EVIDENCE AT INQUEST. An inquest was held in the Hawera Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon before Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M. (coroner), concerning the death of James Type Dallinger. Laurie Andrew Taylor, solicitor, said the deceased was 39 years of age, and was in the employ of the Defence Department, Hawera. He last saw Captain Dallinger alive last Thursday. For about a week prior to that be had been suffering very badly from boils on the neck. He told witness that he had gone to pieces and was in a highly nervous state. The deceased man had been about four years at the front and returned about a year ago. Dr. Thomson stated that he was called from the hospital a little after 11 o’clock to Captain Dallinger’s house, because, he had locked himself in the bathroom and his wife could get no answer. When he reached the house the bathroom had been opened and Captain Dallinger was lying in the bath dead with a wound in the roof of the month and in the top of the skull on the left side. A revolver was lying on the floor. The wound could have been produced with a revolver of the calibre produced. He had been attending Captain Dallinger during the past three days, and decided the previous night that he was suffering from recurrent malaria. He had had malaria on Gallipoli and previously in South Africa. He told witness on Monday evening that he had been delirious the previous night and made his wife remove pictures from the wall and had delusions of being a great engineer. When witness saw him about nine o’clock that night his malarial paroxysm was over and he seemed normal mentally. Ho told witness that he was having trouble with the Defence Department. He had received his promotion to Major in the field, but held the rank of captain. He was told that he must be reduced to honorary lieutenant. He stated that in consequence of this he had resigned, and was demanding an inquiry through General Richardson. Witness had attended the deceased man and his wife before the war, and had never had any cause to suspect any suicidal tendencies in the former. Witness thought that he was mentally affected by malaria, a disease which was notoriously capable of affecting the brain. Witness had been told by Captain Dallinger that he and his brother were purchasing land in the Lower Hutt to go in for horticulture. Evidence was also given by a man and woman who were called to the house by Mrs. Dallinger and by a constable. A verdict that the deceased man committed suicide while temporarily of unsound mind was recorded.—Abridged from Star.

TARANAKI HERALD, VOLUME LXVIII, ISSUE 16773, 24 JUNE 1920, PAGE 2