The Express.
London, England, 1852-12-22 00:00:00

HALING THE FUME Or CHARCOAL.

Yesterday, Mr. "%Yakley held an inquest at the
Robinson Ciusoe Tavern, Eirl-street, Lisson grove, on the
bodies of Thomas Martin, aged 21: William Sheen, aged
20; and liarry Felgate Hardee, aged 17, all late in the
employ of Mr. Daniel Elliott, chresemonger, of No. 3,
Portman-place, Edgware-road.
The jury having been sworn, proceeded to view the
bodies. Martin and Sheen laid in a detached and ill-ven.
tilated apartment, is the rear of the business premises of
Mr. Elliott, in which the fatal t vent took place.
Daniel Elliott, jun., said—On Sunday morning last, the
shopmen, together with the youth Burden, retired to rut
about half.put one o'clock, in the apartment at the back of
the premises. About 8 o'clock no the Sunday morning, in
consequence of neither of the deceased, making their ap.
pearance at that hour, which was their custom, he went by
direction of his mother to their sleeping-room, to arouse
them by knocking at the door. About an hour after, his
mother, M.o. Elliott, came to him, and said oho fancied
she beard a groan, and something mast be the matter, and
they then proceeded to the apartment described. He
(witness) opened the door, which was unlocked, and on
Mitering, Martin, who slept by himself in one bed, and
wren, who slept with Burden in the other, were both
dead, and the latter in an insensible and apparent
dyilay condition. He instantly gave an alarm,
end procured the aid of Mr. Fitzpatrick? of
Lissom-street, and Mr. floury Ohre, of Orove•place, Limon-
grove. The deceased' Martin and Sheen were pronounced
quite dead, but the deceased, Burden, was still alive, and
mustard poultices to the chest, artificial respiration, and '
other remedies, were applied, but he never rallied, and
died at seven the same evening.
The deceased' had been for some time past in the habit of
having a charcoal Sr. in the room during the day, to dry
the room, and sometimes incautiously left it housing at
night, although they had received repeated cautions from
Mrs. Elliott as to its danger. The young seen went to bid,
leaving their charcoal bra burning, and became so ill that
for some days they were under Radios' treatment. That
gentleman then urged opts them the deafer, and advised
the use of a chiding disk, instead of the pan with holes is
it, then in use. On Saturday evening, at 8 o'clock, Mr..
Elliott went and looked in the room, end seeing no light
eonsidered everything safe. Her daughter also looked into
the room at 10 o'clock, and with the same result,. as she
thought. On the Sunday morning, when the bodies were
found, the two candles taken by the deceased, to their bed.
rooms (separated by a slight partition), were found burned
into the sockets of the candlesticks.
Mr. Henry Ohre and Mr. Fi•spatrick, the surpooll, un•
dement a rigid examination by the coroner and jury. Their
concurrent testimoay was to the effect that they were called
in to Mr. Elliott's to see the deceased persons between nine
and ten on Sunday morning, the 19th inst. They found
Martin and Sheen quite dead. The deceased Bur&it was
stiU alive, and be was immediately removed to the upper
apartment. They applied mustard poultices to the chest
and opened the trachia for tke purposeof introducing
artificial respiration, and resorted to other remedies. The
appearance was that of spiplesy. They continued to
Maud deceased until the hour of his death, which took
phase at 7 o'clock the same evening. lie never became
sesdhis, or rallied in the slightest degree. They hid that
=Lade a pose fleargen exaMea It two of the
of Martin and (+bee,. The Wee is es* sue
wen wally congested, and the bids voy ass
=wing the appearance of an attach of spopiezy_, AB'
were Ina perfectly health state. Oise of
the illessese7rad evidently nude an effort at saltness
The of the bodies of the desesseds, Martin sad
Slues, that they had set bola dead saws dam
an hew. They had no doubt that the Asada he each ease
had resulted from the hashish's et ssehade sad gas
emitted from the burning ebeempak whisk stun have been
in a state of ignition during the night, akheegh supposed
to have been extinguished. The mesa he the esprsition
that death had been so recline before the dasevery was the
&clot the candles being burnt into their sockets. Had
there been sufficient carbonic acid gas to have caused death
before there was time for the candles to have burned out
the t elects of the gas would have been to have extinguished
them.

The Coroner at some length commented on the &aprons
practice of using charcoal area in sleeping apartments
under any circumstances, but more npecially in rooms
without chimneys and otherwise ill•ventilated, es In the
present case. It appeared that there was no blame attri-
butable to any one bat these young men themselves, and it
was estraordinary, after the waroiog of danger they had
previously received, they had not horn more careful.
The jury ultimately returned a verdict " That the
deceueds died from ruff minion caused by inhaling the
fumes of charcoal accidentally."

METROPOLITAN COMMISSION OF BEWER6.-A
special court was held yesterday at the Court•housa Soho;
Mr. K. Jebb in the chair. The secretary, Mr. Weelryoh,
reported that there wee an available balance of 22,7631. Pay-
ments were ordered amounting in the aggregate to 16,000!.,
and a district rate was nude of 61. in the pound on the
Holborn division. The remaining business was of a purely
routine ehsrseter.

PETKRBOROC'6II ELecriow.—A potition from the
electors of Peterborough bee just been presented against the
rotors of Mr. 0. H. Whalley, who contested the mpreern•
taboo with Mr. Consewall Lewis, praying that the return
of the former may be declared null and void oe the round
of bribery mid corruption.
THE MAL Borrrg CONJUROI.—One who can
ortaact two pinto from a newt bottle of wine.—Pesach.