The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-17 00:00:00

CHARGE OF SWINDLING IN LIVERPOOL.

On Wednesday a most extraordinary case came on for
hearing at the office of Messrs. Leigh and Eaton, Leigh-
street, before two of the county magistrates, John Formby
and Theodore W. Rathbone, Esqs., in which an elderly man,
of very respectable exterior, named Thomas Parr Gilmour,
was charged with having, under the firm of " Messrs. Gil-
mour
and C 0.," of Liverpool, and " Messrs. Tomlinson
and C 0.," of Chester, obtained goods and property of seve-
ral respectable traders in London, Birmingham, Sheffield,
and other places, by means of fraudulent representation. The
case excited very considerable interest on the part of several
gentlemen who attended the investigation. The prisoneris
a tall, red-faced, and good-looking man, apparently between
fifty and sixty years of age. The upperpart of his head is en-
tirely bald. His demeanour was for the most part calm, but
occasionally the observations he addressed to the court were
delivered with a great deal of indignant warmth. He seemed
extremely anxious throughout to make the public believe that
he was a►i injured man, and that he was suffering under an
unjust accusation. Mr. Evans conducted the case on the
part of the prosecution; and the prisoner was defended by
Mr. Henry, by the side of whom he sat during the day.
The first witness called was Mr. Joseph Mason, who keeps
a hosier's shop at Bootle, who stated that the prisoner called
at his shop on the lOth of the present month, and purchased
a neck handkerchief for 9d. He paid by a check on a
Chester Bank for £5, and witness, after some iittle hesita-
tion, gave him the difference. He subsequently thought all
was not right, and meeting the prisoner, demanded his
money again, which was ultimately given up. The prisoner,
when the witness met him, did not appear to know his lodg-
ings, and took the latter into a house were neither of them
were known. This case, however, broke down, as it turned
out that the bank on which the check was drawn had about
£l5 of the prisoner's in their possession at the time.
Mr. Evans then said, I shall now show the bench that the
prisoner, who would fain consider himself an innocent martyr,
because the first charge has not been fully substantiated, has
been in the habit of ordering goods in the name of Tomlin-
son and Co., of Chester, and Gilmour and Co., of Liverpool
—that he has concealed himself—that he has locked himself
up—that he ordered goods in all parts of the kingdom—that
be employed an ignorant lad to write letters at his dictation—
that he had no place of business but his sitting-room—that
goods were sent off from different parts—that he represented
himself to be a merchant when he was no merchant—and
that the goods so ordered were sent in bulk to the pawn-
brokers. I shall produce two pawn-tickets for part of the
goods which were pledged; and if I show all this, I shall be
entitled to have him remanded, because if, by fraudulent
means, he has obtained goods without intending to pay for
them, my request to have him remanded will be strictly
correct. I think I shall be able to show further that his son,
a youth under twenty-one years of age, conspired with him
to obtain the goods without ever intending to pay for them—
in point of fact, that the prisoner has carried on the system
for a great number of years ; that goods earns which never
were shipped off in the regular way, as merchants are in the
habit of carrying on their business : but that they were
sometimes pledged, and sometimes sold. That no money
was paid for them; and that whenever any application was
made for payment, a letter of the description I hold in my
hand, of which, I believe, I have four in my possession,
were sent to the parties in reply. I shall commence by
reading the following one of the 4th of November, which
was addressed to Messrs. T. and W. Badger, of Copper-
street, Sheffield, immediately after the receipt of their
goods :

" CIRCULAR 32.

" Disappointed of their remittances, Messrs. Gilmour and
Co. have been obliged to call a meeting of their creditors,
and offer them a composition of ss. in the pound, or resort
to bankruptcy, as the majority may decide.
" Liverpool, Nov. 4, 1841."
The next letter was dated December 18th, 1840, and is as
follows : - _ _

" Liverpool, Dec. 18, 1840.

" Gentlemen,—ln want of lever witches for exportation,
about £6 or £7, rather flat, jewelled in four holes, good
movements—say two dozen in silver cases, not engine
turned. You will please state the quantity you have in
stock, and the terms, and prices to merchants. We should
expect a good watch at the above limits, cash in four months,
or subject to 7-1 per cent. discount at our option ; and by the
railway, please forward two of your best make not exceeding
£7 7s. at the most, and referring to Messrs. Lawson.
" We are, Gentlemen, your obedient servants,
" GILMOUR and Co.
" Messrs. J. and E. Bracebridge, 8, Red Lion-street,
Clerkenwell, London."
In the former letter we find that they had been obliged
to call a meeting of their creditors, and by the next, which
was written to Messrs. Wilson and Son, of Sunderland, it
will be seen that the meeting was to have been called on the
day it was written. Here it is :
" CIRCULAR 21.
" Indirectly involved by the recent failure of .a house,
Messrs. Gilmour and Co. are painfully compelled to call a
meeting this day of their creditors, to submit to them a com-
position of ss. in the pound, or resort to bankruptcy, as the
majority may decide.
" Liverpool, 21st June, 1841."
I hold a letter in my hand dated the 18th of October, in
which they call themselves, " men of probity and long stand-
ing," and yet in a letter written a few days, before, they
offer their creditors ss. in the pound.
Mr. Henry.—This is a case, if I understand it rightly, of
obtaining goods under false pretences. If so, the best way
to proceed would be to show that the goods had been ob-
tained. then to show the false pretences, and next, the
letters should come in in a secondary way. I cannot see
why the letters should be read in the first instance.
Prisoner.—No false pretences were ever use&l.
Mr. Evans.—l shall prcceed to examine another witness.
Stephen Wainwright was then sworn and examined as fol-
lows :—I am a baker, and'reside in Princes-street, Chester.
I was some time ago in the employ of the prisoner, at
Chester. I think it was about August last that I was in his
employ. I did not know his name when I first wentinto his
employ. I was about a fortnight in it without knowing his
name. He employed me to act as clerk for him, and to
write his letters. -The letters were generally short ones.
They consisted of the prices of goods to the trade. [Handed
a letter.] This is one of them. It is in my handwriting
and is as folluws

" No. 2, Upper Northvale-street,
" Chester,loth July,lB4l.
" Gentlemen,—We request your prices to the trade,
" And remain your obedient servants,
" TOMLINSON AND CO.
" Per S. W."
The following handwriting at the foot of the foregoing letter
is Mr. Gilmonr's :
P.S.—Send us per railway, on Tuesday next, two levers,
capped and jewelled in four movements, about £5 to £6, to
commence with, and two verge for youth about 355., and two
gold, ladies', £ll Ds., at three months."
This letter was addressed to the Messrs. Bracebridges, of
London. Mr. Gilmour told me how to write this letter.
He looked over me at the time I was writing it. I write or-
ders for goods to varions parts of the kingdom for him much
in the same way. They were all signed " Tomlinson and
Co." [Handed another letter.] This is in my handwriting.
It is addressed to the Messrs. Bracebridges, and reads as fol-
lows :

No. 2, Upper Northgate-street, Chester,
14th July, 1842.
" Gentlemen,—We have your letter of the 13th, and refer
to Peter Free, Esq., banker.
" Your obedient servants,
" TOMLINSON and Co.
Per S.W."
The following postscript to the foregoing letter is in Mr.
Gilmour's handwriting :
" P.S.—lf some samples of your watches do not reach us
upon Saturday, we give the order to a traveller of another
house."
The witness here identified the letter to Messrs. Brace-
bridge and Co., of the 18th of December, 1840, and which
was previously read, as being in Mr. Gilmour's handwriting.
Mr. Evans here proposed to read a letter he had received
from Bracebridge and Co., in which they seemed to have re-
cognised the handwriting of the letter in December, 1840,
and the postscript of the one was written by the prisoner at
the foot of the witness's letter as being from one and the
same person.
Mr. Henry objected to the reading of this letter, and Mr.
Wainwright's examination was continued as follows :—I have
corresponded more than once with Mr. Gilmour's son.
[Several letters were here handed to the witness.] These
are the letters I received from him. I have seen the person
I call his son at Mr. Gilmour's lodgings in Chester. I re-
ceived the letters, by post from him. The three I have in my
hand are dated the 13th, 17th, and 19th of August, 1841.
These letters were signed " John " only, but the witness
was unable to prove that they were in the handwriting of the
prisoner. Mr. Evans then applied for an adjournment of
the case in order that he might be able to collect evidence to
prove that fact. Mr. Evans said he would prove that repre-
senting themselves to be merchants, they obtained, under
that representation, goods, which goods they immediately
sent to the pawnbrokers in London; and he would put the
pawn-tickets in evidence to show that they never intended
to conduct their business as merchants, but that they con-
verted the goods into money in the manner stated. He
would show two cases of this description which occurred in
March last. One was the obtaining from Shenstow and
Mills, of Birmingham, which, from the following letter,
would appear to have been pledged at Goolden's pawn-office
in London :
" 22, Parkside, Knightsbridge, Nov. 17, 1841.
" Sir,—l have inclosed you a note for five pounds, and a
post-office order for one pound, being the utmost I could ad-
vance upon the silver and plated goods. They would be of
much more value if they were in sets of twelve or eighteen,
but a single dessert knife and fork is of no use for sale.—l re-
main, sir, your obedient servant,
EDMUN D GoorDEN.
" Mr. J. C. Gilmour, merchant, Liverpool."
In this letter there were two pawn-tickets enclosed.
Samuel Billington examined—l am a tailor and draper,
and reside at Birkenhead. My partner's name is Joseph
Jenning. The prisoner called at our shop about the 20th
December last, and gave an order for a coat. He asked our

terms. We said that from strangers we expected ready mo-
ney or a respectable reference. He said he had been used to
six months' credit, but that in this case his income would be
due in a few days, or about the time the coat was finished,
and that it would make no difference to him to pay us
cash for it. We accordingly made the coat, and when it was
finished a young gentleman called for it, stating that he was
son to Mr. Parr. The prisoner had given " Parr" as his
name. Ido not remember that he gave any Christian name.
He said that he was a gentleman living on an independence.
He gave his address, " Chester-road," near Tranmere. The
son said his father had not quite made up his mind whether
he would have a velvet waistcoat, but that he would call the
next day. The son appeared to be a respectable young man,
about 18 or 19 years of age. In about eight or ten days after
we made inquiry for the prisoner, and found that be was gone.
We ascertained that he bad been living with a Mr. Taylor at
Chester-road, and that he had gone by several names, such as
" Parr Gilmour" and " Gilmour Parr," with an " esquire"
sometimes to the end of it. (Laughter.) We never got paid
for the coat, but I believe the prisoner has the very article on
him at present. We looked after him for many a day, but
could never find him, The person he lodged with said his
name was " John Parr Gilmour, Esq." I would not have
delivered the coat were it not for the representations of the
prisoner, that he was a gentleman of independent circum-
stances. The witness's partner identified the coat which the
prisoner was wearing as the one made at his establishment.
The bench, on which sat two magistrates of the county of
Cheshire, refused to remand the prisoner on this charge.
Mr. Evans.—Then upon the second case I call upon the
Lancashire magistrates to remand the prisoner for a week.
Prisoner.—lf they do it will kill me, for Lam troubled
with a spitting of blood.
Mr. Evans.—l require him to be remanded in the case of
Messrs. Shenstone and Mills of Birmingham, where goods
were obtained by him in the character of a merchant, and
afterwards pledged with a pawnbroker in London. Without
entering more fully into the case just now, I wish him to be
remanded in order to get further evidence. There are other
cases also against him.
Prisoner.—What day were they pledged? It was my son,
and not me, that pledged them.
Mr. Evans.—There have been other goods obtained from
a Mr. Dunkley. for the New Zealand market ; but, instead
Zealand,
cases I wish
you to remand for
and,the were sent direct to
ofpa
wlonebinrgokseern.t to New
further evidence for a week.
The witness Wainwright was here recalled, and, examined
both those
as follows was in the employ of the vrisonor for only two
or three weeks. To tell the truth, a box came from Wol-
verhampton during that time, It was directed to "Tomlin-
son and C 0.," and labelled Glass—with care." It was not
there more than a day when the prisoner directed me tocome
to Liverpool, with it, which I, did, and bought a direction