MATRIMONY WAS HIS BUSINESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17780, 25 February 1926, Page 6

MATRIMONY WAS HIS BUSINESS.

IRISH DON JUAN GETS TEN YEARS’. COURTSHIP BY MAIL MADE A FORTUNE. A professional Don Juan, once described by a judge at the Old Bailey as the world's most infamous scoundrel, was at Leeds Assizes sentenced to ten years' penal servitude—seven for bigamy and three for fraud —with five years' police supervision to follow. Convicted in the name of George Leslie (though that is but one of his countless aliases) and aged sixty-four, he introduced the mail order into matrimony and made a fortune out of courtship by correspondence. lie has been “married” to seven women ancl engaged to about 500. He often received twenty love letters a day, and spent hours in writing replies. Five thousand love letters were found by the police when he was arrested. His real name is Patrick Moran, and his father was a well-to-do Tipperary farmer.

At Leeds he pleaded guilty to bigamy on three occasions:—ln July, 1020. at Minstej-worth, Gloucester; in November. 1920, at. Leicester; and in 1922, at Market Harborough.

At his house the police found 5000 letters from 200 different women. During the past twenty years, the polipe said, he had “ systematically and unscrupulously obtained large sums of money from women on the promise of marriage, and then coolly and heartlessly discarded them.”

Leslie (as Moran prefers to be called), bartered matrimonial promises for cash and securities on an incredible scale, and conducted his hundreds of love affairs like a city man running a business. LISTS OF SWEETHEARTS. A house in Alexandra Road. Finsbury Park, London, was his “office.” From there he kept up correspondence with scores of women at a time with whom he had got into touch through matrimonial agencies. ITe kept long lists of his “ sweethearts,” with complete records of their pet names and addresses. He made careful notes of what letters he had written to them and what aliases he had used. His postbag often contained 20 letters a day, and he spent hours writing love letters in return. Women in every part of the country, who all fancied themselves., engaged to him, sent him lump sums and remittances out of their earnings. Sometimes he went on tour, looking up a “wife” here and a “sweetheart” there; but most of his love-making was conducted by post. When he was arrested the police found that he had prudently invested £3OOO of his “earnings” in house propert}*. Tie bought houses in London and two bungalows at “Peacehaven.” lie began business on a big scale as far back as 1009, although there were many dark chapters in his life long before that. CUPID’S CHRONICLE. Not until he had been exploiting his system of wholesale victimisation of women for two and a half years -did the police get on his track. Then he was sentenced in 1911 to seven years’ penal servitude at the Old Bailey. In those days he had his headquarters in Liverpool Street, and a matrimonial paper, Cupid's Chronicle, brought him his victims. When the police raided his office they found 2700 love letters written by 77 women. In 1909 he had 23 different women on his books; in 1910 he had 35; and at the time of his arrest he was courting and corresponding with 42. Letters were found addressing him as “Darling Boy,” enclosing £5 notes, and couched in extravagantly affectionate terms. Judge Rentoul, K.C., when passing sentence, said: “ I think the earth never contained a more infamous scoundrel than you.” The judge also remarked that he hoped if the Suffragettes changed the law they would make all such offences flogging cases.