The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-21 00:00:00

THE ESSEX POISONING

•
RAMSEY, SEPT. 20.—This afternoon Mr. William
Codd, the coroner for the northern division of Essex, opened a judicial inquiry into another of those m ste
ri-
casas of poisoning, which have for so long a
time
pthreeseinnrte aspectstiga.
baffled the ingenuity of the police and the
science of
medical men.
The inquiry, as may be imagined, created intense in-
terestof
atfa in the es teoewmns,
moreand judgingt h a
than
likely from
thatthe
tion will be a protracted one, in consequence of the large
number of persons who are involved in it. The inquiry
which was held to-day took place at the Nelson's Head,
in this town, upon the body of a man named Britton.
The CoaoNEtt having sworn the jury, said he had
opened the case they were about to investigate, in conse-
quence of the interest which, on the one hand, was at-
tached to the matter, and the painful rumours which had
obtained general circulation. The inquiry would involve
matter of the most grave and most urgent importance.
He had on the present occasion ordered the exhumation
of a body which had been interred nearly four years, a
course he admitted somewhat unusual, but at the same
time, one which he thought was perfectly justified by the
circumstances of the case. Mr. M'lnnes (the superin-
tendent of the police), under the direction of Captain
M'Hardy, and with the :assistance of Mr. Ratigan, had
made close inquiry into the matter, and the result was
that it was found absolutely necessary to institute a rigid
examination.
The first witness examined was John Collings, a car-
penter of Great Oakley, whose depositions were to the
following effect:—l have seen the body of the deceased.
I saw it exhumed. I knew the deceased for some years
before his death. I made his coffin, and attended his
funeral. He was buried at Ramsey in the month of
October, 1844. The coffin I hare this day seen taken
up is the one I made for Nathaniel Britton. The ini-
tials N. B. on the lid stand for his name. I put him in
the coffin. There were also on the lid the words,
" Aged sixty years, 1844." I am certain the body I
have seen is the one I put in the coffin.
The CORONER—Deceased was a member of a benefit
club at Great Oakley, was he not? The witness—Yes,
he was a member of the May Bush Friendly Society at
Great Oakley.
The CORONER—At his death 81. were to be paid to his
wife? The witness—Yes; by the rules she was entitled
to that sum; but we did not pay her the whole amount,
because we thought she would nut defray the expenses of
the funeral.
A Juror—l suppose you generally pay the money to
the wife? The witness—Yes, invariably .when there is
no suspicion.
The CORONER—Did Mrs. Britton apply for the
money after her husband's death? The witness—
Yes, and she was greatly dissatisfied because we paid
her only 1/. 18s. We settled all the bills consequent
upon the funeral first, and then we paid her over the
balance.

The CORONER.—Who ordered you to make the
coffin ?—Witness—The nurse. Mrs. Britton never came
into the room while I was measuring her husband for the
coffin. When I called at the house she said I could go
upstairs to the room where her husband was.
The next witness called was William Barfield, of Little
Oakley, who said—l knew the deceased when he was a
fellow-labourer with me. He always appeared a healthy
man. On the day he was taken ill he was working with

ma in a him at Ramsey. That was on the Saturday
before his death. We were thrashing tares.
By the CORONER.—We went to work together in the
morning at six o'clock, at which time he complained of
being sick and dizzy. lie took breakfast and some bread
and cheese, It was then he became sick.

The CORONEII.—Then Britton became ill after taking
his brealifst. Witm'ss—Yes; very much so.
The CORONER.—At what tine did he leave you for
the purpose of going home 2 Witness—About hare-past
eleven o'clock.

The.CORONEII.—Did he appear to you to be a man
.likely to destroy himself? Witness—Not at all.
The CORONER.—Did you ever hear him say he would
destroy himself ? Witness—No, never, and (emphati-
cally) I don't think he over did say such a thing.
The next witness was Mrs. Mary Ames, a resident in
Ramsey. She deposed as follows knew the deceased
welL I also knew Mrs. Britton. The deceased always
appeared to enjoy very good health. I recollect the
day he was taken ill. It was Saturday, the 28th of Sep•
tember, 1844. Mrs. Britton came to my house on that
day, at half-past twelve o'clock. Very soon after she
came in, deceased passed by the window. I said, "Mrs.
Britton, there is your husband, he looks as if he were
drunk." She said, " No, he's not drunk—he's not very
well." " Then," I said, "If I was you, I'd take him a
cup of tea." She replied, " Well, I shall not."
The CORONER—When did you see him before? The
witness—On the previous evening.
The CORONER—Was he quite well? Witness—Yes,
as well as usual.

The CORONER—Did Mrs. Britton go home when she
said her husband was ill? Tho witness—No, she waitoti
until after tea.

The CORONER—When did you see deceased again ?
The witness—About nine o'clock the same evening, I
went to enquire after him. When I arrived at his
house, I asked Mrs. Britton how he wag, and she said,
" I don't know, but I think he's nearly drunk, as he has
been sending out for porter."
By a Juror.—lle was a very steady man. I never saw
him drunk. When Mrs. Britto❑ said she did not know
how he was, I went into his room. Mrs. Britton followed
me. He was in bed. He had been very sick. His face
and stomach were covered with what he had brought up.
He complained of pains in his body, and of being exces-
sively thirsty. On seeing a jug on the table, I said,
"What have you got in this jug?" He replied, " I have
had some porter, for I was so dry, and my beauty (allud-
ing to his wire) would not get me anything to drink, or
do anything for me." Mrs. Brittoa took no notice of
what he said. I remarked to deceased, " You appear
very ill. Would you like a drop of brandy ?" He said
he should, but he could not afford to pay for it. I said,
" Never mind, I will get you some," and I went to the
Castle Inn, and procured some, which he partook of.
When I came down stairs I advised Mrs. Britton to send
for the doctor, but she said she would not do so.
The CORONER.—Did you ever know him to be sick
before? Witness—No.
The CORONER—When did you see him again ? Wit-
ness—On the following morning. He was then in a
very filthy state. His wife had not removed any of the
stuff which he had brought off his stomach. It was all
over his face. He told me that his wife bad not been
near him all night.—(Great sensation.) I asked Mrs.
Britton how she could leave her husband in such a state.
She replied, "I can't see after him, and I won't." I asked
her to send for a doctor, and she said " I will not; per-
haps I will to-morrow."
Mr. John Bird, surgeon of Harwich, said he had
that day made a post mortem examination of the body.
The witness proceeded to say that he had made an ex-
amination of the contents of the stomach, which he had
placed in different jars, to be forwarded to London for
analysis.
At this stage of the proceedings,
The CORONER. said that the jury would not be en-
abled to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion before the
contents of the stomach had been analyzed. He should,
therefore, suggest that the inquiry be adjourned for the
present, in order to allow Professor Taylor to make an
analysis of the body.
The inquiry was then adjourned.