The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-16 00:00:00

SINGULAR DISCO VE..11 Y OF A
,OBBERY COMMITTED FOUR YEARS AGO.
During the last week a transaction, which for four
years 'ma- been enveloped in mystery, was brought to
light in rather a singular manner. In August, 1812, a
Mr. John Browning posted a letter at Iluthin, in North
Wales, containing a bank note for 201., one for lei. and
a Post-office order fir I/. 18g. Gd. It as addressed to
his niece, Miss Sarah Browning, 15, Summer-street,
Navigation-street, Birmingham ; and he, in a few days
after, being astonished that no acknowledgment of its
receipt was made to him, wrote to his niece on the
matter. It was then discovered that the letter had not
been received ; and although ho communicated with the
Post-office authorities, and for warded the dates, amounts,
and numbers of the notes, of which he had made a me-
morandum at the time he posted the letter, and even put
on the back of the 101. note his initials and the date, no
trace of the letter or its contents could be discovered.
The matter thus remained in mystery until Tuesday last,
when a 10/. note was sent from the Bank of England to
the authorities at the General Post-office, as one of the
notes which had been contained in Mr. Browning's letter.
A. rigorous inquiry was immediately instituted, when it
was discovered that the note had been paid into the bank
of Messrs. Spooner and Attwood, Birmingham, on the
19th of September last. On that day Misses Jordan
and Schofield, milliners, High-street, sent money and an
advice to meet a bill amounting to 141. Is. Gd., consist-
ing of a 51. note and the rest in cash. A man named
Henry Ivatts, who had been a letter-carrier in 1842, but
had been discharged for some act of insubordination, and
who was in the habit of going messages for them, took
the money in question to the bank. He came that morn-
ing, as he had been requested to do, to go to the bank;
but Miss Jordan, having occasion to go out, went in-
stead. In a few minutes after she had gone, Ivatts came
to the shop, and finding that Miss Jordan had taken the
money, he ran after her, overtook her, and went to the
bank himself. Mr. Edwards, the clerk, took the money,
which then consisted of a 10/, note and some silver, and, as
usual, marked the note. It was then sent to London, and
discovered to be one of the missing notes. Miss Schofield
having been waited on regarding the matter, asked Ivatts
about it, when he said that he had found the note in
New-street, on the Wednesday of Wolverhampton races,
and that wishing to have it changed, he took the 51.
note and 51. in cash from the bag in which she sent the
money to the bank, and substituted the note in question.
Ivatts was then apprehended, and brought before the
magistrates (R. Spooner, Esq., M.P., J. James, and
Thomas Beilby, Esqrs.), at the public office on Monday.
Mr. Spurrier appeared for the prosecution, and Mr.
Harding for the defence. The case was gone into at
considerable length, and the note fully identified. The
prisoner bad always borne a good character, and it ap-
peared that Summer-street was not in his district, at-
though it was stated all the letter-carriers sorted the
letters in one room. Tho case was remanded till Thurs-
day, when Ivatts was fully committed to the assizes. He
was, however, admitted to bail, being himself bound over
in 1001, and Captain Leary (under whom Ivatts had
served for twenty-six years), and Mr. C. Purcell, Nel-
son-street West, in 501. each.—Birmingham Journal.

CORONER'S INQUEST.
THE MARGATE SEA-BATHING INFIRMARY.—An in-
quest was commenced before Mr. Mills, on Wednesday,
the 30th September, at the Rod House, College-street,
Chelsea, on the body of Elizabeth Cotton, aged 15,
daughter of Mr. Cotton, oilman, Chelsea, who died on
September 25th. The statements made on that occasion
involving certain charges against the treatment which
the deceased had received in the Royal Margate Sea-
bathing Infirmary, from whence she had been brought
shortly before her death, the inquest was adjourned for
the attendance of Mr. Field, the surgeon of that esta-
blishment.
On Wednesday, at ten o'clock, the jury were re-as-
sembled, arid the inquiry proceeded, Mr. Field, a nurse,
and the secretary of the infirmary, being present.
Mr. Cotton, oilman, 3, College-terrace, Chelsea, stated
that deceased had been ill for a long time, and had been
sent to St. George's and the Wesminster Hospitals, and
Mr. Goodrich, surgeon, of Chelsea, recommended him
to get her admitted into the Margate Sea-bathing In-
firmary. His daughter was suffering from curved spine
and scrofulous habit. Witness obtained the admission
to the infirmary by a letter from the Duchess of Kent,
and paid ss. 9J. a week for expenses. Deceased re-
mained there till the 16th of September, when, as she
did not improve, she was brought home. The next day
after her return his wife told him she had discovered the
existence of a dreadful sore in her daughter's back, and
Mr. Goodrich was sent for to see her. After being at
home a week she sunk rapidly, and died on the 25th!
Mr. Francis Goodrich, surgeon, stated that on visiting
the deceased, on her return from Margate, she com-
plained of sores on her back, which she said arose in
consequence of a " bed-pan" being left under her for
three days and nights, being removed night and morn-
ing, and then replaced, while she was ill with diarrhoea,
notwithstanding that finding her back sore from the
pressure she had applied for its removal.
Coaostaa—This is not legal evidence unless the girl
knew she was dying.
Mr. Goodrich—l believe that was her firm impres-
sion, sir.
Mr. Goodrich read a statement (signed by himself
and Mr. Warder, another surgeon), stating, that on
post mortem examination they found all the organs of the
body perfectly healthy, and giving in detail the horrible
appearance of the sores. They considered the sores the
cause of death.
Mr. Alfred George Field, resident surgeon of the in-
firmary, stated that the deceased was admitted into the
establishment having curvature of the spine, with para-
lysis of the lower extremities. She was ordered a course
of bathing and tonics, and his attention was called to her
daily. Only knew of the sore existing a few days before
she left, and attributed it to the effects of her disease.
There is a water-bed in their establishment, but it is not
used. There is no air-bed. The mattresses are of straw;
for as it is a summer establishment, their object is to
keep the patients cool.
Sarah Fagg, a nurse, stated that she acted under Mrs.
Perry, the head nurse. Remembered the deceased being
confined to her bed. She had herself asked witness for
the bed-pan. This was placed in her bed, but was only
there twenty-four hours, during which time it was
moved two or three times. Witness covered the edges
of it with a linen cloth. At the end of the twenty-four
hours, observing a red mark on the girl's body, she re-
moved it, though against the wishes of deceased.
Mr. Mills, addressing the jury, observed upon the
♦ery conflicting nature of the testimony. It was for the
jury to decide whether the sores were the cause of
death, and also whether they believed that they arose
from improper treatment.
The jury retired to consider their verdict, and in half
an hour returned the following :—" We find the cause
of death arose from the injudicious use of a bed-pan in
the Royal Margate Sea-bathing Infirmary, and we are
further of opinion that there has been gross neglect on
the part of the surgeon and nurses of this institution."

THE SUPPLY OF COTTON.
The prospect of the supply of cotton is beginning to
excite great interest and some anxiety in the manufac-
turing districts. The ground of this anxiety L!, that the
consumption of the article has been increasing more
rapidly than its production fur the last three years, not-
withstanding the enormous crop of 1844, and that there
is danger that the production will Lefore long be intuffi-
cient to meet the present rate of consumption. Should
that prove to be the case, prices will of course rise until
the proper proportion between supply and demand has
been re-established.
On examining the return of the imports, exports, and
the consumption of all hinds of cotton in the port of
Liverpool, in the years 1844, 1845, and 1846, the follow-
ing are found to be the results:—
Import of cotton into Liverpool from the Ist January,
1844, to the 10th October, 1846:-
1844 1,490,968 bales
1845 1,650.763 1846 (to October 10) 1,051 „
,348

Total import 4,193,079 „
Exports of cotton from Liverpool the same mid:-
1844 84,200 bales
1845 82,500 „
184 G 115,230 „

Total exports 281,930 „
Consumption in same period:-
1,311,088 balos
1,432,363 „
1,180,400 „

1844.-
1845..
1846..

------
Total consumption 3,923,851
Prom total import
Deduct total c0n5umpti0n...3,923,851
Total export

4,205,181 „

Excess of consumption and export
over import

12,102 ”

The estimated stock of cotton on hand was—
On the Ist Jan~ 1844
Ditto on Oct. 10, 1846
From the above figures it will be seen that the impor-
tation of cotton into Liverpool in the years 1844 and
1845, and, so far as it has gone, 1846, was not equal to
the consumption and export in the same period, although
the import of 1845 was the largest ever known, and that
we should now hare been without any supply of cotton
in this port if it had not been for the remains of the grea
American crop of 1843, which reached 2,379,000 bales,
or 279,000 bales more than the crop of 1845. The
general expectation is, that the stock on band will be
considerably less at Christmas ; so that for the first time
since 1842 we are likely to commence the new year with
a stock of less than half a million bales. The stocks in
Liverpool at the close of each year, from 1841 inclusive,
bare been--
1841 .............................. 429,830 bales.
1842 ............................. 456600 „ 1843 .................. . ........... 653,900 „
1844 ............................. 749,580 „
1845 ......................... 885,480 „
It will be seen from the above figures thlt the con-
sumption in this and other countries is gaining very
rapidly on the production, and that without a decrease
of the former or an increase of the latter, the stocks will
be reduced to the lowest point before the end of 1847.
Under these circumstances every account of the pro-
bable yield of the present year's crop is looked for with
the greatest interest, and from the unfavourable tenour
of t
rneshe accounts hitherto, with much anxiety,—Liverpool
2Y.

About ten o'clock yesterday morning a fire oc_
curred in Burton-street, Eaton-square, in workshops be-
longing to Mr. Samuel Wilson, builder, of UpperEbury_
street, which, together with a stable, were entirely
consumed in a very short time, The cause was purely
accidental, by the igniting of a few shavings by one of
the apprentices who was about making a fire.