A CASE OF DROWNING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11395, 12 April 1899, Page 3

A CASE OF DROWNING.

NO LIGHTS ON. THE- .WHABVES.

A wiiarf labourer named Angus M'Donald, who was on his way homo about 3 a.m. on the" 18th ult., after working all night on ■the' steamer; Clitus, fell- over' the; Jetty, street wharf and was drowned before assistance could reach' h'im. Sergeant Conn and''Constable Dwan, who were in the vicinity of tho wharf at the time, 'were informed of tho affair; They procured a boat, ■ and, after 15 minutes' dragging, they secured the body, which ha'd then been in' the water about -thrce'quarters, of :an hour. An inquest was held on Saturday afternoon at the Wharf Hotel, before Mr E. H. Carew (district coroner) and a jury, of whom llr :H. ■ Spiers was chosen foreman

Henry Jeromson, wharf labourer, said that deceased was born in some nart of the Highlands of Scotland,, anci had" been 12 months in the colony, arriving here by the Rotokino. He wns about 42 years of age, and had been working on.the wharf as a lumper. He lived in the Kaikorai until a fortnight ago, when he shifted to a room in Dowling street, opposite the Convent. He was unmarried, and told witness that he had a -sister in Glasgow. He came here in the Itotokino from Australia.

James Mackenzie M'lntosh, custom house officer, said he lust saw deceased alive, between halt-past 2 and a quarter to 3 o'clock on Saturday morning. He was then waiting in the landing ahed, sheltering from the rain. He had been working discharging cargo from the Calcutta steamer Clitus. Tho men had knocked off work at.that time owing to the rain, arid were to start'again at 8 o'clock. He saw deceased and four or five-other men leave together. It was very dark. A few minutes later witness heard the cry of " A man' overboard! " The torches were taken from the shed, while another man went for the grappling irons— fixed to a pole. Witness could see nothing but a hat in the water. The man had been making for the gate at the tongue wharf, but owing to the darkness of the r.ight ho must have mis--1 judged nis position and walked over the wharf. There were plenty of willing hands, but r.o "boat. A second set of grappling irons were 'obtained, and the body was then recovered, after having been about three-quarters of an hour, in the water.1 Nothing was done to try and resuscitate the body. It was utterly impossible to do anything, "as a howling gale was blowing. No one for a moment thought, that there was any life, in the body, as it had been so long in the water. It was a wild, dirty night. The man-was perfectly sober. To the jury: If there had been a. lamp at the place the man would have seen his way out by the gate. To Sergeant Conn: There was a railway truck on the Jetty street wharf near where tho body was found. He could not say whether it was possible for the man to have struck the railway truck and fallen over the wharf. The hat was floating near the tongue wharf, and the body was recovered at'the Jetty street wharf. ohe wind was blowing south-west. Witness had been employee! on the wharf for over 30 years, and it waa the darkest night he ever experienced. Lawrence Johnston, wharf labourer, and Constable Dwan also gave evidence. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased was accidentally drowned by felling from the wharf, and added-the following riuer:—"That the evidence shows the urgent necessity for the wharves being kept lighted when men arc working there at night time."