The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-03-27 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

RUMOURED POISON/N(l.-An inquest was taken on
Saturday, before Thomas Stirling, Esq. Coroner for Middlesex' at
tiht White Swan. St. John's-lane, Clorkenwell, upon view of the
bckly of George Bishop, a coppersmith, who it was reported had
been poisoned by his wile. . . .

The decessed,, it appeared, had lived for Rome time at a house In
Eagle-court, St. John's-lane, and had had frequent disputes with
his wife. On the day previoos to his death they had had a violent
quarrel, and a Hanoverian named Shultz, who is said to have oc•
copied the room adjoining to the deceased's, overheard the wife
say, or understood her to• say, " You villain., you have had your
day to-day, but I'll let you see that I'll have mine to-morrow.
You'll find the I can procure a drug that will do your business."
In consequence of this threat, the Hanoverian went to the watch.
house. and asked bondsman, the constable of the night, 'to take
the woman into custody, alleging, that he was certain she was de-
termined to put it in execution. Loadaman, however, did not feel
himself justified in apprehending the wife; on this information. On
the following day the deceased came home to dinner at the usual
hour. and ate with apparently good appetite; but just as he had
finished, he was seized with violent pains in the stomach, exhibiting
every symptom of the action of poison, and was a corpse in less
than a quarter of an hour.
Mr. Cooper, surgeon, of Cow Cross-street, was called in, but
every effort to restore life was unavailing. The body, however,
betrayed no appearance that would lead to the supposition that
poison had been the cause of the men's death. The face was
somewhat swollen, but it seemed rather the effect of apoplexy than
of any deteterious ingredients which he had taken, and Mr. C. de-
clined opening the body without the Coroner', order to that effect.
These ctrcumstances having come to the knowledge of the paro-
chial authorities, the parish surgeon, Mr. Shepherd, was directed to
examine the body, and a respectable Jury was impanelled to in.
quire into the facts. However, in the testimony brought before the
inquest, there was not a particle of evidence to justify such a belief.
The wife admitted that she and her husband sometimes quar-
relled, as most married folks do. They had lived together several
Tessa, and were tolerably satisfied with each other's conduct. On
fliursday, at twelve o'clock, his usual hour, deceased came to din.
tier, and soon after complained of sickness in his stomach, dizzi.
ness of the head, ate. which was followed by vomiting; and, al-
though medical assistance was immediately sent for by her, he died
in a few ultimo.

The latter part of this statement was confirmed by the landlord
of the house wherein deceased resided. and by two of the lodgers,
who deposed to the extreme anxiety of the wife on learniag that
there were no hopes of his recovery.
The parish surgeon said that he had carefully examined the
bocy of the deceased 4 it exhibited no syn,ptonis whatever of poi.
son, and had there been any administered. the effects ',oull have
been visible long before now. Deceased was apparently about 50
years of age, of a full plethoric habit, and evidently liable to at-
tacks of apoplexy. It was most likely, that having eaten a heavy
dinner, his stomach being overloaded, he had ban carried off In a
lit of hat description.
• The Jury having viewed the body, expressed themselves satin.
fled that there was no truth in the rumours previously circulated.
and returned a verdict—" That the deceased died in a lit of
apoplexy."

. ,
On Saturday an inquest was held at the Welsh Harp, in
Lombard-street, Fleet-street. en the body of Mary Walker.
residing at No. 11, in the same treet, who came by her death under
the following circumstances :—The deceased had on Thursday
night gone to call for her Insband at a neighbouring house, and
upon her return home, on guirig up stairs in the dark, slipped her
foot, and fail down the kitchen stairs, at the bottom of which she
was discovered some hours afterwards, quite dead. It likewise ap.
peered that, from the construction of the staircase, two or three
serious accidents had previously taken place in the same house.
The Jury, after alluding to the dangerous state of the staircase, re-
turned a verdict of "Accidental death." The Coroner severely
censured the conduct of those whose duty it was to prevent such
accidents, for not having a door to the kitchen stairs, and ordered
the same to be put up without further deity.
DisraEssiNG Suicths:.—On Saturday evening an in-
quisition was taken at the Duke of Wellington public-house,
Cornwall.street, CAnmerrial-road, on view of the body of Captain
Baxter, late of Upper John.atrcet in that neitti.bnurhond. Mr.
Richard Chapman, surgeon, resides in Mile Encl, Old Town. I
know the deceased, and had been in the habit of attending him for
six or seven years past ; his health during that time had been indif.
ferent, and he was occasionally subject to hypochondriac affections.
He had no doubt but he was the author of his own death. Coro-
ner—Did you sec the instrument with which he perpetrated the
fatal deed ? I did not. On Sunday I was called to see the deceased ;
he was then veer melancholy, and labouring under hypochondri.
asis. On Monday I saw hint, when he appeared somewhat better,
but his spirits were bad ; I saw him for the last time on Thursday,
when his general health was much improved, but his spirits had an
increased dejection. lam decidedly of opinion that when the de.
ceased committed the rash act he was not of sound mind, memory,
or understanding Mr. Bell examined—l live opposite the de.
ceased ; in consequence of his not getting up at his usual hour on
Friday morning, I was called on to ascertain the cause; I went to
his house, and finding his chamber door locked, I forced it open,
and discovered the deceased with his throat severed from ear to ear.
He was weltering in blood, and a razor was lying near his head. I
certainly think he was deranged when he committed 'the fatal deed.
The evidence closed here, and the Jury returned a verdict of
" Suicide," committed while in a state of insanity.

FlRE.—Yesterday morning, about half-past one o'clock,
s fire broke out on the premises of Mr. Properj,;tn, butcher,
Clare-market. It was first discovered by the family when retiring
to rest; on opening the door of the bed-room the Homes burst forth
with great fury, and had it not been fur the timely arrival of the
(*glues, aided by a plentiful supply of water, a great portion of the
market, it is feared, would have fallen a prey to the devouring
element; but happily the lire was confined to the house in which it
originated Mr. Properjohn, we understand, was not insured.
The attendance of Rutliven and a party of police prevented the
depredations of a numerous body of thieves.

ALAnm I NG FlllE.—About four o'clock yesterday after-
noon a fire broke out in the house of Mr. Ford, corn-chandler, in
Prospect-place, St. George's-fields, near the Elephant and Castle,
which shortly communicated to his large premises behind, filled
with corn, hay, and straw, and burnt with a fury that at one time
threatened destruction to the whole neighbourhood. From the
situation of Mr. Ford's premises, in a little time the houses of
Mr. Fisher, a furniture broker, Mr. Gruet, a green-grocer, and
the shop and timber-yard of Mr. Weedy, a carpenter, were all on
fire; and notwithstanding the speedy arrival of several engines,
and the utmost exertions of the firemen, their endeavours were
hl,ralyzed from the want of water; and the safety of the neighbour-
ood is solely to be attributed to the activity of the fremen. The
house and property first mentioned are completely destroyed, and
two or three houses and back premises adjoining the rear of Mr.
Ford's property greatly damaged. Mr. Ford, his wife, and family,
were from home when the fire was first discovered. It is not
known by what means it originated, but the property destroyed is
very considerable ; and we learn that, with the exception of Mr.
Ford's, nu part of it is insured.

MYSTERIOUS ROBBERIES.—A succession of robberies,
accompanied by some circumstances of strong suspicion against a
person who recently held a respectable station in this town, has
taken place within the last few days:—Oa Sunday. the 12th inst.
the premises forming part of Pit-fall Mills, in Leeds, lately occu-
pied by Mr. David Howard, coverlet manufacturer, a bankrupt,
were forcibly entered, and a time-piece, a decanter-stand, three de-
canters, and some clothes, stolen therefrom in the absence of the
person who had the charge of the premises under the assignees.
From some suspicious circumstances, Mr. David Howard was
taken into custody on suspicion of having been concerned in the
robbery, but no satisfactory evidence being adduced against him.
he was discharged. Two days after, the shop and warehouse of
Mr. Benjamin Raper, adjoining the Pit-fall Mills, were broken
into, and four guns, valued at 40/. and some other property stolen
therefrom, without any alarm having been excited, or resistance
made, though there were two powerful and vigilant dogs kept on
the premises. On the Thursday following, part of this pro-
perty was found in a sack deposited in a dye-pan (part of Mr.
D. Howard's effects), which was kept in the open air in sonic vacant
ground between the Calla and the river Aire. but nothing more
was heard, at that time, of the remainder of the stolen property.
On Saturday list, about ten o'clock at night, a noise was heard in
the warehouse of Messrs. Thomas Smith and Sons, irontnongers,
Ilriggate• on which Mr. Smith and his y, 'ingest son repaired into
the warehouse, where they found a youth of the name of Richard
Fryer, whom young Smith seized and took into custody, and on
searching his person a number of hardware articles, stolen out of
the warehouse, were found in his possession. On searching the
house or lodgings of the prisoner, the time-niece and spirit-decant-
era which had been stolen from Pit-fall Mills were found on the
premises, and John Fryer, his cousin, was also taken into custody
by Ingham and Handley, the police officer.. On being asked if
he knew any thing of the guns stolen front Mr. Raper's premises,
he admitted that some of them had been in his possession, and said
that he had thrown some of them into York back, anti the other part
into the new burial ground, where the officers afterwards found them.
The prisoner further declared that the stolen articles had been put
into his possession by Mr. David Howard, who stands charged with
being implicated with the prisoners in the commission of the two
first felonies, hut has absconded, Tne Fryers have both been com-
untied by the Magistrates to the House of Correction at Wakefield,
and on Monday last Mr. Howard was seen entering the town of
Rochdale o' foot, in company with another man, probably on their
way to Liverpool. Since the above paragraph was written,we have
been waited upon by Mr. David Howard, who has returned to
Leeds, and who, on hearing of the reports to his diaadvantage, has
waited upon the Mayor and the Police Officers, to declare his read-
iness to submit to any investigation that may lie instituted into these
robberies, of which he declares himself entirely innocent. The
public will of course suspend their opinion upon the subject till the
result of that investigation, which is expected to take place this day,
la known.—Lcede Mercury.