FOUND IN THE HARBOR.

Evening Star, Issue 13001, 21 December 1906, Page 6

FOUND IN THE HARBOR.

MARKS OP SUPPOSED VIOLENCE. At the morgue tlae morning the eosoncx (\lr C. C. Gmiiaro) held an mqniry into the death of Robert Francis Smdiii,. seaman on H.M.S. Pioneer, ir3i«-.o body was found in the harbor yesterday morning. Mr-John Ogg was ohoscai feaemaan of the jury. Kobert Job Smith, bootmaker, residing id Bellflfcnowes, MoWKngton, father of deceased, identified the body. His son was a- seaman, a. member of the Royal Naval Beserve. Ho was a single man, twentythree years of age. and wae potting in his drill on tho enrker Pioneer at Biiuedin wharf. Witness luet saw his eon in Rollefcnowes about half-past seven o'clock- on Wednesday rooming last. Deceased left homo between twelve and one o'clock, telling his motlier he was going out in a boat. Witness did not know wliat his further movenieirta had been. His eon very seldom took drink, and was quite sober when he. kft tho house. Emu-st Victor Owler. feoman om H.M.S. Pioneer, knew decoac"ed as doing his drill on board tho ship. On Wednesday after noon, going do wit to the water's edge, he saw doeea.-red fixing up- a sail in a kind of canoe. It was not a ship's boat. There was a boy helping him. Dot witness did not eeo deceased start out. As far as he could f*ee. deceased was then perfectly sober. Tl«y had finished -drill for the day at 2.15 that afternoon, and deceased was lies until toe following morning. Walter Alfned Edward Towler, stoceman, residing at VauxhaJl. stated that about eight o'clock yesterday morning he saw a l>ody flouting m the water juvt heJow the powder hulk. He telephoned to tho police, \rlio took the body away. Tholwdydrifted ashore. He noticed some blood on the face, abov-e the nose.

l)r Gordon Macdonald deposed that yesterday, about 11.30, at the retpeet of tlie polk*, he made an examination uf the body. «md estimated death had taken pkice about fift/:*en Ijouns previously. The rips were worm-tviten. as if bitten by fish. The eyelid* of both *ro were in the same condition. On oiiixrr side of the brow, immediately below £hp hair, tiie.ro were abrasion." on the skin, and the skm dentfd or pushed down, at> if it hid been struck by some hunt w.-a-pon. There weno no other extor.irt! mark.-*, anil rjotbincr to indicate the (3nj.so of death. At the rcqTT.st of the «rro-n«-r he made a po*-t roort<-m eiarrrinatinn. The body was clad in sailor trontcrs. punAß, and a uhito s-JHit. but tbo-re were no stocking*. 'Tile- body appeared to- be that of a man under thirty yoatß of age, with dark hair ;iikl cauiptacion. mcrvis was pTOYwnt, and the legs were slightly beat. The arms also tptc bent, and t!vc petition «n"fi fiueh as a. man wouid take in csclf-de-fe.ni.-r>. The degree of raorlie present would kad hkn to .infer that the man bad been dead {mm fifteen to twenty hours). The eyehalis were f»>3 of biocd. profcahry caused by tho finbes. On making an incision through the bruise on. one side of the head, he could .see that the sknfl underneath Mas injured. When he. examined the internal organs he found that tbe> bean, was norma]. the lungs were quite normal, and there Mas no water present. The stomach was half-full of meat and potatoes, with no wafer whatever n* it. A large part of tlie internal mrrfoee of the stomach was intensely r«l and congested,. such ut wcnld bo produce<l by samo irritant, or .such as might be expected in men who were addicted to tlier excecßive use of aioohoi. Unless it wore due to alcohol, ho conkl not explain the uimsnol redheas of the aiomach. It was not due to any poison. Opening: tire GknTL, when the sknllhone was remorcd ho coald-fiee A ic£cUire on its internal snrlaoc Ti>er« was nuich the same condition on the opposite side of ihe skull, but the fractmc -was no* so marked. The mcmbTanes ctf the hiair> upon the left side, underneath where iho blow had been received, were covered with blood, and that ■ Hood molt hate poured out during tlio tr£etkno-of the pexson. Thnrast. been xeeerved 'whße the man was alive. The ccmel-nfigm he had axrived M- was that the ma> had i-eoexved a blow or blowA on the head by -«zn& bhmt weapon or some, bimtt. object, which was not EufScieatry shsxp to cat hem. He was either sronoed by the blows «nd US into the water, or be bad been thrown, in. There was one other rioe«sabse explasaiioo (but. witaiefw dii not thmfc it a. msekj osx), and that was: he noght have vohurtnrny cotmn-rtted smcide. and m drainp strnck hcs. bead against sore© object, which inrtnred his cjcnll. and in a. n»ment-or two, when he had tlscii tot this hemorrhage might have taken place. It jmst hawe> xemnred' »-eonsiojerahle amocnt-of «io!ence»tohave cauaed those injnrieß, and H wast harcrry poseiible he conld haws received, them" by striking agmnst piles or rocks in the water. Again, the boom of the sail

could hardly have struck ham oo bath temples. Sab-inspector Black sod the canoe- bad sot been recovered. Jls the boy who was supposed to bare been helping deceased had not. yet been found, and it was poosble be might hare gone oat sod been drowned too, the jnry considered it would be as well to adjourn the isi maj&e further inqanzJßOL.as at present) the. case was in a,Boost Tmnafyifatorv ooutfiJiock The inqoest was accotdingly adjourned until Z3O pun. en Thursday.. January 3, at the Magjaizaccfe Ooort