The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-22 00:00:00

NORFOLK CIRCUIT—NORFOLK, Dec. 21.

Mr. Baron Martin proceeded to dispose of the remainder
of the charges in the calendar, and commenced business
this morning at 10 o'clock by trying the only two cases that
appear in the city calendar, one of which is a charge of
highway robbery, the other a charge of forgery, in which
there are five indictments for separate and distinct acts of
forgery and uttering bills of exchange, preferred against
the same individual, the sum so obtained amounting to up-
wards of £l6O.

James Murgatroyde Hubbard was charged with forging
and uttering the acceptance of a bill of exchange for the
sum of DO.

Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Sims Reeve appeared for the prose-
cution ; the prisoner was defended by Mr. Carlos Cooper.
The facts of the case, as stated by Mr. Metcalfe, were
simple enough. The prisoner was engaged with his father
in a small brewery business in Norwich, and the prosecutor,
Mr. Edward Mills, wlio is also a resident in this city, being
indbted to the brewery to the amount of £4 113 c, gave a
bill at six months for £5, which included 2s. charged for
credit, stipulating at the same time that the bill was not to
be negotiated. As, however, the prisoner wished to have a
bill that could be negotiated, the that one was taken back and
another to the same amount and for the same period was
given in exchange which was negotiable. On giving this
the prosecutor required and obtained a receipt for a bill for
£5 at six months for account delivered for beer, signed by
the prisoner, and then the prisoner took the bill which had
been thus given, and placed it to his account at Messrs
Gurney's bank (changed, however, from £5 to £45), re-
ceiving credit for and drawing upon that amount from time
to time.

Mr. Mills (who was called to prove the principal part of
the facts above narrated, swore that the second bill was
drawn for £5, and that alterations had been made in it by
which the word " forty" was p• refixed to the word " five"
in the body of the bill, and the figure " 4" to the figure " 5"
in the corner of it ; in addition to which the handwriting
upon the bill was sworn to by two persons who knew him
well• as that of the prisoner, and evidence given of it being
placed to his credit at Messrs. Gurney's bank, having pre-
viously been taken by the prisoner's servant from Mr Mills'
house to his counting house, and left upon the prisoner's
desk.

Mr. C. Cooper urged that it was very doubtful from Mr.
Mills' evidence (upon whose testimony the whole case as
far as the forgery was concerned rested) whether he took
such accurate observation of it as would enable him to say
that the bill might not really have been in the shape in
which it appeared ; and, as to the uttering, that thero wns
no evidence the prisoner dealt with this bill or had it in his
possession.

His Lordship, in his summing up, went most carefully
through the evidence, remarking upon the bill itself that
this case ought to be a warning to mercantile men not to
accept bills at all unless they are written in the ordinary
way, so as to prevent any such thing as this happening.
This bill was so drawn that the acceptance, instead of being
as usual, written over and upon the body, was inserted in a
space left blank in the body, and dividing it as it wore in
half.

The jury found a verdict of guilty of forgery, and the
prisoner w•as sentenced to 20 years' penal servitude.