The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-07

tions to shares But the Australian mines began to peter out," and In the financial stress of the Boer war the Wright com panies became involved, and efforts to maintain their standing were Intellectually made. z. floated by Wright came in December, 1900. There were eleven of these, in- cluding the parent company. the London and Globe Finance Corporation, with total capital of seo.675,0O0 Wright was the managing director. No less than thirteen firms. with thirty members of the London Stock Exchange were forced into bankruptcy. t 's Nss The compulsory liquidation of the Lon dcn and Globe Finance Corporation. Linn ited, was ordered on Oct. 30, 1901. The official receiver announced on Aug. [, 1902. that he had issued summonses against J. Whitaker Wright and Robert Leman to recover $750.0Oo in connection with share transactions between the British-American Corporation and the London and Globe, At the same time the receiver said 1t was not proposed for the present to prosecute the directors of the London and Globe.
 Lord Dufferin Victim.
 One of the victims of the crash was the late Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, for merely Governor General of Canada and British Ambassador at Paris. He had con- sented to be chairman of the London and Globe, and had 25.0o0 shares in the different companies, With Lord Dufferin on the Board of Directors were also Lieutenant-General Gough-Calthrop, Col onel of the 5th Dragoon Guards, and Lord Edward William Pelham-Clinton. Master of the Queens Household and son of the nfth Duke Of Newcastle. When the crash came Lord Duffern was severely censured for his connection with the Wright companies, but in a frank speech to the stockholders of the London and Globe he declared his position and won the sympathy of the country. His wealth, at one time large, was believed to have been swallowed up in these companies. His death was thought to have been has, tened by these financial troubles.
 Much American money was lost in the failure of the Wright companies. There was great outcry against the attitde of the authorities in not prosecuting Whitaker Wright and his fellow directors of the London and Globe, and a petition was ciruclated on the bondon Stock Ex- change. signed by many influential men, demanding the prosecution of Wright, as 1t was considered that the credit of the city and of the London Stock Exchange demanded a thorough investigation. A fund of $26,000 was raised to begin the prosecution. Arnold White. the author, at a meeting said the reason the prose- cution was not undertaken by the Gov ernment was that the directors of the London and Globe were sheltering them selves behind members of the royal fam Ny. He added that he understood a royal duke had invested his mo@,y in the con- cern. and he believed that certain hang CTS on at court were using the name of the King and others for. the purpose of hiding their own nefarious deeds Other at the stockholders of the London and Globe were victims of one of the most "terri- ble. heartless and gigantic swindles of the age"
 On March 10. 1902, action was taken against Wright Justice Buckeley. in the Chancery division of the High Court of Justice. made an order directing the of- ficial receiver. as lquidator of the Lon don and Globe Finance Corporation LimitedD. to prosecute on criminal charge Whitaker Wright, and utilize the assets of the London and Globe to pay the costs of the prosecution. The follow ing day a warrant for Wright's arrest was issued. When the police officer went to his home he was informed that Wright had gone to the continent on account of his health. The same afternoon the Irish Nationalist. Swift MacNeill, asked the Home secretary in the House of Commons
 
 Wright's escaping from justice. and later the Home secretary announced that the government intended to bring Wright to justice. But 1t was not until year later | that any trace of him was secured, and on March 15. 1908, he was arrested on ! arriving in this country on the steam ship La Lorraine. He submitted calmly to arrest, saying that he was afraid of King Edward and understood that all his difficulties had been settled by Par liament. young woman who, he said, was Miss Florence Browne, his niece, was with him. They were on the pas- senger list of the steamer as M An dreoni and Mile. Andreoni," but later the names were changed, so that they appeared J. W. Wright and Miss F. Browne. The London police had asked | for Wrights arrest, and detectives were on the watch for him. He had journeyed from his country seat at Bodalming, England, to Southampton, and thence to Havre and Paris. where trace of him was finally found by the bank notes he had cashed. He had 7SO pounds in his possession when arrested. of which Mss Browne claimed 100 pounds
 After protracted proceedings in the