Lancaster Standard and County Advertiser. — 1905-09-15 (Lancaster, Lancashire, England)

REMARKS BY THE CORONER.  The Coroner remarked that there seemed to he no more evidence, and they had got as PVT as they possibly mild. Inquiries had been made, but the result was very unsatisfactory. Inquiries had been made in almost every poasible quarter they could think of, and hi, had even had the man's movements en the night bef.,r, 1:1, death traied, hut there was nothing in tnem that could give them a hint as to Imw he came to take the camphor. As the jury knew, cirrea.ed was At work on the previous day, and afterwards : he went to Thwaite House, Carnforth, where he had some friend or relations. He  twinned there about a quarter to nine, and left about nine o'clock. Whilst he was there he had nothing to eat or to drink. On leaving he went to the Blue Anchor at Boltonle-Sands, and had ene glass of whisky, leaving snout a quarter to ten. Hu then proceeded to Hest Bank, his object being to take some empty honey bottlias which he hod promised, aim tor amen he had gone to laniforth. He readied home about 10.30, had a supper of fruit, and went to bed—all perfectly clear and straightforward. He spent a wakeful night, gut up in the morning and went to give his orders in the gardens, and then set oil to return home, and was shortly afterwards found deal in the roadside. As MaaS now definitely known he died from camphor pusonuig. Inquiries had been made to find any truce of ins haviug bought camphor. Camphor was a common article, was not sub-10 the usual swittictious of tale am in the case of some poisons, and could be bought anima anywhere. Notwithstanding this inielittes had been made of people who dealt in eamphor, but there was: ahmlutely no clue. lfie only trace of camphor was M the stomach of the deceased, and they were met with the question as to how it got there. lie (the Coroner) did not believe that the deceased had any intention of suicide. If he took it himself he could only take it for one or twc purposes. One would be that having got into the habit of eating it—which was done by more people than it should be—he took too much on this oecasion. Altogether uppiessl to that theory they had the evidence of the people living in the house, and they had it front thent that they never heard him mention eamplen, they never saw him take any, they never smelt it, and they had not found any trace of it Biala' Iris death. The ' other way he could mime to take aunphor was by accident, but theme was nothing in the evidence to show that, and he did not think there was the slightest suspicion of suicide in any shape at all. They could quite imagine that if Mr. Ireland had been in the habit of eating camphor anybody living near him would have known of it, as it had a strong and distinctive smell, but the evidence of his wife and niece went against that. If he did not take himself anneb.ly else might have given it to him, but there they were met with a sithilar difficulty, because the only people living in the Inane were his wife and Mete, and them was no trace of camphor in the house or anywhere, and that line of argument fell to the ground entirely. hoes, and the garden had been swished since his death, as well as the field round about, but there was trace at all. The only place where camphor seemed to be Walki inside the man's stomach It was a mystery which they could not fathom. Camphor must have got into his stomach in some way— either by taking it himself or by it being given to him—but there was no evidence to show which it was. It was tertian he died front poisoning, but beyond that there was nothing definite known. They could not find out; they had done their best, but they had failed to find out where he got it from. The only thing he could do was to suggest the line their verdict should take, and he nhould ,uggest that the man died from camphor poisoning, but that there was no evidenee to show how or when he took it or it was given to him.