INQUEST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2263, 15 July 1897, Page 28

INQUEST.

An inquest was held at the hospital on Fridsy afternoon, before Mr E. H. Carew (district coroner), and a jury of six (Mr John Asher, foreman), on the body of William Prideaux Oliver, who3e death in the institution on Thursday afternoon was the result of a mishap which befell him near the railway station a fortbight ago. Mr T. Arthur was present on behalf of the Railway department. James Riddle, labourer, residing in Filleul street, identified the body a« that of William Prideaux Oliver. He was witness' stepson, and was born ab Duntroon. He was 14£ years ef age. Witnesß heard of the accident when he got home after his work, and had teen the boy on several occasions since in the hospital. Mrs Riddle deposed that the boy was her ton by her first husband. When she heard of the accident she went to the cospital, and had seeu the boy there nearly every day t-ince. She thought his mind was somewhat affected after the accident. He gave witness an account of the accident. He said he saw boys btanding at the back of the railway station. They- were warming their hands at a fire, and he thought he would do the same. He gos on to something thinking it was hard, but it was not, aud he went through the crust into hot ashes. Frederick Wheeler, aged 10, said he knew the deceased. About a fortnight; ago he saw him near the railway station. They saw some smoke and ran over to it. It was at the back of the passenger platform, on the Stuart street side of the building. They found that the smoke came trom some red hot ashes in an ashpit. There weie about -two cartloads. They got on to the wall, witness on cue side and deceased on the other, and warmed their hands. Witness stojd on the hard p*rt of the ashes. Deceased stood oa the wall ai»d tried to warm his hands, and overbalanced himself. Witness looked over and could not. seo deceased, aud then sang out for help. Witness then went to the station and told a man who was cleaning the windows of the carriages. The man went to the ashpit and took deceased out of it, and stripped his clothes off him. Decaaeed was afterwards put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. What witness thought was that the deceased overbalanced himself and tell into the pit. There was a brick wall built round the pit, and they had to got on to the wall before they saw # the ashes. Boys often went to the ashpit to take things out of it. Deceased told witncs3 that sometimes there were good things in it, so they went over. Witness sat on tbe wall, ar.d the deciased stood on it. There was some bad oranges in the pit, and witness was trying to draw one to him with his foot. Deceased put his light foot on one wall and his left on tho other, aud lost his balance. John Barron, porter on ths Danedin railway station, said the accident happened on the 24-th Juno. Wi£nets was putting lamps in a train in the afternoon, wfcen the witness Wheeler told him a boy had fallen into the ashpit. Witness went to the pit, and saw the boy in is trying to get over the wall out of the pit. He was yellinjr, and was very excited, and was all covered with ashes. Witness assisted him over the wall and pulled his ciothes off. There was no sign of smoke or lite about him, but his eyes were iuilamed, and he could not open them. The boy's legs wero rubbed with co'za oil, and he was then rolled iv blankets and taken to the hospital. The furnace was a distance away from the platform, aud was built right round with a wall about 6ft high from the ground, and there was the additional protection of two long rails on one side higher than the wall. No one could getinto it without first climbing the wall. All Horts of rubbish — the sweepings of carriage?, and co on — were thrown into the pit and burnt. Dr Stenhouse, resident surgeon at the hospital, said ths boy when taken to the institution wa3 found to be suffering from burn 6on both lower limb«, across tbe chest, tha left hand, and the right eye and temple, with a feir amount of shock. Ho was under treatment in the ordinary manner, but ntver showed much resisting power, and suffered from advancing febrile symptoms. On Tuesday last he suddenly became much worse, and sank till he dif d on Thursday affceruooa. The cause of death was weakness — the effect of burns, — and probably poor physical health. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidentally ; killed by falling into a pit of burning a*hes.' :

Two stowaways by the Westralia, named John Murray and David Thomas, were fined £3 or one month's imprisonment at Auckland fer having travelled from Sydney ivithout Davine tttsir fares.