The Slaithwaite Guardian and Colne Valley News. — 1905-11-17 (Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England)

THE INQUEST.  The extraordinary occurrence was enquired into on Monday afternoon by Mr. B. 11. Hill, district coroner, and a jury sitting at the Huddersfield Infirmary. Amongst those present were Mr. Thos. Mallinaon, J.P., chairman of the Hospital Committee, Mr. 11. J. Bailey, and Dr. Webster, clerk and medical officer respectively to the same authority. Much interest centred in the story of Harry Brook, groom-gardener of the Hospital Lodge, who was called after the widow had given evidence of identification. He said that there had been some unpleasantness between the deceased and the matron. On Saturday last, about 9.30 a.m, he was in the engine house, where he saw the deceased and the matron. The latter did not say anything to Holroyd, but Holroyd said to her" Now, what have you got to say for yourself?" The matron turaed to go out, but as she did so, Holroyd threw the contents of a pot at her. Witness afterwards learned that the liquid thrown was carbolic acid. Most of the acid went on to the floor, but some of it burned the matron's face. After he had thrown the acid, Holroyd threw the pot at the matron, who then went out of the engine house. Witness followed her into the yard, leaving Holroyd where he was. Witness had no opportunity of preventing Holroyd from throwing the pot as he was about eight yards away from him. He had been cleaning the engiue room. Just before he went into the yard he heard the matron shout. When he went back to the engine house, in about four or five minutes, he found Bolroyd on his hands awl knees with his throat cut. Witness ran and telephoned for a doct' rr, and also sent a me ;sage to the police office, before he tried to stop the bleeding from the man's throat. When he got back he found Holroyd had gone, but on looking towards the reservoir, he saw him there and went towards him. Holroyd was sat on the kerbstones which surrounded the water. Witness noticed the man was wet, and was told by him that he had fallen in accidentally, but witness said the man could not have fallen iuto the water accidentally. There are rails and corrugated iron around the reservoir. Dr. Gelattly was in attendance in about five minutes afterwards, and dressed the wound on the throat. The man vomitted, and the matter was at first light, but then it turned dark. All the man could say was, "Give my love to Alice" (his wife). He did not say in witness's hearing that he had taken poison. Witness afterwards found a broken bottle on the floor of the engine house, and also a letter and some powder, and further a razor, which was bloodstained, and had come from the saddle-co on, and which belonged to witness. The razor was lying just where the man cut Isis throat. Holroyd was removed to the infirmary in the ambulance, witness accompanying him there. He had got on all right with Holroyd at the hospital. Questioned by Mr. Bailey, Witness said that he left Holroyd in the engine house because he knew he was a passionate man, and he thought it better to leave him alone until he cooled down a bit. He was not frightened of him, although he did at the time think deceased might, in his passion, have done something to him. When he saw the pot in the man's hand he thought it had contained nothing but shaving water. He had seen him in a passion, and had left him before. In answer to the Coroner, Witness said there had been an altercation between the deceased and the matron. He did not know that there i was any.carbolic acid about the place. Dr. Webster said he did not think there was a great amount.  Dr. liaganeur, secend house surgeon at the Huddersfield Infirmary, said that Holroyd was brought there about 2-30 p.m. on Saturday in a rather collapsed condition. There was a little hemorrhage, and he vomited dark blood which pointed to an irritant poison. There were no marks, nor any inflammation in the mouth. Witness asked him if he had taken poison, but as lie could not speak, he showed him several kinds, and at length found from a sign the man made that he had taken salts of lemon. The wound on the throat was about 41in. long, and cut right into the soft of the neck, though none of the principal blood vessels were severed, still the wound would account for some of the blood that came by the mouth. The powder had been examined, and it was found to be oxalic acid, and it was that poison which caused the man to collapse. He died at twenty minutes to four, his death being principally due to the effects of the poison. The Coroner, in summing up, said there could be no doubt in the minds of the jury that the taking of the poison was deceased's own act entirely, and that death was due to the poison he had administered to himself. It was not necessary for them to go into the details of the matter. The man was leaving his situation, and had just done a wrongful act by throwing a corrtaive liquid at the matron, a thing that should not have been done. In a passion he had done the act against the matron, and then against himself. If they thought his passion had so acted upon his mind as to cause him temporarily to lose his balance of mind, such a defence would not avail him for throwing the liquid at the matron. They were quite satisfied that the man died from the effects of the oxalic acid, and the question now before them to decide was the state of his mind at the time.  Some discussion ensued on the point before the jury agreed. In answer to a juror, Dr. Webster said the matron had a perfect right to go where she did, in fact, might go into every room in hospital. The deceased had removed from the place, and Miss Baker did not know that he was about the building. She had been sent for a disinfectant to the engine room, and did not know deceased would be there. He knew there had been a ‘piarrel between the two some time previously. The Coroner intimated that in a letter left by the deceased to his wife was the statement "I have been driven to do it by that woman ; we made a sad mistake when we came up here." Eventually the jury returned a verdict of 'Suicide whilst of unsound mind."