The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-05 00:00:00

lu...i.Yrs AT NEWFORT

NEWPORT, TUESDAY NIGHT.—A startling fact is
here communicated, namely, that the soldiers at the
Westgate were so short of ammunition that they were
obliged to search the dead bodies of the rioters for
supply, and on one of them twenty-five rounds of ball
cartridge were found. This was after the mob had
began to fly ; but still it is another proof the providen-
tial escape the inhabitants of this town experienced, for
I have heard from good authority that at this time the
soldiers had but one round of ball cartridge left.
The following is a copy of a letter received by the
Magistrates this morning :

" TO THE NEWPORT MAGISTATES.
" Ye serpents and generations of vipers, why seek ye
the life of Frost ? You may succeed, but what think
ye of the mighty millions ? if ye can escape the bullet,
who can escape the match ? There are Samsons in
Cambria and foxes in the street. It is true ye may
escape, but where are your children ? Remember Lm-
met—he was hung, and Norbury was shot. Consider
this, 0 ye Philistines ! and he wise in time.
Welshpool, N.W.—Llais-y-goyled."

CORONER'S INQUEST.
This morning the adjourned inquest was held at the
Westgate Inn, in this borough, before William Brewer,
Esq., Coroner of Newport, and a highly respectable
jury, on the body of John Shell, one of the men killed
at the riots. The following evidence was adduced :
Edward Hopkins sworn and examined—l am super-
intendant of police. At nearly ten o'clock on Sunday
morning, the 3d of November, I met our late Mayor in
High-street, and he told me he should want to see me
in the afternoon. Early in the afternoon the Mayor
came to the station-house. He told me, from informa-
tion he received, he had reason to believe the Chartists
in the hills were rising and arming themselves, and in-
tended to make an attack on the town that night, and
requested that I would send round and call out 150
special constables, to be in attendance at the Westgate
Inn, at nine o'clock. As soon as I had done that, 1 was
to meet him at his own house. After summoning the
special constables, I went to the Mayor's house. About
five o'clock the elayor gave me instructions to call out
the whole of the special constables, being 600. I
sent the police constables round to summon them, and
then waited on the Mayor again. We thought it ex-
pedient to send some parties out to watch the move-
ments of the Chartists on the different roads ; one was
sent as far as Risca, and onother person was sent to
Bristol by express for some military. The person
whom I procured to go to Risca was Thomas Walker.
I sent him to the Mayor. The person who went to
Bristol was William Williams. I was also requested
by the Mayor to get some persons so as to keep up a
communication with the Westgate and the military at
the barracks on the top of Stow. I got Mr. Partridge,
a captain of nine special constables and his company ;
the L division took upon themselves that office ; I
also received orders to have a certain number of
special constables to patrol the town, to watch all par-
ties who might be suspected, and who were walking
about, and to gather all the information they could, and
in case they should see any movement to make it known
to the Magistrates at the Westgate. I was then in-
structed to be in attendance on the Magistrates during
the night. The first notice we received was Thomas
Walker's return from Risca, about half-past eleven
o'clock at night. He was carried into the Magistrates'
room, in the Westgate, and he had a severe wound in
the groin. He stated that he went out near Risca,
and that a great body of men were there assembled ;
and that as he was returning to inform the Magistrates,
near the Cefn, he received a wound in the groin, by an
instrument that he supposed was a scythe. Soon
after that the special constables, who were out on
duty, brought in several persons who were taken up
by the turnpike, on Stow-hill, supposed to belong
to the Chartists. Some of them had arms and am-
munition in their possession, and some had not. They
were continually bringing in, up to six or seven
o'clock in the morning. The Mayor sent an express
to the barracks for some of the soldiers to be sent
down, we having previously received information that
the Chartists were in Tredegar-park. Shortly after,
Lieutenant Gray and a body of the 45th came down.
They were marched into the long room of the Westgate.
Shortly after we received information that the mob was
coming down Stow-hill, supposed to be between 5,000
and 6,000 in number. I gave instructions to the spe-
cial constables, who were in possession of the prisoners,
to shut the window-shutters of the room they were in,
and for the constables to sit with their backs to the
door. I then came to the entrance ball, where the spe-
cial constables were on duty.' The constables were armed
with staves, about 20 inches long. Some of the consta-
bles were standing at the door as the mob came round at
the bottom of Stow-hill. The door was open. They
came to the front of the Westgate, where they halted. I
heard a voice from behind me say " Shut the door." I
think it was Mr. Phillips' (the late Mayor's) voice. There
were as many as eight or ten between me and the door.
The mob immediately made a charge on the constables,
at the front door, with spears, guns, &c. They fired
immediately, and drove the constables back. The West-
gate-hall was filled immediately. The constables retired
into the yard, and I amongst the rest. As soon as the fir-
ing ceased I came into the house, and saw five persons ;
three of them were dead. Two were outside the back-
door, two in the passage, and one in the pantry. I was
then informed the soldiers were short of ammunition, and
I west to the body of the one in the pantry, and I found
twenty-five rounds of ball cartridge in his trouserspocket,
which I handed over to Lieut. Gray, and he immedi-
ately divided them among the soldiers. I also found
some powder and ball on others ; the powder was coarse.
There was a report then that the Chartists were return-
ing after their first flight. The nine bodies were then
taken out into the yard, and placed under the shed
from the back door to the kitchen. We afterwards
found two wounded men in the house, who were taken
off, and are now alive. There had been no firing in the
house at the time the mob began to fire. The mob
commenced firing. Ido not know whether any of the
bodies were killed by their own party. Very severe and
brisk firing became general for some time after the mob
first attacked. The lower window sashes and glass of
the Westgate were broken, both inside and out. There
were no soldiers at the outside door when the mob

came up.
After the evidence of David Neck and Wm. Henry
Brewer had been heard,
The Jury delivered in a verdict, in the case of Shell,
of " Justifiable homicide by some person or persons un-
known."

There being no other evidence to offer in the remain-
,ng eight cases, the same verdict was returned in each.

METROPOLIS IMPROVEMENT BILL.—A
very numerous meeting of the inhabitant householders
and ratepayers of the parish of St. Paul, Covent-gar-
den, took place last evening, for the purpose of memo-
rialising the Commissioners of her Majesty's Woods and
Works, to the effect of its being desirable and expe-
dient for the public benefit to afford a more convenient
access to Covent-garden Market, and to open an auxi-
liary street in communication with that which is stated
to have been determined upon by a Committee of the
House of Commons, and which extends from Coventry-
street to Long Acre. Mr. Churchwarden Moseley was
in the chair. A memorial was submitted, which,
although not inimical to a line devised by a portion of
St. Martin's parish, yet conceived the line through
Rose-street, connecting Long Acre with King-street,
to be preferable under all the circumstances of the case.
The motion of Mr. Cribb " That this memorial be
adopted," was seconded by Mr. 'Walker, who observed
that Covent-garden was centrally situated, and should
have more easy access afforded to it from the east and
west, and a more particular reasen for the improvement
arose from the continual communication with the patent
theatres. The Chairman observed that a clause in the
memorial provided for the objection made by Mr.
Walker, upon which the memorial was unanimously
adopted by the meeting.
THE KNIIPE.—Last week there was committed
to Winchester gaol a notorious poacher, from the vici-
nity of Highcliff, on a charge of poaching, for a despe-
rate resistance, and for the using of a knife against the
rHe
sotni
n. Grantleygh im
virtueß e Berkeley, loefy ,a -1‘
rr rai
tn. d his
Then
men, while ar-
by
n
is to be
tried at Winchester, in January next, for his resistance
wia.P.a'
to the special constable, and the Hon. Grantley Berke-
ley is bound over to prosecute. The resistance which
the man made was useless, and he was overpowered,
handcuffed, and secured.
LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS IN LONDON.—
From a statistical report, lately presented by Mr. Henry
Althans to the Committee of the British and Foreign
School Society, it appears that the total number of day
schools in the metropolis and its immediate environs,
conducted on the system of Joseph Lancaster, is one
hundred and thirty-one, in which no fewer than twenty
thousand children of the working classes, of both sexes,
are educated. In some of these schools the education
is free ; in others, the charge varies from Id. to 3d.
per week for eacj pupil. Each of these schools is under
the management and control of an independent local
Committee ; and the whole have been visited and
" inspected" once during the past year by the gentle-
man who drew up the above summary.
CHILD DROPPING.—On Tuesday morning an
inquest was held at the sign of the Peacock, Holland-
street, Blackfriars-road, on the body a new-born male
infant. Mr. Kimpson, 47, Ewer-street, St. Saviour's,
deposed that on Saturday morning last, about seven
o'clock, he was opening his shutters, when he saw a
bundle lying on the pavement opposite his door. He
took it inside and opened it, when he saw a very fine
male child wrapped up in a piece of dirty linen. He
gave notice at the police station, when a policeman
took the child to Christchurch workhouse. Mr.
Doubleday, surgeon, 249, Blackfriars-road. deposed
that he had examined the body of the child. No
as-
sistance had been had at the birth. He observed a
'bruise on the right side of the head, and one near the
throat, but considered they arose from the mother deli-
vering herself, and the child being very lame. He
found no air in the lungs, by which he concludedb the
child was still-born. A verdict was given accordingly.