INQUEST ON THE RIMUTAKA RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 72, 18 September 1880, Page 2

INQUEST ON THE RIMUTAKA RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

OUB SPECIAI BEPOBT r : • On Monday and Tuesday Dr Spratt, of G-reytown, cqrner, held an inquest at the; Empire Hotal, Grey town, on the, bodies of Miii Pha.r.izyn and Master Nicholas. The following g sntlemen ware sworn m as jurmen : — Hen,ry Bunny, M.H.R. (foreman) Walter Synnott Cebham, Joseph Cundy^ William Cundy, Jamas Donald, John Feast, Joseph Fellingham, Walter ■ Fry, William Knott, Charles . M'Shane, John f^, Oakley, Willam P. Robins, Heibept J,. Williams, Samuel Nennell, WiJlianvTpogood and John W. Laimbeert. - V X }■_ Henry H. Spratt, surgeoit, residing atGrey town, testified to, the cause of death of the deteased Ida Phawtzyn and : P. J. Nicholas, describing the nature of the injuries inflicted- - . -„.....,.. . James Quinn, sworn, said : I reside m Greytown, and left by the 8.15 a.m. train to go to Wellington, on the 11th of September, 1880, with my wife and fire chiV. dren. When ascending" the incline between the two tunnels, the first thing I noticed - was that the carriages was off the line. I was, m the. first carriages.'! noticed the first iwo carriages went of the line together I said to the parties m the carriages '-'Keep quiefc and ; : stop/ where : you are.'* I then called out to Mr. 6sborne, the gua.t'd, I as.ke(i' his. and he thought it best for. them- to get out of the carriages. The carriages went down about 50ft. over an embankment. , : . I think, that this precipice might.be 50t)fk to 'the bottom. The three passenger- carriages would bare fallen down the entire embank-, ment if the first carriages had notvgat embedded m the ground. I was at the! time thrown, down, the incline some 50ft. - I sawthe. bodies, of th> deseaaed jd&Pharagn and Francis J. Nicholas after they had besn brought up from this incline. I noticed the wind at the time. I do not think it was sufficient to hare'- overthrown the. carriages, I hare often: experienced winds: much stronger. I aoticed aswe were paising along some gravel , falling. , down Jbhe face of the side cutting we: wer« passing. James Montgom.eyy-ra man living at IVJataraua, Greytown— told me hesaw that the driT^r, and stoker o£: the. engine, ifhich was taking us up the \Qolint.had, » bottle of brandy with them on the. engine. He, said they were new hands. When I took notice of the wind I was m thejcarriages Jbh<e"jinnv dows of which were shut. Mqntgommery told me about the brandy a^fter n»y, return to. QreytowA that daj-V- 1 ditf not" think the wind, of itialf^ was ,Buyffiqion,t. $o prer*. turn the. carriages, but that it was caused by. the. improper coupling^ of/ the -carriages J saw the carriages were: uncoupled imrne- | dj»tely after the capsize, ' - ' ! ~fx l- <<■:-,, ;/. The'proceftdings. on Monday ; aboiit 5 p.m., the foreman desiring the, presence of a short ' band r^pocter.'l . i . . . :; On Tuesday tha.'Co'urt met at &30, and . some of "the jury being late, the. coroner said' he covild prpce'ed without them and would re»d over the eridence .;wheni they,., came. Mr. I^ajce, a shorthand .writer,, was; then sworn in.' Mr. Izard said that. he was there only as counsel to watch case on behalf of the Government, and not to conduc^ the case.- • •■-'■■ « -y ;* . ' -^ ■■ James Montgoni,erj ij(osp t s^id ; I am, a laborer, living at Ma>ar«(ua," near (Jreytown, and got into the morning train afc : Woodside station on Saturday last. All went right until we got near -the seep.nd tunnel. I got up to close thY door of ihe carriage, I was riding m, keep the smoke out, and then fe.lt a shock/ a»dtth*.#jmriagß went sentlyorer on. it|r side. r' ; l ill ;!%.>, second carriage next t^eVaiijJ I oould^ear a gust of wind, then, thijl shqck came; %hd the carriage went gent^ovefc"' The.' people m the carriage came over me, and I asked them if any one was hurti tut all seemed right. The carriage only turned gently over I went then through into the next carriage where Mrs. Quin and \ family were, and tpok one dead child from be ween its mother jrad Mrs. Hodge. I kept the child for some Ijime.on my knee until' Quin came m, and -I went down the hill side, where. I first saw Mus. Pharaayn lying dead. .1 could see people down at the bottom of the embankment, or nearlj down at the i bottom. I could could not tel\ how far the distance was from the, l^ae," Mi»sPharazyn waa lying nearly at the bottom;. The '-boy' Nicholas was higher up nejirer, the, -tunnel, lying dead with his skull knocked, m.. M^. Bishop manrsfd to get up, behind .«i"^>. \ law an old man, badly hurJb, and altjo, er?.w a, ele^gyman dragging. Jackson along at the bottom of' the, and- then wa. pat h.'.in awry with Har#, v o£' danger. All biitfouv persons eoujd te}g, (ibfev^elvas. The wounded were helped, up,, an^d^aen,^^ dead tckeh up. G-oing, up from^ or^k, I could see that the wind -rjaa g^Jty, but took no particular hot,iee;ot-it. % I noticed no gravel, fdling iften . ;ihe v ac.ciden.S.! t'?ok place. I hf.ve been a resident here Ihirteen years, but nothing led me |to think that the day was more windy than jUsuaL : 1^ .npticecl nothing, tjo'cause. the capsize of the e^rip.geft more than. I have sUte4» nor after; the! apci^. dent d:d' I notice any ifrej'ilai'tyl Nq; couplings gave way, but the -buffer of the engine was- broken. . TheJ. second : eaii-iage got bn a small ledge, which stopped- its going do^ the hilt, 1 know nothing v about the varisi' I had no conyeraatipn with." any of the raUvray servants beyond the> ordinary^ tilkia g^ttin| tb.^ i^i^. TWj /|

did all they could, and m fact Mimed no* to be abl*. to do enough to Miut tfiepaiMJfr gers. ;. : ;: : V£ ' ■v ■ v"; .-. By Mr. Bunny » I did.not see the stokeß or driver having a bottle of bwndy with them. I did nojb kriq^one man f r»nj ' •bother. [The e videnctyif James .Quin wai ' here read by Mr,i Bunny.] There is h6, truth m the statement. I never had- any, conversation with, Quin, and the only brandy I saw was after the accident, when, a gentleman wa» gmqg sbine to tb# «icl| people. I had no convention with .Quin. . regarding the jijeq. afc,aU, I cannot iay if it brandy m the bottle . I now refer-, to. Jt was something m. a brandy bottl©.* * * > - : ; B.y-Mr.-laard : I saw no sign of intoxica* - tion among any of the people. ' / " ' ' ' . By Mr. Bunny. Assistance came m! a .very s,hort time, and the pounded 5 werp-: dret s»d and made comfortable iw iodn a» ' possible. ■ . ; • '■'. '■'■-"' . By Jurors : I dot?t know where the. . brandy came from. I recollect' haying no conversation, with him on the the subject of brandy.:, ' — . " Mr. Toogbod, one o.f the jurors, said Mr. Oakley had told him that, Mr. Madden had the bottle of brandy with him. ' , . "/'- Henry Dunn, residing aY Tiiiherioakau, • shepherd, sworn said • I g6t m the train, v at Fcatherston station, on Saturday morning j> 'last: \ I was m the first cdmpartment of the 7 first carriage, and was standing oh the platt ' ifprm bntside. I noticed a. gust pf/win^ •. wh^ch fqok the carriage' off tk* rails, and ifc, .then capsized, and we, w«re pitched out. '; All the upper portion qf the carriage waa smashed. I was knocked , off the • platform and then rolled down the hilt tfiaw;* nothing until X reached 'the^.bottomw;^.. : packed injself up, and help»d my- brothg^ to get ijp, and thenl picked up the body 61^1 the dead hoy. J saw only one carriage gOv^ down hill— not actually j one down' to thV'' bottom. I do not b«H«T» tK» other carriages were capsized wher^ I picked myself' vp — believe they were not capsiud; then^; ~ hut afterw.ardc, when thf brsakraTL had been detached, and the goods Vans were, - oapiized. The break ran went down then to Cross' Crtek. Had there been anything.; qh the rails bftfore^hskcarriage,; I must haye^ : s>en The carriage; inT fact, jjai£ lifted.;^ . bodily off the rails... I saw the men paa.x "< 'nacted witk the -train, 'whb w«» witliDg Vi," help, and aty wtre perfectly sobji^".". . By Mr. Buany r My carriage; went OTeir. l firs(. The secon.d carriage, I beliere, onlj^ went orer after the. break tan. "Had the. roof sot been Blown off; I think the peppl*" ' m the first oarr|age would .not haT.e, been,, injured more than those m the secondi *I" believe the carmgewas^ smashed, andjih^ roof carrifd. away- after it was smashed. "F"* d<m*t think tie wnd took "the tool off i before tha tmssh took 'place'. '.'['•;'' " ■ " ' '".': ,v Jfamoi Quin an,d Jana»« Montgomery re- . 'called, an,& theirie?id^ce was-^ead ore^ bj the Coroner, relative to the; oharge of intemperance, fames' ouiii then said the matter had betn eipiained lso him about the, brandy differently since he had giTen'hia, evidence. ; It wss heihimself who had sup-^ plied- the; brandy, although; .hft. had first thought the, irpn had itthemselTes. He. beliered cprr^ctipn, %o be cwrecji: Wt«»: only spirits he saw, used were, those: he hadj .. himself. ■ Montgomery's evidence, . heinf read respecting the brandy, Qjiin added :. ' " I beliere that what hf says is correct. I hare no reason for,iuppcjin.g that ".JtKt driTer, or, the stoker Had brandy with th'«in oq thi. lengihe." | ' „-"; i '^'"j '' '''v^ v j v " :■/'.," •"" ! Mr. Btmnyfeiprisspa; a wish; that ; Coroner should jpoint ;'ouV thedifferenci'iE^' Quin's evidence, 1 elicited 'from the Cbroriek the statement 'that hi woiild deal within*. • cpngruities at the termination*'6f"lhT^eTs-r dence. Mr. Bunny pointed but that »mis^ statenieD^ had bjeen made; |ud that it should? ! be conjradibted %|t pnce,v^t lie^ was », hard^ r ; thing to; overtake. jThia; bdu>d^ $$ -JAt«X : ; taken place h^dthe Coroner, on the. preri* ous day, d^sttnguished' between direct' eviV : dence. an.d. mere hearsay statements.- .' . :: - , John Richardson, pointsman at Cross'Greek, .sworn s^id: I saw the driTerand stoker of the Fell engine before they went up the line, and aUo the. guards All were, perfectly sober.; I saw them after the accir dent, and they w»rf, spbejr. then^ /The gnardj t came dqwn, a.bou| five minutes to ten wjtV , the, incline break. The^eis no communication direct between, Cross' Creek and . , Wellington; Ail, messjages* , h^are t« be sent i -'ia i by, iFeathers"^!!, At : fivi^ . minutes past ten a message waft forwarded, : and it took abput fiire minutes to, ' ; ' There ww at thii stage' of the, proceed^ ings a general conceh&psoi- 'opinion, that the. railway employes were all perfectly "soperi' : George Boss,; foreman m charge of CrossV Creek station, jsworh said: The men m, 1 •charge qf the train have' been more .'thai^ > i •ighteen mo,nth»«mpjoy«d ojjtfie l\ne, an t d , are sob^ niea. I haTf. seen. «hem + *i,: i publicly |br privately, "ofcherw,i».e. L The thr#V jnien bear &tstclass characters. I c O l]»ctedv : allltHe men I could, andjiaU^he. necessaries, . for the a.'sw.tance and ppjnfor);; of the pas-;^ r ieiigers, and arrived; on v the^ •cei\e m % "hortL rtime. "^e. h^d if ftff.^bu^et'tp^ ; ten,- and m eiivefitWen minutes w.W we're on, : the roadi Assistenct from Wellington came, about 2.30 p.m. / By Mr. "Toogbod^ -HaTeJQ-oyernmeMfc . given you. anyinstßactao^sctp. prevent recur-; ! re nee, of accident R — Bpme scheme, ia beings •maturfd' %. tae.. ofiicers. r l(haT.el pjpw,ej'to; put on an extra, engine when necessary. My^. ar,p to us* alt means ajt my com^l JmandtopjMveatanyaocidenti • . i. -K«nry Osbqrne, r guard, sworn laid: ,I t -was guard of the traia when the' accident '•'haiijjened. (He 'described the, composition of the train, and «ta^»c^ he. did not work the. . ißC%e.breafc); :^teythirig cqn^ee^Tritih< : ■ the trVin^wasfMk^p.di ;orj^.irli«n v^a'..J«ft^ ; • ; Ccpssl Creek. I. noticed? a, strong wjnd and, 'the stones tfy.ingag^ihßk^te break- van. winn* ' dows. 'I anticifiatedl up acisiHenVo?. *WF, kind. The first thing X npfel?«d>'w,as the^ crunching of wood arid iron, and ahnos&P '• instantly I felt the break-van rearing, the, rails, and some boxes of butter m the ran, falling towards me. The brake-van . turned. : on sts sidtß,_ Whjin the rah stopped I gofc up quickly, and jumped, on, the. slippy of the embankment. '^&e,doov,iell-open when the. tan weiit over. I f»H. down among the^ carriages. (Wi'ness<here gave -evidence a»^ previously published aato thejstaje.pf the. train and passengers.) I asked, the passengers m the second, caj^a^e^wh^thjtt. they, were much hurt/ and they said " No, savel one child, :, Both; the, [SCsms. fhawuiyn, eeem'd dead. I picked up. the living boy Nicholas) ani laid him put of the way of v -the'wind and duat'and p ieo#i of the broken^ oanriagea. -W^ich; were flying about. rj-, quested the'peoplelying about to jkeep still yntjl assistance arrived. I then went.up the.. „ hill, got aro'pe out of the brake-van, fixed ; it to the centre Till, and let it down to the, _ second carriage wtere the passengers were, asked a^ who^gfliuld get out to pnU' tihemielves up on the : line.' By this^ iinie/; , assistance came from Cross'a, Creek, and jth«[ men v^ho. arrived assisted the. passengers up by ihe. rope as. they could not . get up. them- ; selves. The , passengers If ere put yin /•; sheltered paft of the tunnel.^iTn the mean« 'time some. men had come from the summit, and were assisVing the injured.passengers up^ r from the bottom of the embankment. Aa " tW passengers were got up we put themin^ vans. The train, left fo? Gtreytpwir with the injured about 11.50, the same train ca^yiug the dead bodies.' The train for,.' Wellington, with the injured passengers, . Jeftfor Wellingtqnabout 12.20. We wewC

minutei, waiting.for tb» hue to. b» ; dear. By Mr. Bunny 5 . 1 had telegraphed •to Cross's C*«ek, but cduleVgetf no answer^ and •was told to proceed 6*, stop at my own responsibility. . ; I wm told I should m«et' the special at , the summit. I got a Tejfly from Crow* Creek that they could get no ans wer ' from J?#atheMton."*'The answer from Cross's that I was to as* my. own judinent to go on or to stop. I w«nt on because the passeng«jrs were getting impatient, and thought the line had broken down with the -wind pad I then gave the driver instructions to go on at the rate of f pur miles an beur, blowing the whistl* for fear of meeting the special train at Kaitoke, which I believe hid been there am hofcr ;aqd. a hour waitin g our arrival. There were no marks on the lme of the carriages having 7 H% along tht road and tn«n off! the rails.i. 1 haVe felt on former occasions, the stoniiftjing against the vans froija.thp;, hillside, but n&ver noticed the wind J s^ :! violent before anywhere •lse. I new thought the wind would blow hard enough to Jwtpsize carriages, I" could not conceive wlfat Had happened, as I never thought th» wind would have blown Wr the carriages. I can give 5 nother ria»on but the violence of the wind for the capsiziag of the carriages. The wheels b«\r no mark. The place where the accident happened'ist|i»|tbrst platie for fwind on the line. The violent gustß generally come wh^eh^the wind is m orie direction A roof of a covert d van was blown off some % reive months .'since at 'bridge.' It was made of \ m. "boards coyeTp^ w^h. canvas. :. ".' ... ' • ' ""■ : ''■-' ~' * George Barlett, engine-driver, sworn, said : I. was driverof the Fell ! engine whLh tooju|stfbrain ;up tht line. We left Gross' wish the carriages and engine m the usual orderi .Nothing 'unusual oc*curred till we.V<jachecl pearly the second s, tunnel, when tgustof wind cauie upon us suddenly. I heard a crash, but saw nothing and then gave lip brake signal, which brought the engine to a stand within a few seconds. I then secured the engine; looked around, r and iaw two earringes and the brake van down ihe embankment, but; still attached to the engine. •''■ I then detached theinol.nj incline van to "send to 'Cross" Creek for assistance. Seven minutes after I had d $ c fed flic 'tan the two goods vans wtre blown dyir. -They turned on ;their sides, but remain«I v still attached to the engine. I thentsenttheifisemah to thVSumxnit to get steam up on the other Fell engine kept there, m, case oorf r emergency, and fien did -aU'ik' my jp rer to asssst the -wounded. QsWorn*, 7 th* guard, '^was very energetio is rendering asiistance. A gust of wmd blew over' 1 th# 'carriages, I have' Jjeen on the incline eigHttferf ; months, and never experienced a likt; wind before. I- ; examined the p«ncman«At way .after the aq cident, and f qun&l tfat'fe was ; not damaged m jbhe least, ll can suggest no, other reason; '. for the cauße' l ,bf 'tKt actcident than the furious gust of wind. There is up truth _m the statement that myself the fireman, and the. guard had been taking anything to drink/ ':. It is quite "a false. We * are no teetotallers, but we are not m the habit of taking drink when on deity. Doing "so entails discharge* Very''.Jight' winds were blowing at the creek' wlien we started,. I, never felt the wind! like this at : Gross's' Preek. I could „^qt tell which w»X # 19 -wind was blowing. '- Michael Betmey, guard, sworn, said : I am guard of the incline break-van, and was so on the morning of : September lltb. 3Dvery thing was m good order as usual. (Witness then described how he first felt a gust of wind strike: the van:)' 'I was riding Inside the van, aud'when the train stopgedJ opened the.dobr and looked iput, and saw' the carriages as. described by other .wit-; . nesses. I then wept to sepapA and conauit . with; the driver, who said I should go "back for assistance, and he came and lielpepl ,me to uncouple the van. T went baek_and got assistance and/returned., When. I left the goods vans were on the line, and tHey/werd. pff when I came back. ' I then assisted the , wounded. /Nothing happened to 'lead me to anticipate th«' accident;.' '"l never; felt' the .wind there' so strong before.'- I have been employed on the line nearly four years,laying rails, and doing other things. I was. not there was riot therewhen a cart and-' horse; iras blown ovier: 'That was lqwer down, as I have been told. Robert Charles JUaek,Ttelegraphist ; and: pffictr m charge at Featherston, was sworn, and Henry Qaborne's evidence; rs4d<t6jhim. Witness then said : There are telegrams f tnt p.RTi, whSct'-sl&wl' dangW. * There ' are nine stations on the Kaitoke circuit, and .Jf could not at once get wires through,. The, operators didi-ridt' seem to understand ihe : danger telegrams or thf D.R.T. /^de; Itiisi the first message of that code I have e.vei* yeceive'd m Nfew Zealaijd. ' Mr. Ashcifoftliiaid f that r the tf3-T-. new code was introduced to take precedence of all other telegrams. What was' Wanted was a B.C. direct from the summit- of the Eaitoke.. . ■-■ '■■■'.: ' "", '..'.: •'.: :.:v,- ; v, ;•■ . Examination resumed : My first telegram y« special was received at 1^ from Gross' preek, the next was sent' -to/, me from, Ea;■y. foke at ' 1.40.- SteTeris6,n handed m a message at 1.31, whiph I sent at 1.45. Kaifcoka was fighting for the' wire to send 1.40* message. No telegram was sent from Featherston to Osborne telling him, to. take. his own fOurst. ■ ' y«- .. . ; : '■ ' :': ':'■<■<'; The evidence of ; Qsbprn.«i " -^as read 'to witness, but no answer was Vfas elicited or obtained, how no answer^ was seiit ti>HO.abourne. Mr, Ashcroft stated the delay, must have happened :throughl- fighting for; thej wire at Kaitoke, but this question was not cleared up. V'" : ; : '~ .i:: h George Athcroft sworn and examined said : I am District Manager of the Wellingtonuand Mastftr^on railway.'' At. half-past ten. on Saturday met a porter, coming for me near the Wellington' Railway Station, saying that a t|kgram had oome stating that an accident *Ba?nfappened, and than sent; for 'assistance, and doctors^ and told, Mr, Lawsqn what had happened, and aske,d him to wait and see' the doctors, and come oh by a special train, while 1] went on.to Petone. at ILIO to organise a gang and obtain appiiances.-. I had bee.n at. J^econ.o a Quarter of' an/hour whan the spe- • cialcame, and T go(f ; on ; to Kait'okej but could not get the.line o^anfrom.Yhe sum,mit. The teleffraphist to]d me that many were fighting f<sr wire; T told him to hold his key down and then repeat D. R.> again, which gives me the right of precedence, over the line. About ■^. 43 a tilegrAm cama. through, via'geath.erstoh, from the Summit) ■ telling me^ v ig^t^J#av^ i»>fch^ train' was coming iri^h tb« wounded. I was/ kept at Kaitoke about an hour arid a quarter, and - was theii-i about fifty n^inutes before the wounded arrived. Wheh'tht,.train > came m; the doctors divided among (he. wounded. .(Witnes.s then desorihed the. scefle of the; disaster, he hiving gone on.) I looked a >out to ice' if any of the wounded' were left behind. I then took particular notice of, the state of tha wreck. All th\e cou]p^ lings held, and the, train was still haaging to the engine'.i^ ha>i;then 'to clear the line,and uncoypled;itlifti!alack links, telling the workmen'to s^and, clear, and I ordered the . smith to cufc.the' coupling's link, and then . the train slid fur ther down the embankment to the p6s\fcipn; r whe^e ,the . jujy • saw the. carriages. I cleared the- vans, from off the 4 line where they, are noyr,: aHd,as Jsjipji as the lint was cloi^t I told the workmen to knock pff, as they could, not dp anything mprpthe forc« \'of Jjbji wind. The train ovtrtorntd ce^aibly by;ta# force, bttnt

wind. lam quite iuv« of this mmy mind [ To Mr. Bunny 1 1 have been employed 20 years on lines m different places. I have seen the Mont Cenis line, which was not constructed so strongly as -this, and though . protection is there \ made against avalanches and.. snow storms ther* i» none against wind. ' This is quite' a new feature to me, of haring to take precaution against wind. S wo. (Bngineß add safety to . the train, .but greater weight would not do po, as more \ weight would have probably 'broken the r qpuplings. But the use of two engines, might induce peril of ii-s, own though, the train bucking in' the middle. . I think wind » sheda .would afford > protection, if made . strongly but they would be costly. Two places only prt ?ent special danger from the wind, and which are. about 150 yards m length, Sibera is the only place on the line where the wind is bad. % Had communication by wire existed. beween the Summit and Kaitoke, ..an hoijr wodld- have been saved. I consider. that the danger on the other side more prpbable that on this. I would suggest greater break power on the line. This subject is 'now under considei-a-thion. . * . ''- By the Coroner iLthink means could be devised lo render recurrence of' aocidents from the :;»nie cause almost imposible. In- : stuctions have been given that when any. ! wind prevails two engines are to be put on. This cpneuded the evidence, Mr Lawaon saying that, the Government would take all necessary steps to render the line safe. • Mr Bufyny then brought under notice of the iu'rj; an article whioh.- appeared m the Wai•rarqpa Baity this day impugning the judgment of the New Zealand Times, that no blame. could be attached to the railway' authorities, and stating that the railway ployes had no confidence, m the railway management, and had anticipated this oc«' currenceas likely to happen.' Mr Bunny then read the article from the~loeal print to the jury,, and said that Opportunity should be. afforded the railways employes to come forward and support the allegations made m the Wairarapa Daily, and for this end, he would suggest that the enquiry should be 4*f trre d for a couple of iays, so that no one should have power to say that evidence had been burked. The Cororner thought i|o weight should be attached to the article m the Wairar-apaxDaily—-it was »ot worthy of it— and if- statements w*rt made of this kind he would let 'the men be called to deny it at oncev as the evidence given entirely rebutted the , truth of- the allegations. No more heed; should be given, to it than ; the ; sj^ry of , 'the brandy bottle. ' . , . ' Mr Asncroft .said -he was prepared to swear, that no statements had been made by the" employes to. h4m or Mr Lawson..^ ■ '■ I ■:"; i'-i'' ■ ■-'••.-. •■'•-:■ '.' '■''■■ ,'k r , " . She jury retired after the Coroner.; had summed up, after saying that only one verdict could be given-^that, of ' accidental death, and, m as few words as [possible, attaching any rider if they ' liked; " Quifli Ht said, bad it vague -vraj- of expr«s«ing ; himself,an4 he the coroner f«lt coifident-that Quinn's allegations were % , quite untrue. How Quinn got into such a was »ot wortk enquiry. The evidence showed that the men on th» railway had act«d- m a moit exemplary manner. There was some doubt about the telegraph, but this would cause enquiries tpjbe, made m .otherquarters. He was satisfied the jury had- taken no notice "about the article "m the Masterton paper. * > I "The! jury returned the following verdict : —The yexdict of the jury is that after f ull .consideration of the'; evidence brought -bethe. deaths of Jda Pharazyn and F/rancis. N«jl{p\as weve purely acoidental,'and causec( Ijj tha carriage being blown off the line down the; embankment on ■ the Rimutaka incline 1 and' \n the. opinion of "tli c jury no blame it attached to; anyone. '■r Rider i, That m the, opinion of the- jury, the Government should tak« immediate action; by -the .constraefcipn, of windsheds, |or pother protective means to preVerit so, far as possible the recurrence of similar accidents on the dangerous parts of th«v ijncline,' and 'that direct telegraph comtqunicatipf be at. onoe established between the Summit an,d Kaitoke. --:•' ■■:■ .-.,> ■ -'' . '■'.'■•'.'■ '■'■':■' 2. That [the grayest censure be .passed on. the witness Quinn for the statement he mad* withoat any corroborative evidence, that the d river and stoker were m possession of a bottle of brandy before^he accident, that; they were new bands, and that the carriages were not properly coupled.*. Especially asthe. evidence shows that, the driver and the stoker were perfectly sober, and instead of being new; hands- they,, had been engaged; wqykingthe engines 'off the. incline for the last eighteen months, and that on the oocu'r■rence'of the accident the railway authorities and their employes rindered every assistance' , m IJheir power, and are of opinion" 1 from the evidence; adduced,: fl "it tie management of the' line is most iffl #at -—New Zealand Tims.s. ; ■ ;: