Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1883-03-31 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

PRES° RIBING DRUGGISTS.  A cree of suicide, of somewhat exceptional details as to its method, which recently happened in the Midland counti., drawsattention once more to the perilous facility with which, in spite of restrictive legislation, poisons may be purchased, and to the fatal danger to which the public is exposed by unqualified persons undertaking the treatment of disease. A man, aged 32, who had suffered from some chronic nervous affection and insomnia, was found dead in bed. A letter which he left, and other evidence, showed that he had committed suicide by taking at once a quantity of' sleeping draughts" which had been supplied to him. Pretending to take a draught every night, he saved his dosm until he had collected the supply for a fortnight, when he swallowed the whole of the fourteen draughtn at once, and de ,th resulted. It appears that the mother of the deceased consulted a druggist about her son's sleeplessness, whereupon the druggist forthwith undertook the management of the ease, and prescribed, and continued regularly to supply, a nightly draught containing 20 grains of hydrate of chloral and five drops of tin tare of opium. Without any medi.l authority at any time, the druggist continued to supply these draughts for several weeks, and the friends of the deceased did not secure skilled professional assistance for him. The suicide effected his purpose by taking in one dose 280 grains of hydrate of chlmal and 70 &tape of laudanum.—British Medical Journal.  COD and haddock fishing in Orkney has been but little prosecuted of late. The best takes of from four to five scores of cod have been got to the east of the island. A CENTRE of the St. John's Ambulance Association has been opened at Gibraltar, the Chief Justice, Sir 11. J. Burford Hancock, presiding at an inaugural meeting, and the Governor-General, Sir John Adye, accepting the office of president. Meetings for the presentation of certificates have recently been held at Worthing, Eckington, Eastbourne, Swanage, Skelton, Estee, St. Helens, and Middlmbrough-on-Tees, and new districts have been established at Wimborne, Bridport, Wyken, and Bedworth. Classes are also being formed at the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade classes at Southwark recently underwent examination by Surgeon-Major George Evatt, A.M.D., and Mr. S. Osborn, P.R.C.S., Captain Sham, and the principal officers of the brigade, together with mart of the men, passing a highly successful examination, only five failing of .he fifty who presented themselves. A uORKMAN employed at • house building at 15, Avenue de Versailles, was disagreeably surprised last week to find that a sum of 20001. in bank notes be had hidden in a cellar for safety had disappeared. The pocket-book which had contained the notes was there, lying open, but there were no signs of the notee. On searching well, however, some email fragments of paper were seen lying about, and the master-builder, M. Picard, who had come forward at once, thought that mice might be the thieves. Following the direction of the fragments, he had the flooring taken up. of a room aboves used as an office, and in which a fire had been lighted, and there near the stove was found a manse's nest lined with the precious paper, nibbled into small pieces. These were collected and taken to the Bank of France, where the notes will be reconstituted if possible; and if thane...twee can be ascertained, other notes valhe giver by thebank It slachange.