The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-14 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge re-
turned to town yesterday from the Continent. His
Royal Highness, attended by Baron Knesebeck,
arrived yesterday morning at the liricklayers' Arms
Station of the South-Eastern Railway Company, from
Dover, and immediately proceeded to his residence,
Cambridge House, where he arrived at eleven o'clock.
In the afternoon the Royal Duke left town for Rich-
mond, on a visit to her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Gloucester. •

Major-General Sir Harry Smith, Governor of the
Cape of Good Hope, called yesterday morning at
Cambridge House to pay his respects to his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge. During the fore-
noon Sir Harry paid visits to take leave of the Ca-
binet Ministers in town, and in the afternoon took his
departure fer Portsmouth, to embark on board the
Vernon, for the Cape of Good Hope.

DESECRATION OF THE DEAD.
OFFICIAL INQUIRY. _ _ . _

In consequence of the reports recently circulated
concerning the alleged desecration of the dead, in the
vaults of Elim Chapel, Fetter-lane, by the removal of
the bodies in carts, 'and the coffins being distributed
for fire-wood, Alderman Sir James Duke, accom-
panied by Charles Pearson, Esq., M.P., City Soli-
citor, the parish authorities, with Mr. Comfort, the
foreman, and other members of the inquest, attended
yesterday to inspect those vaults, with the view of
ulterior proceedings. Long before the hour of in-
quiry Fetter-lane and the passages leading to Elim
Chapel were crowded with the friends and. relatives
of the deceased buried in the vaults. Upon entering
the chapel Sir James Duke said, that as alderman of
the ward he attended with the inquest jury to in-
quire into desecrations alleged to have been and to be
perpetrated upon the dead buried under the chapel.
Mr. FRISLEN admitted that before the Wesleyans
got possession of the chapel the most dreadful atro-
cities had been committed in the vault, but since
they held the chapel no burials had taken place. The
removals of human remains that had subsequently
taken place were made through motives of decency,
and from respect of the dead whose scattered and
exposed bones were covered with earth.
Mr. COMPORT, who said that he had witnessed at
least 300 burials in the vaults, asked whether it was
true that the coffins had been distributed amongst
the neighbours for fire-wood ?
Mr. FRISIEN said that the trustees did no such
thing.
Mr. FOWLER—But are not the trustees aware that
the grave-digger chopped up the coffins in the open
passage and gave the people the wood to burn it ?
Mr. PRIMES—WeII, I believe that the old man
gave away coffins; but he did so without the con-
sent of the trustees.

Mr. FowLaa—When we find that coffins have
been so cut up and disposed of in the public day,
what guarantee have we that the bodies which inha-
bited those coffins have been treated with more re-
spect, or that they have not been also cut up and
carted away ?
The Rev. Mr. Cowart complained that an attempt
had been made by Mr. Church to transfer the serious
charges preferred against Elim Chapel to the grave-
yard of St. Dunstan in the West, which in common
justice ought to be retracted, as the latter graveyard
was free from imputation.
Mr. CoLKE wished to be informed whether several
feet of the earth close to St. Dunstan's graveyard
had been removed, and for what purpose ?
Mr. FRISKEN replied that the earth had been re-
moved to the depth of several feet, to cover the
bones that were scattered about. He admitted that
formerly disgraceful scenes had taken place in Elim
Chapel vaults, but denied that they had been re-
enacted during the last few years. There had been,
at one time, heaped together, in one corner, at least
three waggon loads of the ends, tops, and bottoms of
coffins.

Mr. COMFORT—The people in the neighbourhood
who burned the coffin wood informed him that the
smell from the wood greatly injured their health.
He asked Mr. Walker whether coffins saturated
with human material, and employed as fire-wood,
would not be injurious to health ?
Mr. WALKlR—Unquestionably. Too many cases
prove the fact.
The inquest jury afterwards proceeded to examine
the vaults, which presented a most revolting spec-
tacle. A large pit had been recently excavated, to
the depth of several feet, whence a vast number of
human remains had been removed, and on the right
hand side was an accumulation, to the height of seve-
ral feet, of human bodies and broken coffins, while
opposite was piled together heaps of old broken
coffins.

The jury and several other gentlemen having ex-
pressed their disapprobation of the state of the vaults,
Sir James Duke, who had most minutely examined
every portion of the vaults, said that the present pro-
prietors were not to blame for the confused manner in
which the dead were heaped together. On the con-
trary, they were doing all in their power to remedy
the evil, and the alterations which they were making
were necessarily imposed upon them, and were done
with every possible respect for the dead. Still, he
called upon them to lose no time in completing their
work, and thereby securing to the dead respect, and
to the living security from disease.
. _ _

Dr. FAR'QUALB assured the worthy Alderman and
the inquest that since he had visited the vaults during
the previous week many of the abominations which
he bad then witnessed were removed. For instance,
he saw in one coffin three bodies, one that of a female,
whose net cap was quite fresh. He wished to know
what became of those bodies.

Sir J. DUKE—The trustees do not deny that
such abuses had existed, but in which they had no
share; and those abuses they were new endeavouring
to reform.

Mr. J. ATKINSON, surgeon, Westminster, and Mr.
Ross, surgeon, and successor to the late Dr. Lynch,
gave it as their opinion that the present condition of
Elim Chapel vaults was opposed to the decency with
which the dead ought to be treated, and exceedingly
injurious to health.
Mr. Fowma said that on Sundays be had seen as
many as nine persons removed from the chapel in
fainting fits, induced by the pestilential exhalations
from the vaults.

Mr. PEARSON, in answer to questions from Sir
James Duke and others, said that on two previous
occasions similar complaints had been made against
Elim Chapel, once fourteen, and again seven years
ago. But he was confident that the present would
be the last. The scene they had witnessed proved
that burials should only be permitted in consecrated
ground.
Sir JAMES Duicz having again pledged the trustees
to lose no time in properly securing the vaults
against further sacrilegious intrusion, the inquiry
concluded, and the angry crowd assembled in the
chapel were, by the entreaties of Messrs. Comfort
and Walker, induced to depart peaceably.

FIRE IN THE WEST INDIA DoCßB.—Last night
between seven and eight o'clock, information was re-
ceived at the London fire stations of a fire having broken
out in the West India Docks. Poplar. The tiremes
found that the ship Helena, of Dublin, lying in the
Import Dock, had taken fire about an hoar previously.
The fiantes originated from some unexplained cause, in
what is termed the aft-deck, or steerage, containing a
quantity of sails and ships' stores. The flames having
obtained a strong hold of the under part of the deck, the
water pumped down could not touch that compartment,
consequently ;he work of destruction was still going on.
Mr. Fogo,4he foreman of the brigade, on reaching the
place, suggested that a ladder should be procured and
lowered into the store. That having been done, the
brigademen went below, and by taking the branches of
the engines they were enabled to scatter the water in the
right direction, which had the desired effect of getting
the fire entirely subdued. The damage done, however,
to the ship is very considerable, for such was the violence
of the flames that some of the beams-are nearly burned
through, and the aft-deck is very seriously injured. In-
dependent of which a number of sails and general stores
are consumed,
Marshal Sebastiani still remains at his hotel in the
Rue du Fauburg St. Honore, and is as well in health as
hie great ege and the late distressing events in his family-
will permit. The Conseil de Familia has, it is .said,-
nominated him guardian of the children of his late
daughter,' ddaughter,'the Duchess de .Praslin. After visiting the
is • •iti
apartments in which she was murdered, the Marshal
decided that they shall be left in th© same state as they
were in after the aim Mid that the doors and Windows
stall be waled up.