Person Page - 559

From the "South Australian Register", 16 February, 1856

     Harriet Hobbs, a young married woman, who appeared in the dock with an intuit in her arms, was indicted for forgery, and also uttering the note knowing it to be forged on the second count. There were several other counts.
     The Crown Solicitor conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Smith appeared for the prisoner. From the statement of the counsel for the prosecution it appeared that on the 4th of January last, the prisoner presented an order at a store at Mount Remarkable drawn by Mr. John Bowman on Messrs. Youughnsband and Co., of Adelaide, in favour of one William Prest, for the sum of £1 5s., in which (at the foot of the order), the '1' had been altered to '7,' while the word 'one' in the body of the order, standing in its proper position for the words 'one poand five shil lings,' had not been altered. The discrepancy was observed by the storekeeper to whom it was pre sented, and was refused. The document was subse quently presented to another storekeeper, who found that the 'one' in the body of the order had been altered to 'ten.' The effect of the evidence produced by Mr. Smith for the defence was that, before Christinas, the prisoner got the order for £7 5s. from Mr. Searle, storekeeper, Mount Remarkable, in contradiction to the evidence of Mr. Bradock, who stated that the prisoner presented the order to him before the 'one' was altered into 'ten.' There was another point in contradiction to the prisoner's present statement, which was that she stated in the first instance that she bad received it from her husband, who had obtained it at the Port. His Honor in summing up directed the attention of the Jury to these points; and alter a brief consultation they returned a verdict against the prisoner of guilty of uttering the order, knowing it to he forged.⁴