The National Register. — London, England, 1809-10-22 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. OCT. 22. fi'.•.velopecL Scarcely a robbers has - Vccurierin any of the 1 mail coaches fora series of fifteen years.past, in which the pri soner has not had some concern. V`arious other robbeties of bank notes were also traced home to him, throne,ll his . itgency in the circulation of such notot, in which he hat! proved himself a consummate adept in all thi mysteries of pra:tical friese ; nor could any thing in the artifices of t h e 'memorable Patch Price transcend his ingenuity in change of costume, or variety of wig and cut, to di , guisd his Wrathy. By the4e stratagems. he not only carried on his frauds with success, but battled the s igi lance of the police officers, -arid :defeated all the ends of justice regarding himself. . The greater part of the day was spent in this investigation, and Mr. Brodie devoted every possible attention in taking down the testimony of the witnesses who attended. Many other charges still remained to be urged against the pri soner, which there was not time to investigate; and he was re manded for further examination oil a future day. CHARGE OF FORGERY. Major Plunkett was, on Wednesday laqt, charged at this Office, at the suit of Mr. Northwood, No. 70, 111olineaux- street, Mary-le-bone, with forging an acceptance to a bill of exchange, purporting to be of the value of 651. and Mrs. Plunkett, who was same time since charged with forgery, vas charged with uttering the said bill of exchange, knowing it to be a forgery. The prosetutor stated, that he received the bill of Mrs. Plunkett a twelve month since; but on presenting it the drawer could not be found, and having paid it away, he afterwards paid the value of it. He had afterwards called on Major Plunket,- who denied ever having written the acceptance, but afterwards observed that he did not chine to lead his v. ifs into a snare by aliswering the question in any shape. The pro secutor contended, that Mr. Barker was present when the bill was shewn to the Major, and he observed that it was a goad mitation ; witness had no idea the bill was a forgery, until he conversed with Major Plunkett. Mr. Parker, a Solicitor, re quested to say a few words to convince the Magistrate that there was no foundation whatever for the institution of this charge, which had originated in a contention betwixt the parties. In answer to a question from the Magistrate, the prisoners left their defence in the hands of Mr. Parker, who stated, that previous to Miss Gunning having been married to Major Plunkett she was pressed for money, and Mr. Northwood, the prosecutor, had discounted bills for her, for which he always received a valu able consideration. After Miss Gunning's marriage with the Major, she, unknown to her hu4hand sold an anunity of 50!. to the prosecutor for 180/. she being then still pressed for money. This was done unknown to the Maj•.r ; who, on becoming pos sessed of the fact, offered to repurchase the annuity, and pay five per cent. for the use of the money advanced. There was a balance of money due. from Major Plunkett to the prosecutor, and when this bill of exchange was presented, the Major neither denied nor acknowledged the acceptance to he his hand-vi riling ; but he was willing to pay the balance of the account betwixt him and the prosecutor, providing t h e latter chose to admit some pecuniary difficulty betwixt them. The prosecutor was offered to he paid. for the bill of exchange in this settlement ; but he refused to settle the accounts and said he would arrest the Major. Mr. Parker stated that he had seve • cal interviews subsequently 'with the prosecutor; and he said if the Major did not pay him the whole stun due to him he would take up his wife fOr forgery: Mr. Parker continued that he never heard a syllableilbout a forgery until Major Plunkett refused to comply with payit.. ? ,* the sum of money Mr. North- wood required, which was about 400/. Major Plunkett. had always agreed to settle the balance, but nothing further.. There had been several money transactions betwixt the parties, and Mr. Parker concluded by observing, that the very purchase of. the annuity of Mrs. Plunkett, after her - marriage, was a gross fraud upon her husband. The Magistrate asks•d'Mr. Parket If he was ready to swear that in his several interviews with the . prosecutor, he had never heard about. a forgery, until • Mrtior . Plunkett refused to pay him his alledged balance; Mr. Parket. replied, that he was ready to do so •tit that moineat. - Mrs. Plunkett is said to be in a pregtiant states she it Friday bailed before one of the Judge!s. • No. 2,618 (Class B) drawa a Prize of Twenty TEtimultd Poturis, %%as sold by Hornsby' Mud Co. in the following Shares, viz. o.i? Quarter, Two Fights, sot Eight Siltteeoths, at : their Lottery 011ices,20, Coruhtt l itild St. hiatgarees Hill; flocciogO• .4 . • . ~ ..". • L. 1,4 • t 4 lb AA. r ACCIDENTS AND 0 FFENCES. • -, 67 An old lady in Pimlico has lately been tricked out of a paccA of diamonds, to the amount of 2001. and upwards, by a Jew, who had offered her a considerable sum inure for theta titan any other person, and told her that he expected his partner in town in a day or two, and would thin call and settle with her about them. On Monday, he and his pretended partocr waited on the old Lady, And after havint surveyed the parcel a sucomi time, *i.‘tiring that a deposit of Bank notes might lead to their detec. he paid her fifty ,gnineas in gold by way of binui 1 . 1 : the bargain, and contrived, Whilst the old lady was Ascot fAr few minutes, to exchange the diamonds for false stones made up in the same manner. They took away the diamonds wit'a them, and have not since been discovered. SU ICI D E.—A Gentleman of the name of Steaning, who resided in Brook's Building's, Portland-road, put a period to 'hi: ex istence on Thursday m9r&ng, by discharging the contents of a horse pistol through his head. On Wednesday evening a young man was sednced.by a woman of the town to an apartment some here in W eStminster, where, after drinking plentifully he was put to hz.d, and about two o'clock in the morning was awakened by a fellow, who demand ed what business he had there. The deluded young man replied, that a woman had brought him there to sleep that night; to v. hick the other angrily retorted, that it was his own room, and insisted on his quitting it immediately, that him;elf and wife might come to bed. The young man rose, in order to dress him self, and, to his great surprise, found that his breeches had been picked of a silver watch, and Bank England and some pro vin! ial notes, amounting - to nearly ten potols, and that the rest of his clothes and hat were also carried nfl'. The fellow then forced him out of the house, and in that condition he was found wandering in Tothill street, by Herst, an °Ricer at Queen Square, who conducted him to a public-house in the neighbour hood, where he relatild the above cause of his misfortune. On being asked, if he could find out the place where he had been so ill-treated ? h replied, that the woman having led him through so many windings and turnings, it was utterly impossi ble. The other !hen conducted him to his relatives in Oxford. street. He is the son of a tradesman, at Horsham, in Susses, and came to town only on Sunday last. _ _ A melancholy circumstance happened on Monday last, at a■ Exhibition shop of Beasts and Reptiles. in Piccadilly, where there is a Rattlesnake, in a dose cage. A carpenter itt work there, dropped his rule ; in !aki ng it out, the creature hit hint between the thumb and the finger. In a fee: minute:, the hand was terribly swollen! and in a few tiours the poor sufferer was oil of his reason. Ile is now at St. George's Hospital, where all possible attention is paid to him ; but his dissolution is inevi table. MARRIED. At Sempringham, James Francis, widower, of Billnigbocie,, to Ann Roe, of flirthrop, n discon , olate widow of six months.— Their united ages amount to 150 years. At Salthill, near Galway, the Hon. Charles French, eldest son of the. Right lion. Lord Freoc:i, to Miss Wilda, eldest daugh ter of John Browne Moyne, Esq. DIED. Thursday. se'nnight, in the 90th year of his age. Mr. Richard Reynolds, formerly butler of Gaits College, an antiquarian anti rather eccentric character. His curious anuseuin, at bis notate on the Market-hill, he was very proul of sheaving no stranger% By his will be directed that his coffin should not he erole in the • usual shape, hut lace a hox, to w hick a lock is fixed, and the key delivered to thecare or his executor, upon tbe top wnerr of, on a leaden plate, the letters R. R. are io•crihed. Aged 50, Mrs. Back worth, of Barrowden, in Rutland. She had been in a desponding state for some time past, and wai found by her iftoband hanging by the. neck in a closet in her bed-Mom. • , At• Jamaica, the:26th of Jstly last, Brigadier General J o seph )French, scciind' in command in the expedition against. St. Do tningh, fin coasiqiititre of ettreme fati . ,tte in that expedition. lii,l4evy ts;pronitneut feature in Mrs. Claike's erainination: mi ss danghter of Mr. Sandy, of Blean Common, near Canterbury. Afire having eaten a hearts itioner, and iu rent good health, she was suddenly- seized kith iaidisp..son; w hi c h n iejanrboly to relate, terminated het exi gt stence 'irar-thoh short space of five. minutes. It i 7 soppofed r-- • an apoplectic alfectait...-. t. MOW