ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5473, 11 October 1878, Page 3

ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

A boy named Henry Collins was walking near a stack of timber, in Auckland, when it rolled over, crushing him to death instantly. At Auckland on September 30th Malcolm Macdonald, the second mate cl the brigantine Linda, when going from the vessel to the wharf by'a plank, fell into the water and was drowned. Joseph Chandler, who was in receipt of remittances from Home, and usually _ spreed them away, fell down in a fit in Wyndhamstreet, Auckland, on September 28th and died. Some buildings on the wharf at Tauranga and a large amount of valuable property were burnt down on Sept. 22 ; damage, about £1001) ;I uninsured. A new settler named Smith, at Katikati, is the severest sufferer. . A coroner’s inquest was held at Imm on Tuesday on the body of a man named Hansen, who was found hanging from a tree at Maungapakeha the previous day. The Jury returned a verdict u That the deceased hanged himself while in a state of temporary insanity." . A young man named Thomas Quinn, a native of Clomore, King’s County, Ireland, was killed on Monday, September 16, at Cameron s Springfield station, Canterbury, through the horses ho was driving bolting and the dray striking him on the head. Death was instantaneous. Quinn was a stranger in the district, and aged about twenty-six. It is only about two and a half yews since he came to the colony. A boy named Edwin Hubbard, on October 1, at Timaru, had a narrow escape from drowning in a pit about 4 feet deep, filled mud and water, in the grounds of the Timaru, public school. He was playing with other boys, when they took hold of him and threw him In. The boy immediately sank, and the other boys ran away. The affair was seen by a pupil teacher named Martin Shepherd, who rescued the lad just in time. Ho was taken to hi» home, which is at a abort distance from the school, and he has now recovered. A coroner’s inquest was held at the Mount View Asylum on Sept. 30 touching the death of a patient named Ann Colsie. From the evidence it appeared that the woman, who had made previous attempts to destroy herself, was for safety locked up at night in a cell. She was so locked up on Saturday night, and on the following morning was found hanging from one of the window bars, about Bft. from the ground, by a strip of calico tied round her neck. A verdict to the effect that the deceased committed suicide whilst suffering from insanity was returned by the jury. A painful accident, says the Thames Advertiser ot the 11th sept, which fortunately did not result fatally, happened yesterday to a tributer named John Rowe, working in the Alburnia mine, Rowe, it appears, was working alone in his tribute, his mates being employed at the battery, where a crushing was going on for the party, and on coming through a drive lie struck a match for the purpose of lighting his candle. . The head of the match flew off into an open can of powder which was lying near, and it exploded. He was very severely burned about the arms and face. The can of powder bad been lying on the floor of the drive for some days, Mr. Rowe immediately came down to town and bad the burns dressed.

An old resident of Wellington, Mr. Julius Myers, who had been in ill health and under medical treatment for some time past, died somewhat suddenly on Sept. 17. He retired to bed late on the previous night, and as he did not moke his appearance at breakfast time the next morning, the landlord of the house where he lodged, Mr. Jacobwitcb, of Willis-street, went into Mr. Myers’s bedroom and found him lying dead. An inquest was held before Dr. Johnston, coroner, and from the evidence it appeared that the deceased had been in the habit of taking hydrate of chloral to induce sleep, and had taken by mistake on Monday an overdose, which resulted fatally. The jury returned the following verdict: —That the deceased, on the 17th day of September, 187 S, accidentally did die in consequence of taking an overdose of a drug known as chloral. Mr. Myers was abont seventy-four years of age. He was a native of Baden Baden, and had served in the Dutch army, in which he attained the rank of sergeant. He was unmarried, and is said to have no relatives in the colony. He was a very quiet unassuming man, and had -many friends and acquaintances in Wellington, by whom his loss will be much regretted. A most miraculous escape from a violent death occurred on Sept. 30. As the 11.39 a-.m. train from Timaru was crossing the Arowhenua bridge a Maori was observed a short distance ahead walking on the planking. The driver at once blew the whistle ; but the Maori, instead of taking to one of the abutments or sticking to the planking, jumped on to the sleepers right in front of the advancing train. Tire cow-catcher of the engine caught him and carried him along in a marvellous manner to the end of the bridgjs, and then tumbled him over the steep embankment. Mr. Jones, the district station-master, was on the train and observed the accident. He at once gave orders to the guard to pull up, and proceeded back to the jlaori, whom he found lying on bis back, considerably shaken. Several natives were on the scene almost as soon as Mr. J ones, and they carried their companion to the Arowhenua Fa. . Mr. Jones gave instructions for a doctor to be sent for ; but it is reported that when the latter arrived the Maoris would not admit him into the.hut. The Maori’s name is Haeremai Para. He is about CO years of age. Ho fatal results are expected to follow the misadventure.

"With deep regret we {Munaieal u Herald, Ist inst.) announce the death of two young children in the Upper IVXanawatn, both 'of whom were drowned in wells. The first instance was that of a fine child three years of age, eon of Mr. Jacobsen, of Palmerston, which was missed by its mother on Friday, anil found drowned in a well shortly after. On Saturday an inquest was held at Palmerston by Dr. Rockstrow, district coroner, when a verdict of accidentally drowned was returned. The other case it is our painful duty to record is the death by drowning of the youngest child of Mr. H. S. Palmerson, the well-known surveyor. Dr. Eockstrow had only left Palmerston about half an hour, when 'the sad news reached that place from Awahuri, that Mr. Palmersou’s child had fallen into the well of Mr. A. McDonald, of Awahuri, and had been drowned. The deceased child was only fifteen months old, and was staying for a few days with his grandparents, at whoso house the sad accident occurred. Dr. Eockstrow left Foxton yesterday morning by the early train for Awahuri, to hold an inquest upon the death. Great sympathy is felt for the parents of the two children, and the death of Mr. Palmerson’s child, following so close upon the festivities in honor of a marriage in Mr. McDonald’s family, has cast quite a gloom over the district. The relation of the above facts should be a very strong warning to all parents to have strong and secure coverings made for their wells.

The ilanawala Times of Saturday, Sept. 21, gives the following particulars of a recent fatal accident at Feilding :—“ We regret to state that a melancholy accident occurred on Thursday near Feilding, which resulted in the almost instantaneous death of a man named Thomas Harvey. It appears that the deceased, who was a Wo arrival from Auckland, was employed in bush falling a few miles from Feilding. He was mates with a German, and both men being inexperienced bushmen, a tree had been felled in such a manner that in falling it struck against another, glanced off and fell on Harvey, killing him on the spot. His mate arrived at Feildipg with the sad news, and in search of assistance to move the tree off the man. It appears that there were men working within a mile of the scene, and some blame has been attached to the German for not having sought the nearest assistance, but as it is admitted that death was almost instantaneous, we cannot see that it would have made any difference. Harvey leaves a widow and three children destitute among strangers. Two settlers of the Mount Albert district, says the N. Z. Herald of the 20th September, reported to the police the recovery of the body of a young man named Alexander French, from the pond at Cabbage Tree Swamp, New North-road. The names of the two settlers are Messrs. Walters and Shaw, both farmers in the same district. The attention of Mr. Crawford, who resides in the neighborhood, was first attracted by the clothes of the young man lying at the edge of the pond. Seeing no person bathing to whom the clothes could belong, bis suspicions wore aroused, and he with others made an immediate search. The body of the young man, quite naked, was soon found in a hole which had been dug near the bank. Life was totally extinct. _ The presumption : arising from all the circumstance ascertained is, that the young man bad gone into the pond to bathe, and was seised with cramp. • The Maori Nepia Tokitahi, who_ stood his trial on Monday for perjury, was acquitted. Ho challenged twelve jurymen, and in all probability would have challenged still more if he bad not been told to tho contrary. Jacob Hebbcrly, charged with forgery at tho Supreme Court on Monday, was discharged, tho Grand Jury throwing out tho bill.