The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-07 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

PORTSMOUTH, WEDNESDAY.—The Rattler, screw-
propelled steam-sloop, one of the steam-trial squadron,
came up o Spithead during the night of Monday. and
came into arbour yesterday morning. She eft or
Woolwich this day, have some alterations me=e in her
machinery.
The Hibernia, 120, was taken into dock on Monday
afternoon ; her copper was stripped off yesterday.
Captain Richards took up his appointment to her yester-
day, and hoisted the pendant over the housing at one
o'clock.
The Fantome, 16, Commander Sir F. Nicolson, Bart.
was paid advance wages yesterday at Spithead, and her
crew completed by a draught from the Victory. She
sailed to-day for the Mediterranean to relieve the Scout,
18, Commander the Hon. J. R. Drummond, whosel./eriod
of ervice has expired.
The Belvidera, 42, Lieutenant Ward comtEnr .ing, was
paid off this day.
The Siren, 16, was undocked on Monday, her dock
being wanted for the Hibernia. The Siren has been
overhauled and examined, and will complete her refit in
the basin. . . . .

The Harlequin, 16, is in the basin, waiting to be
docked and brought for re-commission.
The Dwarf steam (screw) vessel, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Proctor, left this afternoon, for the river, to
transfer her company to the new tender Fairy.
The Black Eagle Admiralty steam yacht, Master-
Commander S. B. Cook, left this afternoon, fee Wool-
wich.

The royal yacht Victoria and Albert has got her
steam and the jack up in the harbour for a cruise.
DEVONPORT.—The Mutine, 12, Commander Crawford,
was at Madeira, all well, on the Ist ult. In her trial of
sailing with the Osprey, 12, Commander Patten, Water-
witch, 8, Commander J. Francis Birch, wad the Pan-
taloon, 8, Commander Wilson, after leaving Plymouth
Sound, she butt them by a long distance upon every
point of sailing, especially in light breezes, before the
wind. They only had one trial, having parted company
in a gale a few days after leaving port.
The Canopus, 84, was commissioned on .9--nday by
Captain Fairfax Moresby (1814).
The Dee steamer transport, Master Commander
Driver, put into this port, on her way to Cork from
Portsmouth, on Sunday.
The Rolla, 10, Commander Simpson, came into har-
bour to repair defects on Saturday.
The Daring, 12, Commander Matson, joined the Es-
piegle and Flying Fish in the Sound on Saturday.
The Netley tender arrived on Sunday with supernu-
meraries from Portsmouth.

THE SPA-FIELDS BURIAT,
GROUND.

The repeated complaints and represents.: of the
Committee of the inhabitants of Clerkenwel I have at
length attracted the attention of the Home Secretary to
the existing nuisance and malpractices that have so long
prevailed in the neighbourhood of Exmouth-street, Spa-
fields. A communication was made by Sir J. Graham to
the Police Commissioners on Saturday, and Captain
Hay, the Assistant-Commissioner, on that day inspected
the Spa-fields burial-ground, accompanied by Mr. Watt,
the chairman, Mr. Clarke, the secretary, and several
other respectable householders. The stench arising
from decomposed human bodies was declare' by Cap-
tain Hay to be insufferable, and the Comn..ttee were
directed to forward such information as they could col-
lect (reduced into writing) for the guidance of Sir J.
Graham. A meeting of the Committee took place on Sun-
day, and the subjoined examinations were then taken,
and forwarded to the Home-office. A meeting of the
parish officers has likewise been held at the workhouse
in Coppice-row, and Mr. Wakeling, the vestry clerk, has,
it is stated, opened a correspondence with the Secretary
of State on the subject. It appears that the manner in
which this extraordinary and revolting work of demoli-
tion was first discovered is this :—Reuben Boom, a
gravedigger
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prevent Room opening the grave, upon which he took
the two officers to an outhouse, where they saw the lids
of several coffins being consumed over a fierce fire, and
pieces of "human flesh" (to use the officers' own words)
" were attached to the coffins the size of their bands."
The following is a copy of the written depe ai•:ons that
have been transmitted to Sir James Graham:—
" Reuben Room examined—l was in the employ of
Mr. F. Green, as gravedigger, in 1837, and continued
in his employ for about six years. Our mode of work-
ing the ground was not commencing at one end and
working to the other, but digging wherever it was or-
dered, totally regardless whether the ground was full or
not for instance, to dig a grave six feet deep at a par-
ticular spot, I have often disturbed and mutilated seven
or eight bodies ; that is, I have severed heads, arms, legs,
or whatever came in my way, with a crowbar, pickaxe,
chopper, and saw. Of the bodies some were quite fresh
and some decomposed. I have had as much as a hun-
dred weight and a half of human flesh what we
term the " beef-board " at the foot of the grave
at one time. I have often put a rope round the neck
of the corpse to drag it out of the coffin, fasten-
ing one end of the rope to a tombstone so as to keep the
corpse upright to get at the coffin from underneath, to
make room for the flesh of other bodies. The coffins
were taken away and burnt with pieces of decomposed
flesh adhering thereto. I have taken up half a ton of
wood out of one grave, because I had to take out two
tiers of coffins, some of which were quite fresh, and we
used to cut them up for struts, used for shoring up
the graves. We had as many as fifty or simty sides
of coffins always in use to keep the ground om falling
in when digging. We have buried as many as forty-
five bodies in one day, besides still-horns. I and
Tom Smith kept an account one year; we buried 2,017
bodies besides still-borns, which are generally enclosed
in deal coffins. We have taken them up when they
hare been in the ground only two days, and used them
to light fires with. I have been up to my knees in
human flesh, by jumping on the bodies, so as to cram
them into the least possible space at the bottom of the
graves in which fresh bodies were afterwards placed.
We covered over the flesh at the bottom }y a small
layer of mould. I have ruptured myself in lagging a
heavy corpse out of the coffin. It was a very heavy one.
It slipped from my hold, lifting it by the shoulders. The
corpse was quite fresh. These occurrences took place
every day.
" Robert Watt examined—l live at No. 14, Exmouth-
street, Spa-fields. I have been an inhabitant for ten
years, during which time I have been disgusted with the
mode of conducting the ground, and the complaints made
from the people in the back neighbourhood. About five
years ago I left the neighbourhood to reside at Hollo-
way, believing it injurious to myself and family to re-
main at Spa-fields. I was compelled to rot- in about
eighteen months back, and nearly ever since have had
illness in my house. A few months back fire broke out
at the bone-house, which aroused my suspicions from the
unpleasant odours which were emitted nightly, and I felt
convinced that the illness in my house arose therefrom.
I have seen the spot opened and re-opened during the
last ten years, and bodies continually placed therein. 1
have remarked this to the officiating minister, when he
replied that it was not injurious to the inhabitants, and
no business of his. I have frequently heard and seen the
grave-diggers employed in destroying the coffins.
" George Walters examined—l live at No. 'l, Guild-
ford-place. On the 14th of December, 1843, was called
to a fire at the bone-house, Spa-fields ground. I saw in
the grate a rib-bone and part of two socket-bones,
partly burnt, and a quantity of coffin-wood, in different
states of decay, with mould attached to it. Was called
again to a fire on the 2d of January last; was refused
entry by Mr. Bird; saw coffin-wood upright burning on
the fire, planks four feet long were blazing up the chim-
ney. The wood was sound stuff. I saw as much coffin-
wood tied up as four men could carry. The chimneys
were lined through with a cost of pitch—there were
large lumps of it towards the top. I forced it desvn with
a crowbar as big as my two fists. The smell was hor-
rible. There were about 100 people assembi e,begging
of me, for God's sake, to put an end to the nuisance.
" John Lynn—l live at No. 4, -Exmouth-street ;am
landlord of the whole of the northern row, which con-
tains eleven houses, all of which abut on the east side of
the Spa-fields bur:al ground. I have been landlord of
the above for seven years ; during the whole of which
period I have heard complaints made by the various
tenants of most shocking sights in the above ground, and
have often been applied to to come and behold them
with my own eyes—the breaking up of coffins and dis-
turbing the contents. On one occasion, when repairing
the roofs of the houses, I saw what appeareda m .sh, which
seemed to me to be the bowels of a corpse which the
gravedigger attempted to gather up in a shovel, and
place in a barrow; and after several attempts failing,
he was obliged to put it in the earth. The smell
from the graveyard, arising from the continual dis-
turbing of the earth and keeping graves continually open
(averaging 30 per week) is so intolerable that the majo-
rity of tenants are continually shifting The smell, even
in cold weather, especially at night, is quite unbearable.
I have been an eye-witness to the removal of parts of
coffins in all states of preservation, at all times in the fore
part of the day.
" Ann Mitchell—l live at Bi. Garden 4elk, Spa-
fields. I entered on the 3,1 of February, 1844. I have
been subject to illness ever since, and so have my hus-
band and children. Within ten days after taking the
above cottage my two children fell ill; they were covered
with watery blisters all over the body—symptoms con-
stantly in the vicinity. My house is at the back of the
hone-house. I have heard noises nightly ; knocking
from two till five in the morning. My room sweats, the
paper is spoiled, and I have a nasty coppery taste in my
mouth.

" Harriet Woods—l live at No. 13, Northampton-
row. Went to my house in 1842. Saw Tt,o^nts Smith
with a blue coffin quite new. He broke it to tiieces with
a pickaxe, mangled the contents, and mixed it with the
earth. Saw him look round to see if any one was
watching. Have seen him continually wheel away wood
and return ashes from the bone-house. Once saw him
hold up what appeared to be the head of a woman by
the hair. Mrs. Gill, a lodger, also witnessed it. On
another occasion I called to him, and he used threiten-
ing language ; he said he should hive my old bones
bcfore long. Have seen this sort of thing constantly.
I have lost five children out of eight ; two on one day,
by a maignant fever. Have seen Tom Smith jump on
the coffins.
" William Penny, Inspector of the G d in, stated
as follows :—ln December, 1843, a petittr,t. vas pre-
sented to the magistrates at Clerkenwell I-ace-court,
signed by 150 inhabitants. The magistrate gave me the
petition, and desired me to see to it. I did so ; and
went immediately to a one-story erection in the burial-
ground, called a bone-house,' where I found a large
fire on the floor and in the grate. The fire consisted
of coffin-boards of full-grown people and children
broken up ; some were quite sound with pieces of