CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 232, 27 February 1865, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Hawke's Bat/ Times.

Sin, —In your last issue you have noticed an inquest that was held by me, at Porangahau, on Thomas Lamb. I beg to inform you that the true verdict returned by the jury was, “ that the deceased died from natural causes (or disease) accelerated by the abuse of ardent spirits .” I beg that you will correct in your nest paper the previous notice given by yourself, as neither myself or the jury wished to cast such a slur on the memory of the deceased as contained in the notice of the inquest now rendered in your paper. —I remain, &.c., CHARLES E. ENGLISH, Coroner, Waipukurau District. Waipukurau, Feb. 22, 1865.

[Wc exceedingly regret that an inaccuracy should have found place in our notice of this case, which, however, was not “given by ourself,” but furnished to us by a party upon whom we thought wc might rely. Had an official raporl of the inquest been furnished by the coroner to either of the Hawke’s Bay papers, it would not have occurred, and we think that this course ought to be followed, as there is always some uncertainty attaching to unofficial reports. There is, however, one point in the above that requires a passing word, and that is the bearing of the verdict of a coroner's jury upon character. It is not any part of the duty of such jury to consider whether their verdict {vere dictum) will “cast a slur on the memory of the deceased” or not, yet there is good reason to fear that such considerations as that are too often permitted to modify the verdict given.— Ed. JT. B. T.]