The Sun.
London, England, 1818-09-09 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

We have already noticed the untimely death of
CHARLES GRANT, Esq. by a spring gun, which
had been placed in his garden, in Grove-road,
Mile-end, by his own directions. This melan-
choly event occasioned an inquest to be taken be-
fore JOHN WatonT UswiN, Esq. yesterday at
when the following evidence was ad-
duced :
. It appeared that on Sunday week, between
eleven and twelve o'clock at night, the deceased
was alarmed by the violent barking of a New-
foundland dog, which induced him to go. into the
garden, suspeeting th it some persons were in the
!act of robbery, as various4;depredations had before
been committed there. In order to walk with the
greatest silence, he quitted the gravel walk and
proceeded close to the garden-wall, where most
unhappily, through forgetfulness, he trod on the
wire of a spring-gun, which instantly went off,
and lodged several bullets in his thigh ; feeling
himself wounded, though then unconscious of
pain, he called out " Help, help ;" his man-ser-
vant immediately came to his assistance, and with
his support he reached the parlour. Mr. Grant laid
himself upon a sofa, and directed that Mr. Hark-
ness, his surgeon, should be sent for.
John Harkness, Esq. sworn.—" On receiving
the melancholy intelligence, I attended with all
possible expedition. On viewing the wound, 1
thought it expedient to send for Sir Wm. Blizard.
Before Sir William came, I inspected the wound,
which was on the exterior part of the right thigh,
immediately under the hip ; two of the bullets
were perceptible on the inside of the thigh, im-
mediately under the surface. Within an hour Sir
Wrn. Wizard arrived. On examining the wound,
we immediately proceeded to extract the two
balls which lay under the surface of the interior
part of the thigh. On passing a director down,
we discovered another wound still deeper, from
which also another
.bullet was extracted. On
further examination, we found a fourth bullet yet
deeper, which. wtits also extracted," The medi-
cal Gentlemen then left the deceased tranquil and
free from fever., The appearances seemed. to have
been favourable at first, but on :stind;ty it was
discovered that mortification had taken place, and
between twelve and oneo'clock on Monday morn-
ing the deceased breathed his last.
"[he Coroner here observed, that the mode of
defending property by spring-guns had been con-
sidered by persons eminent in the law as highly
exceptionable and illegal. In time present
in-
stance, however, any observations of this nature
were rendered the less necessary, as die deceased
had fallen the victim of his own unhappy precau-
tion, and had been the only sufferer on the occa-
sion. it was (pile inipOSsible to view the trans-
action in any other light than that of an accident.
The Jury immediately found a verdict of " Acci-
dental Death."
The deceased was an eminent broker, and one
of the first linguists of the day.

An Inquisition was taken yesterday at St.Tho-
mas's on the body of Mr. J. Dowden,
of Lo.Afisham. It appeared from the evidence of
several labourers who work in the gravel pits at
Southend, near Lewisham, that on Wednesday
last they had prepared to fall a mass of gravel by
the usual method of undermining it, awl they and
the deceased were about to go to the top for the
purpose of forcing it down with iron crows. They
were getting some water to carry up with them,
and the deceased was standing with his back to-
wards the fall a few yards from it, ‘k.lien, with-
out any previous warning by the falling of stones,
or by the cracking of the gravel, it fell down up-
on the deceased, and entirely covered him. They
dug him out as quick as possible, and there being
signs of remaining life, they conveyed him with
all speed to the hospital ; he appeared to be dead
when he arrived. The injury on the lower extre-
mities of the deceased was of the most severe de-
scription. Verdict —" Accidentally killed by a
mass of gravel falling upon him."

Yesterday an Inquest was held on the body of
Joseph Adams, the child of Mr. Adams, of Shoe-
lane.--Mts. Colley, of lirewhouse-yard, Shoe-
lane, deposed, that on Monday morning, about
ten minutes before nine o'clock, she was standing
at her door, and saw a waggon belonging to
Messrs. Sheer and Sons, copper-smiths, Fleet-
street, coining down lirewhouse-yard ; the horses
had passed throngh the archway leading down
the yard, when she saw the deceased peeping at
the entrance at the horses ; the hind wheel of the
waggon struck against his head, and he fell down
between the fore and the hind wheel on the near
side ; the hind wheel went over his head aml shat-
tered the skull to pieces. No blame was attach-
ed to the driver. Verdict—" Accidenril Death."

As Henry Brailler, Esq.ot Islington, was going
across the fields near that place, about half-past
eleven on Monday night, he was attacked by two
footpads, who knocked hire down with a blud-
geon, and robbed hint of 51. 13s. and his watch.
On Monday night, as Mt. J. Budge, of Dart-
mouth, was passing by St. George's Church, Bo-
rough, he was accosted by a female, who invited
hint to go home with her ; and on his refusing
to do so, he WaG immediately attacked by three
wen, who robbed him of his watch.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.