The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-06 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY, DEC. 5.

FORGERY.—SamueI. Cornet was indicted for forging the ac-
ceptance of a bill of exchange, purporting to be of the value of
371. 165., with intent to defraud Henry Walker.
There was another count in the indictment charging the pri-
soner with uttering the same knowing it to be forged.
Henry Walker stated that he lives at Enfield, and is a farmer.
The prisoner lived at Waltham Abbey, and was a miller by
trade. Witness had frequently had transactions with the pri-
soner •in June last prisoner owed him 231. 3s. 10d. ;on the
17th of that month witness received, in a letter from the pri-
soner,-,a bill of exchange drawn by the prisoner for 371. lfis.
upon William Mead, and the acceptance of William Mead,
Pope's Head-alley, Cornhill, written upon it ; about a week
after witness met the prisoner, and the latter asked him to give
him the balance of the bill, after deducting his own account ;
witness replied that the bill was not yet indorsed, and prisoner
then took the bill and indorsed it in witness's presence; witness
then told prisoner that he would not give him the balance until
the bill was paid, for he could not find the acceptor ; prisoner
replied that the bill was a very ~rood one, and that the accep-
tor was a flower-factor in Mark-lane. Witness frequently saw
the prisoner after, when the latter always assured him that the
bill would be taken up. Did not cause prisoner to he arrested
until two months afterwards, because he did not suspect that
prisoner had forged the acceptance.
Cross-examined by Mr. Anor.PIILTS.—The bill had never
been out of his possession, except a week, during which it had
been in the hands of his son-in-law, and one night in the hands
of his solicitor. Went to Pope's Head-alley when the bill was
due; found No. 2, occupied by a notary; did not observe
whether there was a public staircase leading to other rooms
above.

- Palmer, son-in-law of last witness, presented the bill
when due ; was told that no person of the name of Mead was
known there ; there were rooms above the Notary's Office, and
a public staircase leading to them ; the names of the different
persons who occupied rooms were printed below, but the name
of Mead was not among them.

A Gentleman, who had been seven years in the Office of the
Notary above-mentioned, stated that his employer let the rooms
above the office. There was not auy occupied by a person of
the name of Mead.

This was the case for the prosecution.
A great number of respectable witnesses, who had known
the prisoner for many years, gave him an excellent character.
- Clarke proved that he wrote the body of the bill in
question at the request of the prisoner. Had often drawn bills
for the prisoner. Sometimes there had been present persons
who accepted the bills, but he did not recollect whether any
body had. been present at the time when this bill had been
drawn.

Mr. Justice BAYLEY summed up at considerable length.
The Jury retired for some time, and at their return pro•
flounced a verdict of Not Guilty.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

IMPOSTOR IN THE FASHIONABLE WORLD.

UNION-HALL.—A man of respectable appearance, but
shabbily dressed, and I:aving the symptoms of the liberal use of
the brandy bottle in his face, was brought before J. B. ALLEN,
Esq. by one of the officers attached to the Mendicity Society,
as an imposter of singular boldness and ingenuity. It appeared
from the statement of the informant, that the prisoner, whose
name is James Carrington, has been for a length of time exer-
cising his favourite talent at the expence of many benevolent
and distinguished persons at the west end of the town, by re-
presenting-himself as a naval, sometimes as a military officer,
reduced to extreme distress, by a series of unforeseen and un-
merited calamities. A short time ago ha made an appeal to
the Hon. and Rev. Mr. Grey, in so eloquent a strain, as to
draw from the pocket of that humane individual the sum of 51.
without being put to the trouble of answering a single ques-
tion. After such a manifestation of pity Mr. Grey could not
but expect another visit : he received it, and was imposed
upon to the amount of 101. more, all of which money the im-
postor received within a fortnight, and even without being put
to the inconvenience of speaking a word. His pen had per-
formed this service for him ; but he was immediately after-
wards tempted to try that dangerous instrument in another
way, and to uschis benefactor's name in a manner that did not
at all tend to shew his gratitude, at the same time that it opened
a source of punishment as severe as the most rigorous could
desire. He forged Mr. Grey's acceptance to a bill of exchange,
purporting to be drawn by Thomas Storr, for 301., upon and
accepted by Mr. Grey. When the bill was presented for pay-
ment at Mr. Grey's house, in Charles-street, Berkeley-square,
it was of course dishonoured, and shortly afterwards that Gen-
tleman received a letter from a Mr. Kingston, pressing for
payment ; no attention was paid to that letter, and Mr. Grey
received a second application from the same person, request-
ing that the amount might be remitted to a Mr. Wyatt, of Ports-
mouth, to whom the bill was said to haVe been paid. Mr.
Kingston, in his second letter, said he was satisfied that it was
through mistake the bill had not been paid ; that he understood
that Mr. Grey would shortly pass through London, and accord-
ingly left the bill at his house, not doubting, his honour in re-
mitting the amount. Enquiry was then made for Mr. Kingston,
but no such person was to be found, and when application was
made to the Postmaster at Portsmouth, it was ascertained that a
person named Wyatt had ordered all letters addressed to him to
be forwarded to him at the White Horse, in the Borough. It was,
therefore, presumed that Kingston and Wyatt were persons not
existing in any element but that of the prisoner's imagination.
and that the names had been made use of to give the transac-
tion the appearance of authenticity. The forgery not having
the desired effect, and the prisoner fearing that the conse-
quences would fall upOn his head, addressed a letter to Lieut.
Bateman, in which were, added to the old tune of " extreme
distress," in consequence of loyalty and loss of property in the
American war, better lamentations for having committed a for-
gery
on his benefactor. In one part of his letter, he said, " I
shall probably never see you more; but I have that confidence
in your friendship that you will not wholly forsake Mrs. Car-
rington in her widowhood, nor my seven poor children, poor
unfortunate children when they are orphans." In another part
of the same letter he observed, " I am so certain of my fate
that lam resolved to save the horrors of a trial by pleading
guilty." The letter written to Lieut. Bateman (no such per-
son being ever in existence) was inclosed in another purport-
ing to be written by Bateman, and addressed to Mr. Grey,
was couched in the most' supplicating terms, and begged for
mercy upon the miserable man who had thus forfeited all title
to the character of a social being. It also described the wretch-
edness of the prisoner's wife and children, and represented
the prisoner himself as, notwithstanding his forgetfulness of
benefits received, a sincere friend, a kind husband, and a ten-
der father. Mr. Grey having disclosed these circumstances to
Lady Stamford, her Ladyship recommended an application
to the Mendicity Society, from whom he learned that the
prisoner was well known to that Institution, and had imposed
upon them by tales of distress. Some time ago a paragraph
appeared in the Morning Papers, noticing the liberality of the
Bishop of Chichester to his distressed tenants, and from that
period the worthy Prelate was inundated with petitions and ap-
plications of all sorts for relief from all parts of the kingdom.
The prisoner's eye caught the delightful notion, and he let off'
a powerful charge, in the shape of a petition, at his Lordship,
stating, in the midst of a detail of miseries, that he had been
compelled to forge his Lordship's signature to a bill for 30/.
An investigation having taken place, it was found that the
whole of the letter was a fabrication to obtain money. The
Duke of Gloucester, Sir G. Drewe, Sir John Orde, and several
others, were amongst those who contributed to the comforts of
the prisoner; but as there were no witnesses present to esta-
blish any of the charges, the Magistrate was required to post-
pone further inquiry.—While the prisoner was under exami-
nation, he was observed to tear up a letter, but the fragments
were picked up, and taken care of. He heard the charges
with great calmness, and was remanded by Mr. ALLENs
who hoped the most complete evidence would be brough
forward.

WORSITTP-STREET.T-PRIVATE THEATRE.-111r. Garton,
the Chief Constable of this Office, thought proper, on Wednes-
day night, to visit a place in Rawstorne-street, oswell-street-
road, where plays are performed. He found it fitted up with
rows of seats one above another, and there were performers on
the stage. He did not count the persons present, but he
thought there might be about 150.
Mr. Bismire, to whom the premises belong., appeared volun-
tarily at the Office, and said that these performances were in-
stituted merely for his own amusement and that of his friends.
No money or emolument was derived from them, and they had
been now continued for several years without molestation.
Mr. BENNET observed, that it appeared no money was
taken for admission, and on that account lie should at present
dismiss the case ; but when it was proved to extend to 15(1
persons, it was more than merely for the amusement of Mr.
Bismire and his friends. It could never be the wish of Magis-
trates to interfere with domestic amusements, but this assumed
the character of a public representation, and he would advise
Mr. Bismire not to continue it for the future, for it was proba-
ble that it fell within the meaning of the Vagrant Act.
Mr. Bismire.—Then we must not continue it for the future?
Mr. TWYFORD.—No, not unless you get it licensed, which
you may do at the Sessions.

We congratulate the public on the late dis-
covery of a lead mine at Port Poor, Kk. Maug-
hold ; the result will, we anticipate, be most fa-
vourable to the present relief of poor labourers
in that neighbourhood.—(lsle of Man Paper.)