CORONIAL INQUIRY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 82, 11 October 1879, Page 2

CORONIAL INQUIRY.

Mr. H. M'Neil, Deputy-Coroner, held a coronial inquiry on Tuesday afternoon, touching the death of a woman, named Mary Jane Blake, who had died suddenly,, at Te IVJatai, the previous day. Tho following was the Jury sworn : — Alexander Ferguson (foreman), Alfred Clayden, John Octavius Batchelar, Herman Woollerman, Charles Waldegrave, Thomas Harris Delo, Christian Lind- . gron, William John Batt, Fred. Mowleni, Robert Mackie, Sylvester Coleman, and Charles Henry Percival. After the body had been viewed, tho following evidence was taken : — Mark Blake, on being syrorn,, deposed : — I am the husband of the deceased, who was m her fortieth year. We were married m Truro. Cornwall, twenty 3'ears ago, and arrived m Wellington*by the Rakaia, four weeks ago. Last night when she was preparing to go. to bed at eight o'clock, she was apparently m good health. My daughter gave her some oatmeal, made into gruel, of which she took a small portion. She did not complain then, but half an hour later, wdien I went iv to see her, she was gathered up m the bed, and told me she could hardly breathe. She asked to get her some burnt salt, and I was about leaving the room m order, to do so, she said to get her a mustard "poultice from Mrs. Dalrymple^ for she was dying. I held her iii my arms, and while doing so something came up her throat and choked her, and she died m a few moments afterwards. • She has had eleven children, four of whom are alive,, and although she may have been weakat the times of her confinement, her general health was good. 1 do not know of any cause for her illness and death, and never saw her so affected before. She had been slightly complaining a few days before, being rather low spirited, but on Monday, the day oE her death, she appeared quite recovered, and was very cheerful. , To the Foreman : Mr. and Mrs. Dalrymple, myself, and my son, Thomas Blake, were present when she died. To a Juror : She did not'partake very freely of the oatmeal given to her. She had often had some o^.t- of the same bulk before. • To another Juror: She writhed m ageny before her death, and seemed choking. Ido not think the sea voyage affected her injuriously, for I think she* was m just as good health when she arrived m Wellington as when she started. She wars sea-sick for a few days after starting, but soon got over it. She had a baby nine months ago. John Taylor Dalrymple sworn : I am a settler, residing near Palmerston. Dec ased and her husband entered my service on Saturday week last. They arrived from England by the Rakaia, and were engaged m Wellington. She appeared quite well until last Saturday, When s.he c'omplaine.d of U slight cold. On Saturday she asked my wife to give her a mustard poultice for her chest, and she. did so. On Sunday morning she was better I belieye, but as it was a cold day she, kept to her house and I did not se& her. On Monday morning she went a,bdut her work as usual, seeming voot ce^eerf ul-^-in fact she was mow sa gin. accpi^at of pjp^B, ol[ hei;

having obtained employment, the want of which before baa caused her to be melancholy and down-hearted. Shortly after eight o'clock on Monday night I Avas sitting m the room reading, when the little nurse girl came m and said that Mrs. Blake was fainting. My | wife wenf over to see her, and coming back asked me to mix up some mustard ! and flour, which I proceeded to do. Before I had the poultice made, Mr«. Datrymple came back, and said sh» thought it was bronchitis. T. told her to take some sulphur and charcoal and I get her to inhale the fumes. I theu went oyer to see her, and the moment 1 did so I knew it was serious, so I immediately ordered the boy to bring the horse to obtain medical assistance. When T next went back Mrs. Dairymple had the deceased's feet m, hot water bathing them, but. although I could plainly see that the woman was past all hope, — m fact to my mind dead,— J thought it my duty to go for the doctor. I galloped all the way and although I was not half an hour absent until Dr. Marriner came back With me, and after making a minute examination, pronounced her dead. To the Foreman : I applied the sulphur and charcoal, but it did not seem to do her any good. To the Coroner : I do not think that from the time I first saw her until I | knew that she was past hope, twenty ( minutes could have elapsed, Ido not know of any reason for Tier illness, as she seemed a strong, healthy looking woman. To the Foreman : Until I saw her at night I never dreamt there was anything serious the" matter with her, but the moment I looked at her I knew there was, and immediately sent the boy for the horses,. Hugh Marriner examined : I am a legally qualified medically practitioner, residing at Palmerston. I got authority from the Deputy-Coroner to hold a -post-mortem examination on the body of Mary Jane Blake. Upon doing so I found that when living deceased had been suffering from -pleurisy and pericarditus [The doctor detailed at length the nature ofthe two diseases, and their separate and combined effects, intiniaW ing that the immediate cause of death was pericarditus,] , Examination resumed: It is just'possible that the pleurisy, which would be' caused from cold, had been of two or three days standing, and the pericarditus of shorter duration. Had a medical man been actually on the spot when the attack became visible, it is more than possible the decea*edwould been saved, but considering the time which elapsed —•even though so short — the case re- ! suiting fatally is not surprising; A s f ar I as I know all the assistance possible until my arrival was given. - . To the Foreman : Pleurisy is invariably caused from cold:- pericarditus is a rheumatic affection, and sufficient to cause death. This concluded the evidence, and the jury retired to consider the testimony, but after some deliberation, sent a message to the Coroner, to intimate that there was one of their number wished to. ask the doctor a question. Dr. Marriner, to the Juror i Although the saliva at the mouth of the deceUsed might resemble the appearance of those j dying from poison, that is by no means presumptive evidence that such was the cause of death. The appearance ,of dej ceased was quite m keeping. with one whose dee,th was caused by choking, as all the froth would be the outcome ofthe struggle to breathed Beside m #te present case their was much more saliva when the juijy viewed the body, then immediately after the drath, the result of the handlingand effect during the post-mor-tem. The writhings and. strugles" before death were caused by the efforts- to . breathe. It would be impossible to tell whether a person, had been poisoned until an- analysis of the contents of t the stomach had been made. He had no hesitation m saying that death was the effect of the diseases mentioned. After a few moments' consideration, the jury returned a verdict— -" That Mary Jane Blake' died from natural causes, at Te Matai, -near Palmerston North, on the sixth of October, 1879. *