The Inquest.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2576, 10 April 1877, Page 2

The Inquest.

-The, inquest on tne body pf Macdonald was held to-day in the, Salutation Hotel, Shortland, before Jr E. Macdonald, Esq, Coroner, and a respectable Jury, consisting of the following persons:—W. J. Speight, T. Kealy, W. Barlow, W. Wood, J. Nicholls, W, Mason, F. Danby, Geo. French, H. Turrell, H. W. Gordon, A. Cullin, A. Burns. MrWm. Wood was elected Foreman, and after having viewed the body heard the following evidence. •' Martin-H. Payne, sworn, deposed- 1-! am a duly qualified medical practitioner. I was, called ,this morning at- half-past five;by Sergeant Mulville to' see a man" lyinff'by the* side -of" the old' magazine, ' Mary street. . He was quite i dead. He appeared to hare fallen from the top of the bank. I afterwards performed a post mortem examination. I opened the brain and found a large quan-, tity of coadgulatcd blood, and the neck was, dislocated. The actual cause of death, was from what I have described, proba-' bly induced by alcohol; death being caused by dislocation of the neck and concussion of the brain. - .. By the'vCoroner —Could the dislocation" of the neck and concussion be caused by the fall. Witness—He had evidently fallen on his head. ' By Mr Mason—Would the state of the deceased be caused by merely one carousal or habitual drunkenness. -' Witness—His state would be the cause' of continual drunkenness. ',< >- —Henry ,*worn, deposed; I liveat Block 27. I carry milk lor Mr Walker. I w,as out with .milk this monrng at about 5 o'clock. I then found the body of the .man by-the old powder magazine, between 5 and 6 o'clock. The body was lying Joa its-back. I then left the body and foi nd. Sergeant Mulville, and told him of it; He. fhpu .took charge of the body. '„; . By Mr .Speight—l-Relieved,J,he jmri to be quite dead. The deceased had "no hat on. There was a hat on the bank above. [Left sitting.]