FATAL ACCIDENT TO A CHILD.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 217, 19 June 1872, Page 3

FATAL ACCIDENT TO A CHILD.

CORONER’S INQUEST. An inquest was held yesterday afternoon, at the Fountain Hotel, Pollen-street, before Dr. Kilgonr, coroner, and a juiy of whom Mr J. Wilson was foreman, touching the death of Alice Trumper, aged three years and nine months The jury having viewed the body the following evidence was taken:— Thomas Trumper, deposed : I am a compositor residing in Grahamstown. The deceased was my daughter. I left my house about 11 o’clock yesterday morning and went to the Advertiser office, and was there until five minutes to 2 o’clock, when Mr Wilkinson told me that I was wanted. I went to the door of the office and there saw one of my neighbours, Mr Watson, who told me that mv child had been very much burned. Doctor Croft was sent for. Some neighbours were at the house in attendance. At this time the child’s clothes had been taken off, and applications of salad oil had been made to the burns, and a sheet had been thrown over her. She was three years and nine months old. According to the statement of her mother, the child had been in the house by herself, but the door was open and there was fire burning. Her mother had gone out to obtain some necessaries and had been away about 20 minutes. I believe the child got on to the stool and took the matches from the mantel-piece. Several matches were found lying about. The child made no statement to the mother that I am aware of. I did not question her ; she was in too great pain. She cried for mo to take her. Her mother very seldom went out of the house.

By a juror : The child died at 8 o’clock this morning, about eighteen hours after the accident. By the Coroner: I have four other children. They were not at home at the time of the accident. Three of them go to school ; the fourth is too young. Archer C. Croft, legally qualified medical practitioner, etc., deposed : About 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, I was sent for to see a child of Mr Trumper’a, who, I was told, had been badly burned. I went immediately to his house, and found a little girl, about three years old, in the arms of her mother, covered with a sheet, and crying very much from pain. I examined the child, and found extensive burnings on the left thigh and other parts of her body. Some of the burns were deep. The left side of the face was also burned, and the scalp war scorched, but seemed to have been somewhat protected by the hair. I made use of what I considered proper remedies, but the child died this morning, between seven and eight o’clock. Death ensued from the shock to the nervous system, caused by the burns.

The Coroner said this was all the evidence. It would have been more satisfactory if the mother’s evidence had been before them ; but she was not able to attend to-day. Ho Would leave it to the jury to say whether the inquiry should be adjourned until she could attend ; but they had evidence before them as to the cause of death. The jury decided that there was no necessity to adjourn. The jury immediately returned a verdict of accidental death. The Coroner said in other circumstances he should have adverted to the child being left alone, but he knew how difficult it was for mothers not to sometimes run a risk by leaving their little ones Occasionally. In this case he did not think there was any blame. The door had been left open, and the fire put out, so that only the minimum of risk was incurred. One of the jurors, Mr J. C. Young, asked the Coroner for information, if he deemed it necessary to hold an inquest under the circumstances? The Coroner said all violent and sudden deaths were deemed fit subjects for such inquiry, and in this case especially it was desirable, because it had been learned on inquiry that there had been no blame to be attached to anybody, which fact would not have been ascertained without an inquest.