DEAD OF DESPAIR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2528, 27 August 1902, Page 14

DEAD OF DESPAIR.

A TRAGEDY OF LABOUR

DESPERATION OF AM UNEMPLOYED

WORKER

A dark foil to the* picture of general pro=ptrii.y that is da'ly painted of the conditions of labour m Xew Zealand wa^ provided by some f^cts elicited on Saturday (says the New Zealand Time 1 -) at an inquest held on the body cf one Thomas Daniel, before Mr J. Ashcroft, di-tuct coroner.

Deceased, wlin was a wharf labourer, waj found the previous rronning in the Pirie stitft reser.e, dead, with a revolver gripped in hi« right hand, a bullet wound <in his forehead, and blood upon his face. The body was taken to the moigue by the police, and medical evid&uop adduced at the in Quest showed that evidently he had been dead 24 hours.

Evidence given by relatives of the de ceased showed that he had been very de-spond-ent because of inability to get work, he ha\ing been out of work for some time past He said to his wife on Saturday,

"If I don't get woik to-day you will be a widow to night ' "

The wife of deceased told the jury that on an average her husband'b wages did not amount to 30s per week.

The Coroner expressed surprise that there should be such lack of employment on the wharf as the evidence seemed to establish, for according to statements — evidently inspired — fiat had been printed m the papers it had been made to appear that wharf labour was =oaree. and further statements had been published to the effect that wharf labourers wore earning 15s per day. A juryman, who remarked that he wai an employnr of labour, said that to hie knowledge the. winter had been a very b;id one for labouring men, and there had been a great dfal of povei t y. It w at aLso asserted that wiien there >r<t3 a. cajku^l rush, for a

day or two and labour became scarce- for that short time, an outcry was made about the " scarcity of labour " by those who were temporarily inconvenienced, but concerning the slack days, at the rate of four to one, profound silence was observed. It was suggested that the matter might with advantage be investigated by the press, it being the common rule for 300 or 400 men to be p waiting work on the wharf. Specially active and able-bodied men did exceptionally well at times, but there were many who had a very hard task to find enough ernployjnent to keep body and soul together.

It was elicited im the evidence given by acquaintances of the deceased that Daniel was sober and industrious. He was A 5 years of age He leaves a wife and five cl'ildien, who reside in Lome street.

The jury returned a verdict that deceased committed fuicide whilst in a state of unsound mind.