A BABY'S DEATH.

NZ Truth, Issue 152, 16 May 1908, Page 6

A BABY'S DEATH.

Mm SAY IT WAS NEGLECTED.

Attach. Mo Blame to the Mother.

Tlie Coroner's Severe Strictures.

Coroner Dr.. McArthur and a jury of six conducted an enquiry at the morgue on Wednesday into the circumstances surrouuding the death of Edward George Peach, an infant, which occurred at the residence of the child's parents on the morning of the 6th inst. Edward Henry Peach, tram conductor, father of tho dead infant, stated that the child was born on January 22, 1908, and was found dead m bed on the 6th May. .Deceased was a seven months child. Witness was not present at the birth, being •away at work, but bis mother and his .wife s mother were both present. No nurse ~was engaged. Witness' wife had had a fall. He last saw the child' at 3 p.m. on the day before its death just as he was to go to work.. Witness signed .off at 12.15 a.m. and got home about '.1.30 a.m. The Coroner : Have you any other chil••(lEcn ?— Yes,, one about sixteen months' ■old. When were you married ?>—Twelve.months last Christmas. Now, be careful, young man,, you have tttld us that you have one child about :16 months' old.. (THAT MAKES ANOTHER INTERESTf ING QUESTION, •'When- was the first child born.?— Four ] months after w-e were married.

Tlmn t3ic child was live montau^olffwlien you were married ? — lt was not. I don't' iunderstand you. I mean your wife was carrying the child fise months before you married her. The child is all right, is it ?— Yt*:. Then there's no need to ask any questions on that point as regards the- first child. Now, what time (Oil you- say you got home •?— l signed oil at "12.15, which means that it would be 12.3.0 before I was dear, and reached home about 1.30. Arc you sure it was not 8.30 ?— Quiie sure, "it was l.'iQ..

I shall have to ask you some straight questions. If you got off at 13.Ji& should•you not go home as quickly as you could land not waste time ? — I waited for another chap who" came m on .the last car ; about 12.55 a.m.,. and we went home together. ! Oil, I see ? It is the old thing, is it * ■That is, when a tram-driver gets a holiday, lie spends it sitting alongside the next driver. I suppose home is the last place you go to 1— Yes, Igo home to sleep. You got home at 1.30, you say. What i were the wife and child doing then. Did iyou notice them 7— The wife and child were sound asleen when I got home. I should think" they ought to be at that time. How do you know they were asleep. Did you address them ? Are you sure you went home at all that night ?— (Indi&nantlv* I have never stopped out ; since I have been married.

Where did you turn m ? With the wife 1 —I turned m with the w\fo. The child was m the gp-cart alongside the bed I awoke at '8.40 this morning.

What happened then ?— The wife was up before me and went to take the child out of the go-cart to /wash it and found ;it was dead. I then got up and had a look at the child and saw that it was dead.

VShsi did you say when the wife told j! you it was dead ? — T said, "Oh, you're i kidding, you're only joking." - j You are quite sure about that-?. We're \ going to have the wiiie ia here before you f go out you know 7— The wife said, "It's true, and started crying. She was not crying before that 1 She started to cry 1 What, did you do next ? —I went to- see my father, who lives next door, and asked him what I had better <k>. You had to go to your father to see what you should do when -. YOU FOUND THE CHILD DEAD-?— Yes. I had never had a child die before and I did not know what to do. What did you do next ?— I went fox Dr. CaraeroA. When !—-Tlus morning. Yes, I know. You let a lot of time elapse before you went for the doctor ?— I went at 9.30. Was it not 10.30 ?— No y Dr. Cameron was aAvay at an operation hurt came at 11.30. I also rang up Dr. Rawson when I found Dr. Cameron was away, and he arrived' about 12 o'clock. All this time, thrpe or four hours, were you doing nothing ?— I informed the police about 9.45 or 10 o'clock. .Did you now, or was it after 1 A constable stated "that 9.45 was correct. The Coroner : That's all right then. Howijas this child been since it was born? . —At first we thought it was ruptured.'

Did you get medical advice ? — At first we took him to Dr. Gilmer. He 'paid the child was all right. It was just a swelling, but if he did not get better m two or three days we must bring it back. I had ray doubts about the doctor's statement, as I had been ruptured myself and knew something about it. I told the wife to take the child to Dr. Hewitt, who said, that he could not tell if the child was suffering as he was too young. He ordered powdered starch to be put on the child and this was done. The Coroner : I hope the mother can tell us more than you can about the child. Witness : I think I've told quite enough. The Coroner : You may have, perhaps, told us all you know. A juror (to Peach) : Was the child cold when you examined him ?— The baby was , just warm when I felt it this morning.

Dr.. Pyffa:. Had. the child taken, any me? dicine ?. Witness :: No.. Dr.. Pyffe here stated that THE CHILD WAS RUPTURED;; (Dr. Fyffe made the post mortem.): The Foreman (to Peach);. : How did you know the child was dead if the body was. warm ?— I could tell, as there waa not a move m him.. Dr. Fyffe- I suppose you could not observe any breathing ? The Coroner then read the^ witness' cvi- ; dence through, according to custom, and jon reaching that portion wherein the witness stated the first child was born four j months after marriage, he said, "You did., the proper thing, you married the girl." Witness took no notice, and the Coroner ■then said, "That's, right, is .it not? 7 ' > Witness replied, "Yes." . THE MO/CHER'S EVIDENCE.. { i Amelia Annie. Peach, wife of the ptejvious witness, a young woman, of about '21 years of age, stated that she last sawdeceased alive at 11.20 the previous night. Witness had another child which was nine ! months' old v/hen the- deceased was born. ' Witness had taken every care of deceased land he had never been neglected. Deceasiedhad got on well since- he was born and jhad nofe been ill. ' T-he CcfroDar : Don't you think b.G-'s : beeD a wee bit starved ? Witness : No, I don't.. How did you feed him. ?— I gave him Jive ar six bottles a day. What ! You gay« a young child like ■ that the bottle ?— Yes, L gave him the 1 breast until he was six weeks, old.

Why did you not continue- ?— My milk gave out. Dr.. Fyfie.:- Your milk gave. out. Witness;:- Bin sure he was never Degiectod. I wonlibxH neglect my child. The Coroner : I shall have to ask you some very nasty questions presently. Did 1 you simply leave the. child lying there. i night and day ?. Witness :. Mo, I did not. I NEVER NEGLECTED HIM.. The doctor says that the skin is oil ■ his buttocks ? Dr. FyCe said this was so*. Tlic Goraner : Are you sure that you : did not leave the baby until he cried : out ? Witness r No, I never did. Anyone will ! tell you that I looked after him. I fed 'him when I thought he was hungry. The Coroner : Perhaps we'll ask you one question that will lead to an adi journment. When did that .child die ?. ' Witness : He died this morning. Yet you did not see him alive after 11.20 p.m. Do you not know that a child : like that should be fed every two hours ? —I fed him whenever I woke up. I used i five tins of food every fortnight.

Dr. Fyffe : What size tins ?■— Small ones. A question o.f adjournment vwas , here raised, and the Coroner stated' ''that Dr. Fyfte, who had made the post mortem, w.as prepared to make a statement. Dr. Fyfie : The child has not been kept pxqperiy clean. The motions have been left on* tile child, and the skin is entirely oil its- hack. He pressed the mother to look at the child (it lay m the adjoining room). The mother said she did not want to see the child^ but being pressed by the doctor, consented to do so. On returning to the Court she was crying bitterly, and said, "T have never neglected my bahy. God forbid that I should do such, a thine;/' Coroner stated that the case -would take another two hours, and the question af adjournment was discussed. The mother : Don't. Let rfc go on. She wanted the baby buried. The Coroner : *we"l;l arrange for that. The mother continued to cry bitterly. The Coroner : I think the case is a disgrace. Turning to the mother, he asked,. "Are you not a bit too fond of going about "the streets ?" Witefiss : No. I have two babies, and never go out. The inquest was adjourned until Friday. The inquest was resumed on Friday last, wien Mr T. M. Wilford watched the nroccedins;s on behalf of the parents.

Amelia Annie Peach, recalled, said she last saw the child alive at 11.30 p.m. on the Tuesday night, sth inst. The child was then m the go-cart, and witness took the go-cart from the bedroom ! to the kitchen, took the child- out of the go-cart, changed its clothing, and e.ave ; him a -certain food. There was a tiro m i the kitchen. Witness always heated the i food before giving it to the^hild. He took the food Before this Tine child took his food at 6. 50 p.m. He was then attended to arid cleaned. The only mark deceased- had on him at 11.30 was on his buttocks, and was about as large as a threepenny piece. Witness was at home all the time between 3.30 and 11.30 p.m. Witness went to bed about 11.40 p.m. Witness changed the child five or six times between 6.50 and 11.30 n.m. The child was m the bedroom m the gocart, when witness went to bed. The zocart was used as the child's sleeping cot. The child was three and a-half months old when he died. ,He was a seven months' old child. Witness wsvs not out of the hous* between 11.30 p.m. or when her husband reached home. Witness did riot know what time her husband was due to sign off. Witness did not see he&. ; husband after leaving home at 3 p.m. till 7.35 the following morning. He WAS THE?.' IN BED ASLEEP.

Witness then went out to light the fire, and did not look at the child, before dome so. Witness had not been troubled with the child during the nisrht. but as he had been fidgetty the night before, she thought she would not disturb him. Witness went to look at the child about 8..45, and found him dead. Witness's husband was then awake, and she told him the child was dead. Witness's husband said, "You're joking." In reply to the coroner, witness stated that she did not sleep m her mother-in-law's house the night the child died, but slept there on Monday night. The Coroner : You are t(uitc sure you did not sleep there on Tuesday night 1 — Quite sure. Sergt. Rutledge : Did you take the child fo Dr. Gilmcr ?— I took the child, alone; with my mother-in-law, to see Dr. Gilmer about five weeks ago. "Sergt. Rutledgf: : What did the doctor say ?— We thought the child was ruptured, but the doctor said he was not. Sergt. Rutledge : What caused you to thinlc he was ruptured '—Because he was swollen. The doctor said, "I must use

[Fuller's. Earth* and change him as often as possible." Witness was not. quite satisfied land took him to Dr. Ewart, i and he also said the child was. not rup- ; tured. He ordered "witness to use ! ground starch, saying that would take, j : the swelling; away.. Dr. Ewart said the, •child had eczema. Witness used the ! ; starch, with beneficial results, and she I used it contftiucwsly- The child improfrj ed with, the treatment.. i Sergt. Rutledge. r. Who- was m the house: [ iwith you oa the Tuesday* night ?— Mjp I brother was- with me until 1Q.30 pun. I What was he doing ?' — He. was nursing ! the baby. I was m the; house; all the time.. By the Foremamr I ami 22 years of age. By a juror : The child kept the: food down- He had a mark on his buttocks 1 when taken to Dr. Ewart. The doctor ', said it was eczema. To Dr. Fyfe;: Witness fed the. child: eiery two hours, and never, at. longer utfctervals than 2-i hours. DR. FYFE'S EVIDENCE;. De. Fyfe, who made the post mortem examination, stated that the body of deceased weighed 631 i. The proper weight at that age should be 10 Hi Boz. Mr Wilford : Not for a seven months' child— b.ut an ordinary child. Witness, continuing v said the child was very small and emaciated. There was swelling on the right groin. The skin was of! the buttocks, and there was also inflammation. There were no signs of violence, and there was- no. fat under the. skin, all the superficial fat. having gone. There was no food, or sipn of it m the ■ which contained fratb, and watery fluid.

Mr WilforcE t Da you say? the food kiiled the cMld. as the child died from improper feeding 7^—l do not -say that. Tk3 lungs were congested and red and; floated m water. These were one ex iifcfcle spots of effused blood on the 1 surface. The heart was contracted. The only thing the child could' have died of was inanition.

DUE TO IMPROPER FEEDING* Deaitu might have been slightly accelerate ' ed by the rup-ture, but. there was nath- ' ing to show it. In reply to Mr Wilford, witness stated that many children couLd not digest AlJeßbury's food. Pressed by Mr Wilford the witness said that a proper food for infants was five tablespoonfnls milk, seven tablespoons water, a teaspoonful of , sugar, and tue same of lime-water. Thamilk, il lipiletl, would be mire. Pasteurised milk was pure, but humanised : nabi was the best. j A juror said that h& had children of his own. He had acted on a nurse's t advice and had looked after the child personally and found it m the same condition as deceased. Dr. Fyfe said the mother had given tho child one food, and, according to the finals formula she should have given it another form. When the doctor's evidence was read. ho objected to the publication of his remarks on Alienbury's food. He did not desiro to bo prosecuted for libel. Tha Coroner .pointed out that the press took the responsibility of .publication.

DR. GILMER'S EVIDENCE. Dr. Hamilton Gilmer stated that he examined the child about five weeks aso aad it certainly had no rupture then. The child was fairry well nourished, especially considering v it was a seven months' child.. Witness saw the body of the child again on Thursday. Witness corroborated Dr. Fyfe as to the then coni?i*«Hi of the child. By Mr Wilford; r If the child .was not nourished properly this would trend to accelerate the, condition seen on the tMittoCks. - The food was not suited to the child m witness's opinion, and the condition of emaciation niicilit easily have been the result of. the class of food it was receiving. By a juror: Witness saw a, slight redness on the child's buttocks when he examined it. Witness did not think the condition of the child's buttocks would have arisen b&twaen 11.3-0 "p.m! and the following morning, and. lie thought the. mocker was mistaken m hpr remarks. The jury returned a verdict that the child died from want of a proper form feeding, and no blame was attachable to the mother.