The East Riding Telegraph. — 1903-03-28 (Beverley, Humberside, England)

SEVERE SHOCK TO THE NATION.  Nut only wherever the English tongue is spoken, but throughout the length and breadth of the civilised world, the news that General Hector Macdonald had committed suicide by shooting himself has created the profoundest sell sation. The terrible tragedy which has cut short the brilliant career of one of the most famous of our British generals took place in a Paris hotel some time after midday on Wednesday. General Hector Macdonald, who after the Transvaal War was appointed Commander of the Forces in Ceylon, recently received a summons from the military authorities in London, and on February 19th left Colombo on board the Ophir for England. On arrival in London he had private interviews with the King and Lord Roberts. Some conjecture was rife at the time us to the cause of these iNerviews, and within the last few days it has been rumoured that the gallant officer was about to be put on his trial on a grave charge. On Friday last lie started back from England to take his trial at Colombo, and on arrival at Paris engaged a room at the Hotel Regina. He signed the visitors' book with his full name and titles, and also volunteered the additional information that he was 43 years of age, and came from London. The General seems to have led a very quiet life, rising early, and keeping to himself. As a result he did not attract much attention beyond the fact that it was noticed that he was an assiduous reader of the English newspapers, and that he invariably dined at an outside restaurant. He used to return to the Hotel Regina every night at a comparatively early hour and immediately retired. As was his usual custom, on Wednesday morning, he proceeded after breakfast to look over , the daily papers. That morning's (Paris) edition of the " New York Herald," published the Colombo despatches bearing upon the charges against General Macdonald, which had appeared in the London papers, and also had supplemented this with an excellent jjortratt of the General himself. He was seen to take up the " Herald," and, it is stated, after reading the contents actually burst into tears. Later in the morning, -Sir Hector was seen reading a copy of the ,Matin," which published an extract from a fuller Colombo telegram to one of the Loliclon morning dailies. Having finished the article, he proceeded upstairs to his room to all appearances calm as ever. This was shortly after the hour of noon, and it was the last occasion on which he was seen alive. Some time afterwards a servant of the hotel believing that the General had, as usual, gone out to lunch, entered the bedroom for the purpose of making it tidy for the day. She found the General stretched at full length on the Actor parallel with the bed, face upwards, and grasping in his right hand a revolver of nine milli metres calibre. He had evidently placed the weapon against the right temple, and the bullet had crashed right through the skull. The cries of the attendant alarmed the whole hotel and caused general consternation. Messengers hurriedly dispatched in all directions soon brought to the scene of the tragedy M. Lelong, a local doctor, and also an English physician. On proceeding to examine the unhappy officer they found a very severe wound, which they at once probed, finding the bullet still in the skull, and almost projecting from the -back of the head. M. Egartheler, the District Commissary of Police, who had also been summoned, ordered the corpse to be placed on the 'bed, and it was then examined by the authorities, who forthwith drew up the customary procesverbal. Neither money nor jewellery was found on the body, but two documents in the English language were found in one of the pockets of the coat (neither of which, however, have any bearing upon the charges brought against the deceased), and a number of photographs. The identity of the suicide was not known in Paris outside the hotel. Indeed, the fact that the deceased was Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald was not known until telegraphic inquiries were received from London.