The Sun.
London, England, 1813-09-29 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

The Hants Courier communicates the following
additional partietilars with regard to the murder
of G. Brothers, a .Witternlan, at Portsmouth, on
Wednesday last :-r-
" Three. French prisbners, Francois Relif, Jean
Marie Minze, and Dottie/ Da Verge, having •ef-
fected their escape from Porton depAr, engaged
the wherry of the above-named George'Brothers,
to, take them to Ryde'; when off the Block-house,
(according to their own assertions) they-proposed'
to the boatman to takethein toTranee, promising
ample reward, and liberty to return immediately :
but he, not to lie corrupted
.by promises or re-
ward, resisted their propsition, and in conse-
quence they stabbed him in sixteen places, (three
of which, were mortal); and threw him Over-
board.' The Frenchmen immediately directed their
course to sea, and were promptly pursued by se-
veral wherries, in , one of which were Lieutenant
Suiloek end three seamen of the Centaur, at an-
chor at Spithead,. In -. consequerxe of a heavy
swell, and, had management, the Frenchmen were
overtaken after te run of &liana lc; ti.i4ts ; one of
the men belonging to'the Centaur leaped into the
wherry among the Frenchmen -alone, when at time
distance of s-reeral feet, armed with nothing- but
the stretcher,, with which he knocked.nue:of then'
down : they then surrendered: They were taken
on - board the Centaur for the might, and on
being .searched, a large sum of money. was
found about them in ' silver, and three .knives,
one of them' wits very .bloody;' and on Thursr
day morning they were delivered into the bands
of the civil power, and landed at the,sally-port.—
They were taken to the Borough gaol; where they
were again examined. .'They, confessed that Bro.-
thers was killed by two of them, but that the
third was no further coneereed ,than in lending
his knife to the other, when the waterman resist-
ed them. Mote,money was here taken frOm theiti,
One having actually concealed in. his pantaloons
under his 'boots thirty-three ris.:ad. pieces. . ,It
appears, that.bythe manufacture of lace, toyS„&e.
the priSoners accumulated a euflicient sum of .4110-
, ney to procure a suit of genteel .clothes each; (he,.:
sides the sums taken front. their :persons), dressed
in whi,elm, they mingled with the crowd of visitors
that were walking intim depot, eluding by their
metatnorphosed appearance ~tiie vigilance of the
turnkeys and- military , sentinels. On. Thursday
an inquest was held on
.the, bodyby-it. Gita.4,
WAY, Lsq. Coroner, when the fullowittg deposi-
tions were made ;
John Sullivan and Jeremiah Wells; both of
Gosport, deposed ~that about half-past four o'clock
on Wednesday afternoon, as they. were going to
Spithead,. alittle distance from tint mow h of time
tmarbour, on ' the. Bloek-bonse Aide, tear Fei:
thane's_ gibbet, ,they descried a wherry steering
Ana S..W,along the hospital shore, about. one
hundred yards front them—the wherries then
abreast of each othershe wore almost inune-
(Hatch?, and.steered S. E.:directing her course to-
ward Southsca (.:astle: They then save- a hat go
overoarc4, and ,the people kim the'vV-Imerry.all Seq.C7
ding together ;
~they were four in.ntonbce ; three
persons besides the' Nv atcritinn; that they plainly
saw two of theet rise their arms us if stabbing or
bearing the waterman, who was crying Out yory
much at the time ; and ilea few seconds, by the unit-
ed exertions of all three, the waterinan was thrown
overb‘pard,
.011 seeing this the .deponents ,hauled
their whul,and nummielowardsthern with an intention
to gimassistaneetothe waterian; nut on seeing
'4.lie body thrown overboard, they 4:eeted their
course towards that, the other boat continued
steering south-east. V.'-hen they came wiiiiin 20
,ny.ra(.l)(tlisn:imf tli e
seas
cl.),(lkyti, l
i,e t(iievvvi; ~I;it, elm;01:(.r
),d_sic:,‘ve
,-trlal
;is yard,
Cotsaillt..l,:i,le,ri
,w,iiFertz
ret:saename, , misivimthtii::ishfistoeNrue.)::elovi:iflei
their it-.isi,itance the body was taken into Covrard'S
boat. They observed. no appearance of life,'but
'distinctly san three wounds, apparently from a
knifes one -on the left cheek„ anothcrlin the neck,
and another a-little belOw on, the breast. Wells
'further 'deposed, tliat he proceeded, in Coward's,
... .