The Sun.
London, England, 1831-12-09 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

Yesterday afternoon, at four o'clock, an inquisi•
tion was taken in the Board Room of Sr. Bartholo-
mew's Hospital,before Mr. PAYNE, the City Coroner,
and a highly respectable Jury, on view of the body
of a middle-aged man, transmitted from the country
to that institution, for anatomical purposes, and
who, from a dreadful wound on the throat, and
other marks of violence, was supposed to have
fallen a victim to the other diabolical system of

" Burking" so prevalent of ►ate. Alderman Wilson,
at whose instance the inquiry took place, was pre-
sent, and took a prominent part in the proceedings,
and the room was crowded to excess by medical
practitioners, and others persons interested in the
investigation.
Mr. Edward Stanley, the demonstrator of ana-
tomy at the institution, was the first witness ex-
amined, who deposed that the body of the deceased
man had been sent up from a village, 100 miles in
the country. It was packed in a deal box, was re-
ceived through the same channel which supplies
the dissecting-rooms of the metropolis with sub-
jects, and arrived at the institution about noon the
preceding day. He saw it soon afterwards, and
was struck at beholding a wound in the throat,
which extended from thence all the way down the
body, as far as the knee. These suspicious ap-
pearances induced him to make a most careful
and minute examination of the body, in order
to ascertain whether the man had died a natural
death or not. The result of his observations were,
that the deceased had died from consumption, the
lungs being much diseased, and he was of opinion
that the wounds he had described had been inflicted

after death, and in all probability by the instruments
used by resurrectionists in extracting bodies from
the earth. The deceased appeared to have been
dead about a week, and had evidently been interred.
Mr. Stanley added, that although he felt satisfied,
in his own mind, that the deceased had not come to
a violent death, yet, in the present feverish state of
the public mind, produced by the fiendish system of
" Burking," he did not think himself justified in
placing the body in its mutilated state before his
pupils, but judged it advisable that a public inves-
tigation should take place.
Dr. George Burrows, who had also examined the
body, give similar testimony as to the cause of death.
William Smith, a porter in the institution, re-
ceived the body, on its arrival, from the waggon-
office. It was placed in the box in a recumbent po-
sition, and was quite naked. In his opinion the
corpse had been buried in the ordinary way, and
had been exhumed by the resurrectionists.
Alderman WILSON—What leads you to suppose
that the body had been interred ? Witness—Be-
cause it appears to me to have been drawn through

the earth by body-snatchers.
Alderman 'WILSON—Did you ever then see a
body raised by the body-snatchers, as they are
termed ?—(A laugh.) Witness—No; but I have
heard them relate how they do it.
Alderman WlLSON.—Describe how it is done ?
Witness—They first dig down to the head of the
coffin, disturbing the earth as little as possible. This
enables them to raise the coffin on the feet end.
They then force open the lid with a strong instru-
ment, and divesting the body of the shroud, place
it in a sack and decamp.
Alderman WILSON—WouId the instrument you
mention inflict the wounds on the deceased in forcing
open the coffin ? Witness—l think it very likely.
A Juryman did not conceive it probable that the
wound in such a case would have extended so far as
the knee; besides, the shroud would, in his opinion,
have formed a protection to the body.
The witness said that it might have been buried
without a shroud.
A Juror hoped the recent atrocious cases of Burk-
ing persons for the dissecting knife would put me-
dical men on their guard, and that they would be
more cautious than heretofore in examining bodies
furnished them by the wretches carrying on the dis-
gusting trade of resurrectionists.
The CORONER eulogised the conduct of Mr. Stan-
ley, who had, in the case before them, acted most
properly in instituting an inquiry, and the public
would now be satisfied that the deceased had died a
natural death. If the circumstance of the case had
got wind without an inquiry taking place, there was
no doubt, from the excited state of the public mind
upon the subject, that a very unfavourable opinion
would have been formed of the medical gentlemen
belonging to the establishment.
The Jury returned a verdict of "Natural Death."
The body is to be re-interred at the expense of
Cripplegate Ward.

EXPIRING LAws.—Amongst the Committees
sessionally appointed by the House of Commons is one
for inviring what laws are :14914 111 expire. Its re.ap-
pointmcnt this Session Las been attended with an im-
portant addition. They are to report observations; they
have power to send for persons, papers, and records; and
they have a special and • new instruction, " That they do
report their opinion from time to, time M the House which
of the said la* g are f:t tp be revivvi, continued, or made
perpetual." They have also authority to sit, notwith-
standing any adjournment of the House. The Report of
Nov. 8, 1830, from the Committee on temporary laws of
a public and general nature, is directed to be referred to
and considered by this Committee. The Members of the
Comn;itt.ee a;•e;-111r. BERFAL, Mr. C. W. W7Nkr,
LEADER, Mr. p. C LaERT, Mr. R. GRANT, Mr. LAUB,
ihe•SOLICiTolt:-GENERAL, the LORD ADVOCATE, Sir S.
MACKINTOsiI, Six E. B. BeGDEN, .Es.rf ()en; and Sir
H. PARNELL.
CHARGE OF " llocusslNG."7—At the Sur-
rey Sessions 'yesterday JA 311 U MicrtAr. EWSON and
JOHN WRIGHT Were indicted for utilawfUlly conspiring to-
gether and administering to DANIEL BRYAN a quantity of
laudanum in a pint of beer, for the purpose of rendering
him insensible, and agreeing together to steal certain mothLa
from ids person. Messrs. BACON and .lESIMETT were
Counsel for the prisoners,Who were acquitted: ' •

Mr. Corder, the Vestry-Clerk of the parish of St.
Paul's Covent-garden, yesterday appeared before
Sir R. BIRNIE and Mr. MINSIIULL, for the purpose
of introducing to them the two Italians, Joseph
Paragalli and Andrew Colla, who'gave evidence at
the Old Bailey against Bishop and Williams.
Mr. Corder said that the doubt thrown upon the
testimony of those witnesses was a source of very
great uneasiness to them, and they now were
anxious to reiterate what they had stated before the
Jury, as to the body brought to the King's College,
and on which the inquest sat, being that of the
Italian boy, Carlo Ferrari.
Andrew Colla now stood forward, and declared
that he positively saw the boy Carlo Ferrari, alive,
on the Ist of November, in Oxford-street, and spoke
to him, and that the clothes found in Bishop's gar-
den, and producd on the trial, belonged to that
boy. The clothes were never shown to him until he
was placed in the witness box before the Jury, and
he then spoke to the identity of the trousers with-
out hesitation. Before he saw the trousers he tie-
scribed them accurately to Mr. Thomas ; and he
also gave a description of the boy before he was
allowed to see the body. Joseph Paragalli knew
the boy Carlo Ferrari well, and it was therefore
quite impossible that he could be mistaken as to the
identity of the body when he saw it at the station-
house. The doubt which the statement of the mur-
derers had, in their confession, thrown upon the
identity of the body, had rendered him and the wit-
ness Colla very unhappy.
Mr. MirisnutA, was perfectly well convinced that
the statement or confession of the murderers was
not, so far as related to the murder of the boy whose
body formed the subject of the trial, true. The
Magistrate then asked whether the boy, Carlo Fer-
rari, had not usually a smile upon his countenance ?
Andrew Colla replied that the boy had a laughing
face. He always looked as if he were about to laugh.
Mr. MINSIIULL observed that he had himself seen
an Italian boy answering this description about Ox-
ford-street on the Ist of November. He recollected

the circumstance perfectly, for he had frequently
seen the same boy before about the streets at that
part of the town, and had remarked him in come-
quenee of his smiling countenance, and was often dis-
posed to give him a few halfpence, only he did not
like to encourage vagrants.
. Mr. Corder was perfectly satisfied that the state-
ment of the murderers, so far as the body of the
boy for whose murder they were executed was con-
cerned, was untrue. The confession, however, which
had been published, had the effect of throwing dis-
credit upon the prosecution, and the parish officers
of St. Paul's, Covent-garden were, therefore, deter-
mined in a few days to make public a statement of
the whole transaction.
Mr. MlNsitum, had no doubt himself of the fact,
and thought it very proper that the doubt should be
cleared up, and that the public should be convinced
of the identity of the body.
Mr. Corder said that no time should be lost in
preparing the statement, and then withdrew with
Paragalli and Colts.