CORONER'S INQUEST.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3258, 25 December 1867, Page 6

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inquest on the body of William Walling, a seanun, late of the cutter * Alabama,' who was drowned by the foundering of that vess«l l*«t week, was held yesterday at the Railway Terminus Hotel, before Dr. Philson, coroner. The jury having viewed the body, the following following evidence was adduced :—: — John Woods deposed; lam * bo&tmaa residing in Chapel-street. On Friday la«t I received instructions from Mr. G. Anderson to proceed in the cutter * Teazer' in order to recover the cutter ' A labama,' which had been capsized off Chamberiin's Island. On the same evening we discovered her mast sunk in about five fathonw of water, but we were unable to do anything that day. On Saturday we got everything ready for hoisting, and on Sunday morning we partially raised the cutter, and took her in to Ohamberlin's Island. On Monday morning we had the cutter drawn further up oa the bet&h, ia order to bail the water out of her. About 7 o'clock ou Monday morning one of Mr. Chamberiin's men, named McCrae, came and told us that he had discovered a dead body close to the shore, at about a quarter of a mile from where we were, I and two others went in the small boat to the place, and there we found the dead body of deceased. I identified the body as that of William Walling, known also as "Gipsy Bill," and knew that be was in the cutter on her last trip. The cutter, 1 believe, is the proparty of Messrs. Henderson and Macfarlane, and deceased had been in her for about three weeks before hi« death. The body was lying on its back, and wai partially decomposed. tlt t It was all clothed, with the exception of the head. Outside there was a tailor's oilskin coat. We took the body into the boat; and brought it to town, where we gave it in charge of the police. I last saw deceased about a week before we found the body. Deceased has been in Auckland, to my knowledge, for the last 14 years, and I think he comes from the West of England. I believe there were three persons in the 'Alabama* when she left the Thames ; two of them belonged to the cntter, and the other was a passenger. I think deceased would be about 35 years of age. Frederick Perry Gardner deposed : I am a shopkeeper, and live on the Queen-street Wharf. I do not know deceased. On Wednesday last I was in a small boat lying under the lee of the Three Sister 3, near McLeods Bay, Waibeke, when I saw a cutter standing towards v«, beating against a westerly breeze. A smart squall shortly afterwards coming from the south-west &truck her and capsized her. The cutter was about three miles to win 1 ward of us at the time she capsized. We saw three men holding on by her aide. We got under weigh directly, and went towards the cutter. Before we could reach her she had settled down, but we could see her masthead and the peak of a sail. We got put to the vessel in about an hour after the accident, and rescued two men from the masthead. The two men were Mr. Trail, the captain, and a passenger named Hamilton. The men were much exhausted when we rescued them. Hamilton told me that he saw Walling sink, and that the cutter was called the 'Alabama.' She left the Thames the day before, and was bonnd for Auckland. The master told mo that the vessel was capsized by a sudden gust catching her on the broadside, and that he had not committed any error in managing the vessel When the vessel capsized they were all swept into the sea. The master and passenger got hold of the mast, but the deceased sank ! immediately. The cutter was in ballast at the time. ' I believe that the occurrence was purely accidental, j and not from any mismanagement, as far as I am aware of. The yacht which I was in was about five tons burden. We experienced great difficulty in reaching the cutter, as the surf was very strong. I brought the two men up to Auckland on the next day. It was about 10 o'clock in the morning when the cutter was capsized. The Coroner then thanked Mr. Gardner on behalf of the jury, and said it must be very gratifying to him to think that he had been instrumental in saving tiro lire*. If such an occurrence had taken place in England, he believed Mr. Gardner would be presented with a Humane Society's medal, but the jury could only thank him for the exertions he had made. Constable W. Will deposed : When on duty in Queen-street Wharf on the Thursday morning, the 19th instant, at about balf-past five o'clock, I received information from William Trail, the master of the cntter 'Alabama,' that the 'Alabama' had been upset off Chamberiin's Island, and that a seaman was drowned. At the time of the ooourrence the deceased was at the tiller, and they were beating up with all sails set; and at about ten o'clock they were struck by a squall with such violence as to capsize the cutter. Captain Trail was rescued by Mr. Gardner and Mr. John Stokes, who were in the yacht ' Blanche.' He said he believed the the cutter had sufficient ballast Captain Trail is not in Auckland at present. The body was brought to me last night, at ten o'clock, by Mr. Woods. I conveyed it to the dead-house. It was much decomposed, but quite capable of being identified. I searched the pockets of deceased, bnt I did not find anything in them. Captain frail is aware that the body is found, and I expected him up to-day, but he has not come. He told me that deceased was a good •irimmer. The jury returned the following verdict ;— " That the deceased was drowned off Chamberiin's Island, on th* 18th December, by the accidental upsetting of the cutter 'Alabama,' on her voyage from the Thames to Auckland through itress of weather; And that the thanks of the jury are due to Mr. Gardner and Mr. Stokes for rescuing the remainder of the crew from a watery grave." ,

A new rush that it likely to give employment to ft considerable number of miner* has taken place within the last ten days, at the Wood»took,or eightmil* digging!, up the Hokitika river, gold having beta itiaok on the rising ground on the down-river side of the gaily in which gold was first discovered at the above locality, Reports that reached town concerning the discovery were, at usual, altogether exaggerated, ljdirfc. being the stated prospects, Which we have since ascertained from our reporter, who visited the gronnd on Tuesday, would have been more truthfully represented by from five to eight grains.— Wort Coatt Timu, December 19*