The Warwickshire Herald. — 1894-10-18 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

THE SUICIDE AT THE FOREIGN  OFFICE.  Mr. Troutbeck, the coroner for Westminster, on Saturday, held an inquest on the body of Mr. Patrick Henderson, British Consul at Cadiz, who had committed suicide at the Foreign Office. —Mr. R. H. Boyce, engineer, identified the body as that of Patrick Henderson, a friend of his, supposed to be about 58 years of age. He had never heard him threaten to commit suicide except in a chaffing sort of way.—Mr. Henry St. George Foley, clerk at the Foreign Office, said: I knew the deceased for about two years. I was with him last Wednesday, when I saw him in the afternoon at the Foreign Office. He came to see me then with reference to a letter which I had addressed to him the day before, by direction of Lord Kimberley, touching an appointment that he was anxious to obtain. When I went into the room where be was he was sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, with a table in front of him—between him and me. He was comparatively calm, and at once spoke on the subject about which he had coins. We spoke for about 10 minutes, and eradually he got more and more excited; once or twice saying that there was only one thing left for him to do. He asked me whether I thought there was any hope of him obtaining the appointment he wished. I said I fear not. He asked to see Lord Kimberley. I said he was out of town. He then asked If Lord Rosebery could do anything for him; and he next said, "Shall I go and see Sir P. Anderson, the Under Secretary ?" I said he was at liberty to do so, but it would not be much good. He then said, "There's no hope for me, and there's only one thing for me to do." I said, "I suppose you take your children abroad, out of the damp climate," which was so bad for his rheumatism. At that he laughed, and began to sob. He then leaned forward, and hid his face in his hands. Not wishing to look at him in that condition, I turned to the window, and in about four seconds I heard a loud report towards my left elbow. I looked round to see where the pistol was, and saw it fall to the ground, dropping from his right hand. He folded his hands, and remained still. I ran out of the room, and obtained such assistance as I could. _ .  Inspector Tomkins stated that on Wednesday afternoon last week he was called to the Foreign Office, and on going upstairs found the deceased in a chair. The doctor was then with him. He saw a revolver lying on the floor, which lie took charge of. It had four chambers fully loaded, and one discharged. He found a letter (produced) among others in his possession; also £4 in gold, LI ss. in silver, a gold watch and chain, two gold rings, &c. • .  The Coroner: i have'opened'the letter, which is addressed to me on the outside. Part of it I will read; part of it relates to the public service, and it is not in the interest of the public service that it should be read; it does not directly bear upon the cause of death. It says: "God help my poor Children. They are orphans, penniless in London. I enclose a sovereign which will pay their cab fare to Dr. Bamardo's orphan asylum." Then follows the part relating to other matters; and at the end, "God help my poor children." It is written on Foreign Office paper. Mr. H. M. Douwler, surgeon at Westminster Hospital, said he saw the deceased at the Foreign Office. He described the wound, stating that the skull was fractured in several places. The cause of death was a pistol shot wound in thz head. The jury returned a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane.  Mr. John Williams, a tin-worker, known to Welsh vocalists as "Eryr Afon" (the Eagle of Afori), had the good fortune a little while ago to have as an auditor Madame Patti. She was delighted with his singing, and Mr. Williams is now engaged to sing at her concert at the Albert Hall next month.