The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1839-05-03 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

CORONER'S INQUEST.  On Wednesday morning, an inquest was held on the body of a man named James M`Greavy, of No. 47, Back Portlandstreet, before P. F. Curry, Esq., coroner, and the following jury :—Peter Rawson, Nicholas Doran, William Redman, John Bradshaw, Thomas Hewit, John Jones, Joseph Rawson, David Crompton, Edward Dewhurst, William AP Ghee, James Clegg, and Thomas Rylands. The deceased, it was supposed, had attempted to commit suicide by drowning himself, but, as the evidence shows, his death was occasioned by exposure to cold, the effect of immersion in the water. The first witness examined was James Smith, who, being sworn, deposed :—I am a blacksmith by trade, and live near Bond-street School. Last Saturday, about eleven o'clock, I was on the North Shore, and saw the deceased in the water. His clothes were lying on the wall, near the water-side. About two minutes after I first saw him, I observed him going down, and I instantly rushed into the water, and rescued him. On bringing him ashore, I turned him on his side, and water came out of his mouth. The water was not more than two feet deep where he sunk, and the mud was knee-deep. I can't say whether he had been swimming. About 20 minutes before this, I saw him walking along the wall. He could not tell how long he was in the water. I helped to take him to Mr. Bullen's public-house, and after that to his own house in Back Portland-street. He did not tell me his name.  Mr. George Sullen.—l keep the Mile End public-house, on the North Shore. It is very often used as a receivinghouse. The deceased was brought to my house last Saturday morning. When I first saw him he was sitting in a chair, quite close to the fire ; he was shivering, and moaning very much. I said to him, in a joking way, " What ! have you been drowning yourself ?" but he did not make any answer. I desired my wife to bring him a little drop of rum, as he was foundering ; he drank a part of it ; he did not speak, but turned up his eyes. I sent for the police-officers, and he was taken from my house to the receiving-house in Regent-street. _  - Thomas Denham,—l am a labourer. I live in Cumberland-street. I saw the deceased on last Saturday morning. A gentleman on horseback told me a man was drowning—l went to the place and saw the first witness go into the water ; I followed him and helped to bring the deceased ashore. After washing him and putting his clothes on, we took him to Mr. Bullen's, and from there to his own house in Back Portlandstreet. He said his name was James M`Greavy. Mary M`Greavy,—l am widow of the deceased James M`Greavy. He was a labourer. He left home on Saturday between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning. He was 66 years of age. He was not in the habit of bathing, I never knew him to bathe before this time. About three or four o'clock the same afternoon a man came and told me that my husband was bathing, and had got rather far into the water. He was then at Mr. Tindall's in Regent-street. I saw him there—and asked him what happened, he said he went into the water to bathe his feet, and if it had not been for some good christians who went in and saved him, I never would have seen him, but, he added, I think I'm done. He was brought home that night. A surgeon from the dispensary saw him ; but the deceased got no better. He died on Monday morning. All the words he spoke during the night before his death was, that he was terribly crushed at his heart, and could not recover.  The CORONER said, that as there was no evidence given to shew how the deceased came by his death, it would be necessary to adjourn the inquest until a post mortem examination of the body was made. The jury assented, and the examination having taken place, they reassembled yesterday morning. John Grant,—l am a surgeon ; I was called to the deceased on Saturday evening, and found him recovering from exhaustion, brought on by exposure to cold, and did not then consider him in danger. I was informed that he had been immersed in the water. I have made a post mortem examination of the body, and am of opinion that the deceased died of congestion of the lungs, brought on in all probability by immersion in water or exposure to cold. The Jury returned a verdict to that effect.  SUlClDE.—Yesterday morning, about eight o'clock, a woman named Mrs. Brown, residing at No. 11, Clark-street, Toxteth Park, put an end to her existence by hanging herself in the cellar of the house.—The inqueston the body will take place to-day.