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DEATH OF MR. MOSS MARKS—MAGIS-
TERIAL INQUIRY.
ON Thursday afternoon an inquiry was held into the
cause of death of Mr. Moss Marks, J.P. The
inquiry was commenced at Thomas's Family Hotel,
Auburn-street, Goulburn, and was subsequently
adjourned to the residence of the deceased in the
same street. The coroner, Dr. Waugh, having been
the medical attendant of the deceased and being also
the referee of the Australian Mutual Provident
Society in whose office Mr. Marks's life was assured
for £1250, it was deemed advisable to hold a magis-
terial inquiry instead of a coroner's inquest ; and the
witnesses were accordingly examined before Mr.
William Conolly, J.P. Mr. Gannon, the legal
adviser of the deceased, was present ; and Mr.
Walsh appeared on behalf of the family. Mr. I.
Fox, the agent of the Mutual Provident Society,
was also present.
The following evidence was taken :—
Jacob Alexander, storekeeper, deposed : I have
seen the body of Moss Marks now lying dead ; I
have known him for thirty years, and as a resident
of Goulburn for the last eighteen years ; I was pre-
sent when he died at a quarter-past eight this
morning ; for some time previous to his death he has
complained of diabetes often in a very dejected and
desponding way ; some few months ago I saw him
in Sydney, when he told me he was still suffering
and had come down to seek medical advice ; he also
complained at that time of his sight failing him ; I
saw him five or six days prior to the 31st of July
last, when he appeared to be still suffering quietly ;
I was with him all Sunday night till nearly nine on
the morning of the 2nd August ; he then seemed to
be easy and comfortable, made no complaint what-
ever of his wounds, and slept very well nearly the
whole of the night ; he himself remarked on the
number of hours' sleep he had had ; the next time I
saw him was about six o'clock in the evening of yes-
terday, Wednesday, 4th August, when I observed a
great alteration ; he seemed faint and low as if he
had been suffering ; I remained with him three-
quarters of an hour, and returned again at half-past
nine, and remained with him till he died at a
quarter-past eight this morning ; at times he was in
great agony, and vomited once ; several times he
retched as though he would vomit ; at different times
he was kept in his bed with difficulty ; during nearly
the whole of the night he was throwing his arms
and legs about, and during his waking moments
delirious ; Mr. Abraham Levy and Mr. Joseph
Collins were present with me during the whole of
the night, also Mr. F. S. Cohen ; I saw on his belly
marks as if he had been injured.
William Davies, storekeeper, one of the firm of
Davies, Alexander, and Co., deposed : I knew Mr.
Marks for eighteen years ; I have lived next door to
him for six years ; the last few months Mr. Marks'
health has been very indifferent ; I have conversed
with him frequently about his health ; he was very
low-spirited latterly on account of the failure of his
eyesight ; he went to Sydney I heard to get medical
advice ; he frequently expressed himself as if con-
scious of his failing health ; I was informed he was
ill on the morning of Saturday, 31st July, that he
was worse of his old complaint than he had been be-
fore ; I was on my way to see him when I heard he
had attempted his life ; I went down to see him at
about half-past ten and saw him ; I saw him again
on Monday afternoon, 2nd August ; he seemed very
weak ; I asked if he had lost much blood, and was
informed he had not ; from this I inferred he was
weak from some other cause ; I have no experience
in similar cases.
John Thomas Gannon, solicitor, deposed : I have
been Mr. M. Marks's solicitor for many years ; on
the 29th of last month I had occasion to see the
deceased twice ; I found him very low and and des-
ponding, and complaining very much of diabetes ;
I stayed with the deceased some time, and again
saw him on the following morning, when he was
still desponding ; I saw him again in the course of
the day, when he told me he was in very great pain
through not having his medicine, and he know that
the disease would kill him soon ; while I was in the
room he got very much excited and said he would
give a pound for a bottle of medicine ; his manner
generally was very different from what it had been
for the many years I had known him ; the deceased
complained much of his head and stomach, and at
times spoke very incoherently ; I saw deceased last
on the day before he attempted his life three separate
times, and on the last occasion his manner and con-
versation led me to believe that his mind was wan-
dering ; for instance he told me he had nothing in
the house, and that his children were starving, and
asked me in an excited manner what they would
do with him at Cockatoo, and made use of other,
expressions of a like nature ; I told Mr. Emanuel on
the morning before the attempt that the deceased
was in my opinion going out of his mind ; the
deceased was very fond of reading and the failure
of his eyesight caused him much anxiety.
F. S. Cohen, auctioneer, deposed : I have seen the
dead body of the deceased, Moss Marks, whom I
have known for seventeen years ; I have been in the
habit of seeing him almost daily for the last two
years ; some months ago Mr. Marks was complain-
ing of illness and depression of spirits, and not ap-
pearing to get any better I recommended him to go
to Sydney for medical advice ; about four months
back he placed himself under Dr. Williams's hands ;
the doctor was treating him for diabetes ; my father
wrote me to advise him to adhere strictly to the
medicine and diet proscribed for him, as if he did
not strictly carry out the doctor's direotions the dis-
ease would prove fatal ; at the same time his eye-
sight began to fail, and not being able to read he
used to express himself as being quite out of the
world ; he frequently told me, as also did Mrs.
Marks, that he was wasting away to a shadow ; on
last Friday evening, the 30th July, a message came
from Mrs. Marks wishing to see me at once ; I went
immediately ; Mrs. Marks met me and said her
husband was going on in such a strange way
that she was afraid to stay in the house with
him by herself ; I remained there till about ten
o'clock, and from the strange manner in which
he spoke and acted I am certain he was not
in his right senses ; one extraordinary delusion was
that he was doing wrong by using a kerosene lamp,
for by so doing he was using government money ;
he said also that he believed under the Municipal Act
he was liable to twenty years' penal servitude ; he
seemed greatly troubled in his mind also that some
medicine had not been sent to him from Sydney ;
knowing the deceased to be a quiet passive man I
did not deem it necessary to stay with him during
the night ; I was sent for again at halt-past eight on
the next morning, 31st July, and saw the decasead
lying on a sofa in the parlour ; the doctor showed
me he had wounded himself in the stomach ; I
stayed and assisted the doctor to sew up the wound ;
I remained with the deceased till nine o'clock on
Sunday morning, and carried out the doctor's in-
structions with regard to medicines and treatment ;
he was very quiet all day on Saturday and spoke
very little ; he slept very well on Saturday night and
never complained of any pain ; when he looked at
the wound after it was sewn up he said he recollected
nothing about it and must have been mad ; I saw
him again on Sunday evening and Monday morning
with the doctor ; he appeared to be progressing
favourably and free from pain ; I was with him from
Tuesday evening at eight to Wednesday morning
at eight ; he slept well during the night and took
a little nourishment ; myself and others of his
friends were surprised at his experiencing no pain
as we were led to anticipate from the doctor that
there must be serious inflammation ; I saw him
three times during the day of Wednesday, 4th
August, the last time about half-past two ; he
seomed to be progressing so favourably that I wrote
so to his relations in Sydney ; I saw him again on
Wednesday evening at half-past seven with the
doctor ; after examining him he called me outside
and told me that he was sinking fast ; I remained
with him during the night till about a quarter-past
six on Thursday morning ; Dr. Perry was called in
on Wednesday evening for consultation with Dr.
Waugh, and after examination and consulting, told
me there were no hopes of his recovery, and also it
was their opinion that the deceased was not dying of
the wound inflicted but from previous disease ; this
was stated by both the doctors ; I remained during
the night assisting in giving him nourishment ; I
left at a quarter to six Thursday morning ; I have
since seen him dead.
Adjourned at a quarter to seven p.m. from Tho-
mas's Family Hotel, to half-past seven o'clock same
evening, at the late residence of deceased.
F. S. Cohen being further examined, deposed : On
Friday evening, 30th July, the deceased did not
seem to have had any spirits to drink, and upon
my asking him to have some brandy and water as a
stimulant he refused.
William Sands, assistant storekeeper to the late
M. Marks, being duly sworn deposed : I have been
assistant to Moss Marks for four years ; I have seen
the body of the deceased ; I have known Moss Marks
as a man of regular habits and a very great reader,
until within the last four months or so ; his sight be-
coming impaired, he was unable to continue ; de-
ceased told me he was suffering from diabetes ; he
was taking medicine for that disease ; the last week
in July he became irritable at times, and appeared
to wander in that conversation, and particularly so on
Thursday last, and on Friday, 10th of July, he told
me he thought Mrs. Marks was losing her mind, he
was sure she was, he could see it plainly ; I told him
it was nothing of the kind ; he said "you do not see
so much of her as I do, or you would think other-
wise ;" he said "the government part of the
business ;" I said "what has the government to
do with you ?" he said "yes, the government
have all to do with it ;" he said "the children
will all have to go away, I'll have to send two
here and two somewhere else, they cannot stay
here ; there is no room for them ;" I noticed on
the same day at noon, a strange expression about
his eyes ; he was very much excited because he had
not his medicine to take, and wanted to know why it
was not got for him ; he had been told several times
it had been sent for ; he seemed to want it very much,
and was very much excited when he found he could
not get it ; his manner was quite changed ; he was
man of particularly temperate habits, and
very fond of his wife and children ; on
Friday evening, the 30th July, I last saw him
between six and seven o'clock, when he had the con-
versation with me respecting his family and the
government ; the next time I saw him was on Sun-
day, the 1st August ; he was then lying on his sofa
under medical treatment for injuries ; when in
general health he was very quiet and very agree-
able.
Robert Waugh, legally qualified medical practi-
tioner, deposed : I am the coroner of the Goulburn
district and medical reforee of the Australian
Mutual Provident Society ; I have seen the body of
the late Mr. Moss Marks, upon whom this inquiry
is being made ; I was called upon to see deceased
on Saturday last, the 31st July ; I had known him
previously for years, and had occasionally attended
him professionally ; on Saturday morning when I
saw him I found him suffering from a large incised
wound across the abdomen, and another upwards
forming the shape of a T, through which the bowels
protruded to a great extent ; I saw the place in the
store where I was told the injury done to him had
taken place ; on examining the place and looking at
his clothes, I found that he had lost blood at the
outside to the extent of about eight ounces ; I re-
placed the bowels, closed the wound, and found him
with a weak nervous pulse, such as is usually found
in persons suffering from debilitating diseases ; I
attended him several times a day up to the time of
his death ; he progressed favourably up to yesterday,
the 4th instant, when on seeing him in the evening
I found he was sinking ; I remained with him some
time, and saw him again this morning and remained
with him till his death at about ten minutes past
eight o'clock ; I yesterday morning removed the
dressing from the wound in his abdomen, the in-
cisions looking healthy ; I have this day made a
post-mortem examination of his body ; there was no
inflammation where the wounds were ; the kidneys
showed a state of fatty degeneration ; the liver was
natural in its state ; the heart was pale, showing a
tendency to fiatty degeneration ; the lungs were
healthy ; the brain was healthy, though there was
some slight effusion on the surface of the brain ; I
had been informed that the deceased had been suffer-
ing from diabetes for two months previously ; he was
much emaciated, and died I believe from that
disease, and not from the result of the injury to his
abdomen ; the loss of blood from the wound would
not account for his death ; there was a total absence
of peritoneal inflammation ; although in some in-
stances an injury such as Mr. Marks sustained would
produce a shock to the nervous system ; in his case,
from the state of his pulse and general appearance,
he did not appear to be suffering any shock, but ap-
peared to be suffering from some previous disease ; I
have soon the prescription now produced marked
A ; it is in the usual form ; it appears to be dated
22/6/69 ; it is such a prescription as would be given
in a case of diabetes; I do not know of my own
knowledge that this prescription has been sent to my
establishment to be made up at any time.
Michael Parry, legally qualified medical practi-
tioner, Goulburn, deposed : I know the late Mr.
Moss Marks, and have seen his body to-day ; I last
saw him alive yesterday evening, upon the occasion
of being called in in consultation with Dr. Waugh ;
when I first saw him he was in a state of exhaustion ;
I found a wound on the abdomen something like a
T ; the wound appeared to be in a healthy condition,
and not producing any constitutional symptoms ;
the exhaustion did not appear to be the result of
the wound ; from the history of the case I was
given to understand he had been suffering from
diabetes ; the symptoms I then observed were such
as might be produced by diabetes, and probably
were so ; I saw him only that evening for about a
quarter of an hour ; I did not see him alive after-
wards ; I have assisted to-day in making a post-
mortem examination ; I have heard Dr. Waugh's
evidence respecting the post-mortem examination,
and agree with that evidence ; there was sufficient
to account for death from the history of the case
and the result of the post-mortem examination irre-
spective of the wound ; I believe that death was
caused by previous disease irrespective of the
wound ; I look upon the prescription marked A ; it
came to my establishment on Friday last for the
purpose of being made up ; it was not then made
up ; I look at the bottles now produced labelled
Senior, Sydney, and consider the medicine to be
made according to the prescription marked A, being
such a medicine as would be prescribed for a person
suffering from diabetes ; the date upon the label ap-
pears to be 30th July, 1869.
Joseph Nehemiah Webster of Goulburn, assistant
druggist, deposed : I look upon the prescription
marked A ; the ingredients mentioned in a paper
presented to me on Wednesday or Thursday last by
a boy from Mr. M. Marks's are the same ; I believe
I was not then able to make it up, and returned it.
Esther Marks, wife of the deceased, deposed : I
have been married fourteen years ; until the last
few months the deceased was in good health, very
fond of reading and study, and always has been
very fond of his family ; about three months since
he complained of being low-spirited, and went to
Sydney for the purpose of getting medioal advice ;
Dr. Williams attended him ; since his return he
has been taking medicine from Dr. Williams's pre-
scription, made up by Mr. Senior, chemist, of
Sydney ; he has been complaining for some time of
his eyesight becoming impaired ; since his return
from Sydney it has been worse, and he has been
unable to read ; this caused him great anxiety ; he
told me he was suffering from diabetes ; before
going to Sydney and since his return he has been
very restless and fidgetty, and not able to sleep as
usual ; his business affairs therefore for some time
were carried on by me, and he was unable to cor-
respond ; latterly he became very desponding ;
before his illness he was very lively and cheerful ;
during the last week in July I saw a marked change
in his manner—talking very wildly and incohe-
rently at times; he became very excitable, parti-
cularly on Friday night, 30th July ; he passed
very sleepless nights, not sleeping much after two
o'clock ; he complained every day of the disease
and frequently said it would kill him ; I recollect
Dr. Gannon being with the deceased on Thursday
last, when he talked incoherently ; I remember Mr.
Gannon visiting him three times on Friday ; deceased
was then much excited at not having his medicine
and very wild in his manrner and looks ; on Friday
night his mind so wandered that he did not know
what he was saying ; he was quite delirious ; he
went to bed past eleven o'clock ; did not sleep much
getting in and out of bed during the night ; he
wanted to come down stairs before daylight, which
was unusual for him to do on Sabbath morning ; I
followed him down stairs and gave him the key of
the store at his request ; in consequence of his un-
usual manner I followed him into the store and
called him, when he came towards me ; I saw he
looked very wild and his clothes were disordered ;
saw some blood on his shirt, and led him into the
parlour ; he had a small penknife in his hand ;
asked him what he had been doing ; he gave me no
answer, but looked at me very wild ; I did not see
the wound, but seeing the blood on his shirt, and
the penknife in his hand, and his manner so wild, I
sent for Dr. Waugh ; on Friday Mr. Marks took no
spirits and refused to take any ; I sent to Doctors
Waugh and Perry to got Dr. Williams's prescription
made up, which they did not make up ; he was
always a very temperate man.
The inquiry was then adjourned till next morning
at the court-house, when no further evidence was
forthcoming ; but Mr. Walsh read the following
extract from Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence, 8th
edition, page 240 :—
It by no means unusual for individuals who have received
a wound or sustained some personal injury to die from latent
natural causes ; and as in the minds of non-professional per-
sons, death may appear to be a direct result of the injury, the
case can only be cleared up by the action of a medical
practitioner. Such a coincidence has been witnessed in many
instances of attemped suicide. A man has inflicted a severe
wound on hlmself while labouring under disease ; or some
morbid change tending to destroy life, has occurred subse-
quently to the infliction of a wound, and death has followed.
Without a careful examination of the body it is impossible to
refer death to the real cause.
A natural cause of death may be lurking within the body at
the time that a wound is criminally inflicted, and a close
attention to the symptoms preceding and the appearance after
death, can alone enable a surgeon to distinguish the real cause.
The funeral took place yesterday at two o'clock.
The brethren of the masonic lodge, of which the de-
ceased had for many years been a member, walked
in procession ; and the services of that body were
duly performed. Deceased was interred in the
Jewish burial-ground.
Mr Marks had been nearly thirty years in the
district. He was a man of studious habits and very
fond of reading, with a cultivated musical taste.
Some years since he used to take part in public mat-
ters, and frequently wrote letters, and sometimes
verses, for the press. Under the signature of
Publicus he published a pamphlet on railways
nearly twenty years ago. It is now out of print.
When Mr Marks first came to Goulburn he was
in the employ of Messrs Benjamin and Moses of the
Argyle Store; and on the partners ceasing to reside
in Goulburn, the management of that establishment
was confided to him. He subsequently purchased
the business ; and on the expiry of his lease, being
unable to come to terms with the owners of the
property, he built for himself the handsome and sub-
stantial premises known as the New Argyle Store,
where he has resided and conducted the business of
a general storekeeper ever since. He married Mrs
Davis, widow of Mr Isaac Davis who was murdered
by bushrangers at Burrowa upwards of twenty years
ago, by whom he leaves several daughters. During
his commercial career he experienced some vicissi-
tudes; but we believe that his affairs have long been
in a satisfactory condition.
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