Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

The Evening papers contain a report of the interesting trial of Jacob Smith Redding ton, before the Court of Sessions, for forging and passing upon Prime, Ward & Sands, of this city, a bill on London for 115, drawn by the bank of Montreal, in June last, altered to 11500.

It appears the prisoner had kept a boarding house in Montreal for several years. A motion by his counsel, that the indictment could not be sustained, because the forgery, if proved, was committed in Canada, and therefore no offence to our laws, was overruled; and a witness by the name of Craig was brought forward who succeeded in producing a favorable impression of the innocence of the prisoner.

There was then produced a most extraordinary letter from the prisoner, while in prison in Montreal, to a confederate by the name of Goon, written before he was sent down at the instance of the Executive. The letter commences with reminding Mr. Goon of former friendship, &c. tells him now is the time to shew his friendship, and points out the following plan for procuring a host of witnesses to perjure themselves, and swear him through! He observes—now Morrell, if you do not assist in getting some witnesses, and help to defray their expense to New-York, I shall certainly think of you worse than a murderer! You must hire them at some rate to go. One or two things must be proved. The first, that I was not at New-York on the 28th of July, nor within a week of that time before or after; that I was in Durham, or some other place, doing business with them (the witnesses) and, of course, could not have been in New York. This is one point. The second is to prove that I came honestly by the bill, and did not know it to be altered. My plan is to have them say that I came by it in Berkshire & gave my notes for the amount. He then tells him to have the witnesses perfect in the date, number, signature, &c of the bill, and then comes out with the climax of what his honor the Recorder in charging the jury, declared to be the most diabolical of wickedness he had ever witnessed in a court of justice. Suffice it, that on Mr. Price's reading the letter, his counsel at once abandoned his defence, and said, that if they had seen the letter they should not have protracted it so long. The jury after retiring about half an hour, found him guilty accordingly, of altering or passing only. Punishment, State Prison for life—or a term of years in discretion of the court.

N. Y. Com. Adv.