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 Eaton,
at the office of Messrs. Leigh and Leigh-
st:reet,before two of the county magistrates, John Formby
ald Theodore W. Rathbone, Esqs., in which an elderly man,
oi! 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
al id C 0.," of Chester, obtained goods and property of seve-
ral respectable traders in London, Birmingham, Sheffield,
mid other places, by means of fraudulent representation. The
case excited very considerable interest on the part of several
gentlemen who attended the investigation. The prisoner is
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 an injured man, and
:that he was suffering under an
unjust accusation. Mr. Evans conducted the case on the
pat of the prosecution ; and the prisoner was defended by
Mr. Henry, by the side of whom lie 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
lie employed an ignorant lad to write letters at his dictation—
that be had no place of business but his sitting-room—that
goods were sent off from different parts—that he renresented
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 came 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. i❑ 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 watches 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 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, S, 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 iiirtiieiecent failure of a house,
Messrs. Gilmour and Co. arc 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 used.

Mr. Evans.—l shall proceed 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 Northgate-street,
" Chester, 10th July, 18-11.
" 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 lls., 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,
1-Ith July, 1812.
" 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. Giltnour's son.
[Several letters were here hanged 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 au 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, N0v.17 1811.
" 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,
, ‘4 EDMUND GOOLDEN.
" Mr. J. C. Gilmour, merchant, Liverpool."
In this letter there were two pawn-tickets enclosed.
Samuel Billinzton examined--I am a tailor and diaper,
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 he was gone.
We ascertained that he had 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 I am troubled
with a spitting of blood.

Mr. Bvans:'—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 san,
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
of being sent to New Zealand, they were sent direct to a
puarthnebrroekveidre.nclenfobrota week.hthose cases I wish You to remand for
f
The witness Wainwright was here recalled, and examined
box came from Wol-
as follows :—I was in the employ of the prisoner for only two
aas directed to " voer
rthharrneep
twoenekd su.ri
nTg ot
htaetl lt
itmh,ee. t rytt hur,
with care." It was not
Tomlin-
son and C 0.," and labelled ' Glass—
which I did, and bought a direction
there more than
.a day when. the prisoner. directed me tocome
to Liverpool with it,

card and directed it back to London, but I forget where. I
believe I paid for the carriage of it. Nothing more ever
came to him in my presence. I heard: the prisoner order
Bland, the tailor, to make him a dress coat. I saw Bland
measure him for it. I believe that coat was never paid for
since. I used to write thirty letters per day. They were
for prices and patterns only
-

qr. Evans here put in the following letter, which Wai
wright acknowledged to be in his handwriting :

" go. 2, Upper Northgate-street, Chester,
3d July, 1841.
" SIR,—We request your prices to the trade for fluid mag-
nesia, of which ypu may send us three dozen small bottles,
and one dozen syfups—(laughter)—cash in two months from
delivery.

Your obedient servants

" Mr. W. Bailey, Wolverhampt

TOMLINSON and (
"S. W.

,
Mr. Evans said he had put in this letter for the purpose of
showing that orders for goods were written by the witness,
and not orders merely for patterns and prices.
The following charge was then drawn on and signed by Mr.
Squire Wovendon, Superintendent of Police :—" I charge
the prisoner, Thomas Parr Gilmour, with having knowingly,
unlawfully, and designedly, at Birmingham, in the county of
Warwick, on or about the 10th of October last, by false pre-
tences, in Liverpool, then and there made by him—that is to
say by pretending that be was a merchant in Liverpool and a
shipper of hardware, obtained a quantity of cutlery of the
goods and chattels of Messrs. Shenstone and Mills, of Bir-
mingham, and from the said Shenstone and Mills, with intent
then and there to cheat and defraud them of the same con-
trary to the form of the statute in such case made and pro-
vided." From what I have heard and seen, I suspect the

Mr. Wovendon, in reply to questions from Mr. Henry, ad-
mitted that he had received his information of the prisoner's
acts solely from the letters which had been read, and that he
was unacquainted with the firm of Shenstone and Mills.
The prisoner 'protested that he was innocent, and that he
might as well be accused of sheep-stealing. He said they
might as well take his life at once, as he had neither written
the letters nor received the articles.
The prisoner was then remanded until Wednesday next at
twelve o'clock, to be then brought before Mr. Rushton, at
the Police Court, for further examination (the information
of Mr. Wovendon having charged the offence to be commit-
in Liverpool, and not in the country), and to be imprisoned
in the meantime in the Borough Gaol. The prisoner was
removed in a coach in the custody of the officers. The pro-
ceedings terminated shortly after twelve o'ciock.

CONSERVANCY OF THE MERSEY

(From Wednesday's Manchester Guardian.)

There is now before Parliament a bill (brought in by the
members for Liverpool, and promoted by the corporation
and dock trustees of that town) for the conservancy of the
river Mersey, to which we think some portion of the atten-
tion of the inhabitants of Manchester may not unreasonably
be directed. We have now before us a copy of the bill, with
a series of amendments, to be moved by the Earl of Lincoln,
the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, and which
amendments may be presumed to exhibit the intentions of
the Government in reference to the bill. The main object of
those amendments appears to be to vest the conservancy of
the river in a commission to be composed of the First Lord
of the Admiralty, the Chancellor of the County Palatine of
Lancaster, and the Chief Commissioner of the Woods and
Forests for the time being, who are to exercise all the powers
possessed by the admiralty for the maintenance of the navi-
gation of the river, and the removal of nuisances and ob-
structions therefrom. They are also to have power to ap-
point an acting conservator, with such subordinate officers
as they may consider necessary, and to pay such sala-
ries and allowances as they may deem reasonable and
proper. The active conservator is to inspect the channel of
the river at stated periods, and to direct such removal of ob-
structions, and such dredging and cleaning of the channels,
as may seem requisite. One of the clauses further requires,
that no person shall erect any pier, wharf, embankment, or
other work, by which the flow of the tidal water may be in
any way impeded, without previously giving three calendar
months' notice in writing to the acting conservator, and to
the clerks of the peace for the counties of Lancaster and
Chester. Such parties are also required to furnish plans of
their intended erections, which are to be lodged with the act-
ing conservator; and the commissioners may, if they think
proper, on application of the town councils of Liverpool,
Manchester, or Chester, or of other parties interested in the
navigation, direct the parties proposing to erect such works
as aforesaid, to transmit copies of the above-mentioned plans
to such town councils or interested parties, at the expense of
the latter.

The mode of raising the funds for working this bill (which
will be by no means inconsiderable) is at present very doubt-
ful ; being merely shadowed forth in the following skeleton
of a clause (the 24th), which we subjoin as it stands in the
printed bill :
" And in order to provide a fund for payment of the ex-
penses to be incurred in carrying this act into execution,
over and above the costs and expenses to be specially pro-
vided as hereinafter mentioned, be it enacted, that it shall
be lawful for the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Liver-
pool out of their borough fund, for the trustees of the Liver-
pool docks out of the fund of their estate, and for

and they are hereby severally and respectively authorised
and required to pay to the said commissioners yearly and
every year, by such payments and at such times as shall
be required by writing under the hands of any two of the said
commissioners, such sums of money as shall be required
for the purposes aforesaid, not exceeding in the whole in
any one year the sum of in the proportions

. .
following; (that is to say) equal parts thereof by
the said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses ; other
equal parts thereof by the said trustees of the Liverpool
docks; other equal parts thereof by

and the moneys so paid to the said commissioners shall be
applied by them for carrying this act into execution."
Who the individuals or public bodies may be, whose names
or designations are intended to fill up the preceding blank,
bly, as the town councils

we cannot

ter a conjecture. Voss
of Chester and Manchester are associated with that of Liver-
pool in a former clause, it is intended to allow them also to
join in bearing a part of the general expenses of working the

Certain specified charges, including the expenses of obtain-
ing the act, are, however, to be defrayed solely by the town
council of Liverpool, out of their borough fund. Whv, we
certainly do not see ; for, though the bill may have been a
private one on its first introduction, Lord Lincoln's amend-
ments, if adopted, will convert it into a public act for the re-
gulation and extension of the powers of the High Court of
Admiralty in the tide-way of the river Mersey ; and the ex-
pense of it ought to be defrayed by the public.

THE EDGE-HILL SCHOOLS

TO MR. J. COLQUHOUN.

Sitt,—ln stating that there was " not a syllable of truth "
in the charges brought by you against the Edge-hill Infant
School, I beg to assure you that I had no intention of accu-
sing you of a wilful misrepresentation of the facts mentioned
in your letter. At the same time, it is obvious that, where
correct information can be obtained, but is not, it is an in-
sufficient reason for bringing a grave charge against indivi-
duals of good reputation, that the writer believed it to be
true. In this case, no foundation and a false foundation are
the same thing as regards the responsibility of the accuser.
As, however, I understand the expressiops quoted above
have caused you pain, from the inference which might be
drawn from them, I gladly relieve you from the imputation
of being actuated by a malicious intention, or of stating
anything which you did not believe to be true.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
FREDERIC BARKER.
Edge-hill, June 16, 1842.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR.-It has been with sincere regret that I have read the
Rev. Mr. Barker's letter to you upon the subject of the Edge-
hill schools.

On Saturday evening last I was waited upon by two gen-
tlemen connected with the schools, when 1 at once avowed
myself the author of the letter which had appeared in the
STANDARD of Friday, and stated the evidence upon which I
had acted.

It was then arranged, as I understood, that all parties
should meet at the Infants' School at seven o'clock on Tues-
day evening, and I accordingly repaired thither accompanied
by the child and its mother, and a number of other persons
whose information had induced me to bring charges against
the institution which I at the time solemnly believed to be
true. The interview, however, did not take place, °wine to
the non-appearance of the gentlemen on the part of the schools.
I was subsequently waited upon by Mr. Parker, the master
of the boys' school, and another gentleman, and I then col-
lected such of my informants as I could, hastily gather round
my own door, and I believe Mr. Parker and his friend left
my house convinced that I had what I thought to be good
grounds for the charge. I cannot, perhaps, adduce a stronger
evidence in my favour than Mr. Parker's exclamation, after
he had heard the parties, viz., " Well, I must allow that if
such tales had been told to me, I might perhaps have acted
as rashly as you have done."

That 'the child was shut up all night in the school is not
attempted to be denied, but that it was done intentionally I
do not now believe. I may add my sincere regret that the
charge should have caused indisposition to Mrs. Parker;
from what Mr. Parker in the most gentlemanly manner
stated, I am satisfied that the schools have been discreetly
conducted.

I have acted rashly it is true, but I acted from the purest
motive—a desire to rescue the Izipihirer, of my poorer
neighbours from what I believed to he unnecessary severity ;
but finding my information to have been exaggerated, it gives
me great pleasure to state it thus publicly.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
J. COLQUHOUN.
Edge-hill, June 16.

MR. T. DUNCOMBE AND THE CHARTIST

PETITION ;
SAID TO BE SIGNED BY 3,000,000 OF CHARTIST&

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,—It appears to me that Mr. Duncombe and his
" national petition," as it has been called, have been allowed
to pass by too quietly, and many even of sound men are in
the habit of speaking of the Chartists as a very large portion
of the community, which is not:at all the case.
The best way of investigating a tale of romance is to
reduce it to real life; and the best way of analysing a peti-
tion of this sort is to reduce it to figures. The case then will
stand thus:
Mr. Duncombe admits that 1,000,000 out of the 3,000,000
were the signatures of women and children.

Now, the population of the United Kingdom is 26,870,144
Of which two-thirds are children . ...

Leaving of adults

8,956,716

Half of which, or

4,478,6§

are females.

—Vel;ave, then. Mr. T. Duncombe, with his usual effron-
tery, declaring that half the adult male population of the
United Kingdom are chartists, a matter which every man
must know to be a perfect absurdity. But Mr. O'Connell
has declared that there are no chartists in Ireland ; and as
the adult male population of Ireland amounts to 1,367,563,
we have to deduct them from the 4,478,358, leaving but
3,110,795. This same leader of these mighty men of straw
would then have to admit that two-thirds of the population
of Great Britain are chartists. Where are they to be found?
These national petitions are all very fine, for nobody can
scrutinize them ; but I would like to throw out a challenge
to Mr. Duncombe.

This town of Liverpool contains a population of say
300,000 persons, the male adult portion of which would
amount to 50,000, and I will challenge this chartist leader
to shew that one-tenth even, or 5,000 of them are chartists.
I had the pleasure not long since of taking the chair at an
anti-chartist meeting in this town, when they were specially
invited to attend and defend the charter, and they did so f
but about 200 to 300 mighty men of valour were all that could
be found, and I believe they were made up by the a n't a igaPtfi
tion of those beautiful ingredients, viz.,
chartists, Pains,
and socialists.
I doubt not that it will be invariably found that all such
petitions similarly got up, and introduced in the same bom-
bastic manner, will, when thus g OF-FACT.
investioted,.turn out to be
all fudge.—l am, &e., MATTER
My name is at the service of any one who wishes it.

Fresh butter, we are informed, was selling in Pontefract
market, on Saturday last, at 6d. per pound.