The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-09-20 00:00:00

to give it him i:est.4o. 4 Witness-Am fromWin' , who marked it, aod wittiest, afterwards gave
it to the Prisoner. TIZ" Prisoner obtained the
indrel herd gave theta lei *hued, Olin afterwards
le 'me them to Foy and Clements. Witness was.
!airways searched by the olScers before lie west to
the Prisoner for mates. He received notes Slake;
at one time 1.9410, and the second time 2,100. At '
the tiamtbe Prisoner sro apprehended, witness pre. ;
viously gave him two M. notes. The 101. he mild
to die Prisoner was the tame he bad iresnitrool from
Foy. a -an
Cross-examined by Mr. Attottaws.—.Petire Si-
memo is his mime • he has never gone by any other.
He has never been in prison in Proinnroptil this
transaction. He was in custody teem 21st May to
16th June ; he is at liberty non. He is here on
his perlde for the purposes of thie grist. •
By the Junne.—Whoa Lobb gave the original
order to the Prisoner foe note', he Illriashrd ban
with nu original Prussian note. Ile does rot know
whether Prisoner is a Prussian by bir
John Fov, police officer, swore.— W Simeon
arrived in this country be was put witus'a
care. Witness furbished him the matey to give to
the Prisoner. Witness apprehended the Prisoner
on the Ist August On Waterloo-rood. He had just
previottsly raven Simeon two 51. notes to give to
him, and when witness apprehended him he hiul
them io his hand. He asked where he got them,
and Wilmette said he received them from Singe." for
some watches he had sold Minh The Prisoner was
I charged with forging Prussian notes, and said lie
knew nothing about ii. Wituess said he certainly
dial ; sod asked him where tlw plate* were ? He still
denied that he knew any thing of it, and wititess,.
said that lie certainly elid, and that they were at
Newman s. Prisoner said if lie did he could not
find them, but if he' win Allowed to go with
him he would point out the place. Witurts said he
could nut allow that, and sent the Prisoner to the
Office whilst he went to Newman's, where lie
found two men employed in working off isoprea-
sitnis, and in the printing-office he found some
paper wetted, some half-worked, and some in co.
rions states. Ile also found the type and plates..
Cross-examiiiiil by Mr. PLATT.—IIe was not
nesr enough to hear what passed between Stineou
and the Prisoner.
Thomas Clements, police officer, sworn. lisiorrs
Peter Simeon; accompsnied him to the house of
Manasseh Gouldstein. in Shailwell High-street.
He searched Simeon's person, and did lint af.er-
wari:s lose sight of him before he entered the Pries
sonet's house. Hr had none of the notes shout him
before, but he had a plied of them utter he came
out of the Prisoner's house. and witness took then
front him and took hint to the Crown at Clerk's,-
well-green, amid gave the notes to Foy; that was
on the 30.1 i July, awl the same course wits adopted
on the following day. Wittier* assisted in appre-
hending the Prisoner, soul afterwards accompanied
Foy to the house of Mr. Newman, where they
found some oleo up stirs working oil some ins•
pressings. of the notes.
Cross-examined by Mr. PLATT.—He was not
near esiough to hear what passid between Simeon
and the Prisoner.
Charles Christmas saw the Prisoner go to the
house of New man at two different times ass July.
Augustus Willi:tin Eckest was called again.
and proved a bundle of the notes which were put
into his hand to be all forged.
The case fur the prosecution being closed—
Mr. PLATT took an objection in favour of the
Prisoner. In every one of the forty-tight counts
of the indictment the note was described as ass or-
der or undertaking to pay. or a promissory note ;
and he contended that the note in question did not
come within either of those descriptions; but it
appeared both on the face of the instrument and
from the evidence, to be nothing more than a re-
ceipt. Tn come within the meaning of an order.
an undertaking to pay, or a promissory note, there
mutt be the tonne of u person making a promise,
or giviag an undertaking, or an order on an notate.
This bad been held by the Judges its various
cases ; sad if the note did not come within the
description of ether of the instruments he had
mentioned, it did not come within the meaning and
provisions of the statute on which this indictment
was founded. The Learned Counsel cited several
cases lit support of Ins objection.
Mr. BOLLAND, in reply to this objection. cs,n-
tended, that the 43J George 111. was intended to
embrace foreign securities; amid it was plain that
this dollar note was a security, for which sable to
that amount might be obtained iii any lead of the
Prussian territories; mid although in England it
could nut be considered as sin undertekitig, yet it
must he taken for such its Prussia, fur the standard
of 1764 was fixed as its value, and it was declared
that at that value it should be taken as valid cur-
rency : and to trump it. validity the mune of the
Finance Minister was affixed to it.
Mr. LAW supported Mr. Bollasal's argument.
Mr. PLATT replied-in sappurt of the objection.
Mr. Justice RICHAILDION. however, decided that
the Prussian dollar note was an undertaking ou the
port of the Prus•inti Government to pay, sufficient.
ly appeared on the face of it to establish the fact.
"Elie Prisosser, in has defence, arid, what he hail
done was the consequence of distress to which he
had been reduced, soil in order to get bread for his
f ly. Ile hail asked I,obb, at whose instigation
Ire engaged ill this unlit:action, whether be thought
there was any illegality in it ; and that person,
hiss bawl on his heart, had said, " So help hint
God there was not the smallest illegality an it."
But fur Iliad he would not have had ally cuoisexion
wish it.
Several witnesses, of whom some were apparently
!semi's of the !ugliest respectability. were then
called to speak to the character of the Prisoner. It
appeared that he had keen for many years engaged
iii extensive mercantile transactions, and always
bore u high and honourable character. lie hail
failed ass business, and experienced heavy losses and
tuirlOrtus.ea, by which his family bad been much
distressed.
-Mr. Justice HICHARDsort summed tip the evi-
deuce in a must perspicuous and unwind manner,
soil observed, that the question which the Jury had
to decide we., whether. upon the evidence before
them, it did or did not appear that the Prissier
knew at the tine of his laming these notes that he
was committing a fraud on the Prussian Goversiment.
The Jury turned round ill the boa, and amines
disttly rem/lied a verdict of Giriky.