FATALITIES.

Evening Star, Issue 8266, 11 July 1890, Page 4

FATALITIES.

An Auckland telegram to the ' Daily Times' states that Leta Meurant, aged 16, who committed suicide at Dargavihe, was always considered very intelligent and cheerful, but was a great reader of novels and sensational tales. Her parents considered that her mind might have become turned from reading these. The jury returned a verdict "That the deceased took a dose of ' rough on rats' while in a state of temporary insanity caused by reading sensational literature." Donald M'Lean, twenty-three years of age, has died from the effects of a crushing received while at work in the bush near Waipu. News has been received of the death in Melbourne of E. G. Edgecombe, formerly proprietor of the Waikato ' Times.' A seaman on the barquentine Lumberman's Lassie, which arrived at Aratapu from Melbourne on Friday, was furling the main topsail of the vessel when he fell a distance of 40ft and was killed.

The telegram from Invercargill regarding the boat accident at Stewart Island was obscure. It appears that there were three young men in the boat, which was filled by a Eea and went down. There was a bag of clothes and two oars in the boat, and these floated. George Joss (aged twenty-five) got hold of the bag, and Walter Joss (aged twenty) managed to reach the oars. All could swim, and Walter tried to encourage his brother and cousin, Fred Neill, to reach the beach ; but the current wbb strong and contrary, and they were carried outwards and drowned. Walter Joss had a hard struggle for life, and would not have reached the shore but for the support the oars gave him. Neill was nineteen years old, and hia mother resides at the old Maori settlement at Henley, on the Taieri River. Joss was a half-caste.

THE POISONING CASE. An inqueat was held at Wellington yesterday 011 the body of Mrs Alice Maud Bennett, who died on Tuesday from medicine supplied to her in mistake. Dib Kemp, Collins, and I'ollen were examined. The latter saw Mrs Bennett immediately after death, and said from the symptoms he observed he was satisfied it was a case of strychnine poisoning. Dr Pollen was at Fit/.gerald'a chemist shop when the prescription was being made up, and Fitzgerald drew his attention to the largeness of the dose, but witness replied that it was all light, a3 the patient had contracted a morphia habit, Later in the evening witness observed Fit/.gerald tasting something, and from the conversation which followed ho gathered there was a suspicion that a mistake- had been made in mixing up what had been seut to Mrs Bennett. Witness gathered from what Fitzgerald 6aid that there was a probability that strychnine had been sent instead of morphia. After procuring a bottle of the right solution witness obtained a cab and went otf at once to Mrs Bennett's house, and on arrival there he was told that she was dead. Witness was informed Mrs Bennett had taken two spoonfuls from the bottle. W. Skey, Government analyst, said the small bottle marked " halfteaspoonful when in pain—Mrs Bennett," handed him by the police contained hydrochloride of strychnine dissolved in weak alcohol and water. Measuring with an ordinary tcaspoonful he found the solution contained one grain of strychnine salt The second bottle from which Mrs Bennett's dose was dispensed by Mr Fitzgerald, labelled " Liquor morph.," contained a few drops of a strong solution of hydrochloride of strychnia. The large bottles (described as Mr Fitzgerald's stock bottles) labelled "Morphia hydro-chlor. B.P. Poison," and " Liq. Strych. hydro-chlor. B.P. Poison," were correctly labelled. He considered that a teaspoocful of any of theEe solutions of strychnine would be a fatal dose to a healthy adult. From the evidence of Mr Fitzgerald and his assistant (Mr Inglis) there was no doubt that the morphia dispensing bottle had been filled from the liquid strychnine stock bottle, and hence the mistake in making the prescription. The mistake was only discovered by Mr Inglis when about to replenish the dispensing bottle. He then found that the "Liq. morph." Btock bottle was intact. Mr Fitzgerald, who courted the fullest inquiry, attributed the mistake in filling the bottle to a former assistant engaged by him. The inquest has been adjourned till Saturday.