The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-03-06 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

At One o'clo: k, Mr. CAUTSIt, 'ormitrir for the county of
Kent, arrived, and under his dire t;on a Jury of the
most reppectabl.. inlishitststs was viinimoned, who as-
sembled at the lied L and went from
thence to view the 1i044e and the They were
adjourned till vetting. At six o'clock they according-
ly net.
The tint witness called way

Thomas West, one of the Woolwich watchmen, who
stated, that at about half-past two o'clock on Saturday
as lie inissell 31r. Parker's, in Sitilgrave-place,
his attention was at•racteil by a smoke as Bich he saw
issuing. f the top of the house. lie thought it pro-
caviled from the chimney being on fire, and immediately
began rapping at the door to alarm the inmates. neer
was no indiction that lie was beard. He listened at-
tentively, and thought lie heard a cracking within, as if
wood was hunting. Hr then rapped still hinder, and
sprang his rattle. fbe neighbours were alarmed, and
rose front their beds, and he soon saw several soldiers
come from the barracks. They were joined by some of
the siirr Handing inhabitants, and it was observed that a
fire nas raging in the parlour. The Iraklion then re-
solved on breaking open the deer, and to
se isionalisstelv. nicy entered the aW, ►
partied went up stairs. Wilms*
the street to irk, care of some of the furniture, which
was brought out. lie did not patrol. Mulgrave-place the
who'e night. John Both and Thomas Ring had been
there before him. Ile spoke to these men, but they had
seen nothing of the tire as they went their rounds.
John Hay, the barrack-master of Woolwich-barracks,
deposed, that he arrived at the house of Mr. Parker,
with an engine, soon after the alarm was given. He
assisted in playing the engine and in extinguishing the
flames. Ile atlerwarls entered the house and strut up,
stairs. In the bed-e&in on the first door he saw there
had been a tire, hut it had gone out. The curtains of
the bed were much burnt. Ile then went up stairs to
to the room over, and found that the bed there bad
also been in Caries. I
The feathers were strewed about,
and there was a substance among them which looked
like pitch. (The Jury hail examined this substance, but I
thought it was produced solely by the burning of the
feathers.) The brit-metalss and the greater part of the
bedding were destroyed. He saw several drawers stand-
ing, open, and articles of linen strewed shout the floor.
Ile did nut think this could have happened after he had
gained admission to the house. eft half-past two the
tire in the parlour was got under. The door of the
parlour was at length forced open, and, after the smoke
subsided, he, with others, entered. fie Bow a heap ly-
ing behind the door, which proved to be two human
bodies, the one stretched across the other. He saw a
man attempt to lift one of them up, but the body came
asunder. Ile afterwards saw them laid upon a table.—
One proved to be a female; and, on examining her
head, he discovered two dreadful wounds over the eyes.
She bled at the month and nose, but was quite dead. He
was satialietl that she had come to her death by violence
previous to the tire. The other body was so much burnt
that he could scarce distinguish it to be a human figure,
except from the leg and foot, which remained perfect.
David Mocks, a bombardier, deposed, that be was
one of the persons who broke in the door in qnestion.—
lie was sure the door was not bolted, but was en the
spring-lock. This witness confirmed the tut as to the
state of the premises. He saw several boxes open, sod
wearing-apparel lying about the doors.
Stephen Hennaed, an apprentire to Mr. Hudson, a
carpenter, in Woolwich, deposed, that be resided with
his mother, in Mulgrave-place. Ile was alarmed by the
cries of •• Fire," and got up. On reaching Mr. Parker's
house, he found some soldiers breaking open the door.
He went and hocks! an adze, with which he knocked
the parlour door off the binges. He then broke the
window from the outside, and knocked in the shutters.
He afterwards went up stairs, and found blankets nailed
against the windows. The back door was fastened on
the inside with a piece of timber.
Wm. Champion, a con Stable, proved that he was milled
op and went to the house after the lire had been ex-
tinguished. lie found the drawers and boxes in the dif-
ferent rooms open, and several articles strewed about the
floor. In the kitchen he found a pair of silver sugar
tongs, and in a cupboard, also in the kitchen, he dis-
covered a silver table-spoon. He also found near the
spot where the bodies lay, a bunch of keys. He had
since remained in charge of the property.
William Raven, a shoe-maker, was called then, to
speak to the identity of the bodies. He had knew.. Me.
Parker and his housekeeper for several years. He had
made shoes for the former. He went to see the remains
of two human bodies in Mr. Parker's house. It was im-
possible to recognise their persons. One was burnt
nearly to a cinder. There was a black silk stocking
and a shoe on the foot of one of the bodies. He ex-
'mined the shoe ; and although he could not swear he i
bad made it, yet he could speak aids certainty to its
being Mr. Parker's. Ile remembered Mr. Parker had ,