ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3676, 1 December 1890, Page 2

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.

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/Shortly before foiirl'o'clock on, | Saturday.last two Mastertbn youths, , Joseph: BoMngton and .William , Bagge,~whowereridiug;bn the Te j Ore Ore road, were hailed in front of ( ! the Hospital by a man named Jamei, Hart, who informed them that he was , mad and intended poisoning himself. , The two equestrians laughed at him, , wnereupou he drew..-./something resembling a.fig from hia.ppoket and ' swallowed it, maintaining that: in it \ was siifficient Btryolinine, to poison ] twelve men. As he produced a small cartridge in which was a considerable quantity ojohrystallisod strychnine, young Boddingion rode 'into town, and informed the;police.;,. :When Constablo O'Leary reached the : ; man he appeared to be under the influence of drink, but. otherwise presented no symptoms of poisoning. However, he was removed'to the police station, when Sergeant Price sent immediately for Dr Hosbing. On being questioned by the'doctor the man stated that he had taken sufficient strychnine to poison eight dr ten men, and said it Was no use trying tefpresefve his life. The doctor, however, prepared several antidotes, which Hart strenuously I refused to take, and it was not; until the emetics had been forced through his nostrils that he submitted quiotly 1 to' tlio doctor's .treatment.'..,. The 1 stomach pump was brought into , operation,'- and antidotes.of several ; descriptions,administered, wii.li the result that tho man.vomited freely j and thoughhe. had several twitchings t in the legs, gradually recovered, mid

is .now, perfectly well, The man assigned no reason for his rash act, beyond that he was tired of life. In his pocket was found a letter written on the 22nd inst. to his friends in England, in which he statos that he contemplated suioide, and askß them *8 break the news gently to his lilt ir. He had also written several pages in a memorandum hook to the effect that ho had lived a' very sinful life, and was suffering a year of torture every day. It had taken him six years to make up his mind to' do away with himself, and it was only now, whon he was carrying the torments of Hell about with him,

that be bad the courage to face death. In conclusion he states, " I shall havo the satisfaction of dying as I have lived, hoping nothing, belioving nothing, fearing nothing. So goodbye." The man, who is fifty-four years of age and has no friends in the colony, had been working for some timo with Mr Liverton, xiear Tinui, but had been knocking about Mastertbn for about a week, and had been drinking heavily, When arrested he bad no money, and appeared to be in in a ! state of abject depression. The acoused was brought before kr Burton Boys, J. 1?., this morning, charged with attempted suicide, and was remanded till toanorrqw.