CORONER'S INQUEST.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3349, 10 April 1868, Page 3

CORONER'S INQUEST.

AH official inquiry was held at two o'clock yesterday ! •tamooT beW T. M. Philson Esq. M.D., Coroner, at the Perth and Dundee Hotel (Mr. Peter McDonalds), 1 Drake-street, on view of the body of Edward Malcolm, sailmaker, whose accidental death we noticed in yesterday's publication. The jury baring returned from viewing the body, the following evidence was adduced :— James Malcolm, aged eleven yean, son of deceased, 'deposed : I was with my father all day on ,Wednesday at his place of business, Queen-street. He wa» working part of the day at sails. There was no person working with him. He left off work at 8 o'clock. It was quite dark at that hour. We put out the lights in the sail-loft, and weDt down stairs in the dark. My father went first, and I followed, holding him by the coat skirts. I had gone down two steps, whea my father's foot caught upon the rim of the stair and caused him to ■tumble. I know this as I trippsd against hi* heel. He did not speak. I saw him tumble to the bottom of the wooden stairs. He fell on his head. I heard the noise caused by his head falling on the floor. The height of the loft, I was told, was thirty feet from the ground floor. There was a hand-rail on one side of the staira. 1 ran down the ■tairi immediately. I found my father lying with his head against the wall and his face turned upwards. I could not see him plainly, but I heard him making a noise in his throat. I ■pokt to him, but he did not answer. He breathed. I Uf ted his head on my lap, hoping he would reoover. After waiting a qoarter of an hour, I found he did not recover. He never moved. I then ran home to Graham-street, to my mother. I did not see a policeman, or any one that I knew, on my way home. My mother came back with ma. We found my father lying as I had left him. There was no Bound of breathing. I gob a candle, and poured water on his head. My mother went for Mr. Hanoock, of the Waitemata Hotel, who came with her. Dr. Nicholson was sent for and came. He said my father was dead. We had often come down the stairs in the dark, without anything happening. He had not been out out of the loft all day. He took his breakfast and dinner there. He had no beer, wine, or any spirits. He drank water. He was a heavy man. His age W Ge©rg« e T*ylor, proprietor of Wharf Dining Booms, Queen-street, deposed : I hare known deceased for a period of tiro years. At a quarter to nine o'clock I was in Mr. Hancock's hotel, when Mrs. Malcolm oame in and spoke to him. He told me that a man had fallen down the stairs from a saiMoft. We went into Mr. Malcolm'? place of busineis, and saw him lying at the foot of the stairs with his head resting on his little boy's knees. I took hold of deceased's hand and could feel no ( pnlae. I sent for Dr. Nicholson and the police. The former when he came pronounced the man to be dead. I saw no marks of injury, but blood oozed out of the left ear and eye of deceased. The body was quite warm, but the face and head were cold. The stairs are not steep, and perfectly safe. ±he height is about 14 feet. I had not seen deceased durW that day. Ho was a very industrious, hard- • working man. I never saw him the worse for liquor. ' I believe his death was the result of accident. • Dr. M. E. B. Nicholson, member of the Koyal College of Surgaons, England, deposed j About 20 minutes to 9 o'olook last etening I was called in to Bee deceased, by last witness. I found him lying at. the bottom of the stairs on his back. His little son ■ was holding up bis head. I observed a quantity of v blood and water where he lay. He was dead. The 1 trunk' of the body was warm. One eye was black. I saw blood aud serum issuing from the left, ear, from 'which I concluded that the base: of the skull had been fractured. I did not observe any other injuries. The stairs seemel; Awkward and dangerous. A fall down such stairs would cause the, in jory I have mentioned, patticu-; larlyifa person fell down in the dark. I cannot, say whether, the neck was broken, but 1 know the injury sustained was sufficient to cause death. • ' Jeremiah Ryan, sailmaker, deposed that he had been frequently employed by deceased dnring the last fouryeaw.' H*was in his loft between three! and four o'olook on Wednesday. Deceaied and bis; ion were there. Deceased was^ perfectly sober He "complained to witnew that he did not, feel ver/ well. He was a sober man. T Ha itairoase id very dangerous. There are two flights of ■top stainrleading to the deceased's loft, which is oa the upper storey. The deceased must have fallen, from the top of the first landing to the ground floor. ; , This .concluded die evidence, and the jury returned « -verdict of " Accidental deathl." '-•

' 'A Busrian engineer exhibits at the Paris Exposition a railway invention -which has' attracted considerable curiosity. . The object is- to save the power gained on a descent, now loit in the friction of the brake*, with wear and tear, and use it in ascent. ' To do this the engineer has attached to the locomo- ' tive two veiy heavy fly-wheels; Going' down hill ' they act as a break, andtheforos they gather will carry the train up Unequal rise, .less the. friction. ' Here a model train loaded with water runs down a sharp incline, the water runs pff, and the force of the ( fly-wheel carries the train back to the place of start* , ing. In this way a short line, taking coal down an , incline^— from the pit's mouth for example— would be . •worked wiihout' any power, bot that- gained by eaoh ! d^oeat of the train,'' >• •>* >--•>"» - •-• *