INQUEST AT THE AHAURA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1120, 29 February 1872, Page 4

INQUEST AT THE AHAURA.

An inqnest was held at the Court House, Ahaura, before -C. Whitefoord, Esq., coroner, on Monday, 26th February, on the body of Henry Mackintosh, who vrao drowned in the Little Grey River, on Friday, 23rd inßt. The jury having been sworn, Mr Thomas Duncan was chosen to act as foreman. They then proceeded to view the body, which was lying at the building of the Bank of New Zealand, near the Union Hotel. The first witness called was Frederick Hodges, a compositor on the staff of the Grey Valley Times, who identified the body as that of Henry Mackintosh, a printer. The deceased arrived at Ahaura on Tuesday, 20th instant, on his way to Beefton. He worked one day in the office of the Grey Valley Times, and or Friday morning he proceeded on his journey. He was recently employed as an extra hand on the staff of the Grey River Abgus. The deceased went with witness to bathe in the Ahaura River, on Thursday evening, and from certain remarks made by him the witness did not think he could swim. Frank Violich, the ferryman at the Little Grey Junction, said the deceased crossed the river in his ferry-boat on Friday between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. He had some beer and gingerbeer at witness's hotel, and after inquiring the way to Reef ton he resumed his journey. He was perfectly sober. He directed him to keep the right-hand track and to cross the Blackwater Greek, a tributary of the Little Grey, ' which comes into that river about two miles above the junction of the main and the Little Grey rivers. Three men passed upwards that day, before the deceased, but none afterwards. The river was slightly flooded,. but it had gone down considerably by the time the deceased left the junction. Told the deceased that tHe bridge at the Blackwater was washed away, and warned him to bo cautious. Told him also to inquire the road when he came to Johnstone's farm. Alexander M'Hardy, a farmer and cattle-dealer, living at the Mawhera Iti station, about four miles from the Little Grey junction, said that on Saturday morning a packer of Mr James M'lnroe, named Samuel Wilson, came to him where he was harvesting, and told him that he (the packer) had found a dead body lower down the river. After a search he (witness) found the body of the deceased near the second ford from the Little Grey junction. There were no marks but those usually presented by drowned bodies. There was a contusion on the nose. Picked np a hat fifty yards lower down tho river. There was a fresh in the river on Friday night. \ On Friday, at dark, several personspasseddownwardsonhorseback, and they must have passed within a few feet of the body, if it was where it was found. In the opinion of witness the deceased was drowned in the Little Grey, and not in the Blackwater Greek, became if the body had been washed the distance from the Blackwater to where it was found it would be more disfigured. He must havo mistaken the track, and got into the river at a horse-ford. There were two fords between where the body was found and the confluence of the< Blackwater with the Little Grey. Henry Hunter, a constable stationed at Ahaura, said he searched the body, and did not find any marks of violence on it. In the pocketi of the clothes of deceased he found L 3 Is 6d in cash, some documents, a knife and pipe, and other things. He had the body brought from the place where it was found to the Ahaura. This concluded the evidence. The jury enquired if the person who found the body would be called. Constable Hunter said that he was gone to Reeftpn and would not be back till Tuesday. The Coroner said if the jury wished to hear this man's evidence he would adjourn the inquest. The jury did not consider it necessary, and after consultation returned a verdict that the body of the deceased was found on Saturday, the 24th February, on one of the beaches of the Little Grey, and that he was accidentally drowned in attempting to cross a tributary of that river. The foreman requested permission, on behalf of the jury, to append a rider to their verdict, namely—" That in the opinion of this jury much loss of human life might be prevented by the erection of a few judiciously placed fingerposts at the crossings of rivers, to direct foot-passengers." The Coroner said the matter had been under the consideration of the Government for some time. The cost would not be much, but the great objection was the difficulty of maintaining those directionposts so as to be of any benefit. The fords generally shifted after every flood, and a finger-post might be so placed to-day that a traveller might be safely directed across a river, and by to-morrow the ford might change, so that a fingerpost would be worse than useless, because it might cause a person so guided by it to unwittingly rush into destruction; The recommendation of the jury would however be attended to wherever practicable. The funeral took place at the Ahaura on Tuesday evening. The remains were followed to the grave by the staff of the Grey VaUey Times, some of whom had formerly worked with the deceased, and by most of the residents of the town. Mr Whitefoord read the burial service. The deceased was a very fine-looking man, over six feet in stature. Although a stranger to the district every mark of respect was paid to his memory, and most of those present expressed deep sorrow at his untimely end. The arrangements for the funeral were creditably carried out nnder tho direction of Mr Henry W. Young.