MOANA TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 106, 29 January 1919, Page 6

MOANA TRAGEDY

WHAT THE ANALYSIS -; REVEALED v •■-,■ : : • ■ . . . . ," POISONED WITH CYANIDE 'circumstances shrouded in mystery Evidence in the Moana inquiry took a new turn yesterday, when 'it transpired that the deaths of Dr. Grimm and ,;lliss Ingsay M. Isbister were duo to cyanide poisoning and not to oxalic acid. The tragedy occurred on January 3, when _ -the vessel was on a voyage from San ! " Francisco' to New Zealand, but the circumstances "of'the deaths are now shrouded in deeper mystery than ever. The inqufry is being conducted l:y the Coroner, Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M. Mr. P. S. K. Maoiissey is appearing on behalf of fhe Crown, Mr. Douglas Jackson for a relative of Miss Isbister, Mr. P. Levi for ' the TJnion Steam Ship Company, and Mr. K. Kennedy for Messrs. Thomson, and Co., cordial manufacturers. 1 '.<■*> -During tne course'of the" proceedings • yesterday Chief-Defective Boadam proC'duced a photograph' of-the bar on.the •Moana, showing where the oxalic acid and sugar were kept. 'JJhe bar, he said, was* 7ft. "Bin. in length. The distance . from where the sugarjvas kept to where the oxalic acid was 'sept was 6ft. 3in. "Witness.had made a close search.of the stewards' quarters on the ship, and had found nothing which threw any light on the deaths, or anything which would 'cause suspicion to be cast upon anyone .; in respect to them. Belshaw, the second ■■steward, had informed him that Dr. Grimm's conduct towards Miss Isbister ;-was exacfjy the same as his attitude to■ward_ the other passengers. There was ' nothing to justify even a suspicion that ■ the two deceased were on familiar terms. Witness had'examined Dr. Grimm's cor- > -Tespondence, but found nothing referring to- Miss Isbister, or the present case. Belshaw had informed him that he had kaown Dr. Grimm for soma time, and that he bore the highest' character. . Result of the Analysis. ' ' Willie Donovan, public analyst, em- .... ployed at the Dominion Laboratory, gave , ; evidence as to analysing the contents of tho sugar found in the bar, the contents of two eoda-watej bottles, two '.' tnmblers, and two Bottles into which ■ the remainder of. the drinks partakeh of by the deceased had been poured. In the jar of sugar lie found neither cyanide .of potassium nor oxalic acid. He did • not detect either cyanide or oxalic acid in the first tumbler, which had been .sealed with blotting paper over the top. Tie air would have had access to the ■ contents, and -if cyanide had been pre- :. .Bent one would have expected it to be and volatilised. The other tumbler contained about a quarter of an . ounce of sugar on the bottom, and in ■.this he'detected a faint trace of cyanide. Mr. Macassey: Did you find oxalic . : ,hcidP—"No." ■ Witness added ■ that one of the two -. soda-water. bottles contained 1.2 cubic : centimetrea, equivalent to 24 drops, of a : clear alkaline liquid, and in that he .found the equivalent of one-fifth of a grain of cyanide of potassium. If the bottle had been filled with liquid it .tvoud have contained 30 grains. ■Mr. Macassey: What is a fatal dosoP— "Two and a half grains is quoted in my laboratory as being.a fatal dose." If this bottle had been full it would have contained abont 30 grains ?—"i'es." ■The witness remarked that the other , ■■' bottle of eoda water contained about 10 drops of liquid similar to that found in the first bottle analysed, and in this he also .found- cyanide. One of the bottles in which wna part of the lemon . squash drinkr-slightly over 7oz. in quantity—contained cyanide equivalent to 15 grains of potassium cyanide per pint. ...-. Mr. Macassey: You found no oxalic acid?—" No." . The other bottle, witness went on, contained about 12oz. of lemon squash, • and in it he discovered , a slightly less proportion of cyanide than in the other. It contained the equivalent of about 14J grains to tne pint. Mr. Macn.ssey: .Was oxalic acid pre- . eentf—"No."_ . ■ .., Witness said that the lemon squeezer ;.-. bore no trace of cyanide or oxalic acid. ■':■ 'Mr. Macassey: You did not find oxalic aoid in any of the exhibits, but in the ~ two ..soda-water bottles, and the lenion ~ equash you found cyanide, and there was also a trace, of it in one of the glasses?—'Tes. Bad cne of 'these tumblers been filled with the lemon equash it would have contained equivalent tn 10 grains of potassium cyanide, and 2} grains would have been fatal. A Medical Opinion. -■\Dsr. W. Kington Fyfle said he had heard certain of the evidence in tne case, ■and had formed the opinion that the symptoms exhibited, by the deceased ■■■; were consistent with, cyanide poisoning, and not with oxalic acid poisoning, it ,-vvas obvious from the account given by witness Dr. Thoniaa. that botn . patients suffered -with, convulsions, which ,-vvas one of the earliest symptoms of cyanide poisoning; also, the slow respiration in the oase of Miss Sbister was a. symptom of poisoning by cyanide. Had'oialio; acid ■ been used there would ■Jiave. been vomiting, probably blood, but et any rate vomiting. Tho shortness of .timo between the'taking of the dose ■ and death; could practically only be caused by such a poison as cyanide. The symptoms were wholly consistent with cyanide poisoning, and. inconsistent with oxaho acid poisoning. Mr. Macassey: Did you jj r Gnnim pefijonally?-"Yes, I did. I met him on two occasions.' He was a very highly-cultivated and very charming ■gentleman, who tools: a great interest in his profession, Hβ was a man I had the highest respect for, and he was a very fine specimen of his profession." Mr.' Macassey said that it might be necesary, to make further inquiries regarding the soda water. ; Mr. Kennedy: Messrs. Thomson, Lewis ami' Co. desire to submit • evidence to . show not only the improbability but the . sheer impossibility/ of prussic acid, or any poison whatever, being in the soda water supplied by them to. the Union , Steam Ship Company. They want to phow that not only do they not use any cyanide or any poison in their manufacture of soda water, but that they use no material in which it lias even been known, or in which it • might occur as [ an impurity, and that there is no pro-, cess of manufacture whatsoever in their business by which it could by any possibility be produced. ±~\ Mr. Riddell: Have you the evidence ready? _ Mr. Kennedy: No, not at present, but it will be available-very shortly. Mr. Biddell: I think Messrs. Thorneon, Lewis and Co., should have an opportunity of submitting evidence with Tegard to the presence of cyanide that has been found by analysis to be in the . Boda-water bottles. I am prepared to adjourn the hearing to a suitoblo date ..so that the evidence may be placed before the Court. Mr. Kennedy: They desire to have an analysis of the other soda water supplied at the same time. • The Coroner: Do you know, Mr. Macnesey,. what became of the remainder of the six dozen'bottles mentioned by .the-second steward? Mr. Macassey. I think they bave been returned to Messrs. Thomson, Lewis, and Co. The Coroner: Well, I . think those bottles should be obtained and analysed. Mr; Macassey: There are some full Tjottles remaining on board. ' Tho Coroner: They might be analysed. Mr. Kennedy. Up to the date of'this tragedy some 12 or 18 dozen bottles were nsed. Tho Coroner: What I refer to is the l quantity of six dozen which the steward stated was brought up, and out j of a cose from which these two bottles were taken. Vincent Belshaw, second steward on 'the-' Moana, recalled, stated that "after the tragedy occurred he handed over the bar to the chief steward. Only one ,bottle of soda water had' been used in the preparation of the drinks. I Mr. Macassey: How many bottles had '.:• been used from the time you left Rani Pranoieco up to the date of the tragedy? '

—"I am not certain, but I guess about 12 ill' 18 dozen."

Mr. Levi: Only one bottle of soda wiiter wns used for the two drinks, but two bottles were opened, and they both contained about-the same amount of poison. The question is- Who drank in» contents of the, otheri . The Coroner (to Belshaw): Ton said you used one bottle of soda water for these two drinks. Was the other bottle opened theft, or opened before?—"lt might liavo been opened before or then. If there is cyanide in the two bottles I can only say that my man may have emptied the contents of one bottle into the other. That practice is followed by nil barmaids and barmen in the hotels, and we do the enine on board ship." AA'ho is your man?—"Oh, he is a Native boy." . At this stage, the inquiry was adjourned until 10.30 a.m. on Friday.