Widnes Examiner. — 1881-11-19 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

SLAIN- BY DRINK AT RUNCORN.  Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Woreley, deputy coroner, held an inquest at the Railway Hotel, on the body of John Bracegirdle, plater, of No. 19, Cavendish-street, Newtown who committed suicide by strangling himself with a rope The following evidence was given :—Nathaniel Bracegirdle slater, of :10, Sevell-street, said deceased was his uncle, and about 66 years of age. Deceased was rather given to drink, and for some years his wife had not lived with him. He bad not seen him for about a month. He did not know of any trouble which deceased had bad, with the exception of having heard a report to the effect that a summons had been sent from a neighbouring town to be served upon him for not maintaining his wife. He believed it was about 20 years since Bracegirdle separated from his wife.—Mr. James Kirkham, joiner and builder, Greenway-road, said he had employed deceased for about twenty years, and last saw him alive on the previous Saturday. On Saturday week, he paid, him his ways, and told him that he must leave the amount of his eat flings to go ton-aids the nnt he ot d him for the house he occupied. hi the Tn.wday after g ~at storm Of wind, deceased commenc..l drinking, and Ii ii t,ot attended to his I,,bonr since, but itS bad a man and h w.,rking for , him. On VS'edn.tyby b,g, ft ~rn some repot:, •Ahich had I been in clrcicath,n, it tl s to break he house where &ceased d (-a :I.( 'rowing runrt g n doing I so, ttly saw dr,?-1(4.,/ tyl.l /or n his stomach, itl his bead against the wJ. ot b a rope round his mels id a slate,'s , " straight-eeg, " in his band. From the tat,- ment of the witness, it appeared that the deceased had strangled himself by the aid of the rope and the piece of wood on the bed, and tumbled on the floor of the house whilst doing so.—By the Coroner: Did he owe you anything? Yes, about £4 for rent.—Had you threatened him at all ? I gave him notice on the Monday. I also stopped the man and boy who worked under, him ; and said that if I could not get mv work from him, I must put a stop to his drinking. I tried to find him, but I could not do so; and on Monday morninto I put the notice to quit the house under the doer. If I was busy at my place deceased would be sure to be drinking, and if matters were dull, be would always be hanging about the place and begging and praying for work. Deceased was a very intemperate man. I have spoken to him far oftener than I should have done to my own brother, on which at timp he has said, "Say no more or I shall make myself away; lam ready to drown myself." I have never beard that he had suffered from traces of insanity.—The Coroner: I think that the facts are•very clear that this man seems to have drunk himself into a state of insanity.l He has just had wit enough to know how to hang himself, and that has hem about all.—Wm. Salkeld, a fish hawker, of Pennington's-row, to whom the Coroner paid the complimerit that he had given his evidence remarkably well, said that for about nine years he was a reighbour to deceased. He last saw hint on Sunday morning, when he looked very wild, but was quite sober. He bad seen deceased on the Saturday, and he therefore asked him how he felt. He replied,"lain very bad; I am miserable and ready to put an end to my life. Everything is going badly against me; and I have a great deal of work on hand which I am letting get behind. I don't think I shall be fit for work on Monday." On other occasions he had told witness that he -had bad a deal of money to pay his wife, and was getting behindhattd with his contributions, which were at the rate of 4s. per week.—Thomas Peers, SO, Shaw-street, labourer, proved getting a ladder and entering the back bedroom of Bracegirdle's house, and finding the body upon the floor.—Alfred Ward, of No. 17, Cavendish-street, joiner, who lives next door to deceased's, said that on Monday.night he site hint at the bottom of Shaw-street. Deceased said he was in a very poor way; his bed had not been made for four days; the dishes had not been washed for a week; there was ' no poor devil as badly off as he was"; and be wished he was dead.—Sergeant McMichael gave evidence as to breaking into the deceased's house and finding the body, upon which there were no marks of vjolence.—The emu : I think there is no doubt that deceased has committed suicide .whllst labouring under his troubles. I think that this death is one more to be attribated to the fatal curse of drink. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that this poor man, by his intemperate habits, got his affairs into such an inextricable mess, that he thought there was no way of getting out of them without destroying himself, and, acting under that misguided notion, he committed suicide.—The jury returned a verdict to the effect that deceased committed suicide whilst labouring under temporary insanity.—Mr. Robert Wright, one of the Jurymen, said that deceased would have to be buried at the expense of the town. •