The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-18 00:00:00

HATTON-GARDEN.

On Wednesday Mr. John Nichol Watson, sur-
geon, of 211, Tottenham-court-road, w.is brought to
this office, in the custody of Messrs. List and Oak-
ley, inspectors of the G division of New Police,
and Se,jeant Brown, charged under the following
extraordinary circumstances, with having comem.
pl4ted and prepared the means of setting his house
on tire with the intention of defrauding the in-
surance-offices. .

The case excited considerable interest, and the
office wa: crowded to excess.

R. B. Steele, medical student, stated to the fol-
lowing effect :—I have been some time acquainted
with the prisoner, who resides at No. 211, Totten-
ham-court-road. In consequence of having ceived
a note from the prisoner requesting me to call upon
him, as he had something very important to com-
municate to me, I called on Thursday morning last
at an early hour. lie stated to me that he had
something to communicate, and as he had some
business to do, he requested me to call again at
half-past twelve o'clock. 1 called at the appointed
time, and found the prisoner sitting in the surgery.
On entering the place I said, " You see that I am
punctual." He tepli, d, " Aye, almost too punctual."
He called in his boy, and ordered him to fetch a
bottle of wine, some brandy, and thin biscuits,
which he brought, and on his leaving the surgery
the prisoner said to me, " I have something to
propose of a money-making concern." The boy
went home to dinner. He said to me in the morn-
ing, " By --, Dick, you are the only man that
I would trust, you are a sailer," alluding to m)
having served in the sth Regiment of Hussars.
The prisoner proposed going to France, but pre-
viously, he said, they ought to save a little money
to provide for themselves, and to bring my brother
from India, who is in the army. He propoSed to
go to France in May next to study anatomy, and
asked me " If I were to go how I could account to
my mother for my absence, which would be neces-
sary." I was willing to do what he proposed. Ile
then told me that he meant only to cheat the in-
surance offices. I said, " Very well," and acceded
to it, and asked " How it was to be done." The
prisoner said, that he would lay a tiain in his shop,
and arrange combustibles, and that I should go and
set them on fire. •

Magistrate—What did you say to that ?
Wiiness—l acceded to every thing. He told me
that I was to have 100/., awl I was to open a shop
as n chyrnist and druggist, and he would supply tee
with some of his drugs. I could insure it to above
its amount, and he would start or Lurn it. I ac-
ceded and asked " when it way to be done ?" He
replied, last night (Tuesday), adding that a " secret
long hatched got winded, and it must be clone that
night," and as I was absent myself from mymo-
r's he inquired how I could account for it ? I
told him that I had some friends at Windsor, and I
could tell her that I was with them for a few days.
It as approved of, and agreed to. He asked if I
had money to go there, and I said that I would
walk. Tile prisoner appointed to Enr,T: efIC on
Thursday night at Taylor's C4:ce,house, and at the
corner of Francis-street, Tottenham-court-road, ar
six o'clock, in a private room up stairs; and to pre-
vent mistake the prisoner wrote the address for m.
on a scrap of paper (now predueeca4). I asked hip
where he would be while was going on ? 11.
answered that he would go and see a patient, or
temale friend. There was
.only one young man ii
the house whom he was afraid c,f, and A he wool.
take him to see this friend. I think he told m.
that this young man WaS the son of the landlord o
the house. Another appo'ntment was made a
Tayl en Coffee,house, as the
prismiu objected t.
my being seen too often at his house, as he migh
afterwards be suspected. At this interview the
prisoner told me that he would prepare turpentine
rosin, sulphur, and saltpetre, and that it should al
be ready for me to set light to, and the gas should b.
left burning; and that he %vas anxious to see me th-
night before, but he went to Covent-garden Theatre
The prisoner proposed that he should leave how
, between ten and eleven o'clock en the night the