DRURY. CORONER'S INQUEST. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) November 2.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2903, 14 November 1866, Page 5

DRURY. CORONER'S INQUEST. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. ) November 2.

An inquest was held at Tuakau, on Saturday, the 10th instant, before C. Mellsop, Esq., Coroner, and a jury, of whom Mr. Samuel Yeoman Collins was foreman, on view of the body of James Johnston, which had been found in the Waikato river, under circumstances stated iv the following evidence. Lawrence Callaghan, being sworn, stated as follows : lam a settler at Tuakau. About 6 o'clock on Sunday ■ evening 1 saw a dead body lying in the river. There were several other men with me at the time. I 'did not notice any marks of violence on the body. We brought the body down here, and informed the police as soon as possible. The body was lying on a snag, with the face downwards. Samuel McClatohy, sworn : I am a settler residing at Tuakau. I was with last witness in the canoe when the body was] found. We tied some flax round the body and afterwards examined it, and found one of the pocket* turned inside out. John Mason, sworn : I am a Militiaman of the 3rd Regiment, No. 8 company. I knew the deceased ; his name is James Johnston ; he was a labourer, and used to reside at Point Russell. He was a discharged soldier of the 68 th Regiment, and was about 32 years of age. I last saw him alive on the 28th October. I was with him in a flat-bottomed boat. We started from the Bluff to go to Point Ru&sell, between three and five in the afternoon. There were four besides myself in the boat— the deceased, James Johnston, Gabriel Thompson, Edward Donnelly, and John Mallin. The current swept us down about half a mile below the Bluff. I got out of the boat on the opposite bank from the Bluff. I asked the others to come out ; they would not, but came down the river. They were neither druuk nor sober. They had been drinking at different places. Thompson, Donnelly, and myself came from the Queen's Redoubt. We met deceased between the creek and Point Russell, and came up in the boat to the Bluff. It was a leaky one. Thejt had been drinking before they came to the Bluff. 1 had been drinking a little myself. When I got out of the boat it was not dark. I did not Bee them again. Some soldiers brought me across the river again the following morning. There was no quarrelling, but there were some words about the deceased not pulling. He refused to pull — there were no blows struck. I have no reason to suppose they quarrelled. Thompson was the man I heard speaking to the deceased. He was not very drunk. We had two oars, and three paddles. The boat is large enough to hold four persons. She is about fourteen feet long. Ido not think that deceased had much money about him— he might have htd a little. I have no reason to think that he was drowned other than accidentally. Ido not think he met with any foul play. He had a small hard lump over his eye. I have seen the mark on his face te • lay. He told me it was through his haviug bad eyes. The lump appears to have burst. He said to me at one time that he thought he would have to have it cut out. Thompson is still missing. Edward Donnelly, sworn : 1 am a labourer, residing at llangir'ui. I &<) not know the deceased, but have seen him before. I last saw him alive on the 28th October. On the 27th October I came down from Rangirirl with Masonfto Russell's Point. We had been on the river all Saturday night. We went to the Queen's Redoubt on Monday. On returning from Queen's to Russell's Point we met Thompson, who is now supposed to be drowned. We went into deceased's wbare, and it was proposed to him that we should go to the Bluff in the boat. We started for the Bluff, where we stopped for two or three hours. We had been drinking all day, and were somewhat intoxicated. We started to return to return to Point Russell in the same boat, but the current took us down the river. A man came to our assistance in a small dingy. When he got to us we were nearly a mile down. John Mason stepped j out on the bank of the river. We then drifted further down. Mason asked us to get out. The dingy towed us across the river to the Bluff side. Tho »pson sat in the dingy, and held the rope of our boat till we got across ; there were then three iv the boatWhen we got the other side Mason stepped out of the boat Into the dingy with the intention of assisting the man to pull ; in getting into her he slipped on to the gunwale and swamped her. I jumped on to the bank |to assist the man in the dingy. John Mason, and the man who came to our assistance, held the dingy while I bailed her out. While I was bailing the dingy out I looked to see if our boat was right with Thompson, and deceased in. I heard Thompson tell Johnston to take an oar and assist him up the river ; deceased began an argument, and refused to pull, I saw no more of the boat after I had emptied the dingy. They were close to the bank when I last saw them. There was a sharp turn in the river j the current was right round the | point. I could not hear distinctly what they were saying. I heard deceased refuse to pull. [ have | seen the body to-day. 'J here was a small lump on the temple before he was drowned. 1 have no reason to believe they quarrelled ; they were very good friends. Thompson was a young mau about 28 years of age. I don't know if deceased had any money about him. Thompson and deceased were both dincharged loldiers of the 68th Regiment. Ido not think the boat oould be easily upset. I believe deceased was the most intoxicated. I do not know anything about boats. David Jack, sworn, deposed : lam a painter residing at present at the new hotel at Point Russell. Last Sunday week I went down to the Bluff in a dingy. I -waa there about half an hour, when I saw five men getting into a flat-bottomed boat j they had all by their appearance been drinking freely. One of them had a bottle of brandy in his hand j the last witness Donnelly had the bottle of brandy. When they got into the stream, they were pulling against one another — the current swept them down out of sight. I went after them in a dingy to see where they went. When I came up to them they were all quarrelling with last witness, because he threw the bottle of brandy into the river 5 they were in the middle of the river at this time. I advised them to pull into the side, or else would be unable to pull against the current. One of the men said he would not go any further, but jumped into the water and waded ashore. He tried to persuade Donnelly to go with him, but he refused to leave the boat. I told them I would tow them across to the other side, and they could walk up, and let some one come that was able to pull their boat up. One of the men got into the dingy with me, and held their rope while I pulled across. Before I got across one of the men attempted to get into the dingy and capsized her. We pulled her to the bank and baled her out. I tried to persuade the men to leave the boat and walk up to the Bluff. Thompson and deceased got into the flat-bottomed boat, and said theywould take her to the Bluff or sink her. I could not say which one it was said that. One of the men sat down and would not pull ; the man that was pulling pulled her out three or four yards from the bank, and the current swept them away. I heard them talking as they were going away. There was about eight inches of water m the boat at the time. They were both sitting on one side of the boat ; they were not able to manage a boat. I fetched the other two men up to the Bluff in the dingy. It was dark when I got back to the Bluff. I have no reason to suppose that deceased was drowned other than accidentally. They were drifting sideways down the river when I saw them last. William Grant, ■worn : I am a labourer, residing at present at Tuakau. I was working with Mr. Fry in the bush last Monday week. I was going up to the pit. I saw this boat, bottom up, floating down the river. I called to the men at the pit to assist me in getting the boat. There was a coat locked or caught round the thwarts. In the pocket there was a purse with sixpence, threepence, and a knife. We got the boat, and brought her to Tuakau. Thomas McCaffery, aworn : I am one of the police force stationed at Papakura. I assisted to take the body out of the water. I did not see any marks of violence. There was a hole on the temple which appeared to be of long standing. 1 have no reason to suppose that he met with any violence. The jury by their verdict found, " That the said James Johnston deceased was found dead in the river Waikato on the 4th November, 1866, near Tuakau, but how the aforesaid James Johnston deceased came by his death there is no evidence before the jury. And the jury wish to express their thanks to Mr. David Jack for his humanity .in going to the assistance of the party of whom the deceased was one."

At one time Daniel Webster hud a difficult case to plead, and a verdict was returned against his client. One of the witnesses came to him and said, "Mr. Webster, if I thought we should have lost the oase, I Might have testified a good deal more than I did." "It is of no consequence," replied the lawyer, " the jury did not believe a word you said/