The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-27 00:00:00

These bankrupts were wharfingers, and W. C.
Monkhouse was summoned, and to-day was examined
touching the disposal of a house full of furniture, &c.
It appeared that Monkhouse resided with his wife
and son, at a well-furnished house, in Corrie-place,
Old Kent-road, but the property was claimed by the
son. The assignees, however, ordered that the pro-
perty should be sold, feeling satisfied that it belonged
to the bankrupt in question. The messenger, named
Atkinson, a feeble old man, had placed two assist-
ants in possession of the property ; but when the day
of sale arrived all the goods and property were non est
inventus, with the exception of about 101. worth,
which had been pawned.
The bankrupt now denied any knowledge of the
matter, and added that his wife had pledged them,
with the authority of his son.
A summons had been issued against the son to at-
tend to-day, but not doing so, a warrant for com-
mitment was prayed for.
His HONOUx declined to grant the application, but
issued a second summons for his attendance on Tues-
day next.
The messenger was told that he was responsible for
any loss, and must make it good.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron PLATT and Mr. Justice
WILLIAMS.)
On Saturday George Hayward, 19, clerk, was
indicted for feloniously forging and uttering an order
for the payment of 891 45., with intent to defraud
Messrs. Jones Loyd and Co.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Parnell prosecuted. The pri-
soner was defended by Mr. C. Evans.
It appeared from the evidence that on the 22d of
March, a cheque for 891. 45., purporting to be signed
by Mr. Murray, one of the customers of the bank, was
presented, and no suspicion being entertained that it
was a forgery, the cheque was paid with a 501. note
and cash. On the 20th of March before this transac-
tion, an order was sent to the bank, apparently signed
by a gentleman named Peel, who kept an account
there, for a new cheque-book, and one was accord-
ingly sent back by the messenger who brought the
order, and it appeared that the forged cheque had
been taken from this book so obtained. In order to
connect the prisoner with the transaction, it was
shown that he had formerly been in the service of a
solicitor, named Patterson, who had been a partner
with Mr. Peel, and thus had an opportunity of seeing
that gentleman's signature to deeds and other docu-
ments, and it appeared that the imitation of his signature
to the order for the cheque-book was so excellent that
some of the bank clerks said that, if they were not
aware of the forgery, they should still believe it to be his
writing. It appeared that the 501. note was changed
at the Bank of England for gold on the same day it
was obtained from the bankers', and although the
prisoner was not identified as the person who so
changed it, it was proved that the fictitious address
at the back of it, Henry Simmons, 13, Belvidere-
street, Lambeth, was his handwriting, and Mr. Pat-
terson, his late employer, also swore that, to the best
of his belief, the forged cheque was in the prisoner's
handwriting. It was likewise shown that, about the
period of the forgery, the prisoner was seen in pos-
session of a good deal of money, and also a cheque-
book, and that he told a young man, named Capes,
with whom he had become acquainted at the Pavilion
Theatre, that his grandfather had given him 2001.,
and he talked of setting up in business as a cigar
dealer. The prisoner and Capes, it appeared, went
to the Isle of Wight together, and had a week's frolic,
during which time "the prisoner spent 121. and his
companion 51. of his own money. In answer to a
question put by the Court, this witness also said, that
in June he saw the prisoner in possession of as much
as 701., and at that time he had also a gold watch and
a quantity of jewellery about his person, and he said
to him, " Young fellow, you look very smart," and it
was upon this occasion he said that his grandfather
had given him 2001.
The jury, after a short deliberation, found the pri-
soner Guilty of forging the instrument in question.
He was then arraigned upon a second indictment,
charging him with forgery and uttering an order for
1401., with intent to defraud Messrs. Glyn, Halifax,
and Co., and William Alexander, 20, a genteelly
dressed youth, was indicted as an accessory after the
fact. In other counts the intent was said to be to
defraud John Fenton.

The same counsel were engaged to conduct the
prosecution.
Mr. Evans again defended Hayward, and Mr. Met-
calf appeared for Alexander.
Mr. BODKIN opened the case, as one connected
with a most daring and ingenious system of fraud, by
which the bankers had been very great sufferers, and
he then proceeded to detail the circumstances under
which the charge was preferred against prisoners.thettAr.
i
From the evidence adduced, it appeared that
Fenton is a wine merchant, carrying on business in
Mark-lane, and in the early part of June he received
a letter, addressed from Wormwood-street, and pur-
porting to be signed by a person named Charles
Smith, making some inquiry of him respecting
a vessel called the Henrietta, with which he was
supposed to have some connexion, and requesting
an answer to be sent to the address speci-
fied. It appeared that this letter was merely
an ingenious artifice to get possession of his
signature, and Mr. Fenton being thrown off his guard,
and of course not having the slightest suspicion that
any fraud was intended, sent an answer, which he
signed in his usual manner, and it appeared that the
prisoner Hayward, who represented himself to be
Charles S.nith, called for and obtained possession of
this answer. Very soon afterwards an order, as in
the former case, was sent to the bankers with a
cheque-book, and on the same day the forged cheque
in question was brought to the bank, and so exactly
was Mr. Fenton's signature imitated, that although it
appeared the attention of one of the clerks was espe-
cially directed to it, he declared it to be " all right,"
and it was accordingly paid by two 501. Bank of
England notes and forty sovereigns. The cheque-
book that had been obtained by means of the forged
order was afterwards found by a police-constable, in
the carriage-way in Crispin-street, Spitalfields, and
upon its being examined, nearly every leaf was found
to have the name of John Fenton written upon it,
as though a person had been practising to imitate the
signature, and upon the lodging of the prisoner Hay-
ward being subsequently searched by Daniel For-
rester, the officer, he found some blotting paper with
the name of John Fenton blotted upon it. In addition
to this very strong evidence against the prisoner Hay-
ward, it was shown that about the time in question he
was in possession of a great deal of money, and that
he induced a person named Rowley to take a fifty-
pound note- to the post-office at Charing-cross, and
endeavour to get change for it by purchasing a pound',
worth of postage-stamps ; but it appeared the clerk
refused to take it, and Rowley then returned it to the
prisoner.
With regard to the other prisoner, Alex-
ander, it was proved in evidence that he was the con-
stant companion of Hayward, and it was shown that
after this transaction at the post-office, he went to a