Blandford, Wimborne and Poole Telegram. — 1877-12-07 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

LOWE."  Lieut. Hoskyn continued: He was subject to severe fits of mental depression without any apparent cause : he a as also irritable at times, but did his best to overcome the feeling. By the Foreman: Have known him about four or five years. I have heard that he had to leave Greenwich on account of this eccentricity of temper. By Mr. Arden; Have you heard a report that he has  been paying addresses to a young lady and been repulsed t Witness: I have heard such reports. By the Coroner : On Linking at the past, I should judge that be must have been insane when he committed suicide. Dr. Edney, fleet-surgeon to the Boscawen f I have been messing with the deceased iitr the last eight months, and, on looking hack as his general behaviour, morbid sensitivenese, occasional low spirits, and quick temper, he was suffering from melancholia. I have no doubt he was sufferin,: under temporary insanity. At times he would have quite a sinititer expression ;he as alito a bad sleeper; but, although I observed this, and see it all now, at the time I observed nothing to lead me to interfere with the deceased. I had formed an idea that he was not happy at home. Front enquiries made their is something wrung ou one side of the family. By the Foreman : I have never prescribed anything of consequence for him, he has never been on my sick list. I agree with the opinion read by the Coroner from Taylor's Jurisprudence :—" Homicidal monomania is partial insanity, it is acconapaniet I by an impulse to take away the person's own life, or the life of another. Persons labouring under it may so conceal or restrain it that they may give no evidence of mental observation." Mr. Arden said the only question was—this poor young inane father was coining here, and if the jury could have any doubt about he deceased being temporarily insane, he would conic and give evidence ; but he could only repeat what the other witnesses had said, and if they were perfectly satisfied be would not put him in the box on any account —The jury were satisfied with the evidence already given. The Coroner, then addrestted the fury, drawing their attention to the oaths they had taken they had nothing to do with their feelings but only to look fealessly at the evidence, and having dine that, to return a verdict accordingly. The law presumes murder where a man takes his own life or that of another; and it is as much murder to take away one's own life as that of another person. The suicide in the eye of the law goes out of the world stained with murder, and if they could imagine a person having taken his owls life, to have a second life given him, he would be liable to have that second life taken away for the murder of himself. That was not possible ; but then punishments are intended for warning, and Christian burial is refused to the dead body of a suicide. The time the deceased killed himself was very clear, because at ten minutes after seven the servant saw him, and his head was on the bed clothes, at 20 or 25 minutes past seven he returned, and the deceased was gone, so it must have been between those times that he cammitted suicide. How he did so was also clear; the window was open and a cord was outside: now if that window had been opened before; when the wardroom was being swept the servant would have noticed it. The circumstances show that de:eased must have fastened on the dumb-bells and had them on in bed, and in order to escape observation he put on the great coat, so that if he happened to meet any one, they would not see the dumb-bells. That showed a great amount of cunning, first to fasten on the things in bed, and then to conceal them with the great coat. Did he do it of malice aforethought—that is, with his full reasoning powers, or in a state of temporary insanity. If it was with his reasoning powers about him, they must, bi their oaths, return a verdict of fide de se, for it they allowed license to the excuse of insanity, that would allow license to all kinds of crime. The English law does not say that the act of taking away life is an act of insanity, though seine people say so. The next question is "Was there any cause for the act ?" Here was a young man in the prime of life, friendly in every way with those around him, no money matters to trouble him, he discharges his debts, writes letters, tk.c., and the absence of any cause for the act leant rather to insanity. Then gentlemen, men of honour, had come forward, and sworn they believed he did it in a state of temporary iesanity, and this was stronger still, for, as it had lately been said at Winchester, where a person who had the opportunity of saying what he had seen could not declare that murder had been contutitted, how could the jury, who had not seen, say so? The Coroner then referred to the.evidence of Lieut. Hill and the other officers, and left it to the Jury to say whether the deliberation shown by the deceased in preparing for his death was the deliberation of a man having his reasoning faculties about him, or the cunning of a lunatic ; ii the former they must return a verdict ot jelo tie se ; if the latter, of temporary insanity. The room was cleared; but the jury very quickly I returned an unanimous verdict 'That deceased committed I suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity." The Coroner said that was a verdict with which he agreed, and he was very pleased indeed they had seen their way to such a verdict. The Coroner then asked the Jury if they did not consider the deceased had c one to his death by drowning, and that it was nianifeatly the case, and in the next place would they, or any magistrate in the county, think it was not a proper case for inquiry. The answers to the two questions would manifestly show that he, as Coroner, was justified in holding an inquest in the same case where it was manifest the parties had come to their death by drowning, and at once show that the Quarter Sessions were in error, he had full reliance upon the good sense and justice of the Dorset County Magistrates, who were an honour and credit to the county, and that they would do what was right; and that at the next sessions would allow those fees, which he regretted he was still unable to pay the Jury on the occasion t if the Avalanche and Forest The Jury very strongly agreed with the remarks of the Coroner.