Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-03-14
How lho Banl. Of EnsIand N0le Paper ,ra.

now thc BANK OF england Note Paper was
stolen.
The reader will remember the commotion
which was produced throughout England
last summer by the discovery Of a series of
fOrgeries upon the Bank of England. The
interest in the case was deepened blythe
fact that for century and half the bus
mess of the Bank of England has been so
conducted as, it was believed, to prevent
the possibility of counterfeiting the notes.
To this end the paper Of every bank note
millions and millions of which have been
brought into existence, and circulated-
has been made at a particular mill, be-
longing to a family named Portal, at
Laverstoke, in Hampshire. This paper,
when manufactured, is transmitted to the
bank, and within its walls the notes are
printed and perfected and SO made ready
for circulation. Thus no one, for any
honest or lawful purpose, can be possessed
Of the smallest fragment Of this paper, ex-
cept within the mill where it was made, or
in its conveyance IN packages well secured.
Since 1920 not one sheet Of bank paper has
ever yet been successfully inflated, the
manufaetUre having been such as to defy
any approach TO Imitation which could de-
ceive the most casual observer. Nor until
the robbery Of last summer had the smallest
portion Of that paper ever been abstracted
or unlaWfully conveyed from the mills
In August last e5 note was presented
at the bank which proved to have been
forged upon genuine paper manufactured
at Laverstoke. Inquiries as to the source
Of the forgery were at once Instituted,
which were simulated by the fact that the
Messrs. Portal had for some weeks prev
ious had reason to believe that some
Quantities of the paper had been abstract
ed from their mills. Ultimately discover
les were made which led to the arrest Of
six men on suspicion of having perpetrst-
ed the robbery. Four Of these, George
Buncher, William Burnett, Richard Brew
er and James Grifiths, have recently been
tried in the Criminal Court ofLondon, and
from the evidence published in the Times
we gather the following as TO the manner
in which the abstraction and forgery were
perpetrated.
The principal offender was a young man
named Henry Brown. who was employed
at the mills, and who, from time to time,
obtained various quantities Of bank paper
part of the time having the cooperation
of Brewer, holding position of trust in
the manufsctory. By Brown the paper
was passed to Burnett, who in turn trans
ferred considerable portions, through the
agency of BIncher, into the hands Of Grif.
fifth, living at Birmingham, by whom it
was printed. Brown, on the trial, turned
states evidence, thus disclosing the whole
story Of the crime The plates upon which
the notes we're forged were found in GriE-
fth's g possession, together with his presses,
O quantity Of Of the notes &C., and it was
elected that he had printed all the forged
notes on the Banks of England, on other
than genuine paper, which have appeared
in the last seventeen years.
The precise quantity of the bank paper
which was distracted dOee not seem 10
have been ascertained. According to one
witness it amounted t5 three hundred or
four hundred sheets but none Of the |
partners in the business gave any distinct |
evidence on The subject As to the (
mode in which ihe quantity-whether /
large or small--Was stolen, the only evil |
sae %as Hat h9dH0saa IL a5KFS 5aKRFS bBi5%#af in
his account the paper was simply taken
from the size-dTying machine when it is
passed between felted blankets and heated !
rollers Two girls were at work at lhe |
machine, one at each end-one putting the !
paper in, and the other taking it out. II |
lies between the felts during the process. |
Near the lower end of the machine, at the /
side Of it next the wall, there is a place |
where a man can put his hand in and take /
paper from between the blankets Brown
got the first three sheets for six notes from
a place in the machine where he could not
be seen by the girls. Subsequently, he
abslracted some seventy more but after
Q time, other methods were reserled to,
Brewer aiding, as Brown alleged, in the
work Of stealing two hundred sheets at a
time; but cuTiously enough, the jury re-
fused to believe Brewer to be criminal,
and he was therefore acquitted, though it
was admitted he carried the keys which
opened all the doors Of the mills. Brown
having left before Brewer began his al
ledged depredations, did not pretend to
explain the manner in which the latter
obtained possession Of the paper
The result of the trial was that Bunch
er, Burnett and Grifiths were convicted,
and the bank authorities consider them
selves justified in declaring their belief
that ian end has been put to the illegal
fabrication of these notes for long time
to come"
\ curious fact in connection with this
affair is stated by the Melbourne Austria
lia) Argus Of the 25th of November, to the
effect tLat some Of the forged notes have
been discovered at Ballerat and Castle
maine, where they had been brought for
sale 10 the banks.