The Case of Richard Harding

At the end of May, 1805, shortly after Blacklin’s trial, the duty men had their eye on another person suspected of the felonious sale of forged playing cards.

As yet, I haven’t found any announcement of the charges laid, or the investigation of the case being made, against Richard Harding for the forging of duty aces. But it seems that by August, there was a level of current awareness amongst the press at least that the case for the prosecution had a star witness who had turned King’s evidence. Unfortunately, the stress — or shame — resulting from the witness’s involvement in the case appears to have driven his wife to suicide even before the trial had begun.

Note the confusion in reporting the name of accused, given as “Hardy” below when it should be “Harding”, perhaps as a result of a verbal (mis)communication.

A disturbed state of mind, August, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002193/18050822/010/0003 Saint James’s Chronicle - Thursday 22 August 1805

Also: Morning Chronicle - Tuesday 20 August 1805

Mrs. Skelton, the wife of the man that turned King’s evidence against Hardy for forging the ace of spades lately, has been for some time in a disturbed state of mind. On Thursday the 15th inst. she left her lodgings at Weybridge, about 16 miles from Town. Nothing was heard of her until the next morning, when she was found in a ditch about two miles from where she lodged, with her throat cut, and quite lifeless. Some hay-makers had observed her walking about the fields on Thursday, apparently in great agitation. A Coroner’s inquest was held on the Body, and brought in their verdict Lunacy.

Suicide, August, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002408/18050820/011/0003 Morning Herald (London) - Tuesday 20 August 1805

SUICIDE.—An elderly Lady, near 70 years of age, put a period to her existence on Wednesday evening last, near Weybridge, in Surrey. She was the wife of Mr. JOHN SKELTON, Tea-dealer, in Green-street, Grosvenor-square, and had been for some time desponding in her mind; in consequence of which, she had been at various places for the recovery of her health, and had latterly been on a visit to the family of Mr. BENNETT, near Weybridge. On Tuesday morning, after partaking of a hearty breakfafi, she observed to the family, that she would take a short walk, being of opinion it would do her good, and with unusual earnestness bid them ” Good bye,” but returned shortly, and, taking them by the hands, said, ” God bids you! God bids you!” Expecting her return, the family waited with the utmost anxiety for the space of two hours ; but not returning, they sent messengers after her. After a considerable search, she was found on the following morning sitting upright in a ditch, with her throat cut from ear to ear, and a pen-knife lying by her side, which she generally carried in her pocket. A Coroner’s Inquest was summoned, and the evidence adduced proved these facts, with the addition, that the whole of the day on which the disappeared was spent in a hay-field, where some haymakers were at work, who observed her walking backwards and forwards. The Jury refurned a verdict of Lunacy.—The unhappy Lady was very much repsected, for the urbanity and gentleness with which on all occasions she conducted herself, and was the mother of a fine family of children, all of whom are arrived at puberty.

The trial itself commenced towards the end of September, 1805, at the Old Bailey.

The following report seems to be rather confused about the dates of the purchases, identifying them as having taken place in June, 1804, and also mistakes the name of the printer — which should be Hockey — of the official aces,

Indicted on two counts, September, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18050923/016/0004 Morning Post - Monday 23 September 1805

OLD BAILEY. — Saturday, Sept. 21. Richard Harding was indicted on two counts ; the first charging him with forging, fabricating, and publishing, as true, a stamp on the spade ace ; and second, with selling and uttering the same playing cards, well knowing such stamp to be forged. The case was opened at great length by the Attorney-General.

Mr. Hockley [sic], the printer of the legal spade ace stamps, stated that he had purchased of the prisoner’s apprentice, and of himself, various packs of cards, the aces of spades in each pack being spurious. These purchases were very frequent, and took place in the month of June, 1804. It appeared that the prisoner kept two shops, one in Hereford-street, Oxofrd-street, and the other in North-row, Grosvenor-square, where he sold cards. It was also proved that the prisoner occupied, privately, premises behind the house of Mr. Skelton, Green-street, Grosvenor-square. A body of evidence was then adduced, in order to shew that the prisoner had employed a stone seal engraver, of the name of Leadbeater, to execute aces of spades for him. Having prevailed on Leadbeater to learn the art of engraving on copper, the expence of which he was to pay. Mr. Woodthorpe, a respectable engraver, in Fetter-lane, was applied to, and he took Leadbeater under his tuition. The prisoner frequently called on him, and one day he shewed him an old plate of the spade ace, wnich he wished to be touched up. Leadbeater was unable to do the job, winch was delivered to Bunning, an apprentice, who was to put the name of Blanchard on the plate. Bunning was imposed on, for he was told that the plate was for Mr. Shepherd, at the Stamp Office.

Rivett, Millar, and Carpmeal, searched the premises occupied by the prisoner, at the back of Skelton’s house, where they found a quantity of counterfeit stamp aces, and a quantity of plates tor fabricating stamps, which were concealed under ground. In the counterfeit aces, in the word Dieu, in the motto, in the letter R. was substituted for the letter F.

Mr. Justice Heath addressed the Jury, and observed there could be no doubt in the case. The Jury found the prisoner guilty— Death.

A most excellent character, September, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000230/18050930/005/0002 Hampshire Chronicle - Monday 30 September 1805 Old Bailey, Sept. 21. Richard Harding was capitally indicted for forging and counterfeiting certain stamps, or Stamp-office marks, the ace of spades, on playing cards, and vending and uttering the same, knowing them to be forged and counterfeited, contrary to the statute of the 44th of the King.

This was trial of considerable interest, carried on at the prosecution of the Commissioners of Stamp Duties. The prisoner was card-maker, in a most eminent and respectable line of trade, and carried on his business at two different houses, licensed for the purpose, viz. Hereford-Street, Oxford-road, and Green-street, Grosvenor-square. The suspicions against the prisoner were excited in the Commissioners by the very small number of stamps he took out in proportion to the extensive line of business he carried on; consequence of which they employed persons to purchase different quantities of cards at his house, from the examination of which the forgeries were detected.

The prosecution was opened by Mr. Dampier, and the case stated by the Attorney-General; Mr. Garrow and Mr. Knapp were also for the prosecution, and Mr. Alley and Mr. Gurney for the prisoner.

The evidence adduced was nearly of the same nature with that brought forward against the persons who were some Sessions ago convicted of a similar offence. It was proved that the prisoner had the plates in his possession for stamping the card, and that he had been seen working upon them.

The prisoner adduced evidence to disprove any one of the charges, but a number of most respectable tradesmen from his own neighbourhood, who knew him for a series of years, gave him most excellent character.

The Jury, after a short consultation, found a verdict of Guilty——DEATH.

Trafficking to a degree exceeding all calculation, September, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001254/18050923/009/0003 Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser - Monday 23 September 1805

OLD BAILEY. Saturday 18 were tried at the Old Bailey, five whom were capitally convicted, viz. R. Harding, for counterfeiting the Ace of Spades, with intent to defraud the revenue. Our Readers must recollect that several persons hare already been tried for Vending playing cards, with forged duty aces, knowing them to be fraudulent and fabricated, and that one Blacklin is now under sentence of death for the same. It appeared in the course of the evidence in this case, that the prisoner, who was some time back a card-maker near Oxford-street, had procured several men to engrave the plates, and to embark in the unlawful practice, by the most deceitful representations, and through their means he had carried on a traffic to a degree exceeding all calculation. He procured and worked off the duty aces, which he sold to other dealers at a rate comparatively nothing with the Government duty, and yet he must have amassed great sums of money.

The report in Bell’s Weekly Messenger seems to have carried forward several errors that had appeared in the Morning Post of Monday, 23rd September, 1805, although it does introduce some nice colour to the story in the form of the sketch provided of Harding (“a genteel man, 35 years of age, … dressed in black, and full powdered”):

A genteel man, dressed in black, and full powdered, September, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001286/18050922/027/0007?browse=true Bell’s Weekly Messenger - Sunday 22 September 1805 On Friday 18 prisoners were tried, one of whom was capitally convicted. … Yesterday Richard Harding was capitally indicted for forging, fabricating, uttering, and publishing as true, a stamp the spade ace, with intent to defraud the revenue.

The Attorney General opened the case on the part of the prosecution, in a very long speech, in which he stated to the Jury the outline of the prisoner’s transactions. The first witness called was Mr. Hockley, the printer of the legal spade ace at the Stamp-Office. He had very frequently made purchases of packs of cards of the prisoner, as had also his apprentice, and the stamps on the aces of spades were all forges. These purchases, which were very numerous, took place in the month of June 1804. It appeared by the evidence adduced on the part of the prosecution, that the prisoner kept two shops, where these packs of cards were sold, the one in Hereford-street, Oxford-street, and the other in North-row, near Grosvenor-square. The prisoner’s apprentice deposed, that he saw his master making cards on one occasion, and observed him to paste labels on them, which he gave a gloss to by putting some liquid on them. Witness also proved that the prisoner occupied premises behind the house of Mr. Skelton, Green-street, Grosvenor square. A body of evidence was adduced to prove that the prisoner had employed a seal engraver of the name of Leadbeater to execute aces of spades for him. Leadbeater dined with the prisoner two years since, when he asked him if he could engrave on copper. On being answered the negative, the prisoner requested he would find some trusty artist in that branch. Leadbeater recommended a youth of the name of White, who, the prisoner was informed, could be depended on. Four duty aces were given to Leadbeater for White to imitate as closely possible, and if he was asked any questions, was to say they were for a foreigner at Hamburg. White, however, was timid, and all negociations With him was abandoned. In six or seven months after, the prisoner pressed on Leadbeater to learn the art of engraving copper, adding, that he would be at the expence of a master. Mr. Woodthorpe, a respectable engraver in Fetter-lane, waa applied to, and the witness was placed under his tuition. The prisoner’s visits to Leadbeater was very frequent, and one day he showed him an old plate of the spade ace, which he wished to be touched up. Witness was unable to do the job, and an apprentice of the name of Bunning was employed, under the impression that the plate was for Mr. Shepherd of the Stamp Office. It was also proved, in evidence, that the prisoner had large dealings with Mr. Skelton for spirits, &c. for which he gave waste paper; that is, packs of cards, which Mr. S. sold at a profit. Rivett, Millar, and Carpmeal, searched the premises occupied by the prisoner, at tbe back of Mr. Skelton’s house. They found a quantity of forged stamps of the spade ace, and also a quantity of forged plates for fabricating the stamps, which were concealed under ground. In the counterfeit aces, in the word “Dieu”, in the motto, the letter R. was substituted for the letter E. Mr. Justice Heath addressed the Jury, and observed, there could doubt in the case. The Jury found the prisoner Guilty, Death. The prisoner is a genteel man, 35 years of age, and he was dressed in black, and full powdered!

A rather more comprehensive report of the trial was provided by the reporter from the General Evening Post:

A trial of considerable interest, September, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002593/18050924/007/0002 General Evening Post - Tuesday 24 September 1805

Old Bailey, Saturday, Sept. 21

Richard Harding was capitally indicted for forging and counterfeiting certain stamps, or Stamp Office marks, of the Ace of Spades, on playing cards, and vending and uttering the same knowng them to be forged and counterfeited, contrary to the statute of the 44th of the King.

This was a trial of considerable interest, carried on at the prosecution of the Commissioners of Stamp Duties. The prisoner was a cardmaker, in a most eminent and respectable line of trade, and carried on his business at two different houses, licensed for the purpose, viz. in Hereford-street, Oxford-road, and in Green0street, Grosvenor-square. The suspicions against the prisoner were excited in the Commissioners by the very small number of stamps he took out, in proportion to the extensive line of business he carried on; in consequence of which they employed persons to purchase different quantities of cards at his hiouse, from the examination of which the forgeries were detected.

The prosecution was opened by Mr, Dampier, and the case stated by the Attorney General; Mr. Garrow and Mr. Knapp qwere also for the prosecution; and Mr. Alley and Mr. Gurney for the prisoner.

John Hockey, an officer in the Stamp Office, whose peculiar business is to print the Ace of Spades for the card-duty department, deposed that he was sent, on the 14th of May last, by order of the Commissioners of Stamps, to purchase some cards of the prisoner, at his house, in Hereford-street. The prisoner was not at home, but he purchased six packs of a lad, hois servant, named Lepine. On the 16th, he went again, and bought six packs of the prisoner himself, and paid him 21s; he went again on the 24th, and puchased twleve packs, paying 41s.; he went again, on a subsequent day, and order five dozen to be sent to his house, No. 74, Edgeware-road, which were accordingly set, with a receipt for the purchase money; witness was not at home when they were brought. The several parcels were produced, and the witness identified them as purchased and marked by him at the time. Said, he had been thirteen years in his present department at the tamp Office, was well acquainted with the marks there were always impressed on the Ace of Spades; and said, he immediately knew those Aces on the cards he purchased at the prisoner’s to be forged, as one in particular had an error in the first word of the motto of the Royal Arms, being spelled Dier instead of Dieu.

Stephen Lepine deposed, that he was apprenticed with the prisoner 2 years, ending the 8th instant. He has seen the prisoner engaged in making cards and pasting wrappers, and when the cards were made up, witness has frequently seen the prisoner take something out of a bottle, and put it on the stamp of the wrapper, for the purpose, as he thought, of giving it a gloss. He has seen copper plates in the possession of the prisoner, and he remembers having delivered cards, in his master’s shop, to Mr. Hockey. He knew nothing more of the plates than having seen then in his possession. He knew a person named Leadbeater, whom he has seen with the prisoner, and who used to bring him plates for cards and bills of parcels. The prisoner carried on his business only in North-row, and Hereford-street, and no where else as the witness knew.

A witness, named Leadbeater, deposed, that he lodges at No. 65, Well-stree, Oxford-road, and is a stone seal engraver. has known the prisoner three years; remembers having dined with the prisoner at his house on a Sunday about two years since; after dinner the prisoner called him aside in another room, shut the door, and asked him if he could engrave on copper; witness said no, but he knew a young man who did, named White. The prisoner paused some time, and then asked if he could be depended upon? Witness answered he would endeavour to get done for him anything he wanted. Prisoner said he would call on him in a few days, which he did at the witness’s lodgings, in Greek-street, and brought with hime four copies of the Duty Ace of Spades, with the name of the seller cut off, and told him to take them to White and get them copied as close as he could, and if White should ask any questions, to say they were for a foreginer at Hamburgh. Witness carried them to White, and asked him if he would copy them; White said he would call and let him know next day: when he did see him, and White said, for God’s sake Leadbeater take care what you are about; adding, that he could engrave them, but he must give them into the hands of a Magistrate.— Witness then said, it was a cardmaker of his acquaintance that gave them to him, and afterwards went and told the prisoner what passed, and that White said it was a forgery. The prisoner answered it was no such thing, and desired witness to call on White again and tell him to do them, and any money he might ask he should have : but White said he would have nothing to do with them, but thought the witness knew who they were for. Saw White no more; nothing farther passed for six or seven months ; witness afterwards lodged at 42, Great Titchfield-street, whither the prisoner came to him and asked him if he thought he could do the cards himself; witness said NO, but that he thought he might soon learn with instructions; prisoner desired him to look out for and agree with some proper person to instruct him, and he would pay the expence ; and witness accordingly applied to Mr. Woodthorpe, an engraver in Fetter-lane, who agreed, for twenty guineas to instruct him. The prisoner frequently asked him, while under Mr. Woodthorpe’s instruction, how he came on ; and at one time asked him if he could not copy the Ace of Spades, as he was much distressed since the poor old Baronet, who used to do them for him the last sixteen years was dead. He afterwards brought the witness copper plate with 24 Aces of Spades and asked him if he could touch it up (a term used by the engravers for repairing a plate). Witness said he would try, and on the Sunday following went to dine with the prisoner, who after dinner brought him into a room with the plate, and locked the dour. Witness tried to touch it up, but could not. The prisoner came to him in a quarter of an hour. Witness remembers the numbers this plate were 1, 2, 6, 7. Prisoner came again to his lodgings, and asked him if he could engrave on brass, which he answered in the negative ; he brought a plate with him under his coat, with twenty Aces of Spades upon it, and told the witness to copy 14, 15, 19, 20, which witness said he would, and employed a young man named Bunning, an apprentice to Mr Woodthorpe, to do it ; gave the plate afterwards to the prisoner, who said it was very neatly done, and came shortly afterwards to have another done, but instead of the name of Harding, to put in that of Blanchard, and gave him an Exportation Ace to copy from; this done he came again, and ordered two more with the name Harding, and the duty on, observing, that if he worked too much on one plate, he should be found out. Witness remembers at the time when Harding and Lee were taken taken. The officers had been to his house, and the prisoner gave him instructions, if he was asked any questions, to say he knew nothing about the business. Witness was apprehended in June, and at that time there were two of the prisoner’s plates in his house, which the prisoner had brought to have some more printed.

Cross-examined by Mr. Gurney. Witnes said, he had told Bunning, who engraved those plates, that they were for Mr. Shepherd, Engraver to the Stamp Office: that he himself was taken up three times after his first examination, that he was a little afraid for his neck; acknowledged that the first and second accounts he gave to the Magistrates of the transaction were very different, and neither true, but said that he would abide by the last account he had given, as that was the truth. The others he acknowledged to be false, though all taken before the same Magistrate.

Christopher Bunning supported the testimony of the last witness, so far as concerned him.

Mr. Skelton a grocer, in Green-street, Grosvenour-square, deposed, that the prisoner was originally his shopman; about two years since he took from him a warehouse in his back-yard, of which the prisoner generally kept the key, but sometimes lieft it at his house. He had a copper-plate press in this room, and occupied it in printing Aces of Spades, at which the witness never saw him particularly employed but once, so as to see what he was printing. The prisoner himself frequently came there, sometimes twice a day, and often not for days together : he had frequently seen him at work there, with an apron before him, and flannel jacket on. He dealt with the witness for spirits and groceries, and used to give him other commodities in exchange, called waste paper; the commodity so called was playing cards, in perfect packs, made up in white paper, not sealed, charged to the witness 17s. 6d. per dozen packs, and sold again by him at a profit. He sometimes had four, five, or six dozen at a time. This traffic continued for some time before the prisoner had taken the witness’s back-premises. It was not the witness who kept the account current, but his wife, who died some time since—(here the witness burst into tears. His late wife was the unfortunate person who some weeks since put an end to her existence at a village some distance from town, under the tortures of mind she experienced on the subject of this business). His house was searched at the time the prisoner was taken, and an acconnt current between them in the handwriting of the prisoner, found there, which the prisoner the day before had brought and given him, and desired him to take care of it, but did not then explain his reasons. The officers searched also the back-house, and found the flannel jacket and other articles, all the prisoner’s property. The prisoner also brought him a large roll of papers in blue wrapper, and desired him to put it safe out of the way, and the witness took it to the lodging of his daughter, and placed it in her custody; she did not know what it contained. The officers came there a second time and found some copper plates, by digging in garden, near the privy ; they were placed there, as he supposes, by the prisoner, as he had told them they were. He acknowledged the officers dug for them his direction.

Edward Stone, a servant of the prisoner, said it was part of his business to cut aces of spades to perfect packs, once a month : they were twenty on a sheet ; he never saw any there with less. He fewer within the last six months befere the prisoner was apprehended than in the six months preceding. But he did not believe the supply of official aces could be meeting demand.

John Rivett, a Bow Street Officer, deposed, that he went with Carpmeal and Miller, on the 25th June, to Hereford-street, and apprehended the prisoner, his apprentice, and another servant of his. Nothing particular was found there; went to Leadbeater’s, and there found two copperplates of the ace of spades, and some paper, on the top of a rolling press. Went also to Skelton’s, and there found, in the room behind the yard, an iron fly press, two rowllers of a rolling-press, a flannel jacket, a. red-ink ball, and a marble slab; on searching the dust hole below, they found the remainder of the rolling-press, and the plates hid under ground in the garden ; in the back room there were three gross of packs of cads made up, but without the aces of spades. On the 9th of July they went again to Leadbeater’s, and found the plates, with aces of spades in the privy. In the house of Mr. Shingler they found, in a box with foul linen, a roll of papers containing impressions of the ace of spades.

An Officer of the Stamp Office proved that this parcel contained 3000 impressions of the ace of spades.

The Distributor of Stamps proved that the ace of spaces he delivers out to the card-makers are always twenty on a sheet ; and consequently no aces not so printed have been printed at the Stamp Office.

Here closed the evidence for the prosecution ; the prisoner adduced no evidence to disprove any one of the charges, but a number of most respectable tradesmen from his own neighbourhood, who knew him for a series of years gave him a most excellent character.

The Jury, after a short consultation, found a verdict Guilty, Death. —Aged 35.

The original court transcript is also available. It opens with a summary of the indictment (forging the official stamp on the Ace of Spades on the one hand, and selling counterfeited playing cards on the other) and a clarification that the offences are both capital ones. Despite operating two licensed shops for manufacturing playing cards, Harding also made use of a third property he kept secret from his servants for his unofficial business. Alerted to the large volumes of cards that Harding appeared to be selling compared to the number of duty aces he was purchasing, a Mr. Hockey, a printer of the ace of spades for the Stamp Office of thirteen years standing, was sent to purchase cards from Harding. He did so at a fair, duty paid price, but identified the stamps on the cards as forged, not least because one of the cards misprinted a letter R in place of a letter E. He made repeated visits, and each time came away with packs he identified as forged. He also received parcels of cards from Harding, delivered on one occasion by Harding’s apprentice, Vincent Jackson, whom under the instruction of Harding, left a receipt under a false name. The decision was taken to apprehend Harding and seize his stock, but when his premises were raided, all the stock was found to be legitimate, with not a forged stamp among them: he must have been tipped off. However, two other men were identified whom Harding had regular nefarious acquaintance with: Mr. Hugh Leadbetter, originally a stone-seal engraver, who had known Harding for about three years, and who appears to have given several different accounts of what had happened each time the Magistrates questioned him; and Mr. Skelton.

In the legitimate manufacture of cards, twenty aces per sheet were printed by the Stamp Office, numbered 1 to 20, and each bearing the name of the dealer. However, Harding procured another plate bearing only 4 stamps, and with a typographical error in the spelling one of the words in the motto on the number 1 ace on the plate. One of Harding’s servants, Edwards Stone, was employed cutting official duty aces to size from sheets of 20 received from the Stamp Office a few times each month.

As well as the duty ace, the wrapper stamp was also forged, with another of Harding’s apprentices, Stephen Lepine, testifying to having seen Harding add a gloss to duty label before affixing them to the wrappers with a small brush and a board of paste.

Harding had originally asked Leadbetter if he could engrave copper plates, but that was outside Leadbetter’s ken. However, he passed on the name of another engraver, White, who had know since being an apprentice. A few weeks later, Harding gave Leadbetter four dury aces with the printer’s name cut off, and asked if he could get to White to copy them, using the excuse it was for a foreigner if challenged. White remonstrated with Leadbetter (“what do you think you’re doing? That’s forging”) but Harding said it was no such thing. He told Leadbetter to offer White whatever deal he wanted, but White would have nothing to do with it. Six or seven months later, Harding offered to pay for Leadbetter to be instructed in copper-plate engraving, which he did so under the tutelage of Mr Woodthorpe. After a while, Harding asked Leadbetter if he could touch up a plate of the four duty ace of spades, numbered one, two, six and seven, because the man who usually did it for him — the baronet — had died. At first, Leadbetter said he was not able to do it, but after a few more weeks under the guidance of Woodthorpe, he acceded when Harding asked again. But on trying to do the work, he found he could not. When asked if he could engrave on brass, he said he could not. Some time later again, Harding came with a sheet of twenty aces, and asked if Leadbettter could copy the fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, and twenty. But unable to do it himself, Leadbetter, pretending to be a drunk engraver working for the Stamp Office who couldn’t do the work required of him, persuaded another engraver, Bunning, a writing engraver, to do the work, ostensibly for Mr. Shephard of the Stamp-Office. When Binning said he wasn’t sure he could do the work, Leadbetter sweetened the deal by saying he would also teach him music in return. When Leadbetter gave the finished plate to Harding, Harding admired the quality of it. A short while later, Harding requested another plate, this time in the name of Blanchard, of exportation aces; then one or two more in the name of Harding, without exportation licence, and Blanchard, with.

Around the time of the Blacklin prosecution, it seems that Harding was under suspicion and his house had been searched. In distress, he had turned up at Leadbetter’s asking him to bury the plates somewhere and for Leadbetter to deny their existence if asked about them. Leadbetter was also given paper to look after for Harding.

Mr Skelton, a grocer, had known Harding even longer that Leadbetter had, thirteen years or so, Harding originally being Skelton’s shopman before taking up card-making. Skelton had started renting him a room a couple of years previously, a property that Harding’s other servants were unaware he operated from. Skelton also traded Harding rum, brandy, spirits, and grocery on account in exchange for waste paper in the form of packs of cards at a discounted priced (no more than a shilling and a half per pack); his wife had kept track of the account, and paid dearly for it through her shame. On only one occasion had Skelton seen Harding using a press to print aces there, although Harding was frequently there for half an hour to an hour. When presented with an account book recording the transactions between them,. Skelton was unable to confirm whether the handwriting was Harding’s.

The night before Harding’s, Leadbetter’s and Skelton’s premises were raided by John Rivett, Carpmeal and Miller, Harding asked Skelton to look after a roll of papers; not knowing what to do with it, he gave it to his (Skelton’s) daiughter, Mrs. Cecilia Shinglear, who stored it “safely” in a box of dirty linen. In the raid, three thousand or so aces were found in the premises Skelton rented to Harding. Skelton also showed Rivett where a couple of plates were buried in the ground, but appeared to be unaware of a couple of plates hidden in the privy.

The Trial of Richard Harding, 18 September, 1805

Trial proceedings: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18050918-62

RICHARD HARDING, Deception ; forgery, 18th September 1805.

583. RICHARD HARDING was indicted for that he, on the 24th of May , feloniously did forge, counterfeit, and resemble, on the spotted side on one of the cards in a certain parcel of playing cards, the impression of a certain mark used and denoted on the spotted side of playing cards, with intention to defraud the duty charged on playing cards .

Second Count. For feloniously vending and selling, on the same day, certain playing cards, with counterfeit impressions of certain marks used and denoted upon playing cards, he at the time knowing the said marks to be counterfeited. And

Thirteen other Counts for like offence, only charging them in a different manner.

(The indictment was read by Mr. Dampier.)

Mr. Attorney General. - Gentlemen, This prosecution, we all understand, is against the prisoner for an offence which he has committed against the stamp laws, and the indictment charges him with having counterfeited the impression of stamps authorised by the Commissioners for the purpose of denoting the duty on playing cards; it charges him likewise of vending and selling cards with these counterfeited impressions, knowing it to be so done.

Gentlemen, The act under which the prisoner is prosecuted makes it a capital offence for either counterfeiting, vending, or selling cards with counterfeited stamps, the person so acting having a guilty knowledge thereof.

Gentlemen, Having stated these circumstances to you, I conceive I must do more, in order to apprise you of the serious and important business in which we are now engaged. The prisoner at the bar is a licensed card-maker, having two licensed shops, the one situated in Hereford-street, Oxford-street, and the other in North-row, Grosvenor-square; I shall shew you that in these two places he carried on the manufacturing and selling of playing cards. There was another place the prisoner had, which was even unknown even to the servants that were employed in either of these manufactories, in which almost all the infamous part was transacted by the prisoner himself alone.

Gentlemen, The extensive manner in which he carried on this business, compared with the small demand he made at the Stamp office for stamps to have legally carried it on, was one of the first circumstances that appeared against the prisoner, and that a fraudulent fabrication were made and vended, to a large extent, in lieu of the legal one, there was not the least doubt. And in consequence of this, and likewise from some other circumstances, it came sufficiently to the knowledge of the persons employed at the Stamp-office that there must be some illegal practice carried on. It was thought expedient to employ one Hockey, who is the printer of the legal ace of spades at the Stamp-office, in order to see if they could detect him in the improper practice he was carrying on, and this employment of Mr. Hockey has led to the discovery for which the prisoner is now brought here. It was in the month of May, I think the 14th, that Mr. Hockey made the first purchase; he called at his house, and asked for six packs of playing cards, Mr. Harding was not at home, but a servant furnished him with the six packs of playing cards; the charge that was made for them was about a guinea, nothing at all under what would be the trade price bought at a regular manufactory; Mr. Hockey having purchased these six packs of cards, he found that they contained all the marks and impressions of forged stamps, and he was satisfied in his own mind that they were undoubtedly forged. He was not contented with making this purchase, he went on the 16th, and purchased six packs more; Mr. Harding then was at home, and served him himself. On the 21st he made another purchase, when the same servant furnished him with six packs more, and on the 24th of May he purchased a dozen packs; the cards in this dozen were furnished him by the prisoner himself. On the 27th, he went again to the shop, and ordered five dozen to be sent to No. 74, Edgware-road; these cards were sent accordingly, and the person that carried them will be called; he will tell you (he was in the habit of giving receipts not in his master’s name;) he asked his master in what name he should give the receipt, his master told him to give the receipt in any name he pleased; he was instructed where to carry them, and he gave the receipt in the name of Bates. When he returned he told his master, and his master was very well satisfied with it.

Gentlemen, This circumstance was in order to prevent the easy communication of tracing back these packs of cards; for all these and every one of those different packs of cards which were purchased on those specific days, in the month of May, contained the forged impressions of these counterfeited stamps, and the prosecution against the prisoner was supposed to be complete by these various instances of selling these counterfeited impressions. In consequence of that, it was thought fit to apprehend him, and to make a seizure from which information might be collected from the circumstances of the manner in which it was carried on. He was apprehended, and several of his servants were likewise laid hold of at the time; and from this remarkable circumstance it is evident that the prisoner must have become acquainted previously, that there was that suspicion ripened against him, that it was likely that he should be the subject of apprehension; for upon the seizure of the stock there was not one single forged impression found, although down to the twenty-fourth of May he had, wherever the sale had been made, sold cards with these counterfeited impressions; they were all removed before the apprehension and seizure; that unquestionably by some means or other the prisoner must have been apprised thereof. After the apprehension of the prisoner, the persons that assisted him in carrying on this nefarious business, who were taken at the same time, became the subjects of examination, and the connection and acquaintance of the prisoner were discovered; and that a person of the name of Leadbetter was the engraver that was employed by the prisoner, and a person of the name of Skelton was one that had considerable dealings with him; that they were frequently employed in carrying cards to Mr. Skelton, who lived somewhere near Grosvenor-square. I shall shew to you the manner in which the prisoner at the bar first seduced Leadbetter, and the manner in which Leadbetter seduced Bunning - I can hardly say seduced, employed Bunning. That the prisoner at the bar actually paid for Leadbetter’s instruction in the art of engraving on copper-plates, he being a stone seal-engraver; and after the prisoner had actually paid for the instruction of Leadbetter, he was anxious to know whether he could execute a plate for him. Leadbetter attempted not only to touch up a plate, but also to engrave others for him; but in consequence of his not being able to do it for him, he was desirous of getting it done for him; he employed a man of the name of Bunning, who was himself an engraver in this line. Leadbetter led him to believe that he was acquainted with a drunken engraver who worked for the Stamp-office, who would lose his business if he did not get some able hand to do them for him. These are the outlines of the case, in which, if the facts are brought home to him, I am sure you will not entertain a doubt of the propriety of the prosecution against the prisoner, Mr. Harding.

Gentlemen, I shall first state to you what it is we have to prove against him; I shall then state what is necessary to prove against the prisoner by the detail already applied to the facts. The first thing to be proved against him is vending these articles, knowing them to be counterfeited - for vending these packs of cards with the counterfeited impressions of the stamps, he knowing them to be counterfeited, rather than the actual counterfeiting of the impressions of that stamp. I shall shew to you that at the early stage of the business evident proof of his having vended these articles in considerable quantities to a person of the name of Hockey, and that Hockey will shew to you, beyond all possibility of a doubt, that he sold these cards with the counterfeited impressions on them; and to establish that fact, that he knew they were counterfeited, I shall here state the manner in which the duty stamps are carried on at the Stamp-office. This will of itself make it next to impossibility that any trader carrying on the business as this man did, could possibly sell or vend cards without knowing they were false. The duty on playing cards is upon the whole two shillings and sixpence; there is a duty of sixpence on the wrapper; and with respect to the ace of spades particularly, the Office makes a plate for every dealer, and upon that plate for every dealer they put the dealer’s name. Every dealer, therefore, must know, that in order to get a legal ace of spades, he must have the ace of spades that is furnished by the Stamp-office themselves; he cannot get it from any other quarter. If any dealer is furnished with any other ace of spades, he must know that they were forged; for on looking upon the legal impression of the duty ace, there is charged sixpence upon the top, and sixpence on each side, and then there is the name of Harding, or of the dealer, that is, the card-maker, at the bottom; and any card-maker getting it from any other quarter, must know that he has got a false impression.

Gentlemen, This case will by no means rest here; but I shall shew to you the actual employment of the prisoner, and who it was that made the fabricated plate. I shall shew you by one of his servants that he had a plate in his possession of the ace of spades, and that he saw him polish the impression that is made on the label fabricated stamp, to give it that gloss which the legal stamp does, in order to meet the eye, and to be less liable of detection. You will find from his servants that, for several weeks before the time that he was apprehended, he had taken upon himself entirely the whole management of that part of the business which consisted of making the aces of spades. The legal aces of spades have twenty impressions upon a sheet of paper of a large size at the Stamp-office; they are cut in shape, and put on one side of the cards by the card-maker; they are progressively numbered from one to twenty. The plate that the prisoner procured to be fabricated, only contained four of these impressions, and when you come to examine the particulars of the plate, you will find that some of them are not correct with the original of which they were intended; for I think they have got an R instead of the E in the word Dieu. In this instance it points out, beyond all possibility of a doubt, that it is a forgery.

Gentlemen, You will find that he kept this part of the business to himself for six months before he was apprehended; that he cut these out, and pasted them on the cards; that he delivered the aces of spades, which were to be included in these packs, himself; and I apprehend from this circumstance of Leadbetter being actually employed and engaged by the prisoner to acquire that knowledge by which he was to fabricate the legal stamps, will make it beyond all doubt that he knew they were forged. I have pointed out these other circumstances, independent of the proof of Leadbetter, and particularly independent of the proof which will be given on the part of Skelton, because both Leadbetter and Skelton will come before you as men who are more or less implicated in the guilt of the prisoner himself. With respect to Leadbetter, there is no doubt but he must know what these stamps were; and with respect to Skelton, there can be but little doubt, if any, but that he must have known the iniquitous purpose of these stamps. He will tell you that he knew the prisoner many years; that he let him part of his premises in a back yard behind his house, and that in these premises the prisoner carried on this nefarious business; he had often seen him, and often heard him make use of the instrument for forging these stamps. I say I will desire the keeping the case, as much as I can, without the assistance of these accomplices, because I think, without their assistance, there would be very near, if not quite, sufficient to prove the case against the prisoner. At Mr. Skelton’s, and at the house of a person of the name of Shinglear, were found not less than two thousand aces that had been made by Harding, the prisoner, he having removed them from his premises the very night before his apprehension to elude every means of indicating the forged business being carried on by him.

Gentlemen, Some of the plates were found in the garden at Skelton’s, and two were found in the possession of Leadbetter, to whom they had been returned by Harding, for the purpose of his secreting them. You will find that there is abundant proof against the prisoner at the bar, even if you were to put out the evidence of Skelton, or of Leadbetter, they being persons that were accomplices. You will be directed to give a very anxious attention to their evidence, and to be watchful whether their evidence is confirmed, and if it is confirmed, you may give the same reliance to that as to any other evidence. In this case you will give attention to the whole of it - how far the evidence supports the facts, and how far upon the whole these facts make out the case of guilt against the prisoner. In my mind it seems to be a case in which there will not be a possibility of a doubt, but it will be for you to determine.

JOHN HOCKEY sworn. - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. What are you? - A. I am printer of the ace of spades at the Stamp-office.

Q. Did you at any time, in consequence of any information, apply to the prisoner for the purpose of purchasing cards? - A. Yes, on the 14th of May.

Q. Where did you apply for them? - A. In Hereford-street, Oxford-street.

Q. Did you see the prisoner himself on the first application, or from whom did you receive these cards? - A. I received them from a lad, a person of the name of Field.

Q. What quantity did you purchase of the person of the name of Field? - A. Six packs.

Q. When did you apply again? - A. On the sixteenth.

Q. Did you see the prisoner then? - A. Yes, I did.

Q. What dealings had you with him on the sixteenth? - A. I bought of him six packs, and paid him one pound one shilling; I applied to him again on the 21st.

Q. Did you then see the prisoner himself? - A. No, I did not.

Q. When did you see the prisoner again? - A. On the 24th; I purchased twelve packs then.

Q. What quantity did you purchase before? - A. Twelve packs; I paid him forty-one shillings.

Q. Had you any further dealings with him? - A. Not with him, I ordered some others afterwards; I directed five dozen to be sent to No. 7 Edgware-road.

Q. Were they sent there? - A. They were sent there on the 30th of May.

Q. Do you know the person that brought them? - A. Yes, I have been told of the person that brought them.

Q. Was that a person of the name of Jackson? - A. Yes.

Q. Were you at home when they were brought? - A. No, I was not; I ordered them to be sent there, and they were sent; I paid ten pounds five shillings for them.

Q. Now look at these several parcels, and tell me which are the parcels that were sent? - A. These are the first parcels that I purchased there, and which I bought of the lad on the 14th of May.

Q. That in your hand now is the second purchase? - A. Yes, these were purchased on the 16th; these I bought of Mr. Harding himself.

Q. Look at these two parcels, and tell me whether these are the two parcels that you purchased of the prisoner on the 24th? - A. Yes, they are.

Q. You marked them yourself so as to be able to swear positively to them? - A. I did.

Q. As you are the printer of the legal ace of spades that are distributed by the Stamp Office to the different card-makers, I take it for granted you are acquainted with them? - A. I have seen a great many.

Q. Will you open one of these packs, and tell me, according to the best of your judgment, what you believe them to be? How many years have you printed them? - A. Thirteen years.

Q. I take it for granted you inspect them, to see if they are fit for circulation? - A. Yes, I look at them.

Q. Looking at that accurately, do you believe that to be printed from the legal Stamp Office press? - A. I do not believe it to be printed from the Stamp Office press, because it has a wrong letter, there is an R instead of an E, in the motto, in number one.

Cross-examined by Mr. Const. Q. These packs that you speak of, the 24th, you received at the prisoner’s house, not from him? - A. Yes, I received them from him, these that I am now speaking of.

VINCENT JACKSON sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner at the bar? - A. I am.

Q. Were you acquainted with him in May last? - A. Yes.

Q. Where did you lodge at that time? - A. I lodged in North-row.

Q. Were you acquainted with him at that time intimately or not? - A. Very intimately.

Q. Do you remember, in the month of May, carrying any cards to Edgware-road? - A. I do.

Q. What day of the month was it? - A. I cannot recollect.

Q. Was it in the beginning, middle, or end? - A. Between the 20th and 30th.

Q. What did you carry from Mr. Harding, the prisoner, to Edgware-road? - A. A parcel, which I believe were cards.

Q. How were they wrapped up at that time? - A. In brown paper.

Q. Did you leave the parcel in the Edgware-road in the same condition as you took it from Mr. Harding’s shop? - A. Exactly.

Q. When you came to Edgware-road, to whom did you deliver it? - A. To a female; I had previously a receipt from Mr. Harding for five dozen of packs.

Q. That is the receipt that Mr. Hockey had in his hand, you wrote it by the desire of Mr. Harding - what name did he desire you to write? - A. A fictitious one.

Q. Why a fictitious one? - A. Because Mr. Harding ordered me.

Q. What is the name? - A. B. A. Bates.

Q. That is the receipt you left with the parcel from Mr. Harding’s? - A. Yes. (Looking at it.)

Q.(To Mr. Hockey.) Is that the receipt you found with the parcel? - A. It is. (The receipt read in Court.)

“30th May, 1805. - Received of Mr. Hockey the sum of ten pounds five shillings, for goods delivered.
(Signed)
“B. A. BATES.”

STEPHEN LEPINE sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knapp. Q. You were apprentice to the prisoner, Mr. Harding? - A. Yes.

Q. How long have you been his apprentice? - A. Two years the 8th of this month.

Q. Where did Mr. Harding live? - A. No. 2, in Hereford-street, Oxford-street.

Q. He was a card-maker there? - A. Yes.

Q. He carried on business as a card-maker there? - A, Yes.

Q. Have you seen him engaged in making of cards, or pasting the wrappers? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you see him in the act of pasting the wrappers? - A. In pasting the labels on the wrappers I have.

Q. How did he put the paste on the labels? - A. With a little brush and a little board with the paste.

Q. What did he do with it after he put the paste on it? - A. He dryed it.

Q. What else? - A. Nothing else as I saw him do.

Q. Did he do any thing with the stamp or the label? - A. Not after they were sealed; before they were sealed I saw him putting something out of a bottle on the other side on the stamp.

Q. For what purpose was that done? - A. To give it a gloss.

Q. Did you ever see any plates in the possession of Mr. Harding? - A. Yes, one plate, I saw nothing more.

Q. You saw a copper-plate in his possession? - A. Yes.

Q. Do you remember delivering some cards to Jackson by Harding’s direction; six packs of cards, and he selling them to Mr. Hockey; when was that? - A. I cannot tell exactly.

Q. In May, was it not? - A. Yes, I believe it was.

Q. Do you know any thing more of the plate than seeing it in Mr. Harding’s possession? - A. No.

Q. Do you know Leadbetter? - A. Yes.

Q. Was Leadbetter frequently with your master? - A. Not very frequently.

Q. Do you know whether he was employed by your master as an engraver? - A. Yes, to engrave card-plates and bills of parcels.

Q. Do you know any other place in which Mr. Harding carried on his business of card-making, except Hereford-street, and North-row.? - A. No.

Q. Did you hear of any other place that he carried on the business of card-making? - A. No, not till after his apprehension.

HUGH LEADBETTER sworn. - Examined by Mr. Dampier. Q. Where do you live? - A. At No. 65, in Wells-street, Oxford-street.

Q. What are you by trade? - A. A stone seal engraver.

Q. Do you know Mr. Harding? - A. Yes.

Q. How long have you known him? - A. About three years.

Q. Do you remember at one time dining with him on Sunday? - A. Yes.

Court. Q. How long ago was that? - A. Near two years; I cannot exactly say.

Mr. Dampier. Q. After dinner did any thing pass between you? - A. Some little time after dinner he called me on one side and said, I shall be glad to speak to you; and after that I went up stairs with him, and he said, Leadbetter, can you, or do you engrave on copper: I said, no, I could not, it was quite out of my profession; I replied that I knew a young man of the name of White, who was an engraver in that line, and I supposed he would do what he wanted to get done; Mr. Harding paused a little time, and he returned back and said, White you have mentioned, do you think this White can be depended on; or can I, or may I depend on you: To that reply I told him, I would do my endeavour to get what he might want done.

Q. Did he tell you what? - A. No; I told him I had known White from a lad, even from an apprentice.

Q. What Did Mr. Harding say upon that? - A. He said he would call upon me in the course of the next week; then he went away.

Q. How soon afterwards was it that you saw Mr. Harding? - A. About three weeks.

Q. Where was that? - A. He came to my lodgings, which were, at that time, No. 3, Greek-street.

Q. Had he any thing with him when he came? - A. He brought with him four duty aces of spades with the name of Harding cut off.

Q. You can only tell a name was cut off; what did he say to you? - A. He told me to take that to Mr. White and tell him to copy it as close as he could, and if he should ask any questions, to tell him it was for a foreigner at Hambro’; he then went away.

Q. Did you carry these to White? - A. Yes, I did.

Q. Did any conversation pass between you and White? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you tell him what passed between you and White? - A. Yes, I had some difficulty to find him; I met him in Long-acre, and he took me into some shops; I asked him to call at my lodgings, which he did; I asked him to engrave me a plate and to call on me to-morrow; when he came, he said, Leadbetter, for God’s sake, do you know what you are doing of? I told him I did not; he then said, he could engrave these aces, but if he did, he must give them into the hands of a Magistrate, for he had asked a question of his friend, who was a card-maker, and he told him that.

Q. How soon afterwards did you see Harding? - A. The next day he came to me.

Q. Now then at that time did you inform Harding of what you have told us, of what White said to you? - A. Yes.

Q. What did Harding say to that? - A. He still persisted it was no such thing; I told him that White told me it was a forgery; he insisted it was no such thing, he said he was a poor fool, and knew no better.

Q. What further did he say? - A. He told me to go to White again, and to tell him that no harm should come to him if he would do it, and more than that, whatever money he wanted or asked he should have, and that he should have the money first.

Q. Did you see White afterwards, to inform him of that? - A. I did.

Q. Would White do them? - A. He told me that he would have nothing to do in it, for he thought that I knew who they were for.

Q. After that, I believe, you never saw White? - A. No.

Q. Did you see Harding soon afterwards? - A. Yes.

Q. Did he come to you, or did you go to him? - A. I think I went and told him what White had said.

Q. What did he say to that? - A. There was nothing more passed after that; he never took any more notice about engraving for six or seven months.

Q. I think you lodged, then, in Greek-street? - A. Yes.

Q. After that you lodged in Titchfield-street, No. 42? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you there see Mr. Harding? - A. Yes, about six or seven months after the time I was speaking of, he came to my lodgings in Titchfield-street, he asked me and said, do you think in your own mind, you could learn to engrave on copper: I then told him I did not know, but I thought I might; upon which he said, if you will get some one to instruct you, I will pay for your instruction: upon which I applied to several people, and I was recommended to Mr. Woodthorpe, in Fetter-lane, to whom I went; he told me to call again on the next day, when I went to him, and he would give me an answer; he did afterwards do it.

Q. Did he undertake to instruct you afterwards? - A. He did.

Q. For what sum was he to instruct you? - A. For twenty pounds or guineas, I think guineas.

Q. Who paid that money? - A. Mr. Harding, he furnished me with that money to pay Mr. Woodthorpe.

Q. After you had been with Mr. Woodthorpe a competent time, did he come to you to see how you improved? - A. He asked me if I had practised enough to touch up a plate for him; I then asked him what that plate was; he told me it was a plate of the aces of spades; and he said that the poor old man - the poor old Baronet that did it for him was dead.

Q. Did you endeavour to do it? - A. I told him I could not.

Q. After that did he come to you again? - A. Yes.

Q. How long afterwards was it, a week or a month? - A. It might be a month.

Q. Did he come to you again? - A. He came to me again, and asked me how I came on with Woodthorpe; I told him very well.

Q. Did he then shew you any thing? - A. Yes.

Q. What was it? - A. He came and shewed me a plate of four duty aces of spades.

Q. What did he say he wanted to be done with it? - A. He said he wanted it to be touched up;and then we walked to the other end of the room, and said, had I better touch it up here, or come to his house to do it; I told him to do as he pleased; he then said, come to my house; I went and dined there, it was on a Sunday, and after dinner he shut me into a room, and gave me some gravers, and told me to do the best I could with them.

Q. How did he shut you in the room? - A. He locked the door; I tried to do it, but finding I could not do it, I left off; he came into the room about the dusk of the evening, he said, Leadbetter, what have you done? I told him I had done a little, I did not know whether it would do or no; with that he said, never mind it now, I will try to do it myself.

Q. Do you recollect at all what the number were? - A. To the best of my knowledge it was one, two, six, and seven.

Q. Did you see him afterwards? - A. Yes.

Q. Was it at your lodgings that he came again? - A. Yes, he came to my lodgings.

Q. Did he ask you any further questions? - A. He said, he did not mind telling me what he wanted.

Q. What did he want? - A. He asked me if I could engrave on brass with my own machine; I told him, I could not.

Mr. Dampier. The witness is a stone engraver.

Q. He asked you if you could engrave on brass? - A. I told him I could not, my tools were made of the softest iron I could get.

Q. Did he afterwards ask you of your progress with Mr. Woodthorpe? - A. He came again, and asked me how I came on with Mr. Woodthorpe; I told him as before, very well. He brought me a plate under his coat, and gave me a sheet of aces of spades.

Q. Containing the number of twenty? - A. Yes.

Q. Such a one as this? - A. Yes.

Q. What did he say to you? - A. He told me that he would be glad if I would copy fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, and twenty, and do them as close as possible I could, he was so distressed he did not know what to do; I then told him I would. Finding I was not capable of doing it, I employed a man of the name of Bunning.

Q. Did you communicate to Harding that you had employed Bunning? - A. No, I did not.

Q. Did you give Bunning the plate, and did Bunning do the plate? - A. He did.

Q. Did you give the plate so done by Bunning to Harding? - A. I did.

Q. When you gave it to him, what did he say to it? - A. He said it was not a proper thing to be done; Bunning said that.

Q. Now, when you gave the plate to Harding which Bunning had worked upon, did Harding make any observation upon it? - A. He looked at it, and said it was very neatly done.

Q. What did he do upon that - did he give you any other plate? - A. He came a very short time afterwards, and told me that he liked that plate very well that I had done, and he would be obliged to me to do another, and put the name of Blanchard in; he gave me an exportation ace, a sheet of the same size as one of them; I gave it to Bunning with his directions, and got it done.

Q. Did you give that to Harding? - A. I did.

Q. Some time after that did he come to you again? - A. Yes.

Q. What did he say to you? - A. He asked me if I had done the plates; I told him, yes; he said he would be obliged to me if I would do one or two more, with the name of Harding, duty aces not for exportation; I did two Blanchards, and then he came again for me to do a Harding, because he said he should be found out working on one number.

Q. Did you give that to Bunning? - A. I did.

Q. Was that done by Bunning? - A. Yes.

Q. And afterwards given by you to Harding? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you ever see him again with one of the Blanchard plates? - A. Yes, he came to me again to see if I would take out the palm-branch; the exportation aces are with palm-branches, and the duty aces are with leaves on them; I was to take out the palm-branch, and to put in the leaves; I was to make some alteration that they should not be exactly to pattern; it was taken out, but the alteration was not made, I had not time.

Q. Do you remember the bustle there was about Lee and Hardy? - A. Yes.

Q. About that time Blacklin was prosecuted, and Lee ran away? - A. Yes, he came to me, and said, for God sake, help me to bury the plates; for, said he, they have been searching my house; upon which I did.

Q. Did he give you any directions? - A. He told me to bury them; then he came again, and said, let me have them; he took the plates, and brought them again in the course of a day or two, and I buried them.

Q. Did he tell you what you were to do if you were asked about them? - A. Yes; he said if they came to me, and asked me any thing about it, to to say I knew nothing of any such thing.

Q. Do you remember the time you were apprehended? - A. I think it was the 25th of June.

Q. At that time were there any of these plates at your house? - A. Two.

Q. Who had brought them there? - A. Mr. Harding.

Q. What were they brought there for? - A. For me to bury them till he wanted them to print off.

Q. Was any paper brought? - A. Yes.

Q. Who was it brought by? - A. Himself.

Q. And these were in your house at the time you were taken into custody? - A. Yes.

Cross-examined by Mr. Gurney. Q. You were taken up on the 25th of June? - A. I was.

Q. And there were found in your house two forged plates? - A. Yes.

Q. And you had employed a lad of the name of Bunning to forge others to engrave them? - A. Yes.

Q. Had you ever told that poor lad, Bunning, that they were done for the Commissioners of the Stamps? - A. Yes, I told him they were for Mr. Shephard, that belongs to the Stamp-office.

Q. How many times were you examined yourself after you were taken up? - A. Three times, to the best of my knowledge.

Q. With some little apprehension to your neck, you knew you were in danger? - A. Certainly; I had not a little apprehension, I knew I was in danger if I was not admitted an evidence for the crown.

Q. That is true - pray how many different accounts have you given before you had given this to-day? - A. To the best of my knowledge there was one.

Q. Were there not three? - A. I cannot exactly say there were not three.

Q. Do you not remember, at the conclusion of your last examination, your saying that the account you then gave you would stick by, and that your former accounts were not true? - A. I cannot understand you.

Q. Do not you remember being asked, upon the conclusion of the last account that you gave, whether the account of that day was true, or the account of former examinations - you said, the account I give to-day is true, and the former accounts are not; the former accounts were destroyed because they were false? - A. They were false in parts.

Q. Then you have given three different accounts - have you given three different accounts or two? - A. There were two.

Q. And given before the same Magistrate? - A. Yes.

Mr. Dampier. Q. These are the plates and the paper that were delivered to you by Mr. Harding? - A. Yes.

Mr. Dampier. One of them has the R instead of the E, on one of the plates is Diru instead of Dieu.

• BUNNING sworn. - Examined by Mr. Attorney General. Q. Are you acquainted with the last witness? - A. Yes.

Q. What business are you? - A. I am a writing engraver.

Q. Were you employed by the last witness to engrave any thing for him? - A. I was employed by him to engrave the aces and different things, such as card-plates, and to do his business such as he had to do.

Q. Look at that plate, and see whether that is one of the plates that you did for him? - A. Yes, that is one.

Q. How came you to be employed by him to do this? - A. He told me they were done for Mr. Shephard, the engraver, at the Stamp-office.

Q. You executed them for him? - A. Yes.

Q. And you delivered them when you had executed them to him? - A. Yes, these are the two that I did for him.

Q. Did you do some of the exportation aces? - A. I did, and some in the name of Blanchard, and some in the name of Harding.

Q. How many plates in the name of Blanchard? - A. I fancy there were two; there were more than two I did in the name of Harding.

Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. How long have you been acquainted with this man? - A. About November, he came to me at Mr. Woodthorpe’s.

Q. When he came to you did not he represent himself as one employed in the Stamp-office? - A. He said he was employed by a Mr. Shephard, who was the engraver employed by the Stamp-office.

Q. He asked you whether you could engrave what he wanted? - A. Yes.

Q. Telling you what it was, what answer did you give him? - A. I told him I did not think I was capable, it was entirely out of my line.

Q. In order to induce you to do so, did not he tell you he would give you something, and teach you music also? - A. Yes.

Q. When you told him you must tell your master, he said you must not do that, because the Stamp-office will find it out - he told you that he had great influence at the Stamp-office, there was no harm in what you were doing of, and he could do any thing for you? - A. Yes.

Q. I dare say you took it for granted you were doing nothing wrong, you were only doing it for the service of this man? - A. Yes.

JOHN SKELTON sworn. - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. I believe you are a grocer, living in Queen-street, Grosvenor-square? - A. Yes.

Q. How long have you known the prisoner at the bar, Mr. Harding? - A. I believe about thirteen years.

Q. Did he, at any time, apply to you for the use of any part of your premises? - A. He did.

Q. How long ago is that? - A. I cannot tell exactly the time, I think it is about two years ago.

Q. What part of your premises? - A. It was the back part of my own house in the court, but there is a way into it from my house; the house belongs to the court.

Q. However it is laid to your premises, and you let it to him? - A. Yes.

Q. Who used to keep the key of that room thatyou let him have? - A. Mr. Harding himself; sometimes he would leave it, but generally he had it.

Q. What use did he make of that room? - A. In doing of cards.

Q. What do you mean by doing of cards? - A. Printing of the aces.

Q. Have you seen him in the act of printing the aces? - A. Once I have.

Q. What apparatus was there in that place for the purpose of doing this? - A. A press.

Q. Any thing else? - A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. No? - A. There was an iron thing that I did not know the use of.

Q. Was it what they call a fly-press? - A. I never knew the name till they told me at Bow-street.

Q. It is an instrument with two arms? - A. Yes.

Q. How often did the prisoner resort to your premises to work in that room? - A. I cannot tell, because I was mostly out in the day-time about my business.

Q. As near as you can form a judgment? - A. Generally once or twice or so in a day, and some days not at all.

Q. When he came there, and you happened to be at home, did he usually work there? - A. He went into that room; I cannot say he was always at work.

Q. I ask you whether, when he was there and you at home, he was generally employed in something in that room? - A. I believe he was.

Q. How long did he continue at a time in that room? - A. Sometimes half an hour, and at other times an hour, but I cannot speak exactly.

Q. How did he come to your house with respect to his dress? - A. In the dress of a tradesman; sometimes very clean, and sometimes dirtier.

Q. Not in a working dress? - A. No.

Q. Was there any working dress in that room? - A. I think there was a flannel jacket, I cannot exactly recollect.

Q. At the time you saw him working, printing the aces of spades, what had he on? - A. He generally had an apron on.

Q. In his coat or jacket when you saw him? - A. Sometimes in his coat, and sometimes without it.

Q. Had you and he any dealing in trade together? - A. He used to have his goods of me - rum, brandy, spirits, and grocery.

Q. How were you paid by him? - A. They went on in account.

Q. Against waste paper - waste paper was the commodity that you were furnished with from him? - A. Yes.

Q. What was the shape and condition of the waste paper that you were furnished with from him? - A. Packs of cards.

Q. But the name of it was waste paper? - A. Yes.

Q. How long had been the nature of this dealing with him and you, you furnishing him with spirits and grocery, and receiving in return waste paper in the shape of packs of cards? - A. Ever since he took my room, and sometime before.

Q. Who kept the account between you? - A. I did not; I lost a wife upon this occasion. (Witness shedding tears.)

Q. Your wife is dead since your house was searched? - A. Yes.

Q. As that is a distressing subject we will drop it - The nature of your dealing had continued ever since and for sometime before he took your room? - A. Yes; I do not wish to say more or less than is true.

Q. Certainly not, nobody accuses you of it - How many packs of cards did you receive at a time? - A. According as I wanted, sometimes a dozen, sometimes five or six dozen.

Q. At what price per pack, or by the gross? - A. I forget; I think it was sometimes seventeen shillings and sixpence for a dozen packs of waste paper, and sometimes lower.

Q. Be so good as to look at this account, and tell me where that used to be kept? - A. At Mr. Harding’s; it is what he made out.

Q. The account was kept between your wife and him? - A. Yes, it was; I never saw the statement but that day they came to search my house; it was brought the day before.

Q. Who brought it to your house the day before? - A. Mr. Harding himself.

Q. Had you any conversation with him about it? - A. Nothing particular.

Q. What did he say when he brought it? - A. Take care of this.

Q. You never saw that before? - A. No.

Q. You are sure it is your wife’s reckoning? - A. She kept the account.

Q. You say he brought it the day before your house was searched? - A. Yes.

Q. And he desired you to take care of it? - A. Yes.

Q. It was in the same state then as it was when found by the officers? - A. It was.

Q. Are you acquainted with Mr. Harding’s hand-writing? - A. I cannot say particularly.

Q. Have you become acquainted with the usual mode of his hand-writing? - A. Yes; he wrote variable like all other men, sometimes better and sometimes worse.

Q. Did you become generally acquainted with his hand-writing? - A. Yes.

Q. Upon your oath whose hand-writing do you believe that to be? - A. I cannot say, I did not see it written.

Q. I did not ask you whether you saw it wrote,but whose writing you believe it to be in your conscience? - A. I cannot say.

Q. Whose hand-writing do you believe that to be? - A. I cannot swear to it.

Q. Do you mean to swear that you are not acquainted with any hand-writing of any person that so much resembles that? A It resembles very near his hand.

Q. Very near whose hand? - A. Mr. Harding’s.

Court. Q. Do you believe it to be his? - A. I cannot say, it resembles it.

Q. Do not talk of resemblance - suppose you had received a note of his hand-writing ordering goods, should you have so believed it to be his, that you would have executed his order, for instance - Mr. Skelton send to me two gallons of rum; should you have executed that order? - A. He never wrote to me, he generally came and ordered.

Q. Do you believe it to be his hand-writing? - A. I believe some of it is his.

Q. Point out some that you believe - now there is the name of R. Harding, shew me something particular that appears to be more like it than another? - A. I do not think that I can any where make out, excepting here.

Q. Be so good as to read to me that? - A.12th of March.

Q. What is that 12th? - A. I dare not say.

Q. Is that the debtor’s side - is that giving you credit, or giving him credit? - A. Giving me credit.

Q. Read the entry, or shew it me, and I will read it to you, and ask you what it means - March the 10th, goods twelve pounds; is that his handwriting? - A. That I cannot say.

Q. Is it goods furnished by you to him? - A. No.

Q. Is it goods sent into the country by you to his friends? - A. Yes.

Q. According to your best belief, whose handwriting are the various balances? - A. I really cannot tell.

Q. Whose do you believe them to be? - A. I cannot say.

Q.Have you no belief about it? - A. I have a belief that it is an account against me.

Q. Upon the first page whose writing do you believe the word Richard Harding to be, upon your oath? - A. I cannot say it is, nor I cannot say it is not.

Q. Whose do you believe it to be? - A. I cannot say.

Q. You have told us that you had pretty large dealings in this article of waste paper - in what manner did you receive it? - A. It was made up in packs, containing the whole fifty-two.

Q. Cards? - A. Yes.

Q. Were they made up in sealed wrappers like these? - A. Some were, and some were not

Q. How were the rest made up? - A. In white paper.

Q. All in separate packs? - A. All.

Q. And bought by you to sell again? - A. Yes.

Q. And by you sold again at a profit? - A. I did.

Q. When Mr. Harding gave you this book, and desired you to take care of it, did he give you any reason? - A. Not a word; he said, take care of that; I cannot tell whether he said it was the account of it.

Q. I had not asked you that, it was very proper of you to mention that - the very next day the officers came to your house to search you - that was the same day as they were searching his premises? - A. I think it was.

Q. Were you present when they searched your premises? - A. I certainly was.

Q. Did you see a flannel jacket found? - A. I have told you before.

Q. I did not ask you whether there was a flannel jacket; I ask you whether there was not a flannel jacket found? - A. Yes.

Q. Whose was it? - A. It was not mine; it laid down on the floor; I supposed it to be Mr. Harding’s.

Q. Did any body else use that room? - A. No.

Q. Is that the flannel jacket that he worked in? - A. I believe it was.

Q. Were these tools, the press, and the iron instrument that were found there, Mr. Harding’s? - A. They were.

Q. Did you see a large number of aces of spades in the room, amounting to about three thousand? - A. No.

Q. Do you know a person of the name of Cecilia Shinglear ? - A. She is my daughter.

Q. Did you at any time convey any articles to Mrs. Shinglear to take care of? - A. One night Mr. Harding brought me up a roll of paper; I took it, I did not know what it was.

Q. One night Mr. Harding brought you a roll wrapped round with paper, which you believe contained papers; you put it under your arm, and carried it to Mrs. Shinglear - you are sensible you had it from Mr. Harding? - A. I am sure of it.

Q. Do you know when that was delivered to you? - A. The day before my house was searched.

Q. What did Mr. Harding say to you when he gave it to you? - A. Mr. Harding said, take care of this paper.

Q. Why did you not take care of the roll of paper, and keep it at home as you did the other - how came you to carry it to Mrs. Shinglear? - A. I was desired to put it out of the way, I did not know what it was.

Q. Who desired you? - A. Mr. Harding himself desired me to put it out of the way.

Q. What did he say about putting it out of the way? - A. He desired me to put it out of the way, and to take care of it.

Q. Therefore you deposited it with your daughter? - A. I did, but she did not know what it was.

Q. When the officers came to your house, Mr. Skelton, did they dig any where - what did they take up when they came first? - A. Nothing; I do not recollect whether they did or no.

Q. Do not you recollect their finding some plates? - A. Yes, they found them near the necessary, under ground.

Q. Who directed them where to dig? - A. Myself.

Q. And near the necessary they dug and found these plates? - A. Yes.

Q. Who brought these plates? - A. Mr. Harding, I suppose: I can tell you that he told me they were there.

Q. Did you see any thing found in your dust-hole? - A. I do not know that ever they looked there.

Q. But they found some plates where you told them to dig? - A. Yes.

Q.Sometime after they found some things in your privy - did you know there was any thing in your privy before that search? - A. No, I never knew there was any thing there at all.

Q. Had any other person there any card-making business, excepting the prisoner Harding? - A. No, nobody.

Q. Had you ever done any thing relating to card-making? - A. No.

Cross-examined by Mr. Const. Q. You said you knew Mr. Harding some years - what situation was he in when you first knew him? - A. He was my shopman.

Q. You knew him sometime in that capacity? - A. Yes, he was at that time.

Q. And the time during he was your shopman did you deal in cards? - A. Yes.

Q. You dealt in cards before he was in business at all? - A. Yes.

Q. Afterwards he became a card-maker - you told the Counsel just now that these plates were found in your yard? - A. They were.

Q. Did you point out the place where they were? - A. I told the officers he found them; they were there.

Q. You knew where they were? - A. I was told by Mr. Harding.

Q. Of course it was from Mr. Harding’s information only? - A. Yes.

Q. That is from your credit; and all the utensils you were talking of were found in your premises? - A. Yes.

Q. You said that Mr. Harding kept the key of that place? - A. In general, I did not say always.

Q. I want to know if any other person was there? - A. No.

Q. When the officers went there, had he the key? - A. No, I had it; it hung up in my parlour; he left it there.

Q. Of course he left it. It was in your possession - I fancy that was not the only time it hung in your parlour? - A. Sometimes I asked him for the key, because I had goods in that room; I used to ask him for it, and he let me have it.

Q. I do not know whether I was correct in what I thought I heard you say: that once you saw him print an ace of spades - can you tell when that was? - A. I cannot tell, I think my memory to be very imperfect.

Q. Does your memory serve you to recollect what you swore at Bow-street upon that occasion? - A. I will tell you what it was: I said I never saw him print an ace of spades but once.

Q. That was read over to you? - A. I am certain of it.

Q. That you stated the first time you were examined? - A. I cannot recollect; any of the Gentlemen that examined me can state it to you; I cannot.

Q. You cannot recollect whether you gave that evidence the first time? - A. I think I did not; I recollect being asked, but I do not recollect what answer I gave the first time, I never took any minute of it.

Q. You have been in the habit of dealing in cards from the first time of his becoming a servant to you, down to the day of his being taken up? - A. Yes.

Q. Are you at liberty now, or in custody? - A. I am out on bail.

Mr. Garrow. We may as well give your Lordship the fact of this book, Harding on one side, and Skelton on the other; the charge against Skelton is of this nature: twenty new, one pound fifteen; twenty-eight only, old and new; and then waste, one dozen and sixteen and eight; upon the whole it appears to be one hundred and forty pounds; one hundred and eighty-six, with the exemptions of a few articles in cash; they all appear to be waste paper, up to the amount of between three and four hundred pounds.

EDWARD STONE sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. Q. Were you a servant of the prisoner Harding, the card-maker, in May last? - A. Yes.

Q. Now tell me first, whether for six months before May you did any thing with the aces of spades in your shop? - A. Yes, I cut a few duty aces about once a month.

Q. What sort of paper was it which you used to cut your duty aces from the Stamp-office, with twenty on a sheet? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you ever see any duty aces in your shop except the Stamp-office duty aces? - A. No.

Q. In May and April did you do any thing of that sort? - A. Before May.

Q. Did you ever work up any of the aces of spades for the last two months? - A. Yes, some few.

Q. How many packs of cards were generally worked up at his shop by the month or week, upon an average, in the year? - A. Five works a month; there are about five gross eight dozen in five works.

Court. Q. What time was it when you worked a few? - A. We generally cut a few once a month; I had cut some few the last two months.

Mr. Fielding. Q. Was that sufficient for the different packs of cards that were from his shop? - A. I do not know what works went from his shop.

Q. Would it do for the whole work? - A. No, it would not.

Q. Who worked up the other aces of spades that would do for the whole work? - A. I do not know.

Q. Did you happen to be there when the visitor of the Stamp-office visited the shop? - A. I was generally there.

Q. Did your master ever tell you any thing after they were gone? - A. Yes, once; and the work was taken from North-row to Hereford-street to be worked up, after the inspections of the proper officers.

Q. Who was the servant when you were there? - A.Jesse West.

Court. Q. Who was the officer that visited? A. Mr. Wolley, James Burton , and Edward - was another.

JESSE WEST sworn. Examined by Mr. Knapp Q. You are one of the servants of Mr. Harding? A. Yes.

Q. Do you know how many shops he had? - A. No others than two, in Hereford-street and North-row.

Q. Has Mr. Harding done as much business for six months before he was taken up, as he had done previous? - A. No.

Q. What quantity was done during the last six months? - A. I cannot say; I chiefly pasted blanks for that time, I may say three months in particular.

Q.Then you did not know of any other place used by Mr. Harding than these two places you have described? - A. No.

JANE BURTON sworn. - Examined by Mr. Dampier. Q. You worked with Mr. Harding for the last six months before he was taken up? - A. I worked for him two years.

Q. How many places had he? - A. Two, North-row and Hereford-street.

Q. You know nothing of any other place? - A. No.

Q. Who used to make the aces of spades and put them up in general? - A. I do not know.

Q. You do not? - A. No.

Q. What was your particular business? - A. I was employed in making blanks, and sometimes sorting of playing-cards.

Q. Had you any aces of spades in what you sorted? - A. I used to make them in packs all but the aces, and I carried them to Mr Harding.

JOHN RIVETT sworn. - Examined by Mr. Attorney General. Q. Do you recollect going to the prisoner’s house? - A. On the 25th of June, I went with Carpmeal and Miller to Hereford-street. Mr. Harding was in the shop when I went in; I apprehended him; I made a search in his house at that time; I found a large quantity of cards, and all of them with good stamps; they were all good aces of spades found there.

Q. Did you apprehend any others? - A. The last witness was there and the apprentice; we went to Leadbetter’s and found in the kitchen, upon the top of his rolling-press, these two plates in paper, done up in this way. (Witness describing the manner.)

Q. Did you go to Skelton’s house? - A. We did, on the same day.

Q. Was Skelton at home? - A. He was.

Q. What part of the premises did you search? - A. I searched the room at the bottom of the yard.

Q. What were the articles that you found there in that room? - A. There were two rollers; it had the appearance of a press being taken down.

Q. Were there any other articles there? - A. There was an iron fly-press that was in the room, and a flannel working jacket, and some flannel, likewise a printing-ball; the flannel has the appearance of red ink, and shews that some work has been carried on, by the red appearance; here is the marble slab it has been worked upon, the rolling-press was compleat; at a distant place we found the remainder of the press which had been taken down.

Q. Then both in the room and the other place you found a compleat press? - A. We did: on the 27th we went to Mr. Skelton’s, and at the bottom of the yard, about a foot under the earth, we found these other plates.

Q. What are they the plates of? - A. They are four plates of aces of spades; in the room there were cards packed up, a large quantity; I saw no aces of spades in those I looked at; I looked in one, and some loose cards were in the room; on the 9th of July I went to Skelton’s and made a subsequent search, and in the privy we found these four other plates; they are aces of spades.

Q. Was Skelton on the premises when they were found? - A. At the first time he was.

Q. Did you, in consequence of what you heardfrom Skelton, search another place? - A. I went to Mr. Senor’s house in King-street, Grosvenor-square; I found, in the back-room, which was occupied by Mr. Shinglear, this parcel.

Court. Q. Is it a roll? - A. Yes.

Q. Was there any wrappers to it? - A. Yes, it was done up in this blue paper.

Q. What were they? - A. A quantity of aces of spades; these are all aces of spades.

Q. Do you know the number of them? - A. I do not.

Q. Was the door fastened? - A. No. it was not when I went in.

THOMAS CARPMEAL sworn. - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. Did you accompany Rivett on this search? - A. I did not go to Shinglear’s, I went to Harding’s and Skelton’s.

Q. Did you attend to the account that he has stated; has he stated it correct? - A. Yes, he has.

JOHN MILLER sworn. - Q. Did you accompany Rivett on this search; has he stated it correct? - A. Yes, he has.

CECILIA SHINGLEAR sworn. - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. Are you the daughter of Mr. Skelton? - A. Yes.

Q. Did he at any time deliver any thing to you with any directions? - A. Yes.

Q. How long before the officers found it at your house? - A. The night before the officers searched my house.

Q. They have produced a parcel that appears to be a number of aces of spades wrapped up in dark blue paper - Is that the paper you received from your father? - A. I do not know what it was; I put them in a box.

Q. With what? - A. The box contained foul linen.

Q. Did you open the parcel before you put it in? - A. No, I put it in exactly as I received it from my father; it was exactly in the same state when the officers found it.

Q. Did you put it in the box of foul linen wrapped up in blue paper? - A. I did.

JAMES CHETHAM sworn. - Examined by Mr. Dampier. Q. Have you counted these aces of spades? - A. They were counted in my presence, and there were more than two thousand found.

THOMAS LINDLEY sworn. - Examined by Mr. Dampier. Q. I believe you are supervisor of the stamps? - A. Yes.

Q. Have you any book wherein the dies of the wrappers of the cards are directed before the forty-fourth, the last Act in operation? - A. Yes.

Q. I believe, also, that before that time, with respect to the duty aces of spades, orders were given that they should be circulated as before, and printed as before? - A. Yes.

Mr Gurney. Q. Was this order in writing? - A. No.

Q. You received these orders from the Commissioners, and they were verbal? - A. Yes.

NATHANAEL MERCHANT sworn - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. You are the engraver employed by the Commissioners of the Stamp-office? - A. I am.

Q. Have you examined a certain quantity of duty aces that have been produced to you? - A. I have examined them.

Q. We will shew you one or two that were purchased by Hockey, the first purchase of the prisoner, and on the 24th; looking at that ace of spades, are you able to say whether that is or not the stamp authorised by the Commissioners, or whether it is a forgery? - A. It is certainly a forgery.

Q. Is there any particular circumstance that makes it out of all possible doubt? - A. The letter R is imposed where the letter E ought to be.

Q. That where the letter R is cannot be printed from one of the plates of the Stamp Office? - A. No, it cannot be.

Q. Have you looked over all the aces of that bundle sold on the 24th? - A. They are all a forgery.

Q. All those that you looked over at Mr Estcourt’s were a forgery? - A. They were.

• ESTCOURT sworn. - Examined by Mr. Garrow. Q. Did you shew to the last witness all the aces of spades that were first purchased of the prisoner? - A. Yes.

Q. And all the others that were purchased at the prisoner’s, and all these he said were forged? - A. Yes.

Q.(To Mr. Merchant.) Have you looked at them found at Shinglear’s? - A.(Looking at them.) They are all a forgery.

Q. I shall trouble you with another question with regard to the wrappers - look at one of them purchased on the 24th of June; does that appear to be a genuine stamp from the Stamp Office, or a forgery? - A. It appears to be a forgery.

Q.(To Mr. Estcourt.) Did you shew to Mr. Merchant any but such as were bought of the prisoner, or were bought at his shop, or were found at the other places? - A. No.

WILLIAM PRITCHARD sworn. - Examined by Mr. Attorney General. Q. Tell my Lord and the Gentlemen of the Jury in what way the stamps are delivered out at the Office? - A. All the legal stamps are delivered out with the name of the card-maker on them, upon a receipt of the card-maker or his servant; the plate is kept at the Office, or, by the directions of the Commissioner, the manufacturer provides the paper; it is stamped, at the Stamp Office, and is to be re-delivered to the card-maker.

Q. How many in a sheet? - A. Twenty, never less (Witness looking at those purchased at Harding’s.) These never came from the Office; with respect to the stamp on the wrapper called the label, they are delivered in the same quantity as the aces, and no otherwise; the label is pasted on by the card-maker.

The prisoner left his defence to his Counsel, and called seven witnesses, who gave him a good character.

GUILTY , Death , aged 35.

Second Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Justice Heath.

Whether there is any truth to the following, or who the natural father of Harding might be, I have no idea…

The “natural son of a nobleman”?, October, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001664/18051008/007/0002 Tyne Mercury; Northumberland and Durham and Cumberland Gazette - Tuesday 08 October 1805

MISCELLANIES. The unfortunate Mr Hardy, who now lies under sentence ot death in Newgate, London, for forging the Stamp-office marks playing cards, is said to be the natural son’ of a Nobleman, high in his Majesty’s favour, through whose bounty he was originally enabled to commence business. He has acquired by his trade a handsome property; and very recently came to the possession of 700l. a year in right of his wife.

Several weeks after the verdict was given, the official report was made to the Prince Regent of the impending execution of Richard Harding.

The Recorder made Report, November, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001254/18051108/008/0003 Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser - Friday 08 November 1805 RECORDER’S REPORT. The Recorder made Report to his Majesty of the following convicts under sentence of death in Newgate, viz,—… Richard Harding, for counterfeiting and resembling the impression of a mark used on playing cards, and for vending and selling, cards with such false impressions.

Wednesday, next, November, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000361/18051111/006/0003

Salisbury and Winchester Journal - Monday 11 November 1805

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8.

Richard Harding, for counterfeiting the Stamp-office impression of the Ace of Spades, and vending the same, … ordered for execution Wednesday next.

Richard Harding was then executed on Wednesday, November 13th, 1805.

For some reason, the Chester Courant kept referring to Richard Harding as John Harding, even on the announcement of his execution:

Execution, November, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000388/18051119/004/0002 Chester Courant - Tuesday 19 November 1805 EXECUTION. John Harding, for forging the stamp upon the Ace of Spades.

But despite the continued inaccuracy in the naming of the hanged man, we do get an interesting aside: it seems that all was not as secure as it might have been with the scaffold platform, one of the platform party went down with it and was badly bruised in so doing!

An accident on the scaffold? November, 1805

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000388/18051119/004/0002 Chester Courant - Tuesday 19 November 1805

EXECUTION

John Harding, for forging the stamp upon the Ace of Spades, William Cubitt, groom of the chambers to the Earl of Mansfield, for robbing his master of a gold box, set with diamonds, a portrait of the late Emperor Russia, a present from that Monarch to the late Earl; and Mary Parnell, for forgery upon the Bank of England, were executed this morning, at half-past eight o’clock, at the usual place, in the front of the Old Bailey. Mr. Harding was dressed in black, the woman all in white, white gloves, &c. she was conduced to the scaffold by Mr. Ford, the Ordinary. After Mr. Ford had delivered his pious exhortation to these three unhappy persons, the platform fell, and Mr. Ford, who happened to be standing upon it the time, came to the ground. We are concerned to state, that he was much bruised. He was assisted into Mr. Newman’s house immediately. The woman struggled much before she died. Cubitt appeared almost insensible, from the moment he was brought out to the scaffold. The concourse of people that attended the execution was immense. The Sheriffs and City Marshals, Nalder and Holdsworth, were present upon the occasion.— John Burrows, a youth of 17, who was also under sentence of death, has been respited tor 14 days. His unhappy parents left town yesterday, overwhelmed with grief, considering his fate inevitable.

And so it was — November, 1805, and Richard Harding, the last man to be hanged for forging the Ace of Spades and selling packs of playing card with conterfeit duty stamps.