The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1895-04-13 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

CARBOLIC ACID POISONINCI. A MELANCHOLY CASE. At the Victoria Hotel, Cleveland-street, on Wednesday morning, Dr. Henry Churton, tlei borough cttd of a horse-elaughterer named William Sptvring. aged scom that2oAlna nanirsed;:el4AcflinaLinnrdte ru:s e nhaY 7-30 oennrai t; o'clock, s lu%kuil:d" tte DT when dlrsroa e ietd: "seabe d'e:Eo np :akto tit4l7Bts Tuesdaya'dftdea in his usual state of health. lie was guttering from rheumatics, tut was quite able to go to work. He was employed as a horse-slanghterer at timeomle, and was in the habit of going there every morning. He had been drinking pretty iteaviiy lately, but had never to witness's knowledge threatenedo do anything to himself. When WILMRS sent him his dinner on Tuesday he sent it home again. Witnetn heard of this affair about four o'cluek on Tuesday afternoon when she immediately ran to the Borough Hoopital whither deceased had km:a taken. All Tatler, assistant to Mr. Snow, chemist, 443, Price-street, deposed that he knew deet-ased by sight as he had often been in his shop for small articles. Deceased mune inte his shop about four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and asked for threepenny worth of carlolic acid. In reply to wittiest, deer/mid said he was a slaughterer and required the acid fur disinfecting purposes. If, was quite sober at the time. In reply to the cor3lier, witr.eas said f.e law allowed chemists and druggists to dispose of carbolic arid without asking any questions, and al-o that a child of seven could obtain it.  Continuing, witness said he wanted de,eatied to take a sixpenny bottle of the acid, but h. oj.l "No ! that he only wanted a threepenny bott" Witness then put three ouncen of the acid Nto • bottle, labelled it poison, and gnve it to &leased, who tender.(' him fourpencn in payment. After giving it to Speering witneet turned round to serve another customer, and while Lehind the dispensing .screen the customer (a woman) shouted "Oh ! be IS drinkin it."  —.Witness rushed forward and took the bottle from deceased. However, he had taken all the thne ounces with the exception of a little at the bottom of the bottle. He (witneas) knew that it was a fatal dose. • Witness turned round again to get some our. oil, but while doing so deceased walked out of the shop and across the road to the Park Viitr Hotel. Witness followed with the oil, and tried to per rotas down deoesised's throat, but li, shut his teeth together, and heat witness away. Witnmi called assistance, and in that way managed to get Some of the oil down Speering's throat. In the meantime, cab had been sent for, and on the arrival of that vehicle Sperring was taken to the Borough Hospital, when he died soon after arlinis.q..n. The Coroner said that witness had done more thu could have bees expected from him under the einnun. stanees, and he had acted in a most praitieworthy manner. He (the coroner) said it was a melancholy case. Deceased was not an old man, hut according to the statement of the wife had been drinking heavily. He supposed deceased had worked himself up into a state of &Urines tremens. Men could net go on drinking heavily without running a great rick of depriving themselves of their senses. What surprised him (the coroner) most was deceased's apparent calmness and sobriety. They had so evidence to prove that deceased wu insane. He would suggest a verdict that deceased committed suicide by taking • quantity a earbolic acid, with the addition that the evidence was insufficient to thew what deceased's condition was at the time he swallowed the acid. They could not say he was insane. The jury agreed with all the Coroner had said, and pawed a verdict accordingly.