The National Register. — London, England, 1818-12-21 00:00:00

4o( OLD BAILE r. MON D s yAnit: 1. 4301 The interest excited to-dry, was very considerable. Nine of the prisoners who had all ea.ly pleaded Guilty to baring toned Bank Dotes io their possersion, having, as out trader.. ate aware, reit - at-led their plea. ,k 1 ten o'clock, the following persons wrro pot to the bar, rifrNerl with uttering roil having in their roswebsion forged Rank notes, viz. Broderick, Jones, Davis, Chafer, Hottert, lioar.ston, and O'Mara. ' Richard Rroderick was first pot to the bar, alien Mr. Serjeant liosunquet said, he was directed to move that the prisoner should be put to the bar ; Lint before he would h• pat upon his Uial, he %visited to adlirell.. a tea words to the It had, it war well know ii, long In en the custom ip rases of forgery, to prefer two bill+ of iiishelment against a p. ironer, the one, for the capital offence, namely, for forging and uttering, and the other fin the possession tit such notes, knowiug them to tie forgrd, which subjected the paws to tranrporlatien. Nothing had passed in the course his . . , lung expel leiter, which had gtveti him the slightest reason to doubt that this custom was fonined in wisdom, and was calculated tu aid the ends of justice. In bringing the parties however betore the te hound of their country. they were left t the flee and unbiassed exercise of their judgment, in iletermitaing whether, to evuitt the capital part of the eliaige mid its consequences, they would plead guilty to the lesser c;iere. This, he repeated, they had an opportunity of doing wiiliont hope or fee., or the exercise of any undue means whatever. The prisoner now at the bar, he understood, was one of those who very recently stood in the predicanrent of kavitig two indictments for forget) refry red against him, and he thought fit, at the proper time, to adopt the course of p.eaeltiee chitty to the miller offence, and avoiding that which might have affected his life. The Bonk, who were, Ise could molt rt, ever actuated by lives of mercy, as well as public . 00re...rejoiced at this, and the plea of the prisoner, made I.:tether with many others, was eakeit. It since, however, . taloned out that the prisoner and swot, of his compaidoes, considered themselves hardly dealt with, and made an ap plication, in shape of a petition to the Conti, to be allowed to •retraet their plea, and take their trials. Upon so extraor dinary a determination of the prisoners, it was not for hint to comment, but he could assure the Court, the Bank had no Irish whenever, even now, to offer thesliglitest evidetice which might affect the lives of the prisoners, who had been advised , to adopt the proceeding of taking their trials. After these few observations, Ito would now call upon the pawner to snake am appliestion to the Court he might think fit, before he (Mr. Serjeant Busatiquetr ptureeded further. A paper, lite Learned Serjeent said, which was signed My the prisoner and others, had bell to the present proceeding. Mr. Baron Wood.—Pi issuer, hare you any application to stake to the court ? Prisoner.—A paper was handed to me on Friday last to sign, hut I dotal know what it was. Baron Wood.—Do you wish to retract the plea you for merly made in this place, acknowledging the gnat of having forged notes iu your possession? If you do there remains against you Iwo indictment* ' one of which is the capital otlitnee, upon which the Bank have no wish to proceed. Prisoner.— don't wish to withdraw my plea. I know -nothing attic paper. Harms Wood.—What paper? Do you know any thing of the person who drew it asp ? Prisoner.— No. ' [Here several pet - soots said it was drawn op Ly one Mr. 414iNer.] :Baron Wirol.--10 there a person named Miller present ? No mustier was "owned. • Mr. Brown, the Keeper of Newgate, then said, that on 'ilPtithly 'an application was made to him by the prisoner and leis companions ; and alter representing to him the et nelty of Their sitnati cccc , lie told Mein he would communicate whatever they had to complain et or apply fur in writing. in rouse. quence they gave him a written paper, which he put into the h a nds of the Common Serie-not. ° baron Wood.--I again ask you, prisoner, do put now wish i tbietrart your plea of Guilty, and take your .rial ? — "Prisoner. No, my Lord; I plead guilty to having the )14te. in my_ po.sesslon, but I did not know it was longed. L hition wood.— Then you have pleaded guilty to an offence liftithich you could not be guilty, for the indictment charges • thit you knew it was forged. " l'eisoiser.—l won't withdrew my plea I plead guilty, and 'aVtow myso if on the mercy of the Court. Mr. Brown, the Keeper, here begged leave to say, that in births, that the prisoner and his companious might not assume kfriarance of the situation iu which they stood, he had, in the most earliest way, commionicaleil wish them previous to the time fixed for. their trials, a od stated to them must fully time sititistaiire of a letter he had received truss the Clerk of the Sank Solicitor. Mr.Setjersit liosanquet.—l humbly trend, my Lords, that this Matter may be rightly terstOod, and the pm vs Mallow tint the letter alluded to may be produced Anil read with this /Mew. The Covert acceded, and it was read by Mr. Shelton, Clerk of the Arraigns. It was signed J.ltooker, and requested that the Keeper would not fail to conommoicate to all the piisoners under charges of forgot y upon the Bank of England, ttlat their trials wereathout to take place, mod that, except three iiidloidsiels only (Dye, Connell, and anotl es) they %eolith be charged upon two ludisrments, namely, fog the capital crime, made -cling them to dea•li, and fur the 000 ill or offence to that of transportation. Serleani Bosunquet begged that time Court would now ask ?Jr. Brows' whether any other comes cation was made by the Hank, through hiss, to the prisoners The Court acceded, and Mr. Brown declared is reply, s• Must certainly not." Baron Woud.—Now, prisoner, lon hare ',tarsi what has passed, and find, that if you withdraw your tinnier plea, yen will again stand charged with two indictments, the one alter-- Wu your life, the other your liberty, in being removed I.& years from your roustry. It is now fur you IA tar VI lushes yogi will deny the guilt wislchimphosemeire.rtly acknowledged, and take your trial. Po istmer.-1 will not retract sty Ora. Baton Wood. Then yvii etnireu your/tell' gnilty of having the note in yore innoneigeo, known/gilt le he forged ? Prisoner. —I had the trite, Ind deckle eolentuly l did not knnvi it Vial (Oiled. 84111)1 Wood.—Then 1 assio tell Yoe. you Cannel in that en,r bt! 4 14.11) ul the dence. Will ,uu tlanretore tale your Wall l'.e.oner.—N•o,nly Lord ; Iwo determined to plead realty , and {rave my irll •l tile 'mercy of the Court. 11.1r.e Wou.l.—'Eake care that you saiermand whait you - MM. NATIONAL ItZEIDLITIL 7 are Xhosa g and do no t e let this most important business go forth to the world misigken or itskrepleseitted. Above all, constfer vieleYrint °win situation. Do yin, now acknowledge your quilt , aterl again pleadfo the minor offence? Prisoner. --4 dif l eon'slffei, rtiy Lott!, what am about, and plead guilty. .- Mr. Seljeintltiisanqnol.=MyLorili, and Gentlemen of the Jury, the prisimets basing pleaded Guilty to the uuinor of freer., of having in life possession a forged Rank of Coital:id note, knOwing it to be forged, I am Instructed not to offer yon any evidence against hien upon the capital chime, and you ss ill therefore, Gentlemen, acquit him upon that gronoil. The prisoner we' then Pronounced Nut Guilty,and he bowed and retired from the bar. W. Jones, was next brought up. He was asked by the Court if he was 01111 of the persons who signed the petition for a trial, and he replied—Yes ! Coot.—Are you now willing, then, to take your trial upon both indirtmenis ; namely, fur the capital, Mill minor offem by withdrawing your former plea of Guilty to the latter? Prisoner.—Yes ; but I wish to know whether, if lam pot I on my trial for the capital charge and escape, I hall then be subject to the consequence of the minor, and suffer 14 years' transportation. Mr. Brown.—He means, my Lords, whether the Bank means to proceed upon the two indictments. Mr. Ilitron Wood.—With that we have at present nothing to do. The Rank, upon the result of one indictment, must be left to their own judgment as to any furilterprpceeding. Prisoner.-1 was persuaded, my Lords, to plead ou the former occasion. Baron Wood.—Who persuaded you Prisoner.— Mr Brown, the keeper. Mr. Brown.—Thin is a gross falsehood, my Lord ; I stated to the prisoners their several sitnations, used neither threat nor premise, nor did I even advise. What I said,was delivered in the presence of (Alters, who were with me for the purpose of witnessing that malting improper abould take place Om my part. Mr. Baron Wood.—l believe, Mr. Brown, the charge against you is totally foist, and the Court believe you have only done your duty. The Court again inquired, if the prisoner had made up his mind now to undertake his trial ?—Hereplied, yes. The indictmetft for the minor offence was then read to the Jury by Mr. Shelton. It charged him, that on the 19th of November last. in the parish of St. James, Cie, kenwell, he had then and there in his possession, one Bank note for 11. purporting to he the currency of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, he well knowing the same to he false and counterfeit, contrary to the statute, Ste. To this indictment the prisoner pleaded Not Guilty, and the following witnesses were called W. Hankes, son of R. Hankes, a hatter, in Holborn, recol• feels prisoner coming to the shop on hursday the 19111 of November, between seven and eight in the evening, for a low priced hat, fur which he agreed to pay 9s. and tendered a 11. Bank note. Witness suspected the note, and asked his name and address, and he wrote George Cloy, Eagle Street ; witness being thou shEwn the note, identified it. His father came into the shop and milted fur the pen and ink to write prisoner's address,when prisoner said, he had already writ ten it ; asked him what number it was, and he replied it was 15. Witness was then asked to go there, and prisoner said he would go with hits ; but his father rrfnsed, and said, hr would detain him till witness returned ; no sneli person was known in 15, Eagle Street. Prisoner was in the shop when witness came back, and he was then taken to the watch honse. R. Revokes, father to the last witness, was called into the shop on the 19th of November last in the evening, by his daughter, and went between prisoner mod the door. Asked risme r for his address, when he said he had given it on the note. While his son went to No. lb, Eagle-street, prisoner was detained in the shop, and witness said to him, " this is a tbrged note, and you shall stop till my ion returns." On this the prisoner said he did not see that witness had a right to detain hitueven if he had a forged note. Witness replied ° that may be an, but I shall du it till my son returns, for sach a person Heel there it may he all right." Prisoner said that if witness would go wills him he %%mild skew hint where he took the note, but witness refused to go. After half a minute its silence. poisoner said, " yon shall not dela... me, for I •hall go." Witness told him he should not, when at last he attempted to go out, but witness took• him by the collar to present him. Prisoner forced his way to the pavement, and there he began fighting as fast as he (-wild, when witness let go his hold to defend Itims-11, and knocked him loon in the kennel. As he endeavoured to rise, witness tried again to seize him, but he ran oft; witness ran after him, and called ont "•stop thief," and in two or three hundred yards he was thrown down by a watchman in Chaneery.lane, when es itness collared hint and took 111 m hark to his shop, and sent for ■ constable.. His son then-came in, and said no person of that name lived it, Eagle-street. hieing shown the note, he iden tified it as the our tendei eel la the prisoner. Ann Gregg, wife of W. Gregg, lives at 15, Eagle Street, Prisoner never lived there, and she never saw him Oriole in her life. Banning,D. watchman, proved that he stopped the prison- i er, end assisted Mr. Hanks in taking him bat k to the shop. S. Falsetto:in, constable, saw the prisoner after being brought to the watch-house. He asked him from whom lie got the note, but prisoner said It was of no roe, and lie vividd not tell him, as he would not being four or live more into it. Asked why he gave a false address, and he then cried and said he knew it was a bad our, and lie knew he should go for life. C. Ball. milkman, tortoise, med the last witness. I. Evans, *hemline' to J. Adilells, hosier mid glover, 2, Coventry Street, said. the prisoner Mils to their simp im the ash of November, end asked the price of a cravat, winch was as. and l►e tendered a 11. note. Mr. Aildells came into iLe shop, but prisoner had written his mime and address on the note, which whtle►s now identified. J. Atlas:lls. master of the last witness, remembers the pri. sutler being in the shop. His nephew skewed hint a note , which he slow identified. He corroborated last witness. Ile, ge.l prisoner to wait till he 53W ifthe address w. s rot eel. but foinutier said he would slot wait, but somebody might iv. with low. Wiliest' was convinced the note was a bail ou.. Sent his nephew with hide but kept the note. P r i so n e r ucve r called Again at the shop for the noir. J. Adelells, nephew of Mr. Addells, was sent with the pri. toner 041 theSth of Seemlier, to see if the address was tight. Had not proceeded tar Willi hies. Wli•iblorlsoner orders el him to go track, mod said he *mild send his master (Mr. llei)eer) tonsorrow Inc the note. Witness went a little luithei, and primmer said he would knock him down if he- did wit go bark. P r is o n e r Own ran off and.ma.ie• his escape. J. Lees has been itispeetur of /leak sautes for 20 yeass.— ~. , - raw The notes now skews him inte •forgesles le the power. plane waler.nwtk. tail ink. Tite site/mime of the clerk i s aka• rot gery. Ruth antes art limn the same plate. Examined by the Jary.—The letters.", No." are engeastede whirl, is amt the ease in a .gennise ono ; has no other mash. %%bids los Cilia explain. Tire water-mark ill a genuine notch in the fabric of the paper. Lis ow instance all Inspector was deceived by a note, and took is for a good one, but then it Ives mutilated. The Batik of England have altered the teens of the notes several times in the hut 20 years, Mr. C. Tabor, a signing eletk, declared the signature, pnrportiug to be his. to be a forgery. Examined by the Jury.—The characters are not at all like his writing. He may sign mote than a 1000 every day, and he never saw his writiug so welt imitated us to occasiou knnt ally difficulty. This closed the ease for the prosecution, and the prisoner made no defence. Mr. Baron Wood, in his rharge,liartienlarly commented on the evidence in support of the forge. y, and added, that if that evidence which had been adduced was nut sufficieot to prove forgery, then there vs as no such thing as forgery, and it would be for ever impossible to convict any man of suck o cruet ,-- Whatever the public opinion might be relative to the law, the Coart and Jury were bound to abide by it as it stood at present. The Jury consulted for five minutes, and found the prisoner Guilty. 'rite following were also convicted of felonies Oakley, for stealing a silver watch ; A. Mutt, for stealing three sheets ; Ann Moody, for stealing a silk hantekerchiet ; W. Johuson, for stealing a quantity of apparel; and 1. Hohns.s, for steal ing a pair of trousers. And Catherine blurphy and 11. Key, were acquitted. TUESDAY. DIABOLICAL CHARGE.—Jeremiah Haley was put to the bar, tinder ale indictment charging I with bailing felonious.. ly assaulted Samuel Thorp on the highway, and having forcibly taken him into custody. In another count, he was charged with having attempted to extort money from the prosecutor under a threat of accusing him of having been guilty of a most heinous crime. We refrain from detailing the facts of this case from am_ fives of common decrier y, the circumstances discussed being so abhorrent to human endure. It &ppm ed that the prosecies tor is • t lad, living In the service of a Mr. Martingale, of Lower Catlogan-place, Sloane-street. On the night of the 28th of November last he was going throngli the Park, when he was violently assaulted by the pi isoner and a man of the name of Dyer, who had unfortunately escaped deiectiou.— They asksed him for money, but la hail none about him. In going through the Park the prisouer said, • 6 we will be met. ciltil to yon, being a you'll; servant e" ' bat his companion im mediately Observed, s•D—n you, Captain Reilly, if you drat do your duty, I will report you to the committee to-morrow." Being very much terrified, the prosecutor told them, that he would give them a 11. note, if they would go along with hini. They all three went through Knightsbridge and opposite a butcher's shop the prosecutor had presence of mind enough to tell them he wanted to get some meat for his master's supper, and would return to them immediately. He told his I stogy to the butcher ; and the prisoner and Iris compirolon, seeing the butcher come oat, ran off as fast as they could.— The prisoner was overtaken, and Dyer escaped. The prisoner, in Isis defence, retaliated upon the prosecutor, and ari•used him of having knocked hire down, and stolen his money. The Jury, without troubling the Costultifnergeant to sum up the evidence, formula verdict—Gtifity. The Common Sergeant then addressed the prisoner as follows:—" Prisoner, you have been guilty of a most heinous oßence. Yon are our of a most desperate gang of thieves and vagalronds, and it es my duty to banish you from society.— The crime of which you have now been must justly ce , nvicied is fortunately one of rare occurrence, and depend u p uu it you will receive the utmost punishment the law will allow. I shall now pass sesitence upon you, because, bad as the chas ravers are of those infamous persons now coutined in New gate, I do nut choose that such a base villain as you should be suffered to stand by the side of others, who, at the end of the Session, will be brought to receive the sentence of the law. am afraid that, were you suffered to mix with them, they would be contaminated by you. The ssidence of the law is, that you be transported beyond the seas to such part as his Majesty's Council shall die ect and appoint, fur the term ot years. 1 do not expect that any thing that 1 can say well snake any impression 'pore such a v Main as you are ; but depend upon it that your compailions in guilt will be detected, and will receive the punishment they deserve." The prisoner was then taken from the bar. The Officer who apprehended the prisoner observed, that ti e prisoner was one of a desperate gang of three, the persons of all of whom he knew, and would apprehend them. Mr. Alley, who had been employed as Counsel on the part of the prosecution, told the Conn that a short tiine ago h• had defended the prisoner and his companion, at the Middle• sex sessions, for a similar oflence to the present, also upon a poor servant lad. 'the I risoners were Thenacquit ted; Rod the man at the bar bad the Impudence to to me an action for false imprisonment. Such vms the chaser it of this info ))))) us ruffian. No name was had enough fur sorb a wretch—such A pest upon society. It appears to he a system, carried to a great extent by these gangs of robbers, to attack poor servant., and, matter the threat of r pining their character, to extort money Irmo them, sometimes to a large amount. WEDNESDAY. This morning the Court proceeded to try the remaining fo►gery cases before Mr. Baron Wood and Ms. Jumice Huh oyd. The first prisoner put to the bar was J. Kingston. Mr. Serjratit Itosangnet applied to the Court for permir lion IU proceed against the prisoner 'writ; fur the minor offence, to which he had already pleaded guilty, but had since withdrawn his plea. The prisoner was then indicted for haring In his pos•es sinn three ringed notes, and betel' in company with another pr who was engaged its uttesing notes of the ription. 011 the application of the prisoner, the wittirisms were a tiro rat out ut Court, and separately introduced to give their esi.lenee. It. Roilianey ►rated, that he nu, an auctioneer, end twitted at No. ISt. in the strand. 0., Saturday night, the 19th of trptetrtlae►, he saw the piiiiuner anti auuther oasis, in the drys► of tit rinen ; lbcy value into hi► alieliutio oven iheat eight o'clock in the evening, dining the sane, and liongt for 28. rid. a 91010 , 111‘1111'S knife. %ills eight insirtinit or whirls the plisone r it ridered a 1.. noir. Witneba inokril at the note , and rather us pre% ed it. He then asked