The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-01-16 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN►

OLD BAILEY.

The Sessions commenced yesterday before Baron
M'Dots.u.n, Sir SIMON LE BLANC, Sir ALLAN COME-
BRE, the LORD MAYOR, ALDERMEN, ecc.
FORGERY.
George Skene stood capitally indicted for forging
and counterfeiting certain receipts for money : that
is to say, one receipt for 751. 16s. one for 361. Ss.
one for 201. and one for 111. 2s. and uttering and
publishing the said receipts, well knowing them to
be forged, with intent to defraud the King.
Mr. ABBOTT, Mr. GURNEY, and Mr. KNAPP, con-
ducted the case for the prosecution ; and Mr. Ser,
jeant BE.,T, Mr. ALLEY, Mr. GLEED, and Mr.
AnoLencs, were Counsel for the Prisoner.
From the statement of Mr. ABBOTT it appeared
that the Prisoner, at the time of the commission of
the forgeries in question, was a Clerk in the Police-
Office, Queen-square, in Westminster, a situation
which he had filled for many years with great credit
to himself, and with peculiar satisfaction to his supe-
riors. Amongst other duties devolving on him, was
the payment of all tradesmen's bills, and receiving
and keeping a regular account of all fees and fines
arising from the various occurrences in the office.—
From the produce of these fines and fees, which
were never adequate to the expenditure of the Office,
he in part paid the bills of the tradesmen, and in the
quarterly account which he furnished to the Trea-
sury, he stated the receipts and disbursements, and
whatever balance appeared in his favour was immedi-
ately paid. In the Month of October last, -pqrsuapt
to ordinary priellee, he tarnished Ms acconai, abd
received a very considerable sum which appeared to
be due to him. Upon some investigation, however,
which took place afterwards, arising out of some
exorbitant charges the discovery was made, which led
to his apprehension and prosecution.
The evidence called to support the charge, was as
follows :
Mr. J. Baldwin, one of the accomptants at the
Treasury, deposed, that on the 10th of Oct. last, the
Prisoner delivered to him an account of the incidental,
chareis in Queen-square Office, in which, amoggst
other vouchers and receipts, were a bill from Messrs.
Soleby and. Co. coal-merchants, for 751. 16s. ; a bill '
from Messrs. Downes and Son, printers, for 111. Is. ;
and a bill from Messrs. Stanton and Son, stationers,
for 361. Bs. purporting to be the bills of those Gen-
tlemen for articles delivered for the use of the Pdice
Ofiice. To each of these was affixed a receipt, the
body of which was in the hand.w riling of the Prisoner,
but the signatures of which were in different hands.—
In addition to these, was another receipt for rent to
the amount of 201. purporting to he given on behalf
of a Gentleman named Ryder. Witness having re•
ceived the balance stated to be due to the Prisoneron
the face of the account from the Treasury, he paid it
into his hands.
William Holmes deposed that he was clerk to
Messrs. Soleby and Co.: he kept their accounts.—
The receipt for 751. 16s. purporting to be his, was
not his hand-writing, nor did it appear that the ac-
count due to his employers, ending the 10th of Oct.
for coals furnished to Queen-square Office, amounted
to more than 171. 9s.
Mr. Soleby himself, and another Clerk In his
house, gave evidence to the tame effect.
Mr. Downes, printer, said, the receipt handed to
him, purporting to be his hand-writing, was not
written by him, nor did he furnish any account on
the 10th October, or previously—the amount of
which was 111. As. The sum due to him •by the
Queen-square Office, was only 41. 14s.
Samuel Stanton furnished Queen-square Office
with stationary—the account due to him was only
51. 16s. 10s. He neither furnished a bill, nor signed
a receipt for 361. Bs.
Mr. Ryder declared on oath, that there was no
rent due to bin' in October last, nor did he give
any authority to any person to sign a receipt in his
name.
The case for the prosecution being closed, the Pri-
soner was called- upon for his defence. Ile seemed
under considerable agitation, and after declaring in
the most solemn manner he had no intention to de-
fraud any person in existence, he begged a paper,
which he produced, might be read. Upon its being
handed to his Counsel, however, they did not think
its contents of such importance as to warrant taking
up the time of the Court by its perusal.
The following witnesses were then called to his
character :
The Marquis of Huntley, who knew him for many
years, had the highest opinion of his honour and in-
tegrity, and thought he was the last man in the world
who would do an act of injustice to any man.
Mr. ?Tares one of the Magistrates oh low-street,
knew the Prisoner whoosh* was 101:011111 .41grfri of the
Shadwell Police Office—lie always est -11si the
highest opinion of his honesty.
William Fielding, Esq. (evidently much affected)
bore testimony, in terms of great warmth, to the ge-
neral character and conduct of the Prisoner. When
he first heard of his delinquency, he at once attribut-
ed it to some confusion in his accounts, owing to his
absence in Scotland for some time, as he had not the
slightest conception he could be guilty of an act of
!injustice.
George Storey, Esq. another Magistrate, deposed
to the same effect, as did Mr. Garner, Mr. Carrick,
Mr. Roope, and Captain Duff, of the Royal Navy.
Baron M'DoNALn having summed up the evidence,
the Prisoner was found Guilty--Death ; but re-
commended to mercy, on account of his good cha-
racter.
The next Prisoner tried was
Thomas Cellicot, who stood indicted for forging
and uttering certain stamps, purporting to be the le-
gal stamps issued under the authority of his Majesty's
Commissioners of the Stamps, with intent to defraud
his Majesty.
The Prisoner, it appeared, was a vender of quack
medicines'in Oxford-road, and some suspicions of his
dishonest practices having arisen, two Police bikers
were sent to apprehend him. On their arrival at his
house, however, be was absent from home. The Of.
ficers then declared the object of their visit, and ex-
pressed an intention to search the premises, which
they proceeded to do, without receiving any confir-
mation to their suspicions. They thee asked for a
light, for the purpose of searching below stairs, and
a girl who was in the shop, went to procure one for
them, but shortly afterwards returned without one.

The Officers, on her return, observed that she had
talon off her apron, and, surprised at this circum-
stance, they immediately went down stairs, and
haying procured a candle, found in a coal vault a
vast number of forged stamps, tied up in the girl's
apron, which they immedistely secured. The girl
was then examined, and she confessed the fact of her
having been employed to paste those forgeries on the
packages, or bottles of quack medicines, and that
she did this with the knowledge of their being spu-
rious, as the Prisoner had told her so. It further
appeared that a large box, containing a considerable
quantity of, articles on mltich those stamps had been
pasted, were sent to the house of Messrs. Wood and
Cunningham, Bath. Thither the Officers were dis-
patched, and the box, with its contents, were brought
to town.
Upon examination of the forged stamps, they did
not appear to be precisely similar to the stamps used
by the Stamp Office, as in the place where the Crown,
on the genuine stamps, was placed, were the words,
" Jones, of Bristol." This, however, was cut out
when used, and the hole generally covered with a
seal or a label.
There facts, as well as the facts of the stamps in
question being forgeries, having been clearly sub-
stantiated,
Mr. ALLEY, for the Prisoner, made three legal I.
objections in his favour. In the first instance, he
asserted that the indictment was wrong in form, Its
lit alleged the uttering to have taken place in Mid-
dlesex,
whereas that was not the case; next, that it
was net a.felony under the Act on which the indict- ,
meet was framed ; and lastly, that there was no
proof of forgery. In support of the first objection,
be contended, that as the package containing the
stamps alleged to have been uttered in Middlesex,
had been conveyed to the waggon by the Prisoner's
servant, and might have been stopped in transitu by
the Prisoner, thedelivery could not be said to have
taken place before the arrival of the waggon at
Bath, and consequently out of the county of Mid-
dlesex. With respect to the next objection, he
i argued that the terms of the Act had not been com-
plied with, as the form of the stamp alleged to be
forged had not been described in words. And with
reference to the last, observed, that the stamp al-
leged to be a forgery, was in no respect similar to
the stamp, the resemblance of which it purported
to bear.
After some further remarks on the same ground
from Mr. Cr RWOOD and Mr. A DOLPIICS,
Sir hiIMON LE BL kNC over-ruled the two latter ob-
jections; and observed, the Prisoner might have the
benefit of the other, if there was any thing in it, in
another place.
The Learned Juke then summed up the evidence
with great minuteness, and the Prisoner was found
Guilty—Death.
Thomas Kite was capitally convicted of stealing
two 21. bank-notes and a 11. ditto, the property of
Hugh Jones, in his dwelling-house.