THE SPIDER'S WEB.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3646, 24 January 1899, Page 7

THE SPIDER'S WEB.

REMARKABLE • BLACKMAIL CASE. TWELVE THOUSAND MISGUIDED MATRONS, r ■ . '(Speciali Correspondent' “ Auckland ; , Star.’") 7 ’

■ . ’ London;- November. 20.> j -Tho blackmail case. at- present bafdrp. * the • public has laid ■ disagreeably> ’.barpj certain grisly facts; If. : ono' insignificant advertisement ■ hinting' Jre'medies could in’ a-tow twdc.hs-'. tempt,, no" fewer than twelve. ifchoasnM-vwdmcpi to : seek means 1 to ' avoid • tho Obligations of ' maternity what ■ appallingrmuinberb iliteo must always - > bo •':oa;ntheiiloobi6.at, j to 11 shirk amy omannep ''tif ,! 'incans. '‘t enlj- ' jil’itsin this particular '.now been laid k 'by They were settling down ' ‘‘“X• Apd f' life’ bf respectability,' on' gains when the police’ of them had started f agrocers.,.snpp in ' the . country,, whilsttjie.l ; in treaty for a > All three' (despite irian^aliascS), "{[ip brothers; to wit, Richard,‘ Edward, 'arm Leonard ChrimCs./ Thby, seem' to' have been steady, hardworking ' men, who 'laboured at" their ' nefarious proje<itp with infinite rdetermination .-and 1% "dustry, beginning work ;at 9' a.nj'.(atm Often going on till 11 p.m: ’ l. The spider’s web m 'witch 12,-000 matrons were enmeshed • opened;.with an ‘advertisement. Richard /Chrimes took a room at the top of the "-'same building in Ludgato Circus as that in which the Now - Zealand. Press; Agency has its offices, and inserted in ..the papers a - palpable inducement.... to, a certain end, “ The Lady Montrose Miraculous Female ■ Tabules,” which , were ■ said to bo “acknowledged by. ladies - throughout the world to bo worth a guinea per tabule.” Tho medicine * was priced* at 4s* 6d per box, and it was said “the, testimonials which were gven, and thousands of others, were each sworn to under oath before on of ! Her Majesty’ Commissioners of Oaths to be true and- genuine;” Persons wanting tho medicine were requested to apply to H. A. N. Montrose, of 64, -Imperial ’ Buildings, Ludgato Circus, and there ' was this, caution, “ Don’t waste money, on useless, famous, infallible, etc., fluids, mixtures, etc. It is utterly imposible for these weak water and. medicine remedies to be as strong as powerful irresistible' cdn}7 pressed tabules.” ■ At the Police, Court on Monday the Crown Counsel, made some remarks on- -1 newspapers inserting this , class, of advertisements, which I ~ commend to tho atention of colonial; prints which shall be -nameless. It was surprising, said the: learned. 1 gentleman, that ,any .-newspaper which called itself respectable should descend to publish palp'able ' inducements to? crime such as these. The police desired him (Mr Muir) • to say that journals so acting brought themselves withiu the law if after one warning they continued ■ to publish that class of advertisements, and they could he indicted as accessories before tho fact, or for inciting to the commission of a serious crime. Ho hoped that warning would bo taken to heart by journals which had up to the presnt ■ disgraced themselves in their profosion in that The prisoners now preceded wpth the second step in their programme. Having, said the Crown Counsel, got persons to answer the Lady Montrose advertisement, they became posesSed of the / names and addressess of some *12,000 persons—women who wanted to rid themselves lawfully or unlawfully of their condition. To these they issued a pamphlet accompanied by* a typewritten letter from 7, Ploydell street. The letter was signed “The; Manageress,” and gave glowing accounts of the maryal’ous 1 unadvertised remedy, ' “ Panolia, 'for female ailments. It stated' that while there were hundreds of advertised remedies, all at last had ■ to fall back , on Panolia, the price of which in confidence was 22s a bottle. The prisoners were • not 1 always successful in tins effort to obtain money, but to those who hesitated they . addressed a further letter expressing disappointment at no order having been received, and offering to send a sample bottle for ss, from which they guaranteed quick and painless results. That was how tho prisoners intertwined the ■ swindles .undo! the names of “Tho Lady Montrose Tabules ” and ...“ Panolia.” . As he had mentioned, some 12,000 poor victims got themselves entangled in this spider’s web. _ The?r had placed themselves in the prisoners, power either by direct, or indirect confessions of their desire to get rid ; of a certain condition. Then commenced the consummation of ■ the infamous plot. In August, 1897, the prisoners rooms at 73, Ludgate Hill, under the name of Richard Randoll. The

rent was £4O quarterly, payable An advance, and the place was used as a , central depot for medicines, puls, boxes, ‘circulars, and correspondence connected cither with Bradbury Bros., Montrose or Panolia. They also took in December, 1897,’ a ■ room on the first floor at No. 1, Bouverie street, which was used by all three prisoners, and on the door of which the word “Mona,” or “Mona and Co.” was painted. That place semed to nave been used for nothing at all except, perhaps, as a quiet place for the concoction of the web- of that infamous and horrible crime. By September last the time was apparently ripe for the commission of .the crime. . Leonanl Chrimes, in the name of Charles J. Alitclnell, took an office .at Trafalgar Buildings, Northumberland Ayeune, and on the 12th September Richard Leonard Chrimes bought for £5 a cyclostyle for multiplying letters and documents. Next day Richard Chrimes hired a Remington tpyewriter; which was delivered at' -1 73, Ludgate Hill, at the offices taken in ■the name of Randell. About the [same time the prisoners engaged a ‘young man named Gibson as clerk. ■ Forty-two books containing the names .‘and addresses of 8000 women wore handed to a firm of addressing agents for envelopes to be prepared, and each circular to be headed with the name ■ and address of the woman written to. Tt was a curious thing that, as customary to this trade, the manager addressed one of the envelopes to himself to make sure that it was ultimately posted, but that particular-, oini never reached its destination. One of the infamous, letters was addressed to a Airs Clifford, who had speculated in a box' of Lady .Montrose’s Tabules, . and it came into .the hands of her 1 husband, who very properly at once took it to the City, Police, and that was the first discovery of the crime. The youth Gibson, who had been as a clerk, was employed to call for the replies at Trafalgar Buildings, and take them to Brighton, where 'the . prisoner; Leonard Chrimes was staying. The prisoner, however, gave him no address, but' always „ mot him at the railwaystation. Eventually the police, who had' 1 ben watching,. stopped Gibson on his way to met Chrimes, but the latter . seemed to”’ have had persons watching Gibson also, for ho managed nbtr to .meet him that morning.. After it was known that the police were on the watch the office .. at v Trafalgar. Buildings was avoided and abandoned, 1 but the postal authorities subsequently delivered there, in the printed envoto Alilcholl, 475 letters, containing; remittances to the amount of £240. At the Imperial Buildings 633 letters addressed to Montrose were found. [As our readers will doubtless remember, wo have been informed by cable that the prisoners were each sentenced to- ; seven ’years’ penal servitude.-^Eu.