The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-02 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

Yesteterday afternoon an inquest was held in the Board-room of S';
George's Hospital, Hyde-park-corner, before Mr. Higgs, on view of the
body of Mr. John Kennedy, aged 2(1, who committed suicide by swallow-
ingn quantity of laudanum.
William Sherlock, police-constable of the A division, No. 125, on
Saturday afternoon was on duty in Kensington-gardens. In going his
last round, about five minutes before 7 o'clock in the evening, witness
saw a gentleman lying on the second scat from the bridge that divides
the gardens from Hyde-park. No person was near the spot at the time.
On going up, witness discovered that the individual was in an insensible
state. A phial produced, was partly out of a side pocket, on which was
labelled in print " laudanum—poison," as also, " 40 drops for an adult."
Witness found two other phials on the person of the deceased, as like-
wise, a case bottle, a drinking horn, a razor, besides cash, and other pro-
perty. Witness sent to the Royal Humane receiving-house, for the
stretcher, being at the time fully convinced, that the deceased was la-
bouring under the effects of laudanum. The messenger returned with
Mr. Pritchard, the superintendent, when the deceased was conveyed to
the receiving-house.

Mr. Hammerton, the house-surgeon, saw the deceased on his ad.
mission. Great exertions were made to rouse him, but with only slight
success. He gradually sunk, and died about five o'clock on the fol-
lowing morning.

Mr. Clarkson—l presume you have opened the body.
Mr. Hammerton—l have, and found all the organs of life in a per-
fectly healthy state. The deceased was a remarkably Moe, muscular
young man.
Mrs. Clarke, 28, Holles-street, Cavendish-square, deposed that the
deceased and his mother occupied apartments in her house ; the former,
who was a single gentleman, possessed considerable property. Witness
is utterly at a loss to account for his committing suicide.
By Mr. Clarkson—The deceased and his soother lived upon the most
affectionate terms ; they were never separate. On Friday night, I
heard a noise in the deceased's bedroom ; • he appeared very restless, and
walked up and down hisroom.
By the Jury—l never observed anything in the deceased's manner to
lead me to suppose that his mind was affected ; he was a mild, gentle-
manly man.
Mary Pring, servant to Mr. Kennedy, had lived in her situation 1S
months. Her mistress and the deceased were most affectionately at.
tached to each other. Witness had not observed anything particular in
the manners of her young master. She was aocustomed to take him up
cocoa in the morning. On Saturday morning, on her entering the room,
he started up, and exclaimed, " What hour of the night do you call
this ?" He appeared very much alarmed at the time. He went out in
the afternoon. About six o'clock in the evening, her mistress received
a letter by the post, which greatly shocked her, and she left home im-
mediately.
Mr. Hamilton, of Brunswick-square, Regent's-park, had known Mrs.
Kennedy and her son (the unfortunate subject of the inquiry) for a
number of years ; the latter had an income of about 1,500/, annually,
left by his father and grandfather. On Saturday, between six and
seven o'clock, Mrs. Kennedy came to his house with the letter she had
received from her son ; she was in a state of distraction; he (Mr. Ha-
milton) instantly started for Kensington-gardens to avert, if possible, the
catastrophe, but was too late.

By the Jury—l am not aware of any circumstance that preyed upon
the mind of the deceased. He possessed every worldly advantage a
mortal could desire lam not aware that he had been disappointed in
his affections. He was a most geaCemanly, amiable man.

Mr. Clarkson should wish the jury to be put in possession of every
fact connected with the untimely death of the unfortunate young gen-
tleman. The fact was, that he laboured undec an unhappy delusion ;
he imagined that he was in a declining miserable state of health, when
the very contrary was the case. The surgeon's evidOce stated that
there could'not be a more healthy robust body.

The Jury observed it was a most extraordinary and distressing case.
The letter written by the deceased to his mother was here handed to
the Coroner by Mr. Clarkson ; the following is a verbatim copy

" Ilolles.street, Cavendish-square, Saturday, 2 P.M.

"My dear Mother—l write you three lines to account for my absence,
and in order that you may know where to send for my body. Er 2 this
reaches your hands I shall be no more, and I am anxious to thank you a
thousand times for your affectionate care of an unworthy son. You
will find me in one of the seats in Kensington-gardens, close to that
part of the Serpentine which roaches up to Hyde-park. I rely on your
strength of mind to bear up against this shock. I regret that your
feelings should be so harassed, but I find my existence an insupportable
burden, suffering as I do from lowness of spirits, oppression of mind,
and lassitude of body. You will find in the table-drawer of my room the
keys of my trunk, in which my will is placed, with other things. Sn
God bless you with kindness and love. I hasten to subscribe myself,
your affectionate son. " JOHN KENNEDY."
" P.S. This letter can be Landed to the Crooner, to be read to the
Jury, if you think proper, as it explains the cause of my suiciding
myself."
The Jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of—'
Mental Derangement."

-" Temporary

The greatest sensation has prevailed in the towns of
Kendal and Milnthorpe, and the neighoourhood, during the last few
days, in consequence of a well.authenticated report of a pauper inmate
of the Milnthorpe workhouse having been foully murdered by another
inmate, with the knowledge of the governor. True it is that a man of
the name of Robinson was interred at Ileversham on Thursday last,
under the most suspicious circumstances, from that workhouse, end
these have been strengthened by the information of the paupers, when
out of the house on Sunday, to that degree as to cause his disinterment
for the purpose of an investigation before a Coroner's Jury, and the
person who is said to have committed the foul deed has been appre-
hended. Such, however, are the conflicting statements told of this
horrid affair, that it would be unjust to report them in a newspaper
previous to a full investigation into the case. The name of the person
apprehended is Thomas Hohne, who had been mysteriously discharged
from the workhouse after the death of Robinson. A boy, who, it is
said, would have been a material evidence, an inmate of the workhouse,
has absconded.— Whitehaven Herald.

Mr. Colquhoun, the Tory Member for Kilmarnock,
in his speech denouncing Roman Catholics, exclaimed, with great
naivete, " Can I dismiss from my mind the full and clear conviction
that there is a deep-rooted antipathy on the part of the Roman Catholics
to the Protestants!" Verily these proselytising fanatics are the most
impudent of all quacks—religion or Charity they have none. English
and Scotch Protestants have rooted Irish Catholics of one half of their
landed property—they have transferred all her Church property front
seven millions of Catholics to half a million of Protestants—for nearly
two hundred years they hunted the unfortunate priests and their flocks
like wild beasts, because-they would not renounce the religi in in which
they hoped for salvation ; and now that such outrages are put down by
the law, they insult the one party by denouncing them as surplice('
ruffians, and the other as blood-stained monsters, and yet wonder that
Roman Catholics do not love them and their religion! No people ever
displayed more Christian patience than these poor Irish. If a London
mon, under the mad Lord George Gordon, for three days unmolested,
directed their fury apinst every species of property that belongs d to
Catholics, or those that were in favour of loosening their fetters, what
might be expected, even in the present age, were the Irish priests to
imitate the example of the M`Glie:s and Colquhouns, and get up a
,:rusade fur the purpose of making Catholicism predominant in Eng.
land ? Would the English and the Scotch behave with the moderation
of these men whom their persecutors are pleased to call aliens and
barbarians?

In the several chapels of the city and diocese, an
injunction, emanating from our pious and exemplary Bishop, the Right
Rev. Dr. FOI an, was read on Sunday, to the effect that he will visit with
ecclesiastical cen3ure, all publicans who admit persons to drink dui ing
the hours prohibited by law to have their houses open---and all persons
drinking in public houses during those hours.— Waterford Chronicle.