Weekly Trinity journal., 1871-01-21
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
FROM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT.


more readable matter, than by giving it the de-
tails Of this great mercantile scandal. As a
sensational heading to a sensational, though
truthful story. is indispensable, we Will call it
THE HISTORY OF A swINDLING PARTNER AND A DIS
HONEST SON, OR WHAT CAME OF sPEcULA-
TING IN HIDDEN TREASURE"
Few firms in San Francisco have stood higher
in popular estimation than that of Hayward &
Coleman, oil merchants and importers of petro-
leum. Mr.. Alvinza Hayward was known to be
very wealthy, and q man Of unimpeachable in
tegrity, while his partner had the reputation Of
being shrewd business manager and clever f.
President Of the Merchants Exchange Bank
confirmed this opiuon of his abilities, and
though it had been whispered for sometime that
he was interested in heavy stock speculations
so many other merchants engage in like opera
tons that nothing whatever was thought of it.
On the 29th Of last month, Mr.. Hayward was
seated in bis Office, probably mediiating on the
expected arrival Of sundry cargoes of kerosene
and the effect they would have upon the market,
when his reyeries were interrupted by the entry
of clerk with letter Carelessly opening it
he glanced bis eyes over the contents until he
came to certain figures, which were of such an
astonishing nature that in the language Of the
New York Weehiy, he gave can nyountarily
start of surprise" 1t was notification from
Banking house TINT on the following day prom
issory notes amounting to S25 900 would ma
ture, for which he was requested to make pro-
vision. Referring to the bilI-book he was still
more astonished to find no entries of such in
debtedness, so he hastily repaired to the bank
and asked for Information. The bills were
shown him, drawn up by Hemenway & Merrill,
wholesale grocers, of Front Street. accepted by
Coleman in the firm $ name
Indignantly seeking his partner, he demanded
an explanation, wuich that gentleman declined
TO give, whereupon Mr. Hayward rushed of to
his lawyers, held a consultation with them, and
on their advice, resolved to wind up the busi-
ness. That evening an advertisement appeared
in the B4lleta signed by Mr. Hayward, curtly
announcing dissolution OF partnership
Coleman, as before stated, was President of
the Merchant Exchange Bank, and going down
there the next morning before business hours.
be ordered the Assistant Cashier to open the
vaults, which being done, he took out cold coin
to the amount Of $27 500 an oyerdraft of the
sum standing to the firms credit of SIG 500.
As security for this balance, be gave a check on
'' Hayward q Coleman" Having obtained this
large amount he repaired to his own counting
house and withdrew from the safe the einyoices
and bills Of lading Of 40 200 gallons of coal oil
to arrive, which he transferred to Hemcnway 4
Merrill for the nominal sum of SlG5 600, bein,
800 600 less than their real value The object
OF TINS latter transaction, as well as the indorse-
ment Of Hemenway q Merril's paper by Cole
man, requires an explanation. 1t seems thai
the former firm iutrusted the management Of
their business to II. G. lIcmcnway, a son of the
senior partner, and that they had such conf
dence in hls honor and integrity, that no super
vision was exercised over his actions For IA
long time past he and Coleman bad been asso.
clates in certain stock speculatons, and some
SIX weeks before, had planned ''corner" in
g Hidden Treasure" Bat owing to full ex-
posurc Of the scheme by the Chronicle the plot
Iers came to grief and lost very heavily To
cover these losses Hemenway gave promissory
notes in the name Of his fathers firm, which
Coleman accepted for Hayward & Coleman s.
and then got them discounted.
Both Coleman and Hemenway must have
known that when these notes matured an expo
sure would be inevitable, but hoping that they
might retrieve their loss before the " forty days
after date" expired, they laid fresh plans and
went calmly each about his business apparently
as free from care as men could be. At length
the exposure came and Coleman, as just related,
drew from the bank all the money he could and
handed it over to Hemenway for safe keeping.
Before making final division of the spoil, it
was resolved to try and obtain additional booty
on the security Of the oil consignmeuts, then they
would bid quiet adieu to the State of California
and their creditors Coleman does not appear
to have been particularly smart in this part of
the arrangement. lie trusted his coufrere too
much, for young Iiemenway did not believe in
gong halves with any one. So while Coleman
was negotiating loan in the oil cargo, he was
quietly preparing for fight.
Al ten o clock on Tuesday morning (Jan 3D.
he was in his fathers office attending to busi-
ness as usual. few minutes more his wife
called for him, and saying he would be back in
a quarter Of an hour, the TWO went off together
As the Panama steamer left at ii A. M, and
neither Mr. ilemenway nor spouse have yet re-
turned, there can be no harm in mentioning that
a couple answering their description took pas
sage the same morning for the Isthmus, aud
that Coleman considers he was swndled out of
the half of S27 800.
The news Of Hemenway's departure, and the
rumors that were flying thick and fast about his
connection with Coleman, were, of course not
lnnn In ron ncLin.r thn nnrs of liz E1thnr ...l. ~.