INQUEST AT LYTTELTON.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 427, 26 October 1875, Page 2

INQUEST AT LYTTELTON.

An inquest was held yesterday, at 3 p.m., at the Canterbury Hotel, Lyttelton, on the body of Captain George Smith, of the barque Coq du Village, who was found dead in his berth on board that vessel on Saturday morning last. Mr E. A. Hargreaves was chosen foreman of the jury. The jury having viewed the body and the captain’s berth in the Coq du Village, where the occurrence took place, the following evidence was taken:—

H. Edmonds sworn, said—l am chief officer of the barque Coq du Village; the deceased was master of the vessel; I was on board on Friday, 220 d; I sleep in the cabin; the other parts of the cabin were occupied by the second mate and captain; I went to bed at 7.30 p.m. on the 22nd; I did not go to sleep; I was reading; I heard deceased come on board, it was about 10 p.m.; he complained of a pain in his leg; he said it was very bad, and had flown into his hips; I said perhaps it was rheumatism, and he said, “ Oh, there’s no rheumatism about me;” this was going into his cabin; I believe deceased was at this time sober; I never saw him drunk; I heard him undress, but nothing more till next morning; next morning I got up about 6.15 a.m., and went forward to see if the cook had the fire alight in the galley ; I found he was not there, and his clothes were gone ; I then went aft to tell the captain of his absence ; I said, “ Captain Smith, the cook’s gone ;” there was no answer, so I repeated the words : I put my head round and looked into the captain’s berth; he appeared at that distance to be lying tranquilly asleep, but there was an unnatural tranquility about the body that made me go in and place my hand on his; 1 raised his hand a little, and let it fall, and saw he was perfectly dead; I also noticed he had what 1 thought was a red and white handkerchief round his head ; I called the second mate, and directed him to go for the police, as I was sure the captain was dead, and went forward and called the crew to see if any of them were absent from the ship ; all were present but the cook, and seemed shocked at what had happened ; I went back to the cabin, lit a candle, -and saw there was a stream of blood running from deceased’s right temple; shortly after this the police came; there was no light in the cabin when I went it; the captain went ashore about dusk the evening before his death ; when he was going I said, “ Hold on a bit, Captain Smith, I’ll put a plank on shore for you’’ He walked lame; he said, “Very well, Mr Edmonds.” I put the plank on shore, and he went on shore over it ; when he got on the wharf he said, “ I have left my light burning in the cabin.” I said, “ I will blow it out.” He said, “ Don’t go down, never mind.” He went down and remained there a minute and a half (about) ; he went ashore then ; I did not notice if the door was locked, and whether the windows were open the next morning. I have been ten months and a half with Captain Smith ; I never knew that he gambled, but have heard so. On Saturday last some of the men came aboad drunk ; I went up and said, “ I wish you would make a little less row.” There was a quarrel, and I pushed some of the men, the captain struck one of the men ; the following morning the captain came on board with a policeman, looking for the man Hall who had struck me, and been struck by the captain ; the disturbance was afterwards hushed up, and the man returned to his duty ; John Raymond, the cook, was on friendly terms, except once, when the cook went ashore against the captain’s will ; the captain was a married man, with a family residing in Newcastle, New South Wales ; he left Newcastle on the 19th of June last; the captain was much ashore there ; I once lent him some money ; in June last he was paying me aboard the ship, and he said, ” Well, I have got some money to take, but it is little, and I am almost afraid to go home.” The inference I drew was, he had been gambling; I lent him some money; he was not much ashore in Lyttelton this time; he was two or three nights ashore ; he- never mentioned he had lost any money to me this time ; he was at Christchurch twice on the 22nd. By the foreman—The captain has not repaid me the money he owed me ; the captain and cook were on good terms before the quarrel about going ashore; for a week before his death the captain seemed quite careless about the ship. John McGorman, sworn, said—l am a detective. About 5.10 am. on Saturday Henry Lockwood, second mate of the barque Coq du Village, came knocking at the police station, stating the captain of that vessel was dead, and the cook ran away ; I went down to the vessel, getting aboard at 5.20 a.m, ; I entered the cabin and saw the captain laying on his left side in his berth, his forehead all covered with blood from a wound over the right temple ; I searched and found the pistol produced lying in the berth close to his right hand ; he was lying with the right hand over the left, and the pistol was lying close to the edge of the berth ; Dr McDonald and Sergeant Maguire arrived at this time ; I searched the cabin and found £SB 10s in his right hand trousers pocket; £SB was in notes, and 10s in silver ; in another trousers pocket, lying on a box, I found a £1 note, half a sovereign, and 3s or 4s in silver ; I counted the money in Sergeant Maguire’s presence and handed it to him'; the body was then conveyed to the morgue ; the window was shut, and fastened inside, but the cabin door was open ; I knew the deceased; I have seen him playing devil’s pool frequently, both this trip and the one before; I saw the captain at 9.30 p.m. on Friday night; he was sober then ; I have several times seen deceased in the billiard room late.

Henry Lockwood, sworn, said—l am second mate of the Coq du Village; I knew deceased ; I went aboard at 9 p.m. on Friday night last, and went to bed shortly afterwards ; I heard the captain come on board ; I think it was about an hour after me ; I heard him speak to the mate and go to his cabin ; I think from his general manner he drank a good deal, but never saw him incapable ; I think he was in liquor that night; I asked him for some money on Friday, and he never answered me ; I heard no unusual noise that Friday night; he came on board at all times : I don’t know if he gambled, but have seen him often playing at billiards in the room belonging to this hotel ; I have never seen the pistol produced before I saw it in your hands (Sergeant Major O’Grady’s), or any other fire arms aboard during the time I was on board the vessel.

By a Juryman—lt is possible that a man might go down into the captain’s berth with out my hearing him. William Mayze, sworn, said—l am a railway porter at Lyttelton ; I knew deceased ;

I have seen him in the Canterbury billiard room ; I have seen him playing billiards and pool there; the last time 1 saw him there was three nights previous to his death ; he was playing pool with George Pierce, but I don’t know what for.

William Pierce, sworn, said—l am ths lessee of the Canterbury billiard room ; I knew the deceased ; he was in the habit of visiting my room for the last twelve months; for a fortnight before his death he used to come into the billiard room nearly every afternoon, and stop till eleven at night; about a week ago he lost £lO in one night ; he used to play with Dr Froggett, of the Thomas S. Stowe, when that vessel was here, and lost about £3O in nine or ten days to him ; he has played with George Pierce ; it was to him he lost £lO. I don’t know if he lost more than £lO any one night. John Newton, sworn, said—l am a railway porter ; I knew the deceased ; I was marking in the billiard room here one night; deceased played with George Pierce and lost £lO that night to him at devil’s pool; deceased was an average player. George Pierce, sworn, said—l knew deceased ; I have played pool with him ; I played last on Wednesday night last, and won about £lO from him ; I have olten played with him before, but never won much from him ; I saw him on Friday night, at 10 p.m., in the billiard room ; I think he was quite sober ; the day after the ship arrived, about a week ago, I saw him slightly intoxicated ; that was the only time ; he was fond of pool, and played often. Once he would not leave a pool to get his vessel berthed. H. D. Manning sworn, said—l am a gunsmith in Christchurch ; I saw deceased on Friday last in my shop at Christchurch ; he came there at 4.30 p.m., and asked if I had a revolver for sale ; I said “ Yes,” and I also had a nice pistol and showed him one like that produced ; he asked me what I wanted for it. and I said 255; he said, “ Tuat will do”; he asked if I had any ammunition for it, and I said “ Yes,” and gave him the box of cartridges produced ; it was then full, there were fifty in it; I charged him 4s for the cartridges, and Is for the licence ; he gave me £2, and I returned 10s change ; he signed the receipt-book produced. Thomas O’Grady sworn, said—l am ser-geant-major of police ; I know deceased ; I saw him on Friday, and noticed the clothes he was wearing ; On the 23rd I searched the cabin, and in the coat pocket he was wearing the previous day I found the letter I produce ; it is dated Lyttelton, October 23rd, and runs as follows:—“ My dear wife —Enclosed is a cheque for £4O. We are discharged, and shall take in ballast for Newcastle on Monday next. With kind love to you and children, I remain, your affectionate husband, Geo. Smith.” The Omeo left for Newcastle that day, and I think he meant to send this letter by her; I know deceased used to gamble every night when in port; I have looked into his books and seen a charterparty between deceased and the New Zealand Shipping Company to the Bluff and back; the amount was £500; I observed in the cashbook on his table his receiving £2OO in Invercargill, and transmitting to his owners £100; on his arrival here on October Bth there are two entries, one showing his receipt of £172 for demurrage, and another £8 balance of freight, after which are two entries with no dates, of his having received £9O and £2O. Mr Gould, of the New Zealand Shipping Company, informed me to-day that he had paid deceased £440 since the charterparty. Henry Dunsford, sworn, said—l am agent for the Coq du Village, and knew the deceased, Captain Smith; I have examined his books, and think from them that deceased was considerably indebted to his owners. Hugh Macdonald sworn, said—l am a medical practitioner; about 5.30 on Saturday morning I was called to see deceased, and found him lying in his berth dead ; I have since made a post-mortem examination of the body ; I found a lacerated perforated wound in the right temple; the temple artery was severed ; on opening the head I found a large quantity of coagulated blood at the base of the brain ; on searching I found the bullet produced lodged in the right side of the cerebellum ; this is the cause of death ; the bullet corresponds with that in the other cartridges ; deceased could have fired the pistol himself when lying in the position in which he was found ; I found the cartridges produced ; the boxwas marked 50 outside ; there was one missing. After a little deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of “ Felo de se whilst in a despondent state.”