TAUPIRI FATALITY,

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 214, 6 September 1912, Page 8

TAUPIRI FATALITY,

THE MANSLAUGHTER' CHARGE. VEEaMCT of NOT guilty. The hearing of the manslaughter charge against Kenneth (Moore, in connection wi£h the death of Abraham Ngahiwi, superseding a fight at Taupiri in July 28th, occupied the attention of the Supreme Court, Hamilton, all day on Xhuisday. The evidence was similar to that given %t «he inquest and m the lower court. Several witnesses to the trouble in the billiard-room on the night before the actual fight swore that deceased, when he closed with Moore and threw him, fell ■with his head against a cupboard, the left side of the head being nearest the cupboard. .Also that immediately afterwards deceased complained of dizziness and pains in his head. ■Dr. Douglas, who conducted the postmortem, said that although haemorrhage from concussion usually manifested itself about twelve hours after injury, it was not impossible that dt -would not appear for 36 hours. It was improbable that deceased •would be able to fight for 35 minutes continuously the day after receiving such an injury; it was not, however, impossible. One blow -would ibe sufficient to cause both haemorrhages. He did not think a fall against the cupboard would toe sufficient to cause the injury unless deceased was propelled against it. There were cases on record -where the trouble had gone on for weeks 'before the patient became unconscious. Concussion was -usually followed by "dizziness." In most cases a man injured in, this way -would not be able to walk home, like Ngahiwi did, ■without assistance. Assuming that deceased received an injury on the night of the -fight which caused concussion, and that he afterwards -walked home, he might still have "been suffering from concussion. He did not think the fall in the billiard-room was Hie cause of the injury, as he could not conceive a man fighting continuously for 35 minutes with a 'haemorrhage in the brain; but it was not impossible, as men had been known to go about their -usual avocations for some weeks be-fore the 'haemorrhage manifested itself. '■ Although deceased did not exhibit symptoms of concussion immediately after the fight, and was able to walk home, it Plight, still have been present. Br. MactDiaimid agreed with Dγ Douglas that it might ibe a considerable time before the concussion exhibited itself. Mr. Nc-rfchcroft made a long and eloquent appeal on 'behalf of the prisoner and his Honor's summing-up occupied nearly an 'hour. Tine jury, after 12 minutes' retirement, returned a verdict of not guilty.