A BLACKGUARD'S CAREER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13664, 1 April 1908, Page 17

A BLACKGUARD'S CAREER.

TRIAL OF VON VELTHEIM

TWENTY YEARS' GAOL FOX BLACKMAIL.

The extarorcJinVry interest taken in tho trial of "Von Veltheim in London on a charge of .threatening to murder Mr Solomon Barnatd. Joel, aj|Jd of demanding £16,000 from him with menaces, is^hbwn by the long accoitnts of the proceedings published in the great London dailies.

The closing gcenes were of an intonsoly dramatic character. The Court was crowded, and sitting unnoticed in the assembly of well-known" city men and fashionably-dressed ladies there was a British prince, who was an interested spectator. The Judge's summing up occupied nearly two hours. Von Veltheim, leaning anxiously over the dock, listened intently to every word. On two occasions he^ interrupted the Judge to make explanations. The jury was away for only twenty minutes. When it returned, Von Veltheim struggled to maintain the self-control which he had shown to a remarkable dogree from the first. At this crisis, however, he clearly displayed the excitement under which fie was labour- . ing. When the foreman of tho jury rose and' announced that the verdict was "guilty," his face blanched and ho gripped tbe rails of the dock. But it was only a momentary betrayal of emotion. He quickly recovered himself, and stood stiffly erect. The police told the story of his career, which had been compiled! from information collected alH part's of > the world. He himself added to the information twoNitems. One was that; he had been through! two revolutions in South America, and the other that ho had gone in search of Stanley in Africa. ; . . A FRUITLESS APPEAL. '

When ho was asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon him, he exclaimed dramatically: "I am not whining, my lord, but I ask you to take the truth. I am really and truly the most astunded man in the world. Jf I had played the game and lost, I should not mind paying for it; but I have not played the game." The 1 Judge briefly sentenced him to twenty years' imprisonment. He stared vaguely at the Judge, as if dumbfounded, and, as the warders seized him by the arm and led him to tho cells below, he pressed* his hand to his forehead, as if he had received a severe blow. V<Ji> VELTHEIM'S LIFE STORY.

;, A good deal has been written in regard to the career of the remarkable adventurer, but nothing probably is more dramatic than the official document read in the Central Criminal Court by the * police inspector. Von Veltheim's real name, it- seems, is Karl Frederic Moritz Ludwig Kurtz. He is a native of Hansen, in Brunswick, and is 54 years of age: His father died when he was 13 of age, and he was then placed in charge of a guardian,' who evidently soon became aware of his character, as he accused him of having stolen several articles v of value. He was sent to a school at Blaukenburg, but had to be removed from it. Then he went into an, orphanage at Brunswick, where he remained until he was 18 /years of age. • He commenced his amazing career as a sailor on a Germa« vessel, then joined, .an English, v.esseL and- later entered the German navy: It was^ then, apparently, that he began his" record of crime, but he was at that time in only a small line 'of the business. In Perth he took the name under which he was tried, and .there he was married for tho first time.

It was not until early in 1898 that he commenced the blackmailing of -the two Joels, which resulted in the murder of one of them. He was acquitted of this crime, but was again on a charge of blackmail, and was expelled from the Transvaal on the ground that he was a public danger. His matrimonial escapades were detailed by the polcie, and the long list tailed' by the police, and the long list society was brought to an end with a statement of the suicide of one of his victims, Mrs Mattis, in despair at the loss of her own and her children's fortune, which had been entrusted to him. Von Veltheim had to listen to this recital, but he did not like it. He be-, came obviously excited, threw out his arms dramatically, and exclaimed : "It is a tissue of lies." In New Orleans, he informed the Court, he had occupied a position of trust. He went there 1 seeking for work. He obtained it on the wharf at* the bottom of the ladder, and in one year, he said, he was manager of the wharf, % which accommodated twenty-two ocean steamers every month. "I never said that I am an angel," he exclaimed, "but no woman can say that I deceived her."

For some time the pupils of the West End School have been receiving instruction from Mr D. Ogilvie, caretaker at the Municipal Baths, in rescue of the drowning and rescuscitation of the apparently drowned. Yesterday competitions in these admirably useful branches of knowledge were held. Dr. Fookcs, who acted as judge, expressed himself as quite satisfied with the work done by the school children. He regretted that slight slips prevented him awarding two competitors the maximum points. The ' prizes wore gold medals presented by the New Zealand Swimming Association. Th« results !l! lV pro: — Girls: Nora Crossier 72 points, Effie Tiplady 70, Elsie White 69, Hilda [Hollo 60, Ivy Thompson 61. Boys: B. White. 74, A. Bacon 67. The maximum was 80 points. The Education Board was represented by Messrs G. Tisch and P. S. Whitcombe. Mr D. Ogilvie was starter, and Mr W. Lints timekeeper. " i Hawera Borough Council advertises for stonebreakers. The Government State Fire Insurance Department has opened a branch office in New Plymouth under the charge of Mr L. H. Osborno, who will control the whole of the Taranaki business. , To-morrow afternoon Mr J. Gilchrist will give an object lesson in nature study to boys and girls at Whitoloy Hall. The magnifying ppwers of the microscope on insects, vegetable blight, etc., will be demonstrated. Children are naked to bring their own specimens to have them magnified. Another lecture will be given on Friday afternoon on "A Trip Round tho World." Of Mr Gilchrist'a work Mr Webb, head" master of the Normal School, Wellington, wrote, after tearing the lectures, that "they were both entertaining and educative. The level of the children was reached in the manner of address, while the pictures were' well chosen and well shown." This is but one of numerous testimonials Mr Gilchrist Ims received from schoolmasters in different' centres. For up-to-date jot) printing, try the Herald Office.