INQUEST ON THE LATE J. M. GIRDLESTONE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1750, 1 August 1884, Page 2

INQUEST ON THE LATE J. M. GIRDLESTONE.

(By Telegraph.) An inquest waa held at Worlierworks Provincial Hotel on the body of John M. Girdleatone, before Dr Hitching, local coroner, and a jury of twelve, G, T. Cross, foreman. The jury having reviewed the body, the following evidence was taken. C. Villers deposed that he waa a storekeeper residing at Petane. He saw deceased at twenty minutes past twelve, who asked him at the hotel for the loan of a gun, as he vm going to shoot some bitterns. He (wimess) lent liim the gun, and saw him start, deoeased remarking that lie proposed to return to town by the two o'clock coach. Witness offered to lend him ammunition, but deceased said he had plenty with him. He also remarked that the gun had a rebounding lock, The ÜBual way for a sportsman to carry such a gun.waa at full cook, If it caught in anything it would go off immediately, The deceased understood itß mechanism, Deceased then went up the valley, and he (witness) lost sight of him and never saw deceased again alive.- He was in his usual health and spirits, The gun produced was the one lent. Thomas Batchelor deposed that.he was a gardener in Mr Yillerß employ, at Petane. At about one o'clock he waß standing a short distance from the hotel talking to a man named Groves, and saw a man Blading on the side of the hill. Would imagine he was 600 yards away. Groves said the man was shooting. Before they had finished speaking he heard the report of a gun, and saw the man fall, and immediately he said to Groves he (witness) had better go across to the man, which he did, Groves going to the hotel to tell them there, Meeijna J, Pickett on the' road, he accompanied him (witness) as he thought something was wrong. On roach-, ing the place, both crossed the fence, and Pickett Btooping dawn said the man was quite dead. A gun was hanging on the wire fence with the muzzle towards the ground, The trigger was behind a catch on the wire where the two ends were tied, and the trigger bad got caught in the ends. Be saw the man waß quite dead, and did not move the gun. They then waved their hats for assistance and four or five men came to their help, The gun was not touched till Detective Grace came down. The body was taken across the creek on a stretcher and taken to the hotel. The end of the wire was three or four inohes long, John Pickett corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. He identified deceased as Mr Girdleatone whom he knew well. He had seen deoeased previously with Mr Villers while he (witness) was in the stable but did not

| speak to him, Mr Girdlestone seemed in ' his usual health und spirits. Sergeant 0. E, Walker deposed to . having proceeded to Patane- at;.2'-'o'clockv' Went in consequence of heftring; that Mr' Girdlestone had beenat Petane, he went to the, p'avifion where the body wan lying, and,; iii'company with detective Grace, examined'the body and found a gun-shot woundon the right side, There wasa hole in the coat from the result of the:ahot; ••■KHqunji'.m the pockets', twenty .cartridges-' -loaded with shot, also watch and chain and Bundry other articles'.'- He' theni went to tha spot wherelheTatality occurred nnd'found the gun (produced) hanging on the fence. The gun was hangiug by a piece of wire where the ends were projecting at thajffifl of a aplice, which had caught the.qfm hand trig£?oi', and the barrel had been charged, The cartridge case was produced ;, iu the discharged barrel, and the unexploded cartridge found in the left barrel. The gun was a breech loader. The fence waß a five wire ience. The wires that were entangled belonged to the Beoond wire. The wires were loose . and would have allowed deceased itgeo through them, It had every appeafprje of being the result of a pure accident, The Coroner said the evidence waa ; quite sufficient to justify the jury in bringing in a verdiot of pure accident, there could be no other impression from 1 the evidence, 1 Mr Oamell (one of the jury) said he (deceased) was a most reckless man with - a gun on one occasion he had neatly r£R • him (Mr Garnell) and in his jovial ■ mariner had remarked " a miss was as good as a mile," ;'..''. r The jury returned a unanimous verdict ' > of accilenial death, ■" ' . '-—■ '