The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-04-17
The Bank of England.

The recent forgery committed on the
Bank of England makes the following
sketch from the Cincinnati Times and
Chronicle of past frauds and forgeries
timely and Of interest The Bank OF
England was founded in 1891. For sixty
four years after its establishment the in
stitution enjoyed happy immunity from
forge1fes, and to Richard Vaughn, Stat
ford linen-draper, belongs the unenviable
tame of its first forger. Richard does not
appear to have been bad sort of fell
low, indeed his general character was
above reproach. He was so unfortunate,
however, as to be in love with pretty
girl who liked him much but money more
She could not be persuaded to marry q
poor man. so the devoted swain counter
feited, with Indifferent success, some
tlOO0 in bank notes, and deposited them
with his lady-love as evidence of his
wealth. The marriage followed shortly
thereafter, but the success of the honey
moon was somewhat marred by the hang
ing of Richard; and even the bills were
not left tor the consolation OF the widow
The example thus set was briskly follow
ed, and for many years thereafter the
Bank inspectors were tried to their utmost
to prevent the counterfeited notes from
imposing even upon themselves. In 1890
the bank found itself in possession of a
large number Of forged notes, so perfect
IN all their parts, even to the supposed in
vulnerable water-mark, that their false
ness was hardly to be detected save by the
duplicate numbers. The most skillful de-
tectives, inspired by plenteous offers of
"blood money" failed in every attempt at
| AZ Il
for A certain distance, but in each case
brought up finally at some one of the
numerous lottery offices then in vogue,
and there batfied further pursuit. For
many months the bank continued victim
to this prince of counterfeiters, until at
last the merest accident led to his dis
covery in one Charles Price, who, manu-
featuring his own paper, tools, and inks,
doing his own engraving, and, aided by
his mistress, his own circulating, had
baffled the most searching investigation.
The affection and watchfulness of the
partner of his crime enabled him to avoid
the first descent of the officers, but their
tools were too close for escape, and soon
thereafter Mr. Price played the last role
OF an English suicide in ornamenting the
| tour corners Of an English crnss-roadS
FoRGERIEs AND OBJECTIONS.
John Matheson, q Scottish engraver,
was one OF the next to attract particular
fame in the counterfeiting line, and went
composedly to the gallows after reaping
a half million of dollars, mostly from the
Bank of England During his career one
Of the bank clerks invented novel ma
chine by which, in the twinkling of an
eye, he could pare off very thin rim
from sovereign, leaving the edge notch
ed Just as before He had made several
thousand pounds by the operation. when
he very unfortunately found himself, one
Monday morning, dancing in mid-air at
! Tyburn. Another clerk had very narrow
escape from unmerited disgrace Just at
this period (187O). A bank note for f5OO
had been stolen, and payment stopped. A
few days subsequently, the note was found
in the paying department, where it had
been exchanged for gold. 1t had appa-
rently been certified by one of the oldest
of the receiving clerks, who, upon being
shown his signature, immediately recog-
nized it, but utterly failed to remember
| having made it, The negligence was so
gross that he was about to be discharged
in disgrace, when one of the bank officers,
convinced that so trustworthy q clerk
could not have made so ineXcusable Il
mistake, took the note to an eminent
chemist to have the ink of the signature
analyzed. He proved conclusively that
the ink was not that used by the bank,
and that the certitication must have been
| forged. At the opening of the present
century the counterfeiting Of Bank of
| Eng land notes had increased in startling
ratio The cities and larger towns We're
little victimized by it, the forgeries being
OF very poor character; but in the PROV
inces, and among the peasantry Of the
Continent, the loss and consequent suffer
| ing We're great. Birmingham was the
| great headquarters of the trade, and coun-
terteit notes could be bought, as q con-
temporaneous journal says, "in quantities
sufficient to load a jackass.' Thousands
upon thousands OF them were disposed of
| to poor and illiterate persons. who thought
they were exchanging their little all for a
safer medium. In 1903 the trouble was
| temporarily met by the bank authorities
by Il change in the character of their notes.
AN IMMENSE FRAUD.
Early in 1914. the bank. and, in fact,
the whole Stock Exchange, was victimized
by ''bull" fraud, that rivals in its magni-
tude, and certainly in its daring, the most
famous Of our Wall street corners, not
excepting even that Of ''Black Friday"
England was almost exhausted by her ter
rible fifteen years struggle with Napoleon
and tottered on the verge of revolution
and financial ruin. The successful mill
tary operations which had checked the
last grand coalition had added to the deep
anxiety, and depressed the funds to an
alarming extent. OF sudden there was
a tremendous rally. Consols arose with
a Jump, and the transfers Of & single day
were greater than those of months previ-
Gus. The transactions on Change were
of such magnitude that the nimble fingers
of the clerks could scarcely find time to
record them. The cause of this excite
ment was this: On the 21st day of Feb
ruary, about o'clock in the morning,
violent knocking was distinctly heard at
the door of the Ship Inn, at Dover. The
! intruder announced himself as Lieutenant
Colonel Dubough, aid-de-camp of Lord
Cathcart. His richly embroidered uniform,
his stars, orders, gold lace, ETC., support
ed the assertion; and the salt spray which
wetted him confirmed his story that he
had bribed a French smuggler to bring
him across the Strait His news was i'm
portant. Napoleon had been slain in bat
tie, and the allied armies were in Paris.
The widest excitement was produced
The news was forwarded to London, and
spread like wildfire. Stocks and consols
rose with tremendous rapidity, and Sc
curities which had been bought by the
perpetrators of the Job on Saturday for
some s., 1000, 900 sold on Monday for fully
| 10000 900. The crash followed speedi-
ly. and the Banks and Exchange awoke
to the fact they had been ''buled" out of
over f2, 100000. Investigation implicat-
ed in the fraud some of the leading no.
bility, including Lord Cochrane, one of
England's most gallant naval officers.
THE FAUNTLEROY FRAUD
| Close upon this gigantic corner came
the Fauntleroy fraud, one of the most dar-
ing and extensive of the century. 1t was
series of forgeres of powers of attorney
executed by Mr.. Henry Fauntleroy, the
head of banking house of some stand
ing, and upon which he had sold stocks to
l