The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-26 00:00:00

SWINDLING: IN TWO. .HEMTSPEERES.

( From th.e Manchester Guardian.)

On the 11th of May last a letter, a coloured envelope,
bearing the Baltimore, United States, postmark of May
3d, reached Rochdale. It was addressed, " William
Chadwick, Esq., Rochdale, Lancashire, England ;" hut,
as that gentleman died on the sth of February last, it
was delivered from the Rochdale Post-office to his
brother, Mr. John Chadwick, of Broadfield, Rochdale,
who, having opened and read it, found that it pur-
ported to be a letter from a prisoner, dated " Jail Hos-
pital, April 28, 1853," but without manning the town
or place, and the only signature " E." It commenced,
" Dear and Honoured Benefactor,—lt is some time since
I last wrote ; nor should I do so now had I not been
sick and in great distress." The writer continues that
he had been ill for four months, says his affliction had
changed him, and, like the repentant prodigal, he would
gladly return to his " noble, beloved parents ;" who,
however, were never to know of his crime and shame.
He asks for " all the news at home," and then comes
e a
r
to the real object of his letter--" Do not be offended.
generous benefactor, if I again beseech you to send
me a small sum more. What you last sent is all ex-
pended.s i
st.ht
ae writtenn Bee
verye.
,a s
again,suHmreoedm hs ,
aemnakt,
Iyd
dest
friend,sl. o r
n I.
shouldl would willf y
notdd
our
r.
have
a . s
sos
youfurtherinot
for a Bank of England note, "for they pass cur-
rent. here. And direct as below. The doctor is the
physician of the institution, and has been very kind to
meindeed, kindly consenting that your answer to me
may be addressed to him. Therefore please address,
post-paid, 'Dr. Miles H. Ellis, Easton, Northampton
County, Pennsylvania, U.S.'" He adds, that as he
cannot send that letter as his former ones, he signs
" only with the initial, in case of accident ;" and con-
cludes by stating that he has still " one year longer to
remain in this awful place." The late Mr. William
Chadwick left a son, of whom and of other members of
the family Mr. John Chadwick made inquiries, besides
examining his deceased brother's papers, &c., and, find-
ing no trace of any previous correspondence (as the
above letter would imply had been the case), and that
no one had ever heard of any prisoner in America being
relieved by their deceased relative, he wrote on the 17th
of May to Dr. Ellis, describing the purport of " E.'s "
letter, and requesting the Doctor to inform " E." of
Mr. W. Chadwick's decease ; that none of his surviving
relatives had any clue to the writer, and that, however he
might be inclined to send relief, no satisfactory reply
could he made unless the applicant would write direct
to him, giving his proper name. To this, in due
course, a reply was received from Dr. Ellis June 13,
enclosing a second letter from the prisoner, who still
adhered to his anonymous "E. ;" revealing nothing,
but containing " Blue Pits " written in one corner,
as if to point to that locality and show his know-
ledge of it. Mr. John Chadwick wrote again to Dr.
Ellis, giving various reasons why his late brother could
hardly have corresponded with "E," and have sent him
money without the knowledge of his son. Still Mr.
Chadwick was inclined to send a 51. note, provided the
prisoner (who seemed determined to preserve his incog-
nito) would write some description of the family of Mr.
Chadwick, his benefaetor, so that it might be clear that
it was his deceased brother, and not some other Mr.
William Chadwick, that was " E.'s" generous friend.
In due course Mr. Chadwick received a reply from Dr.
Ellis, dated "Easton, August 12," and stating that,
having handed Mr. Chadwick's letter to his poor pa-
tient, he seemed much hurt by the contents. The
Doctor adds :—" I requested him to write to you again,
but his reply to me was, that he had no object for so
doing ; at the same time informing me that he feels
the most respectful regard and esteem for you and all
the family of his late friend. He says he wishes for
the present all you know relating to him to be forgotten
—that one of these days the mystery shall be cleared
up. In talking with him I extracted thus much, that
his letters were personally delivered by some one re-
siding in Liverpool or vicinity,—by whom, or his rea-
son for not forwarding his letter this last time
through some source, I could not discover." Mr. John
Chadwick found himself no nearer the discovery of the
mystery on the receipt of this letter. But we need
hardly say that his doubts and suspicions led him to
write on the 18th of July (three days after posting his
letter to Dr. Ellis) to the postmaster of Easton, en-
closing the letters of "E." and of "Dr. Ellis," and stating
that, as the deceased Mr. Chadwiok was a county ma-
gistrate for many years, well known, and as his death
was published in the Manchester papers, it was possible
the obituary notice might have been seen by the writer,
who, from local knowledge, might have seized the op-
portunity to practise mysteriously on the feelings of the
family while that death was recent for a pecuniary con-
tribution. Though Easton is far in the interior, the
first letter of "E." dated " Jail Hospital," without
name of place, was posted at Baltimore, and the next
letter of " E." was enclosed from Easton, in Dr. Ellis's
answer. Then, no prisoner in the hospital of an
American gaol would be allowed even to need any in-
dulgence requisite in his state of health and position,
and consequently there could not be the great need of
money set forth in " E.'s" letters. Mr. Chadwick asked
the postmaster of Easton to tell him whether there was
a "gaol hospital" at Easton, attended by a "Dr. Miles
H. Ellis," a physician residing in that place. The original
letters were forwarded to the postmaster, so that he
might the better aid in " unmasking what is either a
great and refined attempt to swindle, or an unaccountable
mystery." That mystery is one no longer. The answer
of the postmaster of Easton, dated August 16, and, re-
ceived the other day, furnishes both revelation and clue
to the whole thing. It states,-Ist, that there never has
been a physician named "Miles H. Ellis" resident in
Easton ; 2d, there is no prisoner confined in Easton Gaol
having a year to stay, and now or lately in the hospital.
under the circumstances described ; but about the 28th
of May last the postmaster received a letter from " Dr,
Miles H. Ellis," dated Baltimore, requesting that all
letters reaching the Easton post-office addressed to him
might be forwarded to Baltimore, as he expected several.
In compliance with this request, the postmaster subse-
sequently forwarded to Ellis, at Baltimore, eight or ten
letters from Europe, most of them apparently from the
same person. On comparing the Doctor's letter to Mr.
John Chadwick with the one directing his letters to be
forwarded to Baltimore, the postmaster saw at once that
the style and handwriting were the same. Even this
information would suffice to show the fraud practised,
but what follows will show that it is systematic, and
doubtless it has, in some cases, been successful. On the
13th or 1 4th of June last a letter reached the Easton
post-office from England, addressed "To the Physician
of the Jail Hospital, Easton, Pennsylvania." It was ac-
cordingly delivered to Dr. Sandt, the physician of the East-
on prison. On receiving Mr. John Chadwick's letter of
inquiry it occurred to the postmaster (who seems through.
out to have acted with great sagacity and zeal) that that
letter might be another similar affair, and he accordingly
called on Dr. Sandt, and, being allowed to see the letter,
found that inside it was addressed to Dr. Miles H. Ellis.
The following is a copy :—" New Court, Middle Temple,
London, May 28.—Dr. Miles H. Ellis.—Sir,—ln con-
sequence of the death of my late brother, Dr. Manson,
of 33, Park-street, Grosvenor-square, London, and of
my appointment as his executor, I opened, among other
letters, one (of which I subjoin a copy), by whom writ-
ten neither myself, Dr. Manson's widow, nor any of his
relatives can conjecture ; nor any of the circumstances
referred to within their knowledge. I thought it best to
write respecting it, for reasons which a perusal of the
subjoined will make apparent.—W. T. MatisoN."
The copy of the letter to the late Dr. Manson is word
for word the same in terms with that to the late Mr.
William Chadwick ; the anonymous writer requesting
Dr. Manson to address " Dr. Miles H. Ellis, Easton
Northampton County, Pennsylvania." Nothing fur-
ther is added, save that the Dr. Ellis who figures so
prominently in the correspondence is stated to be now
in Baltimore. It would seem, then, so far as the cir-
cumstances have been elucidated, that a person calling
himself "Dr. Miles H. Ellis," and living at Baltimore,
is carrying on a very artful begging-letter business
with England, by writing to persons of respect-
ability, who, he learns by the latest English papers, have
recently died in this country. He writes as a prisoner
who has before received benevolent aid from the de-
ceased, and his terms of grateful veneration for his bene-
factor are well adapted to move surviving kindred to
carry out what they may regard as the secret benevolence
of him of whom they have just been bereaved. The ela-
boration of the plan, the dexterous hints that the pri-
soner himself had fallen from a position of high respec-
tability, the reference to the physician of the prison,
and especially the contrivance that letters directed to
Dr. Ellis, at Easton, should be forwarded to him at
Baltimore,—all these things show such craft, blended
with a shrewd knowledge of human nature, that we
have thought it right to put our readers, and (through
republication in other papers) the public generally in
this country, on their guard against this very clever and
refined attempt to obtain money by some accomplished
swindler on the other side of the Atlantic. As it is very
likely that other persons in England have been favoured
with similar epistles from "E." and "Dr. Miles H.
Ellis," we may add that any person having received such,
or knowing of any case of the sort, would confer an ob-
ligation on Mr. John Chadwick, Broadfield, Rochdale,
by communicating with him on the subject.

PLYMOITTEL—During the recent visit of the Lords of
the Admiralty their Lordships were presented by Com-
modore Seymour with two petitions from the riggers
and labourers employed at this porte. The riggers
complained that they have to serve at sea ten years be-
fore they are entitled to enter the yards, and have in all
to serve 35 years before they are entitled to a pension,
whereas if they serve afloat as riggers 21 years they
are enabled to claim a pension. Their present rate of
wages is 18s. per week, and in asking for an increase of
6d. per day, they allude to the recent favourable altera-
tions and inducements for efficiently manning the Royal
navy ; their chief ground of complaint, however, arises
not so much from their inability to claim a pension as
the present high price of the common necessaries of life.
Commodore Seymour added his signature to the peti-
tions, which were favourably received ; and it was inti-
mated that their Lordships would give an answer on
their return to London.
[AnvEaTisEmENT.] —The Earl of Aldborough and Hol-
loway's Pills.--An astounding cure by this miraculous
medicine after every other means had failed. See ex-
tract from his lordship's letter, dated " Villa Messina,
Leghorn,. Feb. 21, 1845. To Professor Holloway.
taBh,
cre,u—mr
eoI
so
tbf eagdt
eminentoaredqeour
fai
the
ternyfyao
cu livertl
thya that
at home
dho uosmrt pills
cdi
,aa
lvlwe
oheviffee ehr c
tthe
allde
aßwtoaContinentutpeGrrio
.;e, had not been able to effect—nay, not even the
onCarlsbadrd stomachbys.
mo r_Nsloalrd
medicinei Marienbad.
alsoybaendHd.
eorlal (oSwtiharaynone,usydgo)
nAotumLtnetßnhote:
Thesenivoesfsraor n olwloownadye,rfs wonderful
Establishment,
ecnutr,eg244, disorders
of
kingdom.