The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-20 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

MATRIMONIAL DISAPPOINTMENT.-011 Tuesday
evening, Mr. W. Payne held an inquest at St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital on the body of Diana Hunt,
aged 21, a domestic servant. Airs. Harriet Holiday,
of 28, King-street, Cheapside, boarding-housekeeper,
said deceased had been her servant for about a fort-
night. About half-past five o'clock on Saturday even-
ing, deceased brought in the tea-things, and in five
minutes after she took away the tea-pot to fill it.
Not bringing it back, witness rang for her, but she
did not answer the summons. After some delay,
witness went in search of her, and at length found
her up stairs lying on her bed apparently asleep. A
mug, containing a white sediment, excited witness's
suspicions, and Mr. Edwards, a surgeon, was called in,
who used the stomach-pump, after which deceased
was removed to that hospital. Three sealed letters
were found, announcing her determination to destroy
herself. The following is the most important of them,
addressed to Charles Morse, 24, Park-street, Baker-
street, New-road :—" Dear Charles —I send these
few lines to you, hoping they will find you in good
health, as this leaves me very unhappy. You know
you have deceived me ; and I have borne it as long as
I could, but I cannot bear it any longer. I wish you
all the joy this wicked world can afford you. I have
not thought thee false ; indeed, I have no doubt of
thee. My only hope of future joy! where is thy
constancy ? Farewell, dear Charles, for ever !
I pray to God to forgive my guilty soul. One
last farewell before I depart from this wicked
world.—Your's, truly, Diana Hunt." A sister of the
deceased said the bans of marriage had been published
about Christmas last, between her and Morse, a cab-
man, but the marriage did not take place, chiefly on
account of his poverty. It was deferred from
time to time from the same reason, and, in conse-
quence, the deceased's mind was very much affected.
She did not think that Morse had taken any advan-
tage of the deceased. Mr. Hurlock, resident medical
officer of the hospital, said the deceased was brought
in in a dying state on Saturday evening, and died
in four hours after admission. Had examined the
stomach, and found appearances to warrant him saying
that life was destroyed by arsenic. Verdict—" Tem-
porary insanity," the jury saying that the evidence
did not justify any censure of the conduct of the
young man Morse.

SINGULAR CASE.—On Wednesday afternoon, Mr.
T. Wakley, M.P., Coroner, held an inquest at the
sign of the Duke of Wellington, South-street, Sloane
square, Chelsea, on the body of George Bailey, aged
thirty-four years, whose death, it was alleged, had
been caused by his having eaten a biscuit supposed to
be poisoned, which he had picked up in the street.
It appeared from the evidence that the deceased re-
sided at No. 17, Seymour-street, Sloane-square, and
was employed at a gas-work. On Monday last de-
ceased came home about the middle of the day, and
complained of being very poorly, and said he had
been taken so immediately after eating a biscuit he
had picked up in the street. He was shortly after-
wards seized with great pain in 'the chest, which
he described like a dart running through him, and
afterwards like tearing the flesh away from his
chest, and notwithstanding medical assistance was pro-
'Cured, he continued in great agony until about five
o'clock on Tuesday morning, when he died. Mr.
Ward deposed that he was surgeon to the Chelsea,
Brompton, and Belgrave Dispensary. On Monday
afternoon he attended the deceased, whom he had pre-
viously known, and was told that the cause of his ill-
ness was his having eaten a biscuit he had found in
the street. Saw him a second time about ten o'clock
that night, when he complained of suffering agony, in
his chest, and he died about five o'clock the next
morning. Witness had since made a post mortem exa-
mination of the body, and found a quantity of serus
fluid in the cavity of the pericardium. Found other
appearances sufficient to account for death. Had
examined the stomach, and could find no trace what-
ever of poison. Verdict---" Died from natural causes."
Deceased has left a wilm very near her confinement,
with five small children, and one has just been buried.
On Wednesday Mr. Higgs held an inquest at the
Hog-in-the-Pound, Oxford-street, on the body of
Maria Levey, aged twenty-three, and on that of her
newly-born female infant. Mr. F. Clarke, surgeon,
of No. 9, Marylebone-lane, said that at eight o'clock
on Monday morning last, he' was suddenly called to
Mr. Manicom's residence, No. 46, South Molton-
street. On the half-landing between the first and
second floors he found the dead body of the deceased
woman lying, and she had evidently just delivered
herself of the child that lay dead close by her. The
woman, no doubt, had been making an effort to get
higher up stairs, when she fell and died instantly. She
had been dead about a quarter of an hour before he
saw her. There was a large quantity of blood on the
stairs, but not sufficient to account for death. On
removing the body, and examining the infant, he;
found the string of an apron twisted twice tightly
around its neck, and which was evidently the cause of
death. The apron was attached, and the string was
entangled or held in the woman's hand. He had
opened both bodies since death, and found all the,
viscera of the mother healthy, no traces of poison in ,
the stomach, but found the vessels on the surface of
the brain distended with black, venous blood, and the,
ventricles filled with water, which had caused serous
apoplexy, to which he believed deceased had a ten-
dency. The child was unquestionably born alive, for
the lungs were filled with atmospheric air, and,
floated buoyantly in water. The child died from
strangulation by the mother, who died whilst doing
the heinous deed. Mr. .Manicom, baker, of No. 33,
South Molton-street, said deceased. had lived with
him for about five months, was a very reserved.
girl, and he never suspected her to be enceinte. An
hour before she was found with her child in the
position described by Mr. Clarke, she had served him,
with breakfast, and then he noticed nothing particular
in her manner. She slept in the parlour, but she had
a closet above stairs in which she kept her clothes,
and she was evidently going to it when the calamity
occurred. He knew nothing more of the affair. Wit-
ness then proved that no baby-linen was found in de-
ceased's box, and no letters referring to her being in
the family-way or to her death were discovered. Be-;
fore she came to live with Mr. Manicom, she had lived
for a short time with a Mr. Simpson, in the Edg-,
ware-road. Verdict—" That the child was strangled.
by its mother, who died of apoplexy immediately
afterwards."

STRIKE OF SHIP CARPENTERS.—S UNDERLINE,
SEPT. 17.—The ship carpenters of this port have struck
for an advance of wages. At present their wages are
18s. per week, and they request that these wages (which,
it must be admitted are very low) should be raised to
21s. For the last three or four years ship-building at
this and the neighbouring towns has been in a
greatly depressed state—so much so, that the wage 4
of carpenters declined from 30s. and upwards down to
18s. and even to 16s. per week. Many shipbuilders were
either ruined or voluntarily closed their yards, and indeed
last year there were scarcely even a dozen ships upon the
stocks at a time in this port, which was at once cele-
brated as the first ship-building port in the world. At the
commencement of this year a revival in this important
branch of industry took place, and hundreds of able. bodied
men who were thrown for sustenance upon the poor-rates
again found employment, al though at low wages. Since the
close of the pitmen's strike there has been an extraordinary
demand for vessels, and freights have been offered both in
the coasting and foreign trades double those given at a
corresponding period of the preceding year, and in some
instances a still further advance has been demanded and
obtained. The consequence of this has been, that ships
have risen is value, and an additional impetus has been
given to ship-building, which is now in a thriving, and
promises speedily to be in a highly flourishing state.
The men have seized the present opportunity so favour-
able for obtaining increased remuneration for their
labour. On Saturday night most of them ceased work,
and yesterday they held a numerous meeting on Build-
ing-hill, at which they resolved to continue out of
employment until they received 21s. per week. This
afternoon they were to have held another meeting in
the same locality, but this meeting either was post-
poned, or the place altered. The general opinion in the
town is, that the workmen are entitled to, and will re-
ceive the advanced wages ; but it is to be regretted that
previous to a strike commencing the men employed in
any trade do not wait upon their employers, and repre-
sent their wishes and urge their claims. If this were
done, strikes would not be so frequent as they now are,
and a better feeling would prevail amongst masters
and men.

FRENCH MISAPPREHENSION OF ENGLISH TITLES
AND PROCEEDINCS.—The late elevation of Lord Stanley
to the Upper House is thus recorded and explained •in
the Commerce, a Paris paper of high character, in its
number of the Bth inst. :—" Lord Stanley, Minister for
the Colonies, has accepted the title of Lord Chiltern
Hundreds—a title with no duties annexed—which is in-
compatible with that of Member of the Elective Cham-
ber, because it is attached to the Household of the
Queen." In the same blundering spirit, the National of
Sunday has a long article in which it talks of the efforts
made by " Lord Hardinge " to conclude a commercial
treaty with the Pscha of Egypt. A mysterious per-
sonage, called Sir R. Peel, is still commonly described
in the French provincial journals as the English Premier ;
and it is only a few weeks since we were startled by the
announcement, that Sir W. Peel, the son of the said Sir
R. Peel, had passed his examination at Portsmouth for
the rank of Admiral !—Times.