Dreadful And Extraordinar...
The Times, 1824-09-01T00:00:00

On ASonday evening, a respectable jury was empanelled at the house of hlr. Bell, the Globe, Great John-street, Pancras, before T}Ios. STIRIT,! NG, E'q., coroner,to inquire into the leath of Richard Edwards, Esq., one of the principal clerks of the Navy Pay-office, who oni Sunday last terminated his existence by suicide. Several of the principals of the department to which the deceased belonged v-ere in attendance, and in the jury-room a rnumber of gentlemen of the first respectability, attractedl by the extraordinary mnystery at. tending the circumstances whicil cattsed the deceased gentleman to commit the dreadful act. IMr. Edwards, the father of the deceased, was first examined, and stated, that his son was agedl about 33, was- uumarried, and hdtl no family, anrd resided with hira and his sisters, in London-street; he held a psincipal situation in the Navy Pay-office. and was at all times most particularly attentive to busizess. Of late his manners liadutindergone a very considerable tnd visible change, his mind ap- p earig to be in a state of irritation continually, whichl was far from his former general habits. The family did not pay any particular at- tention to this chanee in his manners, imagiiing it to proceed from some ofrence he might have received out of doors. He himself mna(le no observation on the subject, and seemed not anixious or desiross of causinsg inquiries to be made. He, althougih labour- ing under this kind of irritation. still kept his regular habits, and returned early each evening of the last fortnighit. On Saturday lait he came home as usual. and retired early to bed; he had on that day been to Wircolwich and Depttord to pay the men, which was part of his business. ie mnade no complaint on that eveniig, neither did he at breakfast on the following morning (Sunday). Flis manner tihen seeme(d to be very m'sch ruffe(- nevertheless, lie ate heartily. 'rhere was also a s-iarked alteration in his coutnten- ance. After sitting a short time in the breakfiast parlour, he went up stairs to his bedroom, as was his general ha4it, and about one o'clock the family were alarmed on hearing a loud discharge of fire-arms in his room * the report was so loud, that it attracted great attention in the streets aroutnd. The witness rushed up stairs. followed by two female servants, and on opening the chain- ber-loor they were horror-strurk at beholding the young gentleman stretched out, weltering in his blood. I llere the utterance of the I witness was rendered inarticulate by excessive grief and emnotion.4 Mr. Edwards on recovering a little. proceeded to state, that he raised his son in his arms. and the servants ran for surgeons; buit en the arrival of Mr. Eyre, sureon, tif L ndon.street, the se. ceased breathed his last ; he hiad rhot hiimaself througit the temople with his fowlinig-piece, which lay at his left side. Hre hail that morning evidently contemplated the rash act, and prepared fbr its i final acconmplishment. a% the fowling-psiece had been in a case in picces, and he niust have put it together, he la(d loaded it with twno o nunce buillets, both of which had passed through his hcad, and lodged in the ceiling. [Thiey were produced, anl bent, from coming in tontact with somne hard substance, probably the frontal bonie of thc head.1 cA ourv tan here asked the witness. whether lie could assign any cause for the commisRiont of the act, bevond the appearances which he had stated-NMr. tldwards declaredt he really could not. The very desnondi:tg state in whichi lie was might have brought on tem- porary ideliriunn. The Juror spologizeld br asking if any eigazementofatender kind might have preyed on Itis mind ?-Mr. Edwards said, utot to his knowledge. Juror.-lile was punctuail and attentive to the duties of his ino- portant office, and was regularly in the habit of returning home after business, you say ?-Mr. Edwards. Alwavs, and his onl associates were amonig his own family, relations, and friends, witi whomn he, in turn, spent theeveningin their own houses and doaiestic circles. Hi-s habits were remairkably regula,r. Several of the Jurors here expressed their regret that a man of suich a happy disposition and regular ternperament, should have given wav to any tiespondency, which mutst have been causetd by constitutional wiakness. Mr. Edwards also stated, his son niever complained of the cduties of his situation. The two Servants were irn attendiance, btit as thev coulih only speak confirmatory of the first evidence, they were not examined. ir. Eyre, surgeon. of Londonnstrcet, ttated, he was called in about half-past one o'clock on Stintlay to atten(l the deceased, who was lying in his hed-room iiisensible. lie was informed the deceased had shot himself, on examining his head, lie foutid two holes or perforations over the let' ear, evidently gun-shoot wounds; and on the opposite direction, on thc right sidc of tite head, there was a large wound, tismotigh which the bullets had forced a passage, and had carriedl part of the brain, skuhll &c. into the ceiling of the room, where they lodged* the bullets, in tncir paassage, had coursed throtgh thc brain, and shattered the principal vessels. He died in- stansly on lis arrival, a mninute or two r.fter he hadi committed the act; no humnan aid couldt save him. IMr. Eyre was of opinioi,, that the deceased, having lo2ded the fowling-piece, had placed the stock on the ground, and brought the muzzle or mouth on a line, placed his head ovcr it. a short di3tance from the mouth, and then with the ramrod, whicis was in his right hand, he forced down the trigger, and the gunof course went fil. rhe mnoutu of the gun must have been some distance from his head, as the bullets had forced two difierent passages through one side of his head. Several gentlemen from the Navy Pay-office here were readhy to prove that the deceased's accounts were perfectly in order, and the business and money transactions that passed through his hands were not in the most remote manner disarranged, and could not be more highly sa.isfactory, norefiect more credit 'upot himself. They hiad also observed a very great change in his mtanners, for which they could nOt account. The COROS(ER said, it was indeed a lamentable case, but it was evident that the unforttnate gentleman hadi, somehow or other, from what cause nobodyknew, become desponding; auid that, it wvould al- ways be foun.l, was the attendant, or preceded sudden temporary de- rangement, or siicis paroxysm of insanity, that no human foresight could guard against. Every circumstance touching his business or habits of life had been satisfactorily stated, and there was, in his opinion, but one conclusion for the jury to come to-namely, tempo. rary derangement. The Jury having viewed the body, which lay in the bedroom of Mr. Edwards's-house, and whicl presented no external marks of the violence of hi,, death, with the exception of the two wounds, from each of which a s;rcam of blood issued, on their return, gave this verdict-` We find that Richard Edwards, E'sq., destroved himself while labouring under tomporary mental derangemenr." It is remarkcable, that within a circumference of 200 vards, within the last 12 nionths, five persons have committed suicide_-two by shooting, another by hanging, and two by cutting their throats. DREADFUL, AND BXTR.40RDINAR Y SUICIDE.