SUICIDE OF A MINER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 166, 12 July 1912, Page 5

SUICIDE OF A MINER.

. ~.«—.-■ ■ I'THROAT CUT WITH A RAZOR. An inquest was held tlii* morning at the Coroner's Court before Mr T. Gresham and a jury of six, to ascertain the facts connected" with the death of John Hancock. I Sergeant Bowman represented the i police. Dr. A. H. Poller staled he was called i to Mrs Wright's house. New North Road, about. ."i.'lO p.m. yesterday. He found deceased lying on the floor of a bedroom.; There was a wound on his tin oat. and a j razor ins near to the m.in'.s right hand. ; Death had occurred about live hours pre- ( viouslv. Tile man seennd lo have just completed shaving, and that the idea , had just come into bis bead when be I bad done. He had no doubt but that I the wound was self-inflicted. Death, would take place within a minute of the! wound being inflicted. Constable Lcfevre. of Ml. Kcwkill. de-I posed to being called by Dr. Porter. He produced the razor. < m the body was a I wa.lch bearing the mmc of "Jonathan Hancock." Mrs G. Masson. wife of Alexander Masson, de-posed that John Hnncc-k had lodged with them for about nine weeks. An far as -she knew be w.i« a sinulc man. He came to Auckland last January, and had been a miner, he said, at Hnnlly. He told witness be came from Newcastle. England, and his age was about 34. She last saw him alive yesterday, when he went to hi? liedroom to gel. his boxes. He gave up his mom las; ( unlay, and went, to ihe Solvation Home, but came to her hone for meals. The man wit. in very poor circiunstaiKcs. He told her he was going to Wliiingarei, when he came for his box at 11 o'clock. She did not. see him alive alter that. She did not go to his room afterwards, as she.wa-s washing, and thought lie had! -imply gone up and taken his box away. | Her idea was that the man was suffering from severe mental depression. He stated he had a mother at Home, and mentioned her name frequently. He. also mentioned one brother and two rasters. He, seemed as if he could not ask for work. He did not drink, and was a very temperate man. He had money to pay I for his board right up to the day he left, j He said there was plenty of work, but I people -would not give it to him. : Fred Madens staled be boarded at the lrouse of last witness. Deceased was frequently wishing he could get a job. Witness told him where to get work at several places, but he would not go. There was -plenty of work in Auckland. Witness went into the bedroom about a quarter-past .> pjn. yesterday and discovered Hancock's dead body. The jury returned a verdict that death was due to a wound in the throat selfinflicted by the deceased, whilst mentally depressed.