The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-11 00:00:00

POLICE lIS TEL L IGENCE.

MANSION -HOUSE.
On Saturday the Justice-room was crowded by per.
sons anxious to witness the examination of Richard
Moore, a young man of most respectable appearance
and address, who stood charged with having uttered
forged country bank notes for 505/. at a gambling house
kept by a man named Thompson, at No. 7, Leicester-
square, and with also having'uttered forged country bank
notes at a gambling house kept by
one Thomas Cook,
in the Strand.

Great interest was excited by the ingenious nature of
the forged instruments. Mr. Bodkin, the barrister, at-
tended for the prosecution, and Mr. Woolfe, from the
office of Mr. Flower, appeared for the prisoner. Sir
Peter Laurie presided.
Mr. Bodkin said that this remarkable case had some
days ago been so far opened as to give a
es ter-square,
of the character of the offences which had been perpe-
trated by the pritnner. The
prisoner had gone to the
house of Thompson, in Leic
and played
against the bank with several notes purporting to be
the issue of various banking-houses in the country.
Having lost a large sum of money, lie paid in these
country notes, of which no suspicion was entertained,
and Thompson, on going to
get sonic of them cashed in
the city
next day, was apprehended by Daniel Forres-
ter, who soon afterwards apprehended tile prisoner.
which notes, had been lost by the prisoner at
Cook's gambling-house, were also presented at banking
houses in the city.
Thomas Cook stated that the prisoner walked into his
house for the first time on the 31st of December, hav-
ing, he believed, followed a gentleman who was known
there. The prisoner played at 100, and won for some
time; at last the tide turned against him, and he lost a
considerable sum. The notes he played with circulated
round the table, at which witness also played. Witness
discounted the notes won by the other gentlemen from
the prisoner to the amount of 431., nine notes of 51.
each; and sent his wife on the ht of January into the
city, to the banking-houses at which they were made
payable. After the departure of his wife, he received a
letter from the prisoner, informing him that the notes

that had been won were all fictitious, advising that they
should not be presented ; and stating that he should in a
short time make preparations to take them up. Witness
immediately went in a cab into the city, but his wife
was in the custody of Forrester, having presented one of
the notes for payment at Glynn's.

Cross-examined by Mr. Woolfe—Witness lost upon
the whole in the play that night.

Mrs. Cook stated that he; husband having given her
five M. country bank-notes to get changed, she went to
Glynn and Barclay's banking-house. She received cash
for the note payable at Glynn's, but at Barclay's she was
detained by Forrester, to whom she communicated all
she knew.

Daniel Forrester said that Mrs. Cook having made a
statement to him which he found to be perfectly correct,
;le, with the consent of the bankers, set her at liberty.
A clerk at Glynn's banking-house examined the note
..41):.ch had been presented at the counter by Mrs. Cook,
oild declared it to be a fictitious note.

Sir P. LAURIE—Is it not a forgery ?Witness—The
snature is not that of any one deputed to sign, but I
believe the note was struck off from a genuine plate.
Sir P. LAURIE—I see that the system is a new one,
and I am desirous, as crimes requiring ingenuity and
tatont are very much on the increase, that the public
idtauld be put well upon their guard.
Mr. Bodkin said it was his intention to call the
scientific man who made the plates, to make astatement
about them.

D mica Forrester said that he went with a person
named Chapell, who was servant to Thompson, to Fri-
cour's Hotel, in St. Martin's-lane, and found the pri-
soner sitting in the public room. Witness told the pri-
soner that he was charged with forgery. The prisoner
said that the notes and bills he had passed were not
forged, but fictitious. When in the coach the prisoner
said he had been destroyed at play, and he had resolved
to make up for that by pursuing the course detailed, or
words to that effect.

Thompson said that the night the prisoner uttered the
forgery at the house in Leicester-square, was the priso-
ner's fourth visit to that place.
Sir PERER LAURIE—I want to know who this pri-
soner is. He is, I know, a person of education and
address ; his letter to Thompson proves the fact. (This
was a letter similar to that sent by the prisoner to
Cook, stating that the notes were all fictitious, and that
some arrangement should be made to take them up.)
The prisoner said that he did not belong to any trade
or profession. He did not wish to say any more.
Sir PETER LAURIE—I perceive that in the letter the
prisoner says his address is, " Castlo Grove, county of
Louth, Ireland." Had he any objection to say whether
that is correct ? The prisoner—My name is Edward
Moore. Of that there is not any doubt. I decline
saying anything more.

Mr. 6auntiett, clerk at Barclay's banking-house,
produced two bank-notes ; the one purporting to be the
issue of the Ross Bank, and the other to be the issue of
the Yarmouth B ink, and each for 5/.

Sir PETER LAURIE—Did you ever see anything of
the kind before? Any instance in which notes were
struck off from the genuine plate, and to which false
signatures were attached ? Witness—Never. The
plates from which these notes were struck off appear
to have been genuine, but not one of the signatures is so.
Sir PETER LAURIE—Has any clue been discovered
as to how the notes got into the prisoner's possession ?
Mr. Bodkin—l shall call Mr. Bacon, of Fleet-street,
that engraved the plate.

Mr. Joshua B. Bacon, of 69, Fleet-street, stated that
the house with which he was engage] covered very
largely for the country banks. He had seen several of
the notes. They were taken front the genuine plates,
which were never out of his possession, and were proof
impressions. Considerable ingenuity had been exer-
cised in making them capable of receiving signatures.
When country bunkers wanted to change their plates,
they sent to him for copies of the various banks, and
the copies were struck off from the plates in his posses-
sion, upon India paper of exceedingly thin texture, upon
which the ink was sure to run. He always requ2sted
that the bankers would return the impressions after ex-
amination, not because it was supposed possible that any
forgery or fraud would be attempted with them, but
because the house did not wish to be at the expense of
threepence a piece for copies. He did
,not know how
many might not have been returned, but in mest
instances they had been sent back. It appeared that
by some clever process the impressions now exhibited
had been made to adhere to paper of a thicker texture,
and that each note was not only made more firm, but
was rendered capable of receiving the ink more per-
fectly.

Sir PETER LAURIE—I have frequently said from this
seat that the crimes of ingenuity are becoming excced-
log!), numerous. Can the witness form any opinion as
io the manner in which the prisoner became possessed
of these copies?

Mr. Bacon said that he on no occasion sent speci-
mens to any persons who were not bankers. These
copies might have been sent to some banking-house
which failed, and which, in the confusion arising from
misfortunes, had not returned them. The whole set of
specimens which he usually transmitted to country,
bankers amounted to between twenty and forty. Per-
haps the prisoner formerly was a clerk in some banking-
house to which u set might have been sent.

Mr. Bodkin said that he should again apply that the
prisoner be remanded, in order that cases against lirn
might be established in the most perfect manner.
fhe prisoner, who made no remark, was then ro•
manded.

EXPLOSION AT THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.—John
Seabrook and Timothy Bond, two labouring men, were
brought before the Lerd Mayor under the following
circumstances. At a little before six o'clock on Thurs-
day evening, a most frightful explosion of gunpowder
took place in the excavations of the Royal Exchange at
which the men of Mr. Webb, the contractor, were em-
ployed. The windows of several shops in Cornhill, in
the immediate neighbourhood of the New Royal Ex-
change were broken, and fatal mischief was very near
being_ committed.
Henry Taylor, a policeman, stated that he was on
his beat at the time of the explosion, and a large piece
of brick passed within two or three inches of his Lice.
He heard a noise of the breaking of glass, and he went
into the house or Mr. Baldwin, one of tne windows of
which was smashed, and saw a piece of brick lying on
the floor. Other windows were broken ; and one win-
dow of plate glass, of the value of 101., was smashed by
the flying bricks. The terror which prevailed was very
great.

The LORD MAYOR sent Inspector Maclean to the
city surveyor to desire his attendance at the Justice-
room ; when it was soon ascertained that the defend-
ants, who had been at work in the foundation of the New
Royal Exchange, had deposited a greater charge of gun-
powder than was proper for the purpose of blowing up
sonic hard materials. It was stated upon the part. of
the contractor that there was no danger in bowing up
with gunpowder when performed by skilful and expe-
rienced men, and that the two defendants were mistaken
in their calculation of the necessary quantity.
Thu Loan MAYOR expressed great surprise and in-
dignation at the introduction of gunpowder while work-
ing under ground in such a place as Cornhill, and directed
that care should be taken to prevent anything of the
kind from being done again.

The contractor having engaged to pay for all the
damage that had been done. and also having undertaken
that no other explosion by gunpowder should be re-
sorted to, the prisoners were discharged.