CHARGE OF MANSLAUGH TER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10646, 21 December 1910, Page 4

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGH TER.

i (I'EU PIIESS ASSOCIATION.) j BargavilUy-Doeembat^'iU;.■; ; j Following the. yordipt- <>l tho. Coroner it tlm xeccut iiifjufst. tuushinfi.the of, Stephen Frederick, Parlcer,; »_ digger, of Knilui, as the result through (lown by a horse ridden py i _Harry Jrlockey, a bush mate, - 20 years of age., further proceedings were""takeir~by the police,' wilen Hock6y was charged-before tho Mayor' CMrV F.* J./Dargfcville) ' and* Mr AT'E.'HardiiJg,' J.P., 'with' having,611 November 26th", "at Kailiu," furiously Kdde'n a horse solas' tc causg the death of' the said - Stepllsn "Frederick Parker. ' :U- Sergeant Griffith prosecuted, and the accused was defended by-Mr G. ri. Hayes. . , : "- ~ S A-large quantity - of evidence was. given, and tlie proceedings'lasted all. day. Briefly the case for "the i was that Parker had been drinking with a mate named Larkins, in Kailiu, and. was walking home with Iris mate 'along the'Kai-Itvi road under'the influence of liquor about 5.30 p.m. on the day in (jucstion, a Saturday. They had arrived at a point about a mile and ahalf. from K aihu, and about one and ahalf or two chains around: the bend in the road, when the accused, ndmg iibrcast with anothei'"man, came galloping round tho bend without slackening' their pact;, with the result that' Hockey's horse knocked clown Parker, who sustained injuries to his head. Tlio horsemen dismounted and assisted the man to the' side of the road', where he

was attended to and gob on Ins feet. The horsemen then rode on, and no further inquiry-was-made by them as to itho-man's condition.: On tho following -morning Parker 'died at the Northern. iWairoa Hospital, the immediate cause ;of death being pressure of a large clot of blood on the brain, tlio result of,a fblnw or fall. - ... .. t .. The police contended that the-corner .'of tho road was a diihgewis corner, .that in failing to slacken liis speed tlie accused was guilty'of negligence, which ; caused the death of tlie man Parker. They "further contended that accused |was'guilty of further, negligence in leaving deceased in company of a man who >was under the influence of liquor and ; not obtaining proper medical attention for him. For tlie defence a quantity of evidence was led to show that accused was riding at a smart canter neither ifuriously nor recklessly, and had perfect 'command of liis horse, but as accused came within a yard of two of Parker the latter suddenly lurched across the road as a drunken man is apt to do, and this caused the accident. Had Parker not swerved accused-would have passed him easily, but as-it w ; n& he li'ad no time to -pull up," though he did try to pull away his horse. It was further shown that accused paid all reasonable attention to the deceased after the accident, and 'Sid not rid£ away until tho man was .on, his the road, and apparently all .JUght ag£iii. Tlie evidence further showed that on the following morning deceased was found in a paddock by the licensee of tho Kaihaii Hotel, and was placed by him in a stable .01.1 some sacks, and covered over with, ;m old. blanket. He was given brandy several times during the day, but did not recover consciousness. On the Monday. morning tho police were informed, and the. man was removed to the hospital, where lie died shortly after admission.. The medical testimony showed, that had the man received proper attention twenty-four hours earifcr there would have been, a good chance of saving his life. . . ... Mr. JJayes contended that tliere was no case to go to a jury. No jury would convict .the. accused of manslaughter upon su.clx evidence as had been laid for tlie Crown, which clearly showed that the most .careful man in the world might, under the circumstances, have met with the misfortune. The Bench decided to dismiss the case and . discharged the accused, at the same time complimenting tho police on the manner in which they had conducted their ease.