The National Register.
London, England, 1818-12-27 00:00:00

SIR PHILIP FRANCIS, K.B.

On Tuesday evening, soon after eve o'clock, Sir Phil))
Fl Antis died, at hi% house in st.Jautes's Squire, after an
Dines. of upwolds of bye annuli». An expiess Was Unto.-
ittittely sent off to Mr. Fruntit, hitt son, who 'Sig no,l visit to
toe Ertl of Bti.tol, at I. k worth .Perk, Suffolk. It is a sin.

guitar coincidative, that this is the f. very
•Itart period, in that .finer of St. J me re, viz.- -
Lord Reanclia:no, Lotd Ainon, Lord Edeohorongii, 41111 Sir
Philip Francis.
This gentleman was born in Dublin, on the 2PI 0rt.1.740,
old style. Dr. Francis Ili,. :Translator of ilorare was hi'
-father; his grand .1111. 'Avis% John Matteis, thou of the Ca.lie-
dral of Lt.lNore, io Ireland ; and his great grandfather.johti
Francis, I) eau of Leightin. The maiden name of his mother
was Roe,a tleseentla.it fiom Sir 'Flioina, Roe.
Sir Philip received the first rudiments of his education in
Ireland. lit 1740 he time to England, and was in 1735 glare .
at St. Paul's selomL In 1756 Mr. Vent yFoc,;‘ Get-wards Lord
:*.sll,llland, gave hint a immll place an the Secretary ut State's
()thee. Mr. Pitt, who succeeded Mr. Fitz, patronized him,
throngh the recommendation of Ilia secretary Robert Wood,

iluit pat* image he was appointed tsry to (;mesa
Mirk. in 1758. and via% pie,ent at th..;•aptiue aorl denmlitioo
•or bose,h. 111176) hr was mule secret any to the Hari ,f
A iiiteis.a,lor to Lisbon, o lien the 41:1PCII of Poelllgill
%.11,1 married to her a.ede. In 17(13 lie was :11.11011liell he
late 10014 Mwtiolip to a ronsitierable,poM ill the War Office,
Which he resigned in 1772, iii conseipteoce of a dilfereore
mith Vetconnt Barrington. The greatest part of the yeaat
17:2 be spent iu ravelliog through Hamlets, Geriumy, ll'e
1)/111, Fumes, nod limy. In about half a year altar his
return to Dial:toil, Lord fortingtots did him the instice to
-recommend kiln so Lord North, by whom hit name was ill.

betted in an Act of Parliament 044;aed in imie, 1773, to be
\I ember of the Cl/1111(A appointed for the Liovetentent of
B' of iu e4nunnetiun w 'lV3rren IleNlititt% and three
othet r. The record* or his lung ennteht with Mr. 11a•tings,
the tinvernur.tienet al, a: e preset red in the Winks of Connell,

tbo lirpotta of the Cnnnuittt•e, and in tlit. Journal,: of the
Oniiiiions. Tin,. quarrel Kati previously inteasione.l
a duel in India. when.on tin 17th t7SO, Mr. liastinio

-.ht Sir Plclip threw:it the hod). lie lett IlenAal in I).,cein-
her, 17SO, pa sed tier incv.tlis at St. Helena, and an ved in
Eticland in °ember, 1781. 0,1 the ilksalntion of Paltiamenr,
iu 17Sl, lie was elected for Vermouth, iu the I.la of Wight.
Since that time his Parliamentary life ha. hero before the
public. Oil the 29th October. lob, Hi% Majesty, at the
recommendation of Lord Grenville, was pleabc.l to invest
Lim with the Order a the Hath. On the 22,1 of the
present th he expired, after having been reduced to a
►tote of extreure debility by all excruciating di%ease its the
,prostrate glanik, with which he had been fur several years
afflict.. d, and from which his age pre eluded all chance of
recovery. lie has left a son and two ilanchters,
.Fr.incis, Mrs. Julne.on, and Stra.Lholniondeley. When be—
tween 70 and.Bo,lse married Miss Watkins, a daughter of a
clergyman.
He hail been many years employed Rhone an historical
sketch of his principal contemporaries.

PrWe now find, that the Elligians, attributed to the late
Lord Elleaborattgli, W. 1% certainly not written by his Lord-
• shtp ; but WAS understood at the time, and since, to be
w:itteit by the present Lord Chief Jestice of the Common
Pleas, I hell also one of the Counsel for Mu. Hastings.
The Rev. Dr. Hallman, convicted of forging it.lisok (by
using the :lame of h:r W. (.arrow),.and senteured to trails
levitation, sailed on Friday se'ssuight from Sheerness, on
!maid the Raring convict slop, bound to New smith Wales.
The omse of Pric•peet-place, St. Geoi ge's,
was entered by means of skeletoti-ke•, doting the ob.:cove of
t f. •Iy, ill Satin day se' glit, by (hire inch, who CarUrd
off every article of plate they could eullect. Mr. J. retureird
home atm t 11111 P leClock, and met one of the robbei coming
wit mit at the street door, with a prier 1114.% tinder his arni.—
A t sight of Mr. J. he let it fall and ran assay. The glass
wits shattered, and the noise alarmed the other t ohm" $l, who
j!Int.11.11 tint of a window and escaped.
On Saturday morning (se'nnight.) John Ring, Esq. of the town of
Windsor. who was iavned by wine fiktids in London to spend a
short Moe with them, booked himself for a
,place in the Windsor
stage coach for that purpose. He took his seat in the coach at the
appointed time, and was very jocular with his &how passengers until
their arrival ut Hatnmenimith, where the stage stopped at the Hop-
pole tavern, when he was seized with a shivering all over his body,
and lost all power. He was post tubed. and surgical assistance pro-
cured ; but although every kind aueutim, was Whittled hint, he died
in a very short time. An iuquest was held on the body on Tuesday
morning. Verdict—Died by the visitatien of Gurl.
INTEISPHETATION.—%Vhen Lys Rose Retour was ex-
amined in Aston v. Elliott the Interpreter was desired
to put some question to the witness resin:anti; one
'Cookson, a servant to Mrs. Ast in, when not taking
,Cookson to be a surname, .be tr..nslated it fill de la
(Cuisiniere.

NATIONAL

MYSTERIOUS

Our readers will recollect that an extraordinary
charge was recently made at Bow Street, against u
young man of respectable connexions, named Henry
Cooke, by William Key, who accused him of having
employed and furnished him with tistols to murder
Mr. Shears, proprietor of Cop Per-mills at Merton, and
having a counting-house in Fleet Market. together
with his whole flintily : Cooke wai Mr. Shears's clerk.
The Magistrates considered the charge untimnded, anti
liberated Cooke, who subsequently prosecuted Key, who
is now under sentence of transportation. On Wednes-
day se'nnight, Cooke, who is about 18 years of age, died
after an illness of e tea' hours, under circumstan• es of
suspicion that he haul Len poisoned. The body was
opened on Thursday last, wh,li it war ascertained that
he died be poison. Thursday night an investigation was
taken on the body at the Georg-e, in George Street,
Christchurch, Blacktliars Road, betbre C. hamlet, Esq.
coroner our Surrey, when evidence to the following
elli.ct wits given :
Mr. John Woman, of Christchurch, said the deceased
had been several years his lodger. Tuesday evening
last he came home at half-past six from the counting-
house complaining of sickness at the ,stomach ; he vo-
mited very much ; the sickness continued violent, and
he went to Mr. Pollard, u neighbour for medicine : he
went to bed about ten. At eleven witness brand him
more composed ; he saw no more of him until five next
morning, when being awoke by a noise like the falling
of some person he ran into Cooke's room, and found
him prostrate on the floor, but not senseless ; he assist-
ed him into bed, and then called a servant to light a
fire and make tea, the deceased having complained of
extreme thirst. While drinking tea he said to witness,
—" Those fellows put something in the beer."—
About seven o'clock, a man who was going to Mr.
Shears's mills at Nierton, called to know if Mr. Cooke,
whose father was a foreman there, had any mes.eige to
send ; deceased desired his fitther might be informed
that he was very ill, but hopoc! to go to Merton on the
Monday. Ten minutes afterwards witness went into
his room, and timid him with his head out of bed over
a basin, as if he had beets voluitting, and lying upon
his side ;be gasped once and expired. At the time he
mentioned " those fellows," he named no particular
person.___

Mr. Woman further stated, that after Cooke's death
•he waited upon Mr. Shears, at the counting-house, to
inform him of the circumstance. and acquaint him with
the allusions of deceased to the beer he had drunk, and
to request the mug might be searched fbr. Mr.
Shears's son made immediate inquiry fir the mug among
the servants, who could not find it. He then called in
the clerks, and desired they would endear Ger to find
it, which they did immediately under the desk of de-
ceased. There appeared in it a quantity of white
powder mixed with dirt. Mr. Shears sealed it up, and
delivered it to witness, by whom it was transferred to
Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Pollard, of Christchurch, stated, that the de-
ceased applied to him on Tuesday evening, complaining
of vomitting, and pains in the stomach and head. lie
said that he had only drank a little table beer. The
excessive vomitting continuing, witness again asked
what he had taken; and he then said, that when he
drunk the beer he observed white powder at the bottom
of the mug, and•thought some of his companions had
been blaying tricks Some medicine was then given
to him, with proper directions; and he was desired by
witness to send him what might be thrown from the
stomach. He saw no more of him until next morning,
when he was called in great haste, and found Cooke
dead. Mr. Wetman delivered a tin mug to witness,
which contained a quantity of white powder, and which
being analyzed, proved to be oxyde of arsenic. lie
subsequently op ned the body, and found in the .sto-
mach a quantity of similar powder, which he also found
to be an oxyde of arsenic ; it had produced a great in-
flammation and ulceration in the stomach, ann occasion-
ed death.

1)r. Callaway was present at the opening of the body,
and corroborated Mr. PollArd's testimony

Mr. Shears, jun. stated, he had been indefatigable
in his exertions to discover by whom the beer had been
drawn whielt Cooke had drunk without success. lie
had about 50 per9ans on the preinies, but could obtain
no evidence upon the subject.

Morgan Deasey was warehouseman and clerk to Mr.
Shears. On Tuesday, at one o'clock, he dined with
deceased ut an oating-house in the Old Iktiley. Wit-
ness returned to business, and deceased went another
way, saying he had a place to call at betbre lie returned.
Witness had been accustomed to drink a pint of table-
beer with the deceased after dinner : he waited te,r him
a considerable t.ime and ordered the boy to draw some
beer, which he immediately did in a pewter pot, and
witness drank it. Cooke came in about three o'ckek.
Witness shortly afterwards ,went into the counting-
house, rith •the intention of having some beer with
him : he saw the tin put which had been produced by
Mr. Pollan] standing on the corner of the stow, full
of beer to warm. Ile was immediately called away
upon business: was.rosilivc that the mug was not on

the stove previous to the entriutec of deceased. It w.w
the same mug he usually drank out ot; and was gene-
rally placed under Cooke's desk. The witness
not by whom the beer was drawn, nor by whom placed
on the stove. If he had not been called away he should
have drank part of it himself.
Frederick NVilson, another clerk to Mr. Shears, re-
membered deceased complainiag, at five o'clock of being
excessively sick, and said he had been so ever since finer
o'clock ; he put his hand on his stomach, and said he
felt a burning heat there.
The Coroner observed, that the best evidence that
could be produced had ken brought forward very fully.
No doubt deceased had died in consequence of taking
the oxyde of arsenic in the beer ; how it came there or
by whom given remained unknown. All possible pains
had been taken to bring forward every person likely
to have any knowledge of the, circumstances. It re-
mained for the Jury to deliver a verdict according to
the best of their judgments.
The jury remained in consultation about font hours,.
and at 1 o'clock on Friday morning returned this ver-
dict.—Died by poison, administered by souse person or -
persons at present unknown.

A very intelligent and enterprising gentleman, named
Bodeck, has recently returned to England, after hay._
ing successfully explored the kingdain of the Ashantees,
in which he resided for six months. During the first
half of this interval, he we: incarcerated in a dungeon,.
and expected hourly to be put to death.. The King of '
the Ashantees had hint often brought from his cell to
the Palace, for the purpose of inquiring from .whence .
he came and the purpose of his visit These interviews
always took place in the dead of the night, and uputt
one early occasion his Majesty became quite satisfied
with regard to the intentions of the stranger, who was
liberated, and for the last three months of his stay he
resided at the. Court. he was treated with great kind-
ness. Antoeg the curious and valuable articles brought
home by Mr. Bodeck is a Geographical History of the
Ashantee Kingdom, in the native language, and an.,
uccoant of the travels and death of Mungo Park. He
represents the King of the Ashantees as a must able and
intelligent man. His observations and qnestions, ,
which were inceswit, displayed strong natural dia..
cernment and intelligence, aad he was particularly •
anxious in his inquiries respecting the policy of the .
European Guverntnents.

Heavv FoGs.—The Nletropolis has been visited since Tues.-.
y wills fogs, nearly equal in int versity to those experienced
about live years age. 'floe darkness on Tuesday was so very
great as to be attended with extraordinary inconvenience;
hat it geedual:y increased, and about four o'clock iibecatue •
impossible to discern an o'sject at the dietetics. of a t'w paces..
'Elie carriages and wig.telis movie, aloi,g the streets were
not discernible from the flag-ways, and the passengers on the
latter derived very little aid from the lights in the windows,
or iu the lamps, as must of the shops,from fear of accidents,
were shut, and several of the latter „ere extinguished by the
fog ; even those which slid barn afforded but a very kettles-.
twinkling light, not visible until a near appru iris. Tue
co.:clout-1r aliy;lated from their boxes to lead their hot sea, hod ;
the link buys weir. in great numbers to offer their assistairec ;
but with every possible care and precaution, the passellgeta,
on foot and in carriages, seldom succeeded in making their
way without mistakes—anti horses and carriagrs f cquieutly
deviated from the street to the dig ways, to the traminect
danger of the passengers. The noises made by the people is
the streets were frightful; some shrieking Rota terror when
Jorpriaed by the sudden approach of a horse us a carriage,
and others calling oat to their fellow tray. Hers, to Marts theirs ,
of danger, or anxiously ingot:Mg their way In many cases .
Ike company deserted thuir carriages, which remained sta- •
tienarv, the coachmen lint kno%ving, Mhere tl,ey were.
l'arloils sums, Roar half a crawl; to ten .billingson ere obtained 4
by link boys tin• roudolvitiag a carriage through a siiios .•
street. In the theatres, the actors on the stage %sure seat rely
visible to the andience ;Mid evert private houses, through
eloiced and well fornisleed with tires, were tilled and darkened ,
by this siowelcoore visitor.

bitATICAL CRUISER.— Extract of a letter from Messrs.
Andros War droll and (0., Agents to Lloyd's at Nladeira,
dated Nov. 2). IrilH, to James R. Oxberty,sEsii. Agent „for
Lloyd...at I tihi anar ;
We beg to you of au outrageous robbery, which he
been lately committed by a pirate on the English schooxer Sir Tho. .
rims Hardy, bound from Gibraltar to Trinitletf, which ocertsiontal that
vessel to put in here, in order to reptsr her alamase, wad afford lbw
crew and passengers an opportunity of renewing their stock of pro- .
visions and clothes. 'file occurrence took place on the ath inst. iP ,
lat 35. 444,.10ng. 8. The pirate plundered and destroyed about one. .
third of the cargo, part of which, and the ship's store . he threw ova..
board, cut someol the rigging, and siali.ertis) two ganlemen what.,o
were passengers, 11r.. Smith and `• Ir. H ill, to shackle, and an
sullbcating confinement for several hears, from winch lie relai=
them to undergo a mock execution. which was attended with may
Pannnl tarciunstance of reality except the loss of prey: that he
granted them, but not until tie had taken front them ev..ry thing
valuable they possessed. 'f oat such u freelioeter may not escape this. .
vi4ilance of our cruller,, we subjoin, for their information, 1144 :4
dtscription of hint an his vessel as we have been able to obtain.
The vessel is a painted black, with a white streak, t,Jr black
quarter-cloths, and is light and high out ufthe water, but her guar-
s/snare nut reaL She 11:1E lt billet-Lead, four windows in the ge:111.,
Wiel a star painted on one side of ouch of the outer ones.. She is
Aare; can built, awl s supros to have been u schooner rased upon.
He: hoiden is aid to be about 300 tons; and die carries siste, n istlb
carrounade, with too Imo at least. T.ie pirate coomounling calls
lii.n.,c'dAlrueitl.s. He speaks Etighsh very well, is ruttier a sloot nian,
and has a most malicious cast in his eye-. this first officer bus ,
bluish excriscen,:e under his left eye; and in the cabin the:is is a
picturerrengravingoftheAmeti:•ansthuonar Kempt eitpturiug_six
sail of British vesse;s. T: at schooner privateer &armlike K-4tt,
war.aneLwas winuniuuled ity roan of the/tame of Atwell-a, who i 3
said to be married in Baltimore. When otte pirateattneked the Sir
'llionias !lardy he hail a flag lurietual dins. Woe winte blue, and
never thawed any other. He el.tel not pretend to Le an Insurgent, •
but boldly declared himself at war with all mitions. We 14811 re-.•
Mice if etc above, which is ail we Wald learn, may lta4l 1,0 bis..
,:apturc,

416

New rd,tions of the Plowing recent Works are ready
for Publication by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Or me, and
Brown, London.

MEMOIRS of the COURT OF QUEEN ELI.
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