INQUEST.

Kumara Times, Issue 1086, 24 March 1880, Page 2

INQUEST.

. An inquest .touching the death of one Joseph O’Neil was held at the Victoria Hotel, Seddon street, yesterday afternoon, by E. Barff, Esq., J.P., and.a jury of fourteen, consisting of Messi’s R. Brown '(foreman), J. Drummond, W. Wade, W. Hodges, T. Barton, A. Miller, J. Jorgesson, G. Simmons, T. Carey, H. Pitzsimons,. T. Mogdridge, W. Finlayson, J. Dove, and Carl Schultheis. .. The jury having viewed the following evidence was tftken^^ Johanna O’Neil, sworn, I am the mother of the child viewed by the jury and now lying dead in this house. The child is named Joseph O’Neil, and was born on the 9th of February last. I nursed the child for a month after Its birth. Tbe child was healthy during that time. I gave it into the charge of a Mrs Kit to, at the Greenstone, after that; and it was in good health when she received charge of it. I did not again. see the child until Friday last, since it was a month old. Mts Kitto promised to bring it

down every day, but .she did not. I sent hat several messages on the subject 5 to see the child again was the reason I asked her to bring it down. I, went up subsequently to see the child at the Greenstone on Friday last, as Mrs Kitto did not bring; it down, and I found'it in the most filthy state and looking as if it was dying; and its clothes sticking to its arms. I told Mrs Kitto my baby was dying, and she said, “It is nothing of the kind; I have taken good care of it.” She washed the child, and I then got a coach and brought the child down with me at once to Kumara. I showed the child to Mrs Hanna, of the Victoria Hotel, who said it was hungry, and she fed it. .It had two small tumblers full of milk, and the child appeared better after taking it. It only dozed that night, -but did not sleep. It had another lemonade bottle full of milk during the evening. On the following day the child appeared worse, and Dr Acheson was sent for, who, when he saw it, said the child was dying. This was in the evening. In accordance - with Dr Acheson’s instructions we gave it a little milk, which it swallowed. The child died about three hours after. I was present when the ' child died, as also was Mrs Hanna and George Brown. I identify the body of the child lying in the other room as that of my child. To Sergt. Emmerson; I heard the woman to whom I had entrusted my child used to drink, but she told me it was no good listening to what people said about her, and that if I gave her the care of the child she would be kind to it. I have known Mrs Kitto the last nine months, but I have never £ seen her the worse for drink. I have often inquired about the child from ; people coming from the Greenstone, ■ hut they said they could not tell me, US they never saw the child. The door was reported as always being closed at Mrs Kitto’s house, and some said they heard the child crying inside when Mrs Kitto was away. I was very weak and ill, or I should have gone up to see the child before I did. The day I was at the Greenstone I was told by Mrs Angus that Mrs Kitto . washed the child daily, but that she had seen , her standipg in the bar at Harrison’s at 12 , b’clpck./at night, about two days befere I went to the Greenstone. I arrived in Kumara with the child about, tea time otT Friday last. The child was weak then, but as it took so much milk I did, not send for the doctor then.,, ;He was sent for about half-past seven on Saturday evening. The child received-the treatment ordered by Dr Acheson. I was to pay Mrs Kitto £1 per week for keeping the child, and I gave her 10s a week previous to her taking charge of 'it. ' I have paid her nothing since, as although . I intended paying her .when I went to tho Greenstone, when I saw the state the child was in I would not give her the balance.

George Brown, miner, sworn, deposed : I have seen the body of the deceased child of which I am the father. I made a verbal arrangement with Mrs Kitto to look after the child, for .£1 per week, on or about the 3rd of March last. I was told the following Saturday when 1 came to town by the mother of the child that Mrs Kitto had taken charge of it. I left a £1 note with the mother for Mrs Kitto. I never knew Mrs Kitto before, or else she never would have had charge of tfie child. I did not go up to see the child while Mrs Kitto had charge of it. Sarah Ellen; Kitto, sworn, deposed : I am a married woman, residing at the Greenstone. I identify the body of the deceased child as one I was nursing. I had the child in my care sixteen days. It was given into my charge by the mother, but the father was to pay me £1 per week for looking after it. He said he would come up every Saturday or Sunday to see the child. I received 10s in advance, but I got no more, although I expected to receive some more on the following Sunday. The, parents never came to see the child until I sent them word to come and see it, I sent word a good few days previously to the mother coming up, by a Mrs Branstone, asking the parents to fetch the child away. About three or four days after I sept» tfre message, the mother came Up M\ the child. The child was alway^vp.iicate.since it was born, as I attended the mother and child from the second day after the -Child’s birth until I took it to the Greenstone. I gave it scalded milk for its food, and on one occasion I gave it maizena, and also some crumbs of bread, boiled in milk. This was a few days before the mother took it away. It was bad with the thrush all the time it was in my charge, and I tried several remedies for it. I used to rub the child all over "with oil. The child would take its food very, well one day, # nd not another. I 'procured a quart

of milk daily for the child, which it used between the night and day. The child was weaker the last two days it was in my Some nights I had to stop up all night with it, and constantly walk about to prevent its crying. I used to warm milk for it early in the morning at a neighbour’s fire, before I had my own alight. The milk was all-supplied by Mrs Maloney. There was no one in the house besides myself since my daughter left. Whenever I left the house, I took the child with me, or only left it a very few minutes, I never had any children to mind before.

To a juryman : I washed the child every day, and also the day it went away. I was never out at night late. I always had the baby with me if I was away ten minutes. I had never taken liquor to excess since I had charge of the child. Hugh Allison, as also Mis Allison, and one or two other neighbors who live in close proximity to Mrs Kitto at the Greenstone, were called, bat gave no material evidence.

G. H. Acheson, sworn, deposed : I am a legally qualified medical practitioner, residing in Kumara, On Saturday last I was called in by Mr Hanna to see a child, which I found nearly in a dying state. I stripped the child and examined it minutely, and found it very much emaciated. There were several small sores on the left thigh on the margin of the abdomen, and also on both, of its legs. The sores appeared to have been neglected. I tried it with some milk, which it succeeded in swallowing. I instructed Mi’s Hanna to give it a teaspoonful of milk or so, if it could swallow, about every five minutes, and to wrap it up in wadding and a flannel blanket. I was informed the next day that it was dead. I made a post mortem examination to-day, assisted by Dr Clarke, of the body of the same child. Its weight was bs. The skin was dry, tough, and shrivelled up, and it was extremely emaciated. The muscles were soft, flabby, and light-coloied. Underneath the skin and in the muscles there was no fatty matter, it having been all absorbed to support the system. On opening the chest the lungs were fouud collapsed and void of blood to any extent, also very light-colored. The heart was pale and contained no blood, the vessels in connection with the heart were also collapsed and contained little, if any, blood. The stomach contained a quantity of milk in the first stage of digestion. The small bowels contained about half-an-onnce of ~ a semi-bilious matter, but no food except a mere trace. The larger bowel contained loz to 1 £ozs. fluid of a semi-feculant nature, mixed with mucous secretion. The liver was pale and collapsed, and, on being incised, presented no appearance of blood. The kidneys were pale, and also void of blood. The fatty matter of -all the internal organs had disappeared. All the various organs ware perfectly healthy, with the exception of a slight venus congestion of the brain which must have occurred shortly previous to death in one of the membranes of the brain. The cause of death is the insufficiency of proper sustenance, and neglect.

To Sergt. Emraerson : From the appearance of the body, the neglect must have been going on for some time. To a juryman : If there had been organic disease, I should have disco, vered it in the body of the child. W. H, Clarke, a legally qualified medical practitioner, residing in Kum. ara, sworn, deposed : I was present today at the post-mortem examination of the body of the child Joseph O’Neil, and aj-sisted - Dr. Acheson. I have heard the whole of the evidence given by Dr Aoheson, with which I entirely agree in all particulars.

The acting Coroner then summed up the whole of the evidence, and,

The jury, after half-an-hour’s deliberation, brought in the following verdict :—“ That the death of the infant Joseph O’Neil was caused by neglect and want of proper nourishment while in charge of the nurse Sarah Ellen Kitto ■" to which they attached the following rider ; “The jury are of opinion that the mother is greatly to blame for not calling medical attention sooner.”