of a parish said W. S. did then and there by the means and pretences aforesaid, obtain and get into his possession the said twentynine packs of wool, (to wit) at, &c. aforesaid, whereas the said W. S. at the time of making the said false pretences as aforesaid, well knew that the said F. N. H. was no merchant, but falsely assuming that character to defraud his majesty's subjects, and that he the said W. S. was not acting as an agent for the said F. N. H. in the fair and real business and character of a merchant, and well knew that the said several bills or either of them were not intended to be paid to the holders of the same, but were drawn and given as aforesaid, for the purpose of fraud and deception, to wit, at, &c. aforesaid, to the great damage and deception of the said T. J. and P. J. to the evil example, &c. and against the peace, &c. [There was a second count for a general conspiracy to defraud, as in the last precedent.] [* 1188] That* on, &c. at, &c. there happened a dreadful and terFor a con rible fire, which in a short space of time, burned down and spiracy by consumed a very great number of dwelling houses, together the curate with several out-houses, barns, stables, goods, wares, mer& officers chandizes, stock in trade, and husbandry of great value, to to defraud the great distress and impoverishment of the poor owners sufferers thereof and their families; and that in tender consideraby fire of tion thereof, and on the humble petition of A. B., C. D., money collected by a E. F. and two hundred other distressed persons, on behalf brief for of themselves and a great many other sufferers by the said their re- fire, our said lord the king, deeply sensible of the unspeakable misery of the said poor sufferers, out of his special grace and princely compassion, was graciously pleased to condescend to grant his letters patent (commonly called a brief) sealed with his great seal, bearing date, &c. unto the said petitioners, thereby granting, &c. [set out the letters patent.] And the jurors, &c. do further present, that a copy of the said brief, printed by R. S. being the printer of our said lord the king, and indorsed and marked in a convenient part of the said printed copy, that is to say, on the back of the said printed copy, with the name of the said A. B. (the said A. B. being one of the trustees named in the said letters patent) written with his own, and the time of the said A. B.'s signing the same, being also indorsed and marked on the said copy, and the printed copy being stamped according to the form of the statute in that case made and provided, was afterwards, to wit, on, &c. aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, duly sent and delivered to one T.K. late of the parish of A. aforesaid, in the said county of W. (h) See similar precedents, Cro. C. C. 136. Cro. C. A. 220. linen draper, and one C. T. late of the same place, coppersmith (they the said T. K. and C. T. then and there being the churchwardens of the said parish of A.) to be read and published, and the charity to be thereon collected, who afterwards, to wit, on, &c. at, &c. aforesaid, received the same printed copy, and afterwards, to wit, on, &c. at, &c. aforesaid, delivered the same to T. S. late of the said раrish of A. clerk, being the then curate of the said parish, who then and there received the same, and that the said T. S. did openly before sermon had begun, read such printed brief in the church of the said parish of A. to the congregation there assembled on one of the Sundays which happened within two months next after the said T. S. had received the same, to wit, on, &c. to wit, at, &c. aforesaid. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said T. K. and C. T. afterwards, to wit, on, &c. last aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, did collect and receive in the said church,* divers large sums of money freely therein given, [* 1189] that is to say, from C. D. the sum of, &c. and from E. F. the sum of, &c. amounting in the whole to a large sum of money, to wit, to the sum of, &c. of lawful money, which said several sums of money were so given by the said C. D. and E. F. respectively to the said T. K. and C. T. to and for the use of the poor sufferers by the dreadful fire aforesaid; and the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said T. S., T. K. and C. T. afterwards, to wit, on, &c. aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, did unlawfully and unjustly conspire, combine, confederate, and agree among themselves to cheat and defraud the said poor sufferers of a large sum of money, to wit, of the sum of, &c. part of the said sum of, &c. which had been so as aforesaid collected and received by the said T. K. and C. T. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said T. S., T. K. and C. T. in pursuance of the conspiracy and combination aforesaid, afterwards, to wit, on the same day and year last aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, delivered to one M. N. the said M. N. then and there being a deputy and agent authorized by the said letters patent to receive such charitable money for the use of the said poor sufferers, a small sum of money, to wit, the sum of, &c. and no more, (being only part of the said sum of, &c. so charitably and benevolently contributed and collected as and for the purpose aforesaid,) as and for the whole of the said money, so collected and received from the inhabitants of the said parish of A. and the said other well disposed persons then being within the same parish, to be delivered to the deputies and agents authorized to receive the same for the use of the said poor sufferers as aforesaid, by reason whereof the said poor sufferers were greatly in jured and aggrieved, to the great damage of the said poor sufferers, and against the peace, &c. There are several very special precedents in Wentworth for conspiracies to defraud, but their great length, and the peculiarity of the circumstances they state, render their insertion here unadvisable. There are two for conspiracy to obtain money by falsely pretending to secure an annuity to the prosecutor, 4 Wentworth, 80, 89-one for combining to prevent customers from dealing with a particular tradesman, 4 Wentw. 104-one for an attempt to ruin manufacturers by threatening their workmen, riots, and various acts of violence, 6 Wentw. 493-and one for conspiring to pro1190] cure an acceptance by false representations of the credit of the drawer, and that the defendants could get the bill discounted, 6 Wentw. 378-and one for insuring ships, and then procuring them to be sunk at sea, 6 Wentw. 387. There is in Cro. C. A. 191, a very long indictment for conspiring to influence a man not to sell stock, but to buy more by false representations respecting public affairs, and another, Cro. C. A. 191, for conspiring to alter a lease in favour of the lessor, to the prejudice of the lessee. See also for other precedents of conspiracy, Trem. P. C. 82 break into intent to to 85. For a con. That E. E. late of, &c. J. C. late of, &c. and T. W. spiracy to late of, &c. being persons of evil name and fame, and of a dwelling wicked and depraved character, on, &c. with force and house with arms, at, &c. aforesaid, unlawfully and wickedly did cona felonious spire, combine, confederate, and agree together, and with divers other evil disposed persons, whose names are ungoods known to the jurors aforesaid, unlawfully to attempt and therein. endeavour, feloniously, and burglariously to break and en(i) ter the dwelling house of G. A. P. there situate, with invent the goods and chattels therein being feloniously and steal the (i) On this indictment the defendants were convicted. It was settled by an eminent crown lawyer. See an indictment for a conspiracy to enter a preserve with violence in the night, 13 East, 228. where it was holden that it would not lie; sed quære, see ante 1140, 1. as to the offence of burglary, ante 1090 to 1100. burglariously to steal, take and carry away. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said E. E., J. C. and T. W., in pursuance of, and according to the conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement aforesaid, afterwards, to wit, on the same day and in the year aforesaid, about the hour of eight in the evening of the same day, with force and arms, at, &c. aforesaid, the dwellinghouse of the said G. A. P. there situate, unlawfully did attempt, feloniously and burglariously to break and enter, with intent the goods and chattels therein being, feloniously and burglariously, to steal, take and carry away, by then and there endeavouring to break and force open the outer door of the said dwelling-house, with a certain iron crow, and also by then and there endeavouring to open the outer door of the said dwelling-house with a picklock key, to the great damage of the said G. A. P. to the evil example of, &c. in contempt, &c. and against the peace, &c. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that Second the said E. E., J. C. and T. W. being such persons as count for an attempt aforesaid, afterwards, to wit, on the same day and the to break, year aforesaid, about the hour of eight in the night of the &c. same day, with force and arms, at, &c. aforesaid, unlawfully did attempt feloniously and burglariously to break and enter the said dwelling-house of the said G. A. P. there situate, with intent, feloniously and burglariously to steal, take, and carry away* the goods and chattels therein being, by then and [* 1191] there endeavouring to force and break open the outer door" of the said dwelling-house, with a certain iron crow, and also by then and there endeavouring to open the outer door of the said dwelling house with a pick-lock key, to the great damage of the said G. A. P. and against the peace, &c. And the jurors, &c. do further present that the said E. E., Third J. C. and T. W. being such persons as aforesaid, on the count for same day, and in the year aforesaid, with force and arms, racy to at at, &c. aforesaid, unlawfully and wickedly did conspire, tempt to combine, confederate and agree together, and with the said break other persons whose names are unknown as aforesaid, to day time. attempt, and endeavour as much as in them lay, to break and enter the said dwelling-house of the said G. A. P. there situate, with intent the goods and chattels therein being, feloniously to steal, take and carry away, and that the said E. E., J. C. and T. W. in pursuance of and according to the conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement, so as last aforesaid before had, on the same day, and in the year aforesaid, about the hour of three in the afternoon, with force and arms, at, &c. aforesaid, the dwelling-house of the said G. A. P. there situate, unlawfully did attempt to break and enter, with intent the goods and chattels therein Crim. Law. VOL. III. 4 I conspi. house in Fourth attempt to do the like. being, feloniously to steal, take and carry away, by then and there endeavouring to force and break open the outer door of the said dwelling-house, with a certain iron crow, and also by then and there endeavouring to open the outer door of the said dwelling-house with a pick-lock key, to the great damage of the said G. A. P. to the evil example, &c. in contempt, &c. and against the peace, &c. And the jurors, &c. count for do further present, that the said E. E., J. C. and T. W. being such persons as aforesaid, on the same day and year aforesaid, about the hour of three in the afternoon of the same day, with force and arms, at, &c. aforesaid, the dwelling house of the said G. A. P. there situate, unlawfully, and wickedly did attempt to break and enter, with intent feloniously to steal, take and carry away the goods and chattels therein being, by then and there endeavouring to force and break open the outer door of the said dwelling house with a certain iron crow, and also by then and there endeavouring to open the outer door of the said dwelling house with a pick-lock key, to the great damage of the said G. A. P. and against the peace, &c. For a con That A. B. late of, &c. [and other defendants,] together spiracy to with divers other evil disposed persons, to the jurors afore pull down a wall, &c. said as yet unknown,* heretofore, to wit, on, &c. with force and pull- and arms, at, &c. aforesaid, did unlawfully conspire, combine, ing down confederate, and agree together, unlawfully, riotously, and the same routously, to break down, pull down, prostrate, demolish, 1192]and destroy a certain wall, and certain other erections, (j) And buildings, posts, pales, rails, and fences of one C. D. there (j) From the MS. of a gentleman at the bar, quære see 13 East, 231. As to forcible entries, see ante 1120 to 1123. |