The charge upon this indictment is, that the defendants, by false
rumours, conspired to create a temporary rise in the funds of the
kingdom, in order to defraud those who should purchase into the funds on
a particular day. I cannot raise any doubt in my mind, but that this is,
according to any definition of the act of conspiracy, a complete crime
of conspiracy. The means are wrong, they are false rumours; the object
is wrong, for it is to give a false value to a commodity in a public
market; and the consequences are injurious to all who have to purchase
that commodity. This disposes of the first objection.
The second objection is, that the persons defrauded ought to have been
named. The first answer to that is, the crime of conspiracy is complete
when the concert to bring about an object with a mischievous intent is
complete; it is not at all necessary for the perfection of the crime
that its object should be attained. Therefore, the first answer is,
there need be no person injured. The next answer is the impossibility of
the defendants knowing before-hand who would be defrauded. It is said,
the indictment was preferred after the mischief had taken effect,
therefore the persons injured might have been named; but to require such
a statement we must hold, that the consequential damage created by this
crime is necessary to constitute the crime itself.
The third objection is, that there are no such funds as the funds of
_this kingdom_; that there are no funds raised at the common charge of
both parts of the United Kingdom. But every fund that is raised from
either part becomes, when it is raised, a fund of the kingdom at large,
and is strictly a part of the funds and government securities of the
United Kingdom; the United Kingdom is answerable for them, and for the
service of the United Kingdom, whether applied to England or Ireland, it
is that they are raised. I think the description is better than any
other which might be framed. For these reasons I am of opinion, there is
no ground to arrest the judgment, nor any doubt to require a rule for a
further discussion.
_Lord Ellenborough read the report of the evidence._