The Sun.
London, England, 1824-06-05 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

RIGHT of PUBLICANS to RECEIVE DEAD BODIES.
At eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, an In-
quest was held before THOMAS STERLING, Esq. at the Queen's
Head, Lower Road, Islington, on the body of a female, name
unknown, who was found drowned in the Regent's Canal. On
a verdict to that effect being returned, one of the Jury rose, and
said he was deputed by several of the Jurors to ask the Coroner
whether the owner or holder of a public-house, next the place
where the body of a dead person was found, was compelled to
receive the same until the Inquest was held ?
Mr. STIRLING was unwilling to answer the question; but,
upon being pressed, he said a publican could not be compelled
to receive the corpse of a suicide, a casualty, a murdered person,
or way laid traveller, into his house. But if a quarrel occurred
in the house and ended fatally, then he was bound to keep
the body until an Inquest was held. Bodies, to be owned,
should be placed in the nearest church or church vault; but a
publican refusing to receive the dead body, is liable to lose his
license, the whole of his conduct being under the controul of
the Magistracy, who have such power in very gross cases ; and
it was a question yet to be decided, whether the act of refusing
to receive the dead body would not be defeating the ends of
justice, and thereby subject the publican to punishment in
many ways.
Publicans generally imagined that they were bound to re-
ceive dead bodies, and with a view of being relieved from that
unpleasant task, they put the question to the Coroner. It is
imagined they receive some benefit on having an inquest holden
at their house ; but we are informed, that the present is not the
only instance where publicans have had cause to complain on
such occasions.

Yesterday an Inquest was held in the Committee-room of
Rotherhithe Parish, before C. JEMMETT, Esq., on a male
new-born infant, whose body was placed in a basket, and sent
from town in the Deptford stage-coach, directed to Mr. Stevens,
a baker, residing near Millpond-bridge. The following evi-
dence was adduced : •
Elizabeth Turner, the first witness examined, deposed as fol-
lows :-1 am housekeeper to Mr. Stevens. On Wednesday
forenoon, about half-past 12 o'clock, I received a basket by the
Deptford stage-coach, directed for Mr. Stevens, baker, near
Millpond-bridge, Rotherhithe, and fastened to the handle of the
basket. Mr. Stevens not being at home, the basket remained
in the shop until about one o'clock, when he came home. Soon
after, the basket was taken into the kitchen by Mr. Stevens's
niece, who proceeded to open it, observing, " that it was a pre-
sent of a goose to her uncle." After the niece had entered with
the basket, I went over and took a parcel out of it ; and, on my
proceeding to open it, I was shocked on beholding the head and
side of the face of a new-born infant, which was pinned up in a
napkin. The witness added, that on opening the parcel, he dis-
covered a piece of paper inside, with these words wrote on it—
" Bury, bury the deed."
Coroner.—Did the child seem to have been dead any length
of time P_Witness. It had not the appearance of being dead
many hours; its face and arms were quite red ; but I was so
alarmed that I did not minutely examine it.
Georginia Anindale, Mr. Steven's niece, deposed, that she
saw the parcel taken in on the day stated. She removed the
basket at her uncle's request from the shop into the kitchen,
where she proceeded to open it, and found a napkin, with some-
thing pinned up in it, which she at first imagined was a present
of a goose for her uncle. She took the napkin out of the basket
and laid it on the dresser, from whence it was taken into the
bakehouse by the housekeeper, who, to her surprise, upon
examining it, found it to contain the body of a child.
Coroner.—Did the coachman say where he brought the parcel
from ? Mrs. Turner replied, that the coachman said he had
brought it from the Elephant and Castle.
Charles Fisher, book-keeper at Mrs. Fisher's, the Elephant
and Castle, deposed, that on Tuesday night a packet, directed
for Mr. Stevens, baker, Millpond-bridge, was taken into their
office, and delivered over to Mr. Barry's coachman, on Wed-
nesday morning, to deliver to Mr. Stevens. In reply to a
question by the Jury, the witness said, that he had no recol-
lection whatever of the person who left the basket; whether
it was a male or female, he could not say, in consequence of
the great number of parcels which were left there in the course
of the day.
Samuel Sone, the coachman who delivered the parcel at
Mr. Stevens's, deposed, that the parcel was given to him at
the time mentioned by the last witness, and delivered at Mr.
Stevens's.
C. Jackson, a surgeon, deposed, that on 'Wednesday afternoon
he was sent for to the workhouse, when he examined the body
of the child. The navel-string had the appearance of being re-
cently tied, and on the fore part of the throat there were evident
marks of discolouration. He then proceeded to open the body,
and on dissecting the back integuments covering the fore
part of the throat, he found the right jugular vein distended,
as if some obstruction had been offered to the return of the blood.
The lungs had a healthy appearance, and appeared as if they
had breathed atmospheric air. The lungs were put into water,
and floated, which depicted that the child was born alive.
Coroner.—Might not the child have died immediately on its
coming into the world ?
Witness.—My supposition is, that the marks of violence
which I discovered on the body were the cause of its death. If
the child had died at its birth, the lungs would not have assum-
ed
the healthy appearance which they did.
The Jury retired about 10 minutes, and brought in the fol-
lowing verdict :—" That the child was horn alive, hut how or
in what manner it came by its death they had not sufficient
evidence before them to prove."

ABDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH LADY IN FRANCE.
the 2d of June copies
—The Courier Francais of
the following article from the Journal du Cal-
vados :—" We are informed that Mr. S—, a
half-pay Captain, was arrested on the fist, and
carried to prison, where he still is, on account of
carrying off Miss a young English lady,
15 years of age, living in Paris. It is said that
Mrs. D , the wife of Mr. S , had asked
the young lady in marriage for her son, Mr:

1.) , at present one of the garde-du-corps of
Monsieur, the• King's brother, and had received
a refusal--that she wrote on this to her husband,
Mr. S-, to repair, to Paris, and that they
formed the project of carrying off Miss
in order to compel her family to give her in mar-
riage to young Mr. D-. In fact, Mr. S-
and Mrs. S- his mother, both went to Paris.
The day was fixed for running away with the
young lady, a new cabriolet was purchased, to
which two post-horses were harnessed, and ten
o'clock in the evening was found a convenient

time to place it at the corner of the Rue Dau-
phine, carry. Miss K---- there, and conduct her
thence to the dwelling of the mother and sister
of Mr.. S--, at Caeu. On the day after, two
ujomen of the town went to the dwelling of Mrs.
K---, and offe.red, for the sum of 20,000 francs,
to. inform her, of the place where her daughter

had been carried to. The Police was informed
of thk, the two women were arrested, and gave
all the information they possessed of the circum-
stances of the abduction. Mr. K-----, the fa-
ther, accompanied by a Colonel Pigot, repaired
post to Caen, with letters of recommendation to
Count Montlivault, who gave orders to the Com-
missaire of Police, and in two hours they proved,
by placing the young lady in the hands of her
father, that crime cannot long pass with impunity
in our town. It is said that Mrs. D----, Mr.
---
D—, the Garde-dn-Corps, the porter, of the
hotel de Sully, and the two women of the town,
are arrested, and that they only wait the arrival
at park of Mr, who is to be sent there in
a few days, to proceed with the trial of these
parties.

LACONIC AbiELT.—A gentleman who by mere
chance strolled into a coffee-house where he 'thet
with a Captain
of his acquaintance, on the point
of sailing to New
York, and from whom he re,
ceived an invitation to accompany him; which he
accepted, taking care, however, to inform his
wife which he did in these terms—" Dear
wife,
o
e,ff t
am going to America, your'S truly." Her
answer, was not at all inferior either in laconism
or tenderness--" Dear husband; a Pleasant voy-
age, your's, &c."