The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-02 00:00:00

MANSION-HOUSE.

SYSTEMATIC ATTEMPTS TO ROE POOR SCOTCHNIEN.—.
l'he Lord Mayor received several letters on Friday and
-iaturday relative to a most inF,enious and iniquitous
chrmc to plunder poor scotchmen, upon pretence of
siring them pecuiLiary assistance. The best wly of ex-
,laining the system is by the introduction of some of the
.:ortespondence.
" Fanc-street, Aldersgate-street, Feb 29, 1840.
"My Lord—l enclose a letter which we have received
from a correspondent in Scotland. Your Lordship by
reading will see a system of fraud developed which out-
ekes Joseph Ady and his followers by long odds I have
)een to 64. Goswell-road ; it is a miserable, nondescript
,lace, bet:, con a beer-shop and a coffee-house. The other
Address, Upper Penton-street, Islington, I can make no-
hing of. Perhaps if your Lordship were to request the
attendance of these trustees and their agents, something
•nay he learned. I have no doubt that that this scheme
•s taking well through the extreme north of Scotland, and
hat Charles B. Stuart and Co., will draw more money
'or band stamps out of Scotland than was ever drawn be-
'ore. I put these documents into your Lordship's hands,
sell knowing that you will take such steps as will guard
the unwary from so palpable a fraud.
•• I remain, with respect,
" Your Lordship's obedient servant,
" B. BESLEY.
" Firm of Thoroughgood and Co."
" To Messrs. Thorogood and Co
" Aberdeen, Feb. 22, 1840.
" G•ntlemen,—l request you will have the goodness to
•ttend to the following : —About two weeks ago I saw an
Advertisement in the Aberdeen Journal, headed • The
Douglas Benevolent Loan,' stating that a gentleman
.broad had left 10,000/. to be lent to Scotchmea and

.omen resident in Scoti and, in sums from 00/. to 2001. for

hree years, at 4 per cent., on their own personal security,
,pplication to be made (with reference to, or a cerificate
.rem, a clergyman) to Mr. Alexander Frazer, 64. Gos-
cell-street, London. Accordingly I applied to Mr. Frazer
it 1001. and have received the inclosed letter it, answer.

Vow, those gentlemen who recommend me wiAt me to in-
iuire if the advertisement be really true, and if you ascer-
sin that to be the fact, pay the amount for me. You will
from this letter that the gentleman to whom I applied
3 Mr. Frazer. but the gentleman who signs the inclosed is
Air. Charles B. Stuart.
• " Yours respectfully,
"3, Upper Pcnton-street, Islington, London.
Sir,—The Trustees of the Douglas Loan have reported
eavourably on your application. You will, therefore, remit
(post-paid) 1/.105., the price of a bond stamp in your case.
It will be prepared and forwarded forthwith to a profes-
•ional gentleman in your neighbourhood, who will witness
!our signature and pay you the money.
" I remain, your most obedient servant,
"CHARLES B. STUART,
" Agent to the Trustees."
"N B.—No letter attended to after the 2sth of this
tnonth. 1001.

In another letter to a friend in London, the cautious
•haracter of the Scotehman, and his good sense, are also
trongly testified in the following :
" I shall remit Mr. Frazer in a couple of days. telling
iim that you are to pay him 11. 104 for me. This will give
you two days to ascertain the fact before they shall hear
from me, and of course you will be satisfied that there is
Ito risk of losing thirty shillings. As lam a stranger in
London, it is best to be cautious. You, of course, will
Jot make the parties aware that I was in doubt about the
matter, and I trust that I will have no occasion to think I
)eght to doubt. As I have been till lately a journeyman,
I could not be expected to have much capital, and 1001.
would, for three years, be of great service to me."
Letters to the same effect from Glasgow, Kirkcud-
,rright, Dumfries, and other parts of Scotland, were also
read by his Lordship.
The Lotto MAYOR said it appeared that the gentlemen
of the London firm for dispensing the benefits of the
" Douglas Benevolent Loan " had very largely circulated
heir intention of receiving money to pay the expenses of
the bond stamps," but he believed they were wrong in
their calculations in looking to Scotland for dupes. His
Lordship did not think that the scheme, however it might
succeed elsewhere, would exactly tell north of the Tweed.
He immediately dispatched Daniel Forrester to make in-
quiries after the " Trustees of the Douglas Charity."
Daniel Forrester in due time reported that he had made

the necessary inquiries. Ho found that the landlady
at No. 3, Upper Penton-street, was a very respectable
wornan--she told him that a person, who looked
like a gentleman, and called himself Mr. Charles
B. Stuart, had called and looked at her 1. ogings,
and said that he did not koow but he ahnuld take
them; and he asked her whether he could not in the
meantime have letters directed to him there. She replied
in the affirmative, but finding afterwards that there were some
advertisements in the Papers,. directing persons to her
, ;louse, she refused to take in any lette-s addressed to the
gentleman, and returned fourteen or fifteen of them to the
postman. At the beer-shop, which was a place of cours:.
.)pen to all customers, he could learn nothing at all of the
:rustees of the " Douglas Benevolent Loan "
Tne LORD MAYOR said that he had no doubt that pub-
licity would be given to the villanous project by the Pre,s,

the great enemy to vermin like Mr. Stuart end Mr.
Fraz?r, and that very little mischief was likely to be done
by the firm in the particular way described.

G UILDHALL.

John Burke, a lad in the service of Mr. Cole, News-
vender, St Saviour's Churchyard, ssas brought up for re-
examination before Mr. Alderman K, lly. Hr was en
gusted to carry a bag of Newspapers to the General
pogt_ofEce, and purloined one of the Papers before he
lelivered the bag,

Mr. Cole said he did not wish to press the charge any
farther, because he hoped, by that course, to get evidence
against a receiver, and because another step had been
taken, which would check the practice. Since the last
hearing the committee of the news trade had waited upon
the proprietors of the newspapers, and explained to them
that the root of the mischief was the unfair competition of
some interlopers, who offered to supply the public on the
day of publication 30 or 40 per cent. under cost price, to
carry out which undertaking they purchased stolen papers
at three halfpence each. The people in the country natu-
rally wished to buy the papers at a cheap rate, though
they would shrink from receiving such bargains if they
knew that they were obtained by encouraging boys to rob
their masters, and that the newspapers they bought cheap
belonged to somebody who had paid a full price for them,
.11(1 who were disappointed and inconvenienced by their
iv...arrival. The newspa,•er prprietors, consite
the annoyance occasioned to th! sr regal ;r subscribers. had
agreed to eo more advertisements oft• ring to sup
ply newspapers at an unfair price. Many people h d been
swindled by one of these advertisers, who, by promising to
sell a quarter's papers for 1/. ls. ( which cost in the outset
1/. 6s ), soon obtained sixty or seventy orders, with the
money in advance. The next step was to advertise a small
news business for sale, and the unfortunate dupe who was
saddled with it found out too late that the cash had been
paid in advance, and if it were otherwise he could not
supply the papers honestly, and obtain a living profit. He
hoped the Magistrate would allow the boy to be discharged
for the purpose of getting at the receiver.
Mr. Alderman KELLY, after inquiring into the boy's
previous character, and tdmonishini.f, him on his miscon-
duct, released him, on his father's undertaking to product,
him when required.