WELLINGTON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 5, Issue 281, 21 June 1865, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

THE LATE BOAT ACCIDENT. An inqcest was held at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, at Barrett’s; Hotel, before Dr. Boor, Coroner, and Jury, on view of the body of James Goodrich, an able seaman on board the Chapman, who was drowned on the afternoon of Sunday last, by the capsizing of a boat. The Eev, Benjamin Selig was chosen foreman, and the jury being sworn, went to the Police Statipn.to examine the body. On their return, the examination of witnesses for the identification commenced. William Charles Russell, the only survivor of the boat’s crew, recognised the body as that, of James Goodrich, a seaman on board the. 1 ship Chapman, and one of his companions on the boat sailing expedition oh Sunday. He explained the accidei t that occurred, as follows:—“ I, and four others, William Walters, the ship’s cook} James Goodrich, -A.8.; William Cox, a boy 19 ; James Way, the carpenter; went out for a sail on Sunday last, the 11th June. Shortly after we left the ship, winch was'between 11 and ;12 o’clock in the forenoon,, .the step of onr mast carried away, and we were obliged to go on shore to repair it. ; After we done so, we placed some stones for ballast in our boat,, and stood over towards Soames’ Island. We had tacked and were .standing back towards the ship, the boat was taken by a sudden puff of wind, and put on her beam ends. I advised my companions to take an oar apiece and swim on shore, which was distant between two and three miles, hut they would not. They all but the carpenter said they could swim, and a few minutes after, the accident the boy Cox started to swim ashbre 1 without An oar. I followed him soon after with one, leaving the other three standing on one gunwale of the' boat and holding on to the other! I saw none of those three again alive. About half an hour before I struck the beach I saw the boy Cdx swhning for the shore, he said nothing but tnrned to look at me, 1 waved my hand for him to go on. I

never saw him after. I got on shore on the far point of Evans’ Bay about sunset, and then looked seaward but saw nothing. I followed the beach round until I came to Sir Eowe’s house near the slip, where I gave information of the accident to Mr Rowe, who. accompanied by another man, started on horseback round the beach, and I came on to town, where I at once gave information at the Police Station, went on board my ship in a waterman's boat, and about 9 o’clock again started for Evans’ Bay in search of my companions. There I saw Mr Rowe still busy searching, but without success. He had made up a number of fires which were burning I saw that the ship’s boat had washed on shore, but the bodies of none of my comrades, after which I again returned on board. Edward Butler, a licensed waterman, residing in [the town, corroborated the latter portion of the statement made byi’the last witness, as regarded the search for the missing seamen, the measures adopted for guiding them on shore, and the discovery of the boat on her beam ends, with the mast stepped and the sail bent. Constable Edward Elannagan gave evidence as to bis having been sent to Evans’ Bay to bring in the body, and stated that he found two pea jackets, a cap, and shoe, lying on the beach. He farther aided that he first saw the body lying face uppermost on the beach, the right arm extended, cold and stiff. The verdict of the jury was “accidentally drowned by the capsizing of a boat.—W. Independent.