Star.
London, England, 1822-08-14 00:00:00

INQUEST ON THE LATE MARQUIS OF
LONDONDERRY.

Yesterday afterhoon a Coroner's Inquisition assem-
bled at the house of the lace Marquis, at North Cray.
Not the slightest objection was made to the entrance
of any person: indeed, publicity seemed rather to be,
courted than otherwise. At three o'clock Mr. CART..
TAR, the 'crone', took his seat, and the Court having
been opened with the usual Proclamation, the fol-
lowing Gentlemen, inhabitants of the village, were,
sworn, namely :
William Matters (Foreman), William Meade, John Johnson,.
John Masters, John Cooke, John Storar, Henry Daun, Robert
Merrifield, Harry Allen Wyborne, John Cookson, Thomas
Preston, Thomas Harman, and George Stone.
The CORONER addressed the Jury in nearly the.
followine terms:—Upon no former occasion, in the
per Ire mnoce of his duty, had his feelings been so ex-
cited, if by the present unfortunate event. He was,
indeed, so much affected, that they must perceive he
could hardly express himself as he wished. Upon
this account, he trusted they would excuse any trifling
errors which be might commit in the exercise of his
duty. The Gentlemen of the Jury were summoned
and sworn to inquire into the causes of the death of a
Nobleman, who stood perhaps as high in the public
estimation as any mass in the country. That his
Lordship had met his death under particular circum-
stances, they doubtless must have learned. But it
was his duty to inform them that they must remove
from their minds all impressions which should not
be borne out by the evidence. The Gentlemen whom
Ire addressed being neighbours of the deceased, were
better able to form a just estimate of his character
than he was. As a public man, it was impossible for
him to weigh his character in any scales that he could
hold. In private life he believed the world would
admit that a more amiable man could not be found.
Vlrether the important duties of the great office
which he held pressed upon his mind, and conduced
to the melancholy event which they had assembled
to investigate, was a circumstance which in all pro-
bability never could be discovered. He understood
that his Lordship had for some time past been so un-
well as to require the assistance of a medical attend-
ant. This Gentleman would be examined on the In-
quest, and would doubtless be competent to describe
the disease and affliction under which his Lordship
laboured. That the dreadful blow which deprived
the Noble Lord of life was inflicted by his own hand,
he believed the Jury, sr heir they came to hear the
evidence, could not doubt. He understood it would
be proved that no person in the house except his
Lordship could have committed the act. When the
Jury should examine the situation of the body, and
hear the evidence that would be submitted to them,
be was convinced that they would be perfectly una-
nimous in that part of their verdict which went to
declare the manner in which the deceased met his
death. lie felt that it was a matter of delicacy to
allude to the other part of the verdict, and he would
grit presa me to anticipate what it might be; but he
trit,ted the result would be w hat all good men deired.
It tl.e fact.; which he had heard were proved in evi-
d:r,ce, he tLou:;ht no man could doubt that at the
tines he comir;:t:Ld the rash act his Lordship Was la-
bowing un,.icr a mental delusion. If, however, it
should unfc•rn:lately appear that there was not suffi-
6el.t evidence to prove what were generally consi-
dered i:ldic:r.ions of a disordered mind, he trusted
that the J,iry wculd pay some attention to his (the
C!-:ener's) irun.ble opinion, wa,, that no man
could be in his propel senses at the moment he corn-
rniced so rash an act as self-murder. His opinion
wa in ttnls, nar.ce with every moral sentiment, and
of the information which the wisest of men had given
to the world. The Bible declared that a man clung
to nothing so strongly as his own life. He therefore
viewed it as an'axiont, and an abstract principle, that
a man must necessarily be out of his mind at the
moment of destroying himself. The Jury, of course,
would not adoi,t his opinion upon this point, unless it
were in unison with their own. He would not longer
occupy the time and attention of the Jury than to
express his pleasure at seeing so respectable a body
of Gentlemen, and to add a hope that they would
acquit themselves of their important duty to the satis-
faction of the Public, as well as of their own con-
sciences. He must apologise for saying a few words
more. The body was lying up stairs, and in the room
adjoining to that in which it lay, the Marchioness at
present was, and from thence it had been found im-
possible to remove her. To picture to the imagina-
tion anything like the state of that Noble Lady's
mind, was altogether impossible. The partition which
divided the room in which the body lay from that
which the Marchioness at present occupied. was so
thin, that the least noise being made in the former
could not fail to be heard in the latter. The forms
of law, however, required that the Jury should view
the body, and judge from the external marks which
it might isslehit, of the causes which produced death.
Ile therefoie had only to request that the Gentlemen
would be as silent as possible. He Was almost afraid
this the creaking of their shoes might be the means
of exciting ideas which would wound the feelings of
the unhappy Marchioness. He was sure, under these
circumstances, the Jury would do everything in their
power to prevent the least noise, and he might ob-'
sei ve that it would be desirable to abstain from talk-
ing in the room where the body lay, because any
conversation must certainly be heard through the
almost, he might say, paper partition. After the
Jury had satisfied themselves by viewing the body,
they would return to execute the remaining part
of their duty.
During this address of the Coroner, the domestics
of the unfortunate Marquis who were in the room,
for the most part, sired tears ; indeed, the love which
the servants of his Lordship, bore towards him was,
we will not say surprising (for kind and honourable
treatment from a Gentleman to those persons who
are dependent upon him, must ever procure such a
result), but highly creditable both to him and the in-
dividuals who composed his household.

liefoie.the Jury left the room for the purpose of
seeing the body, one of them suggested that his col-
leagues, as well as himself, should take off their shoes,
in order to prevent_ as far as possible any noise that
might be occasioned by them in walking. This hint
Nva immediately acted upon,and the Jury left theroom.
After what had fallen from the Coroner, a feeling
of delicacy prevented stringers from accompanying
the Jury up stairs, although no objection would hare'