INQUEST.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 77, 27 May 1881, Page 2

INQUEST.

— «, An inquest was held at Mr Howe's Family Hotel, before R. Ward, Esq., Coroner; oa Wednesday last, on the body of a colored man, named William Adams, who had been found dead in a house occupied )>y him, situated at Ihakara's Bend. The fallowing evidence was taken : — Thomas Lawlor deposed— l am a sailor residing: at Foxton ; about three o'clock yesterday afternoon I went to enquire the way down to the bt>ach ; the door of the house was partly open ; I knocked at the

door, and receiving no answer, I pushed the door open aud saw a man lying in front of the fireplace ; at first I took him to. be asleep, and put my hand on his shoulder to shake him, I said " Wake up, old man, and show me the road ;" the coldness of the body led ma to believe it was a corpse ; I lifted an old cloth that was lying over his face and shoulders, to make certain he was dead, and replaced it ; I looked into the other rooms, and found no one there ; I then came on and reported the matter to the constable, and accompanied that officer to where the corpse was ; I believe it was a wooden house, and four rooms in it ; there was nothing there to lead me to bejievc there had been foul play ; I noticed in the room to the left from where the body lay some carpenter's tools and a chest of drawers ; there was a little honey on the mantelpiece in the room where the -corpse was lying ; I did not see any water or any kind of food other than the honey referred to ; the body was nearly nude ; I took dejceased to be a West Indian native. By the Foreman — There were a few ashes in the fireplace ; they appeared to have been burned a few days previously. By Police -I assisted constable to examine the clothes of the deceased ; there was the remains of an old letter and an awL John Turner, ferryman, deposed— l am working at the Foxton ferry ; I have seen deceased a good many times ; I went with Constable M'Anulty to fetch the body ; it was at the house known as' "Ihakara's cottago ;" we saw the man lying there in the room witli his face towr.rds the fireplace, the body had no clothes on at all hardly ; it waa partly covered by a tablecloth ; from the look of the fireplace there had not been a fire for a day or two ; I helped to bring the body to town, I could not Bay whether there were any bruises on the body ; I Baw no appearance of a scuffle, and nothing to lead me to think there had been foul play ; I looked in the other rooms ; there was nothing much in them, excepting a few tools ; there was no food nor water about ; I saw a little honey ; the weathet has been very cold the last three or four nights ; I saw the constable take a piece of paper and a brad awl out of an old coat ; I crossed the deceased last on the 15th inst., he appeared all light then. Constable M'Anulty deposed — The witness Lawlor reported to me finding the body of a man at 4.30 'yesterday; I proceeded to a cottage at Ihakara's Bend, about three miles from Foxton ; I went into the cottage, and found the body of Adams lying on his left side close to the fireplace, his head resting on the left band, and his right arm lying across the body ; an . old tablecloth was thrown over his shoulders, and his trousers were partly off, and no boots or stockings on ; he appeared to have ou an old sugar bag for a shirt, *nd something like an old flannel round his loins ; the body was lying on an old mattras, and a sort of pillow was under the head ; it presented the appearance as if the man had gone to sleep there ; there was no appearance of -violence having been used or of any scuffle having taken place ; I made a careful examination of the house and deceased's clothing ; 1 found three or four sheets of blank paper and a letter from Dr Buller to T. Bevan about some flour seeds ; the body did not present the appearance of contortion, and was lying in a very natural manner as if asleep. By Foreman— l have known deceased more than 15 years ; he always camped near Maoris, and appeared to live on them. By Coroner — About three months ago, during some conversation, he told me he was 53 years of age, and a native of America. Hamuera te Whatuiti (interpreted by Mr Baker) deposed —I live ac Foxton, and knew the deceased man William Adams ; he lived at Ihakara's house ; there are no people living close to the house ; I saw him alive on Thursday last, after dinner, at the Maori //« ;he looked unwell then ;he came to our place, but we did not talk to him ; he looked ill, and when he came he laid down, and did not seem inclined to talk ; that was the last time I ' saw him. Alexander Barber, a duly qualified medical practitioner residing at Foxton, deposed — I have made a -post mortem examination of tUe body of the deceased William Adams ; I found the cause.ef death was pericarditis ; he h d been suffering from chronic inflammation of the lungs and pleuritis with effusiou ; I have no hesitation in saying that the cause of death was what I have described ; pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium or covering of the heart ; there was food in the stomach and intestines ; deceased had not died of starvation ; he might have died from exposure ; the deceased organs had been like that for at least a week previous to death; the state of the organs was quite enough to account for the cause of death, accelerated by exposure. By Coroner — I made a careful examination of the body, and found no contusions or inark-s of violence thereon. The C iroiier briefly summed, up and the Jury returned a verdict " That the deceased came by his death from natural causes, accelerated by exposure." The Coroner then thanked the Jury for their attendance, and remarked that on the occasion of his first inquest he was glad to have had the assistance of so intelligent a jury- ______ _ _