CORONER’S INQUEST.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1298, 13 April 1872, Page 2

CORONER’S INQUEST.

An inquest was held yesterday afternoon, at the London Hotel, Port Ahuriri, before T. Hitching*, Esq,, Coroner, on the body of a child named Sarah Vernon Edwards. The following jury was empanelled : T. R. Spiller, foreman, J. M'Leod, J. Myhill, O. Beyer, T. Meehan, C. Mogridge, li SweeWpple, P. 0. Simon, A. Davidson, T. Moloney, J. K. Bethune, T. Byrnes. The only evidence taken was that of Mrs Edwards, who deposed : I am the mother of the deceased. Her age was one vear and seven months. She was apparently in good health up to 7 p.m. yesterday, when i put her to bed with the other children. Between 8 and 9 o'clock she awoke, screaming, and apparently'in great pain. She vomited, throwing up all her supper; but I did not notice any unusual appearance. 1 changed her, and put her back to bed. About 10 p.m. she woke again, with the same symptoms. I then remem hered that at about 4 p m. I had found her eatinsj the heads off some vesta matches. She had eaten about two dozen. She continued ill, vomiting at internals, all night. Twice I gave her a drink of milk and water, but she threw it np. About 6 am. I gave her one drop of ehlorodyne, and afterwards a clo.se of castor oil. About 9 a.m I gave her two drop- of chlorodvne. She died very soon' after. She snuggled very hard, and seemed suffering from inward convulsions. The Coroner read io the jury, from a chemical work, an account of the effects of phosphorus on the system, and showed that they corresponded with the symptoms in the case before them. He also read a list of the ingredients used in making matches, which were shown to contain phosphorus, sulphur, chlorate of potash, sugar, gum arable, &c. He accounted for the length of time before the poison took effect by the fact (mentioned in the chemical work alluded to) that phosphoius requires to be oxidized, and phosphoric acid formed, before it can exert its specific poisoning effect. The chlorate of potash, though harmless in itself, would assist this action in the stomach. He thought there could be no doubt that death had resulted in this case from the phosphorus in the matches. Tt was a eomnnn and dangerous habit of children to suck matches. Several cases had come under his own observation, the usual result being that the poison, acting as an emetic, had worked its own cure. The jury, after some consideration, returned a verdict of " Died from the effects of the poisonous matter contained in vesta matches,"