The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-10-09 00:00:00

easseffws.'"
David Romaine, Edwardstreet, Mile-endroad, cabdriver,
THE REPUTED FENIAN "COLONEL" deposed :On Wednesday lest I was engaged by the deceased
KELLY. in Ilighstreet, Whitechapel, between ten and eleven at
night. The last witness aa-i with him, and I was directed to
it Will he in the recollection 14 the public that during . drive to Clare.street. Ile deceased was not sober,
e great Fenian excitement two li i
it-ri, " Colonel '' The Coroner; Was the last witness sober ?
eh
C t sin" K Ily, were being taken n a Witness : Both of then. were about half-and.half.
~.'th, public road at Manchester, when The witness then described the upsettiug of the cab.
William Ito all, lls le deposed : I iclought the deceased to
r- was attacked, Sergeant Brett was shot and this hospital Y I have seen the deceased before. I saw him
the ''''' d Burke ~...,,al, Some time afterwards three in 1867 In Parts. I cannot say the month. I have to Idea of
EI:SII,YI:6Ln ' eil Aden. Larkin, atot 0.13 i it, were hanged the month or of the part of the year it was 1 sate him.
h,
- - -urd in the or truck the van and the Firecoroner i Can you nut tlx any date?
for bvitg 0" ' . Since that time '• C donel " Wanes': I cannot.
Brn
i„Ern.rtisuitintion coutinued : Ile went by the name of Burke
atMß!..lC".elly have ca)t hrtm heard of,
ti 1867. I have sat in the same room with him.
dou Thorsd in laet work the idudoli alicr at think I think I on only saw hint two occasions. I was to the
Bit I .d Yard receive I infonnatka, that 's Colonel' French police force at that time as a detective. I never
wee la ing ;it King's Colle.,e HoaphaL Two entered into conversatlon with him It was in a small
8.-11;k";
detectives, who knew hitu well, at once went to the can I SAW him. I have d
ve no photograph of him. Ile ha
b,spitai, where they riaW, l.3ist; upon a trod in one very large ears, aud had a remai keel° ions about the
ejel. 1 have seen the hotly of the deceased to night. l
of the wards stall, stout, fairh-ou.plexioned u.an, in a
oe my° irm to he the same mrson I eaw in the ewe in Faris
was, of extreme prostration. They
,at once recog. When I tit it saw the decease.l on sit etineinlay [ remarked,
ei i him as the missing " Colonel ' Burke. On " this is Rinks" I have seen a great many persons since
I.
-ii:el;pd.,,i- night he was in a dying state. The palest 1807, and I have a good memory. and to the best of niy he-
red his lodgings, which were at 2 Vine- lief the deceased is the man 1 knew as Burke. (come over
have i Pcove
wart, Whitechapeld•ami, and elicited the fonowing her" i.n
me 'hthet9'now..lBnB, and I have not seen the deceased from
that ti until
facts l— By a Juror : The deueased wore a moustache and beard
Two years ago a young man applied for an appointment as while In Para
reader at a printing office In Chancery-lane, London. He Superintendent Jam. Thomson deposed : The circum-
gale the name id Edward Martin, and he aas upon hetng it..... ..
Of the case being reported to nie, I came to the
ieethineil found to be well educnterl. and thoroughly hospital tin sr nits y last. I saw the home-Burgeon, and
m
seettainted with printing in all its details 1 here tieing a desired hint to examine the body of the injured man. I
~,,,,ey he was at once engaged as reader. His employer saw the man, and remarked that there was a tooth dee-
states that he afterwards noticed that he frequently gave dent, and the surgeon pointed out a scar on the stomach. I
expression to Fenian sentiments but as he performed all his took possession of the clothes. There is a letter which was
duties properly no measures were taken for the purpose of brought to me. It bore the Kilkenny postmark, October
horetstnlng whether or no he was connecter, with the Fenian
, 2, 1869, and was directed to Mr. Edward Martin. 2, Vine-
Motherhood. lie w"y,ra f:l‘;`,-f"ZePiLtir bud powerfula erect atl.o; court, Whitechapel, and was as follows i—" Kilkenny,
about twenty.eightOctober 2, 1669 Dear Brother.—Your letter as usual
bearing. TWO detedives and a police.constahle informed came all right, anti I write now an answer to your letter.
the Superintendent making the inquiries that they had kitten I sent the paper before, as I expected It to give a full
noticed the reader Startle enter a pudic-house at the account of the meeting, but it only gave a very slight so.
corner of a street near Clare-market, suit while there he count. After all was over Dunn, of Callan, stood up and spoke.
frequently got tete conversation with iievtltal well-k,Own Such cheers as were for him, and him only. The Callan boys
yew... The home tu question was watched by detectives took hint 110W11, and carried him down the court-house
systeMatically, and they were well aware of the fact that 'steps Richert% al agrath was down teem Dublin, and he
Find. meetings were being beld there, hut it WAS sot was tellittg James and John Halpin he It til got our the Free-
thoUght advisable to ni he is; y arrest. man, and John Neville is recoveriei —I remain, your affec-
A weldable of the F division made a statement, from tiotiate sister, ilonoria Mertni." In cotitinuation of his ex-
which it appears the, fit. Wednesiley night in last e noir, lie &ruination, the witness said that a pereon who wan in custody
was ou duty at tee corner of V. re.stieet, when he saw a on a charge of treasin-felotty was rescued in Manchester, mid
four steel eih some along. L main eut or the WOOIOW of
there were marks on the deceased which corresponded to the
the ,ili cuistabe saw two well-dressed Moll 00 of them description given of the person rescued. That person's name
asked th oilman to stop at the public home referred to.
was Kelly. The deceased was somewhat taller than Kelly.
Weil, I.e wts &ding so, the cab wss driven -h-rep round the The uoroner : Have you any evidence to show that deceased
00n,,,. a,„. tee weight ot the two shell overlie' m•-ing the was Kelly beyield that which has hoes already given, and
vehicle. It tutntiled over The forenead of lint, 0. three men which you have heard?
Wan dialled satinet the pavement, slid the situ I fractured, witness i I have not
a portion of his brain protruded, and ids face was covered The Coroner: because Ido not think you have at all estab-
with blood The constable end the young nian who was In lished that the deceased Was Kelly.
the cab with the sufferer hietantly carried him to the King's Witness : I thibit the ev titmice does in some respects show
College Hospital. While he Was ill the cehtral hall of the that he was 'colonel" Kelly ; tint Mr. Williamson of the
hoepltal, a detective whose duty it is to visit the hospitals detective force, is here and he may have something to say.
sometimes for the purpose of seeing whether any burglar Feeder ick Williams., auperinteudebt of detective police,
who has been wounded while breaking tido a house at night deposed—l; saw the maii who w. called "behindl " Kelly on
came in, .d saw the wounded man. After lookieg at him two ooe tithing In al atichester. and, to the best of my belief,
steadily, he then Saint, •. I k-nok, hiss Ha is Bunke, the the man who is dead is not Kelly. I never saw the der:muted
Femur), who et.eapfd of Mane/teeter. I knoto Mtn well, for to my knowledge. This man cannot lie Burke, because
I tosa a tom; ties, wife, hint when I telf core in Paris. Burke is now iu Chatham prison. I brought Corydon the
The man was then removed to one id the wards, where he informer, here yesterday, and he distinctly said the deceased
was seen by the house eurgeon, who discovered that a portion
was not " Colonel" Kelly.
of his skull was pressing in upon his brain. It was therefore A. F. McGill, house surgeon, deposed that the deceased
determined to perform an operation and raise the depressed
had been suffering from a fracture of the skull. An opera-
pinion of the skull on Thursday. The man when admitted lion had been performed on bin , and during it the deceased
was insensible, but late oil Werlueaday night, he said, when cried out, "They're going to murder me—Kelly, Kelly, come
asked his name wed occupation, ' Edward Martin, printer " " hop me a
The police searched his clothes, but no Fenian documents The Coroner suninted up, and the jury, without hesita-
were found, although several pieces of Irish national pietry tion, found "That Edward Martin came by his death acct.
cut out .if the Irishman newspaper, were discovered, and a .• ..
printed lettsr about the prisoner O'Donovan Rossa waste his
coat pocket ;it hail been cut tut of an Irish newspaper. On
Thursday the house surgeon carried out the operatbinuf rail-
the depressed pieces of the skull. While it was being
done the sufferer called out, f. Kelly ! Kelly ! I'll kick you
In the throat, oh Kelly ! Kelly !" He then he,ameinaettelnle
Men The operareql being performed, the patient's chances
of life were not increased, and his death became a matter

d(atly

Immediately after the conclusion of the inquest the
remains of the deceased were taken away M a hearse
to the establishment of an undertaker, in Stanhope-
street, Great Wyld.street. Soule friends of the
deceased held a meeting shortly afterwards, and
resolved that he should have a public funeral. A reso-
lution was passed that the funeral of Edward Martin
should start from Lincoln's ion-fields, on Sunday next,
at twelve o'clock—a procession four deep to be formed
accompanied by horsemen. The interment is to take
place at SL Pa ricks burial ground, Low Leighton,
and those who attend it are to wear craps rosettes.

of certainty.
During the afternoon twelve Irish Feniaus, it is said,
visited the hospital and the) were allowed to enter the
ward where the par lent lay, two at a time. Whenever any
Fenian visited the p.itient. two detectives, who are well ac-
quainted aith the frAternity, careful), made a note of the
fact Detectives were placed on special duty for that

purpose
On Sunday -uperintendent Thompson discovered the two
prisoners who escaped from the prison van at Mancheater
often changed names, and that they Mol several aliases. The
real name of "Captain ' Deasy was Burke, and 'Colonel"
Kelly often went by the name of " Captain" Deasy, while
Burke adopted Kelly's name. When both were arrested
Burke was thought by the police ti be Kelly; while Kell ,
was taken to be Deasy. As will he seen, the patient in the
hospital is Captain Deasy dmo Col Kelly.
Another strange tact has also been discovered, and that is
that •' C, tact" Kelly was never out of England, arid it is
now mptiosed that it WU Burke, who is very Ilke Kelly, that
made the speeches in New Totlt which were reported in the
American newsinpers, and that whenever he did so he made
use of Colonel Kelly's name for the purpose of throwing the
detective re-lice in England off the scent, and making them
believe that Kelly who was known tube the chief conspirator
and organiser, was out of the country.
loogings were at No. 2, Niue-court, hut the police
upon going there, found no documents of any kind ; and for
a short time they were slightly in doubt as to who the Fenian
was that they had in the hospital, but an examination which
was made of Kelly's naked body on Sunday, while he was In
an insensible state, put all doubts at an end In the fore-
noon the house surgeon, acc-mpanied by Superintendent
Thompson, went to the ward in which Kelly lay, arid his
body was gripped. The superintendent held in his hand
sheet of paper, upon which was written a description of
Kelly. The surgeon commenced with the hair and ended
with the feet of the patient, and he found that, as the
superintendent read from his paper his description of
Kelly, it corresponded with that of the patient. Kelly hail
a tooth missing, so hail the patient. Kelly has a wand
which he had received from a bayonet slab in the abdomen
'luring the American war. The patient had had a bayonet
Wound in the alwiemen, and it was quite visible The police
attach great importance to the discovery of Kelly, as they
had lately become aware that another outbreak was being
organised. For fear that a rescue should he attempted at
the hospital, a division of police bearing arms, was ordered
to guard it. hilt this became unnecessary, as Kelly died at
half-past eight on Monday morning.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
The informer Coil don, haviog been telegraphed for,
arrived in London on Monday at four o'clock, and proceeded
to Elopes College Hospital, attended by a constable or two.
lie was taken to the part of the building where the body of
the supposed Colonel Kelly lay, and he gated idea illy at it
for a moment or two. lie then aid, d That la Kelly. I
have had many conversations with him, and he is certainly
Kelly." Thus the identification would appear to lie complete,
and Col Kelly in the same as E iward Martin, and Edward
Martin ban been for nearly the last twoyears acting as a
reader ilk Chancery-I.e lint, it is said, there is an extrsorilh
nary amount of improbability in the whole story It is noto-
rnius that after the Manchester rescue, first Captain Dewy
and then Colonel Kelly arrived in New York After
some months Cloud l Kelly was cho-en president of the
brotherh,tal in America and acted as Wien fir a con-
enterable tin e. It is stived ti at before the mecalied Edward
Martin ut emoto merit in Chancerydaue he was tor some
twoor three years .4 work at Dalstpm, and it is said that
evidence or that fact will is tendered le his frienila at the
ii.quest. However, it seems impossibli to re-rat the over-
whelming proofs of identification accuito.lato, by the police
to show that the deceased is really Colonel Kelly.
It may be mentt well that the reward of £3.0 which WU
offered for the recapture of Colonel Kelly, after the Man-
chester affair, wso withdrawn about all m mths ago—so
strong FM the impression of the authorties that the con-
spirator in question was no longer in the cduntry.
As to whether Edward Martin is Colonel Kelly, a
correspondent of the Daily News writes
The statement is simply ridica ma and speaks well for the
sagacity of the LOllllOll detective force The poor sufferer
has been known to me in this city Loodon, and in Ireland
for the last seven veins, and at no time tinier his birth has he
gone under any other than his real name—Edward Martin.
He is a native of Kilkea y, and is creditanly known to num-
bers of his countrs nien at in me and in this city. 'Sec suse
poor Martin has the marks of an abdomen wound, and in
some other respects resembles Colonel Kelly, ergo he is the
Veritable Fenian leader.

THE INQUEST.
On Tuesday afternoon the coroner opened an in-
quiry, at King's College Hospitai, London. The
body of Martin, alias Kelley, lay in a coffin, lined
with white satin and otherwise neatly upholstered, on
the landing on the same floor as the biiard-room. The
forehead and head of the deceased gave evidence of
the serious nature of the injuries he had received ;
the portion of the frontal bone which was smashed in
being plainly visible.
Michael Butler of 2, Vine-court, Whitechapel-road,
shoemaker, was the first witness called. He deposed t,,,
having known the deceased three years and six months:
His name Is Edward Martin. Ile lived up to the time I.f
his death at !Co. 2 Vine-court. He has lived with me off
and n for over three years Ile was a compo,itor and
reader at the Queens printer's, I) Liston. Ile was ,eerily-
eight years of age, according to what he 4.1 me Tie Mgt
time he lodged with me was over three years ago, and their
be went away and came hack. Ile was lodging with me
from the latter end of 1666 to June last. He might stop
away a fortnight or three weeks. Ile used to lodge at in-
tervals with ore.
The Coroner : Have you any doubt that the deceased is
-

Edward Martin
Witness Not the least doubt In the world.
Examination continued I observed nothing peculiar about
him He always wore a beard. ULLA saw him alive on
Wedne.day last, between nine and tett o'clock, at Vine-court.
lhe Coroner From what you know can you s,y he was at
any time since 10u knew him absent from London I
Witness: He was not; he went nowhere without telling
me He left Dalston the latter end of June last and Came
to me, and continued to live with me Only an occasional
visitor, a neighbour such as I knew myself came to visit
him The deceased and ano.her young man went out of my
house on Wednesday between time and ten o'clock. Iti
consequence of illfollllfitloll I received from the police I
came to this hospital to see him, grit I Nas then as satis-
fied Sal am now that he was the same pe eon He wore a
black frock coat and black trousers, and I tnink a tweed vest,
on Wednesday. He was a sit dtle mau, and had no relatives
nearer that, Kilkenny, Ireland.
Tne Coroner: Was there any one week during the time he
lodged with v di that you did not are Tim ?
Wit ne,s : Yea He might be absent, but never more than
a fortnight; and loan tell you he bore au excellent charac-
-

ter.
By a Juror: The deceased was sober when he went out on
Wednesday. Never knew him to he called by any other
naoie than Martin, nor were any letters addreoied to him in
any other name. I know he received letters at intistou ad-
dressed to Mr. Butler.
He-examined: During the time the deceased was at Dalston
he did not lodge with me, but saw me off and on.
David owen, ,veneer at the Queen's Printing Works, de-
posed-1 knew DlWBld itlsrtin. I believe the deceased is the
same person. I have seen the body, and believe it to he that
of Kiward Martin. I CAW him the Saturday before his death
Ile has been employ ed in our °Mee since January, 1867 He
was amt employed as a compositor at cape, and he was a man
of experience as a compositor. We wanted a reader shortly
afterwards, and we requested him to take that er gagement
in March, 1867 lie remained with us up to six o'cloek
on
Wednesday night
The Coroner : During the whole of the time he WB3 em-
ployed ly you, did he leave for any length of time?
Witness Only for a few days, on ahi ilid ay.
The Coroner Was there anything hi his appearance which
confirms you 111 the belief it tithe same person ?
Witness: I have no doubt whatever about him, sir.
'the Coroner : Have you ever heard him express any strong
political opinions?
Witness ,emphatically; Never, sir.
Examination continued : I lie 14., be seas an Irishman. We
net, I' Wake inquiries as 30 the antecedents 01 Wl'3ollll 8/0 0110
pl. y. Ile Wan ver visited by Roy of his countrymen at the
establishment The deiva-nil was always attentive to busi-
ness, anti! never saw hitn to der the influence if di Mk Ile
always a- plied for leave when he wept away furs day or so.
He generally left business at seven o'clock. Ido not know
Fox he generally spent his time when he went away Irvin
. .

By a Juror At Christmas he had two days holiday, and at \
Easter four days.
The Coroner Are you idlow-countrymse Ir(shman) of
the deceased/
WPnesa : lam not, sir. lie was engaged when we wanted
a great number of hands
Herbert M. Cannel, V ids Court, r. h tech apel road, assistant.
deeper, depomd I anew the .1. can ed from lodging in
the sarne house with him On ta eau. airy evening last
I was in his company between nine and ten o'clock I
Win in a call silk the deceased I had an 108 h pound
te in my pocket, and I had tried to change it at
rev,•ral houses, and was re need. The deceased sail he
knew several publicans iii town who mi:ht perhaps
change It for him, and that he would try two. Ile proposed
to glows to Mr Butler's. Great Wyld s'reet. We pd into
a four-wheeled ca.,. Übe deceased leant out of the door of
the cab ti direct the driver the way to go. Coming round a
corner the cab upset, and the deceased fell out. He was a
heavy man, and Pin head struck against the kerb stone. Ile
waa taken to.) in. hospital, and I went with Id=