The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-25 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

Dr. Lankester, the coroner for Central Middlesex,
has sent in his second annual report for the central
district of Middlesex, from August 1, 1863, to July
31, 1864, for presentation to the magistrates. The
first portion consists of a table giving an account of
the number of inquests held in the various parishes
in the district in the years ending respectively on
July 1, 1863, and July 31., 1864. From this table
it appears that there were held 1,271 inquests in the
year, making 191 inquests more in the last than in
the former year. This increase has taken place

principally in the parishes of St. Pancras, Maryle-
bone, Islington, Clerkenwell, and St. Giles's, and is
due to two causes,—first, the natural increase of
population ; an.l secondly, the increased vigilance
of the stunninning officers. The increase of the
population of the year has probably been about
23,000, which would give, according to last year's
average, about 40 additional cases. The latter cause
has, however, acted most powerfully. In St. Pan-
cras, Islington, and St. Giles's, where the increase
has been largest, new officers have been appointed,
and there are no longer any complaints of the ne-
glect of inquiry such as he felt bound to refer to in
his last report. So great, in fact, was the abuse and
inconvenience of employing parish constables, ap-
pointed by vestries, that in the case of the parish
of St. Pancras he had reluctantly to insist on his
right to send his warrant for inquests to an officer
of his own selecting.
One of the most noticeable features in the returns,
says Dr. Lankester, is the increase of inquests under
the head of accidental deaths, which amount to the
large number of 70 cases :—" While the increase of
inquests under the head of natural deaths may be
attributed to the causes I have mentioned, I cannot
suppose that deaths from accident have been pre-
viously overlooked. I attribute the increase of ac-
cidental deaths mainly to these causes :—First, the
increased traffic in the streets of London ; just as
the metropolis increases on all sides does the traffic
of its central streets become developed, and either
the carelessness or foolhardiness of drivers of vehi-
cles and foot passengers become the source of acci-
dents destructive of life. Secondly, the enormous
development of building in the centre of London,
employing many thousands of men either in the
destruction of old buildings or in the building of
new ones of unexampled size and extent, undoubt-
edly contributes to a large increase in the number
of accidents. In passing I may observe that,
although in these cases it is seldom that criminal
verdicts are returned, the moral influence of the
Coroner's Court is immense. In a large proportion
of deaths from accidental causes the verdicts are
accompanied with recommendations for the better
security of human life, which in the majority of in-
stances I have reason to know are attended to."
The increase of verdicts under the head of suicide
and homicide is not greater than may be accounted
for by the increase of population. The diminution
of verdicts of " deaths from unknown causes" may
be accounted for by juries more frequently return-
ing verdicts of " wilful murder" in the case of
newly-born children found dead in the streets. In
a second table Dr. Lankester has arranged the in-
quests of the two past years according to the
months. From this it will be seen that there are'
decidedly fewer inquests in the months of August,
September, and October. In these months the
average is 160 in the month. In the three follow-
ing months--November, December, and January—
the average increases to 209, while the highest ave-
rage is obtained in February, March, and April,
when they reach 216 in the month. In May, June,
and July this number falls to 197 in the month.
The greatest number of verdicts of " natural death"
are given in the spring and winter months of the
year. Old persons and children suddenly die from
the effects of cold. The greatest number of acci-
dental deaths are met with in the winter and spring
months. The number of inquests in the first six
months of . the two years is 408 against 354 in the
last six months. Suicide appears to be the most con-

stant of all the causes of death into which the in-
quests are divided as far as season is concerned.
There is a slight excess observable in the autumn
and winter quarters, being 78 against 64 in the spring
and summer quarters.
Another table gives the number of inquests held
in hospitals, prisons, and lunatic asylumns in the
central district of Middlesex. This table shows that
while the number of inquests held in St. Mary's,
Middlesex, and University College Hospital have
been nearly the same there has been a large increase
at the Royal Free. The Great Northern, -which dur-
ing the previous year had been removed from King's-
cross to the Caledonian-road, Islington, and received

no in-patients, has reopened its doors, and gives for
the past year five cases. This hospital is now very
conveniently situated for receiving cases from the
large and increasing population of Islington.
The increase of cases in the prisons is remarkable.
In these places an inquest is held on every death,
from whatever cause. The number of prisoners in
the House of Correction has been considerably in-
creased, but this does not account for the great in-
crease of mortality in that institution. Supposing
the constant number of prisoners in the House of
Correction to have been 1,700 during the year, the
number of deaths, which was 34, gives a mortality
of 20 in the 1,000, which must be regarded as a high
mortality for men of the ages of prisoners in the
House of Correction.
This list does not include workhouses. The in-
quiries in these places are perhaps fewer in propor-
tion to their inhabitants than the asylums ; and this
may be accounted for by the fact that no notice of
death occurring in workhouses is required to be
given to the coroner—so that cases which might to
him appear to need inquiry are passed over by
the usual method of sending certificates of death
at once to the registrar. As the coroner's inquiry
is no doubt a great protection to those who die in
prisons and lunatic asylumns, Dr. Lankester thinks
it a question well worthy of consideration, in view
of the helpless condition of the great majority of the
inhabitants of workhouses, as to whether the coro-
ner's inquest should not be held in all cases on per-
sons dying in workhouses, or at least that all certi-
ficates of death should be referred to the coroner.'

" There is one class of accidents," says Dr. Lan-
kester, " whichit is gratifying to find presents a
decrease, and that is the class which occurs on rail-
ways. The great majority of these accidents occur
to men who are employed on the railway. Thenura-
ber of deaths in 1862-3 was 24, against 14 in the
year 1863-4. A majority of these accidents occur
from the carelessness of the workmen themselves,
while a large proportion are due to the neglect of
rules laid down by the companies for the protection
of the lives of their servants. There is one cause of
these accidents which appears to me susceptible of
mitigation, and that is the cases of death occurring
from the bursting of boilers. In two cases of acci-
dent from this cause—one on the Great Western
Railway and another on the North London—which
have come before me it appeared from the evidence
that no regular system of testing the strength of the
boilers is pursued. It "appears very evident that if a
regular system of testing the strength of boilers were
adopted, as recommended by Capt. Tyler, one of the
Government Inspectors of Railways, a considerable
diminution of the dreadful accidents which take
place from this source alone might be anticipated.
The difference between the number of deaths from
suicide in the two years is so slight as to indicate on
the whole that the causes which lead to this disas-
trous occurrence have been the same in the two
years. The methods of self-destruction employed
have differed very considerably in the two years.
Thus, in the year 1862-3 there were 19 cases of
poisoning, while in 1863-4 there were but nine.
There was but one instance of poisoning by opium
in the latter year, against four in the previous year,
and two cases of poisoning by oxalic acid in the
second year against five in the first year. The only
poison employed in the second year which was not
used in the first is corrosive sublimate, while strych-
nine, sulphuric acid, prussic acid, and potash, which
were answerable for six deaths in the first year, do not
appear in the list of the second. Our legislation was
at one time ferocious with regard to the destruction
of human life. A reaction took place, which has
placed us in our present position, in which upwards
of 150 dead children are annually found in the streets
of London. It is not too much to suppose thatwhere
one child is found another is successfully hidden for
ever. In cases where the mothers have been disco-
vered their ages averaged about 20 years ; as it is not
to be supposed the same woman commits this crime
a second time, and as the expectancy of a woman's
life at 20 is 40 years, this would give the large num-
ber of 12,000 women living in London alone who
have thus secretly destroyed their offspring."
Dr. Lankester is not prepared to discuss the ques-

tion of what measures might be adopted for the pre-
vention of this crime, but it appears to him that it is
sufficiently extensive and alarming to demand special
inquiry. There is one fact, he adds, "to which,
however, I think I ought to draw attention, and that
is, in inquiries into the causes of the death of illegi-
timate children, that the putative father of the child
very seldom contributes to its support. In an insti-
tution in London where the illegitimate offspring of
poor girls are supported, it has been stated that of
75 children provided for there were only two in-
stances where the father had contributed anything
to their support."
In conclusion, the Coroner draws attention to the

general want in London of better and more conve-
nient houses for the dead, those attached io work-
houses and for parochial use being generally incon-
nient and deficient in light, ventilation, and the re-
quisites for making post mortem examinations. He
thinks it wouldbe most desirable to erect deadhouses

in every parish, so that the poor who have but little
room in their residences might be able to deposit
their dead until the time has arrived for the corpse
to be buried, thus avoiding the production of disease,
and the tendency to demoralisation produced by the
presence of the living and the dead in the same room.

Charge of Murder in St. George's-in-the-

East.

Yesterday afternoon Mr. John Humphreys, Middlesex
coroner, held an inquiry at the Wellington Tavern, Cannon-
street-road, respecting tho death of Catherine Harley,
aged 30 years, alleged to have been murdered by her
husband.

Mary Ann Vinch, 13, Raymond-street, said that the
deceased, was the wife of John Hurley, a labourer, who
lodged in witness's house. Both were addicted to drink,
and deceased was particularly intemperate. Between the
hours of one and two o'clock on Tuesday morning witness
saw hor looking out at the window, waiting for her
husband to come home. When he made his appearance in
the street she screamed at him. Ho asked her to let him
in, and she told him the door was ajar. She then went
down and let him in, and they began to quarrel directly.
Shortly afterwards deceased called out for witness. Wit-
ness went into the room, and found the husband had hold
of her round the waist, and was trying to get her on to the
bed. She was dead. Witness said to the husband, "I am
afraid your old drinking habitshave comeback." He merely
answered "No ; send for the police." He was sober at the
time.

Mary Young, the wife of a soldier, said that she lived in
the room next to that occupied by the deceased, and on the
morning she heard deceased and her husband quarrelling
she thought she heard the sound of blows. When the hus-
band entered the room deceased said to him, " Have you
got money ?" and upon his stating that he had not a dread-
ful row commenced. When the policeman came the hus-
band said to him that hewas quarrelling with his wife and
that he had killed her.
Coroner—Did he say he had killed her? Pray be careful.

Witness—What he said was, " She is dead."
Police-Constable Petty, 96 K, said he hoard a great noise
in the house No. 13 Raymond-street, on Tuesday morning,
and there was a large crowd outside. Witness was called
into the house, and saw Hurley there. Hurley only said,
"My wife is doad." Witness then went up stairs, and saw
the deceased dead on the bed. He cautioned Hurley, who
then stated that when ho told deceased he had no money
she quarrelled with him and threw half a pail of water over
him. Ho pushed hor and she fell, her head striking against
the door. Witness apprehended him on the chargo of
murder.

Michael Hurley, a ragged and neglected child, of about
eight years of age, said—l remember father coming home
after 12 o'clock on Monday night. When he came into
the room mother took the railing off the top of the bed-
stead and struck him with it. She then took a pail of
water and threw iti over him. Father pushed her about,
but gave her no blows. She was knocked up against the
door and she foil upon the floor. Father picked her up,
and as ho was carrying her to the bed she died in his arms.
Tho Coroner said that no jury would convict the ac-
cused after such evidence from the only eye-witness of
what look place.

Dr. E. Wood, 13, Globe-street,; said that there was a
bruise underneath the deceased's right eye. That would
not account for death. The post-mortem examination
proved that death had resulted from extravasation of blood
on the brain. The extravasation might have resulted from
a blow, from a fall, or from excitement, or even from
natural causes. The place was in a state of extreme
poverty ; the deceased had hardly a rag to cover her.
The Coroner having summed up,
Tho Jury returned a verdict—" That deceased was found
dead from the effects of extravasation of blood on the
brain, but how the said extravasation was caused there is
no evidence to show."