282, 283. JOHN MORGAN proceedingsdefend and HENRY JONES proceedingsdefend were indicted for coining a halfpenny , April 28th .

WILLIAM LAWRENCE < no role > sworn.

I keep the Feathers, a publick-house in Thames-street.

Do you recollect the prisoners coming to your house on the 28th of April? - I was not at home when they came in. When I came home, Morgan was sitting in the taproom; he said to my wife, mistress, give me change for these two pints of beer, and offered her a sixpence. She having a child in her arms, she desired me to give him change. I took the sixpence, and went to the door, and found it was a bad one. I told him it was a bad sixpence; he gave me another. I looked at that, and found it was a bad one, and told him so. He then gave me another, and said D - n them, I believe they are all bad - if my father was a coiner, I could turn Jack Ketch < no role > for him and hang him. That piece was bad. He then gave me a shilling, and I changed that. I got into discourse with him, and asked him who he was; he said, he kept a chandler's shop; I said to him, Morgan, if I was to come into your house, and call for three halfpennyworth of bread and cheese, and offer you three bad sixpences; what should you think me to be? he said, a blackguard. Then I said, I must think you a blackguard, for offering me three bad sixpences. He then desired Jones to go on with the bundle he had, and bid me draw him another pint of beer. I suspected they had counterfeit money about them; I followed Jones out, and asked him what he had there; he said, that he had nothing but some tools; to the best of my knowledge he said tools; he did not tell me they were counterfeit halfpence, I am sure of that. Morgan followed me out of the door, and said, let him go, he has nothing but a few counterfeit halfpence. With that I desired Jones to come back; he did, and Morgan followed him. When he was come back, I sent for a constable, and charged him with them both. Before I charged them, I opened the bundle, and found a parcel of counterfeit halfpence.

Q. What else? - Nothing but counterfeit halfpence. There were three bundles: in each bundle five shillings worth, also a single shilling's worth, and twenty-six shillings worth tied up in papers. This is one of them (producing it) the others I have at home. I did not think it worth while to bring them all; they have been in my custody ever since. Mr. Burkwood, Mr. White, and myself, took them to the Compter. We searched Morgan, and found upon him a small and a large key, and about two shillings in silver. Burkwood took the keys from him. In his discourse he told me, first, he lived at Wood's Close; that he kept a chandler's shop. Then he said he lived somewhere near Wheeler-street, Cold-Bath Fields. I went, in consequence of his direction, to a chandler's shop in Wood's Close, and found he had lived there. I was there directed to a little Court in Cold-Bath-Fields; they could not tell me the name of the court. I went and found the court; I enquired at the corner, and was informed, he lived the second or third door up the court. I said to Mr. Burkwood, let us keep together. I went and rang at the bell three times; nobody answered. I took the key from Burkwood's hand, and opened the door with it; we went up stairs, and saw a candle burning in a little room.

What time was this? - Between nine and ten o'clock in the evening, we then went down, and found a press and several other articles. We then, went up stairs again, and in the room where there was a bed, we found two dies for halfpence upon the floor, and in the cupboard of the room.

(The dies were produced in court.)

Was that in the room where you saw the light? - No; there did not appear to be any lodgers in the house; there were but two beds in the house. Jones said that he had slept in one of them a week, and Morgan and his wife lay in the other. He said, they had made no halfpence there yet. I asked him who dug the hole to fix the block in for the press; he told me himself.

When did he say that, before or after you had been in the house? - After; we could not tell that there was a block there till we had been. The block was fixed in the ground, and the press lay in the cellar; the press was not fixed up. There were several articles, as wedges for fixing it up.

Cross Examination.

You took all the halfpence from Jones? - Yes; Morgan bid him go on with the bundle, it was on the table; he shoved it to him.

Did not you hear when you came to the house that it belonged to one Edwards? - I am very certain Morgan said it was his house; Jones, who slept with him, said it was his house.

Did not you hear that the implements were left there by Edwards? - I heard so from Morgan.

The fly, I believe, was not in the house? - No; it was in the house of one Steel.

WILLIAM BURKWOOD < no role > sworn.

I went with Mr. Lawrence to the house of Morgan. I gave him a key, which Morgan said was the key of his house; with which Lawrence opened the door; I was with him when he found the several things which are produced.

Lawrence. Morgan said, when he was before Alderman Pugh, that he wanted a clean shirt, and the key was given him to get one.

JOSEPH SAGE < no role > sworn.

Are those halfpence coined at the Mint or counterfeit halfpence? - They are counterfeit halfpence.

Do they appear to have been made from those dies? - Yes; and the halfpence have the same date; I have no doubt they were made from those dies; they fit exactly. (The press was produced in court).

JOHN CLARK < no role > sworn.

You have seen those dies and the press? - I saw the press and fly in the yard; I have not seen the dies.

Look at the dies; are all those instruments proper for coining? - They are proper for coining.

For Morgan.

BENJAMIN GUNSEY < no role > sworn.

I have known Morgan eight years; he always bore a good character; he lodged in my house five years and three quarters.

What business did he follow? - That of a carpenter; he went out to work in the morning, and came home regularly in the evening.

How long is it since he lodged with you? - About three quarters of a year; I have known him to this time.

PAUL RHODES < no role > sworn.

I am a carpenter. Morgan has worked for me seven years backwards and forwards; he is a very honest man; I have trusted Morgan at different times with a 20 l. 30 l. or 40 l. Bank note to get cash for me.

JOHN WARWICK < no role > sworn.

I have known Morgan about a year and a half; I always believed him to be a very honest man. When I heard of this affair, I could not believe it, nor can I now believe it.

Are you a carpenter? - No; I am a fine-drawer.

JOHN PATTERSON < no role > sworn.

I have known Morgan nine years; he has borne a good character. I am a bricklayer.

GEORGE LOCKE < no role > sworn.

I have known Morgan four years; he is an honest man as far as ever I heard. I am a smith.

THOMAS LEWIS < no role > sworn.

I have known Morgan between four and five years; he bore a good character as far as I ever heard.

JONES's DEFENCE.

I can prove I am quite innocent of the affair. I worked about six years ago for Mr. Freeman at the Board of Ordnance; I did some carpenter's work for Mr. Morgan; he asked me to carry this bundle for him; I lay at his house a fortnight; I had no money to send to my master to come to my character.

MORGAN's DEFENCE.

I was at work for Mr. Pratt, I hung a door for him on the Tuesday. I was taken on the Wednesday. I borrowed some silver that day; I did not know but the sixpences were good.

Pratt. He did hang a door for me, but I cannot remember the day.

JOSEPH BASSETT < no role > sworn.

Mr. Morgan came to me on the Wednesday morning, the day he was taken, and asked me to lend him seven shillings; I told him it was rather inconvenient but if he would let me have it again that night or next morning, I would. There were four sixpences among the money that I lent him; they were all good as far as I know.

MORGAN GUILTY .

JONES < no role > NOT GUILTY .

Tried by the First Middlesex Jury before Mr. JUSTICE WILLES.

[Branding. See summary.]

[Imprisonment. See summary.]