AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER REPORT

from Neville Solly

Southern Australia

 This article was originally published in the December 2009 edition of Soul Search, the journal of The Sole Society

Neville has kindly sent us a couple of newspaper reports, one of which we are holding over for our next edition. In the following article, Neville does not know the Henry Solly that is mentioned. Do you?

EXTRADITION - AN ADELAIDE CASE

The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879-1954) Friday 29 December 1899 Page 5

LONDON, December 28, At the Bow Street Police Court

Yesterday an extradition order was granted on a warrant from South Australia against a man named Harry Jones alias Muir, on a charge of fraud.

In the above case the prosecutor (one Connell, is a simple-minded old man, who has spent about thirty-five years as a teamster in the North of Australia). On June 15 he came to Adelaide from Farina, his intention being to take a voyage to Ireland, his native country. He had at the time about £350, which represented the savings of a lifetime. On the morning of June 16 he went to the Savings Bank to give notice of his intention to draw out his money. As he was leaving the bank two men accosted him by name, and mutual confidences followed. One of the two, Henry Solly, then introduced Connell to a third man, who, he said, was going to England for the good of his health. It was then proposed that they should take a walk together. When they came to the British Hotel, North Adelaide, Solly said he wished to go in and write a letter, and they invited Connell to go in with them. They went into the parlour of the hotel; found Robert Brown, one of the other conspirators, seated at the table. They had not been long in the room when Brown began to relate a “fairy tale”, in which he represented that he had lately come from the South Seas, where he had a sugar plantation. Subsequently he asked the others how much money they possessed, and afterwards made the extraordinary proposal that if they would bring the money to him and satisfy him that it had been honestly earned he would make them a present of £200 each. After considerable persuasion, Connell was induced to go and draw his money out of the bank. He was then taken back to the hotel, and Brown offered to play one of the others for the whole amount. In spite of the protests of the prosecutor, the game proceeded. Brown was the winner, and he at once took the money and left the hotel. Brown and Solly were afterwards arrested, and are undergoing sentences of two years' imprisonment. The third conspirator (Jones) escaped to England.