The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-10 00:00:00

.CO,RON-Eit'S INQUEST;

•
' . DEATH CAUSED 'BY ALARM OF 'ROBBERS.
A Coroner's Inquest was held,yesterday.before
•
-Mr. SHEL.rox, upon the body of Jane limke, who fell from
the window of alir. Abraham's house in Hciundsditch, in con-
sequence of a fright at the Su4oied:approachf a ibbbir.
• James :Biven, a watchman of the ward of Portsoken, de-
poied,. that he was upon his "beat at five o'clk on'Saturday
morning in Hounclsditch.' Heheard a screaming, he thought
of ":Fire." The deceased was inaning or 'sitting .but Of the
window, he could not 'shy-which, as it was dark. 'lt,Was in the
.fourth story of Mr. Abraham's house. She calledfor it ladder,
and.screamed Witness begged her to keePla as he
'sawn° danger office. or any thing else. She continued to cry
Fire !" and .to.. call for a ladder, and the patrol ran and got
a Udder ; but she 'fell' before the. ladder arrived. She fell-near
witness, who picked her up and carried her over the way to Mr.
:Bates's house, Where he left her. She fell upon her head, and
never spoke a word after; she had night-clothes and ".black
stockings on. •
By the Jury.—Asked her what was the matter, and she said,
.as well as he could hear, " Fire, fire !"--- Did,.not hear her say,
her master -arid Staples were murdered; was let in at the hall,.
door ; a w,inclow, was 'open in the ,kialten, and some plate was.
upon an apron `on the table. They,-didnot appear to be packed
up. The first person witness saw was Staples; Mr. Abraham's
young man, who had two ;,pistols;in .his hand. • He seemed
very much terrified, and 'shook excessively. Mr. Abrahams
was also .very much-alarmed. The door .seemed to have been
well fastened inside. '

Mr. W. Liscard, surgeon, of Aldgate High-street, deposed
that he was called in to Mr. Bates's house; at haMpast five,-to
see- the deceased, whom he found in a dying state: -Her skull
was fraetured, and she died in two or threeAninutes. . • -
JOsePh Staples shopman to.Mr;Abrahams, deposed that he
heard a noise in the kitchen betweenfour and, five, He slept
on the same floor with the deceased; Soon aftet:he heard the
first noise, he heard a noise of footsteps on the stairs, which
creaked, and he supposed that it was Mr. Abrahams. He laid
awake for some time.. One board cracked very loud, and. he
listened to hear Mr. Abrahams go into his room, but did not hear
the door 'cloie. He then heard a creaking still nearer to him.
Witness then jumped out of bed, and took• two pistols 'which
laid under his head; and were loaded. •He had slept for three
years with loaded pistols tinder hil head, and his master knew
it. Having partly dressed hiniaelf,','he went down stairs, and
saw something moving on the landingplace about twelve steps
frtim him,„ but it was too dark to diatingilish what it was.—
Witness said, " You damned alain, if you move another step
you area dead man." Immediately after he heard footsteps.
Moving.quickly down stairs. Convinced that. it could not be
any of the family, he fired. He had no opportunity of ascer-
taining whether the person who moved was a man. After he
fired Ire ran down stairs and kicked something with his foot,
and called out for a light to Mr. Abrahams, saying. that he
had got the villain: •He then descended into the kitchen, wbich
was on the first floor,' and proceeded to the door that led to the
leads, and in his way thither fell over a table. He then went
to the door, which, as he himself had bolted it the niOit before,
he expected to -find closed, and.' found it open. Anyperson
,
might have come in at the window which was open in the
kitchen, and then could open the doors from the inside. The
sash of the window. had been down in the night, •but not fas
tened. Ile was the last up_isi the house, and. lad locked and
bolted all the doors ; the deceased had gone to: bed before he
went up stairs. Witness 'pass'etf- put upon the letids and fired
the second pistol without seeing any. one. - •
The C-ottoii E R said lie might have killed some person, who
might have approached to assist him. at the first fire:
The witness said there could have been no person in the
section in which he fired except some. one whO had no busi-
ness there. He must-have been close to :the thief's heels,-but
he never heard or saw tiny body after he fired the first pistol.
Upon returning from the leads, he ran to Mr. Atqahain's door
and called fora light. .111 r. Abraham, opened- the door, and
witness too fiord of alight which Moved in oils but-in his•
haste he .put out the light. Mr. Abrahams then pulled
him into Ina room, and said they were in darkness, and. he
(witness) said that he knew Jane had a tinder-box, and lie
would go -up to her room for it ; he went to Jane's room and
knocked at . the
.door; he cried out•to her " Jane, for God's
sake give me a candle." He heard her say.three.times, " They
are e
roOrn." He knocked several
m room
-r-they
my
received no answer. Mr. Abrahams
then ran up and knocked at it, but no answer was given. They
both then aster some difficulty broke open the door, and wit.;
ness went round near the deceated's bed, and found the tinder.
box. . lie then strucktimes
a light near the girl's bed, • and he
did not .see her in bed- Ile did not
know whether the
window was open. He then went down stairs with a light,
leaving. Mr. - Abrahams in the girra room in the dark.
There was a ringing and knocking slit the . door .when , he
was down. Ile opened the. dOor Uhd let -in the Officers,'
who took him into custody:. The officers went op: to. h&r:rtinm;
and looked np at the Ceiling, itad said it
apparition
the witness'u.ll,,
s own.' Witneaa replied. that they might.aa well say.
that he was a dead-ma/1, Upon going into the' dining.room ha
aaw some small articles of plate, and a necklace of the &Ceased,
on the table, lying uppn an apron, and he was sure that. they,
had not.been there the night before. Ilefiire the girl went to
bedsalte.told witness that .aliellad got 7s. froth them.. 'A hat
wasfound by one of the oflicera on the landing place, and there'
was a• shot bore in it.
Mr. Abrahams, of Houndsditch,'deposed, that the report afts
a pistol, awakened him on ,Saturday. roorning He trot out of
bed and went to a drawer where he had ti pistol and powder-
flask ; he then heard Staples Cr:;, "A. light, a light !" Wit-.
um opened the door, and Staaleinentered, greatly agitated,
saying he fired at the villain. Witness. add him to hold the.
lathp while he looked for the pistol ; the lamp went` out, On.
account of his agitation, and witness desired him to go up stairs:
to Jane's room.and get a light. Staples could not get into
Jane's room, and witness ran up stairs, and. said, " Jane,
insist upon your opening the door." She did not reply, and he
supposed she had tainted. They then broke open the door; and.
she was not in the bed. Tho window was then open. The
plate whiCh was found in the apron was not on the parlour_.
table when he went to bed. They riiight have been left in the
kitchen, and were dean.

•Do you know that he kept loaded pistol:; under his.head ? •
Mr. Abrahams said he did nOt, but he knew that Staples,
had pistoli ; saw no apearance of violence about the premise's
was positive that he never saw such a hat as that produced be-.
fore ' • there was some appearance of a person climbing at the
back of the house.

How did it happen that he kept twO,pistols about' him ?—,
He said, b6cause a former master had be.en robbed; I desired
him to tell that gentleman to attend; he told me his forther
master would attend if he could.
The gentleman, did not attend.
Mr. Abrahams had said some days before that he 'thought
the kitchen-window was hot safe.

One of .the Jury observed, that he believed the robber'
escaped through. the hall,door. A man had been seen running
in the' neighbourhood, and upon being ailted -What wati the
matter, he said• ithere was a great 'tire at the oil-shop. This
was ary oufcif-doors report.
Abrahanis.—Staples and the deceased were on good
terms. Staples was quite sober the night before ; was 'one of',
'the most assiduous and clever young men that could be ; and
would, he had no doubt, exert. himself to any extent for the
benefit of his master.

The CORONER directed the Jury to go over to Mr.. Abr-
aham's house and examine the stain, to ascertain whether they.
creaked.

Upon their return, they agreed that a person stepping across
the kitchen, or on the stairs, in the silence of night, might be
heard in the. Staples' room.
The CORONER, in addressing the Jury, said there Was a
great improbability in the story. It was evident, however, that
the poor girl had come to her death by endeavouring to escape
apprehended murder or burning ; and whether the story was
true or false the verdict.cOuld not be affected.

Verdict" The deceased came to her'denth in consequence
of having attempted to escape out of avindow in her master's
house, in her alarm, fearing tfint she would be either burned
or murdered."

SWEEPING THE STUEETS.— VV.e perceive in the
111e;cantik Advertiser of this morning, a new method of sweep-
ing the streets has been discovered by a-Mr. kloyd, which he
intends to put in operation next week .for public inspection.
It is to be done by means of a rriachin.e which is to be drawn
by a single horse through the streets, which it both sprinkles
and sweeps at the same time, and finishes by gathering the
dirt in heap 9, which it then leaves for the dirt cartmen to take
up and carry off if it shall please thcm to do so ,--:(lYnt rork
Ewninc Povt;)

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

• COURT OF' TUNG'S BENCH, FE 2..9.
•
THE: KING{' ON TliEsPiiOtcliT/oN. OF 'six QEORGE JER-
NINGIiASI, V. =CHAR!) C9O.KE:
Mr. CAXiPEELL cause against: the rule obtained in
last term for quashing the Plea, of -Richard Stafford COoke,, in-
dicted with James Stamp, Sutter' Cooke, tttid others; for a eOti;
spiricy; on theproSecution.ofStr George Jerninghain. The de-
fendant, Richard Stafford Cooke, 'pldaded in abatement a plea
verified by affidavit, that'at the time of taking the inquisition,
he was Lord Stafford, Baron 'of Stafford, and had a right to
enjoYthafdignity and estate: Theibotion for quashing this plea
ought. not;-the Learned CohnSel contended, to be 'made abaci-
lute, because the Court, by such a measure, would'deprive the
party of hiS writ of error, which.he might prosecute after judg-
ment ageinstiiim on demurrer.- The objection to the plea was,
that it set out no writ—no patent of creation--no descents ; but,
in this case, no writ or patent could have been set forth, because
the Barony of Stafliird bad its origin -in too, remote' antiquity,
and the party pleading could only begin with I)Ocomkdiy BOA,
and load '..the record with a. pedigree reaching.to the present
tinre. It wasagreed that this plea was a good plea, if properly
pleaded ;1-and surely.the Court Would not quash it on' motion,
but:-.leave the
_prosecutor tO, demnr; even if they inclined- to
'think it defective. -He was, however, prepared to argue, if ne-
cessary, that the plea was good. ••
Mr. SCARLETT and Mr. TALF6IIRD argued in support of
the rule. It was clear that the'plea 'bad, because, accord-
ing to all the authorities, it ought,to have set forth a writ,-pr
patent, or preScription,br summons:to Parliament, from whence
the Court ruight see that the party had a:colourable claim. By,
Analogy' th.the cases in which the Court have quashed indict-
ments, it was obvious that they had a-discretionary poWer to
controul criminal proceedings, and prevent them from being
abused to the perversion -of justice • and in the "
Granger, 3 Burrow, 2110,.'t they q•uishjed.a plea in abatement, be=
cause it. was notytrified by oath..oere; indeed, there was an af-
fidavit ; but it was to a'mere matter of opinion, on which no in-
dictment for. perjury'could be supported. The charge wasa most
serious charge; hot merely alleging that-the defendants set up a
pretended title, but that they used that title for purposes of.fraud
and courage, 'and no claim, however, :good; could justify their
proceedings.... Would the Court, then sanction an attempt, to
correct the course of justice;' by the intiodnetion of a collateral
matter so indistinctly introduced, so imperfectly stated, asthat
which fornied the substance of this extraordinary plea?
The COURT said, they thought it would be too•strong a mea-
sure to quash the plea, whatever they might think of its Me-
rits.. They therefore tliacharked the rule,

. DTBDIN, ESQ. I. ELLISTON, ESQ. •
.Mr. H. COOPER, .on a former day,, obtained a rule Nisi,
caging upon Mr. Elliston, the manager of Drury-lane Theatre,
tiishew cause why Mr. Dibdin should not be-permitted to in=
speet the terms of an agreement between . the -former and the
latter, sttpposed to have been entered in the Stage Manager's
book of the Theatre.
Mr. J. EvANs. Row shewed cause on an affidavit denying that
any such entry had 'been made in the Stage Manager's book,
although it was admitted that Mr. Dunn, the Manager, had
made a private memorandum in his own pocket-book for his
private use. The ground of the, motion being•thus contradicted,
the Rule 'was discharged, hut without costs. •