The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-09-16 00:00:00

CHARCE 0F FORGING A WILL

- -
gratr ttttt n awl John Liorelsamo. ere inflicted
for Frianiaa.gy lurgiiig mill co tttt teileiting It croons
will, ptirportinie tie be the will tout te.ionsent of Dune
Aphgb theCrailetl, with latent In deffilUrt
George iteytiolds, the uncle of the b.iol

Another vomit ckirged the Prisoners with uttering
the said will. icisuwoog it to he ringed.

Mr. Guaft CY. to stating the ease to the Jury, was
about to skrritie the .lyiog decloaiiiso of 0 1,,•rc0,1
whom he said was the reetuil indiatdit :I who forged
the instrunieut, and who lusJ anise tt.s for a small mum
at the Itattikmion of the &rm.& Prisosser—wheu

Mr. A LLICT objected to this Course, mod

The COURT reeensirendil Mr. Gurney 10
abstaig from soy allusion to that declaretaonotolese
he were prepared with strong collateral proof to
justify its iletradtsction as as part of the case.

The Leariteci C,.unsrl scc.irdingly. omitted
that port of hi* case, mid p►oceeded to cull I►li
Wlliwr..rt.

nrutoptoo, suid, that he attended here
from the (Mee of the. Consiatory Court of the.
Bishop of 1. lon. The paper he bow produced
was so molt worn' purportmg to be the origamil
will of Julio, Iteyoulfl%, deeriv.rd.
The paper, 1188 re-A, was as follows :
" I foomese to John Minimum, tioit if I die before the nest
Fair, I will leiitieatli to Isis Slitter I,sllta—Attil
this I give 10 psure Iv hits that I rfil nut &tem has
Shier.

(Sigolvd)

"JOHN REYNOLDS."

Mr. Brampton, cross-examined by Mr. A Lt.,. Y.

'rue will carne to wittietw'a hands in the ()thee
ou the 7th December—lie belieted some t•tt us weir
taken ni the Cun►istory Court, rrspet tito4 the
rilitlity (lithe instrument as it te:.tirmentary paper--
lie understood that citations were istuerl uti the
subject.

Mr. ALLEY, for the Pr'scners, ht re submitted to
the Court, wholier it were tomprient to proceed to
this manner with a criminal charge imrllol
for a Itstantremy paper, the whole merits of whici,
were now vilijuiliee In the Ecclesiastical Court, the
only ',roper iiihunal for decirlitnz on such a point.
The whole qUeklinii was whether the instrument
were a valid testasueutary paper, and that question,
ou which the whole cAse in lIV t ultimately hinge, was
now peniltnie lite in the Ecclesiastical Court.

The Cutiorr were of opinion, that though the
validity of the te,.tumentiay piper mui4 hr e'en-
tii:dly determined in the Ecclebiattical Court, yer
the proceeding,' of a Court could nut bit
stopped in merely because the crimina-
lity of the persons on trial was incidentdily conk
lie cled with a CitSe to be hereafter discustwil ebie.
whete. In the event of conviction it might be
proper to arrest jlidginent pettdente life in the other
Court.

John Syburn, stated, that lie knew the deceased
John Reynolds perfectly well—lse drove one of the
Illackwall Stage Coaches—he was killed on the
6th November by a fall from his coach•bux.

truss-exusnined.—lle knew that money Was
offered to Mr. Latigham, the Prisoners' Solicitor,
if they would forego all proceedings under the will.
1,000/. was offered to the Prisioners.to relinquish
heir claim of 1,500/. under the will. It was offered
in his presence, and that of George Rt. nold% hr
the son-in-law of the latter. The proposal *Va.&
refused, but the Attorney said he would take on the
part of the Prisoners 1,250/.
The dispitted will was here shewn to witness hy
the Counsel fur the prosecuti 111 l , and lie said the
signature of " John Reytiohls" to the instrument
was not the hand-writing of the deceased.
Cross-examined.—He had seen the deceased
write, the last time he taw him write Was about is
fortnight before his decease. The Men now and
then took a glass, and that might at times alter the
character of hit writing.
Baron GRAHAM here addressed Mr. Gurney, aiiil
rtilunith d tol whether, after what had been already
disclosed in evidence, it was proper this proisecutliot
should go on. It now appeared that the patties
wrote(' iii the prosecution had actually circled a
sum of 1,000/. to induce the Prisoners to relin-
quish their clams for 1,500/. en the asserted will
tit the deceased. This the attorney for the Pro.
souicrs had rtfosed, hut proposed to take 1,250/.
sootier than be driven to the delay and expense of
His ecclesiastical suit. Under such circumstances.
could a criminal charge be conducted, while the
parties now prosecuting were, in failure of a COlll..
pronntie. tasking steps in the Ecclesiastical Court?
The offer of money to the Prisoners' a norm. y, its
the manner stated, gate a new complexion to the
case.

Gt:itriET said, that, in all cases he conduct.
rd, hr considered blamelf us much prosecuting h.r
the benefit of public justice, us for the immediate
individual who had instructed him. After the in-
timation now given from the Bench, hr would
desist (rout pursuing this trial. The otirr of the
money was certainly (as he had heard) made by
Prosecutor, who was an infirm man, of snore thun7,i
years of age, and of course most asixions to deter-
mule the matter with the least possible delay, as 4
good deal of property was determinable by the

Mr. Justice BAYLEY-.." In this case there is
evidently an the one side and the other a large pe-
cuniary interret, which in all criminal cases it Os
most desirable to see in the first instance removed,
if possible."
Mr. Baron GRAHAM remarked, that it was much,
better to stop the care in this stage, than to g.*
through a long courpe of evidence, which would
leave the objection to the prosecution in this stage
untouched.

Mr. GURNEY said, he bowed to the intimation
of the Court.

The Jury then, under the direction or Mr. Aa-
ron GRAHAM, Acquitted the Prisoners.
As the offence was, by a second indictment, laid
to have been committed in London, as welt a% Miii-
dlwrx, the parties were under the necessity of re-
maining in custody to receive a Verdict (of rollriNt•
of acquittal, as nu prosecution %%us iiitehileil) bola
the Loudon Jury.
Jam Kaylock etitl Rawl Bride, two boy*.
were end cud for priv.itele iii the
house of John Baker, Esq. of Janite-strvrt, 11'ot..

silver vvaiier, a silver calte-pat, and a
stabil, value 40-. wt the Silt of Sri.-

NnattNes stated th. case to the Jury, as it
'rd iu the followint evidence
31r. II ,ker'm servant, proved, that he
NI, the articles of plate stated in ilie
ter hi% master had bresVasted ; it ois
t elesen Walt vk on Saturday, the sth S- Wein-
%%lien he Lid them on the Stuttgart' table, lie ir
the %itolow, f which lie miss,ii hit aii ct shout
at quintet of an hour. They were utter found
since.
Lanark, n butt lier's boy, said lie sow the
Pr:solei KJislOCk on tile intniiiii4 of the sill Sep-
lumber, at ultanat half-past eleven In the luun.ing ;
it, was e hick and mlonnhng over the rail. of
Air. Baker's err:.. When he got tavi'r, he crossed
the road nod ran away. IVitaiess then ratan: 111 r.
niker's hums-hell, *mai the last witness rattle sap.
Thai was all lie knew about the waiter. lisqlock
iatl off towards We.tmiatstir.
George Pay saw the l'r;soner 111'i:trade in
James-street, on the morniaav of the sth September,
about half.pa,t eleven o'e:•,ek. Ito was tutioing
tilde fn.., as if from Mr. Bakes's Insure, and his
hit fosis lustier his area, as if earri.,g soniethog.
The nth, r Prisoner Was lit the other side of the way,
It • gin the saint- ahreetioo.
John Jiang knew the Prisoner Nl`nride, whom
he raw hrawrru eleVeti surd Inetie tirltiCk tin the
Id srmog of the Stli Septeutiher ; lie we* then run-
'slag in the direction and sisznmer cle,esiloil hr aloe
former witnesses, 11141 iii. eu.t ironird cut
as if Pouted'', tog was •taleal itilikr it.
Ja mph Civet. an officer of (jili-inl-Silnore, said,
that lie arpreliraided the l'aisona-rsiii 112 it'cliwk,
Ist the Sth of Srptrinbrr, in COns,iitiviit'r of certain
irlf-rinatiatia hr receirttl. llr ii•ke.l It at lurk is las re
11/;.d hues tlsat morning ? and lie s.i.) ire h.ltl just
then tingle from his moths C. :it 1.4::,1) ,11), need li:1•1
not hero any where , Ire that sai) ; be 0.1.0 mid Ie
Lill that moment met :11•1;rode. The latter
read, Its was only iti•l come trona 1.14 foi•ICI'S, 1.1
stoles pi its w.is sever
*Mir.
Alf. John Baker proved the c.Jnt of the plate
stolen Irma Isis borne to hare snitch exe,,.stesst
The l'flainirla dented an} ur the Fur,.
bets.
Stveral persons gave them a oharacter ; but
„lor.erls Cotiliti. tau brim! eallr.l, •.,14 that {day- I
Int k was dischirgral Isom the Penitentiary Omni
tacit e months now.
Verdict—A/at Guihg.
The other trials its the course of the day were for
t.feuces.

in; toter. a 011
tra.pot lat.tl
truilbrr.
11r. Atonal
Oa. detailed i
J. Quin, NI
Moot :id it owl
dictssiribt. 1411,