View report page

69
dealt with the question, and arrived at conclusions on which
they based a variety of recommendations, which were fully
set out in my annual report for 1894 (page 70). These
recommendations having been approved by the Council, the
Public Control Committee were "authorised to attend as a
deputation before the Lord Chancellor in support of the
amendment of the law relating to coroners' inquests in the
County of London, in accordance with the recommendations"
referred to; and were directed to "urge the advisableness of
paying a juryman a sum sufficient to compensate a workman
for actual loss of time incurred in performing that public duty,
and of making it compulsory that coroners' juries should be
summoned by rota" Subsequently the Council adopted a
report of the Committee, recommending that "where the jury
have been chosen strictly in rotation from persons in the
parish eligible for service, there may be paid to each person
summoned, but not exceeding 15 persons in all, two shillings.
This fee is for each attendance, irrespective of the number of
inquests the juror serves upon, and is to be paid only when
the juror applies for payment." The recommendation took
effect on the 1st April, 1898.
INQUESTS.
Two hundred and sixty-seven inquests were held on
parishioners, including 39 at places without the parish, mostly
at public institutions to which the deceased persons had been
removed for treatment. The cause of death is stated to have
been ascertained by post-mortem examination in 135 cases.
Thirty-two inquests were held on the bodies of non-parishioners
who had died in Kensington. All of the inquests in
the parish were held at the coroner's court at the Town Hall.
It is now some years since an inquest in Kensington was held
at a public house.