INQUESTS.

Evening Star, Issue 3076, 28 December 1872, Page 2

INQUESTS.

Dr. Hockuti, city cor.vpcy, hold an inquiry at the Hospital to-day touching thy tH atly of a female child, aged about two EaoptJj?, named Hilton. from the evidence it appeared that, on the 18th inst., the mother of the child—who then gave her name as Rlizabath Booth, and to-day as Elizabeth Grant Hilton —went to the house of a woman hamcp Os win, and enquired for a Mrs l&Vfley ' 3oing informed that that person had left tile 1 n she mentioned that she wanted her to take Ahayge of hj r child for a week while she went into hue hospital, she being herself ill. Mrs Os win eventually agreed to take charge of the child for her for lbs. It then appeared healthy. 0/iu Tuesday it became ill, when she gave it a dose 6, f yaafcer yil ■ and at noon the next (Jay it died 1 in per while m a T£e police were communicated gjjd they removed the body to the m*m frs fte V 0 8!- • J of the child said It wW, h(} r s on \ , October last, and that it VVW f(} &99t, when she left it with Mrs OswHf- V9 8 a single woman herself, and its father W.as John Maenamara, a stone cutter, who resided at the Cafe de Paris, Jetty street. Ihe jury returned a verdict in accordance with the ryedical evidence—That the deceased died from coAvuhioiVi, 'Die adjourned inquest, touching the accident which resulted in the death of the Lev. John Williams, was resumed at the City Council Chambers yesterday afternoon at o o’clock. The following additional evidence was £ivcn ‘

1 John M'Crohie deponed : I reside at Creen Island I paw the coach on last Friday morning coming over Hie hill round Look-out Point road. The leading horse was at a cantor, the horse on the right wheel was gallop; n". The coach was coming down too quickly, and from the rate they were going at f thought the horses were unmanageable. Thgv were keeping in the middle of the mad. The'driver was pulling them hard in. and, as far as I om’d judge, the man sitting next him lifted the reins, w’ ich I thought the leaders’ rein l *, above the driver s hands, the horses continued at a fast pace until thev reached the last curve in the mad. The ott wlv'i ler th m stumble 1 and tell, about sev n yards he Wo the coach went over. When ch.se to the curve, the leader swerved m front of the right-hand wheeler 1 can’t state the cause of this. I examined the brake afterwards • it seemed to be in good order and grip well There were two, if not three favors of leather on each brake. The right wheel home seemed to be running away. I have not said the driver whipped the horses while descending the hill I have seen other coaches come down the hul witi as great speed as this coach. I did not see any cause of blame attaching to any one in .this accident. The coach was about *oo yards from me when I first saw it, and lou when it capsized .. . , Junes Manning, deponed: I reside m Walker street, and saw the coach, with Mr Williams on it, nass the end of the street. I noticed that the pole-horse on the right hand side was rather awkward at the time, hearing on the horse on the left hand side. I did not observe anything at which he was shying. T have seen horses going the same way at starting before._ T The driver was again called, and said ; 1 was driving the coach three or four weeks ago. when the coach capsized on the same road. The heses employed on this occasion were not the horses used on that. I have been accustomed t-» drive nearly all my life Mr Chaplin said : One of the horses had been four years in the service of the company, and the one in question was well bmkmi-in and staunch before it was put into the coach. It was now in use about two month. The other horse was very quiet and good tempered. With a light coach, s’'ch as the one in question, breeching was unnecessary ; with a heavy coach it was different. T think the driver is a steady, efficient driver. He has been with ns about four years. * onsulering the character of the horses and the condition of the coach, I cannot account for the unless it was that the coach began to skid on the road, denriving the driver of power over it. When the roads are dry and hard, coaches are liable to skid. , . _ OA The prv retired at 5 20 p m., and at 7. JO returned with the following verdict“ That the said John Williams was travelling by one of Cobb’s coaches on the 20th December inst. ; it so happened that accidentally, casually, and by misfortune the said coach ,cansiz»d. thereby inflicting on the said John Williams certain serious injuries of which he died on the 22nd December inst ” To the verdict wore attached these, riders : “ 1. They are further of opinion that the driver should not have handed his near reins to the passenger; and the, fact of his having done so leads them to believe that he is. to some extent, an incompetent driver. 2. The* jury express their belief that wheeler-, in passenger-coaches should be driven with hmeehiug in addition to the brake, and they wish that the question should be submitted to a competent body for consideration. H, They ore of opinion that stringent measures should be taken to prevent horses from being Placed in public passenger-coaches untif they have been proved to be well broken and free from vice.”