The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-05 00:00:00

btr ttton

IMPROVEMENT OF TOWNS, &e.
APPLICATIONS TO PARLIAMENT FOR LOCAL BILLS.
NEW SMITH T.D OR GREAT 'METROPOLITAN CATTLE
M A RK ET, AND ABATTOIR COMPANY.
WHEREAS. under the provisions of an Act. passed in the tenth
year of the reign of her present Majesty, intituled "An Act fur mak-
ing preliminary iuqu'rles in certain cities of applications fur Local
Acts," notice has been given to the Commissioners of her Majesty's
Woods, Forests, Land Revenues,
Works, and Buildings of an intended
application to Parliament for a BILL to authorise the construction,
esia•lishment, and regulation of a MARKET or MARET-PLAt. E
for the SALE of CATTLE, MEAT. and other articles, with a prin-
cipal Abattoir or piddle Slaughterhouse, Stores, and Buildings ad-
joining thereto, to be situated at or near Camden Town and 'Maiden-
lane, in the parishes of Saint Pancras and Saint Mary, Is:ington,
or
1 one of them ; and SIX DismlcT or SUBSIDIARY A ItA'F fOIRS
or PUBLIC st.AuturrEnu USES, Stores, and Buildings, to he
situate in the respective parishes followin;, that is to say—one to be
situate at oc near Northern.' Brewery, in the parish of Saint Mary
Abbotts. Kensington ; another to be situate at or near the Padding-
ton Workhouse, in the parish of Paddington; another to be situate
at or near the North Pole public-house, in the parishes of Saint
Mary, Islington, and Saint Leonard, Shorediteh, or one of them ;
another to be situate at or near Collins Cattle Lairs, in the parish
of Saint Dunstan, Stepney, Mile-end Old Town, and Saint Matthew,
;
Bethnal-green,
Vauxhalle t hna
Water-works, l g o, ea nt
in the parish of Battersea or one of them ; another to be situate at or near
and the other
or remaining District or Subsidiary Abattoir or Public Slaughter-
house, Stores, and building,, to be situate at or near the Surrey Canal
Bridge, Old Kent-road, in the parishes of Saint Giles, Camberwell, and
Saint Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, cr oue of them ;all the aforesaid
parishes and places being respectively situate in the counties of
Middlesex and Surrey, or one of them, with all proper roads, ap-
proaches, and conveniences thereto, according to the provisions of
the propesed Act, and of the Acts incorporated therewith ; and for
other the purposes therein and in the same Acts contained.
Now we, HENRY ROBERT GOLIWINCII, of Lincoln's Inn,
barrister-at-law, and WILLIAM HUSKING, of Woburn-square, in
the countyof Middlesex, architect and civil engineer, having been
appointed by the said Commissioners to he surveying officers, in so
far as the said Act relates to such intended application, do hereby give
notice that we shall attend on Monday, the 21st day of February
instant, at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's
Inn-fields, at the hour of Ten o'clock the Forenoon, for the purpose
of making such local examination /limy of the district which
such proposed A t will affect, and co 7.;:iakir,z, such inquiries rela-
tive to the provisions of the said proposed Act, and of Investi-
gating such other matters relating thereto as the said Commis-
sioners have by their order cUrected us to make and investigate. And
we do hereby require the promoters of the said intended Work
to appear before us at the time and place aforesaid, act to
produce all such surveys, plans, sessions, estimates, documents,
and evidences as will be necessary to support such intended appli-
cation ; and we do hereby further give notice, that if any person or
persons be desirous or being heard in opposition to such intended
application, we shall be ready to hear him or them, and to examine
any witnesses, or any p nits, sections, maps, books, or other docu-
ments relevant to our said inquiries, which they may think fit to
produce before us at the time and place aforesaid.
As witness our.hands this 31st day of Decembe, 1847.
HENRY ROBERT GOLDFINCH, Surveying
WILLIAM HOSKING, j Officers.

CRIMINAL COURT.-( THIS DAY.)

OLD COURi'.

ARSON.—The trial of William; Henry Middlebroohe
(continued form our Afternoon Edition.)
It turned out upon the cross-examination of one of
the witnesses, that a man whom the prisoner repre-
sented to have come in from the street at the first
alarm of the fire, and assisted him in breaking into
the room to put it out, was observed to leave the
house during the confusion, but no one could tell
afterwards who he was or where lie had gone to:

Mr. CLARKSON shortly addressed the jury for the
defence, and
The Learned JUDGE having summed up,
The jury, to the utter astonishment of a crowded
court, returned a verdict of Guilty.
The COURT sentenced the prisoner to seven years'
transportation.

WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.-....ThiS week
we have limited arrivals. There is a steady demand for
wheat at last week's prices. For the finest parcels of
barley a little advance is obtainable,—in general qualities
no change. Oats and shelling remain without altert.tion,
and meet a very limited sale. Beans are held firmly.
BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, FEB. 4.—The sales of
the week have not been extensive, and the supplies have
been but limited; :prices have been further improved
ls. 641. per cwt., and the deliveries continue satisfactory.
—Bristol Mercury.

MYSTERIOUS DEATHS IN RAT-

CLIFFE.
Yesterday forenoon, Mr. W. Baker, Coroner for
East Middlesex, resumed the inquiry he hat opened
a few days since, at the Queen Catherine public-
house, Brook-street, Ratcliffe, respecting the deaths
of Mr. Andrew Witham, an engineer, aged 68, and
his wife, Ann Witham, aged 58, who died within a
few hours of each other under somewhat remarkable

circumstances, at their roidence in Caroline-street,

in the above neighbourhood.
Mr. Fearnley, a solicitor, attended to watch the
evidence on behalf of the relatives of the deceased•
Mr. Doune, an attorney, was also present to watch
his own and other parEes' interests.
The male deceased, at the period of his demise, was
possessed of 1,0001. in household property, the whole
of which he made over in a will to Elizabeth Taylor,
an elderly female, who acted as nurse to him, two or
three days before his dissolution. Ile died on Tues-
day, the 25th ult., and his wife on the Sunday pre-
vious. No medical man was called in to attend them,

but Mr. Buchanan, a surgeon, having occasion to
call at the residence on the 22d, saw their state, and
prescribed some medicine for them. Their deaths
taking place, and reports being circulated that poison
had been administered to them, the contents of their
stomachs were handed over to Dr. Letheby, the pro-
fessor of chemistry at the London Hospital, for ana-
lysation. In the stomach of Andrew Witham there
was about half an ounce of a thick brownish-green
matter. It had a peculiar odour, strongly resembling
that from mice. It was examined by six persons
conversant with the odour of medicines, and they all
agreed that it was strictly identical with that from
hemlocii and its preparations. Dr. Letheby could not
state positively that the deceased had died from the
influence of poison, but he entertained strong suspi-
cion of the existence of hemlock. The stomach of
the female also had the same odour.
Mary Anne Paine said that for the last six weeks
she had acted as a kind of under nurse to the deceased.
Mr. Witham was troubled with violent retchings, and
us.e3 to throw up great " filth" from his stomach. He
was confined to his bed the whole of the six weeks,
and was obliged to be lifted out and into his bed.
His wife was somewhat similarly affected. Mrs.
Taylor, the chief nurse, gave them their medicine.
Mrs. Witham had taken some medicine composed of
laudanum, distilled vinegar, treacle, and honey, being
recommended to her by a man of the name of Pocock.
CORONER—Did you ever hear Mr. Witham say
anything about his will ? Witness—He used to tell
Mrs. Taylor day after day to get herself righted, and
get his will made out in her favour, for he did not
know any one more deserving it, as she had behaved
to him like a sister. His relatives never visited him.
His brother, however, from Nottingham, came to
see him on the Saturday before his death, but he
scarcely spoke to him.
(CORONER—When was the will made out ?

ness—On the Wednesday before his demise. Mr.
Donne, a solicitor, was sent for, who drew out the
will. The property Was to go to the wife should she
survive him, and then to Elizabeth Taylor, the nurse.
It was read ever to him, and he seemed perfectly to
understand it.
Fr
o
isetlrree, Green,tstated that he had been accustomed
a hairdresser, living at No. 53,
Ca
to shave Mr. Witham for the last eighteen months.
He was called in as a witness to the. making of the
will. Mr. Doune read it over to the deceased, but
he could not say if his mind was in that sound state
rleiduee-
r
as to enable him to understand it. Mr. Doune put
questions to him, and he merely replied " Yes." He
believed that he was not in a sound state of mind at
all times. He complained of a weakness in the head
and a shortness of memory,
Charles Collins, a labouring man, also spoke to
being seat for to act as a witness to the will. He
could not say that ,the deceased really understood it
when it was read over to Lim.
Mr. Francis Thomas Donne, a solicitor living at
No. 1, Princes-street, Spitaltields, said that on the 3d
of September, 1846, he made out a will for the de-
ceased, by which he left the whole of his property to
his wife. On the 18th of last month Mrs Taylor,
the nurse, called upon him and required his assistance,
stating that Mr. Witham wished the property to be
left to her. He advised her to have a legacy and be
done with it, but it was not acted upon. On the fol-
lowing day he called at the deceased's residence, and
received his instructions. It was difficult to get
answers from him, but he gleaned the necessary in-
formation in the course of conversation. Mrs. Taylor
was present, and explained that it was Mr. Witham's
desire to leave his property to her after his wife's
death. On the 20th he visited the house, and read
the will over to the deceased. He explained it to him,
' and he nodded assent.
Mr Fearnley--1 believe you held the pen for him
to put his name to the document? Witness—l did.
Being very weak, Mrs. Taylor presented him the pen,
but I told her she must not assist; I therefore held it,
and she touched the top and moved it.
Mr. Fearnley—Now, you say Mrs. Taylor called
upon you, and intimated that the deceased wished to
leave her his pi-s-Terty. The next day you called and
got your instructions, explain a little more how you
gleaned information from the deceased ? Witness—
Why, I heard what he desired, rtrld then I put ques-
tions to him ; as I before stated, it was difficult to get
answers from him, but all that transpired left the con-
viction on my mind that he wished to leave Mrs.
Taylor his property.
Mr. Fearnley—But he was very imbecile ? Wit-
ness— He might be as rega'rds his health, but not with
his mind.
Two constables of the K division stated that they
had been to the several chemists and herbaldists in