INQUEST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 990, 3 February 1882, Page 2

INQUEST.

An enquiry was held to-day by the District Coroner, |)r H, T. Spratt, into the death of John Finn, whose bfldy was found yesterday ' ntornirig in a' 'gully at the, Upper Tauehi, as by" us yester-! day. 1 ' ' '■ ■• •'"'•' *' '• -' ;■'••.•; A jury of 15 was empanejled, Mr'.Gray j being elected foreman. 1 ' '"' l "' ' i: '■"'"" j Bfifore'pVocejdflig yith tjie inquest the Coroner alluded to the proceedings at the laa't inaueot, and pointed 'out tjiat any juryman puujq %W .question he pleased, apj.jf a juryman, knew anything cnnperning the matter he cpuld state it to •he rest of the- jury, and pou]d bp sworn if necessary, G. H. Li«ter-Kaye deposed!. I saw deceased on the day he was missed j was out with him and Mr Perry and my man to burn off a boundary fence.t Continued to burn till dinner' time, and had dinner together. After dinner allseparated.lo, lopkaffer djlferent points offence. Some* time after I jy.eijf on tpp of l))e hjll to see what thp otjiers ypre d%?,- ll }' smoke arising in the gully;. jn one diction, and siiw my man wflfkjng ftt fee fence in another, When I went home About.? o'clook Mr Perry -s'ai.d .'lie.would go ba«k for the others. I concluded, when I:saw the smoke in the guily that Finn was there, Noticed something about Finn that day as peculiar, find I asked " What is tfre. m'aijtterj!' ~JJ[r toy paid.'.'Oh nqthing,' 1 . If iitft}Jiij>g s.tahge .about niro pu:»ny Ptii# ..;We were burning fern nnd manuka, - Atar deceased' Was found I helped to carry him out of the gully. There was nothing to hinder a man in his'right senses getting oiit;'9pj)i« ; gu),ly. ;,; TVM:r| l e||df|?g i l The beverages dwk at dinnefiv'errtoa ar/d rriilk' j no others are kept 'either'at'Mr' Perry's 'or at my ; 'j place, ' • ■ ' .John Pascoe Perry deposed: Deceased was roy jeryan'ji,'.{Witness then gave, similar evidence to Mr (Kaye's as to burning "off.] ' T'did ; hoE v notic'e'"ahvthing wrong with Finn. He was a' little moro free jn hjs conversation, being' usually a. very quiet map! ? A|tpr Bring the- top of the hill I fold Finn to. g,Q down, and tire a pjece that was left in /the' gully, He went to'do so, and that 1 wa». the last laaw of him alive. I found Thursday morning." The body was hurried.' ■WJien the fire was':out,o'n Wednesday I thought he had • gone home. ;After w& had tea, finding Finn did not come'home',I and Mr Laurent went.up on the .hill to.

lookfor him. It was then raining. We cooejed for a long while but heard no . reply, so returned home. Next day I went out to look for him, and found him dead in the gully. His clothes were burnt off with the exception of a small piece on his lee. The ground about there was burned clear, • and there ' had .evidently been ia fierce'fire. The ■sides of. the gullywerenotateepV but the -•: "BCrubV appeared. to be thick. The mm; ■must have been burning near 'the creek/ and the fire at the back of, him must have- -w,. been jarried up to hinuuddenly by M,-- .-•'•■ wind,andhe was overtaken by it Wm-. . .could- not escape, L had tho body moved to my'place, and sent to MaaterWt ,'■ -.>'. tor., the police. '■:::<-.;. .:•;-"':; "~W.'.\':: ; >

■■ i' To the foreman: He mi a 'sober man '■"■[ ' as ; far as I know;; He had be'enuo with ' me. for four montha, 'and had not been away.-;' '"•" ; ■".' ■'.''To Mr Dalrympie: The 'scrub burned. with a good deal of smoke. Could not - lay.whetherth'ttimokewasthick, enough '.;■ jj to suffocate a man. Deceased never had ' ■fits to my knowledge, He was not likely to. have fallen aßleep, as he was a good worker. : ' ,$h jury after viewing the body, which was'very much charred and disfigured, returned a verdict of" accidental death."