The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-28 00:00:00

SUICIDE OF MAJOR WARBU.RTON, bringing anyevidence they thought proper to prove
the state of his mind.
Sir H. Thompson (the foreman) saki he thought
the deed was lone in a fit of temporary insanity.
Lady Bateman, who was in the house, could prove
if necessary taat the deceased had been very low
spiritel when suffering from the pain in the head.
The Rev. Mr. Warburton stated, in reply to Mr.
Delves, a juryman, that he was certain the deceased
had not the pistol in his hand when he went to the
closet just before the firing.
Both Sir H. Thompson and Mr. Ada,re, j urymen,
spoke to conversations with the deceased, in which
ho mentioned happy circumstances, and seemed
very pleased with his position in life.
Susan Harris, the housemaid, stated that she saw
the pistol in a leathern cafe on the marble stand by
the side of the bed at half-past Bon Thursday night.
Several jurymen exprasled their concurrence in
the foreman's opinion), and a 'verdict was returned
that the deceased destroyed himself in a fit of tem-
porary insanity,

THE INQUEST.
On Friday morning last Major Warburton, M. P. ,
for Harwich, committed suicide while labouring
under a fit of temporary insanity, at his residence ,
at Henly, in the vicinity of Tunbridge-wells, under
the circumstances related below, as given in evidence
on the coroner's inquisition, which was opened on
the following day to investigate the melancholy
event, before Mr. F. H. Gell and a jury composed
mostly of the neighbouring gentry, of which the
Rev. Sir H. Thompson was foreman. The deceased
gentleman was a younger brother of the ill-fated
Eliot Warburton, known to fame as the author of
" The Crescent and the Cross," who perished a few
years ago on the loss of the Amazon steam-ship.
He was educated at the Royal Military College,
Woolwich, and served in the Royal Artillery from
June, 1833, until N0v.,1854, when he retired as a
major on full pay. He was 41 years of age, and in
1853 married theHon.Elieabeth Augusta, daughter
of the first Lord Bateman.
The jury were sworn at the Abergavenny Arms,
in the neighbouring village of Frant, and then pro-
ceeded to view the body at the residence of the de-
ceased gentleman. He was lying on the floor of his
dressing-room in his shirt and dressing-gown with
a pistol resting on his left arm, just as he had fallen
by his own hand. One barrel appeared to have been
discharged, and one if not two balls had gone
through his head, penetrating the skull and shat-
tering the face, and then, after grazing the ceiling
of the apartment, passing through the window.
The Rev. T. A. Warburton was called. He said
—I am incumbent of Miley, near OxFord. The de-
ceased was my brother, a retired major of artillery.
I was on a visit to him at Henly. I should think
his age was about 39 or 40. At dinner on the day
preceding his death he appeared in good health and
spirits. The evening passed as usual. We left the
drawing-room about a quarter to 1, and I went with
deceased to his dressing-room. Mrs. Warbuton bad
previously left the drawing-room. We talked a
few minutes in his dressing room and then he said
he was not well. He want to the closet and I bade
him "good night" and went to bed. About 3in
the morning Mrs. Warburton came into my bed-
room and said that having missed my brother, the
deceased, she went to his dressing-room and found
him lying on the floor on his face with the candle
in his hand. She did not say whether it was alight
or not. She added that he had not been to bed.
She said she could not lift him. I immediately
jumped up and went into his dressing-room, where
I found him in the position described by his lady.
I lifted him up and he immediately began to vomit,
which he continued doing copiously for some time.
We got him to sit down in a chair, and I began to
chafe his hands and legs, which were very cold. He
opened his eyes, but did not speak for some time.
We asked him what was the matter, but he made
no reply. I think for about half an hour Mrs.
Warburton and I were engaged chafing his limbs,
and at intervals he vomited a little more. When I
saw that the vomiting did not relieve him I became
much alarmed. He began to make inarticulate
sounds. I then wrote and despatched by one of
the men servants a letter to Mr. Turner, surgeon,
of Tunbridge-wells, requesting his immediate at-
tendance. He came without delay. I went on
chafing my brother's body, and after that he vomited
a little once or twice. He then began to speak arti-
culately, but sillily. About 5 o'clock Mrs. War-
burton and I raised him up. He staggered, but
we managed to get him into bed. We then sat by
the fire for about half-an-hour, waiting for Mr.
Turner. About half-past she came and examined
the deceased. Ho did not think well of him. The
' deceased went to sleep, and when he awoke Mr.
Turner gave him some medicine, and afterwards, on
leaving, that gentleman left a second paper of me-
dicine, which we were to give him in a certain time
—three or four hours, I think. I lay down. Mr.
Turner told us we were to watch my brother, as he
was not exactly satisfied as to his state. We
had been talking the evening before of going
to London by the 8.30 train next morning.
While I was dressing in the morning I heard
nothingof his getting up, but about half-past 8
Iheard
him go to his dressing-room, and on
going there I found him walking about in an uncer-
tain, hurried, unsteady sort of way. I said, " I
think we will not think of going to London until a
later train." He replied in a strange sort of way,
" Well, I think I will not go, for I am rather
knocked up ;" 'end then he said, "I must go to
the closet." He staggered towards it. I should
not have left him but for his going there. When I
saw his hand on the door I turned to go to my
bed-room for a moment, which is a short distance
off, and I had hardly got in there before I heard
the report of a pistol. I sprang down stairs and
brunt open the door of the study, which was just
at the end of the passage, and only latched, then
the door of the closet, which was next to it, and
then his dressing-reorn door. I suppose it took me
about 5 or 6 seconds to do all that. When I
reached his dressing-room I found him a 3 you have
seen him. He was lying on his back, and a quan-
tity of blood was on th:floor, near his head, from
which it was flowing. His right hand was across
hie breast, and the left hand was extended by the
side of the body. The pistol wa-s lying on his left
arm. He was pathway dead. The deceased had
been subject to bilious attacks of a violent charac
ter. On those occasions he was not deprived of
speech. He had never shown any tendency to
lunacy. Fat the last two years he had been sub-
ject to a violent pain in the head, at intervals of
about five months, when he was low-spirited. 1
have seen him sit for hours when under the in-
fluence of that pain with his head on his hands and
indisposed to speak. He once went to Mr. Beau-
mont, an eminent surgeon in London, who gave
him an emetic for bile. Three nights ago, I should
mention, he had a violent attack of vomiting.
During the Thursday evening I had seen no symp-
toms of what was coming on, and he showed no
symptoms of wandering. From 3 until the Cute
of his death I did not think he knew what he was
doing. He had never fallen down in a bilious
attack before. Once, when under such an attack,
he complained of great pain. His eyes
looked odd. I thought at first it was apoplexy.
I think this attack was precisely like what he
had had before. He appeared in good spirits
up to the time he went to bed. He had not
taken anything uncommon, nor an unusual quantity
of wine. When he spoke of g)ing by a later train
he talked in a mechanical sort of way. He had lately
kept the pistol by the side of the bed. He had net
the pistol in his hand when he went to the cleset.
The reason he kept the pistol by the side of the 132c1
was that in ,the former occupant's time the hours
was broken into. It was a double-barrelled pistol.
I found a bullet on the floor. I thought both
barrels were discharged at the same time. There
were two bullet holes in the window glass, so I
cannot account for the bullet on the floor.

Sir Henry Thompson (the foreman)—You are
not aware of any subject pressing on his mind ?
Witness—Our conversation the night before was
on his happy position in this world, the great bless-
ings he had, and his domestic happiness. I know
that his circumstances were extremely comfortable,
and that he was pleased with his short Parlia-
mentary career. He had a desire to get into Par-
liament unfeVered as to party, and oa a request
from the electors he put up for Harwich, mid was
returned as an independent member by a large
majority.
Mr. Richard Turner, surgeon, of Tunbridge-
wells, deposed—ln the early part of the year the
deceased came to me respecting an attack of neural-
ala over the eye. He told me be had suffered from
indigestion and consequent vomiting. About five
o'clock on the morning of Friday last his servant
called me up. I reached the house of the deceased
between 5 and 6, and found him in bed asleep. His
brother told me he had been breathine, rather
heavily, but at that time it was not so. I leaned
over him to observe his breathing, and observing
his eyes move I asked him wkat was the matter
with him. He replied in a muttering way, "I am
tired." I asked him if he had not ben sick. He
said, "No, but sickish." He then seemed disposed
to go to sleep, but I purposely roused him in order
to speak to him. I examined his tongue and his
eyes, but saw nothing remarkable about eithi r. His
pulse was quiet and feeble. I then mixed a powder
and he took it and drank a little water after it. fle
remarked, "I must go to London to-day," to
which I objected. Ho said it was the stomach, and
he should soon bo right again. As his stomach was
empty, and he continued drowsy, 'thought it must
be somethiu g more than a mere stomachical derange-
ment. I therefore suggested that he should be
watched. I then returned home and about 9 o'clock
I received anther message to attend immediately.
I was at the house very shortly afterw In* and I
found the deceased as you hwe just seen him. I
noticed that a bullet had passed through the mouth
end left the head at the upper part, renetratire.,
the brain and skull completely, and shlttenng the
bones of the face. I cannot Fay from the wound
that there was more than one bullet. What th ) de-
ceased had brought up appeared to be an undigested
meal. His dinner on tue previous evening was, I
am told, of a simple character. I imagine that he
was not in a sound state of mind when he did the
deed, and that physical disease occasioned that
state. From the way he spoke to me I think he
was not in his right mind. When he earn() to me
he showed a nervous anxiety about his bilious at-
tack.

The Coroner said there seemed to be an end of
the case under the circumstances, and if the jury
were satisfied that the unfortunate gentleman shot
himself when he was insane they would say
sO, but
if they had any doubt, it, was only fair anclright
thaf the relatives should have au opportunity of