TAKING A CORPSE TO THE BANK.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1856, 21 February 1889, Page 3

TAKING A CORPSE TO THE BANK.

One of the most extraordinary tricks that the heart of man ever conceived was (says the Braidwood Despatch) attempted to be played at Araluen lately, in order to get possesssion of a sum of money belonging to a dead man, which was lying in the bank. Just before the Bank of New South Wales closed, a cart containing half a dozen Chinamen pulled up at the door. Amongst them was one who appeared to be sick, and who was being held on the seat, and was covered with blankets from his head to his feet. This individual, whose name was Ah Jack, and who had been attended to by Dr Llewllyn, lived at Brown Flat and had been brought to the Bank by his countrymen friends, so they represented to the manager, to draw out a sum of money which he had at fixed deposit, amounting to £35. Mr Price, the manager, of course said he could not give it without the depositor s signature. They replied that he was too sick too come out of the cart, whereupon Mr Price, who knew Ah Jack very well, took out a pen and ink and proceeded to get his on the necessary forms. He was just shown sufficient of the sick man s face to recognise him. One of the other Chinamen then put back the blanket, and directed Ah Jack’s hand to the pen held by Mr Price to make his mark. By this time a number of people had gathered round, curious to know what was going on, and when it came to the signing business the bystanders were highly amused, the strange proceedings naturally provoking a good deal of merriment and the passing round of sundry jocular remarks all tending to “ take a rise ” out of the poor simple Chows, But the sequel proved that the Chinamen, though outwardly so “ childlike and bland,” were not so simple as they looted, and that all the while they were meekly putting up with the chaff which they were getting so plentifully they were cleverly carrying out a well-contrived plot, of which neither the bank manager nor anyone present had the slightest suspicion. Among the bystanders was Mr P. M'Fadden, the butcher, who, being close to the sick man, was enabled to get a close look at his bare feet when the blankets were pulled up to allow him to get his hands out to sign. Watching them he perceived that there was not the slightest move: ment in the toes or any of the muscles, and just as the man’s hand was being put out to sign, and the manager was saying to Ah Jack, “ Ton acknowledge this as your mark?” Mr M'Fadden called out: “Why the man’s dead!” And sure enough, dead he was found to be, and apparently had been dead some time. The supposition is that he was dead before he was put into the cart, and that the other Chinamen, failing to get the deceased in to draw his money while he was alive for them to get hold of, had put their heads together and agreed to adopt this desperate resort of carting the dead body to the bank to personate the bank depositor in a sickly condition in the flesh, and they very nearly succeeded in carrying out their well-laid plan. The money will now go to the bands of the Curator of Intestate Estates, and will most likely fall into the hands of the Government, instead of Jieing appropriated by the dead man’s friends by an ingenious use of his body.