The Sun.
London, England, 1837-05-20 00:00:00

THAMES. OFFICE.

Ob Thursday Mr. liook,th; relieving officer of the pa-
rish of St. George, Middlesex, attended upon the magis-
trates. Mr. Ballantine and Mr. Broderip, to receive their
(Erections as to the disposal of a man of decent exterior,
named Thomas O'Shea, whose case has occupied the at-
tion of the Bench during the last two days.
The prisoner was brought up in charge of the police, and
placed at the bar. He is is about forty years of age, and
although he was gifted with the faculty of speech, and con-
versed in the most rational manner up to Wednesday
morning, he has not since spoken a word, but to every
question put to him has made a noise resembling the cry of
a dog, accompanied by a singular shake of the head and
a wink of the eye ; indeed his grimaces were of the most
extraordinary description, and although it was evident he
understood everything that was going on, and the nature of
the questions put to him by the magistrates, nothing could
induce him to speak, and at the conclusion of every sen-
tence uttered by the people in the office opened his mouth,
and gave vent to the disagreeable noise by drawing his
breath between his teeth.

Mr. BALLANTINE said the man was brought before
on Wednesday morning, charged with being found drunk
in the streets, and when he spoke to him he made the most
whimsiol grimaces he ever witnessed, and refused to an-
swer a sit ;le question, or give any account of himself. He
ordered bin: to be detained until the evening, when he be-
gan uttering' the offensive cry he was then making. (Here
the prisoner gnashed his teeth, stared wildly around, and
gave utterance to the disagreeable noise with such rapidity
as to terrify every one present.) The worthy magistrate
continued to say that it was necessary the unfortunate man
should be taken care of; and that;inquiries should be made
after his friends.

Mr. BALLANTII4E said the prisoner must not be set
loose, and the parish must take care of him.
Mr. Rook said the Board of Guardians were not at
liberty to keep a lunatic in the workhouse beyond a cer-
tain time. _

......
Mr. BRODERIP said the question wad whether the man
was a lunatic or not.

Mr. Rook said a man named Wales, an inmate of the
workhouse, recognised the prisoner as having been in the
House of Correction when be (Wales) was confined there.
Mr. BALLANTINE said that might lead to his identity.

The prisoner was then removed to the workhouse by
Mr. Rook, making the most hid.muis grimaces, and utter-
ing wild cries.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

On Thursday night, at sir o'clock, a Jury was empannelled
in Newgate, before Mr. PAYNE, the City Coroner, on view of
the body of Harriet Smith, alias Durrant, who died in the gaol.
Mr. G. M'Murdo, surgeon to the prison, sworn—Stated
that the deceased was brought under his notice on the 4th of
May, the day of her arrival. She was so weak that she came
in a coach, and was carried into the Frison. She had been
previously suckling a child, and her milk was suppressed. She
got so bad that for a day or two he thought she would have
died. He supported her with wine, milk, &c. She died on
Wednesday. She said that she had been frightened by having
been taken out of bed. As a medical man, lam of opinion
that she ought not to have been brought here.
Mr. Cope said, in answer to a juror, that she was sent to
Newgate for having received stolen goods. He understood
that the deceased had been twice apprehended on the charge
for which she was committed. That a.rter the first examina-
tion she was discharged, but was told by Mr. Laing, the ma-
gistrate of Hatton-garden, that she was released because the
prosecutor was not present, and that she was liable to be again
taken into custody. The last time she was ap,•prehended she
was taken out of bed, between three and four o'clock in the
morning.
Juror—lt seems strange that she shoull have been sent here
in that state.

CORONER—The question is, was she in a state to be brought
,here? It is not because a man has a warrant that he is to
execute that warrant at the risk of a person's life.
At this moment the mother of the deceased appeared in the
inquest-room. The unfortunate woman, who seemed op-
pressed with grief, stated that her name was Harriet Durrant,
and that she lived at Summer-hill, Hatton-Garden. The de-
ceased's name was Harriet Rebecca Durrant. She was 19
years of ego and a single woman. She cohabited with man
named Thomas Smith, clerk to Mr. Haseer, barrister. The
child she had by him was horn the last day of the last year.
Her daughter laid in in Gray's Inn workL.oue. She was
living in Eyre-street-hill with witness when she was taken
into custody, which was between three and four D'clock in the
morning. Three weeks previous to that she had beon in Clerk-
enwell Prison.

CORONER—When was: it that she was first taken ill ? Wit-
ness—On the Sunday previous to the Thursday that size was
apprehended. After the first examination Smith told her that
his master would let him off by having a flaw in the indict-
ment, and that he must make her suffer in order that he might
escape. On the Sunday a loud knock at the door alarmed
her. She thought it was the police. The effect was that.
almost all her milk flow up into her head. She was ill from
that time, and never went out of the house till the Thu+sday
morning, when the police came. Witness afterwards fed the
child.

The depositions were here brought hi, and which acre read
by the Coroner. From them it appeared that Mr. William
Hastier, barrister, No. 1.2, King's Bench-walk, was the pro-
secutor, with whom the prisoner Smith had been clerk a short
time. The prosecutor left his chambers in February, to go on
the circuit, when during his absence Smith robbed him of a
silver flask and other articles to the value of about 20/., tiie
greater part of which several pawnbrokers identified the de--
ceased to have pawned, and who at one place, on being ques-
tioned as to the possession of plate which had a crest upon it,
represented herself as belonging to a respectable family, and
that shz had married a person in humble life against the wish
of her relations. The witness, in continuation, said that her
daughter was not fit to be removed away. She would have
had a doctor if she could have afforded to pay for one. Be-
tween three and four o'clock on Sunday morning, the police-
man came.

CORONER—What did you say to the policeman ? Witness
—I do not know. Being awaked out of my sleep I was fright-
ened. He knocked loud at the door, and said, " Here are
policemen." They came into the room, and said to the de-
ceased, " I want you ; you must go along with us." She
was all,in a twitter, and trembled very much. The police bore
her down stairs, and held up her head.

Several Jurors—God bless me.
Witness told the policeman that she was very ill ever since
Sunday.
CORONER ?—What-did he say ? Witness—He did not say
anything.
Cottomert—Did he show his warrant ? Witness—No, Sir.
There were three policemen.
CORONER—Three policemen for one woman I Well.
Juror—Did the policemen behave kind to her ? Witness—
As far as I saw they did.
CORONER—de your judgment was she in a fit state to go at
that time of the morning ? Witness—No, Sir, she was not
indeed. She was very far from being in a fit state to go. She
said to the policeman, " Poor girl, she is not in a fit state to
go—she has been ill ever since Sunday."
A gentleman who was present at the investigation before
Mr. Laing at Hatton garden Office stated that she appeared
very ill indeed. Her lips were pale, and the whole com-
plexion of her countenance denoted illness. She was in con-
sequence provided with a chair by order of the Magistrate, Mr.
Laing. ' Smith was there.
CORONER—Did she make any answer to the charge? Wit-
ness—She was scarcely able to speak. Oa the former exami-
nation she appeared very well ; on which occasion she gave
her answers with the greatest flippancy, refusing to gi►e the
Magistrate any satisfactory account.
CORONER—Was there any observation from the Magis-
trate? Witness—The Magistrate might have seen it as well
as witness. It was very evident to him. There was no ob-
servation made as to• the impropriety of committing her. She
was supported out of the office.
Juror—What were his observations about her? Witness—
His impression seemed to be that she affected illness. He
said that she was very easily frightened, or something to that
effect ; as he had never seen such flippancy as she exhibited
on the former occasion.

„..
The Jury having express a desire to hear no further evi-
dence,
The CORONER summed up. He observed that, in taking the
deceased out of her bed at that time of the morning, the
police had done nothing unlawful, she being charged with a
criminal offence ; and 't had not been represented to the police
that she was in a state of danger from being removed, where-
by the consequence might be the loss of life. It wis also
stated that she had been treated with kindness by the polite
What ought to have been the duty of the Magistrate was ano-
ther question. Mr. Laing might have acted differently, and
he was not disposed to say that every Magistrate would have
taken the course that Mr. Laing did.—( Cries of ” Hear,
hear," from some of the Jury.) On the contrary, he thought
that few, if any, would have acted as he did. Had he been
placed as that Magistrate was he certainly would have placed
her where she would have been taken care of till she was well
enough to be sent to prison (since the idea of imprisonment
would tend to aggravate rather than ameliorate h r complaint) ;
not but what she might have received treatment in Newgate
equally as kind as what she would in any hospital. Verdict—
" Natural Death."

The thermometer in the shade now sometimes
reaches 60 in the course of the twenty-four hours—no mighty
elevation, it is true, in the mouth of May, but still presenting
a wide contrast to the long-continued depression it has now
for nearly nine months been subject to.