THE WAIMATE POISONING CASE.

Evening Star, Issue 7495, 13 April 1888, Page 4

THE WAIMATE POISONING CASE.

An inquest was held before Coroner Stratford at the Waimate Hospital this afternoon on the body of Alfred Drayton, blacksmith, who died suddenly yesterday afternoon. The evidence went to show that, Drayton, who occasionally had a drinking, bout, came home from his workshop on Wednesday with a 2oz bottle of chlorodyne, purchased at one of the stores, and that he! immediately went to bed to try and get! some sleep, as he had been sleepless for some nights previous, and was in the habit of taking sleeping or composing draughts. His wife noticed nothing unusual in his manner until she smelt a strong smell of chlorodyne coming from the direction of his room. She went in, and found he had taken the contents of a bottle of chlorodyne. He was breathing heavily, and, with the assist-; ance of a grown-up son, was partially awakened and taken to the fresh air, while a lad waß sent to the family medical adviser, Dr A. G. Nicolls, with the bottle with the question " If father took all that was in this bottle would it hurt him ?" The doctor, who was busy with his own private patients, replied that the dose would kill an elephant, and the boy went home with a message to his mother to give Mr Drayton a mustard emetic. Mrs Drayton gave the emetic, butj as it did not act, sent the boy again ; an 4 this time the doctor gave him a sulphate of zinc powder, and told him he would be along presently. When the doctor arrived he ordered Drayton to be removed to the hospital, where he died immediately , after being received. Evidence was forth t, coming at the inquest which showed tha| | Dr Nicolls had been giving Drayton sleeping I draughts, as he suffered from chronic, alcoholism, and a few days before had refused to give him any more, Drayton tried ty.

get them at the chemists', and failed, but subequently persuaded the doctor to let him have the prescription, which was 60 grains ohloral hydrate, to be taken in two doses. Drayton got two bottles of this on successive days and took them both. The pout mortem revealed the fact that the deceased was a well-nourished man with all his organs healthy, and the opinion was expressed that if the stomach pump had been used quickly the deceased would have recovered from the effects of the ohlorodyne. The jury were Unanimous in severely censuring Dr Nicolls for not at once going to see Drayton when it came to his knowledge that he had taken a bottle of ohlorodyne, and added a rider to the effect that they had not the slightest belief that suicide was intended. The verdict was that Drayton came to his death by taking an over quantity of ohlorodyne, and the action of the medical man in giving a dangerous prescription when he himself had refused to give deceased any more sleeping draughts was severely commented upon by the jury.