INQUEST ON A FIRE.

Mr Carew and a jury of six (of whom Mr William Maokay was foreman) held an inquest to-day at the Magistrate’s Court with respect to the burning of the Waterfalls Refrtshment Rooms, the property of Robert Rossbotham, on the evening of tho 9:h inst. Chief-detective O’Brien conducted the proceedings on behalf of the police. Robert Rossbolhan, settler, residing at Leith Valley for a number of years, said that he owned a building at Nicol Creek known as the Waterfall R-freshment Rooms. It was situated at Ilia corner of the main road up the Leith Valley and a track leading to the Waterfalls. Ir. bad been unoccupied from about November last. It was of wood, containing five rooms and a lean-10. He last saw the property intact about six or seven o’clock on the evening of the 9.h inst. He lived within sight of the building. At a quarter-past eight he saw the place was on tire ; flames were coming through the roof. Being in bad health that evening he did not go to the fire. A day or two afterwards he went and saw the ruins, going with a Mr Tanner, who called to ask about buying the iron. When he saw the glare of the fire he did not notice anyone moving about. The place was not insured. He valued it at £IOO, parts of it being old. The last tenant was Mr Michael Finnerty, who now lived immediately behind witness’s place. Before Finnerty left he and others complained against witness to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, alleging that his place was overstocked. That and other matters created a bad feeling between Finnerty and witness. Witness was not aware that that bad feeling extended as between himself and others of his neighbors excepting those who had complained against him. Mr Aitken and Constable Nolan reported that the place was not overstocked; thus showing that the complaint of Finnerty and three others was a pure concoction. Witness gave Finnerty a week’s notice, regarding him as a dangerous man, but he afterwards allowed Finnerty a month’s grace. At the Finnertys’ there were eighteen persons living, this number including Mrs Finnerty’s children by her first husband, named Hunt. Finnerty used his place as a refreshment room. Persons going to the falls had to pass through a portion of witness’s land. Finnerty demanded sixpence a head from persons visiting the falls. That was done against witness’s wish. Finnerty used to post his children to ask for the sixpences. The falls were on Finnerty’s ground. There were one or two other roads to the falls, not through witness’s property, but they were not made, and were inaccessible. Witness hod told the people about that he would put a man into the refreshment room to collect the fees. To that witness attributed the fire, believing that Finnerty thought that if the refreshment rooms were away he would have a clear hand. Witness could not say wbat these fees were worth. Finnerty’s family had a spite against witness in consequence of their dogs. The dogs killed witness’s stock, but they had never paid him for the damages. The Coroner: The feeling, one would think, would be the other way. Witness proceeded to state that he had had several cattle killed by neighbors’ dogs, and his orchard was raided, and he was perpetually annoyed by trespassing. He could not, of course, prove who did these things. He had never quarrelled with the Finnertys about the trespassing. He was frightened, indeed, that they would set his own place on fire.

The Coroner: Did they ever give you any reason to fear this ? Did they ever threaten you ? Witness: Oh, no; they are too cunning for that.

Augustas Sourdon, a wood carter residing at Leith Valley, aaid that he was in town with a load of wood on the 9th and returned home between six and seven o’clock. He gave three of the Hunts and John Perry a ride up the Valley. Perry had been with him all day. The Hunts were William, Thomas, and Charles. He met them near the junction of George and Duke streets. Ha dropped them at his house, about ten minutes’ walk short of the refreshment rooms. The four of them went on, the three Hunts one road and Perry by the other. The Hunts went towards their home. In order to reach their home they would have to pass the refreshment rooms. He saw no more of the Hunta that evening. Perry came down to his place abont half-past seven or a quarter to eight and stayed there till about half-past nine. A man named Scofield said that ho had seen a reflection of fire, and he and witness and Ferry went up the rqad and saw the refreshment rooms burning. They saw no one abont the place. A settler named Maxwell and Mrs Harbour, who lived close by, were at their own places, and these were the only persons witness saw nfear. No one was trying to put out the fire. The Hunts to

whom ho gave a ride were not vory. djmak that afternoon. A couple of theHh, william and Thomas, had had a drop of drink, hot they were not very bad. Charles Hunt and Perry were sober. They talked about nothing in particular; they said nothing about Rossbotham or the refreshment rooms. John Perry, laborer, residing at the Leith V alley, said that he was the man mentioned by the last witness as having got a lift in the dray. He had heard the last witness s evidence, and agreed with it, _ and had nothing to add. Ho knew nothing about the fire. James Tabar, wood carter, said that ho lived something more than a quarter of a mile this side of the refreshment rooms. Oo the evening of the 9th William Finnerty and Thomas Hunt called at witness’s place. It would be hard on to seven o’clock when they called. Hunt said they wanted to rest a bit. They were lying on some cut wood in a shed. He said “All right; you’ll do no harm.” Witness wondered how they had found their way so quietly to where they were. They could not have been much under the influence of drunk. They often called at his place to change their dirty boots for cleaner ones before coming into town. Hunt said,that Charley and Jimmy—meaning two more of the brothers—were coming to meet them. Both Charley and Jimmy Hunt came, about seven or half-past. Witness could not say exactly the time ; he had no clock. When the two other brothers came they all went away together. They went up the road. He understood that they were going home. It would take them perhaps a quarter of an hour to go as far as the refreshment rooms. There was no talk about Mr Rossbothain or his place. To the Coroner: Witness was on good terms with Rossbotham, who was not, witness thought, the kind of man to have many enemies.

Charles Hunt, laborer, said that he resided with Finnerty, his stepfather. He was in Dunedin on the 9th, and rode home in Sourdon’s dray with his two brothers and Ferry. Oo leaving the dray he stood talking for about ten minutes, and then went up the volley as far as the bridge near Rossbotham’s refreshment rooms. Ho went as far as the bridge in Mr Butler’s dray. On getting out he met his brother Jim, and they went back to look for the other two. He had thought they were ahead of him, but learning that Butler bad not seen them he went back to see if they had stopped at Tabar’a, which was a usual stopping place for them to change boots and so on. Witness and his brother met the other two, and they all went home together. They stopped a few yards above the refreshment rooms, where there was an old dray by the side of the main road. Witness had put some parcels into young Bullet’s dray, and asked him to drop them at the bottom of tho bill. That was where the old dray was. Witness stopped to pick up these parcels, and then went up Sourdon’s sledge track, about two chains away from the refreshment rooms. Ho left his brothers at the corner of that track and went home. The reason of parting with his brothers was that they were camping in the bush. They would keep to the main road for two or two and a-half miles. Witness could go home in about twenty minutes. He did not sec the fire, nor'did he hear of it that night. He saw no sign of fire about the refreshment rooms as they passed. They did not call at the refreshment rooms for any purpose. He saw no more of his brothers that night. Witness was not merry that day ; his brothers had bad a drop, but were not bad. The three of them were summoned for being drunk that day, and were all fiued. So far as witness knew his family were on good terms with tbe Rossbothams; there was no reason to be otherwise. Witness had not collected money from persons visiting the waterfalls, but he thought there was a 101 l put on by his people. Witness was a smoker and carried tobacco and matches.

Sydney Maxwell, settler, said that his house was seventy or eighty yards from the refreshment rooms, on the opposite side of the stream. He thought, from a guess afterwards, that the time of the fire was approximately a quarter to nine o’clock. He went as far as the bridge and saw no one about the burning building. He had seen swagamen about the place, but had not seen the doors or windows open. Some of the windows were, he thought, broken. William Hunt, laborer, said that after leaving Sourdon’s dray ho and the others had a sleep on the road and then went to Tabar’s shed, where they had a sleep. Charley and Jim joined them, and they went together as far as the track to the house, where Charley left them, and the three othcia went straight up to tho *amp. They saw no one about the refreshment rooms as they passed. They did not themselves call at the refreshment rooms.

George Butler, settler, living about two miles beyond the burnt place, gave evidence as to giving Charles Hunt a lift in his dray. The verdict arrived at after five minutes’ deliberation was: “The jury are unanimously of opinion that the place was wilfully set on fire by some person or persona unknown, but that there is not sufficient evidence to point to any particular party.”