CORONER'S INQUEST.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7794, 5 December 1896, Page 3

CORONER'S INQUEST.

« THE DEATH OF CHARLES FISHER. An inquest on the body of the man Charles A. Fisher, who died yesterday after drinking out of a bottle which was supposed to contain carbolic acid, was held at the British Empire Hotel this morning before the Coroner (Mr J. Booth) and a jury composed us follows :— Messrs J. W. Wade (foreman), R. Moore, S. Doleman, E. Durston, Michael O'Connor, and W. Tharratt. Henry Willoughby, dairyman, Whataupoko, who stated that between 9 and 10 o'clock yesterday morning he saw deceased at a boatahed on Palmerston road, close to Fred. Steele's house. Thomas Henry Pardoe was also there, and Steele was near the shed, but he went away. He liad arranged to meet Steele there to go out to the woolahip. Fisher opened the door of the boatshed with a key, saying he wanted a drink and he would have one, and went in by himself. After a minute or so witness heard him call out "I'm poisoned," and on witness asking him what he had taken he said he had swallowed some carbolic acid. He asked for a drink of water, and witness gave him one, but as he seemed to be getting worse he went for Dr Hughes, who came immediately. Fisher was alive when the doctor came. When witness went into the shed he saw Fisher with a bottle in his hand. The bottle was labelled "peppermint," There was another bottle there (labelled Yin de Quinine) like the bottle produced and he pointed out to Dr Hughes the bottle from which Fisher said he had drunk. Fisher appeared to be under the influence of drink before he went into the shed. Frederick Steele, boat builder, stated that when be saw deceased at his (witness) cottage yesterday morning he had the impression he was " suffering a recovery " from drink. Witness stated he had to go to the woolship and deceased went away. The boatshed was locked, as was also the cotUge, and the key of the boatshed was left in the cottage. He returned from the woolship between 3 30 and 4 p.m. and when he went to his cottage, about 6 o'clock he found the catch of the door broken and the key of the ahed was not where he had left it. Both of the bottles produced were in the boatshed when he was last there, about 10 o'clock the previous night. They were on the working bench. He knew that the bottles contained carbolic, and thought it was carbolic oil. Deceased had no permission from witness to go into tho shed. Ho was not in the habit of going there, nor were Willoughby and Pardoe. Thomas Henry Pardoe was then sworn. The Coroner : This man appears to me as if he had been drinking. Bergt. -Major Moore: He has been drinking. There is a prohibition order against him. Pardoe : Certainly so. The Coroner : You had better go away. As the witness left the room Sergt. -Major Moore said to him, "Don't be frequenting hotelß." The Coroner (amid laughter) : You brought him here, and ho is liable to be fined for I coming into a hotel. Peb i man a Paerimu, in the employ of Mr Harding, of the Masonic Hotel, said he had been in the habit of taking bottles of carbolic from the hotel to Mr Harding's private residence on the Kaiti. He took two bottles of carbolic to Steele's and left them there, because he was taking from the shed a crosscut saw, and he was not able to carry both the bottles and the saw at the same time. Ho left them there on Tuesday last. The bottles he left were like those produced. He told Steele he had left the bottles there. To the jury ; He knew the bottles contained poison, and he told Steele bo. The carbolic was for use at Kaiti as a disinfectant. W. Tharratfc, coachbuilder, suid deceased was in hia employ up to the time of his death. He last saw him alive at 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon. Ho hud been of intemperate habits, and witness took out a prohibition order against him some months ago, which had not expired. His age was 62. Dr Hughes stated that he was called to the deceased by the witness Willoughby. On arrival at the boatshed he found deceased lying on the floor on his back in an unconscious condition ; he had scarcely any pulse and was breathing very feebly indeed. He revived consideraly under remedies, but he never became conscious. Witness ran across to his house to get a stomach pump, and when he returned he was dead. Willoughby Baid he had drunk out of one of the bottles produced, and that he had drunk turps. Tho bottle labelled " Peppermint" was the one pointed out as that from which deceased had drunk. Pardoe said he also had tasted a little of it. There were signs of earbplic acid about the mouth of deceased, and there was no doubt the bottles contained a strong solution of carbolic. He believed death resulted from drinking carbolic acid, but he had not made o.post mortem examination. He had therefore no proof that there was any carbolic in the man's stomach. He wiahed to add that it was a very dangerous thing for strong acids such as this to be left about in bottlea labelled " peppermint " and " quinine." Sergeant-Major Moore also gave evidence, stating thut the deceased, whom he Imrt known for some time, was of intemperate habits, and a prohibition order was issued against him in May last. The Coroner, in summing up, said there was no evidenco of an intention on the part of tho deceased to commit suicide. He would leave it to them to, if they liked, adil a rider commenting on the danger of putting carbolic acid into bottles without any label; and leaving them about in such a manner a; had been done in this case. After a brief deliberation tho jury returned a verdict of " Death from poisoning by mis adventure," and added the following rider —"The jury would point out the great danger of people putting carbolic aoirl intc bottles and nob labelling them poison." ' A chlorodyue drinker of Muaterton, a/ unfortunate woman named Elizabeth Wooijs was /sentenced by a sympthetic Bench v three months' hard labour, on Wednesduj so that she pjay be cured of the terribii habit. The w.GUian was found in a terribii condition, and had pawned all her belongings even to her bootß, to procure the drug. Tin jvoman was once in good uircu.mßtan.ces,