The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-26 00:00:00

THE FORGERIES IN THE CORN TRADE.

At the Mansion-house yesterday, Robert Ferdinand
Pries, charged with having feloniously forged account-
able receipts for goods, namely, 7,313 quarters of wheat,
and uttered the same, knowing them to be forgeries, and
also for having obtained a large sum of money upon false
pretences, was brought up before Sir Robert W. Carden
for final examination.
The justice-room was crowded with mercantile men.
Mr. Ballantine, instructed by Messrs. Van Sandau and
Co., and Messrs. Crowder and Maynard, appeared for
the prosecution ; and Mr. Wontner for the defence.
The interest was increased by the report which had
been spread by some of the newspapers, that there were
grounds for believing that the prisoner had transmitted
large sums of money to the Continent.
Mr. William Frederick Ingelow was then sworn, and
stated that the date at which he had called at the house
of the prisoner was Saturday, the Bth inst. I have not
seen the prisoner write.
Mr. Ballantine—ln your former deposition you say,
" I am perfectly able to judge of his writing by his cor-
respondence ;" do you wish to snake any explanation of
that answer ?
The Witness—l ought to have said from cheques and
documents, more than from correspondence.
Mr. Wontner—liave you ever seen any of his corres-
pondence ?
The Witness—Yes.
Mr. Wontner—Was it in a German character 1
The Witness—l have seen his correspondence in a
German character.
Mr. Wontner—Have you ever seen any of his corres-
pondence that was not in a German character ?
The Witness—l do not remember having seen any
letters in a German character.
Mr. Wontner—Have you ever seen any of hisland-
writing, except on a cheque once or twice ?
Witness--I have seen many cheques.
Mr. Ballantine--That is, you have seen nothing but
cheques ?
Witness—At this moment Ido not remember having
seen anything but cheques in his handwriting in the
English character. I have not been to the prisoner's
lodgings since the last examination.
Ballantine said he had now concluded his evi-
dence with respect to this charge, and asked for a com-
mittal.
Mr. Goodman (the chief clerk) then proceeded to read
the depositions which were taken on the two previous
occasions.
Sir R. W. Carden (addressing the prisoner)—lt is
now
forging
my dutynamely, o r feloniously7,si 3
accountableto eccormineiipttsyofourfogrootdrisa,l for
quarters of wheat, and uttering the same, knowing them
to be forgeries.
The prisoner was then asked, after the usual caution,
whether he wished to say anything in answer to the
charge ; he replied, " I leave it to my solicitor, Mr.
Wontner."

Mr. Wontner—We do not propose to enter into any
defence now, but it is quite right that I should make
one observation. There seems to be an impression
afloat that Mr. Pries had secreted a large quantity of
money arising from the transactions which have been
given in evidence. I am sure it will be found in the
sequel that nothing of the sort has taken place ; that Mr.
Pries has not appropriated a shilling of the money which
has arisen from any of his mercantile transactions ; and
I am the more emboldened to say thus much, because I
see present the official assignee (Mr. Patrick Johnson)
who has been through his accounts, and who, if neces-
sary, will corroborate what I have said by giving the
result of his examination. . .

Sir R. W. Carden—l am very glad to hear that ob-
servation from you, because it has been currently re-
ported that, in contemplation of the discovery of the act,
which he must have been convinced must sooner or later
have taken place, he had sent' over very large sums of
money to Germany, with an intention of providing for
future exigencies.
Mr. Johnson—l wish, in defence of myself, to say that
the books of the prisoner have not been thoroughly
examined at present ; but so far as any examination has
taken place, Mr. Wontner's remarks are perfectly cor-
rect. The examination at present is of a very limited
description.
Mr. Ballantine—The course which is now being taken
only shows how very undesirable it is to enter into any
matters collateral to the issue before the Court. What
the prisoner may or may not have done with the money
is totally immaterial. Ido neither adopt the prosecu-
tion of Mr. Wontner, nor do I put forward any other
proposition, as lam not instructed to do so. I wish to
confine myself simply to the performance of my duty in
showing that these documents are forged, and that the
prisoner at the bar has forged and uttered them, know-
ing them to be so. Whether he has done so for the pur-
pose of covering large speculations into which he may
have previously entered, or whether he has done so with
an intention of laying by a purse for the future, are mat-
ters of which we are utterly ignorant. But I must take
the liberty of not adopting any one proposition, be it
either in his favour or against him. We do not know
the object of these forgeries ; but when a man commits
forgeries to an enormous amount, it can hardly be ima-
gined that he does so without some motive corresponding
in his own mind to the enormity of that offence. I re-
gret very much that I am compelled to make these obser-
vations in consequence of the learned gentleman who ap-
pears for the prisoner making statements respecting mat-
ters which are entirely beside the issue the Court has to deal
with. But I must observe that in cases of forgery it
would be very wrong that a prisoner should be protected,
either in point of law or in point of morality, by asser-
tions as to anything he did with the money or by any
statement of what were his intentions with reference

to it.
Mr. Wontner—l did not say that the prisoner ought
to be protected either in point of law or in point of mo-
rality, but I thought it fair to him to invite the atten-
tion of the prosecutors to the fact, that there was no
foundation whatever for the rumour that has been afloat
of his having appropriated any part of these moneys.
Mr. Balla,ntinc—We do not know whether there. is
any foundation for the report, one way or the other.
Mr. Wontner—Then you can ascertain the fact ; I in-
vite you to do so.
The charge against the prisoner of obtaining 9,0001.
of Messrs. Schuloff and Co., was then resumed.
Mr. Ignace Schuloff—l produce two bills of lading
upon which I have advanced money, in addition to those
I produced at the last examination..
Mr. Wontner—What was the interest you charged I
The Witness—The interest we charged varied ; it was
a half per cent. sometimes, and sometimes only a third
per cent. It was according to the length of time that
the money advanced was to be lent. We settled it with
Mr. Pries himself.
Mr. Wontner— You are now speaking of the commis-
sion, are you not ?
The Witness—l am now speaking of commission.
Mr. Wontner—But was there interest charged besides
the commission.
The Witness—At the beginning of our transactions
there was ; in April last interest was charged.
Mr. Wontner—Now, when yot; charge a commission