The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-23 00:00:00

ALLEGED POISONING OP A WHOLE FAMILY
AT BERMONDSEY.

EXTRAORDINARY AND MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR.
Yesterday afternoon, Mr. W. Carter, coroner for East
Surrey, opened an inquiry at the Crown and Anchor
Tavern, Bermondsey, relative to the extraordinary and
mysterious circumstances attending the death of James
George Trump, aged six years, the son of a plasterer,
residing at No. 9, Prince's-road, near the above house.
The jury having proceeded to view the body, the fol-
lowing evidence was adduced :
Jane Trump deposed that she was the wife of James
George Trump, a plasterer, residing at No. 9, Prince's- '
road, Bermondsey. On Monday morning last she (wit-
ness) sent the deceased to purchase some potatoes for
dinner, and at one o'clock the same day her husband,
herself, the deceased, and her youngest child, aged
seventeen months, sat down to partake of some hashed
mutton. They all partook of it, and about five minutes
after dinner the deceased became very sick, and vomited
almost constantly, bringing up a dark green fluid. Soon
after the deceased was taken ill, her husbandicomplained
of being very sick, and vomited violently, and directly
afterwards witness was also taken ill.
The Coroner.—When your husband was sick did you
notice what he ejected ?
Witness—Yes, sir ; he threw up a green fluid, the
same as the deceased.
Witness continued—There was some flour and water
in the hashed mutton made into a paste, and put on the
top of the meat. The flour was obtained at the shop of
Mr. Lambert, baker, of Neckinger-street, Bermondsey,
and had been in the house about a week. Notwith-
standing her husband was very ill, he left home to go to
his work, but he had not been gone above five minutes
when she (witness) began to vomit, and brought up a
large quantity of green fluid. The infant did not take any
of the paste, and was not taken ill. When the deceased
became sick he did not complain of being in pain, but was
very sleepy, and witness placed him on the carpet before
the fire, but did not send for any medical assistance. At
tea time her husband returned, and said he was very
sick, and complained of pains in the head. Witness felt
remarkably sick, and retired to bed with the deceased
about nine o'clock in the evening, and her husband left
the house to do a job of work. He returned home
about one o'clock the next morning, and took the de-
ceased out of bed to look at him. A few minutes after-
wards she (witness) was alarmed at finding the deceased's
hands quite cold, and her husband immediately got. up
and went for Mr. Paul, a surgeon, but before he arrived
the child was quite dead.
The Coroner—Does your husband belong to any burial
club ?

Witness—No, sir ; but he is a member of the Foresters'
Order, and if he died I should be entitled to a sum of
money for his funeral.
A Juror—What was the flour with which you made
the paste kept in ?
Witness--It was kept in a paper bag, with Mr. Lam-
bert's name printed on it.
The Coroner—Did you ever use any flour out of the
same bag before ?
Witness—Yes ; on Sunday week bit. I then made
a pudding, which the whole of us partook of without
any ill effect.
Witness continued—Did not give any of the paste to
the youngest child, as she thought it was too hard, and
accordingly only gave it some hi ea d with a little gravy
out of the hash. Before they ban dinner, witness sent
the deceased to an oil•shop for some salt, of which she
and her husband partook, but she was not positive
whether the deceased had any or not.
Mr. Slow, the coroner's officer, said lie had seen Dr.
Paul, but that gentleman could not any manner ac-
count for the death.
The Coroner said that he thought the case ought not
to proceed any further, as a post mortein, examination
was absolutely necessary. It was a most serious and
suspicious affair ; three persons being suddenly seized
with sickness immediately after partak;A2,- of a meal.
He (the Coroner) felt that he should nu„ oe doing his
duty in such a case, if he did not institute the strictest
impiry into the circumstances connec ed with it.
Mr. Slow said that he had seen a- Jilm an where the
deceased had purchased the salt, an . he informed him
that there was nothing of a poisonous nature in the shop
within the reach of a child of the deceased's age.
After some further conversation the inquiry was
adjourned, and an order placed in the hands of Mr.
Slow, authorising Dr. Paul to make a post mortal;
examination.
The case has excited the greatest interest in the neigh-
bourhood, and the result of the anatomy is looked for-
wafd.to with the greatest anxiety.

THE FOREIGN TRADE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.—.
Between January and November last, as appears from a
recently printed Parliamentary paper, 29,866 ships, of
6,546,320 tonnage, employed in the foreign trade of the
United Kingdom, entered inwards, and 29,699 ships, of
6,462,035 tonnage, cleared outwards.
OPPOSITION TO THE CHRISTMAS-DAY HOLIDAY.--At
the last meeting of the board, held in the Marylebone
Court-house, Mr. Mitchell moved that the inhabitants
be invited to close their establishments, and cease all
business on Monday next, so as to enable their assist.
ants to enjoy and recreate themselves on that day ; and
that a circular containing that suggestion, be sent round
to each householder. Mr. Mitchell forcibly, feelingly,
and eloquently urged the justice and necessity of the
motion. Mr. Clement George seconded, and Messrs.
Hasselden and Hodges supported the proposition,
which was opposed by Messrs. Jacob Bell, Soden, and
others, as it savoured of dictation to the inhabitants.

The motion was put and lost, whereupon Mr. George
observed that oven the loss of the motion would not
defeat its object, for the publicity given to it by the press
would stimulate all the tradesmen and others to carry it
out. (Rear, hear.) He could promise for the inhabi-
tants of Oxford-street that they would faithfully observe
next Monday as a holiday. (Hear, hear.)
AMERICAN EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. —The vessels
forming the bulk of this squadron still remain in these
waters. We have the Macedonian, frigate, in our har-
bour. The Powhatan, steamer ; the Vandalia, sloop ;
and the Southampton, store-ship, are at Cumsingmoon.
The Susquehanna, steamer, and the Supply, store-ship,
are at Whampoa; and the Mississippi, steamer, to which
vessel Commodore Perry lately removed his flag, is at
Macao. The Saratoga, sloop, is at Shanghai, and the
Plymouth, sloop, off the coast of Loochoo, where the
whole fleet will rendezvous, it is said, sometime in
January, and proceed to Japan in the month following,
where their imposing appearance must command a very
civil reception. We imagine there can hardly be a
doubt that the commodore will be enabled to carry out
the desire of his Government in establishing a treaty of
commerce without having occasion to fire one single
gun.—Hong-Kong Register.

TILE LATE CAPTAIN WARNErt.—Tho following letter
has been addressed to the editor of the Times :—" I beg
to inform you that your paragraph concerning the late
Captain Warner was
orrnectly correct. The captain
dbieedds,idoen
atnli(ei stothnkinst.,
down hispol last xwyo,
assure your
fabrication'was present pearenstebnetrastfohir:
correspondent that ther'e was no gross
in the rel)ort of hvis death.hed Talie
bwyifeyaonudr
seven children, although
correspondent, do really exist. If their relative is anxious
to do his part in relieving their distress, which, too, is
an absolute fact, and no 'fabrication, I shall be happy
to give him their present address.--I am, Sir, your
obedient servant, THE MEDICAL MAN IN ATTENDANCE.
Henrietta-street,
Aeet,T u
CTevr garden,
n OF THEtgoaurrden,Dec.2lT.
SHIPWRECK Llns._This
morning information was received by the Ina, Haines,
master, from Dundee, arrived in the river, of the total
loss of the brig Faitheoff, for Barcelona, at midnight on
the 21st instant. It appears that the Faitheoff had en-
countered very severe weather, and was bearing up for
shelter, t struck
eheavilyeessful oe nffotrhtes
ttail
getof
herthe
off,L theong
Sand,
that she began to break up, and the
captain, A. Grove, with the crew, took the boat, and
with great difficulty succeeded in getting on board the
Ina, which vessel was coming up the Leven, but in such
sea a
was d, and when
0
s after sheviolent somes
an exhausted condition, from exposure, that it was only
by the greatest attention on the part of Captain Haines
and his crew that they recovered. The shipwrecked
mariners were brought to London by the Ina. The
Mette Margareth, also arrived in the river, has brought
the crew of the Augusta, which foundered off Flom-
borough Head on the night of the 16th instant.
THE COAL AND IRON TRADE.-011 account of the
proximity-of Christmas, great anxiety is felt by iron-
, mongers and the people generally to get in a stock of
coal for their immediate wants. The demand is, there-
fore, very great, and far in excess of the supply. Large
tracts of thick coal still lie immersed in water at Tipton
Green, the Moat Colliery, and the Deepfields, and there
seems no probability at present of a rehleawseil_,lobnriancacoofiuttnuhstpe.
of the disagreement which exists amongst the proprie-
tors as to the expense of erecting water-engines and
other necessaries. The iron trade still maintains un-
abated vigour, and the ironmasters will not remain satis-
fied, it appears, till there is another raissea
declared
of 2
ytpoee
ar
trth, ton
evni uponviz.:—Bars,
a:n_ d
Bumradar
sn,iut manufactured r eandtoiort
hoops,
iron,
commencementlw2l 11c ;
an
justification
,0
for
131.
price
thisre
ir c
et
step,oni it was
Sahosant the
when
theef rraw
rwomna materialk e r
s fetchesstate,
has now attained the
the above rate. We
would caution the ironmasters against
that will again bring down the price,
in discomfiture.— Ilrolverhampton a
deuxDauntidesthheasinj pa te
end
herald.na any
3 ultimatelyireci
THE WINE DUTIES.—A. report to the Committee for
the Reduction of the Wine
tion to Paris and Bordeaux by Mr. Oliveira, on his return from a visit of i.nvirstiga-
utesrtvbeneemngisweumede
districts. Ho describes, aa
and the
have been expected,
the prevalence of a very strongsml feeling in favour of a re-,
ciprocal trade with this country among all classes of the
Population in the part of France to which his inquiries
related, coupled with a sense that the recent measures of
the Government, in dealing with coal and iron, may
fairly be quoted as an earnest of their intention, which
should be responded to on this side. Among many
other statistical facts obtained by his visit, he refers to
those which relate to the almost total absence of intem-
perance among the people where wine is the only be-
verage ; and also to others, which annihilate the objection
that, if our consumption should materially increase,
there would be a difficulty to meet it by an adequate
supply. In putting this point to the best informed
persons in France he was met by smiles of astonishment.
The present annual produce of France is stated at
900,000,000 gallons, while the capacity of increase is
virtually illimitable. Under these circumstances Mr.
Oliveira observes, "Our present consumption from all
countries being six millions of gallons, if it were in four
years to increase tenfold, which is not at all improbable,
producing with a ls. duty a revenue of 3,000,0001., we
should require sixty millions of gallons, which France
alone, to say nothing of Portugal and Spain) would
supply without any effort whatever."