GIGANTIC FRAUDS ON THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 454, 11 March 1857, Page 5

GIGANTIC FRAUDS ON THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

(From the • Globe,' November 13.) Great consternation has been caused amongst the officials of the Great Northern Railway by the discovery of a series of most extensive frauds —frauds which throw the defalcations of William James Robson on the Crystal Palace Company completely into the shade. - From inquiries which have been instituted, it appears that Mr. Leopold Redpath, of-No. 29, Chester-terrace, Regent's Park, was the registrar of shares, and transferrer of stock in the. Great Northern Railway, and in that capacity had a command over the whole of the shares of the company. MrJ Redpath has always borne' the strictest character for honesty, and the conviction of his integrity was strengthened by the fact that he was a governor of Christ's Hospital, - a governor of the Royal Society of St.' Anne,' and was intimately connected with many of the most influential and useful institutions .in the country. This gentleman, to whom such vast interests were entrusted, and upon whom the' breath of suspicion never rested, has disappeared, and with his disappearance comes the appalling fact that he has robbed his employers -*• the directors and shareholders —of many thousands of pounds. It is said, and apparently, upon the best authority, that the defalcations amount to no less a sum than £150,000. Whether that calculation is above or below the amount of which the company has been defrauded, it,must of course remain for future investigation to reveal. Associated with Mr. Leopold Redpath' in the" same office, and acting with him as clerk, was Mr. Charles J. dimming Kent. This young man bore a high character for honesty and ability, but as the directors had cause to suspect that he was mixed up to some extent with the frauds perpetrated by Redpath, he was given into custody, and has undergone a private examination by the police magistrate at Clerkenwell Police Court. The case was- made out with sufficient strength to induce the magistrate to remand him, and he is now in the House of Detention. Every exertion has been made to capture Redpath, but up to the present hour he has succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the police. Possession has been taken of his house in Chester-terrace, Regents-park, but no minute examination has yet been made of its contents. Mr. Kent was apprehended at his residence in Castle-terrace, Hampstead New-road. It seems to be the general impression that he was the dupe of a well devised plot on the part of his superior officer Redpath.

(From the ' Morning' Advertiser,'1 Noreinber 14;) ' The Great Northern Eailway Company have been.defrauded of an immense amount'of money. in consequence of the dishonesty of one of its principal officers. Up to a late hour last, night it had been proved that Ms defalcations amounted to £150,000.. ,The report is that £180,000 will not cover the amount; .but no accurate estimate can be formed until the auditors can make up a report, an operation /vvhich will occupy some weeks. As soon "as the. accounts can be arranged, the. result will be made up for the "purpose of being submitted to a general meeting of proprietors. ; ■ :■■.":'■-:'■■■' ■■-•■ '•.•••■•.■ "■■■■-.4-.:. '.'■;.■..: ■■ Mr. Leopold Eedpath, of 27, Chester-terrace, Regent's Park,.was, until a few days since,..the registrar of shares and transferor of stock in •the : Great Northern Railway Company.,. Althoug- his ; salary was. not very extensive, amounting to sonaething, between £250 ; and £300 a-year, he lived in a luxurious style in a fashionable house, had a box at the opera, was an habitue of the theatres, a governor, of Christ's Hospitalj and of the Eoyal St; Anne^ Society, and- a subscriber and director of many of the most, prominent metropolitan charitable institutions. There ;was scarcely ever a fashionable party,-an operatic performance, or a, gathering of the beau hwhde, in which, tlie name pf- " Leopold .Eedpath", Esq.," did not. appear". Operating under tUeprestige which these various occupations' afforded, he: averted suspicion^ arid thus eaabled to perpetrate- the enormous

frauds which will hereafter require so strict an investigation. - - . As principal registrar of stock, Mr. Eedpath had of course the entire control of that department of the company's business. The investigation of the books since his disappearance—for he left the office in a somewhat hasty manner on Tuesday last, and has.not since been heard of— have shown that the frauds h,ave been perpetrated m .the following manner:—When Mr. Eedpath, who was the principal registrar, had to issue a £100 stock, it appears that he added an "0" to the amount, thus making it £1,000 in the company's books. This operation was not confined to one hundreds, but extended to stock of £200, £300, and £500, ■so that out of every £100 stock transferred he gained £900. The directors appear not to have made any examination into the accounts, probably because they never had any suspicion of their officer, and it has been to them a mystery,,for some years.past, that" they were called upon to pay dividends upon £15,000 or £20,000 more than, according to their audited ; accounts, they were liable for. Perhaps it is scarcely right to say'that the directors were negligent- of, their duties, inasmuch as, two or : three .weeks since, they established a distinct department, for the purpose of securing a strict investigation of the company's accounts. The officials of the new department met on Monday last, and on Tuesday morning they re-assembled for the purpose of entering upan their duties. ■ Soon after they met, Mr. Kedpath entered the room, and said to the chief clerk, "What are you going to do ?" The chief clerk replied, "To go through all the accounts from the commencement of the "company." Mr. Eedpath said, " c That is a perfectly useless proceeding. - You will find all the accounts right in the gross, and it is of no use entering into details." The chief clerk said, ", We are bound to go into the whole of the accounts, as the directors have given us explicit directions to do so, and we wish to begin with the numerical register." Mr. Eedpath took* up one of the - books and then threw it down again, saying, " Well, if that is your intention, I will have nothing to -do with it." He then said to one of the officers, " I am going out for a few minutes." He went, but he never returned. Previous, however, to his departure, he sent one of the ticket porters belonging to the railway to the Union Bank, in Argyll-place, for the title deeds of the house in Chester-place and for other securities which were lodged there in his name, directing him to meet him, with the documents, at Chester-place." The porter, misapprehending his instructions, took the parcel he received from the Bank to the Great Northern Eailway, and the officials of the company have taken possession of it, and notice has been given at the bank to withhold his balance until further inquiry. As soon as the discovery of the frauds was made, directions were given to the police to take possession of Eedpath's house, in Chesterplace. This was done and, '■; almost simultaneously. Inspector Williams arrested Mr. Charles James Cumming Kent, a young man, aged 25, who 'was a clerk in the' Begister office over which Eedpath "presided. Mr; Kent, who is supposed to have been the dupe of Eedpath,was arrested at his residence, in ■'■ Castle-terrace, Hampstead-rbad; and immediately afterwards underwent a private,examination at Clerkenwell Police Conrt. He was remanded; until Tuesday . next,.. and is now., in the .custody of,'. the Gov.ernor.of the_ House of Detention. ' A warrant has been granted for the apprehension of Leopold Eedpath, who is 'still; a fugitive,from justice^ He is described as being about 45 years of age, s;feet 10 inches in height, with fair complexion, and brown hair. He walks in a hurried, or "jolting"- manner. He dresses well, but, not foppishly, and his general demeanour indicates a .person of extremely quiet habits, and good position in society, '.■■■.?,'.-.. ."..'. „"•■ ; The directors of the Great Northern Eailwa'y appear to have been acquainted with the expensive habits of their servant, and to have been aware that £300 a-year could not have met his expenses; SingulaVly enough, a feeling prevailed that he filled his responsible office simply from a desire of having something to do: and this opinion was confirmed by the fact, that he made, large contributions to the,many religious and charitable, institutions with which the, metropolis abounds.. '.;,'■ ;■/ " .

\ ExPLOBATION OF CeNTEAL AFRICA,---It IS with great pleasure: that we can announce' the

safe arrival at the Mauritius, on the 13th/; Aug. > last, of that most celebrated of. African explorers Dr. David Livingston, in Her Majesty's ship Frolic. This traveller, whose Exploits have from time to time appeared in our columns, has at length succeeded in traversing Africa from ocean to ocean, having,'besides-rthe discovery in 1849 of Lake Ngami (in company with Messrs. Oswelland Murray), and; other journeys .since in various directions, actually penetrated from the Cape north and west to Angola, whence he' returned as far as Seshike, and thence finallyeastwards to Tete and Quilimane on the east coast. These great achievements must be the more respected when we consider that they"have been performed without the least expense to the public and with only the limited means at the disposal of a humble missionary. Full particulars of this latest and most hazardous of his journeys may now be daily expected. Now that the Count D'Escayrao de Lauture, with the great Egyptian expedition, is, from Cairo, about steaming up the Nile, and Captain Barton has departed under the auspices of ihe Royal Geo-1 graphical Society on his exploration to Zanzibar,» it is most earnestly to be hoped that Dr. Vogel,who, with his attendant, Corporal Maguire, has so long perambulated the comparatively known : countries •to the west of Lake Chad, may at length direct his steps to the hitherto unexplored lands |between that lake and the Indian Ocean. As far back as 1854 he wrote to Germany to the effect' that he only awaited the receipt of 200£. more from the-45ritish Government in order ti proceed at once to Wadai : and thence to the Indian Ocean.^ This som must • have long since been received and the worthy doctor and his companion may possibly be at presenter route for the sources of the Nile. Staif-Surgeon Dr. Daniel, F.E.G.S., well known for his researches in Western Africa, has just arrived from Sierra Leone.— Times. :