The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-03 00:00:00

The Late Extraordinary Robbery of Post-
office Money-order Forms.
BOW-STREET.-THIS DAY.

A well-dressed man, named Henry Charles Watson,
was placed at the bar charged with stealing, forging, and
uttering a number of Post-office money-orders. The pri-
soner was defended by Mr. Lewis, jun.
-Mr. Peacock said he attended to prosecute the prisoner
on a charge of being concerned in stealing, forging, and
uttering certain post-office money-orders. It will be re-
collected that a short time ago a very artful but ingenious
fraud was perpetrated upon a postmaster at Netherstowey,
in Somersetshire, by a person who represented himself to
be an inspector of the Post-office. The prisoner succeeded
in obtaining possession of nearly 400 blank forms, with the
letters of advice, and the money-orders the prisoner had
presented for payment were made out on some of the forms
stolen on that occasion.

Mr. Schroeder, postmaster at Colt-street, Limehouse,
said—The prisoner on the 13th of May presented three
£lO orders for payment, purporting to come from Edwin
Reeves. The letters of advice came in the usual way from
Netherstowey. The prisoner I believe to be the person
who presented them. I asked him who sent the money,
and he gave me the proper name, Edgar-Reeves. I told
him he must wait, but he told me he wanted the money,
and I let him have £2O, the amount of two orders. He
went away, and I told him if he came in the afternoon he
should have the rest. Shortly after, in about a quarter o
an hour, he returned with another man, and the strange
man asked me if I meant to pay the orders, and I
said I can't do so now, but I will pay them at four
o'clock. The person had some money orders in his hand
when he spoke to me. This man then began to abuse me,
and said he must detain his ship if he did not pay him the
money. I merely replied I would pay at four o'clock. The
prisoner made no remark at all, but both persons left the
shop together. I had no conversation with him.

Samuel Weddock—l reside near Bridgewater, in Somer-
setshire. lam a sub-postmaster at Netherstoway, and I
issue and pay money-orders. The books provided
to me for that purpose contain 200 orders, num-
bered consecutively. The letters of advice are on
the same sheet. When I issue an order, I fill
up the letter of advice with the particulars of the
sum, with the name of the remitter, and send it to the post-
master on whom the order is drawn. On the 12th of May
a man drove up to my office and requested to have some
private conversation with me. I took him into a private
room, and he then told me he was an inspector from the
Post-office, sent by the Postmaster-General, as numerous
complaints had been made respecting letters posted in
Cannington and Holford which had not come to hand
He said Mr. Cresswell could not come with him. He asked
me who had access to the office. I replied myself and
son. He then asked me whether my son was duly sworn.
I told him he was, and he then took some papers from a bag
which he carried and placed them on a chair, and appeared
to read the addresses of several letters which was stated to
have been lost. He mentioned a letter particularly directed
to Sir George Grove, Belgrave-square, which contained
bank notes and another containing coin which had been
posted, and which had not arrived ; and he also said Sir
Peregrine Ackland had complained of the loss of his
letters. I told him his letters did not pass through my
office, but he said that some of his correspondence did. I
had received a letter from a person signing himself "John
Hammel," stating that a letter directed to Mrs. Ham-
mel containing money, and posted from my office,
had not been received. Ho said be had seen my
reply, and told me that the Postmaster General had given
orders that the case should be thoroughly investigated,
and that Mr. Creswell and himself would attend on the
following Monday to make a searching investigation. I
told him I could not give him any information respecting
the missing letters, and that every letter posted had been
despatched, as in almost every instance I had made up the
bag myself. He told me he should call in the evening and
mako up a test letter, and that I should put a private mark
upon it, and he told me I was to follow his instructions
for one week—(laughter)--I was to particularly notice the
letters I sent away in the evening and to notice whethe
they contained inclosures. That I was to enter such as I
thought contained money in a book. He also said that
when Mr. Creswell came he intended to make some altera-
tions in my office, and that it was to be kept more private
Ho then asked me what my daily issue of money orders
were. I told him. He asked me, in the event of my
issuing more than one order on the same office, whether
I sent up the letters of advice together or separately. I
showed him my instructions ; he then said he had direc-
tionsfrom Mr.Bokenham to take my stock money order forms,
and letters of advice to London leaving me sufficient for use
up to the 16th of May, as the new rules were to come into
force that day. I delivered them to him.:One perfect4book
contained
.200, numbered from 201 to 400, and part of
a book from, which he selected money-order forms and let-
ters of advice, commencing 101 to 200, leaving me 50 forms.
He said he should return the old book to the storkeeper, and
he asked me to make a memorandum of the facts, as the
books were to be cancelled in London. I stamped some forms
with my official stamp, believing the person who directed
me to do so was an inspector from the Post-office. He
then asked me whether it would be safe for him to travel
by the ordinary mail cart, and whether the driver was a
steady man. (A laugh.) I told him he was, and he then
took the money order forms and went away. He after-
wards returned and told me he had been to Holford, where
he had found great neglect, and he then gave me the to st
letter he had spoken of in the morning. The five
money orders now put into my hand for £lO, num-
bered 116 to 120 inclusive, purport to be issued from
the Netherstoway office on the 12th of May, and payable
in the Whitechapel-road, and to bear my signature. They
are forgeries. So are the five others for £lO each, num-
bered 131 to 135, the five others payable at Waterloo-
terrace, and the two others numbered 136, 137, for £lO,
payable at Limehouse Post-office. They formed a portion
of those taken away from my office under the circum-
stances I have described.

Mr. Peacocke—That is as far as I intend to proceed to-
day, and I have now to ask for a remand.

Mr. Flowers—Very well. I shall remand the prisoner
:or a week.

Mr. Lewis—ldon't see that the latterevidenee affects.my
client.

Mr. Flowers—Not at present. •
The prisoner was then formally remanded until Satur-
day next.

Musica]. and Dramatic 'Jottings.

(From the Orchestra.)
Miss Milly Palmer will return to London for the winter
season.

Mr. Howard Paul has gone to Paris to look up novelties
for the forthcoming dramatic fete at the Crystal Palace.
Miss Lucy Rushton, who some two years ago played a
season at the Haymarket with brilliant success, is about to
visit America professionally.

Mr. Webster's next star will be Mr. Owen, a well known
comic actor from New York. Ho opens in a piece called
the " People's Lawyer," and plays a Yankee, Solon Shingle.
We understand that Mr. W. West, the well-known stage
manager, has entered, in that capacity, the service of the
English Opera Company, and that Mr. Edward Murray
will superintend the affairs of the front of the house.
The death of Capt. Henry de Wolfe Carvel is one which
has carried grief into the hearts of many personal. friends
of the deceased gentleman. Capt. Carvel was the husband
of Madame Parepa, to.whom he had been married little
over a year. Retired from the army, he had long been
suffering from disease of the heart ; and the advice of his
medical advisers pointed to Lima, Peru, the climate of
which locality it was hoped would benefit the malady. He
had, however, not been long absent from England when he
passed to death, generally regretted, as he had been warmly
respected.