The National Register.
London, England, 1818-12-13 00:00:00

No. 586.—V0L. XI.

POLITICAL DISQUISITION.

•
ON THE RECENT AccprITTAL OF PERSONS TRIED
FOR UTTERING ronmin BANK OF ENGLAND
NOTES.

THE *trend recent squalid* at the Old Salley, of
penults tried on charge* of uttering forged Bank of

England notes, have created a strong sensation. The
subjest, we are aware, is still onenf considerable deli-
asoy,giough the late decisions have taken much slimy
from it of that ity; and grievous is the indiscretion
• tab* lois been Oa supposed pythons of
the Bask, in moving the camidevation of the verdicts,
aid in attenaptilig to bring in die public, through the

peels, is try the conduct of the juries who acquitted ;
Sir the public has long been known to view the numc•
tnee prosecutions for fairer and uttering forged notes
with aversion; its opinion, theeefoee, might have been
anticipated.

It is said, that a " popular °Suety Ku been raised

" *Wax the last tordee us weds avian convictions
far forgery, as if that particular crime was entitled to
" peculiar sympathy." Tbis is not literally, though it
is generally, true. The case is thus:--executions and
punishments for ilbrgery, and for uttering forged notes,
have of late excessively increased, yet have the crimes
eopunporancously increased also ; and hence, sere than
a popular outcry (fx some of the wisest and most ex•
emplary mutt in the nation have joined in it) has been
raised against legal severities, which here produced no
good effect; and peculiar sympathy has been excited
towards criminals whose execution has obviously no
tendency to prevent others from mattaitting the same
offence.

itira are aware *that a weak advoeate does harm to a
sense; and as. we eertainly have, with the nation at
lame, thought the system pursued towanls forgers and
titterers erroneous, we, in order to put it down, shall
just quote one of the arguments gravely advanced in
support of it :•••(‘ We confess we are so dull, that we
" cannot see any mitigating circumstances of distinction
" between the man who commits a fraud by uttering a
" forged note, and he who picks a pocket to the same
" amount. Yet, we have hitherto been spared the
" folly df imbecile lamentations over the convicted
" thief." But are pickpockets hanged ? Yet forgers
are executed without exception; and utterers, after a
repetition of their offence, are subjected to the same
fste.

. What follows, though upon a painful subject, is ab-
solutely ludicrous We imagine no One will deny
" that he who forges a Bank note is a rogue; that be
" who utters it, knowing it to be forged, is a rogue :
" and that a rogue, when discovered, ought to be pu-
" nished."—that is, of course, he ought to be hanged !
In this, we answer, the public is not agreed ; but is
very strongly of opinion, that the system at present
adopted towards offenders of that particular class of
which we are ...peaking, has not been proper; and it
is now indisputably obvious that a change will take
Piace
Lea•
ving, therefore, arguments like the above to do
all the harm they must to the cause which they are
brought to support, we shall now proceed to notice
with great temper a few of the errors and inconsisten-
vies of that system as it at present (mists. The indict-
ments for forgery all run that the crime was committed
" with intoat to defraud the Governor and Company of
. the Bank of England." Rut the witnesses on the part
of the Bank, their own solicitors, searchers, and in-
spectors of notes, as universally swear, that the prose-
cution is instituted in order to protect, nut the Bank,
but Me public and it is certain that, whomsoever the
note tray have been drown with the intent on to defraud,
the Bank is the only party that cannot and will' not be
defrauded; for it will not pay the forgel note to the