ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10111, 9 August 1893, Page 5

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

[Special to Pbbss Association.! A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE KILLED. HONG KONG, August 7. An arsenal near Canton exploded. Four villages were destroyed and five thousand people hilled. Troops assisted to bury the dead. TWENTY-TWO LIVES LOST. , LONDON, August 8. Twenty-two visitors to Aboravon, in Glamorganshire, were drowned by the capsizing of a pleasure boat. The accident was witnessed by friends and relations on shore, who were frantic at the sight. [Peb Pehss Association.! WELLINGTON, August 8. A man named James Miller and a boy named Harry Raines were milking cows in a shed on the property of Mr W. Raines, at Pahiatna, when a large white pine tree fell across the structure, killing the man, boy and two cows. PAHIATUA, August 8. Miller, who was killed by a tree falling on him, was formerly a resident at Timaru and Palmerston North. The boy Raines, who was seven years of age, followed Miller into the shed, and had just got the cows bailed up ready for milking when a tremendous White Pine tree, eight feet in diameter, fell right on top of the shed. Miller was smashed to pieces and hia brains scattered all about. The boy was struck on the head and had his legs broken, death being instantaneous. A north-west gale was blowing at the time. The tree was living, but the ground was rotten from excessive rain. DUNEDIN, August 8.

John Anderson, stoker, aged forty years, married, and with eleven children, dropped dead while working as stoker at the City Gasworks this morning. The cause was heart disease.

An inquest touching the death of Ellen Sheehy, who died suddenly at Mr Humphreys’ residence, Bryndwr, on Monday, was held at the Carlton Hotel at 5 p.m. yesterday, before Mr Beetham, Coroner, and a jury of which Mr Pearce was chosen foreman. Catherine Ryan, a domestic servant in the employ of Mrs Humphreys, Bryndwr, deposed that deceased came home on Sunday evening apparently under the influence of liquor. At four o’clock on Monday morning deceased asked witness to do her work. At six o’clock witness made some tea for deceased, who complained of having a pain in her chest. At nine o’clock deceased seemed a little better, but when witness went into her bedroom at ten o’clock she was dead. Witness bad noticed that deceased appeared strange in her manner and a little depressed at times. Bose Florence Humphreys stated that deceased had been in her employ as cook for about a month. On Monday morning witness was called to sea deceased, and found her dead in bed. Some few days after deceased came into witness’ employ she appeared depressed in spirits, and complained of suffering from indigestion. Witness thought deceased had taken some medicine to relieve toothache, but she did not think that deceased had taken liquor while in witness’ employ. Dr Byrnes deposed that he found a bottle labelled “Poison” in the deceased’s bedroom when he was called to see her ou Monday morning. He made a post-mortem examination of the body, and found the membranes of the brain very much congested. Could not state positively the cause of death, hut thought it was due to an overdose of sleeping draught or some poisonous drug. He did not know what the contents of the bottle produced were. The organa of the body showed that deceased had been in the habit of taking intoxicating liquors. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict "That deceased was found dead, but there was not sufficient evidence to show tho cause of death.” An accident of a rather serious nature took place at Lyttelton yesterday, the victim being a youth named George Faulkner, an employee of Messrs Anderson. He was at work in the foundry, ivhen a couple of sheets of iron, which were standing on their edge, fell on him and broke his collar-bone. His parents reside in Christchurch, and he was sent to the Hospital. An inquest was held by Mr C. A. Wary, Coroner, at Temuka, yesterday, relative to the death of Mr Arthur Gladstone Cox. The evidence regarding the accident was a repetition of the facta already published. Dr Hayes, in his evidence, stated that deceased rallied somewhat on Friday, but relapsed, and inflammation of the brain supervened. He died on Monday morning shortly after three o’clock. A verdict cf “ Accidental Death ” was returned.