Chapter XXXIX: Part 39

Eliza Fenning was indicted at the Old Bailey, April the 11th, 1815, for that she, on the 21st of March, feloniously and unlawfully did administer to, and cause to be administered to, Orlibar Turner, Robert Gregson Turner, and Charlotte Turner, his wife, certain deadly poison, (to wit, arsenic,) with intent the said persons to kill and murder.

The case was stated by Mr. Gurney; after which--

Mrs. Charlotte Turner deposed--I am the wife of Mr. Robert Gregson Turner, who is a law-stationer in Chancery-lane, in partnership with his father, Mr. Orlibar Turner, who lives at Lambeth. About seven weeks before the accident, the prisoner came into my service as cook; and about three weeks after, I had occasion to reprove her, for I observed her, one night, go into the young men's room partly undressed. There were two young men, about seventeen or eighteen years old. I reproved her severely next morning for her conduct; and the excuse was, that she went in to fetch the candle. I threatened to discharge her, but on her expressing sorrow for the offence, I forgave her, and she remained in my employment. During the subsequent month, I observed that she failed to pay me that respect which I considered due to me, and she appeared extremely sullen. About a fortnight before the transaction now charged against her, she requested me to permit her to make some yeast dumplings, saying that she was a capital hand at it; and she frequently subsequently repeated the same request. On Monday the 20th of March, she came to me in the dining-room, and again asked me to allow her to make some dumplings, and said that the brewer had brought some yeast; and I said that as that was the case she might make the dumplings the next day, although that was not the way in which I usually had them made, as I generally had the dough from the baker's. On Tuesday morning I went into the kitchen according to my custom, and I bade the prisoner make a beef-steak pie for the young men before she made the dumplings, and she carried the pie to the baker's before kneading the dough. I gave her some directions as to the manner in which I liked the dumplings, and then went away. In about half-an-hour, however, I returned into the kitchen, and I then found the dough placed before the fire to rise. I have another servant in my employment named Sarah Peer, but I am certain that she could not have entered the kitchen during the time occupied in the preparation of the dumplings, as she was engaged by my direction in a bedroom mending a counterpane. I was subsequently in and out of the kitchen two or three times, and I observed that the dough did not rise. It was in a singular shape; and it remained heavy all the time. At about three o'clock we sat down to dinner, and there were six dumplings brought to table. I observed to Sarah Peer that they were black and heavy instead of their being white and light. My husband, Robert Gregson Turner, and his father, Orlibar Turner, sat down to dinner with me: I helped them to some dumplings, and took a small piece myself. I found myself affected in a few minutes after I had eaten it. I did not eat a quarter of a dumpling. I felt myself very faint--an excruciating pain, which increased every minute: it came so bad that I was obliged to leave the table--I went up stairs. I ate, beside the dumpling, a piece of rump-steak cooked by Eliza. When I was up stairs I perceived my sickness increased, and I observed my head was swollen extremely. I retched very violently: I was half an hour alone, and wondered they did not come to my assistance. I found my husband and father very ill--both of them. I was very ill from half-past-three until about nine; the violence then abated, but did not cease. My head and my tongue and chest were swollen. We called in a gentleman who was near, and afterwards Mr. Marshall, the surgeon. We applied for the nearest assistance we could get.

_Cross-examined by Mr. Alley._--This happened about six weeks after the girl came to live with me. I have heard the prisoner herself was taken very ill.

Orlibar Turner deposed--I am the father of Robert Gregson Turner. On Tuesday, the 21st day of March, I was at my son's house in Chancery-lane: I dined there. The dinner consisted of yeast dumplings, beef-steaks, and potatoes. After some time Mrs. Turner left the room indisposed. At the time she left the room I did not know she was ill. Sometime after my son left the room, and went down stairs. I followed him very shortly. I met my son in the passage at the foot of the stairs: he told me that he had been very sick, and had brought up his dinner. I found his eyes exceedingly swollen. I said I thought it very extraordinary, and I was taken ill myself in less than three minutes afterwards. The effect was so violent, I had hardly time to go into the back yard before my dinner came up. I felt considerable heat across my stomach and chest, and pain: I never experienced any vomiting before like it, for violence; it was terrible indeed. It was not more than a quarter of an hour when my apprentice, Roger Gadsden, was very ill, in a similar way to myself. While we were sick I was repeatedly in the parlour and the back yard. My son was up and down stairs at intervals; Gadsden, I believe, was in the kitchen below. The prisoner gave no assistance. We were all alarmed: but it was discovered that she did not appear concerned at our situation. I did not observe the prisoner eat any of the dumplings. I had a suspicion of arsenic, and made a search the next morning. I then observed in the pan, in which the dumplings had been mixed, that there was a white powder, unlike flour, and I retained it in my possession until I gave it into the hands of Mr. Marshall. Arsenic had been kept in the drawer in the office, tied up in a paper very tightly, and labelled "Arsenic, poison," in large characters. I saw the parcel there on the 7th of March, but not since that time. It was missed about a fortnight before the 21st of March. The prisoner may have seen the parcel, as she usually resorted to the drawer for paper to light her fires. After dinner I remarked that the knives with which the dumplings had been cut had changed colour. They turned black and they still remain so. I spoke to the prisoner about the dumplings on the Wednesday, and I asked her how she came to put anything into them so hurtful, but she answered that it was not in anything which she had prepared, but in the milk which Sarah Peer had brought in, and with which her mistress had ordered her to make the sauce. That milk had been used in the sauce only. The dumplings had been mixed with the milk which had been left at breakfast.

Roger Gadsden said, I am an apprentice to Mr. Turner. I remember seeing the packet of arsenic in the drawer, and I missed it a day or two after the 7th of March. On Tuesday, the 21st of March, I went into the kitchen between three and four o'clock, and I observed a plate on the table, on which were a dumpling and a half. I had dined at two o'clock, but I took up a knife and fork, and was going to eat the dumpling, when the prisoner exclaimed, "Gadsden, do not eat that; it is cold and heavy; it will do you no good." I ate a piece about the size of a walnut, and there being some sauce in the boat, I sopped it up with a piece of bread and ate it. I then went into the office, and Mr. Turner came there in about ten minutes after, and said he was very ill. About ten minutes after that I was taken ill, but not so ill as to vomit. I was sent off for Mr. Turner's mother. I was very sick going and coming--I thought I should die. The prisoner had made yeast dumplings for supper the night before: I and Peer and the prisoner partook of them: they were quite different from these dumplings in point of colour and weight, and very good.

Margaret Turner sworn.--I was sent for. When I arrived I found my husband, son, and daughter, extremely ill. The prisoner, very soon after I was there, was ill, and vomiting. I exclaimed to her, "Oh, these devilish dumplings!" supposing they had done the mischief. She said, "Not the dumplings, but the milk, madam." I asked her "What milk?" She said, "The halfpenny-worth of milk that Sally fetched, to make the sauce." She said my daughter made the sauce. I said, "That cannot be; it could not be the sauce." She said, "Yes; Gadsden ate a very little bit of dumpling, not bigger than a nut; but licked up three parts of a boat of sauce with a bit of bread."

Mrs. Turner, jun., being called, said--"The sauce was made with the milk brought by Sarah Peer. I mixed it, and left it for her to make."

Robert Gregson Turner sworn.--I partook of the dumplings at dinner; I ate none of the sauce whatever. Soon after dinner I was taken ill: I first felt an inclination to be sick; I then felt a strong heat across my chest. I was extremely sick; I was exactly as my father and wife were. I had eaten a dumpling and a half, and I suffered more than any other person. I should presume that the symptoms were such as would be produced by poison.

Sarah Peer sworn.--I have been servant to Mrs. Turner near eleven months. I recollect the warning given to the prisoner some time after she came. After that I heard her say she should not like Mr. or Mrs. Robert Turner any more. On the 21st of March I went for some milk after two o'clock, after I had dined with the prisoner on beef-steak pie. I had no concern whatever in making the dough for the dumplings, or in making the sauce. I was not in the kitchen when the dough was made: I never meddled with it, or put anything to it; I never was in the kitchen after I went up to make the beds, a quarter after eleven, until dinner time. I had permission to go out that afternoon, directly after I took up the dumplings. I went out directly. I came home at nine o'clock exactly. I ate none of the dumplings myself. In eating the beef-steak pie, I ate some of the crust. I was not at all ill. I had eaten some dumplings she had made the night before: I never tasted any better. They were all made out of the same flour. I had no difference with my mistress at any time.

_Cross-examined by Mr. Alley._--I had occasionally quarrelled with the prisoner. I went sometimes to visit my friends, but it was generally on Sundays. I never went on a week-day except on this occasion. I know nothing of the drawer in which the arsenic was. The paper which I used for lighting fires was kept in the dining-room. I never went to the drawer in the office, nor did I ever see or hear of any poison being kept there.

An officer of Hatton Garden and the brewer's man were then successively examined. The first proved that on his apprehending the prisoner, she declared that she thought the poison must have been in the yeast, as she saw a red settlement in it after she had used it, and the second stated that the yeast was good, and that he delivered it to the girl Peer.

Mr. John Marshall, a surgeon, was then sworn, and he stated that on his being called in to Mr. Orlibar Turner's family he found them all labouring under symptoms of having taken arsenic, and that the prisoner was also ill, and exhibited similar symptoms. On the following day he saw a pan, and on his examining its contents he found them to contain arsenic. He had also examined the yeast which was left and the flour tub, and they were both devoid of arsenic. The poison being cut would blacken the knife.

The case for the prosecution being closed, the prisoner made the following defence:--

"I am truly innocent of the whole charge; I am innocent; indeed I am. I liked my place, and was very comfortable. Gadsden behaved improperly to me; my mistress came and saw me undressed; she said she did not like it; I said 'Ma'am, it is Gadsden that has taken a liberty with me.' The next morning I said, 'I hope you do not think anything of what passed last night.' She was in a great passion, and said she would not put up with it; I was to go away directly. I did not look upon Mrs. Turner as my mistress, but upon the old lady. In the evening the old lady came to town; I said, 'I am going away to-night;' Mrs. Turner said, 'Do not think any more about it; I don't.' She asked Mrs. Robert Turner if she was willing for me to go. She said 'No, she thought no more about it.' As to my master saying I did not assist him, I was too ill. I had no concern with that drawer at all; when I wanted a piece of paper I always asked for it."

The prisoner called five witnesses, who gave her an excellent character for integrity, sobriety, cheerfulness, and humanity. One of them was proceeding to state an accidental conversation which he had with the prisoner two days after she had ordered the yeast, wherein she declared herself happy and contented with her situation, and pleased with her master and mistress; but the recorder stopped him, saying it was not evidence.

Whilst the trial was proceeding, William Fenning, the father of the prisoner, went to a public-house, and got a person (for he was too agitated himself) to write on a slip of paper, that on the 21st of March he went to Mr. Turner's, his daughter having sent for him in the morning, and that Sarah Peer told him Eliza had gone with a message for her mistress, whilst, at the same time, she was in agonies below-stairs from the effect of having eaten of the dumplings. He then went home, and thought no more about it.

When this note was written, it was handed to Mr. Alley, who, standing upon tiptoe, showed it to the recorder, who leaned over and looked at it, but no further notice was taken of it.

Other efforts were made by the prisoner to produce witnesses, but as they were not in attendance, the court said that it was too late, and that the trial could not be suspended for their coming.

The recorder then proceeded to sum up the case, and the jury in a few minutes brought in a verdict of guilty. The recorder having then passed sentence of death upon her, the miserable girl was carried from the bar convulsed with agony, and uttering frightful screams.

Few cases ever excited greater interest than that of Eliza Fenning; and we are happy in being able to state that her religious principles were correct, and her professions sincere. Through life she was distinguished by a superiority of intellect, and a propriety of deportment, which could hardly be reconciled with the depravity of which she was accused. In person she was short of stature, but of the most perfect symmetry; while her countenance evinced a heart at ease, and a mind at once intellectual and lively. She had been before the fatal transaction betrothed to a young man, to whom she appears to have been sincerely attached.

After the unfortunate girl's conviction she was induced to apply to the Crown for a remission of the sentence of death, and sent a petition to the prince regent. She next addressed the lord chancellor, to whom she sent a statement of all the exculpatory circumstances of her case. She also sent a letter to Lord Sidmouth, and another to her late master, requesting him to sign a petition in her favour, with which however he refused to comply.

Several gentlemen interested themselves in the fate of the poor girl; and Mr. Montagu, of Lincoln's Inn, waited on the recorder, offering to produce evidence of a member of Mr. Turner's family, who was insane, having declared that he would poison the family; but the recorder assured him that the production of such evidence would be wholly useless.

The night before her execution a meeting of gentlemen took place in Mr. Newman's apartments in Newgate, at which Mr. Gibson, of the house of Corbyn and Co., chemists, No. 300, Holborn, stated that Robert Gregson Turner, in the month of September or October, called at their house in a wild and deranged state, requesting to be put under restraint, otherwise he declared he should destroy himself and wife. Mr. Gibson also stated that it was well known in the family that Robert Turner was occasionally subject to such violent and strange conduct.

With this information Mr. Gibson, accompanied by a clerk from the secretary of state's office, waited on the recorder, requesting that the unfortunate girl might be respited to admit of investigation; but all was of no avail, and in twelve hours after, Eliza Fenning was executed!

From the moment the poor girl was first charged with the poisoning, however or by whomsoever questioned, she never faltered in her denial of the crime, and rather courted than shunned an investigation of her case. So many circumstances, which had developed themselves subsequently to the trial, had been communicated to the secretary of state by the gentlemen who interested themselves in her favour (among whom were some of great respectability), that a reprieve was confidently expected to the last: and the order for her execution, four months after her conviction, was received with very great surprise.

On Tuesday morning, the 25th July, she took her last farewell of her father, who, by the firmness of his manner, exemplified the courage he wished his child to sustain upon the scaffold: but with her mother the parting scene was heart-rending.

On the fatal morning, the 26th July, 1815, she slept till four o'clock, when she arose, and, after carefully washing herself, and spending some time in prayer, she dressed herself neatly in a white muslin gown and cap. About eight o'clock she walked steadily to the spot where criminals are bound; and, whilst the executioner tied her hands--even whilst he wound the halter round her waist--she stood erect and unmoved, with astonishing fortitude. At this moment a gentleman who had greatly interested himself in her behalf adjured her, in the name of that God in whose presence she was about to appear, if she knew anything of the crime for which she was about to suffer, to make it known; when she replied distinctly and clearly, "Before God then, I die innocent!" The question was again put by the reverend Mr. Vazie, as well as by the ordinary, and finally, by Oldfield, a prisoner who suffered with her, and to each she repeated "I am innocent." These were her last words; and she died without a struggle, at the age of twenty-one.

Her miserable parents, on application for her body, were not prepared to pay the executioner's fees of fourteen shillings and sixpence: but having borrowed the money with some difficulty, the remains of their daughter were handed over to them.

We have endeavoured to give the circumstances of this case as clearly and with as little prejudice as possible, but we should not do our duty, if we were not to state that the public mind was much inflamed at the execution of the unhappy prisoner. Thousands of persons, after examining the evidence adduced at the trial, did not hesitate to express their opinions very strongly upon the subject of the case; and many of the lower orders, apparently convinced of the innocence of the sufferer, assembled in front of Mr. Turner's house, in Chancery-lane, hooting and hissing, and otherwise expressing their indignation, at what they conceived to be their unjust prosecution of their servant. The police were active in their exertions to suppress the tumult; and an affidavit made by Davis, a turnkey in Newgate, was industriously circulated, in which the deponent swore that old Fenning had conjured his daughter, when she went upon the scaffold, to declare her innocence: a counter affidavit of the father of the wretched girl, however, was produced and published, and the assertion of the jailer was at length admitted to have been founded upon a mistaken interpretation of what had really passed. The mob continued to assemble for many days, and it was not until the police had taken very vigorous measures against them, that they were finally dispersed. The public still sympathised with the unhappy parents of Eliza Fenning, and a subscription was entered into for their benefit.

JOSEPH BLACKBURN.

EXECUTED FOR FORGERY.

The particulars of the melancholy case of this unfortunate gentleman, will be best described by the report of his trial which has reached us, which took place at York on the 18th March 1815, before Sir Simon Le Blanc. He was then placed at the bar and arraigned on two indictments, charging him with forging and counterfeiting the impression of a certain stamp or die, used under the direction of the Commissioners of Stamps, to denote the payment of certain duties imposed on various deeds and other securities, on vellum, parchment, or paper, and also with uttering the same, knowing it to be forged, with an intent to defraud the revenue of the duties imposed on such stamped vellum, parchment, or paper. To these indictments he pleaded--Not guilty. Mr. Blackburn was then arraigned on two other indictments, charging him with feloniously removing stamps from executed deeds, and affixing them upon others, with an intent to defraud the revenue; to these indictments he also pleaded--Not guilty. He was then charged in another indictment with the same offence, jointly with Mr. Thomas Wainewright, who was charged with feloniously aiding and assisting in this illegal removal of stamps. To this indictment both the prisoners severally pleaded--Not guilty.

As soon as the jury were sworn, Mr. Wainewright, at the suggestion of the counsel for the prosecution, retired from the bar, and the court proceeded to the trial of Mr. Blackburn, on one of the capital indictments for forgery. The clerk of the arraigns read the indictment. It charged the prisoner with feloniously forging, and counterfeiting the resemblance of a certain stamp or die, used by the Commissioners of Stamps, to denote the payment of duties imposed on vellum, parchment, and paper, viz. for the payment of two pounds, imposed by the 48th of George III. on mortgage deeds, with intent to defraud his Majesty, his heirs, or successors. Another count in the indictment charged him with uttering the said forged stamps, knowing the same to be false, forged, and counterfeited, with the like intent to defraud his Majesty, his heirs, or successors.

The counsel for the crown were, Mr. Park, Mr. Topping, Mr. Wailes, and Mr. Richardson.

The counsel for the prisoner--Mr. Scarlett, Mr. Littledale, and Mr. Williams.

Mr. Park opened the case to the jury, and said,--I am counsel against the unfortunate gentleman now at the bar. This is a prosecution by the Commissioners of Stamps, who in the discharge of their professional duty have thought it incumbent upon them to institute this inquiry, and which indeed they could not have omitted to do without a gross dereliction of the duty they owed to the public. They have no interest in this prosecution, and whatever be the result of this day's inquiry, they will be satisfied with your decision. The crime imputed to the prisoner by this indictment, is not merely calculated to defraud the public revenue, but tends to affect the security of the property of individuals, and that in the most serious manner, for if deeds, or other written instruments for the transfer of property, have affixed to them forged or improper stamps, they have no validity, and convey no rights to the parties in whose favour they are executed. This consideration must at once impress you with a conviction of the great importance of the present case; as the conveyance of property by instruments the most solemn known to the law, is thereby defeated, the contract becomes invalid, and the deed by which it was intended to be effected, of no possible use. Nor is it too much to say, that the rights of future generations may be affected by the consequences of the crime imputed to the prisoner.

It is, gentlemen, with the most unfeigned concern, that I have risen to address you on the present occasion. This is the first time, during a practice of thirty years at the bar, that it has fallen to my lot to be concerned in a prosecution for felony against any person with whom I have had any personal acquaintance. Mr. Blackburn (the prisoner) I have long known; he has conducted actions in which I have been engaged for him, and others in which I have been retained by the adverse party: and though when I first heard the name I did not know how to affix it to the person, yet now, when (for the first time since this prosecution has been depending) I see him, I find that I know the gentleman perfectly well. We at the bar are, however, bound to aid the administration of the public justice of the country, and must do justice to the country, and to the crown, on whose behalf we are engaged, and cannot shrink from the performance of our professional duty, however painful to our feelings the exercise of it may occasionally be. But the Government, the Commissioners of Stamps, and those who on their account conduct this prosecution, are very far from having any wish to oppress these individuals; their only desire is, that justice should be done between them and the country, and this justice I have no doubt will be done by you.

If the prisoner is guilty of the offence imputed to him by this indictment, his crime is greater than that of any other individual, because there is no one who is so much obliged by his profession to understand the principles of morality. The very first rudiments of his profession must have rendered familiar to him those principles of justice on which the law is founded; and in his long attendance at these courts, he must (in addition to sound lessons of law) have heard the principles of moral obligation enforced by the learned judges who have from time to time presided here, and which ought to have had the effect of rooting them in his mind.

Having made these few preliminary observations, I shall proceed to state the nature of the charge against the prisoner, and the evidence by which that charge is meant to be substantiated. The charge against the prisoner is that of having forged, or caused to be forged, or counterfeited, the impression of a certain stamp or die, used by the commissioners (appointed by his Majesty, to manage the duties on stamped vellum, parchment, or paper) to denote the payment of a certain duty, imposed by the 48th of the King, on mortgage deeds, which are laid _ad valorem_, that is, in a ratio proportioned to the money secured by such deeds. The amount of the money secured by the deed which is the subject of this inquiry, is 180_l._ and the stamp required for this sum, must be of the value of 2_l._; for in the schedule affixed to the act, it states, that from 150_l._ to a sum not exceeding 200_l._ the duty shall be 2_l._ The subject-matter of this prosecution is, that in order to evade the duty imposed by this act, the prisoner affixed a forged and counterfeit stamp to an instrument, purporting to be a mortgage deed; and also that he uttered or published the same, well knowing it to be false, forged, or counterfeited. The penal act on which this prosecution is founded, is an act of the 52nd year of the king, intituled, "An act for amending and reducing into one act, the provisions contained in any laws now in force, imposing the penalty of death, for any act done in _breach of_ or in resistance to any part of the laws, for collecting His Majesty's revenue in Great Britain." In this statute, cap. 143, section 7, it is enacted, "that if any person shall, after the passing of this act, forge or counterfeit, or cause to be forged or counterfeited, any mark, stamp, die, or plate, which in pursuance of any act or acts of parliament, shall have been provided, made or used, by or under the direction of the commissioners, appointed to manage the duties on stamped vellum, parchments, or paper, or by or under the direction of any other person or persons, legally authorised in that behalf, for expressing or denoting any duty or duties, or any part thereof, which shall be under the care and management of the said commissioners, or if any person shall utter, or sell, or expose to sale, any vellum, parchment, or paper, &c. having thereupon the impression of any such forged or counterfeited mark, every person so offending, and being thereof convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall suffer as a felon, without benefit of clergy." I will now lay before you the evidence by which we propose to establish this charge against the prisoner.

A person of the name of Taylor, being desirous of borrowing upon the security of an estate the sum of 180_l._, of a Friendly Benefit Society, called the Clothiers' Society, sent the title deeds of his estate to the office of the prisoner, who as you will have already collected is an attorney; to enable him to make out the necessary security, and who accordingly prepared a mortgage deed. This deed bears date the 13th of September 1812; but whether it was executed at that time we do not know, but it was executed some time before February in the ensuing year, because we find that on the 12th February it was registered at the proper office at Wakefield. At what period the stamp upon this deed, which we allege to be a forged one, was affixed to this deed we have no means of proving, but it must have been previous to its passing into the hands of Thompson the steward, who deposited it in the box of the society, where it remained until it was taken out for the purpose of this inquiry. That this is the deed delivered by the prisoner to Thompson, I shall prove beyond all doubt. Gentlemen, I shall prove to your entire satisfaction, that the stamp affixed to this deed is a forged one, and we shall also offer the strongest evidence to convince you it was forged by the prisoner, and uttered by him, knowing it to be forged. But before I enter directly upon this proof, it may be proper to state to you something of the manner in which the business of the Stamp-office is managed, particularly with respect to the state and manner in which stamps are issued from it, but which statement I shall prove by evidence. It will be clearly proved to you, that stamps are not issued from the office in detached labels, to be afterwards affixed to the different instruments, but are stamped upon the paper or parchment on which the instrument or deed is to be prepared, and the impression is made with an engine of such power, that the impression made by it is visible on the back of the parchment. This is a circumstance of some importance to be attended to in this inquiry. I would also observe to you that on all the stamped parchments, issued by the Stamp-office in London, the words "This Indenture," are printed from an engraved plate in large characters. These circumstances will be fully proved by the evidence of the gentlemen from the Stamp-office, whom I shall call before you. The prisoner did not choose to have his skins from the Stamp-office, but provided them himself, and employed an engraver in Leeds, to engrave him a plate, or rather two plates with the words "This Indenture," in characters resembling those issued by the Stamp-office, and from these plates he had impressions taken upon skins at various times. I do not mention this with a view to prejudice the prisoner, or to insinuate anything to his disadvantage, because he had a right to prepare his own skins, and send them to be stamped, if he chose it; but I mention it because it will be necessary to explain part of the evidence which I shall lay before you, and to show the manner in which (as we allege) the offence imputed to the prisoner has been committed.

Gentlemen, the whole of the stamp affixed to this deed is not false and counterfeited; the impression of the king's arms and the "device," are part of the genuine stamp, but the words, "Two Pounds," which denote the value of it, are forged, and the way in which we account for it is this; we say that the stamp affixed to this deed has been taken from some other deed, and affixed by some cement to this, and that the former denominating words have been obliterated, and the words "Two Pounds," impressed by some die or stamp, resembling that used for denoting the duty of two pounds by the commissioners of stamps. Gentlemen, I state it without hesitation, as the law, and I am sure his lordship concurs with me, that the forgery of any material part of any stamp or die, or other instrument, is as much a forgery, as if the whole of it was actually forged: and the words which denote the value of the stamp, must unquestionably be considered as a most material part of it, and the person who has done this, or aided the doing of it, or caused it to be done, is guilty of forgery. That this stamp was not affixed to the deed at the Stamp-office, and in the usual manner may be made evident to an inexperienced eye; for it will be proved to you, that those parchments which have passed through the stamping engine have a visible impression of the stamp on the back of the skin, which is not the case in this deed; the stamp of which has been transferred from some other instrument. These circumstances would alone form a strong presumption against the prisoner: but the next branch of evidence I shall adduce, will convert this presumption into certainty; for I shall prove to you, that he employed an engraver at Leeds to make him thirteen or fourteen dies, suitable for the purpose of making any impression, resembling the words which denote the value that are upon the stamps used by the commissioners. I have the impression from those dies now in my hand, and it will be proved to you that the numerals and words "II Pounds," impressed upon the stamp of the deed, which I will lay before the court, is an impression from one of those dies. These dies, gentlemen, were found in the possession of the prisoner, under the circumstances I shall shortly state to you. When the rumour of these transactions first came out, the house of the prisoner was searched by the officers of justice; the prisoner was not at home, but in a room which was locked and broken open by the officers, was found upon a table a box containing these dies; and on a further search, a number of old deeds were found, from which the stamps had been cut off, and also a number of articles material for throwing light on this subject, which will be produced to you. Perhaps it may not be necessary to point out to you the manner in which the prisoner would be benefited by this transfer, and forgery of stamps. But as it will complete the statement, I will just add that by taking the stamps from old instruments, and affixing them upon new ones, he was enabled to put into his pocket the whole amount of the duty, as he would of course charge the nominal value of the stamps to his clients, and where the denominating value was not for the sum he wished, we presume that it might be changed by the use of these dies. I think I have before stated, that we shall prove the uttering of this deed to Mr. Thompson. This, gentlemen, is a short detail of the circumstances, from which we contend, that you must come to the conclusion, that the prisoner forged, or procured to be forged, this stamp, and that it was uttered by him, or with his privity, he knowing it to be forged. It is for you, gentlemen, after hearing the evidence which shall be laid before you, on the part of the prosecution, and for the prisoner, with the observations and recapitulation of the learned judge, to decide upon his guilt or innocence, and with your decision the prosecutors will be satisfied. If, having heard the whole of the case, any reasonable doubt remains upon your minds, the prisoner ought to have the benefit of that doubt, and in that case you ought to acquit him; but if you find the circumstances which go to prove the guilt of the prisoner so strong and well connected, as fully to satisfy you upon the subject, it will then be a duty you owe to your oaths, to God, and your country, to find the prisoner guilty. The prisoner, to use the impressive language of the law, has put himself upon God and his country--which country you are; and I feel convinced that your verdict will be such as will be just to the prisoner, and to the public justice of the country.

Witnesses were then called, who proved the material circumstances related by the learned counsel in his opening speech, as to the drawing the deed, and depositing it with the steward of the society. The evidence as to the practice of the Stamp-office, and the forgery of the stamp in question, was as follows:--

Mr. Abraham Smith stated, that he was one of the stampers at the Stamp-office, in London, and had been in that situation sixteen or seventeen years. Being requested to state the manner in which the operation of stamping was performed, he said, that when the stamping for the day was concluded, the dies were put into strong-boxes, placed in the strong-room and locked up. They were taken into the room and delivered out to the stampers by one of the clerks of the office, who kept the key of the room. No labels were ever on any occasion stamped without being attached to the parchment, and of course no stamps could ever be issued detached from the parchment or paper on which the instrument was intended to be executed. The die for the two-pound stamps had not been varied; the die was fixed in an engine, which struck the impression with great force. On looking at the deed, witness stated that he had no hesitation in saying, that the numeral "II" and the word "Pounds" were false and counterfeit, and were not a genuine impression from the die used by the commissioners; but that the device of the King's arms and the rest of the stamps were genuine. Witness then proceeded to point out the difference between the impression of the genuine stamp, and that affixed to the die in question, which partly consisted in a variation of the semicircle, and in a further difference of the depth and entire appearance of the denominating part of the stamp in question. This difference, he said, arose from the circumstance that in the genuine stamp the whole impression was struck at once, both the King's arms and the letters, but that in that on the deed now in his hands, it was evident that the numeral letters "II" had been impressed by one instrument, and the word "Pounds" by another; and from which the original words denoting the value had been by some means erased. Witness then examined the back of the deed, and said, it was clear that the stamp had not been impressed upon it at the office, because if it had, the impression would have penetrated the parchment, and made an indention on the back. Upon the whole, witness stated it as his decided opinion that the stamp shown him was false and counterfeit. The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Scarlett, and admitted that the impression of the King's arms, and all parts of it, with the exception of the words denoting the value, were genuine; and that the stamp had undoubtedly at some time or other been issued from the office.

William Kappen, Esq. stated that he was secretary to the Stamp-office, and had in October last been employed twenty-four or twenty-five years in that office, though not the whole of the time in the situation he then occupied. He was perfectly acquainted with the various dies used by the office, and the manner in which the general business of the office was conducted. The deed being handed to him he examined it with great attention, and then stated that the "II" and the word "Pounds" were not impressed by the stamp used by the commissioners, but that the rest of the stamp was genuine. Witness then produced a paper which contained an impression from the II Pound stamp used by the commissioners, which he stated to have been struck in his presence, and pointed out to the court and jury the respects in which the impression of the forged stamp differed from that produced by him. Witness having completed his description, said he had not the least hesitation in stating that that part of the stamp shown to him which denoted the value, was false and counterfeit: he also stated, that the back of the deed bore no resemblance to the impression of the stamps struck at the office, which made an impression through the parchment perfectly visible on the other side of the skin, being impressed with great force by the engine, which completed the whole of the stamp at once. Witness was cross-examined by Mr. Littledale. He stated that the commissioners continued the use of the dies in these cases where they were applicable after any augmentation of the duties, and this they were empowered to do by act of parliament. After any augmentation of the duties, the commissioners had impressions taken of all the dies in use, from which they selected such as were applicable to the new duties, and impressions of these were struck in the presence of the commissioners, or the major part of them. These impressions were put into a book, and signed by the officers employed in that department, and the dies from which these impressions were taken, continued to be used until some further alteration took place in the duties. The office never sold stamps to private individuals, but they were furnished to the public through the medium of the stamp distributors. He also stated, that no stamp was ever printed on any separate label, detached from the papers or parchment on which the instrument was to be executed. But he added, that if any person should send an unexecuted parchment or instrument to stamp, to the head office, it would be stamped upon the payment of the proper duty.

Evidence as to the discovery of the forged dies, in the office of the prisoner, was next adduced; and on the cross-examination of the witnesses, an effort was made to show that a person named Jacques, who had been the informant against the prisoner, might have been implicated in placing the dies in the position in which they were found, and that he might have been induced to take that course, in consequence of a threatened prosecution by the prisoner, in whose service he had been as clerk, for embezzlement. Two witnesses were called, who were engravers, and who had prepared the copper plates of "This Indenture," printed on the deeds, and also the dies for counterfeiting the words "II Pounds." Mr. Topham, the engraver, who was last called, however, failed in proving very distinctly, that the impressions on the stamp alleged to be forged were taken from the dies which he had prepared. The officers of stamps expressed their belief that they were so taken from the dies. Upon the production of the detached stamps found at the prisoner's house, it was stated that in their present state they were useless, because although the Stamp-office returned the value of stamps which were spoiled, yet they would not do so unless when attached to the parchment. Those stamps were also proved to have been detached from the original deeds with some object, as they were found enclosed in parcels in papers, with indorsements in the prisoner's hand-writing, denoting their amount and value.

The evidence for the prosecution having been concluded,

Mr. Scarlett rose and said, "My Lord, I have two objections, which I will submit to the consideration of your lordship, which will, as I conceive, be fatal to this prosecution. There are two facts which the prosecutor is bound to make out before he can substantiate the allegations in this indictment. The first is, that the die or stamp, respecting which the forgery is alleged to have been committed, was a die used by the direction and under the authority of the commissioners of the stamps. Now, my lord, I contend that there is no evidence of this fact to go to the jury, because I confidently submit to your lordship, that parole evidence, which is all they have offered, is not admissible under the circumstances which have been given in evidence, because it is an axiom in law, that the best evidence must always be given which the case will admit of; your lordship has heard from Mr. Kappen that the stamps authorised to be used by the commissioners, were in their presence impressed in a book. This book has not been produced, and as no evidence has been given to show that it was lost or destroyed, parole evidence was not admissible to show the nature of its contents. That it is an essential part of the case, that the die should have been directed or authorised to be used by the commissioners of the stamps, is evident from a reference to the 52 of the King, section 7, which states, that if any person after the passing of that act, shall forge or counterfeit, or cause to be forged or counterfeited, any mark, stamp, die, or plate, which in pursuance of any act of parliament shall have been provided, made, or used, by or under the direction of the commissioners appointed to manage the duties on stamped paper, and so on. Now, my lord, what I contend for is this, that the entry in that book is the only proof that this die of £2 was used by or under the direction and authority of the commissioners, and that this entry can only be proved by the production of the book itself. Supposing, my lord, that the book had been produced, and that upon inspection it should turn out that there was no stamp of 2_l._ inserted there, in this case your lordship must allow that the prosecution would fail; but as the best evidence that it does contain this entry has not been given, it must be presumed in favour of the prisoner, that the book does not contain this entry. Had there been a written order in the usual acceptation of the term by the commissioners for the use of such and such stamps, your lordship would not have admitted parole evidence to be given of the contents of this order, unless satisfactory proof was given that it was destroyed, or could not be produced; and I humbly submit to your lordship, that the entry of the impressions of the dies in this book renders it completely of the nature of a written document, and places it within the same rules of law. I therefore humbly submit to your lordship, that there is no legal evidence to go before the jury, on this material allegation in the indictment, and that the prisoner is entitled to be acquitted."

Mr. Justice Le Blanc.--I think there is evidence to go to the jury. The commissioners gave their order by parole, they did not give a written order.

Mr. Scarlett.--The directions to the officers to impress the stamps in the book was certainly by parole, but I humbly submit to your lordship, that when the impressions were made in a book, that book must be considered in the light of a written order.

Mr. Justice Le Blanc.--I cannot take it to be an appointment in writing; and I consider the evidence which has been given as to the use of stamps as perfectly admissible, and as proof to go to the jury.

His lordship having overruled this objection,

Mr. Scarlett said, I will now trouble your lordship with respect to my second objection, which I consider as the most material and as decisive of the fate of the prosecution. The prisoner is substantially charged with forging a die or stamp used by the commissioners, with an intent to defraud the revenue. Now in the first place it is clearly proved by the gentlemen from the Stamp-office, that the whole of the stamp, except the words "two pounds," is genuine, and also that the stamp has been issued from the office. I need not insist before your lordship that to constitute a forgery there must be an alteration or imitation of some material part of a die, stamp, or instrument. In the present case it is alleged, that the "II Pounds" in the stamp which has been produced in court is not an impression from the genuine stamp. But in order to substantiate this charge, the prosecutors ought to have gone much further, and have proved that there had been an alteration in the value of the stamp. When the stamp was issued from the office it must have borne some value, and for aught that appears in evidence, it might have been of the value of 2_l._, and therefore I have a right to presume that it was of that value, and that whatever alteration may have taken place in it, has only been a re-impression of the original words denoting the value of it. Now, my lord, I contend, that if this was the only alteration made in this stamp, the charge against the prisoner cannot be sustained. I will put a case, Suppose a man erase from a Bank-of-England note, a five-pound note for instance; he obliterates, suppose, by some chemical process, _Five Pounds_, and then impresses upon it the same value. This clearly would not be a forgery, nor could he be convicted, unless it could be proved that this note had previously been of a lower value, and this would be a case exactly resembling the present prosecution. There are two circumstances necessary to constitute a forgery, the counterfeiting or altering the material part of an instrument, that which affects its value, and the doing it with an intent to defraud. I contend therefore, with great confidence, that neither of these has been proved in the present case, because no alteration affecting the value of the stamp has been even attempted to be proved; and that unless it can be proved that the alteration was of such a nature as to alter its value, and make it pass for a different sum to what it originally bore, the case on the part of the prosecution cannot be sustained, and the prisoner must be discharged from this prosecution. Mr. Scarlett dwelt on this point a considerable time, placing it in various points of view, and illustrating it by reference to similar cases.

Mr. Littledale and Mr. Williams followed on the same side.

Mr. Park on the other side, urged that the objections could not prevail; and that the stamp having been altered in its essential part--that which gave it operation, the forgery was clearly made out.