Star.
London, England, 1824-09-20 00:00:00

I

. MR. FAUNTLEROY.

About six o'clock on the evening of Thursday, the
10th instant, before the sitting of the Magistrate at
Marlborough-street, two Gentlemen came to the office,
and after a very short preface, made Mr. CONANT ac-
quainted with the nature of their business, namely, to
obtain a warrant against Mr. Henry Fauntleroy, of the
Om of Marsh, Stracey, Fauntleroy, and Graham, in
Berners-street.
Mr. CONANT was astonished and grieved at this ap-
plication, being personally acquainted with Mr. Faunt-
leroy, but he did not hesitate an instant as to his duty,
or the proper course to pursue, and accordingly had
the information of the two applicants, as follows, taken

down and sworn before hirni
" The information of John Dacon Hume? late of Pinner Park,
in the county of lent, but now of the Custom House, London;
and of John Goodchilsi, surgeon, late of Westerham, in the county
of Kent, hut now of Elm-tree-row, Regent's Park, Middlesex,
taken on oath before Jove Rowaan Comet, Esq. one of his Ma-
jesty's Justices of the Peace for the county of Middlesex, this 10th
slay of September, 1824.
" And these informants, each for himself, say, that in the year
3818, the above-named two informants and Henry Fauntieroy,
banker, of Berners-street, In the county of Middlesex, were ap-
pointed Joint Trustees by Francis William Bellis,of Oxted Cot-
tage, in the county of Surrey, for the sum of 10,0001. then vested by
the said Francis William Bellis, in the three per cent. Imperial An-
inutile., in the names of-the saidthree trustees, to be for the use and
benefit of Susannah Bella, the wife of the said Francis William
J3ellis, and his children ; that the ‘lO,OOO stock, so purchased in
the name of the said trustees, was deposited in the hands of the
said Henry Fauntleroy, to be placed by him to the credit of the
said Francis William Bellis, in his bank ; that the stock so remained
in the hands of the said Henry Fauntleroy, as informant sup-
posed, he, the said Henry Fauntleroy, continuing regularly to pay
the dividends thereon. That informant having had occasion lately
to inquire at the Bank of England respecting the stock so standing,
as he thought, in the names of the said trustees, he learned with
surprise, that the said stock had been sold out on the 13th of Sept.
1820, by George Edward Graham, under a warrant of attorney,
purporting to be signed by the above-named informants, and the
said Henry Fauntleroy. That these informants have seen the said
power of attorney, and that the signatures Henry Fauntleroy
thereto, is the proper signature of the said trustee, Henry Fauntle-
roy ; bur that the names of the above two informants, signed to the
said power of attorney, are not their proper signatures, but are
false, forged, and counterfeited. These informants, therefore, each
for himself, charge that the said Henry Fauntleroy did utter the
said power of attorney, knowing the signatures of these informants
thereto to be false, forged, and countetteited ; and these informants
further charge, that the said Henry Fauntleroy knew that the sai.l
£lO,OOO stock had been so sold out on the 13th day of Sept. 1820;-
for that in a conversation which the said Henry Fauntkroy bad,
•

within a few weeks, with these informants, he stated to them, that
the s.thl .810,000 stock was still standing in the names of the said
since trustees, in the Bank of England.
(Signed) is J. fIUME.
"J. E. Conant:. " JOHN GOODCHILD."
Upon this information Mr. Conant instantly granted his
warrant for the apprehension of Mr. Fauntleroy, and put
it in the hands of Plank, the Chief Officer, who arre,ted
Mr. Fauntleroy the next day, at the Banking-house.
Mr. F. became dreadfully agitated, and exclaimed,
" Good Goo, cannot this business be settled er Plank
begged of him to make no noise, but to walk out quietly
for a few minutes, and they would there talk about a
settlement. Mr. Fauntleroy then signed a few blank
checks, with a very unsteady hand, and giving them to,
one of the clerks, told him he should go out for a few
minutes; and putting on his has, walked out without,
observation, by the side of the officer, who immediately

conducted him to the private house of Mr. Conant.
Mr. Hume, Mr. Goodchild, and Mr. Freshfield, one of
the Solicitors to the Bank of England, were in attend-
ance, and Mr. Fauntleroy being placed in proper secu-
rity, Piank proceeded, accompanied by Mr. Freshfield,
to make search at the Banking-house, amongst the pri-
sonet's papers, for any documents that might throw
further light on the practices with which he was charged.
When arrived at the Bank, Mr. Graham had by acci-'
dent just entered, and on learning the situation of his
unhappy partner, he was thunderstruck for the moment,
and scarcely able to articulate. Mr. Graham had nut
well recovered from his shock when Mr. Marsh, a very
elderly Gentleman, another partner, came in, and the un-
fortunate affair being disclosed to him, he dropped into
a chair, and became aln.ost insensible from the shock.
These two Gentlemen, now threw open every place, and
gave facility to the search of the officer, declaring that
they had no object in secrecy, and that the whole of
their affairs and transactions should be open to a
thoroni.sh investigation. Plank made the necessary
search, but found no papers of any consequence to the
case under investigation. Mr. Graham then accom-
panied Mr. Freshfield and Plank to Mr. Conant's house,
and the following further investigation and depositions
were gone into.
And first, the information of Messrs. Hume and

Goodchild, which we have quoted, was put into the
form of depositions, to which these Gentlemen were
again sworn.
Mr. Fieshfield now produced the power of attorney
alluded to in those depositions, under which the £1 0,0)0
stock was sold out of the Bank of England. This war-
rant of attorney was dated the 7th of September, 1820,
and drawn up in the usual form of such documents,
and was signed
HENRY FAUNTLEROY, "JOHN D. HUME.
JOll N GOODCHILD.
at Jamas Thou, 1 Clerks in the Banking-house of Marsh,
" Wm. Fuca' j &ram, and Co."
Witnesses to the signature of Henry Fauntirroy, and also witnesses
to the signature of J. D. Hume.
The signature of Mr. Goodchild purported to be wit-
nessed by the Rev. Charles Hardinge, Vicar of Tun-
bridge, and by John Mason, servant to ditto.
James Tyson was now sworn, and deposed that he
was clerk in the banking-house of Marsh and Co. that
his attestation to the signature of '4 Henry Fauntleroy"
is genuine, and was written by him on the 7th of Sep-
tember, 1820, when he witnessed Mr. Fauntleroy signing
this document at his request; but that the words
" Clerks in the Banking-house of Marsh and Co." and
the words " also witnesses to the signature of J. D.
Hume," were not then written, and are the proper
hand-writing of the prisoner. This witness further de-
posed, that he never did witness the signature of Mr.
Hume to an instrument of any kind.
George Edward Graham deposed, that he has been
for some time a partner in the banking-house in Berners-
street, with the prisoner that on the 13th of Septem-
ber, 1820, the prisoner handed him the power of at-
torney now produced, with directions to sell out the
£lO,OOO Three per Cent. Imperial Annuities there de-
scribed ; that he did so sell out this stock, and placed
it to the credit of the prisoner's private account.
These were the whole of the depositions taken on
that day; and upon them Mr. CONANT committed the
prisoner to the House of Correction, Colbath-fields, for
re• examination.
The prisoner being thus disposed of, his partners were
naturally extremely anxious to know the real situation
of their affairs, which had been so much under the ma-
nagement of a person charged with an extensive for-
gery, and solicited strenuously to be allowed an inter-.
view with him, in order to ascertain if this 10,0001. was

. .
'the only ground of charge against him ; for, if so, they !
had no dread of their own stability.
It was not until seven o'clock on Sunday evening,l
that Mr. Conant felt himself justified in granting Mr. F.'s
partners permission to visit him, but when they were
permitted by an order to see him, he disclosed to them
such a state of his and their circumstances, in which he
had involved them, that they instantly came to a reso-
lution of sending off to the different Newspapers an an-
nouncement, signed by the three partners, that they bid
suspended their payments.
Accordingly, on Monday morning, the banking-house
did not open, and_the consternation into which the west
end of the town was thrown by the circumstance, sur-
passes anything that has occurred in the monied world
for many years.
It was not until Friday that it was known, and then
not generally, that the prisoner was to be brought up
the next day for further examination; and it was not
until one o'clock on Saturday that the hour appointed
for the examination was announced (three o'clock), and
even then it was left in doubt whether the investigation
would be public or private.
At three o'clock, all the business of •the day being
disposed of by Mr. DYER, the sitting Magistrate, Mr.
CONANT, Mr. Ron, and Sir GEORGE FARRANT, joined
him on the bench. At this time the Office was ex-
ceedingly crowded, and all those within, who were
anxious, either from business or curiosity, fondly antici-
pated that all was safe, and no one would be disturbed.
In a few minutes, however, Mr. CONANT gave direc-
tions that all persons whatever, who were not imme-
diately connected with the investigation of 511.. Fauntle-
roy's case, should be removed from the Office, and the
place entirely cleared.
Besides the Magistrates already named, there were
now on the bench several County Magistrates, and be-
hind them were ranged the Governor and Deputy-Go-
vernor of the Bank of England, and several Directors;
there were also present some of the Directors of the East
India Company. There were in attendance several pri-
vate friends of the unhappy prisoner, of the first respect-
abllity, who, with Mr. Graham, his partner, chiefly
kept out of view at the back part of the office.
Mr. CONANT now addressing those in attendance for
the Public Press, said, that he was always ready to al-
ford every facility to those Gentlemen ; but he hoped
that, if in the progress of the present examination any
circumstances should transpire, which, in the present
state of the case, might not be proper to receive publi-
city, they would attend to any suggestion to that effect.
All present assented to the fairness of this request, and
Mr. CONANT ordered Mr. Fauntleroy to be brought in.
At Iralf•past three o'clock exactly, the prisoner en-
tered the office n ith a hurried step, leaning on the arm
of Plank, the chief officer, and Schofield, who walked on
each side of him. Just as he entered, he gave one be-
wildered look around the office, and instantly dropped
his head. He was placed, standing, not within the bar
where prisoners are usually put, but leaning against the
bar on the outside, and exactly in front of the Bench.
He appears to be about fifty years of age, but his real
age, it is said, is not mote than forty. His hair is re-
markably grey for this age, and was cut quite close all
round. He was dressed in a plain blue close coat, blue
cloth trowsers, light waistcoat, and boots; his height is
about five feet eight or eight and a half. His expression
of countenance is that of pure John Bull good nature,
and an easy, quiet, and unassuming disposition, but be-
trays no resemblance whatever, as has been said, to the
late Emperor of France. Ile stood sideways at the bar,
leaning his left arm on it, while his right hung care-
lessly by his side, holding his hat in his hand. He
wore on the small finger of his left hand a small plain
gold ring, and on that i f the right he wore a large one
with a white stone in the centre.
Mr. Cow: niiv, addressed him thus :—Mr. Fauntleroy, will
you walk this way for a moment ?
The prisoner here approached the bench.
Mr. CottaNT—l am extremely sorry to learn, Mr. Fauntleroy,
that you have been very imptoFerly intruded upon, and I fear, in-
sulted, by a person named Hanson, who intruded himself into your
room, at the psi.ou ; but I shall take are to prevent the recurrence
of a circumstance so painful to your feelings.
Prisoner—l thank you, Sir, but I was no otherwise limited than
by such a person coming into my room, and aJdressing me without
my consent; but, perhaps, I ought not to complain of anything.

The prisoner now sesumed precisely the same posi.
tion at the bar as before, except that he kept his body
contidet ably more bent, but he never for a moment at-
tempted to conceal his face; indeed, during the remain-
der of the proceedings, he appeared quite absorbed, and
vocally unconscious of what was going on around him.
Plank and Schofield took their stations by his side during
the whole of the examination.
The depositions, as taken on the former day, were now read over
by one of the clerks of the office, after which,
William Price was sworn, and deposed, that he was
a clerk in the banking-house to which the prisoner be-
longed, and that, on the 7th of September, 1820, he was
requested by the prisoner to witness his signature to the
power of attorney now produced, for the sale of £lO,OOO
3 per cent. Imperial Annuities ; that he did so witness
the signature of " Henry Fauntleroy" attached to this
instrument ; but that the words " Clerks in the banking-
house of Marsh and Co." and the words" witnesses also
to the signature of J. D. Hume," were not then writ- I
ten, and these words are in the proper hand-writing of
the prisoner himself; and witness further deposed, that
he never, on any occasion, witnessed the signature of
Mr Hume to any instrument whatever.

The Rev. Charles Hardinge, Vicar of Tunbridge, in
Kent, was nest sworn, and deposed, that he never had
any acquaintance with Mr. Goodchild, a surgeon, at
Westerham, in Kent, although he knew there was such
a gentleman; and that the name of this deponent, signed
as an attesting witness to the signature of " John
Goodchild," attached to the power of attorney now pro-
duced, was not written by him, nor did he ever witness
the signing of any document by Mr. Goodchild ; and
the deponent further swears, the name of" John Mason,
servant to the Rev. Charles Hardinge," signed as ano-
ther attesting witness to the signature of " John Good-
child," on this warrant of attorney for the sale of
£lO,OOO stock, is not the name, or signature, of any ser-
vant of his, nor had he ever a person named John Ma-
son in his service.
Mr. Freshfield here said, that while this witness was sworn be
would ask him a question as to another power of attorney.
This document was handed to the witness, and was
for the sale, dr transfer, of 17,5001. Navy 5 per Cents.
belonging to the same trust, of the same date, and bear-
ing the same signatures and the same attestation. The
witness declared that the signature " Charles Hardinge,
Vicar of Tunbridge," and " John Mason, servant to
ditto," as witnessing the name of " John Goodchild,"
were not the signatures of himself, or any servant of his.
The next' depositions taken were those of Sir Richard Hardinge,
Bart. of Sundridge, in Kent.
A warrant of attorney, dated the 30th of Ottrker,
1820, for the sale of 46,0001.3 per Cent. Annuities, be-
longing to the same trust; and bearing the same sigh•

. .
tures, was put into the witness's hand ; and ha depose].
that the name " Richard Hardinge, Bart. Sundridge,"
witness to the signature " John Goodchild," although
'extremely like his signature, is not his writing he is
convinced.
Mr. CONANT asked the witness if he had any doubt;
because the deposition was intended that he should swear
positively on the subject?
Witness said, that he had no doubt whatever ; be-
cause it was impossible the signature could be his, inas-
much as he never witnessed Mr. Goodchild signing his
name to any document. Indeed, he was never in the
same room with Mr. Goodchild in his life but once, and
that was some years ago, when Mr. Goodchild was
called in to extract a tooth from him. This witness
further deposed, that the name, " Mary Hardinge,
wife of Sir Richard Hardinge," which is also affixed as
another subscribing witness to the signature of Mr.
Goodchild, is not, nor is at all like, the signature of
Lady Hardinge, who has been some time dead.
Another warrant of attorney, dated the 13th of Oc-
tober, 1820, was also handed by Mr. Freshfield to this
witness : this was for the sale of £3,500 Four per Cents.
belonging to the same trust, signed with the same
names, and witnessed as the last. Sir Richard Hardinge
said that his name and that of Lady Hardinge, as wit-
nesses in this case, were also not their signatures.
This being-the whole of the case intended to be gone
into on this occasion, Mr. Freshfield said, that he was
by no means anxious to hasten the proceedings further,
but at the same time he wished to intimate to the friends
of the prisoner, that he was prepated to close at any
time they thought proper, as soon as the prisoner wished.
Mr. HARt.IER, who attended as solicitor for the pri-
soner, said, that as it would be quite impossible to be
leady for trial, on his part, this Sessions, it mattered
little what time before the next the final examination
should take place.
Mr. FRESIIFIELD said, he wised for no precipitation.
It was then finally a4reed that, .nominally, the case
should be remanded to Saturday next, but that the final
examination should stand over to a much later day.
All the above-named witnesses were then bound over
by the clerk to prosecute in form following :
" You acknowledge yourselves indebted to our Sovereign Lord
the King in the sum of .C4O each. It is upon condition that you
appear at the next Session of the Peace to be holden for the county
of Middlesex, then and there to prefer a bill of indictment, and
prosecute the law with effect against the prisoner, Heury Fauntkroy,
for feloniously forging certain warrants of attorney, with intent to
defraud the Governor and Company of the Bank of England; and
if the same bill should be found a true bill, that you do afterwards
attend at the Sessions-house at the Old Bailey, to give evidence
upon the trial of that indictment, and not depart the Court without
leave ; then this recognizance to be void, or else to remain in full
force and effect against you. Are you content to that r
Mr. Graham, who had only now come forward when
called on to be bound over, casting g mingled look of
indignation and of sorrow towards his unhappy partner,
answered, " I am content."

The prisoner was then removed to the strong room,
leaning as before, on the arms of the two officers; and
when the crowd in the street had entirely dispersed, he
was conveyed back to the House of Correction in a
coach, by Plank, in the same manner that he had
brought him to the office.
Before leaving the office, Mr. CONANT asked him if,
it was his wish to continue in the same prison, rather)
than be removed to another? and he replied, that with
the Magistrate's permission, he should. Indeed, the
principal motive for putting off the final examination
so long, was to allow the unfortunate man the conve-
nience of this prison as long as possible, rather than te-
move him to Newgate, of which he expresses a dtead-
ful horror. He is confined at the House of Correction
in an airy room, at the north-west part of the prison,
lookin* towards the Hampstead.hills, and he is allowed
every indulgence and accommodation that the nature
of his situation will permit of; and he speaks highly of
the kindness and civility of all to him. He is not, how-
ever, suffered for a moment to be alone, day or night,
but his attendants treat him with every respect, and
place no personal restraint on him in the loom.
It has been erroneously mentioned that he had been
ironed; but the fact is, that up to this moment he has
never had even so much violence used to him as the
officer taking hold of his arm; for on all occasions he it
is that has laid on the officee's arm. The orgy circum-
-11 stance hurtful to his feelings, that has occurred in
prison, is that alluded to by Mr. CONANT on Saturday.
All the County Magistrates who, in the exercise of their
rights and duties, have visited the prison since he has
been there, have studiously avoided intruding upon his
presence, with the exception of Mr. Hanson, of Ham-
', mei smith, who rudely introduced himself into the un-
happy man's room, and addressed him thus:—
" You are the banker from Derners-street, an't you?"-4' Yes,"
replied the prisoner, " I am that unfortunate person, Sir."
" Oh, then," said the worthy' Magistrate, " you had better look
to your soul ; look to your Bible, read your Bible."
This, to say the least of it, was a very unnecessary intrusion.
On his way back to prism, on Saturday, the prisoner assured Plank
that he scarcely knew what was going on in the office, nor slid he
recognize any one.
In the course of his duty, Plank has bad occasion to search two
other town establishments of the prisoner's, but nothing of any con-
sequence was found by him.

This unhappy man has suffered deeply by a set of
knaves, and women of a ce: tain description in league
with theni, and amongst the number Mrs. Bertram,
alias Mother Bang, well known on the town : and, as
he himself says, there are plenty of fellows strutting
about town wbo owe hiM thousands, and whose words
he has only for the payment. He expresses himself very
indignantly at the visit of a person named Hamer, who
called at the prison, and desired to-be introduced to
him, as it was isr his (Hamer's) power to be of great
service to him, but be refused peremptorily to see this
man, of whom he says he has no knowledge whatever,
except that a short time ago this Hamer lodged some
money in the bank in Berners-street, and drew ►t out in
a few days, and then pressed him very urgently to dis-
count some bills, which he declined, and this was the
whole of their acquaintance. This is the Mr. Samuel
Bamford Hamer, who applied at this office a few days
ago for an of der to visit Mr. Fauntleroy, but was refused.
Mr. 13ellis, who left all this property in this trust, only died in
January last.

The man who swallowed a pennypiece, about three
weeks since, while attempting to perform some dextrous
feats before his companions, went to Guy's Hospital
last week, in order to consult Sir A STLEY COOPER
about bis case. He is about thirty years of age, and of
a sallow complexion. He says he can distinctly feel
the coin lying on the left side of his stomach, and pro-
ducing the sensation of a great weight being there.
At the Chester Assizes, a poor man named Moreton,
has recovered 2001. damages from the proprietors of a
coach running from Manchester to Macclesfield. The
plaintiff, it appears, was on the road, when the coach
was driving at a furious rate, by which he was thrown
down, and had his leg fractured..