Leeds news on today's date (June 13) in 1860 and 1868.

[Leodian]

The following items are reported in John Mayhall’s ‘Annals of Yorkshire’ on today’s date (June 13) in 1860 and 1868.June 13 1860. “On this and the preceeding day, Mr. Rarey, a famous American horse-tamer, explained his system at an exhibition at Bell’s Circus, Leeds.”I wondered what his system was and in information I have found it states of ‘The Original Horse Whisperer. John Solomon Rarey (1827 - 1866)’ the “specific technique that Rarey invented for taming a wild, vicious horse - a technique by which he gained worldwide fame...consists of hobbling one of the horse's legs with a strap enabling the trainer to completely control the horse and quickly tire him out. The trainer can then make the horse lie down, then stroke and gentle the subdued animal, even laying down on it, until the horse is thoroughly convinced, in the most peaceful way possible, that the trainer is master”.June 13 1868. “Thomas Edgeley was convicted, before Mr. Baron Pigott, after a trial occupying three days, of having conspired with Teale, Devillers, and others, to defraud the Leeds Banking Company of sums amounting in the aggregate to £108,000. The prisoner was sentenced to twenty-one months’ imprisonment with hard labour.”According to two inflation calculation websites that I used the £108,000 in 1868 is equivalent to around £8½ million to £10 million today. In any event it was clearly a huge sum in 1868. The value now is of course probably just petty cash to today’s fat cat bankers and others!