The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1885-09-16 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SAD SUICIDE AT BIDSTON.  On Monday afternoon, Mr. Churton, coroner for West Cheshire, held an inquest at the National Schools, Bidston, on the body of Thomas Ffoulkes Jones, aged 54 years, whose dead body was found in Mill Park. Bidston, on Sunday afternoon.—William Hughes, of Regent-lane, Liverpool, identified the body as that of his brother-in-law. He had carried on business as a coal merchant at Galt, Ontario, Canada. He came to England three weeks since last Thursday, and up to his death, with the exception of two or three days, had resided with witness. He often complained of heart disease. Ho had a wife and eight children in Canada. The reason he gave witness for returning to England was that he thought he would be able to get work better in England than he could in Canada. He brought specimens of iron and other metals, which he thought to turn to account. The last time witness saw the deceased was on Thursday week, when they dined together at an eating. house in Liverpool. When he left witness he said he was going to the packet office to secure a passage to return to Canada on the following Saturday. He said he would have to pay a deposit, and on witness asking him if he had sufficient money he replied in the affirmative. He appeared to be very depressed and low spirited. He had never threatened to destroy himself in witness's hearing. He had seen the body, and there was a wound on it which had ben caused by a gun or pistol. —Robert Power,fof Birkenhead, stated that on Sunday morning between twelve and one o'clock he found the body of the deceased lying behind a wall in Mill Park, Bidston Hill, in a secluded part of the wood. He at once gave information to P.C. Hope. The body had evidently been dead some time. Witness was present when the body was searched by P.C. 'Dean. There was no sign of a struggle having taken place. There was a small blood stain on the left breast. In the pockets were a number of letters, cards, pawnticket for a gold lever watch pawned on the 3rd September for £3, £ll7s. 6d. in money, and a diary, which was entered up to the 2nd of September. On that date the following entry was made in the diary : "Answer from Mr. Ridley. My ease is really desperate. I sometimes seriously think of ending all; it will be better for my family. I shall never get employment.' There was a letter from Mr. Ridley, to whom the deceased had evidently applied for a situation, couched in the following terms : My dear sir,—l have your letter of the 27th August. I regret I have not anything at present I can offer. Ido hope you will meet with something to assist you, as you appear to wish to return with your family to this country; but I should have guessed Canada would have been better for you." The deceased had written the following note on the back of Mr. Ridley's note and addressed it to his brother-in-law :—" September 3. Dear Mr. Hughes,—l hope by the time this reaches you I shall be no more. I cannot face my prospects. lam sincerely obliged for your kindness to me and mine. As a last request I will ask of you to be sure to send a certficate of my death to my wife in Canada. This is important. It is my wish to be buried in the most inexpensive manner near to this place." In answer to the Coroner, witness said the body was quite fresh, but death had evidently taken place some days before he found the body. . . . .  - P.C. Dean stated that he found a six. chambered revolver lying in the grass about two feet from the deceased's left side. There were two chambers loaded, and one had recently been discharged. He also found three cartridges in the deceased's pockets. In summing up the Coroner said there could be no doubt that the deceased had committed suicide in conseinencs of his difficulties in Canada and his inability to obtain work in this country. The letter which he had written to his brother-in-law clearly proved that to be the case as it was well written and contained some logical instructions. It would be very difficult to say that a man who penned such a letter was of unsound mind. The only evidence which tended to show that the deceased was not of sound mind was the depression of spirits which he was in on the 3rd inst., when he left Mr. Hughes after dining with him in Liverpool. The letter clearly foreshadowed what took place and the fact that he had pawned his watch showed that he must have been in great straits at the time. There could be no doubt as to the cause of his death as the wound in his left side penetrated through the centre of the heart. The evidence clearly pointed to the supposition that that wound was self-inflicted, and the only point for the jury to consider was the state of his mind at the time he committed the act.  Mr. Hughes was re-called, and in answer to the coroner said he had not made any inquiries at the police-station after the deceased's disappearance but had written to some of his friends in the country thinking that he must have gone there. The jury returned a verdict of " Suicide." The Coroner to foreman: Anything further? The Foreman: That he did it himself. (Laughter.) The Coroner: Yes you have told us that before, but what about the state of his mind.  Witness: Oh we are of opinion that h*e.;a"s. temporarily insane. The Coroner: Well, there was a marvellous amount of method about his insanity.