DEATH OF DR. GRAHAME.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13448, 2 June 1914, Page 7

DEATH OF DR. GRAHAME.

CAUSED BY OVERDOSE OF DRUG.

Dunedin, June 1

At the inquest on tne body_ of Dr. Grab am c, of Waikouiti, the wife of the deceased said that about 4 a.m. yesterday deceased rose from his bed, saying he was going to get another dose of sleeping draught, which he was in the habit of taking. About 8 p.m. on Saturday he had taken a dose. When deceased went to bed he showed signs of having had some liuor, and after the first dose of the drug he became somewhat dazed and was restless in his sleep. He was considerably dazed when he got up at 4 o'clock. Since Tuesday he had been drinking occasionally, but had not touched liquor for the previous thirteen weeks. Witness found him in a state of collapse.

Dr. Howden (Palmerston) deposed that it was highly probable that death was caused by an overdose of sleeping draught. Deceased was occasionally in the habit of taking some drink, of which it took little to upset him. Witness did not think for a moment that he was a man who would commit suicide. If deceased took the amount now out of the bottle in two doses, between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., that would be sufficient to cause death. Dr. Harrison, who made the post mortem examination, found early stages of pneumonia, and both lungs showed evidence of an old trouble. The liver was congested and the heart was slightly fatty. None of the above signs would cause sudden death, but taken in conjunction with an overdose of sleeping draught, they would speedily cause death. A person taking an overdose of the mixture at 8 p.m., would still be stupined at 4 a.m., and would probably not be in a state to judge the quantity he was taking. The jury found: "That deceased died from an overdose of sleeping draught, self-administered; all the evidence pointed to the fact that the action was accidental. The weak state of the organs, shown by the post mortem examination, would probably have assisted to cause death."