The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1877.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 9, 10 January 1877, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1877.

The Wellington Coroner, Dr Johnston, ofk, the occasion of a recent inquest on the body of a boy who by pure accident fell from Tii3 horse in the street the • other- day and was killed, made, some very pertinent remarks uppia the unnecessary holding of such enquiries. During the examination of Dr Harding, one of the medical witnesses, he said that " he coujd not help thinking that, in a case in which an accident had happened in the open street, and in the middle of the day, and in which three medical men had within a few hours seen the sufferer 1 , they might at least have been in a position to state tha.t he had died through a fall from a - horse and' that they had attended him, though they might not be able to describe the djrecfc cause of death.. He thought it. was a' pity that the jury should be t called . from their duties to parry out a formal inquiry : 'in consqqiience' o^ mjediG^l men refusing to "give "a certificate."" Then, turning iQ y pt Harding, he asked whether. he did not think ;Jhat;fhg medical men might have given a certificate. The reply was that he did not luiojv whether they were, satisgecj or not, r the (Joroner went on^to say that-" WinighVas' «rell te.jl Dr Harding, as he had totd the jury before,' that he did not blame: :J;he:;«ie:dj«al men together, because up to 1875 a coroner wouid have been in a position to have given » certificate. He could .quite understand that' a medical man could not give a distinct statement .of <he cause of death, which was expected at tho R^J^sirar's Onlce, bat in a case like this, coroners, when feeliog satisfied that every attention ha 4 heed i

paid, were formerly in a position to give a seytificate. ..In }875, however, a bill was 1; ?£°^ at w--jBo-alter:th9 regulations regarding, 5 t?ha registration v |jf ; marriages "and deaths, an^ | py. these a coroner was expressly enabled to (■ ■ &*& an or W &p burial, only ha must hold I ?°iW^ a ? sfc fo?nd: having been hampered by ;; .tnas^ul^i^,4t%(Drvg<>&natQQ)i ; h,ad calledN ; ; jin^ueafe where h% had^folt conscientiously ) thafrhe conld have given a certificate without jTOßtMing a jury. Knowing the unpopularity *& the TCoroner's Coart, it had been his endeavour to hold as few inquiries as he possi- :•> 1876 he had been aucs&*s§■ %:& s Pknsing;j with many inquests. := •■me practice, however) did not seem to have i pleased the authorities, and they determined to take away from coroners the power of - L»g«ftoMng t eeriipc a te S ., .«.Afc-the -3ame -time- .ha - . must express the opinion that a medical man might have given an opinion in such a case as this, that the boy had died from the effects of a fall from a horse, when he (the Coroner) "^mc^ismngi/mrswmmisr'- -••••• Dr. Johnston was in one sense perfectly right when he'-spioke of "thei'Unpopularity of the Coroner's!; eourfe'*' It "is not, however, that the institution |>e£se is. unpopular, but it is made so bx a ;tatf frequency with which mquesta are geldj id cases' where they are totally unnecessary.? ; Where there, is, the slightest suspicion o£ foul play, or of culpable negligence, by; all'meana let there be an inquiry, but inicasestpf ' nalpable accident, . where medical^en* can" testify to the the ,cauge of deatihyit is .an act. of purposeless % .cruelty to the friends pf the deceased to in- : iswfrupon a coroner's inquisition with all its a objection&blef iconcomitants. A sudrden; and violent death-sinflicts sorrow and , trouble enough ttpon [the surviving relatives without their being added to by the privacy of jthe house* of -moWhing being broken in ;: upohbyatroo#o£ strangers, the sole purpose of their unwelcome intrusion being. to ! enable them to place; on : record, what they andj al{, acquainted with the circumstances. • knew fejfecjbly; well before, that death bad •beeta occaaioHed by ;pure accident. We are * very gtafytoi-imd ajgentfeman in Dr. John- - ston s position,ntteriiig sentiments that will, , ,we feel.aure, ipeefc wfth Jhe, fullest approval of all w^o read themj ;: ! It will be si?ein by: advertisement that Ms ' Curtis and. Mr Sharp intend to hold a meeting conjointly on Monday evening next, when t|ey;will addresstheip constituents. The present warm weather appears to have brought a large number of sharks into the harbor, and numbers of them may now be seen at any time of the day besporting them- - selves in the sun. Last evening a monster, - nearly"fcwelve-feet long, was playing about .near the reclamation works at the rear of the - Custom House Hotel. A harpoon was driven into him by a man pn board the cutter t . Dauntleas,:bufr it did not penetrate far, and f | the: shark got clear. '- ' 'A meeting of the Regatta Committee was heßKJast night, Captain Cross in the chair. A letter was: .received from the Caledonian 1 Society enclosing a cheque for £2 2s as theip subscription. Letters:, were: also received _ ,frpj?.. ffr W. M. Stanton, expressing his '* 'regret iat having been .unable to make the - .necessary .arrangements in aid of the regatta fund ; | and from Mr Garrard offering the use ( Qf-the Government wharf, upon the conditions Jihat the Committee held themselves , .xesponpible, for any accident and cleared away all obstructions on the evening of the 18th. ! The; Secretary was instructed to write i to- Mr. Akersten asking him to make the r flooring safe. There was considerable discussion on the question of allowing all = subscribers of one guinea free admission to ? , the whams, and ultimately it was decided on the motion of Mr.Gollop, seconded by Mr Thomson, that free tickets should be issued to them by the Secretary on their applying to. him. before Wednesday next. The Treasurer stated that £319 had been re'-*---ceived, and about j£l2o of promised subscription, had yet to be collected. With reference to the junior four-oared gig race, it was resolved that, the Secretary telegraph to Wellington stating that the resolution passed at a previous meeting deciding that only , persons under the age of twenty-one years ■could row for that race, was passed under a misapprehension as to the programme, and that the Committee intend to adhere strictly to.the programme, which states that the race . °R en to all boats not outriggers and open jP/??7 *9 men who have never won any adver- [ iised champion race. The question of selling ; W r right to r erect; a licensed victualler's booth near the harbor entrance wa3 diacussedj but its ffurtherr r consideration -was postponed until piday evening, to which date the meeting, was adjourned. ; i mThb handsome silver Cup presented by Captain Cross as a rprize for the champion four-oared inrigged boat race is now on view in Mr Hunter's window, ■> A cloncbet, which promises to be a very popular one, is to be given at the Provincial Hall on .Tuesday night, in aid of the funds of thejSowing Club, who are in need of some extraneous assistance to enable them to meet ■ • - the liabilities incurred in the purchase of the splendid bdat3 they now own, A number of jfgll-known amateurs have promised their aid, anjd the flolos. duetts, part songs, and in--1 strumejntal muaie comprised in the programme are, aftato the .time and care that have been deyoteji to their practice, sure to be well t -executed. Tickets may be obtained from the ftommUtee names will be found in the adirertfsemeng. ; . .Avoid eroitment, dissipation and late HODBSJ If you are not naturally nervous they will be apt to make you so, unless you hava a constitution of iron. If you are nervous, there is still greater rsaaon to shun them. | The best remedy ior weakness of the nerves, as well as for its almost invariable conconutant?— a deficiency of constitutional vigor --Is Udolpho Wolfe's Sohibdam Aeomatio Schnapps which multiplies the j physical energies, promotes assimilation of the food, and tranjjuilizea'the brain.— Advt.