The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-15 00:00:00

(From the

Last evening
roner for Westminster
principal inhabitants of the neighbourhood

A seven o'clock, Mr. Higgs, the deputy co-
d a jury, consisting of 24 of the
ssembled in the

board-room of the (
quiry into th(

)ss Hospital, to institute an i
ircumstances attending the death of Samt

Scott, whose daring exploits have, for months past, engrossed
the attention of the inhabitants of this metropolis, and who
lost his life while exhibiting on Monday afternoon in the
presence of thousands.

The jury havin

g proceeded to view the body, which pre-

seated no other -aiipearance of violenc

blue Mark

round his neck, on their return the

adduced

The first witness called was Samuel Rutherford, police-
serjeant 7, F. division. He stated that about half-past two
o'clock he was passing down the Strand, and seeing a large
crowd assembled at Waterloo-bridge, he went there. After
waiting a few minutes, he saw the deceased, Scott, come on
to the bridge, with a rope round his chest like braces. He
stood on the bridge a few moments, and he then ascended a
scaffold, which witness imagined was put there on purpose.
It consisted of two upright poles, and three cross ones over
the second arch of the east side or the bridge, and deceased
then went from one pole to the other, and shook and tried

them.
Coroner

Did you think him sober

Witness—

—I saw nothing that made me think to the con-

Examination continued—He then ascended the left-hand
pole, having the hankerchief I now produce round his head.
He tied the handkerchief to the top of the pole, as he th,iught,
to form a flag. He ascended the cross poles, looked earnestly
at the water, shook his head, and smiled.

Coroner—Had the deceased a ladder
climbing, and apparently with the greatest eas
Examination continued—Deceased tied this rope round one
'of the cross poles, which appeared to be so placed that he
could lodge his feet on one. and his head on the other. He
then took hold of the loop with his right hand and made a
jump from the second pole as if springing into the water.
He then, by the strength of his arm, pulled himself up again ;
then opened the noose in the rope, put his hands across the
top pole, raised himself on a level with the top of the pole
and placed his feet through the noose, and became suspended.
After being so'a minute or two, by dint of great strength he
drew himself up again.

—No, be did it with

Juror—Wasthe-re a simple noose to the rope ?
Witness—The cord was twisted round it to prevent its
slipping, as I suppose, and when I came to undo it, I found
much difficulty.

Examination continued—Deceased put his noose, placing
the knot a little on the right side of his head, and let him-

self down gently by putting his hands up to the rope until
he was suspended by the rope. He appeared to be desirous
of showing the public the symptoms of a man hanging, and
did not lift his hands up, or raise himself, but merely shrug-
ged his shoulders.

- Coroner—l have known a person who so gently hung
himself that those in the next room did not hear him.
Examination continued—After deceased had hung six or
seven minutes somebody said the man had hung himself, and
Inspector Musgrove, of the F. division, insisted on having
the man taken down. The people laughed, and said Scott
was doing it on purpose—they had frequently seen him do it
before. Mr. Musgrove, however, insisted, and several
people went to the spot and he was drawn up. His tongue
was then partially between his teeth, his eyes partly open, and
his face black.

Juror-Could any one see his face whilst he hung
Witness—No, his face was to the water.

'By the Coroner—The rope did not appear to rest upon his
jaw, but completely around his neck. 1 took the rope off by
untwining some of the cord. There were several 'medical
men present, and they tried to bleed him immediately, but
only a few drops of blood came. He was then brought
to this hospital. _

Juror—bid deceased pay the toll of the bridge
Witness—l dont know.

Had he friends with him ?—A man, who I was told was his
brother, who had a box, and was collecting money from the
crowd. The cross poles were twenty feet from the ground.
He did not wear a cravat; his shirt-collar was lying down
on his shirt, as sailors do.
Francis Godfrey, proprietor of the White Lion, 118
Drury-

ine-Ifirst sa-nr.Seott about two mouths ago, and he
then said he wanted to jump from Waterloo-bridge. Three
or four days afterwards he came and asked me if there was
water enough to do it, and whether they (the bridge com-
mittee) would allow him to do it, and pay him for jumping.
1 said I would inquire of the directors, and I went to a gen-
tleman at their office. He said he could not give any per-
mission, as it lay with the committee, who did not meet till
the 16th inst. I then received the following letter from
Scott. .

The letter was here put in, and was as follows :
" London, January 4, 1841 _
.. _. _

" Sir,—l now take the opportunity of writing these few
lines to you, stating that i am willing to come to Waterloo-
bredge, and have a scaffold put up on the bredge, to con-
vince you what i can Go through with, i ar ready at your
command at any time to go through any performinse in the
water, and so i will please anybody that Conies to see me.
Sir, if you want me at any time i am at your command.—
Sir, i remain yours, S. Scorr.
" Sir please to write to Mr. Scott at Mr. Sparks, Bank-
side, near the Iron Bridge, Rose and Bell. Sir please to write
soon, if it won't do i will go to blackwater."

Examination continued—l went after the receipt of this
letter to an officer of the Bridge Comp4ny, and he said it
might be dangerous, and he would give no permission. I
told Scott, who said " I have a scaffold ; erect it ;" and I
did. He had had money made him a present by the South-
wark-bridge Company, and thought it likely the Waterloo-
bridge people would do the same. I saw him again bn Mon-
day, the scaffold having been erected. We were never inter-
fered with in taking the scaffold on to the bridge. 1 paid
threepence for the truck to carry it in. The deceased put
his things on in my house. He was very powerful, about 5
feet 7 inches high, and 27 years of age. When he was de-

stroying a pair of trousers by slashing them with a penknife,
he said he did it to convince the people he wore neither quick-
silver nor India rubber. At the time I remarked that I
should like them for the British Museum.

By the Jury.—He had taken two half hitches, which had
pressed the knot round his neck. If he had only taken one,
as he intended, this would never have been. He intended to
have made a bowline knot, which would have kept the noose
open. I never made a wager with any one that he would
hang himself in time. He was perfectly sober when he came
to my house, and all he had to drink was the third of a guar-
tern of gin and some cold water.

Examination continued.—When the police said he was
dead 1 ran to different chemists, but found many on the

By- the Jury.—l repeat it, to the best of my belief, that if
he had made the knot as he intended he never would have
died. Mr. Kethan is the gentleman I saw at the Bridge
Company's office, who gave me permission. I wanted Scott
not_to suspend himself, but he would have his own way.

Henry Hancock, surgeon, sworn, said, a quarter before
three o'clock yesterday a gentleman came into the .hospital
and said a man had just hung himself at Waterloo-bridge.
I requested a surgeon to go and see what was the matter.
Deceased was brought in at three o'clock quite dead.
Dr. Goulding.—Mr. Shand, my colleague, and Dr.
Choune, examined him, and we did everything we could. I
opened his juguler vein • stimulating embrocations were ap-
plied to different parts Of his body, he was placed in a warm
bath, and we electrified him ; in fact, everything was done,
our efforts being kept up for an hour and a half. The arte-
ries were opened, and he lost. half a pint of Mood. There
were the marks of two ropes round his neck. I 'have no
doubt his death was caused by suffocation. We inflated the
lungs with air. .

This was the whole of the evidence offered.
Mr. Powell, holding the situation of surveyor to the Wa-
terloo-bridge Company, said, " I am the man whom the
witness Godfrey alludes to. The jury must see that the
bridge committee were in, no way to blame. Indeed it would
be found that, by Godfrey's eYidence, they were quite excul-
pated." He (Mr. Powell) had persuaded Godfrey not to
undertake any such thing. No officer, director, or proprie-
tor, ever did or ever would have suffered such a thing to take
place ; and his object was to disabuse the public mind of the
idea that the bridge officers had in any way sanctioned such
a thing. Mr. Powell came on Monday and found the
scaffold up, and a large concourse of persons. He would
have had the scaffold then removed, but he was dissuaded by
a gentleman, who said there would be a disturbance if it were
interfered with, and that this man had done it often enough,
and would not hurt himself.

A Juror said it was strange nobody interfered with the
scaffold. How did it get through the toll-gate on to the
bridge ?

M. Powell said a toll-collector told him that a lame man
had informed him that leave had been given by the directors.
A Juror said it was a very lax way of doing business.
Anybody by saying what was not true might take anything
on the bridge• Some of the parties connected with the
bridge must have seen the scaffold.

Tiw Coroner said he should have thought some hundreds
might have seen it, especially as it was there all day on
Sunday. _ •

Mr. Powell repeated that the bridge committee had never
authorised such proceedings. They knew nothing of this in-
dividual. He (the man) had exhibited at a hundred places,
and constantly in London within the last six weeks. He
might have lost his life at one place as well as at another ; but
still he had no authority to perform there.
The jury, after a short discussion, retired to consider their
verdict ; and, after an absence of a quarter of an hour, re-
turned, and said their verdict was " Accidental Death."
A Juror.—lt was by show of hands. Is that legal?
Coroner.-0, yes. Twelve would be sufficient.

Another JurOrl—Four of us were not opposed to that ver-
dict; but we were inclined to pass a strong censure, accom-
panying that verdict.