FATAL ATTACK ON A FOOTBALL REFEREE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2683, 8 June 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

FATAL ATTACK ON A FOOTBALL REFEREE.

♦ On Monday April 15th, at the Leyland Police-court, near Preston, James Tattersall, a weaver, was charged 'with causing the deathof ThomasMawdsley at Leyland on Saturday last. He was formally remanded pending the inquest which was held in the afternoon. Prisoner was represented by Mr. Callis Ohorley. The evidence showed that on this Saturday afternoon a football match was played at Leyland between the Leyland Red Rovers ana theCoppull Association football team. Madwsley, who was the umpire, had been for some time past Buffering from phthisis. His younger brother, John H. Mawdsley played with the Leyland team, and at half-past three a dispute arose as to a goal which had been scored Mawdsley, junior, and Tattersall, who was one of the spectators, had words, and the latter kicked the former on the shins. Mawdsley returned to the field, and his brother asked him what he had been doing. He told him that Tattersall had kicked him. Thereupon Thomas Mawdsley went to Tattersall and asked him what he had been doing. They began pushing each other, and Tattersall pushed deceased down, and as he was rising from the ground he kicked him in the breast. Mawdsley got up staggered and fell dead. The post mortem examination showed aa effusion of blood under the breast bone, which was transversely fractured. Both lungs were diseased, the left being very bad. The medical theory was that the kick brought on syncope, the deceased being a very weak man. After half-an-hour's deliberation a verdict was returned that " Death resulted from the deseased state of the body, accclerated by the kick inflicted by Tattersall, but having regard to the deceased's state of health the jury did not consider Tattersall guilty of manslughter, but deemed him deserving of severe censure." The coroner accordingly administerd a severe censure to Tattersall. Ihe inquest lasted four and a half hours. The Leyland magistrates have since committed Tattersall for trial at the Assizes.