleg with a antes of bilis
tech as were presented by Austin indwell, to test
one nr two of them orcaaionally, AIM It certain',
seems strange that no mupleion +Medd have been excited by
H. fact that the only euldreni whioe Austin Bidwell gave et
Birmingham was OM Post Office. The other precaution le
to visit swim. rinses weee brought home to thp perpetrators
with the I,tri oat. rigour. Ihe temptation is glue!, .41 it
IShould lie well molt...stood the% tile risk is proportioneto
The Judge has appreciated 1111, necentry In the prewnt ilio
staece, and the result of the great Batik Forgeries of 1573
will, Is spite of their near success, act for • loner time to
cams se a turthle warning against stmllaz crime,-

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
OF TWO LADIES AT HOLLOWAY.
_ _ .

The bodies of the unfortunate sisters, Mrs. Everett,
13, Grove-road, and Mrs. Constable, Seven Sisters-
road, Holloway, who have been missing for the last
two months, were discovered on Thursday in last week,
in the ruins of Alexandra Palace. It will be remem-
bered from the adverti.ed rewards offered that they
left their homes on the morning ,of the 25th JUDO last
to visit the horse show held at that date in the
park, and their mysterious disappearance had not up
to Thursday been accounted for. Ou Thursday even-
ing, however, a man working in the vicinity of the
palace, discovered the frightfully decomposed bodies of
two females half buried amidst the ruins. Immediately
calling the attention of the authorities, he was dis-
patched to the Holloway Police-station, where he ex-
hibited portions of the dresses. He was at once ac.
companied by Inspector Stanford to the residence of
Mr. Everett, by whom, as well as by his family, the
oresses were at once identified as those worn by his
wife and sister.in.law on the date of their die.
appearance. The party then proceeded to the Alexandra
Park, where the unfortunate women lay undistinguish•
able, amidst a heap of rubbish, and the bodies were at
ono -placed in a cart and conveyed to the " Alexandra
Tavern," Wood-green.
A clue has been discovered as to how the deceased
found their way into the building. The general belief
is that they wandered unnoticed into the ruins, and
without warning and unseen were buried under some
portion of the masonry which suddenly gave way.
Subsequent search on the part of the police clears
away the suspicion which had got abroad that the
deceased came by their deaths through foul play.
On the bodies of the ill-fatad women, which were
no decumwsed that it was impossible to separate
the desomposed flesh from the dresses, were found
the watches and chains which they were known to have
worn when they left their homes on the mornlcg
of the 25th June last. This operation of collecting
those ornaments was a ghastly one, ss they had to be
sought for with hooks, and drawn through the ooze of
mixed-up matter, mortar, and rage. Even after being
separated from this bed of corruption and washed
many times in clean water a stench hung round the
jewellery of so sickening a nature that the police office
where it was deposited had to be kept constantly
sprinkled throughout the night with the disinfectants.
Terrible 89 the discovery is a still more terrible dread
Ii set at rest as to the deceased ladies having been
made away with by violence other than accidental, and
the mystery that so long enveloped their fate is now
cleared away. _
On Saturday afternoon an inquiry was held at the
"Alexandra" Tavern, Wood.gi een, touching the deaths
of the above ladies who so mysteriously disappeared
from their homes two months ago, Mr. Thomas
Everett, a currier. said his wife left his home on Wed.
nesday morning, June 25, to meet Mrs. Constable at
the Finsbury Park Station, and go with her to the
Alexandra Park. He had not seen or heard anything
of her until '1 hursday last. William Sadler, labourer,
said he was employed in removing the rubbish from the
ruins. Os Thursday last, about eleven o'clock, while
digging, he came upon the bodies of the deceased. It
was stated that for some time after the tire the
external walls were continually crumbling and fall.
lug, and that all measures were taken to prevent
the public going near the ruins. Police-constable
John Itioding said he was on duty at the park to pre-
vent people going too near the ruins. He was on duty
on the 25th of June, but saw no women pass either of
the gates in the fence surrounding the ruins. The
orders were strict that, except s 'ausineets, nobody
should be permittted to enter. On the 25th of June
two gentlemen got inside and he warnsd them off. He
had not walked 100 yards before a wall fell with a loud
crash, and he exclaimed, "Thank God, no one is
beneath it." Dr. Hockin, divisional surgeon of police,
said he had examined the bodies. The deceased had
evidently been suffocated. The following verdict was
recorded : —"That the deceased were bound dead in
Alexandra Park. Such deaths were the result of
suffocation caused by a brick wall falling upon them.
How they got there there was no evidence to show."