HORATIO BOTTOM LEY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 March 1922, Page 5

HORATIO BOTTOM LEY.

GRAVE CHARGES MADE. TRIAL IN LOWER COURT. By Telegraph.—Press Assn. Copyright. London, March 8. At the Bow Street Court, Horatio Bottomley, M.P., editor of John Bull, was charged with having converted to his own use £5OOO, the property of the Victory Bond Club. The court was crowded and those present included Mr. Bigland. Bottomley conducted his own defence. Mr. Travers Humphreys, prosecuting, said there would be a number of other charges, whic-h would be opened later. They rendered Bottomley liable to penal servitude. Mr. Travers Humphreys said that by the end of 1919 £493,000 was received from subscribers, with which Bottomley purchased bonds nominally worth half a million, costing £421,000. On December 17, £400,000 worth of bonds was deposited with the bank so that £lOO,OOO worth had already disappeared. By June 16, 1920. the bank had paid over all the bonds to Bottomley, and they were never returned. Eventually the bonds were paid into the Credit Lyonnais Bank as security for an overdraft on Bottomley’s priv-

• e account. Pledging and redeeming continued until the end of February, 1921, when the Credit Lyonnais ceased to hold any bonds, which from that date were lost to the subscribers.

Throughout there had been no trustees. Bottomley dealt with this enormous sum without check. As early as August 11, 1919. Bottomley drew £25,000 of which £20,000 was paid to the Northern Territory Syndicate, nominally intended to develop Northern Australia, but really a mere name, enabling Bottomley to keep another banking account. Another £5OOO paid to Bottomley in notes he used to take a holiday at Ostend, where he had a stud of racehorses.

Bottomley: Rubbish. The Magistrate: Don’t ‘uterrupt. Mr. Humphreys: I have it in Bottomley’s handwriting, as he had to make a declaration under D.O.R.A. before being able to take the money abroad.

The rest of the £25,000 was used to purchase the newspaper National News, to buy shares in John Bull, or handed over to other of Bottomley’s concerns. The case was adjourned till March 16.