ALLEGED FRAUD

Otago Witness, Issue 3035, 15 May 1912, Page 27

ALLEGED FRAUD

A COUNTESS DUPED. LONDON, May 6. At the trial of Page, Glendinning, and Marshall on a charge of inducing the Countess de Hamil de Manin to accept a bill of exchange for £IOO with intent to defraud, the Countess gave evidence to the effect that she told Marshall that Dan O'Connor wrote anonymous letters to her daughter. She asked Page why he gave O'Connor so much champagne, and Page replied that it was a convenient method of loosening people's tongues and learning what you want. O'Connor wrote anonymous letters at a tea party at Kensington. She denied that she used O'Connor as a catspaw to carry out her venom, although she agreed with what he had written. In cross-examination the Countess stated that Bobbie had several times aeked her to marry him. O'Connor told her that he had written three letters, but he did not tell her that they were anonymous. She guessed that they attacked Dobbie, because O'Connor said he had written what he knew about Dobbie. Dobbie asked her to marry him while he was engaged to Mrs Williams. May 7. No witnesses were called for the defence in the alleged frauds on the Countess de Manin. Counsel contended that the Countess had instigated O'Connor to write anonymous letters, and not only had O'Connor the baseness to write them, but also the mendacity to deny writing them. He then left the country. Page and Glendinning were sentenced to 12 months' hard labour.