INQUEST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1307, 19 February 1883, Page 2

INQUEST.

An inquest was held at the Club Holel on Saturday afternoon last before Dr H, T. Spratt, District Coroner, and a jury, of whom Mr. W. Sellar was foreman, touching the death of Francis Phaiho Johnson, daughter of Mr Edwin Johnson of Makora. ' The father, in giving evidence, statod that deceased was three years of ago, could not walk, was always in a very delicate and backward state; it could, however, Ret along very fust by rolling. There was a creek running in a narrow chatnel with banks from throe to four feet high, about 33 feet from the back door of the honso; lliero was a largo quantity of water in it, The shallowest part of the creek was about Uvoatul a half feet deep; this was the place where they got their water for domestio purposes, A path led from the back door to this place, there being a gradual descent lo the creek. There was always a current running hero, at times very strong, There were marks near this place as though deceased had rolled down into the water. Another child about fwo years of age was in the habit of playing with deceased, and it was from this child that ihey first learned that deceased had fallen into the creek. He immediately jumped into it and waded down about thirty paces, when ho found deceased lying on her face in the water. Ho at once sent for Dr Beard, and used overy means to restore animation. In answer to a question from-the foreman of the jury as to why the creek was not fenced in, knowing as he did the habits of deceased and the dangerous proximity of the creek to the house, the father said the children were not in the habit of playing at the hack of the house, therefore he did not think there was any danger of thein falling in. Dr Beard statod that deceased was quite dead when he arrived at th'o house. There was every appearance of death by drowning, and thought it must have been dead from a quarter to half an h»ur, Had known deceased from its birth; was always a delicate ohild; it had no organic disease. Saw no marks of bruises or. injury of any kind. Cnp3iiible Fleming slated there waß no suspicious circumstances connected with the casH. The Foreman stated that the Jury were satisfied aa to the child being drowned, and did not require any more evidence. The Coroner, in summing up, severely censured people who have creeks unfenced ;and wells unprotected where children are allowed to play, and atatod that ha had experienced lots of cases in the Wairarapa where children had met their death through their parent's neglect, which ordinary caution would have prevented. The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned the following verdict ! ~ " That .Frances Phcebe : Johnson, -daughter of Edwin Johnson of Masterlon, : met her death by drowning on the 16th February, 1883, by falling into a creek adjacent lo her father's residence at Makora, near Mastorton. And the Jury wiili'to add that they are of opinion 'that more care should be taken in protecting children from meeting with accidents'of a like nature, especially by allowing creeks to remain unfenced near dwellings."