The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-25 00:00:00

set, and under the stone which was at a

a brass plat

on which was engraved a

tion :—This viaduct was commenced on ti
1839 ; and the last stone was set on tl
by Thomas Ashton, Esq., of Hyde

. .
tors; George W. Buck, Enginee
Holtne, James Holme, builders

Jithn Toni i

jacks were hoisted in honour of the occasion. -At half-past
twelve o'clock, several of the directors, and a number of
other gentlemen, proceeded from the pavilion to the platform ;
and, whilst they were on the way, they were saluted by the
firing of several guns. There were upwards of a hundred
gentlemen on the platform, and a number of ladies; and a
crowd of persons had assembled outside to witness the cere-
mony. Amongst the gentlemen present we observed Mr.
Thomas Ashton, chairman ; and Messrs. George R. Chap-
pell, J. P. Westhead, R. C. Sharp, and M. Lyon, directors
of the company ; H. Marsland, Esq., M.P. ; Thomas Mars-

land, Esq., - ...insworth, Esq., boroughreeve of
Manchester : the Rev. C. K. Prescott, rector of Stockport ;
Mr. Coppock, town-clerk of Stockport; Mr. John Kennedy,
and Mr. Thomas Wahnsley. The contractors presented Mr.
Ashton with a silver trowel to be used on the occasion. It
was manufactured by Mr. Dismore, of London and Manches-
ter, and contained the following inscr4- - —" Silver
Trowel presented to Thomas Ashton, Esq.,
laying the top stone of the Stockport Viaduct, _
1840. By Messrs. Tomkinson and Holmes', contracts.
When the assembly had congregated on the platform,—
MR. SAMUEL HOLME stood forward and said, Mr. Chaff
man of Directors, after considerable exertion and -

c Hyde, on his
21st De;

anxiety we have almost completed this extensive viaduct
The pleasing duty now devolves on me of presenting you
with this trowel, to enable you to put the finishing hand to the
work. After the difficulties we have had to encounter, and
the great exertions we have had to make in bringing st.
mass of materials to the site, and in excavating for a secu,
foundation so far below the bed of the river, I need not say
that I have pleasure in assisting you to set the top-stone,
because it relieves us from all our anxiety and from much of
our responsibility, and enables us to deliver up to the com-
pany, in a complete and perfect state, one of the most mag-
nificent structures of the present day, (Cheers.) Little
more than twenty-one months have elapsed since we com-
menced the work, and since that period we have raised from
the quarry, and moulded into shape, nearly 400,000 cubic
feet of stone ; we have made and set about 11,000,000 bricks,
and, under the able directions of your talented engineer,
have succeeded in producing this elegant yet stable structure,
which enables you to overcome the impediments offered by
this deep valley and rapid river, and gives to your carriages a
safe and beautiful road, at an elevation exceeding that of the
justly-famed suspension-bridge of the Menai. (Cheers.)
At such a moment, and on such an occasion, I shall be ex-
cused if I trouble you with a few observations, arising from
the contemplation of undertaking similar to that i❑ which
you are engaged. It ought to be a source of gratification to
every Englishman, that by the excellence of our laws, and
by that security which is afforded to our liberties and to pro-
perty, England stands pre-eminent;. and long may she be
so, not only in commerce and manufactures, but in all those
scietific acquirements which evince intellectual superiority,
and which, when united to moral qualification, conduce so
materially to the increased well-being of our species. The
mighty power of steam is fast covering every sea with swift-
winged messengers, not. I fervently trust, to carry Britain's
thunders, but Britain's manufactures to distant nations.
(Cheers.) The ocean has become more than ever our com-
mon highway. Its tempests are subdued,--its billows are
surmounted. The winds and the tides are conquered, and
the elements are rendered subservient to the wants and the
wishes of man. Steam will do much to civilise mankind.
It has already made distant nations into our neighbours, and
will be the means of ripening new markets for the production'
of our looms, the skill of our manufacturers, and for the
enterprise of our princely merchants. Our brethren, in
America, are scarcely as far removed from us, taking
time into consideration, as were the inhabitants of Su-
therlandshire, from the place where I stand, half a century
ago. (Hear, hear.) And I hope the period is not distant,
when the clustering gems that stud the vast Pacific shall
form, through the medium of steam navigation, an archipe-
lago of friendly harbours, where, instead of the rude savage,
we shall find the civilized islander, and with commercial in-
tercourse may be introduced the blessings of true religion,
and in lieu of the blood-stained altar, these countless mil-
lions may recognise the worship of the true and only God.
(Hear, hear, and cheers.) But such undertakings as the
present will also be beneficial to us at home. Economy of
time is tantamount to the creation of wealth in a country'
like ours. Facility and rapidity of intercourse are absolutely
essential in this stirring age. Railroads are fast bringing all
parts of our island into closer proximity—are equalising ad-
vantages, removing prejudices, facilitating national improve-
ments, giving employment to many thousands of the work-
ing classes, and will, I trust, amalgamate us into one close
and fraternal phalanx, animated by one motive—that of
promoting the general good, and enabling our country to
maintain the lead she has assumed amongst the nations of
the earth. (Cheers) I hope, sir, it will not be deemed pre-
sumption in me, if I seize this public opportunity of glancing
at a subject which is now exciting general attention. It is.
necessary for us, while we travel swiftly. at the same time
to travel securely—(cheers); and it is absolutely requisite
that the beautiful and complicated machines, which are
constructed with such admirable skill, shonld not be com-
mitted to the care of ignoraat or incompetent men. (Hear,
hear.) The underwriters, who have an interest in the se-
curity of property, take good care that the pilots who
bring in our ships shall have served an apprenticeship to their
particular occupation—shall be examined by a committee of
authorised and competent men) and shall have a certificate of
their qualification.before they are 'entrusted with the pilotage
of a vessel : and surely those who are entrusted with the care
of human life should be men of education and of character,
and ought thoroughly to understand the mechanism of the
wonderful engine whose important motions they are called to
direct. ( Hear.) I hope that a particular and national institu-
tion will be founded for the education of our engine-drivers,
who have the care of such countless thousands of lives, and I
allude to this subject in the presence of several members of
parliament, in the hope that such an institution may he
speedily founded, and that no man may have the charge of an
engine who does not possess an authorised certificate of his
qualification for such an important and responsible duty.
But, sir, I should ill discharge my duty if, before I place this
trowel in your hands, I did not thus publicly present my
thanks to your enginneer, for the assistance he has afforded us
in this great undertaking. I have had to do with many
architects and engineers, many of them excellent and able
men ; but I have had to do with none who in a greater degree
unites the suaviter in modo with that skill which gives con-
fidence to the tradesman, and who unites, likewise, his duty
to the company pf which he is engineer, and to whom he is
so valuable, with a courtesy and consideration which de-
mand the warmest acknowledgements of every contractor
is-anxious to fulfil his duty. (Applause.) The same I can
confidently say of his well-selected assistants ; and very much
of our anxiety has beep diminished by our confidence in the
skill and judgment of W.-Buck, whose beautiful design we
have merely carried into execution. (Cheers.) 1 am de-
sirous, also, of thanking the inhabitants of this town, but
especially those gentlemen whom we have sn much inconve-
nienced, for the patience and the courtesy they have shown
us. From the commencement to the conclusion of our work
we have had no impediments thrown in our way, but have
received, on the contrary, every accommodation. Not the
slightest injury has been done to our work, and, as far as I
know, nothing has ben lost or missing. (Hear, hear. With
one other remark I will conclude. Magnificent as is the
work which you are completing, I cannot but reflect, that
the proudest edifices erected by human hands are, at the
best, but transitory.
The works of man inherit, as is just,
Their maker's frailty, and return to dust.

The most splendid exertions of antiquity have crumbled into
ruin, and little remains of most of them but the mouldering
and shattered fragments amongst which the traveller rumi-
nates with melancholy interest. Let us hope, that it may be
long before it is thus with the public works of our beloved
country—let us hope, that our free institutions may ever give
encouragement to works of art and science—and that all may
be blended with reverence for Him who is the great architect
of the universe, and the supreme disposer of all events.( Ap-
plause.) And as national prosperity depends on national
character, I hope the principles of freedom which have ele-
vated our country may, by means of that mighty agent of
which I have been speaking, be disseminated over the whole
hearth, and that the most distant people may look to Great
Britain as the depositary of science, the protectress of the
week, the dispenser of civilisation, the fountain of real free-
dom, and the altar of true religion. (Cheers.) I now, sir,
present you with this trowel, which, on behalf of my partners
and myself, I beg you will accept, with my warmest wish
that you may long be spared in health, comfort, and pros-
perity, to look with pleasure nn the splendid erection which
you are now about to do us the honour to complete. (Loud
cheers.)
THOMAS ASHTON, Esq., then
performed the ceremony of
setting the stone ; after which three times three hearty cheers
were given, and the guns fired.
Mr. ASHTON then said he felt very proud that he had the
honour of'placing the last stone of this immense structure.
It was.not necessary for him to follow Mr. Holme in his ad-
mirable speech. He agreed with it in every part, and es-
pecially iu that in which he recommended a school for en-
gineers. He believed there had been a loss of life in this
work, but which, considering its magnitude, was very trifling,
amounting in the whole to only three lives ; a circumstance
which he thought must tell very much in favour of those who
had had the management Of the work. He then called upon
Mr. Buck, the engineer.

Mr. Bucx said, the pleasing task now devolved upon him
of explaining the dimensions, and the general design of the
structure. It consisted of 22 substantial arches of 63 feet
span, all the foundations of which were built on the sand-
stone rock. It perhaps might be necessary that he should
on this occasion give some reasons for its magnitude and its
altitude. It was about ten feet higher than the company
were authorised to make it by their first act of parliament.
They had made it this superior height under a recent act, by
which means a saving of upwards of £50,000 was attained.

These reasons accounted for its height, Its length was ac-
counted for by the necessity, in passing over a town like
that, to have the streets as clear as possible. The viaduct
terminated on the Cheshire side immediately after passing
the streets ; and on the Lancashire side, just where the em-
bankment became less expensive than building arches. The
work had therefore been constructed at the smallest possible
expense. The introduction of brick in this work had en-
abled them to do it at very little additional expense to that
of the much smaller work on the Grand Junction Railway,
called the Dutton Viaduct. Little more remained to be
said, than that, in works of that nature, ornament must be
out of character. In c .ncluding this work, which had de-
volved upon him, that labour had been lightened by the
company placing it in the hands of such admirable con-
tractors.

The company then sang " God save the Queen," after
which, the ladle roceeded to the pavilion, and the gentle-
men walked in rocession round the viaduct, after which
they also proceeded to the pavilion, where a cold collation
was provided by the contractors.
The pavilion in which the dinner was given was part
of the temporary carriage-house, which was partitioned
off, and most tastefully fitted up. with lining of red cloth,
and a roof of -white calico. Behind the chairman, was
a large banner, on which was painted the Queen's arms,
quartered with those of Prince Albert. Opposite the chair-
main, and immediately over the entrance, was a gilt crown.
There-were also several union jacks, and the whole had a
very pleasing appearance. The collation did great credit to
Messrs. Tomkinson, Holme, .and Co. the contractors, at
whose expense it Was given, and to the caterer, Mr. Wood,
of the George Inn. About 130 persons, including all the
directors who had taken part in the proceedings of the morn-
ing, and a good Any ladies partook of the repast. • Mr.
Samuel Holine, one of the contractors occupied the chair.
When dinner was over, and the health of " The Queen,"
" The princess royal," and Prince Albert, and the rest of
the royal family," bad been drunk.

The CH AIRIWAN said, in'proposing -the health of an excel-
lent individual on his right hand (Mr. Thomas Ashton), he
thought it no disgrace, in this commercial country, to say
that he had been the architect of his own fortune. He would
not say more, but simply give them "The health of Thomas
Ashton, Esq., the chairman of directors."—The toast was
drunk with the usual cheers.

Ir. ASHTON briefly acknowledged the compliment

The CHAIRMAN next proposed," The health of the mem-
bers for Stockport," which was drunk with three times

HENRY MARSLAND, Esq., M.P., acknowledged the toast
on behalf of himself and colleague, and said, he wished to
assure them of the gratitude they felt on the occasion of the
opening of the first part of this line, a portion of it so im-
portant to that town and neighbourhood. If they might
judge from what they had that day seen, they might take it
for granted that it would not be• long before the whole line
,would be completed. They had given their assistance as far
as they could in pro Curing the act of parliament, which ena-
bled them to make it. -He would express their earnest hope,
that the further progress of that line might be as free from
human casualty as works of this magnitude -generally were,
and that, ultimately, it would be a source of profit to those
who had advanced their money for it, as well as to the ad-
vantage of the great community by which they were sur-

rounded

The CHAIRMAN then prolosed the health of Mr. Buck,
their engineer.:—The toast having been drunk, with three
times three,

Mr. Brio's:, in reponding to it, observed thitt in addition to
what be had before said, he would now add,—to show the
very great perfection with which the work had been carried
on,—that, in a bridge building; they always had a test, an
unerring test, of the honesty arid fidelity of the workmanship,
in observing, on removing the centre work, the extent of sub-
sidence which then took place. A work might have a very
tine exterior, and a bridge might have a fair outside ; but,
unless it was honestly executed, the removal of the centre
would at once detect the imposition. In this case, there was
not one arch which had subsided more than half an inch.
(Applause.) Now practical men, who were acquainted with
the subject, would perhaps doubt that statement; and he
should scarcely have credited it. It amounted to not one-
thousandth part of an inch in each joint; and, in his opinion,
it was almost impossible to conceive a piece of brickwork,
composed of so many joints as this, that should have gone
down in so minute a degree.

The CHAIRMAN said, before proposing the next toast, he
must entreat their forbearance for five minutes while he drew
their attention to the state of travelling half a century, a cen-
tury, or two centuries ago. When he compared the travel-
ling of the present day with what it was in the reign of Charles
11. it absolutely seemed as if he was going to read to them
something untrue. And, quite sure he was, that, if their
excellent chairman of directors had appended his name to
such documents as had appeared in the newspapers during
the last few months, and had lived in the reign of Charles 11.
he would have been accounted a lunatic. In a Birmingham
newspaper published on the 12th April, 1742, was an adver-
tisement which stated that the Lichfield stage-coach leaves
the Hen and Chickens on Wednesday, and goes the same
afternoon to Lichfield. It returns to Birmingham on Thurs-
day afternoon, and so will continue regularly with a coach and
able horses. (Laughter.) So, late •as 1732, when Prince
Gedrge of Denmark went from London to a town at a dis-
tance of 40 miles, the journey occupied 14 hours, the last 7
miles taking six hours. The person who related this journey
said, with great quaintness, that the long time was the more
surprising as, except when overturned or stopped by the
rain, his royal highness made no stay. (Laughter.) In 1754
there was but one stage-coach between Glasgow and Lon-
don; and, in the Edinburgh Courant of that time, it was
stated that a new coach with two glass windows and the car-
riage on steel springs, would run from London to Glasgow in
ten days in summer, or twelve in winter. (Laughter.) This,
it must be borne in mind, was only six years before the ac-
cession of George 111. Again another was advertised "to
set out first Tuesday in March, ancl. continue from John
Somerville's every other .Tuesday, and meet at Borough-
bridge (in Yorkshire) every Saturday night, and set out from
thence on Monday noon. Performed, if God permit, by
Obadiah Eastgate." Now, he could have told Obadiah
Eastgate, that he went from Liverpool at two o'clock in the
afternoon, came to Stockport to look after the work, was in
London the next evening at five, went to bed for five hours,
then went down to the houses of parliament; had time to dine
comfortably, get into the railway train the same night, and
get home the next morning before his family or servants
were out of bed. This, he thought, would have been a mat-
ter that would have astonished. Obadiah Eastgate. How had
this been accomplished ? By the skill of our engineers, and
the enterprifie- -lie would now propose to'
them one of those great companies .which had been the
means of enabling this to be accomplished—" The Manchester
and Birmingham Railway"—and he would connect this toast
with an individual whom the longer he had known, the more
he had respected—he meant Mr. Sharp. The toast was
drunk with three times three.

Mr. R. C. SHARP, in returning thanks, said, this measure,
it was well known, had met with great difficulties. Unfor-
tunately, the town of Manchester was divided against itself ;
but the collective wisdom of the House of Commons put
them together, and the Manchester and Birmingham Rail-
way Company was formed. But.they had still difficulties to
overcome. Very shortly, their engineer, from causes which
it was unnecessary now to explain, left them. They applied
to the gentleman who was now their engineer, and who was
then their resident engineer; and when he took the office,
he believed, he had not a document beyond the parliamen-
tary plans ; but in the short time which had elapsed, he had
produced, not only what they now saw, in the opening of the
line from, Manchester to Stockport, and the completion of
that viaduct, but be had revised the whole of the line from
Manchester to Crewe ; and he (Mr. Sharp) hoped to con-
gratulate them all, in less than )5 months, on the opening of
the line from Manchester to Crewe, and, consequently, from
Manchester to London.—A number of other toasts were then
given, and suitably acknowledged; and the meeting sepa-
rated about four o clock, after which the workmen were re-
galed in the pavilion.

CLOSE OF THE EXHIBITION

THE ARTISTS' FUND.

The allotment of sums subscribed to the Artists' Fund
took place on Tuesday. A number of ladies and gentlemen
assembled, but the attendance was not so good as in former

Mr. WINSTANLEY, in taking the chair, said that he did
so as the treasurer of the society, in the absence of the gen-
tleman whose duty it was to do so. He regretted to say
that there was this year a falling off in the amount of sub-
scriptions, but still it was a very fair sum. In former years
as much as £llOO and £l3OO were subscribed : this year it
amounted to only £775. There were several causes why
this falling off had taken place : he did not think that it was
owing to any disinclination in the public to support the ex-
hibition, but that it arose principally from the scarcity of
money and depression of trade, the supineness of many of
the members of the committee, and the vexatious and dis-
graceful letters that had appeared in the newspapers on the
subject of the management. Those persons who had writ-
ten them had done so anonymously. He reprob ited the
conduct of the writers, as tending very much to injure the
progress of the arts in this town. Great praise was due to
Mr. Clow, for his energy and perseverance in getting sub-
scribers ; out of the £775, he had procured 340 subscribers
from his friends. (Cheers.) He was glad to hear those
cheers, as the gentleman he had named richly deserved them.
If there were ten such men as Mr. Clow, to be found in the
town, the stigma would not be attached to Liverpool that
the arts were not patronised. He (Mr. Winstanley) begged
to take leave of the society as treasurer, as he was about to
retire from that office. In conclusion, he would notice, that
although the sum subscribed was less this year than in pre-
vious ones, ,yet when it was borne in mind that at Birming-
ham, the most central town in the kingdom, £650 only was
subscribed, he thought there still was room for congratula-
tion.

After reading the conditions of the distribution of prizes,
&c., the allotment of sums commenced, two little Bluecoat
boys calling out the names and the result of each chance.
The prizes were principally drawn towards the last.
The following were the sums appropriated to be laid out :
—One of_ £BO, one of. £5O, one of £45, two of £4O, four of
£3O, two of £25, five of £2O, five of £l5, ten of £lO, ten of
£s,—amounting in the aggregate to £750, the remaining
£25 to be allotted to the first blank drawn; this fell to Mrs.
J. Walsh. The various amounts were allotted as follow :
Joshua Edwards, Esq... £BO John Browne, Esq £l5
John Liddell, E5q...... 50 Thomas Irlam, Esq l5
John Marriott, E5q..... 45 Miss Dinah Clarke lO
John T. Foptaine, Esq.. 40 Sirdifield, Esq., Dale-
James Cox, Esq .. 40 street.....
Miss H. Cr05by........ 30 John Bent, Esq lO
W.Walton, Esq., South.. Joseph Adams, Esq lO
hill .
G. Dixon, Esq., Leeds- Richard Rathbone, Esq. 10
street .
Miss Mary Rathbone 3O William Richmond, Esq. 10
Mrs. John Walsh .
J. B. Statham, Esq., Francis Maxwell, Esq... 10
:Manchester 25 George Robinson, Esq.,
W. Robinson, Esq., Co- Castle-street
vent-garden 25 Sir J. Walmsley, Knt... 5
W. H. Goore, Esq.
R. Hamilton, Esq., Great Samuel Clegg, Esq 5
George-square .
R. A. .M`Fee, E5q...... 20 T. B. Molyneux, Esq 5
Thos. Hayley, Esq .... 20 Mrs. George Birley
Joshua Edwards, Esq.— 20 Robt. Duck, Esq., Man-
Daniel Willink, Esq.... 15 chester
..
5
R. S. Powell, Esq l5 Edward Tennant, Esq... 5
Stephen Baker.

MODESTY.\--A gentleman I
drowned himself to avoid be

lathing in the Mississipi river
,ng discovered 'by some ladies
sere he was.

who were approaching near wil

DOVER.—The weather has set in very inclement, the
covered with a heavy tall of snow.
ground being completely
Arrangements had been made by our recently formed Bene-
volent Society for a distribution of coals and bread to the
poor. The tickets have been issued to about 700 poor fami-
lies for a hundred-weight of good Wallsend coals, to be de-
livered immediately to each family at their own homes, one
penny being charged on each ticket•to cover expense of car
riage. A contract has also been entered into for bread to be
distributed on an extensive scale. Nearly £4OO will have
been altogether subscribed for the relief of the needy.—Kent
Herald.

We are happy to be able to announce the completion of a
collosal bronze statue of General Si▪ r Richard Bourke, which
is about to quit the atelier of Bailey, the Royal Academician,
for its destination, Sydney. This may be considered the first
great work of art for which that distant colony will be in-
debted to the talents of the mother Country ; and the statue,
from its subject and the character of its execution, will at-
tract the attention both of the mi▪ litary man and the con.
noieseur in the fine arts.--Times.

SUICIDE COMMITTED 'BY A FEMALE WHILE
IN A STATE OF DERANGEMENT.

Yesterday, an inquest was held before P. F. Curry, Esq..
on view of 'the body of Catherine Adams.
James Adams being sworn, said am a seafaring man,
and live at No. 31, Pall Mall. The deceased was my wife,
and was 55 years old. On Saturday afternoon. last, about
half-past two o'clock, I came home for, my dinner, and not
finding the deceased down stairs as usual. I went up stairs to
look for her. On going into the back bed-room, I found the
deceased lying on her face, on the floor. I raised her up,
and I then observed blood on the floor. The room was
rather dark, so I carried her into the front room, and I then
saw that her throat was cut, and that there was blood over
her dress. She was not able to speak, but made signs with
ber hands. I called for assistance, and a neighbour, of the
name of Frances Taylor came in, and also another woman,
and a doctor was sent for, and he recommended that she
should be taken to the Northern Hospital, where I took her
in a coach. I saw her there the next day, but she was not
sensible. She has been in very low spirits for about four
months back, about a law-suit she had in the Isle of Man.
She would wander about the street without any business, and
would often wander in her talk. When the doctor arrived,
he asked what she had cut her throat with, and on going to
see, I found the knife now produced, a small table knife,
which belongs to me, on the floor, and covered with blood.
Frances Taylor, wife of William Taylor, who lives next
door to where the deceased lived, said, I was acquainted
with the deceased, and also.her husband. On Saturday last
he called me into his house. I was then in the street,
shaking the bear. He called out for my sister, Mrs. Taylor.
When I got up stairs, he had the deceased in his arms. Her
hands were all over blood. I did not remain, as I could
render no assistance, and another neighbour came in. She
was always very low, and used to say her mind was very
miserable.

Mary Ann Cassidy said she was going of 13 years of age,
and that her father's name was Jura, and lived in Pall Mall.
I was in the house where deceased lived on Saturday morn-
ing last. About two o'clock she told me to go to my tea,
and to come back again in about five minutes. I returned
in about half an hour. Mr. Adams had then come into the
house. He told me to stop till Mrs. Taylor came in. He
came back, and I saw him talking to Mrs. Taylor in the
street. The deceased then came on to the stairs, and made
signs to me with her hands. I saw that her hands were
bloody. .I immediately went to the door, and shouted Mr.
Adams, and he went up stairs. I heard him call out "Mrs.
Taylor." I did not see the deceased afterwards.
Mr. Edwd. Toye Woodward, house surgeon of the North-
ern Hospital, said the deceased was brought there on Satur-
day_ evening, between four and five o'clock. On examining
the throat, I found an external wound, about two inches in
length, extending back completely through the windpipe,
which was severed. There was a second incision in the wind-
pipe. Every thing was done for her, but she died on Wed-
nesday morning, about ten o'clock. She was ac times per-
fectly sensible. When she was so, I asked her why she did
it, and she said she had had a good deal on her mind lately.
She appeared then to think that she was dying, and said she
was afraid she would not get over it.
The coroner summed up the evidence in a perspicuous
manner, anti the jury immediately returned a verdict, to the
effect that " the deceased destroyed herself in a fit of insa-
nity."

DEATH 01' A CHILD FROM THE INJUDICIOUS
EXHIAATION OF AN OPIATE MIXTURE.

An inquisition was taken before Mr. Curry, on view of
the body of Griffith Evan Evans, a child of three months
old. Catharine Evans, wife of Griffith Ev..ns, said she lived
in Dolling-street, said the deceased had been a little poorly
now and then, but was in general a healthy child. About
nine days ago he took cold, and I gave him a teaspoonful of
castor oil occasionally. He got better for a day or two, and
then relapsed. I gave him another teaspoonful of castor
oil. In a day or two he seemed to get worse, and coughed
very hard. I sent a girl who was with me since the child
was ill, to the druggist's, to see if she could get anything to
relieve the child. She brought some stuff in a bottle, with
directions to give the child a teaspoonful every time the
cough was troulesome. I did so. I gave the child several
doses of it. Soon after giving it to him, he would throw up
phlegm, and appear relieved, and would fall asleep, and some-
times would take the breast. After taking it all, he appeared
to get worse and not better. I then sent the same girl to
the same druggist, to ask if he could send him anything
that would relieve him. She brought me another bottle.
There was a direction upon it,—that a teaspoonful should be
taken when the cough was troublesome. I endeavoured to
give him part of a teaspoonful, and he lifted up his head and
threw it out of his mouth as if his throat was sore. I think
he swallowed a little of it. I sent for the same girl who had
previously been assisting me, and she recommended me to
call in Mr. Harbord. I showed him the bottle, which was
on the mantel-piece. The child gradually got worse, and
died on Monday evening.
Jane M•Mullin, daughter of Thomas M`Mullin, of Slater-
street said, I know the mother of the deceased, and had been
stopping at her house for the last week or ten days,—the
child being ill. Last Wednesday week I was sent to a drug-
gist's shop, at the corner of Jackson-street, by the deceased's
mother. She told me to get something to ease the child
who had a bad cough, and was very hoarse. The druggist's
name was Ingham. I saw a young man in the shop. I told
him what was the matter. He gave me a mixture. There
were directions on the bottle, to give the child a teaspoonful
every time the cough was troublesome. I gave the bottle to
its mother, rnd saw her give it a teaspoonful occasionally.
The child got rather worse, and last Monday morning I was
sent again to the same shop, for something to relieve it. 1
saw the same young man. I asked him it he could give me
anything for Mr. Evans' baby, as it was rather worse. lie
gave me another bottle, which was of the same colour, and
the same directions were fixed upon it. She gave the child
some of it, not quite a teaspoonful. I would know the
bottle again. I gave it to him myself. The bottle produced
is the same I got from the druggist.
The Coroner here inquired whether the bottle containing
the medicine was in court?

Mr. Harbord said he had not brought it, nor had he him-
self analysed the contents. He had carefully sealed it up,
with a view to its being analysed by a practical chemist,
should that be deemed necessary to a due elucidation of the
case. He had his own opinion of its contents, which would
perhaps be considered sufficient.

The Coroner said it was essential that the bottle should be
,prOdue4; and, after an explanation by Mr. Harbord of the
manner in which it was sealed, so that fib one could imitate
it into whose hands it might intermediately pass, the officer
of the court was dispatched to bring it. While he was ab-
sent, _

Mr:Harbord expressed a wish to say a few words having
reference to the case before them. He felt himself placed in
a painful position in being called upon to give his evidence.
In the first place, he should not be doing his duty to the
public, or the profession of which he was a member, if he
did not express his strspng disapproval of a practice which
was involved in this inquiry ; and, on the other hand, he
should in all probability draw upon himself much obloquy
and enmity by a frank declaration of that opinion. Young
men like himself had, from the nature of their practice, a
more extensive knowledge than others of the horrible extent
to which the practice was carried of prescribing powerful
medicines in druggists' shops by ignorant and incompetent
persons. When individuals lost their lives on railways
through inattention, rashness, or neglect, the facts were
conveyed to the public by the newspapers in a manner to
call forth the severest reprehension on the part of the pub-
lic, and to induce a wholesome caution on the part of those
who were to blame ' • but it was a fact that fifty or a hundred
children might be hastened to their graves by the exhibition
of injurious drugs, and nothing be recorded about the mat-
ter ! Mr. H. then made allusion to a case in this town some
time ago, in which a certain druggist had dispensed medicine
that had accelerated death. On that occasion he (Mr.
H.) had given his evidence in the most forbearing manner,
putting the most liberal construction on the facts ; and after
all the coroner had stated that if the evidence had been one
tittle stronger, the party must have had a verdict of man-
slaughter recorded against him, and that a conviction would
no doubt have followed. Yet, notwithstanding, he had put
everything in the most favourable light, he had been misre-
presented and persecuted ever since. He could assure the
jury that the Medical Association had numerous cases laid
before them of children whose deaths were caused by the ad-
ministration of improper medicines.
Mr. Craig, the house surgeon at the North Dispensary,
stated that the cases of children brought to the Dispensary
in a dying state, after having been trifled with, were now so
numerous that they ceased to cause much comment—he be-
lieved the average of such cases were 5 or 6 per week.
What would they think of a man whose watch was out of or-
der, going to a blacksmith or an ironmonger to get some-
thing for it to restore it to its former state of perfection ! It
was quite as reasonable as that a druggist. not a regular prac-
titioner, should administer to the diseases of a child. It
might be said that they did not do harm intentionally or
knowingly, and this he admitted. He could not believe that
Mr. Ingham, or any other respectable druggist would, for
the sake of the paltry profit on two or three pennyworth of
medicine, run the risk of being found guilty of manslaughter,
and he felt convinced that if the press were to bring the sub-
ject strongly before the public, it would save the lives of many
hundreds of children annually. The office of coroner was
valuable, chiefly for the accidents which it was the raans of
preventing. The imposing of deodands in railway fitalities
arising from negligence bad that effect ; and now that the
jury had an individual case before them he wished that they
would at least express themselves in such a manner upon it
as would convey a salutary caution to the parties involved in
this inquiry. He hoped, at the same time, that no unplea-
sant circumstances would arise to Mr. Ingham, and that the
evidence would bear them out in giving the case the most
favourable construction. He trusted he should be excused
for making these remarks, inasmuch he felt strongly on the
subject.

Henry Gordon Harbord, surgeon, said he was called to the
child on Monday afternoon. The child was in a dying state.
After looking at its eyes, which were contracted to a small
size, I asked whether any medical man had attended it, and
whether opium- or syrup of poppies had been administered
to it ?: They said they had given it something out of
bottle which they produced. On smelling it, I was convin-
ced that it contained a large quantity of paregoric. I did
what was necessary, and told the mother the child could not
possibly recover. 1 have since made a post mortem exami-
nation. A considerable portion of the lungs had the appear-
ance of recent inflammation ; the brain was gorged with
black blood, and about an ounce and a half of serum was ef-
fused upon the brain and contained in its ventricle. Effu-
sion is one of the results of congestion. lam of opinion that
the death of the deceased was caused by inflammation of the
lungs, accompanied by congestion of, and effusion upon, the
brain, and that death was accelerated by improper treatment.
The injurious composition in the bottle, wasp in my opinion,
paregoric, the principal ingredients of which are spirits of
wine, opium, camphor, and benzoic acid. A tea-spoonful
of such a mixture was highly injudicious for such a child as
the deceased.

Mr. Ingham, druggist, was present, and was asked why
the young man who had given the bottle for the child was
not present. He replied that both of them could not be ab-
sent from the shop. The coroner said that it was requisite
that the young man should appear, and Mr. Ingham went
home to send him. On his arrival he was sworn, and was
cautioned that he need not reply so as to criminate.
Jeremiah Ingham said. lam apprentice to Mr. Ames
Ingham, who is my cousin. 1 have been nearly four years
in his employ. I remember the girl coming for something
for Mrs. Evans's child. The first I gave was merely to cause
expectoration. It was composed of syrup of squills, spirits
of nitre, and antimonial and irecacuanha wine. With the
second I gave a little paregoric,—which I had frequently given
to children before with_ good effect.

Hr. Harbord recalle'd.—The first medicine might have
been good in cases of grown-up people, and in double the
dose, in the absence of inflammation. The second, owing to
the paregoric, was still more injurious than the first in the'
present case. _

Tne Coroner then addressed the jury. He thought the
public was very much indebted to Mr. Harbord for the man-
ner in which he had brought forward the case. That gen-,
tleman was actuated by no personal feeling ; but by a sense
of duty. He (the Coroner) had had several conversations
with him, and he was afraid that numbers of little children
were, hurried prematurely to their graves by incompetent
persons administering medicines to them. In one case which
had fallen under his cognizance, it was stated by a witness
that he could almost undertake to say, that cases of injury,
if not of mortality from this cause, amounted t 0.500 annually.
He recollected that he had once given great offence to some
parties by designating dispensing druggists " a pest to so-
ciety," and he did not feel inclined to withdraw the epithet.
Some who were druggists were qualified to practice as pro-
fessional men ; but the greater number were not, and if they-
dispensed medicines they incurred a heavy responsibility.
He then adverted to the evidence of Mr. Harbord, who had

stated that he had no doubt but. .
the nisglielne give.n in this
case had accelerated death. The mother of the child, too,
had acted incautiously. She would have done more wisely
to continue the castor oil, or have applied to the dispensary,
or to a professional man for advice. But instead of this she
sent to the next druggist shop, with a vague message, for
anything that _would give ease to the child. The child she
thought had swallowed a little of the second and stronger
preparation, and they all knew that a little of such drugs

would kill an infant. He (the Coroner) here referred to
several cases in "Roscoe's Criminal Evidence," in which
death had ensued from persons administering medicines.
Lord Hale said—" If a physician give a person a potion, with-
out any intent of doing him any b dily harm, but with intent
to cure or prevent a a disease, and, contrary to the expecta-
tion of the physician, it kills him, this is no homicide, and
the like of a surgeon. And I hold their opinion to be erro-
neous that think if it be no licensed surgeon or physician
that occasions the mischief that it is felony, for physic and
salves were before licensed physicians and surgeons, and,
therefore, if they be not licensed according to the statutes,
they are subject to the penalties of the statutes, but God for-
bid that any mischance of this kind should make any person
not licensed guilty of murder or manslaughter." But,"
adds his lordship, " whether the party be licensed or unli-
censed, if he displays gross ignorance, or criminal inatten-
tion, or culpable rashness, in the treatment of his patient, he
is criminally responsible." Baron Bolland, in a case of man-
slaughter, in which it was Supposed that a child had died
from the effects of a plaster applied for scald head, laid it
down thus as agreed to by the judges." If any person, whe-
ther he be a regular or licensed medical man or not, professes
to deal with the life or health of his Majesty's subjects, he
is bound to have competent skill to perform the task that he
holds himself out to perform, and he is bound to treat his
patients with care, attention, and assiduity." Chief Justice
Titdal, too, in a case against a prisoner charged with ne-
glecting to take due care of a woman during her delivery,
directed as follows :—" You are to say whether, in the exe-
cution of the duty which the prisoner had to perform, he is
proved to have shown such a gross want of care, or such a
gross and culpable want of skill as any person, undertaking
such a task, ought not to be guilty of, and that the death of
the person named in the indictment was caused thereby."
He then quoted the following passage :—" A chemist who
negligently supplies a wrong drug, in consequence of which
death ensues, is guilty of manslaughter. The apprentice to
a chemist, by mistake delivered a bottle of laudanum to a
customer who asked for paregoric ; and a portion of the lau-
danum being administered to a child, caused its death. The
apprentice being indicted for manslaughter, Mr. Justice Bai-
ley directed the jury, that if they thought him guilty of ne-
gligence, they should find him guilty of manslaughter." In
the case (said the coroner in continuation) the young man
first administered an expectorant, and next a mixture contain-
ing paregoric. The question, they had to decide was whe-
ther the young man bad shown gross ignorance or criminal
inattention, or culpable rashness, and was thereby guilty of
manslaughter. The young man had told them that he had
dispensed the same medicines before to other children, and
with good effects. The case quoted, in which every one who
dealt with life and health was required to be a competent and
qualified person, presented itself in this case for their con-
sideration. The young man had stated that he had been four
years in the shop of Mr. Ingham. They would have to con-
sider whether he was qualified to dispense medicines. There
was no imputation that he had been asked for one medicine
and supplied another. If they thought he had been grossly
and culpably inattentive, ignorant, or unskilful, they must
find a verdict of manslaughter: if not, their verdict must
merely be that death was caused by misadventure—to which
they might attach any expression of their opinion which they
thought fit.
The Jury immediately returned a verdict to the effect

That the deceased died from misadventure," and to this
they appended a request, that the Court would convey to the
young man a reprimand on the carelessness of his conduct.
The Coroner, addressing the young man, said he had had
a narrow escape. The law would not allow any one to under-
take the dispensing of medicines who was not qualified to do
so by education and diploma. Druggists were at liberty to
sell good and wholesome medicines to proper parties ; but no
narcotics, opiates, or other strong drugs, should be dispensed,
except to parties well known to them, or on the production
of a prescription from a medical man. Persons ignorant of
the powers of such medicines should be refused, and directed
to the Dispensary or to some competent professional man for
such prescription.
The Conrt then rose.