The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-04 00:00:00

EVENING SUN

T.H. EXCHEQUER
BILL AFFAIR•

RE-EXAMINATION AT THE MA'.
SION-HOUSE.-(THIS DAY.)
The re-examination of Ernest Rapallo, the individusal
charged with being concerned in the late fraudulentall
i
sue of Exchequer bills, was resumed this day. From for
early hour and long before the doors were opened
the commencement of business, the Court was besieged
by a large number of persons, including many of besieged
most influential merchants and members of the Stock

Exchange. •
Some disappointment was experienced shOrtly after the
public were admitted by the announcement that the case
would be taken in the Lord Mayor's private rooms t
which a general rush immediately took place, and tho.see
who had been previously almost excluded from °DI,
Justice-room were thereby enabled to obtain the best

places
Mr.. . ,Burnaby, the chief clerk at the Bow-street
office, Mr. Lefroy, Mr. Maule, and Mr. Raven' f
the Treasury, and several other persons connec.tfer
with the investigation, were early in attendance.
Waddington, who represented the Attorney-Mr' Ge"
neral, was also present. We also observe ldd -
H. Hughes, Mr. Bodkin, the ernlee
Wilson, Wood, Pixie, Sir Geo. CarrollSze. • We
of
observe, en passant, that every accommodation wits be'
forded to the unusually large number of gentlemen
attended from the public press.
At a few minutes past eleven o'clock, Alderman „a
son, accompanied by Mr. Hobler, entered the room, f
the prisoner having been brought in, in custody
Forester, the officer, re-
Alderman WILSON inquired who commenced the P
ceedings ?
Mr. WADDINGTON said—l have the honour to slip
scesl:ll
on behalf of the Crown, to conduct the prosecution;
I understand that the only duty I have to perform to-dss):
is, to fill up what has been very properly considered a net_ce„o.
sary part of the preliminary evidence. The prisoner has uc'h
charged under an Act entitled the first of William I,oe
Fourth for uttering Exchequer bills knowing them
be forged. By that Act, the punishment for such had
offence was made capital, but the capital punishment nt
been since repealed, and a subsequent Act attached beep,l
only the punishment of transportation. It has o„
most justly objected, that before a party can be e
mitted for trial, it must be shown that he uttered the%
Exchequer bills knowing them to be forged, There.l
no doubt about that at all. However suspicious the
bills,ll
cumstances may be under which he uttered these
been,
and however extraordinary his conduct may.have a
still that would not be more than a prima facie case, achl,
- the fact must be proved by other evidence, and that "olf
the clearest possible evidence. At the present
refer
the the business it is not necessary for me to b,
to the. statement made by the prisoner. I may bead,
serve, generally, that he admitted that ne„,-,ith
at various times, received from a person named °'-b-at
enormous_quantities of Exchequer bills. He admits t
he pledged them for his own purposes—to earn' jeer
stock speculations of his own, in which he says
was to have a part. Even since the last issue of xr-,01
quer bills, in June last, he states that he received fro
Smith Exchequer bills to the amount of 130,00 a, aria
on one occasion, when Rapallo applied to him, 5%1 t ,
advanced him in_One sum Exchequer bills•to the amass
upwards of 80,0901. That is the transaction a 3 reObst
these bills, but unquestionably, unless it was proved
some of these were 11,1se and counterfeit, the whole chsrt;
falls to the ground: Now, I shall prove this, with rend
avery large number of these bills. Rapallo mentioned;
o'r,
he gave sonic of those.. bills to a person named Merril' iv
who was to make advances upon them. It is reinarht ,
able that he-never sold 'any of theinjor that no &et°
would have been a very Ipeonvenient course for bintbia
take; but he always pledged them for advances to e,e3„te
him to go on with his ruinous, outrageous, and 're,- in
speculations (if they were not something wors%, a
foreign funds. However, lie gave some of these bilw.
large quantity of them, to_ Marriner. I shall ca 11,,,
Marriner before you, and he-will tell you that he la..
an annual account of all the bills he received from „ed
pallo, and that he passed these to a person Its,--03
De Berckam in order to raise the money. De Ballo
will prove that he received them, from Marriner.
will produce these bills, and show that they came fr:nd
Marriner, and it will then be shown by the clearest one
f
most incontestible evidence that these bills are everXteo
of them forged to the amount of sixteen. I hie
necessary, and there is no doubt that it may be desi Can
on some future occasion to carry the-Proof further, able
be done ; but on the present occasion shall prove, of
16 of these bills, amounting to the- enormous su; 5;
16,0001. were forged. The evidence .is of the 'lll5 are
and simplest nature. You will hear how these 131';',a
made out at the Treasury-office. They-are low ,s,Thsech
under the provisions of an Act of Parliament, by bed,
the Officeof the Auditor of the Exchequer was sb
and the issue is now conducted by the -ComPte°,eere
General, Lord Monteagle. To each of these bills I. the
is a counterfoil. The genuine bill is on the right, eil aad
sheet, and the counterfoil on the left—the-counter'°Therm
genuine bill corresponding in number anddate.
aria °nare three of these bills on one side of the.ifieet, tee
the other side . the counterfoils numbered i:inter-
same way. BetWeee each•-- bill and the c 1.00 g
foil there is a long ' slip filled W4h,‘;l7, ore,
Hines different in each, and when the 0;
taken off for circulation they are cut off in the
the slip so as to leave a portion of the wavillg 111.'0 o.fir
tached to the counterfoil, so that when the bill-is tiotlooo
in, in order to know whether it be genuine a 1) inty
being compared with the counterfoil, unles&-4 e' liar
dovetails and fits in shape and pattern, it is -iitetty ill
that is not genuine. But if it does not corresP°°- its
number, date, and pattern, there is no doubt aNutd to
being a forgery. And you will find that with regar re,
some of the bills traced to Rapallo, they do not co
spond with the pattern or the number. Tiiis.ig.echellaillese
for in this way—the person who supplied him 31'4", these
bills, and who seemed to think that he could -b blame
to an unlimited extent, had a quantity of Ole • the
mid( 0,
paper on which the Exchequer bills are printed tol9 go
usual and correct form, and if it be necessarY 0,00
into that part of the case I can show that SlPitfhfethe
orders to have more blanks than were necessarY.leo'hiecs
Exchequer bills printed, in order to show that his rer-
' was to commit a fraud. I shall call before you 1"-r•,,t hi§
ceval, of the Treasury, who will prove that it i 5 ct'ehed
signature, nor that of Lord Monteagle, that is ntifloere
to these bills. That evidence being given, what
remains ? My Learned Friend, Mr.BOdkin. who t
e ,ivea,
for the prisoner,will take care that that evidence bafter it
properly and correctly, and he cannot contend,to
has been given, that there is not ample evidence to,ipec
a Jury. But I shall go a little-further, for, With ~spec
the
to several of the bills, I shall produce
shape
genuine bills, which do correspond, both ,in 4 thst
and pattern, and you will bear in min"' ssnicv
there are never two genuine bills of t",,,,t
number, and therefore there could be no doubt t''estiolt
ethers are forged and counterfeit. It is not a ittlit: atelY
now before us as to what opinion a jury ma/
come to under all the circumstances of the eas,,e, ;ene,"-
pallo having been found dealing with these -r°"00-lr",
bills under circumstances of a very suspieionstha
justice required that the case should undex'g° 'bee hee,:a
minute and searching inquiry. Mr. Repent), aye- 011-
already said, is a foreigner, and he shall 71)s„,,sed
benefit which our laws give him of a jury corer; tlon7r,
half foreigners and half natives, and I have
that to this jury you will feel it Y?""
to send him. The evidence of suspicion ever):
be clear to the mind of any man on 'readily, tkso"
line of the statement he has made. la.it pos''-of pri;
any man can suppose that Smith had the power
ducing any amount of Exchequer bills he et
Rapallo admits in his , ale Do
statement that r but
think they were the property of Smith b%cosel'',ooll:l
gives no reason for supposing that thee) were EP,
If he thought they were genuine, he .lust lnoh'e 'ed
this most extraordinary statement cidat nn
power of producing and uttering for his own rnua
ll
e .teßov
ra_tp
eaml
forged
g,
any amount. of Exchsequer s"
face of it, is most 'monstrous, and ahsnr-.1
provele
no
t
lag
that
h themisthda
a Jury, are' that the ' was deal" ..g with these fee°
a.t investage.tion. of this In yle Solt e„
fraud not be sto
Burnaby, examined by Mr. DINGT°'
WAD DIN the
are you, Mr. Burnaby ? Chief Clerk at Be 0110 tic
ppeeaddfteinra.ntth:liiiPsi?cliefiobuqyttimreyryf,ebLi
Did you take down the, statement of Mr.
„,1.513d otflo-
- ? I did.--When wastliat ? On Pee sen
tober last.—Where ? At -Whitehall.--Benhers
was the statement made ? _Before Mr. "Ila"'
Magistrate of Bow-street, and several of the ?to
—ls that the statement then taken down by read over ca
I saw the prisoner sign it 'lifter it had heenre:eailtiA°: ?
him.—Did he make it voluntarily, and vitas.rs•veet.' r
that it might be used ainst him before ne .7,;hettft
Yes, he was told distinctly by ,Mr Os' d 101-11-:
he said would be takeh clown in. writing, i,4llost
hereafter be used against him.—Well, read- ,jaat'e'i.
ment. [The statement will be found in the €Oll in on
at the Mansion-house yesterday which appcAl.. s
Cross-examined by the
last page.] ota
statement made by the prisoner. Was i,,t,tions Pt'n.
nuous narrative, pr' was it elicited hy (river' 1,
to Mr. Rapallo ? To a certain extent it wns giver' 1,
the shape of a narrative, and part of it was by 14rie'
col'
it
1111
—Were the questions all put to hini by Mr. ?
-Questions we're put to him by some the
ps
present ? Yes.'—llow long was he under eaalln; nor
From
.1;i-elf-past five to half-past-eight o'clock, st or fe
I can remember.---Had he any friend proell:beb3ll d
there any Legal Gentleman in attendance on hi friste,
of Mr. liapallo's or not, I cannot -1311t'IsTo I'll
There was
,a.person present, but whether he was in fee,
there was no legal adviser along with him for NvlWtit
Mr. Hall 'informed him that he might senur went
he chose. In fact, -Mr. Hall and the Ministeo__
to. 0.,
of the room at ,the Home-office for ten In' the
told him that • in that time he might ha" °int 0,
tendance of whom he pleased.—Bet, Vas h
fact there was no legal adviser present ? No tog%
at the request of any one, or how was he tb,e,'__e ifon?!„
not ke.ow.—How came you to attend at L.un.e offiq
a prisoner: ? Certainly-not.—Did he attend voin; ;18:
elO4ed, Mr. Hall and I went down, knowince,ea,
office ? was it by appointment ? Yes ; after therell' 15
been an appointment. Ile was not a prison
Has he been at large ever since ? I believe knots.
You know of his being taken into custodr;
yesterday;
it
his own office ? Yes, it wasthere
(ye__e, aent
tending to his business as usual ? Ido nt.)ta ao;
I went into the office, and Forrester folloae-e2 was _
took him into custody.—That was in his 1-11e,_Lre
not searched ? All the books and papers wei
on of by Forrester.—Did lie make al '..,,neeal-
possessi
ante ? No.—Was there any attempt at ~,us!'en to
meat ? No, he gave up all at once: Lol.4at the
his keys ? Yes, all ; everything with 0u
least difficulty.—Did he not also tell you of sorne.t that
deposited in some other hands ? Yes ; he 541