The Potteries Examiner : — 1872-11-02 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

THE GOLDEN SQUARE TRAGEDY.  RESUMED INQUEST.  On Monday Mr. Bedford resumed at St. James's Workhouse, Poland-street, London, the inquiry respecting the death of the two unknown persons who were found dead at No. 18, Golden.square. . _ . . .  ee,e Mr. Superintendent Donlop stated -that every effort had been made to find the cabman who conveyed the luggage of the deceased to Golden-square, but without success. .  Dr. Slight said he had made an analysis of the contents of the stomachs of both the deceased. He foam! a great quantity of strychnine in both stomachs. •It was a very large quantity indeed. He had not the least doubt as to the cause of death. The man was about sixty years of age. He thought the man and woman had belonged to e. highly respectable class. The e..roner, in summing up, said it would have been satisfactory if the bodies had been identified and the previous history of the deceased known. Considering the activity which the police officers had displayed, and the publicity given to the case, he was of opinion that the deceased parties had arrived from the Continent, and were without friends in London, therefore it would be bettor to treat them as unknown. The name Duncan did not seem to him to be a German one. He assumed the jury were satisfied that death had been canoed by strychnine; it would be for the jury to decide whether the man and woman had taken it in a mound or unsound state of mind. If in an unsound state of mind they could excuse the felony. If they had any doubt on the subject it would be better to return an open verdict. He next alluded to the paper written in pencil, "Our last will, ff.c.," and concluding with one of the most pathetic passages in the Bible " Yea, though we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and Thy staff shall comfort us." The paper written at Bow by the man, as follows, "A. Duncan and lady," did not appear to be in the same handwriting as the paper headed "The kat  A juror suggested that this paper had been written by the woman. After some deliberation the jury returned the following verdict That the deceased man unknown, apparently aged about 60, and the deceased woman, apparently aged about 50, came by their deaths from strychnine, but how or under what circumstances it came into their stomachs there was not sufficient evidence to show.  The report that the names of the suicides were Captain and Mrs. Douglas, late of Richmond, is now shown to be entirely without foundation. On Wednesday afternoon Annie Challis, the servant who was in the employ of Captain and Mrs. Douglas up to within a day or two of the time of their leaving Richmond, went to the Westminster Union Workhouse for the purpose of seeing the bodies of the lady and gentleman who poisoned themselves at 18, Golden•square; but the bodes had been buried before she arrived. She inspected that portion of the clothing of the deceased lady which had been left at the workhouse, but she failed to recognise it as having belonged to Mrs. Douglas. She was then taken to the house of Mrs. Cunningham, where the terrible tragedy was committed, ar,d there she inspected every article of clothing which the lady and gentleman had left in their boxes. She failed to recognise a single article, and the mane boots, which were Emend in the box, she said were much too small for Captain Douglas, but there was no opportunity of comparing them with the boots which the deceased gentleman wore. She also failed to recognise the photographs which were taken after death. She !eels satisfied that, so far as the clothing is concerned, the deceased persons are not Captain and Mrs. Dangle.. Mr. Alfred Gray, at present staying at 41, The Grove, Hammersmith, called at the Vine-street Polioe-station, and stated that he had received a letter from Captain Douglas, from the Continent, dated the 24th inst.—a circumstance whioh settles the matter at once.