INQUESTS.

Globe, Volume VI, Issue 604, 26 May 1876, Page 3

INQUESTS.

VERDICT OF MANSLAUGHTER.

An inquest was held at the Hospital at one o'clock on Thursday afternoon upon the body of an infant child, the son of Harris and Amelia Isaacs. Inspector Feast appeared to watch the case on behalf of the police, and Mr O'Neill was present on behalf of Mr William Potter Townend. Dr Townend was also present, The jury, of whom Mr I. B. Sheath was choßen foreman, having been empannelled, were briefly addressed by the coroner, after which they proceeded to view the body. The first witness called was Elizabeth Inglefield, who deposed—l was engaged to attend Amelia Isaacs in her confinemeut. She wa9 taken in la or on Friday last, and I was sent for on Saturday morning. No doctor was in attendance then, but at nine o'clock on Saturday evening Mr William Potter Townend arrived. He examined the woman, and said the child was coming feet fiist. He afterwards gavo her a powier.

I Mr Isaacs sent word to say that he wished to see the doctor, but I went iustead, and he then told me that if there was another doctor required, he would go for one. I then told Mr Towneud he had better go and see Mr Isaacs himself. He went into the next room, and I heard him say, " You leave her in my hands. I will do the best I can for her." Before the child was born the doctor took a pair of scissors and used them. I could see what was done. About a quarter of an hour after that the child was born head first. It made a wheezing noise, but not like the natural cry of a child just born. On taking the infant I observed that it was bleeding from the forehead, on which it had two cuts leading into the corner of one eye. Before I washed the child Mr Townend's brother came and fastened the cuts together with a needle and cotton. The baby seemed to go on all right till Sunday afternoon, but still bled at the forehead, and continued constantly to bleed, no matter what I put on. On Sunday afternoon it took convulsions, and refused its sustenance, and died at half-past eleven on Monday morning. Mr Townend's brother attended it on Sunday and Monday. Mr Isaacs sent for Dr Parkerson on Monday, and he came shortly after eleven, and examined the child. The scissors produced (a large pair) are those which were used by Mr Townend.

By Mr O'Neill—l am not a regular nurse, and have not had experience at the birth of children. It was not the Dr Townend who was sent for who came, but his brother. I did not hear Mr Townend asked to send for another doctor. I am quite positive the child was born head first, with the forehead back. Ido not know the usual positions in which a child should be born. The infant had all the appearance of being a healthy child. I do not remember Mr Townend saying the child was deficient in vitality when it waß born, which was about midnight on Saturday. Dr TowDend arrived a few minutes after the birth. Mr Townend told me the scissors were used to dislodge the child. Tne mother had told me she had had a difficulty with her first child. By the Jury—When Dr Parkerson called he said the child was dying. Harris Isaacs deposed—l live in Colombo street south, and am father of the child. My wife had engaged Dr Townend himself to attend her. I went for him about half-past 8 o'clock on Saturday. The place was full of people. I saw his brother, Mr Townend, and when I told him what I wanted he said he was Dr Townend, and that he would be at my house immediately. He got there about 9 o'clock. I was afterwards told by Mrs Robertson that my wife was very bad, and she said, " For God's sake have a little mercy on her; send for another doctor, Mr Tcwnend is butchering her." I then sent for Mr Townend to come out of the room, as I wanted to speak to him. I told him that if there was another doctor required he had better tell me and I would be off at once. He said, " Mr Isaacs, there is not a doctor wanted; when there is one, I will tell you; and if you dare to move, I shall put my coat on and walk out, and five minutes afterwards your wife is a dead woman." I then went out of the house. About a quarter of an hour afterwards one of the women came to me and said, " Come in directly; you are wanted." I went in, and Mr Townend mentioned a doctor's instrument that he wanted, and I told him to write it down and I would go and fetch it. He wrote it down on a piece of paper, and sent me to his brother, telling me to run as quick as I could, and 1 went in his horse and buggy. On finding Dr Townend, he returned at once with me. When I got back I found the child was born. By Mr O'Neill —No time was lost in fetching Dr Townend, or in his coming. By Mr Townend —No one was present when you made the remark about putting on your coat and my wife being dead in five minutes.

Dr Parkerson deposed—l was called to see the deceased child on Monday, at a quarter past eleven. It was just breathing, but dying. It had two wounds upon its forehead, one entering the eye ; did not examine the child further. I saw that it was near death, tbat it would be improper. It was a fairly nourished full bora child, though not a large one. By Mr O'Neill —I am quite in a position to say that the child was fairly nourished.

Dr Donald Campbell deposed—Dr Parkerson went in my absence to see the deceased, and afterwards asked me to go and look at it, as it was not dead when he left. I wmt on Tuesday, and found the infant dead. I examined its face, and saw that evidently there was a wound which had been sewn up. Dr Parkerson and myself refused to certify to the death of the child. I assisted to-day to make a postmortem examination of the child, in conjunction with Dr Powell. The child on fhvt appearance seemed to be a fairly nour ; shed one, fairly developed, though it might not be full timed, being rather small. Externally there was under the chin a mark, of evidently a severe bruise, and at the angle of the right eye were two distinct and well denned wounds, the one [nearer the centre of the forehead being three quarters of an inch long, and the other one not so large. They had been stitched up. On taking the stitches out I found that the wounds communicated underneath. Dr Powell introduced a probe at my request, and it entered freely the socket of the eye, which gave both of us the impression that it had penetrated the skull somewhere. To make sure of this I removed the posterior part of the skull and the brain, and I noticed that the lining of the skull had been penetrated opposite the roof of the eyeball. The probe was then reintroduced, and at once satisfied us both that the skull had been penetrated. The roof of the orbit was completely broken up, and one little bit of bone, about the size of a shilling, fell out. At the angle of the eye and the nose a piece of the frontal bone was separated. The eyeball itself was quite uninjured, but congested between it and the bone. The left eye had a wound at the inner angle, very small externally, but it reached a depth of nearly an inch, not wounding the eye or the bone. We examined carefully the other organs of her body. The lungs showed that the child had breathed, while the heart was healthy, and the foramen ovale was nearly closed, which Bhowed us that the blood had circulated freely. All the other organs were very healthy. I have no hesitation in affirming that the child died from the injury done to the skull and brain.

By Mr O'Neill—l am of opinion that the child, having been born alive, shows that no penetrating instruments were necessary for its delivery. Mr Townend must have imagined that instruments were needed or he would not have sent for tnem; but, as ar, unqualified man, he was not juitified in using them, There was no occasion to use

instruments without sending for medical assistance, evea if the nearest medical man lived ten miles away. The practice is to sacrifice the child and not the mother when the sacrifice of either is necessary Mr Townend was not asked to be present at the postmortem ; he is not a medical attendant. I should call him a nurse. Legally, a medical man is not a competent assistant unless he has taken a degree. He can't legally recover his fees, but he can atteud as many people as he chooses. Dr Townend, his brother, is duly qualified. There is no professional jealousy in this matter. I still say a qualified man did not attend Mrs Isaacs.

By the Jury—ln my opinion in this case, those scissors should never have been used. In a place such as Christchurch, I could not conceive a case where it was necessary to use such instruments as those. I would not use such instruments if I were within reach of any other. Besides, they are utterly useless. No penetrating instruments were necessary at all in this case.

Dr Powell gave corroborative evidence. Like the last witness he deposed that taking into consideration the evidence he had heard, it was quite unnecessary to use instruments at all. He could not conceive that the use of such an instrument as the scissors was necessary or could be necessary under any circumstances whatever. William Potter Townend was next examined. (The coroner stating that whatever he said would be taken down and if necessary would be used against him). He then deposed—l am an assistant to my brother, Dr Townend. I remember Mr Isaacs coming on Saturday night. I to'd him Dr Townend was engaged, but if he wanted anyone immediately I would go back with him. He told me his wife was in labour, and I went with him. I made the usual examination, and came to the conclusion that it was a breech presentation. I gave about half a drachm of ergot but as the pains became severer and the child came down, I found it to be a face presentation. About this time Mr Isaacs sent for me and asked me if I thought it requisite to have another doctor. I told him not just then, but that if I should think it necessary he could do so, and I was willing to give up the case to them, knowing that no medical man in Christchurch would meet me or my brother. I then endeavoured to turn the child, the head of which became shortly afterwards literally jammed. The pains became more severe, and the woman delirious. I at once sent off for my brother and before he arrived the pains became severer still, and the uterus contracted so violently over the child that I feared rupture of it, and coming to the conclusion that the child was already dead from the severe pressure—to save the life of the mother I determined to relieve the pressure. For this purpose I used these scissors, having no other instruments, but expecting them shortly. I tried to let out some of the brains to decrease the size of the head—to destroy the child —to perform craniotomy. The reason I did thiß was because I had learnt from Mrs Isaacs that craniotomy had to be employed in the case of her first child, and that a subsequent child was a seven months' child—that she had never given birth to a full-sized child, and never likely to. I came to the conclusion that the child was already dead when I resolved to lessen the size of the head by letting out some of its brains. 1 afterwards delivered the child by placing my fingers in the mouth and my thumb in the wound. The child was born alive, and lived for thirty-six hours. I have been in the habit of attending midwifery cases for about nine years. I shall be thirty next November. I have no diploma. The Coroner —That is the case gentlemen of the jury. You will have to consider first of all, from the evidence you have heard, whether you think it was necessary in this case that any instrument should have been used ; and then again you will have to consider whether the scissors produced were such an instrument as a man was justified in usiDg. You will also have to take into consideration the fact that the person using this instrument was an unqualified man—l cannot say whether or not he is unqualified in the art of midwifery—and you will also have to consider whether he was justified in using any instruments at all in such a case. You have heard from Drs Campbell and Powell that he was not, and they are gentlemen of large experience in such matters. You have also heard that the infant died from the wounds inflicted upon it I y those scissors, and that it was born alive; which show* that Mr Townend was quite mistaken in his theory that the child was not able to be brought into the world in a state of vitality. The fact of the child having been born alive proves that the mother could not have been in that extremely dangerous and critical state that he tells you of. I don't want to comment upon the case more than this, and will therefore ask you to consider your verdict. But I would first of all like to ask a question of the first witness, Mrs Englefield.

Mrs Bnglefield stood forward. Coroner—Were you present in the room at the time those scissors were used.

Witness—Yes. Coroner —Did you see Mr Townend try to turn the child. Witness—Yes.

Coroner—Was that the time that the other woman left the room and told Mr Isaacs that his wife was being butchered. Witness—No; it was not till some time afterwards. The room was then cleared of all but the jury and the Coroner. After a deliberation of fifteen minutes the doors were thrown open, and the jury returned a verdict—" That William Potter Townend did feloniously and unlawfully kill and slay the infant male child of Amelia Isaacs." Mr Townend was then committed for trial at the nest criminal sessions of the Supreme Court. Mr O'Neill asked if the Coroner would take bail. The Coroner replied in the affirmative ; the accused in £.OO, and two sureties in £SO each. The proceedings then terminated. INQUIRY INTO THE LATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT OAMARU. The North Otago Times of Wednesday, May 24th says :—An inquiry took place at the Alliance Hotel, yesterday, before T. W. Parker, District Coroner, and a jury of thirteen, into the circumstances atteading the late railway accident. The Coroner intimated that if the jury desired, an engine had been placed at their disposal by Mr Smith, traffic manager, in order to visit the scene of the accident. The jury agreed that it would be advisable to visit the ground whe;e the accident occurred. After visiting

the ground, the jury proceeded to the Hospital, viewed the body of Dugald Mitchell, the engine driver, and then took the depositions of the two wounded men in the Hospital, Kennedy and Campbell. The enquiry lasted until a quarter to one a.m. on Wednesday. The jury retired at this time, and at a quarter to three returned the following verdict:—" The jury find that Alexander Taylor and Dugald Mitchell met with their death on the 22nd May, 1876, by the exp'osion of the boiler of the locomotive lately used by Messrs W. D. Morrison and Co, on the Waiareka line, near Oamaru The jury also consider that the explosion was due to the fact of the safety valve being tied down, and severe censure is due to the proprietors for the fact of their knowing the deficiency of the steam gauge and spring balance, and not having them replaced by proper appliances, and continuing to run the engine while in the imperfect state shown by the evidence. They desire to suggest the great necessity for the establishment of a system of examination of engine drivers, so as to ensure the employment of competent persons for thfc work. It is also suggested that a lock-up valve, free from the control of the driver, should be put upon all boilers, as a means of preventing the recurrence of such accidents." The same paper adds : —"At halfpast eleven last night, the etokcr, Orr, whose case is the most dangerous of those surviving the injuries received by the late boiler explosion, was in a very restless condition, and though hopes were cherished of his recovery, on the other hand grave fears were also entertained. It is earnestly to be hoped that the trembling balance may turn in his favor. The two patients in the Hospital, Kennedy andCimpbell, are, we are glad to learn, progressing favorably."