The Express.
London, England, 1846-09-24 00:00:00

tato Entenfacnce.

TILL' COMMISSION CF LUNACY ON MRS. CUM-
MING.—Ezorrm DAY,

Yesterday morning, the special jury iu the above case re-
opened at the Horns Tavern. Eenbington, for the purpose of
hearing the result of the conference between the Lord Chan-
cellor and the learned commissioner, F. Barlow, Esq., and
also the terms of the arrangement between the parties.—Mr.
James, for the supporters of the commission, explained that
the heads of the arrangement were, that Mrs Cumming be
immediately discharged from custody, and become a per-
fectly ace agent: that a deed be executed vesting the pro-
perty in responsible and respectable trustees; Mrs. Cumming
to have the sole use during her life ; after her death, one
third to revert to her daughter, Mrs. Ince, or her children,
free from the control of her husband, Mr. Ince. Another
third to devolve upon Mrs. Hooper, or to her children, ako
free from her husband's control; the remaining third to be
at the free disposal of the lady herself. The jury would be
discharged from giving a verdict, and then his learned
trier.d Mr. Petersdorff and himself would have to adopt the
usual course for the superscilauce of the commission. It was
proposed that one of the trustees he Mr. Hutchinson, Mr.
Ince awl Mr. Hooper to appoint another, and the learned
commissioner a third, if he should approve to appoint.sthird.
lie was happy to add that he believed the course proposed
would tend to heal the differences which had prevailed be-
tween the family.—Mr. Petersdorff, fn. Mrs. Cumming, said
she had been consulted, and had agreed to the arrangement,
by which, he was happy to say, a large. expense would be
saved, and the differences between the family speedily- terati-

nate.—ln answer to the learned commissioner, the counsel on
both aides intimated that they retired judicially.—The
learned commissioner then discharged the jury without a
set diet, with thanks for the patient attention they had given
to this long inquiry.—Thus concluded an inquiry which is
believed to be unprecedented as respects all previous com-
missions of lunacy.

e Mr. Justice Mauls and Mr. Baron Platt.
CEOLTCORIAIII._CarIMINAL COURT-YESTERDAY.
THE ALLEGES) FORGED RAILWAY SCRIP FRAUD.—UpOR
the learned judges taking their seats on the bench, John
Bannister Faulkner and Bentham Fabian were called upon
to surrender to take their trial upon two indictmenta for for-
gery, which have been upon the files of the court for several
sessions, but the deposal of which has been postponed until
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alleged that, on the 6th May, at the
parish of St. Marylebone, one Bentham Fabian fefoniously
fbrged a certain acquittance or receipt for the payment of
money, and that the pd.. °nor feloniously incited
and counselled him to commit the forgery, and was
an accessory before the fact. Mr. Clarkson and Mr.
Bcdkin appeared for the prosecution. Mr. Ballantine
with Mr. liuddlestone, conducted the defence.—Mr. Cbrk-
sou addressed the jury, and said that the defendant was
indicted with another person named Fabian, who, as they
had heave had absconded from his bail, with the offence of
forgery. These parties had carried on the business of stock
And sharebrukere in the neighbourhood of Broad-street, in
the city of Londou, and they. were charged with forging and
uttering a document purporting to be an acquittance or re-
ceipt for the payment of money, with the intention of de-
frauding a gentleman named Leon Solomon. The learned
counsel proceeded to state that although the forged document
was technically described us a receipt for the payment of
money, in point of fact the forged document was what
was now pretty generally known as railway scrip, and
referred to a projected line of railway, which was duly
registered in accordance with provisions of the act of
parliament, called the Buckinghamshire Railway, and
Oxford and Bletchley Junction, and an important
question would arise, and to which he begged respect-
fully to direct the attention of their lordships-, whether such
an instrument as railway scrip came within the scope of the
net of parliament, and could be considered as a valuable
security. The form of the document was to the effect that
two guineas had been paid as deposit upon a certain number
f of shares, aad that the holder of the scrip was entitled to
require that number of shares to be allotted to him, upon
the company being fully brought into operation. It there-
fore appeared to him, subject to the better judgment of their
lordship, that the dccument weht to the extent of acknow-
ledging that a certaia amount had been paid, and was there-
fore in the character of a receipt or acquitemee for the pay-
ment of money, and the indictment had been preferred in
that form. ith regard to the facto, he said he apprehended
there could be no doubt that Fabian had obtained a large sum
of money from the prosecutor, depositing as security a number
of the railway scrip to which he had referred, and he should
show that this scrip which represented the Lee lder to be en-
titled to 400 shares in the undertaking was forged in every
respect.—Mr. Ballatitine said, that after what had been
stated by his learned friend, it would, perhaps, not be con-
sidered an improper course for him to take, if he at once
proceeded to state the grounds upon which he should con-
tend, with greet confidence, that the present indictment
could net be supported, inasmuch as the document which
formed the ground of accusation did not come within the scope
of the act of parliament, and could not be taken as an
acquittance or receipt. The learned counsel said it was per-
fectly el, ar that at the time the statute under which the
indictment was perms el was passed by the legislature, no
arch thing as railway scrip was in existence, and therefere it
could not have been intended that the act should apply to
euch instrument'', and he proceeded to argue that it would
be impossible to regm el railway scrip, although it
might, in point of fact, represent that is certain
amount had been paid as a deposit, in the light of
a receipt or acquittance, end he therefore submitted
that the present indictment could nut be supported.—Mr.
Huddlestone followed on the same side, and cited a case
where a party had been indicted ar.d convicted for forging
a receipt in the following form:—" William Chinery, Esc.,
paid to X. Thompson eight pounds." The judges, upon argu-
ment, held that the conviction was bad, and that the document
was not, in point of fact, a receipt, but merely an whertion
that the money was paid. The judges, after a
short consultation, said they should not stop the case.
—Mr. Clarkson accordingly proceeded to call witnesses.
Mr. Edward Richard,' deposed, that in the early part of Aide
year he was in the habit of transacting business with the finn
of Fabian and Faulkner, but particularly with Mr. Fabian.
They were partnere in the business of share agents. He was
introduced to the prisoner by Mr. Fabian, at their office in
Broad-street, and after this witness negociated the raising of
money upon the security of Buckinghamshire Railway scrip,
and he repeatedly raised money upon shares of that descrip-
tion, and handed it over to Mr. Fabian, at the Hall of Com-
merce, and also at the Jamaica Coffee-house. He never paid
any money in the prisoner's presence. In May he received
some money from a Mr. le Wick. This was before the trans-
action with Mr. Solomon. Witness received money from
that gentleman upon the security of Buckingham shares, by
desire of Mr. Falehe. Oa the 6th May he was in the City,
and Mr. Fabian said something to him about the necessity of
getting a sum of money before four o'clock on that day. He
did not see Mr. Faulkner on that day until after
the transaction, when they dined together. Witness
and Mr. Frahm went to Mr. Solomon's house to
ask whether lie would advance more money if scrip
were left with him as security, and upon his consenting
to do so, Fabian went to fetch the scrip, and he rctunied with
the scrip in question, and Mr. Solomon advanced the suns
arranged to be received. Theprisoner did not know enything
of the transaction until the afternoon, and then it was only
stated generally that a sum of money had been obtained. —M r.
Bodkin asked the witness whether he had not on a former
occasion made a ei eaten statement of the transaction to his
solicitor i—He replied that he had.—Mr. Bodkin said that
haying recalled his attention to his circumstance, he must
repeat the question whether be penevered in stating that Mr.
Faulkner was not aware beforehand of the transaction res-
pecting the shares.—The witness re plied that lie did.—Mr.
Clarkson addressed the court, and intimated his opinion that
it would he useless to prececd any further, as he said the charge
against the prisoner of being. au accessory before the tact
rested entirely upon the testimony of the witness Richards,
and as he now made a statement entirely contrary to the
evidence he had formerly given, and in feet exonerating
the prisoner from the charge, it would be hopeless to expect
a conviction.—Mr. Baron I'latt remarked that, as Richards
had made two oppoeite statements, it was posabh. that what
ho now said might be the truth.—The jury, then, uuder the
direction of the court, returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
—Mr. Clarkson said there were two other indictments against
the prisoner, one for felony and the other for misdemeanour
in obtaining money under false pretences ; but us he had eo
further evidence to offer, it would be unnecessary to occupy
the time of the court by proceeding with them. The pri-
soner was accordingly arraigned upon the indiotments re-
ferred to by the learned counsels—Mr. Clarkson, addressing
the jury, said they would have gathered, from what had just
taken place, the reason why he did not propose to occupy
their time unnecessarily hy calling any witnesses. He must
confess he was not surprised, from the manner in which Mr.
Richards had been mixed up in these transactions, that he
I should have failed them on this occasion, but he was
sure that the jury would be satisfied that the trans-
action had been a most nefarious one, used that it was a eery
proper subject for inquiry. At the same time he admitted
that it was impossible to convict upon such testimony as
that which had been given by Richards, who, if not actually
a aaniceps criminis, was at all events so mixed up in the
transaction as to render it most unsafe to rely upon his testi-
mor.y.—A verdict of Not Goilty was then recorded upon
each indictment.—Mr. Clarkson then sai4 that a considerable
sum of money WaS taken from the prisoner when he was ap-
prehended,
and as there was every reason to believe that a
portion of it consisted of the money that had been obtained
from Mr. Solomon by means of the [Greed scrip, he applied
to the court to order that amount to be restored to the pro.
seentor.—Mr. Ballantine said he was instructed by Mr.
Faulkner to state that he should not offer any obstacle to the
application, and was quite willing that any money that could
be identified as a portion of that obtained from Mr. Solomon
should be delivered up.—The defendant was then discharged.

IVilliant Fitztnaurice alias 'William Pesten, aged 24,
WO indicted for feloniously uttering counterfeit coin, after
having been previously convicted of a similar offence. Mr.
Bodkin and Mr. Doane prosecuted, and Mr. Payne delended
the prisoner. It appeared that in 1811 the prison, r was
convicted of uttering counterfeit money, and sentenced to
9 months imprisonment, and that on the 25th August he went
into the Sun and Sportsman public-house in St. Marylebone,
and called for a glass of spruce, throwing down a sovereign
in payment. The barmaid gave him change with a half
sovereign and silver, w hen he substituted a counterfeit half
sovereign for the gcnuiro one, and requested that she would
give him silver instead. She, however, detected the attempted
fraud, and when the prisoner attempted to make hi.; esiaipe,
she very cow. igeousl y seized him and held him until her
master came downstairs, and gave him into the custody of a
policeman.—The jury found the prisoner guiiity, and he wt.;
sentenced to be transported for seven yeas.

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 24, 1846,