The expert evidence that was brought fully confirmed the story of the witness Reece, and the “white will” was pronounced a forgery.
Subsequently Thomas was tried on this charge and was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years’ penal servitude. It is strange to reflect that had it not been for his being unable to resist the temptation of showing his triumph over his rivals, by flourishing a blue paper, his ingenious fraud would in all probability never have been detected.
It is scarcely likely that this paper was the original “blue will.” In any case, the latter was never discovered, but the Courts held on the evidence laid before them that its intention should hold good, and that the money should go to Priestman.
An elaborately designed forgery was detected in 1891 by the evidence furnished by the different documents. An action was brought by a man named Howe against the executors of a Mr. Ashton to recover £1,375, which he alleged, had been given him in a cheque shortly before the testator’s death.
The body of the cheque was admitted to be in the handwriting of Howe who said that he had written it at Ashton’s request.
The cheque was signed “B. Ashton,” whereas in the cheques (produced by Mr. Ashton’s bank) for many years previously, the signature was invariably “Benj. Ashton,” and the shorter signature was only employed in letters. The evidence went to show that Howe had traced the signature from one of these letters.
A further discrepancy was apparent in the form of the figure “seven,” Howe invariably forming it laboriously and with a vertical stroke at the top, whereas Ashton had always made it in a continuous stroke. In support of his statement Howe produced some memoranda of sums due to himself, which he asserted to be the handwriting of Ashton.
In these the figure seven was invariably formed in the same way as Howe made it, while the figure was never made in that fashion by Ashton.
To account for one sum of £200, which he claimed to have lent to the deceased, Howe stated that he had borrowed the sum from his mother-in-law, and in corroboration produced a promissory note which he said he had given her at the time.