The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-26 00:00:00

Defrauding a Burial Society at Stockport.

On Saturday, at Stockport, Alice Holt, a widow, was
charged with having obtained £'2s 16s. from Mr. Peter
Scarlett, the local agent of the Wesleyan and General
Assurance Society, by fraud. The prisoner had been
remanded from time to time under the irnpress.on that
she was unable to be removed from the lock-up, she
representing to the authorities that she hourly expected
her confinemPnt, and being subject, moreover, to fits, she

was not in condition to leave her bed to be taken before
the Court. The Superintendent of Police, however, sus-
pected that she was practising an ingenious deception upon
the Court, and the magistrates determined upon taking the
case in the lock-ups. The prisoner lay prostrate on her bed,
and declined to take part in the inquiry either by question
or statement. Samuel Garlick, a canvassing agent for the
society, stated that in January last he called on the prisoner
at her lodgings, 43. Great Egerton-street, Heaton Norris,
and saw her and her mother, Mary Bailey, deceased. He
asked them if they were prepared to make the promised pro-
posals for an insurance against death, the latter being then
in apparent good health, but no proposals were then entered
into. On the 18th February he called again, and saw both
the prisoner and her daughter, and Mary having answered

the usual questions, was desired to call upon Mr. Scarlett
for a note to the doctor. After a week's delay he again
called upon them to ask why they had not been before the
doctor. The prisoner said she intended to insure herself, and
both she and the mother could go together. He called again
on two different oecasions,but was unable to see Maryßailey,
the prisoner on both occasions stating that her raotherwas out.
In a few days after he called again, and saw the prisoner
and her mother; the latter was in bed, and stated that she
was very poorly, the prisoner adding that her mother had
been taken ill on the Monday. Ann Bailey, who lived in
the same house, corroborated the statement of the witness
Garlick, as to calling frequently and hearing the prisoner
say that her mother was out, the fact being that her mother
was then lying on a sick bed upstairs. In a few days after
the time when Garlick called about going before the doctor,
the prisoner said to the witness, "Ann, will you go with me
to pass the doctor P" " What for ?" " Because my mother's
insured, but she can't go to the doctor's, and I want some
one to go with me for her, for if she didn't pass the doctor
she couldn't get the insurance money." Witness replied
" No, I can't go with you, for lam not old enough." She
asked, " Can you get anybody else ?" Witness said " No."
The day following the witness saw Elizabeth Wells and the
prisoner leave the house together, and the day after that
the prisoner told witness that she had passed Wells for her
mother before the doctor, but desired witness not to say
anything to any person, or else she would not be able to get
the money. The mother was ill in bed at that time, and the
prisoner told witness she believed her mother would not get
better.—Elizabeth Wells, of Didsbury, said she received a
letter from the pi isoner in February, asking her to come to
her house as soon as she could. The document was destroyed
at the time. On going to the prisoner's the said, " I want
you to go with me to Mr. Scarlett's and then to the doctor's,
as my mother's very bad, and I can't get the club money
unless you go." Witness said if it was all right, and for a
good cause, she would have no objection. They went ac-
cordingly to the agent's shop, and after some conversation
witness told him she (witness) was Mrs. Holt's mother.
The witness did not say anything more. They then went to
Mr. Heginbotham's, who put a great number of questions,
the answers to which he put down, and to which wi ness put
her mark as correct. That day witness saw Mrs. Holt's
mother very ill in bed.—Mr. Scarlett, the manager of the
society, constituted under the Friendly Society's Discharge
Act, 1854, said Garlick brought him a proposal, dated 18th
February, 1863, referring to the life of Mary Bailey. In a
fortnight afterwards the prisoner came to his shop, aceom-
panied by Elizabeth Wells, saying, " We've er toted your
society;" and in answer to a question said, "My name is
Alice Holt, and this is my mother, Mary Bailey." Two pro-
posals for insurance had been submitted—one for the pri-
soner and another for Mary Bailey. Wells, on seeing the
latter proposal, said the mark at the bottom was hers, and
that all the answers to the routine questions were correct.
Notes were given to them for the medical examination of Mr.
Heginbotharn, and the proposal and the doctor's report were
duly forwarded to the manager of the society, and the usual
certificates were granted. Bailey's certificate was granted on
the 23d March; she died on the 27th f the same month; and
the amount of insurance money, £25165, was paid on the Bth
April, on receiving a receipt from the prisoner. The pri-
soner was committed to Knutsford sessions for trial, on a
charge of obtaining money under false pretences.