The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-05-29 00:00:00

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THE SUICIDE ON THE GREAT WESTERN

RAILWAY AT H AGLEY.

Mr. R. Docker held an inquest at the Swan Inn
Blakedown, on Saturday last, on the body of a man,
supposed to be Walter John Withy. a printer, of
Bath, who was killed on the Great W estern Rail-
way on Thursd.,y evening. There was no one !
present to identify the body, and Police-con, table
Smith said he could not learn that deceaset had
any friends in the neighbourhood. From an address
found on deceased he went to a house in Curzon
Street, Birmingham, and the description of the
deceased corresponded with that of a man who had
, lodged.„there.
William Tolley, Leominster, engine-driver, said
he drove the 6.30. passenger train from Stourbridge
on Thursday evening. Between Hagley and Stour-
bridge he saw the deeeaed on the line on which the
train was running Witness opened his whistle,
and deceased got out of the four-foot, and he
walked along. When the train was close to him
deceased stopped, turned round, and looked at
witness. He was about 10 yards from him at the
moment, and deceased immediately threw himself
across the rails it, front of the engine. The train
passed over him. He stopped his train as soon as
he could, but by the guard's orders he took the
train on to Churchill, and came back to the spot On
a light engine. They found the body where they
had run over it. The body was completely cut in
two, and was otherwise mutilated.
Mr. John Spefforth, surgeon, Kidderminster,
spoke to the injuries, and said death would be
instantaneous.
Police-con-table Smith said he received the body
into his custody on Thursday evening In the
pockets were three or four studs, a lend pencil, a
broken tube, and a small piece or paper, on which
was written "W. J. Withy, No. 7, back of 27,
Curzon Street, Birmingham." He had enquired
at that address, and found a man named Withy
lodged there up to the 9th of April. He was a
printer by trade, and about twenty-five years of
ace. The person who kept the house said Withy
w,s a native of Beth, and that his parents resided
there, but he did not lino w the address. Withy
came to Birmingham about Christmas, and had
partial employotent th re. Afterwards he went to
Stone, in Staffordshire, in search of work. Smith
said L-Avis, the keeper of the house in Curzon
Street, described Withy as a respectable man, but
he owed some money for his lodging when he lefr,
and en his writing to press him for payment, Withy
replied on May sth, asking that the matter might
stand over till after Whitluntide. when he would
Ipay the amount. That was the last he heard of
him.
Lewis identified the handwriting in deceased's

- pocket as Withy, s.
The Coroner said he supposed they might take it
the deceased was Witity, though it was not proved.
The question for the jury was as to the cause of
death, and of this there could be no doubt. Th,?re
wss no evidence to show the deceased's state of
mind when he acted es had been stated, and
though there wen some who held that a man
never destroyed himself in a sound state ot mind,
the law did not say so.
The jury found that the deceased de4roye:l him •
self by throwing himself in front of a train, and
that there was no evidence to show the conditi3u of
his mind at the time.

THE IMPENDING STRIKE IN THE MAI

TRADE.

There was a meeting of chainmakets at the
Four Ways, Cradley Heath, on Monday, held for
the purpose of deciding what steps should be taken
concerning the proposed general strike. Mr.
Breakw ell presided, and he called upon ate men to
restrict production as far as they could in order
that in times of good trade they might be better
able to secure fair wages. S. long as they sent
into the warehouses more chain than was
required for immediate use there would be a ten-
dency towarls the reduction of wages.
Mr. Noah Forrest, representative of the opera-
tive section of the chain trade, urged the men to
us:. every endeavour to aboli-h the jealousies which
existed in some eases, and to act unanimously, so
that they might have better chance of suZ..ck.ss.
lie was not favourable to strikes, but he believed
where it was necessary or desirable that a section of
the men should strike, those at work should
support them. In the present instance, however
they had no funds, and a general strike was un-
avoidable, because they must prevent wages goiog
down to a starvation point, as would be the case
unles4 they took some action.
It was then unanimonsly resolved that the
strike should be entered upon on
.Saturday, June
oth, the postponeinent bei,g considered desirable
in order that operatives having iron out from
rs i
may be enabled n the meantime to make
mitaisntteo
chain
and return it.
is
Strikes io the chain trade have not hitherto been
infrequent, but it probable that the operatives
never before entered upon a struggle under less
cheerful circumstances than at present exist. The
strike will include. all outworkers, of horn there
are about 2,000 in the Cradley district. For some
time the trade has been in such a deplorable con-
dition that several hundreds of the operatives have
had nothing to do. The work which the others
have had has been sp short and, they say, so un.! e-
munerative, that it has prevented the establishment,
of a fund to enable the operatives who are out of
employment to subsist. The result of this is par-
ticularly sad, many families being in such a state of
poverty as to be unable to obtain food. This is set
forth as one of the reasons why the strike will be
general, it being considered as well that the whole
of the men skould be out until trade improves and
wages go up. Some time ago the 4s. list was con-
ceded to the men, anti was worked upon for a time
sbumt:eitseicstsioatiids.
Nrveedrueewtiootil.ksingrgadat aually took place, until
rite considerably
t,elow that list. So the men urge that the advance
they demanded a short time since would really only
have made up the scale of pay to the rate which
had been formerly conceded, and that is what they
require.