The morning news., 1892-03-11
WHEN FORGERY CAME INTO NO
TICE.
Il Followed the Introduction Of the
EnQlish Pound Note

English Pound Note.
From an the Year around
The year 1871, in which the f1 note made
its first appearance. was, perhaps. the most
critical that England has ever passed
through. The French republic had gone
forth 70 conquer like a young giant. Car
not, the great war minister, whose descend
ant Is now the president OF the French re-
public, had organized victory In every
quarter. and Gen. Bonaparte was beginning
bis wonderful career of triumph.
Fleets and armies were in preparation for
the invasion Of England; Ireland was ripe
Tor rebellion; there was mutiny in the fleet,
and, 70 crown all, a momentary panic
threatened ruin to all the banks and great
financial houses throughout the country.
On Saturday. Feb. 20, when the Bank Of
England closed for the day, there was only
a million and quarter left in the bank Gel
lars, a sum which would barely suffice for
the demands OF another day OF panic. The
government was as vitality concerned as the
bank. A cabinet council was hastily sum-
moned and met on Sunday.
On Monday the crowd Of people who
awaited the opening Of the bank doors were
met with the announcements Of an order in
council, and a royal proclamation went
from the press ordering the suspension by
the bank of all payments in cash. The
restored public confidence. Bank of Eng
land notes were everywhere accepted and
circulated freely as legal tender, but the
public convenience demanded an immediate
supply Of smaller notes, and another order
In council authorized the issue. In few
days 92 notes were engraved and printed,
aud at once issued in large quantities.
For the next twenty years these FL notas
we're the chief circulating medium through
EnOland Tho haalaro
also permitted TO issue their own notes of
the same denomination. AS for gold, peo-
pie rarely saw it. The guinea, the half
guinea and the 7-shilliug piece. which were
then the principal gold coins in use, were
carefully boarded by their posseSsors, or
were only parted with at profit. Yet the
paper currency was never seriously depre-
ciated. The 91 note was always good
for 20 shillings, and no one looked askance
at it, unless to make sure that IL was not
forged.
Forgery was the great trouble Of the
time, and the hasty manner in which the
original 91 notes had been engraved and
issued facilitated the operations OF the
forgers. Nothing was easier than to pass a
Il note; at any shop a trifiinR purchase
would afford the means Of changing such a
note, which would often pass from hand TO
hand undetected, until scanned by the keen
eyes Of the bank official, when. Of course,
the last holder had to bear the loss.
Up to the time of the introduction Of the
91 note forgery of the banks issues bad not
been frequent. The bank had existed for
more than sixty years before the first forger
Of its note vas convicted. More cases oc-
CURED when lower denomination Of the
note was issued, and in 1773 the counter
feiting Of the water mark of the paper was
made capital offente, the death penalty
having hpnn nrayiOneiv rQQarvpH for fhoca
connected with the engraving and printing
of the notes. The forgeries Of old Patch in
1874 were the most serious of their time. By
the ingenuity of his disguises, and his care
in executing all bis forgeries without &C.
complies, for long time he defied detec-
tiop.
He was discovered at last by accident.
Having amassed considerable wealth by his
practices he was IL the habit of giving din
ner parties to his genteel neighbors; and to
make good show he would borrow guam
tity OF silver plate from neighboring
pawnbroker, leaving the full value in forged
bank notes as security for its safe return. II
happened however, one day that the pawn
broker was In desperate need of money, and
having lent out his plate on the usual terms
he made for the Bank OF England 10 cash
his customers notes. At the bank the
forgery was at once detected and the man
arrested, when he disclosed the facts IN the
case. aud the Bow street runners made q
descent upon Mr.. Patchis house and
captured him. The man escaped O capital
sentence by hanging himself in his cell
With the introduction Of small notes there
arose great and sudden Increase in the
crime OF forgery. During the six years pre-
vious to the introduction Of the zones" there
had been only one sentence Of death for
forging bank notes. In the year that fol-
lowed there were eighty-f1ve capital con-
vietions. The severity Of the punishment
had no effect In checking the prevalence Of
the crime. In 1908 regular manufactory of
forged notes was discovered in Birmingham.
They were sold for export, to be used In the
countries where our armies were at once
fighting and paying their way, and whore
commisgaries and contractors had familiar
lied the natives with English currency.
They we're ordered and invoicsd under
the name of oandlesticks, Nos. |. and o.
according to the value represented by the
forged notes, which were sold at the rate of
6 shilliDgs in the pound-along with other
hardware. The trouble with the forged
notes went on during the whole Of the period
Of inconvertible issues, and in the twenty
years of its duration hundreds of human
victims were sacrificed for the good Of the
currency. At Newgate, on hanging morn
ings, poor wretches convicted OF forgery
were hanged in patches, as many as dozen
at once.
Such sight was seen by George Cruik-
shank, the great caricaturist, one morning.
There were eleven sufferers aligned upon
the scaffold, two of them being women,
and it was with the horror Of it working ia
his brain that he designed anj drew that
inimitable model OF 41 note that
gives one cold shiver even now-the VIC
Tins on the scaffold Britannia, in the me-
dallion, busily devouring her children the
e of the note formed of the hangman's rope
the manncled prisoners seen in the window
of Newgate. fetters and irons forming the
ornamentations, and the whole subscribed
"Jack Ketch."
sXThe engraving was published by William
Hone, and exhibited in his shop on Ludgate
Hill, close to the scene Of the hangings. It
drew crowds about the window. The bank
directors were furious, aud would gladly
have prosecuted the audacious artist. But
public opinion was on his side. and the print
worked powerfully in aid Of the movement
for abollshing the death penalty for forgery
and the like-an object eventually attained
in the year 1882.
1t is not likely indeed that the introduc-
tion Of 9l notes in the present day will give
rise to any such epidemic of forgery. But
the danger is a serious one, and should be
guarded against by the production of a note
which will defy the arts Of the forger to
produce successful counterfeit. 1t must
be remembered that the progress of science
has given the counterfeiter many new proc-
essss. which require the aid of the chemist
as we'll as the machinist successfully to
counterfeit.