THE LATE MR INNES.

Waikato Argus, Volume VII, Issue 469, 3 August 1899, Page 2

THE LATE MR INNES.

THE INQUEST. An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late Mr Chas. Lines, was held at the Court House, Hamilton, yesterday morning, before Mr Coroner Gresham, and a jury consisting of Messrs A. Coyle, G. Parr, J. T. Home, J. Hammond, T. Creighton and F. K. Kiuloch, of which the last named was chosen foreman. Francis Innes, son of deceased, said he last saw his father alive at 2 30 p.m. on Monday. He had been ailing for about a month and was unable to sleep on Sunday uight. Deceased thought a hot bath would do him good. The tub was about four feet in depth and five or six feet in dhmeter. On Monday morning witness tried to get him to consult a doctor ; but he said he thought he would try the bath first. Deceased had had no dinner that day. About 1 o'clock witness took hia father down some towels. About an hour later witness returned from an errand, and on going to the building, the door of which was open, witness saw deceased washing himself in the cellar ; but witness was standing on the floor, and did not go down into the cellar at that time. Deceased was sitting in the water, and witness did not think it could have been too hot. Witness went away to feed his horse, and on returning about aquarter past two, he heard deceased still splashing in the bath ; but did not see him. Witness then went to work in another part of the brewery, and on going to the building to get a sack, he heard no sound, aud at onctt went into the cellar and found his father lying underneath the water, on his left side, with his knees slightly contracted. The water was about 13| inches in depth. Witness thought his father was only just purposely lying underneath the water, but as deceased did not move at the end of a minute or two witness riieed his head out of the water aud found he was dead. He called out to Mr Allen for assistance. Mr Allen held deceased's head out of the water while witness ran for Doctor Brewis, who was on the scene in about 10 minutes. By the coroner : When witness found deceased in the bath the water was just nice and warm, not hot. Deceased was 75 years of age. Dr. Brewis deposed that he had not attended the deceased during his lifetime. Shortly after three o'clock on Monday afternoon lie was called to the brewery to attend deceased. The body was sitting up in the bath with the head out of the water when he arrived. The water with the body in would be about 15 inches in depth, and the temperature was from 95 to lOOdeg., but such a large body of water would not cool quickly. He tried artificial respiration for a short time, but found it was useless. He made a post mortem examination on Tuesday. The expression of the face was calm. All the internal organs 'showed signs of old age. The left lung was adherent to the chest wall from old pleurisy. The heart was dilated and fattily degenerated ; but there was no valvular disease. The stomach was empty. Witness concluded that he had not been drowned ; but had simply died from heart failure probably, accelerated by the hot bath. There were no evidences of scalding, and death appeared to have been painless. Wm. W. Allen, bootmaker of Hamilton, corroborated the evidence of the witness, Francis lnnes, as to the finding of the body. The jury recorded their verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.