EXTRAORDINARY THEFT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4031, 6 February 1892, Page 2

EXTRAORDINARY THEFT.

A Sensational Slander Oaso OoU&pses. ■ Some few weeks, ago the cable briefly alluded to the sudden collapse of a sensational slander case at Home in which a Major Hargreave and a Captain Osborne and their respective wives , were the parties concerned, The English papers just reoeived by the San Francisco mail contain full reports of this most extraordinary case, and as the cable news alludes to«day to a new phase promising further sensation, a brief account of the oircumstances will be found interesting. Major and Mrs Hargreave were a couple living on their means at Torquay, nnd in February last year Miss Ethel Elliott, a cousin of Mrs Hargreave, came to Btay with them, i prior to her marriage with Captain | Osborne, to whom she was engaged." Mrs Hargreave was at ..that time in i possession of some valuable pearl and , diamond jewellery, worth about - £SOOO, which had been left her by a | relative. A secret drawer was constructed in a table in Mrs Hargreave's bedroom, in which the jewells were kept. This drawer was of complex de- ; sign, and could only be oponed by those who knew the secret, Miss Elliott had seen her cousin open it, and during the visit Mrs Hargreave took out and wore her jewels when she and Miss Elliott were photographed. On a previous visit, Miss Elliott had openly declared that "she would commit any crime for 'oof.'" This declaration was treated as a joUe, Mrs Hargreave saw her jewels on the 12th February. Miss Elliott left Torquay a few days after, and two days subsequent to her departure Mrs Hargreave found thafbe'r drawer had been opened, and the jewels were missing. Her husband was on the continent, and she informed a friend ol theirs, a Mr Englekeart, who communicated with the police, It was then found that on February 19th a lady had sold the jewels, or a portion of them, to Messrs Spink and Sons, jewellers, who paid for them by a cheque for £550, This cheque had been cashed in gold on February 23rd, also by a lady, but neither the buyers nor the bankers could give any description of her, Suspicion fell on ■ Miss Elliott, as she was tha only person who had access to the drawer, ' and one of the live who knew of its j existence and secret. She indigJ nantly denied the charge, and gave a plausible account of her movements on the 10th and 23rd, to show she . could not have sold the jewels or ' cashed the cheque. Major Horg'ronve J stated thefaots to his solicitors, and a | confession and restitution was de- , manded from Miss Elliott, Captain I Osborne was also informed of the ■ strong suspicions entertained of her ! but he laughed the charge to scorn, 3 and to show his disbelief of it insisted on the marriageproceeding. After this, and as the matter was talked of, Capt. t and Mrs Osborne brought an action for Blauder against Major and Mrs Hargreave, claiming heavy damages. ' Sir Charles Russell led for plaintiffs, [ and the Solioitor-General, Sir E. 3 Clarke, fop the defendants. .Mr Jusr tice Pompn presided. The line of 3 defence adopted was. to throw sus--9 picion on Mrs Hargreave of having 1 herself road'o away with the jewels, ' to deceive her ljusband, and insinuations were also thrown out as tp her - relations with Mr Englehe&rt, Mrs ' Osborne went into the box, and ' with all the air of injured innocence, ' told her tale. She was severely , cross-examined, but beyond a few i trifling discrepancies, her evidence i was unshaken. Major and Mrs t Hargreave gave evidence, and the ■ latter was very severely handled in J cfosa-exaraination, to show that she ( was the pulprit and the charge of _ Mrs Osborne the result of ft ponspir- ' aoy. On the second day of trial, just; ' as Major Hargreave was about to be 1 cross-examined, a letter was handed | to the Judge, who, after reading it, l passed it over to counsel, remarking } that probably it would enable the t mystery to boclptpil jip. This was ' on Saturday, and the Court at :once • adjourned to Tuesday. When 1 the case was resumed on that J day, the plaintiffs -counsel rose, and Sir Cbarles Hussell, in a most ■ impressive manner, announced that I events had trapspired which left him i and his colleagues no option but to 1 retire from the case, and consent to ' judgment for defendants, .He ad- | mitted tbat Mrs Osborne had stolen , aud sold the jewels, and both on his i own part, and by direct instructions from Captain psfjorne, expressed the deepest regret for any reflect.jopa or : imputations having been thrown on | Mra Hargreaye, He concluded by ! saying that throughout Captain Osborne bv) gated as a thoroughly honourable and chivalrous gentleman. Sir Edward Clarke thoroughly coincided with this opinion, and expressed the deepest sympathy for Captain . Osbprije, apdlhej udge also concurred. The mysterious note which led to the solution proved to be from Mr Henry Benjamin, a member- of a firm of money brokers in the city. He had 1 read the report of the first day's trial, and re-palled the fact tbat on 23rd February a lady had c&llpd at his office and asked him to change 650 sovereigns for notos. Not having tho notes at band, he had given the lady a letter to his bankers, and the bankers remembered making the exchange. Of course they tad the numbed of the notes they gave, and further investigation showed that one of these a £SO note, had been paid by Mrs Osbourne to Mrs Maple, and bprp the endorsement 1 Ethel Elliott.' Tin's, of course, cleared up everything and it would appear WMjs Osborne made good her escape to the Continent before she could be arrested. Her unfortunate husjband, who it is said wili'li?iye tp Ifiaye 'se arjijy iji .consequence pf%6cpda)i is ROW' t! 10 cable reports, bringing his wife home to surrender to justice for fraud end perjury. Mra\Osborne was a fine dashing young girl and in fairly good circumstances. 16 was not debt or want which drove her to crime, but a depraved greed for what she called " oof "—a slang term-for, money,— Post, ■: