The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-06 00:00:00

Mr. Robert Watt, jeweller, 14, Exmouth-street,
was then sworn. Deceased had been his servant
about three years. Between five and six o'clock
on Sunday morning she was taken ill. Hear-
ing her vomit, he went to her room. She
complained of pains in her side and cramps. Dr.
Harris and Mr. Berry were sent for, and instantly
attended ; but although everything that could save
her life was done for her, she died at three o'clock on
Sunday.
By the CORONER—The grave-yard known by the
name of Spafields was exceedingly obnoxious, es-
pecially lately, and since the old ground was re-
opened, in which pits were dug for the, reception
of the dead. In the ground, which measured n
feet by 72, there had been lately buried at several
depths, not far removed from the surface, at least
3,000 bodies. Each grave contained seven or eight
bodies. How space was made for new comers he
could not say, unless by the destruction of the bodies
and coffins. He was aware that the coffins had been
made away with. In consequence of the obnoxious
effluvia from the graveyard he was compelled to send
his children to boarding schools, and remove the
other members of his family to Holloway. After
the graves were dug two feet there were springs of
water, which had to be pumped out over the grave-
yard. Last Sunday fourteen bodies were interred
there. The old ground was again opened, although or-
dered by the Court of Queen's Bench to be closed four
years ago. It was well known that the same grave
had been fifty times opened for bodies. They
were placed one over another, and by the sys-
tematic destruction of bodies and coffins that
took place, room was easily made for new
corners. The lowest of the low, persons from St.
Giles's and Saffron-hill, were buried there. The fees
for burial were nine shillings, and the undertaker got
a shilling for every body he brought. He and his
neighbours felt deeply and fatally the effects of the
nuisance. He had lately expended 701. in endeavour.
ing to put down the nuisance.
CoRoNER—I cannot conceive how you manage to
live there.

Mr. Watt—The Court of Queen's Bench referred
the subject to arbitration, and the result was an order
for the closing of the old ground.
Juror—ls the effluvium as bad as it was five years
ogo ? Mr. Watt—Much worse.
By the CoßortEn—lle directed the attention of the
police to the subject, who were on the look out, and
would, no doubt, speedily be enabled to prosecute the
propagators of it.
Mr. Dore, whose house abutted on the grave-yard,
fully corroborated everything stated by the pre-
vious witness. The stench from the grave-yard was
intolerable on Sunday. Fifty thousand bodies had
been buried there, and the ground had been raised to
the level of the wall, six feet high. So shallow were
the graves, that the coffins could be touched with a
walking-stick. Forty and fifty were buried in a
week. The coffins were stacked like bricks, over each
other.

Mr. Watt--New room was made by breaking up
the coffins. A short time since the naked body of
an Irishman was found under the lid of a coffin.
Mr. Aliwinkle, registrar of deaths, whose house is
close to the grave-yard, gave similar evidence, and
said that two members of his family had suffered from
diarrhoea, engendered by the effluvia with the graves
emitted.
Messrs. Bailey (draper), Stephens (cheesemonger),
and Barker (provision•dealers) substantiated all the
previous evidence.
Mr. Berry, surgeon, attended deceased, who was
attacked with cholera, and was in a state of collapse.
He applied chloroform, but deceased never rallied.
She died of Asiatic cholera. He used chloroform
with the greatest success. In two cases of collapse
his patients recovered. Ile administered between
thirty and forty drops, sometimes accompanied with
doses of calomel.

By the CORONER—If the putrid exhalations spoken
of escaped from Spafields grave-Surd, they were cal-
culated to impart disease, and to engender cholera.
The CORONER inquired if Mr. Bird, the proprietor
of the graveyard, had been summoned to attend the
inquest ?
Mr. Shoney, the summoning officer, replied that
he had given notice of the inquest to Mr. Bird, and
was rather astonished that he had not attended.

CORONER.—This really is a frightful state of things,
well calculated to engender and propagate disease,
which ought and must be put down. You, gentlemen
of the jury, and every ratepayer, should incessantly
write to the parochial authorities, the Board of Health,
and the Government, upon the appalling subject, un•
til so frightful and so fatal a source of disease is done
away with. If you, Mr. Watt, will have the kind-
ness to furnish me with a written statement of the
facts you narrated this day, I will forward them to
the proper quarter, with a recommendation to have
the graveyard closed.
Mr. Watt promised to supply the coroner with the
required information.
The jury returned a verdict that "The deceased
died of Asiatic cholera ;" to which they appended the
following remark :—" We, the jury, cannot separate
without expressing our opinion that the Spafields
burial ground is most injurious to public health, and
ought to be immediately closed."

PLAS NEWYDD, ANGLESEY.—Their Royal High-
nesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, accompa-
nied by the Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess of
Mecklenburg Strelitz, the Princess Mary, and a nume-
rous suite, arrived on Wednesday last at this favourite
resort of royalty. Baron Knesebeck had preceded their
Royal Highnesses, in order to secure the requisite
arrangements. It is scarcely necessary to say that his
duties are considerably lightened by the kindness of the
neighbouring nobility and gentry, every delicacy which
the season can afford being forwarded to Pitts Newydd
in profusion. The illustrious strangers passed the rest
of the week in this delightful mansion, and then left, in
order to visit the romantic rcenery around Carnarvon.
On the evening of Friday last a heavy thunder-
storm passed over Gosforth, during which the electric
fluid struck a chimney of the house of Mr. Daniel Ty sou
of Seut,cale Mill, which was shivered to pieces. The
roof of the building was also injured to some extent;
but beyond that 329 other injury was done,--Cumberland
racquet.