Old Bailey New Court, Tue...
The Times, 1824-11-03T00:00:00

'1'hs being the last dcay ot the sessions. it was undemrood that tie! Recorder would pass sentence on the prisoters cenvictcd, the Courr !.&as consequently considerablv crowded. In the course of tle rnern ing it wa.s intinmated to the Recorder thar a motion would be matle I tor an arrest ol judgment in the case of jM.r. FauntleroY, upon whicha his Lordship despatched a messenger to 'Mr. Justice Park aEd MIr_ ! Baran Garrow, requesting their presence and assistance. IMr. JuF- tice Park was ;inable to appeal, but Air. Baron tarrmw caime, as wiriil sobsequetlyv appear. Ata.quartertn oneu'coek, th: PRIE ORDER entered the Court,and passed sentence upun somC prisoliurs who had been found guilty of minor oCi--.- I hlR. FAUNTLERoY.--MOTION IN ARREST OF JUDGMENT. At a tew minutes betore two o'clocn :nr. lbaron UaRRow anveO, and took his seat on the bench. Mr. ALLEY stated to hie Lordship that he meant to move ic ir- rest of judgment oL7 the Dart of Henry FauntJeroy. Mr. Plaron GARnow directed the Prisoner to be piaceed a the baa. .Mlr. Fauntlerov was then brought in. He walked up to the lIar '.-l 4 -UlLS at Itrflt -vp, Iu-re, Iv thc Bench, ar.d then stood wi:h his eves tixed on the zround. The Clerk of the A rraigr s in ! )he usual font ask-ed the prisoner what he had to say whv he should not die accordLng to law, having beri convicted of feloni. .Mr. ALLEY said hehliac to address the Court obt the part of the prisonter. Hie feit Lhat his. Lordship htad been put to some :rouble to attend there. Mr. Baron tIARnROw zequesRtd tilat tthe learoed Counsel would not dwell for the twentieth part * - a moment on that subjecL h is time was andt ougrht to be devoted to the Public service. espe_ cially a)no the question whether the lite of' a ThE ow nman weo to be s-acrificed_that wds Got & su:r-za ex -ression ; hemeant for- feited-or whether the ingenuity of the pTisoner's counsel could interpose any thing to stay the execution of' the dreadful Sentence oT thc law. In such a case. God forbid that any man, whatever trouble or nconventener he inightbepittt t, (and he bad been put tononet) s,hould hlesttae for halt' a mormnt tc atten.A tc1 the call which w:4 maile upon him. 1r. A. r EY satti hat his uirect wa' enerely to *et hlnselt'riglit wmth the Court at the outseL Ae did nor think it was necessary to, have the record read. His LordIhip wa., doubtless, awaTe that ti e convictioi of' the lrifuner had taken place. not generally, but on ti e counts of the indirntment 'Oheeair.a hrO-. '21ih d,-..n, *s..,wA A_ power ot attorney for the eale of stock, knowiing it to be forged ~t the time of uttering it. Had the convictioij taken place on th: indictment generally, whichi would have declared the prisoner ta, have been ,utity of tbrre-g the inltruLment, hie would not ha% e had. to trouble his Lordship ot the pref-vti occasion. There was an ex- press act of Parliamtnt which made the forging ofa power of attor- ney a capitEal offence. UlD to the reign of Gcorge I I.. it was not made a capital slenice toutter a torgstL deed. By the8th cf Geo. I., it ws aca- Uital offence to forre abond- rsecurity fortmoney, &c., butthepenalt- did nor extend to the ant of uttering such an instrument. It wv A therefore clear. that tinder the acc of tbe 8&b of GcO. L., judgmerr e. death could not bt pronounced on a conv:ction for uttering :h- instrument knowing it to be forged. By a subsequent act, tie 4Vt !of George 11., it wa: rnade (cap. 7.) a capital officce to forgecertain. instruments therein enumerated, but of which a power of attorner was not one. That act extended only to individual cases, but it Wua: subsequently enacted that it should extend to offences committed against corporatiuos. It wiashi obiect to contend, that under neilher of the two statutes which he had mnentioned was it a capital offence to forge a powei of attorney; hbr otherwisc thoee whose duty it wvas to framer tile laws of' the country must, at a subsequent periot, have been guilty of ereat oversight, to say the- least of it, when they spe- cially enacted that it was a capitai eoFence to forge such an instru- ment, fad the offence been capital under the two statutes to whicih he had referred, why should the Legiaiautrr have teJt it neceshary to pass an act declaring expre-ssly that the tbegine powvers of atiorneey was a capital offence ? Bv the i7th ot ;eorge III., it was made a capital offence to foxere a letter of attornev toobtain a seaman'-s wages. or eo uYter such a forged in I strurnent knowing it to he counterfeit. That act showed that it was not in the contemrplation of the Legislature that to forge a power ot attornyc was a capital oflence under the two statutes before- mentioned; for if so, what wwas the use of the fresh enact- ment ? The *vords empleved in the act of George 11. were bills, bonds. notes, deeds, &c."'-the words " power of attorney" did not occur in it. Be believed, also, that the act upon which 3 per Cent. Cornsols we raised was passedl subsequently to *he act of Geonce 11. If that were so. it was irmpo- sible that the Lelrislature could have intended by that act to have afforded protection to a species of property which did not exist. The instruments which the =,tislature had in contemplation whern it enacted the statute or George II. ivere those which oCr sC were a.- luahle and convertible into ca-.l. That was not the case with a power of attornev. A power of attorney was not valuable in itsett; but acquireil a value only in reference to something ese. A,beod was a deed of intrinsic va!ue, because it was a seretity for ranorcy- bitt a letter of attorncy was niot a sectiritp for money. Mr. Baron GAttRoW apologized for interrupirng the learned-gen- tlenian. lie remembered that when the prisorer was ott hit trialI it w-s represelited that he was indisposed, aind he was acconmnodateA with a chair. The argument on the present occasion migi-t last bomne timc; nnd if the prisoner were stil indisposed, he fhould be alloiwed to sit down. A chair was brought 4 Mr. Fauntleroy sat down, inclined his fore- head on the lantip-iton before him, placed Idis clasped hands on the bar, and remained itl tthat position whilst the argument continued. Alr. ALLEY, after thanking his Lordship for his attention to the pri.'oner, coRtinued. It the power of attorney was comprehended under the word " deed" in the statute of 'eerrge I., the subsequent statutes which were passed to declare the forging of a power of attot- ney a capital offence. were, to say the least. unnecessary. Those statutes were introduced under the authority of the law-officers of the Crown, anal it was not to be supposed that they would call up. on the Legislature to enact that to be a capital offence whichi had long before been declared to be so. Such a proceeding would be only a waste of publc tine and money. He knew of no case where such a question had occurred before. He was acquainted with raanr cascs in which the Bank had prosectted, but prosecuted in a dif ferent way. His Lordship knew, from the experience whicn he had acquired In conducting the prosecudons of the Bank, that that body sometimes prosecuted parties for personating, sometines for forging dividend warrants, sometimes for other things, but be d4 nor recollect a case itn that eonrt, and there wvas not one to be found in the hooks, to justify such a prosecution as thepresert. When ke said that there had never been a case similar to the present, bIe might perbaps except one on wliich a qtestion arose, but not lihk that tiow a issue, which was decided some time ago, and had betnr reported by Alr. Blngtiam. AIr. BaoDuItc was sure that the Court would require no apD. logy from him for making a tewvobservations in upportof what had been so ably stated by liis learned friena. He wotald first direct t], attention of the Court to some of the counts of the indictment, and then state what the verdict of the jury Was. The indictment r, 'isteA of eleven cOunts, but it was unneceslar., to conszider more titan the three first counts. The first coulst c6aged th-e prisoner witht forging a deed, and set forth the power Of attorney ; the second i,with utterng it, knowing it to be forg'ed ;the third with disposing. of je,wIt inentto efrud he BanliC 'I'he verdlict of the jury Was neot tnat of guilty generally, but of uttering a forged deed, knowing ,it to be forged. iMr. Bai an GAUH.ROW The verdlict of the juiry was, in popiular langjuage, this...l" We have no evidence to charge the pirisoner withi the manual operation of forgery, atnd therefore we acquit him of that, n6 himu w`UiltY On all thle othe parts of the indictment." Al.BODRhIcx hadl no obhiecrtipon to take the fact to be as his Lod"hip stated it. The object of the present. motion. was not that shre shou Ibe no iadgmnent, beit thatt tere should not bejudgment of death. h second and thiudlcounts of the inidictment called the instrumnenit "a. dIced." Those counts, therefore, mnust be takeii to rest upon the 2d Gleo. I., cap. 25, wfilch enacts, that "1if any person shall falsiely malce, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to he~ falsey inade, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly act or as- sisit in the false making, forging, or counterfeitingz any deed, &e." or shall utter any such deed, he shall he deemned guilty of f'elony. TIhat was the efflict of the act of'the 2et George 11.; the 3slt (George 1I.cap -P'22 sec. 711, merely exte'nded the enartmentsi of the former act to tbe eases of corporations. Mr. Baron GARiloW.....That took place in flarrington's ease. Mr. BROnsRsCK.I-lij Lordship was right. The que-stion theni was, wheter~ the power of attorneyv which was called a deed in the itidictetiene was a deedI within the;meaninz of thieact of George ii. Ile thought he shouild be able to prove to demonstration that the Le- gisla' ore hadrnot so considered it. The first statute to which his learn- Iedhfrienld had directed the attention of the Courtwas the 8th of Geo.l., v,tetil ofs the stock of a reries of statuitea designed for the pro- .!- onof he tec ofpublic companies. That statute, how- 'o'er, confinied the capital punishmetit to the for-ging of a POwer Of attolnev, and not to the uttering of one knowing it to be forged. T~hat statute, therefore, was clearl'y not within t'he range of the present iridictment. Besides, th-'at statute art. plie,d to sitock vested at the time it passed, and not to stock subs,equenltlyv createed. The statutc of the 2d George I 1. wats that upon which 'the tildictment was franted. His argurftent, then, was, that it was.-necussary to comie to one of two inferences-either that s-he Leeislature, in the statutes which it hiad pAss,ed subsequently to the 2td of' George IIL, had employed unnecessary words, or that, nit Pasliamentary, interpretatiin, a pow er of attorney was not In- cluded ude the. word "dee-d" ink the 2d of George I f. If the Blank col hae rsecuted under the act of the Pd George IT., it was_ lciesleat s iwods power of attorney in the 31st of George '1 Ether it r.a-s necessary to suppose chat the Legislature had com- initted an act of supererogation, Or to come to a MOre rationial con- clusion that Parliament did not consider that a warrant of attorney was comiprebended undler the word "deIed," in th~e 2d GTeorge If. There mnight, hle adm~itted, baye been a conviction under 'the 37th oOflerge llr ap. 122, which enacted, "1 That if any personi should forac or counterfeit the names of any persns as witnesses to apowet of'attorney, for the transfer of Bank.stock, he shouild be liable to j'c"Itportatiori for SeVen years." ~hrBerOn GARROw...Not under the present inidictmnent, which .Jrp!dtefrigo the writing of the principal. Mr. TLO1RTCK'-Itwasgiven in evidence that the names ot t]iWitnse eeforged. fr. Baron GARgow..But withi what view was that done ? It wsgiven in evielence that the inames of the witnesses were forged in order to assiste the proof with respect to the forgery of the writing oi the prinegipal. Suppose that Alliss Young had by some a-r's been pre- vailed upon to putt her genuine signature to the Instrument, but that tre names of M essrs. Watson and Tyson, the witnesses, had been prored to be forged, could the prisoner have been convicted upoin the present indlictment?P Certainly not. It would then, have been ne- ce.ssary to frame an indictmen't on the stattute to which the learned cournsel had atlluded, and on convictioin, the prisoner would bavebee-n liable to transportation. Mr. BaonaRtCK said ho would no., trouble. his L.ordship 'withl any ftirther obsgervations on) that point. The 57th of George Ill ., cap. 1. 27,_sec. 4, to whiich hisi learned brother had referred, alluded to the foTrging and uttering. aimongzst other things, of powvers of attomey ,\or obtairing seamen's wages. 'Why dlid the Legislature mnake use ~fthe words " Power of attorniey ?" They, were evidenitli-unneces- .larv, if a power orf attorney was include-d y the word "1deed" in the 2dGog IL. H% again-reverted to the proposition with whiceh he had `setout-na;neIv. that it was either necessary to suppose that the ILegislature h5d. ustdecessa,ily made uske of the words, or that it did riot contem ntate that the Pd -George IL. comprehended powers of at- torney, 'osit only instrument-s which might be immediately converted into 'doney.A Ypow.er of attorney migzht. to besure, be cons;idered a !'.c, (3inasmuichias .t w-s signed an,d sealed: but it was per seof no t'alue whatever. ft was a mecre authority to~ another person to act. 'He felt that he had niothing fuirther to offer to his liordshiip's at- [eton le trusted that he had inade his argumnent understood,an left it to his Lordship's co'nsideraiion. Mr. C. PRIL.LIPS followed on the same side. He obsierved, that after the hint which his Lordship had thrown out respecting the sig- -natures of the witnesses, he would not say it word oni that point, es- pecially as his owtn opjinion coincided with that which his liordshiip exiressed. Mr. Bawon GARtROW haoped, that unless the itiiid of the learnied ~.entlenran wvas perfectly .atisfied, he stouldinot abstain frominaking any remarks, in conse4uence of irhat hiad f'allen from him. Itwa his habit to make suchi Observations, for the purpose rathier of eliciting argumetit fromt counsel than of ssippremming it. Air. Psttt.t.ira S aid Ilie Perfectrv agree-d in the opinion whichi the lear-aed Jutdge had expreotsed on the i;oint in question. The le-arned gentleman then pursued the sante line of arg'ument which had been marked out by the counsel whiolhad precededi. In order to prove i bat the instrutments to wvhich the 21 George 11. applied were only instruments immuediately convertible into mnoney, time leameti gentle- man stated that the stailute, afteT reciting the word "1deed", ended by saying, " or other szceerities for mioney." AIr'. Sergeant BOSANCI?g-T said that he intetided to offer a few observations in answer tO the arguments which had been brought for- ward by his lion, friends on the other %ide ; buit lie ilid not imagine that it would be ruccessary t'or himi to occupy the attention otf the Court loug. It had been said that the presecnt prosecution differed .fricn othe-a rhich had been instituted azain.st persons whiohad forged powers of attorney. He col on y a, that the prosecution follow. edl exactly the sarrie form which had always been pursued iii sirsulat -cases sirce he had had the honour of assisting tdie Bank. The prosecution had always been founided on the utterance ot' a forged .tCesl. It Wasl imprtanTlt, that in the very last instance of a similat pr osecution, the case of 1r. WVaite, wisichl had been adverted to bv his learned friend (MIt..'clleyy, as having been reported by AIr. Bling". ham, the indictment was framned in precisely the same wav a thec present, withi the difference which) he wouid 2state. In Waie'si c-ase the fi,rger-y had been committed at Bristol, lint the utter- anice took place in Londlon, and hie was tried for thiat oiffence iti chat coit ft therefore was not necessary in Mlr. Waite's inidict. nment to introduce aniy counts charging the forging of the dloccinent, The indictment mer-ely charged the uttering of a forgred deed, witti intent ts) defraud the G;overnor and Comnpany oh' the Blank of Eng. latiti. antir tther parties who might be interested iii the dteed. fli Lordship well knew how much pains were taken and bow many obs. jections were made by the prisomier's counsel, andI what pattetit atten- lieni the case rezaivedl front the learned judiges: but, after all, the ton. foGrtunate person undlerwent the sentence of' the law. AIr. Baroni GAR Ro w remarked, that ane circumstance shouild' noi be forgotten rerpecting the case aluded to-namely, that all hti .jodgesl eXpresed their approbation of the very able m'anner in whicl, it had been argued on bothi sides in thie Exchequer Chamber. Mr. Serwceant BOSANXQtET resumed.-..The utteritig of the instru. iienan in MIr. Feuntleroy's race was foundedi on the 2d Gro. IL.. but the third count, naiiiely, the disposing of the deed, was founded or the 45h (Ge.. IlL The Pd (Geo. 1I. nmade it a capital offenc so forge a deEd, or publishi as true a forged deed. It had been arguetd thats apower of attorney was, not a deed wiithin the meaning of thin act. if a powerc of attorney was not a deed within the meanding ol thbat act nGw, it could tiot fhave heart so at the time it was passed. But he should be glad toknow whether, if aperson had been indicted oct the 3d Geo. 11. for uttering a forged power of attorney, it could have becau contended that it was not a deed within the meaning of thin acr, becatuse in thle 8th Geo. 1. an act had passe4 which made ii a.cptloffence to forge, a lpower of attorney. The 8th Geo. I. cnandno provisRion for the uttering of a forged instru. mnenit acd that omis%ion was supplied by the Pd Georgi II. There was this fallacy, which ran through the whole el his learned friends' arguments from beginning en end-imamely, that it had been supposed that a power of attorney mus-t necessarily be a deed. A power of attorney might be given uinder hand, wits or without a swrl ; anG1 his lIerdahi_p would recollect, that in the cast wlhich had bean adverted to, of the King ancl 'Waite, she whole forct of his learne(I friend Mr. Campbell's argument turned upon that distinction. Mr. Campbell contended, that in that particular instance, itwas altowier of attorney' by deed, and that therefore it cotiliR on]1' lin revoked by deed. Ithc.d beer, contended that the Pd (leo. II. extenided rodeedsconvertible into money, a-ad it was said, that the words ".eeni. rities for mon ev"followed. Th,ose wordi. did i,otexieein theact. Thi words tebichi foilowed " deed," were will, trtestnent," and then the clause walist uti to promissory niotes., &c. Wlouild airy one say that a will was a security for money ? It was clear that tuie objec~i ,of thie statuite seas to include all instruments Undifr seal delivered, That the pow.er of attorney in the present ease was allit stru. .ment of that description, speared fromi the indictment , where ii was set out as scle,sine,eltveredl,and attested, by two witneses Could it have bencon 6rtended at the time of ithe passing of' thin act of Georgel11., that such anr instriment was not within thetapeanini ~of that statute. The 45th George I I . made it a capital offience tt: dispose of, or put away, any, forged deed, note, &c. It rmigh t neit bi itisproper here to mention a circumstance whichi occurred in cite ad. 4oining court ilist long after the passing of that act. A person weat oindictad by a private proacedtor for uttering and publishing as truerz forged bill of excitange. -e (did net remember the names of thin partiea, for he was riot persnally concerned in the case. The 45til (;eorge XIII contained the words, " displosing ofand putting away,' hu' ot hos ofuttrin rm.d ublshing, as in the Pdl Georgin I!J*He uggste tohisleanedfriend who was defending -ele pisoer,tha th 45h o GergeIll., which only enactedJ -the" diposng" f fogedinstumetst to be capital, shoulk be tken o Spersde tre d GergeII, and that the latret shoud b co5ishredas to lnge inforce. His friend actet] on the suggestion, ant made the objection. The question was argued before the judges, who declared their opinion that the Pd George II. was still in force, and that the effect of the 45th Gcorge IllI. was not to diminish the security of the former act, but, on the contrary, to extend the operation of the laws to a greater va- riety of cases. He was not aware that it was necessary for him to offer any further remarks. fie must repeat that the ibdictment which had bean preferred against the unfortunate gentlema.n at the bar was precisely the saome as that which was always preferred ott charges of tbrgmng powers of attorney. The counts were in the usual form, without the slightest variation. He was at a loss to conlceive how it could be contended, that an instrument such as that seet lorth in the indietment, professin.g to be regularly sigsed, scaled, and delivered, and moreover containing in the lst clause a covenant to make good all the acts done by the parties to the deed, can be im- properly consid ered as coming withini the meaniag of the 2d Oeo. I . He was rem3ided of a circumstance upon which lie wished to make one observation. It had been said that theinstrument set forth in thein- dictment referred to funds which had been created subseqtiently to the passing of thse 2d, George I l. That objection could not apply to the third coust, which was fotnded on the 45th George 111.; hut the effect of the act fir consolidating the three per cents., was not to create a new stock, but merely to make new arrangements with re- spect to stock antecedently exIsting. The system whichi was thus newlv arranged, comnmernced, as was well known, in the reiga of W'ilfiam f1l. It was worth remarking, that in the case of the King and WVaite, the forgery wrs committed with respect to the stock in question. M$Jr. LAW followed ont the same side, and endeavoured, at some length, to support the argumcnts of his learned leader. He con- cluded by observing, tatlf l!the statute of the 2d of George II., didi tot apply to the present Case, lie knew of no ether that did. Mr. ALLI;V shortly replied to the obser'ations of the counsel for theprosecution, anidexpressed his conviction thjat the observation With whlichi his learned friend (Mlr. Law) had concluded would have no weight with his Lordship. The Court would be bound, by the law of the case. withopt Tegaird tD the mnanner in which its decision.might affect the prisondr. Mlr. Baron GARuINo tlieti proceeded to deliver his decision. The awfal period had arrivedt when, according to the forms of the law, that unhappy person at the bar was calle upion to declare wvhether he had any thing to say ivhy the Couirt should not pass jdgment on him tLo die. The learned Rec'order of th ict `ofLndon, who by ancient uisage and ctustom was the organ by wvhich the sentence ofthie law waspronouncedl on the properoccasion's,bad unnecessarily-. he must give him leave to say so, when he consideredl his long expe- rience arid great learning--called upon him (Baron Garrow) and his learned brothier, who presided iat the trial of the prisoner at the bar, to be present on this occasion. He regretted that the short notice which had been given ofthte inteRded proceeding had rendered it im4. possible for his learned brothier to attend end pjlve the Court his valu- able assistance. He, hiowever, rezretted that circurnstilnce the less, iinasmuc'h as he was not able to satisf,y his rAintl that he could, with porety, entertain the slightest doubt with respect to thle question whIch hadi been raisedl. The law of England didi not permit a judge to allow, his feelines, cOen when favourable to the party under accu- sation, to influence hiejutdgment buit, thanlk God,it didnotf"Orbid him to feel lite other men ; asnd if he entertined the opinion that the jd enofdeath ought not at the present moment to be pro- oucd Acodng to law upon the unofortunate gentlema atth bar, he should hasten to declare that opinion,in order that,as far asbhis 'Poor auithority was concerned, the poignancy of his (thie prisoner's sleep affliction might at least, for a momnent, be allevitd H w it to his own feelings, and to a consideration of the awful sitnsatiop of the prisoner, not tso state that he entertained dloubts when he enter- tained nrioneA by doing so he would only divert his (the prisoner's) mindfo n obj ect of infinitely greater importance than.anly wvhichi was paLssing in tat court, even although it concerned his own in- terest,-an object to which the humane judge who tried him invited his attention, and it was to be hoped, niot without success. HeL re- gretted that the interval occupied in the present proceedings (nut imn- properly, for it wasi the duty of the prisoner's legal advisers to catchi at every' thing which miight affbrd a chance of averting his sentence) should interrupt the course of thought which he hoped and believed~ thle prisonerc since his trfial had induilged in. It was, a gcreat consola- tion to himt in determining the present question, to know that the prisoner's fate did not depend on Hlis very fallible judgment, but that ) don to the very moment "or sealing the warrant for carrying.the I sentence into e-zecution, if atny dloubts shiould atrise In the mind8 of the latw-officers of the Crown, they weuld be submitted to the United wisdom of all the juidges of the country. He was at present Ionly called upon to deliver hiit opinion with respect to the objection Iwhichi had be en raised, and he was bound to say that he entertain- 1;ed no doubts on the subject. The law required that oii the face of the record, the offence with which the prisoner we' charged should, for thie information of the present age as wvell as of' thie latest pos- teritv, be fully stated to itustify, the coming judcgment. The indictm-enit stated, that lhe person iabout to receive judigment uterd Uknowing It to be forged, a power of attorney purporting to I b eccuted by Frances Youtng. This was stated to be in viola- tion of the stature, which bad provided the punishment of deach for all who shouild utter any forged deed, knowing it to be forged. The for-ged instruiment set forth in the indictment had all the formalities of a power of attorney. It was sealed, and purported to be attested by two witnesses;, so that if it had been genuine, it would have operated for the purposes tfor which it was intended. It lhad been said that the word "1deed"' contained in the statute was to be underStood, not as applying universally, hut as limited and circaTmscribed to instruments of a cetain character, of whbichi the Present forged document was not one. That argument had, in his opinion, been stufficiently answered at the bar. It bad been remiark-ed, that the Court would not allow its judg.ment to be in- fluencedI by the piobabiliy of a prisoner escapinig unpunished. JTudges wfere bound to administer the law as they found it. If the law would not reach the offender, he must go unpunished, and the powers of the law must be extended s-o as to bring future offenderes within its reach. It va.s the dutr of the Court torea,d the law as it was. He must look to tlhe act of' Parliament-thiat waLs the text on which he was to commenDt-.that was thle rule by which his conduct was to be go- verned-.the compass by which he w,ould steer his course, lIJe found, then, that the statute mentioned the wvord "1deed" without any qua- lification. There was no exception in favour ef a power of attorney. Not eve'n in favour of life to a prisoner, did he da-re to write those words in any, Statute; it would be as uinpardonable at; to write in tremit of blood something toi aggravate tile guilt. He could finid no- thin in the argumients to c-onv-ince him that the Le)zislature in speak Ingot' a "1dcAii" meant an instrument conVertible diro money. He was indeed at a loss to kniow what deed could1 be predicatedl as not convertible into money. A bill on goods was conivertible into motney as soon as they couild be sold. A buildinig lease was con- vertible into money as snoon f,or the momnent the holder prociures grouind and building materials he may sell it. These were instru- menits not convertible into money b'ut by som-e act to be done by the holders of themn. That wa- the case with the deed sct out in the indictment by presenting it at the Bank, the prisoner was enabled to get into his own bands. 5,M000. stock. It was a dee,l as9 much convertible into money as any class of deeds whichi couldI be referred to. But what wax to be dotne in cases whiere deeds were not immediately conyertible into money ? He would sup- pose A was about to marry 13 with whiom be received a large por.- tIdn. VI'v hen rhey married, the parties entered into deeds of settle- enent, the effect of whiich was, to keeps the property in the handls of both parries for certain uses; on the teath of one parry, to go to the otlher ; and on the death of both, o go to the citildren. Coold any one say that this, was a deed convertible inito mioney ; anid yet would any one sa-y that it was excluided fromi the protection- of the s tatute? In short, if the present case were excluded from the operation of the statute, all kind of deeds would 'be equally excluded, lie might have contented himtself with stating that the question had already been argued a-id determined. Hie alluded to the case of Waite. Mlr. Waite was a gentleman pTactising at Bristol as an attorney. fin an evil hour he executed a forged power of attarnev, authorizing a person in London to transfer a quantity of stock. The person in London believing the instrument to be genuine, acted upo.i it. Mr. Waite wast indicted, not for forging, buit for uttering the instrument in London knowing it to be forged. Air. Waite was convicted, anAd beyond all doubt properly convicted ; but a questioni arose as to the corilpetency of a witness, which was arguedI with great abiity, amonget others by Mlr. SergeantBosanquet anti the learned Mlr. Canmpbell. The Judges would niever have entertained ascii a question for a momnent, with the fact staring them In the face, that thle instrument which beid foriiedI the suibject of the trial; was notea deedl in the contemnplation of the statute,Ilie felt bound to say that he would have felt no difficulty or hesitation in deciding agaitist the point which had been raised on behialf of the prisoner. He would conclude, that in delivering thiat opinion, be experinened consolation in kniowing,thzt, to the latest period previous to the axe. cittion of the senitence (if it should be carried into execution), the pri- 'oner would have the benefi of the united wisdomi andl learning of those who presidled over the administration ofthe law in this counitry. TIhe RECORDIER expressedI his concurrence -with the opinion which the leamed Judge had proniounced. MIr. Fauntlero-y then roser, antI read the following statement My Lord,-I a-n well aware that no emergencies, however PTCSRins...that no embarrassmnents,, howevrgreat, can be listenied to as at, excuse for the offence of whiich I hae en fu nd guilty ; but I trust it may he considered as some palliation in a moral point of view,, thtat a desire to preserVe MySelf' and others from bankrTUptCY, and not personal aggranidizement or selfishi gratification alone, uirgedi anid impelled me in the acts I hiave comeniitted ; and when I first de- viated from rectitude, it was owing to an acute, al though, I admnit, ,nistaken feeling, to obtain temporary relief; and not from any deli- berate intention) to defraud. God knows my heart, and the truth of my present declaratios., that I hopedi, and fuilly intended to make restitution immediately the expected prosperity of the house would liave enabled me. This miust, I think, my Lord, atpear evident, from- my havinig frequently replacel the money withdrawn ; and the hank books will prove, that manyv of the sumis mentionedi in the do. cumnent written in 1816, have been since re-invested by me tori tei credit of tise pa-rties. That document,my Lord, has been suipposed to have been preparedI cotepato effht: this idea is, however, erroneous, andis sfcinlreued by MY continuiance at my residence and busiesfryassbeuntly. The only object and intention of that pae a nthuvn fsd- den death, before the whole of the motysol erinvested, to absolve every one besides myself even fo suspicion. Unfortu- nately for me, a succession of adverse evens which could neitlier arert nior control (and pact of whichil detaile at lengtli on my trial), led on from one false step to anothier, until h affairs of the houise beca-me so involved that extrication w4as impossible. In these diffi- culties, I offere(i mnyself' as rue only s;acrifice;, and it is my duty, as a men andl as a Clhxisti-an, to resign'rsybelf to miy fate. For me, my Lord, fallen and d(epradle(l as I am, life has no allurementits; and a onionentary pang will at once ut an end to my menital agonies and to my earthly existence. Blut, niy Lord, I hiave numerous relations,--..amongst themi, my dea'r and venerable muither,... whose fecelings I reverence ; aud tl frtheir saktes niiore titan mTy ow,Iventure to supplicate that I way not be doomed to sutfer a violent,and ignominious death. If crime, my Lord can be atonied for by sufferitig, miy offences, heavy as they are, Lave long been expiated, nior merely bv the overwhelming enibarrass,nents of the concern in which I wa's engaged, but by years of anxious terror and agonizing apprehension ; and if, my liord, the anguish of mindl I have enduared for the last sixteen years of my life, and the pecutliar circumrstances in whiich, I have been placed ever since I arrived at man's estate, could be made known to my AMost Gracious Savereign, I venture to hope that His Alajesity's benevolent and feeling heart would be touched with compassion for my aitutation, aLnd that I shioulg nor be considered an object wholly uindeserving of' the Royal clemvency. MAay I therefore, my Lord, presume to solicit your Lord- ship'shumnane interpstion, to communicate for HIs Maje-sty's mer- ciful conisideration thoescircutustances to whichb I have alluded and on behalf of niy dearest relatiotts, I supplicate that the punishiment of death may be remitted." The unhappy iman read, autlibly and distinctly, except at that part of the addIress wbich alludedl to his mother there hiis voice faltered, atid he struck his hband forcibly, on the bar. When he concluded, lie resuimeti the calm demeanour which had previously characterized Ihim. _Thefollowing prisoners were then placed at the bar to receive se tence or deato, together with mr. Fauntleroy ;-John Cook alias ,Jackson, forburglary; lVm. Oliver, for highway robbery; Wns. Mloore, for the same offence; Wm. Dalton, for house-breaking; Henry Harris, for biurglary; Henrv Lev, for stealing in a dwelling. house; Jobh Passenger, for the sanSe oflence; Henrv Joln Walls, for the same offence; Edward Harris, for robbing in an open place near the King's highway; Evan Williams, James Adams, Ann lVilliamson, and Bridget Follet, for stealing in a dwelling-house. Silence having been proclaimed, The RECORDER then proceeded to addres3 the prisoners. Among them, he observed, there were none who had arrived at an age nearly approaching to the termination of their natural lives. Had they con. ducted themselves agreeably to the commands of God and the laws oftheircountry, theymightat thatnoinent,instead ofstandingin their awful situation, have been living in the esteem ofemankind, and pon. sibly in the enj6oinent of the distinetions which wealth and ranik could bestow. They furnished a dreadful example that a life of crime must very speedily terminate in a violent and untimely death. The crimes of some of those whom he was addressing were of a verv aggravated character. The forger, whose crime niight involve even the richest in irretrievable ruin-the mitdnight burglar, who carried awaytheproperty, perhaps the little all, of the inhabitant whose house he entered-and the robber, who not only took away the property of the persons whom lie assaulted, but lett theyn with little evidence of remraining life, were persons who would do well to make the best use of the time which was allotted to them, for their's were cases to which, in all human probability, no mercy would be extended. After again exhorting all the prisoners to make their peace with God by si cere repentcnce,the learnedJudge,in the usual form, passed upon theni the sentence of death. The prisoeners were then renzoved. The RECORDErL directed Nr. WVontner to inform Nr. Faunt- leroy, that the paper which he had read, rnight, if he wished it, be laid before the King's Council. The sessoias were then adjourned by procjamation. AD) BAILEY NENW COUIRT, TV'sDAY, NGv. 2.