CHRONICLE. 



319 



in modern times, perhaps, of a hu- 

 man beingliving under such circum- 

 stances, is recorded in the roman- 

 tic adventures of St. Pierre Viaud ; 

 and even here the incident throws 

 a degree of discredit on the authen- 

 ticity of the wrork, although it was 

 attested by the annexed affidavits 

 of persons who had seen it. Yet 

 in that case the worms had only 

 engenderedinthelower extremities, 

 while the head ^nd the viscera, ne- 

 cessary to animal life, were free 

 But here the most essential organ 

 of the animal economy was dis- 

 solved, while yet the living being 

 walked and talked." 



SEPTEMBER. 



1. Forged Notes. — By the late 

 trials at Lancaster, it appears that 

 a traffic in one, two, and five pound 

 notes has existed for some time to 

 a most alarming extent. The Bank 

 of England have long been aware 

 of these forgeries, and they have 

 taken means of detecting and 

 bringing to punishment many of 

 the delinquents. It appeared that 

 the traffic in forged notes was car- 

 ried on in Lancashire and the ad- 

 joining counties on a larger scale 

 than was ever known before; and a 

 witness stated, that he had been 

 assured by one of the prisoners, 

 that at Birmingham he could buy 

 forged small notes by wholesale 

 enough to load a jackass. It ap- 

 peared these were retailed by poor 

 ignorant deluded wretches, i\ivr of 

 whom could write or read, at from 

 five to ten shillings in the pound. 

 Birmingham was clearly traced to 

 be the fountain head from whence 

 these forgeries flowed, and Wales 

 and Scotland the parts where they 



were principally passed. Com- 

 paratively but a small portion found 

 their way to London, as here they 

 were liable to be detected almost 

 immediately. It was found in many 

 instances tliat the forgers had blun- 

 dered in the signatures of clerks of 

 the Bank of England who had long 

 been dead, and some of the notes 

 bore the christian names of those 

 who signed them. From these in- 

 consistencies, and the general bad 

 colour of the paper of which they 

 were fabricated, they were not 

 likely to pass undiscovered in Lon- 

 don, and were, therefore, chiefly 

 circulated in parts remote from the 

 metropolis. The agents of the 

 Bank, however, have been so vigi- 

 lant, that 1 3 prisoners were brought 

 to trial, and it is to be hoped that a 

 death-blow has been given to this 

 iniquitous business; the principal 

 names of those concerned in this 

 nefarious practice, as well as the 

 coiners of counterfeit gold, having 

 been discovered and made known. 



The method adopted for taking 

 into custody all the prisoners of the 

 above description, tried at these 

 assizes, was well preconcerted: — 

 Aware that great alarm would be 

 excited by apprehending them se- 

 parately, it was contrived that they 

 should all be taken in one day, and 

 the 25lh of July was fixed, on ac- 

 count of its being near the time of 

 the commencement of the assizes. 



Nadin, the constable of Man- 

 chester, gave into court the fol- 

 lowing account relative to the 

 taking a notorious vender of forged 

 notes, of the name of Bolton : — 



About one o'clock in the morning 

 of the 25th of July last, with proper 

 assistants, he went to the prisoners 

 house. He knocked, but the door 

 not being opened, he forced it, and 



got 



