The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-09 00:00:00

COMMERCIAL SWINDLERS. -

(From the Times' City Article.)
Among the peculiar features of the past two
years has been the general extension of commercial
frauds and forgeries, by parties well acquainted
with mercantile usages, and who, perhaps, have
been thrown out of more dignified modes of exer-
cising their talent by the break up of the great
swindling " firms" in 1857 which had previously
enjoyed the support of provincial banks and dis-
count houses. Annexed is another illustration :
" Sir,—As a very old subscriber, and a merchant of 20
years' standing in the city, I venture to request you to give
publicity to the following ingenious mode of swindling, re-
cently adopted at Madrid.
" Two or three ' Chevaliers d'lndustrie' of some social
position, enough to give them respectable references, adopt
three different signatures, representing as many different
commercial houses, and procure, subsequently, the esta-
blishment of a "sham" house at Lisbon, on whom they can
draw, and remit—by aid of the three Madrid signatures--
apparently negotiated paper to London.
" The next stop is to find a victim in our credulous city,
and this is generally a matter of ease where so many com-
peting commission houses are anxious for business. The
modus operandi is the following :
" Paper on Lisbon, respectably ' indicated,' with case of
need' on, &c., en reglc, is sent to the London house selected
as the victim, and they are drawn against the same remit-
tance at 90 days' date—not as a banking operation, that
trick would be too shallow—but as a facility to enable the
Madrid house to despatch on consignment a stated quantity
of wool within a very short period.
" The London house, in expectation of all being bonafide
and in hopes of gaining a couple of hundred pounds' 0112-
mission, accepts in good faith. Need 1 tell my more vie;
lant commercial brethren that when the bills at Lisbon fall
due they are not paid, and also that when those on the
London victim are presented he has received no wool, but
learnt that the parties who defrauded the takers of the bills
at Madrid are enjoying themselves in Leicester-square on
the proceeds ?
" I enclose my card in proof of my good faith as regards,
the above statement, which I have no doubt the commercial
community as well as myself will have reason to be thank:
ful to see published in your columns, with the additional
information on my part that parties trading with Spain may
be furnished with proofs of the swindle and the names of
I the swindlers at the office of •
" Your obedient servant,
" THE VICTITC"
" Austinfriars. E.C., Dec. 7.

SPORTING IN AUSTRALIA.—The great race for
the championship of the Australian colonies was run
on
the let of October, before a concourse of 40,000 persons--*
the largest multitude ever assembled in Australia. The
winner (Flying Buck) is a Victorian hors*, and was scar
celi
named in the betting.
THE DRAUGHTS MATCH AT GLASGOW.--1911
Wednesday two games were played, one of which was villa
by M'Kerrow, and the other resulted in a draw. Neal.
three hours were occupied in contesting the game whi2.
M'Kerrow won. The match now stands—Martin, °I
M'Kerrow, 5 ; with 16 games yet to be played.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.—The dates from this colony
by the present mail are Adelaide, Oct. 19. Business eelfr.
firmest in a healthy state ; but stocks have increased in some
articles to an extent much above the wants of that colony:
The pastoral interests had encountered hardships and log:
from great drought. The Governor of northern colo had le"
Adelaide to make explorations in the n districts.
The Parliament was in recess.
The director of the prison at Aix having during
the last few days observed some mysterious moven..,
amongst the condemned prisoners, who are kept apart fro' :
the others, endeavoured to discover the cause ; and en 501
day, on looking through a hole in P door of their ward? "J
which he could see without being seen, he perceived a infilr
named Bentajou, who is under sentence to hard labour
life, cutting a hole in the wall with a piece of iron v7lllO
had evidently been pulled from his bedstead, whilst
de-
other prisoners stood near him. The director sent for
tachments of gendarmes and troops, and they having sato
denly entered the place with swords drawn and bayonSd
fixed, secured all the prisoners before any resistance Owes
be attempted. Bentajou and some others of the priori'
were placed in irons, among them the two Greeks senterww-
to hard labour for life for a murder at Marseilles.
An extraordinary affair (says Galignani's Ors;
sever) has occurred at Chadapeau, in the Cerra°•
physician of a neighbouring village was summoned eerdir.
in tho morning of Sunday to see a lady of Chao
peau, and as he knew that she had been enceinte,o
or seven months, he took with him a midwife. lie
to his surprise, on entering her chamber, she, topic
ordering the servants to leave, said, " I have,, acted
night discharged a gun in my abdomen, and have iniifore
a wound, which causes me to suffer horribly I But.ber,eet
you examine my wound go into the next room, and ins-
the gun you will find there I" The physician in an oiattee
ing room found on the floor a gun which had the appeal. 1. it
of having been discharged a few hours before, and riady
was one of the lady's slippers. On his return the the
stated that she had discharged the gun by pressing 00 by
trigger with her toe, and that she had made him the
spect the gun in order that there might be no doubt ond
is
matter. The doctor found the wound a grave one, Tr 00•
spite of all he could do the lady died in a few die
Though she was conscious to the last, she gave he:'o,o;
slightest explanation as to her reason for coreu',l bar
suicide, neither did she leave any letter or paper. ."-° se
' family and friends, her motive is a complete raysterlo'olo'
she was loved by all, and appeared to have nothing tO foto
plain of. Her husband had been two days abseutues
home. He was sub-prefect of Brives in 1849, and
higher position under the Government of Gen. Cavelv;oo
THE TEA TREE IN INDIA.—Mr. Henry Manli,,,goz
enterprising gentleman who left China about five year died
has introduced the tea tree to Southern India, having!,,ebitig.
a plantation on the Neilgherries, which is now flourl'estia
The Madras Government has lately published an intet:above
report upon the subject. The plantation is situated, with
21 miles above Coonoor, at an elevation of 6,000 feet,, ,000
an exposure to the north-east, and contains about 'The
plants. The ground occupied is about four acres:, ioost
plantation is on a slope. The forest land is fou'T" leaf
suitable for the plants. It now only, remains to test
and to procure skilled manufacturers. This the "
ts
bu
merit were asked to do by the Conservator of ForeVe
the application has been refused on the grounds 0(,,'; oter
expediency of Government interference with privato„,6,oB'
prise. The importation of skilled manufacturers any rrri-vat
lation will not probably be ventured upon by itilY Ptu the
individual for many years. The cultivation of tea nod
hill districts of India seems to be spreading fest,',lonief
these are the localities recommended tor Europealau*".",- 00'0'4
tion, wo may yet see India rivalling China in t"".1 chef' I
and sturdy Anglo-Saxon pickers depicted on the tesneda,
instead of almond-eyed, long-tailed men of China.
Ifurkaru.
4.1,,p repo
IMPROVEMENNTS IN PARIS.—FrORI
of the Prefect of the Seine to the Municipal 'erarisls
appears that the number of houses demolished inhicho".,
the course of the present year has been 724, of the 141111101,,,
were taken down alter expropriation, that is, hi, maim:a,
cipality, and 385 by the owners. The number ueoronri'd
from 1852 to 1858 having been 3,05 (1,97 by e„Vtubet
tiot, 1,728 voluntarily), it follows that the tote' Also aolie;
demolitions in the last seven years is 4,34
pears that in the course of the present year 1,1; DOS"
have been built, and that from 1352 to 1858 t The ''';•
constructed was I'lB7, giving a total of 9,617,„hed 10060
port likewise states that in the houses detneuf,„, 01,0
year were only 6,025 lettings, whilst '',oo wit
built there are 8,204. It further appears from
report that in the arrondissements of Sloe Sellits
Saint Denis, which form part of the Prefecture° hoc be
the demolitions in the course of the present year 3 086
302, and in the six years preceding 2,784—t0ta1, 910 IN-
that the number of new constructions this Yel, so/.
4,987, in the six years preceding 22,905—totale're
SCOTCH MARRIAGE SPECULATIONS. .int'issio!iv,f
been upwards of 40 marriages among the non-coti;r 0:1170
officers and men of the 78th Highlanders since r have e,71-14
in Fort George. About ono-half of the nunloe_oooo.,,A
contracted without the permission of the e_uroonftrePo,
officer. The consequence of this is that such ww„, of 0.04
entitled to the privileges of a barrack-room, ioll_lo. Asa 5,
cm only follow the regiment at their own exile oln. the
for lodging. The opposite is the result with t
ap
proof o
taro their connandine•-officer's consent. As a okea she
rage in the female mind for marriage, one wasege. boo,
local market, held for hiring, if she' would eli7l ques`t to
answered in the affirmative, and, after the us
__ao, abollkel
as to ability and knowledge of the work she .„7 she es:of,
undertake, was asked what wages she wanton• tho ausvorg
what place it was to. ire Campbeltown,“ wa•201,0 wa/ ohe
She then said she would quire no wages, '
%thy Well,
of soon getting a husband from among the
..s. We.)
,00t
staying in that village: The girl was quite s!r"rthe girl4wee
not heard how the engagement terminated, his there 4o of
to service in Campbeltown, and had only
teev'''
acted to °p he'
days, when, as she predicted, she was coons r opea to
the corps. Another female, a few days art,A
fore the commanding officer of the regirnerd,cnoon Ineto'-oot.
be directed to her husband, to whom she
to the regie
two days previously, and who belong,-
__, but Web, go
She had her marriage lines along with her,
to glye twee
a false name. A parade was formed, so e,,e_hen
_.a,.14)
an opportunity of singling out her husban9 his upon'
his beard was shaved, and the bulk of hair of-, but, the
considerably lessened, she recognised the.iniT'' such
tunately he had another wife in the garris? boors,
end of a spree, or rather the result. 110 has
uthOrl ,_-eurio•
to his first wife for several years.
th
understand, are investigating the case.
ithstatlutoiittee
OCEAN. MAIL CONTRACTS.—N°Tto the Cc't Pence
feeling excited by the evidence furnishieson___„,oraenii.e.,fic,
on Steam Contracts respecting
veringly shown by the Government
00_vio; t° .45-,sl'ol
the d r e Zio
calculated to demonstrate that the mails LiverP", co
could be carried on without a subsidy,o7
to Adeciorlreateg
Ihjen:ernessf.oe
New York Steam Company have again_ b
plaints to the treasury, which appear, r_";01,, •oefe
with little regard. This company le
d althoug- °t has
atuoiPot
company without a mail grant, and,
n, it poste
only 0 ro,
receivA a penny from the Governinteb;
'Athnticnd, tieV.itof
present momenta tonnage navigating
nard inainot
1,500 tons net register less than the
focrd,n,_ 5h0u14 ',l3faeii ere
uter-Gellers met
lug to the report of the late Postmas 4 that seed wit
a speed very little inferior to the vesselsact gral/ theCtbe
&thong. _ot v:.ttee
othnelyir,
bheoiNhve,vaerliowweisdtthoe Galway
received Zdistinct intimation that
, stion lion s,llT'vieg °leg'
case, but there still seems every nisPV 00 by lito of,ei
to their subsidised rivals, which must t tb° P ecesstai,
finTattiCleorfiler
variation was forthwith made in to thou.l'll6l:ooord'
lidi.arblonurAyarnilgistliiteityvei;64rarurlecdonsturtellt,:vpirail
enables those vessels to competeod t,
tem. 24, 0 plop
ship, ~,stitc,l;.aiol
UCompany have arranged allsdi
similar
issy
sot, 1; at the' I 11.30 greet-011i
ship, however, is that the vessei_dwoitav (tt
meat lines are able to take '6,ovcrilnienile Liii)lF,orot
grant to escape from
the lik° thief °ale
The Canadian one, Nvi Tivcs itB,l
and New York Company,
it.st' said, 11"1"edetetiti°-iot'
I,3's 0-1 hours of 01 „,rooligit tfro'
ich the
absolutely 111-inol pr ho
efioettibulesAeteoraugmebttirrikiffitheieiSrvill,
ni
anal, in the face Of this privtid,,
e, " t
Government supervision
or
iii'
he
the Liveril hovvti'll
at ee,
eProil
done
ellcu ,refit. there ''fbea cell
Fein enabled to work on at
'intent ouere
siuce•sil Or-
rterprise, it weifir
be
ed
itiloart
be
be the case, the discoura
rto the tit Zvi to
be
most valuable in its results
.Ile
.0,
hail conic befO. °VI' e ..es "°'/' ,0
entire question s
„us
be possible to resist t
cart it c
at presen _tances , but tb .
subsidising system .
these circuois ale to.folt
valves, in touching
on
trvice has from counl'owio6
lit. effor.
credit upon ttio f
stion °
ducted in away to reflect.lh general V!'
has nothing to' do wit_imes,
.4ittete.
of
play to all parties.—
I
afforded
admit that ee
as
rt waste of te the
ational.re,s.
out
10.1:_aor,00,