INQUEST.

Evening Star, Issue 4078, 22 March 1876, Page 2

INQUEST.

An inqnest was held at the Hopital at noon to. day, before Mr Hocken, district coroner, and a jury of twelve, on the body of Wm. Ryan, the infant child of Maty Ryan. Mrs Ryan was in attendance in custody. The Coroner explained that he thought it right to bring the case under the notice of the jury, though he did not know much good would resuit from it. It was the case of a child ten months old, whose mother was a woman of- ill-fame and intemperate habits, and who hod lived by prostitution since her husband deserted her seme months ' since. The. child had latterly been in the care of a woman named Pavely, who hhu had to take it to tbe hospital. The child was returned to its mother a week ago, and sereial times since then the mother appeared to have token no care whatever of it; and she was found yesterday carrying it in her arms dead. The question for the jury to decide was whether death • had been caused by the negleot of tbe mother. No doubt there bad been neglect, but whether there wus-sufficient negleot to cause death was the difficulty. The chud was in the last stage of ema* elation.

Sophia Pavely, living at Kensington, said that the mother of the deceased child brought it to her to nurse about the middle of February. The child then appeared to be half-starved, and did not look look as it won d live. (The mother said it -was nine ■ months old. I- was brought to witness in a very dirty state, and was not sufficiently clothed. ■ lbs Byau said her child had previously been nursed by a drunken woman, aud that whenever she went to - see her it hod gin and water in the bottle. Witness took the child to the Hospital a day er two after she got it. It was with great difficulty that the child would take any nourishment The mother came about once a week to see her child, she always appeared to be sober and very fond of it Witness took every care of it, but it did not seem to improve. Witness returned' it to the mother on Wednesday last. Dr Alexander had made a pott mortem Mswtmtion of the deceased. There were no marks of violence, hut the body was wasted. For the agei given (nine months) it seemed a very backward child, having cut only one tooth. The lungs and heart .were suite healthy. The child had been a good deal “Death WfWe WAmsamr ' nourishment, which had .canted --diarrhoea.. He could not positively say that this diarrhoea was. caused by the neglect or the nurse. It looked to him, from what he had heard, as if it werb sO. Mrs Krull, of the Family;Bptol,Goorge street, said that Mrs Ryan came to her house with a child on Monday last. The child' looked very .this* and the mother said that shehad had out nursing,. . and that it had been neglected. Mrs Byan then ' went away. - George’Breaidon.lahom} was toldhraa-acquaui-.... tanee on Monday evening last that Mrs Bysn had' no shelter. 3ttr# Byan thtp catneup to him, and witness pfomisbd to tty to get her a bed. Bhe wse - quite sober, and the child appeared to be well ' clothed. “She bald itwas for the baby mpre-than herself she wanted the‘bed.' Witness Doing unable > to get her & bed at two or three hotels, he tdok her * to a. house In WUker street where he was lodging, and'there got her a bed. In the morning witnesrs inwher .Tent to the room, where Mrs Byan slept, and on coining but’told. Witness that theohild 'was : - i 'deod.j. Witness then went into this room and found ■ ] the child-dead. Mrs ; Byan told him that she; had ’■ put the child out to nurse, and that the woman had neglected it. Witness advised her to take the dead cfaud to the Hospital, and ishe said that she r going to-d050,., . i ... I ... Ellen Breaidon. m6tnw of'the latt mthekk, gate uuiiuportaut eviaenob. 4 i • ' - - ; Constable Porter met Mhf Byan potoinitdowti- 1 ; .W vJs'-s A- -.el-T im- SiT£** eV £e,‘ j ■'"= l * ' • .i-Mh Jibuti

swer to witness’s inquiries Mrs Eyan said that she had a dead child in .the bundle which she was carrying. She further said that it died about midnight, and that she was going to take it to the Hospital. A week before Dr Tates, she added, had toldper it was no. good doing anything to the child, u it could not lire, and since then she had given it a tea spoonful of brandy every hour. There was no attempt to couceal.the child., - Mrs Eyan, mother of the dece.ised, said that her husband deserted her .in March Inst, and went to the Palmer diggings. Deceased was bom on May 9, and was nine months old at the time of her death. Witness was confined in the Hospital, and remained there for a month, after which she lived with her sister in York Place for font months. With her four children she then lived at Kensington for two months. Her_three ohildren sent to the Industrial School, and witness went to the Taieri, putting her chad out tp nurse with a Mrs M'Lean, liviug in Stuart street. While at the Taieri witness heard that her child had been neglected, so she returned to town, took it away from the nurse, and gave it to Mrs Pavelv, ( who took mnch care of it. She got the child back from Mrs Pavely on.Wednesday last, and slept at the Union Hotel for three nights. On Saturday ■he stopped at the Sussex Hotel. The child' died about twelve O’clock on Monday night. The Coroner said the mother had apparently been careless and negligent', though could hardly say so fcir as to cause death. The' child had apparently died from diarrhoea; but the mother was deserving censure for not taking better care of it. It was to be hoped that they were to have no cases of baby-farming, and it was as well to let the public know that such rases as this would be care* fully sifted. The jury found that deceased died from diarrhoea' and exhaustion, and concurred with the Coroner that the mother was not free from blame in not taking better care of the child. *