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THE SUPER CHEAT WHO ‘SOLD’ THE BUCKHINGHAM
PALACE
By : M.R.Sethi
One sunny morning in 1920, Arthur Ferguson, a
Scotsman, was roaming about Trafalgar Square in England. He had been
out of work for many months and had been almost reduced to penury.
Suddenly he saw a rich American from Idaho gazing reverently at
Nelson's Column. He approached the American and introduced himself
as the guide to the square. He explained that the statue on the
column was that of Lord Nelson, England's greatest hero.
"The column is a great monument of Britain's former glory," he told
the American. "But it is a shame that the monument is to be sold
because of Britain's soaring debts." The American looked interested
and inquired the price.
Ferguson told the tourist that Britain proposed to sell it for a
mere, $ 90,000.. He also managed to convince the man that it was he
himself who had been entrusted with the task of making the secret
sale.
By now the American was eager to purchase the monument. The salesman
consented to telephone the concerned authorities for instructions.
Within minutes, he returned, beaming, and said that the authorities
were prepared to accept a check right away. Ferguson also gave the
tourist the name and address of a firm which he said would dismantle
the monument and ship it to America.
The tourist handed him a check and Ferguson lost no time in getting
it cashed. When his customer got in contact with the said firm, they
refused to oblige him. It was now that he realized that he had been
duped.
After a few days, another American lodged a report with the police
that he had paid $ 18,000 for Big Ben, but he had not been allowed
to dismantle it. Soon afterwards, a third victim complained that he
had been 'sold' Buckingham Palace for $ 36,0000 by a 'Government
agent’ but was not allowed to take possession of the palace.
By now Ferguson’s confidence was soaring and so was his ‘business’.
He shifted his area of operation and reached the U.S.A. and leased
out the White House to a billionaire for 99 years at a mere $ 90,000
a year—the first year's rental payable in advance.
His next victim was a man from Sydney. He told him that New York
harbor was to be widened and the Statue of Liberty was in the way.
So the government had decided to sell the statue.
The Australian spent the next few days in raising $ 900,000 —the
'price' of the statue. But this time Ferguson made a mistake. He
allowed himself to be photographed with the buyer.
There was a delay in raising the money and Ferguson grew impatient.
This made the Australian suspicious and he took the photograph to
the police. Ferguson was arrested and sentenced to five years'
Imprisonment. This was a small price for the fortune he had made.
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