Alston Herald, and East Cumberland Advertiser. — 1880-07-31 (Alston, Cumbria, England)

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF FALSE PRETENCES.  At the County Magistrates Court, Carlisle, on Saturday, a charge of an extraordinary nature wa,s heard against a German named Frederick Walters, who has for some time been in Carlisle, and who was charged with obtaining £2l by means of false pretences, from Thomas Plant, clerk of works. The facts of the case seemed to be that in the beginning of March, prosecutor and another gentleman were in the County Hotel, Carlisle, when the prisoner went to Plant and introduced himself as a man of property, said he had heard some of the conversation that bad passed, and that as Plant seemed to be a business man he was just the very man he (the prisoner) wanted to look after his property. They had a Ion" conversation, the prisoner represent' ting that he had 800 houses in Holborn, London, and any number of shares in some German railways. He said Prince Waldeck had come from Germany to watch his affairs, and the Prince was now in London. The parties met several times afterwards, the prisoner representing that he required £2O to release some deeds and securities that were in the hands of the banker in Glasgow. Plant told him to give security, and he would advance the sum required. At the request of the prisoner Plant wrote a letter to Prince Waldeck, and addressed it to No. 174, General Post Office, London. The following day he received a telegram as follows : " Prince Otto V. Waldeck, London, to No. 5, Broad Street, Carlisle, (prosecutor's address), Received letter will come see you four to six Tuesday. Give what you wanted if my friend settles with me." Plant thought. thought this reply satisfactory. The prisoner went to his house with a portanauteau and some papers, tied and sealed up, said to be deeds of property and securities; but they were not to be opened except in the prestano of Prince Waldeck. On giving these documents Plant gave him £2l, and the papers were put in the bag and taken upstairs. Plant signed a paper along with the prisoner to the effect that the documents were not to be opened or used in business unless with the approval of the prisoner, or after his death. Subsequently the documents were taken out of the bag, and were found to is. old letters, a blank akin of parchment, and other worthless stuff. All were well supplied with wax. On an envelope was written.—" Go with this letter to Rothchild's Bank without opening it."Tlie prisoner, who regrved his defence, was committed for trial at the Oetober Sessions for a diedemeanour.  A portion of the Great North of Scotland Railway on the confines of Banffshir' e and Aberdeenshire has been washed away by a waterspout. The traffic has been suspended. As two children named Walter and Sarah Sandford, were playing at the Soho Grinding-wheel, Sheffield, on Tuesday morning, they were caught in the machinery and killed. Thomas Berry, aged 32, who at the recent Kent Assizes was convicted of the wiful murder of Caroline Adams in the gardens at Erith, was executed on Tues— day morning in Maidstone Gaol.  A youth named Wm. Settle, sixteen years of age, living in Lime Street, Middlesbrough, was drowned while bathing near Messrs Bell Brothers' ironworks, Port Clarence, on Sunday evening. At the meeting of the Durham Board of Guardians, held on Saturday, it was agreed to petition Parliament against the teaching of higher education in Board schools.