ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1156, 27 April 1894, Page 17

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

An accident of a somewhat serious nature occurred in Courtenay place last week. It appears that Mr B. Ayres, herbalist, his wife and four children were driving homo from Porirua, and when opposite the shop of Mr J. 11. Firth, grocer, the horse started kicking. The splashboard was smashed, and Mrs Ayres had her leg broken. She was taken into Mr Firth's residence, and Dr Pollen, who was quickly in attendance, attended to her injuries. Latest accounts are that Mrs Ayres is piogressing favourably. At tho inquest on the body of a man named Benjamin Midgley, found hanging dead in a workshop at Christchurch, a verdict that deceased had hanged himself while temporarily insane through drink was returned.

Our Havelock correspondent writes that a fatal accident occurred in that district on the 19th inst. A young man named Neils Brown, aged 26 years, in the employ of Mr Higgings, was falling bush, when a loose limb fell, striking him on the side of the head, causing concussion of the brain. The injured man was brought into Havelock, and every attention paid him at Scott's Post Office Hotel, Dr Hoadley being in attendance, but Brown sank and died. Deceased was a sailor, and came to Picton in the Arctic Stream.

The Club Hotel at Woodville narrowly escaped destruction by fire the other morning. Over the archway leading into the livery stables is a sittingroom, the flooring of which forms the roof of the archway. In this sitting-room the fire originated, though in what manner is not known. It is surmised, however, that sparks must have fallen through the top flooring boards near the hearth, for when the nijrhtwatchman discovered th© fire the joists and rafters, which had evidently been smouldering for some time, were bursting into flame. The alarm was instantly given. Another few minutes and it would have been too late. >

Two Natives, Solomon and Josiah, left Tauranga for Motiti Island on Saturday afternoon in an open boat. The steamer Katikati found Josiah alone in the boat about three miles off the island on Sunday morning, Josiah says the boat stuck on a bank half way down the Tauranga Harbour. He got out and pushed her off, and he remembers nothing more till the steamer picked him up. The men were somewhat intoxicated when leaving Tauranga, and also had liquor in the boat. A boy named Albert Smith, son of an Ormondville settler, lias met his death in a very simple manner. He trod on a nail, which inflicted a painful wound and caused him to lay up. The place was apparently healing all right, and had almost ceased to .

pain him, when on Wednesday week, six days after the accident occurred, lockjaw set in. Medical aid was called in, but was of no avail, tho unfortunate young fellow, whp was 18 years of age, dying early on Friday morning.

Napier, April 19, Mr William Perrin, licensee of the Exchange Hotel, was handling a revolver last night, when it went off, and the bullet lodged in his skull. To-day the doctors managed to locate it, though' it is not yet extracted. At first fatal results were anticipated, but the appearances are now more favourable.

Auckland, April 23. A man named Thomas Glyn, a miner, was found dead in the old building known as the Maori Hostelry, at Mechanics Bay, last evening, his face being covered with blood. The evidence at the inquest showed that death was caused by the bursting of a blood-vessel. At first there was a suspicion of foul play.

Auckland, April 24. A child 16 months old, Gladys Mills, has been burned to death at Newton. Her 6-year-old brother, while * playing with matches, accidentally set fire to ner clothes Blenheim, April 24. A sad fatality occurred last evening, when Mrs Humphries and her child and Miss Wratt were drowned while crossing the Wairan River at the Waikakaho ford.

No one saw the accident, but it is believed that the dogcart in which the Ladies were seated was tipped up, the occupants being thus shot into the stream. Search parties have discovered the bodies of the two women close to tlie trap, bufc that of the child, which was two years of age, has not been recovered. The body of Mrs Humphries was much disfigured, but that of Miss Wratt was uninjured, and her hand was still clasping the whip. The trap must have been overturned on entering the river, one wheel having gone into a hole. The horse was drowned in the shafts.