The 16th of May was a memorable period for the country and for the Stock Exchange. The personal insult offered by the French Consul to the representative of his Majesty; the evident determination of the same people to break all ties and truces, rendered an appeal to arms once more necessary; and on that day the fierce and fatal war which followed the truce of Amiens,—which desolated the fairest fields of Europe,—which crushed the ambitious man who provoked it,—and which added two hundred and sixty-three millions to the national debt,—was proclaimed. In 1806, Joseph Elkin Daniels, a conspicuous character in the Alley, and known for some time as a dealer in securities, availed himself of the confidence of the members of the Stock Exchange, to perpetrate a fraud as novel as it was notable. As a dealer in the funds for time, he was well known; and his frequent transactions, combined with the trust which his character had achieved, gave his broker a confidence in his proceedings of which he proved utterly unworthy. The time was an important one. The Continent was struggling against the iron yoke of Bonaparte. Austria was making that last great struggle with her enemy which ended at Austerlitz; rumors were plentiful, and the price of stock varied greatly, when the man Daniels came to the broker, and desired him to buy omnium on account. The price was high, but his request was complied with. Omnium continued to advance, and Daniels continued to buy, although the price increased from ten to thirteen premium. When the broker had completed his orders to the amount of £30,000, he grew anxious for his money, and applied for payment. Daniels, however, quieted him by saying, he was so sure the price would rise, that his friends would lend him on the security of the stock, to enable him to make the most of his speculation, and that he should, therefore, hold the entire amount. The statement seemed a fair one. Daniels was believed to be honest, and the broker handed him £30,000 omnium, for which Daniels gave him his draught on Smith, Payne, & Smith. The first part of this man’s fraudulent scheme was now acted. He knew the check would not be presented until the afternoon, and that he was, therefore, free from danger for a few hours. He immediately took the omnium to other brokers, represented to them an urgent necessity for money, sold it, and having been paid checks for the amount, immediately presented them to the bankers on whom they were drawn, and received the amount in cash. He then went to all whom he knew, or would trust him, borrowed money on the security of his own checks,—a common practice on the Stock Exchange,—with remarkable boldness, remained in London until near the hour when he knew his own draught would be presented and refused, and then left, laden alike with gold and a guilty conscience.