The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-20 00:00:00

PRICE 7D.

EXETER SESSIONS, OCT. 16.

TRIAL OF WILLIAM FRANKS,

William Franks, aged 37, was placed at the bar,
on a charge of forgery. Three indictments had been
found against him; and that on which he was now
arraigned contained nine counts. The prisoner was
charged in a variety of ways; the offence itself was
the forting an endorsement, and uttering as true, a
certain interest or promissory note, of the city bank,
Messrs. Milford and Son, and Co., for 60/., No.
11,859, dated the 30th of April, 1826, and drawn
in the usual manner at 20 days, in favour of Mary
Easterbrook, with intent to defraud Elizabeth Cal-
lendar.

Mr. COLERIDGE said, it was fortunate that in this
city cases of this kind seldom occurred, and it was
not improbable that to most if not to all the jury,
conversant as they were with their general duties in
that Court, the consideration of a question of such
vital import, both as affecting the prisoner and the
public, had never before been presented to them.
J. M. P. Rawlings is a dell{ in the city bank;
the partners are John Milford and John Milford,
jui.
prisoner,
rem_
: embers
andsaNy he 3d of October;
brim
at
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aaont 1 k
1 e
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e
about 'eleven in tiva forenoon, and presented four in-
terest notes ; (two interest notes, those drawn in
favour of Ann Franks and Mary Easterbrook, were
handed the witness), the two 'now produced are
part of the four, had seen them before that time; I
drew them at the time of issuing, and have no doubt
of their identity ; have as little doubt but that I was
present when the interest (for which the receipt
for 1/. 16s. was on the back) was paid ; cannot at
this distance of time say to whom I delivered then+
when drawn.. When presented by the prisoner, they
were neither of them endorsed. There was nothing
on the back except the receipt for the interest. I
then paid him the money, 601., with the interest;
prisoner asked for gold; I told him I would give him
Bank, of England notes ; he said either before I paid
the money, or immediately afterwards, am not cer-
tain which, Mrs. Easterbrook is out of town, but he
should be able to get her endorsement by the next
day, when the note would come for payment; saw
nothing more of him or the note that day ; but about
eleven o'clock in the forenoon of the following day
(the 4th), the same note was presented for payment
by Ann Smale, with the name Mary Easterbrook
written on the back; in consequence of information
the bank had previously, received, I did not pay it.
On his cross-examination Mr. Rawlings does not
know whether Mrs. Callender has had dealings at
the city hank. Though the notes are at 20 days'
sight, it is always the custom to pay on demand,
unless in cases such as occurred about two years
since, of a run on the bank, when they avail them-
selves of the 20 days' notice, in order to see what
may come in: _ . ry

Ann Smale is the daughter of John Smale, who
keeps the Red Cow in St. Sidwell's ; prisoner came
to their house' on the evening of the 3d of October;
had supper, and grog, and slept there. On the fol-
lowing morning said he wanted to go to the bank,
but had drunk a little over night, and wished some .
person would go for him ; he asked me to go for
him; Isaid I would ; he asked fOr pen and ink ; I
brought it to him, and saw him write upon a hill ;
it was on the back of the note; I believe he had
three notes when he was writing; he gave me the
bill On. which I saw him write, with two others;
cannot say On which of the three he wrote; (a nose
was.handed.to the witness), this.is one of the notes
he gave me ; he told me I was to take them to the
bank, and if there was any refusal to pay the bills,
I was .to say . " it was for the person who received
:the money of them yesterday; I presented this note
to Mr. Rawlings ; the other two I presented at the
Exeter Bank first ; the notes were not paid. On
her cross-examination she said, I lighted him-to bed
on. the night he slept 'at our house; he wag a little
intoxicated, but able to walk up stairs ; saw him the
next morningabout half-past seven ; he was perfectly
sober. He was not intoxicated, nor was he tipsy
when he desired me to go to the bank.
Mr. Rawlings was recalled, at the request of Mr.
COLERIDGE, and to a question put by the Court, as
to the state in which Franks was when he came to
the bank on the 3d, replied, that he appeared as
sober as any person that came to the bank on that
day. •
John. Tootell is parish-clerk of St. Thomas's.
Has been so seven years last November. Knows
Calleilar. Married a daughter of her's. Has
been in the habit of transacting her business at the
Exeter bank, but never went to the city bank for
her. Knows Franks, the prisoner. His name is Wil-
liam. The prisoner and his wife lived with Mrs.
-Callendar. His wife was confined about twelve
.months ago. Knows kto be about that time. At-
tended the christening. Has seen • Ann Franks re-
peatedly since, and is sure she was not confined
either in 'September-or the present month (October)
of this year. Franks can write. Has seen him
write on a sheet of paper, but not sufficiently so its
to be enabled to prove his hand-writing.' Mrs. Cab:
lendar has' another daughter named Mary Easter-
brook. Knows her well and her writing—[note
handed].—the signaturb is not her writing; knOws
her'husband, Peter Easterbiook ; knows his wrting,
but ;not sufficiently to swear to it, but quite suffi-
ciently to swear positively that the signature now
produced is not his, nor at all like his writing;
both those persons have been absent from 'Exeter
many years; Mary, since June, 1810, until last
'Saturday ; and Peter, the last 18 years. On his
cross-examination he denied having any ill feeling
towards the prisoner ; bad never said he would en-
deavour to hang him, or that he wished him hanged.
Harriett Tootell is wife of John Tootell.—Mary
Easterbrook and Ann Franks are her sisters: knows
their writing well ; the signatures on the notes now
handed her are not of their writing.
Elizabeth Callendar was the mother-in-law of the
prisoner; he married her daughter Ann; they lived
with her; she had interest notes, drawn in the names
of her three daughters, whose property, on a certain
• event, it was to become; at present the notes were
her property ; they were kept in a box locked; and
in a room to which the prisoner and his wife had free
and unreserved access as well as herself; she had re-
cently, about thelatter days of September, seen them
there, and .was not aware of her loss until the.day
on 'which the prisoner was taken into custody; the
box, to look at, presented the same appearance as
before, but on closer inspection, it was found the
h
fall
f
heir
egnneii:n,sdtl;oatrBdoevsnittileioeeininro
receipt
theoceesr insidee,f ortprh et
ghopoefonti
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year's oi
rot, feeoixlnett
signature,
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abli
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siNiVieiaers
sent her
‘olVrireiitrt3l,
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rg
accompanied
Could
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iedr
tnow daughter.iler
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'is certain she ultimately received the money. Her
daughter, Easterbrook, was not aware, nor was her
husband, that such a note was in existence, until this
transaction made it known. Knows the writing of
,the whole of the parties; the signatures now shown
her are not theirs. This witness was also cross-
examined, but nothing was elicited to invalidate her
testimony in chief.
Mr. Cnowmumt. -took a variety of objections. He
believed it to be an invariable rule of law in cases of
this kind; that the alleged forged instrument should
be set forth in all its parts in the indictment; in this
ease he observed a writing on the back of the note,
beside the endorsement, which lie could, and others
had very easily made out to be " Mary Easterbrook :"
this was wholly omitted in the indictment, and he