DETERMINED SUICIDE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 58, 7 March 1873, Page 4

DETERMINED SUICIDE.

coronee's inquest. .7-..

-(From, the Grey River Arqvs.) 7 An inquest was held at the Court-house,, Ahaura, op Friday, v2Bth uit., before C. Wbitefoord, Esq., coroner, touching the death bf Canute or Khud H endricksen , who bung himself in the lock-up at Ahaura, on the afternoon of that day. A jury.having been swor,n, of which Charles- „ Clarispn, ; pfiPuffer Creek, vjras chosen fpre^j man, they proceeded tb view the bocly^ which was lying at the lock-up. From the evidence it seemed tbe deceased, who was a miner working at Half- Ounce, appeared strange in his manner for some time,.. Seniorrcons.table Ppfrirhad -been jlobkipgj after him, an^tbafr. -officer r]-ceivedijinti-^ mation on Monday tbat he was ill, and on inquiry it was found that he had disappeared from his usual places^, of resort. On Thursday morning Constable Maloney," after a search, arrested the deceased at ; Totara Flat.: He ; found biii-7 near the, terminus of "Lardi's tramway; hot far ffbnr the Grey river. He was lying on bis face on the ground, and when the constable arrested him T on a charge of lunacy, be said he «' wanted to die ; where he was." ; He pointed out a tree 'to the constable, to a branch of which he had tied a handkerchief, and two pieces of a woollen s ; arf ; were found lying on the ground as if broken by-violence. He had-some, bread and meat with hico,"but the constable was7 informed by a person who lived near the place where the deceased was found that7 be had not eaten anything since Monday/ From papers found on the body, it, seemed, that he bad consulted Dr. , Garland^;; at Bendigo, Victoria, seven years ago, with reference to his sufferings. On two loose leaves of a memorandum book, wbich were found on bis person when he was searched at the lockup, was a'ttihd of confession,., in which -he; said "he had brought himself to be the lowest of the low, and unworthy to be called a man," through his secret practices, and he bitterly upbraided himself with not telling Dr GaTland: the whole trulh.about his case when he consulted him. He seemed rational enough ia his action and spoke sensibly while he was in custody, and took, his food regularly with 'a good _apjp.etite. ■ He was allowed to go about the premises With the other prisoners, and at his own request he was permitted to do light work when he felt inclined... It was the intention of the police to bring him before the Bench" on Friday, and to ask for a remand for a few days to see 'how he got on, and if be did not get worse bis discharge would be applied for. About two o'clock in the . afternoon he asked Constable. Maloney to take a message to a friend of his, named Harry Swanson, who was at the time in the Resident Magistrate's Court, which was then sitting. The constable' saw Swanson, and on returning to the lockup he heard a scream, and rushing to the cells be found tbe deceased lying on the floor with two of the prisoners bending over him. A piece of rope was round the neck of the body, in which life was not quite extinct ; but the man died shortly afterwards, just as Dr Phillips arrived. William Graely, oue of the prisoners confined in tbe lockup, said be went into one of the cells after dinner, and, looking at the place where the deceased bad bis bed, and not seeing bim there, he (Graely) went towards the inner cell, and he saw the deceased hanging by a rope fastened to the grating, of the iventilator oyer the doorway. Hp got a knife and cut the body down, at: the Bame time giving an alarm. This witness said the deceiased told him in the morning that he intended to commit suicide while in the bush; be also told bim the cause of his troubles. From the time he (the witness) was speaking last to the deceased until he found him hanging, five: minutes had not elapsed. The deceased was told after dinner that a good many men were in town froni Half-Ounce, and he said he supposed they came to bid him good-bye, and requested ■"' especially 7 to • see7 Harry : Swanson. Dr Phillips said the 1 body of the deceased, was quite dead when he saw7 it, at. the lock-up. . .... Two months; ago, Hendrickseu consulted ...him. He then.y complained of severe pains in ibis head, which at times he said nearly drove tim mad. .. „' XiX ..;.'..;,.', ]t 'X-Jy^x ,'"" The j ury| returned a/verdict that the; db- " ceased committed suicide while laboring under a fit of temporary 7ih'sahity.7~ The^ deceased was a7native of y Sweden, iand, about 35 years of age^>an(L.i.8 I said i .tp have been well-connected .^>'i;He was an \ old ~ resicletit- of •Half-Ouncej.;whet_3;.he.ha_! feeen^ -hiding ; sinice-the i-first^6pening of thedeep.' .lead. , He must have been medi tatio% ; ' •'• , '~.'ttr , -'J'J ) .ijii''-i":..>. '.WJ-y UfiV' > '■ T''-"!.......___!}.'.' 1 v__fj p i «,._._ Belf-destructio^fpr^Bom^ -lime,':; and, with, the extraordinary X cunning • \ which ia. characterist-C^of persons similarly afflicted, , The is, supposed-. to;^^ of cord with which he, compaitted 4heyfatal Tfe« ecrd was not mooh more tbana yard

..'..,: j'. ft /A '„;•• & ' '• - ' • -i ' in lei-gthyrand from.th'ei;. posi tion in which 1 the body was found, hanging with thej feet touching the floor of the cell, he evidently set about ; the commission of the; terrible act in the, most determined andj method ical, manner. The remains, of the! :unfonuriatej;man7were ; iP-terred in) the coril|erjof tliie cJßmetery, ait ;Aihaura,]pn\Sat«ir-; clay evening. Mr Wfiitefoord read" the! burial service. . A Writee in the Australasian observes : — ** There is a phase of the Qarl massacre to which J-da ;nqt think^- any^attentiop has been dir'ected.,V The spixi^thiftg to which T refer proves that, the warlike . natives captured at Bougainville Islandsiare men of more than savage bravery, and . and yet with human sympathies. Ia the \ evidence of the late trial jt~w|as deposed that thrbughout tbej'de"adiy]>-fußilade into -the hold of the slaver -there .wias no cry of pain and moan of wound. They took their , death like heroes; and yet, when a white savage seized, in order to throw overboard, tbe six-fiogered native child, the men who had never cried out under the murderous firey of their 1 enslavers, . uttered a. sympathetic and prdteßtibg wail or-inguish^ - A Writer iq7.,t7he Melbourne Leader narrates a dilemma'in'wfirch a friend of his .found him Be If during his visit to : Tasman ialastAy ear j :'■ The jsf.said .", to have hired a buggy and~*pau7fbr" the 7 purpose of driving to the salmon ponds... at New- Norfblk^and Teturned th^ iljplipwjng' day, after a very pleasant trip. Not haying. what phrenologists would. call rtbe bump of locality at all strongly-developed, he forgot the livery stables at which he,, hired} the trap,?and drove up>,tO(a: riyalrr^es- •: tablishment in another straetV ' The groom tpuched. his cap. took the ; hbrses r K and pocketed the shillingi.;. The wbjolej jtra%saction had quite faded from the friend's memory, until sometime afterw ards, just as he was leaving' the townftwo'docu'bents ■*• were put in his hands. One for three weeks' hire of a buggy and pair, the . other was for three weeksfl'Jksep: of-f^itto.'.'; By degrees the thought dawned upon him., that he had made a mistake, and left the trap at the wrong place. There was nothing for it hut to cash-up. - • An' Amusing Prqxesx. against "central-, 7ijkiatioa,* ? was made 7the: other day by a public meeting in the important town of rWoolloogong, New South Wales. The^ r town has a very serious grievance. It possesses a gaol, and lately, as there are no prisoners there, the Government has determined to close it. This," at tHe first glance,. does not seem so nefarious a pro-* ceeding, and would r eveh appear'tb' rest upon sound economical reasons. But thes meeting agreed, nevertheless, that it was a wrong ; done to the town." The mayor, who presided, admitted that the gaol had; not been closed before it was empty, ibut he. looked on hopefully to "a good time coming," when there would be- an influx : of miners, and possibly ail sorts of disturbances that would end in filling the now desolate prison. .He 'therefore moved that ** the meeting, hears with greftt surr prise that it is the intention of the Government to close the.;Woollongong : gaol," and protested against such proceeding, the gaol being necessary for the maintenance of good order. The gentleman who seconded the resolution added an argument of the most humanitarian character. At present "there were prisoners in other parts, of the colony where gaol accommodation was not 7ai_d unfortunate people might be sent toVWobllongong, ,i whefel.it would be a source of comfort and consolation to them to be visited by their friends." This is explained : by the south coast offering great facilities! < for. an occasional; yisit.iViOt.herci speak ers saw in the : proceedingc 'anotk-eri piece I of' centralisation^ ,qf : ' whicj-tirtber^rwas tdo ! much already. The sentimentaL... a|n f d^ philanthropic, and. ..patriotic arguments,, in favor of the maintenance of. the /gaol having been ••' -'e^'h^Bt'^j-I^VmiJd; ri 'sp^aker touched a ihbre "subsVantja.l^dasQn^w^'^lhej alluded; ,to7the, fact, th,at, •-the.cprporation had 200 or 300 tons'of .', stone^.w^ting | in the ; yard.^ : be. broken for^..tjhe.s^r.eets,''' find . .. another is Bsadowe.!^qu.t l ..in.J^ adopted,/ which remarks, th,at *f theymemo- 3-rialists-areiientitled! to thp-adv-injtagesi of the gaol' expenditure being continued; ip^ our town, whero goods can be purchased 7 at lo w |riceß, |nd with economy ~to the ' public .rjayenpe.",^^ P.:. ''%! (r . s7 ■■ " ,Vii:l