The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-21 00:00:00

first instance for attempting, by means of a forged letter
and petition from Mr. Best, of Greenwich, to obtain
money from the Earl of Devon. ,
It Lppeared that it was the practice of the defendants
to concoct petitions, setting fe,reh cases of great afflic
tion and destitution, and to make use of the names of
different clergymen, as parties recommending the cases
of the petitioners to the benevolent consideration of
those noblemen and gentlemen to whom the petitions
were addressed. In the case of the Earl of Listowel,
the name of the Rev. Mr. IN; icolay, of St. Katherine's,
was used, and the petition was so plausibly drawn up,
that his Lordship addressed a rote to Mr. :IN icoloy—who
had offered to be the " almoner of his henna) '—enclosing
a Post-office order for IL, or the relief of the alleged
case of misery. The Rev. Gentleman was natu-
rally cut prised at receiving such a communica-
tion, and an explanation having taken place, a
statement of the occurrence was forwarded
to the office of the Mendicity Society in Red Lion-
square. Horsford, one of the constables, was instructed
to keep a look-out for the Forties, and on Tuesday last
he succeeded in falling in with them accidentally in Pall-
mall. Having kept a watch on the na,,tion of Jarratt
and Musgrove, he traced them to the residence of the
Earl of Devon, in Berkeley-square, on Wednesday
morning, and after the visit to his Lordship's house bad
terminated, the constable took them into custody. It
was then discovered that the defendants had been palm-
ing off a petition on Lord Devon precisely similar in
character to that furnished to Lord Listowel, with the
exception of the locality and names of the parties who
furnished the recommendation.

Mr. Best came forward, and on being shown the let-
ter and petition purporting to be in his handwriting,
immediately pronounced them both to be forgeries.
Jarratt denied all knowledge both of the letters and
the defendant Musgrove. Almgrove said he had re-
ceived the letter from a man in the city that morning,
who had promised him a shilling if he brought back an
answer. He also declared that Jarratt was an utter
stranger to him.
llorsford said the defendants were not aware that lie
had watched them on the day before he took them into
custody to a coffee-shop in Strutton-ground, where flu y
had lodged together for some time.
Mr. HARDWICK said he was quite satisfied with the
evidenc.? of the guilt and the connexion of the defend-
ants. The course of imposition they pursued was one
which ought always to be visited with the rigour of the
law, inasmuch as it tended to check the stream of pri-
vate benevolence towards real objects of commiseration.
He should therefore send them to prison for three
months.

The third defendant, Owen, was charged with at-
tempting to impose on Mr:Bailey, M.P., No. 6, Bel-
grave-square, by means of a petition and recommenda-
tion from the Rev. J. Nicolay. When the defendant
was searched a number of cards of noblemen and gentle-
men were found on him, together with an ample supply
of materials for future frauds. He had &so two begging
petitions, directed to the Countess of Wilton and the
Earl of Bradford. _ _ _

The defendant, who shed tears, admitted his guilt.
He had been driven by severe destitution into the course
adopted, and he was truly ashamed of the degrading
situation he had placed himself in, by connecting him-
self with such a gang of bad characters.
Mr. HAnnwick hoped the punishment which he
would now have to undergo, would have the etfcct of
bringing him to a true sense of his scandalous conduct,
and would induce him to seek some honest means of get •
ting a livelihood. The defendant was sent to hard la-
bour for three months.