The Sun.
London, England, 1832-07-19 00:00:00

FRENCH FORGERY.

It appears by letters from Paris, that the Tribunal de
Commerce of that city has just been called upon to de-
cide a question of considerable importance to the Bank of
France, in consequence of a well-executed forgery which
has recently been made on that establishment. Offends
of that kind are of very rare occurrence in France, and
on former occasions, when the good faith of a holder was
apparent, it was the practice of the B ink to rel eve the
party from loss. It was probably found, however, that
this practice became gradually a sort of premium to care-
lessness. When the imitation in question, therefore, o
the 500 franc note made its appearance, it was resolved
that it should not be paid, through whatever hand it
might reach the establishment, and an action was conse-
quently brought against the Bank of France for the amount.
Several parties concurred in the prosecution, in order to
enable them to strengthen their case by a greater variet)
of argument ; one contending that the note in question
was good and genuine, in order to throw the proof that
it was oth.rwise on the Bank ; and another party main-
tainin4 that the Bank had made itself responsible for the
payment of what was acknowledg d to be spurious, by
the imperfect manner in which the genuine notes were
executed. It was argued by third party, that the extra
mive privileges of the Bank, its exemption from stamp
duties and the fees of registration, to which private esta-
blis,ments are exposed, and its indemnity from the corre-
sponding fines and penalties, give the holders of spurieu.
paper a peculiar claim to reimbursement. When a forge
note is presented at the Bank of France for p iyment, it
the practice of the clerks to stamp it conspicuously with
the word faux, or forged ; and one of the further claims
of the parties in this suit was to require damages from
the Bank for thus taking the law into itsown hands,withour
the intervention of a court of justice. It was the opinion,
however, of the Tribunal de Commerce, that, as no man
could be called upon to pay a bill he had nut signed, the
Bank on general principles was not liable. Their judg
went was strengthened by the consideration that Bank.
notes are not a legal tender, and it is one of the remarkable
features of this case, that the judgment of the Court is se
expressed as to lead to the inference, that if they had been
a regal tender, the Rink might have become liable for th.
payment of the forgeries in the hands of the bona jid.-
holders. As to the facilities to forgery afforded by di
imperfect execution of the genuine notes, the Court was
of opinion, that, being a mere human invention, it was
impossible to require absolute perfection, and difficult to
draw the line at which carelessness on the part of the Bank
should subject that establishment to the consequences fer
which the plaintiffs contended. The Tribunal de Com-
merce, however, declared itself incompetent to determine
the question raised by one of the parties, as to the genuine-
ness or validity of the note alleged to have been forged ,
so that if the point be insisted on, it must come before a
Court with the intervention of a jury. The forgeries re.
ferred to are supposed to have been executed by a litho..
graphic process.—Times.

NOT SO BAD AS EXPECTED.—III the melo-
drama of the Caravan a dog named Carlo played a prin-
cipal character. Diurlum, the singer, was also in tl.e
same piece. One evening the latter went up to SHE
&WAN, and, with a grave race, informed him that he 1:;,41
some bad news to rehite. SHICRIDAN eagerly inquired
what it was, to which Diosum answered, that he felt him-
self so hoarse as to be unable to get through the songs.—
SHeRIDAN, seizing him by the hand, rejoined,
:tient!, you have relieved my iniud of a weight; I thought
the dug had been taken ill."