GERALDINE POISONING CASES ENQUIRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2370, 16 June 1892, Page 2

GERALDINE POISONING CASES ENQUIRY.

On Tuesday the adjourned enquiry into the cause of the death of Benjamin Trumper, junr., Geraldine, was held before the coroner (C. A. Wray Esq.) and a jury of six at the courthouse.

Professor Black was not present, but sent his analysis of the following things delivered to him by Constable Willoughby :—Two bottles of water taken from the pool from which the children got the ice; one tin of baking powder; and the stomach, intestines, liver, gall, bladder, and kidneys of the deceased child. The result of the analysis of the stomach and intestines showed an absence of mineral or vegetable poisons. The water from the pool he examined was entirely free from poisonous substances, and he pronounced it to be more pure than that supplied to Dunedin householders. An inspection of the intestines showed recent inflammation in some of the peyers glands. Dr. Craig, sworn, said: I am a medical practitioner, residing at Geraldine. Acting on my instructions, the present analysis was made. Seeing that no traces of mineral poison nor any vegetable alkaloids have been found, I am of opinion that owing to the rapidity with which the symptoms came on, the severity of their nature, and rapidly fatal termination, that death was due to the swallowing of some decomposed substance, causing irritation and inflammation of the intestinal tract. The decomposed matter might have been in the water the children drank, or in the ice. There is nothing in the analysis to show the cause of death except the inflammation. As the analysis of the Professor was discussed by the public before ever I knew anything at all about it, and it was rumoured that typhoid fever was the cause of the death of Benjamin Trumper and the illness of the other children, I wish to explain that there were not any symptoms of typhoid. The deceased had the follow- ■, ing symptoms : —Vomiting of a severe-* character, diarrhoea, dimness of sight, twitching of the muscles and great prostration. With these symptoms, I came to the conclusion that h'j was poisoned with some substance, and treated him accordingly. Throe other members of the Trumper family have been taken ill, with similar symptoms; the elder boy having them in a severe form, and the younger boy and the girl iu a mild form. I treated them on the supposition of having swallowed poison and irritating substances, and they have now progressed so far to recovery that the two boys expressed themselves as being perfectly well. They were, I believe, suffering from inflammation of the intestines, which could have been brought about by swallowing decomposed substance. I think there must have been some decomposed matter in the pool from which they got the ice. The jury after consideration returned a verdict in accordance with medical evidence, that death was caused by accidental'y swallowing some decomposed matter which acted as an irritant to the stomach and not by typhoid fever.