FOUND BEAD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10416, 19 July 1895, Page 4

FOUND BEAD.

An inquest was held yesterday afternoon, at* Hefferiian's South Dunedin Hotel, % by ,Mr Coroner Carew and a jury pf six,' of whom Mr P. H. Brady was chosen foreman, concerning the death of Michael Q'Keeffe, who was found dead in bis bed at South Duuedin. . ' :

PefcerJohuston, coal merchant, identified the body as that'of Michael ,o'Keeffe. , Latterly, when well enough, deceased was doorkeeper at places of amusement.: He was a widower and was about 60 years of age. He was a tenant of witness s, and occupied a two-roomed cottage L a ™reys avenue. South Danedin. He lived by himself. He had not beeii very strong for some years and was in the hospital about two wmters ago. He complained a good deal about bis, hands and feet. Witness last saw him alive on Tuesday morning. He used to come almost every day to witness for the newspaper, but sometimes saw it up town. On Tnesday morning be was looking pale, but appeared to be in his usual state of health. Witness did not see ht m on Wednesday, ahd, tbiokihg something was wrong, witness's partner . (Mr Robinson) went round to the cottage, but could get no answer on knocking.: Witness also went to the cottage. Which was close by, and they saw deceasea's hafc and spectacles .on the table, and, concluding that something must be wrong, they burst the door open. They fonnd the body lying on the bed. There was a box of matches L U XX UZ d' aud deceased appeared as if he bad beeu trying to light one. Did not'see a single match or a pipe or anything of that kind. He seemed to be quite dead; and the bed clothes were over him. There was no appearance of a struggle.

Sergeant; Brown deposed that he had known deceased for abont 23 yeara. He was a member ?L, ! °J%s? and Southland police force from 1861 to 1875, and he left holding the rank of a first-class sergeant. He was a native of Ireland, and when he joined the police in 1861 set downhis age at 29, which would make him 63 now. He had a son and daughter, the latter being married and residing somewhere between here and Oamaru, and the son was in the railway service near Auckland. /Deceased had of late got his living principally by door-keeping at places of amusement. He had told witness that he suffered from rheumatic gout, and had been to the hospital on one or two occasions. On Monday, night he told witness that he waa keeping well. His death was reported to witness, who visited the cottage. He found deceased undressed, with the exception of bis socks and drawers, and he appeared to_ have been dead a day or two. So far as witness could ascertain, deceased had not been seen since Tuesday. Deceased was lying on bis back, and tbe bedclothes did not appear to have been very much disarranged. In his left hand he had a box of matches, and on a table ciose to the bed was a candle. There were some tobacco pipes also on the table. Deceased was a thin man, but his head and faco now appeared to be very much swollen. There were no mark? of violence.

Dr Jeffcoat deposed, that he knew deceased by sight. He had seen the body, and there were no appearances of death from other thau natural- causes. The features, though much swollen, were placid. The head was lying backwards over the left shoulder, and the man appeared to have fallen back after assuming a sitting position. In the left hand was a matchbox, which was grasped as by a man who had stiff fingers. The man appeared to have taken good care of himself, aud there were ample blankets to withstand the cold. Witness would fancy that the man had been dead quite 48 hours, and thafc fche cause of death was heart disease, probably valvular. It was a common sequel of rheumatic affections. Constable Willis also gave evidence of a corroborative nature, and stated that he found, among other things of deceased's, a discharge from the Victorian police force in 1861 tn which hia age was given as 31.

A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical testimony.