SUDDEN DEATH OF A CHILD.

Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1760, 24 August 1874, Page 2

SUDDEN DEATH OF A CHILD.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inquest on the body of J'a child named Archibald Wells, the; son of Mr. Wellf, resident on Block r27, was held in the Globe Hotel, Rolleston-street, this morning at 11 oclock, before J. Kilgour Esq Coroner. . , , ■,- > The following were sworn as a jury '?— James Calby, Anthony Cullum, William Bcbbett, James Coleman, Samuel Enspr, Greorge Dalziel, Wm. Avenell, John Natightori, Wm. Martin, (?• Arden, Wm- Wood,;J. L f Waldron. Mr. Wm. Wood was elected Foreman. Tke Coroner and jury; then retired to view the body, and on their return — James Wells was called, and haying been sworn, deposed—That he was a carpenter, residing in Shortland, and the father of the child. He woke up at 7 o'clock on Sunday morning and heard his wife crying—'* James, the child is dead." Witness got up. and saw his wife ■ sitting with the child in her arms. He saw that the child was dead.* ?He could mot account .for the sudden death. The child had gone to bed-with its mother about 9 or 10 o'clock on Saturday night—that was about the usual time of the child's going to bed. It had always slept with its mother. Mrs. Wells was in tlie habit of feeding the child with the bottle at night every two or three hours; and on Saturday night.when witness went to bed,the child had the bottle then. ■'- Witness' wife said the child had been fed.again at 4. o'clock mr the morning. ' The child was three months old. His wife had never suckled it from the first week. The child was healthy. Witness.had been,since unable to account for th« child's death. His wife said she found a sheet around it—she did not lay on it. :'. ' '- Cross-examined by Mr. Bullen—Witness said he had not seen the child since 12 o'clock and could not say whether it was alive atter that time. When his wife called him he took the child up and rubbed it with painkiller—it had'not the appearance of death, and was warm. The child was lying between witness and his wife. The deceased was in that position when the witness wenttobed.? Witness was perfectly sober, and bis wife never drank. Dr. Lethbridge, a duly qualified medical practitioner, was next examined, and his evidence wai to the effect that, he

had made a post mortem examination of the body this morning. From appearances the child would seem to have been 'of a weakly constitution. He could sec no marks of violence. On opening the chest he had found the left lung in a state of collapse; the right lung being deeply engorged with blood, and partially impesemitus. There was also on the surface a large number of subplural ecchymosis. The heart was firmly contracted and contained only a trace of blood. The organs of the abdomen were in a healthy condition—the stomach containing a small quantity of milk. He found no foreign impacted body in the air passages. He attributed the cause of death to asphyxia. , ;.,... „.,.„ Isabella Wells sWorn, deposed—-That at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning the child ; was well—it was asleep. She had been : aroused by her other child about half*past seven, she looked at the baby, and found 'him with the sheet around his face. She immediately removed the sheet and found the child was dead, but it could not have . been above a few minutes dead, as its •eyes were not; glazed, i The baby w*s at once put into a bath, and hs chest rubbed with painkiller. There was ample • space forilie baby to:lie* in* and; witness 'was convinced that the baby had hot'been I laid upon. The sheet being around the \ child had evidently caused death. : The witness was cross-examined by : Mr. Bullen, and these facts were elicited: —that the husband had changed his position during the night, and in doing so had left the sheet <*ver Ithe child in a heap; that the sheet was not round the child, but on him, as if he had been struggling to relieve himself; that her husband was perfectly sober, ardshe never drank anything stronger than tea.... k ; F . Constable Madill deposed to having visited Mr. Wells' house yesterday morning, at 9 o'clock. Had examined the body of the child but could discover no marks of violence. The Coroner briefly addressed the jury, and a verdict of "accidentally, smothered was given.