INQUEST.

Evening Star, Issue 6914, 29 May 1885, Page 4

INQUEST.

An inquest was held at the National I Hotel yesterday afternoon, before Mr E. fl. j drew, R.M., and a jury of twelve, upon the body of Bridget Coughlan, a little girl who died suddenly on the 26th inst. John Coughlan, father of deceased, stated that about four years ago the deceased wliilHt playing with her little '.other was kn-ckod rat of bed and had her hack injured. Her health was good with.the oxeeption of her back. She was not worse during the last week of her life. On Juesday morning he went to work, and left the chud well. g When he returned to dinner she was taken ill. He went back to work, but left early, because his boy came and told tin deceased was worse. When he arrived home the child dying. Her mother was there and a Mrs Grey. He did not go for a toctS. About half an-hour after he came lome-that would be at half-past.one-the child died in his arms. .She died quietly The child, after the injury, had been sent to the out-door patients part of the Hospital two or three times a week up to six months ago. He occasionally gave hei i,.,rt wine night and morning. The child Would crave for a little drop of port wine. She would not take tea on the day she died. Ho bought sixpence worth of wine and gave her a thimbleful.- He occasionally bought medicine from Mr Bagley for the olid The child had been confined to her bed for about three weeks before her death, and he never sent for a doctor. She did not eat much food. He did not think it neoessary fa send for a doctor. The child had an abscess; he explained this to the chemist, and the chemist gave him a prescription. He could not account for what appeared to be old sores. He knew of no eores on the child's body. She was five years of age. MargaretCoughlan, mother of the deceased, deposed that the child had never been well since she met with an accident some three or four years ago. Au abscess broke out_ on deceased's neck about two months ago. bhe obtained some linseed meal and ointment from Mr Bagley for the child. She got nothing for the child to drink. On the day the child died she was no worse than she had been for over a month. She had been confined to the house two months before she died. The child had been ailing so long that she did not think it necessary to send for a doctor. It was over six months before the child died that she had been to the Hospital. Several times she gave the child a drop of port wine. She could not afford to give it to her every day. On the morning the child died she had sixpence-worth of port wine, in three parts. A\ hen her husband came home he brought sixpence-worth more wine, but witness could not say whether he gave the child any more. She never told anyone that she had given the child brandy. The child died when her husband came home to his dinner. The child died in Mrs (Irey's arms. Her husband gave the physic to the child. She had five other children. When she went to work she took the ohild with her. She was out at work the week before last. If she had had sense enough to have taken the child to a doctor all this trouble would have been saved. There are two rooms in the house they live m. Ada Grey stated that she lived near Mr and Mrs Coughlan. Mrs Coughlan worked far her. She worked for her last Monday. Occasionally deceased used to come with her. It was about six weeks since deceased was at witness's house. On Tuesday, about t\v o'clock, Mrs Coughlan sent for her. Witness went to the house and saw deceased 1 vmg on a bed. Shifted her to another bed. At this time the child was very ill indeed. She was in the house about an hour before the child died. The father was in the house, but not in the room when the child died. The mother was sober. Witness told the mother two months ago to take the child to the Hospital. Margaret Galloway stated that she saw the child on Saturday. She looked very delicate. Dr Coughtrey deposed as to having made, at the request of the police, an external examination of the body of the child. The i body was that of an ill-developed child—pale, thin, and emaciated. He failed to find any direct traces of foul play, injuries, or smell of poisons or liquor. It must have suffered for a long time from a curvature of its spine, which seemed to have healed without medical attention. If it had had medical attention it might have been much straighter. This curve would affect its general health. There were two main causes in addition to this of weakness in the child. It had suffered fromalargeabscessin the leftside of the neck. This abscess had burst in three holes, leaving the skin button-holed and justsimply bridging over the muscles. Then there had been consumptive enlargement of the glands of the altdomen. Beyond these factors the glands between the skin and breast-bone had been very much enlarged and softened. He could not judge of the relative nourishment of the child with so many marks of wasting disease about it. The child would have been better for Hospital treatment, and proper treatment would have saved it a lot of pain as regards the abscess on the neck. He < thought it was unwise and unsafe to admininister spirits or wine to a child without medical advice. He thought the child died from tabiea He was pretty positive that was the ultimate cause of death. The child was one that required very careful and tender treatment, particularly domestic treatment. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence, and added to their verdict a rider to the effect that the parents were deserving of great censure for not procuring medical attention for the child.