The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-26 00:00:00

2RIAL FOR FORGING A WILL.

A trial that has excited great interest commenced
at Liverpool on Wednesday, before Mr.BaronWat-
son, when Richard Hardy, John Hope, Joseph
Berry, and Ruth Berry, were indicted for forging a
will at Salford on the 23d of April last, and with
uttering the same knowing it to be forged.
Mr. Attorney-General Bliss, Mr. Ellis, Q.C.,
(Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster), and
Mr. Holkar, appeared for the prosecution, and Mr.
Pope defended the prisoners.
It appeared from the opening statement of Mr.
Bliss, that the deceased, Ann Dean, whose will
was alleged to be forged, kept a small shop
in a cellar at Pendleton, in Salford. She
was an. illegitimate daughter of Sarah Dean,
and by habits of penury and care for many
years had amassed a considerable sum of money,
and had in her banker's hands nearly £6OO.
She was unmarried, and her nearest relation
(though, from her being illegitimate herself, he was
not her lawful relation) was Isaac Dean, who kept
a draper's shop in Salford. The deceased became
seriously ill in April last, and fancying that the
cellar in 'Which she lived did not agree with her,
she took lodgings at the prisoner Hardy's, who kept
a beer-house, where she went on the 13th of April,
and died that night. She had expressed her inten-
tion to leave her property to Isaac Dean, but on her
death Hardy and his daughter, Ruth Berry, and
her husband, Joseph Berry, set up a will purporting
to be made by the deceased and attested by Luke
Hardman, as one of the attesting witnesses. For
the prosecution it was stated that two wills were
forged by the prisoners, one in substitution for an-
other, the first not suiting their purpose, and that
these wills were made by the prisoner, Hope, who
is an attorney, and whose name has been struck off
the roll. Up to the time of the removal of the deceased
to Hardy's house, it was said on the part of the
prosecution the deceased had made no will, and from
the time of her arrival there to her death she was
too ill to make one, and never did make one. The
will alleged to be forged was drawn by the pri-
soner Hope and copied by Luke Hardman, and to
this will the deceased was said to have affixed her
mark. She could write very well. Luke Hard-
man was admitted to give evidence as approver. A
careat was entered against the proof of the wall,
which was allowed to expire, and the will was
proved by the prisoners, after an attempt to settle
matters with Isaac Dean, and the will so proved
was the forgery charged in the indictment.
After hearing the evidence the case was ad-
journed.
Yesterday the three prisoners, Hardy, Hope, and
Berry, were placed in the dock at nine o'clock.
His Lordship commenced the summing up of the
case, and expressed his regret that he had nut been
able to conclude it last night, when it was all
fresh in their memory, but that was impossible, to
do it justice, after having sat for 10 hours. There
were, he said, originally four prisoners charged
with this offence, but the female was discharged,
for when a husband and wife are present in the
committal of an offence, the law presumes the wife
is acting under the coercion of her husband, and,
therefore, is not herself criminal. But with regard
to the three remaining prisoners : Hardy is a beer-
house keeper, Hope is a sort of a lawyer, and Berry
is a carter. These men are charged with forging
the will of Ann Dean, who was no doubt a very
penurious person, for she commenced life with a
capital of ls. 50., and at her death had between
five and six hundred pounds in the bank, some other
propel ty, and it was supposed there was a policy of
insurance upon her life. On the part of the prosecu
tion the theory set up was, that the will was forged
on the 18th of April ; for the prisoners, it was sug•
gested that it was made by the deceased before her
death. If they believed that, then there was no for-
gery ; if they believed the contrary, then there could
be no doubt a forgery had been committed, and, if so,
by whom. There was abundant proof, if it was a
forgery, that the three prisoners: were acting to-
gether at the time the alleged offence was com-
mitted. The will was admitted to be in the hand-
writing of Berry, and it was attested by Hardy ;
and there was the most abundant evidence that at
this time Hope, who acted as a sort of a lawyer,
was instructing them. But the whole case would
rest on the evidence of the witness Hardman, who
was an accomplice. Such evidence was always
looked upon with suspicion, but it was allowed by
the law, if it was corroborated, and unless they be-
lieved that his evidence was corroborated, he should
advise them to reject it. His lordship then read
through the whole of the evidence, pointing out
the parts in which Hardman's statement had been
confirmed, and said the only question for considera-
tion was, in fact, was the will made on the 13th Of
April by the deceased? If it was not, it was a for •
fiery. In commenting upon the papers found in
Hope's possession, he particularly alluded to the
bill of co, s, the last item in that bill being on the
18th of June, and amounting to £75, fees beyond
ull bound and most extortionate, and closely fol-
lowing was a copy of an indictment for forgery
against Hardy, evidently showing that the pay-
ment of the bill had been refined. The only thing
that he c.n►ld suggest was that he had succeeded in
his wicked concoction of this scheme of forgery, and
because he had not got what he wanted was concoct-
ing a scheme to frighten them out of some money, and
that too almost simultaneously with the proceed-
' ings commenced which had brought the pri-
soners to this court. His lordship next alluded
to the original will of the deceased's mother, and
the one said to be a copy of it made for the de-
ceased, pointing out the discrepancies, which
-clearly showed that the latter must have been made
at the suggestion of some person not unacquainted

with the law, the legal terms being used, and not
such as would at all be likely to be used by a carter
without assistance from some person. After this
he left the jury to decide was it a forgery, and was
the evidence of the witness Hardman corroborated
so far as for them to believe his bistory of the
affair ; if so, they would find the prisoners guilty 1
if, on the other hand, they doubted his evidence
and believed that the will was made by the de:-
ceased on the 13th of April, they would acqUit
them.

The summing up of this case occupied nearly
two hours. In answer to a question being put by
Mr. Pope,
Baron Watson said the statement given in theLt
court was the same as that given before the magi:3-
trates. He had read the depositions, and they
were the same. He had avoided alluding to this
in summing up, because he did not wish to preju..-
dice the case. But as he had been asked the quest-
tion he would answer it, but it was unfortunate for
the men that it had been put.

The jury then retired, and after being absent for
up\Nards of an hour, they returned into court with
a verdict of guilty against each prisoner.
A former conviction was proved against the pri-
soner Hope. It took place in the year 1856, when
he was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment for
stealing a Bible,
In passing sentence upon them, his lordship said
—You htvve been convicted by a verdict of the jury
of a very bad and wicked offence. I can say I en-
tirely concur in the verdict. It is as clear as pos-
sible that you entered into a wicked design for the
purpose of defrauding some persons, whoever they
might bt, entitled to that property. This I hope
will be a warning to those who employ an accom-
plice for the purpose of concocting a bad and wicked
design, that they are subject to be brought to jus-
tice, even by the voice of that accomplice. I hope
it will be a warning to you and others who may be
led to commit such an offence. Formerly your
punishment would have been death, and you would
have suffered that awful penalty. I am sorry to
see a man so advanced in years as you are, Hardy,
standing in such a position, with him who stands
near you. It arises from a shocking love of gain, ,
which but too often leads men from the paths of
honesty and duty. You thought the woman insen-
sible, and you might make what use you pleased of
her property. As to you, Hope, this is not the first
time you have been in a court of justice. There is
no doubt but that you were the instigator and the
concoctor of this wicked act. Your possession of a
little knowledge of the law, in many circumstances,
has been the cause of creating much mischief. I
have triod how I can make any distinction in your
punishment. I can make no distinction, for I
think you would have turned traitor at some time.
The sentence of the Court is, that you will be con-
demned to penal servitude for the term of 14 years.
The prisoners were then removed, apparently not
much surprised at the decision.