THE INQUEST ON JOHN WEBB.

West Coast Times, Issue 181, 18 April 1866, Page 2

THE INQUEST ON JOHN WEBB.

TO THE EDITOB OP THE WEST COAST TIMES. Sir,-— I beg you will be kind enough to correct one or two errors, which I find in my evidence touching the death of a man named John Webb, who was found dead on the beach, half covered in sand: The errors consist of a misconstruction of technical terms made' use of by me, and which I found in your generally well conducted paper. At the post mortem examination I found " venous " blood — not " venus" — in every organ, indicative of not, as you state, viz : ozidizatioHi but indicative of want of oxygenalion. As far as my knowledge of technical expressions (which I always try, to avoid) goes, and as far as ray knowledge of the English Dictionary, which certainly does contain a large number of blunders in this direction, I may say in foreign or technical expressions transferred into the English language, I cannot detect the word ozidization. I said distinctly, that according to the state of the blood I found no oxygenation. It is a combination of venous blood with oxygen, a state which submerging in the water, as well as hanging, would be the cause of. The process of artcrialisation of the blood will be suspended by asphyxia, the result of drowning or hanging. The water, no doubt, contains. as its' elementary constitutents oxygen aud hydro(J6n, both, however, so closely chemically connected, that there scarcely can be a ' probability that oxygen, £he purifier of our living fluid (t'iz. blood) can take hold of. Permit me at tho same timo to state, once more, that although the water containing oxygen, the latter is thus chemically fixed with hydrogen that the former is of very little use to those submerged in the water. We all know, or ought to know, that the very occupants of the watery element, for the renson I stated, are obliged to turn up on the surface of the water occasionally, in order to take, what Ipuye*U "* mwff of M wr," wbiclj

mainly consists of oxygen and nitrogen. 25 per cent of the former, 75 per cent of the latter, loosely, nay scarcely chemically bound together and therefore fit beneficially to be inspired, to keep in order that wonderful machine of our bodies. I wish it to be understood that I write Vhe«fe few lines for those who wish to be taught. A. Bebndt, M.D.