CORONER'S INQUEST.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume X, Issue 571, 21 August 1880, Page 3

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inquest was held at St Buthans on Tuesday iasr, before Mr Eobinson, the District Coroner, and a jury consisting of Messrs A. Hill, J. T. Gallagher, W. S. M'lntoth. W. M'Connochie, P. Kenny (foreman), R. Benwiek, John Foley, P. Flyn, P. Talfcy, M. Gannon, P. Toomey, J. Halpin, W. Pyle, ou view of the body .of Theresa Maria Fahey, aged six years. Micheal Fahey, sworn, Baid : I am a miner, and reside at St Bathans. The deceased was My daughter. She was my eldest daughter. On Sunday last, the 15th of this month, at about a quarter or twenty minutes past one o'clock in the afternoon, three or four ether chikhen came to my house, and the deceased went out with them. The rest were all younger then" herself. They were playing near the the road, and 1 called to them to come nearer. They all then went to the back of m house to play. I sat down to read. My attention was attracted by hearing screams. I went to the door. I saw my ; daughter coming towards the gate, all in a blaze. ' She was at the gate as soon as I got to it. I extinguished the flames as well as I could. All the skirts of her outer dress was consumed by the fire my wife came to my assistance. I ran for a bucket of wi ter. My wife threw herself on top of the cliild, and smothered the flamed. She threw the child down, and lay on top of her. We took the child inside, and stripped the burnt clothing offh.r, and put her to bed. This was between two and three o'clock. Mr Gallagher came to my assistance. I sent him to Mr Pyle, to ask him what was required. While Mr Gallagher was away Mr O'Dowd heb-ed me to apply flour and salad oil to the burnt parts. For about an hour she seemed to suffer a great deal of pain. She then got quieter. I telegraphed to Dr Whitton asking him how we should treat her. He replied, recommending flour and cotton wool. At about 20 minutes past 12 o'clock at night she died. She was six years old on the 23rd of May last. At about 11 or 12 o'clock in the day I observed the smell of fire. I have a gorse hedge about my garden. I looked about and could find no fire or smoke. L then thought no more about it. After the child was burnt, at about 5 o'clock I went to were I understood the children had been playing. I found there that two tussocks of spear grass had been burnt. My child, in in reply to a question from her mother, said that she and the other children had been p'aying with a broken camp oven, and pretending to cook a dinner She (the deceased) was quite conscious, and knew us all until two or three hcurs before she died. I don't believe she had matches herself, but am convinced that the tussock had been set fire to earlier by other children that had been playing there, and that they wete only mouldering when my girl and her little companions went to play at the same place. Thomas O 'Dowd was the next witness. His evidence was principally corroborative of the father's. The burns were principally on the neck, thighs, arms, calves, and armpits. Constable Towle and Mr Gallagher were also examined. The Jury returned a vei diet of accidental death, with the fol owing rider—" That the jury views with alarm the evil consequences which may arise by children lighting mi*iiture about the streets, and that if the parents do not put a stop to it the police should be communicated with, ss both personal and house property i 3 at stake." We presume that there was nothing worth telegraphing last evening, for we did not re ceive a line from our co>respondents, except the usual market report. We regret, the absence of telegrams, and we regret still more o«r inability to manufacture news. The possession of such a power last night would have been a convenience