The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-08-03 00:00:00

BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

At the usual f Ttnightly meeting of this Board on
Thursdav, there were present Mr. W. D. Dugilsle (in
the chair) Mews. J. Hayman, J. W. Buckley, t.
Collis, W. Meadit., R. Kerley, T. Crumpler, T.
Abbott, and E. J. Conway (ex-officio).
The minutia having been read and confirmed,
A letter was rtal from the Government Board, con-
firming the pluieut of a salary of MO to Mr. E. S.
Pearce, for his iorvicas during the current year as
cllectir of 'gin rates for the parish of :it. James'e,
such salary then to revert to the amount directed in
the Bard a lettlr of the 23th inst.

_
A letter was also read from a gentleman c ,mplalning
of the neglect of the medical officer in regard to pauper
pati nta In one case, particularly referred to by the
writer, the latter threatened, in the event of a poor
man dying for the want of medical all, to have that
gentleman summoned for manslanghter.
It was agreed that a copy of the letter In question
should be forwarded t ) the medical officer, from whom,
as • matter of c mule, an explanation will be required.

MYSTERIOUS DE tTIT AT THE POLICE-STATION.

telt INQUEST.
The Birough C ironer, (1. B. Aldridge, Esq., and • jury,
of which Mr. J. P. Godwin WU the foreman, held an
inquest on H indey last, at the Town-hall, on view of the
body of John Ward. aged 47, who died at the borough
police-station under circumstances detailed in the follow--
10g evidence:—
if Ata .ry Ward nsid lam the widow of John Ward,
and reside at No. 2, St. 11.chall's.road, B iurnernouth ; the
deceased was, for many years, a traveller for a mineral
water manufacturer, at Bath, until he came to Bourne-
mouth, and since then he has been working for Mr.
Hawkins, in the same businem, blth al • traveller and in
the factory. We hive been married 26 years, and have
two chi Pren ; I last saw him alive last Saturday week, the
17th Inst. at home. We bat had • few words on the
Tuesday previous to that, %hen be struck me, blocke nine
b •th eyes. On the Friday he asked me if it was true that
I wee going to get out a summons against him for the
assault, and he repeated the same question on Situ:thy
morning, to which I gave a reply in the affirmative. He
than said, if I intended to punish him, he must go some-
where else and seek work. He went to the bottom of the
hill before me, as I thought, to see if I intended to carry
oat ray intention, and that was the last time I saw him.
Before that he slept in the house alone, in an adjoining
room, but he was out all day endeavouring to get work.
On Saturday mornine, before he went out, he asked for a
clean shirt and stockings, which I gave him. He was not
a drinking man, and for the last week or two he didn't
partake of more than one meal a day ; he didn't care about
coming home while he was out of work. He never, at
any time, threatened to destroy himself; he was always
rational in his behaviour, there being nothing whatever, in
his demeanour, to indicate lunacy, nor was there ever
anything of the kind in the family.
The Coroner, alluding to the second wile, asked: Is it
• fact that he was keeping a woman (Julia Burnett) in the
some house with you l—Witness : Perhaps that was the
origin of the row between us; he never stepped from
home until she shovel up let-ly—The Coroner: That
woe the reason I—A: Yes —Q Hoer long has he kept
this woman P—A: Several years ; her eldest child is
nearly 10 years of age ; she had four children by him.
She came to our place on Monday, and I had the blows on
this Tueeday.—The Coroce- : What reason did this per-
son assign kr going to your placal—A : She said she
came to see bar children, who were living with me and
my husband. I took to the children when she was sent
to the Lunatic Asylum, where she remained three years,
—Q: Were you in the habit of keeping poison of any
kind in your house I—A : No, air.—Q: Have you always
lived si ith your husband !—A: I was away from him
about ten years in London, owing to his not being able to
get much work—Q; How did you maintain yourself I
A: My two boys helped to support m&—A Juror: How
long has he been in Bournemouth I—About 14 months, out
of which he was only in regular work about six months,
after which he only worked one day • week for Mr.
Hawkins, and an odd day now and then.—Q: Did you
get any support from your husband whilst you ware away
front him ! —A: No, I never asked him for anything.—
The Coroner: Did he take any meals in the house from
the time he struck you until he left P—A: Only once, and
that was on Siturday morning, when he brought in a slice
that left

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or two of bac in: was the morning he Did
you know of any trouble on his mind I—A : Nothing
except want of work, and that troubled him a great deal.
—.Q: Did he seem to be much wrri,d in consequence I
A : o`i yes, sir: ft un morning till night he was In
from plane to place day after as,.
Francis Barber, s coastguardsman in H. M. service, said:
On Friday evening lait about half-past seven. I saw the
deceased partly lying on • low wall in trout of the concrete
house at the Poole bead' he appeared ill. and I spoke to
hint when he said "For God's sake don't touch me; don't
speak to tne ;" I aske I him where he was going to, and he
said be was going t nunentouth. I asked if be lied
been drinking, and he said "No"—or bathing—and he said
" No.' I then asked what was the matter, to which be
said "1 am very ill ; I have baton taken had' don't speak
to me ;don't ask me any question..." I told him he must
move from where he was, or the tide would take him: be
said "L tme remain, don't move ins don't touch me*
Finding he would not let me touch 'him I went to Mr.
Simpson's (in the immediate neighbourhood) for assistance,
and he came down as once. I then went to the coastguard
motion and reported lb. matter to the officer. He came
beck with me and as.dited me in removing him to Mr.
Simpson's house, where we laid hint on a bed on the fiat
In the kitchen. He asked for a drink of water. I went
out on soy duty, and after • short ab-ence I returned to
Mr. Simpson's, where 1 remained with him until niter 11
o'clock at night. He seemed in great agony, and would
not answer any questions. He did not appear to have been
drinking; could not smell anything of the kind: there
was • small pool of what to .ked like water which had
flowed from his mouth: I imagined he had had •
sunstroke; that was the last time I saw him alive.
Pater Pyle, station officer of the ensetimard, at Poole
Harbour, deposed: On Friday seaming the last witness
called upon me, saving there well • Min lying on the
beach either very ill or dying; I went at once and found
the man lying on the wall. I asked hien several questions,
particularly a. to whether he had been drinking, and to
which he replied he bad not, but said be suffered crest
pain across the bowels his name was Ward, that be lodged
at Poole and did odd jobs; he was getting very cold and
asked if I would put him under cover, and after some
difficulty I got him to Mr. Simpson's house, where pan
spirit, and water were administered to hint I sent for •
policeman sod doctor. The doctor arrived about half-past
11. During the time the O1011i•ON•g and myself were way
Mr. Simpson had c %use 1 some warm bottles to be platted
on his stomach, and on my return he said he IVY a little
better; he asked It drinks of cold water and said he had
not been well for weeks. I was told by the servant girl
that whil I was away he vOnalted something like Porter.
Jam .s Moron, or Bede, IL RC S., and ILA C P.,
g Etowah, *aid :—On Friday night I was called to see a
man it the Sandbanks at P. ole Head. I at once went in
a ursine, and saw the deceased lying on a hod on the
kitchen floor at Mr. Simpson's hones' he was then in a
stare of c Allure. I edged if he had been drinking. He
said at first , 'and then that he had had two Warm
of te rter and • pint of beer. Asked him if he had taken
anything else. meaning anything likely to bring on his
He replied in the negative, and than I adminis-
tered some medicine, when be appeared to revive a Little.
I was shown some vomit, which sppeared to be like porter.
As soon as I thought itadvisable to have him removed toPoole
I brought him in the Naive with me to the pollee station.
He gave my evasive inswors, only saying that the pain