The Express.
London, England, 1867-05-07 00:00:00

ALLAGED UTTERING OF FORGED BILLS Or
EXCHANGE TO THE AMOUNT OFR:O3,OOk

Yesterday, . at the Mansion-house, Edward
Derillmft, a well-dressed man of gentlemanly detneammr,
and described as of Barham-house, Bromley, Kent, was
brought up in custody by detective officers Webb and
Brett, and charged before the Lord Mayor with forging
and uttering a bill of exchange for 1,121 f. 10s., in May,
18CA, with intent to defraud, and also with forging and
uttering divers other bills with a like intent.
Mr. Poland, instructed by Messrs. Freshfield, appeared
as counsel for the prosecution, and Mr. Haddock (of the
firm of Parker, Lee, and Haddock, of St. Paul's Church.
yard) attended for the prisoner.
Mr. Poland in opening the case stated that the inquiry
about to commence would, in its progress, develop one
of the most gigantic frauds ever perpetrated in this gri,t,
commercial city, but he had been so recently instructed
that he was not in a condition to go into the matter
at any length, but he should put in evidence sufficieut to
enable him to ask for a remand to • future day. The
charge spinet the prisoner was for forging and uttering a
number of bills of exchange, and with conspiring with one
Thomas Edgley.who was not yet in custody, to defraud by
means of these forged, securities. The bills purported to
be drawn by the Maydampeck Forest Company, which pro.
(eased to be established in Sere* and was engaged in
felling timber and forwarding it to this country, and were
signed by the prisoner and forwarded from time to time
by Bilgley to the Leeds Banking Company, by who.,
manager, Mr. Greenland they had been discounted to the
amount of no less than 108,000 f. It would, be re.
membered that the Leeds Banking Company had
become bankrupt, and that the manager, Mr. Greenland,
had been convicted at the Central Criminal Court of falsi.
fying the accounts of the company and was now underpin/
his sentence under that conviction. He (Mr. Pdand
should now put in the informations on which the Inv
Mayor has granted his warrant for the apprehension of the
prisoner, and then ask for a remand.

Detective officer Frederick Charles Brett was then
sworn, and deposed that on Saturday last he received the
warrant, which bore date the 15th April last, and proceeded
with it to Dieppe, where he found the prisoner residingat
No. 19, Rue de Konen. He told hint that he was • police
officer, and held a warrant for hi. apprehension, and that
he should have to give him up to the French police, to
whose office the prisoner accompanied him, where he wee
told be would be detained in prison. The prisoner then
said that he would return to England, and was conveyed
by the French authorities on board the steamboat, on which
the witness also took his passage to this country, and OR
arriving at Newhaven he took the prisoner into custody,
and read to him the warrant, on which the prisoner replied
that he was innocent, but that before he went abroad he
had authorised Mr. Edgley, who was his uncle, to sign him
name for him for all purposes.
The sworn informations on which the warrant had been
granted were then put in. The first was that of Mr.
George Chandler, clerk to Messrs. Turquand and Co., the
official liquidators appointed to wind up the affairs of the
Leeds Banking Company, and he proved that in going
through the affairs of the company he had found the
disnonoured bills of the Maydainpock Forest Company,
drawn on their behalf by the prisoner, to the amount
of 108,009/., still unpaid, with the exception of about
9,650/. which had been received front a bankrupt firm. The
next information was that of Mr. John Grant, who proved
that he was one of the clerks of Messrs. Linklater, the
solicitors, and had examined the books of Thomas lidgley
and Co.'; that he had been in the service of Edgley, who
went, in 1864, to Sortie, and on returning to this country
asserted that he had obtained • concession of a tract
of forest land, and has established the Maydampeck
Forest Company, and had commenced felling timber.
Bills then began to be drawn in the name of the company,
and were forwarded to Greenland, the manager of the Ueda
Banking Company, for discount. The name "E. Devillers"
was always written at the foot of the bills by Edgley, and
not by the prisoner. The third information was that of
Mr. Bertram Smith. who had been • clerk to Edgley, and
had filled in the body of the bills, and had been in the
habit of forwarding them to the Leeds Banking Company.
No letters were ever received from the alleged Maydaim
peck Forest Company, and his only information as to its
existence was from the statements made by Edgley. The
last information was that of Mr. Henry F,ales Dawson,
who proved that in November, 1964, he went to Berrie to
ascertain the value of the property belonging to the alleged
company, and though there was a French mining company
in operation, no such concern as the Maydampeck Forest
Company has ever had any existence.
Detective officer Henry Webb was then sworn, and
proved that he had been engaged in making inquiries into
this matter for sonic time, and that on Saturday, the 15th
April, he went, accompanied by a gentleman from Messrs.
Freabfield'a office, to Sarbromhouse, Browley, in sent.
The prisoner admitted them into the house and was
shown a vast number of the hills in question, and amongst
them one for 1,120 f. 10a., and he was asked whether those
bills were signed by him. He looked at the whole of
them, and after some hesitation he said that the signature
"E. Devillers" was in his handwriting. He denied that
he had ever been in Serra', but added that at one time he
was going there. At Inst he refused to answer any
further questions, but said lie would come up to London
and call on Messrs. Freshfiehl. Witness, who had no in-
structions to take the prisoner into custody, but simply
to make inquiries, saw nothing more of the prisoner until
he arrived from Dieppe in the custody of Brett.

Mr. Poland intimated that be was not in a condition to
go further with the case to-day, and asked for a remand.
The Lord Mayor acceded, and remanded the prisoner to
Monday neat, refusing to admit him to bail.
On the application of Mr. Haddock, a gold watch and
chain and some money found upon the prisoner wie
ordered to be given up to him, and he was then removed
from the dock.