THE BOTTOMLEY CASE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18512, 24 March 1922, Page 5

THE BOTTOMLEY CASE

TWO FURTHER CHARGES. £115,000 INVOLVED. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 22. (Received March 23, at 5.5 p.m.) The Crown counsel has announced two further charges against Horatio Bottomley. The first relates to the purchase of the German submarine Deutrhland. It is alleged that Bottomley took the purchase money (£15,000) from »n account of which he was trustee. The second charge is of converting £IOO,OOO to his own use in connection with the Victory Bond Club.— A. and N.Z. Cable. [ln the course of evidence at the Shrewsbury Assizes, Reuben Bigland, as defendant on a charge of inciting persons to extort money from Horatio Bottomley, in the course of hie evidence said that Bottomley persuaded him in 1918 to balance an account in which witness had lent him thousands of pounds by becoming a party to a swindle in what was termed 5 “a war stock combination.” Bigland described the scheme, and added that Bottomley arranged that, for tho money owing and services rendered, witness would receive the third prize of value £IOOO. He ©aid he introduced a man named Greaney to Bottomley. Bottomley faked a case against Greaney. .“The arrangement was,” said Bigland, “that I should print a scurrilous pamphlet dealing with law cases in which Bottomley had been concerned, and Bottomley would eue Greaney. Bottomley did so, and got £3OO before your Lordship. Bottomley gave Greaney £IOO for his participation in the case. The reason for framing the case was to get a verdict in order to frighten others from doing such things.” Mr Justice Darling, in summing up, said that though Bottomley was in court he had made no attempt to deny Bigland’a extraordinary stories of fraud.]