The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-09-22

Agents I'm America md on tho Continent.
Especial Correspondence.]
LONDON, Aug. 25.-London enjoys the
unenviable reputation of being the great,
and indeed I may add the only, market
in the world for the disposal of stolen
bonds, share certificates and scrip Of
every description. Incredible though 1t
may appear, the transactions in this par
ticular class Of plumber are carried on
with che utmost publicity and without
any danger of interference on the part
Of the English authorities. This strange
immunity is due to the peculiar and
fortunately unique regulations Of the
London Stock exchange and to the Eng
lish Law. on the subject Of stolen scrip.
which permits thief to give good and
legal title to bonds which he has OBJ
tanned by crime, and to the ownership
OF which he has therefore no legal title
himself. According to this statute, the
stolen bonds can be recovered by the po-
lice only if the actual thief is captured
with them in his possession. But from
the moment that he has transferred
them to any third party, then recovery
by law becomes impossible.
Few people save the police, the banl,
robbers and the members of the London
Stock exchange are aware Of these facts.
But it seems to me that the matter should
be made more widely known, in order
that public pressure from every quarter
Of the civilized world may be brought to
bear upon the British government with
the object of inducing the latter to amend
its laws in accordance with the dictates
of commercial honor and probity.
1t was but last year that British
court of Justice, presided over by the lord
chief Justice Of England, affirmed once
more the existence Of this extraordinary
law, according to which stolen bonds
constitute valid exchange and o ne
gotiable instrument on the London
stock market. They remain SO even if
: qualified by public notification of es-
toppel by the government or concern
which has originally issued them. Ac-
cording to the sworn testimony of the
president of the London Stock exchange.
given during the course of the trial in
question, 1t is beyond the power of that
institution to take coynizance Of any es-
toppel Of o bond.
If the latter is genuine--that is, not
forgery-and if it is not nominal. but
negotiable by transfer to bearer, the
London Stock exchange does not con.
slider itself to be at liberty to step into
the place Of the issuing government or
concern and to alter its character. 1t
does not even consider it to be necessary
that the vender Of stolen and stopped
bond should inform the purchaser of its
true character. Nor has the party who.
having given an order to broker for
the purchase Of bonds, receives scrip
which has been stolen and stopped any
legal right to refuse delivery thereof
1t Is easy to understand that with
ethics such as these prevailing in the
greatest commercial center of the uni
verse, and tolerated by the law Of the
land. q new and powerful impetus
has been given to the profession of bond
robbery. In former days, before the Brit
ish tribunals had affirmed thisstate of af.
fairs, bank burglars never stole anything
in the nature of bonds, securities, stocks
and shares. They were deferred by the
difficulty of disposing Of them, and re-
garded them not only as useless, but
even as dangerous. Their entire atten.
ton was devoted to the specie and bank
notes. Nowadays, however, the bank bur
glar makes q point of carrying off every
scrap of paper on which he is able to lay
hands, and the entire package is at once
conveyed to London either by the thieves
themselves or else by the resident agents
of the London dealers in rogue bonds"
as stolen paper is denominated in Thread
needle street.
These agents are stationed in almost
every important city Of the continent OF
Europe and Of America. at Paris they
mostly haunt the cafes in the neighbor.
hood Of the Elysee Montmartre. In
New York they frequent certain well
known purlieus of Fulton street The
London principals, for whom thoy act
and in whose employ they all stand, are
either outside-that is, curbstone- brok-
ers, money changers or lawyers. Many
Of the latter affect to belong to the old
school of family solicitors, wear white
cravats, swallowtail coats, and transact
their business in stolen bonds with
much JUNCTION and outward semblapce
Of responsibility. One Of them Is known
to have had as much as 5000, 900 worth
of stolen bonds pass through his hands
last year during the space Of one month.
Whenever any bond robbery takes
place nowadays-and they have enor-
mously. increased in number and i'm
portance of late-the victims Of the
theft and the police commence by de-
voting all their energies toward pre-
venting the stolen scrip from leaving
the country and from reaching London
Failing this they endeavor to arrest the
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