The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-24 00:00:00

COMM-CS;JONOF LUNACY.

Monday a Commission of Lunacy was opened before Com-
missioners Winslow, Blount, and Murray, and a jury of sixteen
freeholders of the county, at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house,
Holborn, to inquire into the state of mind of John Turner,
Esq., of No. 13, Huntley-street, Bedford-square.
Air. G. A. Young attended as Counsel in support of the
Commission, au(' fJr. Boteler to watch the proceedings on
behalf of Alr. Turner.

IMr. Commissioner WiNsi.ow ch.irged the Jury.
Mr. Yours then observed that Mr. Turner's intellects hal
ra7aTtated.'"ll;:7% ''Fircelrwa:t7os,74Asn'es7,ll7";lVt 77; 7:::?ears
if age. and so brig ago as the year 1760 he teas a clerk in
the Orditance, and the Private Sccretary of Sir Charles
Frederick, who was one of the Ministers of the day. In 1786
3lr. Turner accepted an appointment iti the Sun Fire-office,
where he remained up to 1825, discharging his duties with
honour to him-e:f and satisfaction to his employers, as was
abundantly testified by their g vino hem a retiring allow-
ance when he left the office. Mr. Turner, it appeared, was
worth considerable property, having a balance of 22,000/. in
the hantls of Messrs. Coutts, the -bankers, and also a sum of
10,090/. lying idle at Messrs. Drummond's. In addition to
this he possessed large leasehold property and London Dock
stock; besides having several sums of considerable amount
la'd out in rations ways upon other securities. Mr.
Turner had na relations that could be discovered, and it was
believed that he was a natural son. A number of his old
and personal friends, however, who were exceedingly anxious
fir his welfare, had adopted these proceedings for the purrose
of surrounding the last stage of his life with those associa-
Cul; and providing him with those comforts which would
tend to assuage the d,eadful affliction which Providence had
visited hint with, and promote the peace of his remaining
days. With this view a meeting of Mr. Turner's friends
was held on the 4th of April at the office of Messrs.
Delmar and Wing, and the result was, that an en inent
medical gentleman was called in, an extra servant was
engaged to look after the unfortunate gentleman; and his
bankers were apprised cf his situation. Mr. Turner becoming
worse, on the 22d of September fol owing a second meeting of
his friends took place, and Dr. Munroe was called in, and upon
the decision of that gentleman this commission was applied for
by Mr. Prescott, an old friend of Mr. Turner. It afterwards
appeared in evidence his unsoundness of mind did not arise
from any particular illness, but it came on gradually, and lat-
terly it had much increased; that he refused to pay any of his
bills, and upon the collector demanding the Queen's taxes he
said he would not pay them, and assigned as a reason that the
house belonged to his father, and that he had not lived in it a
fortnight; that he had not dressed himself during the last
twelve months. To his servant, who brushed his clothes, he
said, "My good friend, I have nothing worth your acceptance
at present, but when I am made a King or a Prince 1 will do
something good for you."

Dr. Mini-roe had visited Mr. Turner four times, and was
persuaded that his mind was decidedly unsound.
The COMMISSIONERS then expressed a wish to see Mr.
Turner, and he was led into the room. In appearance he is a
remarkably fine, healthy-looking old gentleman, considering his
advanced age ; and, upon being quessioned by the Learned
Commissioners, he gave ready, and, in some instances, witty
answers ; but it was quite evident the unfortunate gentleman's
mind was worn out.

The Jury stopped the examination, and, after Mr. Turner
had left the room, they found that he was of unsound mind,
and was incapable of managing himself or his property, and
that he had been so since the Ist of July, 1840.
Among his papers has been found a kind of testamentary do-
cument, the legality of which is doubtful; and, in the event of
its being pronounced invalid, the whole of his property, amount.
ing to upycards of 50,000/. will pass to the Crown.

THE TRADES' UNIONIST MUR-
DERS AT ASHTON.

The two atrocious murders which were perpetrated by
members of the Sawyers' Union, at Ashton-under-Lyne, one
behalfbav e
(1 on the 31st of October, and the other on the tith of December
last,led to
policethemosotfdethteartmtioldshainp and
dperitsejvaenrcihnegsteeffrofrctws
on
the apprehension of the parties implicated, and
r.o less than
ten of the
part they
murder, but
Unionists have at different times been brought be-
fore the
halMagistratestaken
and. committed to the Assizes, for the
1.,1 the commission of the last-named
theuc principals engaged in the fir,t murder, that
one
eed of itnhemelu,,dviansgeapthuereldanidsu
Dofubtsnt.ice
For
rl
of Garland,
baffled the efioNvrthso'oef
this week, when
name is Thomas Holland, suc-
cessfullyfour months this man
they repeatedly obtained informationthe concerning him, and
ei
.11p,00l police to
et o
Manchester
hheismt
e,r thoughpolico ,
counties r
Superintendents Alcock and Green
Shaw, have traversed no
under the instructions of Sir
less than sixteen English
part of South Wales and Ireland. n search of him, besides
After a lengthened examination, the prisoner
say anything in defence, was committed for trial
declining to
pool Assizes for the murder of Thomas Garland.l at the Liver-
Another p isoner was then placed at the bar,
h
Hassal. '1 here wPs no evidence to show that hema,rnas engagededThos.
in the actual murder, but it was shown that he was one
Unionists engaged in plotting the attack, and he was
c°___Loof tie
ma-
ted to the assizes on the charge of conspiracy.
Robert Holland, father of Thomas Holland, who had been
apprehended on a warrant for conspiracy, was also committed.
The next prisoner placed at the bar was Edward Marshall,
Shaw said there would
Charles
a sawyer, against whom Sir
be no evidence offered. His apprehension was entirely his
own foul', and had been brought on through his attem_leet-
pts to
defeat the ends of justice. Green
had been sent to F
wood-on•Wyre to see who would obtain a letter sent there for
one of the murderers, and while Green was there Marshall,
who was a Unionist, went to the Post-office, and representing
himself to be the pa, ty for whom the letter was address&l, ob-
tained po-s,s,ion of it. Green supposed that 1;e was the party,
and took him into emo.ly.
The Ma2,istrates told Marshall he was discharged as con-
nected with this offence, but it wculd be for the Po,t-office au-
thorities to consider whether he ought not to be prosecuted for
obtaining a letter by false representa'ions.

CWMBRANE.—It has been truly said that no
district in the known world abDunds with such natural fa-
cilities for manufactures as South Wales. To furnisli the
great moving pew er.; ot the world, iron and steam, Nature ha 3
done all; human industry and enterprise are alone wanting
to develop the riches of the district. Another product of our
mines, lye find, is now added to our list of exports ; and
begir..s to tvsurne the piece of an iaportant brarch in tl 0
trade of this parr. We allude to the manufnture of fire-
el4v. About two ears past a stratum of clay, bearing an
exact resemblance to that found around the Lye, in Staf
fordshire, a.nd knlwn by t!..e name of Stourbridge Clay,
IV3S found at Cw
Mb-ane, on the °Pate of R. J. .13!ewitt.
E,q., frl.P.