THE RECENT ACCIDENT IN WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2623, 22 June 1904, Page 57

THE RECENT ACCIDENT IN WELLINGTON.

Several matters connected with the prevalence of football accidents were touched on by Mr James Asheroft, district coroner, at the inquest of the young man Thomson, who was injured in a match between the •Wellington and Poneke junior teams. The Coroner said' he was not disposed to think that games could be carried on without some danger, but he must confess that' the number of accidents which had been reported lately suggested that the present methods of playing the Rugby game ■were rather severe. He did not think that any alteration of the rules would have affected the case they hadi been considering, but it- seemed to him that where life was at stake there should be the greatest care to see that no more force was used in the play than was absolutely ne-cessary. Touching on individual rough play and the risk a player ran in being party to it, he referred to a passage in a hand-book shown ihim by Sub-inspector O'Donovan. The following is an extract: — "Wh&re an act, in itself lawful, is at the same, time dangerous, it must appear, in order to render an unintentional homicile from it excusable, that tha party, whilst doing the act, used such a degree of caution as to make it improbable that any danger or injury should arise from it to others ; if not, the homicide will be manslaughter at the least. If a person, whilst doing or attempting an unlawful act,, but nob amounting to felony, ■undiesiguedly kill a man, he is guilty of manslaughter. For instance, in the wellknown football case, Regina. v. Bradshaw (14- Cox, CO. 83), it was laid down that if, while engaged in a friendly game, one of the players commits an unlawful act whereby death is caused to anoth&r, it is manslaughter; nor is it material to consider ■whether the act which caused the death was or was not in accordance with the rules a«d practice of tho game. 'No rules or practice of any game whatever,' said Bramwell, L. J., 'can make that lawful which is unlawful by the law of the land ; and the law of the land says you shall not do that which is likely to cause the death of 1 "Jiother."

Continuing, Mr Asheroft said he did not think for a moment that ' there was wilful intent on the part of the young 1 man who injured deceased, but in the excitement of the game he probably acted rashly.. Rethought that the "rules of the game might be amended to save accidents as far as possible. There were so ni&ny mishaps now that he- could 1 not (help thinking it was a game that parents would be very shy in allowing their children to participate in. A very old player had told him that ho would not think of allowing his son to go in for it. He thought there wa3 a different class of men playing in his day. Sub-inspector O'Donovan observed that the authorities should take the matter in fcand, and suppress anything that was improper whether the ru.'es permitted it or not.

"I should like to se-e," added the Coroner, "a solemn warning administered to the leaders of football, because I oannot see *hat human nature is benefited by carrying on a savage game which leads to a. large percentage of injuries and death*."