Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1875-06-12 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

DETERMINED SUICIDE AT STOCKTON.  On Tuesday, a middle-aged man, supposed to be an escaped lunatic), committed suicide in the Tees at Stockton. The deceased was t don to the Pollee Station on Monday evening by three men, who found him wandering about, and on being questioned, he said that his name was William Harrison Gamble, aged 40 years. He was subsequently taken to the Workhouses preparatory to a medical examination, and remained there in safe custody till a quarter past seven o'clock last night, when he escaped from the house, and ran direct to the river Tees, into which he plunged near the Stockton Rail Mill wharf, and was not seen again.—The body has been recovered.  An inquest was h,ild at Stockton Workhouse on Wednesday, before Mr John Settle, coroner. The following evidence was adduced :—P. C. Seaife deposed that deceased was a stranger to the town, and he first saw bin on Monday evening, at five minutes to ten o'c:ock, near the Police Station door, in Church-row. He did not notice him particularly then, as be asked for Superintendent Booth, and witness took him into the office to the Superintendent. He was complacent and quiet at the time, and he afterwards saw him in conversation with the Superintendent in the station. Deceased made no complaint to witness, nor did he know he had any to make. Mr Booth afterwards requested witness to get a ticket for the Workhouse, and take deceased there, said he did so, bringing him to the union, and he was there admitted. On the way to the Police Station deceased turned round and said " Good night, mother," thrice, "I'm going with this gentleman." He did this a second, and went back for several yards. Witness followed him, and brought him forward, when he told him that his mother was dead, and it was her spirit that was following him. Witness did not think he was under the influence of drink. He thought the mind of deceased was deranged, and that he was under the influence of some particular mania. Deceased also said that he had been a hal lad, and given much to drinking fur the last few months, end that he would go home again, which he understood was somewhere in the south of England.  George Hopper, master of the Workhouse, stated that he saw deceased shortly after his admission to the union, on Monday uight last. His attention was called to him by the porter, when he found him in bed. Witness asked the reason he had come there, and he replied that a policeman brought him. He further inquired what was the matter with him, to which deceased said, " 06, nothing ; but they will keep following me about," and on a-king who followed him, deceased said, " My mother's spirit." He told witness his name was Henry Gamble, but he gave several different names, but always, as far as he knew, gave the surname of Gamble. Witress asked where he came from, and he said Ashgreen, and witness said near Aldershot, bat he said "No ; Ashgreeu in Kent." The next time witness saw him was the following morning, when he took the Medi. cal Officer to see him, in consequence of something that came to his knowledge. They saw him in the bathroom, where he was going to take a bath. He was perfectly obedient, but rambled very much in his talk. He gave orders to the porter to pay special attention to deceased, and if there was any fear of him doing any harm to any one, or likely to run away, he was to be handcuffed until witness's return, as be was about to go away with a lunatic. A juryman, named George Peacock, who had frqquently interposed, here said he was tired of it, and that the Coroner was taking the evidence, and appeared to be judge of the whole thing. He had asked a question, but the Coroner overruled it.—ln the course of some most unplonsant conversation that transpired, the Coroner requested the juryman to refrain from such language, to which Peacock said, "If you are the Coroner, you are not everybody, and that the ease was for the jury to decide." The matter, he said, would not end there, as the Coroner was having all the case to himself.—The Coroner here took the n imes of the jurymen again, with a view to Peacock's committal for contempt, but there being only twelve present, he ordered the officer in charge of the inquest not to discharge the jury until he ordered him. This only brought a further interposition from Peacock, to which Mr Settle stated that he had never been subject to such treatment from a juryman during the whole 35 years he had been cmuner. Peacock farther said that he was to go on. He had valuable business to do, and did not wish to to there four or five hours iu that way; or he would walk out and leave them. After some little furher parley, Peacock was prevailed upon by his brother jurymen to be silent, and the inquest proceeded. Police-constable Scaife was then recalled, to answer the juryman Peacock's question, which was whether deceased was insane at the time of bringing him to the union.—The Coroner, however, again ruled that the witness was not a competent kulge of insanity, and the question could not be asked of the officer.  Mr A. E. H. Trotter deposed that he was the medical officer to the Union, and with the master a w deceased when he was about to take a bath. From his talk he appeared to be•delirious, and he ordered him to be easefully watched, in the hope:that hid insanity was only temporary. D.evid Jones, puddler, said he saw Lceased go into the water aria drown almost iromeiiately. Witness saw him walk in, and only noticed his hair twica rise to the surface, but he sank before anyone could get to him. James Buxton, vagrant master at the union, spoke to the body being recovered and brought to the Workhouse the same eveuing. During his stay at the union, he made several attempts to e,o Ll> a by the fanlight, but f died. Ho also would sit on the stairs for some time during the night, and talked very incoherently. He told witness that he was an excavator, awl had worked at Hartlepool Decks The Coroner then summed up, and the jury returned a verdict that deceased drowned himself whilst in an unsounO. state of mind'.  Before the jury were discharged, the refractory jurymen, George Peacock, tendered an apology4to the coroner, which that gentleman accepted, and after being admonished, the jury were discharged.  HOLLOWAY'S OINTIIKNT A D PILLS, —Rheumataitn,