STORY OF A CONFIDENCE TRICK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2923, 23 March 1910, Page 18

STORY OF A CONFIDENCE TRICK.

BOGUS NOMINATIONS. The story of an interesting "confidence" trick played upon Mr J. A. Farmer, trainer to Mr W. E. Bidwill, of the Wairarapa, is soon to be told in the Wellington Police Court (says the New Zealand Times). It concerns, the racehorses Provocation and Tribulation and their nomination for certain events at Randwiek last Christmas. On December 30 Mr J. Ames, of Wellington, received a letter purporting to come from Mr Farmer, and requesting hir to leave the sum of £lO at the offices ofMessrs izard and Weston, solicitors. " I have no doubt," the communication stated, " you will ha surprised to get this from me, but I was too late to get a post office order for £lO when I came into FeatCierston." If he agreed, he was to place tho £lO in another envelope, - enclosed, addressed to "Mr T. Hatton, care of Izard and Weston," with a request to that firm to pay over the money, on being- called for, as Mr Farmer had been instructed to do this by Mr Bidwill. The money wa"s to be left there before 11 a.m. on December 30. Mr Ames, being out of town, did not receive the ietter in time, and .therefore coukl not comply with the request. The. memorandum to "Mr Hatton" instructed him to nominate Provocation for the Doncaster Handicap, Sydney Cuo, Newmarket Handicap, Australian Cup,' Champagne Stakes, and Essendon Stakes, and Tribulation for the Champagne Stakes and Produce Stakes. Mr Ames next day communicated with a friend of Mr Bidwill's in Wellington, and the nominations were duly cabled to Sydney. The friend, in turn, wrote to Mr Bidwill, telling him he had complied with his alleged request, only to discover that Mr Bidwill and his trainer (Mr Farmer) knew nothing whatever about the matter and had given no such instructions as indicated in the letter. A cablegram was aeordingly despatched to the secretary of the A.J.C: cancelling the nominations (which • happened to be in a. couple of days too late) and explaining the reason. Detective Andrews has had the matter in. hand,. and it has now reached a stage at which the police are in a position to lay a charge against a man now awaiting trial on a series of similar charges. The letter written m this case is said to be in the same handwriting as the letters which have been put in as evidence in other cases. There will be a further charge against the same man. On December 30 it will be alleged that he rang up Staples' brewery and sent a message purporting to come fronn Mrs O'Halloran, licensee of the Porirua, Hotel, asking that £5 be left at Izard and Weston's, to be called for by "Thomas Hatton." The money was dulyleft at the solicitors' office and called for by. a person said to be the man now in custody, who gave a receipt. A boy was sent for the money in the first but he failed in his mission, being told to send the person who had given him the instructions.