COUNCILL FOR My Lord, and gentlemen' of the Jury here is a THE KING. J person Indicted for stamping or counterfeiting the Kings Coyne which any man knows to be high Treason, if my Lord we prove the fact upon him and that he did actually do the same we need say no more. Cryer call Geo: Norcross (Norcross was sworn). MANGY.-My Lord, I desire the Evidence may not have the liberty to have any person to stand by him to dictate to him what he should speak. JUDGE TURTON.-He shall not. KS COUNCIL.-Come Geo: Norcross pray acquaint my Lord and gentlemen of the Jury with all the particular concerns you have had with Mr Mangy. NORCROSS.-If it please your Lordship I was going one day through Mr Wainmans Court and in one of the Rooms as I past by sat Mr Mangy and one Mortimer another goldsmith. Mr Mangy call'd of me and desired me to come and take a Glass with him and told me I should be very welcome, so I went into their company and when we had drunk a glass or two Mortimer left us, so nobody being near he told me he wanted a servant and 1 COUNCILL FOR THE KING.-"My Lord, and gentlemen," &c. This "opening" of the case is of commendable brevity, though it can hardly have served to enlighten the minds of the Court or Jury. The duties of the prosecuting counsel seem (according to modern notions) to have been throughout discharged in the most perfunctory fashion. It will be observed that he does not “examine" the witness at all. "Come, George Norcross, pray acquaint my Lord and gentlemen of the Jury with all the particular concerns you have had with Mr Mangy." This method of giving the witness his head' " would not nowadays be tolerated in the most trifling or ill-conducted case. The rules of evidence which now prevail had not come into existence at the date of Mangy's trial, they are for the most part judgemade and have been of very gradual growth; indeed, more than a hundred years after the trial of Mangy these rules were not indentical on the different circuits. The exclusion of "hearsay," which we regard as an inveterate rule, would have operated to reduce very largely the dimensions of the testimony given against Mangy. Moreover, quite apart from any considerations based upon technical requirements or the principles of the law of evidence, the case as presented was defective in almost every vital particular. The charge as preferred by the Crown and allowed by the Judge to be submitted to the Jury was, in truth, a charge which it would be impossible to meet or rebut. Throughout the trial there does not seem to have been a single date mentioned or suggested. "I was going one day" (p. 210), "After I had been with him sometime (p. 211), &c., nothing more definite than this. Whether the crime was supposed to have been committed a week, a month, or a year before the trial does not appear, nor did the judge press or even ask for any particulars. The man was charged with and convicted of coining twenty pieces. He might as well have been charged with and convicted of coining a thousand: the evidence, so far as it was material to the issue to be tried, consisted of a few vague allegations made by a confessed accomplice. 2 MANGY.-"The Evidence." This phrase was then used as equivalent to "the witness." that he knew none he could have better than myselfe for that he lookt upon me to be an honest man, and he had some business in hast and he would give me five shillings a day when he had imployment for me. Accordingly I went the next morning and found my master looking out of a window and ready to let me in, but some scamperers passing by disturbed us so that I believe it was almost four o'clock before I could get in privately. JUDGE. Those scamperers you speak of I'm afraid were bad husbands. NORCROSS.-Yes my Lord, afterwards I went and my master came himself and let me in and carried me into a garret Chamber and brought me a bag full of money new clipt, I believe it might contain above a hundred pound, and show'd me the way how I might both file and rub it and afterwards sat down and clipt beside me, and I received five shillings that night for my days work. JUDGE. This is nothing to the purpose, I do not ask you any questions about clipping, Rubbing or filing.' Did you ever see Mr Mangy stamp or counterfeit the Kings coyne. NORCROSS.-My Lord, after I had been with him sometime he told me I was very expert, but (says he) you have not seen all my art yet, so bringing up a piece of thin plate as I suppos'd, but he afterwards told me it was mixt mettall and not good plate, so clipping it round into the form of new shillings he began and stamped the one side with exactly the face side of King Charles the Second turning the other side with another stamp he made the cross side exactly and with another instrument at three turns he made nicks upon the edge very dextrously and told me that twenty shillings when finished stood him not above tenn shillings being of mixt mettall. JUDGE.—But how did he for spoiling the impression he had made on the face side. NORCROSS.-My Lord, he had a piece of soft wood which he laid upon the maine Bawke of the house, upon which he laid the 1 JUDGE."This is nothing to the purpose. I do not ask you any questions about clipping, rubbing or filing." The charge was that of "coining." Clipping, however, had been made high treason in Elizabeth's reign (5 Eliz: c. 12, and 18 Eliz: c. 1). Offences relating to the coinage were at this period very rife, and the evils resulting therefrom had at the date of the trial assumed enormous proportions. Speaking of the effect of these crimes on the currency, Macaulay says (Hist : Ch: 21), At length in the autumn of 1695 it could hardly be said that the country possessed for practical purposes any measure of the value of commodities . . . . . It was found that 100 (in current silver), which should have weighed about 400 ozs:, did actually weigh at Bristol 240 ozs:, at Cambridge 203, at Exeter 180, and at Oxford only 116. .... piece of money when he stampt the cross side to keep the face side from being harm'd, which when he had placed betwixt the face side and the bawke he strook upon the second stamp with a forge hammer as he did before and made the cross side as I told your Lordship before. The place upon the bawke is grown bright with continual use and fair to be seen, and he likewise told me my Lord that he paid these shillings by putting four or five in every twenty shillings, and this is the whole truth my Lord and you gentlemen of the Jury. MANGY.-My Lord, this fellow tells your Lordship they were King Charles the Second Shillings. I desire I may show him a piece of money and see if he can tell whose coin it is for he is an ignorant fellow and cannot read. JUDGE. Mr Mangy, I believe there is many a person in the nation who cannot read Letters upon the book and yet shall know any piece of money you can show them whose coin it is by reason of their frequent seeing of it. MANGY.-What coin is this-shewing him a piece of money. NORCROSS.-It is a Queen Elizabeth Shilling-reading the inscription. MANGY.-What coin is this-shewing him another piece. NORCROSS.-It is a King Williams Sixpence. KS COUNCILL.-Show him one of his own making and see if he knows that. JUDGE. Do you see Mr Mangy he not only knows the severall coins but likewise can read which you said he could not-come Mr Attorney what further witnesses have you. KS COUNC: Call Peter Nicholson commonly call'd Peter o'th' horsemill. P. NICH-Here I am-who was sworne. KS COUNC: Pray inform my Lord and the Jury what you know concerning Mr Mangy endeavouring to corrupt the Ks evidence. P. N. My Lord, I was going through a street in Leeds call'd Bridgegate and Mr Mangy call'd me into one Mortimer's house (a goldsmith who keeps a cup of Ale and was formerly Mr Mangys Journeyman, but being accused for clipping is since run away) where Mr Mangy was saying he wanted one to doe a little private business he had in hand, and Mortimer answ'd a man fitter for your business and a faithfuller person you cannot have then Peter here for he will not fail you in any thing. I told him if I could serve him in any thing I should be very willing, so he bid me be att home and not be absent for att three a Clock in the afternoon he would come to my house and acquaint me what service I should do him and drink a cup of Ale with me for my Lord I keep Ale. Accordingly he came att the time appointed and told me there was one Dorothy Greaves whom he fear'd would inform against him for buying clippings, and desired me to carry her a Guinea and tell her if she would abscond and go into the Country and not appear against him either at Assise or Sessions he would take care to provide horses for both her and me, and I should be the person who should carry her off and that he would maintain her att his own proper charge. So my Lord I went to Doll and told her what Mr Mangy bid me, so she promised she would goe whither I should carry her, so I gave her the guinea, and when the time appointed came Mr Mangy sent me word the horses were ready for us, so I went to Dor: Greaves to see if she was ready to goe but her answer then was she did not, but the design was to convey her where perhaps she might never come again so that she would not goe with me. JUDGE. Is this all you can say. P: NICH-Yes my Lord. KES COUNC :-Call Dorothy Greaves-alias Doll Sim. Do Greaves.- Here. KSS COUN:-Dorothy Greaves pray tell my Lord and the gentlemen D: GREAVES.-At one time my Lord three ounces of which I gave Information to the Mayor and Aldermen of Leeds, after which this Peter Nicholson came to me as he said, a message from Mr Mangy that if I would not appear against him neither att Assise nor Sessions he had a guinea from him for me as Peter has told you, I told him I would consider of itt and give him an answer, so my Lord I went to the Aldermen I had given my Information to and told them what P: offered me and they bad me not to refuse the guinea if it was offered me again, so I went to P: N: and told him if he would give me the guinea I would convey my selfe so he gave it me; my lord a little after he came to me again and told me the horses were ready, I told him my Lord I would not be conveyed by him for he had cheated me, for I heard Mr Mangy had given him two guineas to give me and he had but given me one. Another time my Lord I reed a five shillings piece from Mrs Mangy's. On the same account I went to Alderman Massy and made him acquainted with the whole matter and this is all I can say. JUDGE. Have you any questions to ask this Evidence Mr Mangy. MANGY.-My Lord, I can make it appear by my Servants in Court I have turn'd this woman out of doors severall times. JUDGE. It appears by that she has been at your house. KS COUNC: Pray let Mr Henry Iveson (Mayor of Leeds), Mr Wm. Massy, Mr John Preston, Mr John Dodgson, Aldermen, be sworne-which was done. Mr Mayor pray tell my Lord and the Jury what you know concerning the prisoner att the Barr. MAYOR.-My Lord and gentlemen of the Jury, when Geo. Norcross the Kgs evidence came to give his Information relating to Mr Mangy he told us, in the garrett chamber where they wrought was fair to be seen a remarkable place upon the bawk which goes cross the chamber on which he stamp't the Shillings he see him coin, which was grown bright and smooth and a particular place where they used to fix their great shears with which they clipt half crowns, for that they had a lessor pair for clipping shillings and sixpences and that we might see whether it was as he had sworne. Alderman Massy, Alderman Preston, Alderman Dodgson, and myself resolved to go and view the room which we did and found both the place where the great shears were fixt and a remarkable place where he used to coyne upon the Bawk. JUDGE.-Come Mr Massy what can you say. AL: MASSY.-My Lord, after the Kgs Evidence had given his In formation against Mr Mangy and mentioned the remarkable places where he clipt and coyn'd I was desirous to see it, upon which I was one that went to view itt, and when I came into one Chamber there was in one corner like shelves of a closett, but it proved to be the way that led into the garrett where Mr Mangy used to clip and coin, and those boards I took to be shelves proved to be the steps into the garrett, and the passage was so strait that I was forc'd to put off my frock and to creep on my hands and my knees going in and coming out. MANGY. Alderman Massy, you say the passage was then how could you gett up and down. so strait pray |