The National Register.
London, England, 1818-02-16 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

Monday morning *Coroner's inquest was hold at the White Hist
Tavern. Greenwit.ii, before Mr. Carter, the Groner, en the bodies
of Mr. Bird, aged att, and his housekeeper, Mary Simmons. TII4I
Jury, after being sworn, went to take a view of the bodies. They
next took a view of the premises :—A back wall, about I t feet high,
divides the deceased's gardeasfrosu another iss the rear, called Powa's
garden. In Powis's garden the markets( matey Seats:cps were traced,
the tile of a summer house lay on the ground, and applared to be
newly broken by some person in climbing ever the wall, at the marks
of footsteps appeared quite plain in the meld on the deceased's gar
den. In this garden the old gentleman chiefly passed theslay, and
took much delight in beautifying it. Two bottles, which appeared to
have been recently emptied, and a tobacco pipe, lay on the parlour
table, lumiag the marks of blood on them, from whence it is oanjec- ,
lured the murderer or murderers must have regaled themselves. The
jury then returned to their room, and adjourned till seven o'clock in
the evening. The jute, then re-assembled and the following evi
dence was adduced :—Mr. F. Finch, surgeon, swore that the wounds
in his opinion were inflicted with a bricklayer's hammer.—Mr. U.
Thomas swore--I reside next door to the deceased. On Sunday about
a quarter before one o'clock, the brother of the deceased, dlr. Bird,
called at my house, and said that he wished to get tato his brother's
house, which was locked up, Ile told me that his brother's hair
dresser was ordered to attend upon the deceased on that morning at
nine o'cloek, and he had found the house closed, and he wished to see
if they were gone out .0 he suspected. The deceased's br6ther wished
to get over my rand, which leads to the deceased's back door ; he did
so. FAilnts had been previously made to get in at the front door by
knocking at it and rizsging. The parties who endeavoured to get in
were, Mr. Biter, Ms. Richard Bird (deceased's brother), Smith, the
beadle and many others. I went round to the back of the house
with sonic other persons, and . opened the kitchen window by forcing
the shutters. I then entered at the window, and went to the back
door, unlatched and unbolted it, and let several perians in. We
walked towards the stairs, and there I saw the body of Mtiry Simmons
lying at time huttomof the stairs, on tier back, quite dead, her head
beat in a must dreadful manner, and a vast quantity of blood on the
floor which' had issued from the wounds. It nearly reached to our
hoe tops. in the trout parlour I Saw Mr. Bird Icing on the floor;
Isis wig was off; on one side of hint lay his spectacles, which were
broken. On the table lay a pocket-book, wit'a some papers in it. and
a Lottery ticket lying on the side of it. A candle and stick stood on
the ground. A pen knife lay on the floor by his right hand breeches
pocket. There was no watch in his foli pocket. I remarked the fire
which was in the kitchen, the coal on it appeared to have been put on
within tirehoura. it was not burnt at all. The tire would have last •
Lin hour or. two longer. The female, Simittons,slay with her head
ag. 'io,lthe stairs and her feet towards the fr?lit door. The hotlines
of r::e. stairs were broken. I weat,cp stain the beds appeared
:at to hove been bad in. Some of the bed fornitures were bloody.
The draw% '5 were all open, and the articles thrown out on the lime.:
some of these:. were also bloody.—Juryman—lt appears that te pCr.-
petratork.:ltha murders catered the house on Saturday night hbefore
•

ten o'clock, and remained there until the watch was gone of dreir
duty on the nest (Sunday) morning..--Witness continued—The face
of Simmons was covered with blood, and appeared to have lain lace
downwards in a gore of blood, and had been turned afterwards face
upwards ; her pockets had nut beets rißed.—Mr. Wm. Buer, butcher,
sworn—l was with the last witness when he entered the house, and his
evidence is perfectly correct and true.—Sarah, wife of Wiliam Bro-
die sworn—l was passing by the house of the defendant on Saturday
nibs, about a quarter past ten o'clock, and saw the gate before Mr.
Bird's house open, and a women with a boy standing before it. Mr.
Bird's street door was a little open ; I discovered it by the lamp whirls
was lighted. I was going to a butcher's shop to buy some meat.
When I returned from the butcher's, the woman was gone. The
woman had a black bonnet on. I had no conception she belonged to
the home.—Mr. J. L Bicknell. an Attorney. resident at Greenwich.
went te the house of the deceased about half pastone o'clock on Sun-
day afternuon, and searched to find the weapon which the wounds had
been inflicted with, lie searched all over the house, but could not
find any thing like it. In the attic. he found lying on the Boor,
a Bank of England IL note. There was a trunk on the floor. which
had been rifled. It appeared that some person had sat on a chair
which stood near the trunk, and had honed over every article in the
trunk. There was also a number of letters lying about in confusion.
A bunk stock receipt was lying on the bed. The bed hail not been
lain in since it bad been made up ; but there was an impression which
appeared to hare been caused by some one sitting on it. At this part
of the investigation the beadle told the Coroner that the watchman of
London-street (the stem As which tbedecused residet4osamed Sid-
ney. hail found a candle and stick in the cellar of the deceased's house.
placed under a wooden utensil, apparently for the purpose of setting
flee to the house, and was placed there after the murders were com-
mitted. The brother of Simmers, who works at the cement menu.
factory. Rankside, went down to Greenwich, and stated. that his sister
had in her hos, to his knowledge, seven guineas, and some silver. It
is supposed that gold, silver, and bills, were stolen by the villains.
belonging; to Mr. Bird, to a great amount. The Coroner aid. that
no evidence had been adduced to flit the murder on any particular
; and if the Jury thought proper. as it was late t i o'clock,
person
adjourn the inquest to a future day. The Jury were of'
'opinion such a imeceediag would be best, and it was adjourned ac-
cordingly. The Jury entered into recognizance, of 401. each, to ap-
pear at the time appointed to eenew the investigation.

The Gazette of Twee* night. contains the promise 4ifs pardon to
;any person concerned in the minders at Groenwich (ateept the actual
perpetrators) who shall discover, and lead to the apprehension of the
murderer or murderers. A reward of 300 guineas, with the same
exception. is added on behalf of the inhabitauts of the parish of
Greenwich.

Hvneostionta.—An experiment which has been recently
made in France, seems to confirm what the German Journals
have already announced, that the alhonapienfago is a remedy
against this disease. two cows had then bitters by a niaJ
dog, and this remedy was applied to both of them. One of
the rows could not be forted to takers doae suffiriently strong,
and it perished is the esteem akydrnphoblaa few day. after.
The other. which received the deepest and most numerous
wounds, but which was compelled to take an adequate dose
of the dried plant, had no symptoms of the malady six weeks
after it was bitten. This successful experiment deserves tht;
attention of the Government, and of every friend of humanity;
and it is to be hoped, that whatever uncertainty remains as to
the efficacy of this simple remedy against so 11.44441u' a dia.
ease, will he removed by experiments so our hospitals within
the coarse of thin y ear.
Fostc en Nares.— Alluding to the late ease of Mr. Reasons
a writer in the Dublin 41krarrial says of Ireland Wr order
these matters Metter in thiacturniry : sothe hauclor of-our Na-
tional sank, the principle on .which they proceed is directly
the reverse of that of theakink of England. Instead of de-
. clinisig to communicate the genet, they rake every possible
means to inform the public ; instead of demanding possession
of the forged notes, and punishing with imp rent and
• expense the holders of then,. they invert* return thr note
when such appears.—lnstead of the necrs.ity of varying their
notes to deceive the fabricators, which is. in truThs dereiviug
the politic, they wish to preserve an identity sit character,
by which the public soon become competent jitilges -on
question of gennineness ; and in place of cencealinent, they
bath, actually furnished the Postmasters, .Magistrates, and '
to her srauspectable persons throughout the kingdom, with lac-
'similes or proof impressions of their mles, as permanent
'statutes& fur public reference. Thus • they have a security
'to their Notes, beyond even what gssinessemild possess ; and
the fabricate's'', or utterer', are detected on the first attempt
to deceive the peblie."

Is consequence of AOTE depredations havnig been disco.
spied to base taken place in the vault hi-longing to the Bap-
tist Chapel, in Fetter Lane, several. persons, whoa, friends
and clauses had been interred in the vault alluded to. had
obtained pi-emission to search for them; but to their grief,
tiiiind nothing put empty corns*. Mr. Somerville, &Somers-
tow n,was Oar orthe.appliewo, hi, wife' and child N ho were de-
posited there bat a abort time since, ate also gone: sod to
add to his distress, the Niteroi raptures had nearly deprived
him of his last shilling. The above eircomatances, it seems,
induced the proprietors to append- Me. Pembler, of Shoc-lane,
and another person, to examine the voids; and oust of 40 cof-
fins 16 were found without bodies. Some af .brew contained
a quantity of earth to avoid detection. It shwild lie under-
stood, that the vault, to all appearance, is perlectly secure
the whole being under lock and key.
Towards the end of last year, Mount Vianyisis Vegan to
throw oust torrents of lava; happily they fell. upon the ancient
beds of volcanic sobst mews roaad ifs. months oft volcano.
Su PPOSZD 741111/Dgit.-.About a fortnight agOthebodgnf a rein
was found in the River. near Pickle Herring Storrs, and conveyed to
the bone-house of St. John', Southwark.. No.persol2.o9ol"Jkg froward
to claim the corpse, the Coroner held an Inquisition. There were se-
veral bruises on the neck andtace; but it being evident that the
body must have lain in she water two or three weeks, it was supposed
that they were occasioned by it being driven with the tide against ves-
sels, and a verdict was pronounced of—'. Pound Drowned." Ay •
memorandum found in the pocket of the deceased. it appeared that
his nainowas..lones. The body wainterred in the burial ground of
lat. John'a;- and for Iwo or three days nothing transpired relatiee to
the business. At length M. Sena. abetter in Flees-steel, Unseeing
the memorandum, recognized the hand-writing of..his swa brother.
Mr. Rob. Jones. many year, a Merchant in the AnseriCan sad .I,tagn.
burgh trades ; and who having made arrangements lota connnercia
voyage to to South America, was supposed to have gone to Liverpool,
there to embark. The last that was seen of him w.is oil be *VI of
Dee. whed, after continuing with a friend till midnight, lie parted
with him in the old Jewry, saying, that he had not determined where
he should sleep that night. Under all the circumstance, of the ease.
his friends believe, that. in order to be near the shipping, he procured
a lodging for the night in the aighbourbood of '.Pupping, and that his
genictd appearanoe attracted sthe DOOM 01.60104 of the 'hie vei or pats- -
tows with sruiel. *hotpot* eistlimmet ropoilievie ansa,,,s,a; 4,6114! jus
robbed and murdered, and thrown into the !liver.
The inhabitants of Wolverhampton have bestowed a badge Oh
the paupers of that town, being '• an outward and visible sign" of
their dependency. This decoration has :mud awe some hundseds
from the pauper list.

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