The Warwickshire Herald. — 1891-03-26 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

THE TRAGEDY AT NEWBURY.  In the Queen's Bench Division on Monday, Mr. I Justice Cave and Mr. Justice Grantham had beton them the case.the Queen v. Coataon.—The Attorney- 1 General said this was a summons made returnable in Court by Mr. Justice Denman at Chambers, call. , ing upon the coroner of Newbury, Berkshire, In attend the Court on the hearing of an applicatioalsg the director of Public Prosecutions that another m• , quest should be held as to the deaths of Sidney George Heath and Annie Maria Chamberlain, on the ground that there had not been suffered sufficient Inquiry. The coroner, the learned counsel said, was complainant, and in his affidavit submitted himself to the direction of the Court. A lIPW in. required, more especially in regard to the 3.euilirtK w: re the woman, but Mr. Justice Denmar thought as the circumstanees were connected that, an inquiry ought to be instituted as to both , deaths. The woman Chamberlain was the wife ol John Chamberlain, a farmer, and they lived upon friendly terms. Sidney George Heath was Mrs. Chamberlain's brother, and he was married, sue there appeared to 'have been some evidence that Mrs. Chamberlain was not on good terms with het : sister-in-law. On the evening when the deathe occurred, Heath appeared to have been sitting at the piano, and was either singing or playiny when he was apparently shot by Mrs. Chamberlais with a double-barrelled gun,with which her husband ' was accustomed to shoot rabbits. He was killed instantly, and fell forward on the piano. So far at appeared at the inquest, the husband of the do ceased came into the room on hearing the shot, and saw his wife with the muzzle of the gun held in his hand and pointing towards her chest. He seemed to have spoken to her, and, according te the statement made by himself and others, to have struggled with her to prevent her doing herself harm. Then a second shot was heard, and upon the evidence, apparently three re four minutes afterwards the woman was found out side the room sitting on the Boor and leaniny against the wall. She was shot in the back, between the shoulder-blades or a little lower, the wound pointing downwards. The doctor expressed the opinion that it was impossible for the wound te have been self-infficted. There was no post-mortem, although the coroner ordered one, but the jury did not think an adjournment necessary to have one made. The jury found that Heath was shot by his sister while suffering from temporary derangement, and that Mrs. Chamberlain was accidentally shot while her husband was attempting to prevent her committing suicide. The Home Secretary directed the body to be exhumed, and it was examined by , Dr. Bend in,the presence of Dr. Clarke, who knew the woman. Dr. Bond said there were no bruises oil marks of violence on the hands or arms, and the ' wound on the back pained obliquely downwards, and could not have possibly been self-inflicted. He' thought the muzzle must have been a foot from the woman, and that at the time the gun went off she could not have been touching it. He was not prepared to lay that it was impossible that the! woman could have been shot by accident, but he was quite unable to see how a woman could place herself in such a position that a sudden jerk would 1 place the gun In the position in which it exploded. There was, after the event, found on the table a letter in the handwriting of the woman, addressed to her mother, but probably intended for her sister in-law, containing the expression: "You have made' our lives a misery to us all," and stating that she had taken the action she had in order to be released from it. The learned counsel said he wished to express no opinion as to what would be the result ! of a fresh inquiry, but only submitted that a freak one should take place.—Mr. Danckwetta, in &hew.' ing cause against the summons on behalf of the; coroner, said that the husband's explanation war that the gun went off accidentally, and that in the struggle the woman twisted round. He made one desperate effort to get the gun away, and by some ineans it exploded.—Mr. Justice Cave did not think it had been satisfactorily made out that the inquiry was not sufficient, and he saw nothing which would justify another)ury incoming to a different conclusion to that arrived at by the first one.—Mr. Justice Grantham concurred.—The application for a fresh bigotry was therefore refused.  A pig-jobber of Wintertnn, near Doncaster, has been fined £2O and costs at the Guildhall Policecourt for sending the carcass of a die eel pig to the Central Meat Market, intending it for human ood.  The Treasury have resolved to abolish the system ! of remuneration of income-tag collectors by way of poundage. They will hereafter receive a Axed salary on the basis of poundage earned by them in the financial year now closing. Consul Cusack-Smith reports favourably upon the agricultural prospects of Samoa. Cotton of fine quality is being grown on the German plantations; the coffee plants bear good crops of excellent flavour, aryl are not affected with disease ; cattle thrive wonderfully upon the rich pastures; prime tobacco, which might be profitably exported if properly treated, is grown all over the islands for native consumption; and fruit is produced in abundance, bananas and citrons being exported, as well as copra from the cocoanuts, which are grown extensively. Mr. Justice North has refused to restrain Mr. Perryman from further publishing alleged libels on a Mr. Plumbley, contained in the Financial Observer of February 28;h, on the ground that the action should have been brought in the Queen's Bench Division. He said that if the partbs did not consent to have the action trar.sferred to the Queen's Bench he 41.411t1 a yto the Lord Chancellor to 5t.119. it 50, kist