“I received the cheque for the £100, and will thank you to let me have the £315 by return of post, if possible; if not, send it me (certain) by Monday night’s post, to the post-office, Doncaster. I now return you Cook’s papers, signed, &c., and he wants the money on Saturday, if he can have it, but I have not promised it for Saturday. I told him he should have it on Tuesday morning, at Doncaster; so please enclose it with mine, in cash, in a registered letter, and he must pay for it being registered. Do not let it be later than Monday night’s post to Doncaster.”
On the 9th of September he wrote:—
“You must send me, for Mr. Cook, by Monday night’s post (to the Post Office, Doncaster), £385, instead of £375, and the wine warrant, so that I can hand it to him with the £375, and that will be allowing you £50 for the discount, &c. I shall then get £10, and I expect I shall have to take to the wine, and give him the money; but I shall not do so if you do not send £385, and be good enough to enclose my £315 with it, in cash, in a registered letter, and direct it to me to the Post Office, Doncaster.”
I accordingly wrote to Palmer at the Post-office, Doncaster, enclosing £300 in notes, and a cheque for £375. I struck out the words “or bearer,” so that it was payable to order. In the letter I said:—
“You know by this time that if I do what I can to accommodate you, there is a limit to my means to do so, and more particularly as in this instance you have been the means of shutting up a supply I could generally go to. I think also you had little reason to allude to the £10 difference after the trouble, correspondence, &c., I had with respect to a second insurance you know of, which, although it did not come off, arose not from any lack of industry on my part. I have no reply as yet from the Prince of Wales. When shall I see you about the three £2,000 bills coming due at the end of this month? I speak in time, in order that you may be prepared in case anything untoward happens with the Prince of Wales. I am obliged to send a check for Cook, as I have not received the money, which I shall do, no doubt, to-morrow.”
The check for £375 and the wine-warrant was the consideration for Cook’s bill of sale for £500. The other £300 had nothing to do with Cook’s transactions. [A letter from Palmer was then read, acknowledging the receipt of the previous letter, with the enclosures.] I had one other transaction with Cook before this. It related to an acceptance of Cook’s for £200, which was paid. I had no other pecuniary transactions whatever with him. The date of that first transaction was the end of April or the beginning of May, 1855. The bill was drawn by Palmer on Cook, and was paid by Cook.
Mr. Stevens was here recalled, and having examined the endorsement on the check for £375, said—This endorsement is not in the handwriting of Cook. I never saw him write his name otherwise than “J. Parsons Cook,” whereas this is written “J. P. Cook.”
Mr. Strawbridge was shown some acceptances purporting to be by Mrs. Sarah Palmer, and said that none of them were in Mrs. Palmer’s handwriting.
William Cheshire, who had been a clerk in the bank at Rugeley, in September last, proved that Palmer had an account there, and that the check already in evidence had been received by him, and carried to Palmer’s credit.
Cross-examined: I did not know Cook; he never had any transactions with us.