INQUEST.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2721, 29 December 1882, Page 3

INQUEST.

An inquest was held at the Clarendon Hotel yesterday, at three o’clock, as to a man’s death which had taken place at the lock up of the police depot, Christchurch, on the morning of the previous day. The District Coroner held the inquiry, with a jury, of whom Mr John Macnamara was foreman. Mr Back, traffic manager, watched the case for the railway department. The body lay at the morgue, and_ was viewed in the usual manner by the jury, after which the following evidence was taken : Edmund Ford deposed that he had known the deceased, Samuel Massar, for three years. Saw him last on Tuesday evening in the train from South Malvern to Christchurch. Deceased appeared to be suffering from drink, and had three epileptic fits on the way. They arrived in Christchurch at 7.45 o’clock. Deceased was then apparently better, he was able to walk ; he wanted to go to the hospital, and witness thought he was able to go by himself. Witness saw no more of him till he saw the corpse. Tc Inspector Pender Deceased had some cuts on the brow when witness first saw him at Malvern in the morning ; they then looked freshly done. He had a bottle with him in the train, from which he drank once or twice. To Mr Back —Wituess did not report to any one belonging do the railway the condition of deceased, nor hia desire to go to the Hospital. The guard knew that he had had fits, and said he had telegraphed about that to Christchurch, so as to have a cab in readiness to take him to the Hospital. Witness and two others were allowed to remove deceased to the van and to tend him there. . To a Juror—They did not undertake to look after deceased when they arrived at Christchurch. W. T. Hobbs, guard on the train from Springfield, deposed to seeing the deceased at Darfield. When he first saw deceased he had two fits in succession, and was lying on the platform. On recovery he was placed in the van, and at the request of witness Mr Ford and others undertook to look after him. Witness then telegraphed to the station master at Christchurch that there was a sick man in the train, and that in witness’ opinion a doctor and a cab would be needed for him on arrival. After starting the train deceased sat up and drank some port wine out of a bottle he had with him. On reaching Rolleston witness found that the telegram he had left at Whitecliffs for transmission had not come forward. Rolleston is an intermediate transmitting telegraph station. The telegram was received while the train waited at Rolleston Junction, and as deceased seemed so much better witness caused it to bo cancelled. By the time the train had arrived at Christchurch deceased appeared able to take care of himself ; he left the van, and witness saw no more of him. To Inspector Pender —Deceased appeared to have been drinking ; he smelt strongly of drink. On his entering the train there were fresh cuts on his forehead. There was no promise on Mr Ford’s part to take care of deceasedafterreaohing Christchurch. John Hollow, head porter at Christchurch station, deposed that the witness Hobbs had pointed deceased out to him as having been unwell on the passage up. Deceased was assisted out of the van by some persons who were with him. He walked across to a seat with others who were waiting for cabs. The night was wet, however, and there were no cabs to hand. Witness then lost sight of deceased for an hour, when he found him still in the same place. On being spoken to he said he was waiting for a cab which some one had promised to procure for him ; he seemed drowsy, and appeared to have some hesitation in his speech, as if he were slightly under the influence of drink. Anthony Garstin, railway station master at Christchurch, stated that on the night in question, at about nine o’clock, the night watchman informed him that there was a man on the platform in a fit, or something like it. Witness went at once to the place, and at sight thought the man was then drunk, and had been drinking heavily for some time. He instructed the night watchman to take him in a cab to the police depot. Some water was given him to drink and he was taken away at once. There was some difficulty, from Ixis weight, in seating him in the cab. George Gaynor, night watchman, corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. He thought deceased was drunk, and made the charge accordingly. Sergeant Pratt stated that he took charge of deceased at the depot at 0.30 p.m. On hoaxing of the fits be suggested that the hospital was the best place for deceased. However, on looking at him, as he smelt strongly of liquor, and had the appearance of a drunken man, ho received him, thinking it to be a case of the ordinary kind. Witness uudex’stood deceased to say that he had been drinking at or near the railway. He was assisted into a cell, where there was another prisoner who was quite sober. Some blankets were given him to lie on. He made no complaint of being ill. B. C. Wallace, watchhouse keeper, corroborated Sergeant Pratt’s evidence. He and Sergeant Wilson visited deceased at 11.30 p.m., and gave him some water ; saw him afterwards at 1.30 a.m., and at 3.5 a.m. Each time he said he was all right. At 4 a.m. witness inquired at the window if all was right. One of the occupants answered “ all right.” At a few minutes to six o’clock witness entered the cell and found deceased lying on the floor face downwards with his head rolled up in a blanket. The doctor was then sent for. At each of the visits made witness had no reason to believe that deceased was ill. Michael Hahir, the prisoner who shared the cell with deceased, stated that he (himself) was quite sober. Thought all through that deceased was suffering only from the effects of drink ; he acted as a drunken man would do. What the police said about the visits, &0., was correct. Witness was not disturbed by any noise

made by deceased. He did not know of the death until Constable Wallace discovered it. Deceased was not roughly handled in any way. Dr. Symes deposed that the post mortem examination made by him showed that deceased had died from chronic alcoholism, accelerated by the foul air of the lock-up, which, in its lower part and the interstices of the flooring, is soaked with excreta, vomit. &c., and whichis impossible to clean except by burning. The witness added that he, after a visit, had been rendered very sick. To Inspector Pender —He had invariably found the look-up scrupulously clean, and no trouble spared to render the cells as sweet and habitable as circumstances would permit. But the construction of the old portion of the look-up was extremely defective. The ventilation should be improved, the cells should be twice as high and twice as numerous, and some arrangement adopted by which the floor could be effectually cleansed or renewed when soaked with excreta. The jury found a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.