UPPER MOUTERE.

Colonist, Issue 795, 9 June 1865, Page 2

UPPER MOUTERE.

Suicide at Upper Motjtere.— The sudden death of James Jobs, settler at the Upper Moutere, by the shot of a pistol, was not, as was at first reported, accidental, but appears to have been caused by his own hand. Mr. Connell, the coroner, and a jury, of whom Mr. Charles Ttelling was foreman, held an inquest on the body on Wednesday, May 10. From the evidence adduced it appeared that deceased had been seen on the evening of his death in his usual temper, which was a cheerful one. He was found dead next day by Ernst Sigglekow and 0. H. Bensemann. Mrs. Borck, who lived at a short distance from the house of deceased, deponed that on Sunday night he had called at her house, leaving his own door°open, and talked with her a little while. He afterwards returned, and closed his door ; but witness saw no light in his house that night. But about a quarter of an hour after he had left, witness, while still outside, looked and saw no light, but heard a sound like a thump come from the house, not very loud, but sufficient to attract her attention. There was light ; enough to enable witness to see that the door was closed, Frederick Augustas Lairing, surgeon, de«

poned to finding bullet under the scalp, the skull at the spot being fractured. The bullet must hare entered by the month; the teeth were all perfect. Judging from the point in the head whence the bullet was extracted, Dr. Laking was of opinion that deceased was sitting down, and the weapon wm fired from his right hand. One chamber of the revolver had been recently fired; none of the others was loaded. The pistol must have been fired with deceased's mouth open, and the muzzle of the weapon either in or very close to the mouth. Witness did not see any powder marks, or scorching on the face, and he did not think the pistol could have been fired by accident. There was a splash of blood on the table, which might have, in the opinion of witness, been spurted instantaneously from the mouth and nostrils of deceased, while he was in the act of falling. The jury, after a brief deliberation after hearing the evidence, returned a verdict offelo de se.