CORONER'S INQUEST.— LAMWNTABLE SUICIDE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 301, 29 October 1864, Page 5

CORONER'S INQUEST.— LAMWNTABLE SUICIDE.

Ax inquest was held yesterday at the Gener J Cameron Hold, tefore T. M. Phi'lson, Ksq., Coroner, 011 the body ol tJiiDiiit:] A\ f akcman, who died from t] 10 r-llects oi poison, at Mr. lord's hoarding-house, on Thurfdnv lust The jury first proceeded to view Die body. ilie corpse presented a sad speclucle, bat was not so severely distorted or discolored as is often tiio case of death irom strychnine. Tlie hands were rigidly clasped, the toes distended, and the stomuch swelled considerably. Ihe discolored parts were nrineipally confined to the eaivj antl tlie lower part of the body. -Mary Ford, being sworn, slated: I am wife of William b ord. IVly hns!)aiid is a lodging-house keeper, residing in Albert-street. 1 knew the deceased. ITo came to my house as a lodger a week last Saturday, which would be the 15th instant. 1 gave him accommodation in an upper room, in which three slept besides himself, whose names are Henry Gillespie, Andrew Lumsden, and George Ford, lii nil adjoining room Mr. furlong and Mr. Kobert slept. The deceased came from oil* ihe 'Sural,' to niv house. He was on board ten days before he lived ashore. The only employment I am aware that he has had since landing in the colony was in selling jewellery on commission lor a fellow-passenger j of his, Mr. Jenkins, who brought the goods out wTtli him. The deceased took his meals in our house regularly three limes u-duy, and his habits were always regular. X never saw him intoxicated. He used to come home rcgulyriv at night, ant! was absent i nly tlie second night- that he landed. Jle toid us afterwards that he had shtpt on hoard, the ' Glendevon.' Ihe deceased took Jiis breakfast as usual yesterday morning, and dined with us. lie made a verv hi arty dinner. He dined upon roast beef, potatoes, und greens. This was at one o'clock p.m. I noticed nothing particular in his manner. Mr. Ford, Mr. furlong, and others diried in company with the dee.iseit. Mr. Jenkins was at our house the night before, but I did not see him. The deceased too nothing but u-yter for his dinner. I fancied befcr

it •dinner tliufc lie f-'eemed a little dull, but nothing u particular was• llu wont out alono ulli'i" )(, (lianor, about; 2 o'tToek. 1 I cannot .say where lio went ,f to. The deceased returned. aTjou? half-piist two, ami :. went straight up stairs. I did not seo him inyfiolf, 15 but my #tep-dau filter, Emily Eord, sa-v Jiiin. I did 11 not know ho »->■» in tliu house until 1 lieurd the e screaming, which hapj>Pf!f;'jl ftbnut five minutes past tlireo. I was then in my own Jtoi-rn'iill, on the a ground floor. "When I heard what nppcnmt to me » to ho tries Of distress proceeding from the upper it room, the sotiiids -lycro "Oh ! Oh !" X immediately d went up stairs, .-iiiti, on criioririif (tecused'H bcd-ioom, l- saw him lying in bed uudres-C(t, auci P'-'T:iMiei y ie clutching, and drawing up his hands and feet in a . s convulsive manner, and at the sanie time littering o erica. Jlc was lying- on liis back and his features (r were blue, t said " Sam, what is the matter," he "i leplied, " I'm poisoned, I'm poisoned,'' rind called for • water. I took up a glass that was standing upon (he ls dressing-table, and run down stairs to get, water. On looking at the tumbler below stairs I noticed some '• s . ariUy substance sticking on tin; sides of the glas.->. 1 k rinw.-d the .glass 0.1 t nnil filled it witli water and >f brought it tip siiiTi. YVbe.n 1..y0l into the bod-room >t the deceased was Mill woi'iiiiK in l o .convulsions. I e asked liiiu to take some water, but ho culd e speak, Jiiul did not drink any of it, as ho was too much agitated. X then called my husband and desired him to run for a lurdieal man. Ho first came 0 up and looked at hint, and then rushed away at once. .Mr. Turbry, who had Won asleep in the room, S \vris ;i)VOkfi, bv lite cries "I t Jdeceased, and came 1 into the room. My iicifrl fa>ur ; .Mr. »S])ittle, also l * came to assist. I in.arJ J'.x'O.'iSod tail on his mother L * saying, "Mother, mother, pray for 7VlOt to ok £ holt! of his hand and he t hen said, " Don't touch Aie, s didn't touch, inc." About twenty-live minutes past 1, three m\' husband returned, bringing with him Dr. - J'hiJson. Mr. Turhvy «n<! jjiVm,']** were in the room at the time. The deceased wis then much wihner s than Jio had been before, and answered sovond qnestions quite rationally. 1 leard him say (hat ho nad ' taken strychnine, mid had obtained it irom Monsieur iVlatrre, Homeopathic 0 bet nisij i n Queen-street. Ho also said lie had told the chemist ' that ho Wanted it to kill vats, and when } asked why lie /lad destroyed. himself, he ' replied "ask Mr. Ford, ho knows," and (m hying f requested to take an ometie said, "I cannot. ' \v hen t asked where tliu boltJo was, he.said hp had thrown it c out of the window. I did not hoar him fcull. anybody t that he into ided to destroy hhnselh I sent U>r an » emetic for h'm to Mr. (Sundry's, hut deceased retused s to swallow it, saving* he could not open his month. I , the euietie attempted to be but very little V Tvns iutininisttrod. I tlu-n ?»»nt for a second but very Iltllo w:.-h 1r»!oti, as the deceased ottered all nuumev of resistance to it. I»y this tifne the fits luul hecome exceedin»ly violent. X never ' saw a p«*vson in /its liefiuv. r l-'lie (Jeceased secnw*;! t*_> l dart about, and uttered weak cries. It. waa difhemt I to kep l»im ir. bed, and it took three to liold l\im. • He died at 20 minute? to J oVVtck. X was pm'ent I at the time. I never beard the deceased mention that he had any strychnine in his possession. I never suspected he intended to commit suicide. He was . sensible up to live minutes of his death. ! Francis Furlonir, deposed : 1 am a stevedore employed by .Unit and Anderson, and reside at Mr. Win. Kord's hoarding in Albert-street, i have , known deceased tor ten or twelve, days, i first inL trodnced him to the house from the ship. Ho slept in the room adjoining me. 1s iw him last before Iris taking the poison at. about 0 o'clock in the morning, but took no particular notice of him. 1 came home from work at that time, and being unwell, went to > bed, r.nd was ;>woke ah. -nt X o'clock by hearing som* one savins: oh ! oh ! oh' proce':tliu£ from deceased's room. I then heard 3lrs. Ford go into room and ask deceased what In: hail been doing. He said he had poisoned himself'. T did not go into the morn my self tin about a quarter past «>. I saw Mrs. Kord by the bedside, and deceased King on his back in bed, apparently in great agony, and frothing at the mouth, t took him by the band and tried to make him spc.'ik, but could only get him to say "mother, mother, pray for me.*' I got no information from him. I thought he was going to die he Core Dr Philsoft came in,, but lie recovered. Dr. I'hilson arrived about half-past Uut s . T hoard the doctor pnt several questions to the deceased. f heard him say that die had taken strychnine, which be • had obtained from "Orhitrrc, and had paid 'is. for a small bottle of the poison. The deceased said that "Mr. I'ord would know why ho had poisoned himself. I (lid not hear him say that he intended to commit suicide. I snv Dr. Philson gi ve the deceased some stuff twice, hut. the deeeased kept his teeth closed, and Ido not think he swallowed much. I did not seehim vomit. He said his name was Sam "Wakeman, aged 17, that his father was alive, and he came from JJiimingham. "\Vhon asked if his mother was alive he burst out, crying. After giving these answers be was seized with another Violent tit. I should have 1 bought he was the last person in Auckland to commit suicide. He was naturally of a merry disposition. I wa< aware that he had some misunderstanding with Mr. Jenkins about the sale of some jewellery. J saw Mr. Jenkins and deceased outside the house on "Wednesday night about 7 o'clock. I heard Mr. Jenkins say something about some iewellery being missing, ami told the deceased that, if tin; things were not iiccounted for satisfactorily he should place the math r in the hands ol the police. Saiah Spittle : 1 am sixteen years of age, and live with my father, who keeps a boarding house, next door to Sir. Kord, Albert, street. 1 heard between •i and -t yesterday atternoon that deceased had taken poison, and that the bottle was supposed to have been thrown out of the window. I made search for the bottle out in the street, and found italmut three yards from the lionsc. under the window. The bottle' preduced is the one I found, and is cracked. Thole was no cork in the bottle, and no label upon it. The bottle was lying on the giounil on our side of the house. I gave the hot tie to .Mrs. J''ord. Hubert Klliot sworn—stated : 1 am a Member of the Hoyal College of Siugeons, Kdinburgh, anil House Surgeon to the Provincial Hospital. 1 have been reque-led to examine a small broken bottle which 1 now hold in my hand, and proved to have been found near the house of .Mr. J'Y.rd. 1 observe a few small crystals coating the sides and t'ni> bottom of the boilie. The crystals are verv minute. Presuming the subject contained is j strychnine, I puiposc to try an e.vperiment ; usual in such eases. The cxpciinicnt. is of a most i delicate nature and may be implicitly relied upon. 1 will endeavour to dissolve a portion of the contents of the tube inaliltle diluted alcohol. (Tim swhstatice was here dissolved as proposed, anil a drop of sulphuric acid added, which beiuj; heated by bicromate of potash, should have changed color rapidly, — purple, violet, red, and alter being lei: for some lime, light brown ; hut the contents of the phial licing too minute, the experiment did not succeed as desired.) The (piuntily in the phial is 100 snudl forme to state that the conientsan; strychnine. The Coroner hern remarked that Mrs ciniitn- is intensely bitter. (The dilution of ir was then tested, anil pronounced to he decidedly hitler by unmv of the jury.) The experiment by biehroiuate'ol' potash has failed. At the reipirst of the jury, J~>r. l-'lliol here proceeded to view the body, lor the purpose of pronouncing the cause of death. Mr. Ford, recalled, swore that the bottle produced was the one she received from .Mary Spittle. 'J heodore Delatrre deposed : I um a homeopathic cheiuist, living in (iucen-street. 1 recollect a young man coming into my shop on Wednesday evening, October I'dtli, at about half-past, seven o'clock. jfe said he wanted two shillings worth of strychnine to kill rats with. 1 gave him about five grains of strychuiiic. I weighed it. in some copper scab's and placed the substance into a bottle simian- to the one produced. I cannot identify the one f see now as tile one J gave to the young man. 11, was dark at the time I sold it, and 1 could not therefore be able to identify the man again, lie appeared to he about 2t) years ol age. 1. corked the tube and doublelabelled it—poison and strychnine. I charged him and he paid me two shillings ior Ihc strvch'nine. 1 will swear there was no more lhan live grains. The purchaser seemed perfect ly calm and collected, I did not. at all suspect that, he intended to destroy himself. '!here was another e C >,tle,nun present. The youn.' man was sober. One lamp was lighted at. the .inu" I was almost, closing for the night. 1 I,now thatsi ryehmnc i,-; a-very powerful poison, but we never! use jt in our country. Ido not tlonk it vvonht be i sat.; to swallow live grains. I liaye ou!v sold strych- ! nine three tunes since J came to Auckland, and I ! have been here two years and three months. •' 1 <io " ot rL '"ien:ber selling any to I Mr. \\ alski. Examination resumed: I gave the strychnine (o the person without: asking his name. 11,/ asked lee the manner of killing rats. lam not in (he habit of selling strychnine to people unless I know tlsein. 1 bought, the strychnine for myself. I will never sell any more strychnine. Ido not think 1 could reco..ir.io the person again, Ido not sci! ai>enie .v.,

book 1 S ° ld n '° Btryclm;ilts Tr '"-hout entering it Jjv u juryman ; 7 was in the shop vesfcenlayai'rernooti, about half-past 2. I will sweaV 1 did not sell 'isin.v poiscm to any per.s.m then. Mr. Mhytt, exiirnindfitrti renimcd: I have examined |.ao hotly. TlVo'.hOdy is iylftg upon the back, resting oil (lie head, vlij'fin' js drawn baeKvfjvvd, unci the trunk curved forward and urifed.'fJwj lower limbs est ended. The luuids wore strongly cierVi'ccV. The lower tew i* partly open, ami is rigid. Sonic froth about the nostrils mid month is observable The pupils are slightly ciilufed, Th« face and neck are very livid, 'ihe abdomen is swcjffi'ti.- There is an uncommon amount ol" rigidity about, tkn body. From external observation of I lie body 1 should girt; it as my opinion tfi«fc tho deceased'died from "the el'.'eets of strychnine. If.lhflki been ignorant of the circumstance and had merely seen (he body accidentally, T shffulct at Once have 'said that, stryclmiiio ivas the cause of death'. Tliere is no olher'poison with tlie same symptoms after deallV ns strychnine. Halt a «i - nin has been known to prove fatal'' Jt would not be sale lo swallow 5 grains. The mental qualifier remain until almost the last with this poison. Ldo not consider it a safe thing tor chemists to sell poisons mdiscrimimiti'lv.' 1 entertain no doubt from 'i he evidence I hH've hoard given, and the state of the body, tiuit '."be lU'ceased died from 11 k- eli'ects ol strychnine.■ 1. do not' consider aposf-ivortem examination nccessa"v. I should.say the phial pt-oib-eed would hold -JO grains, and would' be siitiieicnf to' liiH 10 trieii. It would ino>t certainly hend more tliim C grains. Allred Levi, being oworn, stated : .T am shopman : in the employ of i\lr. .A slier, liiff; I live ul the shop in Mvoril;unl-itieel. I recollect AVediiesdaj', the 20'tli instant. t waft in Mr. J'clattre's shop about- H or half-past. i *>-«• there Mr. Dclivttre and a young man wliose liai'.ii' f did not know. 1 saw Mr. Delattre hand the »>«vu a phial ' similar lo the one now produced, saying' SJ»?r« is another kill'any amount of rats. The bottle tfaj (forked and labelled, and '.viis'appnrently full Of some wliite substance. In answer to a ijinijtton.of mine Mr. Pel at tre said it was strychnine. J {old the young man to lie very careful with it, and Mr. Delattre ?aicl there was enough to poison either a hundred or a thousand people. I cannot say which he said. ] think (fie/mini; man made a remaik that he was plagued w tli nits. 1 believe he left the shop before a Jrivvman :■ T should say the young man was about, twenty. Mr. Levi here was desired fo view the body for the purpose of identification, and uporr liis return said that although Ihe deceased was altered in appearance lie could swear to t ln; body. Mr. Debittre upon his return said he could not recognise (lie body. 3J o denied that he ever said (liorc was enough of i't I'ycSinine to poison a hundred or a thousand persons, ile was now determined not to sell any more poisons to any persons whatever. Win. Ford, sworn, stated : 1 nm A lodging-house keeper, residing in .Albert-street. .Deceased wiis » lodu'er in my jiO'.rje, ar.d had been there nearly :i fortnight. ile had trausaethrns with ft'.Mr- Jenkins, who entrusted deceased with jewclier"' (o di'spose 0f on commission. I purchased several tilings froir> the deceased, amounting in all to about 10s. Od. between seven' ami eight o'clock on Wednesday night Mr. Jenkins caim. fo r'rv house mid complained to me that deceiised had not accounted for certain articles. Whi;e we were conversing decca.vcT "jimo tip «nd called Mr. Jenkins Hside, unci I do not kno'.r vhat happened between them. I saw Mr. Jenkins afterwards on Hie jonne evening, and lie fold me that he Inul requested W'aketnan to call on the following mornim* at ten o'clock, in cruel 4 to settle up his account, a«» there v;:Vs a watch miesing. The appeared perfectly calm. X nfterwnrds spoke to him about the ail'air, and advised to .-.little the matter. (The witness here gave the deceased an exeellon'" character as to his behaviour while staying in his house.) The deceased went out afterwards and returned about hall-past, ten o'clock, and went lo bed. The next morning almut ten o'clock i aeeompan ied deceased to Mr. Jenkins, and persuaded him to acknowledge the fault, which he did, and Mr. Jenkins agreed to give him firne to «e(flo the haktnee of i account. I asked deceased what he h»d done with the niOTRM*. and he replied he did not knovf. "Wakeman nave Mr. Jenkins a sovereign in my presence oil arcount, leaving a balance due by him of ;C5 os. Od. I never heard Mr. Jenkins speak harsh to the deceased. Wm, Jenkins, sworn, stated : T am Ciovorhmciit Interpreter, at present muding 1 in Auckland, but i live in .Nelson. I knew deceased. Jio came out under my charge from JJirminyham. Hi.* father and mother are both living. The deceased was between 1 7 and 18 yearn of ape. 11c had been a clerk in a merchant'* oflice in J>inuinKham. I arrived bv the Surat on the -Ith or sth of October last. My care of him ceased before ho left the vessel, in consequence of the deceased having told me that he hud obtained a situation, and that lie would not require my assistance. 1 have bail dtalings with him since Tuesday last. 1 I'lnpli'Ved liim to arrange an invoice for me, knowing him to be a (lover youth. At his request 1 allowed him to takeout, sonic goods tor sale, principal! v jewellery. lie uastobe p.dd by commission. Oil the following day .1 found that thcic were some articles missing, and I taxed him with being cogni•'.ant to the matU r. This was in the afternoon, at my own lodgings. I had an explanation with him, ami lie failed to clear him:»elfof embezzlement. 1 told him it he would inhani me where the missing things were that I \\*<>uld give him We subsequently eonlessed to having disposed ot one brooch ami several ninall articles, amounting to XT) 18s., and paid me tin account, leaving a debt of £1 18s. The deceased came to me yesterday, about 2 o'clock, and befut; 1 told him 1 bad missed several other articles, ammigst which were three dozen gilt chains, lie appeared perfectly calm, and was quite sober, and buiil iio would make it tip all right with me. 1 knew hi* lathei lor only a few months. Mr. Kord, re-called, said that the deceased only letl some letters at his house, and had no other i lollies except wh it ho w"»re. Tais concluded the evidence. Alter a short consideration the jury retunud he following; veivtii't : —"'lhat the Ucreased poisoned himsell by taking strychnine on ti.e allernoon of Thursday, the 27th instant, and the jury would Maongl) reeonimenil the authorities the necessity of euiurcing m liiis eiJonv the enactment which is in force in Kngland, regulating the sale of poisons, 'ihe jury are a!.-" ofopi.-ion tliat the iriu'isciiminate sale of Mich deadly drugs in the careless maimer that has been displayed nn this ocea?ion should be prevented as soon as possibly can be."