The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-07-19 00:00:00

STEALING DEAD BODIES.

(1110111 THE 'BELFAST CHRONICLE OF MONDAY LAST.)
OR Saturday considerable agitation prevailed in town
from a discovery made on board a vessel at the quay,
bound for Scotland. Some suspicions circumstances
having arisen as to the contents of a barrel brought by
a person like a porter, he was stopped till it was opened,
when the appalling spectacle was presented of the dead
bodies of a middle-aged female and child two or three
years old, squeezed into very small bounds, and packed
with saw-dust. The porter and the barrel were Imme-
diately removed to the police-offiet ; and busy rumour,
fond of the marvellous, circulated a hundred different
stories of frightful murders, committed I. various ways.
In the meantime, Mr, Ferrer, the Magistrate, promptly
investigated into the circumstances; when the fullowlng
appeared to be the facts of the case :—Two men, named
Stewart and Fenny, have, for some time, carried on a
regular trade of raising dead bodies from ggraveyards,
and sending them m anatomical lecturers in Glngow
and Edinburgh. For this purpose they had taken part
of a house in Academy-street, where they kept their im-
plements for disinterring the dead, and for packing them
in barrels. They lodged in Caddell's entry. Fenny was
tenni there drunk, and brought to the office, when he
underwent an examination. The other, George Stewart,
has escaped; but it is hoped will yet be apprehended,
and be subject to condign punishmeat for such a flagrant
crime. _ _

The bodies were taken to the County Court-house, to
give an opportunity for their relations to own them, and
accordingly the female body"was found th be the deceas-
ed wife of a man named Bell, in Pipe-lane t she had been
buried at Friar's Bush on Wednesday. The child was
also owned by its father ; it had been buried io the same
place on Tharfiday. The bodies were again decently re-
interred yesterday afternoon.
On searching the lodgings of these miscreants, a
small box was found containing a large brass syringe,
for injecting the veins of dead bodies ; also a surgeon's
knife, forceps, needle, kc. The box came from Edin-
burgh, directed to Stewart, and besides the instruments,
contained tire sovereigns. We understand that the in-
habitants of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and vicinities,
have so protected their turying places by nightly armed
patroles and instruments called meet...glee, that the
“ resurrectionists" have been almost at a dewl stand there
this some time. This accounts for their visit to this
country.

A *spare bottle, with a sealed' cork, was found on Sa
turday, about five o'clock, floating at Simon's Point, near
the New Custom House. On drawing the cork, a paper,
containing the following intimation, was discoverzd in-
side :
" This is to glie notice, that •
I did drown myself.
. " MARTIN
• • • • • • BROWN.
" Cork, :sly eth, INS."
(Cork laelligeneer.)
COACH RODSZAT.-43ANZIRE' PARCEL-0o Monday
se'nnigbt the Union Coach, which runs from Shrews.
bury to London, was robbed of a carpet bag, containing a
paper parcel, directed to Messrs. Masterman and Co.
bankers, in which were 500 provincial 11. notes, payable
ie London; one 35i. Bank Post Bill, unaccepted, No.
8599; 36 Pensioners* Receipt!, and sundry other pro.
pert. Strong suspicion attaches to a man who took an
outside place at Shrewsbury for Oxford, but who, on the I
coact stopping at Wolverhampton, suddenly decamped,'
leavi.sg has luggage, a paper parcel, behind him, which,.
on examination, turned out to consist merely of a few
articles of wearing apparel, of trilling value, wrapped in
a qnsntity of hay, apparently for no other reason than to
increase the bulk of It. This parcel he had with much
care directed to be, and saw deposited in the boot of the
I coach, declaring that it was of great value. He was
twee to loiter in the Lion Inn-yard while the coach was
' loading, and it is supposed he otriervita the parcel placed
liy the guard into a- carpet bag, and thrown into the boot.
ge,, seitiaod treat drowsiness all the way to Wolver-
bNcopton, where•he left the coach. The parcel was not
isiisseti until the coact resichat-Shipston.

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