The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-26 00:00:00

:EVENIAG, MARCH_ 26, XB6l.

THIRD EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'clock.

LONDON GAZETTE-(THIS EVENING)

COLLEGE OF ARMS, MARCH 26.

In reference to the order for a General Mourning for her
late Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, which was an-
nounced in the Gazette of the 18th inst.,
These are to give notice, that it is not expected that the
Public should appear in Mourning after Thursday, the 11th
of April next.
E. G. F. HOWARD, D.E.M.

POLICE HITELLIGENCE.—( This Day.)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

A NARROW ESCAPE.—Two smart females named Ann
Doore and Eliza Jenkins, were charged as follows :
Bentley, 55 C, said, about one this morning he was in
Arundel-court, and saw a gentleman, who he had since
ascertained to be a Mr. Jefferson, with the two prisoners,
and putting his arms round their necks. Sometime after,
on passing through the court again, and while standing in
a doorway, the prisoners passed him, and he heard Jenkins
say to Doore, " Hold your noise. Yon don't know so much
as I do. You have not been so long about." The priso-
ners then turned into the Haymarket, and on his passing
down the court he saw a pocket-book lying on the stones.
He then went after the prisoners, and seeing Mr. Jeffer-
son's name in the book, he had now attended.
Mr. Jefferson, accountant, of Cedar-road, Walham-green,
said the pocket-book was his property, and was of value to
him on account of the memoranda it contained. He had
been standing treat to the girls, but did not know of his loss
till spoken to by the constable.

Inspector Webb said nothing was known of the prisoners.
Mr. Mansfield said they had had a narrow escape. If
anything had been known of them as pickpockets he should
have sent them for trial. He hoped it would be a warning
to them, and he would recommend them to keep their hands
from picking and stealing. He should now discharge them.
Lieutenant `Alfred Kingston, of I, Church-place, Pic-
cadilly, was charged with being drunk and incapable.
73 C, finding the defendant drunk, and as he had pro•.
perty about him of some value, he took him into custody,
fearing that he might get into the hands of bad characters.
Discharged.

THE TELEGRAPH FRAUDS IN INDIA.

For some time past frauds on an extensive scale have
been practised on the electric telegraph wires. A few specu-
lators in opium have caused messages to be most grossly
falsified whilst passing through the wires between Galle
and Bombay. A meeting of the members of the Chambers of
Commerce was held, and a committee appointed to report on
the delinquencies of the electric telegraph department. In
common with the rest of the inhabitants of Bombay, we are
awaiting with some anxiety the report of the committee
Meanwhile two of the signallers, George Pecktall and Wm.
Allen, dismissed from the public service, have been com-
mitted to stand their trial at the next criminal sessions, for
having cut and used the wires for the transmission of ficti-
tious telegrams by agents of opium speculators. As it was
found impossible to corrupt the telegraph establishment to
such an extent as to ensure the falsification of the messages
iirom Galle, a set of scoundrels set their wits to work to find
out how this might be done independently of the telegra-
phic officials. It very natdrally struck them that amongst
the number of discarded signallers there might be found one
who, either from motives of revenge or for a sufficient pecu-
niary consideration, might be prevailed upon to lend himself
to the fraud, and it unfortunately happened that a person of
this description was found ready to their hand. A young
man of the name of George Pecktall, who had formerly been
employed as a signallerin theGovernmentElectric Telegraph
Office, but who had been dismissed for miscondict, consented
to aid the conspirators in their designs, and assisted by
another dismissed signaller, named William Allen, who had
been turned out of the Indore-office some time ago, pro-
ceeded from Bombay to Poona, where they planned the ex-
pedition which is likely to consign them to a felon's cell.
The evidence given in the Bombay Police-office makes it
quite clear that these young men must have obtairied pos-
session of one of the instruments used in the Railway Tele-
graph Department to enable them to accomplish their ob-
ject. They set out from Poona fully equipped with all that
was necessary for their purpose, and proceeded to a spot in
the immediate vicinity of the village of Beebee-chaw-addee,
about four or five miles off at the foot of the Katruj Ghaut,
over which the telegraph wire from Sattara passes. Their
operations seem to have consisted in first cutting the wire
and then inserting a signal instrument and battery, by
which means they read off the messages as they were being
flashed from Poona without the fraud being detected. They
then worked the telegraph to the advantage of their em-
ployers by falsifying the original message, which latter they
delivered to their agent in Poona, and before the fraud was
discovered, which was not until after the arrival of the China
mail steamer from Galle, enormous sums of money were
alledged to be made by the parties in the secret. There was
of course an interruption between Sattara and Poona as
soon as these young depredators disconnected their battery
from the wire, as the latter had been cut completely
through, and on the inspector proceeding to the spot he as-
certained that there had been foul play in the matter ; bu
it was not until the China mail arrived that the falsifica-
tion of the messages was discovered, when a light burst
upon Mr. Wickham, Deputy Superintendent of Electric
Telegraph Department, who was not long in finding a clue
to the whole affair which he has successfully followed up.--;
Bombay Gazette, Feb. 27.