The Sun.
London, England, 1806-08-16 00:00:00

T Rl,l L

jOHN DOEKE ROMNEY ROYELET, FOR
'• FORGERY. • •

The following case, which wited uncommon in=
-torest, throughout the county of Somerset, came on
at Wells, last Tuesday, ixlfore Baron TfiomrsoN :
John ,Dbeke &mite y, alias Rovetet, was indiated'
for having feloniously and knowingly forged a cer,
tain Exchaqige, dated Grenada, toth of NO-
venther, 1804, for 4201. sterling, payable at nine
months sight, to the order of George Willey, ,Esq.
and drawn by and Co. on Messrs. Child and
Co. in London,- with the forged acceptance of
2.`iessrs. Child-and. Co. on the face thereof, with in-
tent to.defraud Mary. Simeon. •

Alr..BuwitouGH efitered into the details of the
easy, which were afterwards substantiated 'by the;

e‘it ice.

George, the-Younger, eletk to the
AiLiyor of stated, that the Bill in question was
delivered to him by the Mayor of Bath, and that he
had ever since kept the Bill in his -own cuStoq:
Mrs. Mary Simeon, dealer in laces, at Bath,' was
next called, and was proceeding to.giVe her eViance,.
when Mr. JEKYLL,' Counsel for the Prisoner, sub-
,nntted a legal objection. to the Court.: He observed
,a difference. between the bill itself, and the bill as
set•tbrth'in the indi&rnent. The words to which
'he alkided were Willis and, C. in the bill, whereas
in the indidment they were set forth Willis and Co.
After some discussion, Baron THOIOSON and the
Jury, agreeing that there appeared no essential dif-
ference, as the letter o, could be distinguished, the
obj...,dion was over-ruled.
Mrs. Simeon deposed, that in April, 1805, she
lived at Bath ; the Prisoner at the -Bar came to her
house on or about the 16th of March? 1805 • hav-
ing loOked at several articles in which she dealt, he
bought a fan, paid for it, and said he should biing
his wife with him in the afternoon. "He according-
ly did so, and brought Elizabeth Barnet as 14wife,---
Mrs. Romney;• he asked whether Mrs. Simeon had
a Brussels veil of 150 guineas value ? 'The witness
answered, she had not ; he. Ihen bOnght,two yards
of laCe, at four guineas a ...yard; and went away.
This happened on a Saturday. The Monday fol-
l Owing:. he ;came again, accompanied by his wife,
fooked at -a lace cloak, at veils worth 25 guineas, acid
osher.goods,.but did notbuy any. In the course of
the weAlle. balled again, and proposed to the wit-
ness to purchase a quantity of goods, if she would
take a bill of along date, accepted by Messrs. Child
ana Co. Bankers in London ;, witness answered, she
had no objection to 'take bill accepted. by such a
hoUSe. Ile returned in two or three days, and-pur-
chased. ,articles to the Value of about MA. Whith,
'with other goods afterward's-bought, arid'with money.
advanced by her,' made-the ,Prisoner: her debtor to
the amount of. mi. He bought an the arucles
unaccompanied•by-his wife. In the month
of between the 20th 'And 24th, the Prisoner

• ,•.•
propi.,..cipsying. for the ditierent articles, and lie
brought,his wile to the house, when a meeting 'took
place between them and the witness, and her brother,
Mr. Du Hatnel. He said,." I ani going to -Loollai,
and I should like to settle with you ; this is the bill
I proposed to y•ou,to take; it is accepted by Child
and Co. Bankers, in London ;" and turning-over the
bill, he added, "the' indorser is as good as the ac-
ceptors,
The bill was here produced, and proved by Mrs.
Simeon to be the same -which the Prisoner gave to
her in April, 1805.
The Witness then took, the bill; and her brother,
Mr. Du Hamel, paid to him for her 351. Which, with
the articles 'previously bought, made the whole of
the Prisoner's, debt to her 2991. He wrote before her
on the bill- the name of John Rotting, as his name.
He afterwards- Went to London by the mail. She
sent the bill the next day to. Loudon.
The conversation which pasSed between her and
the Prisoner, in the- presence of her' brother and
Elizabeth Barnet, was entirely in the French Jan-
;page. 'He left.his wife at her 'house, *here she
sltpt. While he was absent,--the Witness received
intelligence from London-that the bill was aforgery,
and she instantly wrote a letter to the Prisoner, in=
forming him of it. He came to Bath, in consequence-
of the lettsr,, late on a Sunday night, and a meeting
took place then at her house, petween him, his wife,
herself, her brother, and her SoliCitor, Mr. L.
of Bath. The;eonversatiOn then passed in English. Se-
veral questions were put to the Prisoner by herself and,
Mr, Evil. Mr. Evill asked him whether"he had any.
buSiness with W. A. Bailey, the, endorser, whirh

induced him to take the bifl. He said Mr. Bailey
,had sold some sugar for him. She' asked
.Fahey lived in-London : he replied, at some inn or.
Co:li.house; the name of which .he.did not recol-
lect.. He was then asked in what Island or Islands
M. Bailey's. property was situated;- he mentioned
tlio or three Islands in the West Indies, but he did.
no know in which of them Alr. Bailey's at that time

was:* The PriSailer then ehquired where the Bill
was, and being informed by the 'Witness that it was

in London, he said she. niust write to 'get it back.
She, lykwever, declared that such an application
would be unavailing, and the Prisoner pressed her
to go to• Londo- herself. She refused to go alone,
and he entrealed -Mr. Evil!, to accompany
.her, say-
ing that he would give Mr. Frill 201. to defray the
er)ences of the journey, which he accordingly did.
She set out at ten ol.clock that night, accompanied
by Mr. and obtained the bill from Messrs..
S!!oper and Allen, in whose' custody it was, by pay-
inc, Three hundred guineas, which was all the money
she then had at ler'banker's.. She brought the hill
back to-Bath; having stopped brit one day in Lon-
don ; but the Prisoner was not at Bath when she:fe-
turned. He had left some property at .her house
with his wife, who had removed from Sidney House,

with his clothes, Bce. The bill remained alter this in

Ler cutody about a twelveniontti, and -was given up
to Mr. Evill by her brother. Mr. Doratit paid the
whole amount. of the debt dun by the Prisonr, on
the 6th of May, 1805 ; a few days after the Pri-
soner finally left Bath.

-Upon thi cross-examination. of Mrs. Simeon, it
appeared that she considered the- Prisoner and Eli-
zAbeth Barnet as•rran and Wife. It was not until
May ti3o6 that, she appeared ,before qie Mayor of
Bath, againsl the Prisoner, whorn`she kriew.to have

been in the Fleet-prison., .Shefiid not go before the
Magistrate at the solicitation of ,Mr, Dorant, nor did
she avany time, nor 'on any 'account, receive any
thonq from Durant but what was aaually and fair-
ly due to her by the Prisoner.
Mr. Du Hamel, brother of Mrs. Sitheon, corrobo-
rated all the princip.d faiits seated by his sister.
.Mr. Whelan deposed, that he was a Clerk in the
House of. Messrs. Child and Co. He had filled that
situation for about nine: years, • and front his know-,
ledge of the business he eras 'enabled to statetheir
manner of accepting billt.• The House had no cor-'
respondents :whatever at Grenada I,y the name of
Willis .and Co. and .the!aaeptanc&Whii2h appeared':
on the face of the bill was not the adccptance of
'Messrs. Child and Co,.

COliiya was next called, but his evidence was
not material.
Mr. LriE Evu.x., Solicitor for the prosecution,
stated, that he bad sent the bill from Bath to his
Agent in Loudon; for the purpose ofitS being de-
livered .to Mr. Dorant;

• ' 'Elizabeth Barnet was next called.. She .deposed,
that she became acquainted with the Prisoner in the
'month of September, 1864, when at Liverpool.—
About athrtnight.after she first Saw him, she began
to live with' him, and continued till the -16th ,of
June, 1805 : during all that period-she passed Under
the name of Mrs. Romney, She left Liverpool in
"the month of January, I 805, and cane to Lehdon
with the.•Prisoper., They then took 'lodgings at
Mr. Dorant's Hotel, in Albemarlestreet,- - The ac-
count he gave of himself to her was,7 that he was' a
West Indian Planter, and that be had estates in Mars
tinique and St. Kitt's, They remained bet Ween
and months at Dorant's Hotel, during which- time
they were not visited,- by any' body' except a' Mr.
Hope, wham she remembered seeing with the:Pri-
soner. This Mr: Hope was not. represented to her
as being .from Holland. She a'ceompanied
Romney-to Bath, and; on their arrival-there, lodged
at the White Hart Inn, for about albrtnight,,pre-
vlons to her lodging at Madame Simeon's. ' Sbon
after their arrival at the White Hatt, she %,iertt alon4
with .the Prisoner to Madame Simeimi's, to look 'at
some laces 'and a black cloak. 'None Of theSe
tides, however, were purciased 'at that time by the
Prisoner, they- being afterwards bought , when* she
.was. not present. She 'heard the Prisoner''St'ite to
'lqad. Simeon, ,that: he issnuld'gwe her a bill of ex-
Chamge,. accepted -ty..dhild and Co; df London.—
She did not then see any bill in ins possession, hat
saw him writing one three days afterwards, when he
sent' the Witness for some:red-via, Shabrought• it
to him, when he was still kAttiting-on-the same piece
of paper, and he soon afterwards wrote thereon with
the redink, and put it up into his pocketsbook with"-
.btit saying any thing. The next day' he told her
she must • go' and, Walk with him. to Madame Si-
meon's, as he svasgoing to pay her for some articles
lie had-bought, which the Witness had_by that time
got sent home to her,' She accordingly 'accompanied
him to Madame Simeon's shop; where she saw that
Lady, and her brother, a Mr. Du Hamel. A con-
versation then took place betwixt them, which•be-
ing entirely in French, she did not understand. She,'
however,- saw a pane' rgiven by the Prisoner to Ma-
dame Simeon, which he took out of his pocket-
boOk. This was the same paper which she had for-
Merly seen- him.writing, A good deal of conversas
tion ensued-after the bill was put down, and she.
then saw Romney put his name to it. The bill in
question Was here shewn to the Witness, and she
distinetly identified it as being the same one she had
formetly seen the Prison& write upon with red ink,
and After Wards indorse with -his:name:- Two or
three days afterwards the Prisoner left Bath fOr Lon-
don, and the Witness remained at Madathe Si-
meon's. He returned on the Sunday night follow-
ing,' and remained at Madame. Sirneon's till'next
day. She observed that he was then very much dis-
turbed, and she inquired the reason. The Prisoner
answered, by saying, "'he must .be hanged." • He
asked her to fetch him' his writing desk, which she
did. He then. took out a large parcel of papers and
burnt them. She had no opportunity of seeing wfiat'
those papers were,. She asked him, "were the papers
any harm ?" be said, yes, and that there was a paper
which must not be seen.• further desired her-to
go to such and such a trunk, and there she would
find a Plate, which lie wished her to take thhe first'
opportunity of throwing into the river. This Plate
she found without any thing with it,- and she put it
into her own truilk amongst her wearing -apparel.—
He wrote her a letter afterwardsfrom Cilippenfiain,
requesting her " to remember the risier."s(This'let- ,
ter not being produced, no interrogations were put.
concerning it). - She had not an Opportunity of
throwing this plate into the river,as She never went
out but under Madame Simeon's proteEtion. , She
never lived with the Prisoner after that day, the'dtli
of June, 1805. She,. however, remembered visiting,
him in the Fleet Prison. • She was soon afterwards-
arrested at Bath, at the Priseher's instance, for the.
sum of 20,3201, and carried to Winchester jail; and
afterwards removed to the King7s Bench. Site saw
the Prisoner on this occasion, and again at -the Old
Bailey, when be was examined as a•wittiess;against'
her on her trial. He then chargedher with' having
robbed him on the i Ith June, 1805; offortyguineas
and a diamond-ring, when he was in the Fleet PriSbn.
This charge was totally without foundation, 'as was
also the alledged debt. of 20,301. -She never had
any transaction in her life to which such a.charge'
could refer.. She heard him also give lis,,eviderice
at Westminster. Hall. • - •

(Cros. s•exammed by IETr, JEKi'LL.)
She deposed that her real name was. Elizabeth'
Barnet. She is-the danghter ofa farmer ,in Shrop
shire; from whom she 'had liad a -plain.' educatiui
She left her father when nineteen years of age, and
went to Liverpool, where she lodged with a Mrs.
Barns ; she lived in' Liverpool about nine or -ten
months. After she had left off seeing Mr. Rovelet
in the Fleet, she lodged at a Mr. Vox's, in Henrietta=
street; Covent-garden, for seven or eight weeks;
Shenfterwards went to Berry-street. .
To some additional interrogatories by Mr. BU4-;
xouun, this witness fUrther deposed, that the Pri-
soner Romney sued out a writ against her for 12001..
exclusive of the sum before ,mentioned; This Was
after she l'ad teased to visit him in prison; and had'
gone to reside at heir father's, and it was also previous
to thst arrest for 20,3201, already taken notice
No demand vas made against her by the Prisener

. ,
when she...visited-him-in gaol. • She is HOW aboUt to
return to her fath&s, mid he knOws of her intention
to do-so. She has three sWers ancl'a brother, who
were all residing with her father when she' first' lett
• home. When she was arrested for the420,3201.-she
was examined before the Mayor of Bath; What'
she related concerning the bill in question, she most
solemnly declared a
was
the perfe•truth. •
.7
On the. intetTogatories 'of Mr. Baron THOMPSON,
the -Learned juege,- this WitneSs added, that she.
could read writing pretty well ; when she brought
the red ink to th;Prisoner, she: remembered asking
bhp what he had written, and be said he was draw-
ing on Child and Co. She .then observed to him,
that what he had written with, the red ink looked
very handsome, Made her perfeatly certain as
to the bill produced on this trial, being the identical
bill she- bad seen the Prisoner writing. 1\4.,R0m-
.

ney at that time thought she could not-read writing;
be was at that time teaching her to write his flatiie
as he did, and she made Considerableprog-t:ess
in imitating The bill upon whiph rote..
across With the red ink was printed ~(meanieg en-
graved) exactly asile one nth' produced. The IleXt
day, When she saw the' bill given by, the Prisoner to
Maclaine Simeon, she particularly:xemarked the.date
upon it-being the same as that she had formerly
• seen. • ' . .
The Prisoner was on for his defence, and
apparently witl cansiderable confidence and firm
ness, eddressedtbe'POurt : ••
Tire circumstances attending the Bill for Which be
stood' charged, he could very well, explain -: about
the mOnth of June; 'lBO3, a quantity:of coffee„-rum,
-and sugar, the produce of. his estates.; in the:West
-Indies, were sold by his.agent, a ,Mr.M'Claurin, to
a Gentleman of the name of Wm. „Anthony Bailey,:
-for which he (i‘ir. Bailey), gave:a bill of exchange,
,d-ratvn:-by the 'honse of Calvert Simpson, ofsSte I
Chri'stophees; in the West Indies, -upon. the house
of Bond and Proeter, -Ler:easier; at:six Month's
date,. for 2181. t 6s. • BAI hes.:(ihe Prisoner) con-
sented- to take 'as. payment of the :produceesOlde
and c'oining' to England upon
,businessi he brpught,
it with him. .Oh b2lngpresentd to the 'ho-use
of.'llved and Pro6ter, acceptance. was refusN',... add
it -was, t ht'irefore noted, and returned to his agent;
in the \Vest 'lndies; in the year -who meet
ing with- Mr. Bailey, at St.. Bartholornew's, 're-
ceived in--hen`. of the said -hill a bond f0r...3001. to
ath .answer e damage arising from the expenses- of
protesting, &c, as well as. the.:Originai sum. This
bond was transmitted to him-by bis agent,. who ad-
.vised, at the same time, that. Mr. Bailey; would be
in 'England- intheend of September, 1804., and:that
the transildion could be settled with himself. , On •
Mr: Bailey's- arrival in L'ondOn, iii. Janue.:7y„ 1805,
he (Romney) received a letter froM: him, addressed'
to him: when• at intbraiing-'maim tef his
readiness to iettle the busineSs.. .He (the PriSbner)
accordingly waited on Mr Bailey at his lodgings, in
-
Craven-street, Strand, when he. offered him some
other balm otexchange,draWn anctaccepted by other
houses in England, which he (the Prisoner) did not
objedt to, provided lie knoW. the a.cceptone Several'
bills were their and:ameng others, the
one in. .4uestion, f0r:4201, which he Consented-to
take from him:aud" pay him the- difference, Which-,
amounted to 1391. 75.• The bill W116:filC11 in-
dorsed by Mr. Bailey
.to him, on his assurance that
it was a good and
.yalld draft .on Messrs. Child and
Co, It leaving then 4boet seven or eight-months to
rpn, it .becathe then in a Manner wless to him, as
he could not get it discounted. Happening to be at
-I.llth, fie offered it to Mrs. SiMeon, she having no
o.bjeglion to take it in payment, of an account , run
up o 1301. by theyoung woman whO had accom.,:
panted him
,there. -Mrs. Simeon agreed to aceotint
to him for t -proceeds. Haying oecasiOn'fo.go
to-
London upon his busineSs„ MrS. Simeon offered him
the use•otj- an apartment for his trunks; &c. which
lie gladly accepted of, 'and went off, leaving -the
young woman under the care of. Mrs. Simeon.
He was then lodging at Sydney House, and as
lie did not think it safe to leave his effeas at a
public hotel, he removed them to.,l\lrs. Sitheon's
house, in the Grove, Bath, in, MI own carriage, and
hy' his own-servants.' As he could not get a large
Bank of-England note for 1001.'fbroke.- or
.chanoed-
into 'small notes, he applied to Mrs. Simeon, Cho
aceonmindated him Afith the loan of 301. in smallßank
.of England notes, and at the same time be indoried

the bill for" 42d1. tq that lady, in the presence "of het
brother,',' who offered him more, Money in country
bank=notes.,,which
,he. -refused*, as .he only wanted ,So
.lima as. to pay the expences of his lourney. to Lou-.
don, After leaving ,his address with Mrs. Simeon,
he.'was accompanied by her brother 'to the mail-
:Coach.- The addreSs he left was ."
or at Harman' and Co'.s: Old Jewry." After being
a, few hours in town, he was arrested at the suit i)f
his Jeweller, 'Mr. Davis,' of Sackville-street, for a
slam of nearly, 7001. Which he had refused 'to pip own.
2ccount of the greater part'of the charge being for.
diamonds, sent,t6 him at Bath -against his positive
'orders.. Mr. -Dorant, the 'hotel keeper„ offered,
unsolieited, to become his bail in , the glion,. so.
That hew-vas releaSed from the lock-up hopse;.
and went to Dorani's, where he. found a let-
ter 'from. Mrs. Simeon, apprising him of the blll
being a' fo.,•ety, and:. requiring, hiS return to Bath,.
or toadyise her what she was to do in the business..
'He Was,then extremely ill of:a fever, created, by the
agitation of having been arrested ; but notwithstand-
ing, his situation, he
~immediately set off to Bath,.
after writing her an answer by the Mail two or three
hours-after he had received he? letter. On seeing.
Mrs.-Simeon • and her brother, .the.foraery becaine
the subje& Of dismission. He avowed -he NiT3 then,
ready to reclaim the hidorseitient, and lie tendered
back to Mrs. Simeon the 301. or 351. which he had
borrowed of her. She appeared to expect" that he
.:"would lend her abOtit 43.01. which he resisted, .as
'he had not .so • much ;money about hhn. -He told.,
her SolicitOr, who was present, that he was perfeEtly
ready to account for the bill having come into his.
possession; and theiefore that ,he
_had little to ap.,
prehend .frorn any criminal-prosecution by,- Messrs.'
Child and Co.. lie referred Mrs. Simeon and her
brother to Mr. Hope; of Harley-street, and to Messrs.
Harman and Co. of the Old Je‘yry, for his charaeter,
be being personally known to them. He • had also-
recommended to Mrs. Simeon and !her Solicitor* 100
Make the necessary, inquiries respeelinm the bill.; and
therefore wished them to go to .London, and had
readily paid their eXpences. • • p,