Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1882-02-11 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE NEAR MANCHESTER.  A shocking discovery was made on Saturday in a p.rden at Higher Broughton, Manchester. At the part known as the Cliff there are a number of large bowies having gardens eloping down to the river Irwell, and on Saturday afternoon a young girl, while walking In one of these gardens, saw lying in the shrubbery of the adjoining grounds a dead body, which proved to be that of a young man named Harry Arthur Skelton, who occupied one of the houses on the Cliff, and who had been missing for the previous ten days. In the deceased's mouth and tightly clenched by the teeth, was a discharged pistol; one of the hands grasped an empty tumbler ; and half the face had been blown away by the shot from the pistol, which, there is no doubt, had been fired by the deceased. The young man loud his father (the head 4 a firm of oil merchants, in Manchester) last July, and his mother only a few weeks ago and it is supposed that the , latter event affected mind. He was greatly depressed after the death of his mother; and since list Thursday week he had not been heard of. His friends bad made diligent but unfruitful inquiries as to his whereabouts. The body was found in the garden next to that of his own house, and it is supposed that it had been lying there sinoe,tbc , day of deceased's disapareganoe. On Monday the Manchester county coroner held an inquest, at the hackle where deceased formids lived, on the body of Henry Arthur Skelton, aged'lir years, which was fod,n a garden at Higher Broughton on SaturdaS,;„ A brother of the ygung *wan said he was not partner in the firm of Wank G. W. Skelton and Co., oil merchants, as had AWOL reported, but an articled pupil to a firm of architeas. Since his father died he had beep of intemperate .bits, and when witness bat saw him, at their motWitinneral, he was depreerd and unwell. n Dinah Williams, a agnostic servant in the famlfy; said she last saw the demand alive on the afternoon of January 26, since whitils'time he had been missing He was in the garden at the time, smoking a cigar, and appeased calm and collected. He said he should be in the house in about two hours. Two days previously he was tipsy and did not go home all night.  El Jane Evans, the 000 k, said she also saw deceased In the garden, and a quarter of an hour afterwards heard a report of firearms, but the occurrence was r an unfrequent one in the neighbourhood, and thought nothing of it. The next day, however, mentioned the circumstance te deceased's sister.  At this stage in the inquiry a gentleman in the room said that a woreanyeho was in the house at the time spoken of saw a pistol protruding from the pocket of the-deoeased at the tim• he spoke to Williams.— The brother of the damaged, however, said it was generally believed that What was seen was the neck s bottle. ' A police-sergeant, who' wag bent for when the body was found by the little daughter of a neighbouring gentleman, said the deceased was lying on the ground with a six-chambered revolver in his hand. Two of the chloers were empty, three contilined discharged cartridges, and the sixth was loaded. On the ground by the side of the body was a black beg, and in or neer it were three empty beer bottlee, a pill 'bottle, a oorkcrew, a tumbler, and some cigar ends. Mr. A. Hodgkinson, physician and surgeon said that about ten weeks ago he was called to attend the deessased, who it was said b,ill taken Soiri. Witness found hb had been drint from a o.contai corrosive poison, which he sill he h taken in dark, not knowing what it was. Deceased never thoroughly recovered from the effects of the pole and he considered he continued in a state very great depression. On Jan. 24 wit:mess saw decesset. in bed. He was intoxicated, and to his pocket was a revolver, but not the one now produced. In answer to witneos, deceased then denied that he had, any intention to commit stiicide, and had bought the revolver to take to the Cape with him. In witness's opinion he was not responsible for his actionr.—The deceased's brother gaid h< yea in no pecuniary The jury returned', yerjrt of" Suicide whilst in of su state saennel gnio,7 ' offered thai to the famipi: w CUTTINGho M