FATAL ACCIDENT.

Southland Times, Issue 3332, 24 February 1879, Page 2

FATAL ACCIDENT.

An inquest was held at the^.Gol(|en >Age Hotel, Gampbelltown, on .Saturday, the 22nd, upon the body of a seaman belonging; to the brigantine Sarah and Mary^ nahYed James (VV-lliams, wtio met -his death on the night of the 21st. V.:.-: ..

Walter Joss, (chief officer on board the Sarah and Mary, gave evidence' to the; e_fec.it that when lie, in company with James Gordon, a seaman of the same vessel, was proceeding on board the brigantiriej bn the night of the 21st, about half-past ten, he saw the deceased lying asleep on the wharf abreast of the Sarah : and „Mary, and _both he : and Gordon made > several ineffectual efforts -to induce him to go on board, but finding him inclined .to become • angry at their interference they; desisted and went on board,' and. to bed. About 1 a.m. on Saturday 'the mate was awakened by the splashing of the rain on .deck, and heard what- seemed like, a groan.-ahd -upon. its-' 'repetrtioh, he" turned "out^and. roused the crew, jfearihg tliat W^liams had fallen tn to i the. water. - The night was intensely dark, and nothing cquld : be made out without the aid of a lantern.,. The crew exariiirieb. the surface of the water and the piles and beams of the wharf , but saw nothing butia' quantity of white: froth under the port quarter of the vessel; The mate gave information of the circumstances to Constable Fretvyell immediately, and accompanied by that; officer made another examination' of the wharf and vessel, but without result. They then went for. the drags usually kept ; at the.Harbor office, but were unable to findthem for. nearly an hour, owing to the fact that they had been in. use during,. the day, and: bad not, been ,. replaced. After obtaining the drags they- grappled under the spot where {the froth had been seen, and at the 'third -attempt brought the body of deceased' to the surf ace and conyeyed .it to. the Golden. Age/ >yhere 'an exahnriatibn was made, but no. sighs of violence were; visible, tiie man Lhaying. evidently been drowned. There would have been ho difficulty in getting aboard, the vessel, , as her deck (was, at the period when the mate was awakened,:, flush (with the wharf, ; it being j ust about high s water ; nor could -,the (deceased, have slipped "between the vessel arid the wharf, as there was only the width of the ship's fenders between" , tlieih, about six inches. ; The ' hat of : deceased was found lying on deckclosejto ■ the main hatch, and from this fact,. and that of the., body having been found- some thirty feet from the spot where the ...man was left lying,: the: mate was of opinion that the deceased had [been roused from his sleep by the rain, and coming aboard, had walked aft, and toppled over the pbrt quarter. ;Deceased was drunk when, found asleep on the jWharf, and seemed incapable of helping himself . ;,. . . James Gordon was also called, but as his evidence was merely corroborative of that of the mate, it threw no additional light on the matter. . , ■

CharlesAldridge, another seaman of the Sarah and Mary, (.deposed that he left ihe Eagle. Hotel' in company with deceased: at about 1 0.15 p.m. -on Friday, arid went down the wharf towards the vessel, the deceased staggering as he walked, from .the influence of liqupr. : Arrived opposite the vessel, the deceased stopped and refused to accompany . the witness on board, and after some little time witwitness went , aboard alone,, leaving deceased lying on the wharf. (Upon Gordon, coming into the forecastle, witness asked hirii if he had seen Williams,; and,. Upon being.tpjd he was still on the wharf, and persisting in his refusal to come aboard, he turned in and went to ; sleep. Was roused about 1 a.m. by hearing soriieorie; cry out, and turned out at Opce ; but, hearing footsteps (on deck,; turned in again, thinking. 'j was "«; coiriingdpwn. . A few minutes afterwards, ; th,e , rniate ' came forward, and asked .. .if . ,. JVilliams was aboard, and, finding he. was . not, ; turned the crew out to:-: search for: him,; telling them what.he had heard. From this point the evidence of the witness, was a mere recapitulatibn of previous evidence. Various questions put/by. the jurymen failed in eliciting .any:;infprinatiori. regarding the antecedents ., of deceased, nothing, being known of (him previous "to his joining the ship. He was unable "'"to swim and was strongly addicted to drink. .. •; .. No further evidence was called and !the jury found a unariirri'ous verdict of " Found drowned."; .^-.-i/oux .■■. YjY._ Y' . -