The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1903-08-29 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

DEATH 'PROM EXCESS- IVE DRINKING  TWENTY; YEARS A TEETOTALLER.  Those good people who condemn the medical profession for ordering intoxicants for Abair patients will be-interested by a CE1.130 repsrted from New Brighton. A woman 'named Harriet.Mallinson, residing with her -frusbanclat 4, _Birch-grove, Liecard, died in bed during the small hours of Thumday -morning-from-excessive drinking. Her hue. band declared that prior to October last she .had been an abstainer for 30 years. She 'Was then ordered brandy, and since then she had indulged to-excess. The death was investigated by Mr. J. C. .Bate.(West Cheshire -coroner) and a jury at the, Little. Brighton Inn last evening. John_ Mallinisonsaid hie wife was 58 years 'of age last March. She was seen by Dr. . Selway, of Aigburth, five weeks ago, as. complained of pains in her aide. Witne4 :went with her. On Monday of last week he And his wife went to Liverpool. They had only one glass of whisky each while in town.. but his wife drank to excess on reaching. home. On Tuesday he remained in bed 'until after dinner-time, and drank about a pint of whisky. On Wednesday she remained in bed all day, and had about a gill land a half of whisky, with milk and raw eggs, but no solid food. She was calling for him to give her a drink all 'day, and he had to do whatever she said.  'f:their  We  willl.  fhe Coroner: You were not bound to? Witness: .I.ehotdd have had a row about  mteare. quickly if I had not. But she was not master, was she? She has been pretty near master. COll-' • tinning, witness said he dare not have re. 'fumed to give her the drink. At about nine .o'clock he went to bed, and the last drink he gave her was a glass of whisky and soda and milk. When he awoke at 4.30 she was dead at his side. He added that for the past two months his wife and himself had been intemperate. Prior to last October. both of them had been teetotal for twenty years, having signed the pledge in a Salford -Sunday School. In October his wife consulted Dr. Selway after a visit to London, and he said she was suffering from English cholera, and that brandy was the only thing that would cure her. Witness was present when the brandy was ordered. Prom then both he and his wife had given wayito drink. His wife having to take it caused witneas. also to break the pledge. The Coroner advised witness to take another pledge and keep it. Witness: I'm going to, sir. When I get over this I'll not take a drop for anyone. He had had no solid food, only raw eggs, since he. found his wife dead.  Dr. Blackwood, Seabank-rosd, said he was called to the deceased at 5.30 on Thursday morning. There was nothing particularly noticeable about her, except that she was very pale. She had been dead some hours. He made a cost-mortem examination, and found that deceased's heart was fatty, the lungs congested, and the liver very and about double the natural size. There was not the slightest doubt that the cause of death was excessive alcoholism. Deceased could not have got into that condition in a few months. It was possible that some of the mischief had been done over twenty years before, and the deceased had been teetotal for 20 years . By the Foreman (Mr. G. R. Liversage): Excessive drinking since last October on a bad foundation might have brought about her condition. There was no organic disease.  , The Coroner said there could be no difference of opinion as to the cause of death being excessive drinking. There was no doubt that the woman killed herself with "drink from the excessive use of alcohol. It seemed a great pity that nothing could have been done for her since last October. The husband stated that for over twenty years prior to last October she had been teetotal, and then an unfortunate incident started her drinking again, and her husband, , instead of preventing her, seemed to have I gone in with her and assisted her. It was an unfortunate case, but there was no law to stop people drinking themselves to death. 'lf they could do what he thought they shcruld they would have to say that the deceased committed suicide. But all they could say was that she died from the excessive use of alcohol.  The Jury returned a verdict in accordance.