The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1893-07-05 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SID CASE OF DETELMAED SUICIDE.  ANOTHER CARBOLIC ACID CABE.  LEGISLATION WANTED.  Yesterday afternoon Dr. Churton, district coroner, held an inquiry at the Doke of Edinburgh Hotel, elevelandatreet, to ascertain the cause of the death of Emma Bolton, 46 years of age, wife of William Henry Bolton, employed at the docks and living at 10, Wood-street. The first witness called was the husband of the deoessed. He depos= Snit about • fortnight ago his eldest daughter, two or three years of age died in Yorkshire. This was a great shook to the mother, and it preyed very much upon her mind. On Monday morning be found she had sent • girl for • bottle of oarbolia acid. She would not give it up and he wrestled with her to get the poison from her. She weed it on to the little boy, but witness took it from the boy and threw it into the entry smashing the bottle and losing the 00•Walta. She becarneaery bysterioal, and he tried hard to pettily her, but she kept going into the parlour, and gazing at a likeness of her dead daughter, which hang upon the wall, kept on repeating "I will be with you soon." Witness hardly knew what to do, bat he hid her mantle, thinking by this means to prevent her leaving the house. Deaessed moved about the house praying, and she went into the yard where she prayed earnestly, and also got the youngest girl to repeat her prayers. Witness was at home all the day. He told the little boy, Georgie, not to allow his mother to get away, and to keep an eye on her. However, she managed to get away in the afternoon and out of the sight of the hills fellow. She went, it panned, to a druggist's shop and got some more poison. Being somewhat deaf and his wife wearing • light_ pair of shoes, witness did not hear her return. He was in toe back-yard at the time. Not knowing the was in the house he went to the kitchen to have a smoke. While there he thought he heard someone upstairs. He listened as well am he Gould, and just then his wife tame running downstairs with carbolic acid running out of her mouth. He got her to sit down, and tried all mesas he knew to make her vomit. He gave her some salt and water and this made her vomit slightly. He went out to two surgeries dose by but could not find • doctor, though he believed • medical man could have done nothing. He found • 3oz. bottle and • glass upstairs. In the bottle there was just a drop of carbolic acid left. His wife became naconscioas as soon ache got her to sit down and she died within twenty minntes. Witness had been married 26 years. Deceased had always been• steady and sober woman and had looked well after the home ditties. She had never before threatened to do any harm to herself. Witness had buried six sone and one daughter. Be had now three eons and one daughter The Chemist, Mr. Cookson' Price-street, deposed that the deceased came to his shop on Monday after. noon between three and four o'clock. He knew deceased well, as she had on various occasions been to the shop for different articles. She was alone and , he noticed nothing peculiar about her. There were two or three customers in at the time. She told him she wanted some carbolic =id and he Ailed a three. oz. bottle, labelling to.. bottle on both sides as containing poison. She said she had gone to live in • new house and she wanted to pot acid in a bucket. ful of water to wash the place and kill the bugs. The acid he supplied to her was the crude said, and was not so strong as the acid purchased in bottles. The Coroner remarked that the woman most have taken the three nee., and he was therefore not surprised at the suddenness of her death. The case was be thought clear and straightforward, and there could be no doubt that the deceased destroyed herself by swallowing • very large dose of carbolic said. The bottle produced had contained three oils., and deceased must have taken the lot, enough to kill • number of people. Deceased was evidently bent on self-destruction because she had obtained • supply of poison earlier in the day, and unfortunately she succeeded on the second attempt. It would have been • very wise thing for the husband to have got 1101110000 to look after her, but of coarse everybody could be wise after things had occurred. He thought there could be little doubt that the deceased's mind got wrong and that she committed suicide by taking carbolic acid while ins state of temporary insanity. The jury concurred unanimously in the Coroner's opinion, and • verdict accordingly was retuned. The Coroner added that there had beep over half • dozen such oases in this district during the past year, and Inspector Glass, the Coroner's officer, stated that deruig the past five years there had been more oases of suicide by carbolic acid than ever before, the newspapers all over the country were continually publishing =donna of such oases. The Coroner stated that he had written to the Secretary of State calling attention to the number of deaths occurring in that way. He would write again, although he supposed the Secretary of State woald not like being bothered. Nothing had been done to protect people. They all knew that carbolic acid was not one of the protected poisons, on soodunt of the large quantity sold for commercial purposes, he supposed. He Would never allow • person 60 take • bottle and purchase carbolic acid unless • second person was present at the purchase, as that might in many oases prevent the possibility of suicide. The druggists were bound to sell the stuff. It • child went to a Stop with • shilling the chemist was bound to ripply the poison in the quantity asked for. And so it would be until something effectual was done.