MAYOR'S COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2804, 1 February 1871, Page 3

MAYOR'S COURT.

. ... Tuesday, 31st January. •;■'; '■ ti (Before His Worship the Mayor^ and W. H. ;.;■;, Reynolds, Esq., J. 1?.) , Drunkenness.-^-James Crawford was diecharged with a caution. "■ ■ ; . Obtaining Money under False Pre- '." tences.—Alexander Carr, on remand, was jj! charged with this offence. He had on the g previons day told His Worship that some parties had got him a situation. His Wor- S ship said that after making enquiries he L found his general character very bad* and; ~• that particular statement an. untruth, and *z sentenced him to six months' imprisonment, •/ with hard labour. , ' fc y Charge of/ Manslaughter. r—Ellen Wa- •: g terhouse was charged with having feloniously; ~ caused the death of Margaret Cochrane,;at; Caversham, Mr Barton, with- whom- ap-, * peared Mr M'Eleay, defended the accused., Mr B. >C. Haggitt, for the Crown, prosecuted. w Mr Haggitt, having stated the facts of the § case for the prosecutioa, cited various antho- , rities oh the law on the subject. In this ? case, he contended, gross ignorance was shown by the accused in allowing labour to ~ continue so long, and criminal inattention in not sending for a medical man, when she must have known from the protracted labour m that that skilled attendance was necessary. i, Ef• the prosecution showed that there had £ been gross want; of care,. and culpable want m of skill, the two elements in the case, it was for the Bench to send the case before the jury, who had to decide' the measure of ..the g want of skill and care: v> " •' "' ' ■ Edward Wesley Cochrane deposed :-1 am. ■ a commission agent, living at Caversham. . , The deceased, Margaret Cochrane, was my ./|] wife.--I know MrsWatethonse, the accnaed: ~. I sent my son far her on, Wednesday evening, ; - the 14th December,' to attend my wife in her ;?( confinement.- She arrived at my house, I ■?' think, .between 7:and 8 o'clock. I saw her 'rJ at once when she arrived, and she went up- ]V stairs to see my wife, who was in bed at the :* time; In about 15 minutes, or less, I saw ,ij her again in the bedroom with my wife. - 1 had no conversation with her then. Tasked ': _ MrsWaterhouse how my wife was getting on, cand she in reply said she was comfortable and ?' doing well, and that in about an hour or two 7j we would have, music, meaning, I supposed, * that the child about to be born would be crying by that "time. This took place on ? the Wednesday evening, a little after 8 o'clock. I might have had casual conversations with her, but none of any importance v till about 1 or? 2 o'clock next morning, when ? my^-vnie- complained ; that one of her legs 'Was s_numb and powerless, and she «= had not the use of it/ Mxb Water- ? house kept constantly calling;■'; me into " the room to help her to shift my wife on the bed, because she was powerless. I felt ? delicate about going in, because I did not understand these matters, having never been called in or had to asßist-on BimUar occasions previous to this. I said to Mrs * Waterhouse, " You had .better, get a doctor and a woman • don't Bp°re any expense, be« T cause it ib not needed." ,She said she would x. hot have a woman in the house at all: she would only be. in the way, but a doctor she | wpu'd hwe when it was necessary : but ! there was no possible need of. him then; ' that everything looked favourable; that my 1 wife's being near her change of life was . ' one cause which made her so helpless. ' Either at this time, or afterwards, /Mrs ; Waterhouse said that it was a "dry" confinement, and that my wife's stomach was ' bilious and out of order, .and that those were the causes by which my wife was so long in labour." About noon on the Bame day, feeling, that there was a prejudice against her on behalf of the doctors, I coaxed her to get some " friend " doctor of her own. She said that dolors were all alike to her ; Bhehad Ino "friend" doctor; but she would get a doctor when she found it necessary, but there was no possible use for him then. She knew the case so well that there was no need of him then. She then made the assertion that she had had over 48 hours similar labour herself, and that a woman in town (mentioning her name) had had a similar labour. On the 15th, when it was getting towards dusk, I felt uneasy, and spoke to her very sharply. I said that I felt uneasy, and that a doctor should be there. She spoke to me as I had spoken to her, and said that she knew her business thoroughly well, and had delivered over 2000 children, and had never had a bad case but one, and that the one in the papers was trumped up by the prejudice of the doctors, and that all we needed was patience, and in one half hour or so of good labour everything would be right. Mrs Waterhouse seemed tired, and went into another room to lie down. I remained with ,my wife. In about an hour or so I called her, and told her that my wife was uneasy. She got up and went to my wife, and about two or three hours afterwards, about half • past one on the morning of Friday, the 16th. the child was born. I saw the child, which was dead. She pointed out certain things about the child, which, she said, were clecomposed, and said that it would be a cripple if it had lived. The navel-string, she said, was diseased. I noticed that for about two inches from the child's body it seemed healthy, and that beyond that it was dark coloured for about two or three inches. There was a little blood coming from the child's nose. It's mouth was dark and contused. Mrs Waterhouse said that the navel string being in that state, the child could not possibly have lived above two or three dayfi. My wife asked If the child was born. Mrs Waterhouse said " "Sea." My wife said, "Is it alive 2" Mrs

Waterhouse, after a pause, replied, " No ; it is dead." Shortly after, my wife wanted to see the child. Mrs Waterhonse said she ought not to see it. I said she should see it. She did see it. Mrs Waterhouse called ray wife's attention to the child's feet, which, she said, were turned in, and that it would walk lame if it had lived, and also to the other parts spoken of before. Mrs Waterhouse stayed in the house till 9 or 10 o'clock .in the morning, and then went home. She called again in the evening, and twice on the following Saturday, and said nothing in my hearing, appearing to think everything comfortable ; and I thought so myself. She did not call on Sunday. On Monday there seemed to be a change for the worse. Mrs Waterhouse, who came, applied hot- oatmeal bags to my wife's stomach. A Mrs M'Nair told Mrs Waterhouse that she thought my wife was unusually high about the stomach, and that there was no discharge. Her bowels had not moved, and there was no discharge. Mrs Waterhouse gave her some castor oil, and ordered the hot oatmeal to be continued nntil 11 or 12 that night. Mrs M'Nair had come over to visit my wife, and on going away recommended a woman named Simpson, who came about 9 o'clock. These oatmeal bags were kept up until between three and four on Tuesday morning. There was no change for the better. Then between half past four and five I sent a note to Mrs Waterhouse, and a verbal message by my boy for her to direct him to where Dr Hocken lived, and for him io come. The doctor came first, and prescribed. The doctor.asked me how my wife was. I "brought bim up to my wife, to whom he spoke. * I..did not hear, her answer him. Dr Hocken asked me how long my wife had been ill, and I replied from the time Mrs Waterhouse arrived. I looked upon the time of Mrs WaterhouseV coming, or shortly after, as the time when she had taken ill. He asked me why did I not have a menical man from the first. I told him I thought my wife wanted to economise, and that Mrs Waterhouse had been with my wife before. He asked me the fees she charged and I told him. I wanted him to meet Mrs Waterhouse, and see her and have a conversation with her. He saidj "No ; that he did not know her, nor did not want to know her, but that if anything went wrong with this case he would sift it to the bottom;" He told me .that Mrs Water: house was to have nothing further to do with my wife. I' said certainly not. He told me to let him know by 6.30 that evening how my wife was, and 1 did so. Immediately after he. left the house my, wife's bowels opened, and she had a nice passage, and the discharge also commenced fco flow vei'y favourably, . and every thing, as. Mrs Simpsou said, was ."working like a charm." This was> the; result of Mrs IWaterhouse's treatment. It was before she had taken any! of Dr Hocken's medicine for which the boyhad just gone to • town.' The prescription was madetipiat, Wilkinson's. One injection was given to my wife, and the draught to be; given as directed, which was done. I sent a note to\Dr Hocken at.6.30 that evening, tel-; ling him that she was getting on favourably. He did not come that night or the; next morning.;. On "Wednesday, the 22nd,. Ithought my wife wasjgetting on favourably,: but Mrs Waterhouse said that she did not like her appearance. I asked "What is wrong with her ?" 'or something. to that ■ effect, and Mrs W^aterhouse said that she thought she was sinking, and asked if Dr Hocken had been there that morning. I said that the doctor had aot been there, and she spoke favourably;, as ,-tq. sending for him. </. 1 rodein for hua.~l. He asked me how she was. ;■; I,told him that I was Sunder the impression that she-was;.very favourable all day, but that others did not think so. The doctor told me that on the night previous when I had sent a note to him stating how my wife was, that he had understood from the note sent him, that he way not to come until sent for, and that he had sent a verbal message by ; the .boy* that if 1 waited him, I was td send for him early in the morrdng. The doctor said he could not go bnt then,.as he had some calls in the North-East Valley. This was aboat 7 o'c'pck on'the? ejyening ■ of. Wednesday. He:said/that he wouid.beont about 10 ot 11 o'clock on the next morning. He came at about 12 o'clock next day, and asked how my wife was. I said,'-^ She seems sleepy like-; -but perhaps-that.is the effect of the medicine yon have given her." 'He said, "YeSj tfie,.-.; medicine has that effect," ;jaxd./;'th»t.:.l:."fie.."\iad.':. given her. i something to cause , '-a ., stupor. When |he went up to' my wife,' ne lifted up i both Mb hands, dropped them, and said,'' No, that is not the medicine"—meaning, I inferred, that the state in which she; was jin had not been caused by the medicine. -My wife seemed, tp be in. a kind of stupor. He gave me a note to send in for bis pocket ;case, and when it arrived he tapped her. I asked him if he could give me any hopes of her. He said he could give me none, and that he was sorry he had taken tho^ase in hand at all, but said be pitied me and would do all he could in the matter, prescribed for her again, and asked me if T had given her the wine which he had ordered on the previous evening. I said".-Yes;" and he asked me *' How much ? " I showed him the; bottle, and he said he was very glad: I had given her the wine, and that the medicine lie was ordering her then was yery powerful reviving stuff that would bring her up. On. going away, he said that it was perfectly awfnl that valuable lives should be thrown away, sacrificed, and murdered, , I sent for the medicine, and gave it to her as ordered until she died,, which was at about 4 o'clock on the same day. Mrs Waterhouse had not been there that day, nor did I see her again until the day of the inquest, when I called up some remarks of hers to me about its being a dry confinement. I told her that my wife had said that she (Mrs Waterhouse) had been the cause of it, and. that she had broken the water. She said nothing in reply to this particular question, but said that she had done all she could. While Mrs Waterhouse was in attendance on my wife, I noticed her hands were under the bedclothes; what she was doing I could not tell, but my wife ex- ( claimed whilst she was doing this, "You are , mauling me to death; I will, not have it.'" She at one time made reply, *• It's all non- \. sense, Mrs Cochrane, I must assist you." ['• By Mr Barton: Everything1 in the pre- ; vious confinements of my wife in which she [ was attended by Mrs .Waterhouse went on [ satisfactorily. What 1 thought to be labour i pains commenced between eight and nine t o'clock in the evening, and occurred at , natural intervals, as I had seen them before, > I think the pains were very heavy. During . the night Mrs Waterhouse had her r hand frequently, but not continuously, i under the bedclothes. After Mrs Waterr house went to lie down, I called her g in about an hour afterwards; I merely r state time from my own idea, the clock bei ing stopped. 1 could swear it was after 12 o o'clock, judging by passage of time, and the c appearance of the neighbourhood. My wife d has had ten children, and one miscarriage, d At the time the doctor came my wife looked ,t worn and anxious. I think he endeavoured y to make her speak, but to my recollection c she did not speak. He said her pulse was )t over a hundred, and that there was a sympfc. torn or an indication of inflammation. He ; 0 was not more than five minutes in the bedh room, during which time he examined, her id and wrote a prescription. It was after he y, came out of the bedroom and when he was it going away that I asked him to speak with f. Mrs Waterhouse. When he spoke about d sifting the case if anything went wroDg, he >h did not say that anything had gone wrong, gs In my note to the doctor that evening I said, a- as nearly as I can recollect, that immediately if after he had left the house my wife had hac d, a passage of the bowels, and that otherwist vo sb.Q was progressing favourably ; but not 3 d withstanding that we had given her on< as injection and continued the medicine as hi cc had ordered, and that were there any changi rig for the worse I should send in word imme as diately. He sent, in reply, word by the bo; id that if I wanted him next day I should seni mt word next morning. In the evening I rod ed io to him ; he said that the letter Iha if written to him on the previous evening, an iid in which it was mentioned that my wife ws [ra improving, had been dictated by Mrs Watei

house, whereas in fact no one did dictate it. After Dr Hocken was called in, Mrs Waterhouse did not interfere in the treatment. Mary M'Nair, laundress, Caveraham, said she knew the late Mrs Cochrane, whom she visited on her confinement, on Monday; 19th December. She found her with her stomach much swollen, and her legs and body powerless. Mrs Waterhouse came in about half an hour after, and said that Mrs Cochrane, after witness had drawn attention to her state, was all right. Witness before leaving the house asked Mrs Waterhouse whether there was any danger. She replied "Oh no, she's as right as a clock." Mrs Waterhouse applied hot oatmeal to the stomach of deceased, and gave her a dose of castor oil. At 10 o'clock, when she|called again, 'Mrs Simpson, whom sherecommended, was there. Next saw Mrs Cochrane two hours before her death, then in a kind of stupor. The first time witness saw her she seemed quite cool and calm, but complained of pain in the lower part of the stomach. Mrs Elizabeth Simpson said : I went to tha late Mrs Cochrane on Monday night, 19fch December, at about half-past nine o'clock. I kept hot oatmeal to her stomach by Cochrane's instructions till three o'clock next morning. Mrs Cochrane's stomach was swollen, and all herj body and limbs were quite powerless. She continued to sink gradually until her death. Dr. Hocken prescribed medicine which I afterwards gave her. Mrs Waterhouse came twice whilst 1 was there, and I having called attention to the deceased's state, she said it was nothing uncommon. I know Mrs Waterhouse. by seeing her in places at which both of us were in attendance. I thought when I first saw Mrs Coohrane that she was in danger. I did not mention to Mra Waterhouse that she was sinking fast. I suggested to Mr Coch. rane to send for a doctor or a midwife whilst Mrs. Waterhouse was absent; and immediately a doctor was sent for. It was about five o'clock in the .morning. •,:; Not that I remembered Mrs Waterhouse msking any remarks as to the sending for "a doctor. I was in the room when Dr Hocken came for the first time. He sat down and asked how she was. He felt her pulse, but did not examine, her stomach. He asked me no questions as to how the patient had been getting on, or what her symptoms were.' She did not answer at all. He said then he would send medicine for her, and wrote'a* prescription in the room., lam quite certain that she did not speak to the doctor on the first occasion. Had she done so I would have heard her speak. I am quite certain that she did not on that occasion or at any other time say to him that ahe had been 48 hours in labour. I did not leave the room; the whole ■ time Dr Hooken was- there. •I: remained in attendance,as nurse until she died. Two days after the first visit he came! and said he would do all he could, and said he would send a very powerful medicine, which was sent afterwards. He left the room, and came back again- with a case of instruments, with which he tapped her. " Dr Hooken, deposed : I saw the late Mrs Cochrane twice before her death. I think it was on Tuesday, the 20th of last December, that I first saw her.; The son of the deceased came for me about six or seven o'clock. I saw Mr Cochrane, who told me that his ■ wife had. been confined some days before, that Mrs Waterhouse had attended her, and that he wished he had never seen her:face. I went upstairs at once. Mrs Cochrane told me that she had. been confined on the Friday before of a still-born child, and hsd had a long and painful labour of about two days' duration. She had a yeryhaggafd expression of countenance, wsis.very feverish, her pulse being 120, and weak. She complained of acute pains .Over^ her belly, and which she said had commenced during labour, and had continued after delivery. Her stomach was also swollen; She complained also of inability to move her left leg, which, was somewhat nonab, and was painful on being pressed, and thai:there had been little of a proper discharge,, and that that which had been? was foetid. She and the nurse^told me that her bow,els:bad been opened, and she had passed urine. From the symptoms I noticed, and from what she told, me, 1 concluded that she .was suffering from inflammation or injury during labour. . I prescribed an injection to the womb, and directed that her strength should be kept,up, and also prescribed some other medicine, and said that she was to have hot poultices or hot salt put to the belly; I told.. the husband to come down the same evening,•■ to let me know how she was, so that I could see her again, and vary the treatment if required, according to the account which he would give me. Ife was a question of importance whether I should give her wine, and I left that question open till evening. In the evening the eon brought a letter from his father. It stated that his wife was much better, that the discharge had re-appeared, and that if she would get any. worsehewouldletmeknow. Ithink the letter said nothing about the bowels being opened, but I know I heard that in the morning. The son, who was about; 13 or 14, seemed to think it almost unnecessary that I had seen his mother at all. He was jubilant. I told him that his mother was in danger, and: that she should not /be: "neglectedj .and, that if they wished' me- to see her again they should let me know very early in the morning. In any case I told them to come in the morning. But they sent me no word. About seven or eight o'clock on the evening of that day, the husband came asking me to go and see his wife., He could not tell me how she was. He said she seemed low; he could not give me any further particulars. I rebuked him for his carelessness in not sending me word as I had requested. He said he had been away during the day, and' that his son was. at the Taieri. I was not able to- go then ; I was just starting down ■ to the North-East Valley; but I tod him to give her some good wine, and that if he would send a cab for me early in the following morning, I would go out before I saw any other patient. He sent a cab for me about half-past 10 or 11 next morning, when I went out, and found her cold, livid, and covered with perspiration, and insensible, and apparen'ly dying. Her belly was enormously swollen. I sent into town for an instrument to draw urine from the bladder, and took away I should think half a gallon of it. I prescribed some stimulating and strengthening medicines. She died very soon. I learned then, for the first time, to my astonishment, that Mrs Waterhouse had been daily visiting the deceased, notwithstanding what the husband had said about her not comiiig into ihe house, and which explained to me, as I imagined, the oddity of the letter, evidently wishing me not to go back again. I considered that the case was from the first a dangerous one. If there be real labour for more than twelve hours, I consider as a rule it requires that 1 skilled assistance should be called in. Ido i not include within this'time, the false pains I which sometimes extend over a week. There is no mistaking premonitory pains from real L labour pains. She, as a skilled midwife, [ could not possibly mistake them. Such prei liminary pains would not reader a woman i powerless or unable to move about in bed ■ without assistance, which real labour pains i Bcmetimes do. The real pains usually last - about five or six hours. I would not let a r case last over twelve hours excepting under a exceptional circumstances, when the pains a were Blight. If, it continued over twelve l hours, I should think the case serious, ext cepting under such circumstances, and I c would not allow it to last over that time ;. I would never dream of allowing a case of !, labeur to last for twenty-four hours or more. y I should be guided by many things under i such circumstances. I would turn the child, c or use instruments, or if necessary .destroy ;- the child, at any rate I should terminate the c labour. In my opinion, a person acting as c mid-wife, who allows labour to last beyond ;e twenty-four hours as a very outside limit, is 3- guilty of gross ignorance and negligence. _ I y consider that a person acting as mid-wife, d and not being a medical man, and who allows le labour to continue beyond twelve hours id without calling in the skilled assistance of a id medical man, is guilty of gross want of care, as and gross and culpable want of skill. I, in r- in conjunction with Dr Alexander, mads

the potit mortem examination upon the deceased. On opening the body there was a slight commencing inflammation of the peritoneum, which membrane covers the internal organs. On opening the womb, I found the lower part in a state of slough, which extended downwards into the vagina. There waß also a mass of slough in the right iliac region. All the tissues there Were in a state of slough, and indistinguishable. At the posterior part of the womb the slough had eaten a small hole through into the cavity of the abdomen. The neck of the ' bladder was also^ sloughed. The left iliac vein was greatly swollen, and the swelling extended as far down the course of the vein as I could see. There was alight commencing inflammation of the bowels, resulting from that of the other parts. I ascribe death to the mortification of the tissues, caused by the long continued and improper pressure of the child during the period of labour, it j must have been lying there for many hours, ; and from its pressure upon those parts in a ! state of slough or mortification, caused the inflammation, which resulted in that mortification taking place. I have not any doubt that the labour should have been terminated by artificial means, which would in all pro« bability have saved her life. The child must have been improperly lying in these parts for many hours after it should have been delivered, either naturally oiv'.by artificial means. The prescriptions given in Mr Wilkinson's book are true copies of those made put by me. ■ The cross-examination of the witness was postponed; and . The case was adjourned till Friday next.