EXTRAORDINARY LETTER OR A SUICIDE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2001, 30 January 1890, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY LETTER OR A SUICIDE.

A carpenter named Stubbs, 37 years of age, and unmarried, committed suicide a few days ago by shooting himself in a railway carriage on the Brighton line, Victoria. He seems to have been a bit of a humorist and a philosopher, as he left a letter for Hr Youl, the Melbourne coroner, which read as follows;—“ To JDr Youl, City Coroner. My Dear Doctor, —"Whilst still in the flesh, and ere my soul takes its flight from that frail tenement of clay, the body, allow me, with all due respect to the serious functions of your high and important office, to tender you my hearty congratulations on the businesslike and consistent manner in which you have for a considerable length of time performed the onerous duties oi coroner to the city of Melbourne. As you are aware, I have not the pleasure of your personal acquaintance, and, in anticipation, I cannot but regret the fact that when we do meet I shall have to occupy such an unconscious position in the interview, besides having to suffer without opposition the indignity of being ‘ sat on.’ However, dear doctor, I feel assured that you and the respectable company who may assist m the ceremony of inquiry will do so with becoming respect and decorum, if not for my memory’s sake, at all events for the sake of those who have the misfortune to be connected with me by ties of blood. The question has been raised, ‘ Is life worth living ?’ Well, as the Yankee says, ‘lt all depends.’ Speaking personally, I must say in many respects I have found it ‘ a jolly old world ;’ and if I have had a goodly share of its ill-luck, I have also had a fair share of its pleasures. Therefore, I think that I and this ancient planet may cry ‘quits.’ I dare say, dear doctor, you find life, on the whole, pretty jolly. It is just possible that if I possessed your ability, and the good fat screw attached to your office, I would not be in such a hurry to leave this sphere. However, we cannot all be city coroners, and even you, dear doctor, must at times encounter vexations. In conclusion, let me express the hope that your remaining years may be characterised with an abundance of the joys of life and few of its ills, and that when your time for disunion arrives it may be at a period of contented old age, unattended by violence, and in the orthodox manner, thus avoiding the necessity and unenviable notoriety of being ‘ sat upon-’ In prospect of an early meeting, I remain, with due respect, yours, lir Cxene.” The jury found the usual verdict, that he was of unsound mind.