ACCIDENTS, OFFENCES, ETC.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1192, 17 June 1884, Page 3

ACCIDENTS, OFFENCES, ETC.

A man named Cogan attempted suicide at Auckland on Saturday morning. He cut his throat and stabbed himself in several places about the body, but it is not thought that his injuries are fatal. He had attended Salvation Army meetings, and appenrs to have got the craze that the Army was after him. When found he said ' I've done it now. It was better for me to have done it than to allow them (meaning the Salvation Armyj to do it.' A shocking fatality occurred at a fire at Leesion at four o'clock on Saturday morn ing, when a two-roomed cottage on the Southbridge road, owned by Mr Halley was destroyed. The cottage was oceupied by Frank Smith and his wife, and as neither of them were to be found, the debris was examined by Constable Simpson, when the charred remains of Mr and Mrs Smith were found. On further search being made a third body was found, which after some time was identified as that of William Thompson, who left the Leeston Hotel last Friday night rather the worse for liquor. No clue haß been obtained as to the cause of the fire. We take the following account from the Press :—Leeston was thrown into a state of great excitement on Saturday morning on hearing of a fire that had taken place during the preceding night, and the fact that the remains of three charred human bodies had been found in the debris. The glare was first seen by Dr. Gosser, who was returning from visiting a patient at Killincby about 4 a.m. He noticed the fire and «rent out of his way to find out its exact position. When he arrived at the scene the building burnt was found to be a two-roomed cottage on the Leeston and Southbridge road, about sixty chains from the hotel, where residei- ;i.-. • j;cd couple—Frank Smith and his wife. There w*s nothing standing but the chimney, and no signs of any human being. The doctor thought it riftht to communicate with Constable Simpson, who, with some of the townsfolk, was soon on the spot, and making search amongst the embers, he then discovered the remains of three hapless individuals. The third, on enquiry, turned out to be that of a well known character in the neighborhood, commonly called 'Kerry Thompson.' As far as can be ascertained from the evidence of a fourth person named James Connor, it appears Thompson, in his company (both somewhat intoxicated), left Spring's Hotel about 30 p.m., and called at the Smiths. Smith was then in his bed, and the wife was sitting in the front room by the fire. After remaining about half-an-hour, and, according to Connor's story, no drink of any sort having been produced, Connor left for home, Thompson electing to remain in the cottage with Smith, who it is known took a bottle of rum home with him, ostensibly for a severe cold which he was suffering from. The bodies of the two man were found, apparently having been burnt whilst asleep on the bed in the inner room, and the woman near the locality where the sofa was standing in the outer one.

Oalder, a member of the Armed Constabulary force, acting as Postmaster at Parihaka, has been arrested on a charge of embezzlement of Government moneys. A married woman named Briggena, was found dead on the Brunswick line, (Wanganui), on Sunday afternoon. No particulars as yet are to hand how she met her death. The Controller-General has laid another charge against D. C. Maunsell, formerly Secretary to the Premier, charging him with neglecting to furnish a full statement of the disbursement of certain moneys obtained by him during his term of office.

At an inquest on William Ricketts, who committed suicide in Auckland, last Thursday night, a verdict was returned of ' temporary insanity.' His books and papers were found to he in a confused state,

The charge of indecent assault against Captain Scotland, of the ship Crusader, on a passenger named Mary Bushby, was partly heard at Auckland on Friday.