George Matthews

341

Maureen Withey on 10th December 2022

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 10 December 2022), May 1845, trial of GEORGE MATTHEWS (t18450512-1057). GEORGE MATTHEWS, Deception > forgery, 12th May 1845. 1057. GEORGE MATTHEWS was indicted for feloniously forging and uttering, on the 24th of jan., and order for the payment of 5l.; with intent to defraud Thomas Somers Cocks the elder, and others.—2 other COUNTS, stating his intent to be to defraud Thomas Piper the younger. MR. CLARKSON conducted the prosecution. JOHN KING SEN . I am in partnership with my son, as auctioneers and estate-agents, at Old Brentford. In jan. last we kept a banking account with Cocks and Biddulph, of Charing-cross—i have not been in the habit latterly, of drawing checks, in the name of king and son—my son doe that—i have a private account of my own—I did not draw this check—(looking at it)—or authorise any one to draw it—it is not my hand writing—I doubt whether it is my son's—it is a fair copy of his writing, or it would not have been paid—I did not draw, or authorise to be drawn, these other two checks—(looking at them)—the prisoner was in our employ as errand-boy and general servant—he might be occasionally employed to take checks to get cash for them—he was never employed by me to get change for checks of King and Son. Cross-examined by MR. PAYNE. Q. Do not you know that the practice was to send checks to Mr. Piper's for petty cash? A. Not that I know of—my son may do it—the prisoner has been with me upwards of three years—I do not believe I ever sent him to change my own private checks—I might. JOHN KING JUN . I am in partnership with my father—when I wanted petty cash, I was in the habit of drawing checks on Cocks and Co., where we kept an account, and sending them by the prisoner to Mr. Piper, to get cashed—I drew the checks in the name of King and Son—I did not draw this check, dated 24th Jan., or know of its being drawn, till it was returned by my banker's, with the pass-book, on the 12th of April, as having been paid—I also received these two other checks, dated 5th of Dec. and 1st of Jan., neither of which were drawn by me, or by my authority—I have looked at my check-book, in which I have my printed blank checks, and I miss five checks, which have been completely torn out, margin and all—I always kept it in a drawer, locked up—I did not observe anything the matter with the drawer—the checks were taken out of two check-books—the prisoner had opportunities of seeing me draw checks in the name of King and Son, and he has taken them afterwards to Mr. Piper's, to get cash for them—I think this is a bad imitation of my handwriting—I never received the value of these checks from the prisoner, or gave him any authority to get the money on them—I have had opportunities of seeing him write—I cannot say that these checks are his writing—I cannot form any belief on the subject. Cross-examined. Q. How soon after he came into your service did you begin to employ him to take checks to Piper's to get cashed? A. I should think eighteen months—I do not put any number on the checks or margins—I sometimes sent him with a check to Mr. Piper's once a week, sometimes onee in two weeks—very seldom twice in one week—I did not discover anything wrong till the 12th of April, as I did not have my book made up till then—we have offices in London—I think I was in London on the 18th of April, the day before the prisoner's last examination—and about eleven o'clock I saw the prisoner's aunt, near St. James's church—I asked her if she was going to see the prisoner—I do not remember asking her to get what information she could out of him—I told her to ask him how he had squandered the money—I did not say, that at the trial I would recommend him to mercy—I keep no clerks—only a maid-servant had access to the place where the check-books were kept—there is no shop, it is a counting-house—bill-stickers and porters come to the counting-house occasionally. THOMAS PIPER, JUN . I keep the Feathers, at Old Brentford—I have been in the habit of cashing small checks for King and Son from time to to time—the prisoner always brought them—I was in the habit of paying to Mr. Baker, of Chiswick, the checks I received from the prisoner, except one which I paid to Mr. John Dicker, of Cooper's-row, Tower-hill—this check, dated the 24th of Jan., I paid to some of the collectors, but whether it was to Mr. Baker or not I do not know—I received it from the prisoner, for I never received a check signed King and Son, from any one else—if any of the collectors called in, and I had a check by me, I always paid it away—I know Mr. Baker's handwriting—I believe the indorsement on this check is his handwriting—these two other checks, also, came to me through the prisoner's hands—I paid them to Mr. Baker—I do not remember the date of receiving this particular check—there is no memorandum of my own on it—they were always brought on the day they were dated—I have from time to time observed the ink wet upon them. Cross-examined. Q. You have no recollection of the bringing of this particular check? A. No, but I swear I took it of the prisoner—I can speak to three checks, from the formation of the B in Brentford—I know this by the formation of the letters at the top—I recognised it the moment it was put into my hands—there are three checks which have a particular B—one B is written very badly, one with blue ink, and the third is different from the others—the bad B is on the check of Dec. 5.—I know the check in question by the Jan. in January—I recollect cashing that particular check—no one cashes checks or handles money but myself—I am sure I have seen this check before—my attention has been called to it before—my opinion was the same then that it is now—the prisoner did not frequent my house to drink—I never saw him with money—(looking at his deposition)—this is my handwriting—it was read over to me before I signed it—(the deposition being read, stated, "I believe I cashed the whole of the five checks for the prisoner; but I am quite sure as to the one dated Dec. 5, for 5l., and the one dated Feb. 7, for 5l. ")—I pointed out three checks at the time I was examined—I have no hesitation in swearing that I cashed this check, dated 24th Jan.—I noticed the B in Brentford, and the Jan. in Jan. at the office. MR. CLARKSON. Q. When you paid these cheeks to Mr. Baker, wis it your practice to see him endorse them? A. Always—I cannot say that I saw him endorse this. ROBERT BAKIR . I am clerk and collector to Messrs. Fuller, brewers, of Chiswick. This check, dated 24th of Jan., 1845, I received from Mr. Piper, in part payment of his account—I wrote his name on it at the time, and I believe, in his presence—here is my writing, and also on these other two which I also received from him for his account—I paid them into the Regent-street branch of the Union Bank—I cannot exactly recollect the day I paid them in. JOHN HAYNES . I am an inspector of the detective police. By direction of Cocks and Co., I made inquiries about some forged checks, and in consequence of those inquiries, I apprehended the prisoner on the 24th of April, in Mr. King's back yard, at work—I told him what he was charged with, and cautioned him—he stud he had changed no checks except at Mr. Piper's, and the whole of the checks he had changed there he had received from his master, Mr. King—Mr. King, jun., was present—before I took the prisoner into custody I asked him to write his name, and also the name of Mr. King, from which I formed an opinion—I produce the book in which he wrote. Cross-examined. Q. How came you to get him to sign his name? A. I asked him to sign it—I went in plain clothes—I did not tell him I was a policeman—I did not ask him if he did not want a better situation, and if he could write—I asked if he could write his name, and gave him my book—Mr. King went with me—I said, "Is this your young man?"—he said, "Yes," and I immediately said, "Can you write?"—after I had taken the prisoner to the station I went to the prisoner's mother—I did not tell her I was sent by the prisoner for the last copy-book that he had at school—I said I understood from the prisoner that there was a pocket-book of his in the house—he had told me so—I mentioned a copy-book—I did not say I had been sent for it—I swear I said nothing about school—the mother said there was no such thing in the house—I very likely said I believed the boy better than her, for he had told me it was in the box—I believe I asked how much money he had in the box—I was told he had not any—I looked in his box, and there was not any—I asked where he bought his clothes—I was not satisfied from what I found that they had been paid for weekly—I was satisfied that his mother had pledged his coat, and his sister his trowsers, without his knowledge. MR. CLARKSON. Q. How long have you been an inspector of the detective force? A. Since its establishment in 1843, I have been in the police thirteen years. REGINALD THISTLETHWAITS COCKS . I am one of the firm of Cocks, Biddulph, and Co. It consists of more than two partners—Thomas Somers Cocks, the elder, is the head of the firm—(the checks were here read.) (John Porter, Star and Garter, Kew-bridge; Mary Daley, the wife of a labourer at Isleworth; and Charles Dear, lighterman, New Brentford, deposed to the prisoner's good character.) GUILTY on the 4th Count. Aged 18.— Transported for Ten Years. (There were four other indictments against the prisoner.) Before Mr. Justice Collman. -------------------------------------------- Convict Exiles Index. George Mathews, age 20, per Thomas Arbuthnot. Date of trial, 12/5/1845, at C.C.C. , sentence, 10 years, Charge, Feloniously uttering a forged order for payment of money. Remarks: Exiles.