The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-08-09 00:00:00

INQUES I' ON MR. JOHN FOSTER.

An Inquest was hell at Oxford on Tuesday afternoon on
the lyidy of Mr. John Thomas Foster, at Ids r.shlence. New
Inn Ifall-etreet, before toe c .railer for the city ant county,
Mr. William Brunner, MU' a fury of tradesmen.

the first witness called was Francis Alfred Suttaby, who
Ideutified the oody, stating that he w.s a 'nether 10-law of
the deceased, sod that he was a b4ok.eller living at Amen-
fi,nser. lie also date 1 that the deeded would have been 84
)ears old neat dept4mber.

Mr. Hussey, surgeon, Oxford, said that on Saturday evening
he can the deceased et Wig to. Ills father went nifte wit rehs,
slid they arrived at Wigan between in Yen and eight o'clocz
in the evenimr. Mr. lirlacoe, surgeon, also accompanied them,
they found the deceased In a room at the "Clarence Hotel,
sod ho was perfectly seusliale. Wane.s went on to say—
shook heeds with him; he knew me. I examined his left
arm and found a large deep cut through Vie thick part of the
forearm, extending almost obliquely around the who'e la-
tent There was another contused and lacerated wound ill
the lower part of the upper arm, extending to a point up to
the arm-pit. There wan a lade bruise at the In& of the
arm, and another behind the shoulder, with a deop uennd at
the side an heft long. There was a smaller bruise at
of the chest.

The Coroner Was he sensible enough to heow haw it had
happened?
Witness : I did not like to ask then, sir. There WAS no
fracture—or nothing material to the care, only • piece of
tone chipped oft lie tel t'ut the woom se of the
carriage wee up, and that he was thrown hromh tho
below. When I arrived he hod Oil attended by medical
men. Fie told m, he was thrown Virough the glans window,
and at terwards the carriages fell upon him One of the
womds had evkli ntly been sewn up by a medical man, a
no one else could have done it.

'I he Foreutau The ooly suggiellou thet occurs to ols
whether amputAtou would have oaved him

Mt Homey : The arm could have been cut off, but ampu-
tation to • different thing, cud trupliee a great deal more
than cutting nil; you have not oily to Cut off the limb, but
>uu also have to endeavour to cover the wound wl,h &Ai
to host., In this ease the wound could not lace hien
covtred unl as you took half hi, chest away. If you hail
Lilo a off his aim from the hi, beat part of the shoulder the
elan was not Sound, and could lit t have covered the put
smputsted.

Thu I,xernan : In any way ynn coati not have pent,oted
him fr.in the tit cut a mortification by taking if Ws arm?

Witness We might as well h tee taken off his leg—there
was seacely auy hope from the lint.
By tile Coroner : W. agreed together from the fir:t that
amputation Was utalestratile—there waa AO d.ffertuee of
°pluton.

The Coroner mucked that it teemed plain to hint that
unless they could get suflima t fl.sh to utal the wenn, after
amputation it could not take place.
Mr. limey then explaim d in a scientific way the process
of healing a'ter amputation. A railway accident, he W.I.
was t at like a mon low-eked down by • cab hawing only •
bruise, but the arm uuderneath was pounded away. thirty
yeata.go he should hen Leen stkeo to have Med the de.
caased, and now he was asked why he did not amputate. they
had little hope from the first.

Mr. Briscoe then gma c mob iratlve Evidence, ecierlbleg
In similar terms to the last witness the imbue of the In-
juries ree dyed, lie concurred wiih Mr. Hussey that from
the Ilr,t the chance of lite being saved was of the smallest
description.
The Coroner having briefly adverted to the cireurnetance
of the accident, the inquest was formally adi -arced until the
Mil Inst.

The appearance of Mr. Fosters rum, In the languor. of
one of hia friend's, was as if it hod been torn ny a %kW be,ott,
while his cost, which was exhibited to the jury, was • Mare
C.tteri end shreds, saturated with blood fbe death of
borer has c ,st a sloom over the wink teen, where he
was so well kno on and highly esteemed, and much eympaihy
Is ripreraOrl for Mr. Foster who cue mbrocut.mly spored
from a similar tote to that of her husband. Althe ugh notch
shaken by the accident and suffering from severe contloi onn
of th., face, she has exhilbted awn wierlui power of endurenue
throe:hoot the trying period, sand remains better than could
be autielpoted.