The Bee-Hive. — 1870-09-17 (London, England)

STRANGE SUICIDE.—On Tuesday afiernoon Mr. W. j Payne, the deputy coroner for the City, held an 'inquiry at St. Bartholomew's Hospital touching the death of Mr. Leonard Thomas Shuckard, aged 64 years, a solicitor, who destroyed his life at the Aldersgate-street statio-i under the circumstances hitherto reported. Mr. Ambrose Parsons, a solicitor. carrying on business at No. 4 Fenchnrchbuildings, stated that be had known the deceased for the last 38 years. He was a man of very peculiar habits, awl he was very fond of talking to boys in a lower station of life than himself', on account of his having been befriended when a boy himself by persons in a superior stition. He held peculiar ideas about the training of children. When a charge of indecent assault hail been brought against him he became quite proszrate, and witness insisted upon his remaining in bed. He was a man of high moral character. The jury returned a verdict of suicide while in a state of temporary insanity:  THE WORKMEN'S TEMPERANCE CONFERENCE,  As promised in our last we now give a summarised report of the Conference of Temperance Workmen, held last week in Berner's Hall, Islington, in connection with the Workmen's International Exhibition.  The Chairman (Hr. J. Taylor) remarked that the drinking usages of workshops had . been of a most universal character, and had been the greatest obstacles in the way of the temperance reformation. They had many straggles, they had much to contend with, people ofteu laughed at teetotalers as weak and timid, but he believed no more pluck had been exhibited by any class than by those who had the courage and the heroism of the teetotalers thirty years ago. Especially was this true of those working men who had opposed the customs of their class—these latter had been much modified and improved of late —but still they were injurious, and this conference Was held for the purpose of still farther considering the subject. Mr. Jabez West (skinner and tanner, from Bermondsey) maintained that intemperance among the working classes was the result of customs created by their fathers. Thirty years ago in his trade if a man came in 'ate he had to pay a fine in drink, the foreman drew the ticket, and the publican allowed him 29. 6d. in the pound. But now the rule was that the workman had his wages without going to the public-house for them. Now, instead of giving a workman out of employ beer they gave him a shilling. Mr. John Bowen (stone sawyer) said a man never came to a new placa but it generally ended in a drunken bout.  Mr. Charles Pelling, of Belfast, urged the hnportance of having educational works on the temperance question for the use of schools. Mr. Hunter, who had worked as a navvy under a sub-contractor who kept a beershop, said often the men did not take home more than a very small part cf their wages. It was Mr. Murphy who had opened his eyes; he had heard him lecturing in Surrey Chapcl, and he found that as men stood firm opposition would cease. The Rev. G. M. Murphy remarked that Sir Peter Fairbairn had forbidden the use of intoxicai ting liquor in his manufactory. He could remember when men were " barnacled" for refusing to pay their footing, and he had seen men suffer tortures almost equalling that of the Spanish Inquisition in consequence. The Chairman explained that us regards the Durham coalfields the men had no ttmi.tation to drink. He had been instrumental in introducing temperance practices into the works, and had got the foundry-men to drink oatmeal-and-water, and they were all the better for it.  Mr. W. Earle, wood sawyer thirty years, said in his trade a man had to pay his footing, and then, when he was twenty-one, he had to spend 10s. 6d. for a " mutton," as it was termed, while the other men paid a Milling each to the .feast, which, in consequence of the drink, often became a very eatpensive one. There were many =stems which led to drinking, but they had been abolished. Now there wci e eighty teetotal wood-sawyers, and they made the 1 tw.  The Rev. G. W. iTer:!c, though not exactly a working man, referred to the opposition teetctal, ism met within respectable society. He maintained that if the workmen had been teetotalers they would not have needed to pass an act of Parliament to educate their children. Still progress was molting. Ile coal! testify on that head. In one largo chinch at which there was a social meeting every year, :it which it was u,nal to hand round wine, that custom was now d.s:!ontinited. At a friendly quArterly meaing or Baptist ininistets in L-tridon wine was no longer introduced. A committee was then appo.uttd to draw up reFolutions for the evening meeting, and the conference concluded.