REMARKABLE ADVENTURES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 74, 30 March 1910, Page 3

REMARKABLE ADVENTURES.

MISS VIOLET CHARLESWORTH. AN ENGAGEMENT AND EXPECTATIONS. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] | Lu.'CDON. 18th February, j Miss Violet Charlcsworth and her mother, Mrs. Miriam Cliarlesworth, were committed to the assizes at Derby on- Tuesday, on charges of fraud and conspiracy, the sequel to the motor-car adventure of Inst year. Prisoners were charged with obtaining large sums of money from Martha Smith and Edward Hugh Jones in the years 1903 and 1903. Tho prosecution was conducted at tho instanco of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr. Pearco stated the substance of the charges to be that the prisoners had obtained large sums of money on the false pretence that the younger was about to succeed to a very considerable fortune. The Charlesworth family formerly resided in Derby, next door to Mrs. Smith, and while living in Wolverhampton tho elder priboner made a statement to Mrs. Smith to the effect that her daughter, Violet, was coming into a fortune. It was upon these and similar representations that Mrs*. Smith was induced to part with the whole of her life-savings. While living at Khyl tho prisoners met Dr. Jones, who was called in to attend the family professionally, and he was told a similar story except that the fortune had grown in the telling. The result was that Dr. Jones was induced to advance a sum exceeding £5000 in various instalments. The story told to Mrs. Smith was that Violet Cnarle&worth hail been engaged to a young army officer, who had been to the war and had died while coming home invalided, that he had bequeathed her £75,000 on her attaining the age of 21, but that she would be short of money until that time. When Violet became 21 Mr*. Smith asked for the return of her money, and the excuse was nado, that the trustees were withholding it until she became 25. In November, 1908, the prisoners drove up to Mrs. Smith'B in a magnificent motor-car — nrhic-h they said was a gift to Violet from her trustees— ana asked for money. Mrs. Smith had parted with all her money except £20, and she was now induced to draw this out of the bank and let the prisoners have it. Mrs. Smith had been paid back £15 in two instalments, but Mr. Pearce suggested that it was oat of money obtained from Dr. Jones. THE MYSTERIOUS MR. CORDON. Turning to the case of Dr. Jones, Mr. Pearce said that the prisoners made representations to him that there was a large sum of money in the hands of trustees, and that a gentleman named Gordon, who was a friend of the family, took a particular interest in Violet, and, acting in conjunction with the trustees, was the confidential adviser in regard to her fortune. A very ingenious scheme was hit upon by the prisoners in order to induce Dr. Jones to believe that there was a man who took sivrh an interest in the prisoners. One at their neighbours iii Derby was Mr. Baker, who lived in Olivier-street. The prisoners used Mr. Baker's houße*.ki the early part of 1907, and Violet conducted a correspondence from that Address in the name of Mr. J. Roberts Gordon. She wrote a letter in the name of Gordon to a firm of London solicitors, Messrs. James and James,, requesting them to make enquiries of Dr. Oones as to the state of health from tine to time of Miss Violet Charlesworth. These enquiries seemed Ho have impressed Dr. Jones with the fact that these ladies were connected with persons of substance. The precise story *4 feo tlie fortune that was told to Dr. Jon*s was that a certain Mr. Alexander Macdonald, who was a Scottish colonial, had taken a fancy to tho youn/jjor prisoner some year* before, and had agreed to give her The sum of £100,OQ&on her attaining the age of 25 years. \Vhen the younger prisoner was examXged in her bankruptcy, she admitted that the only ground she had for saying this was that she met a Mr. Macdonalci at a dance or at several dances in Scotland, that he so far became enamoured of her that he placed in the hands of trustees this £100,000 for her benefit on attaining the age of 25. To Dr. Jones she stated that the trustees of her money were Colonel Williamson, Mr. Francis Williamson, and Mr. Harrison. Enquiries were made at the time of tlin bankruptcy, and the Official Receiver's representative would suggest that nobody had over heard of ttase trustees, r.ud that there was no corroboration of her statement by any independent witneeses outside her own family. The witnesses bore out this statement. [A cable message published in The Post last week stated that the prisoners were each ttntencad to ftv« years' mv prUonnwnt. Tbt MnUnct wm iubi«« qutaHy rtductd t Q tbrea yt»ri.]