Star. — 1824-06-05 (London, England)

CORONER.—IIid the coachman say where be brought the parcel from ? Mrs. Turner replied, that the coachman said he brought it from the Elephant and Castle. Charles Fisher, book-keeper at Mrs. Fisher's, the Elephant and Castle, deposed, that on Tuesday night a packet, directed for Mr. Stevens, baker, Millpondbridge, was taken into their office, and delivered over to Mr. Barry's coachman, on Wednesday morning, to deliver to Mr. Stevens. In reply to a question by the Jury, the witness said, that he had no recollection whatever of the person who left the basket: whether it was male or female, lie could not say, in consequence of the great number of parcels which were left there in the caurseof the day. Samuel Stone, the coachman who delivered the parcel  t Mr. Stevens's, deposed, that the parcel was given to lien at the time mentioned by the last witms, and de lived at Mr. Stevens's.  C. Jackson, a surgeon, deposed, that on Wednesday afternoon he -was sent for to the workhouse, when lie examined the body of the child. The navel-string had the appearance of being recently tied, and on the fore part of the throat these were evident marks of discolouration. He then proceeded to open the body, and on dissecting the back integuments covering t•,e fore pint of the throat, he found the right jugular vein distended, as if some obstruction had been offered to the return of the blood. The lungs had a healthy appearance, and appeared as if they had breathed atmospheric air. The lungs were put into water, and floated, which depicted that the child was born alive. Coal:an:ft.—Might not the child have died immediately on its coming into the world? Witness.—My supposition is, that the marks of violence which I discovered on the body were the cause of its death. lithe child had died at its birth, the lungs would not have assumed the healthy appearance which they did. The Jury retired about ten minutes, and brought in the following verdict :—.l That the child was born alive, but how or in what manner it came by its death they had not sufficient evidence before them to prove."  At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, an Inquest was held before T. STIRLING, Esq. Coroner, at the King's Head, Lower Road, Islington, on the body of a female, name unknown, who was found drowned in the Regent's Canal, and a verdict to that effect was returned. After a conversation respecting the duty of publicans to receive dead bodies into their houses, Mr. SrtnLING, when earnestly requested by the Jury, stated his opinion as follows: " I must state my opinion to he, that a publican can• not be compelled to receive a cm pse of a suicide, a casualty, a murdered person, or way-laid traveller into his house; but if in any quarrel in his house a man is slain, then the publican is required to keep the body for the result of an Inquest; and the same regulttion extends to cases of murder, suicide, or accident occurring in his house; there is no law calling upon a publican to receive the dead, although he is hound by many Statutes to receive, defend, and keep the living, and the Statute (which is the remains of the Norman Law) for regulating the duties of a Coroner, as regards Inquests, expressly says, the body shall, until ewned, be placed in the nearest Church or parish-home, and shall, if that of a murdered person, remain where found until twelve honest men shall decide, with the proper ithin one year and one day, how the deceased came by his death ; and shall be exposed to the view and touch of all persons, particularly any who ate suspected.' And having said this much, I must say that a publican, by refusing to receive the dead body, is liable to lose his license, the whole of his conduct being under the surveillance of the Magistracy, who have power in cases of very gross misconduct to remove the license; and it is a question yet to be decided, whether the act of refusing to receive the dead body would not be defeating the ends of justice, and thereby subject the 'publicans to punishment in many ways." The Jurors expressing themselves satisfied, the Coroner took his leave.