The Portland daily press., 1886-10-01

IOI HUI lldNluS WdIubu llt. LII WOulQ
in no wise change my responsibility.
But it will readily be believed that in the
beginning had no design to take one dollar
from the bank that / could not account for.
My Intimate relations with the institution,
its management and it's officers led me to
different course of action in the outset than
l should have pursued under different cir
cumstances.
But found myself heavy loser through
the misconduct of others, and that l could
hot make good the funds l had used. have
tried every means to keep up my credit
have struggled hard to extricate
myself from my unfortunate position, and
to obtain the means to reimburse the bank
and save myself and those connected with
me from this hopeless ruin. In all this
have failed Nothing remains to me but to
undergo the sentence which justice tempered
as 1 hope with mercy requires the court to
pronounce. WILLIAM E. GOULD.
Portland, Sept. 80, 1886
Judge Webb then said: / have no desire
to say one single word which will add to
the burdens that rest upon this unfortunate
man. The duty that rests upon me is one
compelling me to disregard all matters Of
simple feeling and look to the public well
fare 1t is evident to everybody that cases
of this sort are of the most serious injury to
the community in any light in which they
can be viewed. If the temptations of such
position as Mr.. Gould has held have been
very great, it is all the more important that
the will of the parties so exposed to tempta-
ton should be fortified, upheld and sustain
ed by view of the consequences.
1t is in no spirit of unkindness towards him
but from single regard to the public well
fare, that we should determine the amount
of penalty l must impose. l am well as
sured that if it was only himself concerned,
if he was set free now his punishment would
be is great as any individual would be dis
posed to impose upon him. / act in the in
terest of the public.
Judge Webb then minuted upon the back
of the Indictment the sentence. and further
said: The statute confines me within certain
limits There is an uncertainty never fully
settled as far as know by the courts as to
the duty of the Judge presiding where dis
tinct infractions of the statute are contained
in the same indictment. 1 shall treat this
CdSC Ill SuCl Il way bAdb IL dlll lCuullCu 10
deal with both shall give the least penalty
the law will allow me to each and not exceed
the amount can give for one.
Judge Webb passed the Indictment to the
Clerk, remarking that the warrant for re-
moval to the State prison would not issue
until Saturday.
The Clerk, Mr.. Davis, then pronounced the
following sentence of the Court civilian
E. Gould, hearken to your sentence as the
Court has awarded it. The Court having
considered the crime whereof you stand con-
victed, orders that you be imprisoned for the
term Of ten years; and that this sentence be
executed upon you in and within the State
prison situated in the town of Thomaston,
in the county of Knox and District of Maine,
and that you stand committed until you be
hence removed in execution of this sentence"
After MI. Could return to jail he ate
hearty supper and retired to his cell. During
the day yesterday he received a number of
calls from friends, as well as from his coun-
sci, and several gifts of flowers and fruit
AS will be seen by the order of the Judge
the prisoner will remain at the Jail until
tomorrow when he will proceed to Thomas
bUn III CuoIOuJ VI IL OulbCQ OtdICo OluCldl dllQ
be transferred to the custody of Warden
Tolman of the State prison.
Bank Examiner Wiswell left for Ellis
worth yesterday. The expert, Mr.. Lamson,
remains, examining such matters as have
not yet been looked into and will notify Mr..
Wiswell if any further Irregularities appear.
1t will be remembered that Examiner
Wiswell in his report speaks of Irregularities
discovered in his examination in May, to
which he called the attention of the Comp
troller. 1t is understood that Mr.. Wiswell
found that the bank had not earned its divi-
dend, but had paid it from its surplus. SurE
prise is expressed that the Comptroller did
not call the directors attention to this fact
1t is believed that he did attempt to and that
his communication was intercepted by Mr.
Gould and destroyed or concealed.
The signatures to the two forged notes re-
ported by Mr.. Wiswell-are manifestly in the
handwriting of Mr.. Gould. Mr.. Gould ap-
pears to have made no attempt to disguise his
hand writing in either case, and in one he
openly acknowledged that he affixed the sig
nature by adding to it ''per g. leaving it to
be inferred in this case that he had been au-
thorized by the alleged maker of the note to
sign his name. Both of the signatures were
the names of men who had frequent dealings
at the bank, and the notes excited no suspic-
ion until they came to be critically examined
during the recent investigation.
The fifty thousand dollars of oyer-drafts
on cashiers checks which Mr.. Gould left I'M
accounted for he represented to the book
keeper of the bank as an investment by the
bank in bonds.
Mr.. Gould was guilty not only of embezzle
ment and forgery, but also of perjury, for
several of his sworn statements to the Comp
troller were not truthful exhibits of the con-
dition of the bank at the time.