TROUBLE ON BOARD SHIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12523, 16 March 1904, Page 3 (Supplement)

TROUBLE ON BOARD SHIP.

; CHARGE OE MANSLAUGHTER. . - TisiAltVi March 10. ■ Mr. WriAYj 'S.jfij the cdrdrie"r, arid a jury were bcelipied for six hours to-day oh the inquest concerning the death of Jas: Turner, boatswain On s.s. Waiwera, who died on Wednesday from a fracture of thd skull cdnsequerit on a fall from a blow struck by the firab officer, J., ChatWorth-Mustei's. The jury found that death was due to misadventure from a blow lawfully Struck by the first officer in self-defence. . . • In couriectiori With, death of the late boatswain of the WaiWeraj, ,the chief officer and master Were charged lit the Court today with Manslaughter. ' At the coronet's Inquest (lie previous day the accused, . Captairt Pfosser, arid the third mate, Allen,; and the chief steward* gave evideriee that th§ accused striicM the boatswiiifi itt, seif r deferice, knocking hint down. When lie fell Jtgrilrist alt ii'bn beani arid fractured the" base df his skulL ..They swore positively: that thgiri was only one blow struck, ttftd tlie man fell once .and never' rose again. Six otlief withesses, Ittngshorej men, two of Whorii Were on the deck and | close to where the incident habpefted, the other four on the wharf alongside the. fchipt swore as positively that.the officer hit the man twice and knocked him ", down twice, the second time when the hiitri Was getting up from the first blow. The coroner's jury found it a case of accident with no blami attached to the officer. The police, how* ever, prosecuted the chief officer for inaiij slaughter. One of the first witnesses called to-day was Dr. Reid, who was emphatically ,of opinion that this" latter evidence was unj believable. A man. must fall from his full height to gain rabmettfcufh enough to fracture the base of his Skull. He could not do it from a stoop'or ffbm his half height. If the skull were fractured by ft. fall from the first blow the mfeii could ? not udsaibly get up, nor try to dd id, and the Skull could not have been fractured by" the alleged, fall from | stooping position) of frbfn his hands and knees, after receiving trie iecbira Wow. To* day the m mm inea wefe Called, and seved others swore that two or more blows were struck. All but one or two swore that the last blow was given when the man Was fts* in" The exceptions ' wbre not certain whether the movement they saw,was a bloW or not. One witness said the deceased was in a fMitm& attitude, shaping at the ac? cased. All the others denied this. Counsel for the accused, iii opening the defence, ! breed the Beach td attach value to the evi; I deuce of flf: Held as to the ; possibilities .of l inflicting sueli injury, and more value to the ' officers standing close by, than to the fancied i observations of the people standing many ! feet below the deck level, and some distance i off He made much of trie discrepancies id ! the evidence of witnesses for the prosecu* j ! tion and asked the Bench to hear the evi- j ! deuce for the defence ahd then dismiss the I case " ' March 12. ' I The hearing of the evidence in the charge j i of manslaughter against the ehiei officer of { the b.l. "Waiwera (J. C. Musters) was con- ! eluded at half-past one o'clock this ffittW- | ing the accused beiflg committed for trial. Tile case WIS heard before three justices.