The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-12-06
Our DC. Louis Correspondence.


sr. LOUIS, Nov. Is, 1s40
Trial of Nstks~isl CAiiSs r, Charged With the E~5ss-
xissent of the Funds of the Bank Of tie State Of Mis-
ssssi.
This IL the eighth day Of the trial Of Nathaniel
Chids IT, charged with the embszzlement Of the
funds Of the Bank Of Missouri yet light has
been shed upon the subject, sufficient to point out in
falliby the guilty party. That the institution Is
minus s12 Of its precious metal, Is neontestiby
proven but the "who did ~" is the mystery. sus
picion however, rests heavily upon the person
under trial, and though he may be uuhssitatinsy &C.
quilted by the jury through the inability Of the pro-
sssution to adduce sufficient array of rrefragbls
timony stil 1t to that the amount of ciroam
stant4 evidence already brought to bess upon the
II not destroyed by something yet to be elected
must for point to him the skilfu nancier who
HOODWINKED argus eyed bank directory to the tune
Of quite respectable little fortune.
It has transpred in the course Of this
that although the charter Of the bank distinctly and
specifically makes the cashier the keeper Of Its trea
sures IL is only nomnAlly that he be thus regard
ed in fact To the specie teller has always been
ded the safe keeping Of the coin and to the receiving
possessed set Of keys to the vault but IL has been
sbundantly that he seldom used them,
and then only when the specie teller would mislay
forget to bring to the bank his Mr. Cbilds, sor
number Of years previous to May last was the specie
teller, and so far as perceive, check whatever
honesty previous to February last At this period
resolved by the directory to count all the gold and
silver eUn piece sy pless Il had never ossn dome De-
piled up In the vault and when the semi annual esti
mates made Mr. Childs was directed to bring the
money out few bags at time, weigh these bags re-
turn them aud bring out another load This was the
process continued from day to day until the job
completed IL Is easy therefore, to perceive that dis
honest man might very readily have imposed on the
supeintending committee Bags that had been return
cd to the vault could readily have been brought out
In ON fha Aad hzw Qnde al
Ii seems that the principal cause Of actual count
lat winter desire to separate the foreign from
the domestic gold and to recon the former a. would
coin for than it's current value. The foreign
gold thus separated amounted TO some nine hundred
ed to that 1t placed in bags, as it ives counted
and then the bags in small square boxes There we're
sealed the counting directors endorng their names
and the contained tho outside and ssnt to
the vault under charge Of the defendant. Some SIX
boxes would be counted during aftersson and the
periods thus occupied ranged from the 10th Of February
to the I'd Of March There hfty.seyen boxes Of
this foreign gold and 1t regularly numbered a. 1t
boxed up, from hlty seven Number one
others successfully placed on IT, Number eleven CON-
menced another tier and thus on until the whole was
competedthe last tier Of course, being composed OF
but boxes Directly In front OF the first three
four tiers piled boxes Of other coin that 1t
possible to get OF these tiers without removing the
outside boxes In front Of the other tiers, however
vacancy left. mention this arrangement, to show
the time Of counting for when the defalcation was
discovered 1t found TO be mainly in the boxes least
be-namely, Nos 4, O. s. III, H. H. 10, 10
II IS To- 80 and 81 The free end Of the range, 1t
may be termed, contained perfect boxes In box 80
the discovery first made and from sixteen boxes
just sixteen bags of gold had been distracted two bags
of LOCO sosereigns each and fourteen bags Of 900 ten
| thaer pieces each.
In conducting the prosecution against the accused
the State relies good deal upon the rather plausible
difference from such facts those stated-that from
each box In which deficiencies have been discovered
bag taken the night after 10 conveyed to the
vault that the boxes we're re-sealed- and placed in
their proper situations and the emptied into fresh
10 have tser contents counted again IL Is also
alleged that there Is very manifest indication In the
seals Of the violated boxes that the money removed
from tbs boxes after being sealed by the directors
The upper seal that the removal OF which would be
necessary In opening the box. is not sealed with the
that appears on the bottom seal while with
regard to those boxes In which deficiency found
70 exist the Of the two seals found to DO the
same.
But although this may seem to be very strong cir
cumstahal evidence IL must fail In producing judi
cia conviction OF the accused from the fact that be
left the institution early in May and the iefacstioa
not discovered until the 10th OF August, daring
which period other persons had charge OF the vsslt
who might have gone the trouble OF removing
massive piles OF boxes In front of the particular boxes
rihed, for the purpose OF throwing suspicion the
prisoner This cay, Is wthin the range OF possibility:
ard Is Away. better that the guilty shoud go
punished than that the innocent should suffer, sup
pose Mr. &. will be acquitted.