The Sun.
London, England, 1809-10-19 00:00:00

FORGERY.

.MARLBOROUGH-STREET.— Mrs. Plunkett, who
has so recetely appeared at !his Offi e, was again
brought unto answer a charge of a similar nature, the
circumstances of which were detailed by the fol-
lowing testitnoni,'
Mr. James Northwood, surveyor, of Molinenx-
street, Edgware-road, stated, that some mon, hs since
he received a Bill of Excienage, at six weeks, fur the
sum of 6sl. from Mrs. Elizabeth Piunketi, Who was
then at Margate, purporting to be accepted Maior
Plunkett. In compliance with her request, he dis-
counted the bill, and sent her part of the cash by a
Mrs. Wdson, a friend of the prisoner, and the re-
mainder by a spe('''eal messenger. The bill was made
payable at Mrs. Pluekett's house in town. Witness
passed the bill in the course of his business into dif-
ferent hands ; but, however, at, the expiration of
the-six weeks the bill was presented at the residence
of Mrs. Plunkett, iti Londoa, when the answer
given to the holder was, that Mrs. Plunkett did nut
live there, and the people of theliouse knew no-
thing either of her or Major Plunkett. The bill was
accordingly returned to the prosecutor's hands, and
he was obliged to take it up. He then made seve-
ral personal applications at the lodgings of Major
Plunkett, end received the same answer as was
given before. In vain' he inquired at ditferent
places in London, but was always disappointed
in obtaining ntisfaCtory information of the pri-
soner or her husband. He once, however, saw Ma-
jor Plunket iu the street, and dodged him for several
hours, but was unable to speak with him at that
time. Shortly after he called at the house of Mr.
Parker the attorney, and there he happened to, find
the Major. He immediately addressed him, and
said he had a bill of his for list. which he requested
he would have the goodness to take up. On pre-
senting it to the. Major, the latter said, " I know no-
thing of it ; it is none of mine ; it is not my transac-
tion;" or words to that effect. In the course of a
very few minutes alter the Major pointed his finger
lb the acceptance, and said, "'lts a very good
Union (alluding to Ps similarity of his own band-
writing) " but do you think I'll place my wife in
such a situation ?" The prosecutor finettig his bill
was thus dishonoured, and being firmly of opinion)
from what the Major had said, that it was a forgery,
thought it proper to consult his attorney upon the
subject. The result was that an indiettnent should
be prepared against the prisoner.
Li order to rebut this charge, Major Plunkett and
his Lady expressed considerable anxiety for the ex-
amination of Mr. Parker, whose testimony they
were convinced would prove that this charge was an
entire trick to extort money alleged by the prose-
cutor to be due to him; and - they were persuaded
that his evidence would be entieely falsified by Mr.
Parker, particularly as to the fact cat the Major's hav-
ing denied tht the hand-writing or the acceptance
was' his own. The Major took :ins oppottiknity
himself of contradicting Mr. Northyvood, in the as-
sertion that he had denied the acceptance to be his.
He
.was now ready to swear that it %vas he, who had
written the acceptance, and in order to convince toe
Magistrate of the truth of what he had advanced)
otf red to write his name again, for the purpose of
contrasting it with the stgnatuie on t he 'Jul.
Mr. CONANT, understanding tfilht the prisoner
wished to entrust evere .thing fiche had to urge in re-
ply to this charge to Mr. Parker; her attorney,
c ,nsented to hear what that get tleman had to

Mr. Parker then said, that he would confine him-
self to a very short compass in the few ooservations
he should have to make tor his client, in answer to
this unjust and most improper coarse. He called
it unjust and improper, because Lie conceived that
the circumstances with which it had been at-
tended nulled it to no other app Nation. For a long
time antecedent to Miss Gunniug's inarria,;e with
Major Plunkett, the prosecutor had been cunst tritly
in the habit of discounting bills for that Loty, and
accommodating her in money matters. 'l' :is prat-'
tisk! continued even after the mai nage of Miss Gun-
ning to Major Plunkett, anti so closely were tory
connetied in pecuniary transadi,,lls, that Mr. North•
wood was induced to h _c?.1;1! tee purchaser of an
annuity of 501. which hat b-Jen settled upon M s.
Plunkett. This transation was kept a prolowid
secret from the Major until a very few weeks since,
when his Lady thought it necessary to apprize him
of her negotiations with Mr. Northwood. tit! was
tree to state that Major Plunkett had trequenkly ac-
cotnmodated his wife with his acceptances, in other
to relieve her embarrassed circutustarrces. o.le of
these acceptances fuund its way into the prosecutor's
hands, who it seems had claimed a consiterable ar-
rear of money, alleged to be due to him on account
of Mrs. Plunkett's annuity, of which the Major it.td
no knowledge. The Major was therefore averse to
come to any settlement with the prosecutor undcr
such circumstances, feeling that he had no just claim
to any thing more than this bill for 651. With r, -
sped to the evidence of the prosecutor, Mr. Parker
said, he believed it was not very correct. For its
own part he could swear mo'd conscientiou:ily, th.at
Major Plunkett in his presence did not deny that
ac-
c,:ht.►nce to be his. Indeed he said, " .He would
neither deny nor admit it." •
Here Mr. Northwood interposed, and said, that
the denial made by the Major, of which he spokc,
was not in Mr. Parker's presence, but at a time,
when he (Mr. Parker) was in another aparCh;t3n,
and to this tact he would swear most solemnly.
Mr. Parker resumed, and said, that he certainly
c6uid nut speak to any tiling 'which he did not hear,
but he was positive, that at one time, in the pre-
sence of bitus•if and the Prosecutor, the Major said
he would neither deny nor admit try; acceptance to
be his. -There was one material fact to relate, Opcn
which he grounded his assertion that this was an
improper charge ; namely, that he did nut hear a
single word of this impte,tion of forgery until Ma-
jor Plunket refused to pay up 'all the arrears upon
the annuity transadion, whet„ indeed, Mr. Nord,-
wood, tCr the first time 'laid, '' Tacit indict air,.
Plunket for forgery." It was on the truth of this
circumstance he claimed the Magistrate's protedion
for his client against so ii,jUTICAIs a charge.
Tu. " these alleged circumstances, Ali-.
\ ~"1"; ig:Lve his MO,C
He denied in parzicular, that Major Plunket was lg.
n:arant of his wife's having s•-., Id i er anhuity to bl,O
or that he had brought this czamplaint parely
cause the Major wotitd not pay him toe °Luck- wc,ney

for %ilia he was indebted to him. {e. decinr&l
that he thought he was bound .in duty to himself
an.l the public, to bring Mrs: PlUnkett to justice, be-
cause he firmly believed that the bill in question was
,a forged iu,trument, ndt only from the Major's dely-
ing all k'nowlL-dge of it, but also from collateral ch-
eat:stances which he Lad since learnt.'

Mr. Conant said, that as he did not sit on that
Bench to try the merits of the case, he was bound,
iii conformity to his ministerial' duties, to send the
matter betore a Jury, who were competent to deter-
mine upon the guilt or innocence of the prisoner.—
He had no discretion whettei;er,;;s to the line.,of con-
duct marked out for him. A charge of felony was
distinctly sworn-to by a respeetable . witness against
the and however lamenta;ple it might be to see
person of her condition in life brought into. such,
air unfortunate situation, still the fins of laW pre-
s-crtbed in such cases (oust necessarily take their course,.
he had not, he would do every thing
in hispower, to obtain her liberation on bail. There
were certainly circumstances stated in the evidence,
of Mr. Parker; which, in his optnon, would, ,if
laid before one of the. Judges, induce him to.:adMit
ht rto bail. -The Fortity
_Magistrate, therefore, ad-
vised Mr. Parker to make atiidavits of leis own testi-
rt:,_;ny,"and such other additioctalevidence as he could
procure, and ay them; together with an abstract of
the case, before one Of the Learned Judges. In the
mean time, the utmost tenderness shOuld be. shewn
Ler; and she might retire to. private thrn o with her
friends, restrained hol,vever in her actioris.by the vi-
gilance of an ofiker. Mrs. Plunkett seethed very
grateful for this' indulgercce, and remained in thepri-
vate chamber of the Office, whilst :1 Tr. Parker re.
tired for the purpose Of adopting the advice of the
lagistratv.

FORGED BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.

BOW-STREET.—A person named Samuel-Taverner
was yesterday brought up on a charge of having ut-.
tered five forged notes, purp2rting,to be the notes of
the Governor and Company of the 7.1310 k of Eug,
land,

Ia support of the charge, Job Coles, a Nriner and
gran r, of Berton, in Gloucestershire, was called.
Ho .! that he -was at the Red Lion, at Southall,
. in Middlesex, on Wednesday, the 27th of Septem-
ber,, when the prisoner purchased from him an ox,
for which he paid him 171. l Os. ten guineas in gold,
and the rest, in the Bank notes now- produced, two
of which were for two pounds each, and the others
for one pound each. .He folded the cash. within the.
notes, and paid them -to his agent,'. Mr.• Walter
Skinner, tallaw-chandler,- of Islington, and Agent-
Receiver, in Smithfield, on market days, on the en-
tering day. Informant knew the prisoner; he had
a house at Holly port, kept fields at. Bayswater, and
occasionally lodged collie for. him he never knew
of any thing itnproper that could be imputed to
him.
•
Mr: Skinner, the last witness's Agent, corrobo-
rated the testimony respecting his loving received
the notes. He ti:to proved, thathe had written the
name of the prisoner ()toile front of all the notes,
and paid them s ith others, into, his Banlrs, Messrs,
Prescott and Co. on the 48th of Septernoer.
Mr. Lee. one of the Inspeaors of the Bank, then
produced the notes, which were sworn to.by Mr.
Skinner, as ‘th(t. notes be had received• frOrp Mr.
Coles'. Mr. Lse also proved them to be false and
counterfeit. • -
Mr. Humphries, the Solicitor of ,the prisoner,
urged the respttztability of bit charaaer,', and the
probability that
,1:e might have taken these notes in.
the regular conrse of trade. He thought the cir-
cumstance of hi. having paid ten guineas in gold
LDI3,! operate ,as almost convincing proof that the
prisoner had nti knowledge of the notes being
forged, or of dt tieuding Mr. Coles. It he bad
meant to utter false notes, he would have paid the
whol instead of u part of the 171. ios. in such for-
genes.
Mr. READ said, that such was general y the de-
fence set up in similar cases, but that uncle,- the pre-
sent circumstances, he must detain tie p:s.

custody.
Mr. Lee said he had some further evidence to pro-
duce, and the prisoner NAAS remanded .for atutnre
vianiinatiou.