ARATAPU.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 16, 19 January 1905, Page 2

ARATAPU.

—— I On Monday afternoon an inquest was conducted at the Aratapu Hotel by Mr. T. Webb, coroner, on the body of Jeannie Lyons, aged 16. "According to the evidence of Mrs Margaret Jones, the deceased had been employed with her for about 20 months as a domestic servant. On Wednesday afternoon she complained of feeling s:c-J, as well as having a stiff neck and a weight in the back of her head. Witness did what she could, but the girl got worse, and on Friday morning witness sent for a doctor. He came on Saturday morning and gave deceased an injection, after which she went to sleep. The next thing witness heard was that the girl was dead. The husband of the first witness said that the doctor had been unable to come until Saturday morning, but gave him medicine to take home. Dr. W. H. Horton said that when he arrived at Mr Jones' house be came to the conclusion that the deceased was suffering from cither hysteria or hemorrhage in the lower portion of the brain. He considered sleeplessness aggravated her condition, and so gswe her one-sixth grain of morphia and sulphate, with enough atropine to act as an antidote. He watched the case tQV about three hours, and she was apparently better when he left. He was surprised to hear of her death on Sunday, but was satisfied that it was due to natural causes. Dr. Frederic Norton, who examinedthe deceased, stated that 9he did not die from an overdose of morphia, but that the cause of death was natural, being due to disease of the brain, at the top of the spinal cord. A -verdict of death due- to natural causes was returned, the jury adding that the treatment of Dr. Horton and Mr and Mrs Jones had been correct, and left no cause for complaint. ■ . .