THE CAPTAIN CAIN CASE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 11415, 2 December 1886, Page 2

THE CAPTAIN CAIN CASE.

(PER UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION). Timaru, December 1. On the case being resumed, W. A. ¥ason repeated the evidence given by him at the inquest. — George Kaye, of Timaru, deposed : I went to Woodlands to nurse Captain Gain in January last, and remained with him until his death. Hall oame to the house every day ; he used to come at night sometimes, at about 6 o'clock, but did not remain long ou these occasions ; I left; the rooui whenever Hall came in. Tho captain was very often sick ; I used to find him sick after I had given him hia cough mixture; the mixture was kept J on a side table with the grog and the wine. I sat up with the captain the night; before he died, and I saw no difference in him till 2 o'clook ; I then saw a change ia him which I took for death. Mr fcJtubbs was sitting up with me that night ; Ido not remember seeing Hall there ; when the captain vomited he used to say " botheration, can't the doctors give me something to stop this." — Jowsey Jackson, blacksmith, deposed : I made an invalid bedstead for Oaptain Gain, and took the bedstead to the house about 1 o'clook on the morning of the 14th, and George Kaye gave me a glass of champagne which was taken out of the room which had been occupied by Captain Cain up to that day,— F. W. Stubbs, agent, said: I knew the late Captain Caiu for many years; 1 went to see him on the 13th January, which was my first visit during liis sickness. 1 whb there on the day that the invalid bed came ; Hall was at the bouse; I asked him how he thought the captain was, and he replied " Very bad indeed" ; he also remarked that the doctor gave no hope9 of him, and that; he could not get over it. I thought Captain Cain was better than on the day before.— Patrick Macintyre deposed : lama duly qualified medical practitioner at Timaru; I began to attend Captain Cain in July, 1885. I visited him on tho 9fch and 10th July, 31st August, sth September, 3rd and 7th November, and from the 17th to 31st December inolusive daily. I visited Captain Cain almost every day from the end of December to his death ; he was suffering from kidney disease and dropsy, and also general debility of the system, continuing from his previous illness. I first prescribed for the vomiting on the g4th December, and I did not know of its existence before that day ; there was nothing in my prescriptions to produce vomiting ; I also prescribed stimulants, spirits and wine at cue time, champagne at another, claret ana Australian wine, and probably port. I would not expect any of these stimulants to cause vomiting. None ot my prescriptions cou- I tined atropia, colchioum, or antimony, or any preparation of these things, Oaptain Cain once complained to me of his whisky making him sick. This was a few weeks before his death. I last saw Captain Cain the day before his death, lie was then much worse than he had been for some weeks before. The administration of atropia, colohicum, or antimony to any one in Captain Cain's position would certainly accelerate i

death.—Cross-examined by Mr Perry: Captain Cain was suffering from chronic kidney disease during his last illness, and probably Bright'a disease. Could not examine him thoroughly to see the legs ana body particularly; the left hand was much svroollen during the Jatter part of tbe illness. I only remember one sore on tbe body, a small ulore and the small deep hole in the sole of one of his ieet, but hie legs had not gangrened, and I considered his recovery hopeless. Throughout the last illness I told members of the family that he might die at any moment, or live weeks or month*. My prescriptions during Captain Gain's last illness were to a pertain extent curative. The medioines given for the kidney disease and the dropsy were palliative, and to reduce the dropsy. I did not expect to cure either the kidaey disease or the dropsy. The symptoms at the beginning of his last illues3 were general debility, with increasing dropsy, particularly of the legs, and afterwards extending up to the lower parts of the body. There was also dropsy of both hands, most marked in the left one. He also suffered from chronic bronchitis and vomiting. The latter I first treated him for on the 24th Decouiber ; I also treated him for diarrhon during the moaths of his illness. Dropsy acting on tbe heart was not, in my opinion, tbe immediate oause of death, but it was kidney disease and dropsy in a constitution already enfeabled through impaired heart aotion. I never told Hall that; dropsy would soon reach Captain Cain's heart, and death would iin- 1 mediately follow.— Richard B. Hogg deposed : lam a duly qualified medical practitioner. I remember holding a post mortem examination with Dc Ogston at the Timaru Hospital on September 27th. We removed the stomach, a portion of the small aud large intestines the bladder portion of the liver, the spleen, and the kidneys. There was also some liquid put into the bottles, taken from the oheßt, aud from the bladder, and from the peritonial oavity. The analysis was commenced on the night of our arrival in Dunedin by myself, Professor Black, and Professor Ogßton at the University laboratory. We discovered antimony in all the organs. I should not expect to find I traces of colohicum or atropea in a body nine months buried. If such poisons had been administered during life in one suffering from heart disease and dropsy, it would certainly have the fcffect of accelerating death. -Cross-examined by Mr Perry ; We did not test for atropea or colcbicum in the urinous fluid iu the bottle containing the bladder and the urine were probably tbe kidneys and some liquid from the peritonical oavity. In another bottle were the stomach and a portion of the small bowel, and in a bottle there was another portion of the stomach and a portion of the liver and spleen. A. separate analysis was made of part of the oontents of each bottle. There was no difficulty in getting results, although the analysis took a considerable time. The court adjourned till to-morrow morning. Lateb. A rumour was circulated in town to the effect that Thomas Hall had burst a blood vesße] and dropped dead in the Tiuaaru courthouse. It was soon pub~ lished that the rumour had no foundation, and the excitement subsided.