INQUESTS, ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XV, Issue 5060, 4 February 1878, Page 2

INQUESTS, ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

Intelligence was received in town on Jan. 7th to the effect that a man named Samuel Harvey had been found drowned in the Waikato Iliver at Ngaruawaliia. The particulars of the oacurrence are as follows :— Mr. Harvey was a carpenter, who for the last 20 years had been resident in Auckland. He was for some months past engaged in the employ of Mr. Message, in the erection of the Bank of New Zealand premises at Hamilton. Harvey was in Auukland during the holidays. He left town on the 7th, by the early train, en route for Hamilton, to which station he had a return ticket. Mr. Sealy, proprietor of the Charlemont Hotel, foot of Wakefield-street, saw him off.

in the train, and provided him with sundries, and a small bottle of dilated brandy, so as to obviate any necessity for hiß leaving the train until he reached his destination. He also lent him £2, as he was short of funds. Nothing was heard further of him until he was found drowned.. He had been drinking during his visit to Auckland, and probably he was not sober at the time he left the train. A coroner's inquest was held on the following afternoon, on the body, before Mr. Wm. N. Searanuke, coroner, and a jury empanelled. From the evidence it appeared that deceased had returned' to Hamilton from Auckland. He was last seen alive at about noon in the day, and was then under the influence of drink, although not drunk. When last seen he Beerned in pain. Several witnesses deposed that deceased was subject to lits ; and Constable Wild deposed to finding the body in the river, about four miles above Ngaruawahia. The jury returned a verdict of found drawned.

The sudden death of a mair. named Daniel Waters, at Ponsonby, was reported on February I. The deceased, who was about 40 years of age, residedon Franklin Road with his wife and two children—one about 2i years of age, and the other less than a year. The deceased was aa express driver. He pursued his avocation on Wednesday, and returned home on Thursday night in his usual health at about half-past six o'clock. He made no complaint, but retired to rest as usual, and in the morning about six o'clock lie arose and went to cut firewood for his family for the day. He seems to have been engaged sawing a log, which was fixed on the saw-buck, when he was attacked by a lit, and he vomited about two teacupsfull of blood. He then appears to have struggled to the verandah at the back-door of his house, where he vomited more blood. The noise he made here attracted the attention of Mrs.- Thompson, who lives in the adjoining house. She shouted to her husband, who was then going out at the front door to his work, and he returned and helped to bring Waters into his own house and lay him on a sofa. Waters was then alive, but he only survived three or four minutes. He did not speak, but he looked mournfully and meaningly at his wife before he expired. Dr. hiooper, who had been sent for iu the interval, arrived as speedily as possible, but life wa3 then extinct. Constable Bourke, in charge of the Ponsonby station, was also present at this time.

A man named Robert Hogan, engineer on board Captain Casey's steamer the Gemini, met with a very severe and dangerous accident on the Sth Jauuary. The Gemini was lying alongside the Railway Wharf at Harkiss Point, aud, about 7 o'clock in the evening, the engineer was instructed to get up steam. In order to get ;up tlic fires, he foolishly proceeded to pour kerosene from a can into the furnace. The flame burst up suddenly, aud communicated with the stream from the can, causing a general ignition and the sudden explosion of the can which he held iu his arms. The result may easily be guessed. Hogan was at once a mass of flames. Captain Jackson, who was on board, poured water over him, but the flames were not extinguished before he was very badly burned. The hair and portions of the skiu were burnt off his head aud arms; he was severely scorched about the sides and thighs.

Intelligence reachcd U3 on Jan. 20 of a deplorable, though it is to be hoped, not fatal accident, which occurred at Tuakau on the previous afternoon to a young woman, the wife of a settler named Clark. It appears that Mrs. Clark, accompanied by the Misses Coonay, the daughters of a neighbour, had gone to a peach grove about a mile from the settlement for the purpose of gathering some of the fruit. Mrs. Clark climbed up one of the trees, and was engaged in reaching down the peaches, when the girls cried out to her that the branch upon which she was standing was going to break. The poor woman became alarmed, and attempting to jump down, fell upon the stump of auother tree, the point of which entered her bowels. The gitls at ouce hurried off for assistance,, aud, meeting with Mr. Burns, the village schoolmaster, returned with him. This gentleman, with the.aid of four others, conveyed Mrs. Clark to her residence, and did what they could to alleviate the pain she was suffering. There is no medical man resident near the place, and so the sufferer was brought in to Auckland, en route for the Hospital, by the Waikato train.

As one of Mr. Quick's carriages containing Sir Ceorge Grey aud party was proceeding down Sliortlaud street about half-past 4 o'clock on Jan. 2S, it came in collision with a hand-cart being drawn by a porter named 11. Cahill. It appears tiiat Cahill suddenly crossed the street in front of the carriage, and, before Mr. Thompson, who was handling the reins, couUU pull up, the pole struck Cahill on the top of the head, inllicting a deep flesh wound. The injured man was at once taken to Mr. Aickin, druggist, who, seeing that the wound required a few stitches, sent him to the Hospital, where the necessary attention was paid, and he returned to town in the evening. A serious accident occurred at 0.30 o'clock a.m. on the 10th Jan. to the members of the Fire Brigade and Salvage Corps, who at that hour was returning from the scene of the fire, via Eden-street, whither they had conveyed Mr. Isaacs. They were in a twohorse drag belonging to Mr. Smith, and were driven at a rapid pace. On rounding the corner of Princes street into Wellesleystreet East the vehicle suddenly capsized, pitching its occupants far aud wide on the hard metal of the roadway. Mr. Butler, the captain of the corps, was the first to rise from the ground, aud at once observed that one of his men—William Godwin, had been severely injured, aud that he was lying in a state of unconsciousness with part of the drag upon him. Assisted by two bystauders, Mr. Butler had him carried to the Park Hotel, aud then despatched .1 messenger for Dr. Wine, who promptly obeyed tlie summons, and, after examining the poor fellow's injuries, ordered his removal to the Hospital. Here it was found that the man was suffering from concussion of the brain, while fracture of the ekull it was also feared had occurred. The other occupants of the drag happily escaped with a few cuts, scratches, and bruises, which, although temporarily disfiguring the features of some, will not incapacitate them from attending to their ordinary duties. Their names are— Captain Butler, Mr. Priestly, Mr. Owen Mahon, Mr. Watson, Mr. Henry Field, Mr. Cough, and Air. Scott, an auxiliary. Mr. Godwin died at the Provincial Hospital on the 31st January. An accident occurred at 10 o'clock a.m. on January 23 at the works which are now being carried on excavating Hobson-street, by which the lives of several men in the employ of Mr. Dempsey, contractor, were endangered, and one man named Thomas Roulston received injuries which necessitated liia removal to the Hospital. The yacht Rover, owned by Mr. Richards, sen., capsized iu Hauraki Gulf on Jannary IS, and the occupants narrowly escaped drowning. It appears that the owner's eon, Mr. 1?. Richards, and Mr. J. Porter, of the Waiotahi, were out in the yacht, when a eudded puff of wind caused her to fill and Eiuk without any previous warning, about 4 o'clock iu the afternoon. Richards caught a hatch, which was floating near, and sustained himself, and Porter held on to the dingy, although it frequently turned over with th& action of the waves. The two were drifting about at the mercy of the wind and tide, in the centre of the Gulf, for more than an hour, when, much to their relief, they saw the steamer Ruby approaching from Grahamstown, and fancied she was coming to their assistance. Captain Dalton was on his way to Ohinemuri, with cargo aud passengers, but was attracted by the appearance of something unusual at a distance, and nearly in hi 3 course, when he picked up the two men.

An accident of a rather serious nature [ happened at Mercer on Jan. 11 to Mr. £yes, the railway-station cltrk. He, it appears, had kindly volunteered to assist the officials belonging to the Waikato Steam Navigation Company in removing with the block and tackle :i heavy ease from a wagon. The corners of the case, to which the clips were attached, suddenly gave way, ond the unfortunate man, who was pulling with might and main, fell heavily backwards, aud had his head split open. He was at once removed to his home, and Messrs. Heath and Walker did their best to stop the excessive bleeding; and in the course of a few hours Mr. Eyes was. able to stagger down to kis office, i,D.d superintend the arrangements necessary to be made against his removal to the Hospital to-morrow. It i 3 hoped that

Air. Eyes may soon be able to return to his duties. Considerable excitement was manifested in Mercer on 17th Jauuary, when it was reported that a little boy, Beven years of age, named John Milne, was missing. It appears he had gone into the bush for the purpose of driving his father's cows home, and was seen there by several persons who were oil similar errands ; to whom he stated that it was rather early to take his cows home, and he should wait a little. Eventually the cows were fetched by his father, who could neither see uor hear anything of the lad. When it became dark both parents were seriously alarmed. On the intelligence reaching the township, a search-party, headed by Constable Walker, immediately set ont with lanterns and bells, which were rung at intervals. The night was a very wild one, and a gale of wiud blowing, and the rain came down in torrents. After thoroughly examining the bush, which is of small extent, being a narrow strip between the Waikato River and the Mangatawhiri swamp, the search party returned. The general impression was that the boy had fallen into the river and was drown. By daybreak in the morning Mr. Milne resumed the search, and soon, to his great joy, heard his child's cooey in response to his shouts. The little fellow had followed a cow into the swamp, and there, overtaken by the darkness, had passed the whole night endeavouring to reach home. The tall raupo which he had to push aside from his path, prevented him from seeing the lights of the township or any other land-mark, and though he heard the cooeys ot the searchparty and answered them, the storm prevented his being heard. He had kept up a good heart throughout, and seemed little the worse for his perilous adventure. George Harris, Native Assessor, brought a native woman to Herd's Point, Hokianga, on 10th Jauuary, and gave her in charge for attempting to murder her husband. John Reilly, a European, at Upper Waihou. LAW. The Quarterly Sittiuga of the Circuit Court, with which the new year opens, lasted for a longer period than usual. This happened not because the nature of the offences in the criminal calender was serious or complicated, but z*ather because one or two of themselves possessed a special character requiring the guilt of the person accused to be gathered from very plain indeed, yet still very minute circumstances. One of these cases was a charge against a man named J. H. Evans for a rape upon an old woman at Coromandel. The prisoner was a man of some wordly substance. He has been sentenced to penal servitude for seven years, and to be whipped twice, receiving 25 lashes of the "cat ' each time. The loneliness of some of the districts in the vicinity of country settlements renders the female inhabitants specially exposed to outrage of this character, and the Judge of the Supreme Court doubtless felt that it was necessary to afford to "worthless profligates an example in the punishment inflicted upou this criminal. .But for the mercantile portion of the community, the trial of Solomon Henry Meyers, an Auckland merchant, aud Arthur Utting,an out-district trader, for offences under Fraudulent Debtors Act absorbed nearly all the interest in the session. These two persons were found guilty and sentenced each to six months' imprisonment (without hard labour), being the tirst cases und';r the statute mentioned. There were only two civil cases. One was settled out of Court, and the other, Shirley v. Gerrand, was an action by the Postmaster of Rangariri to recover damages for defamatory words spoken by the j defendant. The plaintiff recovered fifty shillings damages, thus mulcting the defendant in the costs of a " special jury " as well as the costs of the cause. The other legal business during the mouth has been unimportant.

DRAMA. We had been subjected to a long succession of ee black draughts" of Ethiopian melody and nigger breakdowns. We recovered only partially from the prostration caused by a surfeit of this kind of entertainment. Fortunately we were saved from any further evil consequences by .an accession of highly meritorious performances. The "great instrumentalist,*' Levy (cornet), has been here giviug a series of excellent concerts with Siguor Giorza (pianist), Signor Rosnati (tenor), Mrs. Levy (soprano), and Miss Pitts (contralto). Their season terminated on Thursday evening last. VYe are now in the fullness of the opera season. Signora Maria Carauti Vita being the prima donna. Signora Venosta (contralto); Signori Paladini and Camera (tenors), Gambetti (baritone), Cesari (bass), Tessada -(bass-buffo), and Borzoni (baritone), are the principal artistes: The company numbers 40 effective members. They opened on Fiiday night with "II Trovatore," followed by '' 11 Barbiere di Siviglia." The subscription tickets for the season are six guineas to the dress-circle and four guiueas to the stalls. These prices aire high, but must be considered with reference to the strength and talent of the company. The first performances have been in the highest degree successful, and afford promise of a prosperous season throughout. The subscription season consists of eighteen nights. MASONIC. The installation of the Worshipful Master of the Union of Mark Master Masons, No. 151, E.C., took place on Tuesday, January Bth, with more than usual cclal. The solemn and impressive ceremony of the Mark Installation was well attended by a large number of masons of the higher degrees. Brother Burns, P.M., installed his successor, Brother Brock, ably assisted by Brothers P.M. S. Niccol and Wade. Brother W. M. Brock invested the following officers : Brother W. J. Rtes, S W. ; Brother Dr. F. \V. E. Dawson, J. \V. ; Brother Rev. C. M. Nelson, M.O. ; Brother W. P. Moat, J.O. ; Brother H. G-. w ade, P.M., Treasurer; Brother J. IT. Burns, P.M., Registrar; Brother H. Chapman, S.D. ; Brother J. Lewis, J.D. ; Brother Hargreaves, I.G. ; Brother C. Porter, Tyler. The lodge was then close J, and tue W.M., Brother Brock, invited the brethren to a banquet provided by Host Hood in his recherche style, and the following toasts were drunk with Masonic honours :—" The Queen and Craft;" _ "The Grand Mark Master Mason of England and Wales, the Plight Hon. Earl of Carnarvon;" "The W.M.," responded to in a very able speech by Brother Brock ; "The Installing Master," responded to by Brother Burns, P.M. ; "The newly-invested officers," responded to by Brother Rees, S. \V., and Brother Dawson, J.W, ; "The Visitors;" " Host and Hostess," "The Press," -'The Ladies," "Poor and Distressed Brethren." Some excellent songs were rendered by the brethren between the speeches, to the satisfaction of the brethren generally.

GOOD TEMPLAIIISM, &c. At the quarterly meeting of the Hope of Auckland Tent, 1.0. K., held on January 7th, the following members were elected office-bearers : —District Representative, R. Nichols; 0.K., J. Fox; D.R., R. Hardy; Treasurer, P. Crowe ; Secretary (re-elected)' R. H. Hughes ; Stewards, J. G. Carr and J. Jenkins ; Levite, D. Hardy ; Guardian, J. Smith. The balance-sheet showed the state of the finances to be as follows :—Credit balance, £415123 4d, equal to £7 Ga 8d per member, exclusive of fnneral fund. The second annual session of the Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Free Templars, was held in the Oddfellows' Hall, Cookstreet, on Thursday, January 3. The whole of - j an d Lodge officers were present. The lodge was called to order by the G. W.C.T., and by prayer by Sister E. Cox, G. W. Chaplain. The various committees brought up their reports, which were adopted. The lodge proceeded to the election of otiiccrs. The following were those installed by Brother James Cox, P. It. W.' G. T. : — Brother Warburton, G.W.C.T. (re-elected); Brother James Lee, G. W_. C. (re elected); Brother John Knox, G.W.V.1.; Brother J. N. Hunt, G.W. Secretary; Sister E. Donald, G.W. A. Secretary; Brother W. L. Niddrie, G.W.T.; Brother J. Connor, G. W.F.S.; Brother W. Beehan, G. \V. Chaplain ; Brother VV. M> I Evoy, G. W. M. ; Sister A. Niddrie, G.W.D.M. ; Brother D. Herleglry, G.G.; Brother A. McMillan, G. Sentinel; Brother J. Berequist, G. Messeuger ; Sister C. Cox The Grand Lodge then fixed 011 HamiltoD, Waikato, for the next session. After passing a vote of thanks to the Grand officers for the able manner in which they discharged their duties, the lodge closed iu due form, having had a very profitable and harmonious session. The Auckland Pioneer Lodge, No. 936, of the above Order, was duly opened on Jan. 28. The opening ceremony was conducted by

P.P.G.M. Henry Rafton, and P-G. William Thompson. The following persons were then* duly elected as lodge officers for the next - six months :—John Wright, G.M. • At, Allen, N.G.; Alexander Neilaon, V.g!Charles Merritt, Treasurer; P.P.G.M.' Henry JSafton, Secretary; Thomas Thorne" Assistant-Secretary j JTos. Cobine, Warden; EL J. Haigh, Conductor; Jos. Dines, Guardian • — Lovell, Bight-Hand Supporter, and — Porteous, Left-Hand Supporter to the Noble Grand; Thos.Phillips, Right-HandSupporter and William Wright, Left-Hand Supporter to the Vice-Grand*; Trustees William Taifc, S. H. Mouldeo, G. L Burnand. This lodge commences business under very favourable circumstances.

An entertainment'wa3 given in the Temperauce Hall on the loth January, for the benefit of the Pioneer Juvenile Temple, and wa3 well patronised. Mr. Joseph Newman occupied the chair. The meeting was commenced precisely at 8 o'clock, by singing a verse of a Temperance ode. During his opening remarks, the chairman stated he had been a total abstainer for forty years, and after speaking of the necessity of temperance in order to accomplish any great work, advised the young to become abstainers, and remain snch. An excellent and varied programme was gone through, and the meeting closed shortly before 10 o'clock, after a vote of thanks to those who had assisted was proposed by Mr. McKenzie, superintendent of the Temple,, and carried by acclamation. The reading were perhapß rather long, although excellent. The gem of the evening was the well-known duet, ' * Hunting Tower." x OBITUARY. Amongst the obituary notices which appear in our columns this morning will he observed that of Mr. James Alison, a very old and highly respected colonist. He passed away very peacefully at his residence, Carleton Gore Road, on the 15th January. The deceased gentleman arrived in Auckland by the ship Duchess of Argyle, thirty-six or thirty-seven years ago, and on landing started in business as a blacksmith, and continued till the bodily infirmities incident to old age compelled him to give up active work. Mr. and Mrs. Alison had six children, who are all married, and many of whose children are also married and possess families of their own. The descendants, it is said, number fully a hundred. Intimation was received in town the other day of the death, in Sydney, N.S. \Y., of Mr. William Francis Sheehan, youngest son of Mr. Daniel Sheehan, and nephew of the late Mr. David Sheehan. The young man was well known and liked in Auckland, and his early death caustd quite a paintui sensation. He was engineer of a large steamer trading out of the port of Sydney, aud which was wrecked in December last. The cause of death was fever.