Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-05
NEW YORK.
Gigantic COunterfeiting of Revenue
Stamps.

stamps.
New YORK, Nov. 4.-Col. Whitley, of the
secret service division, and assistants, have
for over month been engaged in ferretting
| out one of the most notorious gangs of
counterfeiters in the country, and have just
brought their labors to successful close.
1t was first ascertained that dangerous 60
pound tobacco stamp was being offered to
| enterprising tobacco merchants, at about
one-fifth the government price. The in
ducements were so great that many firms
heretofore bearing unblemished regulations
in this city, Virginia, North Carolina and
other States, embarked in the enterprise
and purchased large lots from the New
York manufacturers.
The first arrest was made October 10,
in the person of Volney Wright, who it is
alleged had endeavored to sell an i'm
mense quantity of these 60 pound stamps
to two men named Copeland and Walker.
He was quietly held to bail in $4,000 to
await the action of the grand jury. The
bedpiece, roller and plate, with six trans
fers, were secured by the detectives.
The next arrest was one Hart Pierce, an
accomplished engraver of No. 30 Nassau
street, on Oct. 80, with whom were seized
all the dies and machinery used in counter
feiting, among which was a press for trans
ferring costing 81 900.
Col. Robert Clark, who during the war
commanded the 18th New York volunteers,
was next secured, and his room, No. 217 |
East Seventeenth street, searched In |
almost every bureau drawer, stands, boxes, |
trunks and valises, evidences of guilt were |
found One valise contained the plate of |
the 60 pound stamp dies for making one |
penny stemps. There were hundreds of |
sheets containing 2l0 pound stamps to- |
gether with about So, 900 worth of clean, |
genuine stamps. The property was all |
seized.
1t was next ascertained that the mill /
where these stamps were ground out was
situated about 10 miles from the city, at /
Princes bar, Staten Island Seven men /
were sent to the spot, and after tramp of |
half mile through the woods discovered /
John Ripon, a steel and copper-plate /
printer and native of England, 80 years
of age, his partner, William Skempton, a
native of Maine, 40 years of age, and a re-
tired sea captain. Ripon's wife, three
children and a colored girl were on the
premises. In one room was found a large |
amount of paper, such as is used by the
government in the manufacture of revenue /
stamps a large supply of inks, oils, and jugs
filed with gum the latter used for adj
hesive purposes. Also a die for making
three cent silver pieces, steel dies for
stamping coins, containing all the letters of
the alphabet, and dies for all arithmetical |
figures, but no plates or printed work.
In another room was press for punching |
the hotes between the stamps on the /
printed sheet. In the garden about Is
inches below the surface was found on in
formation given by RipOn, a box which con-
tanned the plate on which had been trans
ferred the one cent revenue stamp . 10 times,
the bed-piece and transferring die, q large /
lumber of stamps and thousands of sheets
ready for use, and other articles. The /
and materials were brought TO |
the city, and the former taken to the United \
States Mashals Office, where they were held
in custody.
1t was now ascertained that an eaSgaveT /
named Reuben Carpenter, having an Office /
at No. IL Bloomfield street, Boston, had
been employed to engrave United States |
bonds officers were sent to Boston and |
with assisting detectives there arrested |
Carpenter in the act of engraving a pass /
on the Wilmington and Baltimore railroad. /
He surrendered to the officers one thous-
and dollar five-twenty bond which he had /
been engaged to engrave by man in the /
city who was in the last stage of consump- /
ton. 1t is alleged that numerous other 1
prominent persons in the city are under /
suspicion and surveillance, and it Is be-
heyed several hundred thousand dollars of /
these bogus stamps have been put in circu-
lation.
Evangelical Alliance.
A large meeting was held to-day to hear
h. &C nr CnhAp,,f ond his |
late mission to Europe connected with the
of Evangelical Alliance to be
held in New York next autumn.
DR.. S reports that quite large delega-
ton have engaged to be present from
England including clergymen of the
churches Of England, dissenters and lay
men, while Archbishops of York, Canter-
bury and Dublin, and other leading pre-
lates expressed hearty cooperation with
the movement
Pere Hyacinthe.
Rev. Dr. Thompson, speaking of Hya-
cinthe. said that, while not desiring to re- |
veal private conversation, he would say |
that Pere had brought letters to him from |
two French Protestant clergymen, speak
ing of him as in close spiritual communion |
with them, and as taking the noble posi- |
ton of Luther. Rev. L. W. BaScom read |
a letter from Hyacinthe, abiding to his |
desire for the freedom of opinion, etc.
$4,000 Worth OF Itch.
A case came up before Judge FIthian |
Yesterday. in which Patrick O'Toole, a lad |
Of Is, sued the managers of the House of |
Refuge for $4,000 damage on account of |
bad treatment in keeping him In a close |
room, on insufficient food, in consequence |
of which he got the itch and became much
debilitated.
Grand Jury sitting an the Gold
NIuddIes
The grand jury is still investigating the
gold muddle, and propose carrying on the
investigation till some conclusion Is
reached.
suicide.
II. c. Cambridge, a Boston merchant,
committed suicide yesterday at hotel
here.
More COuuTcTfeiIing.
Col Clarke, formerly Of the 18th Brook
lyn regiment, was before Commissioner Os-
borne yesterday, charged with engraving
plates for counterfeit currency. He was