The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1826-08-02 (London, England)

MURDER A?' DOVER.  EFURTNEIL PARTICULAIIB.I Dowel, ..11*LT 31. This town, and particularly the visitors, were much agitated in consequence of the sad affitir between the smugglers and the sailors of the Preventive Service, the particulars of which I sent you yesterday. There are, as you may suppose, a variety of opinions on the subject, but the following may in great measure be relied upon : That this gang of smugglers, to the number of 200 or 300, are by no means connected with this town, but are the same party who have some time been in the habit of "running goods," as the term is, on various parts of the coast, and more particularly on a Saturday night. Their plan seems to have been to come in a body sufficient to overpower the blockade men ; that while one t.ody of men, with their arms, kept the preventive men in awe, the others might carry off the goods. An Inquest was summoned by the Mayor, Mr. Finch, who is also the Coroner, at 12 o'clock this day. I went to see the dead body of the poor seaman, who evidently lost his life in his devotion to his duty : he had two deadly wounds in his left breast, another in his neck, and his left. band thumb and finger were shattered. The first person examined was the seaman on duty It the Bathing Rooms. He stated, that at one o'clock at Sunday morning, a boat made for the shore, when the men on board her sung out, " Is all well ?" when they were answered by " All's well," from some persons on the beach ; that lie immediately ran down the beach, and attempted to fire his pistol, but it flashed; he tried again, but in vain, when he was surrounded by a body of smugglers. At this moment, Morgan, the quartermaster, came along, when he fired one of his pistols, by way of alarm, and was instantly shot by some of the smugglers; but as he was surrounded, he could not distinguish by whom. Morgan fell : and the smugglers proceeded to land the goods from the boat, and run away with them. That others of his comrades then came up ; they pursued the smugglers into the town, but could hear nothing more of them.  A second seaman deposed to having come up on hearing the firing, and that being joined by a lieutenant and a midshipman, with other seamen from the cutter, they joined in the pursuit, but in vain. A third seaman deposed to having found poor Morgan severely wounded on the beach ; that he procured a candle from the batbing-room, placed him on a chair belonging to the bathing-rootn, and conveyed him away, and sent for the surgeon. An assistant-surgeon of the guard-ship deposed that he attended the poor fellow as soon as he was called ; that be found the wounds mortal ; that he ordered him to be removed to the bast-house on the road to Sir Sidney Smith's, and that on his arrival there he expired in his presence. Mrs. Bear, the guide at Marsh's bathing-room, depose! that she was awoke by the firing of arms near the mein where she slept; that she distinctly heard, first one pistolshot, then three at once, which were followed by an exclamation,' Lord, look down upon me! Lcrd, look down upon me !" repeated many times; that she opened her window, and saw many persons running, she supposed a hundred. The watchman of the town was examined, but nothing was elicited from him on the subject. The several evidences were then read over to the parties and to the Jury, when the Coroner, in a very feeling manner, remarked on the painful circumstance, and the necessity, if possible, of ascertaining who were the guilty parties, giving it as his opinion that murder bad evidently been committed, but by whom it was for the present impossible to say ; and the Jury unanimously concurring therein, their verdict was, " Guilty of murder, against a perm* or persons unknown."