EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 23, 1886_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I return without approval House bill No. 7162, entitled "An act granting
a pension to Martha McIlwain."
R.J. McIlwain, the husband of the claimant, enlisted in 1861, and was
discharged in 1862 because of the loss of his right leg by a gunshot
wound. He was pensioned for this disability. He died May 15, 1883, from
an overdose of morphia. It is claimed by the widow that her husband was
in the habit of taking morphia to alleviate the pain he endured from his
stump, and that he accidentally took too much.
The case was investigated by a special examiner upon the widow's
application for pension, and his report shows that the deceased had been
in the habit of taking morphia and knew how to use it; that he had been
in the habit of buying 6 grains at a time, and that his death was caused
by his taking one entire purchase of 6 grains while under the influence
of liquor.
In any event it is quite clear that the taking of morphia in any
quantity was not the natural result of military service or injury
received therein.
I concur in the judgment of the Pension Bureau, which rejected the
widow's claim for pension on the ground that "the death of the soldier
was not due to his military service."