A GREAT MINING SWINDLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12190, 9 February 1903, Page 6

A GREAT MINING SWINDLE.

. . CONFESSION BY A TALISMAN DIRECTOR. i ■ - ;' HEAVY LOSS. [FROM OCR OWN" CORRESPONDENT.] London", January 2. A great sensation was caused in the city an mining circles on Monday when it becam known that a member of the well-know: firm of Messrs. Bewick, Moreing, and Co. had. contrary to deeds of partnership, beei speculating heavily, had lost largely, and ha< as a last resource* resorted to forgery. Th person referred to is Mr. A. S. Rowe, win for years was in Messrs. Bewick, Moreing' employ, and such was the confidence re posed in him that on the reconstruction o that firm he was taken into partnership. Hi had had a good deal to do with New Zealam mining companies, having been closely con nected with the Exploration Company, tin parent of the Talisman and other companies When the old Talisman was wound up, Mr Rowe was made liquidator, and later on wa: appointed a director of the Talisman Con solidated, being re-elected to that positioi as recently as December 9 last. He vrai also a director of the AVhangamata Corpora Hon. Always sensitive, the Stock Exchange gay< the first intimation to the general publh that something was wrong. Some time aftei business had opened on Monday, Great Fin galls, shares in a West Australian property began to "tumble." Later it transpirec that Mr. Row© had absconded after leaving a written confession of the forgery of three certificates, each for 5000 shares in the Great Fingall Consolidated. Three prominenl city firms were said to be among Mr. Rowe': chief creditors. Interviewed by x lre representatives, a member of the firm of Messrs. Bewick, Moreing. and Co., the general managers of the company, made the following statement: — " This affair has come liko a thunderclap upon us. We only made the discovery at ten o'clock this morning, and wo have been hard at work all day clearing up the matter. The accountants have not quite finished their examination of the company's books: but wo are able to say that the cash position of the company is absolutely correct. Indeed, the company will not suffer any loss at all. The facts are that one of the officials has issued three false certificates, on which he borrowed money. The loan on the first appears to have been paid off from the proceeds of the second, and this certificate coming under our notice led to the discovery. There have been only these three certificates issued, and none of them are in the hands of the public. We should like you to impress this on the public: they need havo absolutely no fear as to the. genuineness of the certificates in their possession. "I have already said." continued this official. " that the company will not suffer any loss in connection with the affair. No responsibility attaches to them, and no claims can be made against them. The position of Messrs Bewick, Moreing. and Co. is the same. Wo are not responsible for the loss. However, the partners of the firm have been in communication during the day, and, as an act of grace on our part, we have decided to make good the loss, to prevent any innocent parties from suffering. At four o'clock ■ this afternoon we received a confession from the defaulting official, in which he relates , the whole of the circumstances and giving a general idea of the amount at stake. By the way. I should like to take this opportunity of stating that there is no truth in ' the suggestion put forward that the defaulter has improperly used reports from the mine for his own purposes. As soon as any in- • formation reaches us from the mine it is immediately published. Nothing is ever kept I back here." Another member of the firm of Messrs. Bewick. Moreing. and Co. stated that no action would be taken acrainst Mr. Rowe by his former partners. The case appears to ! bo a peculiar one. if it is true, a3 stated, that Mr. Rowe did not profit personally by ; a single penny through his negotiation of the forged certificates. "It is the case of a , man who ruined and disgraced himself for his friends," said on" of the partners, who continued: "Had Mr. Rowe secured this money, put it into his pocket, and then left the country, we should have known what to do. But he did not gain in any way by the transaction. He forged to save his friends. Last spring, at the time of the Kaffir collapse, Mr. Rowe assumed the obligations of some friends, aggregating 20,000 ; shares. Several' months later, through the decline in West Australians, he became involved in difficulties, and stood to lose bis • . entire fortune. At. this time, whoD he found himself over £40,000 short, he betran to forgo share certificates on the Great Fingall- Consolidated, of which company ho was secretary. By means of those forged certificates he raised money to carry along his friends' shares." Mr. Rowe was not at the company's offices at 20, Copthall Avenue, on Monday, and his written confession was received a few hours after the forgery was discovered. In emphasising the statement, that Mr. Rowe gained nothing personally through his forgeries, one of his personal friends declares that he left England practically penniless, first giving his wife (who has five children) what money he had about him. Mr. Moreing, who is now in China, has been communicated with. In 1901 Mr. Rowe was secretary to the Continental and West Australian Trust, the Egyptian Development Syndicate, Hannan's Brownhill Gold Mining Company, and the Tarkwa Banket Mining Syndicate, and in 1902 secretary to the Great Fingall Consolidated, and the London and New Zealand Exploration Company, and, as already stated, was a director in the Whangamata Gold Corporation and the Talisman Consolidated. Absolutely nothing is known regarding his present whereabouts. In a circular, the Great Fingall directors state that a close scrutiny of accounts is being made, and the payment of the interim dividend is deferred until it is completed, but the registers are apparently in perfect order. The new secretary is Mr. T. W. Wellsted. At a meeting of the directors of the Great Fingall Consolidated Mining Company on Tuesday it was resolved to instruct Messrs. Lewis and Lewis to take criminal proceedings against Mr. Anthony Stanley Rowe, the company's late secretary, in connection with forgeries involving an amount variously estimated at £60.000 to £80,000. It was also decided tint Messrs. Lewis and Lewis should seek Mr. Rowe's extradition from any conntry in which ho may have taken refuge. Mr. Rowe, who is supposed to have had a clear two days' start, is believed to be on the Continent. The first that Messrs. Bewick, Moreing, and Co. heard of the matter was when they received the letter from Mr. Rowe confessing what ho had done. The letter was not dated, and the place at which it was written was concealed. Where Mr. Rowe is no one knows, and to an inquiry as to whether the firm intended to ■ proseoute him when found, the reply was given that they " would prefer to catoh their hare first." The situation is all the more painful inasmuch as Mr. Rowe had been with Messrs. Bewick, Moreing, and Co. so long, and had inspired such confidence that he had recently been taken into partnership. _ Active search is being- made on the Continent, whore he is supposed to be hiding. There havo been no fresh developments in connection with his confessed defalcations, and Messrs. Bewick. Moreing, and Co. contradict the statement that Rowe forged any certificates of the Sons of fiwalia mine. It is not the case either that the firm's personal securities have been tampered with in any way. It is also authoritatively stated that the defalcations do not reach the sum that has been generally stated, but tho precise total will not be known until the auditors havo completed their examination. To-day I had a conversation with Mr. W. A. Mercer, late of Auckland, who is now a director of the Talisman Consolidated. He had. he told me, made special inquiries as to whether everything was right in connection with the Talisman, and he was glad to say that everything was as it should be. Mr. Mercer did not believe the story of Rowe having forged to help friends, and placed the amount which Rowe had got into his hands by ill means at not less than £60,000.

Our Loudon correspondent writes on Jan. 3:—Some time ago I sent you particulars of the new find made on the Rand by Mr. Rathbone, whose relatives reside in New Zealand. _ In connection with the Rathbone South African Syndicate there has now been registered a new company, called the Southern Rand Proprietary, to take over the Vaal properties recently acquired by the syndicate. The capital of the company is £300,000 and the working capital £100,000. The London headquarters are at the offices of Messrs. Mercer, Nicolans, and Co., P.iornfield, the Mr Mercer of the firm bein" Mr. W. A. Mercer, late of the Talisman Company, Auckland. Jointly with the Rathbone Syndicate, the Mines and Minerals Syndicate are working a group of Heidall>crg laims, which are considered to be of high value. The Rathbone Syndicate shares are at 35s premium to-day. Sunshine Jelly Crystals and Pudding Powders and Fruit Syrups for summer drinks. At every grocer. Tucker's of course. To be continued in our next impression. ;