THE LATE TRAGEDY. INQUEST.

On Wednesday last an inquest was held at the Court House, Timaru, before B. Woollcombe, Esq., Coroner, touching the death of George WebD, who lost his life m the late boat accident off Timaru. The following jury was empanelled: — Messrs F. J. Wilson (foreman), Stone, Lough, Jonas, Hobbs, Cockroft, senr., Osborne, Bowker, lJurand, Padget, T. G. F^fe, W. Heah-y, Wade, aud Beldy. Constable Kennedy was examined, and gave precisely the same evidence as m the Customs enquiry, reported m our last issue. P. Walker, sworn, said : I am an able seaman. I have seeu the remains m the police bariacks. I have noticed a boot thereon. 1 can swear tbat the boot belonged to George Webb. The last time I saw it on him wad the day he went to go ashore. It was on a Friday evening. He came out of the hold and washed himself. He dressed himself iv a pair of white trousers and jacket, and put on a pair of boots, of which this is one. The mate sung out to one hand on deck to go withhim m the boat, and Webb being nearest went iv with the mate. The mate's name was Neilson. They left the ship, and that was the last I saw of them. I don't consider there was auy ill-feeling between them, none that I know of. I know the boot by the marks about it, it was a sort of watertight, it was split down the back seam, and waa nailed with four rows of nails, aud m diftereut places about were four nails arranged m crosses or squares, two towards the toe and two towards the middle of the foot, there was also a piece out of the ball of the foot. I particularly noticed the piece out of thc sole of the boot. The Coroner asked witness if he had noticed whether the boot with the remains corresponded with this description. Witness replied that he had uot, and was taken to examiue the boot. Examination contiuued : 1 have examined the boot. The nails are all there as I have described, except at the hole m the ball of the foot where the nails are absent. James Malcolm, the present chief officer of the Ottawa, gave substantially the same evidence as he gave before the Customs enquiry. In answer to questions from the Coroner, the police, and jurymen he said : If a boat of the construction the two men left the Ottawa m were to capsize she would not right again of herself. 1 dou't believe that if two meu tried to capsize her the}' could do so. If the boat had been on the beach that night, I dou't think she could have got off further than the line of surf, which would catch her. Neilsnu's height was about 5 ft. 10 iv., and Webb's about 5 ft. C iv. Neilson was entered on the ship's articles as 30 years of age. Webb's age I cannot say, but I should think he was about 21 or 22. 1 think the boot is Webb's but would not sw<"ar to it. 1 knew the general desoriptiou of thc boot, aud am almost positive it is his. If the boat had been loft anywhere betweeu the Ottawa and the Beautiful Star the wind, unless there was a current, woull have drifted her right out to sea. Captain Hart, of the Beautiful .Star, gave the following additional evidence to that taken at the Court of Enquiry : - The men Lad bean quanelling with a passenger on uiy vessel. I told them to go. They had been drinking. They were quite capable of pulling tlu-ir boat. They were some time before they took to their oars ; that was the reason I watched them, because I was afraid they might return. After they took to their oars, they pulled straight enough for their own vessel. I cannot suy what they were doing before they took to their oars. The timo was about 10.30 p.m. The Ottawa was at anchor abont two cables length from us. Tho wind was light from the westward. I heard some angry words pass between thc men iv the bout. I saw the boat beforo she was picked up next morning. I think if it wus deserted between the Star and the Ottawa it ehould have been much j farther off. If the boat had been beached north of tho reef she might have fetched out wliere I saw her m the morning. I heard no threats pass between the meu. If the boat and oar wero ashore, the oar would not follow ! the boat to where it was found, about 50 yards from it. lt. Lambert : I am chief steward of the s.s. Beautiful Star. • W T us aboard on April 14 aud saw two mon on board about 8 p.m. Neilson told me ho was chief officer of the Ottawa. Thc mate had three nobblers and the man had two. They stopped about two hours aboard the steamer. Tho mute cume and asked me beforo he went awny if I would let him havo a bottle of whiskey to take aboard his vessel. I let him have it, and saw him put it iuto the boat. Ho gave me v £1 note, and I gave him los, aud then wont to bed. Wheu m bed I heard a noise and got up aguin. I saw the mate had hold of the mun and was shaking him. The man refused to go into the boat unless the mate handed over some money to a passenger named McKav, who had bepn ashore at Timaru. I separated them, and got the man to go into the boat. The passenger and the mate had somo words, Captuin Hart came up out of the after cabin and ordered theui away. Tliey then went into the boat, and had some words ; I didn't tako much notice what they were. I then went back to bed. Tbey had no other bottles m tho boat. Thc second steward serves grog, but I don't thiuk lie could hare served any to them, as I wus m the cabin ull the time. The passenger, whom I refused to serve, gave tho mate money to get drink. The mate would not give the money buck to the passenger. The mate got tho grog, und stuck to both money and grog. Tho mate was excited, and said he had come aboard to got a nobbier. I have beeu to Duuedin and Lyttelton since, but have not seen tho mtito. When they left tho vessel, thc man was not drunk, but the mate was " elevated." Hugh Paterson, Captain of the Ottawa, stated that he had seeli the boot with tho remains, it resembled ouo of those woru by Webb. The mate signed his name Chr. H. Neilson. The.. .remainder of this witness' evidence was the samo as that already reported, as was also that of Willium Austin, seaman, ofthe Indus, who deposed to having heard xx. cry, and picking up the boat uext morning. Captain Hart, re-called, stated that the bout was ii miles from the luud when he saw hi-rut 10 v.m. Thomas Fisher, examined : I am a medical practitioner resident at Tiinuru. I have examined two portions of a human skeleton lying at the Police Barracks. One is a male pelvis with v portion of the buck bone attached; the flesh on thu bone being m v stntc of decomposition : the other a portion of the thigh boue aud leg bone with v foot attached, covered with a sock and boot. From tho appearance I should say that thoy both belonged to the same subject ; that of a man of small size, I should say about sft 6in m height. Alex. Bennett (who was called at tho request of the jury) stated : I am a corter living at Timaru. 1 saw a boat floating out to sea,

about nine days ago. I believe it was about *7 or 8 o'clock. It was then not quite v milo off. I could distinguish the seats m the boat with tho naked eye. I saw a boat go from the Indus about 9 or 10 a.m. und pick up the boat. She was a long way off then, threo times the distance blic was when I first saw her. I could not say if there was an our floating about the boat. I could see with tho glass a strip of something or other alongside like unpointed wood. The bout wus drifting east. When I first saw her bhe was opposito the Otipua Lagoon. The Coroner summed up ; he said that the first thing necessary was, that the jury should be satisfied thut the remai n s were those of Webb. One man had sworn positively that he knew the boots ; there was therefore very little doubt but that the romnins belonged to Webb, and from tho evidence it appeared that he hnd been drowned. Tho only question wus, whether tbere was any evidence to prove that nny crime had been committed. They had only pi-oof that ono man lnd died; if tha reuiuins of the two had been found thero would have boon uo doubt about the matter. If oue man had committed murder aud thrown the other overboard, he would theu try to escape by land. The evidence of Bennett shewed that the boat, had been much nearer the land than when she was picked up. It was known that things lost generally go north, and it was questionable if anything would drift south. Oue man had stated m evidenco that the wind was off shore, and the boat should have gone out to sea. Still the boat might have been blown about by the wind m various directions during tho liight. Bennett's evidence regarding his seeing a strip of something liko unpointed wood alongside the boat, would probably accouut for tbe our beiug found so close, as what he saw might huvo beon the oar hanging on to the boat. Mr Bennett volunteered some further evidence, from his own observation, na to the direction which floating objects off Timaru were likely to tuke. Jio stated: Wheu the Layard wns wrecked north of the landing place, I picked up oranges that had been iv her cubin, and pieces of wood, portions of her cubin, all along the buuch aa far south as tlie Pighunting Creek. The Coroner remarked that his (Mr Bennett's) evidence was valuuble, as being a matter of fact instead of a mere matter of opinion. He would now leave the matter m the hands of the jury. After a long deliberation, the jury found tho following verdict :— " That George Webb was. found dead on the 22nd of April last, but that there is not sufficient evidence to show how he came by his death."