A WFUL DEATH OF A DOCTOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8610, 4 July 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

A WFUL DEATH OF A DOCTOR.

At an inquest held lately in Walworth, England, the evidence disclosed the death of a medical man named William Haggett under peculiarly painful circumstances. Kate M'Gee, the landlady, said that deceased told her he had relatives living at Richmond, but they disowned him. He was brought home by one of her lodgers (Miss Allen) about four months before, and remained there until his death. He had kept his bed for the last three months, during which time " he had spent over £40 in gin." The coroner : Who supplied him with it? Witness: Miss Allen, myself, and children used to fetch it. He used to drink a pint before breakfast. He was in one continuous state of intoxication the whole time. You had no right to give it him. I suppose if he had asked for prnssic acid you would have supplied him with it. I see no difference between the two in this case. He had plenty of money when ho came, I suppose ? Yes; he had a lot of banknotes. About eight o'clock last Sunday morning I discovered him lying on the bed bleeding at the mouth, and at once went for a medical man. Where was Miss Allen at this time ? Oh, she left him about three weeks ago in consequence of several quarrels which they had had.

Lizzie Allen stated that she met deceased in January last in tho Strand. Hβ accompanied her to her lodgings at 48, Rodney-place, and she lived with him until three weeks before his death. He told her that he was a doctor, and had been out to America. The deceased would occasionally have a sole or a little beef tea. The coroner: What was he doing the whole time? Drinking gin, He said ho wanted to die. Deceased had previously told her that ho had "been drunk six mouthy at a time. The coroner : This is undoubtedly one of the most shocking caeee that has ever come under my notice. Dr. Alfred Pain deposed to being called in to the deceased. He found him lying in bed unconscious and in a dying state. Witness visited him again in a few hours afterwards, but upon his arrival pronounced life extinct. Ho examined tho body, and found a bruise on each side of the face, which might either have been caused by a blow from a fist or a fall out of bed. Witness had heard that there had been a row in the house, also that some woman had entered deceased's apartment and robbed him, and that the police were called in. A post-mortem examination had subsequently been made on the body, which showed that doath was due to a convulsion fit consequent upon alcoholic poisoning. The jury returned a verdict accordingly and added a rider that M'Gee and Allen were greatly to blame for supplying deceased with the drink.

The coroner, in addressing tho two witnesses, M'Geo and Allen, said that they ought to consider themselves vory lucky that the jury had taken so loniont a view of the case, as although thoy were not charged with manslaughter, they were morally answerable for deceased's death.