Lancaster Standard and County Advertiser. — 1898-07-29 (Lancaster, Lancashire, England)

TERRIBLE SUICIDE AT LANCASTER.  WHY DID HE DO IT%  A painful case of suicide was investigated by the Lancaster Coroner (Mr. Holden). at the Park Hotel on Wedneeday. The suicide was a young man named 1--ornas Henry ..ewitt. aged 29. single, who was said to be a draper at York. He only came to Lancaster on Tuesday evening. and next morning was discovered to have fatally cut his throat.  Edmund Whiteley Hewitt, railway mechanic, York, brother of deceased, gave evidence of identification. He last saw deceased alive on Tues.. day morning at York railway station. He was ve.y much harassed and out of health, and wantcd rest and change. There was no difference in his ni-dincr except that be was km cetvensiIlona' than usual, and WWI going to Lancester • for a holiday. The elder brother of the deceased, I.ring in Lancaster. said that deceased arrived in Lumens ter about five o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and he took him home. He last saw lam a year , ' ago, and found him jaded, and wanting rest. ' Deceased had tea. and and he had enjoyed it more than anything he had eaten tor over a week. Witness remained with his about twenty I =flutes, and noticed that there was a want of ! culllectivenees in his conversation. He left him I in the brightest of spirits. Witness afterwards left for business, and on reaching home at a quarter to nine found deceased had disappeared. He went out and searched the country on his bicycle until half-past eight the following morning, examining the Sentforth mill dam and other plaees. The last witness' wife mid she had known I the deceenied about six years, during which time I he had had fairly good health. She always found I him rational in manner. When he arrived on 'ruesday evening he said he was run down in health, and after her husband was gone he sat with her about half an hour. She did not notice any peculiarity about him. He left the house a little after seven, remarking that he would go : for a ten minutes' stroll, and she told him to go to the top of the street and turn to the right. Halberd Townley, cowman, Moorside Farm.: Scotforth, steed that about half past seven that I morning he was going up the field behind the house, and saw the body of a man. There was I no public footpath through the field. The body I was lying on its back, and the throat was cut,: an open razor lying on the breast. He went I back to the farm, and sent for the police. The hat was lying near the feet, but with that exception the body was fully clothed. P.C. Douglas, who is stationed at Scotforth, said he received notice of the discovery about eight o'clock, and at once went to the spot. The throat was cut in two places. one of the wounds, three inches in length, haring cut the windpipe, and the other, lire inches long, having severed the jugular vein. There was a large quantity of blood about. and both hands were covered. 'Pb. razor case wiw in the field between Hoseberyavenue and the spot where the body was found, about twenty vans away. The first wound was not fatal. 'rho clothes were not disturbed, except that the collar had been unfastened in front and the tie removed. In the pockets were .4 fis. sd. In money, a number of stamps, a railway ticket, and a few other papers. The Coroner then addressed the jury. He said he had never before in the course of his unfortunately long experience found a nian commit suicide without any apparent cause and in such a determined manner. The second waneesi knew nothing of any mental derangement or excel,- , tional bodily dl-heanh, except that he was run down. What evidence was there that the man I was not in a sound state of mind? He knew juries thought that if a man committed suicide be must be of unsound mind. and he never found fault with them for doing .0, and if tory were satisfied tuat deceived commited suicide—of which there wan no doubt—he must ask them to say what state of mind he was in when he did it. If he had taken any other life than his ORO they would have been slow to gay he was of unsound mind. But he never found fault with juries for taking an indulgent view of these matters.  The jury dcliheraled towether for a few minutes. The foreman then announced that their verdict was the customary one of "Suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity."