CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3036, 22 May 1912, Page 33

CASUALTIES.

Spencer Morton (22), employed in a store j at Ohaupo, committed suicide on the 13th by taking carbolic acid. No reason is assigned for the act. At the adjourned inquest on the bodies of two Maoris who were killed in a motor accident near Waipawa, the verdict was that they met their deaths through the driver (a Maori) attempting to negotiate a corner at an exoessive speed while more or less under the influence of liquor. George Henry Sellman a recent arrival • ami a taxi-cab driver, was found dead in bed at Christchurch. He had been taking a cough mixture. The medical evidence disclosed valvular heart disease, and a verdic« ' was returned accordinglyAt the inquest on the body of He! on j Goscomb, a woman, aged 38 years, i who died in a lavatory at Christchurch on the 10th, Dr Irving said there were methylated spirits in the stomach, and the organs were in a degenerate condition. There was a mark of a blow on the chin. The blow might have been sufficient to cause death. Frank Goscomb, the husband, said he had been drinking methylated spirits with his wife because it was cheap. He quarrelled with her on Sunday, but did not strike her. Ho found her on Monday in a lavatory dead. Detective Gibson said he found the body on the floor wedged firmly between the walls. The Coroner (Mr Bishop) said tie sale of methylated spirits should be stopped because of the prevalent use of it as a drink. Our Balclutha correspondent states that Mr W. Uren, a railway surfaceman, met with an accident hi the course of his work on the 11th. With others he was removing -a hut off a truck, whan it overbalanced and struck him on the shoulder, breaking his left collar-bone. John Albert Tichner, aged 40 years, a labourer committed suicide by hanging himself at Taihape. The body was found early on the 15th inst. From a note left in a pocket book it appears that Tidiner's •nind was unhinged through the breaking off of an engagement on Monday. Mr R. K. Bradbury, clerk to the Halcombo Town Board, was found dead on the 14-th in a paddock. He was last seen alive in the morning, when he was in • the possession of a double-barrelled gun. He had beer, much worried lately, and it. is supposed that he lost his reason. Mr Bradbury fought through the Maori War, and was in receipt of a military pension. He leaves a wife and twO" children (grown up). At the inquest held on the following , day, the evidence showed that the deceased had attempted to commit suicide by taking poison. He had stated that the office had been robbed, and had informed a friend that he intended to commit &uicidfe\ The polioe evidence was that there was no sign of any robbery., but that the books of the Town Board showed that about £37 had been collected but not banked. A verdict of suicide whilst temporarily insane was returned. Archibald Clark, a well-known coastal skipper, was found drowned in Auckland Harbour on the 17th inst. Owes Arthur Cadwallader, who was severely injured in a motor car accident at Carterton on the 10th inst., died on the 17th. He was 37 years old, and was formerly a Wairarapa representative footballer. A man named L. aged 24. belonging to Hawcra, was killed at Akatarawa on the 17th, as a result of an accident while While participating in the Christchurch Hunt Club's "meet" at Winslow on the 16th, Miss D. Keith, of Ashburton, met with a serious accident. Her mount took a fence too soon, and fell partly on the rider, who was discovered in a semi-conscious condition and severely cut about the face. Examination showed that a bone in the hand was broken. It will be some considerable time before she recovers from the shock. A serious accident befell Mrs J. D. Bowker, of the Hook, on Monday, l.Sthi. She went for a ride on horseback in the , afternoon, and, not having returned in the s evening, her 'husband became anxious, and, in company with Mr A. S. Jones, went in search of her, going in the latter's car. They first discovered the riderless horse with the bridle rein.s broken, and at about 9 p.m. they found Mrs Bowker lying unconscious on the side of the road. It was at first thought that the horse had stumbled, but as three of the horse's shoes were min-sing Mr Bowker was no* satisfied that this was the reason, and on the next day he went over the ground where Mrs Bowker was picked up. and he found two of the horse's shoes stuck in some wire netting, the end of a coil placed on the fence line, and it was evident thnt this had caused the trouble. Mrs Bowker is imoroving jjp well as can be expected. Arthur Sidney Awdry, a married man, who was employed as a collector on the Dominion newspaper, was found dead in a bath of water at his residence on 18th. Mrs Awdry went out shopping at 7.30, and on returning at 9 o'clock found her husband in the bath dead. At the inquest the medical evidence was to the effect that death was due to heart failure, accentuated by entering a warm bath. Martha Elizabeth Henderson, a married woman, died suddenly at Kaiapoi on the 17th inst.. and at the inquest sensational evidence was given. Dr Crawshaw 6aid that death was caused by abnormal conditions, which might have bsen caused by the use of an instrument. The deceased's nine-year-old son said that Mrs Bridget Chalk was with his mother when she died. The inquest was adjourned till May 24. Mrs Chalk has been formally charged with having caused the death of Mrs Henderson by an unlawful act, and has been remanded until the 24th inst. An old-age pensioner named Harriet Ambler was found dead in a house at Oaraaru on ihe 19th. She had been dead at least 24 hours when discovered. The deceased was an old resident of Oamaru, and there were no suspicious circumstances. Agnes Ewart, aged 15 years, living at Owaka, was admitted to the Dunedin Hospital on Saturday suffering from somewhat severe burns, received when fche was lighting the fire, through a spark igniting her tiunneifette nightdress Leslie Hamblin, employed by Messrs John Burns and Co.. was stacking iron Auckland Hospital suffering from severe injuries to the head. The six-year-old son of Mr and Mrs J. Boyle, of Patea (says the Hawke's Bay Tribune), on Saturday week climbed up on a copper of almost boiling water in order to reach some marbles on the shelf above, and in getting down placed his hand on the

copper lid, which slipped away and caused him to fall into the water. He scrambled out almost immediately, but he was so badly scalded that he died shortly after admission to the hospital. The "Herald's Paren'ga correspondent reports a sad drowning accident. Five Natives were out in a boat fishing, when a big breaker capsized the craft. Three of the Natives were poor swimmers, and, in spite of the efforts of their companions to save thorn, one —a lad named John Cashwas drowned in sight of his frifcnds. The others got ashore with great difficulty. A jockey named Joseph Ross, while schooling a racehorse over hurdles at Auckland received a fall which rendered him unconscious. He was conveyed to the Auckland Hospital suffering from severe injuries to the head William Henry Adams, county engineer, sheets at the firm's store in Auckland, blew his brains out at Te Kuiti. His death is supposed to be the result d depression consequent on the deceased being behind in his work. Adams was seen rx*j his office at 2 o'clock, and he must have gone straight to Green and Colebrooke s store, where be- purchased a gun and cartridges, proceeding then to that firm's back yard, where he committed the deed. The deceased was an old resident, and was widely esteemed. He was fomerly employed in the Government Roads Department laying off district roads, and had been engineer to the Waitamo County since its inception. He leaves a widow and three children. Robt Caley, a prominent Waikato farmer, living at Paperinu, was found unconscious on his farm on the 20th with an empty bottle of lysol near him. He died within an hour of his discovery. The deceased was in comfortable circumstances, but had been suffering lately from nervous breakdown. He was about 50 years of age. He leaves a widow and three young children. Emma Gilligan, the 17-year-old daughter of Francis Gilligan, a well-known farmer of Waitotara, drowned herself on Saturday afternoon. In the morning she seemed moody, and went to her bedroom, where she read letters and then burned them. Following this .-he walked to the other side of the lake, and, in answer to her stepmother's (.all, she said she was going to drown herself. In spite of protests, she walked into the water and disappeared. Life was extinct when the body was recovered. At the inquest a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane was returned. On the Glasgow wharf at Wellington, about 11 a.m. on the 20th inst., a middleaged man named Charles Thorpe, who was assisting to load the steamer Surrey, had his neck broken through a bale of tow being jerked on to him, pinning him against the outside wall of the shed. Death was instantaneous. ' Deceased was well known locally. He stood for election to the City Council last year. The coroner held an inquest at Wellington touching the death of a three-weeks-old male child of Mrs Kingan. The mother said she lived apart from her husband, who was a jockey. The child was illegitimate. She had been feeding it on condensed milk, and the night before it died she had given it a little arrowroot and water, Dr lyffe, who made a post mortem examination, said death was due either to gastroenteritis from improper feeding or starvation. The verdict wis that death was caused by gastroenteritis, due to improper feeding. Some young fellows were shooting at the riflo range near Blenheim on Saturday afternoon. One fired a rifle with the cleaning rod in the barrel. The lock blew out and struck in the stomach a young man named Sinclair Couper. He died this morning at the hospital.