INQUESTS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 257, 2 January 1873, Page 6

INQUESTS.

Dr. Hocken, city coroner, held an inquiry at the Hospital last Saturday touching the death of a female child, aged about two months, named Hilton. From the evidence it appeared that, on the 18th'inst. , the mother of the child — who then gave her name as Elizabath Booth, and to-day as Elizabeth Grant Hilton — went to the house of a woman named Oswin, and enquired for a Mrs Ridley Being informed that that person had left the neighborhood, she mentioned that she wanted her to take charge of her child for a week while she went into the hospital, she being herself ill. Mrs Oswin J eventually agreed to take charge of the child for her for 16s. It then appeared healthy. On Tuesday it became ill, when she gave it a dose of caster oil ; and at noon the next day it died in her arms while in a fit. The police were communicated with, and they removed the body to the morgue at the hospital. The mother of the child said it was born on the 7th of October last, and that it was in good health when she left it with Mrs Oswin. She was a single woman herself, and its father was John Macnamara, a stone cutter, who resided at the Cafe 1 de Paris, Jetty street. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence — That the deceased died from convulsions.

An inquest was held on the 23rd, before Dr. Hocken, District Coroner, at th« residence of the late Rev. John Williams, touching the death of that gentleman. The following jury was sworn {—Charles. Smith

(foreman), Charles Abbott, Moses Barddey, John Barnes, Arthur Beverley, W. A; Barton, John Coventry, Thomas Dick, Robert; Duauid, John Findlay, John Gray, John Griffen, Francis Irwin, and L. F. Kerr. The Coroner, addressing the jury, said that they were called upon to inquire into the accident of Friday last, which resulted in the death of the Bey. John "Williams. It would be for them to determine whether the accident was the result of carelessness, or whether it was unavoidable. Several reports had been circulated round the town implying carelessness. Hitherto the ownera of the coach had the character of using well-appointed coaches, good horses, and careful drivers. It would, therefore, be satisfactory to them to have this matter cleared up, and no doubt the. jury would give due attention to it. The following evidence was taken :—: — H. H. Williams deponed : I »m a son of the deceased. Deceased would be fifty-six years of age next February ; was » native of Pembrokeshire, England, and a Baptist minister. On Friday morning last, in company with my father, I left town for Tokomairiro, on one of Cobb and Co.'s coaches. There were my father, another gentleman, the driver, and myself on the box. The inside of the coach was full. One of the horses was a little frisky, but all went well, until we got to Look-out Point, when the frisky orse became more restless, and struck the other horse with its head. The team then began to galop down the hill at a great pace. We passed the first two curves in safety, hut on rea"h'n<? the third enrve, not far from the Volunteer Hotel, the coach capsized. The capsize was owii gto coming in contact with the curve. I was thrown to some distance on tht> left side of the road. On recovering, I looked for my father, and saw three men pulling him out from under the coach. There was blood on his face, a lump over his eye, and his arm was cut and | apparently broken. After resting a moment, i he was conveyed to a buggy and taken to IMr Manning's house in Walker street. Dr Deck was immediately sent for, and attended and dressed the wounds. Deceased was then conveyed to his residence, where he died at 12.30 o'clock, on Saturday night. The driver seemed very nervous when going down the hill, and asked a gentleman on the box to take a set of the reins and pull with all his strength. The gentleman did so, pressing at the same time on the driver's knee. The horses did not begin to kick until after the coach capsized. I do not think the wheelers had breeching on. The reins handed to the gentleman were the near reins. J. F. Deck, a duly qualified medical practitioner, deponed : I was called in to deceased on Friday last ; I found him covered with dust and blood. His left eye-lid was covered with blood and swelled. His left arm sustained a compound fracture about a third down. The bones were protruding. I removed the clothes, reduced the fracture, and dressed the wounds. There was another wound at the back of the arm. The patient seemed to be suffering much from collapse, and complained of pains in the chest. The injuries I would characterise as being severe. In the afternoon I visited at deceased's residence, and found that Dr Borrows had taken charge of the case. We undid the arm, and dressed it with carbolic lotion. It was much swollen and bruised. I did not see deceased again. I did not contomplatc so speedily a fatal result, but was not surprised at hearing of it. Roberts Borrows, surgeon, deponed to having attended deceased from Friday afternoon until Saturday night. On Saturday evening he became of a speedy fatal issue. Ihe injuries were sufficient to cause death. On Saturday afternoon deceased seemed somewhat delirious. John Blair, postmaster at Caversham, deponed : I saw the coach pass my house on Friday morning. As 1 received the mailbag one of the horses was a little restless, but which I could not say. Neither could I say that it was an unsafe horse to drive. ■When tte coach started Tip the bill ttic horses seemed to go quietly enough. I could not say whether the horses had breeching on or not. I know something about driving, and think that a well-trained horse would not shy without reasonable cause. I William Chatfield, one of the passengers, was examined, but his evidence was not important. JohnFrazer deponed: I was a passenger !by the coach on Friday morning. Before starting, T had a look at the horses. They seemed qniet animals. All went well with us until we got to Look-out Point, when we began to go quicker than previonsly. I looked out of the coach, and saw that the brake was well down, but not gripping enough. Some of the passengers became restless. I quieted them, remarking that we would soon be round the curve. A lady passenger then remarked, " The off leader is down." I thought so, for we dragged for a ; short distance, and then capsized on the left side. I did not see the horses immediately after the accident, but when the passengers were got out, T noticed the spot where the , horse fell, and traced the track for about a I quarter of a mile along the road, over which [ |it had been dragged. ( also observed that a \ I portion of skin and flesh had been torn out of the horse's off shoulder. The forecarriage was dragged to near the Volunteer Hotel. I saw it there, turned upside-down, with the off chain broken. There was no breeching on tbe horses. I only saw two horses after the accident, and would know the injured horse again. I believe it was the off wheeler. I examined tbe brake after the accident, and found it in good working order. From the marks on the road, lam convinced that the horse fell before the coach capsized. H. H. Williams, recalled, said : I did not see any of the horses fall before the coach turned over, and I do not think that any of them could have fallen without my having seen it. When I saw the horses after the accident, they were trotting alongside each other, and not one before the other. The Coroner then proposed to take as evidence a verbal statement made by the deceased to his son on Saturday, regarding the accident. Mr James Smith, on behalf of one of the parties interested, objected to such evidence . being taken, on the grounds that such evidence was admissible only when given in ■ the immediate prospect of death. The Coroner overruled tho objection. • Josiah Williams then deponed : Between three and four o'clock on Saturday I had a conversation with my father, during which he stated that the hnrse was a young unbroken beast, and that the driver asked a passenger sitting next him to take the reins. This was when the horses bolted. The man took the reins. At the time of the conversation I did not anticipate my father's death. William Birmingham, coach driver, deponed : On Friday morning last I left Dunedin with the Clutha coach, driving three horses. There was a brown horse, with white stockings, leading, a grey horse on near side, and a bay cob on off side. I have driven these horses together for the last three weeks, and they have .worked quietly together. The leader has been at work for the last four years. The other two were driven by other drivers before I gol them, bnt I cannot say for what length of time. All three were very quiet: They worked well on Friday morning until they got round Look-out Point, -when, one of th< horses stumbled. While pulling on him, thi brake grazed my f oot^anddt Wame numbed. I then aflked oae of tfet paweogeni to preee

The "Times" states that "it would be inconceivable were it not true that the Judge, bar, and all the etceteras of the Supreme Court judiciary were taken sixty miles up-country to gratify the natural ambition of a small village." Now, 4t so happens that the small village so contemptuously alluded to, is the third town in the province of Otago ; and with the exception of the capital of Canterbury, the largest inland town in the colony ! This " small village " is the commercial, political, and social centre of the most populous mining and agricultural district in the province ; it is within easy distance of many of the principal goldfields, with which it has frequent and regular coach communication. A good test of population of the district is afforded by the electoral roll, on which the number of the names is almost double that of any other constituency in the province, Dunedin excepted. Much is made out of the fact that " after the whole of the paraphernalia of the Supreme Court, and three or four dozen .jurors were routed out of their comfortable homes, only one child, a girl of twelve, appeared to stand her trial." Unfortunately, for the writer's argument, the " whole paraphernalia " of the Supreme Court, on this occasion, consisted of His Honoi\ Mr. Justice Chapman and his Secretary. Had the girl been tried in Dunedin, the expenses to the country would probably have amounted to over £100, besides the inconvenience and private expense the witnesses would have been put to by being dragged away from their business. The whole expense of holding a sitting of the Supreme Court at Lawrence did not amount to more than £10 or J615, consequently the province must have saved a considerable sum, even although there was only one juvenile criminal to try. The bar is sufficiently represented by resident members of the legal profession to render it unnecessary' that the Supreme Court should trouble itself regarding it ; and what the etceteras are, we find it impossible to discover. As we stated above, reference to civil business was conspicuously avoided. The writer of the article, if he is at all conversant with the subject he treats, must have known that there was to have been heard at the last sittings of the Supreme Court at Lawrence, a case involving thousands of pounds to the parties immediately concerned, and on the 'decision of which interests of great magnitude depended. That case was not heard through some technicality or other, the precise nature of which we do not know, nor is it material to the point ; and His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman adjourned it till February, when the " whole paraphernalia " of the Supreme Court will again meet at Lawrence. There will be a large number of witnesses in the case for both sides, the majority of whom reside within easy distance of Lawrence. Were they compelled to go to Dunedin, the expense and loss of time would be enormous. By being enabled fco give their evidence at Lawrence, man}'' of them need not neglect their business for any lengthened period , and as they ■can return home every night, their expenses will be comparatively trifling. Besides, the presence of the Judge can be taken advantage of by the local professional gentlemen to transact chamber business, which would otherwise have to be sent at great cost to Dunedin. After the recital of the above facts, it is clear that the writer of the article under notice either was grossly ignorant of the subject he took in hand, or deliberately suppressed some facts, -and misrepresented others for some purpose. He can accept either alternative. In conclusion, we may mention that it is more than likely that ■more criminals would have been tried at Lawrence had tlie Government issued instructions to the various Resident Magistrates to •commit. persons to take their trial at that Court. In addition, the. holding a sitting up-country, relieves the people of Dunedin of a •portion .of their jury duty, and throws it upon those who are justly entitled to do it — the people of the district in which the case requiring to be adjudicated upon arises. The Dunedin people should be the last to grumble at the voluntary offer of up-country people to relieve them from an onero*i»s and disagreeable duty. Moreover in many civil cases, special technical knowledge isi required %q properly understand the evidence. This "knowledge as a Tide is only -_ possessed by people residing in the vicinity., - We think wp have said enough to show the fospeless and foolish nature of the

assertions made in the " Daily Times " article, and we hope that for the future it will refrain from inserting articles without previously verifying the accuracy of the statements contained in them.

I In the midst of the festivities with which one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three is being ushered in, it is well to pause and cast a retrospective glance on that year which will no more be mentioned, except historically. From the events that have occurred since 1872 first dawned upon the world, valuable lessons may be learned. The mistakes made while it was running its allotted race may serve as beacons to warn against the committal of similar errors ; the progress accomplished will encourage to further and increased efforts in the same direction. Glancing cursorily over the globe, we find that 1872 has known no war. The diplomatic relations between two of the greatest commercial nations of the world were for a long time in a precarious state, but, happily for mankind, humanit}^ and good sense prevailed, and a bloody and disastrous war was averted. The Geneva Court of Arbitration, we consider one of the greatest triumphs of modern times, and its influence is likely to be farreaching, and to exist for a lengthened period. It demonstrated that the differences of nations can be satisfactorily arranged without the " last dread resoi-t." It is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when all international disputes will be settled in a similar manner, and war declared a crime against the whole human race, and punished accordingly. 1872, as we previously said, knew no war. But there were the rumblings which portend the coming storm. The present social arrangements seem wanting in many important respects, and many millions of earnest men demand a change. The lower strata feeling that they are being crushed down below their natural level by the superincumbent weight of those above them, are stri/ing to be free, even though in acquiring their freedom, the whole magnificent social fabric which has been slowly perfecting during ages, is shattered into atoms. The international societies and continual and wide-spread-ing strikes, which are evidences of the fierce struggles of these pent up forces. The solution of the great social problem now forced upon civilization is not, though fanatics persist that it is, the sword. Mutual concession and the proper elevation of the lower classes will accomplish more in one brief half century, than centuries of bloodshed, which will only equalise by eliminating all that is good and noble, and reducing all to one dead level of barbarism. " Turning from this subject, and a wondrous triumph of peace and civilization presents itself. 1872 witnessed the union of nearly every portion of the grand Anglo Saxon dominion, "on which the sun never sets," by the electric wire. Coming to smaller things, we find that during the year that has gone, the colony of New Zealand has greatly advanced in material prosperity. The staple industries, save one, have experienced a high degree of prosperity. Wool has commanded a high price ; the yield of gold has been larger than that of the previous year; the area of operations is greatly extended, and quartz reefing is rapidly assuming pre-eminence ; commerce has flourished ; and the temporary depression the agricultural interest was suffering may fairly be considered only temporary — the reaction, which after a "period of high prosperity, being almost inevitable. I inproved modes of tilling, and enterprise extending markets for the disposal of produce, it is to be hoped, will shortly restore to our farmers similar prosperity to that they enjoyed in former times, and it will be a pleasant duty for us when 1874 is born to include the agriculturalist amongst those who are flourishing well. Of politics little need be said. The proceedings of the Colonial Legislature during the past year have not been of great general" intere&t or deep importance, being chiefly confined to rubifying and improving upon the decision of a previous year. The Provincial Council of Otago, has not advanced in the good opinion of the people, and the feeling in favor of the abolition of provincialism has beenTapidly gain : ing strength. . The most important event in connexion with goldmining in Otago has been the formation of District Miners' Associations, and the assembling -of the Miners' . Conference -7- a body' elected by the -miners' 'spontaneously to .endeavor to alleviate their grievances, and to '

achieve their proper position in the general community. Calamities by fire and flood have been numerous enough, but are subjects on which we will not d Well We will conclude by~wishing our readers "A Happy New Year" and prosperity during its course, and by expressing a fervent hope that when 1874 comes, the progress made by New Zealand will be worthy of the "Britain of the South."