Death from a Soothing: Powder.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 200, 23 April 1887, Page 4

Death from a Soothing: Powder.

The City Coroner at Sydney has held an inquest touching- the death of a child named Catheiine Mabel Jones, 3 years and 9 months old, who died very suddenly at her parents'* esidenco, Macdonaldtown. The cireumbDances of the case were that early in the evening of the 30th ultimo, as the child was buffering from toothache, she was given one of " Steedman's " soothing powders by her mother, and was then put to bed. A few minutes after 10 o'clock on the same night she was found to be dead. William M. Hamlet, Government Analyst, deposed that he had examined the stomach of the deceased, together with six poAvders that had been handed to him ; he found distinct traces of moiphia in the stomach ; there were dark markings which he considered peculiar to morphia-poisoning on the membrane of the stomach ; he examined the six powders, and found that one weighed -i grains ; three weighed 2 1 , grains each ; another weighed 8.08 grains ; and the remaining one weighed 4| grains ; the pern dei s contained morphia and magrtesia in very variable quantities ; the quantity of moiphia in each pov. der varied from half a grain to a grain ; each of the six small packctb referred to was maiked, " Steedman's Soothing Powder;" these powders -were an imitation of " Stedman's Soothing Powders ;" the variation of the quality of morphia in each of the first-mentioned powders was such as to render their use dangerous ; a grain of morphia would be a fatal dose to a child 3 yecirt) and 9 months old ; half a grain of morphia had sometimes proved fatal. Dr. .James E. Jeffries deposed that he believed that the bad condition of one of the child's lungs contributed to the fatal ending of tne case ; he considered a half-grain of morphia a dangerous dose for a child three years and nine months old ; from &uch a dose he should expect fatal consequences. -The jury found that the child died from morphia poisoning ; and. • further, that the morphia was contained in a " Steedman's soothing powder," which was administered to the deceased by her mother believing that it would do the child no harm. It was added that "the jury would caution the public against purchasing ' Steedman's soothing powders,' as they aro dangerous to life."