THOMAS WILLIAMSON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 8, Issue 451, 13 September 1866, Page 5

THOMAS WILLIAMSON.

Ak inquest was held at the Meanee Hotel at three p.m. on Friday, 7th instant, before T. Hitching*, Bsq., and s jury, touching the death of ThomaWilliamson. The following jurymen were duly sworn : ■ —James Hallett (loreman), Hector Peacock, W. Hill, Neil MTieoci, A. Tod, William Harper, John Bennett, Thomas Callaghan, Qvorge Clark, John Beattie, Joseph Shirley, and Thomas Shirley, sei. The (Joeonee said that it was a melancholy occasion—as, indeed, all coroners’ inquests were melanc; oly—on yvluch they were met together, viz., to inquire into the causes which brought about the death of aa old man and respected settler, Mr Thomas Williamson. The evidence, he was sorry to say, was very meagre; but from what he had heard, he was of opinion that deceased had met his death from natural causes. There ■were rumors to the effect that deceased had killed himself through drinking; and they would find that he had been drinking hard for some time.

As he had before remarked, the evidence was very meagre j but such as it was, the jury would hear, and all they had to do was simply to give in their verdict in accordance with what they heard. He would now trouble them to view the body. The jury having viewed the body, the following evidence was taken:— Henby Smith Inge am, being sworn, deposed ; I am barman at the Meanee Hotel, and reside at Meanee. I knew deceased. Ho was in the habit of frequenting the Meanee Hotel—very much so during the last ten or twelve days previous to being missed. I saw him last on Friday, 31st ult. The night previous he had been very ill—vomiting, &c. I did not see him vomiting, but he told me he had been. I saw him on Friday morning, and asked, “Well, Williamson, how are you this morning? ” He said, “ Not very well, but much better than I felt last night.” He slept at the Meanee Hotel on Thursday night. I always took particular notice of deceased, and observed that he was falling away very fast. I passed a remark to him on Thursday to the effect that I thought that would be his last spree. He said no, as he was going home, and that then he would recover. He left Mr Money’s on Friday. He said he was going home, and that he would soon get all right._ When he was going a.vay, he asked me to give him some glasses of grog in a bottle. This I refused to do, and he then went away. I did not notice which direction he took. William Heslop, being sworn, deposed:—l am a settler, residing at Puketapu. I knew deceased. I have seen the body, and identify it as that of Thomas Williamson. Having heard that he was missing, I went in search of him on Thursday morning about nine o’clock. I was accompanied by a young man named James Grace, in my father’s employ. After about an hour’s searching we found the body. It was in a gully between Mr James Shirley’s house and the cutting on the Puketapu-road. Deceased was lying on his back, with his left hand on his breast, and looked as if he was sleeping. I did not notice whether he had anything under his head for a pillow. 1 did not see any bottle near where deceased’s body lay. He had all his usual woiking clothes on with the exception of his cap. 1 saw no marks of violence on the body. I do not think he had been long dead, as the body looked quite fresh. Immediately after finding the body, I acquainted Mr Shirley with the fact, and then rode to town and gave information to Inspector Scully. By the Foreman.—l did not seo any marks near where the body lay to lead me to think that deceased had been straggling. Hesey Shieley, being sworn, deposed : —I am a settler, residing at Puketapu. I knew deceased. He waa-my father-ia-law. He had been occupied on the roads for the last fifteen months. I saw him last on Friday, 31st ult., at the Meanee Hotel. Ha was not drunk then, but he had been drinking. I asked him what he was doing there, whereupon he commenced crying, I tried to persuade him to go home j that is, to a whare which he occupied, and which is situated at the foot of the Puketapu hill, near the residence of Mr John Hammond. But ha would not. I have been inside his whare. I examined his whare on the 4th inst., in consequence of my cousin, Joseph Shirley, informing me that deceased could not be found anywhere. I was accompanied by my wife. This was at nine p.m. We found plenty of tea, sugar, bread, &c., in the house; but everything was in a very disorderly state. The door was not locked, but the key was in the lock outside. I saw his Sunday hat there. It being dark, we made no iurther search that night. Next day, after searching over the hills, I again went down to the whare, this time accompanied by my cousin, Joseph Shirley. We found some clean clothes which had been sent to him on Sunday, 2nd inst. They had not been touched. I found his two hats, one of which he used to wear on Sundays, and the other on week days. I said to my eousiu that he must be over the Puketapu hills, and that we should go and look for him, which we accordingly did, but without success. We would appear to have passed within three chains of the spot where he was afterwards found. I afterwards saw him in a gully between Mr James Shirley’s house and the cutting on the Great North Eoad, —having been directed to the spot by William Heslop. I saw no marks of violence on the body. His position was that of a person calmly sleeping. There was some fern under his head, which he had evidently gathered for a pillow. As near as I can say, deceased was 69 years of age. He was subject to apoplectic fits. He had two very severe ones when be lived with me on the Eastern Spit some seven years ago. On Sunday, 2nd inst., deceased was seen by a young woman who lives at my place, named Mary Ann Parker. He was lying on the bed. She had been going to the Catholic Chapel, and called in to leave him some clean clothes which my wife had washed for him. Deceased complained to her of being very poorly, and said he had been drinking too heavily. Before she went away, he got up to make some tea for himself. When I saw the body on Thursday 1 6th inst., it was warm under the arms. I am quite sure of this, for I felt particularly. One of his eyes—l think the left—was partly open. This being all the evidence, — 1 he Coeoneb said it was not necessary for him to detain the jury with any lengthened remarks upon the evidence, as it was very clear that deceased had died from natural causes. His death no doubt, had been accelerated by drinking, but of course they (the jury) need not couple that with their verdict. The jury then, without retiring, returned a verdict to the effect that Thomas Williamson, 69, had come to his death by the “ Visitation of God.”