VI. THE CORONERS.
In the old Corporation the Mayor was the Coroner ex-officio, taking the responsibilities of the post as part of his ordinary duties, tlie Jurats usually sitting with the Mayor at the inquests; but after the year 1464 there was a change, when the Coronership devolved personally on the Mayor for the time being, and he received fees for his services. The Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 relieved the Mayor of that duty, and required the Town Council to appoint a fit person to be Coroner, who was not an Alderman nor a Councillor of the Borough. The Coroner holds his office during the pleasure of the Council, and vacancies in the office have to be filled within ten days. The fees, according to the Act of 1835, are twenty shillings for every inquest held in the Borough, and for every mile that he has to travel, not exceeding two miles from his usual place of abode, ninepence. Since that time, however, there have been alterations in the scale of fees and expenses. The following Coroners have been appointed for Dover and its Liberties since the passing of the Act of 1835.
1. George William Ledger, the Town Clerk, was appointed Coroner for Dover and its Liberties at the first meeting of the Town Council, ist January, 1836; but, soon after, under the new Commission of the Peace, Mr. Ledger was appointed Clerk of the Peace, and could not retain the office of Coroner.
2. George T. Thompson was appointed Coroner by the Town Council, 1st July, 1836, and, after holding the office twenty-four years, Mr. Thompson was accidentally killed by the bursting of a gun, during Volunteer Artillery practice, at which he was on duty as a lieutenant of the Corps. This was an incident without a parallel. The Coroner and his fellow victim. Sergeant Monger, were lying dead, and there was no one qualified to hold an inquest. An application was made to the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, who is the Chief Coroner of the Realm, to appoint someone to act in the emergency, but he replied that the only authority having power to appoint a Coroner for Dover and its Liberties was the Dover Town Council, and advised that that body should be convened for that purpose as soon as possible.
3. William Henry Payn, who had been a member of the old Common Council, and Mayor under the new Town Council, was chosen Coroner in the room of Lieutenant G. T. Thompson, on the 15th August, i860, six days after the death of the previous Coroner, a lapse of six days having been necessary to give the statutory notice convening the Council. Owing to the urgency of rhe case, the Town Council met at an early hour, and quickly came to a decision, Mr. Payn being elected by fourteen votes, while another candidate, Mr. Thomas Fox, who had been Deputy Coroner, received four votes. Two or three hours later, the same day, Mr. Payn opened the important inquest as to the gun accident, at which, in addition to oidinary evidence, military and scientific testimony was given, which proved that the lamentable loss of two Volunteer officers arose from the long use of a gun of which the metal v;as defective. Mr. W. H. Payn held the office for twenty-two years — a long period, considering that he had been an active member of the Corporation before the Reform Act cf 1835. Mr. Payn resigned his office owing to advancing years in 1882, but he lived until 1887, when he died at the age of 85 years.
4. Sydenham Payn, solicitor, son of the previous Coroner, was unanimously elected to succeed him in the office on the i6th August, 1882. Mr. Sydenham Payn filled the office for a longer time than any previous Coroner, and the kindly consideration shown to all with whom his office brought him into contact won for him the esteem of the inhabitants of Dover.