Star.
London, England, 1807-12-07 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY, DECEMBER 4

• hater the younger, ,•1 Exeter, whore trial
was postponed at the I.tit S. (loins, on account of the
ablincent a mateti,ll witnels for the Crown, was this
day ;tied upon a capital indiament, founded on the
Aft is the sth of George II made to prevent frauds
by bankrupts.
The Cott:del for the profeention Rated the law, as
laid down by the !Louie, which makes it a canital
offence for a bankrupt to conceal from his creditors
property to the amount °iv:4.cm to fecrete any books
or papers touching the true Hate of his effe&s. He
laid it went dill fattier, and conflituted the wilful de-
fault of theb.inkttipt tofu! render himfelf for examina-
tion to the Commiffionet s at the times prefcrihed, and
from time to time, as required by the Conimiflinners,
a capital felony. The leading fiats of this cafe were
as follow :—The prifoner was formerly a forge ma.
nufaelitret a, Exeter, and he became embatraffed in
his affairs. Amongit other creditors he was indebted
to Mcffra. Rego, Bstti, and Cr. brokers, in London,
in the turn of 830. ; and, at their intiance, as peti-
tioning creditors, a cornmiin in of bankritp:cy was
ilfued againtl the prif nor, who was duly declared a
bankrupt, and was requited as uturthofurrender hurl
fell at Guildhall, London, on the 4th April anJ two
other days. The ptitotter did attend the fill meeting,
mid folicited farther time for giving in his accounts.
He attended a fecond, and alto a third meeting, and
was equally unprepared, when he intreated for a far-
them enlargement of tint:. 'lbis the Commillionet s
were not aulhotiled to do, the power being yelled by
law in the Chancellor only. However, upon a peti- I
lion to his Ltirdfliip, hacked by the creditors, a fat- I
titer term of twenty-eight days was given to the oi-
1-toner, and the Chancellor's order required him to
fur tender bets eon the hours of eleven and one o'clock
on the 13th of Jane. By that time it appeared, that
the pi ifonet's debts amounted to the enormous turn
of 23,c001. ; but the returns he then made were
wholly untatisfaetory: he agsin (Ached farther time,
and the Commiffioners, by their own Aft, indulged
the pt itOner by adjourning the meeting farther until
the 4.11 of July. Still the prifoner's returns were i
not complete; and the Commiffinners were bound
either to commit him to Newgate, or to enlarge the
time Hill fat titer. They agreed to indulge him with a;
farther period of fix weeks, but this for the lafl time.
On the day thus appointed, namely, the 18 h of Au-
gull, the Commiffioners attended at Guildhall.
The prifoner was bound under the letter of the
Lord Chancellor's order to attend the meeting,
afterwards adjourned by the Commiffioners, be-
tween the bouts of eleven and one o'clock; however
he never made his appearance at any time of this
adj turned day,althnngh he was told on the preceding
evening by the Solicitor for the Commiffion, in anfwer
to his enquiry, that if he did not attend on the next
day at the hour required, he would incur the guilt of
a capital felony, and be ptofecuted thereon. The
Commiffi nets waited until pallltwo o'clock, and then
proclaimed him as guilty of a wilful default of Curren-
deringhisnfelf, and fubmitting to his final examination,
thereby incurring the charge of a capital felony under
the fiatute ; and-evett after this, the Commiffioners,
Clerks and Meffengers continued at Guildhall until
I pall twelve that night, and the ptiforier never air
peared. It was underflood he had been ken in
Guildhalllyard on the morning of the ifilth of Augu ft,
but did not think tit to await the meeting of the
Commiffioners, and fled to the neighbouthood of I
Greenwich,• where he took lodgings, accompanied
by a female, under the Ahmed name of Mortimer,
difguifing his, appearance with a black wig and a huge '
pair of whiflcers, and was there taken under a war-
rant from the Lord Mayor.
Vsritneffes were then called to prove the debt due
to the petitioning creditors, and the written evidence
produced was dole)), examined with the averments
of the in iiament.
The circumstances preceding the lafl fitting of the
Cornmiffioners were then proved, from which it re•
fulled, that the non attendance of the prifoner was
wilful, and after due notice given of the confequences
to It imfelf.
Several wizneffes were called up and examined on
poi4ts that wererendered unimportant from the tarn
the trial took.
A variety of legal objeßions were Tirade by. the
prifoner's Council.
k Baron Gainaos, who prefided, decided on the firft
point urged by the prifoner's Counfel, that it was nee
; calif), on the trial to
had been proved befopremtvhe againeCommibiLlia
nerats; cwohni;ih-,

stating the prifoner's criminality—that the averment
in the indifirnent refpetling the adjudication of the
Commiflioners on the 18th af fitly, was fubflanuallY
but one avastintl. and the:ewe that it was not ne-
ceffary to prove again before that Court the fade
already proved befo.e the Commitlioners, whole
jurifdittion mull be held competent on the cafe.
Another point urged by the prifoner's Cnnnfel
war, that there was no proof of perfonal notice in
writing ferved upon the prifoner, requiring his fur-
render on the 4th of April, although he did attend;
nor yet on the tBth, when the Commillioners ad.
judged. Therefore, as the very fiat proceeding, the
fuyatenr of the whole, was not fuflained in evidence
as required by the laft, the delta molt therefor evi•
tiate all the fithrequent proceedings.
The Cainfel for the profecution, however, argued,
that as there was proof that the prifoner had attended
the firft meeting and reduced the fummons thereat,
he had adopted the competency of the fervice.
The Court thought there was evidence to go to the
Jury upon this point ; and with refpea to the fubfe-
Tient meetings, nn written notice was neceffary, as it
was to be fupp-fed the prifoner would attend every
meeting, and receive verbal notice of the next.
The prifoner being called on fur his defence, noted,
that he was deterred from attending the meeting of
the t Bth of Auguft by Mr. Sari 1, the Solicitor for
the Commillion, who told him on the 17th he would
do all he could to hang him, at d that when he mien.
eied next day he &mid be taken up for forgery ; that
of courfe he was afraid to attend ; and that he on
that day wrote to the Comm;ffioners, and to fevers[
of his creditors, flatiag his readinefs to meet them,
and finilh his examination, any ether time, at any pri-
vate place they fhould apvint.
The notice nriginally recei'etl by the prifuner for
his furrender on the 4th of April, was now put in by
his Counfel ; which being aftellecl by the Commif.
(toners in Court, and read by the proper officer, it
was Inund that in that pat t of the lumfnons which
defcribid the date of the bankruptcy, inttead of fiat•
ing the year t Se 7, it was dated in the words one tilde
burilred and !even, °mi. ti..g the word " rboufiiad."
It was contended, that this date rendered the de-
fcription of the (Lone utterly indefinite ; that the
notice was therefore will and void, and confequent•
ly that this indiement could not be maintained.
Both the Learned Judges were decidedly of this
opinion, and laid there was an end of the indiament.
Baron GRAHAM Alfa adeed that there was another
nbjectian in this cafe which nruck him, upon further
deliberation, namely, that if the authority "'cried in
the Commiflioners by the firft clanfe, for the 42
days, was revived by the fubfequentinlargement of
the Lord Chancellor to the day on khich his Lord-
fhip appointed the further meeting, it was a quell
lion, 'ditcher the Commiflioners, by allowing two
fullfequent enlargements of their own authority, had
not thereby let the partner mot of the penal predict'.
ment?—The Jury were directed, of courfe, to acquit
the prifoner.