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By Act of Parliament, passed in the fourth year of
the reign of King Edward IV., entitled de officio
coronatoris, and still uniformly acted upon, the following
are specified as cases in which inquests are
required to be held:—
All violent deaths.
All casualties by which death ensues.
All sudden deaths.
Persons found dead, and particularly children whose
deaths are sudden, or occasioned by suspicious or
mysterious circumstances.
Persons dying in prison.
Lunatics who die by suicide.
And felons of themselves.
Besides enquiring into these causes of death,
Coroners have certain other duties, as will be seen
from the following extract, which is taken from an
ancient summary of duties of Coroner by Britton:—
"P. 42.—It also belongs to their office to enquire of ancient treasure
found in the earth, of wreck of the sea, of sturgeons, and of whales when
he shall have notice thereof, and to attach and let to main-prize the
finders, and those who eloign or secrete them, and to enrol and record
their names, and to secure the findings to our use."
It will thus be seen that the Coroner's court is an
institution of great antiquity, and of extensive power ;
but, as sanitarians, what chiefly concerns us is, that the
court sits to ascertain the cause of death, and in order
to arrive at a conclusion medical evidence is usually
taken.
In the existing state of the law it is necessary that
the inquest be held upon what is called a view of