SAD CASE OF SUICIDE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1894, 21 May 1889, Page 3

SAD CASE OF SUICIDE.

Last Saturday (says tho Press) a distressing case of suicide under temporarily mental derangement took place atLoburn, the deceased being Mrs Polhill, wife of Mr F. Polhill, of the Loburn Station. Having got up early she entered a room a'most separate from the remainder of the house, used as an office, whers, loading a gun, she placed it on a table, with the butt lodged against the window sill, and the mnzz'e in the direction of her body, and after the discharge of the piec# she was found on the floor with her dress burning, and a mortal wound causal by small shot on the left side and her arm on that side severely lacerated. The room was a small one, and the marks of the shot wore seen on the walls. The deceased lived about five boars after the affair, and was sensible to tho last. The following particjiars were elicited at the inquest he’d held on Sunday, before Mr Whitefoord, coroner, and a jury, of which Mr Win, de Troy was foreman

Francis Polhill, husband of deceased, said they had been married twenty-seven years. The deceased had been in a nervous depressed state for five or six months. Her illusions were that she had been sinning by telling untruths, and that the Almighty would demy her forgiveness. She had been attended by Dr. Tweed at Ashburton some months buck, and more recently by Dr. Clayton at Rangiora. Deceased was residing with witness’ eldest son when she consulted Dr. Tweed. Witness had not seen D r , Tweed as to (she matter of the consultation which took place. Dr. Clayton had only seen her professionally on one occasion, and expressed tho opinion that tf deceased got any worse witness should get a, qualified ouree, but not to send her from home, in the company of strangers deceased talked quite as sanely as anyone would do. She never exhibited the slightest homicidal tendencies, was always gentle, and never violent on any occasion. On Saturday they were without a servant. One had left, and another was to come that morning. Miss Polhill got up to attend to the bouse duties. Deceased was usually wakeful towards morning, and on Saturday morning was awake from two till four, when she slept for about an hour, and got up about seven o’clock, saying that she would help her daughter

to get breakfast. Witness remained in the bedroom after her for about half an hour. He was dressed all but waistcoat and coat when be heard a noise of a smothered report, then a fall, and a cry. He ran into the passage, and asked Miss Polhill what the noise was, Ho wont round to the room used by bira as an office, which bad an outside door. The door was open. The deceased was lying upon the floor. He saw instantly she had »bot herself, as her dress was on fire along the left side. The room was full of smoke, and the gun was lying on the table in the position as viewed by the jury. Witness extinguished the smouldering fire, and put his hand on the wound in the endeavor to staunch (he blood. His daughter, who had called the man , followed him. They forced open an inside door, which had been locked, leading to the office from the house, and laid the deceased on a mattress, carrying her into the bedroom, They sent at once for medical aid. She asked

once for something to relieve the pain, as well as made some incoherent remarks about hsr illusions. She made to statement to him of having committed the deed herself. Dr _ Clayton arrived in wonderfully quick time, namely, in about two hours from the time he was sent for, reaching the house at 10 a.m. Deceased was alive when he arrived. After examination of the wound he gave as his opinion that it was mortal, and said the case was hopeless. Deceased survived up to 1 p.m. before death took place. Till r within the Inst few months deceased hud ; not previously shown any signs that her mind was unhinged. The gun was kept unloaded and hanging in slings upon the office wall ; the cartridges were loose on the mantelshelf. Deceased always was afraid of firearms, and would not go near them. He bad no idea that she knew how to unfasten a breech-loading gun or to load if But for the hallucination her .Tiind was very clear. Mrs Harwell was sent for when the man was despatched for the doctor, and she arrived immedealolv, remaining with deceased till she IS V the position in which doceased lay in the office he should say she had been standing sideways, and with the butt of the gun resting on a table against the window sill. Had pu’led the trigger to shoot at her heart. She lay with her head towards the door, the gun re_mainißg on the table pomtmg in that direction, with sho,t wa/Jw on the wall behind her. The evidence of the nurse, Mrs Harwell, and John Hunt, ploughman, having been taken Constable Coelin stated Dr Clayton informed him he bad asked deceased her mason for lh§ net; when she said she had

been a groat sinner, and thought she hid been deceiving people. The jury found that deceased had dhd from a gunshot wound, eelf-inflicted while temporarily out of her mind. They also wished to < xprrss tlin opinion that her husband and family lord done everything to take cue nf her, and that there vas apparently no reason to place her under restraint.