The Inquest.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 222, 1 October 1887, Page 7

The Inquest.

Tiie inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of the young girl, Laura Swain, who is supposed to have thrown herself off the Victoria-street-bridge on the evening of the 31sfc August, and whose dead body %yas recovered from the river on the following Sunday afternoon, Avas resumed on September and continue^ for several days at the Richmond Police Court before Air D. Daly, the deputy coroner, and a jury of fifteen, of whom Mr G. H. Bennet, exmayor of Richmond, acted as foreman. The court was crowded. Mr C. A. Smyth appeared to conduct the proceedings on behalf of the Crown, and Mr Oolclham was present in the interests of Captain Moore, whose name has been so closely as.-ociated with the tiagic occurrence. Dr. Nield,in course of his evidence,&tated that the cause of death was drowning. The wound on the eye was an oidinary bruise, and had been caused during lifetime, piobably by a blow or contact with a hard substance. The blow would be ofsuliicientfoice to knock the deceased into the water if bhe was btanding on the bank ; witness did not think the injury to the eye could be caused only by a fall on the water ; it might have been received whilst deceased lloatcd down the river by striking some hard substance before death en&ued ; the deceased was not a virgin ; deceased was not enciente, but her condition might produce suicidal hysteria ; insanity was lellccted to the brain ; there was nothing in tho condition of the brain of decea&ed to show that it was unsound. Geoige Kellett, draper's assistant, said he had known deceased for four years ; she had for two months prior to her death been boarding with his parents. Mrs Simmons, her sister, paid her board. Captain Mooie had been in the company ot deceased nearly every night for the last two months. The captaiu on the night of the occuuence said deceased must not u;o to her feibter's, afc Kew. Deceased insisted on going, and both left the house together, appaiently on good terms. Laura Swain was in good spiiits. She was in the habit of drinking. John Flynn, wauler at tho Kew Lunatic Asylum, stated that he was cio-r&mg the budge, and whilst ho was doing so heaid screams proceeding from the water; he rushed down the bank of the river, and .-aw Captain Mooie standing there with his hat on. Moore said, "There is a lonian in the river," and added that ho had fallen down an embankment ; subsequently the captain told him tiubi he was lighting a cigar on the biidge, and all of a sudden tho deceased bid him " Uoodbye," and jumped over the bridge. Moore was not in a helpless condition, and thcie wa.s nothing to prevent him fiom going into the water; tvitness had an attack of t) phoid fever about six months ago, and on that account did not care to cater the water, as the current was strong, and lie had not time to undress. William Campbell said that he "was sitting on the Kew side of the stream, about 50 jardts away fiom the bridge, with a girl, on the evening of the tragedy ; he was facing the liver, but not looking at the budge; ho heard a splash in the water near the bridge ; he did not sec Mi'-b Swain jump into the water from the bridge, nor did he sec her Uoating at any time down the t-tieam ; he heard her screams and shoitly afterwards saw Moore and Flynn running along the opposite bank ; he might have told a person that he saw the deceased fall into the water, but that statement wai not true ; the police in their report inserted in his statement words he did not utter ; the impression he formed on heating the splash was that some one had fallen oil" the middle of the bridge into the rher; had deceased jumped oft the bank, the sound of the splash -would not have been so loud a& it was. Testimony as to the fact of Captain Moore and Miss Swain being on the bridge on the night in question was given by Pierre Langier, clerk in the Post Office, and James Naylor, a carpenter. The latter deposed that he saw Mit>& Swain leaning with her arm on the bridge ; her head was lesting on her hand, and she appeared to be in a state of great di&tress ; whilht passing Mr Moore and MUs Swain, Nay lor heard tho captain remark, in a cool, fiim voice, " Well, just please yourself." The inquest then adjourned.

Melbourne, September 21. The inquiry into the death of Miss Swain resulted in a verdict of " Found drowned," the evidence being insufficient to shov/ how she got into the river. The jury strongly censured the unmanly conduct of Captain Moore and Warder Flynn.