MYSTERIOUS POISONING CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 26, 1 February 1887, Page 2

MYSTERIOUS POISONING CASE.

STRANGE TERMINATION.

Tbo Man Writes Hla Own Death Notice.

Ovu readers will remember that in our impression of the 20th of January thore ap. poared an article headed "A Strange Gircumstanco," in which it wag rfc. latod that tho night porter ufc t no Govornor Browne-Mr Gsorge Dumar had, whilo paseing along Nelsonstreet at 8 o'clock at night, picked up a stranger, whom ho supposed to hays tukenadoso of "Hough on Rats." The man , waa taken to the ihcmist shop of Mr R Hudson, at the corner of Victoria and floboon-streote, whors ho was treated by Mr McKay. Einctics were administered and tho man recovered sufficiently to ba aU lowed to go away. It will also be reinem bored that tho namo of the man wa6 kept a profound secret, and that ovary effort was used by those concornod to bafile both the police authurifcios and the roprosont&Hves of the press. It was profeseod that the man waa an ontiro stranger to the proprietors of tho hotel at which the night porter worked* It ha«, howovcr, einco transpired that such was not the case; that in fact tho man had sold two greyhounds to Mr Dunningham. It was not reaeonable to suppose the reticence of a few men should have the effect of shutting oft' tho enquiries cither of the polico or tho press. Various rumours were in circulation, and at last Mr Superintend' ant Thomson placed tho matter in tho hands of Detoctivo Walker, who, as usual, went quietly to work, and notwithstanding the efforts inado to hush up the matter, ha olicoted the startling fact that The Man had Died and beon buried without any further ado, and apparently without his namo and identity boine disclosed, as his funeral had beon conducted without an undertaker being engaged, and also that no natse plato had been aliixed to tho coffin lid. Further inquiries showed that tha name of tho deceased was Rowland Maurice, and that ho had beon up the Northern Wairoa, but camo to Auckland aa a witness at tho late Criminal sessions, since which time ho had been indulging pretty liberally in drink. It appears that after Maurice left Hudson's shop he was found a second time by Dutnar sitting by a cottage near the Govornor Browno Hotel. Dumar took him to the hou?o of a Mrs Macnamara, a widow, who resides with her children, and had a ticket in tho window offering boarding accommodation. Dumar paid for tho man's lodgings and then left him. Upon culling next, morning ho found Maurice very ill. About 10 o'clock on Thursday morning Dr. Hooper was sent for, and so far as can be ascertained, that was the first medical attention he received subsequent to leaving Mr Hudson's chop. Dr. Hooper wished to remove tho man to

Hospital, but it via? found that he had become too weak to stand the journey. Vomiting and purging had sot in, the pulse had becomo very feeble, and the extremities

were cold. Maurice never rallied, but expired early on Fiiday morning, the 21st instant. Dr. Hooper supplied the

usual certificate of death, stating that the primary causo was English cholera, and secondary, exhaustion. Dr. Hooper stated in his memo, to tho coroner, Dr. Philaon, that in his opinion the symptoms of death

woro not such as warranted the supposition that Maurice had died from a dose of " Rough on Rats," which he

understood, had strychnine as its baee cf preparations. He therefore did not deem an inquest necessary, As Rowland died destitute tho cost of his funeral was defrayed by private subscriptions, and it is slated that this alono was the cause of the

undertaker and name plate being dispensed with.

Ho Writes His Owo Death Notice.

Usually when a man dies his death is notified in tho daily paperß, but referring to tho tilea it will bo noticed that the name of Rouland Maurice does not appear subsequent to tho 21et instant, tho day on which he died, but strango to say the following obituary notice appeared on the 19th instant :— SI A.UUIC<;.-On January 17th, at Auckland, suddenly, liowland. only son of the late Rowland Maurice, Ueq . of GlamorianHouse. Greenwich, Kent, ana nephow ol the Rev. Peter Maurice, U.D., Oxford, and tho Grovo, HighRats, aged 59. This was insorted two days before this Rowland Maurice died, andbeing dated the 17th of Januiry, t is roalltfour days prior to his death. An no erect or suburb was mentioned in the notice, gome trouble was experienced in tracing the fcingular circumstance However, a search at tho office of the Jiogistrar of Deaths disclosed that only one Rowland Maurice had b^on registered, and also that only one person of that namo had been buriod at Waikomiti. Therefore the notice ol tho 17th was a mere blind. Then arose tho question, by whom was the notice inKjitod ? At first it was feared that there had been some foul play, but upon obtaining" tho copy of tho death notice, careful inspection showed that it had been wril'eu by Kowland Maurico himself. Very fortunately there were amongst his effects many copies of letters written by himeelf, which settled the matter bejond a shadow of a doubt. It is evident from this that Maurice contemplated suicide on the 17th met., wrote bis death notice, and forwarded it to tho daily papers, and then delayed carrying it into elfoct till two days later, when he was discovered by Dumar, and by the prompt action of Mr McKay very nearly saved from the consequence? of his action. His Previous Career. As a result of tho exhaustive inquiries made upon the Bubjoct it has tranpired that Maurice is a married man, and has had twelve children. Much information has bean gained by a discovory made by Detective Walker. About 12 o'clock last night he was at the Governor Browne Hotel making inquiries, and as a result of his description, Mr King suddenly remembered that a leather hand-bag had been deposited with him by a similar man to the one described. At first he could not remember where this waa located, but afterwards it was produced from a small closet This proved to,be filled with correspondence, a perusal of which fully reveals the man's previous career. On at ieee of blue paper is recorded the birth of himself, Doc. 17, 1827. Here also is a list of tho names and ages of his twelve children, and to one or two is added tlio dato of their decease. There is also a telegram which gives Maurice* address as No. 55, Groy street, Auckland. Carefully pinned togetherarerolicsof happier days in the shapo of a bundle of love letters signed by tho maiden name of his wife. There uro also several lotters from hi? wife, dated December 7th, 18S2, Tuam etreet, Christchurcb, and acknowledging the-re-ceipt of Post-office orders for muney, and forwarding the love of the little ones to their absent father. There is, howevor, one singular circumstance, the letters are addressed, "My dear husband that was," and in one instance, (IMy dear huaband that might have been." There is also a description of SO acres of land at Asburton, and deeds of lease for a shop and dwelling • house at the corner of Madras and Ghanpol Streets, Chrietchurcb, dated 1578," also lease of dwellinghouse in Caahel - stroet, ChristchurcE. Amongst other buEiuess documents is the record of the salo of the Greyhound to Mr Dunningham, together with their pedigree. Apparently the deceased was a great dog fancier, for his wife's letters contained aa much information about the conlition of his doga as about the children. Ho waa a member of the Papanui Coursing jlub, and there was also a certificate of membership in tho Auckland .Operative Bootinakors' Union, dated Nov. sth 1884, signed "John Knox."

Apparantly Maurico was a great advocate of tho Liberal causa when iti England, tor he haa Humorous letters from noted Liberals thanking him for assisting thorn. Amongst tbtso aro Sir Charles" Bilke, Charles Reed, Talbot, Bainee, Kees, There ia a letter from Mies Mary Ann Butt, forwarding for tho uto of the Club, to which Maurice was secretary, the editions of her Translations from tho Lyric Poets of Germany. Aa Hon. Secretary of the Borough of Hackney Working Men'a Club, in 1875 .Maurice appears to have considerable influence, ds wo liad lottoru forwarding. 10 tickets for a visit to St. Paul's on July 13th, 1574, and aho invitations to many other alliare. Ho waß also a member of the London Patriotic Society, and was affiliated with the Christchurch Working Men'B Club sinco lie had beon in tho Colonies. Thoonly address found amongst hia correspondence is Rowland Maurice, S, Gioster-streer, Hackney Koad. This is attached to a printed circular. Wo clue is therefore obtainable as to whethortha pedigree given in the obituary notice is a true one, but on one of the letters aro written the words " Tho Grove," aa this is in the death notice. Apparently Maurice was a great sympathizer with the Tichborne claimant, as we find amongst his correspondence the following copy of a letter, evidently forwaided to that individual. As it affords an insight into tho mau's character, wo reproduce it :—

"To Sir Roger Doughty Tichborne,— Sir : In common with many having but one opinion on your case—of the conduct of the

judges, Government Council and the bought ond interested witnesses, for which working men havo to pay, for a private causo whose members aro wealthy and influential and all overshadowed by tho bonsficial influonce of Jesuitism that is sapping our , once Protestant country, now tho home of evory Ecoundrol that Germany, Italy and othor countries that were onco undor this influence may choose to pour upon us. But, thank God, we have a ship worth Kenneally, jOnslow, Whalley, and others, to whom all honour is due, and I doubt not thoro nre many such in the land having Vho aamo honesty of hoart, if not talent and courago, to carry out such. I shall vory gladly upon your authority become one (and I hops thero will be many hundreds of tho eamo now that they thought thoy had taken tho lust straw - from you by not allowing you to appeal to tho public) to collect and romit such sums that I shall obtain upon reoeipt of such directions, and I will do my best. Boliovinpr," if tho jury aro true to their oaths, and not influenced by distorted judicial judgment and proasure you must sucseed, with ray beit wishes fur your success,-I nra, sir, yours truly, Jiowland Maurico. To Sir Kogur Doughty Tichborne."

There is not a line amongst tho many letters to show the proront whereabouts of Mrs Maurice, as the last letter from her is about five years old. Doteotivo Wiilkor has considered all the various points of tho caso, and ho loans to tho opinion that Kowland Maurice attomptcd to poison himself in tho earlier part of the night of tho 19th met , and that at a lator stage of the fame ovoning ho again attempted iv similar act. l'robably thu is the true solution of tho case, but through tbo stupid reticonco of those who lirst bocavno acquaiutod with tho circumstances which created a suspicion of poisoning, wo are lott to conjecture as to the actual facts of tho caso. Tho folly of this roticenco must now bo apparent.