The Sun. — 1839-01-25 (London, England)

THE SUSPECTED MURDER OF A POLICENIAN.— On Wednesday a youth named Holland was charged with being concerned in the murder of police-constable Barton, by throwing him into the Regent's Canal, at Bromley. The prisoner denied all knowledge of the transaction. Inspector M'Craw said that, from what he had been able to learn, it appeared the parties had arranged, in the event of anything being said about the matter, to agree in their respective statements that the thing took place after Christmas ; but he would be prepared on the next examination to prove, by the testimony of a lad who was on board a barge in the canal, close to where the murder took place, that it was on the night of the 18th of October, and that the prisoner arid three other persons at present iu custody were those who flung the deceased into the water. As a further corroboration of the fact, he would be further prepared to prove that on the same night a till was stolen from a public-house in Bromley, and that the prisoners were the parties engaged in that robbery. The prisoner was then remanded. Monday morning an inquest was held at the Swan Inn, Old Brompton, before Mr. Baker, the Coroner, on view of the body of Mr. John Lowe, aged 36 years, who died from the effects of locked jaw. It appeared that the deceased carried on business as a turner at Old Brompton, and on Wednesday last, was in the act of sawing a piece of hard wood, when he rather severely lacerated one of his fingers, which he soon afterwards had dressed by a surgeon in the neighbourhood. On Thursday he complained of a pain in his back and jaw. Deceased continuad to get worse until Friday afternoon, when he died. The surgeon who attended him stated that the affection of the jaw proceeded from the injury to the finger. Verdict, Died from locked jaw. On Monday information was forwarded to the Parish officers of St. Andrew. Holborn, that a man named Wade and his family were in a state of extreme destitution, at their residence in Field-lane, Holborn. Inquiries having been instituted, the room in which the unfortunate individuals were discovered was found to be totally destitute of every article of furniture, and exposeti to the inclemency of the weather, the windows being all broken. The man Wade was found asleep in a cupboard, and had evidently been drinking, while five children were surrounding the dead body of an old woman, their grandmother, and crying bitterly. They stated that they had not tasted food for a long time, that their father was a plasterer out of work, and that a few days ago their gran-d-mother left home for the purpose of procuring some employment, when she met with an accident which obliged her to return. Ever since she had been very ill till Sunday morning, when she died. Immediate steps were taken to relieve the urgent distress of the family, and a communication was made to the Coroner that an inquest might be held on the body of the old woman. •  WHO ARE THE THIEVES ?—Messrs. F. and T. Clerke, flour-dealers in Brunswick-street, a short time since, complained of an entrance having b,en made into their shop on Christmas night, or St. Stephen's morning, their desk broken open, and a sum of 4,500/. stolen, 600/. of it in gold, and that the " robbery" disabled them from meeting the several demands upon them of various merchants in the trade. The claims on them were considerable, but they had previously, such a character, that it is said many of the creditors avowed that they (the Clerkes) might have owed them twice as much. The circumstance became known on St. Stephen's Day, and next day the Clerkes were arrested for debt at the suit of the largest of the creditors, and three porters in their employment were taken into custody until the facts should he inquired into. An investigation was then entered upon, which lasted some days. It ended on Saturday last, when a warrant was issued against the Clerkes on a charge of attempting feloniously to defraud their creditors. There being no evidence to inculpate the three men, they were liberated on Friday. The Messrs. Clerke have since been committed for trial.