Widnes Examiner. — 1895-09-21 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

THE INQUEST. At Runcorn Police Court on Monday afternoon, Mr. J. E Worsley held an inquest touchinv the death of a child, 12 years of age, named Mary *Ann O'Niel, who died on Saturday. The first witness called was Mary Hushin, wife of Thomas Hushin, a labourer, residing in ' Water-st., who deposed that the dece-ased, Mary Ann O'Niel, lived with her. She was 12 years of age. On the 2nd inst. the deceased got up about 8.30 for the purpose of making the fire. About half an hour afterwards witness heard screams. She ran downstairs, and saw the deceased ablaze. A neighbour put an apron around the girl. Witness at once sent for Dr. illbinson who attended up to her death on Saturday. Before deceased died she told witness how she was burnt. She had made the fire and put a paper across the grate in order to make the fire draw. She then went to the door to a school mate,and when she returned the paper was on fire. She pulled it away and tried to stamp the fire out, but in doing so her petticoats caught fire. There was no one with her when the accident happened.—Mary Rooney, of ' Water-st., steed that she saw the deceased coming out of her mother's house on Monday, the 2nd September, in flames. Witnesa went to her and put a coarse apron round her. Dr. Robinson was called in, and eveything necessary was done for the deceased .—Dr. Robinson said on receiving information of the accidant he sent a messenger for the district nurse. When he first saw the deceased the nurse had dressed the wounds and made the girl as comfortable as possible. He found she was badly burnt on the front and lower part of the body. He hardly thought she would have recovered from the first shock. The account given of the accident was exactly consistent with the injuries received. The deceased was well looked aPer by two nurses. Tile parish nurse was very attentive to the girl and there was also a skilled nurse attending her during the first week,named Nurse Lawrenson. She went there voluntarily and did many kindnesses for the girl. The deceased died on Saturday night from shock, the result of severe burning—P.C. Richardson stated that he had seen the District Nurse who had told him that the other nurse attended of her own free will.—The Ceroner in summing up the evidence, said Nurse Lawrenson deserved very high commendation for what she had done. —The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death," and the foreman said the jury wished to record their appreciation of the services of the nurses—The Coroner said it showed how useful such institutions were. The number of kind actions done by them was beyond description.  The trial of the boy Coombes,aged 13, for the murder of his mother by stabbing her as she lay asleep in bed, and of a sailor named Fox,charged with being an accessory after the fact, came to an end at the Old Bailey, London, on Tuesday. Very little additional light was thrown on the tragedy. The evidence as to the boy's mental condition, and his own conduct in the dock and in prison, led the jury to find that he was guilty of the murder, but that he was not accountable for his actions at the time. They acquitted Fox, who was discharged. The usual order for the detention of the boy Coombes in an asylum " during her Majesty's pleasure" was made by Mr. Justice Kennedy. Seven of the leaders in the Kucheng massacres were executed on Tuesday in the presence of the foreign Consuls forming the Commission of Inquiry.