HC Deb 12 August 1913 vol 56 cc2444-5

(1) For the purposes of this Act, forgery is the making of a false document in order that it may be used as genuine, and in the case of the seals and dies mentioned in this Act the counterfeiting of a seal or die, and forgery with intent to defraud or deceive as the case may be is punishable as in this Act provided.

(2) A document is false within the meaning of this Act if the whole or any material part thereof purports to be made by or on behalf or on account of a person who did not make it nor authorise its making; or if, though made by or on behalf or on account of the person by whom or by whose authority it purports to have been made, the time or place of making, where either is material, or, in the case of a document identified by number or mark, the number or any distinguishing mark identifying the document, is falsely stated therein; and in particular a document is false:—

  1. (a) if any material alteration, whether by addition, insertion, obliteration, erasure, removal, or otherwise, has been made therein;
  2. (b) if the whole or some material part of it purports to be made by or on behalf of a fictitious or deceased person;
  3. (e) if, though made in the name of an existing person, it is made by him or by his authority with the intention that it should pass as having been made by some person, real or fictitious, other than the person who made or authorised it.
  4. (3) For the purposes of this Act, (e) it is immaterial in what language a document is expressed or in what place within or without the King's dominions it is expressed to take effect.
  5. (b) Forgery of a document may be complete even if the document when forged is incomplete, or is not or does not purport to be such a document as would be binding or sufficient in law.
  6. (c) The crossing on any cheque, draft on a banker, post-office money order, postal order, coupon, or other document the crossing of which is authorised or recognised by law, shall be a material part of such cheque, draft, order, coupon, or document.

2.0 A.M.

Mr. BOOTH

I rise just to obtain an assurance on this principal operative Clause that this Bill does not extend the penalties or enlarge the scope of the law dealing with forgery. I quite recognise that a layman like myself must put confidence in the legal Members of this House. I cannot possibly understand this Bill, but I think those who cannot are entitled to know whether the Bill does extend the penalties, because it says not merely to consolidate and simplify the law relating to forgery, but to amend it Clause 1 defines forgery, and when one sees what punishment may be given under this Bill, one would like to know that. it does riot, at any rate, increase the penalties in the existing statutes.

Sir RUFUS ISAACS

This Bill is one of the series of consolidating Bills which have been introduced and passed in previous Sessions and it would be a matter for regret if the House did not pass this Bill, which is really the result of the very great labours of a Joint Committee composed of both sections, and I can assure my hon. Friend that it is a most valuable measure. I do not in the least degree object to the question he puts to me. It is quite right that it is an Act intended to consolidate and amend and is not strictly only a consolidating Bill. What the Committee did was to make the Bill more uniform. The whole object is to make the law, so far as one can make it in these matters, uniform without. making any new Amendments so as to create any new offence. I think, to be strictly accurate, there are one or two instances in which the sentence has been slightly altered. Sentences have been reduced where there is an alteration in order to bring them into uniformity with other sentences.

Clause agreed to.

Bill reported, without Amendment; read the third time, and passed, without Amendment.