The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1836-08-26
GREAT FRAUD AND FAILURE.

FROM TIE NEw YORK JOURNAL or COMMERCE, Avd. 6.
Gr,ot Failure at Befoio-The news OF the
! failure Of Benjamin Rathburn, at Buffalo, which
was received this morning. cansed very unusual
sensation IN Wall street. His affairs have for
months past been the subject OF much speculation,
aud his notes endorsed by some ten or twelve O;
The best names in that city, have been crowded
upon the market at the enormous discount of three
or four per cent. month. They have served for
the quotations Of some Of our ncgb5ors IN giving
the condition Of Tie money market. The credit
Of every body in Buffalo OF course became deeply
! Implicated and 1t was said repeatedly thai, i,
Rathburn failed, all Buffalo must fail
/ Mr.. Rathburn's business was enormously extend.
ed. In addition 10 large operations in real estate,
| in which he constantly engaged, he was a
contractor for erecting the great hotel, and many
other buildings. In this line he had shops and
establishments of Bis own for making bricks,
aad furnishing and working all sorts Of mater ils
for building. He had no less than four stores kept
! in his wnname, three of which were one hundred
and fifty feet deep, filed with valuable merchan.
disc. lie owned the line of stages from Buffalo
To Batavia and in fact almost all the lines running
out Of that citv, and for this aud other purposes
owned six hundred horses. He employed twenty.
| eight clerks, and two thousand other persons in
the various departments Of his operations. His
skill and enterprise, sustained by large mum.
Dor of we'll known fortunate spCCulauons, gave him
a reputation for talents aud wealth. by which, IN.
I'll now, he has been able 10 carry these diver.
siiied and almost imitlcss operations. But he has
failed at last. From statements which are as
good as can be had in such case, we are led TO
| hope that the consequences viii not be ruin on so
broad scales as had been anticipated If indeed
there is any ruin at all Al any rate 1t does not
appear thai the citizens of Buffalo are likely to lose
TO any considerable extent Mr.. Rathburn. we IN
derstand, represented the whole amount of his
debts at a million and a half Of dollars, and on
more than million of his paper he acknowledged
that he had forged the names of rich neig hbors.
On particular occasion he procured l.. F. Allen
and eleven others 10 endorse three of his notes for
| 5000 dollars each. The transaction was general
! ly known in Buffalo. These notes, with the en-.
dorsements thereon, he multiplied al his pleasure,
and the forgeries passed unsupported, as, whenev.
| er forged note mentioned, it was taken for
one of the weknown and genuine notes. This
| forged paper was sold in Wall street, in Canada
and wherever market could be found for it.
To pay the million and half of responsibilities,
Mr.. Rathburn exhibits list of property which he
has conveyed to assignees, valued at two millions
and half Other persons vslne the list at two
millions, or somsthing under. If these statements
near the TRUTH IT is TO be hoped that the affair
will no, in the end prove seriously injurious TO any
one. Rathhurn and brother who is charged with
having executed the torgeries, have fed to Canada.