AN INQUEST

Hokitika Guardian, 4 April 1921, Page 4

AN INQUEST

At the inquest on the boy Lloyd George Pascoe who was aceidcutallj shot at Reef ton, a verdict was returned that deceased was accidentally killed while handling a loaded revolver, which went off, inflicting a wound that caused e( Ids death on March 30, 1921. The evi- . donee showed Mr and Airs Pascoe with • their children, arrived at the office front j their residence, which is about three | miles out of Reefton. Mrs Pascoe left the boy (Lloyd George) at the office with liis fa titer, while she, with the little girl, went down the street to do some shopping. Mr Pascoe had occasion to leave the office on business, and left his son at tlie office with his clerk | (H. K. Hawken). While the latter was doing some work the unfortunate child, who was in his father’s private room behind the one where Hawken was working, opened a drawer of the desk and took out a loaded revolver, which -his father carried when taking the pay to the Inglewood mines. Hawken heard a report from the hack room, and, on going to see the cause of it, found the little chap lying dead on the floor, with blood running freely from his mouth. He immediately rang up the bo> s father, who was at Dr Coition's, and • informed him of the tragedy. On 1 making investigations it was found that < the bov bad taken two cartridges from i the revolver, and was evidently tiding i to take out a third one when the hammer must have sprung hack, and caused li the cartridge to go off. Dr (onion deli posed that there was a wound in the t J chest near the breastbone and in the nj third itereostal space about the size ot i-' n threepenny piece, and he found the . j child dead when summoned. H. K. f . Hawken (clerk at the office) stated s while at work, with the child in the a middle of the room, he heard a report, >- and turned round and saw deceased s lying on the floor between the two ir offices. He picked him up and carried is him into tlie third room and ran lor il assistance. He rang up Dr Conlon and told him Mr Pascoc’s hoy was shot. The revolver was at deceased’s feet ic when witness went to him. There were a I two cartridges on the chair. Witness al put the revolver on the chair but did it not examine it. The drawer in which •t the revolver was kept was never locked, ic lint the revolver was kept at the hack of u j' ii. Witness did not see tin* dele censed with the revolver in his posses'll sion.