The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-20 00:00:00

GREENWICH.

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John Brelsford, keeper of a beer-shop, New Kent-road,
appeared to an information, charged with selling beer by
retail in a booth at Hatcham Races, without being duly
licensed so to do, on the 22d of Sept. last, whereby he had
incurred, under the Acts of 7th and Bth Geo. IV., a penalty
of 20/.
The information was laid at the instance of Mr. Sly, su-
pervisor of the district. Mr. Evans, solicitor, of Lee, ap-
peared for the defendant.
The evidence was, that he supplied a pint of porter to
William Bennett, an Excise officer, on the day and at the
place mentioned, and that he was, therefore, amenable to
the penalty, Hatcham Fair not being chartered for such
purpose. The defendant had been cautioned previously not
to act as he had done. A plea of mitigation, on the grounds
that the offence was a first one; that the defendant's house
was but three doors from the field where the fair and races
were held; and that the defendant committed the offence in
ignorance of the law, was strongly urged by Mr. Evans.
Mr. JEREMY fined the defendant in the mitigated penalty
of 5/.

COMMISSION OF LUNACY.
On Tuesday morning a commission for inquiring into the
sanity of Mr. Richard Read Parry, of No. 11, Colebrook-row,
Islington, was opened at the Angel Inn, before Mr. Barlow
and 17 jurymen.
Mr. Cockburn and Mr. Prior appeared in support of the
commission, and Mr. James in opposition to it.
It appeared from the evidence of a number of witnesses,
that Mr. Part 7 was the second son of Mr. Roger Parry, who
filled a situation in the Bank of England, and who died in
1838, leaving two sons and a daughter. The gentleman
whose state of mind was the subject of inquiry early in
life embarked in theatrical pursuits, much against the
wishes of his family. He was manager of several provincial
theatres, and was himself a performer. His affairs became
embarrazsed, and in 1822 he went to reside abroad
on an allowance of 2001. a-year from his father. On
the death of his elder brother, in March, 1844, he
returned to this country, and succeeded to the family
property, consisting of the freehold residence in Cole-
broole• row, 4,700/. Three per Cents. Reduced, 4,0001. in-
vested of: mortgage, and furniture appraised at 300/. and odd,
including 181. worth of jewellery. Probably the sudden ac-
cession to this property overturned a mind predisposed to
insanity, for early in March last his manners became strange.
He had been a man of peeuliar habits, liking to be alone; he
now dismissed his servants, and appeared for a time to be
without food or fire. Mrs. liravhew, an old friend of the
family, sent him a pigeon-pie and some other articles of food,
and communicated the circumstance to his married sister,
who had been estranged from her family through marrying
contrary to their wish. A person was then engaged to attend
on him. He began to attach excessive value to the family
plate, and to fancy that pewter articles were silver. He said he
had discovered 10,0001. worth of plate in a closet in the kit-
chen, and a quantity of china still more valuable; he wore
brass curtain rings, and said they were gold. He said he was
worth 15,0001. a-year. He announced his intention to keep four
horses, and said he could keep them all for 40/. a year and
the sale of their manure. He professed that he should keep
the first society. The Lord Chancellor and his lady, and
several of the nobility, were to visit him. The New River,
which ran in front of his house, he meant to have brought
through his garden, and ladies were to bathe before break-
fast and gentlemen afterwards. He said, he should fit up a
gallery with all Wilkie's pictures, and another with Ho-
garth's ; and he bought some. He purposed, as he was
" immensely rich," to throw his own and the next house into
one. He said, one day, that a beggar had been to the doer
and he had sent him with a sovereign to get change, and
meant to give him pomethine when he returned ; however,
no such person returned. When he considered it to be
Sunday, he read prayers and a sermon, but he
generally fixed on some other day than that which was
really Sunday, and was very angry with any one who
said it was not Sunday. In the same way he confounded
the hours of the day ; at four o'clock in the afternoon
he would insist it was nine in the morning ; he generally car-
ried several watches about with him, some of which had
stopped, and whatever hour was indicated by the first he
looked at, he would insist on that being the time. He had
gas laid on in the drawing-rooms and parlours; this must
have cost him 30/., but he said it was only an expense of a
few shillings. Oue night be went to Sadler's-wells ;he sat
all the time with his face buried in his hands, and refused for
a long time to come away when the performances were over,
saying, it was quite early. He said he had become proprietor
of Covent-garden Theatre ; that Mr. Macready and Miss
Cushman had called on him, and entered into engagements
with him; at another time he declared that Mr. Bunn had
engaged him for Drury-lane at 1501. a-night. He told his
friends he was going to be married to a young lady, his
cousin ; he had not asked her, he said, but he had only to go
down and put his brother's diamond ring on her finger, and
it would be all right, and then he and her father would sit
down to dinner on rumpsteak and onions. He wrote to her
mother proposing to marry the young lady on the 3d of
July, "and then return to Colebrooke mansion, for one hun-
dred years the seat of the Danes; in case of any impediment,
application would be made to the executors of the good and
great Sir Hugh ; in jewellery be would present her with
1,0001.; by mere accident he had found the family estate
quadrupled, and had discovered in a closet in the kitchen an
immensity of china and plate, estimated at 100,0001." His
conversation was generally jocular and facetious.
During this evidence Mr. Parry was in the room, and ap-
peared to take great interest in the inquiry ; he communicated
frequently with his couusel, and conducted himself so properly
that the jury were evidently puzzled. After the letter about
the marriage. was read, he observed that it was a mere pro-
posal, and was never sent. As to the china and plate, he
said he certainly found some; he was an ignoramus as to
the value, but the jury might see it ; his father said he gave
a guinea and a half for the smallest china plate ; it had
been 200 years in the family. The jewellery belonged to
his mother; the jury might say the articles were copper, but
he really believed them to be diamonds; he could not help
it if that was called insanity. He believed the tea-kettle to
be silver, with marks on it to define it as such; but if his
word was not to be taken, let people judge for themselves. It
was no great presumption that he was mad that he did not
know the quality of such things.
At this stage of the inquiry the jury proceeded to visit his
house. Two pewter tankards being produced, with a large
crown, and the letters "W. R." upon them, he said he was
no connoisseur, but he believed them to be silver. A com-
mon tin tea-kettle was in the parlour, and he expressed his
conviction that it was silver. This delusion was so gross
as to make an impression on the jury that quite decided the
case.
Some further evidence was gone into, chiefly medical.
Mr. Skelly, a suor,eon, stated, that he was insane upon sub-
jects reiging to bit.: property, and meditated projects based
upon his extravagant` notions of it. He would probably never
recover. Dr. Hunter also judged him insane ; he went by
the general appearance of the case, not easily expressed in
words, but which medical men have no difficulty in discern-
ing." Dr. Seaton, ,who had ?lad him under his care in the
country since July, thought insane, but that under
judicious treatment his recovery ivas very possible. He had
improved since July. His mind had been kept occupied,
and he bad not been left alone to have opportunity for delu-
• sive impressions. He had been told last Sunday that his
wearing brass rings and calling them gold Vas to be proved
before the jury, and to-day the rings had disappeared.
The jury found unanimously that he had beefs from the
' 15th of March of unsound mind, and incompetent to take
care of himself and his property.

THE LATE FIRE AND LOSS
OF LIFE.
On Tuesday Mr. William Baker, coroner for the easi-em.
division of Middlesex, held an inquest at the Bleck Horse,
Kingsland-road, on the bodies of Sarah Moore, aged 42, and
George Hall, aged 11, the unfortunate individuaig who
perished in the recent fire in Tabernacle-square, Shoreditch-
The jury having been sworn, and a foreman chosen, they
proceeded, accompanied by the coroner, to Shoreditch wo,-k-
-house, for the purpose of viewing the bodies. Upon
their return to the inquest-room, the following evidence
was taken
Mr. Richard M. Moore said that he was the proprietor of
the St. Agnes Le Clair swimming-baths, in Tabernacle-
square, Finsbury. The deceased, Sarah Moore, was the
wife of Charles Moore, an assistant at the baths. Qn the
morning of Sunday last, about a quarter before one o'clock,
he was awakened by his brother Frederick, who told wit-
ness that he thought the place was on fire. He then ran
down the stairs and traced the smoke to the parlour, and
upon opening the door the smoke rushed out, but he could
not see any fire. Witness told his brother to go down into
the kitchen and procure a pan of water, which he did, and
which he threw in the direction thesmoke arose from. Wit-
ness afterwards escaped up stairs, and was found nearly suf-
focated upon the roof of the cold bath, and was rescued by
a policeman. The kitchen adjoins th parlour. Mr. Charles
Moore, his wife, and the deceased George Hall, slept in the
same room. They were all alarmed; but Mr. C. Moore and
her son were unable to escape, and they were burnt in the
building. He could .not tell how the fire originated. It was
not from gas. The baths were lighted only by oil and can-
dles. There was no combustible material in the parlour
except the furniture. Witness was in the parlour about
eleven o'clock, and turned the oil-lamp out, but left an-
other burning in the patisage. There was a report that the
fire arose from cigar smoking, but he was positive that it
did not arise from that cause. The baths had been insured
for the last ten years and upwards in the Royal Exchange
Fire-office.
By the Conarga—l had not smelt fire during the previous
evening.
By a juror—The smokin g and bagatelle room was at the
back of the building, in a d itferent part to where the fire com-
menced.
Mr. Frederick Augustus Moore gave similar testimony.
Denman, police constable 162 G, deposed to having
discovered and having aroused the inmates of the house.
Witness had no reason to believe that the fire had arisen
from any other cause than mere accident.
A question having arisen as to the identity of the bodies,
the Contonzu inquired G f Mr. Charles Moore if he had any
doubt as to whether the remains were those of his wife and
child? He having ~.inswe red in the negative, the Coroner
asked him if he could bra w any additional light upon the
subject, but he wad unable to do so.
summed up, the jury returned a
The CORONER having'
.t of " Accidental death.

CIiASING-CROSS BRIDCE.—On Tuesday surveyors
and engineers and a bevy 01" their assistants commenced
operations on the Surrey side of the river, with a view to
complete the specifications and p,lans necessary to be depo-
sited on or before the 30th inst., in order to enable them to
uPPIY to Parliament for p f
owers oorm it railway terminus
At Chain-cm Bridge.