The Sun.
London, England, 1809-02-07 00:00:00

AINDER.

I

Yesterday an Inquisition wAs 'held at the house
f Ms,:pykes, the Five Bells, at New-crois, Dept-,.
tor.l,.'ull the body 'of liieut.John Johnson, of the
N toy, who , was :found about seven .o'clock on tie .
Morning Of Saturday last, in a ditch,, and by. the
Willie/Gates that 'dad- to Mr. Hardcastle's mansion-
ino•it inhumanly murdered.
Jum :et/ T, the Coroeer opened the case; and
he witnesses were called in the folloWing order :
James Smith, who has for 20 years last past drove
the waggon of Mr. Robert Edwards, gmdener, of
New-eroSS; pcptlet'd,'iaid, that about ball past one
:,, the morning of Satnrday, he was coming tip with
*east, when, on his way, a man accosted him
.‘.lth the brogue :of!an. Irishman, stout, and armed
.with a large stick, who asked first, how far it
was to London-bridge ? He said it was:three Miles
teem the next • stone. He then 'asked where h 9
was ? Hts replied, at New-cross. He accompanied
rue witness for near 200 yards, until he stopt at the
Five Bells, which wag more for the purpose of get-
ting rid' of the man than any other reason ; he saw a
comrade or two ,of his walling on the road, but
they did pot speak to hirri. They were less than
the first mash They Must all three have got out of
the ditch.
Another man, a day labourer, who was going to
his wok, said, that on going toward Mr. Hard-
c,,,tif.'; gate, he met a soldier of the Militia, who
told him that a man was lyingin the ditch murdered.
He spoke to Mr. Dykes, of the Five Bells, who
i;vAnt with him, and found the body in a ditch, near
the gate. He then went on to define the state he
found the deceased in, which is given snore accu-
rately by the subsequent wit nesses. , '
Mr. Dykes spoke as to the state also in which the
body was found, and a large body of blood that bad
issued from the dreadful wounds he had received,
• and coagulated blood was beside the bank of the
ditch ; and he had received several severe wounds,
which he had noidoubt were the cause of his death.
He had the body removed to hiti house, the Five
Bells; and a surgeon soot) after attended.
Me. Blanchard, surgeon, at Peckham, who at-
tended, fully set out the state of the deceased when
he saw ,His throat was cut from ear to.ear,
and his head neatly severed 'trout his body. He had
nine wounds about his face, and in particular the
loWer part ; at the back of his head were sevetal se-
vere contusions and cuts, and 'his left thnmb was
oearly cut btr; there could be no doubt that the
Wounds he had received were the cause of his death;
.10c1 Most probablpieffieted in a dreadful struggle.
It appears that. the deceased was a Lieutenant in
the Navy, and from his earliest years had been in
that service ; he was about 4.5 years old,tand had of
late belepged to the 'ship Eddinton br Eydereen,
Pengelly, now lying at the Nore, that he had
r awhile past been absent on leave at the house of'
Lis brother, Mr. Johnson, a surgeon, in Mortither-
street Cavendish-square, from whence he came
away on the Friday arternoon to juin his ship, and
t,avitig sent ail his stock down, he had borrowed a
ihirt, in which he died, marked -F, W. from his
brother-its-law, Mr. Frederick ut Brewer-
street, Golden-square. is_ understood, but cannot
bil"positlvely ascertained, that he had about five 01,
six -pounds in his pocket, that he was a man of great
personal courage, and most probably made great
resistance when attacked. -
Two Sweeps are in custody on suspicion, but of
all the persons described as suspaled, they ate least
likely, all against than is their own silly cenversa-

Lion. . .
On the whole of the case, a verdia of IP ifful Mur-
der oguintt persons unknown,m as taken and. returned.
The Magistrates at Union Hall, aided by their
officers, are making inquiries in all diredions, and
we hope will prove' successful.

1,41 Y REPORT.

COURT OF UENCH, Fin. 6,

THE: KING V. ALFA. DAVIDiON, ,E 541.
, The Defendant came to rceeivo the judgment of
the Court. Our readers are sufficiently acquainted
with the circumstances of, this me. •
Mr. DALLAS now addressed the Court in mitiga-
tiou of punishment in a very able speech, in which
be commented on hiS public services and carious.
instances of disinterested condi:lo, particularly his
being at ennsiderableexpencein raising a Volunteer,
Corps; and also furnishing Government on en emer-
gency with a quantity of arms at prime cost. It
',A-0 also stated, that he; tools the Cornmisseriat de-
partment under Lod Moira:s expedition ,with great
personal inconvenience, , and at considerable pecu.
I,iary sacrifice ; from a review of all which circum-
stances he, hoped the .Court would be induced
to alleviate the severity of , their judgement.—
' He lamented much that it, frequently loppeoed, the
innocent were involved in the sufferings of the
guilty, but the Court in' meting out punishment, he
was sure, would not award punishment which would
have that effett when they could avoid it. The Gen,.
tleman on the floor had two sons, both owning their
Country in honourable stations, the one in the army
and the other in the navy, and he:implored the Court
in mercy to these, not to award such a punishment
as:must retle6t disgrace upon them. Ht; was sure
they would administer insiice with mercy.;
.and he
trusted that much 500,1 conduat might, in the hour
of adversity, be antlered to diminish the deMands of
iastice. • .
The ATTORNEY OLVERAL, With coast ability and
eloquence, took a review of the circumstances of the
case, and went nver the whole of the circumstances
which ire so ably stated by him upon the trial..
The Court ordered the Defendant to, stand com-
mitted to the King's Bench Prison, and to he brought
up again 00 briday.-

COUIt.T OF ,CIIANCFAY, SA4URD4Y, FLU. 4,

m'xitraass V. M'KeNZIES,

It appeared that a partnership had formerly ex-
isted between the Plaintiffs and Defendants In this
enie ' • 'but their of les getting into disorder,. they,
tied year 18n7, entered into an agreement with
creditors, by which the Defendants quitted all
nncerns in the busineo, and silt:rendered op' their
Liilre and interest In the same; and in all the stock,