ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3778, 7 December 1907, Page 3

ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER.

At the inquest at Palmerston on Thursday, touching the death of the girl Lucy Goldfinch, the jury returned the following verdict: — “ That on the afternoon of December 4th the deceased Lucy Goldfinch died at her parents’ residence from injuries received by falling off Emmanuel White’s horse on December 2nd ; and that Emmanuel White contributed to the accident by placing deceased on the horse and neglecting to take proper precautions for her safety. ” A Schoolmate of deceased, Alice Stubbs, described how, when going home from school on Monday afternoon they were induced to have a ride by a man whom she did not know, but whom in Court she identified as being Emmanuel White. The horse’s pace, which atf\|irst was slow, soon became mucßN faster and the two girls slipped off. Her fcofflpamon struck the ground first, and she' .herself fell on top of her. She had never seen the man before, and did fipt know why he was so anxious to ■> give them a ride. A witness of the accident, D. B. Harris,Jstated that the children fell off when the horse began to buck. Another schoolmate, Edwin Lorck, said that when the girls were put on the horse White advised them not to go too fast. Although he was fairly close White did nothing to assist the children after the accident. Charles Dennan said that White to whom he spoke just before the occurrence, was not sober. Emmanuel White, who owned the horse, stated that the pony was perfectly quiet and there was no trouble in getting the children on its back. Its pace was not more than a canter, but the girls lost their balance and fell off backwards. He denied that he was even partially drunk at the time, and said that he had had no misgivings about putting the children on the horse. At first they refused the ride,but later on took their turn after seeing other children do likewise.

The deliberations of the jury occupied an hour, and immediately after the verdict was recorded White was arrested on a charge of manslaughter. He was at once charged with the offence and remanded until Monday morning. He was allowed to go free in the meantime on his own recognisance of £25.