The Portland daily press., 1888-03-16
q. c. sANBoRN FOUND.
The Man Who Wrote the Receipt
which Helped Convict Stain.
A Discovery Which BrIghtens the
Prospects Of the Prisoners,
And WIN Assist Their Counsel In Get
ting Another Trial.

BOSTON, March 15.-Mr. Barker, of counsel
for Stain and Cromwell, in the recent trial at
Bangor, has been in Massachusetts securing
evidence in order to procure new trial. 1t
will be remembered that steamboat receipt
for horse and team shipped on the Star of
the East in the fall of 1877, had the appear
ance of being In Stains writing and this
was believed TO have been one of the chief
features of the case which led the jury to
render verdict of guilty.
Very soon after the verdict was recorded
Mr.. Barker was made aware that there was
man named Sanborn in Massachusetts who
had been in the habit of making an annual
visit TO Maine, and that it was quite prob
able that he had written the damaging re-
ceipt. Mr.. Barker succeeded in locating
him in Lowell, and at once wrote to him.
The letter reached its destination last Friday
and the person to whom 1t was addressed
suddenly took a deep interest in the case.
He set about getting the dates of his trips to
Maine, and made up his mind to write to his
relatives in Maine for information, to settle
the question beyond doubt, before answer
ing the lawyers letter Of inquiry. These
were confirmatory of his own convictions
and femembrances. He was just in the act
of answering the letter of inquiry when Mr..
Barker was driven in his residence, by Mr.
Sanborn's son, a Lowell money broker,
whom Mr. Barker had had the good fortune
to fall in with upon arriving in the city The
elder Sanborn is the proprietor OF corpora
tion lodging house in Lowell, and is also the
owner of farm in Avon, Me-, where he had
been in the habit of paying visit every fall,
usually taking with him his team. He read
lily recalled to mind that on Nov. 20, 1878, he
shipped his team on the steamer Star of the
East, to go to Avon, and he made out the re-
ceipt himself, signing his name as the govern
ment counsel had found it. The team con-
sisted of horse and double-seated carriage.
He could remember the incident perfectly,
because he had been notified day or two
before by telegraph that his nephew was
very sick and likely to die, and his folks at the
farm wanted him to go to Maine as quickly
fixed indelibly in his memory, because his
nephew died soon after he arrived home. To
put the matter beyond all. doubt, he had
written to Avon as stated, for the date, ana
the reply which he had received bore out his
perfect recollection of the time and occur
renee.
Mr.. Barker, after hearing his statement in
the matter, asked him for a sample of his
hand writing. Mr.. Sanborn at once, with a
lead pencil wrote on the edge of an envelope
the name "B. c. Sanborn, and the f0rma-
ton of the letter which carried conviction to
the minds of the jurors was just exactly the
same as it was ON the receipt which the
government contends was signed by David
l.. stain. Mr.. Sanborn, not supposing that
he would ever be brought into the case, had
not followed the evidence as it was brought
out at the trial, and, therefore, was in utter
ignorance of the mistake that had been made
until his attention was called to the matter
by the lawyer Now he is anxious to clear
the mystery up, believing that the convicted
men are innocent, and if the court allows
the case to be reopened he will be witness
in it.
Two weeks from next Monday Mr.. Barker
will file his affidavit of the new testimony
that has been found, and when tie seven
Maine judges hold their annual court for the
deciding of law questions, Mr.. Barker will
appear before them to argue upon the
strength of the new testimony that there
should be a new trial. This court will be
held in June, ard the counsel feels confident
that he will be able to satisfy, at least three
of the judges that his clients have been
wrongly convicted. AS only three of the
seven will have to be convinced in order for
new trial to be granted, there is thought to
be strong probability that the whole case
will be reopened.