CONSPIRACY.—CASE OF THE ALLEYNES [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 713, 2 June 1852, Page 4

CONSPIRACY.— CASE OF THE ALLEYNES [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

A curious^ and instructive case canoe before the Court of Queen's Bench en Tuesday, and occupied the Court for several days. The facts disc sed are these :—: — In the year 1843, a young gentleman of 18» named Kennedy, left Sandhurst College to join, in Canada, the 89th Regiment, to which he had been gazetted. It happened that in the ship which took him out a Lieutenant Holder Alleyne, of the 2nd Light Infantry, and brother of a schoolfellow, was also a passenger. Young men — young soldiers especially — strike up confidential friendships without much formality ; and Kennedy, it would seem, suddenly made a bosom friend of Holder — unfolding without reserve his hopes and expectations. Among these was a fortune, in no very distant perspective; he did not exactly know how much, but something respectable. It may not, perhaps, be fair to conclude that Mr. Holder Alleyne determined to profit by this disclosure by a subtle and deeply laid scheme, but after events induce such an inference. Arrived at Montreal, Kennedy found his schoolfellow, M'Greachy Alleyne, a lieutenant in his own regiment. By great good fortune, Holder Alleyne was ordered on detachment to within a few hundred yards of Montreal ; he was elected an honorary member of the 89th mess, and the brothers, Kennedy, and a Lieutenant D'Arcy formed themselves into a partie carrie of. "jolly -.companions." professional income was £96 per annum ; and, as he drew another hundred a year from his family, he did not see why he should not make as great a dash as his friends. He set up a pony chaise, a sleigh, and three horses. As he was almost of age, lie bad necessarily acquired enough economical experience to be able to do this upon a fraction less than a couple of hundreds a-year. Then being, at that advanced time of life, excessively clever at all manner of games of chance, he gave the gambling-houses a, visit, and lost twelve hundred pounds to a Mr. Stuart, at TquVette (which he paid by a post-dated bill), and a bet of £590 to Holder Alleyne. Of course be knew all about horse-flesh, and went to the races—" twice." Thus accomplished, Mr. Kennedy returned to England ; by and bye his ih'ree friends, " the, Alleynes and D'Arcy came back also : and,, as he had come into the bulk of his fojtune, they clung to him very warmly. The hobby of the whole party was horses. Kennedy had a racer, and Holder Alleyne bad " packed iip'/a.Httle English mare from an.English dealer; a wonderful trotter ; could do her eighteen miles; -within the hour. Incredibje! r Mr. Kenjnefy knew better, be would back his Casiignette "against Alley ne's " Pigeon" . for £300. Done. The cash was posted ; but, on the eve of the race

Castignette (who wns kept in D'Arcy's stable) was found with one of her pasterns cut to the bone. She, of course, could not " come to the, post" at the appointed time, and Kennedy forfeited his stake. Still he would not believe in, all that was said about " Pigeon," Holder Alleyne's marvellous trotter. And " after dinner" one day be, in the presence of a third brother of the Alleynes and D'Arcy, made one of the most extraordinary bets ever peihaps " booked." We shall quote it literatim from his own

evidence : — "The bet that was made was £100 that tie mare could not trot 12 miles within the hour, £200 that she could not trot 13 miles, £400 that she could not trot 14 miles in the hour, £800 that she could not trot 15 miles in the hour, and £1600 that she could not trot 16 miles, £3200 that she could not trot 17 miles. The total amount of the bets was £7300. The match was to come off on or before the Ist of January, 1847. Holder Alleyne was to name the time and place, to give me one week's notice, and he might withdraw upon the payment of £500. No forfeit was named that I could pay. 1 must either win the bet or pay." Seven thousand three hundred pounds, that a mare which the backer had " picked up" by chance from a dealer could trot seventeen miles in an hour ! New Year's day approached, and Kennedy became a little nervous. D'Arcy bad become his adjutant professionally, and privatel) his bosom friend and adviser. "On the 12th of December (continued Kennedy, in his evidence) I received a letter frorc Holder Alleyne, to say that be hoped I should have my money ready by that day, as I was certain to lose the match. He said he should be ready to trot the match on the Ist of January. It was to take place on Salisbury Plain. I saw M'Geachy, Alleyne, and D'Arcy, previous to receiving that letter. The former said he was certain I should lose the match, because he had been in a gig with his brother only a day or two previous on the road between Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, drawn by the mare, Pigeon, and that she bad trotted 18 miles within the hour, and done it with ease. He recommended me by all means to compromise the bet, and that he and bis brother, Joseph Alleyne, would use all their influence to induce their brother to grant me good tgrms, and that he had no jloubt be would do so if I wrote to him. D'Arcy advised me also to compromise it." These friendly persuasions were so effectual that Kennedy eventually gave a draft upon his army agent to Holder Alleyne for £7,360, on condition that be should become half owner of the mare, and participator in two matches of £1000 each. Thus far the plot of this sporting drama | is not very complicated, tbe characters being simply a victim and two or three sharpers. But the villainy does not appear till the last act. Mr. Kennedy naturally found his way rapidly to that resting place of all "fast" young gentlemen, the Queen's Bench. He was obliged to sell out of the army ; and after his relations had rescued him from debt and disgrace,' they got him a ca- v detsbip, and he hid his shame in India. If he had not become a better he had become a wiser man ; for be learnt, in reference to bis adventures, four very important facts — firstly, that the mare was no mere chance purchase, but was no other thtn ttte " Jenks," celebrated all over Canada for her swiftness, and brought here and renamed " Pigeon " by Holder Alleyene for fraudulent purposes ; secondly, that when her owner wrote the following letter, and suborned D'Arcy and hia brothers M'Geachy and Joseph to cajole Kennedy into a, compromise, the mare was (or her roaster thought she was) dead lame, and could not possibly have won ; thirdly, that D'Arcy had received £1000 for his clever persuasions to the compromise; and, fourthly, that the matches in which Kennedy was to participate, were merely pretended and concocted by Holder Alleyne to complete the fraud with a person named Coyle, now imprisoned in Newgate for the crime of forgery. Thus enlightened, Mr. Kennedy indicts his quondam dear friends for conspiracy, and the Middlesex House of Correction was appointed by Lord Campbell as the new quarters of the Messrs. Alleyne and Mr. D'Arcy. The sentence of Lord Campbell was as follows :—: — That James Holder Alleyne be imprisoned in the House of Correction for the county of Middlesex for two years ; that D'A.rcy be imprisoned in the same place for one year ; and Alexander M'Geachy Alleyne to be also imprisoned in the same place for six calendar months. Tbe defendants, who are out on bail, will be kept to bard labour. It is stated that the Messrs. Alleyne and D'Arcy left England on Monday last.