Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-02-09
NEW YORK.
The Criminal Calendar.


NEW YORK, Feb. S.-Judge BoardmaI
has gone to Ithica, but Judge Davis presi
ded to day and heard argument Of counse
for new trial and stay of proceedings Ii
the Stokes case. The motion will be deci
ded Monday.
VIM. Barker, sixteen years old, yesterday
evening, shot John Schoeffer, aged ten, kill
ing him instantly. Barker was teaching
the boys who were present and pointed !
pastol toward Shoeffsr, saying, "Look out
III shoot you." Barker says the shooting
was accidental, as he didn't think the pistol
was loaded.
Charles Hay yesterday evening, while in,
toxieated, shot his wife, inficting fatal In
juries.
In Brooklyn this afternoon, Michael Fox
was arrested on the charge of kicking tC
death bis son, years old, because the boy
refused to 60 for liquor without money.
Fremonrs Traus.ContinentaI Rail.
wsy-Gigantlc Swindle in France.
The Sun has the following facts regard.
ing another series of frauds, which are on
the eve of investigation:
We have been panied at rumors circula-
ted during the past three or four years, &C.
cusiDg Gen. John G. Fremont of dishonesty
in the sale, In France, of Sc, 100000 or S.
600, 900 of bonds, issued in behalf Of the
Memphis and El Paso, or, as it was more
commonly called, the Trans Continental
Railway. Suit has been brought in a
French Court which will bring the
matter to the test of judicial in
vestigation. These transactions oc-
CURED nine or ten years ago, when the
Government of Louis Napoleon was still in
possession of despotic power. Circumstan-
ces of most remarkable nature are con-
nected with the affair. The managers of
the undertaking, whoever they were,
gained by some means surprising hold on
the French Ministry. They secured for
q privilege which cannot be ac-
corded in France to any foreign railroad
securities without express authority
from the Government. These bonds
were put on the market, and under the
sanction of this official guarantee, they were
advertised in the journals, snd a special
weekly newspaper called the IrdnScOntinen-
tai was established to commend them to
favor. 1t was even represented in this
paper that the United States Government
had guaranteed the payment of these bonds.
Another suspicious circumstance was
the presentation in the Bourse in
Paris of a certificate signed, sealed
and apparently certified TO, with every
necessary legal formality, stating that the
TIansconliDental bonds were regularly dealt
in and sold in the New York Stock Ex-
change. This being the contrary of the
truth, and all the signatures, seal and every
thing being forgeries, Gen. Ciuseret, at that
time French citizen, published attacks on
the scheme, and he was at once sum-
moned before the Minister of the Interior,
and by way of punishment ordered to
quit France within twenty -four hours. The
Courier Des EtdtS U1aiS, journal long es-
tablishe0, of high respectability, likewise
ventured to criticise the project, and the
result was that it was Immediately excluded
from France and deprived Of the important
benefit of circulating in the French and
West India colonies.
II cannot be supposed that all this was
accomplished without payment of bribes
to an Administration so corrupt as that
of the Second Empire. What THESE bribes
were has never been precisely ascertained,
but it is notorious that the Transconti-
mental bought large quantity OF iron
aud a supply of locomotives from M.
Schroeder, the great manufacturer of cre0-
sota, who was then President of the French
legislative body, paying him enormously.
The nominal value Of the bonds sold to
The French amounted, we think, to be-
tween seven and eight millions dollars,
netting, perhaps, five millions. How much
of this money was spent in France is
not known, but what is certain is that no
mile of the proposed railway was ever
constructed, and that when the concern
went into bankruptcy in this country the
receiver found no movable assets except
quantity of iron, a number of French
locomotives, rusted and worthless,
stored at New Orleans. These are
the general outlines of one of the most re-
markable in all the lists of fraudulent rail-
road enterprises. We presume that the
approaching trial in Paris will develop all
the facts In this romantic story.