INQUKSTS AND ACCIDENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5635, 8 December 1879, Page 2

INQUKSTS AND ACCIDENTS.

Au iuques. was held on Nov. 11. leforeDr. Philson, Coroner, ami a respectable jury, on the body of a ftiuile ohi.d nam.-d Auuid Hills. The child was a year ami three months' old, daughter of Joseph Hills, a settler at A witu. The inquest was held at the Royal George Hotel, On.'hunga, and the following fact) were elicited : -It appears! that on Sunday ev, ning last the child was playing with her sisters and brother* nrar their pireuta' reside ce, on the banks o£ a saltwater creek. iho parents were absent. Suddenly the eldest .son, a boy eight years of age, missed the child, and on ruuuing to the creek saw her in the water. 11U screams alarmed some neighbours, who came to the rescue ; but tue body, although sti.l possessing some warmth, was lifeless, and a 1 efforts at resuscitation were unavailing. A messenger was promptly despatched for the parents. Mr Uills, after making the necessary arrangements aud learniDg that, under ttie circumstances, au inquest would be necessary, brought the body of his dead child and two witnesses to Onehunga, where, ou Monday evening, he reported the occurrence to Sergeant Greene. In this the bereaved parent displayed a great deal of thought, for at A witu there were none of the appliances for au inquest, there bting uo Coroner's Court nearer than Waiuku. The evidence was in accordance with the facts above stated, and a verdict of " Accidental death " was returned. The bodies ot the two victims of the boat accident which occurred in the harbour on the Sth .November, George Day aud his sou Thomas Day, were discovered—the foimer on the evening of the 14th, at the North Shore, aud the latter on the forenoon of the loth, in the middle of the harbour. They were conveyed to the dead-house in Freeman's Bay by Constable Moar, to await an iu*iue>t. The features were unrecognisable, but the remains were identified by the son and brother of the deceased by the clothing. Both were fully clothed, except that there were no hats. An inquest was held on the remains, at the Freeman's Hotel, Freeman's Bay, before Dr. Philson, District Coroner, and. a respectable jury. After hearing the evidence the jury, without retiring, returned a verdict that "The deceased were accidentally drowned by the founderiug of an uuseaworthy boat ou the Sth instant." The adjourned inquiry into the circumstances of the birth of a male child, in a closet in Xewtju, the mother of which is a young girl named Sarah Quiun, was held on November 17, before Dr. Philson, Coroner. Sarah Qniun, the mother of the infant, was present in custody. Sergeant-Major Mason represented the Crown on the inquiry. After hearing the evidence the jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death." A fatal accident happened to a child of Daniel Scully, of Matamata. It was ruuning about on November 11 with a piece of stick in its mouth, and falling, the stick waa thrust iuto tLe root of the tongue, producing hemorrhage. The parents sent ou word to Dr. Waddiugtou at Cambridge, bringing the child in for his assistance, but a second messenger arrived stating that the child had died from hemorrhage. A similar acci dent occurred to the same child last year, the piece of wood then entering the palate and taxing Dr. Waddingtou's skill, who had to seviroue of the arteries. Constable Nauglitou brought down from Heleusville ou November 12, a man named Williams, who had been crushed between two logs oa board the brigantiue Oainaru, at Makerau, Kaipara, on November 11. Thi injured man ha 1 only bei'U employed a week, and by some unexplained cause got his leg jammed between two logs on the day mentioned. So far as can be ascertained no bunts are. broken, but the man suffers severely. Williams resides in Nelson street, where he has a wife and two children, aud to them he was carried, aed will no doubt receive careful treatment aud sjund medical advice. It is my duty to again report a serious ac cideut to one of the miners. It is the custom, before leaving the pit iu the evening, to lire off the " shots" that have beeu prepared during the day, so that there may be a quantity of cqal broken dowu ready for the morning. >>n sth November, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Andrew Ba'cro, as usual, fired his shot, and retired to a safe position; but, after waiting some minutes, he heard no report, aud, thinking that the fuse must be damp, he Went back with the intention ot relighting it, when, just as he got in front, the blast exploded, and b!oeks of hard co:vl were hurled in all directions, some of them falling upon him. Those miners who were near expected nothing less than to finl Balero blown to atoms ; but as soon as the sm >ke had some what cleared away, they removed the blocks of cal and brought out the apparently life less body. Dr. Cole, who had been sent for imm-diitely on the acci lent occurring, was waiting at the pit-mouth, and, after having administered brandy, was able to make nu examination of the uufortunato man's injur.i'S. He found the shoulder-blade broken, a deep cut upon the temple immediately over the eye, aud many bruises on various puts of the body. The sufferer, a single man, was carefully borne to his lodgings, where his wounds were dressed, and latest; reports state that he is doing very well. It is little short of a miracle that his life was not blo.vu out like the snuff of a caudle, and it is to be hoped that this will be a lasting warning to his fellow-miners to allow ample time for shots to be discharged before venturing near them. The want of an accident' ward is vtry much felt. The houses occupied by many of the married invu are not lit places wherein to perform any delicate surgical operation, ami single men in lodgings cannot expect to uieot with that accommodation aud nursing which invalids require. 1 understand that tho accident fuud has a considerable reserved balance, aud it has been suggested that no better investment could bo made with it tliau building a cottage, with ono la-go room reserved lor accidents, letting tlie other room to a suitable couple free, on con lition th.it Hurting, when required, should b; gratuitously performed. — Correspondent, November 11.] An aocident occurred at the Alburnii mine on November 17th, by which a young iniu named Moses Knsor was severely burnt abiut the face and breast. He anl his mate had fired a shot, which merely blew out tie tamping, and, in recleiring it, it suddeuly went ulf. Eusor's injuries are serious, and it is uncertain whether ha will survive them. His mate, named Floyd, was also severely burnt. They were at work on the 160-feet level, and it was with some difficulty they were brought to the surface. Ensor.was at once conveyed to the hospital.

An accident occurred at the T.iirua Saw-mills-on November 21; by**which a. Bushman , named William Small had his leg broken, it appears ttiat Small and his matea were engaged ,shifting a. log, when it suddenly iolleU over on to the unfortunate man, breaking hia leg. Small \ra3 at ones removed toCleaver's Hotel, from whence he was conveyed to Auckland by boat. A trap accident occurred on Uovembe< 16, on the Manukau Road, which fortunately did not produce any disastrous consequences except to the trap. Mr. G. Kitchen and his wife were driving towards Onehunga in a buggy. ■ After passing Gwynnc's Albert Hotel the fore-wheel of the trap came off unexpectedly, and Mr. and Mrs. Kitchen were thrown out. The surprised horse, by dint of hia heels, caused a speedy separation between the shafts and the wrecked vehicle, and, with the shafts attacutd to him by the harness, he sped along towards Onehunga, his speed being apparently increased instead of diminished by the uuusual position of the buggy-shafte. Before reaching Onehunga, however, the horse was captured by a young man in the employ of Mr. Crowther, and was found to have escaped without a scratch. The trap was bidly sraa-hed, but beyond a shaking caua (1 by t'ic fall Mr. and Mrs. Kitchen es.npud uninjured. Cook's Ouehunga 'bue c ime by ki oh aft-rwar.ls, and conveyed Mrs. Kitchen home to Xewiuaik-ir. Mr. Kitchen remained for some time by the wrecked bugjy, but was subsequently brought on in Mr Wynyaid's bui;gy. On the afternoon of November 15 an accident happened to Mr. Best, check clerk on the uhatf, which fortunately had not a more serious tei initiation It appears that several men Were engaged with the iiinveable crane in 1 ftitig .in iron tank foil of sc-id, and Mr. Best was in charge of it, when chain broke, and the tank fell, canting a little, bu'. luckily fell back to its. proper position. The tank struck Mr. Best cm the shoulder, when it canted, but had it fallen forward it would, no doubt, have crusheu him to a pulp. 'I'liu blow was severe enough, however, to break his shoulder-blade ; and this, we regret to state, will prevent his attending tu duty for some time to come. On Xovember 22 an unfnituuate accident deprived a seaman belonging to one of the v-saels loading at Aratapu ot hia life,-- Ihe deceased, Robert Clark, a y<'Un* man, native of England, was one oE the crew of the I briiiautine Fanny, now loading baulk at theso mills. lie was sent to unloose 010 of the logs alongside, to prepare for its being lifte I into the ship. lie unhappily g>t or the logs to knock out the "dog" that was holding it to the raft. As soon as he had d..ne so th« tide caught the log and swung it away, and it commenced to roll. Hu kept on for awhile, and no danger was anticipate! uutil suddenly he slipped off and went under, never to rise a«ain. A lifeb.-.oy :va3 thrown t> him, and tlw dingy bel ngiug to the cutter Kolus put off at once, but could not get hold of him, an J boats with drags were set to work, but all to no purpose. The deceased was a man of about 25 years of age, fresh coloured, with fair hair and eyes. On the 3rd December a fatii accident occurred at Fort Britomart, whereby a man named James Boyle, of Papakura, lost his life. The circumstauces, so far as could be gathered, are as foil jw :—A little before nooti a party of labourers were working at the face of the cliff, near the railway station, some shovelling the earth into the drays, and two about fifteen feet up the face of the cliff were engaged in drilling a hole for a " shot," when a crack opening at the top of the cliff caught the eye of a man named Hone, sitting on a log on the opposite side of the street, and he immediately shouted, " Kun, boys, the stuff is coming down !" The men ran outwards, but the deceased tripped on some of the loose clods on the slope and fell, and the mass of caith in falling split on a projecting ridge, half falling in the direction of the railway station, ami the balance towards Boyle, who was struck on the back and legs with the boulders, and the next moment partially buried with tho dehrin. His mates released him as speedily possible, but he was past all eartbly aid, and died almost instantaneously. On the occurrence of the acci lent, Dr. Haincs was sent for, but his services, of course, were unavailing. The workmen, at once, left off work for the remainder of the day. On tho 4th December an inquest was held in the Britomart Hotel, on the bo;iy of the unfortunate man. Evidence was taken before a respectable jury—the foreman being Mr. Thwaite—Dr. Poilson, coroucr. piesiding ; and, having previously viewed the body and the place where the accident occurred, the jury brought in a verdict of "Accidentally killed." The deceased was 41 years of age, in tbe vigour and prime of life, and has left an aged father and mo'.her, and a widow with three little children to mourn their sad loss. As soon as the jury had viewed the body, it was tiken away by the family, who were all present, to Papakura, where the deceased had resided, and where his remains will be interred.