A SECRETARY'S SUICIDE.

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17167, 25 March 1927, Page 4

A SECRETARY'S SUICIDE.

Press Associafcion.)

JDMPED FIFTY FEET.

Per

WELLINGTON, March 24. Mr Page, S.M. (Coroner), presided io-day at an inquest concerning the death of Leonard Edwin Johnson, nrivate secretary to tlie Minister oi Agriculture, which occurred on Sunday night. Thomas Smithson, mghtwatchman on -duty at the Parliamentary Buildings, gave evidence that early on Monday morning, while on his rounds, he opeped a basement door and saw deceased lying in the yard directly underneath a parapet of the building, which is over 50 yeet high. Police Sergeant Claasen stated that he had been called to the scene of the fatality. He went up to deceaseds rom and on a table found four letters addressed in deceased's hand-writing, oue to Mr T. M. Wilford, one to the Public Trustee, one to the Hon. O. J. Hawken, and one to Mr E. N. G. Poulton, secretary to the Minister of Internal Affairs. "These are private letter|i con.taining matters irrelevant ;.to thi.'. inquiry," said Mr Page, who stated th,at the evidence showed that deceased was in a despondent frame of mind and the letters clearly in- | dicated that he intended committing suicide, A verdict was returned accordingly.