The Warwickshire Herald. — 1894-08-30 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

MORE SUICIDES.  Sergesiv. Joshua John Renshaw, of the Royal Marines, committed suicide at New Brompton, near Chatham, on Friday morning. Deceased left home at 6 o'clock to proceed to duty on board her Majesty's ship Brilliant, and on the way called in at the Beresford Arms and asked for a bottle of ginger beer. The landlord remarked, "You aren't looking well," whereupon the sergeant replied, "Yes, lam all right, but a bit worried." Renshaw passed into the lavatory, and soon afterwards the landlord was horrified to find that he had cut his throat with a razor. He died in about 10 minutes. Deceased, who leaves a wife and four children, had been nearly 15 years in the service.  At the Lambeth Coroner's Court, on Friday, Mr. A. Braxton Hicks held an inquiry in reference to the death of James Adams, aged 54, a labourer in the employ of the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Works Company.—Robert Adams, a labourer, said the deceased (his father) had been in the company's employ for 18 years. About four years ago his wife died, and he had since been very depressed. Although he would occasionally drink to excess, he was in the main of sober habits.—Charles Asher, an engine-driver in the employ of the London Brighton, and South Coast Railway, said that the deceased had lodged with him for some months. On Tuesday, at midnight, when he returned home he appeared to witness very strange in his manner. The next morning witness was alarmed by hearing deceased shout, "tome up, Asher, Asher, I am dying ; I have poisoned myself." Witness hurried to the room, and the unfortunate man exclaimed, "There it is," pointing to &bottle which lay upon the table, and which had contained oil of vitrol. "I have itaken the lot." "Why have you done it?" asked witness. Adams replied, "I want to go to my wife. Let my son Jam know. A doctor was called, and he was subsequently removed to the hospital.—Dr. Arthur Morris, house physician at St. Thomas's Hospital, deposed that the deceased only lived four hours after admission. Death was due to the oil of vitriol poisoning.—The lury returned a verdict of suicide during temporary insanity.  On Friday morning Dr. George Danford Thomas, coroner for the Central Division of London, held an inquest at the Hampstead Dispensary Hall, Newend, on the body of Mr. William Douglas Hamilton, P.S.A., aged 87, who shot himself through the head with a muzzle-loading rifle at his residence, 2, College-road South Hampstead.—Harriett Collard, a servant, deposed that the deceased was an editor, and resided with two aged sisters. He had not been well since he had an attack of influenza last Christmas, whilst he suffered from delusions that he could hear people talking to him. Of late he had been unable to sleep at night. On Wednesday night soon after 10 o'clock he bade his sisters good night, and went to bed. Afterwards she heard a noise as of firearms, on which witness and a sister went upstairs, where the deceased was discovered shot in his room. Dr. Arthur Percy Jarvis, of Queen's-crescent, stated that early on Thursday morning he was called to see the deceased, and found him quite dead. He found deceased lying on the floor, with a wound in the mouth and the bullet had passed through the skull, shattering it and throwing the brain matter about the floor. The bullet had passed through the artery. He found that the boot was off the right foot and around the toes was a piece of string, and that this had evidently been attached to the trigger, and deceased had put the muzzle into his mouth and fired. Deceased was employed in the British Museum, and was of brilliant attainments, being editor in compiling old historical manuscripts—The jury returned a verdict that the deceased committed suicide whilst of unsound mind.