A CRAFTY FINANCIAL EPISODE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6551, 3 August 1899, Page 2

A CRAFTY FINANCIAL EPISODE.

Honesty (says a writer in "Harper's"' ..ffiyf^iJp) V s virt^g_tliat counts for little, '• 'ipiiareutly,' fii a Sjjjtth j^efi<^'^_pufclic. The following anecdote. '-srith the exception of the names of persons, is literally true. M;' Baton, a mulatto., 'had a bank in the capital city, and his wife kept a grocery siflrei .»est .door^yy^hen a..-Gennaii nxupld Signiund-l jivSs [appointed Coi_ul-General .'to i'ari's by the President, he made Satoh hi3 local financial agent. On arriving in Paris, Sigmuad found that his pay as Consul would never make him rich, and he cast about for somo means of DJaking money rapidly. As Consul he had the seal of the southern republic, and with the aid of this he made out an apparently official order for the engraving of 2.000,000d0l worth of bank notes. Upon the delivery of the notes to the Consulate in Paris, Sigmund packed them, in sard i__;b.Qxes., and .shipped them in small quantities td Madame Baton's grocery store. Madame,Ba,ton .paid -duty, on the bank-note sardines at the regular, rate for the genuine article, and thus the' bogus money came through- the Custom:' House unsuspected. It eventually found its way, into the coffers •"?';¥,• .^tori;s,bftnk,-,and.was duly.jnit into circulation. This scheme worked YikV'a charm for a little 'while, but, unfortunateiv, ono Era day a negro • salesman opened "a newly-arrived case and sold a box of banknote sardines to a negress. A few hours later the girl returned to the shop -with ail • the money she could scrape together, and 'asked Madame Baton,- who was behind the counter, for half-a-dozen boxes of sardines. Madame' was somewhat" surprised at the request, for sardines are an expensive luxury, but she stepped to a shelf and took down whab. was. asked for. , ■" But I don't want that land," said the negress. "I want six boxes of those that came on the ship this morning." ■'■ \viirri Madame. Baton realised. that the cat was out of the bag, she rushed into the ( bank and told her husband ; he was naturally'somewhat annoyed; having lived a long while iii South America, he knew just what to do in the 'emergency. He put' on ' His ybes't : "clothes and went to" the palace. Tlie Presidenit received' him, and the pair wer; cl'osreted -for -two hours. That night the President and all has suite,- in full uniform, dined with M. aid Madim _■• Baton. The news of tho bank-nota sardines had spread, but the people understood the situation Well enough when they saw *he honours so officiously paid to Baton by the President. On the following-day a large oase of sardines was. sent from the grocery to tho palace, anu soon afterward the Government Bank entered on its books,' at the Stag's account, a figure exceeding by 1,700,000d0l the actual issue of national' bank notes. The President has passed away now, and so have all the rest ; but the story still lives.