RETURNED SOLDIER'S DEATH.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2077, 18 March 1922, Page 5

RETURNED SOLDIER'S DEATH.

CORONER'S INQUEST. . TRACES OP ARSENICAL POISON.An inquest into the circumstances i attending the death of Arthur James . McDonald, a returned soldier, was (held in Palmcrston North yesterday . ! by the Coroner. Mr A. J. Graham. J.P. Mabel'Burton, of Onehuuga, sister t of deceased, stated that her brother's name was not Arthur James Mc- , Donald, but Arthur James Hansen. Her brother had enlisted under the , name of McDonald. She stated that he disappeared from the Thames district in March, 1916. at which time his disappearance was reported to the j police authorities. Enquiries as to his whereabouts were made from time to time. During his absence from New Zealand with the forces she learned • that he had assumed the name of McDonald. The last time she saw him [ ialive was at Bradley's farm last year. Neither before or after the war was , he Ls any way mentally affected. She ! was aware that he spent much money , at the races. He was 35 years of age. [ H, J. Durwaru, medical practitioner, of Palmcrston North, stated that at 1.45 p.m. on Thursday, March 2nd last, he received an urgent call to the ( Soldiers' Club, where he found a man i sitting* In a chair groaning, with his hand pressed to the left side of the abdomen. Considering the very bad i stat*.' the man was in. he removed him to the hospital in his car. During the [ journey the deceased was sick a good deal. The man made no statement I regarding his condition. I Dr. D. H. Bett deposed to having ■ seen McDonald at the hospital, when ■ he was vomiting and complaining of . abdominal pains. The symptoms may II have been caused by irritant poisont ing such as arsenic, or some acute . [condition in the abdomen such as the (perforation of an ulcerated stomach. jThe man denied having taken anything other than his breakfast. The man's condition was such that witI ness did not think he would have de- | nied having taken poison had he done jso knowingly. In view of this, after consultation with a colleague, he decided to make sure he was not suf- - 1! fering from a perforated gastric ulcer. 8 for which condition an operation was -1 the only chance of saving his life. Tho ■I j deceased was operated upon at 8 -o'clock, but nothing that would cause n j death was found except that the -j stomach was acutely inflamed. Short--Jly after the operation,, which was t quite a simple one, the man died. On :. March 3rd the doctor stated that he y made a post-mortem examination of ;. the body, and found that the organs - were healthy except the stomach, e which was inflamed. He removed the s stomach and contents, and also a por- . tion of the upper intestine and pieces ■j of the kidney and liver. He des llvered these to the police in a bottle e and they were sealed and posted by them. Ij The Government Analyst's report, which stated that 87 grains of white • a arsenic had been found in pieces of the body, and this was more than sufficient to cause death, was consistent with the doctor's evidence. " John B. Bradley, of Sanson, stated 3 that ho had identified the body at the morgue as that of Arthur James McDonald, who had been employed by him for two years and seven months. " Deceased had left his employment on s the morning of February i!S, when he - informed witness that he was going t to Nelson for a few days, and then on to Auckland, with a view to going i on a farm at Tauranga. He appeared s to be in good health when he left s witness. Once or two twice during t his term of employment deceased had s complained of stomach trouble, the ii last occasion being about twelve days i before he left the farm. The following day he was quite well again. V/its ness stated that a good deal of sprayi ing with arsenic had been done on his s farm. McDonald had done the work, . and had access to the arsenic powder. . The deceased was always well be- _ haved and reliable. Witness was aware that the deceased followed up races. Ernest William G. Corston, proprietor of the Trocadero Hotel, stated, than on February 2 Bth McDonald booked up for tea, bed, and breakfast. The following day he left the hotel. After the arrival of the race - train from Dannevirke the aanie day ', the deceased again booked up. Wit- . ness could not say whether deceased - had attended the races or not. He did r not see deceased after Thursdav, f March 2nd. r Thomas Henry King, caretaker of i the Beturned Soldiers' Club, said that - at aboift 10.45 a.m. on March 2 he 5 saw a stranger lying on a sofa in the si reading room at the club. The man j appeared to be asleep. He again visit- • ed the reading room a little later, and ; suw a coat and hat there, but the . man was not in the room. He re- , turned to the club at 1.30 p.m. and ; found that the man had been taken j 111, and a doctor had been summoned. Charles Steere, carpenter, of Pal- ! merston North, stated that at 12.45 on j Thursday, March 2nd, he visited the club, of which he was a member. He , saw a young man who had been taken Jill, and witness asked him if he had J been drinking. The deceased replied 'in the negative, and stated that he l |was a teetotaller. Witness summoned 1 1 the doctor. • Sergeant Manley, stationed at Palmcrston North, stated that he had j searched the room that deceased had | occupied at the Trocadero, but found !no traces of poison. He had also exJarained the books at the various 'chemists in town, but found no record ; of any arsenic having been sold to dei ceased. The whereabouts of the man' (who occupied the room with deceased jhad so far not been ascertained. The Medical Headquarters, Wellington, reported that the man had 'ibeen wounded in the upper portion of [the right arm while on active service, 'and this had caused a compound {fracture. The Coroner stated that the man's j life seemed to be somewhat mysterijous, and there was an equal mystery ! j about his death. According to the evijdence, there did not appear to be any jfoul play, nor was there anything to show how the poison had been administered. There was hardly sufficient evidence to definitely state that jdeeca.sed had taken the arsenic himself. An open verdict was returned, that deceased died from arsenical poisoning.