CORONER’S INQUEST.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 117, 15 October 1873, Page 3

CORONER’S INQUEST.

An inquiry info the cause of the death of John C deuhead was held on Saturday evening, Uclooer IL, at the Victoria Hotel, before Captain iovey, Coroner. rile inquisition war held af (ho request of Mr Hopkuis Clarke, in consequence of it having been reported^to him that deceased met with his d- ath from violence whilst in the hands of the police. . Ph® following gentlemen were sworn in as a J“ r 7 : ~ Meßßrs Remington (foreman), J C Young, iitzgibbon, Conway, Morrison, Redmond, Connor, I* itzpatrick, Coates, Cummings, Howard, and Captain Chadwick. Hie loltowing evidence was adduced Robert Bortiiwick, sworn, deposed : This day fortnight, between 8 and 9 o’clock p.m., the deceased knocked at the front door of my ftouso; Mr Me Roberts opened it, and deceased stopped in ; he asked Me Roberts bis name, and ho told bun ; I was lying in bod ; bo turned to me, and said “It is you, Bortbwiek, that I wimt;’’ got him to go out of the house; I toid Mcßobcrts to go for the police; 1 did not know deceased ; Sergeant Naden and Mr Roll took deceased in charge; during the time ho was at my house no one laid a hand upon him to hurt him j 1 sent for the police because he was making a disturbance at my place j the deceased went away quietly with the police ; whilst Me Huberts was away the deceased was outside cursing and sweating ; I never gave the deceased in charge. liy Mr ioung : I inferred, from the deceased being the only person outside, that it was the deceased who was swearing. By Mr Morrison : Do you remember seeing the deceased at my bar and having a drink with him? I do not recollect him.

Robert Moßoborts, sworn, deposed ; This day fortnight, between 8 and 9 p. in., a knock came to the door j I opened it, and saw a tall, good-looking man stand there ; he asked my name ; on nsy telling him, he said, “ It’s not you I want ho stopped into the door and said, “ It’s you . Rorth wick, I want j” Mr Dawson and X then persuaded him to go out ot tho house ; JBorthwick told me to go for the police, as it was no use being humbugged j previous to going for the police, we got him to go outside tho gate, and I shut it; I then went for the police; I mot Mr Borthwick’s eon coming home, and I sent him for the police ; on returning I found deceased talking to Dawson outside the gate; in about three minutes Sergeant Baden and Roll came up, and Rell asked if deceased was tho man ; Sergeant Naden arrested him in tho Queen’s name; deceased moved off quietly with tho police. By Mr Mouzies (through tho Coroner) I was perfectly sober that night. To jurymen: Deceased appeared to bo under the influence of drink; the cause of giving the deceased in charge of police was that, to my mind, he was mad and would not leave ; I am not aware of there having been any transactions between tho deceased and Mr Borthwick. William Dawson, sworn, deposed ; I was outside the gate of Mr Borthwick’s house on tho night in question ; Moßoborta was sober on that night as far as i could see ; deceased offered to fight me. '

By Mr Young : I was not inside the house or gate, nor did I assist MoEoberts to get deceased outside ; I am a little deaf j if deceased had been cursing and swearing I ought to hare heard it, bnt I ceftainly beard none ; X did not see any violence used towards deceased.

John Menzies, sworn, deposed; The deceased told me he had seven glasses of rum on the Saturday in question j I never saw the deceased take a drop of liquor in my life j I know of no reason to cause the deceased to indulge in drink on that day 5 in conversation since the deceased told me ho could not think why ho wont to Borthwick’s house on the night in question j the only acquaintance he had with Borthwick was on the occasion of borrowing some putty from him, and he considered himself under an obligation to Mr Borthwick ; deceased did not know in the morning whore Borthwick s house, and I had to point it out to mm; whilst attending him during his illness, deceased made use of the following words—- ‘‘ Th °y hurt me awful that timei” on the Monday night he complained greatly of pain in the small of his back ; his attendants were applying hot cloths to his back, which deceased said was the only relief from pain ; speaking in a general way, deceased said ho had been greatly knocked about j we were talking about his arrest when deceased made use of the above words. Sergeant Kadon, A.C', deposed : On the night of the 27th September I was in the Tauranga Hotel when deceased came in j he appeared to be under the influence of drink; about two hours after Mr Kell came in, and said there was a madman up at Borthwick’s place ; we proceeded to Borthwick s place j I saw deceased standing near the fence ; after a conversation with Borthwick, I arrested prisoner on a charge of being drunk and disorderly ; Kell and myself lead him away ; when near Mr .Bloyd’s house, deceased refused logo miy further, and it was as much as we could do to prevent him getting away ; deceased was a very powerful man ; to prevent my clothes being torn, X asked Bell to hold him whilst I took off my coat; 1 took my coat oft' and threw it over Mr Floyd a fence ; after a short struggle, he commenced to walk in the direction of the lock-up; persuasion having no effect, wo had to use such force as pulling; below the redoubt, deceased again attempted to escape ; deceased either threw himself down or we pushed him down, and wo then handcuffed him ; Kell then went to the redoubt for further assistance j partly by force and partly by persuasion X got deceased on his legs, and when we met Kell the deceased and I were walking up towards the redoubt; when put in the ceil he refused -to take his boats off; Constable lleid and 1 went in, and wo laid him down on some blankets and took his boots off; during the whole of the struggling between deceased, myself, and Detective Kell, deceased was never tripped, thrown violently, struck, or kicked by me or by Kell to the best of my belief; X considered deceased was mad either with excitement or drink; wo were some time conveying him to the lock- up.

Bj Mr Menziea : There is a ring fixed in the floor of the cell; deceased was not thrown on that ring , deceased was not violent when I arrived at I arrested him when 1 went up for being drunk and disorderly

■Detective Roll corroborate ~\nfc evidence m the main „oios. fc , * Seagwnt 4T«den wont / 1 * remained outside tl --nco with' deceased said, “ I (meaumg in, wolf) Had belted Nado.fr f.f kt T b t h 1 d b e«er shy until Sergeant JJ,, J‘1 uruod J returned shortly after- ™ * nl * r ™f> d ? on pacing th/Maori n cailV ° f ° Ul ° Maori Freeman to follow bo mlmd»r w r tta# '“ tuncC - aad $ under went t! a ’ y S °T m ? MS or , oth(3t, » deceased hand mi,r /•’ K ’ <M \ ,ld ; w hen on the ground wo s£fc i „ > 1 1 McU ' tb^l * and Dawson, as nnVh* 1 d - l,ut | g0 ‘ weru rtubor i deceased could ,njl ™ Wl * ile Wio d toadtidled , Naden did not arrest deceased when wo iirst went up j at tho tune deceased said ”1 had bettor go, ho had not boon arrested j I did not detain deceased j if deceased had walked away I should not hare detained him , whilst Naden was king ofl his coat I held deceased by his coat slooTcs; I did not press my knoo into his back. Frederick W. Armitage, A. 0., sworn, deposed tnr-“ 0t ? b r r f f ‘ ha J R °y ftl Oon °g & of Surgeons, a fS“ W *fr d Wednesday, Ist October ; I found him suffering principally from an affectum of the head i he talked a deal of nonsense, but had lucid intervals $ the first few days of my attendance ho complained a good deal of pum in his back j I examined part, and found a small swelling about siea of a pennyj it was rod and tender j it got well in a few day# tinder f w ? rm applications, which had been applied before I saw him j deoeaeod also Buffered wl k 8C “ ar pam ? ftU over body, especially Hie legs, he was restless and fidgetty at nights. ai ft time » uarcoUos had Inil„ .hi f reot m P roduoin K ®lwp; hia intellect , worße and worse j ho took a i,n J j hW f f? end3 a « d wife, and wanted to get l ° dieatl, f hb mental condition was getting worse j he was very feverish at time TmLd SSW bl w b , Ut kl i afc improved until Tuesday or Wednesday, when I found him in state or violent fever ; I then suspected that the cause of illness was continued fever, ami inquired of his wife if any rash had made ita appearance i there was none j next morning rash was observed ; the delirium increased, and ho gradually sank ; when I first saw him, the deceased was far gone xa illness } there were not sufficient marks on hia body to account for his severe illness i my attention was called to a rupture on his loft side, which 1 examined, and found'nothing in ft to cause death so much so that I did not proceed to reduce the rapture, as everything regarding his bowels was regular while in his then state of health j I believe tho cause of hit death was typhoid fever, and that hia drinking, arrest, confinement, and exposure did not tend to do him aa y B°°d j I noticed on Friday morning a rash which ©mifirmed my opinion that it was typhoid fever ; J formed that opinion about three day* before his death ; my first impression was that deceased was suffering from mania, caused by drinking, hi» subsequent arrest, &a. ; my attention was called to a braise on his back on the first or second day of my attendance; the rupture was pointed out to mo afterwards j as far as could bo seen without examination, there wore no marks or bruises whatever j in all probability the bruise on the back was caused by a fall on a stone or some such substance j I do not think a kick or a blow caused the rupture s the most nrobable cause would be a violent strain j there was no marks of a blow upon tho body j I did not refuse to give a certificate of death. John Menxios, re called, deposed : On Saturday, October 11, at 2.11 a»nx., John Cadoahead died at Tauranga. This -concluded the ovidorce. Twelve of the jury, after a consultation of nearly two hours, returned the following verdict: ** 1 hat the deceased John Oadenhead died at Tauranga on the 11th October, and there is no evidence to show that ho came by hia death from other than natural causes.” The thirteenth juryman, Mr J. T, Morrison, refused to sign the verdict.