The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-16 00:00:00

THE WILLS FORGERIES

--THIS
CASE.(
DAY
CRIMINAL;CHEOSULIAtc'fc.
At the jilting of the Court this morning the prisoners
Barber and Fletcher, Mrs. Darcy, William Saunders,. and
Lydia Saunders, his wife, were placed in the dock to take
their trial upon the indictment charging them with the
forgery of a will purporting to be the last will and testament
of one Anne Slack. ...
There were, as in the other case, a number of counts vary-
ing the description of the charge.
Air. Wilkins, with Mr. Parry, again appeared for Barber,
and Mr. Greaves for Fletcher.
Mr. ERLE stated the ease for the prosecution. It appeared
that the father of Miss Slack died about the year 1815, leav-
ing'a Mr. Hulme as one of his executors. The affairs were
not wound up until 1829, when Mr. Huhne invested certain
property in the public funds in the name of Anne Slack, of
Smith-street, Chelsea, spinster; namely, 6,6001. in the Three
per Cents. Reduced, and 3,500/. in the Three per Cent. Con-
sols. It appeared that Miss Slack had the most unbounded
confidence in Mr.Hulme, who was her guardian, and she drew
from time to time just what money she wanted. On the death
of Mr. Hulme she had to receive the dividends herself.
She was unaware, however, that the 3,500/. Consols stood
in her name, and received the dividends on the
Three per Cents. Reduced only. The consequence was,
that no dividends were received on the Three per
Cent. Consols after 1832, and at the end of ten years both
the stock and the dividends which had accrued due
thereon, but which she had inadvertently passed over,
were transferred into the names of the Commissioners for the
Reduction of the National Debt, according to the ordinary
practice In such cases.. On the 16th of March, 1843, a will
was produced at Doctors Commons, purporting to be that of
Miss Slack. On the 24th or 25th of March probate was ob-
tained, and the stock and dividends subsequently transferred
back into the name of Miss Slack ; and this will would un-
doubtedly be proved to be a forged will. This part of
the charge he should be able to make peculiarly clear, be-
cause he should . call before them Miss Slack herself, the
lady whose will this forged instrument purported to be.
After calling upon the jury to discharge from their minds all
that they might have heard before they entered the jury-
•box in respect of this case, and to judge of its merits
only by the evidence which should be laid before them,
.thesLearned Counsel proceeded to lay before the jury a
short narrative of the circumstances connected with the
transaction, which would be proved in evidence before
them, and then went on to read the letters which Barber
had written to Captain Foskett, fel- the purpose of procuring
particulars relating•to the executors under the will of the late
father of Miss Slack, and as to whether Miss Slack spelt her
Christian name with or without a final e. He next came to
the registry of the death of "Anne Slack, of South-terrace,
Pimlico,' by the prieoper Fletcher, in the name of "Ro-
bert Hart, of James-street, Commercial-road East." In
the first place, there .was uo such place as South-terrace,
Pimlico ; there was a.- South-place, but no such person as
Anne Slack had ever lived • there ; neither was there any
such street as Jame:le-street, Commercial-road . East, nor
could it be discoveredthat any such person as Robert Hart
lutd ever resided is that neighbourhood. It appeared, there
fore, that a fictitious registry of a fictitious death bad been
brought about by the : prisoner Fletcher, in the manner
which he had mentioned. It had been said, in another case,
that the register of a birth was no proof of birth—and cer-
tainly the registry of a death was no proof that the person
alleged to have died was deceased. Fletcher had been
identified by the registrar as the person. He should
also prove that the prisoner Lydia Saunders had lived in
lodgings in the name of Emma Slack; had been d
hairisguised
by a profusion of ringlets of very light coloured , and
constantly wore her bonnet and boa in the house. But
that, notwithstanding the lightness of her ringlets, the hair-
brushes were found to 'be filled with hair perfectly black.—
(Laughter.) While in these lodgings she was visited by
Fletcher, and by her sister, Mrs. Dorey, and her identity would
be proved beyond a doubt. After the transfer, Mrs.
Saunders went back no more to the lodgings at which she
had been living as Emma. Slack, but went to her sister,
Mrs. Derey, and subsequently, after being seen with a large
sum of money in her possession, returned home to Bristol.
At the Bank she had passed-as Emma Slack, the sister and
executrix of Anne Slack, represented as deceased. The
Learned Counsel then went through a history of the circum-
stances attending the examination of Barber at the Mansion-
house, and the subsequent implication of Fletcher, after he
had been produced as the person who had introduced, Emma
Slack ; and after some further observations, left it for the jury
to say whether Barber had a guilty knowledge of, and was a
participator in, the acts of the other prisoners.
Mr. Seaton, from the Prerogative-office, produced a will
purporting to be that of Anne Slack ; also the copy of an
affidavit, the original of which was at the Stamp-office.
Cross-examined by Mr. Wu:Km—Was present at the
Mansion-house when Mr. Barber was first taken. Barber
expressed a wish to proceed with the case at once without
counsel. Mr. Clarkson cautioned him, but he said he would
rather go bu, as he had nothing to fear, or words to that
effect.
Mr. W. G. Bennett produced the original affidavit filed at
the Stamp-office, from the Prerogative-office, and a copy of
the will.
Mr. Wm: Smee, Chief Accountant of the Bank of England
. —ln 1829 there were standing in the Bank books, in the name
of Anne Slack, of Smith-street, Chelsea, the two sums of
6,6291. 17s. Three per Cents. Reduced, and 3,5001. Three per
Cent. Consols. They were bought in on the 23d October,
1829. The dividends on the Three per Cents. Reduced were
paid to Ardern Hulme, Esq., by virtue of a power of attor-
ney ; and the dividends on the Consols were paid to the same
party by a power of attorney. The dividends on both stocks
were received by Mr. Hulme, up to 1832. I knew Mr.
Huhne. In consequence of the non-receipt of the dividends 1
I , have spoken of, after 1832, on the Consols, the suns 9f 1
3,5004 Three per Cent. Consols was, ou 6th July, 1842, trans-