"thereof, and thereby transferring or endeavouring to transfer "the stock or annuities, or receiving or endeavouring to receive, "the money of such true and lawful proprietor, as if such offen"der were the true and lawful owner thereof; then, and in every "or any such case, all and every such person and persons (being "thereof lawfully convicted, in due form of law) shall be adjudged is felony withguilty of felony, and shall suffer as in cases of felony without out benefit of "benefit of clergy." clergy.

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+ Sect. 4. By 33 Geo. 3. c.30. s. 1. IT IS RECITED, That the laws Persons making, now in being have been found insufficient to prevent forgeries and or assisting in frauds in the transferring stocks, annuities, and other public funds, fers of stock in making transtransferable at the bank of England; and that, for the better pre- any other venting such forgeries and frauds in future, it is necessary that names than the further provision should be made, as well to prevent frauds prac- of felony; owners, guilty tised by persons taking upon themselves to make transfers, in the books of the governor and company of the bank of England, of stock or annuities, or other funds, transferable as aforesaid, whereof such persons are not the true owners and proprietors, as to prevent forgeries of such transfers in the names of the true owners or proprietors: and that it is also necessary, the better to prevent such forgeries and frauds, that the public accounts between the governor and company of the bank of England and the several owners and proprietors of stock, annuities, and other funds, transferable at the bank of England, should be secured from falsification by means of false entries therein, or of the alteration of any of the words or figures thereof, or by any other ways or means whatsoever: AND ENACTED, "That if any person or persons "shall wilfully make, or assist in making, any transfer of any "interest, part, or share of or in any stock or stocks, annuity or "annuities, or other funds, transferable at the bank of England, "in any of the books of the said governor and company of the "bank of England, in which transfers of stock, annuities, or other "funds, as aforesaid, are made, in the name or names of any per"son or persons not being the owner or owners, or proprietor or "proprietors, of such stock, annuities, or other funds, transfer"able as aforesaid, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, such person or persons so making, or assisting in making, such transfer as "aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death " as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy."

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Sect. 5. By 33 Geo. 3. c. 30. s. 2. it is further enacted, "That also persons if any person or persons whatsoever shall falsely make, forge, or forging, or assisting in forg"counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or ing, transfers, "counterfeited, or shall willingly act or assist in the falsely making, &c. "forging or counterfeiting of any transfer of any interest, part, or "share of or in any stock or stocks, annuity or annuities, or other "funds, transferable, or which, by any act or acts of parliament, "shall hereafter be made transferable, at the bank of England, "or of or in the capital stock belonging, or which hereafter shall " or may belong to the said governor and company of the bank "of England, called bank stock, or shall utter or publish as true any such false, forged, or counterfeited transfer as aforesaid,

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"knowing

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"knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeited, with in"tent to defraud the said governor and company of the bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever; all and every person or persons whatsoever so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall "suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy."

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+ Sect.6. By 33 Geo. 3. c. 30. s. 3. it is further enacted, "That "if any person or persons shall wilfully make, or assist in making, any false entry, or shall wilfully alter, or assist in altering, any word or figure in any entry in the books of account kept by the said "governor and company of the bank of England, wherein the se"veral accounts of the owners or proprietors of stock, annuities, or other funds, transferable at the bank of England, are entered " and kept, or shall in any manner wilfully falsify the accounts of "such owners and proprietors in the books of the said governor " and company, wherein such accounts are entered and kept, with "intent to defraud the said governor and company of the bank of "England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, every such person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a "felon or felons, without benefit of clergy."

By 33 Geo. 3. c. 30. s. 4. IT IS RECITED, That in order to cover and conceal forgeries and frauds in transfers, dividend warrants have been sometimes made out for different sums than the sums really due: AND ENACTED, "That if any clerk, officer, or "servant of, or other person or persons employed or intrusted by, "the said governor and company, shall knowingly or willingly "make out or deliver, or cause or procure to be made out or de"livered, or willingly act or assist in the making out or deliver"ing of any dividend warrant for a greater or less amount than "the person or persons, on whose behalf, or pretended behalf, "such dividend warrants shall be made out, is or are intitled to, "with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the bank "of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any per66 son or persons whatsoever, all and every such person or persons "so offending, and being in due form of law convicted of any such "offence or offences as aforesaid, shall be transported for seven years."

By stat. 37 Geo. 3. c. 122. reciting that "whereas by the statutes creating and authorising the transfer of the several public stocks, &c. transferable at the bank of England, it is provided, that all assignments or transfers thereof, shall be entered and registered in books to be kept by the accountant general of the bank, which entries shall be signed by the parties making such assignments or transfers; or, if such parties be absent, by their respective attorney or attornies thereunto lawfully authorised in writing under their hands and seals, to be attested by two or more credible witnesses; and the same regulation is prescribed and observed with respect to the attestation of letters of attorney for the transfer of any part of bank stock ;" and further reciting that the same regulation prevails with respect to South Sea and East India stock, and that it is expedient that further provision should be

made

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made for the prevention of frauds, it is enacted, "That if any person or persons whatever shall, from and after the 1st day "of August, 1797, falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or "procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or shall wil❝lingly act or assist in the false making, forging, or counterfeiting "the name or names, hand-writing or hands-writing of any person Forging names " or persons, as or purporting to be the witness or witnesses at- of witnesses at" testing the execution of any letter of attorney or other authority, of attorney, shall testing powers "or instrument to transfer, assign, sell, or convey any interest, be guilty of fe"part or share of or in any stock or stocks, annuity or annuities, lony, and liable to be transport❝or other funds, or the dividends thereof, transferable, or which, ed for 7 years. "by any act or acts of parliament, shall hereafter be made trans"ferable at the bank of England, or of or in the capital stock " belonging, or which hereafter shall or may belong, to the go"vernor, &c. of the bank of England, called bank stock, or to the governor, &c. (of the South Sea company), or under their care or "management, or of or in the capital stock belonging to the "(East India Company) commonly called East India stock; or "of any letter of attorney or other authority, or instrument, to "receive any dividend or dividends on any of the said stocks, "annuities or other funds; or shall alter, or publish as true, any "such letter of attorney or other authority, or instrument, containing such false, forged or counterfeited name or names, hand"writing or hands-writing of such attesting witness or witnesses "as aforesaid, knowing such name or names, hand-writing or "hands-writing, to be false, forged, or counterfeited; all and "every person or persons whatever so offending, and being con"victed of any such offence, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, " and shall be transported for seven years; or shall be adjudged "to suffer such lesser punishment as the court before whom "such offender or offenders shall be tried, shall think fit to " award."

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The statutes 35 Geo. 3. c. 66. and 37 Geo.3. c. 46. for making certain annuities created by the parliament of Ireland payable at the bank of England, protect these annuities by the same provisions that protect the English funds.

The statute of 9 Geo. 1. c. 12. for the more easy assigning or transferring of certain redeemable annuities payable at the exchequer by endorsements on the standing orders of the same, enables the proprietors of the said standing orders made forth, or to be made forth in pursuance of certain acts therein recited, by proper words of assignment to be endorsed, or such order to assign and transfer the same, and then by sect. 4. declares and enacts any person forging such assignments, or any letter of attorney to receive the interest growing due therein, or falsely personating the proprietor of such order, shall be guilty of a capital felony.

The stat. 45 Geo. 3. c. 89. " to alter and extend the provisions of the laws now in force for the punishment of the forgery of bank notes, bills of exchange, and other securities, to every part of Great Britain," enacts, "that if any person or persons shall, " from and after the passing of this act, forge, counterfeit, or alter “ any bank note, bank bill of exchange, dividend warrant, or any "bond

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"bond or obligation under the common seal of the governor and "company of the bank of England, or any indorsement thereon, or shall offer or dispose of, or put away any such forged, coun"terfeit or altered note, bill, dividend warrant, bond, or obligation, or the indorsement thereon, or demand the money therein "contained or pretended to be due thereon, or any part thereof, "of the said company, or any their officers or servants, knowing "such note, bill, dividend warrant, bond, or obligation, or the "indorsement thereon, to be forged, counterfeited, or altered, "with intent to defraud the said governor and company, or their "successors, or any other person or persons, body or bodies, "politic or corporate whatsoever, every person or persons so "offending, and being thereof convicted in due form of law, "shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a "felon without benefit of clergy." s. 2.

John Henry Gade was tried before Lawrence, J. at the Old Bailey Feb. Sess. 1796, on an indictment charging that Wm. Harrison was possessed of and entitled to 50l. interest or share in the 3 per cent. consolidated annuities; and that the prisoner, while he was so possessed thereof, &c. did falsely make, forge, &c. a transfer of the said 501. share with the name of the said W. H. thereto subscribed, purporting to be signed by the said W. H. and to be a transfer of the said 50l., and from the said W. H. to one W. W.-the tenor of which is as follows, (setting it out,) with intent to defraud the governor and company of the bank of England. Others charged it to be with intent to defraud W. H. and W. W. There were also other counts laying the offence different ways, but not material to the points of consideration.

It was proved that the prisoner and Henry Harland, being executors of John Howard, who had by his will given 501. in the 3 per cent. consols to his grandson William Harrison, on the 11th Jan. 1796, transferred the same to the name of William Harrison, but the transfer never was accepted by William Harrison. That afterwards, on the 14th of January, the prisoner brought his own son with him to the bank, whom he represented as William Harrison; and by the intervention of a broker the stock was agreed to be sold to one William West. The prisoner's son signed the transfer, but used a double ss in the name Harrison, which not agreeing with the bank books, it caused a delay, as the clerk required an affidavit of identity. The money was not paid over which the broker received from West, and the transfer was not witnessed, which, according to the printed form. of transfer used at the bank, should be done. It was objected for the prisoner that as the st. 33 Geo. 3. c. 28. directs the form of the transfer, and requires " that the several persons to whom "such transfer shall be made shall underwrite their acceptance "thereof, and no other method of transferring or assigning shall "be good or available in law;" that the evidence did not support the indictment; first, for want of the acceptance of Harrison of the transfer made to him by the executors of Howard, till which time it was contended the transfer was incomplete and he was not possessed of the stock. Secondly, Because that till

the

the stock was accepted, no transfer could be made of it at all. Thirdly, Because the instrument given in evidence as a transfer in the name of William Harrison was not witnessed, which being, as was contended, a part of the words in which transfers were conceived, the instrument was not available in law, and therefore no transfer. In the June sessions following Mr. J. Buller delivered the opinions of the judges, as is stated to the following effect: 1. That the stock vested in William Harrison by the mere act of transferring it into his name, and that if he had died it would have gone to his executors as part of his personal estate. 2. That the nature of the offence would not have been altered if W. H. had not had any stock standing in his name; for the forgery would not have been less complete if Harrison had really had no stock. As to the third objection, the judges all thought that the entry and signatures stated in the indictment were a complete transfer without the attestation of witnesses, which was no part of the instrument, but only required by the bank for their own protection ex abundanti cautelâ. (E. P. C. p. 876.)

3. Notes and other Securities of the Bank of England and other Public Companies.

Of the Bank of England.

+ Sect. 1. By 8 and 9 Will. 3. c. 20. s. 36. it is enacted, See ante, p. 273. "That the forging or counterfeiting the common seal of the said 45 Geo. 3. c. 89. "corporation of the governor and company, or of any sealed bank et post, 280. "bill made or given out in the name of the said governor and

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company for the payment of any sum of money, is felony

“without benefit of clergy."

+ Sect. 2. The st. 15 Geo. 2. c. 13. s. 11. enacts," If any per- Forging or alterson or persons shall forge, counterfeit, or alter any bond or ing bond, &c. obligation under the common seal of the said company, or any benefit of clergy. felony without "indorsement thereon, or shall offer or dispose of, or put "away any such forged, counterfeited, or altered bond or obliga❝tion, or the indorsement thereon, or demand the money therein " contained, or pretended to be due thereon, or any part thereof, "of the said company, or any their officers or servants, knowing "such bond or obligation, or the indorsement thereon, to be "forged, counterfeited or altered with intent to defraud the "said company or their successors, or any other person or persons whatsoever; every person or persons so offending shall be "deemed guilty of felony without benefit of clergy."

+ Sect. 3. By 8 and 9 Will. 3. c. 20. s. 36. “The forging or "counterfeiting of any bank note of any sort whatsoever, signed "for the governor and company of the bank of England, or altering or erasing any indorsement of any bank bill or note of any sort, is declared to be felony without benefit of clergy."

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+ Sect. 4. By 11 Geo. 1. c. 9. s. 6. IT IS RECITED, "That of Forging, &c. late divers frauds and deceits have been put upon the governor bank bills or and company of the bank of England, and other persons, by the notes, felony. altering, forging and counterfeiting of the bank bills and bank

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