INQUEST.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 277, 15 June 1860, Page 2

INQUEST.

An inquest was held at the Hospital on Monday last, and adjourned to the Court House the following day, to enquire into the particulars of the death of one David Jeffers, a man over 50 years of age, and an old settler, lately residing in the Wopd, who died in the Hospital on Saturday evening last, where he had been as in-door patient since the previous Friday, being in a state of insensibility from the time of his entrance to his death.

The following jury were summoned upon the inquest:—Messrs. Geovge Richardson, John Jarvis, Robert Simpson, John Pereival, Thomas Bush, Charles Christie, George Harris, Thomas Batchelor, Henry Thomson, Thomas Foy, John Thornton, Augustus Braithwaite, John Palmer Black, foreman.

The jury having been duly sworn proceeded at once to view the body, which was then lying dead in the Maori house, adjoining the hospital. The Coroner, on the jury reassembling, said, that the deceased was found in his own house on the previous Friday, suffering from a fracture of the skull; and, it would be their duty to enquire whether it was accidental death, or from the result of a blow given, and to give their verdict accordingly. The head of deceased showed a deep cut on the left side. The coroner then called

James Barton, the warden of the hospital, who affirmed that he knew the deceased David" Jeffers for the last two years, and resided near Mrs. Shipley's house in the Wood; he died on Saturday evening, the 9th instant, at the hospital. That was his body the jury had just seen. Deceased was received in the hospital about four o'clock on the day previous to his death; he was insensible at the time he was received and remained so up'to the time of his death.

The Coroner here stated that no doubt remained on his mind that a. post mortem examination should take place, and the jury concurring with that view, Dr. Sealey was instructed by the coroner to proceed at once with the post mortem. It was intended at this stage of the proceedings to adjourn the inquest for two hours, but as Dr. Sealey said he would be able in a very short space of time to coniplete his case, and the jury wishing to proceed'at'once, it was determined accordingly. The first wilness called was

Lawrence Devaney, who after being sworn said, he was a resident of Nekon, and by trade a weaver; knew the deceased David Jeffers, saw

him just before the hurt, that day three weeks; was in his company at Mr., M'Gee's, Marino Hotel, Bridge-street; deeased had two glasses of beer; witness asked him to go home with one Bill Lipscombe, but he refused; this was about Bor 9 o'clock in the evening; told witness he would go and lie down in the bowling alley at the rear of Mr. M'Gee's house, and was desired by deceased to call him when witness was ready to go home. After writing a letter witness went out to call him, when deceased saidr-" Larry, I am badly hurt, open the door for me.1' Witness did so, and then saw that deceased's head was covered with blood; brought him in to Mr. M'Gee's, and asked him how he came by the hurt, but he could not tell; washed his face; saw no one about the skittle ground at the time; do not think there was any one about; it was about half an hour from the time that the deceased left him, to the time that witness called him; the place deceased was in appeared to witness to be a long > empty room; saw nothing about that would cause such a wound as was on deceased; the building is a wooden structure; saw deceased next morning, but he did not appear very bad; gave witness no account of the accident, did not ask him to do so; took him a bottle of beer on the Wednesday; deceased was the worse for liquor on the Monday evening at the time of the accident, and could not walk straight. Charles M'Gee sworn: Was an innkeeper in Nelson, and knew the deceased; he was at witnesses house on the night he was hurt; there was a skittle ground at the back of the premises wUh an earthen floor; knew nothing of deceasedgoing into the skittle ground until after the accident; there are seats round the ground made of inch boards; saw the last witness (Devaney.) at the bar, he was writing a letter;, thereI;Were no horses in the stable or in the skittle ground on the night in question; saw no marks about the yard; did not know that deceased had been in the skittle ground until Saturday last. Lawrence Devaney re-called: The door witness opened was opposite the. Wakatu Hotel, facing Trafalgar-street; could not say whether deceased had either hat or cap on when he went in, but believe he had neither: the door was neither latched nor bolted; witness was perfectly sober at the time.

Maurice Hurley sworn: Am a labourer, living in Nelson, and knew deceased; saw him the morning after he had met with the accident; deceased was in his own house; saw the wound on his head, washed it and shaved the hair off it; it appeared to be a bad wound; deceased appeared to be labouring under the effects of drink; told witness a man had struck him with a stick, but could not tell who it was; deceased said he was at M'Gee's when he got the blow; did not ask him if he had been fighting; deceased said—" They tried to kill old David, but David was too tough for them ;•' he would not allow witness to call in Dr. Bush, nor any other doctor; gave no notice to the police; have seen worse cuts on his head than the present one, and did not think it of any importance to give notice to any one about him; believe deceased knew what he was saying; saw him every day up to the time of his removal to the hospital; saw him the day previous to his getting the wound, and saw him the morning after; was in the habit of yarning with him when passing his house. By a Juror: Witness visited him, but he was not able to help himself; deceased seemed to be getting rapidly worse from last Thursday ; and when lie saw him in the evening of that day he was unable to speak, and seemed to be quite insensible; he was always lively and-cheerful previous to that; he used to sit up in the bed and sing to witness; he was also very abusive when in liquor; he stopped with deceased on Thursday night, and whilst dozing he fell out of bed; witness put him in bed again, and deceased fell out a second time, and kept saying—" My wife is in the room. Catch her, catch her."' He had no wife to witnesses knowledge, he lived by himself; witness left him in the morning at about half-past five, and returned in about three-quarters of an hour, and remained with him two hours longer; then came into town and spoke to Dr. Bush to go over and see him; "this was about nine o'clock ; he was desired by the doctor to give deceased some brandy, and he would see deceased as soon as witness would, but he did not como until half-past two ; witness stopped with deceased up to that time. When Dr. Bush saw him he gave orders for his removal to the hospital, which was done accordingly. By another Juror: During deceased's illness witness did not give him any beer or spirits, but on Thursday morning as he refused water that was offered him, witness gave him a cup of beer; told Dr. Bush what he had done, and the doctor's orders was to give him a plenty of it. When he got the brandy at Mr/'M'Gee's, he was told by Bush to give it him hot with plenty of sugar in it, which witness did.

At the close of the examination of the last witness, the post mortem having been completed, Wm. Byers Sealey was called in and examined : Was one of the surgeons attending the Nelson hospital; did not know the deceased: saw him between 12 and 1 o'clock on the night of Thursday, the 7th instant at his .own house : was sent for by a policeman; found him in extreme exhaustion, and apparently suffering from cold, it being a cold night, and appeared to be very thinly covered: he was sensible to be aroused to take nourishment: heard from Hurley that deceased had a wound on the scalp, but could not see clearly owing to the dried coagulated blood: leffc^ him for the night in Hurley's charge to attend him, after ordering a fire to be made, and putting more clothing over him, and putting hot applications to the feet: deceased was removed to the hospital the following day : he never rallied: on his admission to the hospital witness examined him and found a considerable fracture of the skull on the left side: he died at half-past 10 o'clock on Saturday evening last: have made a post mortem examination of the body. The external appearances were—body natural with regard to condition: there was a scalp wound on the left side of the head two inches and a half over the left orbit, and above it in a direct line ; the wound itself is of a curved form, originally two and a half inches in extent —partially healed, leaving three quarters of an inch still open at the middle of the wound : the wound extends through the outer table of the skull: there is an old secatrix of a former wound over the left ear, apparently of some extent: there are scars of old injuries on both shins, and one below the right knee. The buttocks and scrotum are partially deprived of cuticle, most likely arising from his confinement to bed. On removing the scalp there was some extravasation of blood in the neighborhood of the wound, but not to any considerable extent. On the top of the skull being removed, the dura mater was found firmly adherent to the bone over the whole of the left side. This shows that there must have been inflammation of that and the other membrancesof the brain on the left side. Some of the adhesions appeared to be recent, but others were of an older date. A quantity of pus was deposited over the interior two-thirds of both hemispheres of the brain. The brain was very vascular throughout, but otherwise natural in structure. On removing the brain, I saw a large quantity of purulent serum escape from the lateral ventricles, and on examining the removed skull-cap, on the inner side I found a depressed portion of the inner table of the bone corresponding in situation with the external wouafl. This inner table was driven in to the extent of three-sixteenths of an inch, and the size of the depressed piece was one inch and three-eighths in length, and one inch broad. The size of the wound in the outer table was .the same length as the scalp wound, and was about a quarter of an inch wide, but deeper at the centre than the ends. From these appearances I think that death arose from effusion of pus in the membranes of the brain, in consequence of inflammation caused by the depressed portion of the bone. I should think that a blunt tomahawk or a thin bar of iron might have caused death; buj|from the semi-lunar appearance of the scalp-wound, 1 should think it might have been inflicted with the bottom of a pewter pot. If it were a tomahawk, it must have been blunt. Ido not of course say that the wound was caused by any of these meanß. I do not think that by his-simply falling, without the addition of

some other force to his own weight* he could hare so fractured, his skull. The blow which caused this fracture was a very heavy one. If deceased had tripped, and to save himself from falling on his face had run forward quickly with his head in a horizontal position and struck the sharp edge of a piece of scantling violently, it might have been sufficient to have caused this injury. But I think that this fracture is so extensive that to have been caused by such means he must have fallen with a force equal to a blow given by a shingling hammer. Had deceased been attended to properly when the wound had just been inflicted, there would, I think, have been a fair probability of his recovery. I don't think that a kick from a horse would have caused such a wound, because it was so cleanly done; a small bar of iron might have done it. _ -

The Coroner said if the Jury were satisfied with the evidence brought before them of the death of the deceased, he was ready to receive their verdict.

The Jury were of opinion that as other evidence was requisite, it was desirable to" adjourn the inquest to the next day (Tuesday) at the Court House, at 2 o'clock.

The Jury wer« then bound over in the usual form in the sum of £10.