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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5316, 10 April 1878, Page 2

The verdict returned by the jury at the coroner’s inquest yesterday, touching the death of Mr. J, Stephenson, late mate of the Hawea, was, as might have been anticipated, that the deceased was accidentally killed. It had, however, been very generally expected by the public that the verdict would have been accompanied by a rider to the effect that it would be desirable to have a duly qualified surgeon resident at the Hospital. We have deferred making any remarks on this case until the inquest was over, but now that the inquiry has concluded, it may be well to point out that the public have looked forward to tho result of this case with considerable interest. It has been proved that the unfortunate man when brought to the Hospital was in a state, of insensibility, and that the officer in charge at the Hospital did not deem it necessary to send for Dr. Johnston or Dr. Bradford, the recognised Hospital doctors, or to any other medical man, as Dr. Diver had attended to the patient before sending Inin to the Hospital, and as the latter appeared in a dying state. The probabilities are that no medical aid would have been of any avail whatever. At the same time, it appears to us that it would have been more satisfactory if tbe man had been carefully examined by a qualified medical man after his admission to the Hospital, and that bleeding or such other remedy as might have suggested itself to the practitioner had been tried. Cases which at first sight appeared almost hopeless have keen successfully treated in hospitals before to-day. In the present instance, as we have said, there is every reason to believe that the patient was too seriously injured for medical skill to have been of any use ; but he ought not to have been allowed to lie for hours in the Hospital unvisited by a doctor, and we certainly are somewhat surprised that ttie jury returned a'verdict unaccompanied by a rider to this effect. In- swing this we have no desire to throw unirecessary blame on Mr. Monteith, who ha's had many years’ experience, and bears the. character of being kind ancLpltentive to the Hospital patients ; but in this instance he seems to have taken it too much for granted that the patient must die, and therefore that it was useless to do anything more than was done: in which opinion, although probably the correct one, he ought to have been strengthened by the advice of Dr. Johnston, Dr. Bradford, or other qualified practitioner.