The Slaithwaite Guardian and Colne Valley News. — 1901-04-26 (Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England)

THE INQUEST.  On Wednesday morning, an inquiry was held at the Mechanics' Hlll, Longwood, before Mr. E. H. Hill (district coroner), and a jury who chose Mr. John Brearley as their foreman.  John Hall was the first witness called. He statA that he was a retired engineer. Deceased was his brother, and if he had lied would have been seventy-two years of age on Thursday. Deceased, who was a widower, was a retired draper, and owing to very bad sight and suffering from pains in the head he had come over from Staffordshire to live with witness, to see if the change would do him good. He was generally cheerful, though sometimes dull, but he had never said he was tired of living or threatened to du away with himself. Deceased's usual custom was to lie in bed till between eleven and twelve o'clock in the morning. Two or three times he had breakfast in bed since he came to live with witness. As soon as he came down stairs he usually had a pipe of tobacco and then some tea. Witness last saw him alive on Monday night about 10-45, when he accompanied him to bed, as he did every night, as deceased could not see very well. They had been playing dominoes up to about half-past ten, and deceased was then very cheerful. He said "Good-night"  to witness's wife, but deceased did not say I good-night to him when he left him. Witness did not think deceased was asleep, although he laid so long in bed in the morning. Deceased slept in the third storey. Witness went up between 12 and 12-30 to see if he was going to get up or have his breakfast taken to him in bed. On entering the roonr he found deceased sat up in a chair in a corner of the bedroom with the gun besiJe him, the butt end on the floor, and the muzzle close to his breast. Witness did not go near him, but saw that the top of his head was blown oft, and he could see inside his head. Witness then ran downstairs, told his wife, and then went for the police-sergeant. When witness got back deceased had been laid on the floor, and he noticed a piece of string attached to the gun. Witness had seen the gun before ; it belonged to deceased. His son-in-law had sent him the gun with some cartridges several months ago. The gun, which deceased had taken in payment of a debt due to him from a customer, was kept in deceased's room, but it had been removed from the box, in which it was originally kept, to the wardrobe. Witness had been absent from the house on Tuesday morning from ro a.m. to 12 noon, but his wife had been in the house the whole of the time. She had been mangling on the ground floor of the house, but witness did not think she could hear the shot. While he was out no other person, to his knowledgo, was in the house besides his wife. He had heard no explosion, neither had his wife. There were some men working on the road near to the house, and he was told they heard nothing of the explosion of the gun. Deceased cornplained a great deal about his eyes. He used to get witness to read for him, some times two hours at a time. From what deceased said to him he had a family trouble which bothered him a great deal. In. reply to a Juror witness said that deceased had always been a shooter. Witness was present when deceased directed his sonin-law to sell the gun, but instead of doing so the son-in-law had sent it to him. Deceased had recently suffered from stomach complaint and had been attended by Dr.  Haigh. Sergeant Bland, a member of the Hudders field Police Force, said that the last witness came for him about five minutes to one o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and he went back with him to his residence. Witness went upstairs, and found deceased sat in a chair with his trousers on, and the doublebarrelled breech.ioading gun produced reared• between his legs with the muzzle against his breast. A piece of string was attached to the trigger with a loop at the end, in which deceased's right foot was placed. In one barrel he found the spent cartridge produced, , and the other barrel was empty. The brains and blood of the deceased were scattered all over the room—on the walls, curtains, floor and ceiling. All the head but a part of the chin was blown away, and witness found the skull in two pieces under the bed. The body was quite cold, and Dr. Holderness, who was called in, said deceased had probably been dead several hours. Witness came to  the conclusion that deceased had put the muzzle of the gun into his mouth. No mark of violence was found on the body. The Foreman said that several of the jury had been in the company of deceased, and knew that he sat brooding for hours together without speaking to anyone. The Jury were unanimously of the opinion that the deceased committed suicide whilst temporarily insane.