The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-28 00:00:00

ALLEGED MURDER BY POISONING.

Dr. Lankester has held an inquest under very peculiar
circumstances, at the Globe Tavern, Derby-street, St.
Pancras, on the body of Mr. Philip John Mirehouse,
aged 29. The deceased had been abroad for some time,
but returned from New Zealand last year, worth a
considerable sum of money. After a very short ill-
ness in England, he died without making a will, at
the house where he was living with his wife, whom he
bad not long married. A certificate was given by the
medical mau who had attended him during the short
period of three days, that he died from inflammation of
the bowels, and on the Ist of November, 1867, he was
interred in the Great Northern Cemetery. From cer-
tain circumstances which were not allowed to trans-
pire, the relatives of the deceased suspected that
his death had not taken place in a natural
manner, but that be had been hurried out of the world by
poison, and they therefore applied to the Secretary of
State for an order for the disinterment of the body, so
that an official examination might be made as to the
cause of death. The Secretary of State, however, replied
that he had no power to grant such an order. Appli-
cation was then made to Dr. Lankester, and upon a
demand being made for an inquest, the coroner made
the required order, and on the 2nd of May last, after
the body of deceased bad been in the grave six months and
a day, it was disinterred in 'presence of representatives of
all parties concerned. Dr. Anderson Smith, who attended
deceased prior to his death, removed the viscera, and having
sealed them up, conveyed them to Dr. Taylor, of Guy's Hos-
pital, for analysig. Thejury h aving been sworn in at 11 o'clock
in the morning of Tuesday, proceeded by the Great
Northern Railway to the cemetery at Colney Hatch, and
I
went into the catacombs of the cemetery, where the bod
bad been laid out. This was in such an advanced state o -
decomposition that the only distinguishable feature wa
the beard, which was in a tolerable state of preservation
The jury having returned to the Globe Tavern, King's.
cross, the inquiry was proceeded with.
Captain A. W. Mirehouse, of Brighton, brother of the
deceased, was called as the first witness. He simply
stated that be suspected po'son to have been administered.
Dr. Anderson Smith deposed that on the 29th of
October last be was fetched to deceased at Woburn
Cottage, Duke's-road, Euston-road. Deceased was
suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, and his face was
flushed and red. He was quite sensible, but did not
like to be disturbed ; but in answer to questions he said

he had pains in the bowels and stomach. On the morning
of the Ist of November deceased died. Witness gave a
certificate that he died from inflammation of the bowels,
and the body was buried. The symptoms, although con-
sistent with poison, were not consistent with corrosive
poison. Witness saw Mrs. Mirehouse and her mother
and brother with deceased. The body, which was
exhumed on the 2nd of May, presented a very dry and
leathery appearance. The witness, after describing other
appearances of an unimportant nature, stated that he
removed the internal organs of the body, and having
sealed them up, conveyed them to Dr. Taylor for analysis.
Being in attendance at the House of Commons on a
Speaker's warrant, Dr. Taylor was not present at the
inquiry on Tuesday, but his written report on the analysis
having been sworn to, it was received as evidence. The
report detailed very minutely the appearance of the
internal organs and their condition, and stated that
although tests had been applied for arsenic, mercury, and
antimony, no mineral poison had been detected.
The Coroner having pointed out that there was no evi-
dence upon which to proceed further, the jury returned a
verdict that deceased died from inflammation of the
stomach and bowels. They appeared, however, very dis-
satisfied with the evident mystery which still clang round
the case.

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY.—At a meeting of the
members of the General Council of the University of
Edinburgh, Professor Douglas APLagan presiding, it was
agreed, on the motion of Dr. Andrew Wood, seconded by
Professor Kelland, that the Lord Justice-General (Inglis)
was a fit and suitable person to be nominated for the
chancellorship of the university.

CHOICE OF A PRISON.—The following dialogue is
stated to have taken place between a visiting magistrate at
one of the City gaols, and a juvenile offender serving out his
three months :—llow old are you? --Please, sir, I'm 13.
How often have you been in gaol ?—Please, sir, eight times.
Have you ever been in Reading gaol ?—Please, sir, once.
Have you ever been in -Westminster gaol?- Please, sir,
once. How often have you been here ?—Please, sir, six
times. Why do you come here so often ? Please, sir,
becos at Westminster the turnkeys knocks yer about with
their keys. How do you contrive to get sent here ?
Please, sir, I allus prigs in Holborn now.
THE TODMORDEN MURDERS.—An address, which
was unanimously agreed to at a meeting of the church-
wardens, congregation, teachers, and elder scholars
attending the churches and schools of the parish church,
Todmorden, has been presented to the
and St. Mary's,
Rev. H. A. Plow, 8.D., rector of Bradley, Hants, the
father of the clergyman who was so cruelly murdered at
the Vicarage, Todmorden. The same meeting, through
the chairman, Mr. D. M. Cockcroft, addressed a letter to
Mrs. Smith, the mother of the poor girl Jane Smith, who
was killed at the same time as her master. In her reply
Mrs. Smith speaks with gratitude of the great kindness
she has received from the afflicted family. Mr. Plow has
answered, in terms of deep feeling mingled with appro-
priate exhortations, the address to himself.

FATAL EXPLOSION AT LIVERPOOL. Shortly
before twelve o'clock on Tuesday a frightful explosion,
which caused the loss of three lives, occurred at a fire.
work manufactory at Kensington, Liverpool. The scene
of the accident was a shed, erected on somevacant ground,
on a portion of the site of the old Zoological Gardens.
The shed was erected in accordance with the require,
ments of the Act of Parliament, and at the time of the
accident the only persons in it were the proprietors,
Messrs. Hope and Parker, and a boy (name unknown),
who had entered it only a few minutes before the explo-
sion took place. The shed or manufactory was very full
of fireworks made for summer fetes, but as to the cause of
their ignition nothing is known. The bodies of the
proprietors and the boy above mentioned were found
soon after the explosion, but so frightfully mutilated
and even calcined that they were with diffi-
culty recognised, and they presented a most sicken-
ing sight. Mr. Hope, the elder of the partners,
was recognised by some portions of his dress, and his
spectacles and watch—or at least the metal portions—
were picked up, black as soot. The legs of the poor boy
were torn off at the knees, and his brain protruded, And
all the corpses were soon frightfully su °lien. The shed
was blown to atoms, and also burnt to cinders ; but, for-
tunately, no other persons or property were injured, the
building or manufactory being fortunately isolated. An
explosion occurred in the same premises about four years
ttgoi.but at that tOe no pne Wad injured.