St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-06-29

1t appears by Bowman & Hopkins
letter copy book that Hopkins had sent
letter to the company saying: "Green
is confident that the amount is $54l.lO
without the discount but we think it
may be otherwise" and requested the
company to pay the draft and let them
pay back the difference, and they would
fix the matter with Green. And it does
not appear that he ever received any
reply to this. At last Green directed
Parker to write to the insurance COM
pany, and the same day that the rumer
came that Hopkins had absconded, re-
ceived a reply from them that they had
paid the draft fol- his claim.
On the LIST day of August, just after
dinner, it appears by the testimony OF
Geo. d. Stevens, assistant cashier of
the First National Bank, that Hopkins
went into the bank and told Stevens
that he was about to settle Green's loss,
having got authority from the company,
and had him compute what the discount
would be. And the prosecution claim
that this shows that Hopkins knew what
the amount was. But he claims that
he was in there on other business, that
the conversation ia relation to Green's
loss arose incidentally; that he had a
general impression that the amount was
in the vicinity of $40, and that as a
matter of convenience he asked Stevens
to compute the discount, which was for
odd days, as part of the 60 days had
expired, which he could easily do by
referring to his interest tables and the
result would not vary materially from
the true amount should the claim turn
out to be a few cents more or less.
The draft was endorsed ChaS. III.
Green, and it was proved that Green
invariably signed his name either Charles
Ii. Green or G.. Ii. Green; but Hopkins
explains that he directed Green at the
time of signing that he must endorse
the draft Chas. III. Green as he had so
| written it on its face.
The prosecution engaged the services
of a professional expert, one Sawyer
from Boston, who has testified in the
courts of Massachusetts and many other
states, and he swere roundly that the
endorsement was not Green's writing,
and was almost as positive that it was
the writing of Hopkins. On the side of
Hopkins, the Cashiers of the Banks at
st. Johnsbury, Lyndon, Danville and
Wells River, testified that in their opin-
ion it was Green's signature.
The State claims that the forgery was
probably committed in the baggage room
of the Railroad depot, and the ink used
on the draft was the same kind us kept
there, and that Hopkins obtained the
pencil signature as copy while the
defense claim that from the time the
train left at 3:27 till Hopkins presented
the draft at the Bank few minutes
before o'clock, he would not have had
time or opportunity to make SO skilful
an imitation, and that with a copy
made with pencil, which must be diff
ferent in the form and shading of the
letters from one written with pen, and
also one written on the rough corner
board of the depot, it would have been
impossible.
Verdict, guilty. II. C. Ide, States
Attorney, and H. C. Belden for the
prosecution Walter P. Smith and A.
NJ. Dickey for the respondent. The re-
spondent carries it to the Supreme
Court on exceptions bail fixed at
$1,000.