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 180l. and the stamp required for this sum, must be of the value of 2l.; for in the schedule affixed to the act, it states, that from 150l. to a sum not exceeding 200l. the duty shall be 2l. 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 180l., 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 2l. 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 2l., 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.

Sir Simon Le Blanc gave his decision in the following terms: “I have been anxious to hear and to attend to all that has been offered in support of the objections taken by the counsel for the prisoner. The charge against the prisoner is substantially this, that by a false die or mark he impressed or caused to be impressed the resemblance of a die used by the commissioners on a parchment-deed, with an intent to defraud the revenue. To this, two objections have been urged; the first objection is, that evidence has not been given, that the die of which this impression is alleged to be the resemblance, was a die used by the direction and authority of the commissioners of the stamps; and the second objection denies that any forgery has been committed. With respect to the first objection the court has already expressed its opinion, that there is evidence to go to the jury of the use of the die by the commissioners, and this is all that is necessary to be given in evidence. The Act of the 48 George III., which imposes this duty, and the 52 George III., which unites in one act all the laws inflicting the punishment of death for offences against the revenue laws, both agree in this. The 48 of George III. in reference to this point enacts, “That if any person shall forge or counterfeit, or cause to be forged or counterfeited, any stamp or die, which shall be provided, made, or used, in pursuance of this Act, or of any former Act,” shall be adjudged guilty of felony, &c. The 52 George III. after stating “that if any person shall after the passing of this Act, forge, &c. any mark, stamp or die, used by or under the direction of the commissioners,” &c. goes on to add, “or by or under the direction of any person or persons legally authorised on that behalf.” The court therefore holds, that the use by the commissioners is all that is requisite, and that of this use there is evidence to submit to the consideration of the jury. The court therefore does not consider this objection as valid. The other objection proceeds on the ground, that no forgery has been committed, inasmuch as it has not been proved, that any alteration has been made in the value of the stamp. It is contended, that as a considerable part of the stamp has been proved to be genuine, and must have been issued from the Stamp-office, with words denoting its value, this value, for aught that appears to the contrary, may have been the same that is now impressed upon it, and that in fact there has only been a re-impression of the same words which were upon the stamp when it was first issued. And upon this assumption it is contended, that as no material part of the instrument has been altered, there has been no legal forgery. But it is unnecessary to give any opinion on the validity of this inference, because the foundation has not been laid, on which alone there could be a reason for examining it, there having been no evidence given to prove that this stamp was originally of the value of two pounds, and it undoubtedly lay upon the prisoner to prove this. For the case stands thus: There is a forged impression of a die upon an instrument, proved to have been in the possession of the prisoner, under circumstances which certainly call for explanation, and also in whose possession a number of dies are found, made too by his own order, and two of which appear to have been used to make an impression, an impression proved to be false and counterfeit upon this instrument. If these facts are not accounted for by evidence, or explained somehow or other, the presumption in law is, that this false impression was forged for the purpose of increasing or altering its value, and for the purpose of defrauding the revenue. This presumption thus raised it is for the prisoner to repel by evidence, but there is certainly prima facie evidence to go to a jury. That the alteration of a material part of an instrument is a forgery has been solemnly determined, by all the Judges, in a modern case, so that it cannot now be called in question. I cannot therefore, on these grounds, stop the cause from going on.” The learned Judge concluded by calling on the prisoner for his defence.

Mr. Blackburn, who laboured under great and evident emotion, addressed the Court and Jury in the following terms:—

“In the painful and anxious situation in which I am unhappily placed, I am ill-fitted for the task of addressing you on this occasion. Agitated as I am between hope and fear, I can only solemnly assure you that I never forged a stamp in my life; but the public mind has been prejudiced against me by unfounded reports and advertisements, containing vile insinuations against me. But, gentlemen, I entreat and charge you upon your oaths, that you banish all that you have heard out of this court from your minds, and all that I have to wish from you is, that you be influenced only by the evidence, and that you will do unto me as you would wish to be done unto, were you placed in my unfortunate situation. I have practised as an attorney among my townsmen and neighbours with credit and respectability for twenty-seven years; you will hear from them upon their oaths, the character I have maintained during that period. In making my defence, I have many great and, indeed, insuperable difficulties to contend with: I am called to furnish an answer, and that by evidence, against a charge which I never heard of until I entered this court, for until I heard the indictment read I had no knowledge of that which they have imputed to me by this indictment, and of course it was absolutely impossible for me to be prepared with evidence to rebut the charge. With respect to the deed in question, I know nothing of it, it has been long out of my possession, and it is clear by the evidence of the witnesses for the prosecution, that it has been very much exposed. I would only observe that if it had not had a regular stamp affixed to it, the engrossing clerk must have seen it, and it must likewise have been observed at the office when the deed was registered. When my house was searched, my account-books were taken away, which has deprived me of all means of tracing the deed in question, or of proving where the stamp was bought; I had therefore no clue to direct my search. With respect to the spoiled stamps, I would observe, that they have lain by me a long time, and that the period of claiming the allowance for them has long elapsed. It often happens, that after a deed is engrossed, the execution may be delayed a very considerable time beyond the period allowed for claiming the allowance, and if ultimately it should not be executed the stamp would be entirely lost; this will account for the spoiled stamps which in a long series of time have been accumulated. I declare to you, gentlemen, that the deed in question had upon it a regular stamp when it was executed in my office, and I trust you will not presume anything against me; that you will attend only to the evidence, and that you will decide upon my fate with the same candour as you would wish in similar circumstances to have shown to you. My life is in your hands. I shall bow with resignation to your decision, and I trust that your decision will be right.”

As many as twenty-four gentlemen of the highest respectability were called to speak to the prisoner’s character, and they all joined in declaring that they believed him incapable of committing such an offence as that which was imputed to him.

The learned Judge then proceeded to sum up the case, and the Jury having retired from the Court, for about a quarter of an hour, returned with a verdict of Guilty.

Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Wainewright were subsequently put to the bar together and arraigned upon an indictment, in which they were charged jointly with removing a stamp from one deed and affixing it to another, but the evidence being inconclusive, they were declared to be Not guilty.

The court during the whole day was crowded to excess, and the greatest interest appeared to be excited amongst the inhabitants of Leeds, where the prisoners had lived, many of whom were present. Mr. Blackburn was dressed in a suit of mourning, with his hair powdered. He conducted himself with great propriety during the trial, but upon the verdict of Guilty being returned he appeared to be completely unmanned. He paid no attention whatever to the proceedings in the second trial, nor was he observed to take any notice of his fellow-prisoner, Mr. Wainewright, upon his being placed by his side.

Upon the Wednesday after the trial, sentence of death was passed upon the unhappy man, and on Friday the 24th March Mr. Justice Le Blanc quitted York, leaving him for execution on Saturday the 8th April. The interval was brief, and his friends determined to lose no time in applying to the Prince Regent for a mitigation of his sentence. A petition was accordingly prepared, praying for the exercise of the royal clemency towards him, and in the course of two or three days, this application for mercy was signed by upwards of three thousand persons, chiefly the fellow-townsmen of the unfortunate prisoner. On Sunday, the 26th March, Mr. Elliot Carrett, of Dewsbury, one of the attorneys employed in conducting the defence of the prisoner, went to London, for the purpose of presenting the petition to the Prince Regent, and of taking such other steps as should appear likely to contribute to the attainment of this object of the petition. Mrs. Blackburn, the wife of this unfortunate gentleman, also repaired to London, with the view if possible of throwing herself at the feet of his Royal Highness to supplicate for the life of her unhappy husband. Every means which zeal and friendship could suggest was used to give effect to this petition: applications were made to persons of influence and consideration in the state, to secure their co-operation, but, unhappily, without success; and every hope of procuring either a mitigation or suspension of the dreadful sentence of the law was extinguished by the following letter from Viscount Sidmouth, his Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Whitehall, 1st April, 1816.

“Sir,—I have laid before his Royal Highness the petition which I received on behalf of Joseph Blackburn, a prisoner under sentence of death in the Castle of York, for forgery; and I am under the painful necessity of acquainting you, that it did not appear to me consistent with my public duty, to advise his Royal Highness to remit or suspend the execution of the sentence passed upon this unfortunate person.

“I have the honour to be, “Sir, your most obedient servant, (Signed) “Sidmouth.”

Before the result of this application to the Prince Regent was known to either the prisoner or to his friends at Leeds, it was deemed advisable to submit to Mr. Justice Le Blanc, who was then at Lancaster, certain affidavits.

The object of these affidavits was to show that the deed was executed on the day it purported to bear date, which was on the 30th September 1812, and that as the dies spoken to by Mr. Topham were not delivered at the office of Mr. Blackburn until the following month, it was quite impossible that any forgery of the stamp on the deed in question, could have been made by him at the time it was executed.

This application like that to the Crown was unsuccessful, and the unhappy prisoner having received an intimation that no hope remained that his life would be spared, he proceeded anxiously and ardently to apply himself to his religious offices. He was attended up to the time of his execution by the Rev. John Hamilton, the minister of a dissenting congregation at Leeds, to whose religious exhortations he paid the utmost attention. He continued for some days to labour under a despondency approaching to despair, arising as he himself stated, not from the dread of temporal death, but from a deep consciousness of the aggravated guilt of his past life, his total neglect of religious observances, and his gross indulgence in forbidden sensual pleasures. He stated “that the irregularities of his past life had been so great as to have deserved that death which had been awarded against him for an offence of a different nature.” He added, “that these crimes had been committed against light and knowledge, and that he had only repented of them, and thought upon religion, when every pleasure had been cut off, and every earthly hope had become extinct.” We rejoice however in being able to add, that in a few days some faint rays of hope penetrated the gloom which oppressed his mind; and as the merciful provisions of the gospel were unfolded to him, and its encouraging promises pressed upon his consideration, these hopes became brighter, and cast, if not a brilliant, yet a cheering ray of light on the gloomy path he had yet to tread.

On Thursday, the 6th of April, he attended the chapel, and heard with profound attention, a sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Richardson, who had some religious conversation with him after the other prisoners had retired. On Friday afternoon the prisoner had a last interview with his brother; his unhappy wife had come to York on the same painful errand, but on Mr. Hamilton representing to her that an interview might disturb the tranquillity of her husband’s last hours, she abstained from pressing the request which she had made. She had seen him only once since his conviction, and the meeting was of the most distressing nature.

On the night before the execution, Mr. Hamilton continued in prayer with the wretched prisoner up to a late hour, and he repeatedly expressed himself perfectly resigned and ready at any moment to meet his fate.

On Saturday, at about half-past eleven o’clock, Mr. Blackburn was called from his cell, and, the necessary arrangements having been made, he was conducted to the scaffold supported by Mr. Hamilton. He walked with a firm, unhesitating step, and perfectly erect. It was a quarter before twelve o’clock when the procession arrived upon the platform. The prisoner immediately kneeled down upon a stool provided for the occasion, with his face averted from the numerous spectators, who were assembled to witness this sad and melancholy spectacle.

The reverend gentleman who had with so much zeal and unwearied assiduity attended him in prison, to speak to him the words of peace, did not shrink from the painful task of accompanying him through this last painful stage of his earthly pilgrimage; placing himself near the prisoner, he in a low tone of voice asked him some questions relative to the state of his mind with respect to his approaching change, and particularly with respect to his entire dependence on the mercy of God through the merits and mediation of the Messiah.—To these inquiries he replied, “I have no other, I wish no other trust.” Mr. Hamilton now inquired if it was his wish that he should pray with him, and he eagerly replied, “If your feelings on this occasion are not too much agitated, I shall be greatly obliged.” Kneeling down close to the prisoner, who kept his eyes closed during the whole of this sad solemnity, he then offered up a prayer at once solemn and tender, and adapted equally to the former character and present situation of the humble penitent before him. Mr. Blackburn appeared deeply to feel and fervently to join in this last act of devotion, and when the minister came to that comprehensive model of devotion, the Lord’s Prayer, the prisoner accompanied him in an audible voice.

When Mr. Hamilton rose up from prayer, he took Mr. Blackburn by the hand, and having commended him to the mercy and protection of the Almighty, took a sad adieu of him, conjuring him that when he suffered death, and was entering eternity, he should aim at no higher strain than this, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The poor sufferer grasped his hand, and appeared reluctant to part; and in a voice rendered tremulous by emotion, said, “May God Almighty bless and protect you.” It now only remained for the executioner to perform his part in the heart-rending ceremony. Mr. Blackburn was assisted to rise, but it was evident that the powerful emotion of his mind had impaired his strength, and the under jailor supported him in his arms until the fatal cord was placed round his neck, and properly adjusted. At this awful moment he ejaculated, “O Lord God Almighty, have mercy upon me, and preserve my soul alive.” These were the last words he was heard to utter, as the drop instantly fell.

It is painful to add that the noose of the cord had, by some means or other, slipped from its proper situation, and he appeared much convulsed. After he had been suspended about two minutes, the executioner endeavoured to replace the cord in its original situation; and though he succeeded in this attempt, it seemed to harrow up the feelings of every person present, and produced a stronger sensation of distress than any part of this mournful ceremony. In about six or seven minutes from the falling of the drop, the unfortunate man appeared insensible of further suffering. The body, after remaining suspended the usual time, was put into a coffin, and delivered to his friends. His remains were interred at an early hour on Monday, at Rothwell, a village near Leeds.