The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-01 00:00:00

CASE OF WILFUL MURDER

An inquest was held on Eriday, before P. F. Curry, Esq.,
on view of the body of John Lewis, a seaman of the New
York packet ship " George Washington."
William Atkins, a seaman of the same ship, said that he
knew the deceased, who was a seaman on board that vessel.
On Friday week the deceased and witness went to a board-
ing-house in 'Denison-street, to breakfast ; and whilst there
the deceased fell backwards from the table. He did not
complain of any thing, and would give no answer to any one.
He had complained a good deal during the week of his head
and mouth. He said that he had been coming along Old-
hall-street the previous Saturday night, and that a man had
struck him, and knocked him down ; that he had got up and
knocked the man down; and that four other men set upon
him and knocked him down again, and kicked him. He
told his shipmates the following Sunday, and stated the man-
ner in which he had been assaulted. He was able to attend
his work as usual from that time up to Friday week, until he
fell backwards (as before stated), at the breakfast table. He
came on board the vessel that morning, and took to his berth
about nine o'clock. On the following day a doctor was sent
for, and by his order he was sent to a Mrs. Lilly's, where
the witness lodged. He gradually got worse until Monday
week, when he died. On the forenoon of that day, he com-
plained of great pain in his body ; and that he should not live
long, and that it was through the beating he had got he
should die.

Hannah Wallace, a servant at Mr. Newton's public-house,
in Denison-street, said that there were several seamen in the
house belonging to the Susquehanna (an American ship),
when the deceased came. Shortly after a disturbance took
place in the tap-room ; and on going down she found a man
lying on the floor, and six or eight men kicking him when' he
was down. She was sure the prisoner (Henry Snider) was
one of the men who kicked him about the shoulders and the'
head. The man on the floor was apparently dead. All the
men then went out, and the man recovered shortly after-
wards, and drank a glass of grog. He said he was not much
hurt, and soon afterwards he left the house, and she never
saw him alive again. She accused the prisoner Snider of
abusing the man, and he replied, ";The -, I owed it to
him since the last voyage." There were six men kicking
the man about the head and shoulders.
Eliza Bond said she was in the house at the time, and saw
the deceased there. The deceased knocked against some of
the other men who were in the house, and one of them struck
him, and/four or five others abused him very much. He was

,
knocked down, and they all kicked him, and one of them
jumped upon him.
Eliza Roberts said that the deceased, about seven o'clock,
came to her house in Leeds-street, and remained until twelve
o'clock. She did not see him until the next day, when he
said he had been abused the night before by some men, who
hit him on the head with a stone, and knocked him down. He
also said they had taken a pair of shoes and three shillings
from him ; and that the men who had abused him were
lunq.ers.

As police-officer (Peter Dutton) said he was on duty on
Sunday morning week, between two and three o'clock, when
the deceased came and knocked at the gate, and said he had
been abused by some men at the Canal Bridge, in Leeds-
street ; that a man had knocked him down and jumped upon
him, and robbed him. He was vomitting a good deal of
blood. Witness sent him to the Northern Hospital.
Mr. Cullan, junr., surgeon, was called to the deceased, on
Saturday, and found him speechless on board the " Wash-
ington," and had him removed to Litherland Alley. The
deceased partially came to himself, and said he had been
I icked and jumped upon. He complained of pain in his
head. Witness attended him up to the time of his death,
which took place on Monday. A post mortem examination
of the body was made. On opening the chest, witness found
lymph thrown out from the pleura costelus. The left lung
was gorged with blood caused by the rupture of a blood ves-
sel, which was the cause of death, and the result of very se-.
vere external injury. No natural causes could have produced
the particular appearance of the lungs. The parencryma was
completely destroyed. A man might live a week or ten days
after receiving such injuries as would produce similar effects.
The intestines were very much inflamed.

The Coroner summed up the evidenecein a very explicit
manner, explaining the law of the case.
The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder against
some person or persons unknown."

The. case excited much interest at the Coroner's-office,
which was crowded throughout the day.

ANOTHER DEATH FROM VIOLENCE

Yesterday an inquest was lied before P. F. Curry, Esq.,
coroner, touching the death of Lawrence Work.
Richard Williams said the deceased lodged with him in
Drury-lane. He was about 38 years of age. About nine
o'clock on Friday night last the deceased was brought home
by two young men who lodged in the house. He was not
able to walk. Ile was taken up stairs directly to bed, and
complained of a wound on his head. On Saturday morning
a doctor came to see the deceased, who attended him up to
the time of his death this morning.
Thomas Charleston said:—l am a sailor, and lodge at
Mr. Williams s. The deceased lodged in the same house.
On Friday night last, a little after eight o'clock, the deceased
and I and a shipmate were coming across from the north
to the south part of Drury-lane. The deceased had a girl
with him. We had all had a glass of beer together. I was
quite sober, but the deceased had had a glass too much, yet
was quite able to walk and to take care of himself. When
we were passing along Drury-lane we met some foreigners,
some of whom turned round after they passed and laughed
at the deceased. The deceased turned round, asked them
what they meant by laughing at him, and called them foreign
b—s. Some of them ran down the street, and the
deceased ran after them. My shipmate got hold of de-
ceased by the arm and wanted him to come away, and
whilst he had hold of deceased's arm, I saw one of the
foreigners heave a stone over my shipmate's shoulder which
struck him on the head, and the man who hove the stone
immediately ran away. The deceased fell directly with the
force of the blow. The man who threw the stone was only
about a yard from the deceased at the time. I pursued and
tried to take him, but I could not. I then returned to the
deceased. My shipmate and the girl were supporting him.
He was taken to a druggist's shop close by ; and the druggist
said his wound was' so bad that he was ordered to be taken
to a surgeon. The man who threw the stone wore mustachios.
Erasmus Johnstone said he was a sailor. He lodged at the
same house as the last witness, and was along with them as
before stated. Witness corroborated the last witness in
material points. He had hold of the deceased, endeavouring
to get him away, when a man's arm came over my shoulder,
and a stone like that now produced was thrown at the head
of the deceased, who fell immediately. We pursued the man
but he escaped. Witness and the girl first picked the de-
ceased up.

Mr. Jain Dick, surgeon, said—The deceased was brought
to the surgery about a quarter-past 8 o'clock that night. There
was a wound on the forehead over the left eyebrow. I
found a fracture of the frontal bone just over the left frontal
sinews, the interior wall of which was fractured. I cleansed
the wound and extracted two pieces of bone, and having
dressed the part, sent him home. I attended him afterwards
until his death, which was caused by inflammation of the
dura mater, brought on in consequence of the fracture. The
wound appeared to have been produced by some blunt instru-
ment.

The coroner thought it advisable to adjourn the case, in
ke hope that the man who threw the stone might in the
eantime be found and identified.
The jury concurred, and the inquest was accordingly ad-
urned for further evidence until Wednesday at 12 o'clock.
The deceased was a native of the Shetland Islands, and has
ft, we learn, a wife and five children.