INQUEST OF GEORGE TAVERNOR.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VIII, Issue 2201, 17 November 1875, Page 3

INQUEST OF GEORGE TAVERNOR.

An.inquest on the body was found in tho Eauwaoranga river on Sunday night was held at the Conrt-house, Shortland, yesterday, before Dr . lilgour, coroner, and a jury, of whom . Mr J. H. Jefferson was chosen foreman. The juiy having . been sworn, proceeded to view the body, which was in the dead-house in the Court-yard, after which the following evidence was'taken s— Mr Bullen, on behalf of the Crown, conducted the examination. Rowland Hansen deposed: I am a bushman, and. reside at the Waikawau. I havo seen the deceased. I recognise the body, by its clothing and boots, as George Tavernor. I have known him for about ten weeks, during which we worked, together. I have no doubt about that being -his body; I am sure of it. I last saw him alive three weeks ago last Saturday, the day ho left tho Waikawau for Gfrahamstown to look for employment. I don't think he has any relatives in this colony. He belonged to Staffordshire, 'England.' I have heard him say that he was a clerk to Colonel .Moule in the. .Armed Constabulary. ; : Edward Joseph Anderton deposed: I am a solicitor by profession,-and reside at the Kauwaeranga. I recollect Sunday last. On that day, when walking along the river,l[sawan object in the water, and on closer inspection I discovered it to be the body of a man. Where I saw .the body is four or five miles down : from the usual crossing—the thoroughfare up 'and down the valley.; There is a ford above : where the body was found, about 100. yards further up. There are several others, but they, are only used by the setllera about, not by those travelling tho. road

The water where-I-saw'the body was about 3or 4 feet deep. The upper por- • tion of the body was floating,, but the feet were aground. There is deep water in the channel of the river above where the body was. I caused information to be. ■ forwardfd*to the police of the finding of the body. 1 I saw Constable Stapleton take the body out on the following Monday morning, and that is the body now in thedead-house, the subject of this inquest. ' I do not recollect ever having seen the man, during life. .1 did not examine the body, but the faco appeared to be .disfigured,. but cannot say.what 'caused the disfiguration. I think it must have been caused by the body, dragging in tho sand and gravel in the bottom of the creek. " By the Jury: It would not be dangerous to cross at any of the crossings which' I referred _to except there was a fresh in the river, but they are quite off the usual track. It is quite possible that the body might havo been washed down from the regular crossing by the late floods which brought the logs down. The body was found about half a mile above the booms. M John Brown demanded his wages, and refused to be sworn until he was promised his wages. He 'was taken away from his work,--The Coroner said that there was no power in the Coroner's Court to order payment of his wages, but he would recommend it, but in the meantime he must give his evidence.—-The witness said he would not. They might do what they liked with him, but under the circumstances he would not be sworn, —The Coronor told him there was no use in his talking in this foolish manner. If he did not give his evidence he .would be punished.—The witness said "must" was a strong word,.: and ho might punish him, he would not give evidence,—The Coroner said that he had offered to recommend that his wages should be paid. He admitted the hardship of the case, but lie would have to send him to. gaol if he did not give evidence. He was then ordered to < stand down.—Mr Gillies, one of the jurors, suggested that the jury should make up the man's wages, but the Coroner could not allow it at this stage.'. David Ballingall, packer for Mr David Munro, deposed: I reside on the Kau« . waeranga, and take goods up and gum down. I saw a man who, to the best of my belief, is deceased, in the bed of an old creek, about two miles about Munro'a place, It was quite dry, and within 12 feet of the track. I was accompanied at the time by a man named Pope. I passed within about 12 to 15 feet of him. He was down upon his knees, with his hands stretched upwards over his head. I did not hear him speaking. After we had passed him a short distance Pope went back and stayed with him about five minutes. The man would not speak to him nor come away , with hitn, and as the horses were laden and going along a dangerous road, we could not .stop. - We came on to Munro's store that day, and went up again the next day. I never saw the man after. It was from five to six miles above the booms where I saw the man as described. I have no recollection of having ever seen that, man before that timo pr since, He was a stranger to me altogether. By. the Coroner: From seeing the man in that singular altitude I thought he was ( drunk, t .

By the Jury: When .Popo was talking to him he did not alter his position, nor to take any notice of him. There have been no heavy, freshes in the river since .1 saw him; There would not be any 1 necessity for him to cross the river from where I saw him to reach the bush, There was a good track all the way. The position when I saw him was not a dangerous one. ' : John Brown, was, again ealled, and asked whether he had, decided to give his evidence, and thought over. it. He said he was still in the ..same mind,—The Coroner told him that by the course he was taking he might loose several weeks' pay instead of two days', and he advised him to: think better of it.—The witness then consented to be sworn.

He deposed: lam a labourer.residing about seven miles up the Kauwaeranga. I identify the body of the deceased, by his beard and trousers. He accompanied me and two others up the Kauwaeranga about tho Ist of Jthe month. I did not know his name." We all agreed to work together. We stopped' at Munro's store that night. The next day three of them went higher up the river to my camp, six miles further. up the river. Thoy returned to Munro's store the next day (on Wednesday), They then agreed to go and work in the bush, and deceased and another man started down towards Shortland, after remaining at Munro's store about an hour. The man who came along with deceased is named Stewart Crawford. . I have not seen either deceased or Crawford since that day. I thought that deceased had been' drinking heavily, and that he was half in the horrors. I saw him in • a position similar to that, described by the last witness. During the time he was in my company or under my observation. , I.don't think he was in his right mind. Crawford was as sober as a judge, so far as I could observe.

By the Coroner: Deceased, did not, drink much while he was under my observation.

Constable Stapleton deposed to having found the body of the deceased at the place indicated by Mr Anderton. It was lying in the water facing down the stream, the feet touching the ground. I got the body out of tho water. I did not make a minute examination of tho body up there, but did subsequently, after removing it to Shortland. 'J he face was disfigured. There wero no bones broken. There were no marks other than what would have been caused by coming into contact with stones in the river. I searched the body and found nothing upon it. : Constable Louis deposed: I have examined the bodyi-the subject of this inquest.' I could not recognise it as the body of George Tavern Or. I have heard the witness identify it by the clothing. I have known George Tavernor this last eight years. . His habits were not temperate. I have known him to a certain extent out of his mind for two or three days after severe drinking. During one of those ebullitions ho was guilty of wilful foolish acts. I have not known him to be under restraint further than being confined, to his quarters under the care of the doctors. It is quite possible that the body now in the dead-house might be that of George, Tavernor, although I do not recognise it in consequence of the face being disfigured.. : ; By. the Jury: From 1871 until last year I had not seen him. . This was all the evidence. The Coroner summed up the evidence, and complimented the police on the manner in which the case had been got up. : The jury returned an open verdict of " Found Drowned."