280. JOHN MATTHISON , otherwise MAXWELL proceedingsdefend This name instance is in set 193. was indicted for that he feloniously did forge and counterfeit a Bank note with the name O'Gething thereunto subscribed, purporting to bear date the 2d day of March, 1779, and to have been signed by one Owen Gething < no role > , for the governor and company of the Bank of England, for the payment of the sum of 20 l. to Mr. Robert Goordon < no role > or bearer on demand the tenor of which said forged and counterfeited note is as followeth , that is to say

No. 151 17 79

I promise to pay to Mr. Robert Goordon < no role > or bearer on demand the sum of 20 pounds,

London, the 2d day of March, 1779, for the governor and company of the Bank of England.

O. Geething.

Twenty

Entd R. Lateward.

with an intention to defraud the governor and company of the Bank of England proceedingsvictim , March 9th .

2d Count. For forging a note in the form of a Bank note, with the like intention.

3d Count. The same as the first only with intention to defraud Edward Man < no role > .

4th Count. The same as the second with intention to defraud Edward Man < no role > .

5th Count. For forging a promissory note, with intention to defraud Edward Man < no role > .

6th Count. The same as the 5th with intention to defraud the governor and company of the Bank of England.

EDWARD MAN < no role > sworn.

I am a silversmith at Coventry. The prisoner came to my shop on the 11th of March last, to buy a pair of buckles and asked me if I could give him cash for a Bank note; I said I had not enough in the house, but I would go to a neighbour, a banker; I went to Messrs. Liddle and Co. and got the cash, and delivered the Bank note to their clerk, Jeremiah Wall. (The note shown him.)

Can you tell whether that note is it? - I cannot say whether that was it or not.

JEREMIAH WALL < no role > sworn.

Did you receive any note from Mr. Man? - Yes.

To Mr. Man. What time in the day did the prisoner bring it to you? - I cannot say.

Was it day-light? - Yes.

How long did he stay? - Only while I went to get change.

Cross Examination.

You never saw him before? - No, nor after, till I saw him at Sir John Fielding < no role > 's.

To Wall. Is that the note? - Yes; we copied it in our day books; I put 888 upon the back of it under the Britannia.

Are you sure that is the same note that you received that day from Mr. Man? - I am very positive.

Cross Examination.

What is the meaning of that number? - It is a method we use in entering notes, we do it only for our own satisfaction.

Do you always use the same numbers, or progressive numbers? - Progressive numbers, we begin from one to about 1000 and then begin again.

There is nothing but this number to induce you to believe this is the note? - It is the strongest evidence of it.

What day was it brought? - The 11th of March.

How do you know that? - From the entry in our books.

Where are the books? - At Coventry.

You speak from your memory being refreshed by the books? - Yes.

And nothing else? - No.

Court. Did you make the entry in the books yourself? - Yes.

Messrs. Liddle and Company do a great deal of business? - Yes, as much as any country offices do I believe.

In the course of four months past how many Bank notes have gone through your hands? - I cannot say.

Is not O. Gething the name commonly subscribed to Bank bills? - Yes.

You would have known nothing of the identity of the bill if you had not inspected the books at Coventry? - I am certain that is the note.

From inspecting the books? - Yes.

Connsel for the Crown.

You have looked at the entry you yourself made? - Yes, I have.

Having so refreshed your memory, are you positive this is the note which was brought to you by Mr. Man on the 11th of March - Quite positive.

Court. Do you recollect how soon after you received the note it was that you put the fig ures 888 upon it? - I cannot tell the minute, as soon as time would permit.

Do you put the numbers on before you put the notes in the drawer? - Yes, always.

This is your hand writing? - It is.

Should you have known it by the number without seeing the books? - Yes; I gave the cash and made the entry with my own hand.

(The note was read in court and exactly corresponded with the statement of it in the indictment.)

Can you tell how far you have got in the progressive numbers? - No.

Since the 11th of March to your own knowledge have you indorsed any other bill 888? - Not to my knowledge.

FRANCIS MARTIN < no role > sworn.

I am deputy secretary to the Bank.

Whether that is a genuine Bank note? - I believe it to be a false one; I have examined this note with our books; I do not find such a note issued out of the Bank that day. I have examined both the cash book and the note ledger.

Have you any other reason to say it is not a genuine Bank note? - Yes the dotted lines drawn along here are not true, a pair of compasses will show it, they are not parallel, they are not such as could be taken from the plate used by the Bank; the letter N at No. is a little different; in the word bearer the e and the r are too close.

Court. You have examined it with the plate? - I have with other notes taken from the plates.

You have a general knowledge of the form the Bank plates bear, as to the circumstances you have related? - Yes, I have.

From that knowledge you made these observations? - Certainly so; and I believe this is a forged note.

Is there any other reason that occurs to you on the face of it? - I do not recollect any at present.

Jury. Has the cutting of the bill in two made no alteration in the parallel lines? - I believe it has not.

Does your observation go to the parallel lines on the same part of the paper? - I think it is perceivable by the eye.

OWEN GETHING < no role > sworn.

I am one of the cashiers of the Bank.

Is it you business to sign Bank notes? - Yes, it is.

Look at that name, O. Gething? - That is not my hand-writing.

You are perfectly sure of that? - I am.

There is no other cashier of the Bank of your name I suppose? - No. This is not Bank paper, and no such note as that has been issued from the Bank.

Cross Examination.

The water mark is in that? - There is something like the water-mark Bank of England.

Can you tell upon the view of the mark itself whether it is the water-mark used by the Bank? - It is not: and the white lines in the paper of this note are not the same as ours.

So you are sure it is not Bank paper? - I am.

Court. All Bank notes are not written upon paper of the same consistencey; some Bank notes are upon much thicker paper than other? - There may be a little difference in that.

Court. Is the number of white lines always the same upon the Bank paper? - I believe it will be found so.

What reason have you to swear that this is not your hand writing? - Because there has no such note been issued on that day.

Does it differ as you can see in any respect from your own hand-writing? - It does differ; it is stiffer.

Suppose you saw that upon an indifferent paper, and had not the reasons which you now have to think this was a forgery, could you have sworn it was not your hand-writing? - I do not know that I could.

Counsel for the Prisoner.

You will not say it is impossible for a clerk of the Bank to issue a note and mistake the day of the month? - It is not impossible.

RICHARD LATEWARD < no role > sworn.

You are an entering clerk at the Bank? - I am.

I believe you see the name Richard Lateward < no role > signed there? - Yes.

Is that or not your hand-writing? - It is not my hand-writing.

By what token is it that you can say it is not? - I generally strike the R and the L.

So then you take upon you positively to swear, that it is not your hand-writing? - I do.

Suppose that name was presented to you upon a sheet of common paper, would you be able to say that was not your hand-writing? - I should.

Do not you sometimes write your Bank notes without a flourish? - No, I do not generally.

To Mr. Gething. Look at this ten pound note, that is a genuine note is it? - It is.

When was that made out? - On the 2d of March 1779.

Who took it out? - I cannot say that.

SAMUEL FIDO < no role > sworn.

Did you ever pay that note at the Bank? - I did.

What are you? - A teller at the Bank of England.

When did you pay that note? - On the 17th of March I received this note from the prisoner, and paid him, money for it, and for two others; he brought for payment.

Court. Were they all good? - All good.

Court. How came you to recollect particularly receiving this note from the prisoner on the 17th of March? - On the 24th of March he came again to me to have two Bank notes for thirty pound, one for twenty and another for ten. The Excise-office were paying in 7000 guineas. There was a scruple about one of them; the prisoner looked at it as it lay at a distance, and said it was a good one; then I recollected him; I turned to the book and saw I had paid him those three notes.

Court. When notes are paid at the Bank they are cancelled are they not and never issued again? - They are never issued again, there is a hole stamped through the note, and the cashier's name is torn off.

JAMES TALBOY < no role > sworn.

Where do you live? - Opposite Arundel-street in the Strand.

Do you know the prisoner? - Very well.

Do you remember his coming at any time this year, and when, to lodge at your house? - On the 27th of February to the best of remembrance.

What apartment had he? - A first floor for himself, and an upper chamber for his sister to lie in; he had the first floor for his own use and she a three-pair-of-stairs back room. My house is four stories high.

Do you remember when he left your house to go into the country? - I think it was on the 24th of March.

Had he been out of town before at any time? - At two separate times.

Did he go out of town any other time? - He went out twice in the course of the month of March; once he was out a week; the second time he was out only two days.

Have you any recollection about what time he went out of town? - He came to lodge at my house on Saturday the 27th of February; and on the Tuesday or Wednesday sen'night following he set off; he told me he was going to Norwich.

How long was it before he returned? - About a week.

Did you make observation of his manner of living while he was in your house? - He behaved with all the good order and regularity that we wished for; he kept remarkable good hours, and during his whole stay he drank only one pint of liquor.

Did you observe any thing particular in his behaviour or in the style of his living? - He seemed no way shy whenever he came in, he passed the compliment of the day or the night, and would sometimes stand for some time in the shop, and chat about indifferent matters.

Did he carry on any business that you observed? - When he took my apartment, I asked him for what length of time he would have it; he said a fortnight or three weeks; he said as soon as he had finished his business he should go out of town; I asked him what his business was, he said he was a clock and watch-maker, and came to town for some little instruction. He some times was privately by himself in his back room, from which I judged that he had some piece of work that required retirement.

What do you mean by privately? - His sister was not with him, he was by himself.

Court. Did his sister appear in the character of a gentlewoman? - She appeared very mean for a person that took an apartment at fifteen shillings a week.

Court. You do not know by what coach he set out? - He did not acquaint me of quitting his appartment till half an hour before he left it.

Do you know by what coach he went? - The first time he went off, he went with boots and a whip, upon which I supposed he was going on horseback.

You do not happen to know of his taking a place in the Norwich stage, or any thing of that sort? - No.

Jury You cannot recollect whether it was the Tuesday or Wednesday he went from your house? - No, I cannot, but I believe it was the Tuesday; he still had the lodgings, his sister staid in them.

Court. At what time of the day did he set out? - At three in the afternoon.

MARGARET TALBOYS < no role > sworn.

Do you remember upon what day the prisoner went out of town? - It was on a Tuesday.

Was it on a Tuesday or Wednesday? - On a Tuesday at three in the afternoon he set out.

DAVID WATERS < no role > sworn.

I am a brazier in Crooked-lane, Cannon-street.

Do you know the prisoner? - I do. He had some copper plates of me.

When? - In February.

Describe what sort of copper-plates they were? - The two first copper-plates that I made were about four inches and an half wide and seven and a half or eight inches long.

How many had he in the whole? - I think about four or five.

Were the plates proper for engraving? - I cut them out of a piece of rough plate that I had left; this is a piece of the copperplate that I cut four or five other plates out of. (producing a piece of flat copper with a rough square.)

Did he assign any reason for it? - He came in and asked me if I could make him a couple of copper-plates; I told him I would show him what copper I had in the house if it would suit him; I sent my boy up into the shop to bring down two pieces of copper-plate; I shewed them to him; he said it would do very well; and I was to cut him out two of such dimensions; he described the dimensions very particularly; four and a half wide, I think, and seven and a half or eight inches long.

Court. You did not ask him what they were for? - I did not; he told me they were for engraving, and they were to go into the country; he was very particular; he wanted them immediately; I told him I could not leave off what I was about; he asked when I could get them done; he begged I would do them immediately; he said how long will it take up if you go about them immediately; I said two hours; he said he would call in two hours; he called in that time; I was going to do it with some emery, to make it smooth; he said that would not do, it must be ground upon a stone, and he would do it himself.

MORRIS BULLWAY < no role > sworn.

I am a stationer.

Do you remember seeing the prisoner at any time? - Yes.

Where? - At our shop in Cheapside.

What did he come there for? - To buy some paper.

What paper? - Paper that we call extra thin post.

Was it the same sort of paper as that? (showing the witness the forged note and some paper found upon the prisoner apparently of the same sort.) - It seems to me to be the same sort of paper.

When did you sell it him? - About three or four months ago.

Are you sure it was the prisoner? - Yes, this paper produced to me now is the same person's make as the paper I sold him.

Did he come more than once to your house? - Two or three times, and bought the same paper; he bought a quire at a time.

Cross Examination.

Take that 20 l. note in your hand again, are you a judge of the make of paper? - I am not.

Has any of the paper that you have been looking at a water mark in it with the words Bank of England? - I did not see that it had.

Now turn that bill round to the light and observe the words in a water mark Bank of England at the bottom of the bill? - Yes, I think I perceive it faintly.

Will you take upon you to say that you sold that paper to the prisoner at the bar? - No, I cannot.

Counsel for the Crown.

We suppose, that a piece of that paper was cut off and the words Bank of England stamped in it afterwards by some means.

To Martin. Do you say the water mark Bank of England is put into your paper when the paper is made, or afterwards? - I apprehend when the paper is made.

Jury. Is the paper-maker here that makes the paper for the Bank of England, because we should be glad to know if there is a possibility of putting that mark upon the paper after it is made.

Counsel for the Crown.

He is not here.

Court. Can you find that agree with any part of that stamp that is in the middle of the paper? The observation is that in every true Bank note, there is that flourish across the Britannia exactly. In that piece of paper you may cut off as much as will make a bank bill that there is no mark at all in. Then the counsel say, the same that would put upon the paper Bank of England would make that flourish across the Britannia.

Jury. There is paper enough to make the note without using any that has the mark upon it.

Counsel for the Prisoner.

And the same mark would make the lines they have been talking about.

SAMUEL FIDO < no role > again.

Was you present at the apprehension of the prisoner? - I was.

Where did you apprehend him? - In the Bank of England: I apprehended him on the 11th of April.

Had he any bundle with him at the time you apprehended him? - Not that day; the next morning I heard of his going along Cornhill; I followed him.

Court. Did you let him go on the 11th? - Yes. I saw him in Cornhill the next day, and followed him; I took him in Leadenhall-street, and persuaded him to go back to the Bank; he had then a bundle with him.

Have you any of the contents of that bundle here? - The bundle was delivered to the Bank.

Was Mr. Acton present then? - No; but I believe he saw the bundle opened.

Was you present when the bundle was opened? - No.

Court. Did you take the bundle from him the second time you apprehended him? - He left the bundle at a little shop under the change.

Mr. JOHN ACTON < no role > sworn.

You are the sollicitor of the Bank? - I am.

Of course you attended this man when he was apprehended upon suspicion and at the different steps of the enquiry? - I did.

Was you present when any bundle was produced in his presence, as taken from him? - I was.

When was that? - Upon the 15th of April.

Where? - At the Bank.

Did he acknowledge it to be his? - Positively.

Produce the contents? - There was this paper (producing a large quantity of thin paper) likewise a pair of pistols, some engraving tools, three Bank notes taken up in the name of John Maxwell < no role > , which was the name he went by. Two were for 10 l. and one for 20 l. and 200 guineas in cash; and there was some clothes and stockings in it.

Did the prisoner say any thing about it at that time? - Not then.

You attended I presume when he was carried before Sir John Fielding < no role > ? - I did.

Were any promises made by the directors that if he would make a discovery they would not prosecute him? - None by any body.

Nothing I believe tended to a confession there? - No, a denial.

Those three Bank notes were good were they? - Yes; I carried him to Bow-street, in order to be examined, and we went to Brompton; he was there examined by Sir John Fielding < no role > ; he there persisted in telling the same story he had done at the Bank the day before which was the 16th.

Court. What account did he give of himself when he was carried before the directors? - To the best of my recollection he said his name was Maxwell, that he had been in the country, that he was a watch-maker, and had come here to buy tools; he had some watch tools with him; I forget whether the watch tools were in the bundle or not; he said he had got all this money by selling light gold; he told the same story again before Sir John Fielding < no role > at Brompton the next day. When it was discovered that he answered to the description of the person who had been advertised for a forgery, upon the Darlington bank; when that description was read to him, and he was asked whether his name was not John Matthison (for that was the name he was advertised by) he burst into tears, and said I am a dead man, I will now tell you the whole.

Counsel for the Prisoner.

Whether-in-this stage of the examination I may be at liberty to ask Mr. Acton whether there was not a confession taken in writing before the justice? - There was not a confession taken in writing.

None? - None.

Was there no examination of this man taken in writing? - I took minutes.

Was not there an examination taken in writing? - No, not of him; he never signed any examination.

But whether answers given by the prisoner were not put into writing by the justice's clerk? - No; none except my minutes.

Do you know whether Justice Fielding's clerk, or his people, took minutes of what the prisoner said? - Not that I remember.

Court. If there was an examination reduced into writing, and signed by the prisoner himself, and the justice, then you cannot give parol evidence of it. Were any of the directors of the Bank present at this time? - The governor was.

Court. Were any promises made by the governor, or any body else, of mercy if he would confess? - Not the least.

Did his confession appear to you to be free and voluntary? - I am perfectly satisfied it was free and voluntary.

Give an account of what he said as correctly as you can? - When he said he would tell us the whole, of course we asked whether he was concerned in these forgeries or not.

Court. These forgeries is very indistinct. Did you say any thing about the present note in question; was the present note in question then produced? - A great many were, but I cannot say whether the present was; I believe that was not come in.

Court. Confine your evidence to what you know with respect to this Bank note? - I asked him, among other things, where he had put off those notes.

Court. That was before this Bank note was produced? - Yes; among the rest of the people, he said, he had put off one of 20 l. to a silversmith at Coventry, of whom he had bought a pair of buckles.

How soon was it before this note was produced? - It was several days after; we went to the different places where he had put off those notes, particularly to Coventry; the note being brought up, I went for the people to identify the man, and prove the note.

When was this note produced to the prisoner? - It was on the 5th or 6th of May; then he was brought before Sir John Fielding < no role > again; when the buckles that had been bought of Mr. Man, at Coventry, were produced, they had been found by the prisoner's direction in Scotland. When this note was produced to him I asked him whether this was one of the notes which he made at Talboy's? he having before said where he made them, and how. He said he believed it was.

Did he acknowledge that that was the note he had put off at Coventry? - He said he believed it was. Wall had then sworn positively to the note. I then asked him whether the name, Mr. Robert Goordon < no role > , was his hand-writing. He said, he believed it was. I asked him, upon his former examination, where he bought the paper, for, upon comparing it with the lines, we were perfectly satisfied in our own conscience, that it was the same paper. I asked him where he bought it; he said, of a stationer in Cheapside, who is the master of the young man that has given evidence. He said he bought it at a stationer's in Cheapside, nearly opposite the church, and I enquired at the stationers' shops till I found the shop.

Do you recollect whether any thing passed between you and the prisoner by which you learned from him, whether the water-mark, the Bank of England, was done after the paper was made, or was upon the paper, when he bought it? - That question was asked him when he first said he would confess. He said that he could make the water-mark after the paper was made, and that he would not disclose the method for the sake of the publick.

You are perfectly satisfied that you did learn from the prisoner himself that it was done after the paper was made? - Undoubtedly; he said, no man living knew it but himself. He afterwards told us how he did it.

Court. All that he said was, you asked him if the name of Robert Goordon < no role > was of his hand-writing; he said, he believed it was; how came you not to ask him whether the cashier and the other names were written by him? - As he admitted he made that at Talboy's, I took it for granted; and he said that this ten pound note was the note he had made it from.

PRISONER's DEFENCE.

What I confessed then was what was not true, they speak things against me that are very uncertain.

GUILTY Death .

Tried by the Second Middlesex Jury before Mr. Justice WILLES.