Sudden Death.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3610, 16 January 1906, Page 2

Sudden Death.

Apoplexy carried away its second death within a few weeks on Saturday afternoon last under most distressing circumstances, the victim being John Symon Chisholm, aged 28. lieceased had been taken into custody 1 by the police late on Friday night, and on Saturday was remanded to Wanganui for curative treatment. Although deceased was in a queer state, nothing pointed to the end approaching, till just before three o’clock on Saturday afternoon when he passed away in a fit. of apoplexy. His relatives fft re immediately communicated with, and his father (a farmer at Featherston) and brother arrived f last night by train to convey his »- remains to the Wairarapa, where"" they will be interred this afternoon® We tender our sympathy to the relatives, who mourn the loss of one who so unexpectedly came to an untimely death.

THE INQUEST. An inquest touching the death was held at the Courthouse yesterday morning, before Alf. Fraser, Esq., (Coroner), and the following jury :—P. Hennessy (foreman), R. Howard, A. Alcorn, J. Osboldstone, C. Barnard, and G. Stiles. The first witness called was Annie Winifred Whitehouse, who deposed that she remembered deceased being brought to the lock up on Friday night last; he talked quietly ; I attended him while in _ custody on Saturday 13th. He*-'*? did not have anything to eat-; he had drinks of tea, milk' and water, and beef tea during the morning, five or six times ; he got the last drink about a quarter of an hour before he died, when I gave him beef tea ; he had all warm drinks ; I have seen men in similar con* ditions before, and should know - how to treat them, and I think he was properly looked after; the first intimation I knew of his death was from my husband, who sent constable Dander to see him preparatory to taking him away by the train ; the only thing peculiar about him when I gave him the last drink was tha* he was in perspiration; otherwise he appeared as well as ever; whilst in the cell he talked incessantly; he never stopped talking ; he did not knock himself about.

Dr Bennett, medical practitioner} on being called, said:—On the afternoon of 12th about 3 p.m. I was told a man had died in the cells, and it would be, necessary for me to make a post mortem, and I proceeded to do so■ there were no marks of external on the body; I removed his skull, and found the membranes of brain very highly congested, and that some blood was pressing on th/e back part of the brain; the art* _ pearances indicated death fropP apoplexy; I examined the other organs, and, excepting that the liver was abnormally large, th* organs were healthy,

HBy Jury—lt was an ordinary yof~ apoplexy, but in bis ifion excessive drinking would be a primary cause ; tbe excessive beat may also cause it; be was of opinion that a stimulant given bim would have done bim no good; he did not think if medical aid was procured earlier, life could have been saved ; tbe large condition of the liver would indicate excessive drinking, though it may have been by other causes, such as daily exercise. Ernest Healey, chemist, Foxton, deposed, about, 10 minutes to three on Saturday last, Constable Whitehouse came to me and asked me to go across ro the lock-up as a man who had been suffering from delirium tremens was apparently dying ; I went across and found they had the man out in the yard, and constable lender was practising artificial respiration; Constable Whitehouse then assisted him at that; I believe the man was quite dead at the time from general appearance; as there was some doubt, however, I gave him an ejection of strychnine, but without any effect. By Police —I used the stethoscope and found heart had stopped beating ; Mrs Whitehouse may have been helping to restore animation when I arrived. Andrew Laing, hotelkeeper, said—About 20 past 10 o’clock on Friday night last, a knock came to the door and I answered it; he told me who he was, and 1 opened the door and found Chisholm there; he told me he wanted a bed, as he had left the boarding house; I told him it was impossible to give him a bed; he told me that he had been robbed, and, noticing that he seemed excited and breathing hardly , I imagined that there was something wrong ■ with him ; X told him he was not well, and he said he had just been running from the boarding-house ; I then closed the door and told him to stay there while I went to see Mrs Laing and see what I could do for him; Mrs Laing _ was very anxious to let him in, but I thought it best to go and see ConStable Whitehouse, as I thought the man wanted looking after ; when I came out he was up by the boarding-house; I called deceased back, who wanted me to do something fof him; I tried to get him jrS to - come up to Constable Whitehohsei, when he walked away and left me, saying at the same time he would get a doss near the riverbed ; I went back to my hotel, but afterwards went back to Mr Cray’s who spoke of him ; next saw deceased go away from Gray’s hotel towards the river-bank ; so I went round to the stables where Hughie McPhee had him in my stable yard, and when I again suggested that he come with me > to see Constable Whitehouse, I noticed he was bleeding ; I told them to keep him quiet, and I Would go and fetch the • constable ; when we got back (Constable Whitehouse and myself) they were making a bed for him ; the Constable told him that he better come with him as he wanted medical treatment; so eventually he walked away with the Constable; he showed no resistence; the reason he went for the police was that he thought the man was un- . safe, and he thought he would be . in safe keeping ; the man may do himself an injury. • By Police—The constable used OO force of violence, as deceased Walked quietly ; violence was not needed. By Jury—Do not think he was under the influence of drink at the k-»tiine he was arrested ; as a matter of fact, he appeared to’be mad ; drinker though he never appeared he thought the man was a heavy incapable from drink; the last few days he was not drinking much at all, so fat, as he knew ; in fact, he had heard him refuse a drink on the Frjday afternoon ; he was not about the house on that evening after four or five o’clock. . John Frew and Hugh McPhee Were called and corroborated the evidence of Mr Laing as to the transactions from the time Con- ' stable Whitehouse took charge of him.. ; Constable Whitehouse deposed as to deceased offering no resistance, and also corroborated the evidence of the other witnesses as to his taking deceased into custody, and the treatment received whilst he was detained; there was no Occasion to use violence. After due deliberation, the jury brought in a verdict that deceased met his death by apoplexy.