The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-23 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.

CHARGE OF FORGERY.—WiIIiam H. G. Baugh, was
brought up for final examination upon the charge of
having forged a draft upon Coutt's bank for 222/. 15s.
6d., in the name of John Sidey Celery, of Brook-street,
Brentwood.
Messrs. Bush and Muller, solicitors to the committee
of bankers for protection against forgeries and fraud,
attended for the prosecution.
The date of the draft was 7th April, 1847.
The following was the additional evidence in the case:
Mr. Charles Carne Lewis said—l am an attorney of
Brentwood, and am Coroner for the county of Essex.
The prisoner was in my service as a clerk until the day
of his apprehension. He entered my service in the month
of June, 1846, at a salary of 100/. a year. In April last
I was engaged for the parish of South Weald in an ap-
peal with the Eastern Counties Railroad against the as-
signment of the poor-rates of the parish, and a question
arose whether certain occupants of the parish were not
rated too low. in consequence of which I applied to
several occupants to let me have their receipts for rent,
amongst others to Mr. Caley. I received from Mr.
Caley a letter containing two receipts. I have made
strict search for these documents and cannot find them.
I am not positively certain of the contents of the re-
ceipts. The prisoner had access to those documents, and
was partially engaged in the appeal. On the 13th of
April the prisoner left me at Thetford to go to Somerset
House to pass some accounts. The memorandum in
the pocket-book produced is in the prisoner's hand
writing. I produce his disbursement book, in which is
an entry on the 13th of April of one shilling, charged
as his omnibus fare to and from London. On the 29th
of April the prisoner applied to me for leave of absence,
which I gave him for a few days. The entry in the
pocket-book of the 30th of April is in his handwriting.
I don't recollect seeing him again until the 13th of May,
but I believe he was at my office on the 12th. He staid
away longer than the extent of my permission. He said
it was on account of illness, and I understood he had
been to Chester. (Here several entries were pointed out
to the witness, one of which was " 29th May, admitted
at Lin. Inn, paid 31/. 13s. fees," and he stated his belief
that they were all in the handwriting of the prisoner.
In his cross-examination, the witness said all the
clerks in his office had access to the receipts. The pri-
soner resided at Miss Carey's, Bromwell-cottage, Brent-
wood.
Mr. E. P. Frodsham, clerk in the North and South
Wales Bank ire Liverpool, said—On the 10th May last a
person applied to me at the bank for a credit in Birming-
ham for 152/ in favour of Ernest Hawkins, Esq. The
person so applying handed to me the produced ticket
ready filled up, and said he could not have a credit in
Birmingham as we had no agent there, but he could
have a credit in London; that an order in London would
answer his purpose just as well, as it could be cashed
at Birmingham. He said it would do. He then gave
me Bank of England notes amounting to 1551., and
deducted the 1521. and 7s. Bd. for commission, and gave
to the party 2/. 12s. 4d. as the balance of the 1531
and altered the ticket, by strikng out "Birmingham and
inserting London," and inserting the words " Oa de-
mand" at the top of the ticket of those given him. He
produced a draft on the London and Westminster Bank,
for the 152/. The bank notes which Iso received, I de-
livered, together with the ticket, to Mr. R. Jones, another
clerk in the bank at Liverpool.
The bank notes received by the last witness for the
1521. draft on the London and Westminster Bank, now
proved to be one of those which had been indirectly
received in payment of the forgery, and were traced
through several hands, so that it was quite evident that
the perpetrator calculated upon escape, from the con-
fusion likely to arise from his ingenuity.
Mr. George Doudney said I am assistant to my father
in his business as a tailor, carried on at 49, Lombard-
street. The prisoner has been a customer of ours for
about twelve months. On the 14th of June last, I re-
ceived a 501. note from Mr. Baugh, our foreman, in the
prisoner's presence. I took it to Messrs. Barclay and
Co. for change, and received ten 5/. notes, and gave Mr.
Baugh nine of them, and the difference, between 3/. 195.,
and the other Si. note he gave to the prisoner.
William Pearce, a person in the service of Mr.
Doudney, recollected that the prisoner called on the 13th
of April to pay his bill, observed that the prisoner had
a great deal more money in gold and bank notes. He
noticed the circumstance particularly, in consequence of
repeated applications having been made for the amount
of the bill, and an order having been refused to be exe-
cuted because the money was not paid.
Mr. W. Base said, I am a clerk to Messrs. Bush and
M ullens, of No. 7, St. blildrei's-court, Poultry, solicitors.
In consequence of information which I received on the
12th of July, I went to Messrs. Doudney's, and saw the
prisoner in a cab at the door. I got into the cab, and
said,t I believe you are Mr. Baugh; it will be in your re-
collection that you paid to Mr. Doudney a 501. note.
After some hesitation he said, " Yes; I received two 50/
notes from a salesman." I said it is important that
we should know from whom you received the
notes ; they are indirectly the produce of it
forgery. I observed considerable hesitation about
him, and said, perhaps you would prefer giving your
explanation to Mr. Bush. He asked who Mr. Bush
was ? I said he is the solicitor to the Bankers' Associa-
tion. He then consented to go. I left the cab, and
John Forrester got in, and they drove away together.
Shortly afterwards I saw the prisoner at No. 7, St. Mil-
dred's-court. Mr. Bush, Mr. Doudney, John Forrester
the prisoner, and myself; were present altogether. After
some preliminary observations respecting the forgery,
Mr. Bush cautioned the prisoner that what he might
say might be given in evidence against him ; and then
Mr. Bush said it was his duty to call upon him to ac-
count for the possession of that 501. note. The prisoner
hesitated very much, and afterwards said, " I sent some
horses to Smithfield, and received 100/. for them. I
think he said he sent them from Brentwood. Mr. Bush
said he was bound to ask him the name of the party
who had given him the notes ? Tho prisoner returned
no answer, and was given into the custody of Forrester.
I afterwards went to Brentwood to the house of a Miss
Casey, called Bromwell cottage ; and in a sitting room
there found a number of papers. Amongst which was
the bill produced, of Mr. William Doudney, for 31. 195.,
Mr. Doudney's bill and receipt for 11/. 175., and a re-
ceipt, signed by the Steward of Lincoln's Inn, for 311.
13s. 101., and the produced pocket book.
John Forester said—l was present at the interview
which the witness, Mr. Base, has described, and he has
described it correctly. I searched the prisoner, and
found upon him a 20/. Bank of England note, dated 9th
January, 1847, to. 76,588 ; a 101. note, No. 56,839,
dated 10th May, 1847 ; and a 101. note, No. 46,106,
10th March, 1847 ; and a receipt for 27/. for a horse ;
the form of a prommissory note for 300/., payable to
Miss Burdett Coutts ; a six-shilling bill stamp, and a
duplicate for a gold pin.
The prisoner, who, it was stated, had been prosecuting
legal studies with the intention of being called to the
bar, was then fully committed for trial for the forgery.
No attempt was made to prove that he bad had any
dealings in horses at Smithfield.
G ill L D HA L L.

The Justice room was crowded with members of build-
ing societies, to hear the examination of Bazil Henry
Strongsbery, the manager of the Fifty Pound Building
Club, in Victoria-street, and the Times Building So-
ciety, held at the Guildhall Coffee-house. The prisoner
was on this occasion defended by two solicitors, Mr.
Lewis and a clerk from Mr. Humphre)'s office.
Mr. Digby said, he appeared to prosecute on behalf of
three societies. He had laid the evidence already be-
fore the magistrate in two cases. In one of them he
(defendant) was entrusted by the treasurer to pay a sum
of money into the banker's next day ; he did not, and
took his passage to America. He was taken from the
steam-boat. In the other case he had shown that a
member paid 71. 10s. to him as an officer of the society ,
which he had not accounted for, but had absconded.
There were other similar cases. He understood there
might be much difficulty in procuring a conviction, and
that a prosecution might lead to much litigation and
expense, which the building societies did not feel dis-
posed to incur. Without, therefore, withdrawing or
pressing the charge, he begged to leave the matter wholly
in the hands of the magistrate.
A gentleman who appeared for the Guarantee Society,
begged it to be understood that he had not favoured the
withdrawal of the charge. The society desired that who-
ever was guilty of dishonesty should be duly punished.
Mr. Alderman IluGuEs desired the evidence previously
taken to be read.
The evidence applying to the payment of 7/. 10s. was
read.

Mr. Humphrey's clerk contended that there was not

the least ground here for any prosecution. He was not
authorised to receive the money ; and if he had been the
period for accounting had not come round, which was
the monthly meeting night, and he was not chargeable
with not accounting. _ _

Mr. Alderman ii"IIGHES remarked that if he had suc
ceeded in getting off to America, he could not have re.
turned in time to account. The intention not to account
was plain enough.

Mr. Humphrey's clerk suggested there must be proof
of not accounting at the proper time. He might have
left the money for the society with a friend,—(A laugh.)
The ALDERMAN said he felt that there was no ground
for this bold assertion, that the prisoner had committed
no offence. It was proved to him that the society was
enrolled under the Benefit Societies Act, and by that
Act any officer having in his or her possession any sum
of money belonging to such society, and fraudulently
withholding the same, may be ordered to pay double the
sum so fraudulently withheld, or be committed to hard
labour for three months.
Mr. Lewis submitted there was clearly no offence in
the matter. His client had duly entered in the society's
books every farthing, and that was accounting, though
he did not hand over the money. He cited a case where
the judges held that a party was not indictable for
embezzlement in such a state of circumstances.

Mr. Alderman HUGHES IIuGHEs had no doubt that
any servant who accounted in writing, but kept the
money, was indictable in some form. Somebody was
injured in the present case, either the member who had
to pay his subscription over again, or the society, who
were defrauded of the money. .

Mr. Humphrey's clerk—The prisoner's conduct might
be morally wrong, and yet not legally criminal.
Mr, Alderman HUGHES HUGHES said ho considered
these societies had a beneficial operation. The working
classes ought to be encouraged in purchasing houses
when opportunities offered, paying for them, by means
of these societies, by instalments spread over a number
of years, and they should have all the protection he
could give them. But he believed the law had been ren-
dered doubtful by the conflicting opinions of counsel,
-delivered oa cases prepared by the building societies cn
another point, but which incidentally affected such mat-
ters as the present. He inquired the amount of the
prisoner's deficiencies.
Mr. Digby said he believed they would roach 100/.
Mr. Alderman HUGHES HUGHES, after some desul-
tory conversation, remanded the prisoner for a week, to
see whether the money would be forthcoming at the