THE KONINI HOTEL FIRE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5304, 11 February 1879, Page 2

THE KONINI HOTEL FIRE.

The inquest on the late fire at the Konini Hotel, adjourned from Friday last, was resumed yesterday at the Court-house, j before J. E. Macdonald, Esq., coroner, and a jury. The first witness called was William Gough, who deposed : lama carpenter, residing at Birch's station, at Patea. I was at Konini on the 25fch January, the day of the fire. I left off work at Mr Birch's on the 7th December, came to Konini ®n the Bth, and stayed there up to the time of the fire. I had had dysentery for a long time, and went into one of the rooms to wash on the morning of the fire about 7 o'clock. It was the best room, and was the room whero the fire broke out. I went into the kitchen to have breakfast at 8 o'clock. Donald M'Donald and myself went upstairs to our own room about half-an-hour after. We might have been there twenty minutes, talking about books we had read. Denia O'Brien came up with a bottle of

I liquor and two glasses, ]S© said, "Drink, boys, drink." He borrbwed a box of matches from me r and went . out of the room. In a short time hecame back with the box; the matches were three parts burnt. He -went out again, and went downstairs. M'Donald went out into the passage, and immediately after rushed in, saying, V Gough, the house is;, on fire." I had been weak from dysentery, and M'Donald caught me by the shoulder, and pushed me out of the door, and down two or three of the stairs. He went into Mrs Webb's room to help her out with some boxes, which he threw downstairs. I went through the passage into the open air, and in about five minutes I heard them calling my name. I walked across to where the boxes were, and lay down alongside them. I saw flames issuing from the roof of the house, in a perpendicular blaze. L saw nothing of the store or stable burning, as I lay down for hours, being very weak. There was not a breath of wind at the time. Mrs Webb said, in presence of M'Donald and myself, " The wretch has burned us out." It wa3 not more than three or four minutes from the time O'Brien borrowed the matches till he came back to the room again. He pulled the door after him when he went out the first time, but did notolose it. Immediately after Denis O'Brien left the room the second time M'Donald went out and said the place was on fire. O'Brien never came back to the room again. I did not see him again all that day. I stayed there all day, and slept by the boxes that night. Some three or four days previous to the fire John O'Brien, the proprietor of the hotel, in presence of Donald M'Donald and myself, said he owed Mrßobjohns about £1,200 ; that he did not think he should be above four months longer there, but he would take d good care no one else lived there. I recollect the day of the funeral of John O'Brien's child. I saw some account books put into the trap where the coffin was. John O'Brien himself put in these books, which I took to ; be the day-book, the ledger, and a small book. I had seen the books frequently i before, and knew them to be the same ! books. I remained there till the waggon ! with the coffin left the hotel. The books were not covered up in any way. Mr and Mrs John O'Brien, Denis O'Brien, and the driver went to the funeral. lam not sure whether George Webb went or not. By the Coroner : When Denis brought back my matches to the bedroom they appeared to have taken fire in the box, and were three parts burnt, with the lid closed on them. I opened the lid, and found most of them burnt. The box was a tin one. The whole of the matches were not burnt. Before O'Brien borrowed the box the matches were all right. I was perfectly sober on the morning of the fire. I had only two drinks, one was brandy, the other was either gin or whisky. When a person takes so many sorts of drink, he can hardly tell the difference between them, I have a distinct recollection of everything, but was very weak in body. I saw the flames going as straight up as they could go ; there was not a breath of wind. I could not say whether the flame originated outside or inside the hotel. By Inspector Scully : The value of the stable I should say was about £30, and of the hotel itself, without the chimneys, about £250. By a juror : I am certain the place was set on fire, as John O'Brien had told us the place was insured in two offices., I was on good terms with John O'Brien and his wife. I had no dispute with him about a saddle. Arthur Shield deposed : I am a sheepfarmer residing at Waikonini station. I recollect the Konini Hotel being burnt. My attention was called to the hotel being on fire by some children who were playing about. The station is a little over two miles from the hotel. I went up and saw the smoke from the hotel. I jumped on a horse and rode down as quickly as I could. When I arrived there the building had fallen down ; the stable and store were on fire. I saw Denis O'Brien, M'Donald, and Mrs Webb and her daughter there. The two latter were standing by some boxes, and the two men were carrying some bottles out of the burning store. I asked if anything could be done, and the men said they had no water. I asked M'Donald how the fire originated. He said in an unoccupied room in the hotel. While I was Bitting on my horse the fire broke out through the stable. I then went round the building and saw a pot with some clothes in it. I asked if the fire might not have originated through that. The men said they thought not. I think ifc was M'Donald who said the fire broke out in an unoccupied room. I would not swear there was a fire under the pot. There was not sufficient wind to blow the sparks about. When I first saw the smoke it was going up perpendicular. When 1^ got to the scene of the fire there was a light easterly sea breeze. At this time the main building was down on the ground. I did not see Gough at all. I was not close to the boxes. There might be local puffs of wind which might affect the hotel without being felt at my house. John Wheeler deposed: I am a sawyer, living in Napier. I recollet Thursday evening last. I took a note to Hakowai, to Mrs Webb. I arrived there at 12 o'clock at night. John O'Brien gave me the note for her. I think it had reference to the inquest. I read the note, but don't remember what was in it. Mrs Webb asked me to read it. She could not read it very well herself, it was written so badly. I lit my pipe with the letter on Friday last. Mrs Webb gave it to me. She said something about "Denis pulling through." Mrs Webb and I were talking that night about Mr Scully. The letter I took to Mrs Webb, and another one which she had in her pocket, were intentionally destroyed. Mrs Webb said she knew that Mr Scully was aware of my having taken up the letter to her. She asked me to bum it. At this stage the Coroner asked the witness, Wheeler, to stand down, and asked that Mrs Webb be swornJane Webb deposed : I did not ask Wheeler to burn the letter. He wanted to light his pipe, and lit it. The other letter was one of my own. It was' of no use to me. It was a note that O'Brien sent up to me to give up the keys to Denis O'Brien till John O'Brien came back from Napier. The other letter was to tell me that his brother was arrested, and he hoped I would speak the truth. That was all that was in the letter. I have not been paid my wages yet. I never said it would be a bad day for O'Brien if he did not pay me. I had no particular reason for burning the two letters. We burned them round the corner of the Court House. I could not read the letter from O'Brien very well. No one else read it but me. I asked no one else to read it. John Wheeler, re-called : I Baw Mrs Webb outside the Court-houae last Friday. We burned the letter, and I had a smoke. We were talking about the case. She told me Mr Scully knew I took a letter to her. The letter^ were not burned for the purpose of lighting my pipe. Jane Webb deposed : My husband is working on Mr Wallis's station. I was present when the Konini Hotel was burnt. I have been staying in Napier since the fire until last Monday, when I went out to Mr Wallis's at Hakowai. It was Thursday evening when Wheeler came with the letter. There was no name to it, but I knew it was from O'Brien by the writing. He said in the letter that I had better come down next morning, as the case would come on at 11 o'clock. He said he hoped I would tell what I knew of the fire. The letter was badly written and badly spelt. I had to read it over three or four times to see what it was. The other letter I had from O'Brien was to the effect that I was to give up the keys to his brother Denis, who had promised to keep square, and would manage the hotel till John O'Brien came from Napier after the funeral. I had no reason for burning the letters. They might both

be here now for all that was |^ih(Smi^|||fc^v Wheeler says wrong wlion he say a JC, asked 1 - ! ; ' him to burn the letters. I only 1 gave- i^,, them to him to? light his pipe when the jv ; ; match he hadJrehtout. : , ; , v . , ■ v-V Wheeler wW.here recalled, and on being confronted iwith |Irs Webb said 'her evidence aboufrthe letters was exaotly - . what happened. 4S gp|§; „ - .; %&,, The Coroner i«KSn what you; told us^v?v£ before about Mrs "Webb Having asked you ' v to burn the letters must be false. Mrs Webb continued r?My little girl first called my attention to the .fire. ,I, , ran outside to see what I could, and I saw the flames coming through the . shingles of the roof, I then ran rupßtaira to the room where I thought the fire was. , Mr Donald and Gough were in their bed- r room, and we shouted "fire." When I . got into the room I saw fire on the wa11,;., ... .. but not very much.' I tried to get the* x -•-•-•' things out of my room. I had a large ,-, box which I tried to- push on before me. I got two other boxes out with the assis- . tance of the men.. Denis O'Brien helped me with the last box. Denis O'Brien; then went into Mrs O'Brien's bedroom and took a large box and' carpet bag out of her room. The fire had thengone too >, - far to do any more indoors. ; , „ . By Impeotor Scully : The fire, in th£ : ; room where I went in was going right np : ■:'■' the wall, about a foot wide. The bed had; - < just caught fire. I had put some clothes in the boiler, to wash them. I told Ooleman to put a fire under it, as the fire was out when I put the clothes, in* , There were some ashes under the boiler ; they were not blown about. There t was a little wind that day. The boiler was closer to the kitchen than to the main " building. There were a lot of things in i the store, principally men's clothing, .boots, and other things. I do not remember saying to the Sergeant of Police that :> I would make it a sore day for O'Brien, if ho : did not pay me my £70 wages. I did not T . ■•" say so to Mrs Shield. I did riot iay.afier that "the wretch had burned us :6ufc" n y Gough was the worse for drink, on the., .,. morning of the fire. He had been drink- . " ,' "J ing heavily the day before. I did not see! any books put into the waggon withthe :, coffin the day before the fire. .. . ,'li William Ooleman deposed : I was ostler at the Konini 'Hotel; "I was with him : .. . about eight months. I recollect .the fire r; taking place at the hotel^ Tgot up : thafc' v •■-'•* morning at 6 o'clock, and attended: to the r j. : : J horses. After breakfast I laid a fiitei^def a;,^' ■; big boiler, lit it"aadthen,left'it%\'lJ.wentyj i( / \ to chop some firewood. What I put' on 1 ' r ; would last about ten minutes. I, did not ' ' . see a puff of smoke until I got up stairs. Mrs Webb and Denis were behind roe. I, ;.'. went into, the room where Donald and >■ "■,. Gough were, and I shouted out that the . place was on.fire. I then went into the v- ;• room where the fire was. I saw the fire ■ . *; going up the wallj and then X went into >;'&■} my own room and got out my dotheaV »"'" When I went in the room Where the fire " ■'■ was the fire was just touching, the roof. I rushed out of the room iminer ;, , diately. I saw Denis O'Brien in .Mh» . •." V; .' Webb's room throwing things out of the,;, window. Before I went into therooml ; r> ' J saw no fire, but as I was' going. to;vthe |. T .\ house I saw smoke coming out of the roof. . Had there V.been any fire I should have ; . ; seen it. I was in a good position to see -;-/:\ it. I did not see Gough at breakfast that; ■-•; morning. I don't believe he' had turned : out at that time. I saw. him some time on that morning, but' l caninotsay whether: " : he was drunk or sober. The fire in the .■■ room was right up the wall from the botr '■:% - torn, and was just reaching the rpo|. • ; Denis O'Brien sent me to Napier to John.. i~. O'Brien, to tell him he was to come away as the house was on fire. I saw John* O'Brien near the Masonic, and told him \ - of the fire. He went away somewhere, r,' and told me to go back and tell Denis ; that he (John O'Brien) would be upon Monday, that he could not be up before. - By Mr Cornford : There were two beds in the room where the fire was. I did not see whether either of the beds was on fire. Where I was chopping wood was about two chains from the house, and about twelve feet from, the road. I was v there when I heard Mrs Webb give the ' '^ alarm of fire. By the Coroner : I was on the Napier side of the house. - . .... Henry Charles Bobjohns deposed : I : know John William O'Brien. .He was in . pecuniary difficulties some time ago. I paid off the liabilities to a certain extent, ■ "■ and took over the estate. That is, I and my partner. We took over, the liabilities and the estate, holding th ft latter until -■• O'Brien should clear off the debt. I think,^ ;\ this was in September. O'Brien's entire • * obligation to us would be from £1600 to , £1700 up to the time of the fire. The' '" property was covered by insurance to the extent of^looo —that is, £600 on the house, £200 on the furniture and. effects, and £200 on the stock. The land was held on lease for 15 years. , The extent of the land was, I think, 180 acres, all fenced in. Some of it is in oats and some in potatoes, but I do not know how many acres in each. I cannot estimate the value ' : .,, of the crops or of the lease of the land. The other security. I had was the hones „ and the traps, and the . book debts. O'Brien purposed paying me £350 at the end of December or beginning of January. , last, but he did not do so. H Q did not pay any of it. Mr. li^ine-Jiv, and I went up to him about thfcp middle of December, and then he arranged^ to pay us £350 in January. He wrote to>. . us in the beginning of that monthy saying he was unwell, and that he would have to defer for some days going into Petane to collect some debts. We went up to him the day after the letter was written, but before we had received it. We found that he had left for Patea. We saw nothing of him until he came to say that the fire had taken place. He told me that he could not let me have any money, as he had been called away from Patea through ;. . the illness of his child, and before he had > collected any of the debts. Ido not remember at what amount he put down i the debts due to the estate. ■ I gave him . to understand, in December that unless the £350 was forthcoming in January he would . : have to go out of the -place. , I think we^ . supplied him with about £250 worth of ■ goods since we took over the estate. He * paid one of the bills of £50, but he did pay any more. He was at liberty to get stock from anyone else, but I am not aware whether he got any.;> I am not quite certain whether Xoould have put him out of the house at any time. „-; ; „ , , The Coroner summed up at some length, - after which the jury retired at 11 p.m., and, after remaining, in consultation for a considerable time, returned at 12.10, with, v the following verdict :—" That the Konini . Hotel was destroyed by fire under bus- * " picious circumstances; but there is not' ! sufficient evidence to show how it originated."