The Slaithwaite Guardian and Colne Valley News. — 1904-03-11 (Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England)

LINTII WAITE MAN COMMITS SUICIDE. • DROWNED IN THE CANER.  Lint'iwitito Wesleyan Sunday School, on Wednesday morning, Mr. L. U. Hill, the district coroner, and of which Mr. Ned Bs:ler was the foreman, enquired into the circuit'. stances attending the death of Josoph Gorside horse-rug dealer. of Wood Bottom, Hoyle. house, whose body NM found in the canal on Tuesday morning by two youths on their way to work. _  ..-Th—e first witaere called was the deceased 1111411. d wife, Georgina tiarside, who said she last tiaw her husband alive ou Monday evening. He had basin of boiled milk, and afterwards a gill of boor, and went to bed about 10-80 p.m. as usual. He generally got up early in the morning, and went outside, but afterwards returned int) the house. On Tuesday morning he got up about 1.35, but when her tiollgot up at fiiO he said his fathev was not in the house, so witness got up and went in search of him with jut result. Deceased Lad pneumonia about two years ago, and since then had been depressed whenever he had a cold, which always brought him a pain in his side. Ile had been suffering from a cell for the last low days. Ile bad several times said he would commit suicide, when recovering from a " spree," but she never thought he would do so. She always took it in fun, as it had been his saying for the last twenty years. If lie had not meant to drown Liinvelf he could easily have got out, because never a better swimmer went into water.  George Gar Ade, of Lees Mill, Go'car, said that he worked at Messrs. B. and J. Whitwam and Co., Stanley Mille, °Wear, and went along, the canal biuk to his work. On Tuesday morning he left home at fix o'clock. It was raining at the time, but it was not dark. He could we across the canal. With him was Horace Crowther, and when they had got just below Lowestwood they saw a coat and cap on the wall. They looked Into the water and saw the body of a man floating about half way across the canal. They then called upon some mill workers, and one of them told witness to take the cost to P.O. Kempliton'e. The Coroner low long would it bo from the time you first saw the body to when it was gut out of the water ?  Witness : About an hour and a quarter. The Coroner commented on this fact, and *aid that if the body had been got out without delay, it was just possible that the life of the an might have been saved. tic advised the witness that if ever he found a body again, the first thing he should do was to see to the body being got out, and then go for the police. He did not say that life would have been saved in this particular case, but that did not alter the principle of the thing. '•lt seems to be the general idea of the people up here,' Mr. fill continued, "that if they find a body, they must at once run for the police." But that was wrong. . . .  Sarah Beaumont, who laid out the body of the deceased, 311 ill the only mark was it alight scrateh 00 1110 face.  In considering the verdict. a Juror (Mr. E. Shaw obeerved that no man, in his opinion, would get out of a warm bed and go and deliberately drown himeelf, if lie was in his right senses. The Coroner said that a man was nut uecee.iarily of inieound mind simply beeauee lie took his Own lite, or there would bt! no each thiiig as suicide, Ile therefore cunt(' not agree to such a proponition. The Foreman said that according to the wife's evidence, the deceased had been on the "spree." and had drunk until he was silly. The feeling had evidently come over hint that life was not worth living, but drink was the cause of it.  The Jury, therefore, returned verdict of ' Drowned himself liijt of iiiniound mind, do• to evasive driabilra.'