THE EASTER HILL INQUIRY.

Southland Times, Issue 3321, 11 February 1879, Page 2

THE EASTER HILL INQUIRY.

(BY ELECTHIC TELEGRAPH PER SPECIAIi WIBE.) ! ' S DUNEDIN," Monday. The enquiry into the drowning of Wm. Taylor from the barque Easter Hill, was concluded to-day ; the additional evidence called by tb.e officers wen*"; to,shoWr-that the boy had been kindly treated. Kyidence wag given that he was punished on one occasion, and kept holy-stoning. The captain said he ropes-ended the boyJEpr answering back, he also said " Sometim_s my officers ordered the boys-'to carry a handspike across their hacks, but that is nothing, it simply keeps them awake, for if trie let the bar fall 'on the deck it liiakes a noise." , t -& ? - The principal evidence was given by Peter L. Johnson, the seaman who jumped overboard after the boy.' He said— When I eariie on deck I did not know that Taylor had been aloft be_ore',<_or did I know that he was tired, but one <of the starboard watch , told } *qs the boy was going up on the niain-Toyal "yard, and tli_ three others besides myself went to look atJbiin go np. We had no impression that he was in danger, and can explain why we watched him. I cannot say whether the helm was altered to put tl>e ship; off her course, she did'not come to the wind. I have seen the boy punished! Once** the second ' officer lashed a capstan barTni his back, for not striking bells. He was made to walk' the poop with the capstan bar on his -back from half - past two - until "a quarter past five in the morning, and then trie chief officer, ordered the capstan bar to be taken offi -his back. One day he came forward, to me an4 Charles Charleston, cryipg

-■__d__aißM-_^__i-i----_g------i ;<_ ., --,—'«• *-*. iy^*<rand conplaining that they had c _icked hirr outaft. He was kept up alHliat afternoon holy-stoning when it was his* wfttch' below; , Charleston and I told the seccmd mate thai it was very bad "to abuse "the boy bo Mitchell said that- he had nothing to dc with it, and told us to mind our own business. I do not remember any other punishment being inflicted. ' TheVecdrrd mate tbltl us that the master had ordered the punishment. _ „If a life buoy had been thrown to me I could have' let go the rope" aud got to the ,boy quite easily. There; was no _ign of any blood about. If, l bad/ had a life buoy I could easily have held the body up until assistance came : - the sea was almost calm. I did^ot notice the skid after the accident; there was no blood on the rigging where he struck, noi anywhere else. His ..sheath knife was picked up on deck. In the last vessel 1 sailed 1 -to Fiji,- Tom Brown, the second mate, fell down from* the foreyard and landed between the rail and the skids ; there -wrtSTfO" _gjß~of lifewhen we picked him up; his nose and "mouth fwerejfull of blood, "out we cleaned them out, And the man came to life-again. I cannot tell whether the boy __*ylor was alive or dead after he fell. So far as I know the lad was liked by the hands. ; I never heard him express any fear ordered aloft. • He obeyed orders' 'so far as I knew. He : was thickheaded, bu,t not what" I should call a loafer! ItVas nqthing new to stop the bunt lines., The port clue of l; the mail sail was hauled up, so that I could see him from below. "The yards were right square. Theiboy was not kept on deck during the middle watch on the night he was lost. If the line *I had hold' of had been two fatliom'S- longer I could have reached the boy." As I was hauled pn board I remarked that "Twas rather late to save the body. tl think we could have got a boat out in ten or fifteen minutes t iL / „_ ,