The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-10 00:00:00

A FEMALE IMPOSTOR.

During the past fortnight reports have been made
at the Northern Post• office, Glasgow, of various
thiefts and frauds having been committed, under
circumstances of peculiar audacity, by a young
female, 16 years of age, an account of whose depre-
dations we published a few days ago, so far as these
were then known. The authorities no sooner re-
ceived information of the fair unknown's proceed-
ings than they set about trying to arrest the culprit,
.
but for a long time were unsuccessful, and was
only on Friday last, after almost every expedient in
the power of the detective to adopt had been tried,
that a young female, answering the description
which had been given, was found by Sergeant
Pierce, of the Northern district, at a house in 26,
Water-street. She gave her name as Jane Frame,
sixteen years of age, and stated that the person
with whom she was living was her mother. This
the woman of the house admitted, but denied
laving had any knowledge of, or participation in,
the frauds with which her daughter was charged.
Since
her apprehension, information has been lodged
which swells the list of her delinquencies to 11 dif-
ferent cases, including those which had been re-
ported previously, and reveals the systematic
scheme of barefaced fraud and deliberate plunder
which
in different
girl has for a length of time been
practising different parts of the city, and out of
it as far as Shettleston, but the mode is always the
same as that described by us in our former notice.
In the Shettleston case which occurrepdeoonte of thehe22d
ult., she had introduced herself to the pi
house by presenting some orthodox religious tracts, a
number of which she,always carried with her. She
then explained that shewas a member ofMr.
church in Bridgegate, Glasgow—enlarged, with
genteel pronunciation and persuasive language,
on the many advantages which weuld ac-
crue to them by becoming members,. also,. one
of which was, that they would participate in
the benefits of a society connected with M. r. M'Coll
is
congregation, by whom she was appointed to dis-
tribute clothing to needy people—all which
advan-
tages, temporal and spiritual, were to be put in
their possession on payment Wier of 2s. each. She
gained her point. Six shillings were handed to
her by the inmates, three in number, and on rising
to depart she suggested that one of them, a girl
named Elizabeth M'Fadyen, should accompany her
to the city, to receive the cards certifying their ad-
mission to the church. This was agreed to, and
the two set out. On the way, the artful Jane in-
sinuated that she was cold, and the artless Eliza-
beth immediately offered her her shawl, which
was pronounced to be very acceptable. Having
brought the deluded girl into the city, she left
her standing in Canal-street, Port Dundas, till she
went into some house for the purpose of
getting [the cards regularly signed, pro- a
ceeding up a close for said purpose, and, of
course, forgot to bring either the cards, shawl, or
herself back. The same arts were successfully
practised upon a party in the house of Mrs. Mary
M'Geechan or Hardy, 55, Cowcaddens-street, ls.
having been obtained from that person, a like sum
from Mrs. Catherine M'Donald or M'Luskie, and a
semmet from another woman, the money paid
being for entry to the church—the semmet to be
returned with a similar one, new. In one case
she got as much as Bs. from the inmates of one
house. The full extent of clothing which she has
received from time to time cannot, of course, be
ascertained, as some persons may have been
" diddled" who have not yet reported their
cases ; but it is satisfactory to know that detec-
tive Joseph Bowker, of the Northern division, has
succeeded in recovering all the articles stolen
of which information has been given. After
her arrest, Mr. M'Coll was communicated with,
and, on seeing her, he of course said that all
her statements about his church were untrue. He
gave it as his opinion, however, that she must have
attended some of his meetings, from the knowledge
she displayed of them, and from her having named
several ladies connected with them.

The girl was brought up at the Northern Police-
court on Saturday, and remitted to the sheriff on
the eleven different charges above-mentioned.—
Worth British Daily Mail.