FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT THE HUTT.

Evening Post, Volume LXV, Issue 98, 27 April 1903, Page 5

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT THE HUTT.

3EATH OP MR. W. T. L. TRAVERS. CRUSHED UNDER THE CARS. When the city awoke this morning \Ut\ irst newß of local moment/ concerned «n udiappy accident tii.it had occurred on ho railway line at the Lower Hutt bta.i»n early lust evening to Mr. W. I. L. i.'itivers, ono of liie beat known citixens, i man of probity and -worth, a man of culture and refinement, a man who hud icen inthnaUly connected with the af:nirj. of Wellington for many long y«ai«, i man who had won the respect and t*•eom of all .sections of the community. When a little 1 later the news arrived of the fatal termination of the mishap, a painful übock was caused, and the sad ulLiir became the topic of tho morning. There is little to bo told of the circumstances of the accident, which on presefil evidence appears to have been duo Lo pure misadventure. Mr. Travers accompanied to the liufct Station a lady who was coming to Wellington by the 7.45 p.m. train. He saw her into her carriage, and remained wi^h her there until • the train begun to move. Some one, it js said, endeavoured to prevent him taking the risk, of alighting while the train was in motion, hut without success. *JIo stepped from the train on to the platform, knocked against Guard Willianmon, who was keeping bystundeii* hack from' the train, and then ricochotting hack ugaiiubt the moving carriages, fell between the platform and the rails. J hone who saw the mi»har> raised the alarm,- and the train was quickly pulled up-. Mr. Trnvers was found lying on the line, his right leg crushed near the ankle-, and bearing' other visible injuries. He was lifted upon a etretcher and removed to his home in the neighbourhood. Jt all happened &o quickly th.it many it the train were unaware of the accident, and others only knew from hearsay that Boiue one had been hurt. Pimly, Valintino, and Hamilton attended the injured geniicman at his home, and later in the evening Dr. Collins went out from Wellington. It was found necessary to amputate the injured limb, and tne operation was performed between 12 and 1 o'clock at night, the,' leg being removed below the knee. Mr. 'JL ravers, who possessed of wonderful vitality for a man of ins years — he was 84 — rallied splendidly after tho operation, but towards 5 o'clock this rnonnug unfavourable symptoms were noticed, and he sank gradually away, expiring about 5 a.m. Thsre wore other serious injuries besides the crushed limb, including a broken nose, cute about the face and Head, and bruises on the- body, and it is supposed that there was also internal injury. Mr. Travers was perfectly conscious and self-possess-ed alter tho accident, and ho remarked to Constable Patlon, who as&istvd to lift him up and remove him to hio.home: "I collided with tho guard." The accident <uid its fatal ending is being made the subject of a Coroner's enquiry mis afternoon at tho residence of Uie deceased gentleman at tho Lower Hutfc. MR. TItAVERS'S CAREER. The career of the late Mr. Travers was one pf exceeding interest, and the limite of newspaper space iffttst necessarily fail to do full justice to one who had been si intimately connected with events of his torical interest ,' particularly in this col ony. Some of his experiences he nas him self nt various times committed to print while many of hia contributions in the in tercets of science, etc., have appeare< from time to time in the Transactions o; the Now Zealand Institute and in tu< columns of the local press. He was bort on tho 9th of January,. 1819, at CasU< View, near Newcastle, County Limerick Ireland. Educated in France, at the Col kgo of St. Sorvau, ho entered the Britiel Legion of Spain as Lieutenant in $Ue 2nc IWimont of Lancers, in which he servee during the C&rlist War, 1835-38. Aftw studying law in England, Mr. Traveri was admitted in 1844 in London, and practised at Chipping-Campden, a«d after wards at Evesham, Gloilceßterahire, until emigrating to New Zealand in 1849. Arriving in Nelson by tho flbip Kelso, he was at once admitted as a lxuTister and solicitor of the Supremo Court of tho colony. For sorao time ho was Judge of the District Court at Nelson, but'ho resigned tliat position and returned to the practice of his profession in that city. . In 1854 lie was returned to the first General Assembly as member for Nelson, which he represented during the two sessions of that year and tho sessions of 1855. Mr. Travers was elected a member of the second Parliament in the year 1856 for tho Waimea District, and continued a member till 1858, when ho i"esigned. Two [ years later Mr. Travers left Nelson for Canterbury, whero he Hved and practised tnl 1868, and was for several years a member of the General Assembly for Christchurch City. While resident in the City of Ihe Plains ho took a prominent part in local politics, being elected to a tsat iv the Council in 1864, and afterwards becoming one of tho Executive At the- time when, Mr. Boaley was Superini teudont of tho Province. After his removal to Wellington in 1869 Mr. Travers .represented that city in the General Assambly. Thus ho had the honour of repreaeuting tho three cities in which ne lived. Mr. Travers has taken a foremost place *in connection with many colonial institutions, and societies. As a member of the Acclimatisation Society ho assisted Mr. Ludlam, Sir James Hector, and tho Hon. Mr. Mnnfcell in securing tho splendjd Botanical Gardens as a breathing and health resort of citizens of Wellington. ' He was ono of the founders of the New Zealand Institute, prepared all the statute* connected with it, has been a governor since its incorporation, and has contributed many papers. On the foundation of the Wellington College Mr. Travers was elected one of tho first Board of Gov*rnos» — a position from which lie retired because- ho believed the- whole of Uio endowments M'cre being misapplied. Ho resigned his sea* as a pretest, and petitioned Parliament on the subject. Tho local Gas Company owes much to Mr. Travers, who was one of the first largo shareholders, and acted as solicitor to tho company. He was, with Mr. T. K. Macdonnhl, ono of tho directoi* of the company that promoted the first Wellington tramways, arid was one, of those who called tho first inoeting of citizens creating tho company which undertook tho .construction of tho Mnnawatu Railway line, and no bus been solicitor to the "company sinco its inception. In days gone by, also, ho was CHy Solicitor, and when liis services were dispensed with under a retrenchment scheme, tho city lost a mnn whose intimate connection with, and knowledge of, the city was a distinct loss. His literary efforts includo a work relating to a journey to England and through America, which lie mado a great many years ago, the story of tiio famous fighting Maori Chief To Rauparaha, tho letterpress connected with the Utc Mr. C. D. Barraud's iEust rated work on New Zealand, and others. Lately, it will "be recollected, ho took an immense amount of interest in tho question of utilisation* of tho waste power of our rivers and streams for the purpose of commerce and civil services, and there has been much corratpondeuoo from his pen on the subject, particularly in regard to toe utilisation of tho Hnlt River. In hie timo he also took a lively interest in volunteering, having command of companies in Kelson twvd Cbrifltchurvh, and he has hcJd commission in tho Militia for over forty yoars. Mr. Travers received from tbe French Government the Grand Cross of iho Order of Cambodia for services rend' eyed to ttat Government. For some time ho was Vice-Conrul for France. Mr. TrAvexa'a lp&b jjublic utteuancft- wo* mac l ""

on Saturday lust, and was in defence of the privilwges of the New Zealand Court of Appeal. Speaking then on behalf of tho New Zealand Bar, as probably the oldest Member thereof, he supported the protest made by the Judges of the Court of Appeal against the 1 ejections made by the Privy Council on the probity and independence of the Gotut. Mr. Travera continued in the active practice of his profession to the very last, displaying a knowledge of law and practice, as well as a general keenness and a capacity for quickly gra&pmg a point that was remarkable ip one of his years. In one of his last cases bsfore a jury, ho had opposed to him a leading barrister, conaderubl., his junior in years. Mr. Travers, in addressing the jury at the clobe of a prolonged hearing, frankly ' admitted that ho was labouiing under a great disadvantage in having to carry tome four score y«?ars on his shoulders. He nißde somo pointed! remarks on tha. persuasive eloquence of his learned frierjd, and gave an interesting disquisition on tho subject of the duties of solicitors to clients aad on the jury system— dealing, inter alia, in forcible terms with tho fact ' that tho oily-tongued lawyer with the weak case only too often succeeded in. getting the jury to his side. 'Ihe addrou was plentifully interspersed with examples of pungent wit tliat were fully appreciated by all that hoard it, and wwa distinctly unique. In the latter connection, there ato many who will remember incidents connected with the veteran lawyer's appearance before the litte Mr. Jubtice Richmond. The learned Judge him6 «lf dearly loved v joke, and had always an apt simile to apply to the case beloro him. Mr. Trstvera would occasionally cap a smart ronwk or a- good et«ry by tho Judge with another equally as good, and his Honour would chuckle, and t«ll another. It served to relieve tho tedium, of dry law, and made tha proceedings entertaining, and certainly the partial Ut tho suit lost nothing by tire diversion. In tho conduct of cases in the Court* Mr. Trnvers was always scrupulously fair, and this fact has on more awn on« occasion evoked £ho favourable co»«nenfc of the Bench. Quite, recently in v. case before Mr. Justico Denniston, hia Honour ! whilo disapproving of certain aspects of tho case, said he could not refrain from expressing his full approval of the attitude taken by Mr. J'ravers throughout. He had acted with urn best interests of justice in view, and fully in accordance with the reputation he had earned in the j past. No sketch of tho deceased gontiamon't career would be complete without a reference to his high scientific attainmente, and his valuable services through a long series of years as a member of the small but brilliant body of men who have given, this colony an honoured place in ths wox-ld of science. An enthusiast in photography, skilled in nearly every branch of natural history, in geology, paleontology, zoology, and botany— abreast of all tie latest discoveries, which he fol. lowed with keen interest, he could speak with tho authority of an expert. Associated from the beginning with tb© New Zealand Philosophical Institute, be hat during the many years of his residence in thie oity takon » leading part in ih» work of the local branch, being almost continually on the Council, and repeat" cdly filling ,the Presidential and VioePresidential chairs. His successive addresses as President, embracing, as th«y usually did, a review of the worW« science ff f or tho year, took in a wide scop* and evinced extensive acquaintance with the subject and fine powers of g«Deralisa« tion. Besides his activu work in tho local broach of tho Philosophical Society and other inatirutionu of %. scientific char* acter, Mr, Travcrs was also for many years a member of the Board of Governors of the Mew Zealand Philosophical Institute, and he presided at its lost mooting on tho 2nd of the present monO«