Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1850-01-21
The James Arlington Bennett Affair.


The James Arlington Bennett Affair.
Astounding Developments of Fraud an
Nsw York-Suppossd conspiracy to
murder, &c.
l he New York papers of Friday notice
the arrest of JAMES ARLI> GFoN BENNETT
at New York, on the charge of forgery -
The New York Tribune gives the follow
! ing notice of Bennett, and the summary Of
the offence charged against hi,n:-
he astounding develop ement of fraud
and conspiracy now breaking upon the
public have created the most intense excite
ment, and one hardly knows but he may
see his most intimate friend INVOLVED in the
mesh ofjustice at any moment. The case
Of Drury, nothing Of which has been legal
ly developed, still lies like an Incubus up
on the public mind-that of Joseph C..
Ashley is hardly less important-when an
o her bomb explodes at the tombs, and as
the smoke clears away, we behold to our
utter as,onishment, the widely known
Mormon General Japes Arlington Ben
nett inflicted BY the grand jury for heavy
/ fargery..
This man was the proprietor of a large
estate and magnificent mansion near u
trechI, L. | on the Bath road. He is an
Irishman Of obscure birth, but had inter-
jected darlington" between his original
names, and assumed TO be Of noble blood.
He was formerly teacher Of book keep.
ing in this city, but at the time Of the Nor
mon exodus from this quarter, he took up
hisstaff and turned his feet towards the
new Canaan ut Nauvoo. "
james Arlington Bennett remand suffi-
cisn,ly long among the e-mormon community
t'prove his shrewdness, for he became n
General. He returned TO this quarter in
1886, or Whereabouts covered with his Nor
a1on honors, and put up the mansion at
New Utrecht. No one doubted his hon.
esly while his style living raised him a.
bove suspicion, by the evidence ofthe abun-
dacne OF his means. His exlravagant hab.
its, however, soon disposed of his surplus
funds, and he was forced TO mortgage his
property to supply his wants He pitched
upon John Anlhon, wealthy lawyer, oi
this transaction and obtained from him n
loan of $9, 900 on his house and grounds a.
per cent. Sometime after this, howey
er, Jr., wealthy gentleman of 40 Bond
81, overbid Mr.. Anihon, and offered to lend
Bennett, at the rate of six per cent. Ben
nett then left An.hon and gave mortgage
10 Mr.. Foster for sc 900, out latterly Mr..
F. raised his interes, to 7 per cent, where
upon Bennett threatened to leave him.
These loans, however, did not relieve
Bennett, and it was while he was thus
laundering in his .pecuniary embarrass-
ments that he fell in with Drury and Ash.
ley, and became party 10 many Of their
plans. Bennett, however had an advan-
tage over the other two. He lived in good
odor with the world, and none would have
dreamed Of looking underneath his princely
style for the figure Of a felon.
- 1t would appear from the account pub
iished in the police Gazette, that wit =, the
help Of one Eyed Thompson, Drury, Ash.
ley, and perhaps others. Bennett has been
for Long time living by the most unfair
means, which has finally resulted in his
being arrested on charge Of forging note
Of So, 600 on Count Foster. The circum-
stances Of the suspicion and arrest are Gu
rious, and seem TO be a sequence Of the ar
rest Of Drury for the torpedo business. In
the course Of The investigations whichi led
to Benne,i's arrest, developements were
made which point strongly towards n pre-
medltatedimurder of Foster by some Of the
persons who are now in the hands OF the
law.
There are other stories of transfer and
retransfer of property between Bennett
and his son, by which the former got S.
0OO from: MIR Anthon on mortgage OF the
premises; that to make Mr.. A. believe, the
reconyey ance to be all right, One Eyed
Thompson personated Bennelt's son, the
latter being a miner and unable to make
a legaltransler Of the property on that ac-
count
Altogether this is one Of the most intri.
cate and important cases, in connection
with the Drury and Ashley operations, that
have ever claimed public attention. Ben
nett has 6een committed to prison in default
Of $2O. 900 bail.