The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-06 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT—(Thi_s Day.)

THE GREAT CITY FORGERIES. SENTENCE
OF THE PRISONERS.
This morning James Townshend Saward, and James
Anderson, found guilty yesterday of forgery to a large
extent on the City Bank, were placed at the bar to
receive sentence.
Both prisoners presented a very dejected appearance
to that of yesterday, particularly Seward, who held his
head down during
the whole of tsbeentCenhei
sentence.
Baron's ad-
dress to them previous to p
On being placed at the bar,
The Clerk of Arraigns called on each of them, and
-aid—You are convicted of forgery. Have y u any-
thing to say why the Court should not proceed to pass
sentence upon you I
Saward--Before your lordship passes sentence in my
case, I humbly ask you to defer it till next session. I
have no complaint to make to the verdict on the evidence
adduced, or to the impartial, just, and impressive sum-
ming up of your lordship ; but I make the appli-
cation under the following circumstances :'—
ask at your lordship's bands to be shown a little
clnsideration in consequence of my unfortunate and
defenceless position; and perhaps your lordship will have
the kindness to order that a copy of the notes of your
1 ,rdship's evidence of certain witnesses which I will
name shall be lodged with the Governor of Newgate,
to be made such use of as 1 may be hereafter advised.
The Chief Baron—Your request is entirely novel. I
never heard, in the whole of my ex?erience, nor have I
met in the whole course of my reading, of such an applis
cation being made and formed on no grounds whatever.
Saward—My position is a most unfortunate one.
The Chief Baron—You do net state for what object
feu want my notes of the evidence.
Saward—My reason is that I consider much of the
evidence received yesterday was inadmissible.
The Chief Baron—Then the proper course for you to
have pursued was to have objected yesterday to its ad-
mission. I thought the whole of the evidence was admis-
sible. It was the subject of continual consideration in
my own mind, and its admission was frequently the
result of the joint opinion of myself and Mr. Baron
Braruwel', whose aid and assistance I have had on
this occasion. I was myself very careful not to ad-
mit anything that did not appoar to me to be evidence.
I objected at first to the admission of certain matters,
but atter consideration they appeared to me to be ad-
missible, and I admitted them. You do not now static
any grounds for your application, except that you
west the notes. You do not state what objection you
have to take, and it appears to me that you only want
them to have an opportunity of finding out any ob-
jection.

Saward—Just so, my lord. I was not aware until
yesterday morning that I should be undefended.
The Chief Beron—l can be no party to your appli-
cation founded on that objection. The appointment
for the trial was made and the arrangements concluded
as early as Saturday last. You are perfectly aware
that you ought to have made such au application earlier,
or at any rate that you ought to have made applica-
tion on affidavit, prepared by an attorney, and which
should have stated why you were not prepared with
counsel. I think yon were quite as well prepared now
as you would have been had such an application been
wade.

Seward —The briefs were prepared yesterday, but un-
fortunately I could not get the money in time.
The Chief Baron then proceeded to pass sentence in
the following terms :—Ja es Townshend Saward and
James Anderson, you are to receive the judgment of the
C.surt, founded on the verdict of the jury delivered yes-
terday, which pronounced you and each of you to be
guilty of the offences charged in the indictment, that of
forging and uttering on the 18th of August last year an
order for the payment of 1001., which order was de-
scribed in various counts of that indictment aso as a
cheque. The trial lasted many hours. Much evidence
was given, and much which in one sense might be con-
sidered somewhat unusual, and which I pointed oat to
the attention of the jury is summing up the case last
night. It is not usual in the administration of the
criminal justice of this country to have more than one
crime proved at a time against one individual charged
with many, but as I then stated and think it right again
to state, that for the purpose of making out a guilty
knowledge of any person included in the indictment it was
necess.ary to prove the commission of crimes, and the rule
that excludes evidence of the commission of other, for fear
of creating prejudice against a prisoner ceases, and it then
becomes the imperative duty of the judge to admit that
sort of evidence which otherwise he ought to reject. The
case against you made out yesterday presents one of the
,most astonishing and alarming instances of crime that it
has been my misfortune to witness on any occasion since
I have been a judge, and I am not aware that the history
of the criminal justice of this country presents any case
more farraidable than that which was disclosed by the
evidence adduced against you yesterday. It is a
maxim in the administration of the criminal law
that combination renders crime more mischievous and
alarming, and that it calls for greater severity of punish-
ment than when a c fine has been the single act of one
individual, and there never was a clearer specimen of
the proof of the propriety of that practical maxim than
appeared yesterday in the evidence against you. It was
made out to the satisfaction of the jury, and to my en-
t.re aid perfect satisfadtion, that there had existed for
many months, possibly for many years, a combination,
of which you, James Townshend Saward was a party, by
which the crime of forgery was to be coinwitted,by a com-
bination of parties, an all of them involved in the same
guilt. With the assistance of an individual unconscious
of the crime be was furthering—innocent so far as any
intention on his part was concerned altogether of the
offence—but by extraordinary ingenuity and contrivance
made possibly not a reluctant, but a ready, assistant in
the crime of which he was altogether unconscious, and
by such means as these it was now perfectly clear that,
in a great many instances, crime was successfully perpe-
trated apparently with perfect success and security, and
for a long period the parties escaped the justice of the
country. This scheme appears to have been carried out,
by a strange connection with burglars and pickpockets,
to obtain blank cheques and cancelled cheques, and where
the latter could not be obtained recourse was I ad to
fictitious cheques, whereby the writing of the party was
obtained by his cheque being given for the amount, and
thus facilities were obtained for imitating his hand writ.
ing. The learned judge then referred to the plan adopted
of taking lodgings in a forged name, and of inviting
persons whose education in the country wotil'i
prevent them from knowing much of London
life, and whose years probably induced them
to become innocent parties, without having the
least idea of the crime they were promoting, showing
that arrangements were warts with such skill and dex-
terity that the police were baffled in the pursuit of those
persons who, they were well aware, were conducting-,
apparently in secrecy, a great scheme of planer. At
length an accident gave a clue to the whole matter, and
it was brought forward for public investigation, and then
the whole truth became manifest. It was dis-
tinctly proved that yoti, James Anderson, inveigled
innocent parties, as I have described, and, you, Ja nes
Townshend Saward actuated by that caution in which
you apparently prided yourself, freely communicated
with those men who were stamped with the character of
felons, and who could scarcely be creditable witnesses
against you. You cautiously kept out of the way when
cheques had to be presented or money to be paid or re-
ceived, but it so tinned out that the proceedings of some
of the party at Yarmouth and Norwich were discovered,
and their coral be no doubt that the letters were in your
handwriting as well as the writing on the forged docu-
ments. It is impossible to doubt the truth of the
statements made yesterday by Attwell and Bardwicke,
however unworthy of credit they
may appear to be from
the crime which stains their past life and character, that
you both were a party to the entire scheme of sending
forth to the world the cheques and bills that were pro-
ducedT o
yr oe
byeeasdt e
sr yd, at
dat,
wtahse
probablybo t om
of
the e rohoi cs
ht
cons y o u i
tic
ua omu es
11.
This was one of the most alarming and serious cases of
forgery to a hick the attention of the public had for a long
time been called, and had not the laws of the country,
which met with his concurrence, received a more peaceful
form than formerly, there can be no doubt but that each
of you would have expiated your crime by an ignomi-
nious death. I rejoice, however; that I have not to pass
that sentence, but whatever the law holds out with a
view to deter from such offence, appear to me to be the •
ju t measure of punishment to persons who have
fi led up the largest measure ot 'crime. I was
requested yesterday to take notice of the case
ot one of you with a view to a mitigation of
the sentence but atter tu'l consideration I feel
acidfei t h e
boundh s ad
bound not to listen to the appeal ot Sir F. Thesiger,
and had the prosecution been conducted by the Attor-
nmotiviteo
yo
de Attor-
ney-General,
ecotive. to
acosmimpliylawr
iathppilti,cation I
pass the full sentence, leaving it to the ex
consider and determine thereon. Should an application
be male to the Rome Secretary, and I am applied tot,
but to
shall have much pleasure in giving it rue careful. Ia
en-
Con. In the present state of the
case
can
make no distinction between the
indi-
vidual, who, though a party to
possible from being
action, screees himself so far s p e cautious
trans-
:el the person who has
personally mixed rp withhat
displayed a capacity fur
acted as agent, but
committing that crime worthy of a
for the purpose
ofwhichc would, in all probability, have
crime, and an ingenuity and an abundance of resource
bettor cause, end
and
whatever might have rewarded
where it has received a virtuous
successful
in*rgietninal direction. I lament that, with re-
produced
instead °f a criminal
Seward, that you must have
spect to you
rant, and
been at one period of yourlife in circumstances fardifferent
from those in
which the justice of the Court has found
you ,nvo
Ived, at least, for many months—possibly for
years.
It is stated, and not denied, that yen are a
member of an honourable profession ; and I deeply re-
gret that that ingenuity, skill, and talent, which has re-
ceived so perverted and mistaken a direction, has
not been guided by a sense of virtue, and
directed . to more honourable and useful pursuits.
I am called upon to pass sentence upon you, and for the
reasons that I have assigned it is impossible for me to
stop short of the utmost limit to which the law permits
the punishment to proceed. Any mitigation that may
belong to either must come from a different source.
The learned judge then passed sentence of transportation,
for life on each of them in the usual terms.
The prisoners were then removed from the dock,