The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-06 00:00:00

FIRE IN FENCHURCH-STREET..

Tuesday a jury of the ward of Longbow' were empanelled be-
fore Mr. W. Payne, City Coroner, at the Ship Tavern, Lime.street,
to investigate the deaths of Mrs. Isabella Satchell, aged '27, and
Timothy Satchell, her infant son, aged fifteen months, both of
whom lost their lives in the distressing fire which occurred on the
premises of Messrs Satchell, hatters, No. 160, Fenchurch-street, on
the morning of Sunday last.
Police-constable 599, William Riding, spoke to the discovery of
the fire. He admitted his knowledge that a fire-ladder was kept
on the wall of St. Dionis Church, but added that it was only 30 feet
long, and would not have reached to the top of the house. He had
no knowledge that fire.ladders were kept against the East India
warehouses its Lime-street.
Police.constable 486, William Dolby, deposed to having been on
the spot a few minutes after the outbreak. He denied having seen
any person at the windows of Messrs. Satchell's premises, but
thought he recollected that Mr. Robinson told him, on making his
escape through the next house, " that he feared Mrs. Satchell was
up stairs." He admitted to a juror his knowledge that there were
fire.ladders against All Hallows church, but said that was not in
his beat ; and in answer to the question of an inhabitant as to whe_
ther he had not heard the exclamation of" For God's sake save the
woman," he replied that he had heard Mr. Satchell make that
remark.
Ellen Goodwin, a young female, who resided with Mr. Satchell
as domestic servant, said—l have lived about six weeks with
Mr. Satchell—l went to bed about half-past twelve o'clock
on Saturday night. The kitchen fire was out before
ten o'clock. Mr. Satchell and myself were the last up in the
house. I did not perceive any smell of fire when we went to bed.
Mr. Satchell wentup stairs first and I followed him. I was awoke by
by my master running up stairs. I heard him getting out of the
trap-door, and I came out of my room and followed him. I had
heard no alarm in the streets previously. When I came out of my
room the staircase was s• foil of smoke, that I could scarcely
breathe. I did not see any flames at that time. When I got on
to the top of the house I saw flames proceeding upwards from the
direction of the finishing shop. I did not see my mistress, but I
recollect hearing her call me by name. She appeared to be waiting
on the stairs, to see me out safe. I did not answer her. I could
not speak.
John Piercy, one of the officers of the Fire Brigade, proved find.
ing the bodies of the deceased in the third floor front roam. The
elder deceased was seated on the floor just beneath the window,
and the infant was partly resting upon her.

A gentleman here stated that Mr. Satchell was in attendance,
and would be glad to stare all that he knew of the circumstances.
A chair having been placed for his accommodation, he was led
into the room, and said that it was the habit of himself and his
partner to take it in turns to ga round the house after the busi-
ness was closed, in order to see that the fire and lights were all ex-
tinguished. It was his turn to perform the duty on; .turday night,
and he did so after closing the shop about half-past eleven o'clock.
He found everything perfectly safe, mid having turned
off the gas at the main, was proceeding up stairs, when
he met the maid servant coming down for some water.
He accompanied her into the cellar, and they re.
turned up stairs together. Mrs. Satchell had just gone to
bed, and witness, after a short period, followed her. Mrs.
tiatchell was engaged in arranging some linen, and witness, being
very much fatigued, undressed, got into bed, and fell asleep in a
few minutes. He recollected Mrs. Satchell getting into bed, and
was very shortly afterwards aroused by her putting her hands on
his chest, and begging him to get up, as the house was in games.
She was then standing on the right side of the bed. Witness im-
mediately jumped out of bed, and taking his eldest child in his
arms, proceeded with his wife up to the attic floor, in the direction
of a trap-door leading on to the roof. Witness had a distinct
recollection of his wife being close to him when he was at the
foot of the steps leading on to the trap, and he thought she
had followed him up the steps. After placing his child
in safety, he returned to aid his wife, and then saw the body of a
female lying senseless in the gutter, on the roof of the house. The
smoke was rising in such dense volumes that he did not recognise
the features, and, supposing it to have been his wife, with the
assistance of Mr. Robinson, his partner, he conveyed her into the
attic of the adjoining premises, where he first discovered that
it uas the servant, and not his wife, that he had rescued. Wit-
ness returned to the roof of his own house, and, as well as he was
able, called out to his wife, but received no reply, and was at
last driven by the dames to make his retreat. Mr. Satchell
added that under the trying circumstances in which they were
placed his wife had shown the greatest presence of mind,
and he was utterly unable to account for her having at last failed
to follow him up the ladder on to the roof of the house. The
room in which the body was found was witness's bed-room, leading
to the supposition that the unfortunate deceased had retraced her
steps after accompanying him to the ladder leading to the trap-
door. Witness had no idea how the fire occurred.
A long and desultory conversation ensued as to the means
adopted to obtain fire-ladders on the occasion, and as to the manner
in which the engines had been sent for. A close examination into
the circumstances satisfied the jury that, with regard to the latter,
everything that was necessary had been done, but as to the fire.
escapes or ladders, it was too painfully evident that no attempt had
been made to bring any one of them, calculated to be of service,
to the spot.
After some further evidence of no importance,

'1 he jury, after a few moments' consideration, returned a verdict
of " Accidental Death" in both cases.

ALARMING FIRE AND NARROW ESCAPE.—Yes-
terday morning, between the hours of twelve and one o'clock,
as police.constable 11 135 was proceeding along his beat, he dis-
covered smoke issuing through the window shutters of the pre-
mises belonging to Mr. WeHdler, hat manufacturer and tobacconist,
situate at 4, Commercial-road, East. The officer, without loss of
time, sounded an alarm in the usual way, but some time elapsed
before the inmates, consisting of Mr. Wendler and a child, could
be aroused from their slumbers. When that was at length accom.
plished, the whole of the frost portion of the premises was wrapped
in fire, and all escape for the residents was cut off in that quarter.
the occupier, with great presence of mind, took up his child, and
by getting out of one of the back windows, and climbing over the
yard wall, he was enabled to make a retreat into the adjoining
cooperage, and thereby escaped. Engines soon arrived, and taking
advantage of an abundant supply of water, they were enabled to
confine the flames to the premises in which they commenced, but
which were not extinguished before the building and its contents
were destroyed
GRAVESEND AND ROCHESTER RAILWAY.—The
following is the traffic returns for the week ending 31st liAri
1815 ;—.Passengers, 8,033 , amount received, 1991, 41, I.ods

L All' INTELLIGENCE.
SHERIFFS' COURT, June 5.
(Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BurtcncLL )
1118 MAR OE BRUNSWICK V. MILNER—LIBEL.

This was an action brought by his Serene Highness the Duke of
Brunswick against the publisher of the Lancaster Guardian, for
libel. The defendant suffered judgment to go by default.
His Serene Highness appeared to plead his own case, assisted by
Mr. Thomas, the barrister. His Serene Highness read his address
to the jury. The libel was contained in the Lancaster Guardian
of the 17th September, 1842, and consisted of a detail of the
arrest of his Serene Highness on suspicion of being one of
the swell mob. The libel was copied at the time
in almost every newspaper in the United Kingdom,
and was headed " Arrest of the Ex-Duke of Brunswick on sus-
picion of being one of the swell mob." It went into details of the
arrest of his Serene Highness at an hotel on the charge of having
picked the pocket of a Mr. Marquis, at the celebration of the
Preston Guild, held in September, 1842, but concluded by stating
that the error being discovered, his Serene Highness was over-
whelmed with apologies, which he accepted. His Serene
Highness said that the libel was not confined to this
kingdom, but was an European libel, and he had
spent 6,0001. in carrying on actions, and would prosecute them
against every paper in which it had appeared. He then went into
a complete history of his life, and urging that he was the victim of
unrelenting persecution on the part of the high and noble in the
land, and that these libels were a part of the system. He corn.
mented in unmeasured terms on the conduct of his Royal High-
ness the Duke of Cambridge, who had been his nominal guardian.
The Learned UNDER-SHERIFF frequently urged on his serene
Highness to confine his address to the matters charged in the
record, and more especially that such reflections should not be
passed on the absent.

His Serene Highness said he had offered to forego proceedings
against the publishers of the libel if they would give up the name
of the real author. The defendant had urged that he was not ac.
tuatcd by malice. But if not, could he explain why this libel
should have been inserted, when there was not even the fact to de-
pend upon, that any person, much less himself, had been charged
in the manner set forth in the libel. His character, his reputation,
and his honour were dearer to him than his life, and he trusted
that the verdict of the jury would deter others from publishing ca.
lumny and slander against him. His Serene Highness called—
Mr. Samuel Bannister, High Constable of Preston, Lancashire,
who deposed that no such occurrence as that set forth in the libel
took place.

Cross.examined by Mr. WORDSWORTH—Preston Guild was a
great feast, only occurring once in twenty years. People went
from all parts of the world. Mr. Marquis had been robbed. His
Serene Highness was at Preston.
This was the only evidence adduced.

Mr. WORDSWORTH then addressed the jury for the defendant.
He urged that the main fact of the robbery had been proved, the
assertion of his Serene Highness being charged was disproved, and
indeed the article itself proved that the charge had been discovered
to be erroneous. He contended that there was no ground for the im-
putation of malice, and that the defendant had done everything in his
power to do justice to the honour and feelings of his Serene Highness.
He urged at great length that his Serene Highness had not received
any real injury in reputation, and that it would have been consis-
tent with the honour and dignity r f his Serene Highness to have
accepted the apology which had been made.

The UNDER-SHERIFF then summed up. He said that the con.
ductors of public journals were responsible for the articles they
inserted, and were bound to inquire into their truth. An apology
was insufficient, and had he been counsel for the plaintiff he would
certainly have advised him not to accept one but to appeal to a jury,
and thus to have his honour vindicated.

The jury consulted about ten minutes, and then gave a verdict
for the plaintiff—Damages 2001.
THORPE V. COLEMAN.-A RUNNING REIN EASE.

This was as action brought to recover the sum of 101., the
amount of a wager laid on the Derby of 1844.
The defendant pleaded that he did not make the bet, and a special
plea that the bet was illegal.

Mr. W. PAYNE (the Coroner for the City) appeared as coonsel
for the defendant, and submitted that, as there was a demurrer
to the last plea, which would probably be argued in the Court of
Common Pleas to-morrow, it would be better to postpone the case.
The UNDLR.SFIERIFF said, that in the event of the Court deciding
the bet was illegal, their proceedings would go fer nothing; there-
fore, the case had better proceed.

Mr. Butts appeared for the plaintiff; and stated the case. The
plaintiff is the landlord of the Robin Hood, in Holborn, and the
defendant of the Bear and Wheatsheaf, Lower Thames-street.
Shortly before the Derby was ran, the parties met at the Blue
Anchor, in Holborn, when a bet was made that Calvarero beat
Orlando. It was well known that Orlando had been pronounced
the winner, and legal decisions had dictated the payment of the
bets in favour of Orlando. Why, therefore, the defendant refused
to pay was more thad he could conjecture. He should, however,
call a witness to prove the debt,

A witness was called, when a lengthened discussion took place
as to the necessity of producing the betting-book to prove the bet.
The UNDER-SHERIFF considered that it was absolutely necessary
that the book should be produced. It had been entered by each
party, and the plaintiff ought to produce his own.
Mr. BURN said, unfortunately they had it not in Court.
The UNDER. SHERIFF suggested that the case should stand over,
by consent, until the demurrer was decided.
This was agreed to.

The Learned Counsel said, in the mean time they must have a
new writ, as it had not been tested by either of the Chief Justices.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
QUEEN-SQUARE.
A SHAMELESS WlFE.—Wednesday, Edward costaraten, a
big powerful fellow, described as a sailing master of a small
coasting vessel, and Mary Ann Ventris, a smartly-dressed
and pretty looking female, about 28 years of cge, were placed
at the bar charged with felony.
George Ventris, the husband of the female, a respectable-
looking little man, apparently sixty years of age, stepped into
the witness-box and said —"I charge the prisoner with running
away with my wife and property. I want to know whether he
has a right to come down to my place in the country, and take
her away as he pleases, which he has frequently done ?"
Mr. Bolin desired him to state the circumstances of the case.
The husband then entered into a detail, by which it appeared
that on the 17th of May, during his temporary absence from
home, the female prisoner decamped, taking with her a large
quantity of wearing apparel. As the male prisoner had been
seen in the neighbourhood at the time he suspected that she
had gone off with him, and having come to London and given
information to the police, his wife was found on board the pri-
soner's vessel, at Chelsea, on Tuesday evening, and the wear-
ing apparel in the cabin with her.

Mi..BoNn—The wearing apparel, I suppose, was such as she
required for her own use ? The husband—Yes, sir, and a great
deal of it too. Has he a right to take my wife away ? That's
the charge I make against him.
Mr. BOND discharged the wife, and called upon the man to
enter into his own recognizanees to appear again on Monday,
to give the husband an opportunity of producing further evi-
dence if he could procure any against him.
The husband—Can't you hold him to bail, to prevent his
eloping with my wife again?
Alr. BOND said he could not.
The Rdice having intimated that the lady had consented to
go back with her husband, the property was given up to tke
latter, and the parties then left the Court, but had scarcely
been out five minutes, when the wife returned, and asked the
magistrate if she was compelled to go back with her husband ?
Mr. BoNn said she ought to be ashamed of herself. H• was
much surprised at her making such an inquiry. There were
very few husbands who would have taken her back.
The wife, who had played with her parasol during the pre-
vious examination, and had exhibited no symptoms of shame,
admitted that her husband had always been a very kind man
to her.

The wife then retired, and whilst the husband was waiting
for her outside at a public-house opposite, the woman threw
her arms round her paramour's neck, and kissed him in the
presence of several persons who were standing at the bar at the
time, and then joined her much-injured husband.