STRYCHNINE IN BEER.
An inquest to ascertain the cause oE the sudden death of a woman named Catherine Waddell was held iv Maryborough, Victoria, recently. The deceased partook of a small quantity of ale, and noticed that it had a very bitter taste, whereupon she believed herself to be poisoned, and subsequently died. The ale was bottled by the Castlemaine Standard Brewery, and purchased at an hotel. Dr Garde deposed that having made a post mortem examination of the body he was of opinion that death was directly due to syncope, brought on by excitement and flurry, consequent upon the deceased thinking that she was poisoned. C. R. Blackett, Government analyst, deposed to making an examination of the contents of the bottle. The ale was found to contain '152 per cent, of strychnine, equal to 133 grains per pint. The bottle contained when given to him 19£oz of fluid, in which quantity there proved, to be 12 grains of strychnine. A quarter of a graiu might cause death in a week person and half a grain had been known to cause death in a healthy person in 20 minutes. It was not possible for the strychnine to have iJeen put in the ale by the deceased, as it was in complete solution, and must have ;been in the liquor some weeks. He accounted for the strychnine being in the ale by the bottle being dirty, and he did not think it had passed through the usual cleaning' process. Collett, manager of the Brewery Company, deposed that he supervised the bottling department. There was no strychnine whatever kept for their trade, and he did not know of any of the poison being kept on the premises. It was a matter of great wonder to him how the strychnine got into the bottle, for every reasonable precaution was taken in cleansing the bottles. The majority of their bottles were purchased in Melbourne, and the bottle produced must have had the strychnine in it when received in the brewery. The jury returned an open verdict.
At the Forbes Police Court, New South Wales, Charles Burt, licensee of the Welcome Home Hotel, Forbes, was charged on the Bth inst., with selling beer containing strychnine. It appears that in December last a man named
Rogers called at the defendant's hotel and was
served with a glass of beer drawn from a cask then nearly empty. Rogers complained that the beer was too bitter to drink, and would not have it, but he had already taken about a mouthful of it. When in town, Rogers became ill and it was found that he was suffering from strychnine poisoning.,. The police took the matter up, and Sub-inspector M'Cartie proceeded to Burt's Hotel. Burt showed him the
cask out of which the beer had been drawn, and it.then contained about 2gal of beer. Defendant, however, had taken it off the tap immediately Rogers had complained that it was too bitter too drink. The sub-inspector took the cask and forwarded it to Sydney for analysis. In his evidence Mr Hamlet (Government analyst) said the beer contained strychnine to the extent of nearly three-quarters of a grain to the quart. His theory of the case was that strychnine and tannin had been put into the beer when made, and that the strychnine had sunk with the dregs of the beer, and as the cask became empty the beer Became so much more impregnated with the poison. No facts were elicited as to how the strychnine camointo the beer, the brewer who made it swearing that it was not put in when the beer was made. Both Burt and his wife, however, swore that they had not in any way added poison to the liquor. The bench found defendant guilty of selling beer containing poison, and he was fined LlO, and costs of court; or one month's imprisonment. The ; fine was paid.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 9381, 22 March 1892, Page 3
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713STRYCHNINE IN BEER. Otago Daily Times, Issue 9381, 22 March 1892, Page 3
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