The Sun.
London, England, 1829-04-23 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

Yesterday erenit.g an inquisition wag taken at St.
Bartholomew's 1lospi;a1, before THOMAS SitEvros,
Esq., Coroner, touching the death of ..arottel Smith,
apparently about 40 years of age, which took place
under the following truly afflicting tircurnstrinces.
The Jury being sworn, viewed the body of the un-
fortunate man, which lay in the dead-house. It pre-
sented a truly pitiable sight, being reduced Hearly
to a skeleton. The evidence taken was as follows :

Thomas Anderson, a watchman of St. Sepul-
chre's, deposed that he was going his rounds on
Monday sight last, about twelve o'clock, when he
discovered the deceased stretched along the pave-
ment at the corner of Skinner-street ; he was in a
state of insensibility, and appeared to thake with
the cold. Witness procured astistanee, and had him
conveyed to St. SepUleltre's watch-house.
James terry, watch-house-keeper, deposed that
when the deceased was brought to the watch-house
by the last witness and others, he was placed before
the fire, and a coat laid over him. Witness did not
think it necessary to send for a medical gentleman,
being of opinion that the deceased had been drinking,
and would recover, and go away in the morning.
CORONER—CouId you not discriminate between
intoxication and illness ?—Witness—l could not
judge; we have so many brought to the watch-house
every night in nearly a similar state, and go away in
the morning, that I thought the deceased would do
so also.

Mr. Evan Jones, one of the inspectors of the
watch, deposed, that when the deceased was brought
in every attention was paid him : five o'clock in the
morning having arrived without his recovering, wit-
ness caused his immediate removal to this Hospital.
Mr. George Harrington, another of the inspec-
tors, deposed that the deceased recovered his senses,
for a few minutes, about four o'clock, and in answer
to questions put to him by witness, said that he
was reduced from comfortable circumstances to the
utmost destitution and distress, and that he had not
tasted food for two days; witness, on hearing this,
endeavoured to poor a little brandy down his throat,
and offered him a piece of bread, but the unhappy
man was incapable of swallowing either, and re-
lapsed into a state of insensibility : he was then
brought to the Hospital in a chair.
The Jury expressed their horror at a human
creature being reduced to so dreadful a condition in
a civilized and Christian country.
The CORONER inquired of the beadles if.they had
discovered any of the relatives of the unfortunate
man,—who he was,—and from whence he came.
The beadles said, that notwithstanding they had
used their utmost endeavours to do so, they bad been
unsuccessful.

Mr. Henry Wheeler, apothecary to the Hospital,
deposed, that the unfortunate man died about three
hours after his admission. On examining his per-
son, his feet were partly mortified ; on opening the
body, the stomach was found to be quite empty ; a
small- ulcer had formed near the lungs, but not suf-
ficient to account for death. Witness is decidedly
of opinion that the wretched being's dissolution was
occasioned by starvation. _ _ _

The Jury, after commenting upon the truly afflict-
ing case, returned a verdict, " That the deceased
died from neglect and want of common food to sup-
port life."

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the
Feathers Tavern, in the Waterloo-road, before R.
CARTER, Esq., touching the death of Mary Ann
Kirshaw, who destroyed herself by taking laudanum.
The deceased was 24 years of age, and of consider-
able personal attractions. The Jury having viewed
the body, on their return to the room the following
evidence was adduced :

Mr. Henry Laver, surgeon, of 37, Upper Stam-
ford-street, deposed that on Sunday night, about
1 1 o'clock, he was sent for to 70, Commercial-road.
On his arrival there, he saw the deceased, who was
in bed, labouring under the effects of laudanum ;
she was delirious at the time, and by the bed-side,
on a table, he perceived two empty phials, which
had a small quantity of the above liquid in them.
Witness administered an emetic, and also used the
stomach-pump, neither of which operated
_benefi-
cially, owing to the length of time that had elapsed,
which must have been upwards of an hour from the
period the laudanum was received into the stomach.
She expired in about eleven hours afterwards. The
witness added, that on a post mortem examination
of the body, he ascertained that her death was pro-
duced by laudanum, au ounce at least of which
liquid she must have swallowed, and which it ap-
peared the unfortunate woman had purchased in
small portions at different chymists' shops. Here
Mr. Laver handed in a letter, of which the follow-
ing is a copy, and said that it had been placed in
his hands by a person named James Spice, with
whom he understood the deceased had been living
for some time previous to her dissolution. The let-
ter was read at the request of the Jury, and it was
addressed to James Spice. It commenced thus:—
" My dear James,—Perhaps when you receive this, the
woman whom you have so often professed to love is no
more. The rash act which lam now about to commit
will for ever be heart-breaking to yt u. For what you
have done, may the just Gud, who watches oyez our ac-
turns, reward you as you have done to me. It will be vain
to attempt to save me, as I shall be beyond the reach of all
human aid. When you read this, you will only reflect
that I have done my duty to you in the truest sense of the
word. May the Almighty for ever grant you that peace
you have denied to me.
" From your affectionate and ill-treated
" M. A. EDWARDS."
Mrs. C. Sliver examined—She deposed that the
deceased and a Mr. Spice occupied the lower part of
her house for the last four months, the formeralways
passing by the name of Edwards while there. Wit-
ness conceived at first that she was a married
woman, but has since ascertained that not to be the
fact. On Sunday afternoon, about three o'clock,
while witness was sitting in the kitchen, she heard a
desperate quarrel in the parlour, and on proceeding
there she saw the deceased in a violent passion with
Spice. After the altercation between them was
quelled, Spice went out about seven o'clock alone,
and was soon afterwards followed by the deceased,
who returned home about nine o'clock, and then
went into the bed-room and began to walk about.
Witness, imagining that she was low-spirited
in consequence of what had previously occurred be-
tween her and Spice, went into the room and endea-
voured to prevail upon her to accompany her to
supper in the kitchen. The deceased, however,
refused the invitation, and witness left the room.
In about an hour afterwards, Spice came home, and
went into the deceased's apartment, and almost im-
mediately called witness up stairs, saying that he
believed Mary Ann had taken something. When
witness entered the room, she found the deceased
extended on the bed, and apparently labouring under
great pain ; she could not articulate at the time ;
there was a cup on the table which contained a
small quantity of laudanum. Spice ran off for a
surgeon, who attended immediately. The deceased
died the next morning between 10 and 11 o'clock.
About three weeks (continued the witness) ago, the
deceased and Spice had had a very violent quarrel
with one another. 'Witness, on hearing the alterca-
tion, interfered to prevent it ; and when she entered
the room where it arose, the deceased had a knife
in her hand, which Spice was endeavouring to wrest
from her; and he told witness that she attempted
to cut her own throat with it. The deceased was
in a state bordering on phrenzy at the time; arid
after she became more composed, she evinced what
the witness termed " flightiness," and railed against
the King, whom she was in the habit of extolling;
and attributed blame to his Majesty for giving the
royal assent to the Catholic relief bill. This the
witness considered was a proof of unsoundness of
mind.

James Spice, the individual above alluded to, was
next examined. He stated that he had become ac-
quainted with the deceased about ten months ago,
at Astley's Amphitheatre, and believed at that time
she was under the protection of a gentleman. Since
then the witness and she lived together at No. 70,
in the Commercial-road. On Sunday last they

dined with their landlady, and after dinner retired to
their own apartment, where some words of a trifling
nature occurted between them, in consequence of his
refusal to dress and accompany her to a christening
of their landlady's child. After the dispute ryas
over ha Went Out to his inicle's. When he returned
a little after ten o'clock, and on entering the bed-
room, she was lying in bed apparently in great
agony; he spoke to her, and she with difficulty eja-
culated, " God forgive me, dear James." He then
perceived the letter, which had been just read, on
the table, and also two phials and a clip, all of which
were under her pockets. She had attempted to
destroy herself
her:
In un three. different occasions since he
had lived with
In allntion to the letter above quoted, Spice said
that it was not in the deceased's handwriting, but in
that of a female named Humphries, with whom she
bad formerly lodged.
At this stage of the investigation Mr. Humphries
entered the room, and admitted that his wife wrote
the letter. He said, on Sunday last, in the after-
noon, the deceased came to his (Humphries') house,
and complained that Spiee had ill-treated her; she
said that she was most anxious to get away entirely
from that person, and that the only plan to effect
that would be to write a letter of the above nature
to him, intimating her determination to destroy her,-
self. Humphries also stated that the deceased had
frequently exhibited the marks of ill-treatment on
her person, received at the bands of Spice, to him
and his wife. She had been recently, he said, under
the care of Dr. Menzies for a violent kick that Spice
gave her in the lower part of the abdomen.
Roberts, the beadle, said that Spice was a married
man, and that his wife had called some days pre-
viously at the house where her husband and the de-
ceased lived.

The Jury remarked, that notwithstanding there
was great cruelty practised by Spice on the deceas-
ed, yet it was given in evidence that her death arose
solely from the effects of the laudanum she had taken
on the occasion while labouring wider insanity. A
verdict to that effect was accordingly returned.

SAVAGES IN VAN. DIEMEN'S LAND.

(Extract from the Hobart Town Couri tr.)

OATLANDS, OCT. 14.—The recent murders com-
mitted by some of the black natives on Anne Geary
and Alicia Gough, near Big Lagoon, Oatlands, have
filled the country with alarm and consternation.
Only a few days previous, Mr. Bryant's hut, at the
Blue Hills, had been robbed by the aborigines, not-
withstanding that the hut was guarded by a man
who had a musket in his possession, and several
other n.en were close by. The natives were pur-
sued by two armed men, but they succeeded in
getting deliberately away with their plunder.
On Thursday last, the 9th inst., Patrick Gough's
wife said to her husband, that she thought she heard
the shrieks of a woman : on looking out he ob-
served Anne Geary running towards his hui ; she
seemed greatly exhausted, and told Gough that she
had seen the natives coming towards Mortimer's
hut, where she resided. Gough and two other
men lost no time in proceeding to the hut, to pre-
vent the blacks from getting a gun and some ammu-
nition which were there. One of the.men (Bates)
carried a gun; the other two had merely black sticks
with them. When they arrived at Mortimer's hut,
they could perceive that the door had been forced
open, and a number of things were strewed about
the floor and outside the door; the gun and ammu-
nition, with some blankets, had disappeared. On re-
turning, Gough was met by his eldest daughter,
Mary, covered with blood, calling upon her father
to hasten home, as the natives had killed her mother
and sisters. Gough saw his wife about half a mile
from his hut, sitting on the ground, resting her
back against the fence, with her infant child in her
lap. The poor woman said—" My dear Gough, it
is all over with me, I am killed by the natives."
She was covered with wounds, and fainted. The
man, half frantic, afforded her all the assistance in
his power, tearing part of his shirt to make a band-
age for her head. He then ran withall speed to his hut,
where the first thing that presented itself to his view
was his infant daughter Alicia lying breathless in
front of the door, with her arms extended; but, al-
though she had the appearance of being dead, the
vital spark was not quite extinct. On entering the
hut he found Anne Geary lying stretched on the
floor. On being removed to a sofa, she vomited
quantities of blood; she died about two hours after,
and about midnight Alicia Gongh, not more than
four years of age, breathed her last. Gough's
youngest child, an infant thirteen months old, had
received several contusions, but of a slighter charac-
ter than those inflicted on the others.

During the absence of Gough the hut had been
robbed of six blankets, two sheets, three or four
knives, a bason containing some eggs, and 20 dollars.
Mrs. Gough, who still remains is a very perilous
situation, made shift to communicate to her husband
that she fell on her knees before the savages, beg..
ging them to spare the lives of her piccaninnies, and
that one of them told her, in good English, that they
should be all killed; they then repeated their blows
on her head.

Dr. Hudspeth lost no time, when he heard of the
fatal catastrophe, in visiting the hapless family. It
is this gentleman's opinion that Ann Geary came
by her death principally from a deep gash in the
brain, inflicted by an axe which was lying at the door
with marks of blood on it. She had also other frac-
tures of the skull, with several spear wounds on the
breast, which were considered mortal. The child
Alicia Gough died from a contusion on the head,
apparently from a waddy.
Mary, the eldest of Gough's daughters, an inte-
resting child, seven years old, and, although she
cannot read, evincing considerable acuteness of
understanding, said that the natives inflicted several
wounds and bruises on her when they were attack.
ing the other victims. She states that she made an
attempt to carry her sister Alicia away from the
blacks, when those barbarous savages struck them
both with their waddies, and she fell down as dead
as a gum-stick, and when she came to herself they
had disappeared.

Thus the warfare and deadly system carried on by
the aborigines receive daily a new character, and it
will require some immediate vigorous and efficient
measures to repel attacks which, if they be not
speedily put a stop to, must render it impossible to
guard the lives and property of the colonists against
the most alarming consequences.
Amidst all these scenes of horror, one gleam of
hope appears en which to ground some expectation
that the aborigines may be induced to enter into a
good understanding with the white inhabitants.
They seem to begin to hold in higher value than
heretofore, blankets, clothing, knives, bread, and
other articles of civ:lized life. They cannot long
hope to acquire those things by casual plunder and
precarious warfare. Once under the influence of
new wants, they may, in order to satisfy them, en-
deavour to seek them by more peaceable and less
bloody means than they are at present acquainted
with.

OATLAND3,—A tribe of about twenty natives
attacked Mr. Bryant's stock hut, at the Blue Hills,
on Friday last, and, after frightening the hut-keeper,
robbed the hut of a number of blankets, knives,
forks, &c. Old George, the shepherd, soon ar-
rived, and, not being more than forty yards from
the blacks, attempted to arrest the progress of one
of them, who was carrying off a large bundle, but
in vain, the arms which they had not being in good
order. The blacks then went away in the direction
of the Coal River. They showed no disposition to
attack the white men, plunder being their only
object. Constable Prior, of the Oatlands Field
Police, apprehended two runaways near Mr. Bryant's,
only a shert time before; but had, unfortunately,
left the but.

BREAK o'DAY PLAINS.—There is a beautiful ap-
pearance for crops in all parts. I never saw the
English grass look better at home. We have a
fine dropping of healthy lambs.
GREEN PONDS, OCT. 14.--James Blunders, who
resides on the farm belonging to Mr. Cobb, in abut

distant not more than a mile and a half from the late
residence of Mr. Whitfield, was suddenly alarmed
this morning by beholding a native in the act of
drawing back and delivering a spear through the
window; and; most fortunately; after glancing upon
his fingers; and earrYing away the knueltle of pilb,
the weapon passed him without further mischief.---.
The savage immediately withdrew, and, as it ap-
peared, Blunders took shelter behind the chimney.
Alone and unarmed no alternative but flight was
left. With precipitation he pursued his way to the
party of soldiers at the Cross Marsh, who, with the
constable, went with him back to the hut, which he
found plundered of a variety of articles, tea; sugar,
tobacco, flour, bread, and blankets. They left be-
hind an old blanket.