The Sun. — 1865-08-18 (London, England)

IRELAND.  DUBLIN, Aug. 17. The Registrar-General, Mr. W. Donnelly, has issued a return, showing in statute acres the extent of land under flax cultivation in Ireland in the years 1864 and 1865, the number given for each county. In Ulster in 1864 there were 278,143 acres under flax, and in 1865, 233,289—decrease, 44,854 ; in Leinster, in 1864, 7,388 acres, and in 1865, 5,862 acres—decrease, 1,526 acres ; in Munster, in 1864, 7,580 acres, and in 1865, 4,980 acres—decrease, 2,600 acres; and in Connaught, in 1864, 8,582 acres, and in 1865, 7,421 acres—decrease, 1,161 acres. The total number of acres- in 1864 was 301,693, and in 1865, 251,552—decrease on the whole, 50,141 acres. The quantity grown in 1865 is still, however, by a very large figure, greater than that of 1863, which is greater by about 60,000 acres than any of the previous 10 or 12 years. The reaction this year in consequence of the termination of the civil war in America, and unsuccessful attempts at cultivation in some places,will account for the diminution.  The circumstances attending the melancholy death of the late Mr. Herbert Francis Hoare, J.P., were made the subject of an inquiry yesterday. Dr. Kirwan, coroner, held an inquest on the body, at the late residence of the deceased, 15, Kildare-street. The deceased gentleman was a magistrate for the county of Wexford, where he had extensive landed property, and served as a grand juror. In the earlier part of his career he had held an office in the Admiralty Department, but he had latterly retired into private life, and resided principally in Dublin and its vicinity—sometimes, however, visiting his country residence of Pole-a-Hore, near the town of Wexford. He had been many years married, and leaves a widow and several children. He is stated to have been a man of considerable intellectual ability, and took much interest in the study of Irish antiquities, on which subject he had written several essays for scientific and literary periodicals. One of his chief motives for residing in Dublin was that he might have access to the public libraries of this city, of most of which he was a pretty regular visitor. His nervous system, however, was weak, and he suffered severely at times from neuralgia of the head and face, which frequently kept him awake for several nights together. It appeared from the evidence of Dr. Ellis, who had been professionally attending the deceased for about three weeks previous to his death, that he had suffered greatly from mental depression, partly attributable to the state of his affairs, but principally caused by the immoderate use of chlorodyne. He had frequently been kept awake at night from neuralgia in the head, and was advispre. dEb a llisy hfardienf dr e to quteankt el y c hwl ao rr no de dy nhe mt o induce tsleep persisting in the use of chlorodyne, and that continuance in its use must be destructive to his health, if not to his reason. Deceased, it was stated, was in the habit of taking as much as an ounce of the drug within 24 hours—a quantity equivalent to 20 ordinary doses, and which would be sufficient to kill any one who had not previously by degrees habituated himself to it. On Tuesday morning, while the deceased was alone in the breakfast-room, the report of a pistol was heard, and on Miss Hoare and the servant going to the room to ascertain what had occurred they found that the doors leading into the apartment had been locked on the inside. On being forced open the deceased was found lying on the floor quite dead. The roof of his skull had been blown off by a pistol, and fragments of bone, brains, and blood were scattered upon the floor. Death must have been instantaneous. From the evidence of Mr. Wynne, the land agent of the deceased, it appeared that the condition of his affairs had for some time weighed heavily on his mind ; that he had complained that his brain was on fire, and was apprehensive that his reason would go. The jury, after a short deliberation, found that the deceased had committed suicide while in a state of temporary insanity.