The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-13 00:00:00

SMYTH FORGERY CASE.

GLOUCESTER, AUGUST 12.—The examination of Dr.
Smith, or, as he styles and subscribes himself, " Sir
Richard Hugh Smyth," on the charge of forgery, in con-
nection with the cause of " Smyth v. Sinyth, ' lermt
nated at nine o'clock last night (Thursday). The other
witnesses examined (after yesterday's dispatch) were
eight in number.
Robert Cocks, the jeweller of Oxford-street, gave in
evidence details of the prisoner's application to him to
engrave the fabricated jewellery. He was cross-examined
by the prisoner, and said the Bandon crest was copied
from a book of the peerage, which he showed to the
prisoner at his prisoner's request.
Prisoner—Did I not. say to you, " Engrave on this
ring the crest of the Bandon family, because I wish to
make a present of it ?"—Witness replied in the negative,
and added that when the prisoner brought the miniature
to him he ordered him to put at the back of it a rim of
brass, and to make good a part of the frame, which was
broken off, stating that the work was to be done in such
a manner that it would look as if it had been done
fifty years. After the work had been done, the prisoner
complained that it looked like a new work, and witness
then did something to give it an older appearance. When
the prisoner brought the miniature, he asked witness
bow old the lady looked, and witness believed there was
some writing on the back of it at that time, but was not

certain.
Mr. John Roberts, for 40 years a clerk at Miles's
bank at Bristol, was well acquainted with the writing of
Sir John Smyth, and believed the signature "John
Smyth" as a witness to the document marked "A" (the
deed of 1822) was not his writing. It was not at all
like his signature in 1822, but looked like an imitation
of his writing about the year 1846 or 1847. He did not
think the signature "James Abbott" was that of the
party. He knew Abbott's writing well.
Sarah Ann Edwards, of Blair Castle, Henbury, widow
of. Wm. Francis Edwards, who died in September, 1846,
and who was represented as an attesting witness to the
deeds of 1822 and 1823, swore that the signatures were
not those of her deceased husband, as they purported to
be. She had been subpoenaed by the attorney for the

plaintiff.
Honor Dobson, widow of William Dobson, who die,
in January, 1852, and was represented as another wit.
ness to the two deeds, said she did not believe either of
the signatures was that of her husband. In one, the
name was spelt with two b's. She had at one time said
the small b's and s's were like her husbands, but did not
think so now.
Noah Cook, corporation rate collector of Bath, be-
lieved he went to school to the prisoner in 1814.
The school was at No. 1; Ladymead, and the prisoner
went by the name of Thomas Provis. Never knew him
by any other name. His schoolmaster had a mark upon
his neck—a scrofulous kind of mark—he believed on the
right side of the neck. [The prisoner has such a mark,
by which he was identified as the man who had been
sentenced to death for horse-stealing at Ilchester.] He
had no doubt the prisoner was the man. He was a
young schoolmaster, about twenty-four years old, and
he sometimes wore his neckcloth loose in hot weather.
Ann Heath, daughter of John Provis, of Warminster,
and aged fifty-two, stated that her father had two sons
by his first wife, John and Thomas. Her brother John
was the eldest, and the prisoner was her brother Thomas.
Cross-examined by the prisoner : Always knew him
as her father's son Thomas, and had never entirely lost
sight of him. Her mother died suddenly, but she did
not see the prisoner at the inquest. He had called upon
her three times since her father's death, and on the first
occasion he asked her to let him have the likeness of her
brother John. Never knew, except by hearsay, that the
prisoner had assumed the name of Dr. Smith until he
came to her again after her father's death. Remembered
when about 13 years of age accompanying her father to
Bath on the occasion of the prisoner's marriage. He
was then called Thomas Provis, and was married to a
person whom the witness believed to be Mary Ann
Whittick. A son of that marriage, named Frederick,
used to come occasionally to her father's, but he way
since dead. This Frederick Provis was born about 1815 ;
but witness did not remember when he died. Had heard
that Thomas, her brother was in Ilchester Gaol for horse
stealing ; and believed the Thos. Provis who was married
at Bath, the Thomas Provis who was in Ilchester Gaol;
and the prisoner were the same person. Believed 11
Thomas her brother (the prisoner) to have been born in
1792.
Mr.• Rawood, a clerk of the Prerogative Court of
Chancery, produced the will and codicil of Sir Hugh
Smyth, dated July 19, 1814, and, in reply to the pri-
soner, expressed his belief that it would have been im-
possible for a person to have taken impressions of the
seal and signature of the will while it was in Doctors'
Commons.
This closed the examination of witnesses.
The prisoner then (having been cautioned in the usual
formal manner by Dr. Jenne) made a statement to this
effect. That being unprotected by legal advice, he did
not feel himself justified in entering into any explanation
respecting any of the circumstances which had been de-
posed to, excepting that he considered that the illegality
of the documents had not in the present instance been
proved by any evidence, nor the facts of the drawing,
signing, or sealing by him of the deeds, nor of his pos-
session of them, except of the document marked " B ;'
and considering the evidence given before the judge of
the genuineness of the signatures not being overpowered
by the testimony of the witnesses examined before the
magistrate, he left the matter to his consideration. He
considered and declared himself not guilty of the crime
of which he was charged, and that if he was committed
on the charge of absolute and positive forgery he should
consider himself unjustly committed.
The prisoner was then committed by Dr. Jeune on the
charge of forgery and uttering the documents in ques-
tion, and thus has, for the present, terminated this ex-
traordinary case.