The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-29 00:00:00

THE SUN,

to enable me to give a very positive opinion on the
subject. When I applied nitric acid there wvis a very Oight
yellowing, that was all. In the qaantity of blood hlOl
I ex:.:minet! there could not have be more tha
2,000 th part of a gni!). The physical
.010

blood v7B
do NO.

oTi en
3tt !Id

red atel the globules- t
ed a portion of the enema, and I
there mo;conic acid and morphia. The packet of DJ VI, 'S
p eeler which ems handed to mt.: I examined, ar.d.
toned it to be what I represent it to be. From the ru
suit of my examination I have no hesitation in stating
it as my opinion that opium had been taken by the des.
ceased. An ordinary dose of opium, in the form of
laudanum, is from 15 to 40 minims. I am
not aware of the exact composition or the
strength of Batley's liquor opii sedativus. Opium
introduced into the rectum acts by absorption
into the blood. Authorities differ as to whether it acts
more or less powerfully than when taken into the mouth.
From my own experience I have generally found that it
acts very well, bat that introduced by the rectum it re-
quires a larger dose to produce the same effect. When
ordered as an injection, it is generally taken with a
quantity of mucillage or gruel, and in small quantities,
say loz. or lioz., the object being that it should be re-
tained, and therefore produce the desired effect.
In that case the laudanum generally con-
sists of from about drachm to 1 drachm.
According to some authorities, there are three grains
of opium in a drachm of laudanum; accordingtoanothers,
five grains. From the evidence which I have heard,ini
d
from the results of my own examination,
thetmy
s effectsooppi
ni
opinion
in
is
ntrhpaht i
at h. e
Anotherdeceased's
reason
theit stomach
b wasoth
death
why was
is, from the peculiar manner in whichhh
decomposed, and from the smellemitted,
I have
I caused
entertain b 7
of which appearances I have noticed in several cases of
suspected poisoning by opium._ afterwards dis-
coveredh° largest
dose of opium that I have ever known injected into the
traces of opium in the stomach.
. T
rectum is 2 drachms, and that wag in case of colic some
years ago; but it was anti not
of in such a concentrated form,
but was given in a p liqm
The CORONER said the case was now brought within
a very narrow compass indeed, and he thought if Mr.
Dawson was examined, the inquiry might be brought to
a speedy close. _ _
Mr. Dawson said he should like to make a statement,
if the coroner would allow him.
The CORONER said he should have no objection, and
Mr. Richard Dawson, M.D., having been sworn, he
read the following statement to the coroner and jury;—
«
Major Forester called upon me in July at
the request of his physician, Dr. Chapman, to obtain
my opinion upon his case. On the 21st of the same
month I forwarded a written opinion to Dr. Chapman,
stating belief
that the constant desire to empty the
bladder, and the frequent calls to go to stool, which the
Major had been suffering from for so long a period, were
in a great measure owing to the irritable state of the pros-
tate gland, and that I thought it was a case that would
be greatly benefited by warm baths, the direct applica-
tion of chloride of zinc, and the injection of compound
gall ointment into the lower bowel. In answer to this
communication, Dr. Chapman informed me that his
patient had been ill for many years, and had been at
very great expense in procuring medical assistance,
considerations which would probably prevent him
placing himself under my care. I therefore offered to
attend him without fees. He was anxious to become my
patient, for he knew that I had cured a Major, who had
been obliged to sell out of the army in consequence of
suffering from an irritable prostate.
" When Major Forester first visited me, he was
obliged to come in a carriage and to sit upon a soft
cushion. His health improved, till at length he was able
to walk to my house. I saw him almost every day for
nearly two months, and he expressed himself as feeling
very much better.
On the 15th of this month he complained of a peculiar
pain in his head, and said that ho felt generally unwell,
which he attributed to the intelligence of the sudden
death of the Duke of Wellington, (which it may be re-
membered wgs announced on that morning,) havteg pro-
duced a great desire to pass water, an effect usual with
him when he heard any unpleasant intelligence. But
being in an omnibus, he was unable to yield to the calls
of nature, and ho informed me that he felt as if he
should die. At my house be passed water and relieved
his bowels, but still suffered severely from spasmodic
pains. I advised him to return home immediately in a
cab, and I prescribed an anodyne enema, one-half of
which I directed him to use immediately he reached
home, which I expected would be about one o'clock, and
I requested him to use the remaining half about six in
the evening, provided the bowels acted immediately
after using the first, which is a very usual occur-
rence, and that he still continued in pain.
This advice as it appears from the evidence
he followed. It also appeared from the evidence that
the greater portion of the first enema was wasted on the
carpet, and certainly half of the second enema remained
in the bottle. It is important to remember that the
bottle produced in evidence was never full, for the in-
jection I ordered consisted only of five drachms, and
the bottle would hold nearly twice this quantity (the
bottle was produced). It is also important to inform the
jury that the Major had been in the habit for some time
past of using an injection of the compound gall ointment,
which contains opium, three or four times a day, to re-
lieve the urgent desire to pass urine, and the constant
desire to go to stool, which he had suffered from for so
many years.
" In ordering the enema, which I prescribed for the
Major, containing two drachms and a half, I always cal-
culate that a great portion must be wasted when the
patient, as in this case, injected it himself. I will illus-
trate what I mean, for the information of the jury.
" But I am willing to admit in this case that the quan-
tity I ordered was all injected in the manner I pre-
scribed, and I will now prove that it was not only a
safe remedy, bat a proper application. Dr. Christison,
who is one of the first authorities in Europe upon
this subject, states at page 630 of his work that it is the
custom to give twice as much opium in an injection as
in a draught. I have given,' says this authority, by
injection, without producing more than the usual
drowsiness, two drachms by measure of laudanum.'
Dr. Paris, another eminent authority, at p. 175 of his
work states that' where our object is to allay pain and
relax spasm, small doses of opium will have a tendency
to aggravate the symptoms, but when administered in
large doses they will speedily relieve.' I attended a
case with Professor Ferguson in the Albany-road, Stoke
Newington, where the patient had suffered for years se-
verely from irritation of the prostate. We found nothing
to relieve him so much as opiate injections. I attended
another case with Mr. Partridge, the surgeon to King's
College Hospital. The patient had lived in a warm cli-
mate, and suffered from organic stricture, which was
frequently attended with retention of urine, which injec-
tions containing a drachm of liquor opii sedativus seldom
failed to relieve. I myself had the misfortune to suffer
from an irritable prostate attended with retention of
urine, and nothing relieved me so much as the opiate
injection; and there are two medical gentlemen is court
who attended me with Mr. Ferguson who can confirm
this statement, for they injected the enema."

The doctor added, in conclusion, that although he had
attended the deceased for a considerable time he never
received any fee or reward for it whatever.
The CORONER—Now tell, if you please, what is
your belief as to the cause of death, which is the real
object of our inquiry?
Dr. Dawson said he could not answer that question,
as he was not suffered to be present at the post
mortens examination, bat it was not at all unusal for per-
sons suffering from the disease of the urethra and blad-
der to die suddenly, especially after any powerful mental
emotion, the symptoms of approaching death being
generally those of drunkenness and stupor. The Major
was not in perfect health as had been represented, but
had been suffering from disease for many years.
The CORONER—You have not told us now what is
youre opinion as to the cause of death? Dr. Dawson—
' Peat that it is impossible for me to give an opinion,
4tiCbotn,haWvihn; been present at the post mortem examine-
-113, to say the least of it, was most
unuaual.
ad I been present, and discovered the smell
of urine is
that the supti
thep brain, then I might have positively said
ereEiltiion of urine was the cause of death,
but it is inapobveneebflor me to say so now.
Dr. Robert
°fee being sworn stated that he had
heard the whole the evidence to-day, and part
of that which w
occasion, but there taken on the former
about the case that whaas
tn
so much ambiguity
give no positive
°f death.eould He had, however,
fret death in cases
known repeated instances of sudden
opinion as to the cause
where
to the puttee from a similar dis-
easeatiuenet hdaidd bneoe
that had been found in the bady
oetT!antity of' opium
sufficient to account for death, gad the
theerdreased was
the more inclined to attribute it to the disease,
he was
The CORONER--YOU are inclined, the,
Doe
refer the death to the action of the disease, Dr.t.Ve, to
bles—Yes; and I think Dr. ?rout mentions in. his work
several cases of a similar nature; at least, he has told
me so, and bis experience, therefore, accords with
my own
Dr. Samuel Mason was the next witness examined.
The CORONER—Dr. Mason, have you beard the evi-
dence that has been given to-day? Dr. Masou—l have.
The CORONER—Hare you formed any opinion as
to the cause of the death of this gentleman ?
Dr. Mason—l have not. I think it is excessively ambi-
guous; but what strikes me as being most remarkable
is, that Dr. Halley should have been called in at eleven
o clock, and yet not be able to discover that the deceased
was suffering from the effects of opium. Had the de-
ceased been suffering from the effects of opium Dr. Hal-
ley
must have perceived it at once, and would not have
left him.

The CORONER—You say, then, that you can form no
opinion as to the cause of death? Dr. Mason—l can only
give a qualified opinion; my impression is from the evi-
dence I have heard the death is very much reterrible
to disease of the urethra, but still it is very ambiguous
—it is very doubtful.
The CORONER—Death is roferrible, then, to the ure-
thra disease? Dr. Mason—Combined with the effects of
°l.ual, because there has been a partial effect of opium,
of the evidence,
-""ough not at all to an extent sufficient to accocnt fur
death.
firz
' -haw being recalled, said, having heard the whole
to an ov he was inclined to attribute the death
p reez t
ev.di tbhy the
t a
sbuighjueic t. It of opium, but the case was full of am-
sub act. could give no positive opinion on the
would
was not impossible for persons to die of the
have r !os
bean's y d
symptomsovsearmdoeseo iti . as
The Conofiza-liave you ever met with such a case ?
Dr. Shaw—Yes; at the Middlesex Hospital, if you re-
member, two patients died, ono of disease of the kidneys
and the other from having taken an overdose of opium,
and the symptoms were very much alike in both cases.
Dr. Halley was next re-called and examined.
The CORONER d anormef—Now, Dr. Halley, the case being com-
plete, havo you any ?pinion as to the cause of
death ? Dr. Halley--I feel is the same position as Dr.