The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1873-08-16 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE OF A FLEETWOOD CAPTAIN. —On Monday evening, Mr. Holden held an inquest at the King's Arms Hotel, Morecambe, upon the body of Captain James John Wheeler, a retired master mariner, of Fleetwood, who had committed suicide by drowning.—Sarah Ann Honseley, wife of John Honseley, of Sheffield. deposed that shortly , before three o'clock on Sunday afternoon, she and others were sitting near the old stone pier at Morecambe, when she saw deceased, after putting down his umbrella, walk quickly past, pull off his coat and jump into the bay from the pier. An alarm was immediately raised, and a life-buoy was thrown out to him, but he made no attempt to seize it, and was drowned.—P.. Pye, stationed at Morecambe, deposed to the body being found at half-past five on Sunday evening, and to an open pen-knife being found in deceased's coat pocket, as well as £24 75. 2cl. in money, a bank book and a number of letters and papers.—James Worthington, a mercantile clerk of Fleetwood, and son-inlaw to deceased, deposed that he was 58 years of age, and that they left Fleetwood on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by a police-sergeant and a relieving officer, for the purpose of placing deceased in the County Lancaster Asylum. They reached the Asylum about a quarter to eight, but in consequence of a defect in the medical certificate, deceased could not be admitted. Witness followed deceased to the King's Arms Hotel, at Lancaster, where he and witness stayed all night. but the other men returned to Fleetwood. Witness saw him leave the hotel about ten minutes to seven on : Sunday morning, but as he had heard him say the night before that he was going to Fleetwood, wit: !less made no effort to stop him, nor did he ask him , where he was oing. He, however, followed him a short distance along the Cockerham-road, and thinaing that he was going to walk to Fleetwood, witness returned and took the train, and he never saw him again alive. He was aware that he had a suicidal tendency, and that he had made an attempt upon his life two or three times during the present year. He knew, however, it was no use to interfere with the deceased. He had been labouring under delusions for some time, and had also suffered greatly from rheumatic fever.—John Carter, railway agent, of Fleetwood, who had known deceased intimately for 28 years, gave evidence as to deceased suffering from infirmity of temper during the past 12 months.—The jury returned a verdict that deceased committed suicide whilst in an 'unsound state of mind, and expressed an opinion that greater care ought to have been taken of him at Lancaster.  The nrichines of the Diamond Rock Boring Drill are "prospecting," or are about to do so in the North of England, as follows : One on Lord Eldon's property near Bradbury ; a second near Kirkby Stephen for hematites ; a third for iron-stone in the Cleveland district, a fourth is to commence boring for salt at Port Clarence, for Messrs. Bell, Brothers ; a fifth for coal near Darlineton :and asixth for ironstone at Linda!, near Ulverston. The average speed attained.by the Diamond Drill is shout 30 feet per day. The cost of the applithtes is 1:400, exclusive of boring rods, which will on the average cost as much again. Cat am F. E. B. Beaumont will read a paper on the apparatus at the forthcoming meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute at Liege.