INQUEST.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 271, 16 May 1874, Page 3

INQUEST.

An inquest was held on Monday last at Swinburn farm, the properly of Joseph Preston, Esq., ; before H. A. Stratford, Esq., coroner," touching the origin of a fire, by wnich two oat stacks were destroyed. William Sutherland, a shepherd, deposed , that xbout nine o'clock on the evening of the 7th, as he was going across the yard to go to bed, he saw a and discovered some of the stacks were on fire. He called out the other men, who came at, once with him to try and put it out. He. left them there, and rode off to Longlantls Station to inform Mr. Preston. He had seen no stranger's about the place all day, but had heard the dogs, barking about an hour before the fire took place. John Smith, a laborer oh the farm, corroborated the evidence of last witness, and said that the dogs had been barking very much about half an hour before the. fire, but that he had not- gone out as he thought they might have been barking at some horses that came about sometimes.

Jo. : n Malleoli, on being sworn, stated that about half past eight on Thursday! evening, while sitting in his own ho-. Tel ,: the groom Watson remarked that he could see smoke rising near Preston's farm. He (the groom) then rode" off to see if anything was the matter. Shortly after returned, and reported that Preston's stacks or houses were on fire. The witness then, in company with the groom, rode off to Preston's farm. Found tw.o stacks blazing. Several of Mr. Preston's men were about, with whom he joined in trying to beat the fire back from the untouched stacks.

James Henry Preston gave evidence that Sutherland the shepherd cauie to Longlands Station about half past nine on the evening of the 7th, and informed him that the stacks were on fire, and that he at orce, with his brother John, his father, and Mr. Buckhurst galloped down to Swinburn farm, and set to work to save the other stacks. There were eight stacks altogether, insured at a £IOO each. The two destroyed were worth £248 together. The" other 1 six were uninjured. The verdict was that on the 7th day of May, 1874, two stacks of oats on Swinbura'farm were totally destroyed by fire, and that some person' or persons unknown to the jurors feloniously, wilfully, and maliciously set fire to the aforesaid stacks, and by which fire- the said slacks were destroyed.