THE DUNEDIN CUP.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 6 February 1880, Page 2

THE DUNEDIN CUP.

4- • The following are the acceptances :— Bt. lbs. Templeton 9 7 "Richmond 9 7 Bosworth 8 12 M*ta 8 9 Maritana 8 5 Foul Play 8 5 Chancellor 8 0 Natator 8 0 Longianda Betrayer Hipnocamp^^^^^^^^^^^^^H Hornby Titania No^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ta!Q^^^Hßry^here7rMH| Le SaPPP^nßer. Lesguillion, Bochfl? nnd Decaisne were present. M. ETrard bad asked for and obtained the body of the felon for experiments, " which," says the reporter, " we followed with deep interest, for, besides their purely scientific character, they related to a question so often discussed— does life survive decapi* tation ? Piye minutes had elapsed from the moment when the head was separated from the trunk, and ; .t was placed on a stone in the open air, in front of the little chapel of the cemetery, Comparatively little blood bad flowed, and some drops were running f rom the carotid artery. Although the neck was very short the putting had been very clean. Pinched. stuck with needles, submitted to the most ainful experiments, the head never moved; the face remained unaltered, not <j muscle quivered. The left ear was completely calcined in the flame of a candle without obtaining the smallest appearance of sensibility. Then they divided the skin of the head into four parts, and, using hammer, scalpel, and the saw, they took away the upper portion of the skull aD<? withdrew the brain. This occupied ten minutes. Immediately on being submitted to an electric battery the remains of the head at once displayed nervous contractions— -the teeth chattered, the mouth shut, the eye and the cheek made those grimaces which are observed i in sleeping people when tickled with a i feather. With the body, the same result

was obtained. It was opened, the heart, lungs, and intestines were removed, and then, on being placed in contact with the electric battery, the arms and legi instantly moved. At this moment Dr Evrard asked me what o'clock it was, and it appeared that forty minutes had elapsed from the time of the execution v - Lastly came the concluding experiment. Under the action of the battery ft shred of hanging flesh, displaced by the opera* tions stood on end, oscillated, and quickly placed itself back on the spot from which it had been cut." The conclusion of the doctors is that the movements observed ia the bodies of persons guillotined on being subjected to the action of electricity are absolutely mechanical, and display neither any remainder of H f e nor of sensation. „ The experiment will be the subject of s memoir, which will shortly be presented to the Academy of Medicine by M, Evrard, and in which he will demonstrate that death by decapitation is instant taneous. In connection with the existing distress in Ireland the following message has been received by Dr. Lemon : — " Colonel Glover has sent the following message to the Mayor of Sydney, and I sball be glad if you hand the same to Press Agency for publication, and also forward to the Oentral Committee for the relief of the Distress in Ireland :— ' Lord Major of Dublin to the Maror of Sydney .— Return grateful thanks for second muni Scent sub* scription. As the distress increases fearfully, the Committee has telegraphed to ~ Melbourne and asked that it should make known our wants. ' " Since the receipt of the above . another telegram |has been received, through Colonel Glover, from an M.P. at Dublin to an M.P. at Brisbane, askina what is doing in Brisbane for the distressed Irish. In Great Britain the area returned as under cultivation in 1879 has increased by 121,000 acres since 1878, and by 264.000 'acres si nee 1877. In Ireland the cultivated area^Jiowes a slight decrease of 9000 acres, \ the decrease in 1878 having been 82 000 acres, and in 1877 nearly 300,000 acres. It is interesting to note that the area under wheat in Great Britain in 1879 was 2 890,000 acres,being a decrease of 328,000 acres from the previous year, or more than 11 per cent. In Ireland there was s fractional increase for the year, and the total area in the Uni'ed Kingdom was 3.056.000 acres, which shows a decreasewr •4 326000 acres, or nearly 10 per cent., from 1878.