THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 89, 14 April 1875, Page 2

THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT.

CORONER'S INQUEST. An inquest was held yesterday afterroon at the Globe Hotel on the bodies of James Down' b aud Tlvmas Edward K.lly, befoi;e Dr Squires, the Coroner, and a jury consisting of the following gei_t.en.en.— Wil .am Wright (foreman), Huuh Cottier, 11. A. Lrvestam, John Cooper, Henry Bailey, Ralph Prater, T. B. L uisson, Thomas Menary, .T.ibn S< -otland, W. R. Waters. C. W Moore, H. Baigent. M.. Crewdson, J. T. Bray, art i Edward .\ more. The jury bavin* viewed the bod : es, and visi-ed th. s cne of the accident, returned to the hou*e, and evidence wa. taken as fo.lowB:— Jo'in Dav, laborer living in Grove-street, sworn: I was yesterday afternoon working with the deceased. Wc were driving intu the hill at the back of Mr Jones'. I was about •four leet in ai twe ve o'clock when w*» went to d'nner. I was about a foot further in thn tliey were. Tlie width of the whole face d.ives was about 20 f-.ot. Between each drive there was a "1 g," or w-11 ot stuff, about two feet thick in front and t_uee at the back. Each drive was from flv, to eix feet wide, nnd about the game in h.iglu at the face, and ihree feet at the ba k. Erom thc roof of the d ive to the top of the face would be about 15 feet. The stuff was red gravelly earth intermixed with stones, Mr Jones came to me in the morning about 11 o'e'oik' when I was tapping the face with the pick to see it it sounded liko falling. It seemed pretty solid then. He asked mo if I wa. fright* nod, and I .aid, I didn't know as I Wa** much frightened, but I liked to be safe, ile replied, "I thnk it is all right, we'll prop it up after dinner." Slio-tly afterwards ?»e went to dinner, and then returno 1 to work. I have been working with Mr Bray on the railroad for about twelve months. I did the same kind of undermining with him, but not with so high a face, and not further in than about 3 feet. After dinner we went on with the work as usual, but the drives were not propped. About half-past two I was in about 5 feet 6 inches, and the others I think about a£ ot less. Before going to dinner I did not think we were safe, and I said bo to Kelly. I intended going on the top after dinner 'to see if there were any suns of slipping, but was called away for something else and forgot it. About half-past two I, who was working to the right, felt a little earth t ickling do.vn the face on my leg, which, as I was picking, was outside the drive. I thought tbe earth was movng, and went out witn the pick. in my hand, looking upwards. I saw it had cracked all across, and was coming. I shouted out, "Kelly aud Downes come out, it's falling." If I had been a second later I should have been caught. The stuff fell ov.r like. It waß thrown forward. I think, by the " ieps." Kelly and Downes, when I sung out, made a rush to get out, Kelly, who w as in the mi idle, towards where the dray was. If it had hot been there I think he would huve got clear. The dray was being filled at the time, but^by my shouting the men who were loading it got away. The stuff struck the dray and shifted it th-ee or four feet. The earth fell on Kelly and Downes, and covered them, and sni ■■ shed tha off wheel of the dr .y. I rushed towards them, and could see Downes' e bow, and hear him groaning. His elbow was visible all the time we were working to get them out. There was a lump of stuff weighing two or ' three tons on bia head, and on the men trying

; ™o move it, it broke. was completely I burk,d. ,-We were .nearly half an hour getting th4m ou., and -when recoverecl.they were both • deat}. r .. Just before dinner I had a conversa- - tion'-^ith Kelly. I said I did not think we. Were safe, and that some timber ought to be put up. He said he thonght so too. No one was stationed to watch for a fall of earth. Mr Jones had a look round now and then. I don't know if ony other remarks were made about the danger of the work, excepting that before I went there to, work at • all, I heard a lot of them Baying they 'didn't think the way they were working on such a deep face was safe. By the Foreman: When I and the deceased returned at one o'clock we had no conversation about tbe state of the drives, but went to work as usual. Neither of us spoke to Mr Joneß about it* to iuy knowledge. There was timber cn the ground for Bhoriag if it was wanted; The roof of my drive waa flat, but Downes', I thjnk, was round. The Coroner : If you had asked to have the props put np would it have been done ? Witness : It was not my business to do so. Mr Jones should have seen to that. By a Juror : It is customary for a man to be put on the top to watch, when the time arrives for knocking the " legs" away. Had the dive been properly timbered, I believe those men would have be<^ alive now. It was left to our own discretion to shape oudrives as we pleased. I i*o not know wb. ther we coul 1 have put up the timbers ourse ves if we liked. I did not expect to find the props up w ; en I returned from dinner. There were no eigns of water about the face. I felt the work was dangerou- 5 , and that props were required, but did not insist upon th< m By Mr Jones : The face sloped a little back where I was working, but where Kelly and Downes were I think it was nearly perpendicu ar. I did not at all expect the earth to fall when it dii. I heard you say to Kelly just before tho ac Mcut that as soon as the stuff was cleared away fam the drive you would put the props up. It is usuil, I believe, to dr.ve th- whole distance it is intended to go before timbering the face. I )have not had much experience in these matters. Thomas Adwood Cook : lam a settler at Collingwcod. I was standing watching the driving into the hill yesterday. I had just turned my head, looking another way, when I heard the around cracking, and turned round quickly and saw it falling on the mi n. It appeared to me to Blide dewn, not to tip over. The deceased made an effott to escape, but could not get away. .At this stage of the proceedings, Mr H. Adams arrived, having received instructions from the General Government to watch thc proceedings for the Crown. J By Mr Jones : I have hid about twelve months experience in this kind ot work in Australia, and should have had no hesitation to wo k in the drives where I saw the meu, whom, I was watching for about an hour. The drives appeared to me about three feet in. From the size of the walls that were left and the arched shape of the roofs there did not appear to me any danger, even if they were five feet six inches in depth. Jamt b Robert Wakelin : I know the deceased. I worked with them behind Jones' store A great many of us thouaht it dangerous to work there. I worked about 40 yards away from the deceased. I never heard them say anything about any danger. I was workon the hill when Williams' leg was broken. That accident happened thus: Three of us were working together on a face about 16 feet long. We were undermining, and had driven about 4 feet deep, and about 5 feet from floor to roof, the width, of the drive being the whole wuHh of the face. They hud two props to keep the roof up. There was ro other timber under the roof. The morning after the accident Jones tolel us that he would , make everything secure In future. He would not sp.ak to anybody, n -t even his bro her, but would look after the work. I saw th_ men at woik yesterday. I told Stringer that I was sure somebody would le killed. I thought au accident would happen, as it was not worked in a safe way. I thought it ought to be worked in terraces, as the earth is not to be depended upon, on account of the numerous veins that run through it, .Timber would have been no use in tho way in which they weie undermining. I was working up the hill, and noticed the stuff cominor in large flak* s from where the water was laid on to. I did not like the look of this, and when Mr Jones ordered me to come lower down and work, I refused to do so. If the timber had been put there at 1 1 o'clock it might have been of use, bur, the earth was crackintr and settling down all the time a ter that. There was no one on the watch, as there shoul i hive. been. I have been digging, for nearly ten years at Collingwood, Australia, and (he West Coast. Th re is usually a gang, ror overseer at such work, who-e business it is to see tha 1 everything is sate. Had there beeu timber it would have at least giv,n warning. I have heard some of the men remark upon the danger of thc workings, an one or two knocke i off on that account. Mr Jones W'*s ganger, and wherever I was wo Icing I considered myself under his dire tions The inquest was then adjourned to tiuCourt Houße at two p tu. till