CLEVER CAPTURE OF A NEW YORK SWINDLER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6296, 21 January 1882, Page 7

CLEVER CAPTURE OF A NEW YORK SWINDLER.

lAm irr.B from New York report, the capture ; o{ . m a ,l ro it swm.ller, who lias for some time pw t been carrying va a remarkable system £f terrorism in connection with the btock Exc!inD"c there. The man's .name is Johu Iloiranf Wtiles, a member of President Lincoln's Cabinet. He won the title of Cobncl in the service of the "Union army, anil is a man of independent means, who generally lived in Europe. Mrs. Welles is now in {'.ins ; one daughter is the wife, of a French count; the set-owl is ; 'engaged to another nobleman ; the third recently returned to the United States in the cate of an English Member of Parliament, and is now stuTls-incr at a fashionable school. "Welles Jjclt-i'u by writing Mr. Gould letters threatening his assassination unless knowledge favourable to stock speculations was imparted. All efforts to entrap him were unavailing, as he declined interviews or to give any A'.l'.ircvs where his letters should bo sent. He on! v consented to receive communications through newspaper personal advertisements. Finally, stock speculating points were given to liim through these advertisements by a cipher, which he proposed, in the New Tork Herald. He speculated, but all attempts to catch him by watching the brokers' offices were unavailing. He professed, like Guiteau, inspiration by the Lord to murder Mr. Gould, and wrote freely that if caught he expected to go to gaol. Finally, it was noticed that his letters were deposited in the street boxes tliat belonged to station E, New York City. The boxes of this district were closely watched ou Sunday, an advertisement having been inserted in the paper that morning for him to answer. A mail-carrier and a detective were stationed at each box, and the carrier was instructed to open the letter-box immediately tliat a letter was posted, and if it was found Ito bs addressed to Mr. Jay Gould, the de- | tective was to arrest the person who posted it. This plan required the services of nearly [ two hundred men, and it was completely [successful. At three o'clock in the after- [ noon \Velle3 deposited a letter in the box in [Thirty Fourth-street and the.- Seventh I Avenue carrier, opened the box, found it | addressed to Mr. Gould. He signalled to ! the detc.-tives, who arrested Welles. He i 1 confessed to have written to Mr. Gould fifteen letters. He was much agitated, threatening to kill himself. He is closely watched in gaol to prevent this. Though ("Welles denies having accomplices, the belief lis that tiiis'scheme was a plot to get infor- | motion from Mr. Gould for other stock I H'l3 capture caused a great l-sea-ation in New York.