DISCOVEEY OF AN INFANT. CORONER'S INQUEST.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3024, 5 April 1867, Page 4

DISCOVEEY OF AN INFANT. CORONER'S INQUEST.

A cobokxb's inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of a male infant, unknown, found near a drain at the back of the Nottingham Cattle publichouse, Abercrombie-street, on Wednesday, was held at the Railway Terminus Hotel, Official Bay, yesterday, before Dr. Philson, Diitriot Coroner, and a respectable jury. Mr. Charles Woolmer was ohoien foreman. The jury having viewed the body, the following evidence was adduced : — Philip Long deposed that he was a private soldier in H.M. 57th Begiment, at present stationed at the Albert Barraoks. About a quarter to one o'clock on the [previous day, as he was going towards the guard-room at the barraoks, with : one of the men's dinners, and when about twenty > yards away from tht back of the Nottingham Castle public-house, he observed the body of a child lying near a heap of shavings and other rubbish on the green; There was a drain olose to, which appeared to proceed from the water-closet at the back of the Nottingham Castle public-houie, or the houses adjoining. He went on to the barracks, and on his return oalled at the spot in order to satisfy himself respeoting the presenoe of the body. He found a newborn male infant, somewhat the worse for decomposition, and apparently washed along a drain whioh received the contents of the water-closet. He f onnd a piece of canvas about five yards away from the body, and wrappedl tup in it, leaving it there until he oommunioated with the police. The body was afterwards taken by polioe-constable Jaokson to > the station-house, and from thence to the dead-house, where it had been viewed by the jury. He knew nothing respeoting thebody himself, exceptthe finding it. Be had no doubt the water-oloset near the drain was one conneoted with the Nottingham, ! Castle Hotel. Constable Jackson deposed that he reoeived information from the last witness, about one o'clock on the previous day, respecting the body of an infant i having been discovered on the barrack green, and on proceeding to the spot found it lying there, wrapped in canvas. It had been discovered olose to a drain, about 20 yards from the garden fence of the Nottingham Castle. The remains were greatly deoompoied, and appeared to have been a week | dead. He noticed that the umbilical cord was | attached to the body. The drain near which the ! body was found led from a water-oloset at the rear of the Nottingham Castle Hotel. He afterwards examined the closet, in company with Detective Ternahan, and found an after-birth there. He maa aired from the occupants of the public-house and le neighbours around, but could procure no information respecting the body of the child or the after-birth. He had the latter conveyed to the deadhouse, with the body of the child. By the jury : The closet was a double one, having two oompartment', one occupied by the tenants of the public-house and the other a dwelling-house adjoining, in the occupation ofFeterMullins, a private soldier of the 57th Begiment. The next houses were ocoupied by Margaret Powell, Mary Seeman, and Ann Butler, who had access to the same closet. The closets had the same drain, which appeared to have been flooded by the heavy rains of the previous night. The fence near the closet was broken, and persons could gain access to it from the barrack green, without going through the houses. Robert Harding, licentiate of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh and member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, practising in Auckland, deposed that he had made a post-mortem examination # of the body of a newly-born male infant. He found it in an advanced stage of decompositon, and apparently deceased eight or nine days. The body was fully grown, with the navel string adhering, and no ligature about it, apparently separated close to the placenta or after-birth. He could not detect any marks of violence upon the body. He opened the chest, and found the lungs lying far back in the cavity, apparently without having had any air in them. They were of a dark colour and fleshy consistence. He placed them in water, and found they sank. The heart presented the appearance usually seen in the fcstus. The ductua arteriosus was in a perfect state. The stomach was empty, and the liver enlarged. He was satisfied that respiration had never taken place. There were no marks of strangulation, so far as it was possible to see. The state of the circulation in the brain could not be ascertained. The heart was oongested. He believed it was a stillborn ohild, and could Hot detect evidence of violence. He had examined a fleshy •übibance presented to him, whioh he believed to be an after-birth, although it was greatly decomposed. He thought it probable it was connected with the birth of the ohild in question. The remains of the infant had a foetal smell. Louisa MoMahon deposed that she was the wife of Francis MoMahon, landlord of the Nottingham Cattle Inn, and resided at the hotel. She had a family of four, inolnaive of an adopted child, and a daughter of seventeen. She had no lodgers. The closet in the yard was a double one, shared by the hotel and the occupants of three houses adjoining, whioh were her property. She had seen the after-birth, wbioh was found on the tenants' side of the closet, and not on the public-house.side. There was % thoroughfare] through tht grounds, in conae-

quence of this fence being down. She had bo knowledge of any woman haying been delivered, either in her own house or her tenants 1 . Three soldiers' wives had lived in the houses, who left for England in the ship 'Maori,' which sailed on Sunday. One of the three was daily expecting to be confined whenaht left, and she was informed that she had been confined on board. She had no ■uspioion of any one respecting the matter. _ ' Mary Butler, wife of a soldier of the Military Train, was oalled by the coroner, bat refuted to be ■worn, stating that »he objeoted to taking an oath in her condition (enceinte). Mr. Commissioner Naughton reminded her of the penalty for refusing to gite evidence in the legal form, and the Coroner reasoned with her ; but the still obstinately declined to be sworn for the above reason, and alleged that she knew nothing of the matter. After sever*! interrogations it was ascertained that there was a witness in attendance who reiided in the same house with Mrs. Butler, and the Coroner consequently dismissed her, with a view of eliciting similar testimony from the other witness. Mary Seeman deposed that she was the wife of a soldier of the 57th Regiment, and lodged with Mrs. Butler in a house adjoining the Nottingham Castle public-house, in Abercrombie-street. There were no other lodgers in the house. She had been married about a fortnight, and was expecting to go to England. No person had been confined recently in the house in which she lived to her knowledge. She had heard of the finding of the body, but had no knowledge of it. She bad not heard of any person in the houses adjoining having been confined, and had only lived in the neighbourhood a week. Mrs. Butler was the wife of a soldier of the Military Train. Ellen Mulling deposed that she was the wife of Peter Mullins, a private soldier of the 57th Regiment, and lived in a house in Abßrorombie-street, the property of Mrs. MoMahon. She had lived there four weeks, and had no family nor any lodgers. No person had been oonfined in her home since she went there. She had a soldier's wife staying with her last week, who went away in the * Maori,' bnt she had a child six months old. She had not heard of any neighbour having been, confined, and knew nothing of what been found, except from hearsay. L Margaret Palmer deposed that she was a spinster, living in one of Mrs. McMahon's houses, in Aber-crombie-street. A man, named Thomas Hudsori, rented the house for her, but he did not live with her. He was a private in the Military Train, and lived in barracks. She lived alone, and had occupied two rooms of the house, four months. She had not heard of a person having been confined in the house or the neighbourhood lately, She bad heard of the after-birth hauDg been found, but had no knowledge of it. > By the jury : There was a young woman living with her about a month ago, but she knew nothing of the matter until she was informed. In reply to an interrogation from Mr. Commissioner Naughton, witness stated that she had no knowledge of any person in the neighbourhood having given birth to a child, nor had she any suspicion of the last witness or other neighbour. This closed the evidence, and the jury returned the following verdict : — "That the said newly-born male infant, unknown, on the 3rd of April, in a certain field, w»» found dead and exposed, without marks of violenoe appearing ou the body ; but how or by what means it came to its death no evidence thereof doth appear to the jurors." The Commissioner of Police was in attendance to assist in the inquiry*