ESCAPED DEATH

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 455, 12 June 1937, Page 4

ESCAPED DEATH

' POISON IN BEER BOTTLES I Warning Given Too Late I i Press Association—Copyright. Kaikobe, June 11. : The fact of his beiiiv ■;> heavy smoker saved a Maori Irom dcaAh as tinI i-eeult of a farmer's practical jot", accor'Jing to evidenice given in the I Magista.te’s Court to-day. The j Maori had drunk from u bottle, which he had been cold contained' beer, a ixtisdnous preparation ceusisting partly of nicotine sulphate, which thi> farmer had been using as a drench for j mbs. Describing the cat as most tin usual and one of the lirr, of i.kind j in the North, Constable D. Robinson ■ -aid that on February 5 defendant ! was engag. d Jr. itching lambs on his j property with a polsonotli, substance, i This liquid was con...ined in ordinary ■ beer bottles. Danger Realised. j On th? same day a Maori named I Rewi called at the farm to dip some j sheep. Seeing him approaching, Jones placed one of ths bottles containing he liquid in the woolshed, end for a practical joke told the Maori there wtfc a bottle of be. r for hinuin the woolshed. The bd'tle was not labelled poison, and from all outward appearances resetnbkd a bottle of beer. Rewi went to the shed' to get the j d: ink, and when he wits out of sight, defendant realised the danger of the joke and hurried after him, calling out, "Don’t drink that stuff” » was then too I I e, as Rewi had consumed' some of .the contents of the bottle. Later he became unconscious, which necessitated his removal to hospital, where he remained for a few days before recovery. It was not suggested! that Jones i meant any harm, Constable Roberti >on said. : Analyst’s Report. i The bottle and consents were for , warded to the Government analyst j and from the measurements ox the , amount of drench drunk out <>£ ' ihf ; bottle, Rewi had consumed 47 grains jof nicotine. The doctor had stated that had Rewi not been a heavx smoker he would have d'ied. Th© sniixlleslt fatal dose of nicotine was one grain. Asked by the Magistrate if hi> had J anything to say, defendant, Charles j Frederick Jones, said sheep farmers ■ were in i he habit of using poison. He ! had never held this particular drench •’o be very poisonous, as it wtis adj ministered to lambs three months old I “You are fortunate you ar o no , charged l wi|h manslaughter, as the ! man mighlt have died,” remarked Mr j Moiris. A fine of £l2 10s and costs i W imposed.