ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 701, 29 December 1909, Page 5

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

T_ j TATALEPT AT THE WHARF, t As preparations wero being made yes- ' terday morning at tho Taranaki Street j wharf for tho discharge of coal from tho ' steamer Rakauoa to tne l hnlk Oceolo, tho I foreman ganger, Charles Brian, fell down the hold of the- hulk, and dislocated his J ufek. It was a drop of 20 or 30 feet. J Dr. Gilmer was summoned, and he pro- ' noimood tho man to bo dead. - ' The acoident ooourred at about 11 ' o'clock, when a tramway on which tho 1 coal baskets v.ere to be run, was being ' hoisted into place between the two ves- < sols. It swung round towards deceased, > who was direoting operations, and, as he stepped back to avoid it, he tripped ' over a plank and foil headlong into the ] hold. ! Brian, who was about 60 years of age, had been for a long time in the employ of the Union Steam Ship Company. Ho was a steady and industrious worker, and leaves a wife and five ohildron, two of whom are infants They reside at No. 2 Martin Square* , Tho bodj was conveyed to the morgue, where an inquest will bo held at 10.30 o'clock this morning. A DENTIST'S DEATH. (By Telegraph —Frees Association.} Auckland, December 28 An inquest was held to-day on the death of Wm. F. Butters, dentist, whose body tvos found in his rooms ■on Monday morning under circumstances that indicated that death was-due to oyanida ' poisoning. A cousin of deceased stated that ho could adduco no reason for deceased taking his life., Ho might have been worried bj tivo sisters leaving him Sergeant Ferguson stated that among deceased's papers was a domand for j iilOO, but his bank-books showed he | could almost meet this, and his business seemed to bo returning a large profit The jury expressed the opinion that the demand was,not sufficient to drive deceased to suicide, and suggested that ho might have taken the draught in mistake. In vie.w of the laok of direct evidence that deceased intentionally took | tho poison, the jury, in their verdict ex-< pressed the opinion that there was not > sufficient evidence to show under what oiroumstances the poison was taken. TWO YOUNG WOMEN DROWNED. Stratford, December 28 Jcssio Burgess, aged Si, and Ada Chcor, aged 16, were sitting on the bank of the llangaehu River, near Toko Eoad, when both slipped into the river and were drowned. , y OUT 'WITH THE GUN. ' , Dunedln, 'December 28 William Lynch, hotelkceper, Hyde, while out rabbit-shooting on Sunday, accidentally shot himself His .injuries re sdlted fatally yesterday, SEVERE MOTOR ACCIDENT. Hastings, December 28. A motor-car was coming last night from tho Potano races, when it capsized through cbllidmg with a gig. G. B. Mlvay and James Landells were stunned, H. Hickoy was dashed on to his neck and his jaw was broken, H, F. Andrews had a rib broken,' and it i» feared is injured'internally, and H. F. and Trevor Wollwood sustained shock. Tho occupants of the gig were uninjured. , FOUND DEAD. ' Ashburton, Decembm: 28. John Small, of Wheatstone, one of tho oldest settlers in Ashburton county, and a well-known horsebreedor, was found dead m his bed this morning. It is supposed the cause of death was heart disease, but an inquest will be held. STEANGE OCCURRENCE. _ Pahiaiua, December 28. A man named Scrimshaw, about sixtythrco years ot age, was found dead outside the Library Hall, at Mangatainoka laiit night A superficial examination of the body disclosed a wound on'the head, bjt whother it had been received as tho result of foul play or of an accidental fall, there is nothing at present to show. The district coroner has been communicated with, and an inquest will probably be held. Rotoriid, December 28. The man Wiggs, who attempted to commit suicide bn Christmas Day, is still alive, and the case is considered not altogether hopeless, f ' , DIED IN TICB STBEET. '' Christchurch, December 28. GeoTge Piper, sixty; sit years of age, a resident of hjdenham, fell down dead yesterday afternoon in tho street while out walKing with his daughter. At the inquest the medical evidence was to the eftect that tho symptoms pointed to heart disease, and a verdict was returned accordingly. Docoased, who had a family of nine, was a bnckiuakor by trade. FOUND ON A ROAD. Christchurch, December 28. A man named Thomas Breading, about thirty years of age, was found lying dead lon Head Bond, near Baknia, this morning. It is believed that ho fell from his horse and sustained injuries to which > ho succumbed. '