The Sun.
London, England, 1822-10-07 00:00:00

SUICIDES.

On Saturday an Inquisition was held at the Spread Eagle, in
Charles street, Middlesex Hospital, before T. STIRLING, Esq.

on the body of Mr.. George Hassan, a reSpectahb tradesman,
aged 72, who was found dead on Friday last.
Mr. Win. Hassan; the son of the deceased, deposed, that while
his father was working at the Duke of Buckingham's mansion
at Stow; in January last, he was seized with a fit of epilepsy, and
fell under a stove by which he was very much burnt, since which
period the deceased has been under the care of Dr. Jordan and
other surgeons, who had lately applied caustic to his back to pre-
vent the wound spreading ; and they were going to apply the
blue-stone the morning he was discovered dead.. On Friday
morning, about seven o'clock, he went into the deceased's
bed-room, and found his father suspended in a very singular
manner ; he had taken the tongs and poker from the parlpur,
and two sticks which he fastened together with a silk hand-
kerchief; these he placed across a chest of drawers and a
corner cupboard, and suspended himself to it by a binder...4._
Witness instantly called assistance ; the deceased was quite
dead. During the whole of this witness's testimony, he ap-
peared very much distressed.
The Jury, after viewing the body, returned a strdict--
" That the deceased hung himself; being at the time in a state
of temporary mental derangement."

•At half-past three o'clock on. Saturday 'an Inquisition was
taken at the Green Mar.,•Ship-yard, Temple-bar, before Mr-
AIGGS, Deputy Coroner, on the body of Elizabeth Paterson.
Mr. James Powell, of Surrey-street, Strand, surgeon, stated
that he was informed•deceased had died in a fit ; but from what'
he had heard subsequently, he was led to believe that the de-
ceased had, from the too free use of spiritous liquors, so com-
pletely destroyed the tone and action of the digestive organs,
as to accclerate if not cause her death.

Michael Patterson, of No. 23, Ship-yard, fruiterer, stated
that he was the husband of the deceased, who was 52 years of
age; that she had been in the daily habit of getting drunk for
years past ; that she had not been sober three days in the last
six months • and so inveterate was the habit of drinking she acquired, that she would dawn any thing she could lay, her
hands upon ; and then, resorting to the gin-shop, drink until
she had'spent all her money. On Thursday morning she drank
a quantity of water, which her stomach rejected ; at about half-
past ten deceased became worse, and witness, at her desire,
fetched her-a gill of Cape wine; she drank one glass of it, but
as she was carrying the second to her lips, she appeared as if
she was going into a fit; and putting the glass sharply down
upon the table, she struggled, and fell back upon the bed; she
became violently convulsed, and expired.
'John Crocker, landlord of the house in which deceased lived,
corroborated the preceding witness as to the general intoxication
of the deceased.

M. limos summed up the evidence, and the following ver-
dict was recorded :—" Died from the effects of continual intoxi-
cation."

At 8 o'clock an Inquisition was taken at the King's Arms,
Green-street, Grosvenor-square, before Mr. FfiGG's, on the
body of Martha Barnsly, a young woman 18 years of age.
Frances Chambers, of 48, Green-street, examined—l have
known the deceased about two months; I took her into my
lodgings out of compassion; she told me that her mother was
continually in a state of intoxication, that she frequently beat
her, and turned her out of doors. She was a very steady, good
girl; she was sickly, and often low-spirited ; she was sometimes
sullen, On Friday afternoon I went into Oxford-street, leav-
ing the deceased at home ; as I was returning I met her, and
asked her why she came out; she said she was going a little way
for a walk. I then asked her where she was going; she replied,.
no where in particular. I shortly after went home, and after I
had been a few minutes in my bed-room the deceased returned,
and went into the bed room adjoining the parlour on the first
floor. She was retching in a d,readful manner. I sent for a
surgeon, and on his arrival he desired that the deceased should
be put to bed. 'We accordingly undressed her, and found in
her pocket a phial with some laudanum in it. In the course of
the evening the deceased's mother came into the room, but the
deceased made a sign with her hand for her to go, and expressed
her dislike to seeing her. From the time of her taking the poi-
son till she died deceased was sensible. A few minutes before
she expired, she exclaimed, " Oh, my God! where am I going?"
Mr. John Todd, .of No. 216, Oxford-street.—.l was sent for
to attend the deceased ; when I went into the room she was vo.-
miting excessively; 1 was shewn a cup, in which there was a
small quantity of fluid, which I tasted, and found to be a di-
lution of oxalic acid in laudanum. I immediately sent fur an
emetic and administered it to the deceased, but with great diffi-
culty, the throat being considerably swelled. She died in the
course of the night. I have examined the body, and have no
doubt that her death was caused by taking a quantity of oxalic
acid dissolved in laudanum.

Mr. HIGGS said that it appeared to him that the deceased
had, during a temporary fit of insanity., taken the poison which
caused her death.

The Jury returned a verdiet—" Poisoned herself when in a fit
of temporary derangement."

The Durham Chronicle has lately alarmed this
neighbourhood, by stating, " that a smart shock of an earth-
quake was distinctly felt at .lannston, near Newcastle, on the
morning of Wednesday,• 18th ulkaccornpanied by a loud noise,
like distant thunder," and that chairs, tables, &c. were removed;
and the head of a clock-case .thrown,•down by the violence of
the concussion, &c. &c. Now we can assure our readers that
this frightful statement, like some of the political delusions of
this sapient Journal, is all " blarney." We have made most par-
ticular inquiry into the matter, and find that the waggoners
belonging to a colliery in that neighbourhood, having received
their pay on Tuesday 17th Sept. had a mind to make merry,
and having drank deep they departed about 12 o'clock at night,
driving their coal waggons, about 20 in number, along the
waggon-way. The effect produced by the motion of these un-
wieldy vehicles, was the same as that which we daily experience
when a heavy stage waggon passes our dwellings. They occa-
sioned some little vibration, and shook down some plates
from a shelf in a house which they passed—and this was the
Chronicle's earth-quake ! We did not hear the rumbling noise,
and must therefore leave untouched the simile of the Chronicle;
which poetically compares the rolling of coal waggons to the
thunders of heaven ! Si'e really wish the Chronicle would be
more circumspect in its publications, and not oblige us so fre
quently to expose the non-sensical stories which it gives to the
world. We expected, after the celebrated moon-light scene
from Chester-le-Street, that it would have been more cautious.
—(Durham Advertiser, Oct. 4.)