The Sun. — 1851-11-17 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF LORD DE BLAQUIERE.  The lamentable circumstances attending the death of Lord William de Blaquiere, of Beulah Villa, Norwood, Surrey, aged 74, were on Friday investigated before W. Carter, Esq., coroner for West Surrey, and fourteen highly respectable jurors. From the evidence of Caroline Brown, Mary Ann Shaw, Mr. Street (surgeon), and other witnesses, it appeared that the deceased nobleman had taken up his residence in the locality of Norwood for about ten months past. Daring this period his charities and good offices to the poor of the district'had been in accordance with the course, he has invariably pursued. His health had for some time been very indifferent, arising from a lithotriptic disease, but latterly he had been seized with an attack of small-pox—which had evidently affected his Lordship's intellects; but this did not appear to be of a suicidal character, and consequently he was not watched so strictly as might have been seemed necessary. On Tuesday night last his Lordship retired to rest at an early hour; he awoke at about four o'clock on the following morning, and asked one of his female servants to bring him one of his pistols, which was accordingly done. It was then not charged, but his Lordship desired that his valet, Francis Johnson, should be called, and during the absence of the female servant it would seem that his Lordship loaded the pistol with a heavy charge of powder and a large quantity of swan shot, and before the valet could be aroused the report of fire arms created the utmost alarm in the mansion, and on several of the domestics rushing to his Lordship's chamber they found him lying on the ground weltering in his blood. Immediately the services of Mr. Street, of Nor Wood, surgedn; were called into'requisition, but before the arrival that gentleman his Lordship had ceased to exist. From a post mortem examination the Noble Lord, it would seem, had discharged the pistol into his mouth, through the roof of which the charge had passed, and several of the shots were found lodged in various cavities of the brain, quite sufficient to cause death. His Lordship must have been a great sufferer from disease, for a calculus of unusually large dimensions was discovered in the bladder; and this circumstance, combined with the effects of the disease of small-pox, had doubtless produced that nervous debility which had so impaired his' Lordship's mind as to urge him to commit selfdestruction.  The Noble Lord was a Peer of Ireland, and entered the army in. 1791, in which he was actively Several years, attaining the rank of full general in 1841. Ma son, and successor,' Lord John, a captain of the 3d West India Regiment, is the possessor of the celebrated yacht America. engaged for  On the conclusion of the evidence, the Corona summed up, and the jury returned a verdict of Temporary Insanity.  FATAL COLLIERY ACCIDEN We are sorry (says the Birmingham Journal of Saturday)aTt:—d to have to record a sad accident, which occurridedidl7Laeeresay ri.ay)emorening, and t ecSet.o, Stone Pit, Ra Russell's Hall serious injury of two others. It appears thato mana d o Bat-laNck%se'llWahn Lanes, belonging fe Colliery, shaft nbeys rsbkNal skip, Na:nrilf men, consisting of six, had descende and which has resulted in the death of and tne; having reached the bottom, were the scaffold which 'covers the shpuart nve peps, :r snuffed preparing fheteodn alightoteios f upont e supposed that one of the men must" lighted . candles which they had with them, and the snuff falling through the• joints of the planking which cot i mv eer)e,d thust h e seuame ap (and e dthe it ex p lcontainingesieh a quantity Theaead felodinggas ()a h ft the sump, which was of considerable thickness and weight, momentarily burst asnnder, and two of the men are said to have been driven into the roadway. of the workings, but luckily escaped without any serious injury. The other four men, however, must either havebeen driven up the shaft and have fallen, or must have dropped through into the sump, in which five or six feet of water hav,ing collected, one of the men, probably the first, having seen covered by the others or by portions of the scaffolding, was found drowned. Two others were taken out of the water alive, but very sadly mutilated. The fourth was hurt, but not severely. The pit itself is well ventilated, and the accumulation of gas was necessarily unforeieen in onsequencle of the .sump itself being covered by 1 the scaffold ng usual in such cases. The surname of the deceased was 3 rooks, and the injured men are Benjamin Bradley and Crispin. They were promptly attended by the colliery surgeon. Bradley, we are sorry to add, is not , expected tra recover.