Star.
London, England, 1807-05-30 00:00:00

CHaRGE CF FORGFiIr.

. •
MAWS, •N two young men, of
reputable.appearance, named 'ti and .Hitchins, who
were committed by the LORD MAY,R, on Friday
week, upon a !charge of forgery, were brought up
for their fecund examination.
On the former examination it appeared, that an
Office was opened, in St, Michael's Alley, Cninhill,
with a brafs plate upon the door, on which the words
" Winkler, Brothers, and Co." were engraved.
purporting to be the names of the agen.s f.,r a hank
ing company, at Ipfwich. The oitenfible manager
in this Office was the prif •ner Still and the butinels
carried on was that of dilc-unting hills, and giving
for them, in lieu of money or Bank of England paper,
notes, purporting to be thole of the Bank of Ipfwich
A youth, about fourteen, named James Page, the
fon of Mr. Page. in N.,rfolk, was the fiat witnefs
examined : lie Rated, that he was at fehool at No.
105, Fenchurch (freer, and that on the 28 h of April
he received a letter from his father. containing a one
hundred pound bill of exchange, which he was di
rcaed to carry to a gentleman at Baker's Coffee
Finnic to get dircnunted. From Baker's Coffee
houfe he was telerred, by the Gentleman, to the
office in Michael's-alley ; he fiw there an old lady,
who told him the Gentleman was not at home. He
called next day, and did not fee him ; but law him
on the ;II of May, at his office, when Mr. Still told
him if he would accompany him to the Edinburgh
Cattle, in the Strand, they, would meet a perfon who
would give him the amount. He went there accord
ingly, and met Mr. Hitchins, who told him he was
a partner in the concern, and gave him the one
hundred pounds, in notes, purporting to be notes of
the Ipfwich Batik. The 3J of May he received ann.
ther letter from his father, inclofing him another Bill
of Exchange for tool. defiling him to call on the
ir,ufe in Michael's-alley, for the like Turn, in Ipfwich
notes, finding that the 411 hundred pounds had cir
ciliated freely in his neighbourhood ; and he accord
ingly went, and received the notes. He (aid, that,
about a month before, ie had a pl. bill in the houfe,
which 'was paid by Mr. Still, in Michael's alley,
whom he (tippled to be a partner in the bnfinefs.
An old lady named Vaughan, who lives in
Michael's alley, proved that the office aAocled to is
the (hop belonging to her !mule, which Poe had let to
Mr. Still laft Christmas. It was for the purpofe of
occupying it as a C“untry Bank; the plate on the
door, with tile names Winkley, Brothers, and Co.
was afliv.ed ;here by Mr. Still. She never law
Winkley, Brothers, or any other partner in the bull-
nefs but Mr. Still. She never law Hitchins there.—
Mr. Still continued to occupy the houfe till now, paid
the rent, and took receipts in his own name ; and
the had direfti.ins whenever any body afked alter
him, if he was in the way, never to deny him.
Mr. Inner, an engraver, was next called ; aetA be-
ing (hewn Tome copperplate impteffions of blank
notes of the Ipfwich Bank, !hied, he bad engraved
thole plates fur Mr. Still ; they were for one-pound,
five pounds, and tenp nods, and payable in Lon.
don only. He delivered the plates to Mr. Still, who
paid for them, but ordered the bill to he made out
in the name of Ralph Holden and Co. He law
another perfon at Still's office at the time, but did
not know hi? name.

The next perfon called, was a %4r. Young. He
Paid he had been employed to take a honfe and a&
as a clerk at Ipfwich, by Hitchins. He was engaged
as for Ralph Holden and Co. but never faw any
perfon of the name of Holden there. Mr. Hitchins
always paid the notes, and the name of Holden was
always figned by Hitchins, who informed him that
he was a partner in the haute. A note was now
fbewn to him by Mr. Bolland, Counrel for the pro-
fecution, and he was afked is•hether the name of
Ralph Holden, figned thereto, was not written by
Hitchin: ? He anfwered that he fhould certainly have
thought fo, had he not, fince his former examination,
feen a perfrm whole name he was told was Holden,
whom he faw fign his name, and whole hand writing
was In like that of Hitchins, that he could nnt dif-
tinguith one from the other. He did not himfelf
know the name of that perfon to be Holden, he was
told fa by a Mr. Bland, who introduced him He
had feen his face fomewhere before ; it might he at
Ipfwich ; but be never faw him aft in the bufinefs
wherein he was employed. He acknowledged to have
feen Hitchins continually write on the notes iffued
the name of Holden, and he himfelf was in the ha-
bit of entering and counterfigning them, fometimes
before they were fo figned by Hutchins, and fame-
times after. He never law any perfon but Hitchins
employed at the bank in Ipfwich. He had received
orders to continue paying as long as they had any
money left in One bottle, and they did not (lop pay-
ment before their money was all gone.
Mr. BOLLSND, on the part of the profecution, ad-
dread the Chief Magigrate, and fobmitted that,
upon the teflimnny adduced in this cafe, there was
ample evidence to !again the charge of forgery. He
cited a variety of cafes from Eall's Repnrts, in fop-
port of his affert,jon ; particularly the cafe of Anne
Lewis, tried at the Old Bailey, in In.}, for perfoni-
fying a feaman's legatee ; the cafe of George Wilkes,
tried at Bodmin, on a charge of forging a bill in the
name of a perfon not in exigence ; but the Judges
were all of opinion it was a forged ingrument, be-
caufe uttered with intent to defraud ; for that it was
the fraudulent intent which cnnfiituted the vcry ef-
fente of the crime of forgery : the cafe of the noted
James Bolland, which was a curious and critical one;
he was a Sheriff's officer, and fo much in the habit
of circulating Bills of Exchange, and his name was
indorfed upon fo many, that his credit was injured,
and his fignature rather impeded than promoted the
circulation. Some perfon to whom he pallid a bill
made this remark to him, and told him his name
mull be changed c.n the back : he accoreingly erafed
all the letters of his name except the B. and made
the name Banks, which he laid was the name of a
vidualler, in Ratbbone•place ; there being no loch
perfon in exigence. The fad was proved, and held
to he forgery ; and Bolland was convieled and exe•
cured. From tote' analogy of all thofe cafes to the
prefent, where it was clear the puilnners had let up
offices under a fielitious firm, and iffued notes in the
names of that firm, and affixed fignatures to thr•fe
notes not their own, obvinufly v ith a fraudulent in
tent, he relied that both the forgery, and the utter-
ance with fraudulent intent, were proved, in a way
which made it the duty of the Chief Magifirate tr.
commit them fur trial.

•
Mr. ALLAY, on behalf or the prifoners, ackrow
edged this to be a moll Important cafe ; but he
totally denieJ there was any analogy between any of
the cafes cited by learned friend, and that of his
clients now at the bar ,• and he Rated particularly the
circumflances of each cafe, contralling thept with
!he prefent. It appeared that, for five months pall,
:hey had carried on their bulinefs with credit and
Fu duality, *lid paid many thtutfands of pnunds; tl tK
.heir Clerk (Young) as he proved, had diredlions to
pay to the lan ; and that this charge wat
brought againft them only for a balance of acol. on
account of Mr. Page, who, he obferveli, was the ap-
, licant to his clients, who, in fad, fent his bills to put-
ch4fe their notes ; and it was n it they who applied
to him, or demanded hi: hills in exchange fcr their
no:e.. He had, in fait, purchafed lhefe notes for his
own fecuritief, and at his ow t respell ; and therefore
they could not be implicated in any charge of forger,
or fraudulent utterance ; rit was in ptoof thAt
there was fuch a petfon as Mr. Holden, of the 101
wirk Bank, who write to Mr liitchins; that the
Clerk of the Fi m Y •unr, could not fwear whether
tie or Hutchins had ligned the notes (hewn to im.
Both his clients, he laid, were men of property kits:4
tefpea :bility. Mr. Still was a gentleman who had
obtained io,cool. fortune with his wife, w`iitt !re ha.i
dev:ted to finite her a Itttlement of fax), 3. .4,,
and therefore was pr.-chided from applying am r ir r.
of that fum to liquidate at pretent the 2001. du; to
Mr. Page. At the word his clients had incur (d no
charge higher than that of a mildeme3nour, wh ch.
though it might flubjeet them to trAniportati..,:i. was
yet a bailable uffence, and fuel' as diJ not precludz
his Lordlitip from enlarging his clients, upon foal-
cent fecurity.
The LORD MAYOR raid, he had heard the Couniel
an both fides; hut tefore they had fpolcon at all, he
was clear in his own mind that the prifoners ought
to be fent to trial, and he would commit them ac-
cordingly.

Three well drefred females, of grave and reputable
appearance, named Riainas, /Farris, and Martin. two
of them above so, and the thi,cl about 25, were
charged by Turner, a Police Officer, with picking
the pocket of an old Lady, in Ivy•lane, on I'hurf•
day, of a pocket book, containing fome Bank notes,
and they were fully committed for ttial.

According. to the report of Gentlemen, who have
infpeeted the ruins of the town of Chu dleigli, the whole
of it may be Paid to be dearoyed, as there is not a trade
or occupation remaining; neither baker, butcher, pub-
lican, innkeeper, or fhopkeeper, are left in the place.
Not a yard of cloth for clothes, not a rag 4 linen, n t
a medieine is left : in fhort, thole who are Phut out of
home and atelier, amounting to above a thnufand
fouls,, are fed by contributions of bread and provi.
fions from the country. Oa the 24111, a cart was
fent from Exeter, with ten pounds worth of bread and
cheefe, which tame very feafonably ; and in the even-
ing arrived tents and marquees for the poor fufferers,
and alfo ten guineas worth of bread, fent by 'he
Chamber. Two waggons followed the next d.y, and
on the 26th fuhfcriptions were to be made through•
out Eseter. The Fire Offices lofe Amu 26,0c01. but
the total lofs exceeds 80,0301. Bath inns are burnr ;
and from the entrance from Exeter, where about nine
holdes only remain, the eye fees only Mr. Bond's
henfe, and the church; the whole (pace between is
one heap 4 Ales down to the gardens, and they are
literally fcorched up by the &M-S.
CORONIN'S Isioyssr.—Yetterday an inqueft was
held in the parith of S . Bot, Iph, Aldgate, before
J. W. Unwin, Efq. on the body of G. Elias, a Jew
Rabbi, the refult of which, it is hoped, will prove a
caution to perfons who are in the habit of warehouf-
ing merchandize by cranes in the public ltreets, and
to thole who pals under them.
Dr. CANSTADT Rated, he was called to view the
deceafed en Thurfday everting, whom be found in a
dying Rate, with the left procefs of the fifth dorfal
vertebra: broke, which occafioned a great flux of
blood from the nofe. He concluded he would live
but a fhort time, and he underflood he expired (non
afterwards. His death, he doubted not, was occa-
fioned by the fradture.
Mr. Lazarus, of Somerfet•freet, Rated, that as be
was palling up John-flreet, he faw a bag of cotton.
fufpended ft cm a crane by a fmall rope, at the ware-
houfe of Meffrs. Tullock and Co. and in a moment
it fell from a tremendous height on the deceafed,
who was palling along the greet. The weight was
upon him ab ut a minute. The deceafed bled much
at the nofe. Witnefs found the bag in a decayed
Rate, which he thought was the oceefion of its falling.
John Billets, warehoufeman to Mellrs Tullock and
Co. of Gould-fquare, Paid he was Rationed on the top
of the warehoufe, and his butinefs was to conduet the
cotton from the crane. He knew nothing of the con-
dition of the bag. Thole which had been hoofed
were hooked to the bags.
Charles Johnfon, of Swan-greet, furgeon, Rated,
that he was drinking tea at his brother's, oppofite the
warehoufe. The bags feemed in a-tattered condition,
and fome of them were covered with matting. They
weighed three hundred weight. He thought they
should not have been trufled to hooks, but flung.
They were taken to the height of 30 fret. Witnefs
did not fee the package fall ; but he faw the unfortu-
nate (offerer under it.

J..hn Law, a carman, laid, that fume of the bags
were in a tattered condition, which he put at the bot-
tom of his cart. It was ofual to hook the good bags :
thofe which were decayed were flung. He had hook.
ed three previou fly to that which fell, and be confider-
id that to have been fide. The height was great, and
he had generally made it a rule to give warning to
perfons palling, but did not fee the deceafed.
Mr. Unwin—.. The principal aftors in this tragical
and melancholy cataftrophe have come forward vo-
luntarily and fairly, and from their teflimony you
cannot infer that depravity of intentioa which would
corilitute a crime. It is, .htrefore, a cafe of homi-
cide, per irfortunium, or, in other words, a esfually ;
and Gco forbid, lays the great Judge HA:, that a
mifchance, not intended, (Mould make any perfon
guilty of murder or manflaughter. But the prac-
tice is full of danger, and it tail' be proper to thew
our fenfe of it. The Crown has 101 l a fubjed, and
footle yan efficient member. The bag of cotton, the
crane, and its appendage, are a deodand, being all
moventia ad ntortem. In alfeffing the value, you will
be guided by a principle that (hall have a view to fu-
ture caution, and operate for the public good ; but fo
as not to exceed the true amount of the things for-
feited.—Verdift—Cafually kijled -!--Deodand 251.