The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-25 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

CASE OF HYDROPHOBIA.
Yesterday forenoon a lengthened inquiry was insti•
tuted before Mr. Wakley, M.P., and a respectable
Jury, at the Elephant and Castle, King's-road, Saint
Pancras, on view of the body of Charles Waugh, aged
17, a bricklayer, who dicd in St. Pancras workhouse,
under the melancholy and singular effects of hydrophobia,
detailed in the evidence subjoined.
Mr. Richard Duck Esteott, of Gloucester-place;
Cam(len-town, parish surgeon, was first examined. 4".0
stated that the deceased was brought into the work-
house about a quarter before six o'clock on SanilaY
evening, when he was sent for. He found him sitting
on a bed, holding by the pole of the bedstead, in a suite
of great nervous excitement, and labouring under epl33,'
rently severe spasmodic affection ; he pieced his how
to his throat and complained that he could swaill
nothing. On placing water before him he attempted
to drink it, and in doing so his hands and all his out-
ward person became dreadfully agitated, and he
dash the water from him with great violence. He
vomited profusely, and brought up a saliva of a frothY
appearance. Conceiving it to be a case of hydrophobia
he deemed it advisable to consult with his colleague'
Mr. Curtis, the other parish surgeon, and sent for
The mother of the deceased was present, and on askin'
her ii he had been bitten by a dog, she said he Karl
some months since. He (witness) then administer"
thirty-the drops of tincture of opium, which were thrown
up immediately ; he then gave deceased three graius
of solid opium, which was rejected in like manner'
He subsequently, finding the loaner treatment of no
use, administered five drops of hydrocyanic or prussic
acid. By this time Mr. Curtis arrived, and agreed
that some of the symptoms were those•of hydrophobia'
Tae deceased, after a few minutes, threw up the bpi"'
cyanic acid, and four and a half drops more were give"'
but with no better effect. He then made a.four ounce
mt.:titre, containing twenty drops of the same acid,
five-sixths of which the deceased took, but it did not
remain on his sia:s.
mach. He was seized with aeon'l
tinuance of cold chills, ,Od his pulse was very feeble
and quick. He had administ,;:ed altogether to deceased
about twenty-seven drops of hy,-,irocyanic acid. Mr•
Curtis and witness left him about a qu.z.rter,past seven
o'clock, and returned at nine ; he was then dying, and
expired in about ten minutes after.
The mother of the deceased stated that. he P 137;
bitten by a dog, which was his own, in the thumb last
February, and the dog was killed the same morning'
The deceased refused to go and have anything done to
the wound.

The CORONER said that having now .heard all the
evidence, lie was of opinion that this was decidedly 3
case of hydrophobia, although he never knew two cases
of this malady in which the symptoms were precisely
similar ; however, taking into consideration all the
symptoms displayed by the deceased, he thought the
jury could not hesitate as to the verdict. With respect
to the powerful medicines edit-roistered to decess'A,
they could not have accelerated his death, as their its-
mediate rejection from the stomach did not give that
time to affect the system.
Verdict—" Died of Hydrophobia."
. . .

EA TH.—CORN-LAWS.—We have frequest
applied the term Starvation-laws to the Bread-tax, 504
that that equally cruel, wicked and most impolitic le:"
post produced a deficiency of food, to which frequently
followed death in its most dreadful form. Let those ail
think that we have dealt in exaggeration take the test''
mony of Dr. Howard, whose evidence is the mote valt!a"
ble from its incidental character. The Doctor in his
quiry into the morbid effects of deficiency of food amour
the destitu'e poor, says;—" The public generally have. ah
very inadequate idea of the number of persona who pert
annually fro.n deficiency of food; and there are few
would not be painfully surprised if an accurate record
such cases were presented to them. It is true that in tilt
country instances of death from 'total abstinence only cos°,l
ally occur; yet, every medical man whose duties have le
him much amongst the poor—who is familiar with the ela
treme destitution which often prevails amongst them, a.
the diseases thereby occasioned—is too often a witness e-
„
fatal results from gradual and protracted starvation I
though death directly produced by hunger may be Tare,
there can be no doubt that a very large proportion of the
mortality amongst the labouring classes is attributable t°
d ficiency of food as a main cause, aided by too long-eT
tinned toil and exertion, without adequate repose, ins°'
cient clothing, exposure to cold, and other privations t°
which the poor are subjected."
FALLING IN OF A CLIFF.— Some few daYs
back an accident of a distressing nature happened at the
lime-kiln on Amwell-hill, near Ware. Two men who were,
digging chalk were buried by the falling of a large body °it
earth from the cliff. The alarm was speedily given, bt.'
some time elapsed before the poor fellows could be extr
cated; one was quite dead, and the other very much in"
jured; the body was conveyed to the Union-houst! at
Ware, and an inquest held upon it the following morning
Toe verdict returned was Accidental Death.
CHARTISTS' PIKES.—We have a word to say
upon the flourishing pike trade, which certain sly Chartists
have been carrying on in this neighbourhood (Gateshead)
for the last few weeks. When we tell them, that although
the value of the material of which it is composed is about
one penny, and the workmanship of the rudest description
possible, they will not be a little surprised by the gullibi-
lity of the working classes, who have allowed the •‘ lads"
of Winlaton to tax them at the enormous rate of eighteen-
pence per pike. We have been assured, that during the
last week not less than 800 of these articles of war have been
manufactured and sold at Winlaton, at the above
price, affording the makers of them a profit of at least one
shilling more than would have satisfied any respectable Tr!'
nufacturer on either side of the Tyne. We thought
hardly possible, that at this time of day, any set of men:J.
especially men who talk so loudly against " Pee%
mongers"—would have allowed themselves to have bee,
imposed upon to such an extent. We have not bear
whether muskets, pistols, gunpowder, and lead, have ris`i,
"
in our matkets in an equally remarkable degree; but rte
think, after the illustrations we now afford him, the renw-r
will be at no loss to discover which of the parties enggehee
in these transactions have been the pikes, and which t'
gudgeons!—Gateshead Observer.

THE MARKETS.

1-CET.-July 21.

s.
Walls End Whltwell 2l
Walls End Kelloe t'3 6
Walls End Clarence Hetton 114 .
W lls End Gordon .........••• g
Walls End Tees ?4 0
Walls End Tennant ... -••• ;7,
Walls End Tees Hetton •••• •„; 0
Walls End West Tees' 17
()
Blythe .... ly 0
Cowpen ••• 0 0
Howard's Netherton Mails 6
Wals End'Haswell ............
Walls End Heaton ...... -• 2,. 0
Walls End Pon top Bowes... is
st market-day, 2.