Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-18

| LEFT HIM BY HIS UNCLE.
One of the most interesting prisoners ever
| confined in the District Jail was Dallas NJ. De
| Hughes alias George NJ. Sinclair alias Mr..
Noble alias Marion d. Newman. He was con-
victed of charge of obtaining money by
| false pretenses and the case was brought be-
fore the Court in General Term, where 1t is
| still pending. Meanwhile De Hughes has OBJ
| tanned his liberty, mainly because he inter-
ested number of people by the story that he
had been left a large fortune by a relative who
| died in California. Notwithstanding that
| the charge of which he had been
convicted was false pretenses New
mans plausible statements gained credence.
Now there are some anxious inquiries being
! made as to his whereabouts, and there are
| some well-defned suspicious that De Hughes
| put climax on his career in this city by most
| ingenious hoax. by which the authorities them
selves were deceived. He was released from
| Jail here September 26 last year on giving
bail in 81 500 to appear and abide the decision
| OF the Court in General Term in a case of false
! pretenses of which he had been convicted. A
| second charge of similar character pend
| ing in the Criminal Court and in this case he
gave $500 bail. Martin V. Webb was his surety
| in both cases. In the case pending in the Cen
eral Term he was on the goth day OF last
November sentenced to two and half years at
labor in the Albany penitentiary.
NEwMAS's CAREER IN THIS CITY
is a curious one and the story is well worth re-
lating in detail. About the LIST of November
last Mrs. Kate Smith engaged the services Of
the detective firm Of McDevitt & Finder TO re-
cover some money (S49 from Newman which
she alleged had been procured from her by him
through false pretenses. aud to ascertain what
manner of man he was. These detectives
learned that he had only been in the city a
month or two and turned the matter over to
the metropolitan police. 1t YVES ascertained
that he was rooming at 904 G. street (where he
arrested by Detectives Raft and Horne)
and that he had previously been rOoming on +
street near 18th.
The records of the detective office at police
headquarters show, under date of November 9,
1888, this entry: Marion ID. Newman alias
Geo. Vi. St. Clair alias Dallas NJ. De Hughes:
age, forty-three years; occupation. school
teacher, insurance agent, lawyer, minister. DC.
nativity, Iagerstown. Md. height. 5 feet 3
inches: weight $50 pounds; complexion. fair;
eyes, gray; hair. brown: face, round: marks
cut on face and chin; offense, false pretenses;
complainant, Mrs. Kate Smith; officers, Raft
and Horne.
The case was taken to the Police Court and
the man OF various names and many Occupa-
tions was committed to Jail for the action Of
the grand jury, Notwithstanding the reluctance
OF Mrs. Smith to prosecute him. Before the
case was presented to the grand Jury the Off
GERS discovered that he had only the month be-
fore by false pretenses obtained 500 from
Bresee Sons. his employers, by means of the
following letter and telegram:
THE LETTER.
WASHINGTON d. C.. Oct lS 1855
o. F. BREssE Sons Managers, Baltimore. Nd
Gentlemen: Your letter Of the ltll finally reached
HE. The check was most acceptable, ,urC You
as we were absolutely without money to get a pre-
scriptiCn filed when the check arrived. cannot I'M
cal
personally twice daily at general delivery for mail.
low and her death is okcd for any moment AS her
pysicians rssard her case as hopeless should death
and will telgTaph IN cannot ask ior any definite
mont However, will bury her nay mothers lot
iG Harrisburg. Penn We do not expect her to live
throuEh the nl@ht
lCurs i'll deep anguish,
THE TELEGRAM.
wAsHIsGroS. D. C., Oct. 10. 1888
Received at 4OS l. Lombard Street Baltimore
me cheek at ' onee '' 's d. n sT cL Sn
PREACHER.
The officers ascertained from his captured
correspondence and other papers that he had a
wife at Nashville, Tenn, another at Philadel-
phia, and yet another in New York; also that
he had been Methodist minister in the Maine
and New Jersey conferences.
The statements in the letter and telegram
ease we'll the Smith transaction In the
latter part of November he was tried on the
BreSSe case and convicted. Notwithstanding the
| defense made by his counsel, Campbell Car
rinGton, that the offence WAS committed in Bal
tlmOrc and the court here had no jurisdiction
| His counsel filed motions in arrest of iudc-
mcnt and for u new trial on exceptions both of
which motions were denied by Judge Mont
| gomery on March 80 last and Newman WAS SEN
fenced. az before stated, to two and "a half
4 y 4
county penitentiary.
HIS LIFE IN JAIL.
A formal appeal to the Court in General Term
having been taken and Newman being unable
| to obtain his freedom no had to patiently wait
in the Jail for action of court and counsel
During the long months of doubt and anxiety
exactly the same treatment was accorded to
him as to his fcllow-prlsOnGrs; but being man
of education and good talkcr he assumed an
air OF superiority toward them and had no con-
hdants nor companions among them. In fact
| he seemed "a fish cut of water" Notwith-
standing his close confinement his health was
excellent. After spending some months be-
hind the bars, receiving visits occasionally from
| a person living near Philadelphia. lie secured
| the privilege OF pen and paper and started in
| Ito write a book" This, however, in the light
| of subsequent events is thought to have been
| merely "a blind" although he spent MANY
| hours upon it and had written several hundred
pages.
| HEIR TO HALF MILLION DOLLARS
Last August he received what purported to
| be telegram from his mother. living at Har-
risburg, stating that his uncle had died in
California, making Lin (the prisoncr) his heir,
| and that the estate was estimated at half "a mil
| lion dollars His dCmcanor at once was
| changed: he became so nervous that he could
| not contain himself: novel writing was forgot
| ten, and most OF his time was taken up with
! receiving congratulations and writing notes.
| Some of his fellow prisoners hc promised to
| see righted, and a few of them listening to his
! honey words built castles III the air." By
| some means lie receiyeda few hundred dollars.
| which he said came from California. and this
gave color to his claim. Some of the older
| prisoners looked on the fortune business as a
| myth. but the younger ones believed that New
! man would soon be out of Jail and that he
| would not forget them. Within few weeks
| he was in possession of large envelope bear
\ ing blurred post mark and containing what
| looked like legal papers. These, however. lie
| showed to but few, If any. of the prisoners or
| guards, alleging that his family name was I'M
| known TO the authorities or people of Wash
| ington, and he would rather rot in the peni-
Tertiary than divulge it. The Police Court
van in the meanwhile was making its daily
| trina taking down hardened