Public Funds. which shall be established, by any act or acts of parliament; or to receive any dividend or dividends attending any share or shares, or any part of any share or shares, of or in any such capital stock or funds as aforesaid; or to receive any annuity or annuities, in respect whereof any proprietor or proprietors have, or shall have, any transferrable share or shares of or in any capital stock or stocks which now are, or hereafter shall be, established by any act or acts of parliament, in proportion to their respective annuities; or shall forge, &c., any the name or names, &c., (as in 1 Geo. 1, c. 22, except that for "knowingly and fraudulently," read "knowingly or fraudulently.") Note. The 8 Geo. 1, c. 22, expressly mentions powers of attorney; the 2 Geo. 2, c. 25 (see post,) makes it capital to forge or utter, &c., any deed, &c., but does not mention powers of attorney; and in this act of 31 Geo. 2, c. 25, the provision of the 8 Geo. 1, respecting powers of attorney, is, mutatis mutandis, repeated. From this circumstance it was argued for the prisoner, in Fauntleroy's case, 2 Bing. 413, that the intervening act of 2 Geo. 2, was not intended to apply to the case of offenders in respect to powers of attorney by deed, and that therefore the prisoner could not be convicted under that act. But it was answered, that affirmative words in a statute Penalty of forging power to transfer any stock; or to the fraudu do not repeal any provisions in a prior statute that can consist with them; and that (the word "deeds" extending to powers of attorney) there was nothing in the intervening statute inconsistent with the provisions of the two others, and therefore that the prisoner could be convicted under it. The prisoner was convicted. See the note to 2 Geo. 2, c. 25, post. It has been holden that the obtaining and endorsing a dividend-warrant at the Bank, in the name of a stockholder, is a personating a proprietor, and thereby endeavouring to receive the dividend, though no attempt be made to receive the money at the pay-office: Parr's case, 2 E. P. C. 1005. --- 4 Geo. 3, c. 25. XV. Whereas it is necessary that provision should be made for more effectually preventing the forging powers to transfer any such stock, or to receive such dividends or annuities, as are hereinafter mentioned, and the fraudulent receive any personating the owners thereof; be it further enacted by dividends or the authority aforesaid, that if any person or persons whatannuities soever, from and after the first day of May, 1764, shall forge thereon; or or counterfeit, or procure, &c., or knowingly, &c., any person letter of attorney, or other authority or instrument, to transfer, assign, sell, or convey, any share or shares, or any part of any share or shares, of and in any capital stock or stocks, of any body or bodies, politic or corporate, which now are, or hereafter shall be, established by any act or acts of parliament; or any share or shares, or any part of any share or shares, of and in any annuities in respect whereof the proprietors of such annuities have or shall lent ating the owners thereof. have transferrable shares in any capital stock or stocks now established, or which shall hereafter be established, by any act or acts of parliament, in proportion to their respective annuities; or any share or shares, or any part of any share or shares, of or in any other transferrable annuities which now are, or hereafter shall be, established by any act or acts of parliament; or to receive any such annuity or annuities, or any dividend or dividends attending such shares, or any of them, or any part thereof; or shall forge, &c., any the name or names, &c., (as in 8 Geo. 1, c. 22: see ante, p. 142.) 33 Geo. 3, c. 30. Public Fands. "Whereas the laws now in being have been found insufficient to prevent forgeries and frauds in the transferring stocks, annuities, and other public funds, transferrable at the Bank of England: and whereas, for the better preventing such forgeries and frauds in future, it is necessary that further provision should be made, as well to prevent frauds practised by persons taking upon themselves to make transfers, in the books of the governor and company of the Bank of England, of stock or annuities, or other funds, transferrable as aforesaid, whereof such persons are not the true owners and proprietors, as to prevent forgeries of such transfers in the names of the true owners or proprietors: And whereas it is also necessary, the better to prevent such forgeries and frauds, that the public accounts between the governor and company of the Bank of England, and the several owners and proprietors of stock, annuities, and other funds, transferrable at the Bank of England, should be secured from falsification by means of false entries therein, or of the alteration of any of the words or figures thereof, or by any ways or means whatsoever:" may it therefore please your majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted, &c., that from and after the tenth day of May, 1793, if any per- Persons son or persons shall wilfully make, or assist in making, assisting any transfer of any interest, part, or share, of or in any in making *[stock or stocks, annuity or annuities, or other funds trans- transfers of ferrable at the Bank of England,] in any of the books of the any stock in said governor and company of the Bank of England, in names than which transfers of [stock, annuities, or other funds,] as the owners, aforesaid are [or in pursuance of this act shall be, 35 Geo. 3, guilty of c. 66.] made, in the name or names of any person or persons not being the owner or owners, or proprietor or proprietors, of such [stock, annuities, or other funds,] transferrable as aforesaid, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, such person or persons, so making, or assisting in making, such transfer as aforesaid, shall be deemed *The brackets and italics refer to other acts. H making or any other felony ; Public also per or assisting transfers, &c. guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy. II. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that if any person or persons whatsoever shall, from and sons forging after the tenth day of May, 1793, falsely make, forge, or in forging counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or shall willingly act or assist in the falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting of any transfer of any interest, part, or share of or in any [stock or stocks, annuity or annuities, or other funds, transferrable, or which, by any act or acts of parliament, shall hereafter be made transferrable at the Bank of England, or of or in the capital stock belonging, or which hereafter shall or may belong to the said governor and company of the Bank of England, called bank stock,] or shall utter or publish as true any such false, forged, or counterfeited transfer as aforesaid, knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeited, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever; all and every person or persons whatsoever, so offending, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy. and also persons mak of the bank, &c. ing, or asIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesisting in making, said, that from and after the said tenth day of May, 1793, false entries if any person or persons shall wilfully make, or assist in in the books making, any false entry, or shall wilfully alter or assist in altering, any word or figure in any entry in the books of account kept [or in pursuance of this act to be kept, 35 Geo. 3, c. 66.] by the said governor and company of the Bank of England, wherein the several accounts of the owners or proprietors of [stock, annuities, or other funds transferrable at the Bank of England] are [or in pursuance of this act, shall be, 35 Geo. 3, c. 66] entered and kept, or shall in any manner wilfully falsify the accounts of such owners and proprietors in the books of the said governor and company, wherein such accounts are [or in pursuance of this act shall be, 35 Geo. 3, c. 66] entered and kept, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, every such person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy. Persons making ont, IV. And whereas, in order to cover and conceal forgeries and frauds in transfers, dividend-warrants have been sometimes made out for different sums than the sums really due; be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any clerk, officer, or servant of, or other person or persons employed or intrusted by, the said governor and company, shall, from and after [the said tenth day of May, 1793] knowingly or willingly make out or deliver, or cause or procure to be made out or delivered, or willingly act ro assist in the making out or delivering, of any dividend-warrant [or warrant for payment of any annuity or interest, or money payable in pursuance of this act, at the Bank of England, 35 Geo. 3, c. 66,] for a greater or less amount than the person or persons on whose behalf, or pretended behalf, such dividend-warrants shall be made out, is or are entitled to, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, all and every such person or persons so offending, and being in due form of law convicted of any such offence or offences, as aforesaid, shall be transported for seven years. Note. Upon the trial of an indictment charging that W. H. was possessed of, and intitled to 50l, interest, on sums in the consolidated 3 per cent. annuities, and that the prisoner did forge a transfer, with the name of the said W. H. subscribed thereto; it was objected, that it was required by stat. 33 Geo. 3, c. 28, that persons to whom transfers are made, shall underwrite their acceptance, and that no other method of transferring shall be valid; and that for want of this compliance by W. H., he was not possessed, and that till accept ance Public Funds. there could be no complete transfer; and that the instrument offered as a transfer in the name of W. H. was not witnessed: but ruled by the judges, that the stock vested in W. H. by the mere act of transferring into his name; that the nature of the offence would not have been altered if W. H. had not had any stock; that the entry and signatures were a complete trnasfer, without the attestation of witnesses, which was no part of the instrument, but only required by the bank ex abundanti cautela; Gade's case, 1 E. P. C. 874. 37 Geo. 3, c. 122. "Whereas, by the several acts of parliament creating and authorizing the transfer and management of the public stocks, funds, and annuities, transferrable at the Bank of England, it is provided, that all assignments or transfers thereof shall be entered and registered in books to be kept by the accountant-general of the governor and company of the Bank of England, which entries shall be signed by the parties making such assignments or transfers, or, if such parties be absent, by their respective attorney or attorneys, thereunto lawfully authorized in writing under his, her, or their hand and seal, or hands and seals, to be attested by two or more credible witnesses; and the same regulation is prescribed and observed with respect to the attestation of letters of attorney for the transfer of any part of the capital stock of the said governor and company, called bank stock: and whereas, by an act of parliament made and passed in the ninth year of the reign of her late majesty Queen Anne, and by the charter of the company of merchants of Great Britain trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for encouraging the fishery, commonly Public called the South Sea Company, and by several acts of parFunds and liament creating and authorizing the transfer and manageCompanies, ment of the stock of the said company, commonly called Public Bank South Sea East India Persons forging the names of South Sea stock, and other stocks and funds arising thereout, or transferrable at the South Sea House, it is provided, that all assignments and transfers thereof shall be entered and registered in books kept by the said governor and company, which entries shall be signed by the parties making such assignments and transfers, or, if such parties be absent, by their respective attorney or attorneys thereunto lawfully authorized, in writing, under his, her, or their hand and seal, or hands and seals: and whereas all assignments and transfers of the capital stock of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies, are entered and registered in books kept by the said united company, and such assignments and transfers shall be signed by the parties making the same; and, if such parties be absent, then by their respective attorney or attorneys thereunto authorized in writing, under his or their hand and seal, or hands and seals: and whereas it is expedient that provision should be made for the prevention of all frauds and impositions upon the said respective governors and companies, and the said united company, respecting the transfer of, or the receipt of dividends upon, any of the public funds, or annuities, transferrable at the Bank of England, or of bank stock, or of the capital stock of the said South Sea Company, or of the said united company, or any other stocks or funds arising thereout, or transferrable, or which shall hereafter be made transferrable, at the South Sea House or East India House rewitnesses to spectively:" be it enacted, &c., that if any person or perinstruments sons whatever shall, from and after the first day of August, 1797, falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or shall willingly act or assist in the falsely making, forging, of stocks at or counterfeiting, the name or names, handwriting or of the South handswriting, of any person or persons, as or purporting Sea or East to be the witness or witnesses attesting the execution of India Com any letter of attorney, or other authority or instrument, to pany's transfer, assign, sell, or convey any interest, part, or stocks, to be guilty of share of or in any stock or stocks, annuity, or annuities, felony. or other funds, or the dividends thereof, transferrable, or which, by any act or acts of parliament, shall hereafter be made transferrable at the Bank of England, or of or in the capital stock belonging, or which hereafter shall or may belong, to the governor and company of the Bank of England, called bank stock, or to the governor and company of merchants of Great Britain trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for encouraging the said fishery as aforesaid, or under their care or management, or of or in the capital stock belonging, or which hereafter shall or may belong, to the said united company of merchants of England, trading to the East Indies, commonly called East India stock, or of any letter of attorney, for the transfer or receipt of dividends the Bank, or |