CORONER'S INQUEST.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume X, Issue 572, 26 August 1880, Page 3

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inquest was held at St Batlians on Tuesday last, before Mr Eobinson, the District Coroner, and a jury consisting of Messrs A. Hill, J. T. Gallagher, .W. S. M'lntosh. W. M'Connochie, P. Kenny (foreman), R. Eenwick, John Foley, P. Flyn, P. Talty, M. Gannon, P. Toomey, J. Halpin, W. Pyle, on view of the body [ of Theresa Maria ITaheyy aged six years. Micheal I"ahey,"sworh, said : I am a miner, and reside at St Bathans. The deceased was My daughter. She was my eldest daughter. Ou Sunday last, the 15th of this month, at about. a quarter or twenty minutes past one o'clock in the afternoon, three or four other children came to my house, and the deceased' went put with them. The rest were all younger then herself. They were ploying near the the road, and 1 called, to themtoeoroe nearer. They all then went to tfce back of in * house to play. I sat down to read. - My attention was attracted by hearing screams. T went to the doov. I» saw my daughter coming towards the gate, all -in a blaze. Stic was' at the'gate as soqn ; as T.got to it. I extinguished the flames as well as I could. Ail the • skirts of her outer dress was consumed by the fire my wife came to my assistance. Iran for a bucket of wt.ter. My wife threw herself on top of the child, and smothered the flames. She threw the child down, end lay oh top of her. We took the child inside, and btripped the burnt clothing off hsr, and put her to bed. This was between two and three o'clock. MiGallagher came to my assistance. I sent him to Mr Pyle, to ask him what was required. While Mr Gallagher was away Mr O'Dowd helped me to apply flour and | salad oil to the burnt parts. JFor 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 mhiufces 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 1 understood the children had been playing. I found there'that two tussocks of spear grass bad been burnt. My child, in in reply to a question from her mother, said that she and the other children had been paying 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 hours before Bhe 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 were 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 G-allagher were also examined. The Jury returned a vei diet ol accidental

death, with the fo! owing rider—'That the jury views with alarm the evil consequences which may arise by children hghih g miniature lies about the streets, and that if the parents do not put a stop to it. the police should be eommur.icated with, es bc"h personal and house property i 3 at stake."

We presume that thpre was nothing worth telegraphing last evening, for we did not re ceive a line from our correspondents, except the usual market report. We regret the absence of telegrams, and we regret still more our inability to manufacture news. The possession of such a power last night would have been a convenience.