Cook, John Parsons, -1855; Palmer, William, 1824-1856 -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Trials (Murder) -- England -- London
which he afterwards repeated, “the betting book will be of no use to any
one.” Does anybody doubt in his own mind where that betting book had
gone to? The father-in-law came down on the Friday, and he begins to
discourse about the affair, and he is not satisfied with the answers he
gets. The day passes away. He says to Mr. Jones, “Be so good as to
collect my son-in-law’s betting book and papers and bring them away.”
Mr. Jones goes upstairs; he is immediately followed by the prisoner--up
they go, but there is no betting book to be found. Down comes Mr. Jones,
and says to Mr. Stevens, “We cannot find the betting book.” “Not find
the betting book! surely you must be mistaken”; and, turning round, he
says, “Why, Mr. Palmer, how is this?” Upon which Mr. Palmer says, “Oh,
the betting book is of no use.” “No use! I am the best judge of that. I
think it will be of a good deal of use.” The observation is again
repeated, “It is of no use.” Mr. Stevens said, “Why?” “Because a dead
man’s bets are void, and because he received the money himself upon the
course at Shrewsbury.” A dead man’s bets are void! Yes, that is true;
they are void, but not when they have been received in his lifetime. Who
received the dead man’s bets? The prisoner at the bar. Who appropriated
the proceeds of the dead man’s bets? The prisoner at the bar. Who was
answerable for them? The prisoner at the bar. Who had an interest in
concealing the fact that he had received them? He had. What was the best
mode of doing it? The destruction of the betting book. What was the best
mode of calming the determination of the man who was the executor of the
dead man, when he wanted to know what he was entitled to receive and
what he had received, and to see the record of his pecuniary
transactions? Why, to tell him that the record, even if found, would be
of no use, for a dead man was not entitled to any bets, he having died
before they were received--yet at that very moment he had received the
proceeds of the bets which he was representing as void, and was applying
the proceeds to his own purpose. Does not that throw light upon the real
nature of the transaction? What possible motive could he have for
representing that the bets were void, having himself received them,
unless he knew that he had received them fraudulently and wrongfully?
See what would have taken place if the truth had come out. Mr. Stevens,
if he had seen that book, would have seen that his stepson was entitled
to receive £1020. He would have inquired who was his agent, to see
whether by any possibility those debts could be realised; he would have
learned what everybody knew, at least that portion of the turfites with
whom Cook was in the habit of communicating, that Fisher was his agent.
Fisher would have told him, “I ought to have received the money to repay
myself £200, but Mr. Herring received the money.” He would have gone to
Mr. Herring, and he would have found that every shilling of the money
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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