H.—l4

8

that occasion. I thought he might be hypochondriacal. On 27th March I again saw him, and again examined his chest, and entered as my firm opinion that he was malingering. I visited the gaol on 29th, but did not see deceased. On the sth April, I, in company with Mr. Fraser, found him in his cell dead, at five minutes past 4 p.m. The deceased was a tall, upright, spare man, with by no means a look of ill-health. My reasons for supposing he was pretending were, that he had not the look of ill-health, and not being able to find anything abnormal the matter with him about the chest, of which he complained. I heard he had applied for and had been refused the place as cook, and I thought that supplied a motive for his wishing to annoy the officer of the gaol; and that, when in the presence of others, ho put his hands to his chest and appeared to be ill, and when they had gone he resumed his position again. He might have been suffering severely in his chest and I might not have been able to detect it by sounding, or by any recognized means. The "house medicine" was black draught. I visit the gaol sometimes once or twice a week, and as often as I think requisite. On the 27th March Warder McKellop told me he could prove that he not only ate his own rations, but those left by other prisoners. Arthur Sedgely Hanan, on his oath, saith as follows : I am a duly-registered medical practitioner residing at Invercargill. I made a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased John Wilson. I examined all the organs of the body. They were all healthy, except the organs contained in the chest: the right side of the heart was soft and full of venous blood, and the small artery supplying that side of the heart (the right coronary artery) was blocked, causing the softening I have described. The lungs, as a consequence of this weak heart, were congested with blood, and therefore the deceased died of angina pectoris, commonly called breast-pain. In this disease it is quite possible to find no symptoms to indicate disease. That is the opinion quoted by the authorities on angina pectoris —the best medical men who have written on the subject. Rest is one of the best things for it. Hard labour would have produced more spasms. His case was incurable. Muscular exertion was the thing. To keep the patient from ordinary diet would be the best in such a case. Congestion of the lungs would be caused a short time before death in this case. The disease in this particular case would not affect the pulse. The want of nourishment would not have caused the softening of the right side of the heart. No. 2 scale of rations would have been very suitable diet. The body of the deceased was well nourished. The rest of the muscular system was in a tonic state. The want of a doctor between the 27th February and sth March did not accelerate his death.

Colony op ") The above-named depositions of William Eraser, James McKellop, Prank Whiddon, New Zealand, > John Harbourd, Thomas Edward Armstrong, Allan Charles Young, Frederick to wit. ) Middleton, Nathan Potter, Horace Gooch Button, Arthur Sedgely Hanan, written on thirty-one pages of paper, numbered consecutively from one to thirty-one, and by me affixed together, were taken and sworn before me, at Invercargill,in the said colony, on the 6th and 12th days of April, 1880. H. McCulloch, Coroner.

Colony of )An Inquisition indented, taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen, at Invercargill, New Zealand, > in the said Colony, on the 6th and 12th days of April, in the year of our Lord 1880, to wit. ) before Henry McCulloch, one of the Coroners of our Sovereign Lady the Queen for the said colony, on view of the body of John Wilson, then and there lying dead, upon the oaths of Louis Hume, William Horatio Hall, John Geoghegan, Alexander Dean, John Hunter, Nicholas Johnson, Henry Hawkins, Robert Charles Arnold, Frederick Prcssnell, Charles Wilson, Daniel Rierson, William James, good and lawful men of the neighbourhood, duly chosen, and who being there and then duly sworn and charged to inquire for our Lady the Queen, when, how, and by what means the said John Wilson came to his death, do upon their oaths say that the said John Wilson, on the sth day of April, in the year aforesaid, and for a long time before, did labour and languish under a grievous disease of body— to wit, angina pectoris —and on the sth day of April, in the year aforesaid, the said John Wilson, by the visitation of God, in a natural way, of the disease and distemper aforesaid, and not by any violent means whatsoever to the knowledge of the said jurors, did die. In witness whereof, as well the said coroner as the said jurors aforesaid have hereunto set and subscribed their hands and seals the day and year first above written. H. McCulloch, Coroner. Louis Hume, Foreman. H. Hawkins. W. H. Hall. Robert Charles Arnold. John Geoghegan. Fredk. Pressnell. Alexander Dean. Charles Wilson. John Hunter. Daniel Rierson. Nicholas Johnson. William James.

No. 9. The Hon. Mr. Rolleston to the Resident Magistrate, Inyercargill. Sib,— Department of Justice, "Wellington, 30th April, 1880. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, covering depositions taken at the inquest on Robert Wilson. I have now to inform you of the view taken by the Government on the principal questions raised by a consideration of the case as placed before it by you. There is no doubt that the proceedings at the inquest were informal, on account of the half of the jury being prisoners; and that, if there appeared* to be sufficient cause, it would be competent to the Crown, or to a private individual, to institute proceedings to quash the inquisition, or to proceed by way of indictment, should that prove necessary.1