The Press.
London, England, 1856-10-04 00:00:00

Ps an Volta.

A Cuaxous CASE was brought before Mr. Jardine
on Tuesday at Bow-street. A Mr. Welch, barrister,
of Stone-buildings, Lincoln's-inn, was summoned on
a charge of libel against a Miss Colquhoun. An
attempt to settle the affair privately having failed,
Mr. Bodkin proceeded to state the case. He said :
I have never, in the course of a very long experience,
risen to make a statement with greater pain—with a
greater sense of shame, and, I may add, with greater in•
dignation, than fills my mind at this moment, in calling
your attention, sir, to the circumstances of this case. The
defendant before you, I blush to say it, is a member of
our profession—a barrister practising at the bar, of some
station and position—a man of education, and one who,
by his rank in life, ought to know the feelings and obliga-
tions of a gentleman. I appear before you, sir, as in-
structed by the heartbroken family now surrounding me—
a family probably not unknown to your worship as persons
of considerable station and respectability, of undoubted
honour, and .

The 'defendant, interrupting the learned counsel, was
about to address some observation to the court.

Mr. BODKIN : You appear here by counsel, and I must
beg you to be silent. In any concession I have felt dis-
posed to make with a view to the private adjustment of this
matter, I have been influenced solely by my friend ( Mr.
Sleigh), whose honourable feeling I know has dictated the
right course to be pursued, and the only one that can be
permitted to interrupt this inquiry. Sir, I was about to
state that I attended on behalf of the family of Miss Col-
quhoun. It appears that the late Mr. Colquhoun, the
father of the lady, admitted the defendant to his house, re-
garded him as a friend, and became so attached to him that
when he died he made Mr. Welch one of the executors of
his will in conjunction with his eldest son. There was at
that time an understood or anticipated engagement between
the defendant and the eldest daughter of Mr. Colquhoun.
Shortly after the father's death, however, some circum-
stances occurred which made it desirable, in the estima-
tion of the family, to break off the connection. I will not
refer to those circumstances, as they have nothing to do
with the present inquiry. It is sufficient to say that the
connection, with the entire consent of the lady, was termi-
nated, and Mr. Welch was forbidden the house. In a
spirit of revenge the defendant immediately threw the
affairs of this family into Chancery. Finding that even
this course of conduct failed to produce the effect antici-
pated, he commenced a system of annoying the family by
every means in his power. He addressed letters to them ;
he waylaid them ; indeed he used every effort to interrupt
their peace and happiness. Letters known to be in his
handwriting were returned to him unopened ; other letters,
written in a feigned hand, were opened and also returned
on their authorship being ascertained. At last, on the 14th
of July, there came a letter which forms the subject of
these proceedings. To that infamous letter I will now
direct you attention.
The defendant, rising up, said: For God's sake, Mr.
Bodkin, don't read that letter. Mr. Jardine, I do entreat
you, for the sake of the lady, do not allow that letter to
be Pad.
Mr. BODKIN : For tha sake of the lady, sir ! For shame.
Do not pollute her name by such a false appeal when you
know the dishonour is all your own.
Defendant: The case must be stopped; that letter mast
not be read.
Mr. SLEIGH (to his client) : Do you consent to the terms
I have suggested?
Defendant: I will consent to any terms rather than this
matter should go further.
Mr. Simon: Then you consent to deliver up all the
letters ? _ _

--- •
Defendant : Yes, if I may see them destroyed.
Here another conference took place, after which—
Mr. SLEIGH said: They will not bind themselves to
destroy the letters. Yon must now take your own course.
If you resolve to go on I am prepared, but I must not be
interrupted .
-

The defendant having apparently refused the terms
suggested, Mr. Bodkin proceeded with his address,
and was about to read the letter in question, when
the defendant again requested another consultation.
At length Mr. Sleigh drew up a statement which was
submitted to the friends of the complainant and Mr.
Bodkin and approved, and this agreement the de.
fondant undertook to sign in the presence of the

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magistrate. The learned counsel and the solicitor
for the prosecution accordingly retired for a few
minutes to a private room to make a formal copy of
the document. On their return to the court to have
it signed and attested, it was found that the defen-
dant was missing. He was called outside the court,
and two officers were sent to look after him, but he
was nowhere to be found. Mr. Bodkin, after waiting
some time, observed that he would merely apply to
have the summons adjourned for a week to admit of
the proposed arrangement being carried out.

ONE OF THE MOST INGENIOUS FORGERIES ever
effected was committed last June upon Messrs.
Gosling, the bankers. Not a word was made publics
at the time, and the result of this silent system was
the capture, last week, of the two forgers, Hardwick°
alias Ralph, and Atwell alias Attwood. The details
of the case are these. Mr. Turner, solicitor, of Red
Lion-square, banks with Messrs. Gosling. In April
last Atwell called at Mr. Turner's, and employed him
to obtain from a certain debtor the sum of 381.168.6 d.
due on an I 0 U. A letter was written, and the
money was ultimately paid. In June the prisoner
called again and employed Mr. Turner upon a similar
affair. The amount this time was 103/. 15s. 6(1. A
letter was written to this second debtor, and the
money was paid. Mr. Turner paid the money into
Goslings', and on the prisoner calling on the 24th
June gave him a cheque for the amount. That same
afternoon the prisoner changed the cheque, and,
having now made an acquaintance with the clerk at
the bank and with Mr. Turner's handwriting at the
same time, a few days afterwards he presented
another cheque for 4101. 7s. 4d. While the
clerk was reading the cheque and counting out
the notes, the prisoner Hardwick° entered the
bank, and interrupted him with a question concern-
ing the address of a gentleman who had formerly
kept au account there. The clerk paid the cheque
with eight 501. notes, and 101. 7s. 4d. in cash.
This cheque was a forgery. The first thing to do
was to get rid of the 501. notes Accordingly, on the
2nd July, a woman called in at the Union Bank,
Temple-bar, and said she wanted to send 201. to
Hamburg to a Mr. Gurney. A 501. note was changed
for her, and the credit opened. On the sth July the
two prisoners called at the Hamburg house of Messrs .
Gossler, obtained the 201., and at the same time
changed four 50/. notes for Prussian money, as they
were going to Berlin. From that time they appeared
to have travelled over the Continent enjoying them-
selves, to have got rid of their money, and ultimately,
seeing no mention made of the forgery in the Eng-
lish papers, to have ventured back to England. They
took up their quarters at Yarmouth, but had scarcely
arrived last week ere they were pounced upon by the
detectives, brought to town, recognised by the
banking clerks and others, and are now remanded fcr
further evidence.

A MRS ELIZABETH Horiassox, the wife of a drug-
gist, in Broad-street, Ratcliffe Highway, was charged
on Wednesday before Mr. Yardley, at the Thames
Police Court, with attempting/self destruction. From
the evidence adduced it appeared that Mr. Hopkin-
son was a drunkard, and that he left Mrs. Hopkin-
son (a young woman of 20) to order and dispense
the medicines. Influenced by the example of her
husband she had taken to drinking, and in a fit of
consequent depression of mind had sent to a whole-
sale druggist for a supply of opium, as she said, " for
her customers." One ounce and six drachms of
tincture of opium were immediately supplied upon
her order, which she immediately swallowed on re-
ceiving. Fortunately assistance was at hand, the
stomach-pump was applied, and her life was just
saved. When questioned by Mr. Yardley, she said
she was very sorry, and would not do such a thing
again. Some further cross-questioning elicited the
fact that she made up the prescriptions and sold the
medicines for her husband, who was continually
drunk. Mr. Yardley protested strongly against so
dangerous a system, but ultimately liberated the
prisoner and sent her home to her friends.
ANOTHER CASE OF POISONING by mistake occurred
at Wadworth, near Doncaster, last Friday.—A child
named Pashley was sent by his mother to a small
shop in the village, kept by a person named Gregory,
and inquired for a pennyworth of paregoric, instead
of which she was supplied with laudanum, and this
being administered to the child caused its death. A
verdict in accordance with these facts was returned,
the jury at the same time expressing their dissatis-
faction at the loose and incautious manner in which
the laudanum was dispensed.

Manor WORDSWORTH, of St. Andrew's, Dunkeld,
has written to the Times, protesting against a state-
ment by a correspondent, " that in a charge delivered
a few days since he lamented the latitudinarianism
of the British Government, in 1690, in recognising
Presbyterianism as the established religion, and ex-
pressed a strong hope that the people would return
into the bosom of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.”
Bishop Wordsworth extracts certain passages from
the charge which disprove such an accusation.

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