Yesterday (Thursday) an inquest was held at the Railway Hotel, Rushden, by Mr. J. T. Parker, coroner, touching the death of a child five months old, named Charles Henry Pedder, whose parents live at 11, Fletcher-road, off Wash-brook-road, Rushden.

Mr. Litchfield was the foreman of the Jury.

Sophia Pedder, the mother, deposed: The child was in good health up to 5.45 on Wednesday, at which time my husband got up. I went to sleep again, and the baby, as I thought, was sleeping on my arm. At 7.45 I got up to get breakfast, and left the child sleeping in bed as I thought. When I went downstairs I did not look to see if he was breathing. He appeared to be just as usual. My husband came home shortly after eight o'clock and, according to his habit, went upstairs to fetch the baby. He called me and said, "This child's dead". The baby's body was quite warm. I at once called in a neighbour. Mrs. Timms.

Harry Pedder, labourer, the father, said he found the baby lying on the bed on its left side. There were no clothes over the head. He thought it was asleep and did not know there was anything the matter with it until he got downstairs when he noticed that its head

and he saw it was dead.

Mrs. Timms, a neighbour, said that Mrs. Peddar called her in at 8.15. The baby looked as if it had died in its sleep, its knees being drawn up a little. The body was warm. Witness thought the child had had convulsions. On Monday she saw the baby in the carriage and its face twitched peculiarly. The parents appeared to be very fond of the child, which was well looked after.

Dr. Baker said he knew the child, which was a healthy one. At 8.30 on Wednesday morning he was sent for and found the child dead. There were no marks of violence. Apparently the child had died from slow suffocation. It might have had convulsions, but no signs existed. The child had been dead over an hour when he saw it. It must have been dead when the mother got up. The suffocation might have been caused by gentle pressure against the mother.

The jury returned a verdict of "Accidentally suffocated".