NELSON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 527, 21 November 1857, Page 3

NELSON.

RETUBKOF THE EXPIOBINO EXPEDITION TO

'; • "./THE. WE3T .COAST. ■ v.-.-.. [■ The following letter is published in the <6o!dmst?ofNov.S./ -I Sib,—lt is with much regret I have ijo send you the IfplloVing melancholy state--ment of the feiroui#st|a}aces; connected: with theioss bf.CaptainXyers. - . I ; The Ann sailed, from Nelson on Wed-

nesdayjf the- 28tE October,.about 5 p.m., -With a light easterly breeze which/very soonincreased toabrisk gale> and by 4.30 a.mv'oh the: following1 j morningl, it being just day-breaky Separation Pdint bore south and=the'Head at 'the Aorere bore S.W., giving the'-vessel'a'position of about 4 or 5 miles from i The wjnd being due south-east, the^ course N.W. f) Captain Ayers was at* this time standing on the starboard side/ abreast of the companion hatch!, the iriain boom being over to port; Upon his giving the order to the man at the tiller to kSep.ttie vessel a point more to the westward; the man called but to Captain Ayers to-look out, as the mainsail was jibbing, upon which he stooped to let the boom pass over him, but not stopping low enough, the boom struck him on the back, and knocked him bverboardj his heels' Being seen as he fell over the rail. The noise of the jibbing of the mainsail brought Captain Smith on deck, who jump--ed up the main hatch as the man at the tiller was calling out a " man overboard." He immediately ran aft, got the life buoy, and threw it in the direction of Captain Ayers, who called out "all right," in a very cool and distinct manner. By this time all hands were on deck, which could not be more than one minute from the time of his falling overboard. Captain Smith immediately ordered the helm to be put down; the vessel rounded to within 80 yards of Captain Ayers, who was seen struggling in the water by Mr. Baillie, and heard by that gentleman to call out " put the boat over," which was by this time being done. Not more than three or four minutes elapsed till the ;boat was in the water, manned by two seamen, who K pulled towards' Captain Ayers, Captain Smith remaining on board to manage the vessel; In a few minutes the vessel tacked to the' eastward, to pass over the jilace where he fell—the vessel passed abo*;; 20 yards to leeward of the -life buoy j;Jnd boat. In1 about five minutes more, the vessel tacked to the westward, and this time weathered the boat and lifebuoy, bufc-Captain Ayers was not to be seen. The sea being very heavy, and some danger of the boat swam 4 ping, she came alongside, and the vessel continued tacking and bearing down upori the spot for about half-an-rhour after the," accident, and the boat taken on board about; two hours after. ;;- ;

All hopes of recovery now being aban-; doned, the vessel shaped her course for Nelson, but from heavy weather, had to run for the Tata Roads, from which place' she sailed for Nelson, and arrived at the anchorage behind the Arrow Rock on Sunday morningl. The above statement was made to me this'morning by Captain Baillie, Mr. Bailie, Mr. Macdonald, and Capt. Smith, who were at the time on board the vessel.

In addition to the life buoy I gave Gaptain Ayers five portable India-rubber belts, the whole of which were found lying on his bed.

This melancholy accident in the mean! time puts a stop to the exploration of the; West Coast, as the gentlemen declare their; intention of abandoning the enterprize. | I am, Sir, your obedient servant, ] William Akebsten. I Owner of the "Ann."; 2nd November, 1857. i The "Colonist" makes the following! remarks on the above melancholy acci-. dent: — j Scarcely anything has come before the! Nelson public for a long time past wei believe more detrimental and afflicting; thantheloss of the projector of an expedition to the West Coast of the Island.! The object sought to be carried out was; one in which hundreds, perhaps thousands; might ultimately reap, the benefit—new; lands might have been developed and; opened, about which we are at present; completely in the dark; and, whilst soj little country is now saleable or disposable by the Government, new comers from all quarters must, as they have constantly; done, meet with disappointment after dis-; appointment in their search for a new; home. By the failure of the exploration contemplated by the late and lamented Captain Ayers, we fear much delay will take place in the search for this new country; but we yet hope that there are others still in the province whose determined spirit may leaci to a voyage the beneficial result of which may be equally felt, both by themselves and the province; We are hot aware =what Grovermental surveys have been made of tha Western side of tn6 Island, but little of real moment for geiieral information has been added either to,'our knowledge or usefulness relative to the'cptihtry there. It may possibly be a most impracticable coast line to deal with,

or it may be one which will offer to the adventurer an extensive pastoral home, or wealth immeasurable in mineral produce. From the Government itself at present we can expect but little, possessing no means for the purpose of fitting out vessels for such an object. We can therefore only hope that although this first private project has come to so unfortunate an end; that we have yet in store some good men and staunch, willing to risk much in person and pocket, to endeavour to develop that; which calls loudly to be accomplished. A Case of Supposed Poison.—An inquest has been held on the body of Mrs. Pratt, wife of Mr. James Pratt, of Nelson, butcher, who it appears administered arsenic to her in some wine and water, shortly after her confinement. The inquest extended over four days, when the jury returned the following verdict:—" We find that the deceased Hannah Pratt came by her death by an acrid poison; and we are further of opinion that the said poison was administered by her husband, James Pratt."