The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1886-04-16 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

SUICIDE OF TRE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY. The Earl of Shaftesbury committed suicide in London on Tuesday by shooting himself with a revolver in Regent Strt et, while driving in a cab. It appears that Lis lordship engaged a eansom in the upper part of R gi nt. Street shortly after four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and directed the sabman to dri e cown Rigout Street. Ile did so, but en reaching the end of the street the earl told the man to return, and he was driven back again to the other ervi of the thoroughfare, when he again ordered the cab to he turned round. This was done several times, and when the cab was near Oxford Street, about half-past four, the cabman heard a shot, andon jumping down the earl, who was unknown to the man, sad, "It's all right, cabman; drive en." The cabman said " Yes, I , know it's all right; but what is this?" and he pointed to a hole in the front part of tho cab, near the glass pane of the door ledge on the left side, which had been made by the bullet. "I value my life too much to drive on." The cabman was, however, about to miunt his box again, when a second hot was fired by the unfortunate nobleman, which penetrated his left temple. A policeman came up at that moment, having heard the first report, and he at once told the cabman to drive to the Middlesex Hospital. A crowd collected around the vehicle, but the earl was not reoegnised by a. y one until the hospital was reached a few minutes afterwards. There the policeman and driver of the cab carried his lordship, who was still breathing, into the in-patients' ward, and called the assistance of the house surgeon, Dr. Barlett, to him ; but Lord Shaftesbury was just breathing his last, and was beyond all hope when the doctor reached him, the bullet having penetrated the brain. Meanwhile an intimation ot the sad event had been sent to the friends 0 the earl, and in a short time the Countess of Shaftesbury arrived, followed by his lordship's butler, but only to learn that the worst had occurred. The revolver used by the dece ieed was a six-chambered one, ad it was evident from the position of the first shot that it had in the fist instance gone off accidentally, while from the terrible nature of the fatal wound it would seem that he was determined to complete the deeperate act of self-destruction. The body was removed, after being examined and indentified, to the mortuary of the hospital to await the inquest, unless a coroner's warrant should be obtained in the meantime to remove it to his lordship's residence. The news of the tragedy soon spread, and created a proiound sensation in the West End. His lordship, who was 65 years of age, succeeded his father, the well-known philanthropist, so re*may as the let of October last. He was formerly in the Royal Navy, and served in the Black Sea and Baltic during the Crimean war. He was attached to Earl Granville's special Embassy to Moscow in 1856, an.: sat in the House oi Commons for Hull from 1857 to 185', and Crioklade from the latter year to 1865. He married a daughter of toe third Marquis of Donegal), and amongst several children has a eon born in 1869, who will succeed to the title. The late earl took an active jam set in the naval volunteer movement, and was for several years connected with the London Brigade of that force as honorary lieutenant commanding, and he was most po, ular among the members of the brigade, frequeutly accompanying them in their cruise&  An eye-witness of the occurrence says: I was passing up Regent Street towards the Polytechnic, as nearly as I can judge at about a quarter-past four, when I saw a tour-wheeled cab, which had been slowly going along, pull up suddenly. The cabman got down, and I noticed that the side of the cab was torn, apparently by a pistol-shot. The occupant of the eau called out, "Go on, cabby, I'll give you five pounds no to make a noise about this." I went up, and said to a bystander on the other side of the cub, "Get hold of his pistol; take it away from him." At that moment some one said, " Here comes a policeman." I then saw the man in the cab labia his arm suddenly, I heard the report of a pistol, and I saw his head drop on one side as though he was shot dead. The policeman then came up, and, as 1. understood, took the man to the hospital.