340 
MISCELLANEA. 
Accidental Poisoning by Strychnia.—An inquest was commenced at York, on 
Monday, November 21, respecting the death of Elizabeth Nuttall, wife of Henry Nut- 
tall, a brass finisher, living near Oxford Street, London. Deceased was a native of York, 
and was visiting there at the time of her death, for the benefit of her native air. For 
twelve or thirteen years she has been subject to palpitation of the heart, and during the 
whole of that time had taken morphia for its relief. Her husband had also, from ill¬ 
ness, been addicted to morphia, taking as much as thirty grains a day; but believing that 
it did neither himself nor his wife good, he gradually broke off the habit. On Saturday 
afternoon, Mrs. Nuttall sent to the shop of Mr. Hardman, druggist, of York, for five 
grains of morphia, and her daughter brought back with her a powder closely resembling 
it. Mrs. Nuttall at once took it in water, but instead of finding relief, was attacked 
with what at first appeared to be spasms, but which subsequently, from the arching of the 
back, the clenching of the hands, and other symptoms, led to the belief that she was 
labouring under the influence of strychnia. She died in half an hour from the time of 
taking the powder. Deceased’s daughter said her mother, before taking the powder, re¬ 
marked that it swam on the surface of the water, instead of sinking to the bottom as 
usual. She was served with the pow'der by a Christopher Powell, who had not served 
her before. At the time the daughter went for the powder, Mr. Hardman -was absent, 
and the bottle from whence the poison was served was in a drawer with other poisons, 
one of which was strychnia. Powell is a porter in Mr. Hardman’s establishment, can 
read labels, and had frequently served various other articles before. The jury adjourned 
the inquest for the purposes of a post mortem examination and analysis of the contents 
of the stomach. 
Fatal Explosion at a Match Manufactory.—On Saturday, Nov. 5th, an in¬ 
quest was held relative to the death of Michael Murphy, aged 12 years, who lost his 
life by an explosion in a match manufactory at Stratford. It appeared, from the evi¬ 
dence of Philip Debor, a German, and foreman at Messrs. Smith’s factory, that “ Vesu- 
vian lights ” were being made, and that the materials in which the matches were dipped, 
and which consisted of gum, phosphorus, nitre, chlorate of potash, Venetian red, and 
plaster of Paris, were being stirred with a stick by the deceased, when the explosion 
took place. Witness said he told the boy to “ stir him von leetle bit,” but supposed he 
must have struck the compound violently. It appeared, however, that the chlorate of 
potash had not been moistened, as w r as generally the case. The deceased was the eldest 
of fifteen children employed in making these matches. The jury returned the following 
verdict:—“That the deceased died from asphyxia through an accidental explosion, 
while he was engaged in stirring a composition for the manufacture of ‘ Vesuvian 
lights and the jury consider the manufacturer is open to censure for entrusting such 
combustible materials to children of so young an age, and the jury recommend that in 
future chlorate of potash should be wetted with water, and so rendered non-explosive, 
before being mixed with the other ingredients of the compound.” 
Sending: Dangerous Materials by Railway.—At the Worship Street Police 
Office, Mr. Thomas E. Collyer, of Gislingham, in Suffolk, and of Ashley’s Hotel, Covent 
Garden, was charged before Mr. Cooke, at the instance of Mr. William Henry Kent, 
Superintendent of Police of the Great Eastern Kailway, with conveying in a break car¬ 
riage of the company explosive goods, without distinctly marking their nature on the 
outside of the package containing them, and without giving proper notice of them to 
the servants of the company. It was stated that on the arrival of the train at Shore¬ 
ditch, the box was found to be on fire. The defendant, who w r as not aware of the legal 
consequences of his act, under the Kailway Clauses Act, a penalty not exceeding £20 
for such an offence,—regretted the accident should have occurred, but it was purely an 
accident, as the whole of the chemicals had been carefully packed in sawdust, but, un¬ 
fortunately, the stopper of this bottle of nitric acid had not been so securely luted as it 
should have been, and had come out, and so, gas being generated, it had led to the igni¬ 
tion of the packing and burning of the box, as it then appeared. 
Mr. Cooke said, as these proceedings were chiefly intended to act as a warning, and 
no particular penalty was pressed for against the defendant, who probably thought he 
was entitled to carry such articles in this way, he should sentence him to pay a penalty 
