The Statesman. — 1823-03-07 (London, England)

UNFORTUNATE MR. WILLIAMS.  About a fortnight ago; the body of Mr. Williams, who had been for sonic lime resident at Brighton, was din, 'wed under circumstances. which Ird the tnroner's Jury rtho were 'oppugned to hold an inquest on the oceasior, to return a verdict Foam' Proicided. verdict . .  provod unsatisfactory to the friends of the eentlemani and to the inhabitants of Brisllton eener .11y, and in consequence his remains were disin'eored on Wednentav morn; ng last, and the body was subsequently np•nerl and evsthined, in the presence of many surgeons, at tbeT„A I fall. 'the result of the inspection has vrenathened the suspicious enterthined. that the deceased had metoith  violent d ath. The' sharp aniles occasioned by (rachu. ing the ribs, were found to have pierced the loop, Inv, whether or not, while in a %dal touditiou, it Wits (lit-hit:Olt  to decide. The impression now left upon the subject; it is understood, will induce an apolication to bc m „ti. by the Magistrates. to the Secretary of State, that no means which can promise to dispel the rnyatery which vet hinge about the melancholy affair, may be neglecteil. The following are the particulars of the l'unnest, as git en in the Sussex Advertiser of Monday last. " This day se'nuight, an invest was held at the White 110 se 1,11, at Rottinedi al, on view of the ho iv of Mi. Ed. Willi who had been missing front hi*, lodgings here, from the preceding Thursday sernigh•, and of whom no intelligence could be pine], until his remains were floated to shore by the tide, near Portulse:. to, on the Sunday, ten days after the, time ape( Thesupposition of the friends of the deceased was, that he bad been inerderett and robbed—nor was that Lupe,sion done away, by the extraordinary and unexpected situation in which the body had be u overed. Ti e tirst witnesses proved the Anding of the holy, nearly aa• ked, and is mnoval to Rolingdean. be twat sheaved the manner in which thedeceaseil had passed the of ernnon evening with them, and to a late hour of the night, its which he had dis ippeared ; bat which'lnvo've I ro'hiu: material, excep es:: that the deceased had had a van 1 with a female. at a triure of ill fame, and that th • latter had thrown slit at him, on his last leaving her in the wee', because he had negLicted to give her a pecuida compensation far the time she had passed him. No. thing came out In et iilence, to 'hew Oat the dere .sed had been on the beach, or had evinced a disposition toga there, our in any way to lead even to a surmise as tonchinj the cause of the situ ttio • iu which his rem &jos had been found ; and mull l•ss did it go to proo that mental abstraet'Jn, or an ati.qt to commit suicide had ever existed with him. The sur.:cuas woe had examined the body, three in numher, cave testimony to a similar elT•ct --the first, Ale. Sutton. deposed, that lie considered 'he appearances of Cie corpse as inco np.o tilde with the ordinary condition of bodies, after &aiming, and continued immersion, inch as was suppose I to attach to the ins•auce in nitestioa. li re the common changes were painte i tint, and the total absentee of them with the deceased. All the ribs, on the left side, thin coo. tinned Mr. Su' ton were fractured ; the seals nits rea.ored from the anterior part of the head, and throa hack; the nose, awl s;.ter .1 of the teeth were brut' and the Fps par•icularly injured. The arms, lsga,,. and thighs, he concluded, appeared as if they hail been forcibly grasped and bruised while the tecrail bad ((Minuet in a vital state. Mr. Tilt, uniquivozally assertel, it was Iris fixed belief, that no accidental fall, eauld, fro.n the elasticity of the ribs, have produced the degree of mat:!salon which there existed : the ribs, he said, were lite.ally lonikett to pieces, and which nothing but at Unitiffni pressure, or a con inued rope:Nona farce could eo hare effected. A cut on the breast of the deeestsid, though not sufficient to cause death • th:e gentleman was also of opinion. did n gear a character of scridet.t about it—it seemed to have Leen inflicted by smile sharp cutting imtrumen'. Mr. Itore, the third surgeon's depo.ition, was in ample • acrobat'stion :he two former. The Coroner then summed so. its which lie observed, that hungry, or the crime offeAsderte, in no wise appeared to him ra derivable* in any part of the evidence. The Jury having retired, in a few unnutes returned, awl gave in their verdict, " Accidereally drowned!"—whit•ti verdict wes recorded! We bate tan much respect for Juries w twonly to impugn their findings, and we regret, us in the present intenace, that any circumstances should occur, to apparently justify a dissent to such decisions in any part of the 13, limb pub. et that such dissents base existed and do exis,, it would be useless in us to deny ; but as to their accuracy, or the want of it, our readers must draw theft. own conclusions."