The National Register.
London, England, 1821-09-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

Caw Intelligence.

SURREY.

CROYDON, MONDAY, AUGUtat 27.-4IANIE PROMO/.
agdale was capoully indicted for felo-
niously uttering, as true, a forged note for 81. purporting to
be of the Governor and Company of the Bank of Eug
There were other counts in the indictment, charging him with
like offence.

Robert Shearing called and sworn.—Stated he was a horse
dealer, and was at Kingston fair on the 13th of November
lasi. Ile perceived the prisoner walking through the fair
sod catered into conversation with him. The prisoner said,
lie wished to purchase a horse and curt. After some bar-
gaining the witness sold bins a horse for 61. 10s. The prisoner
paid the money by giving Iwo M. notes, receivin4 the differ-
ence, and goring an address to Princes-stieet, florselydown
neat morning the witness ascertained that both the notes were
forgeries { he instantly repaired to Honelydown, but no such
pl ice as Princes-street was to be found; however in a few
days witness mot the prisoner by accident, and he promised
to meet witness at s house, where the business was to have
been arranged, but the prisoner never came near the.place.
Witness gave information at it Pulice•otficr•, and Pace, the
•hall officer, succeeded in apprehending the prisoner.
John ['Alder swore that the prisoner enthused the notes in
his resell' e, and had the address mentioned by the lust cc it-
Mato written iu them. _ _

Mr. Leet, the Bank inspector, proved the notes to be for-
geries in every respect.
The prisouer, on being called on for his defence, proceeded
to rross•examine and recriminate the witness Shearing, but
nothing 'bat could be pinny advantage to him was eluci.
doted. He then proceeded iu a most enerotic manner, to
protest bit innocence of the crime laid to hit charge.
Mr. Justice Burrough summed up the evidence, and tI
Jury found the prisonerGuilty—Death.
FATAL Puna LISSI..—COOper, the gipsey, who fought with
O'Leury, surrendered before Mr. Justice Burrough to tube
his trial. The whole of the evidence produced before the
Coroner was gone through, and the Jury fond the prisoner
Guilty of Manslaughter.
Mr. Justice Borrough immediately pronounced sentence
of nix mouth's imprisonment on him in Itursemonget.lane
Gaol.

CIVIL SIDE.
CROYDON, AUG. 27.—Gurney and others v. tang-
lands.—This was an issue out of the Court of King's
Bench, to try, first, whether the signature to the warrant
of attorney, bearing date that April. 1821, for 2141. 13s.
purporting to he signed by the plaintiff,Thomas Gurney,
was false and forged; and second, whether at the time
of the supposed execution of the said warrant of attomey
the sum of 501. was advanced and paid to the plaintiff by
the defendant.
This case excited considerable interest. It lasted from
from ten in the :twang; until seven in the evening.
The Common Sergeant, Mr. Chitty, and Mr. Turton,
conducted the plaintiffs' case; and Mr. Marryatt. Mr.
Gurney, and Mr. Sergeant 'faddy, the defendant's. A
A great number of witnesses were examined on both
sides.
The prominent circumstances were these:—The
plaintiff, Mr. Thomas Gurney, is the son of the Rev.
William Gurney, Rector ufSt. Clement's Danes, and the
defendant is a widow, carrying on the business of a car-
penter and upholsterer at Epsom. In 1820 the plaintiff
set lip business as a schoolmaster, at Epsom' with a small
capital. The defendant had furnished his house, and he
owed her idol. 9s. as the amount of her will. The plain-
tiff had become embarrassed in his circumstances, and on
the deft infant pressing for payment of her account in the
spring of the present year, he. with the consent of his
other creditors, gave her three bills of exchange for 501.
each, payable respectively three months after date. These
bills having three months to run, it was alleged that on
the 16th of April the defendant, accompanied by her
son and one of the persons to whom she indorsed one of
the bills, went to the plaintiff's house, and prevailed
upon him to execute a warrant of attorney in hen of the
bills of exchange, she undertaking to take nu the bills
when they became due ; that the plaintiff agreed to do
so, provided the defendant paid down 50'.. in cash, which
was to be included in the warrant of attorney.—
The defendant accordingly paid him WI. and he exe-
cuted the warrant of attorney in question for 214. 13s.
including the expence attending the same. Li two Oily*
afterwards the defendant entered up judgment upon trie
warrant of attorney, and took out an execution against
the plaintiff's effect. When the sheriff's officer went in,
the plaintiff declared that lie had never executed :.my
warrant of attorney in the defendants favour, and that
if she had any purporting to be signed by him, it was a
forgery. Upon this fact being solemnly stated, a motion
was made in the Court of King's Bench on behalf of the
plaintiff, by the rest of his creditors, for the purpose of
having the warrant of attorney delivered up to be Can-
celled. On that occasion the plaintiff solemnly swore
in his affidavit that he had never executed the warrant
of attorney in question, and that the signature thereto
was a tiogery. lit this affidavit lie was joined by several
other ueputienis. who swore front their kitowledge of his
hand-writing that the signature was a forgery. On the
other hand the defendant and other persons swore so-
lemnly that the plaintiff had executed the warrant of
attorney, and had bet a paid 501. as above stated.—Upon
these contradictory facts the Court of King's Bench
directed ibis issue to be tried. The substantial issue
was, whether the warrant of attorney was or was not
in fact a forgery.
The first witness examined was the Rev. W. Gurney,
Rector of St. Clement's Danes, father of the plaintiff,
who deposed that his sun is now, he thinks, 27 or 28
fears of age. lie is a school-master at Epsom. Ile set
up an academy there at Midsummer. 1819. Witness
taught his soil to write ; brought him up till he was 14
years of age. Witness himself kept a school till then.—
Alter that time Ills sun went to Sohmsquare sc'tool ; lie
is perfectly acquainted with his son's hand-writing
at the warrant of attorney, now produced, he is perfectly
satisfied that the signatures are not his son's hand-writing.
lie has no hesitation in declarma upon his oath that
it is nut his son's performance. He calls his perform-
because it is done slowly, and with the appearance
of Minstar!). His sun is nervous and always writes

Cross-examined.—After his son left school he became
clerk in the Invalid-office, in Craven-street, where he
staid until 19 years of age. The pl ' fl' was afterwards
in the coal business in Grafton-street, Newman-street.
He was married before the age of gl. After a lime he
retired from business. The fact was, he became hank.
rapt. Witness is not sure he took the cointnission Oral
against his son ; he thinks he did not take it out. Upon
recollection, he thinks hestruck the docket against him.
His son got his certificate about two years afterwards.
He was not long in business as a coil-merchant—say a
few months. After that he went to reside at No. 310,
Strand. His estate paid no dividend. His debts did not
amount to more than 2,0001. The plaintiff lit ed a year
and a half at Epsom. Witness does not know that his
debts there amounted to 12 or 14001.

Edward Thomas Bolton, brother-in-law of the plain-
tiff, Robert Durham, secretary to the vaccine institution,
Golden-upiare, Mr. Scott, an engraver in the Strand,
and several other witnesses, swore positively that the sig.
natures to the warrant of attorney were nut in the hand-
writing of the plaintiff, but forgeries.
Miss Scales. a young lady who lives with the plaintiff
and his wile ; Amelia Falk, a servant of the plaintiff;
and John Blaber, a fooduoy of the plaintiff, were called
do prove that at the time the defendant, her son, and the
indorsee of one of the bills, called upon the plaintiff, on
phe 16th of April, it was dark, and that they did not stay
long enough for the plaintiff to have possibly executed
the warrant of attorney.
Mr. Marryatt, in an able and powerfull defence, urged
sOe improbability of the story told on the part of the
fttintiff, inastnuch as it implicated no less than six
persons in the crime of forgery without any motive
whatever.
tor, 1-1 e t
m then
r. called csaallitendmitAiMirer
ne Lje
Blake, a ngl a ni di
r„
Hied,
doeircienudianthr:
indorsees of the bill, and several other witnesses, the
effect of whose evidence was to chew that the plain-
tiff had beets very much embarrassed in his circumstances;
that the defendant, apprehensive that the bills would not
be paid at miturity, called upon him to execute the
warrant of attorney in question, by way of collateral
security ; that the plaintiff ageetl so to do on condition
of receiving the sum of 501. down in cash ; that this
agreement took place before the 16th of April, which
day the plaintiff self appointed to perform his engage-
ment; that a warrant of attorney was accordingly pre-
pared, merely for his signature, and that on that day in
the evening the parties called upon him, when he ac-
Oally signed the warrant of attorney.
4" Long • be;bie the defendant's case was closed, there
ing upwards of twelve witnesses reinaining to be
called, thb foreman of the jury interposed and said,
that their minds had been lung since made up, that
there was no question to try, and a little before seven
o'clock they delivered their unanimous verdict in favour
of the defendant.
BANK OF ENSLAND PROSEeDTION. Job Oving
ton, a young man,. aged Id, the son of a respectable
dissenting minister, was indicted for uttering to Joseph
Mason, at Clapham, on the 26th of March, a forged one
pound Bank of England note.
The unfortunate prisoner, when called upon to plead,
denied his guilt with the greatest vehemence.—He was
found Guilty.
The unhappy father was in court dining the trial, and
on account of his respectability the jury recounnended
the prisoner to mercy.
CROYDON, Au°. 29.—The Assizes for this County
finished to-day, and here ended the Home Circuit.
CIVIL SIDE.
RUDDER O. COURTENAT.

This was an action to recover the sum of 401. the
amount of a bill tun up at last Epson► Races, at the
house of the plaintiff, who keeps the Spread Eagle, at
Epsom.
It was proved that the defendant, a lady going by the
name of Mrs. Courtenay, put up, with her carriage, four
horses, and servants, at the plaintiff's house during the
race week, and incurred a bill of 401. in giving dinners,
&c. to parties. She lived in a handsome dashing style,
and was a great belle on the course. On going away,
however, she forgot the ceremony of paying the plain-
tiff's demand, and the present action was the conse-
quence. There being no defence, the plaintiff had a
verdict fur 4ul.

HORNE 0. 'AIR AND ANOTIIER.
This was another action against the defendants, as in-
habitants of the Halt Hundred of Brixton, to recover a
compensation for the damage sustained by the mob to
the plaintiff's house during the illumination for her late
Majesty in the month of November last. l'he plaintiff
proved that the mob had broken his windows to the
amount of 21. Rm. for which sum he had a verdict.
TOZALL V. BANKS AND °THEM
This was ati action of trespass for seizing and carrying
away GO loads of lime, the property of the plaintiff.
Mr. Marryat and Mr. Tinton conducted the plaintiff's
case, and Mr. Gurney and Mr. Hutchinson the defend-
ant's. _ . .

3 he plaintiff was represented to be a professional gen-
tleman of great respectability, who had purchased some
land in the Commercial-road, near the Surrey-canal, and
commenced building several houses. Being in want of
some lime, he purchased a quantity to the amount of
581. of the defendants, who are lime merchants, and
they delivered it upon the premises, to he paid for out
the usual terms. The defendants, however, for some
misconception as to the plaintiff's solvency, thought
proper to remove the lime after some of it had been used,
because the plaintiff would not pay down ready-money,
contrary to the ierii.s of s the bargain.
On the cross-vxamination of the plaintiff's svitnesrer,
it was proved that the defendants were induced to oe
the plaintiff credit upon the representation that he was
Foxall. the respectable clerk of the Vintners's Com-
pany, a gentleman of known property:—and in fact the
plaintiff had been recently before this transaction dis-
charged under the Insolvent Debtors' Act: that he was
no more than an Attorney's clerk, and not in circ ))))) -
-stances to pay any large sum of money ; that CIICUIII-