308 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



Creswell's cabin daily, but never 

 saw any box there, except a small 

 packet of tea for his own use. 

 That was the only box he saw 

 there. Saw no boat come along- 

 side from the Land's End. 



The Lord Chief Baron having 

 summed uj) the case, the Jury 

 found a verdict for the crown. 



The King, on the prosecution of 

 his Majesty's Attorney General, v. 

 Basil Goodc, Esq. — These were 

 cases of two distinct criminal in- 

 formations filed against the de- 

 fendant, at the instance of the 

 board of taxes, under the follow- 

 ing circuu)stances : — 



Mr. Goode was appointed and 

 acted as assessor and collector of 

 the assesseil taxes for Coventr\, 

 for years prior and doAvn to tlic 

 year 1806. Mr. Goode having 

 become an alderman and magis- 

 trate, and afterwards mayor of 

 Coventry, he from that time took 

 the oaths of qualification, and 

 continued to act as a commission- 

 er of the assessed taxes ; and he 

 procured his father and a Mr. 

 Thomas I'ricc to l)e appointed a.s- 

 sessors and collectors in his stead. 

 Mr. Basil Cioodc continued, how- 

 ever, in effect to execute the of- 

 fice of assessor and collector for 

 1807 and subsequent years, un- 

 der the appointment made to his 

 father, who did not interfere, and 

 he acted with. Mr. Price to the 

 death of the latter, in ISlC. 



Mr. Ea'jil Go^idc, during all 

 this time, made out and signed 

 the assessments in the name of 

 his father, as assessor. He after- 

 wards signed and 5e;«lcd their au- 

 thenticity in the character of 

 commissioner, and, as had been 

 liis practice for form'^T yeaj*s, fill. 



ed up the j)rinted tickets or re- 

 ceipts, which Price delivered to 

 persons in exchange for their 

 taxes. Price paying over the mo- 

 ney weekly to the defendant, and 

 the defendant in general making- 

 all payments, and settling the 

 collector's accotnits, with the re- 

 ceiver general. 



Price having died deficient in 

 the collection, an extent was is- 

 sued against his estate in aid of 

 the inhabitants of Coventry ; and 

 in the investigation of his ac- 

 coimts, and examination of the 

 printed tickets of receipts in the 

 hands of individuals who had paid 

 Price their taxes for the year 1809, 

 .several instances were discovered 

 by the Crown agents in which 

 more money had been collected 

 by Mr. Price, on tlie authority of 

 Mr. Goode's tickets, than was 

 charged by the assessments of 

 that year, or was included in the 

 parchment duplicfites under the 

 seals of the commissioners, by 

 whicli tiie receiver-general col- 

 lected and accoimtcd at the ex- 

 chequer. 



'Ilie Attorney-General accord- 

 ingly filed an information against 

 the defendant for fraudulently 

 filling up the tickets, and causing 

 the money to be illegally collect- 

 ed by Price, and converted to the 

 use of the defendant and Price, or 

 one of them. The tiial took place 

 at the Lent .Assizes of 1815, and 

 the defendant was conviot*;d. 



The defendant afterwards ap- 

 plied to the Court of King's 

 Bench, and obtained an order for 

 a new trial, principally under 

 doubts whether a menioranduni 

 book kept between the defendant 

 and Price, which was rcfen-ed to 

 on the former triiU on the part of 



the 



