CORONER'S INQUEST.

West Coast Times, Issue 1660, 25 January 1871, Page 2

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inquest was held by the Coroner, Dr. Garland, at the Arahura Hotel, on view of the body of Frederick Hopes. John Buchanan, sworn, deposed : lam a miner residing in M'Donald's Gully. I knew deceased, i last saw him alive on Friday night last at about 6 o'clock. He was then in his claim about half a mile from where I live. I heard him at work on Saturday at about 5 p.m , but did not see him. I have known him for about three years. He has always had a bad cough and been sickly. He has been in the habit of coming down to my place on Sunday, As he did not do so on Sunday, I went up at fi a.m. on Monday to see what was wrong. I first went to his claim and then to his hut. I found the door shut. On proing in I found him lying about two feet from the door. He had his trou3ers and slippers on. He was lying with his hands across his breast and his eyes shut. I thought at first he was asleep. He was lying on his right side. I touched him on the shoulder. I found him dead.

By the Corom-r : When I saw him on Friday he was complaining much of a sore throat. It had been very bad since Christinas. On Friday he said he was ••letter. I went up on Monday to see how he was, as he had not been down on Sunday I knew he g>t sufficient food. He was a very eccentric man, and a great grumbler. He did not drink. He had been in India, and suffered from yellow fever there.

VI envy Widenham Maunsel: I am a dul}' qualified medical practitioner. I have to-day made a post-mortem examination of the body of Frederick Hopes On opening; the chest I found both lungs adherent to the pleura. There was a large abscess in the apex of the left lung. All the other organs were tolerably healthy. The braid and membranes were slightly congested. The stomach was empty. He did not appear to have taken food for some hours previously to death. I consider the cause of death to be phthisis. By the Coroner: There was sufficient disease of the lungs to account for death. Patients rarely died very suddenly of phthisi*. C. P. Crew, Geo. Sharpe, and Peter Hunter also gave evidence. At the conclusion the jury returned a verdict that the deceased died through phthisis pulmonalis, accelerated by privation.