The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-01 00:00:00

SUICIDE.

• On Friday last the neighbourhood of Beckenham,
Norwood, Sydenham, and other adjacent villages,
were in a state of the utmost excitation, in conse-
quence of a man having been discovered, as it was
at first supposed, murdered near the Croydon canal,
close to Penge-common. The man was discovered
by a bricklayer, about three o'clock in the afternoon,
and had his skull nearly blown off, as supposed, by
a pistol or gun shot ; he was quite dead, and no
weapon could be found near him. Paine and Tyrrell,
two officers of the Bow-street patrol who are sta-
tioned in that district, were applied to, and they
immediately commeaeed a search to find, if possible,
the weapon that had destroyed the unfortunate man.
Drags were procured, and the canal was most dili-
gently searched, as well as th,e banks near where
the body lay, but nothing could be found to lead to
any
.trace who the deceased was, or how he had
been destroyed. Notice was immediately sent -to
the Coroner, at Kingston, of the circumstance, and
a jury was summoned to investigate the mysterious
circumstances.

On Saturday afternoon, at five o'clock, Mr.
RICHARD CARTER and a h;ghly•respectable jury, as-
sembled at the sign of the Crooked Billet, at Penge-
common, on view of the body of the unfortunate
man above-mentioned.

On application at the jury-room, the parochial
officer refused the reporters admission, and a note
was about to be sent to the Coroner, to know whe-
ther it was his wish that reporters should be ex-
cluded, when the officer entered the room, and an-
nounced that some reporters from London were in
attendance to report the investigation, and asked if
they were to be admitted.
Mr. CARTER-1 am very glad of it ; let them be
admitted immediately; I like publicity in these pro-
ceedings.
John Scott, of No. 13, Love-lane, Rotherhithe,
bricklayer, about three o'clock on Friday afternoon,
was proceeding, in company with a person named
Scarlet', along the towing-path of the Croydon
Canal, leading to Sydenham, about a quarter of a
mile from the Crooked fillet, when they saw a man
lying on the side of the bank, his face covered with
blood, and quite dead. There was a very large
wound on the right side of the face, and a large por-
tion of the skull torn off, apparently caused by the
discharge of a pistol, loaded with shot or ball.
Witness immediately gave information at Penge-
wharf, and the body was removed to the Crooked
Billet public-house.
CORONER—Did the deceased appear to have been
dead any length of time. Witness—Not long; the
body was quite warm.
CORONER—Had you ever seen the deceased be-
fore ? Witness—Never : he is quite a stranger in
this part of the country.
CORONER—Was any thing found on searching the
unfortunate man ? Witness-1 was present when
he was searched at the Crooked Billet; there was a
quantity of gunpowder and large shot found in his
pocket, also 3s. 6d., some halfpence, and a metal
watch, Lut no papers of any description. The de-
ceased appealed to be about 28 years of age, live feet
five inches in height, dark complexion, black hair
and whiskers which nearly met under his chin. He
wore a fustian shooting jacket, ahno•t new, drab ker-
seytnere trousers, arid black waistcoat, a green
neckerchief, silk hat, and a black crape batid around

t : his shoes were fastened with small budiles ou
he sides.

Paine and Tyrrell, two officers of the Bow-street
patrol, had searched the canal, but could find no
fire-arms.

The CORONER, on addressing the Jury, remarked
that it was most mysterious that no weapon had
been found near the unfortunate man : there was,
however, a probability that a pistol might have been
overloaded, and have recoiled from his hand and
fallen into the canal, although search had been made
fur it.

There being no further evidence, the Jury, after
a short consultation, returned the following verdict :
—" That -the deceased destroyed himself by dis-
charging a pistol or other fire-arms, loaded with
powder and shot, to and against his head, but what
sta'e of mini he sti as in, or who he was, no evidence
appears to the Jury."

Chadwell, on the part of the parish, undertaking to
prosecute.
William Just, the driver of the hackney-coach,
No. 95, appeared to answer the complaint of Mrs.
Liddle, a lady residing at Brompton•row, Brampton.
Mrs. Liddle stated, that on Tuesday night last Mr.
Liddle and herself were returning home from the
Lilian Opera, and hired the defendant's coach in the
Haymarket, to convey them as far as Hyde-park-
corner. He set them down on this side of the new
triumphal arch, and demanded 2s. 6d. as his fare,
although, in fact, his fare was only Is. 6d. Mr.
Liddle, however, paid him the half-crown, rather
than have any altercation, and took his number, de-
termined to punish him for the extortion. Mr.
Liddle, however, was not able to attend that day,
but as she (Mrs. Liddle) saw the half-crown paid
and heard it demanded by the defendant, her evidence
was deemed sufficient.

The defendant did not deny having received the
2s. 6d. from Mr. Liddle, but said that it was his
legal fare, and accounted for it thus :--his fare for-
wards, he said, was truly only Is. 6d., but then he
was entitled to Is. back. fare from Hyde-park.corner,
where he set down, to the nearest stone pavement,
--that is, to. White Horse-street, Piccadilly, that
being where the Macadamized road begins, it having
been long decided, he said, and never now disputed
by any one who understood the matter,.that hackney-
coachmen are entitled to back-carriage, if they once
touch on a Macadamized road, the same •as if they
are taken on a turnpike road.
" Indeed !" said Mr. CONANT ; " and pray where
did you get that law, or who decided it 2' ." Oh !"
said coachee, " it has been decided by the Attordey,
General, Sir Charles Wetherell, and the Commis-
sioners of hackney-coaches, at the office in Essex-
street; and Mr. Quaife desired us always to charge
back fare on a Macadamized road."

" Then I suppose," said Mr. Cori ANT, " if .you
are hired in the Strand, and drive up Regent-street,
you will charge back carriage to the Strand again."
" Most certainly," said coachee.
Mr. CONANT—And from Bond-street, I suppose,
into Grosvenorsquare, (for the square is mac-
adamized), you will also charge back fare ?
Defendant—Why, I don't well know as to that,
your Worship, for the Commissioners or the Attor-
ney-General did not exactly tell us any thing parti
cular about the squares; but I em quite sure about
the streets; and the Attorney-General has even de-
cided that stage-coaches may now take up passen-
gers on the macadamized streets, although they can-
not on the stone pavement.
Mr. CONANT—WeII, I don't know what your
view of the Attorney• General's decision may be,
but I can tell you that it you act generally under it,
as you have in this case, you will find it rather an
expensive job: you must now, for this extortion,
pay a fine of 10s., together %lid' .ss. 6d. costs, and
return the Is. you overcharged.
Defendant—But, your Worship, if I am wrong,
it's the Attorney-General's fault, and the Commis-
sioners'; I'll be on my oath they told us to charge
back fare, and it's a hard case that I should pay the
fine. It's the Attorney-General, your Worship, or
Mr. Quaife, in Essex-street, that ought to be fined.
. Mr. CONANT—WeII, if you think so, you had
better get it back from them; but at present, if you
don't pay it, I must be under the necessity of
sending you, for a short time, to the House of Cor-
rection.

The defendant then paid the fine, &c., declaring
his intention of applying to Sir Charles Wetherell to
reimburse him, and to set him right upon the law of
the matter.

NEW LONDON-BRIDGE.-COMPENSA-

TIONS.

GUILDHALL, SATURDAY, MAY 30.
THE CORPORATION OF LONDON V. MESSRS. TM:MAR AND