The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-21 00:00:00

A VICTIM TO REGULATION.

We report to-day the proceedings at .a coroner's
inquest, held in Belfast yesterday (Thursday), the
details of which no right-minded man will read
without a shock of painful feeling. If indignation
be superadded to pain, it will do no discredit to the
reader's humanity. _ _

Mary Moore, a poor woman in Abbey-street was
seized with the pangs of labour at midnight on
Tuesday. Her daughter went for a midwife, who
saw on her arrival that the case demanded instant
medical aid, and sent off as fast as possible for
a doctor. The woman's daughter went to Dr.
Beck, of North-street, and saw his son, " Have
you the money on you ?" (to pay the fee) said that
person. The answer being in the negative, the
rejoinder was, " Well, we cannot go." Instantly
the girl went to Dr. Johnston's, in Donegall-street,
but that gentleman, a dispensary doctor, was from
home. Next door lived Dr. Halliday, another of
the dispensary doctors. He was called up, and told
that there was a woman " bad in labour," in Abbey-
street. This gentleman's reply was, that "he didn't
go to a case of that kinddown of a guinea." The
girl ran on to Dr. Bryce's. He " didn't know
whether that was his district or Dr. Halliday's."
Again she went to Dr. Halliday, and was referred
by him to Mr. Vance, the relieving-officer. But
there was no relief for poor Mary Moore. The
relieving officer " gave no lines' till half-past nine
o'clock. Finding the doctors:deaf to her applica-
tions, the girl went to the Lying-in-Hospital, where
she was told that her mother would be admitted, if
brought up. For this purpose a car was required ;
and the girl had but sixpence. Not a carman
could she find to convey the suffering woman to
the hospital for less than a shilling. And so the
time wore on. At half-past nine the relieving
officer issued his " lines," but, at ten o'clock, poor
Mary Moore died in her mortal agony, and a second
life died with her. In her sore travail she cried,
" The Lord relieve me of my troubles," and the Lord,
more merciful than dispensary officials, did not turn
a deaf ear to her entreaty. Doctor Smyth examined
the body after death, and testified that the woman
would not have died if there had been medical
attendance.

Mary Moore has died in this prosperous and
highly civilised community from a brutal neglect,
which she would not have encountered in Kaffraria.
Of course, there is no one to blame. The coroner,
after hearing the evidence, " did not see there was
any peason they could inculpate as being the cause
of her death.' There is no law to compel the
exercise of humanity, and no law, it would seem,
to punish the want of it. James Moore may mourn
for his wife and for his unborn babe, :but he must
have consolation in the assurance that the lives of
both were duly sacrificed according to law, and in
strict compliance with parochial regulation and
medical etiquette. Dr. Beck could not attend
without his fee in advance ; Dr, Halliday couldn't
go down of a guinea ; Dr. Bryce had his doubts as
to the boundaries of his district; Mr. Vance could
not issue his " lines" before the regulation hour;,
the'cab fare to the Lying-in-Hospital is indubita-
bly a shilling, and no cabman is bound to take less
than his faro, though human lives depend on it:
And, therefore, a woman in her hour of mortal
auguish—in that hour which sentimentalists idly
bruteeh a
therebea beast
imagine to constitute the highest appeal to man's
tsowiler
as being the
sympathy and aid—must
die as no!
wisonueldebneealwlohweemd twoepecrainsh,b,
inculpate
i
cause of her death." God help the poor
Can there be nothing done to avert the recur-
rence of such shocking cases
as this? This
ours has wealth and public institu-
tions boards of poor law and committees
of charity ; churches by the dozen and
town
• of
clergymen by the hundred ; and yet the Mary
Moores of the community die like dogs in a kennel,
under circumstances that might make every man
among us blush to bear the name. Surely there is
some horrible error in our systemslof relief when
a case like this can happen. Surely our public
and professional men can so regulate that we shall
never again have such another outrage on our civi-
lisation as the miserable death of this wretched
victim to regulations.—Northern Wlszg.

A suspension, which it is hoped and believed
will prove only temporary, took place on Saturday of one
of the oldest and most respectable firms in the Levant trade
—Messrs. Francis Ede, Son, and Co. Their liabilities are
supposed to range between £250,000 and £400,000, but an
impression prevails that in the courso of a day or two
arrangements may be effected by which all engagements
will be provided for. The difficulty is understood to have
arisen mainly from the means of the firm being at this
period of high rates of discount locked up to some extent in
the local loans to the Turkish Government on the security
of Customs' duties, which come in slowly.—Times.
DREADFUL AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—As the
Cowes and Portsmouth steam-packet Emerald was on her
passage from Cowes to Portsmouth, on Saturday afternoon,
Captain Barratt, of the Royal Yacht Squadron yacht
Zouave, belonging to Richard Arabin, Esq., who had been
drinking too freely, when off Norris Castle made a lurch,
and fell through the skylight over the engine into the
machinery, and was in a moment crushed to pieces. Nis
remains were sewn up in a blanket and landed at Ryde,
where he has a wife and large family of children. The
engineer was in the engine-room at the time, and, seeing
the unfortunate man fall through, stopped the engine,
almost at the instant, but too late—ono horrible crash, and
all was over.