The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-15 00:00:00

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CORONER'S INQUEST.
Brnstrxonam, Monday Night.—This morning sso in-
quest was held upon the hotly or the unfortunate old
dered at the Delves, s
near Walsall, on the morning of
readers that the Government had offered a reward of
1001. for the apprehension of the offenders, and it: is sae
bcie.asrerncooslltecrtuedel lybymi lUu rr-
tisfactory to know that, through the diligence of Lay-
mond, the Superintendent of the Walsall police, there is
every reason to believe that the crime has been traced Co
.the actual perpetrators.
The circumstances of the case as detailed in the evi-
dence were brick these :—Matthew Adams was an.
old man nearly seventy years of age, deriving his
means of subsistence from the rent of some houses.
A few days before the occurrence of this catastrophe
he was known to have collected his money due
in respect of this property, and it is thought that
the hopes of obtaining it led to a burglarious en-
-trance of his premises on the morning in question ; and
although there is little reason to suppose that the life of
the old man was originally intended as a sacrifice, yet
there is no doubt, from the preparations of the burglars,
that they were resolved to carry their intentions into
effect, regardless of the consequences that might ensue.
As it was, they made their entrance through a pantry at the
back of the house, and it would seem that the old man,
hearing the noise, came down stairs, partly undressed,
to ascertain the cause of it. Here he was assailed by the
burglars, and the old man making a strenuous resist-
ance, was violently struck upon the head with a hammer,
which caused his death. A woman living near heard
the noise at this unusual hour, and opened her window
.to satisfy herself of the cause, but one of the party
threw a stone at her, and caused her to retreat. She suc-
ceeded, however, in perceiving three men, and iniiedi-
ately raised an alarm, on which a party of navigators living
'near pursued the ruffians, though they did not succeed in
capturing them. Superintendent Raymond was quickly on
on the spat, and instituted a strict search of the premises,
but found nothing except a loaded pistol, which was left
in the pantry. From inquiries which he made, he found
that a young man of the name of Boswell had fre-
quently been seen discharging a percussion-cap pistol ;
accordingly he went, in company with one of the police-
men, to the house of the suspected party, whom he found
at breakfast with his mother. Raymond forthwith taxed
Min relative to the pistol, but he declared that he knew
nothing about it, and that the pistol which he had been
seen to use was at that moment in the house. At the
direction of Raymond he produced it, but still there Im:a
circumstances of suspicion which seemed to justify 1i
detention as a prisoner, and he was immediately taiteki
into custody. It was soon afterwards discovered that the-
pistol found in the pantry had been repaired by a lock-
. maker in Park-street for the prisoner Boswell; and addi-
tional suspicion fell upon him from the fact of his a*
tempting an escape from prison.
At the inquest four persons, named Joseph Wilktva
James Wilkes, Thomas Boswell, and George Giles, we*
charged with the commission of the crime.
It was not only proved that the pistol found in the
pantry had been repaired by Mr. Bagott, the locksmith,
for the prisoner Boswell, but a confession of that pri-
soner to Superintendent Raymond was put in evidence.
From this it appeared that the four prisoners went to
the house of the deceased with the view of effecting a
robbery. They made their entrance through the roofing
of the pantry ; they then attempted to force the door
which led into the house, but heard the old man cough,
and were induced to refrain. They remained hero
quietly for noarly a quarter of an hour, when the old
man came down stairs, and, on hearing it, Joseph Wilkes
went round to the front door to meet him, and struck
him several times upon the head with a hammer, thus
fracturing his skull in two places. It was admitted by
Joseph Wilkes that he struck the deceased, but without
the intention of killing him ; and it further appeared
that, inasmuch as Joseph,Wilkes was 3 young man, his
brother James went to his assistance, and thus received
a blood stain on his frock. Against the prisoner Giles there
appeared but a comparatively trifling case, but he was
Implicated by the evidence of Boswell and Wilkes.
The Coroner having summed up the evidence,
The Jury unanimously came to the verdict, " That the
deceased had come to a violent death ; that Joseph
Wilkes was principally implicated in the murder, and that
the other prisoners were principals in the second degree."
The Coroner then issued his warrant for their com-
mittal to the Stafford Assizes.

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