The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-02 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

GUILDHALL.
Yesterday the sitting Alderman, Sir P. LAtTam,
received a communication from the Lord Mayor, en-
closing a letter winch had been addressed to his
Lordship by a prisoner in the Fleet, complaining
that he was confined in the strong room on an un-
founded charge, and that the said strong room had
been rendered unfit for habitation from the circum-
stances that it had not been cleaned or aired by
firing since a man had been dissected in it, and the
corpse of another man had been kept there who
died of an infectious disorder.

Mr. Beresford, the chief clerk, advised the Alder-
man that he had no authority over the Warden or
the Fleet Prison, but Sir Peter considered that part
of the letter which referred to a dissection having
taken place so extraordinary, that it deserved im-
mediate explanation, as the Coroner did not re-
member holding any inquest at the gaol recently,
where such an examination of the deceased had been
necessary.

Sir l'F.Tr.Tt therefore repaired to the prison in-
stanfer, xvh.t-re he was politely received by Mr.
Brown, the Warden, who, after observing that in
law he ‘...as responsible alone to the Judges of the
Common Pleas Court, said be would cheerfully
afford Sir Peter the fullest explanation, and con-
ducted him to the strong room, where Tilley, the
writer of the letter, was still in confinement.

The man was sitting at a table with some cards
dealt out before him, as if he had been playing with
a fellow-prisoner; and his wife was sitting in a
corner, with an infant in her arms, and two other
children by her side. The room appeared to be as
commodious as many others in the gaol, having a
boarded floor and a fireplace in it ; with glass before
the bars across the window, and a small yard, per-
haps fifteen feet square, to take an airing in. His
wife was permitted to remain with him day and
night, and he was visited every three hours, that
any reasonable wants might be supplied. He had
been allowed to receive half a gallon of porter on
Monday; so that the punishment, in flier, was
merely a restriction from enjoying the society of the
other prisoners.
After hearing Tilley's statement, several witnesses
were called before the Alderman, who entered into
all matters at length. We need, however, only
state the result :—That it appeared the strong room
had been washed out after what was termed the
dissection and the placing of the infectious corpse
in it, and the window was kept constantly open
while unoccupied. That about three weeks ago a
man fell down stairs, and died from the injury- he
received, and prior to the inquest the surgeon
opened the head only to be able to state precisely
the cause of death ; and this operation was called
"a dissection." That about a fortnight ago, a Mr.
Wasbrough, who formerly conducted a clever
newspaper, called the English Gentleman, died of
consumption, and his corpse was kept for some
hours in this room for• the holding of the usual in-
quest. But the body was not considered to be in
an infectious state, it was scarcely noisome, for the
poor gentleman had literally pined away all his flesh,
and become a mere skeleton. As there were com-
monly .500 souls within the walls, the immediate
removal of the dead was resorted to as a proper
precaution, even where no danger• could be appre-
hended from allowing the corpse to remain in the
rooms of the building. And with respect to the
cause of the prisoner's confinement, it appeared that
he had severely kicked some stranger who had in-
sulted his wife; and that a prisoner named Kay,
some hours afterwards, met Tilley in a passage and
told him he thought he had treated the stranger
rather too roughly. Tilley instantly struck Kay,
who ran off, the former being almost a giant in size
and strength. Another prisoner who (to use his
own words) had been taking a pint in " the snug-
gery" (tap room) remonstrated against this violence
and came in for a severe blow in the mouth ; and on
the complaint of these two prisoners, corroborated
by three witnesses, the Warden committed Tilley
to the strong room, until he should appear contrite,
and promise not to offend again in the like manner.
Sir P. LAI:RIF 'explained to the prisoner that he
had no power to interfere; and after the investiga-
tion he expressed himself satisfied that the prisoner's
complaint was groundless, and that he had been pro-
, perly punished by the Warden.
From the unbending temper the prisoner showed
before the Magistrate, his continuance in his present
gloomy abode is not likely to he of short duration.