The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-31 00:00:00

EVENING, MAY 31, 186‘L.

W-CE.I

BANK OF RUSSIA.

THE GREAT FLOOD IN THE FENS.

LYNN, FRIDAY NIGHT.
To day has been a time of great anxiety. The
tides have rushed up the cut with terrific force,
threatening to carry away every obstacle except
those of leviathan strength which might oppose
them. The natural consequence is that the water
has risen to a greater altitude on the fens than it
had before attained. Fortunately, the various efforts
of cradging the banks, and other measures of a simi-
lar preventive character, have prevented any greater
extension of the area of inundated land. Upon to-
morrow morning's tide depends the safety of the
entire fens that are not at present inundated. The
hole in the east bank was not filled up today when
we let, nor was any attention being paid to pud-
dling the banks, an operation the necessity of which
was felt on all hands. It is feared that the present
heavy rain, which has been failing for hours, will
help to swell the body of water on the land, and
render more liable an extension of its bulk and acre.
The framework of the coffer dam is expected to be
completed on Seturclay night, by which time 52
piles, of a length of 53 feet each, will have been
driven to a depth of 20 feet into the earth. To
accomplish this about 10 engines have been used,
and it has taken seven days to do it, which, it will
be observed, is not a pile per engine per day. All
these piles are girded together by iron bolts, fixed
into the bed of the river, by an expert diver from
Portland and Spithea d, and similar stays at the sur-
face of the water. The piles are "ift. apart, and in
the groove are to be fixed panels of wood, Bin. thick,
cased with an inch of sheet iron. This work is ex-
pected to be commenced tomorrow, anti the centre
is to be filled up pith clink and puddle. It is in-
tended to make the coffer dam a sold piece of work,
and not to have a sluice through it, as has been
stated before. The question of getting rid of the
water before the dam is completed (should that for-
tunately occur) is exciting much attention. We
are enabled to state the plan which is intended to
be adopted by the engineers is to lift the water
over the coffer dam, which will be made as strong
as possible, by means of powerful machinery, which
is shortly to be erected. 50,000 sacks of earth has
been thrown into the river, and 12,000 more have
arrived for the same purpose. We believe it is pro-
posed to strengthen the coffer dam by laying a quan-
tity of clink and earth at the foot of the piles.
The land that is under water was let at about £3
an acre, and a loss of £26,000 will be sustained,
without taking into calculation the value of the
cropping and the deterioration of the land. Alto-
gether, it is questionable if a million sterling will
cover the whole expense.
We are informed that Mr. T. M. Wilkins, solici-
tor, who has some property under water, has served
more than 20 writs upon the Middle Level Com-
missioners, so there will be some fighting in the
law courts.

THE FORGERIES UPON THE IMPERIAL

William Muller, the German who stands charged
with having in his possession a number of plates
and some paper bearing impressions of portions
of notes purporting to be Russian ten
rouble notes, and also with being concerned with
a man named Reichberg and others in en-
graving upon certain plate impressions of the
rouble notes, and with forging certain paper pur-
porting to be notes upon the Imperial Bank of
Russia, with intent to defraud the Russian Govern-
ment, was placed at the bar of the Mansionshouse,
before Mr. Alderman Finnis, who sat for the Lord
Mayor, to undergo a final examination upon the
above charges.
The public is aware that at the April session of
the Central Criminal Court five Polish Jews were
convicted of conspiring together to obtain plates
for the purpose of engraving forged 5 and 10 rouble
notes, one of them, a man named Rosenberg, having
been previously convicted of a similar offence, and
they were sentenced to long periods of penal servi-
tude. There appears to be no doubt that these men
were the principal agents in carrying out a most
extensively organised system of plunder upon the
Russian Government by means of forged notes for
small amounts, which circulate to an enormous ex-
tent throughout the empire; and it is understood
that since their conviction they have given infor-
mation which led to the apprehension of the pri-
soner now under charge, and which will in all
probability result in putting a stop to these proceed-
ings in future. If they had been successful a vast
amount of mischief would have been occasioned, as
these small notes circulate to an enormous amount
through the Russian empire, and sometimes as long
a period as three or four year elapses before they are
paid into the Imperial Bank, and the Russian pea-
santry, among whom these instruments principally
circulate, are so excessively ignorant that there is
very little chance of the forgery being detected in
the first instance. It is rather a singular fact that
there appears to be an impression very generally
prevalent in Russia, and the dependencies of that
empire, that it is considered only a very slight
offence in England to obtain the engraving of
notes of this description, and this may account
for the readiness with which some of the parties
have entered into the nefarious speculation.
In Russia the offence of forging the Go-
vernment notes is a capital one, and the least
punishment that would be inflicted for it
would be one of imprisonment for life at the
miner of Siberia. It will be remembered that
some of the prisoners already convicted, during the
negotiations they had with different engravers,
upon one or two occ^r_ions expressed a desire to
" peach" upon their companions, and since their
ceuvietion it is beliond they have made a clean
breast of the matter, and the result will in all pro-
bability be to put a stop to these proceedings in
future.
Yesterday Mr. Sleigh, instructed by Messrs.
Oliverson, Lavy, and Peachy, again appeared to
conduct the prosecution on behalf of the Russian
Government.
He said the evidence that had already been ad-
duced he thought was sufficient to substantiate the
charge against the prisoner, for having in his pos-
session, without lawful excuse, a quantity of plates
for fabricating Rnssian rouble notes, and a quantity
of forged notes, purporting to be rouble notes ;
and the evidence he proposed further to adduce
would be in support of the charge for fabricating
the plates and forging the notes. It had been
abundantly proved that the prisoner was acting in
concert with Rosenberg and the others who have
been already convicted. He should call gentlemen
who were lithographic printers, and who, under
the direction of the prisoner and one of the other
men, fabricated the plates, and who had acted as
honourable gentlemen should in such a matter.
They had, immediately upon their suspicions being
aroused, given information to the proper parties,
and had afterwards acted with their authority. The
Russian Government had discovered, since the con-
viction of the other prisoners, that there was an
enormous amount of fabricated paper in circulation
among the poorer community of the Russian em-
pire, and a great deal of distress has been occasioned
thereby. The prisoner was undoubtedly one of the
confederacy from whom the forged paper emanated.
There were others still undetected ; but he hoped
very soon to have them placed at the bar for exa-
mination.
Mr. Thomas Rawlin V, a lithographic printer, in
Finsbury, was then called, and stated that the pri-
soner, with a man named Josephson, called upon
him about May in last year, and Josephson asked
him if he would have any objection to teach the
prisoner, who he said was his brother-in-law, a
portion of the lithographic printing. He wanted
to know how to take an impression from copper-
plate and transfer it on to stone. He showed them
the process, and they came continually until a few
days before Josephson and the others were appre-
hended. They asked him on several occasions to
print some copies from a plate which they
brought with them. The witness identified one
of the plates found on the prisoner when first
apprehended as the same plate, and also identi-
fied the notes found on the prisoner as some of
theimpressions which he took from the plate.
He took about 300 in all, and the prisoners brought
their own paper each time.
The prisoner also called, with Josephson, upon an
engraver named Hilhaser, who carries on business
in London-wall, in the month of October last.
They produced a circular zinc plate, and asked him
it he could imitate it on copper. He said he could,
and Josephson completed the order. Josephson
called on him several times afterwards, but he only
saw the prisoner two or three times. They told
him the plate was for a label for a watchmaker's
card. This witness identified one of the plates
which were found in the parcel at Woolwich sta-
tion as the same which was given him to imitate.
Mr. Sleigh said that was all the evidence he pro-
Posed to go into, and esked that the prisoner
night be committed fur trial. He thought it right,
however, to state that there would be more evi-
dence forthcoming at the trial.
The prisoner, who said he was quite innocent of
the charge, was then committed for trial.