INQUEST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2450, 12 November 1886, Page 2

INQUEST.

The adjourned inquest touching the death of the little girl Ellon Peterson was resumed yesterday morning at 10 o'clock, at Carterton,'before Dr Spratt, Coroner for this district, and the former jury, of which Mr W. Catt, Sen,, waß elected forman. t ;t \ ,» W. Corlott was the first witness called

who deposed: I was gumg home onvthe uvonintt of the 3rd November down 1-ark road on horseback, along with-another man, A man passed U9 on huradbiioi;. When he came up With us he was'going at a gentle canter, but after passing us he went faster. I reckon he went at a good hand gallop, it would be about ten chains'from the .main road at Carterton. I-saw ili the time .a little girl aouie distanco in front crossing the road towards her home.' Tho-tuau-vrHs in the centre of the road when he passed us, but aftor wards ho' went" more on the side and I saw MJoplo"- running from the house, and. pick .up. a'-li'ttle girl. I did not know that the-child had been run over until Isaw the.people pick her up. No one else overtook me. There was no one with the man who rode past me. I did not notice tho man urge h's horse on, bub he was sitting forward in his saddle. I did not notice him standing up in his stirrups. When the child was being lifted up tho man rode on. When I saw the child was hurt I rodo baok for the doctor.

To the Foreman: I did not personally krtoiv the accused, but the man now in Court waß the one that passed mo. When I saw the child cross the road, she was about eight chainß in front of me, uoar the fence. Tho child whom 1 saw running across the road was by all appearances well able to take caro of. horsolf. I did not see the child who was run over on the road when I passed. My impression is that the child must have walked to the road from the fence as the horseman came up. lam quite positive that the accident happened, as I saw-the blood from tho child's head, but how 1 could not tell. If the child had boon on the grass by the fence, the man could not have rode over her as he was only just on the side of the road. I was watching the horseman all the time, and could not imagine how the accideut occurred, for I did nut coo anyone in the road bofore tho horseman got near her by some four or five chains, 1 did not see tho hone swerve at all after passing us.

To the Constable: The reason for keeping ray eyes on the horseman was to soo whether the girl got clear who was orossing the road at the timo. I believe the man wan not what one might call sober. I should say that the wheel track would be about throe feet from tho grass, and the man, as far as I could judge, was riding alow; the wheol track. He was not riding at a furious speed when he passed me, but 1 could not say at what Bpeod he was going when he came up t'e where the accident happened. To the Foreman: The grass was uot very high where the child was picked up, but if Bhe had been sitting down by the road side I might not have noticed her, as I was some distance away. David Kiddio corroborated the evidence of the last witness. Ellen Petersen said Bhe was on; the road on the day of the accident. My sister and I were in the ditch by the roadside. My mother called us and we weut to go across the road towards home when the horseman camealoiigaudbefore my sister got fully out of tho road, the horso camoin contact with her and knocked hor down. Nolly was a little bit on • the grass when the horse knocked, her down with its forefoot. Tho man in Court is | the man who was riding the horse. My sister was standing up when the horse knocked her down.

Alfred Clifton deposed; lam a settler residing at Parkvale. . I remomber the day in question, I was, returning from the Pastoral and Agricultural Show with some Bheep and aoing down Park Soad 1 noticed a horseman coming. He waß riding at racing speed. 1 was about half a mile down Park Road when he came along. He was Bomewhoro near Petersen's house when 1 first noticed him.-and I began to clear away my sheep off the road as I did not consider them safe at the rate he was riding. He continued to keop on at the same pace as far as I could see him. I recognize tho man now in Court as the same man. I could Bee other horsemen coming along but thoy were only going at a walkiug pace. I concluded the man was three parts drunk,by tho way he Bat in his saddle. 1 did not think there was any danger of the man falling off his horse. I did not see the man till after ho got past where the accident happened. It might have been about fivd minutes from the time I passed Petersen's place when tho man came along Ho was riding on tho side of tho road when 1 saw him coming past Peterson's, but when he pa« Bed mo he was in the middlo of the road,

James Lower deposed: lam a sottlor residing at Parkvalo. 1 was returning homewards on the evening of the show day, I was helping the last witness to drivo liis sheep, when the horseman came along at a very rapid pace, and when ho came up to whero we were he was going at racing pace. After he passed us he seemed as if he was trying te pull his horse in, but the horse made no oheok in its speed. By the rato he was riding I should fancy he was drunk, and did not seom to have control over his horse. Too man in Court is the same I Baw on the day in question, Thos, Teale a lad of twelve years of age also gave similar evidence. The Coroner remarked .that ho had no doubt the jury would do their duty in considering the evidence uow before them, and pointed out what ho considered the difference betweon a person causing an accident by doing a legal act, and an accident occurring through anyone doing what is not lawful and urged them to keep to the facts as already stated in the evidence adduced, and ho also considered that under tho circumstances in which the parents, of the deceased child would naturally bo, there should be uo undue weight laid upon thoir evidence. He went through tho whole.of the depositions and commented on the evidence of'the several witnesses.

The jury then retired to consider their verdict, and after an absenso of about half an hour returned with the followinjj: That the girl Ellen Petersoo, met with the accident, (which caused her death on the evening of the 3rd November opposite her parents residence, Park Road, Carterton, through being.knocked down by a horse recklessly and furiously ridden by Wm, Pinkington, who was at the time drunk, the above amounting in our opinion to a verdict of manslaughter apainsfc the said Wm. Pinkington. Tho prisoner was remanded till 10 o'clock a,m,, next Saturday.