SUDDEN DEATH.
OAMARU, Feb. 2. A man named James Sparrow died suddenly on board the Wainui, on her passage from Dunedin to-day. -Star, 2/2/1887.
INQUEST .
An inquest was held yesterday at the Northern Hotel, touching the death of James Sparrow, found dead on board the steamer Wainui, on the voyage from Dunedin to Oamaru.
Mr E. A. Atkinson was chosen foreman of the jury.
Charles Stewart, of Invercargill, said he was a passenger by the Wainui from Dunedin to Oamaru on Tuesday night. He know the deceased. He met him about ten minutes before boarding the steamer at the Wharf Hotel, Dunedin. Deceased would be considered to be sober when witness met him. They had each a glass of beer at the hotel. Deceased seemed to be in good health and spirits. Deceased had two glasses of whiskey on board the steamer, and no more, and he afterwards lay down on a form in the fore cabin, the bunks being all full. When he lay down he was "merry" and talkative. Witness was on deck after deceased lay down. At half-past two in the morning witness went below, and found deceased snoring — making a dull and heavy noise. He went on deck again, and when he went below for the second time he did not pay much attention to deceased, but at a little after four o'clock witness went to wake him up, and found him dead. There was no pillow under deceased's head when he was lying on the form. When witness struck a match he found blood and froth about the mouth of deceased. He was not breathing. There was no beating of the heart. Witness went for assistance, and the second mate and the captain came. In witnesses' opinion Sparrow was dead when he went for assistance. Witness had known deceased about four years. Deceased was inclined to be given to drink.
Neil McKerrow, second mate of the s.s. Wainui 5aid he was called by the previous witness to look at a passenger. On going below he found the man dead on the floor of the fore cabin. There was accommodation for 20 passengers in the fore cabin, and there was not more than 10 passengers.
Constable Dwyer said he had gone out to the Wainui, and viewed the body. There was blood about the mouth, and the face seemed to be discolored, being black. He had known the deceased in Dunedin, who was a draper, and in his habits he was intemperate. There was no marks of violence on the body.
Dr James Young said he had made a post mortem examination of the body of deceased. The back of the head and neck was livid, and there was dark frothy matter coming from the mouth. The lungs were gorged with blood, and one of the heart's valves was diseased. The liver was considerably enlarged, and the kidneys were in an advanced stage of disease. The only thing in the stomach was a dark fluid, smelling like alcohol. In his opinion death resulted from failure of the heart's action, combined with a diseased state of the body, probably assisted by an overdose of alcohol on au empty stomach. There were no marks of violence on the body. The jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes. -North Otago Times, 3/2/1887.
At the close of the inquest on the body of James Sparrow. Mr Milligan, one of the jurors, sought to have a rider attached to the verdict showing that alcohol had played no unimportant part in bringing about the man's death. The majority of the jury, however, thought that there was nothing in the evidence to uphold Mr Milligan's view of the case, and a verdict was returned accordingly. We sympathise with Mr Milligan, and though the evidence did not directly justify the addition of such a rider to the verdict, there can be no question that the demon drink has claimed another victim to its terrible list. We hear grumblings on all sides about the hardness of the times, but there seems to be a spirit of contradiction in the whole thing, if one is to judge by the number of drunken men that appear before our Resident Magistrate day after day, and the still larger number of drunkards who are to be found in nearly every street of the town; and again, by the enormous quantity of stuff called beer that is brought here from Dunedin. Some people — though their number is falling off — are given to look upon the advocates of temperance as fanatics, or something worse; but it is simply because they do not realise the enormity of the evil of drink that they are given to call the workers in the cause of temperance by these hard names. It matters not which way we look at the drink question, we cannot disguise the fact that over indulgence in alcohol has worked irreparable misery, and brought ruin to thousands of what were once happy homes, and that it is doing the same now. -Oamaru Mail, 3/2/1887.
FUNERAL NOTICE.
THE Friends of Mr and Mrs John Sparrow, sen., are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of their late son James, which will leave their residence, Hyde street (near Albany street), Tomorrow (Saturday), February 5th, at 2.30 p.m., for the place of interment in the Northern Cemetery.
COLE AND SPRINGER, Undertakers, 152 George street. -Evening Star, 4/2/1887.
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