INQUEST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3341, 22 October 1889, Page 2

INQUEST.

An inquest was held on the body of Annie Hunt, wife of Brown Hunt of Miki Miki, at the residence of tho latter yesterday, before ■ Colonel Roberts, R.M., coroner, and a jury of six, of whom Mr Pierce Cotter, junr. was foreman.

Brown Hunt, sworn, said lam a farmer residing at Brentwater. De- . ceased was niy wife. I liave been married to her about twelve years. 1 was a widower when I married her. The issue of tins marriage is six children, of whom three are living. On Saturday, 19th hist,, deceased retired to her room about 7 p.m. Her | daughter Florence May was with her. { I did not intend to sleep in the same ; room that night. 1 visited her ' bedroom that night about 9 o'clock, ' Had seen a light, and went to see if , she was asleep. The door was locked and I requested admittance, which was immediately given. On entering I observed they had been to bed and ( got up again. Deceased had her , dress on over her night gown, and the '. little girl was dressing. I said, "Annie, whatever are you about? Do for goodness sako undress and get ', into bed." She appeared very dull and despondent, and did not speak. , After deceased undressed aud got into ' bed I told the girl to go and sleep in ' another room, and I would sleep there myself. I gave the girl the candlo and she went away. I covered the clothes overlay wifelobservedttie , bottlo produced on the top of the chest of drawers. I knew at the time the \ bottle contained strychnine. I got ', the strychnine over twelve months ago to poison dogs. It was kept in ' the scullery at first, and then I put it into one of my drawers and kept it , there. Deceased know the bottle was in the drawer aud what it contained. I asked my wife what she had beon [ doing with the bottlo, and she said, , "frothing." I said, "Have you ■ been taking anything out of that bottle?" and she said "No." I then went'and asked tho little girl, and she, looking frightened, said " No." I then returned to the bedroom and said, "Annie, did you take any tiling out of the bottlo ?" She nodded and said, "Yes, I have." I asked her how long it was since she took it, and she said she did not count the minutos. isaid "You never could be silly enough to go ind take that strychnine?" She nodded again. I put my finger on her tongue mid then tasted it, and found it tasted bitter. 1 wont into the scullery as quickly as possible and put three tablespoonfuls of salt in a pannikin of warm water for an emetic, and took it to her, I said, "Here, Annie, you must swallow this at ouco. For heaven's sake swallow this and get the thing up." She put it to her mouth, and then said she could not take it. I then ran out ami called my family, Wlion thoy came they held her arais and I tried to pour the stuff down but her teeth were clenched, and I could not get it down, I then put tho pannikin down on the chair and said," It's too late; we can do no mora." I told two of iny sons to go and catch their horses and vide down to Masterton and fetch up a doctor. She oeased to breathe at twenty minutes past nine o'clock. At this time my two sons were out taying to catoh their horses. I told my stepson to go out and tell them to, go to Sergeant Price and send up a policeman. According to what deceased told me tho other day she was about 48 years of age. Our married life has been a very chequered ooe, I had no words

with my wife at anytime cm the day oil which her death occurred. She coinplaiued of a headache that day. She wa,s vevy fond of her own ■children and of mine except Ernest. During the last few days she seemed to be troubled in her mind a great deal very sad and low spirited, All day on baurday she did not seem to know what she was about, There seemed to be something heavy on her mind, and she was in a desponding state. She had been like this for two or three days, Jdo not think deceased was in hor right mind when she did this. This was the reason 1 decked to sleep with her that night. We have not slept togejliei; for mm' time. . ■ ■ ■ .„:.; ■

By th? V'oronoi;:. It \ya,s, unusual for deceased, to jetfo. at.7o'clock. After bfttbing her temples for tho he Ache I lit the candle and told her to go to bed and get r good night's rest, She went out of the room with the little girl. The little girl slept with her every night since we separated our r.ooms. I noticed nothing unusual in deceased's manner prior to the last few days. She appeared

to be a healthy woman and complained very little except of headache now and then, I never heard her make any threats that she would injure herself. The bottle was about a quarter full of strychnine when we left off using it, She must have taken or wasted enough to kill twenty men.

Florence May Hunt said about a quarter of an hour- after they got into bed on Saturday night her mother got up again and told witness, to get up and put on her dress. There was a lighted candle in the bedroom, and sho saw. her mother take a blue bottle out of."the chest of drawers ; and empty something out of itjou to a piece of paper. She- threw that dose awiy into the fireplace in the bedroom. She then blew out the light and witness got into bed again, and just after heard her mother go to the drawers again and move the bottle, but could not see her, Her mother did not speak. Before .the light was out sheoifered witness some of the stuff she put on tho paper. Witness said " no " when she offered it to her. She was very fond oi her mother. Her mother did not complain of feeling bad when she went to bed.

By Coroner :-I had not been to sleep that night belore my father camo in. I thought that it was poison in the bottle, bo I would not take it. I never saw the bottle before.. My mother did not speak to me after taking the poison. My mother struck a match and lit the candle after she first put it out, I did not go to sleep at all that night in that room, Ernest Valentino Hunt corroborated the evidence of the first witness in reference to being sent fro 1 t!>e doctor. He said there had been disputes between his father and mother as near as he could remember ever since they were married. There wus nothing more than usual on Saturday night that he was aware of, or for some days back. Had heard his mother say sho would do herself an injury. Heard her on Friday the 18th say that she had been very near doing something rash, but had thought better of it. Supposed it was her low spirits aud domestic differences that made her speak in that manner. Witness had lived on pretty amiable terms with her for tho last month or two. Sbs was a very good working woman. She had been low spirited or despondent for about a week. Edmund Hunt examined said his father and mother had never lived happily together Nothing extra occurred on the Saturday but they had a disputo about a month ago. On Saturday morning she said to him, " There was nothing left for her but death and she thought if an awful thing to die and leave all her little children." Witness told her he knew she was unhappy and that he did not think it was altogether her fault. Had noticed her low spirits for some time but the last few days she had been very low indeed, Never heard her threaten to take her life and did not think she would havo done so. She certainly did look worn out but he could not say she was past all hope. Did not ',ell his father what she had said until Constable O'Connor came up on Saturday night. By the Foreman: Ido not consider that she was out of her senses. Duing the last weok I think on Friday she left the house. When 1 went down the road to look for her she came out of the hush to me, and 3 said that she "had seen my fathor sharpening a knife and that it was to kill her." I thought this was strange. I was not inside when she loft the house, and did not know thai, anywords had occurred between my father and mother, By Sergeant Price: My father was about tlm house on Friday, when ho sharpened a knife it vaa to cut up a sheep I think.

Prank Stains deposed that be helped to hold his mother to give her an emetic, His mother and stepfather appeared to live very unhappily together, They appeared to bo on bettor terms on Saturday. Had never iieen his mother in such a low condition as she was the last few days. Had occasionally had a few words with his stepfather about his mother.

Dr Hosking stated he had been called to attend the deceased, and went accompanied by Dr Milne, on tho night in question, and on arrival found she had been dead a long time w before [they arrived. Made a posijS inwtem on Monday and foumjjffl sufficient evidence to show that slij < * f had died from the effects o£ stry* chnine.

Dr Milne, who assisted in the postmortem gayo confirmatory evidence, Tho jury, having considered the evidence, gave tho following verdict: —" That the deceased, Annie Hunt, did, on tho l'JSh day of October, by taking a dose of strychnine, destroy lior life while laboring under a fit of temporary insanity,"

The N.JS.L and M.A. Company's Circular. The Loan and Mercantile Agency Company's London circular on September Gth says:— ' WOOL. The market during the past month has been quiet, Imt there has been no appreciable cliangii in the generally favorable conditions of the trade, to which allusion was made in our laaV issue. Reports from the chief indnsf trial centres, both in this country anii on the Continent, aro of a satisfactory character. Advices from the United States are, however, hardly so favor-fc able, business there having unsettled by failures ofsomoinipor- ■ tauce, The chief feature of interest during the month has been the holding of the periodical auctions at Antwerp, They opened on 2?tb ultimo and terminated on 4th inst. The better description of Ijjver Plate wools marked an improvement of {d per lb on the rates current at the previous auctions in thafceity ;medium classes were without change, while the lower qualities occasionally ruled in buyer's favor. Some lOOObalesof Australian wool sold on !!Bth ultimo are reported to have realised prues Id per lb more than those ruling at • the close of the third series in London.

I The strike of dock labourers and others which hv,s for some time pasLso seriously interfered with commerce g this centre, has not thus far nitaerialty aflected the wool trade, and it is to be hoped that the dispute willbe adjusted! pa time to admit the rocenfc arrivals : being landid and boused prior to tie ; date adevrtised for the commencement of tbe fourth series, FHOZES MEATS, The general demand durißg the' past month has been, as is customary, at this period, dull, while latterly with warmer weather it has become very slow. Values for prime qualitieA| of Home-fed mutton-supplies cV which bavo latterly tended to expand -Lave fluctuated, and at times it bail been necessary to accept a marled

reduction on recent rates! in order to effect a clearance. A firraor tone, however, is manifested at tlio oloso. Beef has beon irregular, and recently, with full supplies of Americau, prices for all except frozen descriptions have appreciably receded, In consequence of tho striko of the dock laborers, considerable difficulty has boon experienced in obtaining prompt delivery of frozen moat, ox Fifcshiro (s), Jiaikoura (a), and Doric (a), a large proportion of the shipments being "till undischarged. Owing to this circumstance and to tho fact that available supplies had been reduced to small com,iass, values rapidly advanced, quotations for a time touching GJd per lb. Tho oxtension of the strike, however, to other branches of labour, having had the effect of curtailing to a marked extent the business of retail butchers at tho east end of the city, and some iniprovementbeingrecentlyimanifested in the discharge of tho earlier vessels „j mimed, it has not l'cen possible to, V maintain tho advance and prices have since receded fully M per lb. Thej market closes quiet at our quotations. New Zealand beef lias met ut somewhat fluctuating demind, but values have been well maintained, while recent quotations have ruled about on a par with American descriptions. BUTTER. Since tho date of our last circular all descriptions have met a fair inquiry, tho finest qualities being in r|u"est. In the absence of supplies from Now Zealand there is nothing fresh to report in these sorts, We quote prime Danish, 10 is to 114s per cwt; prime Normandy, 94s to 108s per cwt; prime Frieslaud, 80s to !)8s per cwt; prime Brittany. 72sto 84s per cwt; New Zealand, none, CHKKSE. Tho market for American und Canadian cheese during the past four weeks has ruled quiet, but at the close a somewhat better feeling prevails, The small quantity of New Zealand now being offered ex Fifeshire (s) and Kaikoura (s) although of I fair quality is somewhat strong in V. flavor. We quote prime American, *45» to 47s per cwt;-New Zealand, 42s to 44s per cwt. Importations from New Zealand during tho past month amounted to 420 packages,