THE INQUEST.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1063, 23 July 1883, Page 2

THE INQUEST.

The inquest touching on the death of the deceased Joseph Crozier was held at the Manntahi hotel on Saturday morning before Captain Wray, coroner, and a jury of twelve of which Mr John Ginger was chosen foreman. The following depositions were taken : William Beckman deposed: I am a butcher by trade and live at Manutahi, I knew the deceased Joseph Crozier; he was butchering at Whitlem’s slaughteryards at Manutahi. Between 7 and 8 o’clock on Friday morning I had occasion to go to Whilteiu’s yard to get an axe which the deceased had taken there and which I required to chop wood at the shop. lamin Mr Whittem’s employ as a carrier. When Igot to the yard, which is about a quarter of a mile from the shop I saw the deceased lying on the floor of the copper-house on his back. I went up to him and found he was dead, I caught hold of his arm and felt that he was stiff. I did not notice any wounds on his body. I was a little frightened, and came back at once and gave information to the police, and also told Mr Whittera. I saw the deceased last alive on Thursday morn ing about nine o’clock, when I went to the yard to fetch the beef. I noticed nothing unusual about the deceased whom I have known about five years then. He had only been at Manutahi about two days. I have known him to get intoxicated at Wanganui once or twice, but he was not a drinking man. I had no conversation with him at Manutahi, and don’t know if he had any troubles. I know nothing of how the deceased came to his death. I noticed blood on deceased’s shirt, and a pool of blood on the floor in the shed. I did not see any knife. I told the police I thought deceased’s throat was cut. I thought so on account of the blood on his shirt. Deceased was not killing on that morning. He usually slept at Gallagher’s hotel.

Charles Harradine deposed : I am a labourer, residing at Manutahi, and was trimming hedges at Mr Whittem’s paddock on Thursday afternoon. The slaughter yard is in the same paddock. I saw deceased coming through a gate leading one horse and with two others following. He called to me and asked me if the horses that were following belonged to Whittem. I replied I believed they did and he said “ I will let them in at any rate,” He then led his horse across the paddock to the slaughter yard and I went home to my whare which is in the same paddock and about twenty chains distant from the slaughter yard. This was about 4 o’clock. I did not hear anything more of the deceased till I saw Constable Lister. I did not hear any particular noises on Thursday night or the next morning. Henry Taylor deposed : I am a butcher, residing at Mr Treweek’s, near Hawera. I knew the deceased, Joseph Crozier, and saw him last alive on Tuesday morning at Mr Treweek’s station, where he had been workingslaughtering at the Boiling-down Works. He had been doing nothing for about the last three weeks, but Mr Treweek allowed him to remain in the hut until he could get a job. I noticed that he was low-spirited and complained frequently that he could not get work. He had two children to support in Wanganui, He told me his children were stopping with his step daughter. He was sued in court to provide a home for hie children, but he was not in a position to do so, I sent £3 at different times to Mrs Joseph Roscoe, his step daughter. The last order I sent (P. 0.0.) was to Nelly Roscoe. About a week ago the deceased received a letter from Mrs Roscoe asking him to take the children away. I read the letter to him as he could not read, and he, appeared very much put out about it, saying that he did not know what to do. This matter weighed upon his mind. He has been sober for some time, but was a heavy drinking man in his day. He left Treweek’s on Tuesday last. Before leaving Mr Treweek gave him half a sovereign and lent him a pony to go and look for work. He came back about 11.30 the same day and told me he had a job for a few weeks at Manntahi. He then left in the best of spirits. By the police : I recognise the knife produced as the property of the deceased. I did not think deceased was a man likely to commit suicide. Thomas Porter Lister deposed : I am a constable stationed at Manutahi. At about a quarter after eight on Friday morning William Beckman came to the station and 'reported that the" butcher was lying in the shed at Mr Whittem’s slaughter yards, with his throat cut. He seemed very excited, and gave no further particulars. I proceeded immediately to the place, and on entering the shed observed the deceased lying stretched out on the floor in a pool of blood : a knife about two feet from bis left band. X lifted tip fils beard and saw a deep gash on his throat, almost from ear to ear. The body was stretched out on its back, and the right hand was bent over the head ; the left hand was bent over the chest. I felt the heart and found it had ceased to beat, and the body was quite cold. I searched the body, and found in one pocket a knife (produced.) There is rust and marks like blood on it. The butcher’s knife is also stained with blood. I found no papers on the body. There was no signs of any struggle anywhere around. I had the body conveyed to the Manutahi Hotel, I saw the deceased on Thursday last at Mr Whit tern’s store, when he was asking about his duties. From his appearance I thought ho had been drinking heavily but he was sober then. Archer Charles Croft deposed ; I am a legally qualified medical practitioner residing at Patea. By order of the coroner of the district I made a post mortem examination on the body of a man apparently about 40 years of age. In examining the body I found an incised wound extending from the angle of the lower jaw, on the left side, to nearly the same

position on the right, about six inches in length, and which had made a clean division through all the soft parts, large vessels and trachsea (wind-pipe) almost back to the spine. I saw no other marks of violence on the body and came to the conclusion that death must have instantaneously followed such a wound. I should say decidedly the wound was self-inflicted. The trachsea was divided in two places, or rather there were two incisions the smaller superficial, as if he had hesitated; the second was of the depth I had before described. The right hand was very bloody, the left hand not so much. The greatest depth is on the left side and I would conclude that the wound was inflicted with the right hand from left to right side. After a short consultation the jury returned a verdict that the deceased committed suicide while temporarily insane.