The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-08 00:00:00

convenience the time previous to this. It was about
fourteen months ago. It was perfectly emptied.
Ellen Beresford examined—She knew George'Collis ;
he was a young man ; he was a gentleman's servant ;
believed that she was on very intinsate terms with him.
Saw him last on the 7th of December in witnefs's house,
when he had on a black cloth surtout coat, black cloth
trousers, and a canary coloured waistcoat ; he had a
black silk handkerchief with, a red stripe, his initials
"G. C." were on the side ; had hemmed a black hand-
kerchief for him ; knew his garters, one was red, the
other was white ; knew the pocket handkerchief
perfectly well ; recognised the clothes directly ; has
the fellow to the white garter ; he was five feet 64 inches
in height ; he was then wearing a silk hat which he had
purchased at Sheffield ; he had on boots laced at the
sides ; he left witness at 25 minutes to seven in the
evening of Sunday ; they were good friends when they
parted ; he promised to see witness again on Monday
evening at six or half-past six o'clock ; never saw him
afterwards.

The witness also detailed other circumstances, which
we suppress at the request of the coroner, lest justice
should be defeated by their publicity.
The inquest was then adjourned until Thursday next
at ten o'clock, a.m.

DEATH FROM ALLEGED
STARVATION.
An inquest was held at the Thurlow Arms, Brighton,
yesterday morning, on the body of James Allen, a
labourer, who died on the previous Thursday. He had
lately undergone an imprisonment of eight months'
duration with hard labour, and occasional solitary con-
finement, in the Lewes House of Correction, and the
inquest was held in consequence of his relatives alleging
that he died in consequence of bad treatment in the
prison.
The first witness examined was Robert Allen, his
father, a labourer, at 33, John-street, Brighton. He
stated that his son was 22 years of age, and up to the
time of his going to prison, had never had a day's ill-
ness in his life. He saw him in prison at the end of six
months, when he appeared very ill, and said he was
very weak. He came out of prison six weeks ago last
Saturday very ill. He was attended by Mr. Verrall,
but he died on Thursday evening.
CORONER—Did he ever speak to you of his treatment in
the prison? Witness—Yes, frequently. He told me that he
was in a very weak state, and that the food was not enough
for him ; that he several times told the doctor how ill he
was, but that he was still obliged to go to his work ;
that one day he was too ill to go to the treadwheel, and
that he was then put into the woodhouse to chop wood,
when the flesh peeled off his hands, so that he was
unable to continue at the work ; that he then mentioned
it to one of the officers of the prison, who threatened to
put him in confinement, and that he had requested
both clergyman and doctor to keep him from hard la-
bour, but that he was told he must work.
CORONER—Did the deceased think that he was very
ill when he made this statement to you ? Witness—He
told me that he never expected to get over the illness
ho said so nearly every day from the time he came home
up to the time of his death.
Is yours a consumptive family ?—No. •
Are they subject to any other particular complaint ?
—No. He said that in the prison there was nothing but
medicine and go to work ; he told me that the food
was a skilly, and like cow's udder chopped up fine ; that
he took what was given to him, but that he could have
taken more, if he had it.
Martha Elizabeth Stimpson, wife of a blacksmith, at
13, Ivory-place, Brighton, deposed that she was sister of
the deceased. She fully corroborated the evidence of
the last witness, described his complaint on leaving the
gaol, which appeared to be diarrheas, and added that his
wife was confined just before he died. The deceased
had further told her that while in solitary confinement
his bed was taken from him from four o'clock in the
morning till six at night ; that when he could not sit on
the side of the bed any longer he was obliged to lie on
the cold stoats of the floor of the cell ; that he thought
he should have died ; that he asked the doctor for some,
thing for the weakness in his inside, and that he gave
him a box of pills which did him no good ; and that
when he went to the chapel he was so hungry that he
couhl not listen to what the chaplain said, and that he
would have been glad to have had the water in which
his sister's puddings were boiled at Christmas. When
he told her these things he considered himself a dying man.
Mr. William Verrall, surgeon, depos d tharafter he
came out of prison the deceased complained to him of the
bowel complaint and a bad cough. Witness (who is
parish surgeon) examined him minutely, and found such
to be the case, and was satisfied there was no chance of
his recovery. The disease of the chest had existed for
some time--the diarrhoea for some days before he left the
prison. Witness treated him up to the time of his death.
The diarrhan, was much decreased by the medicines
which witness gave him; but it returned, and had not
left him when he died. Insufficient diet, in the case of
a man with diseased lungs, would be likely to cause
diarrhoea. A man with diseased lungs was not a fit sub
ject for either har.l labour or solitary confinement.
Paucity of food would tend to aggravate the disease.
Disease of the lungs and diarrhcea require a generous
and nourishing diet. Witness had that morning, in
conjunction with Mr. John Lawrence, jun., made a, post
morteni examination, the result of which was merely a
confirmation of the opinion which he had previously
formed.

Mr. John Sanders, governor of the Lewes House of
Correction, deposed that the deceased came into his cus-
tody on the 27th of November, 1845, on a sentence of
eight months' hard labour, except the first week of each
month and the last week of the sentence, which were to
be in solitary confinement. He was thin in flesh; he
appeared to be in good health, but was not robust. Pri-
soners on entering the goal underwent a medical exa-
mination. They were afterwards seen twice a week by
the surgeon; and a prisoner who was not well could call
the surgeon at any time, and he was then attended to
specially. Witness saw deceased at least once, and fre-
quently several times a day. He never complained to
witness of insufficiency of food or inability to work. If
he had complained, his case would have been attended
Co. The hard labour diet was lilb. of wheaten bread
made from seconds flour, a pint of gruel made from lioz.
of oatmeal and flour mixed in equal quantities in the
morning; a pint of soup for dinner made from 3 oz. of
meat without bone to each pint, an ounce of mixed meal to
each pint, with about 2oz. of boiled potatoes, and a quan-
tity of onions and shrubs to flavour. In the evening a
pint of gruel, the same as in the morning. If the pri-
soner remained under sentence for a longer period than
three months he had 2lbs. of potatoes per day extra.
The diet in solitary confinement was 111 b. of bread a
day, and the pint of gruel morning and evening as be-
fore, but no animal food, except when the prisoner was
under medical treatment. The prisoners were never put
to chop wood as a milder punishment than the wheel,
but in chopping wood, pumping water, and cleaning the
prison all the prisoners took turns.

Mr. Turner and the Rev. Mr. V Burnett, surgeon and
chaplain of the House of Correction, deposed that the
prisoner never comp!ained to them of inability to work
or insufficiency of food. The Rev. Gentleman also stated
that the prisoner had voluntarily attended the school
which he had established in the gaol, after the hours of
labour, and had learned to read, and acquired consider-
able intelligence.
In summing up,
The CORONER said, that from the evidence of Mr.
Verrall it was clear that the prisoner was labouring
under disease, which rendered him unfit for solitary con-
finement, or to be placed upon the wheel. The question
was, was there any negligence on the part of the officers
of the prison? According to their testimony, the pri-
soner had not complained either of inability to work or
insufficiency of food; and then arose this further ques-
tion—was his illness so apparent as to induce a convic-
tion on their part that he was so unfit? He would add,
from his own personal knowledge of the mode in which
the gaol was conducted, greater humanity could not be
shown to persons in the unfortunate situation of de-
ceased than was uniformly exhibited at Lewes.
The jury, after deliberating some time, returned- a
verdict, " That the rigour of the sentence being fully
carried into effect, and the insufficiency of the food, de-
stroyed the constitution of deceased, in consequence of '
which he died."