THE INQUEST.

Hastings Standard, Issue 79, 28 July 1896, Page 2

THE INQUEST.

At 2 o'clock this afternoon the inquest was held in the Court House, before Deputy Coroner Wm, Beilby, and the following jury :—Messrs Morgan (foreman), S. Eidgway, P. Campbell, Pilmer, Carter, and Ryenolds. Dr. Tosswill sworn, deposed that last evening he, at Sergeant Mitchell's request, went to the Police Station and saw there the body of a mature female child in an advanced state of decomposition. He made a post mortem, examination on the same body this morning assisted by Dr. Linney. Putrefaction was well marked throughout the entire body. There were no external marks of violence. The child was 20in. lqng, and weighed 61b. The umbilical cord was not tied, but was torn seven inches from the body. There was no foreign matter found either in the mouth or stomach. The tubes of the heart were open, but slightly shrivelled at the upper parts. To Sergt. Mitchell: The organs were healthy, but slightly shrivelled in the upper parts. Dr Tosswill: The child was boijn alive. To Sergeant Mitchell: Could not say how long the child lived. The congestion roferred to would set in after death. The child's body was wrapped in a cloth and tied with a string, which left a deep furrow where it came in contact with the flesh. He concluded the string had been tied directly before death or immediately afterwards. If the umbilical cord was'not tied a child would bleed to death in a few minutes. This might be the cause of death, and would not conflict with the discoveries he made. The iact of the cord not being tied lead feim to titeowdumm . SsAi*,

that the woman was not attended by a competent person. He thought the child bled to death. The child was dead probably for over a month when discovered. Death was not due to drowning nor suffocation. Dr. Linney sworn, corroborated the evidence of Dr. Tosswill as to the post mortem examination. The child certainly lived some minutes and had received no food. The fact of the heart being empty tended to prove that the child bled to death. There was nothing to cause death naturally. The cord not being tied argued either gross negligence or an intention to cause death. The child was dead at least a month. H. Musgrove, a platelayer on the Government Railway, sworn, deposed : I was on the railway line opposite the Makirikiri creek yesterday at 4.55 p.m. I saw a substance floating in the water; it seemed like a human head. I drew the attention of some men who were with me to it. 1 descended into the drain and scraped a cloth off the side of the head with a stick, and saw it was a new born baby. It was evidently in the water some time. I then sent word to Sergeant Mitcnel. Mr Morgan : I did not know what was in the parcel until I scraped off the cloth. Michael Sullivan, a platelayer on the Government Eailways, sworn, deposed : I was with Musgrove yesterday evening when the body was discovered. I brought Sergeant Mitchell from Hastings, and saw him take possession of the body. Sergeant Mitchell recounted the discovery of the body, and stated that the police were making a thorough investigation. This concluded the evidence. It was decided to adjourn the inquest until Tuesday, August 4th, in order to allow of further evidence being produced as the evidence before them was insufficient to warrant a definite verdict.