INQUEST.

An inquest was held this afternoon at the Con^t-hp.use on the body of ihe lase Catherine UairipiJell nor'taii, befoi'e P. Brennan Esq., Deputy-coroner, and the .folio-wing jury: — Messrs Dykes {chairman), Quigley, Richie, Mandel, Gibseiij and H. peei After ibeing duly sworn, the jury proceeded to the Morgue to view the body, and on their return the following evidence was taken i«John Joshua Horton : lam an electric light engineer ; deceased, was my wife ; she cattle round, to tftf c&ttage at about two o'clock oil Friday alt^nbb'n'j and asked to see her son ; I opened the door and called out to her to go away and she went away ; I did not see her again until a quarter past eight the same evening, when, she came to the machine house ; I immediately asked her' to leave; as I wished to bate, no further trouble with her ; she then left ; her stay lasted about a minute ; a few minntes after that my boy came and told me that his mother was at the si4e window of the cottage ; I asked the lioy to itehialn" iti the machin'e' house while I went round ; I took tlte lantern and went ronnd ; I found her at the window and asked her to leave ; Sllfe asked irie for a light} and I piit the lantern near the track and showed her the way to the road, asking her to go back where she came from ; that is the last I saw of her ; she was a native of North Shields and was 34 yeaW of age ; she had lived in New Zealand about three years ; she has three children now livingj ail of whom are ndW living with nle ; she has been iriarriefl v Id me i& years ; we we're married in Edinborough; I should have said her children were four in number, but don't know where the oldest is ; I believe he is in Greymouth, Cross-exrmined by Constable Pattei'soh ! The deceased did not go dose Up to the house at two o'clock, but stood a little distance off— about 15 feet away ; I emphatically de"ny having touched her; she had a little child with her on both occasions j after leaving work at 11.13 p.m. I went to bed ; my boy left with me ; the boy and not leave the '>^rOOTu again that night ; on the following morning I was woke at about 7.15 by some one knocking at the door ; I opened the front door and saw the little child who was with deceased the previous day; I don't think the child was knocking; I did not take the child in then, but it was taken in a quarter of an hour later ; the knocking at the door was caused by my mate, who was on his way "home, from work, and having seen the child lying on the ground in front of the door knocked to draw my attention to it ; I did not search for the mother, as I considered she had accomplished her object of leaving the child in my hands, which I believe was her intention when she visited me ; I went to the back shortly after breakfast, about ten o'clock ; the water-closet is about seven feet from the tail-race, which carries the water from the turbine, but found nothing ; on Sunday shortly after 12 o'clock I had occasion to go in the same direction, and just over the end of the tail race I saw something dark hanging on the end of one of the branches about three or four feet above the water level ; I stepped forward to look at it and crossed over to the town side of the tail race, as that was nearer, and saw what looked like a woman's veil ; it struck me as curious that a veil should be there, and making my way down to the water I saw the feet of deceased a few feet off; I immediately ran up and called the attention of my housekeeper to the fact ; I changed my clothes and came to town and informed the police ; Friday night was very dark but mild ; it had been raining, but was not at the time deceased came to the machine house ; my wife did not ask for admittance ; I would not have allowed her in if she had ; we had been living apart for over nine months; I had good reason for refusing to admit her; . when the boy found the blanket I made no further search, as I concluded the child was wrapped in it; my reason for refusing admittance had she asked it was that I intended taking proceedings for a divorce, and had taken legal advice. John Pearson Horton': I am 13 years of age ; I remember Friday last ; I returned from school at four o'clock, and was at the machine house with my father ; the deceased is my mother; I saw her that night come to the machine house window about 8.45 ; she said " Jack, it's only me ; I want a match to light me over the bridge." I did not answer, but went over to the machine house and told my father she was there ; my father went, to the cottage with a lantern and I stood at the door and watched ; my father was not gone more than two minutes ; on the following morning I brought the little child into the house at my father's request ; I had a look round and under the house to see if my mother was there, but did not see her ; in the afternoon I took the child to the >ack of the house to see the foyljjfrjWMj found a grey blanket ..pjfe^j^l jground in front of .the- water-cloijie£ "tloor ; it looHg ag though a child had ken

wrapped in it from the way it was 1 folded op { a grown-up person could i not have been lying in it ; I saw the blanket first in the morning at 7.80, and3lrs,Brou told nie to bring it in; I tliougijt PprHap3 liiy motner wal lying in it ! I sieep in tne sailie 1 i'odnl as my father ; I left the machine house on Friday night with him at about 11 o'clock ; he did not leave the room that night } he cduld not without me hearing him j I.heflfd n.o.aolse after I went to tyed oft Friday night; , ... Jaiie Brou : I remember Friflay last; I was at Mr Horton's cottage on that date; I never saw deceased to my knowledge ; on Friday afternoon I saw a female on the road not far from the cottage'] • Richard j. Da-sis, engine fitter, tfas at the Commercial Hotel on Friday last and at the Morgue, and recognised ' deceased as. the women I saw at the hotel that night. Witness stated that he accompanied her over the bridge and to Horton's house. Did not think she was under the influence of liquor, Islie seemed much- more deranged than drunk. Dr Whitton stated he iiad made an examination of deceased this afternoon and louncl no wounds or lacerations on the face, neck, Lead, or other parts of the body of deceased. Over both knees there were bruiees with skin rubbed off the right one. These bruises were • caused befofe death.' yiiere were also two smkll bruises on ■ihe rigllt fore arm. Tnere. were no fractures- or any other &gn of injurf to the body. Froth was present on the lips and inside the mouth. Both hands were clenched and covered with sand, and leaves and ferns were entangled amongst the hah\ I am of opinion deceased 6aine to her death by suffoca* tion from, drowning. IJici not ricftiGef any discoloration . at the neck except what was caused by dyes from the dress. Could not form till idea as id how long deceased had been dead, but had certainly been a considerable time in the water. Constable Patterson gave evidence as to finding the body in the river about a chain below Horton's cottage. Gave further evidence that he examined a water closet in Horton's garden auout sft above the" i'ace ; here he found foot prints which corre'sp'oricied with deceased's boot, and on the edge of the bank a break which had the appearance of being broken also by a foot, and the grass on the side seemed to be pressed down as if by the fall of a heavy body. There was a fall from the top of the garden to the bottom of the race of about 7ft. The foot mark I saw was aldne, no Others appearing about it. It did not seem likely that any struggle had taken place. . There was from Bft to 6ft of water in the race ai the time and place where the lying on her bacJcffigßpSmf^ughtly bent. The clotheopre very .much torn. This concluded the evidence and the jury returned a verdict that. Catherine Campbell Horton was accidentally drowned in the Electric Light Company's race.