The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-28 00:00:00

The Captains'-room is the coffee-room depnrtmfnt
of the establishment. Here there is a bar, with
kitchen and offices attached, for supplying merchants
and the subscribers with coffee, sandwiehrs, &c.
Lloyd's Committee, under the superintendence of
Mr. G. R. Robinson, their respected chairman, met
for the first time in their Board-room on Saturday
last. In consequence of the holidays, not much busi-
ness was transacted in Lloyd's on Wednesday, but the it
rooms were a good deal crowded by the subscribers
and their friends, and the increased accommodation
and convenience are subjects of much satisfaction and,
congratulation.

THE TRAGICAL OCCURRENCE
AT ASHFORD.
This melancholy affair, some particulars of which
were given yesterday, appears to have created a very
great sensation in the whole neighbourhood, and,
from what has since transpired, the suspicion which
was at first entertained that the unhappy man Oliver
intended to have destroyed his wife and all his family,
has been considerably strengthened. The following
additional facts have been ascertained by a corre-
spondent :
It seems that the deceased man belonged to llan-
well, but he had resided with his wife and family for
some time at Bedford and the neighbourhood. Ile
was always considered an idle, disorderly fellow, and
his wife, who was a woman of violent temper, did not
bear a very good character. They frequently quar-
relled and fought, and Oliver has been heard by seve-
ral persons to say that he would do for her some day.
They took up their abode in the cottage at Ashford
about Michaelmas last, and since that time they appear
to have gained their subsistence by begging about the
neighbourhood. The family consisted of the father
and mother, a daughter named Eliza, a very pretty
little girl eight 'ears old, and a son named William,
about eleven. The cottage in which the melancholy
occurrence took place consists of two rooms on the
ground floor, the one used as a keeping-room, and the
other as a bed-room, and in which all the family slept
The bodies still remain in the same state as when they
were first found, the woman lying partly on her
stomach with her face buried in the straw mattres%
which formed their lied, and the man lying across the
room with his head reclining upon the body of Ilia
wife. At present, although there is a very strong
impression that it is the result of poison, the cause of
death remains a mystery. It was stated that some
white powder was found in a paper in the room, which
was believed to be arsenic. This has, however, since
been tested by the medical officer of the union, and turns out to be magnesia; and up to this
time no trace of any poisonous. ing,.sreleizlshseasd
been discovered, and Dr. Curtis h
an opinion that it is possible the parties were Buffo-
cated by the fumes of the coke. that was found partly
consumed in the saucepan in the bed-room. This
opinion does- not, however, appear to be borne out in
any way by the facts that have transpired, and from.
the circumstance of the deceased man being near 5;
dressed, and having been heard walking about the
house, and in the garden during the night it ia
not very likely that the deaths could ha ee arisen
from this cause, particularly as the two chi 'e
were
La the room all the time ; and they state 'chat thpv d;,a
_ cr. 4: - • ,}ka. only ex-
periencing violent sickness, and the:other symptoms./
having taken poison.
It has been stated that the children of the deceirsed
were conveyed to the Stables Union Workhouse imme. diately upon the discovery of the dreadful occurrence,
Remedies were administered to them both, the
girl was veil, sick and ill for several hours. The boy
was not so bad, and they are at presei.it considered
out of danger. On their being questioned relative to.
the melancholy transaction, the boy stated that on tilde
Monday night his father and mother appeared quite
well, and about nine o'clock his father zr,ade
some tea, of which his sister, his mother, arP:i his
father partook, and his mother cornplai:ied at
the time that the tea had a strange taste. They soon
afterwards all went to bed, and about eleven o'clock
he was awoke by his sister crying, and complaining
of a pain in her stomach and beir.g thirsty, and he
awoke his mother and father. The teapot had been,
brought into the bed-room,_ar.d he said that his father
gave his sister some of the liquor that was in it, no
states that after this his Inother asked his father for some
money to purchase some necessaries for the next day-,
. eventually
upon which he abused her a good deal aml
,
struck her, and they fought together, brut afterwards
laid down again, and in a short time 'ells mother also
complained of pain in her stomach rnd thirst, and his
father asked her to drink out ok.. the teapot, but she
refused, saying that it had sue a nasty taste, and was
so different to anything sh had ever before observed
in tea, that she could not drink it. He further states
that after this they all went to sleep, and during the
night he heard his father and mother breathe very
hard, and towards morning his sister was again very
sick, and he tried to make his mother do something
for her, but could not, and he saw his father lying on
the ground very ill and foaming at the mouth ; and
finding he could not make either of them sensible
what he wanted, he ran out to the neighbours and
gave an alarm.
The teapot in question, and one or two saucepans
which contained liquids, have been carefully set aside
preparatory to their undergoing chemical examination.
Information of the occurrence was forwarded to Mr.
Wakley, the coroner for this district, on Wednesday,
and upon a representation of the circumstances being
made to him, he at once decided that no satisfactory
inquiry could be entered into, in a matter of so much
mystery, without a post mortem examination, and he
gave the necessary directions for that purpose, and
the inquest, therefore, is not expected to take place
for two or three days.

DxstiTuTroL—Thursday morning Mr. Wak
le
M.P., held an inquest on the body of James W. Saun-
ders, who was found dead on a truss hay in a
miserable room, at 14, Newton-street, liolborn. The
deceased, like most who have no worldly goods, was
recognised by no relative. He was rAissed on Sunday
and Monday. The landlord had the door of his room
forced open on the latter day, when he was found dead
and ';aiked as already descril-,ed. The room was in a
wretched condition, filthy in the extreme, without food
or the means of obta;:ning it. A French gentlemen
stepped forward, and said that ho had known the de-
ceased for three years, and that as an operative chemist
ho was unrivalled, and was well known to Professor
Graham, of the University College, to whom ho had
been an assistant. This gentleman further stated that.
the deceased told him that he had been disappointed irs
love, and had nothing to live for. In the concentration
of acids as poison he was most clever—so much so, that
from common acids he made such powerful poisons
that two drops repeatedly killed animals. Mr. Riely
the summoning officer, having stated that a paper of
tartaric acid was found near his bed, Mr. Walley ad-
journed the inquest to have the body opened.
The Duke and Duchess of Buckingham, the Mar-
vis of Chandos, and Lady Anne Grenville are passing
Christmas at Stowe. The Noble Duke has distributed,
under his personal inspection, his annual Christmas
bounty to the numerous labourers on his Grace's estates
in Buekinghanishire.

HERTFORD, TEURSDAT.--MORR INCENDIARY FIRES.
—On Monday night a large stack, containing up-,cards of
19,000 fagots, the property of Mr. Barnard, maltster.
situate in a field on the road-side, between the towns of
Harlow and Sawbridgewortb, was burnt to the groand.
The loss is estimated at about 2504 The fire 'Was sup-
posed to be the act of an incendiary. The stack was
fired at the windward side. This remark applies to all
the conflagrations that have occurred in
.this county. On
Wednesday night, the 18tb instant, the inmates of th e
dwelling-house at Lilly Hoo Farni, which has been twice
the scene of incendiary fires during the last few weeks
were alarmed at finding the house gradually filling with
smoke. A search was made, and it was soon discovered,
that the apple room vas on fire, and the whole premise% or all that remained after the recent fires, were in a state:
of great danger. Tie ,engine from Ritchie, whick was
instantly sent, armed with all possible haste, arid the
fire w;i won got under; Superintendent Wakenell, of
the rural police, the nett morning instituted an inquir-,
and the result was the apprehension of Mary Anne Bl—
grave, servant at the farm-house. She was taken in,
custody of the police before- Dr. Bland, a county magis—
trate, on Thuraday, the lath, and remanded until Monday,
last, upon which day a very strong ease (upon circum-
stantial evidence) was made out against her, and she was
committed for trial at the Herta Spring Assize&

7 NEW ROYAL EXCHANGE. V
OPENING OF LLOYD'S/
An important step towards the complete oecupa4-4c,,z
Lion of this edifice by its former tenants4* accom-
plished on Wednesday, by the great
este, .1•=1,-,,Y.:5','4t.t)
blishment known as Lloyd's taking possession of their
splendid and commodious apartments. It is now
seven years, within some ten or fourteen days, that
by the destruction of the Old Exchange by fire on • '•
the 10th of Januar", 1838, they were deprived of
these apartments. They certainly have gained most
materially by the change, though in the interval they
have been exposed to great inconvenience by the
narrow accommodation afforded to them at the Old
South Sea House. The rooms they now occupy have
been so recently described, that it is unnecessary to
notice them now in much detail. The great room in
which the banquet was given is now fitted up v‘ith
three ranges of mahogany tables and seats, each table
accommodating four underwriters. At the north
end is a lobby entrance, divided from the great room
by a screen, having a small room or inclosure, right
and left, for hats, great coats, &c. The warming and
lighting of this room are considered for business
arrangements as perfectly successful, whilst to pro-
vide against the inconveniences of dark and gloomy
weather, two Bude lights are suspended from the
ceiling. The only remark we have heard made
against these occupiers was, that the chandeliers are
considered too plain and slender for a consistent effect
with the room in which they are hung.
The Commercial-room and the Captains'-room are
fitted up with seats and benches of mahogany, and
richly carved mahogany stands are placed all round
the room for the reception of newspapers from all
parts of the world.