The National Register. — London, England, 1819-01-18 00:00:00

.T' it;. OLD DEALS Y .--SATotumv. RANK FO:Mielt eat CF.e. ohn Adams , (25, W e s eaintelly indicted for utteriter J five fanged 51. notes, pnrportims to be notes of are • Beak of • he knewieg then), to be forged. tieerge ilopkinswe'eteamined by Mr. Reynolds.— He iica grocer, residing at 35, Heariettn Street, Covent sardev. Prismer came to his shop on Saturday, No ec,'ediee 11'. at seven in the evening, ilreesed as a porter, and asked for a pound of Bs. tea fir Mr. ilobineon, lay's Cuffee Hmett, Meilen Lane: Prisoner sail the" tea wa•; to be taken on trial, and if it was liked, he sheeld .all far more. Witness did not then knew Mr. Robieioa. Served the prisoner with tent. who tee,lered a 51. Bank note in peyment write Mr. II 'bill, at's name ;el the note, - part with black ink, and part with red ink. shewn the note, witness identified it. Prisoaer asked him it' he knew of a situation for a bro ther of his who hail co ne from the country, and was permitted to live at Mr. Robinson's house to help him -(the priemer) in the meantime. Prisoner said he was pewter there. 0 tee him the change, and paid the note to his banker, be woom it was retureed in two weeks :Cr er as a thrge 1 Beak suite. Inquired then at Mr. Ito histen's aheat the note and the prisoner, but could hear natitiug of him, as he never was porter there. Saw all the peen, but witness did n it see the prisoner. ilabert Robintm, keeper of the Coffee House fin-the last nina years. Poisoner was not iu his eerviee lust Noseenher, nor any other time. No brother of his was is the lemse. Never sent the prisoner to perrhaee nay tea for hit', and never give him a note deny kill Jahn Barclay, grocer, '27, St. .lateia's Lune, recol lects prisoner caulk; to his shop, on the :4;h of No vember, about half past five in the evening, and ask ing for a pound of eight shillinee tea, for Mr. Wells ; served !situ with the tea, and a 5 . 1. note was offered in payment. Witness looked at the note, and conceived it was a forged one. Asked prisoner what name he should pat on it. Prisoner said, " Mr. Wells, Nor the mberlazel Coffee blouse, Charing Cross." Told him then it was a forged one; and sent .me .of his young 113211 off, to inquire it' such a person was seat for tea. Prisoner in his absence said lw might as well go after him. lie did not rule the tea %vita him, and witness knit the note. Prisoner never came back for the note. Being now 'hewn the note, he identified it as the one offered by the prisoner. Never saw hint atierwards, till he was in cestiely. Prisoner was dressed us a porter. Geerge Roo?, shopman .to last witneee, corroborated the evidence of his employer, and Retied that he went to the Northumberland Coffee House, but nu such per son lied ever belonged to that house. Mr. John %Welk, ke:p e. of the Coffee house. sail he !never employed the prisener as servant in any capacity whatever. He hid seen him before, bat never sent him of and message, cur ever gave hint any money to purchase any thing M.tttlien Simsetuith, a grocer in St. Martin's Lane, sleensed, that the prisoner cattle to his shop on Thurs. dad the 19:11 of November, and asked him (witness) if lie knew Mr. Godfrey, eif the Rainbow Coffee House Witness sail he did, and was then asked by prisoner. if he had seen hint that evening. Primmer looked round the shop, aud said, " this most be the shop." lUm then cashed 'or a pound of ss. tea, add teivtered a 51. note in payment. and witness wrote Itlr. Gedfrey's name on it, as the tea was asked thr Mr. Godfrey. Being sliewn the note, he identified it. Pat the tea up in peeer, and then prisoner told him to write the price on the paper and mark it as paid, as Mr. Godfrey was very particu lar. Witness knew this sees a custom with Mr. God frey; gave prisoner the change, and he then went elev. Soon after thie, he suspected the note, and went next evening to Mr. Godfrey, from whom he eoeld learn no information relative to the prisoner. Joseph Godfrey, of the Rainbow Coffee House, in King etreet, Covent Oardea, said be knew nothing of the prisoner, who never had been in his service of employment, and of course was never sent on any incsuge by him. Valentine Bongo, shopman to Messrs. Yoeknev and Co. goiters, No. 10, Bedfirel Street, Covent Garden, recollects the prieone• coming to the shop on the 49th November, plaint seven in the evening He was dressed us a porter, lie :Liked for a pound of Bs. tea (hr New Slaughter's Curdle House, which he gut. and tendered a five petted Hank mite in payment. Wrote on thii note " Mr. Ruddell, Slaughter s Hotel," and ;ewe hint four one pound notes and twelve shillin g s in change. Identified the note n ow ' hewn to be the erne given him by the prisoner. John Midden, keep r of tlett Coffee House, knows welting of the prisoner, and never saw him before jest new at the bar. John Anderson, grocer, 91., St. Mertin's Lane, re collects prisoner comieg to his shop on the oth No vember to purelmee mime tea at 7s. the pound, for which a 51. Bank note was tendered ; saw the mune of Ches. Phillips, which was like the signature of the Bak signing Clerk ; saw on the note, " Vose, Nassau b,reet, seine° and pointing to the prieo ter, risked him it' it was his address, iu whiett Ire :1011,ied :sem ; gave him 41. n3s..in Along ; put the note iu a Vdrata dridwae. TIM NATIONAL !.y %Viineas s,ant atter wrote t:te Imola of " Coats" on it, as the pris:rnti was like a person i that name he kocw. lie wrote this also for the pur pose of identifying the note. which he now did on its bAtig ~hewn lu•o. No such person lives in Nsssan estroet. Jolln Lees, inspector of Bank notes fir %growl; or 90 years, is aloe, from his experience, to distinguish between good and Ira. notes. The Bank use a pecu liar littilof paper for their notes whirls h e i s in the dsily habit of seeing. There is a water mark in it which is in the fabric of the paper. Knows the en graving and the signatures of the different Clerks who are aulmised to sign notes. The notes now shewn him are not genuine notes. They 7m u,t 11.11: 1 4 paper. but mere imitations of the goad ones. •i'lie water mark in them is put in the piper afterwards. The engraving' is quite different from the Ilan% plates ; the line in the genuine notes which cautains the date, &c. is printed in the good notes, not ss in the others. The signature is it forgery. Suite of the notes are of the same number. the Kink, from s-me acciient, may have issaed two or the sane nutuber, bat it has happened uncommonly seldom, nut above three or four times within the last 20 years. Jam: - ..s Lambert, Cashier of the Bank, stated that none but Cashiers are all:nye:1 to sign five p nd notes On being shetva the notes no,v in Court, de &Ann:a the signature pur2orting to be his wa a forg3ry. This closed the ease for tic proseention. • In his defence, the prisoner, in n very agitotei tone of voice, sail he gave the note to Mr. Aalur•on, bat deelarel he knew nothing of its beinq a furge.l note. He gave a wrong address, as he was out of a situation. He called no witness s Mr. Just.ce El Iroyd char. el the Jury ; said the evidence of the note hying a forged one was uncom- ' monly fill, and tile circumstance of the prisoner giving a wrong address was very conclusive against him. Resales, the singular conll.l he pursued in passing so many other notes was of such a nature as could not fail to strike any person The very possession of so many for t ., , ed notes by a person in his situation, his passing two within an hour of each, was most suspicious. [low came he to want so mach tea, and if :le d J want it, why did he not pay fin. it with the silver he had pre cut...A in the last place he was in ? The only rational coy elusion which could he drawn from doing so, was this, that he knew the notes were all thrged, and thecofrre he was anxious to lispose of them. Hail he baen an honest character, he woukl ump aestionahly have bean able te give, an account of diem ; but was it like an honest loan to rust away, and leave in Mr Barclay's sharp the 51. store, withant ever coming back to enquire after it? Inte grity and honesty never require the mean subterfuges of deceit and cunning. The counterfeited notes were made of different paper, because it was well known that it was a capital felony to have Bank paper in the possession of any persan but those belonging to the Bank establishment. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, it was extraordinary to see how any doubt could be entertained of his geilty knowledge. 'the case was one of great public interest, particularly to those in business, and it was equally important to the prisoner, that the evidence should be satisfa.2tory. The prisoner was in tears, and begged earnestly for mercy trout the Court and Jury. The Jury. without a moment's hesitation, faund the pri;oncr Guilty—Death The Earl of Liverpool gave a grand dinner on Thursday, at Fifc House, to the friends of the Minis try in the House of Comma:is, and on Friday his Lordship entertained auothcr large play. On Friday night a very elegant ball and supper were given at the shire Hall, by the Members of the Beef-Steak Club of Chelmstind, under the mana,,r'e meat of a Committee, (of which Mr. Parke was the Chairman, being the Father of the club) in conse quence of it having attained the 50th year since its es tabiishmeut. Such was the liwrality of its members. that more than 700 cards of invitation were issued, and upwards 0f.500 la,f‘es and gtntlemen ofthe.county partook of the sumptuous entertainments prepared kin them. So extremely well was every thing executed, tinder the judicious arrartgemmt of General Strutt, one of Committee, and the principal promoter of the ball, that notwithstanding the company was much more numerous than ever was remembered, not the least hicouvenience mat tilt by any individual in going trom the ball-room to the slipper room. he Hoa. Tnuraos Brand, Member fir Hertford shire, has been si.euding the whole of the Christmas holidays, at his beautiful seat, the 100, where lie has had a fall house, mid made glad the hearts (Wall around him—not only the ric:i, but the pear also, bydistrilmt• ing a large sum of money among those of the per of Kimpton, who have the largest Unifies A it4ly 'who had just pared with her housemaid, asked her cook it she would take the housewaid's place ; hut she answered, " Nladom, the cook and the cat have always something toe it, but the Loam:maid, footman, and dog, most wait till it is their turn. The Earl of Haistingaloa was among the Peer straw to un Tatirsday, The thllowing•tuldttalt voi the,Graud Jury vie Mi.'s mt.: presented to tko.Court on .Saturday, 18 19. at the Sessions louse, Clerltenweil:-- Tae Grand Jury of the county of Middlesex mi mic separate withont stating to the Court, that t!.e painful duty devolving on them, halt been rearderai. more neat;. by the bills brought before diem, on the part of the Dank of England., against individuals charged with possessing or Otterin forgetl uotes, pur 'forting the notes of that establishimtt. " The Geand Jury arc ircl..e that s strong prejtt dine is abroad against the Haul: on this subject, and it is not their wish to increase it : it is, however, well known, that the notes of the Bank of England arc much too easily imitated, and they caonot forbear ex pressing their decided opinion that stu:h easy imitation might be prevented, and the frequency of tile crime be consequently diminished. " The Grand Jury beg also to express their hope that a revision of the criminal code is in contemplation. and more particularly the law respecting the forgery of Bank-notes ; and, if they may with propriety, they would suggest some other mode of punishment than that present adopted, such us perpetual hard labnar and solitary imprisontiwnt, which would be more dread ful in the of the offender than the chance of escaping capital punishment by the commutation of death par' transportation. " Signed, on behalf of the Grand Jury, by their Foreman, " CHARI.ng MRRICE." Several failures took place in the c► urse. of last week,. both here and on the continent ; but, thongit import ant enough to be noticed on 'Change, they are n.A sufficiently so to cause any alarm. Antony; the prin cipal ot' those is an old established English house nt Cadiz ; another at Marseilles, closely col:meted with that of Martin, de Pooch, and Co., at Paris, and three Louses of inferior note at Bordeaux. Sonte eallrarrass.- ments hare also arisen at borne in the corn trade, which have led to the stoppage of fuur houses its that depm-t -mesa. Such is the freedom of iuterconrse and clew connexion now sulmisting between Eligiand anti all parts 4 the continent, that the whole of gero;rt, cow" mereially speaking, is become like one great country, carrying On an internal trade with itself, so that the easealties of merchants residing its most distant places are felt and talked of like those ne.icii happen at our own doors ; and this cireutustanv, perhaps, causes R greater sensation to be felt on these than their real importance, competed tivin the extmtleg relations of commerce, can justify. The present situ ation of the general trade of London ma) be consider ed tiourishieu ;.and it is so, not in consequence of the in-- creased demand or consumption of coraatuditiee, but is spite of the contrary state of things. The great re- • &union of price in numerous a rtieles et:commerc e is well known : hope, cotton, o". 1, tallow, Flyer, cud various other commodities have undergone a depression of per from 30 to 50 per cent., and in some instances considerably more ; au effect unlotibtediy produced by a diminished consumption. Nothing can more decid edly prove the macantile prosperity of this city thou. that so few liotts...s huve yielded to the weight of this situation of affairs, or have suffered in any degree an. impeachment of their credit. This is allow e d to be the unfavourable season of the year, anti commerce has been certainly more languid even than usoal ; but the spring orders that must soon arrive limn the continent will probably be the greater in proportion, and rewatd the enterprising merchant for the doubt end anxiety to which his speculations have exposed hitn. The following is an extract of a letter from the Agent to Lloyd's at Para, dated Ist Nov.:—°' 1110 master of an American vessel arrived here a te►v days since from St Thomas's, sta►tes, that a schooner privn• teer, command d by an American, and under the Independent Sivaiiitii fig, w•as fitaiog at S:. Domingo, and in , entled to cruise off this river and Selenas. lla adds, that a ship and a twig from this place have been taken and carried into St. Datning t. They are sup. p'sei to b.: the ship Santa Maria ti Reim do Grant Para, and the Brig itainim listur." No revels arc able to enter Dover Larbour on ac count of the bur, which has toculaulated sa much that its dangerous to attempt itjwith the present heavy swell. A new harbour has been termed by the tales of wind for the last tour months, inimediltely at the hack of Payne's :Intel. Ou %%Woeslay, the Darr, Captain Bushell, came into this new harbour, and landed ail the passen 6 ers on the beach; there is S feet water at low F..iday the Are.hatt!:e Maximiliin, scoanipanie.l by some G:titlennen of his suite, visited Vis.muut Mt;- vile at the Admiralty, and were conaucted by ha I.ords;iip over the oilier% of that Gepultrient. The telegraph at the top of the building n•a.l also put into communication with that at Chath.on, for the ptiri.n.e ol• explaining to his imperial Highness the mole iD whi:•lt the machine is worked. It is expected, that the Prince 11-gotv .v 11 COlitiltie to reside at the Pavilion wail au adv. rk.el ! the eu.n,ng month. His Royal ilightse a'a healiu &lid to be catre.uely good.