The Sun.
London, England, 1822-09-23 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUESTS.

FATAL PUGILISTIC CONTEST.
On Thursday and, by adjournment, on Friday
an inquisition was held at the Boar and Grove tavern, at Dept-
ford, before the Coroner for Kent, fan the body of Michael
Higgins, aged 20 years, whose death was occasioned by re-
ceiving certain blows in a pugilistic encounter. The Jury
took a view of the body of the deceased, and afterwards the
following evidence was submitted to their consideration.
The first witness was a man of respectable appearance, who
said that he was a servant in the family of Daniel Whittle
Harvey, Esq., Loampit-hill-house, Greenwich, and stated
as follows :—Last evening, about six o'clock, I saw the de.
ceased and a young man named Jones, with a crowd of spec-
tators, go into a field to fight a pitched battle. A ring was
formed, as is usual on such occasions, for the parties to
fight in. The deceased stood at some distance from the crowd,
and appeared reluctant to commence the fight. lie was
called by his party to enter the ring. Jones immediately leaped
into the ring and threw up his hat, as a signal that he was ready
to begin the combat. The deceased then entered the ring and
stripped. Jones also stripped, and they shook hands. Each
of the combatants was attended by a second, and a person stood
with a watch to keep the time.. As soon as the parties shook
hands, they put themselves into fighting attitudes, and ex-
changed blows. The deceased had the best of the battle during
the three first rounds. In the fourth round Jones hit the de-
ceased a very severe blow on the temple, which sent him stag-
gering. They continued the fight for about a quarter of an
hour ; but after the fourth round, it was all against the de-
ceased. At the close of the ninth round, the deceased said,
" I'll fight no more ;" and Jones was declared the conqueror.
They shook hands again, in the same manner as when they
began the fight. Immediately after they shook hands, the de-
ceased appeared very ill ' • he could not stand, and soon became
[mite insensible, and could not be dressed. He was carried off
the ground to have medical assistance rendered him : It was a
fair fight.
The second witness, a resident of Deptford, was at the Dept-
ford turnpike-gate on the mottling of the day the fight took
place. Jones was there, and he said he would ask Higgins
- (deceased) when and where he would fight him, in consequence
of some old grudge existing between them. Higgins came up
to the gate soon afterwards, and Jones addressed him in these
words I understand you want to fight me ?" Higgins re-
plied " Yes, and I will fight you this evening." No angry
words took place further; there was no quarrel. They agreed
to meet at the Deptford-bar, at five o'clock on the same night,
and proceed from thence to fight. They entered the toll-house,
and Jones and Higgins agreed to go and fight at that time in a
field not far off, for five shillings a side. They each of them put
their stakes into his hands, and then went to the field, and com-
menced fighting. They fought for about a quarter of an hour,
when the deceased exclaimed, " I will have no more of it."
He then looked very ill, and soon became perfectly insensible.
He was carried to the Bricklayers' Arms, from thence to
the Dispensary-house, and afterwards to his mother's, where
he expired.
An adjournment was then agreed to by the Coroner and Jury
to the next day, to bring evidence forward of the names of the
seconds in the fight, and to obtain surgical evidence of the pre-
cise cause of the deceased's death.
On Friday the Jury re-assembled, and the following addi-
tional evidence was received.
The last witness on the first day's inquiry was again exa-
mined. He stated that the seconds at the fight were a man
named Hillary, and another named Turner. He knew them,
because they were the only persons who interfered in picking
up the parties when they fell, and who directed them during
the fight. Witness said he thought it was a fair stand-up
fight, and each party had fair play : they struck each other as
hard as they could.
Mr. John Atkins, surgeon, was called to see the deceased
' after death, and was of opinion the injury was occasioned by
some external violence, in all probability by blows in the fight.
The CORONER summed up the evidence, and was glad
that, by the adjournment, the names of the seconds had been
obtained ; and it was pretty clearly ascertained by the evidence
of the surgeon, that the young man's death was occasioned by
blows received in the fight. It was almost unnecessary for
him to inform the Jury that pitched battles were unlawful
sports, and that every one concerned in them were liable to be
tried for murder, if they stood by aiding and abetting while one
of the parties was beaten to death. In this case, 2 young men, the
eldest only 20 years of age, for a small sum of money, had
agreed to fight, till one of them was so disabled as not to be
able to stand up any longer; and during the combat, the parties
not only struck each other with all the force they were able,
but watched their opportunity of striking their opponent in the
most dangerous parts of the body. Such brutal practices ought
to be put an end to, and he had no doubt the Jury, by their
verdict, would prove themselves to be of the same opinion.
The Jury retired for a short time, and returned a verdict of
manslaughter against Jones, the principal, and Hillary and
Turner, the two seconds. Turner had absconded. Jones and
Hillary were committed to Maidstone gaol, under the Coroner's
warrant, to take their trial at the next assizes for the offence.

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE.
The family of the Earl of CRAVEN has been thrown into
considerable distress by an unfortunate occurrence which has
recently taken place. On Friday the 13th inst. his Lordship
took his three sons to Eton, with their tutor,-who had been six
years in that situation, and was highly respected as a scholar
and a gentleman. The young gentlemen breakfasted on the
Saturday with Dr. Keate, the head-master, previously to their
being placed in the school. It is customary in all public
schools, to place boys rather lower than higher, as the master
can scarcely judge of their abilities at a first and necessarily
short examination, and they are raised as their knowledge in
classics exemplifies itself. Every arrangement was completed,
and the young gentlemen were to commence their scholastic
duties on Monday.
Mr. Wagner, the tutor to the sons of his Grace the Duke of
Wellington, invited this gentleman to dine with him on Sun-
day at six o'clock. He returned from Windsor, whither he
had proceeded to St. George's Chapel, to hear the beautiful
Anthem, which is always performed on a Sunday, and went
up to dress at five o'clock. Not coming down in time to
keep. his appointment, a confidential Black servant of his
Lordship, who has lived in the family five-and-twenty years,
and who had, from his attachment to his young masters, soli-
cited and obtained permission to wait bn them, went up stairs
to apprise him of the hour, when to his horror and astonish-
ment, he found the unfortunate gentleman lying on the bed,
with his throat cut, and the razor with which he had
committed the rash act firmly grasped in his hand. The
alarm was instantly given ; and medical assistance procured :
but in vain, the corpse was quite cold. A most respectable
Jury, consisting of the principal inhabitants, sat on the body on
Monday; but neither from an examination of his papers, nor
from any conversation with old brother collegians, whom
he had met at Eton, could the slighteat idea be entertain-
ed as to the cause f this shocking catastrophe. An ex-
press had on the instant been despatched to the Noble
Earl, who, having slept on the rbad; was overtaken with the
melancholy intelligence, and immediately returned. The
young Gentlemen were removed by his Lordship, and will
not return till after Christmas, as their attachment for their tutor
naturally 'caused the most poignant sensations in their youthful
and affectionate bosoms. The Jury returned their verdict—
Insanity ; and the unfortunate Gentleman was buried at five
o'clock on Friday morning at the College Church.

Upon one estate alone, near Islington, that of
a Mr. RHODES, the foundations are laying for the erection of
2,700 houses.
The remains of the late venerable Dr. GAUNT,.
LETT were removed from New College, Oxford, at eight o'clock
on Thursday morning, for interment at Bucknell, in Oxford-
shire. The Bishop of LONDON, and some other relatives,
attended on this solemn occasion. This venerable individual,
whose death was occasioned by cholera mortras7 was for many
years Warden of New College.