THE MANGOREI FATALITY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 79, 23 September 1911, Page 3

THE MANGOREI FATALITY

THE IXQUEST. The circumstances attending the death of the boy Charles Henry Herbert were investigated yesterday at an inquest held before Dr. H. A. MeCleland. actingcoroner, and a jury of six, of which Mr. M. Jones was 1 chosen foreman.

George Henry Herbert, a farmer, living at Mangorei, deposed that lie was away from home on the 20th inst. He left home at about 10.30 a.m., accompanied by his wife. He did not hear of the accident until they were on their way home. When he got home he found that his boy had been shot, and was dead. He identified the gun produced as his property. On the morning of the 20th the gun was over Hie ceiling of the bedroom, and could lie reached from the scullery, He had put it there about two days previously. It was loaded in the left barrel. He had been using it for killing birds in the garden. He kept it loaded, so as to enable him to shoot the birds without having to load it up again. The place where, the gun was kept was about eight feet from the floor, and deceased could not have reached it from the floor. He could not say if the boy could have reached it from an ordinary chair. He understood that ho had reached it from a child's high chair. He had repeatedly cautioned all the children about ever touching a gun. He had never .known them previously to disobey those instructions. His deceased son was thirteen years of age last July. Daisy May Herbert, a sister of Hie deceased, fourteen years of age, said that •n Tuesday she was playing with her brothers, the deceased and John Wilfred, on the front verandah. The boys had an old rifle, playing at soldiers. This rifle was not loaded. Another boy named Percy Burkitt joined in the game. Whilst witness was there they had not - got the gun now produced, and she would not have allowed them to play with it. The old rille she allowed them to have, because it was an old one and not in working order. 'They were, still playing with this when she went inside. In a very short time she heard a shot, and, looking out of the window, she saw deceased lying on the verandah. Her brother John was not to be seen, and she didn't see the gun. She ran to the neighbor for help. A doctor was sent for, and Dr. Fookcs came.

Dr. Fookes deposed that he reached the farm a little after five o'clock. The boy was then lying on a couch in the front room, and had apparently been j dead about an hour. The deceased had a very extensive wound on the right. side of the skull, a large portion of the skull and the liones beneath it on the right side being missing, as well as a portion of the. right side of the brain. J The edge of the wound on the lirow was blackened, and there were also small black marks on the upper end of the face and on the eyeball such as to suggest they were gunpowder marks. 'The injuries could have been produced by such a gun as that produced if discharged at short range, and deal h would be due to shock following, on the gunshot injury. ' ! Percy William Burkett, a schoolboy. living at Mangorei, said he was playing with the Herbert boys at their house on Tuesday, when the latter had an old rille. Jack had the rille, and Charlie took it from him. Jack then ran round to the back, and witness saw him return with the gun produced. lie i was- holding it in his liand clicking it off, but not pointing it at anyone in particular. Charlie was standing in front of Jack when the gun went off, and Charlie dropped on the verandah. Witness .didn't think the gun went off the first time it was clicked. He ran home then, and Jack went away and took the gun with him. He didn't' know where he got tin's gun from, and he- himself handled neither of the guns.

The boy John Wilfred Herbert, eleven years of age, said that on Wednesday, after coming home from school, he was playing with his brother and the hoy Burkett on the verandah. They had an old rifle, and they were clicking it off. Witness had it first, and then Charlie had it, and, clicked it off as witness had done. Witness then went to get the other gun from the back kitchen. He knew where it was kept, and got up on a big, long box, from which he reached it down. He didn't know the gun was loaded. He took it round to the verandah to play with, and clicked it off as he had been doing with the rille. He pulled the right-hand trigger first, and nothing happened. Then he pulled the bottom trigger (the left trigger) and it went off. Charlie was in front of him at the time, but he was not pointing the gnu at him. Charlie fell. Witness was very frightened, and went and put the gun back where he had found it. He climbed on to tho box again to put it hack. The witness said he had been told not to play with the gun, but when

Charlie took the rille. from him he wanted another gun to play with. The acting-coroner said that the occurrence showed the necessity for the exercise of very great care in the matter of loaded guns. Several, of the jurymen concurred. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, no blame being attachable to anyone.