CORONER'S INQUEST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4089, 14 April 1892, Page 2

CORONER'S INQUEST.

i;. \ Tbe iftWi|hsa B* Jones. t The inquiry into the ciroutuslatices [ attending the death o£ Alfred E, < Jones was continued in the old Court- ' house, Masterton, yesterday after- 1 noon, before Mr W. Lowes, J,P., ( and a jury of six. j Alfred P, Feilding, on oath, 1 deposed: I linew the deceased, aud ' laat saw him ali"e at 2.25 on Monday morning, at which hour he died, j was witli him last' Friday night till 6.30 in the morning,"' I aaw no doctor present. I was instructed by | the father* of the deceased to administer soda water and chicken broth ■ at intervals, and also to give; the medicine prescribed by the doctor when the deceased wap-in severe paiu. I was also instructed to dip "flaunels" in cold water and place them upon 1 the stomach of the deceased, which I did. I next saw the deceased on Sunday night. The cold water, bath was not applied that night,. I saw Mr Trotheway, herbalist, present. He took ouc some.powder very like' dry sage, something like kauri gum, and two teaspoonfuls of brown sugar, which he mixed with cold water. He gave three teaspoonfuls to the deceased, after whioh lie'took a pot of ointment from his pocket and rubbed on to tlia stomach of the deceased. After a quarter of an hour's treatment ! the deceased expressed his joy at r feeling relief. Mr Trethevay said, i " A stitch in time saves ninoj.but I afraid I'm too late." The rubbing i relieved the. deceased greatly,; l saw no injection made, About an hour ; after the rubbing the deceased sat up ' in the bed, fell into his father's arms, and something bursting he vomited and expired, On Friday night the 1 deceased called me to him;and [ whispered in my ear, 1 " Feilding, it is > all over witlv nie now; the doctor snid > lie could do nothing but apply the 3 wet flaunels; they were talking three quarters of an hour ; fancy a young t man not twenty years of ago done for • this world!" The soreams of the s deceased could.be heard for a long 5 distance. •

Dr W. H, Hosking, on oath, deposed : la accordance with instuiutions troin the Coronor I assisted at a post mortem on the body of Alfred Edward Jones, 1 found very intense general inflammation of the whole of the peritoneum, or the lining skin of the abdomen. Nearly the whole of the gut was also intensely inflamed, and many of the glandular spots softened. I consider, the cause ef, death to be purely natural, due to.intenso general inflammation of the peritoneum and bowels. It.was almost physically ira • possible for the boy to survivej in fact I never saw a worse case. ' There was nothing to.show unskilful or improper treatment. The lad-must have died. It' was hot nice.for, an irregular practitioner to prescribe, but I could see no evil effects. Dr D..8. Johnston, deposed that he had been in. consultation with.Dr. Beard and had found the deceased suffering from intense peritonitis, with the' abdomen greatly distended. Ho agreed witli Dr. Beard as to the treatment the deceased should receive. He considered the case hopeless, Dr. Spencer F. Beard deposed :.I attended the deceased: ;froni ;Mpnduy, the 4th inst., for peritonitis and inflammation of the bowels, adopting 'he usual treatment, The case wont bteailily to the bad, and on Friday I called Dr. .Johnston, of.Carterton, in consultation, who agreed with me. bb to the gravity of the case. On Saturday I saw the lad in the morning and evening, •In the evening I considered him'bettof, as the temperaturo and pulse were lower, and there weie no signs of collapse. On Sunday morning I visited him, and found someone unknown to me injecting fluid. This I objected to strongly. 1 then noticed two bottles on the mantelpiece,.and my bottle was absent. I asked if anything had been given to him in the shape of medicine, and was told that lie had taken two pills. This being in 'my opinion entirely contiary to any sound treatment, and what I considered might accelerate death or turn the balance to death, I declined at once to haveh any thing more to do with the case. I saw the' father, who then told me that he had sent a note to me (which I bad not received, but found waiting for me on my return home), requesting me, as they did not agree with my treatment, not to call again. I found that the individual who was attending the deceased was a herbalist named Tretheway, from Wellington, I expressed to several the harmful nature of the treatment, and stated that if the case ended fatally I should decline to give a certificate of death, On Monday, on bearing of the death of the lad, I reported the matter to Colonel Roberts, who. at once agreed that it was a case for au inquest, lam certain as a matter of fact that opening medicine would accelerate death. I performed a post mortem examination in the presence'of Dr Hosking. and found extensive inflammation. Knowing thai a fluid had been injected, and. hearing that pills had beeii given, I examined the bowels for perforation, but discovered none. After consultation with Dr Johnston, I conoluded the case was a tnqst serious ope, but was of. opinion that the lad' might have lived, There was no doubt to. my mind but that death, was, accelers ated to the' p^tsitje' beattpept' the lad received,'; .■■ ;;:■•:.' Henry Jones, lather of tho deceaseil,'.flepoaeil that his son tqqk ill on Saturday,- tlje Snd of April, He cal . led in Dr Beard on the Monday following, but under his treatment the deceased made lio progress, Dr Beard, after consulting Dr Johnston, gave witness to understand that thore wes no: hope of the, recovery of the deceased,'. On Saturday evoning Mr Tretheway arrived with a brother of witness' wife, Witttesl asked him it; he had ever cured such 98868, am} he replied: that he b'ac), After seeing witness' son, f rotheway said lie could; cure bira, ajjd witness consented to place the case in his charge, The treatment of t|je herbalist appeared to alleviate the sufferings of the deceased for a time, biit afterwards the pain "''''■"'*■ The deceased was ninereturucu, _ teen years of age.' Ko'berl Tretheway, herbalist, deposed as follows; I was oji ray way thrgugh Masterton- from Wellington" to Palmerston North when' Mr Jbues, brother of deceased's father; ai whose bouse 1 was- stopping, -toldtie the deceased was dying and asked me to go and see him, I went about ten o'clock that night. When;, I saw deceased, jfewas. dying, and 'in great suffering.,,, Edward i)Ones §poke to deceased's father and asked it he would take all resppnsibility and allow Ke tp give ■deceased, something to relieve him, Hp consented, snd I mode up some medicine and administered it, and it gave him instant; relief. I waited there-two -hours and a i half.' .About au.haur after -the medioine I

gavo'an injection of water, treacle, and : ''-M|f| cayenne pepper, Seeing the relief -^ deceased got, his parents begged mev to stay.•' I'saw him next day, as they sent for,me,' I repeated the '/".p former medicine, and that soothed' '■•,?;:*£; directly, lam of opinion that ifJ '■-'■■. had been called in two days .;; ; '*, have cured him. I wont back''C*'■; -M on Sunday night, I gave hhna':'; : .';,; small doss of medicine and another '•'.''■j"* injection, I said there, in the ■ ' presenceof all, about nine on Sunday ■'. evening, thaj I could do nothing more. : : ' | All hope was.gone/ It was hopeless,-.':;•■: \ : t from the tinie' I firstsaw.hini, ';*: :, )}; - .The jury,;. after.. a. redrement of -- : S about half an - hour, ri'turned tne ; x;S tollowing verdict :-r" The jury are of.. "'M opinion .'that: the'deceased, Alfred■•**'■• ?S Edft ard s J one?, died from natural :■ r; causes • and the jury are also of opinion that Mr Tieiheway bad no "■'; - : : right to interfere bptween.Dr Beard v , andliiapatient;"' '•■': •;■ A v '.- : ':