SUPREME COURT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6499, 31 May 1899, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

ib- Wednesday, Mat 31. ;re (Before His Honor Mr Justice Dennisto-n.] J" THE RAKAIA FATALITY. _l CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER Ise AGAINST AN ENGINE-DRIVER. 11(1 Charles Henry. Carter, who was defended a l by. Mr-Joynt, .was charged with tnat ne did., W on March 11, lb9y, ac Rakaia, kill Rose e * Florence Harwood, Mary Ann J_ ranks, and e " Jb ranees Evelyn Jones, and did thereby rfc commit the crime of manslaughter. tl " The prisoner pleaded not guilty. . 16 ' Mr Stringer appeared for the prosecution, s " Mr T...D. Harman watched the case on be* half of claimants through the accident, and ' ' the Railway. Department was represented by '_._ Messrs W. H. Gaw, traffic manager, Mr A. ■ ' . L. Beattie, locomotive engineer, and Mr J. . Burnett,. district engineer. ( g The following jury was empanelled, there ie being no challenges : Mills, J. Martin, T _ B. .Lowry, H. Tuck, W. Anderson, G. i„ Lucas, J. M'Lean, F. Boot (foreman), W. '■■_ Chard, R. Wicks, F. T. Eldridge, and R. e Wylio.'. y Mr Stringer - said the prosecution arose s out of the. railway accident which, [x took place at.. Rakaia in March last, a- and by which the unfortunate persons mene tioned in the indictment lost their lives. t The jury doubtless had the main facts in is', tlieir minds, which were that on the date - mentioned the Islington employees went by s two trains to Ashburton. The first of these i trains left Ashburton punctually, and arf rived punctually, at Rakaia, while the second - . train,, which was detained owing to the deb railing of a truck, left Ashburton at 6.35, ■ and arrived at Rakaia at 7.3. Though: 1 Carter had been known for years as a sober, J steady, and reliable driver, it was evident ~ : that someone had blundered, and he would. | endeavour, to show the jury that none of the J railways officials but Carter had blundered. I If a man who was engaged in work requir- . ing care and attention failed to exercise that , care and attention, he was by the common' j law of 'England guilty of manslaughter. It ' v was therefore- clear that the position of _ Carter was su«h that, having under his care an engine, the misuse of which caused loss of huma»n Hfe, he would be guilty of manslaughter."- All the law, however, re- ; quired was that a man should use all reasonable care-, and skill, and keep his energies alert for the- avoidance of danger. Elaborate rules and', regulations had been laid 1 down by the Department. Every driver had a copy of these rules, and 'had to pass periodical examinations in the knowledge of them. Carter had been in the service fov twenty yeais, and must have known the rules, thoroughly. Mr Stringer quoted Rules 4 applying jo the above remarks ; 5, which pointed out that the first and most important duty of a driver was to provide for the safety of the public; 43, the first duty in every case was that relating to signals; 86, the various signals ; 310, the responsibility of the engine driver for the safety of the engine and train ; 334, driver to pay attention to the state of the rails, and to. be able to stop at the proper place without the use of the guard's brake ; 340, to take great care when approaching stations, whether required; to stop or not; 343, immediate attention to all 'signals'. : 3s2, the absence of a signal to be considered! a danger signal, and others. Mr Stringer contended tliat Carter had no right to have come into the stotion without ' a signal, and that the Rakaia Stationmaster liad, for additional security, sent out a man to warn him. He (Mr Stringer) would prov» that the engine, brakes and tender were in" first-class "order, and tliat Carter had a thorough acquaintance with liis engine, whieh was an American locomotive of tlie Baldwin, type. He would also show them that- another driver, with a header •train, was able on the same road to stop easily. How, then, did the accident arise? It arose from Carter letting his engine get beyond control, and from liis beingtoo reckless in making, up time. The rate of speed from Chertsey to Rakaia was fortyhve miles an hour on a down grade, and wh6n hec got within view of rth4rfla_fcaia btation he found he could not 'control his jengwe. He (Mr Stringer) wouldcta.il' pasjsengenKO. prove the high rate of speed', and Vould al_o call the driver and,'fi.e»ton of (another- train; who would tell" them- that Carter entered the station at such a speed .that., it was impossible for him to null up f They might be 'told' that the- mmb experienced! guard had been leftvbfehihd, but jit would.be proved to them that thfepaftsence •of the, guard did nothing to brine about ithe disaster. It might be., said-' that the Jweather.was rough.and wet, btib't&nter was »n experienced man,, and must often have |dnyen uiider similar circumstances, which lin themselves, would appear,- tto call for .special caution. The defects nn^tha signalling -arrangements at Rakdao,-woami possiblv |be brought^forward, but they Had to deal froth matters as they were; andi the fact that &v2F possibly fiave been devisef relieved Carter of 'no responsibility ?f-Si g T l- 6^ %* P^NeiHHkd not ex- : ;nit»t-d bis ;dafn g? r: signal, iprwperiy, but it ■was absurd to' suppose tIM- when he went out for. the. special purpose?.: Ite had failed jto do. so. ..Carter had h.ldVliigi. record for . n, : l ."r T l caT f: d there -w«^ no, question of ••■ wilf^L- -negligence involved! iiv the present I inqux-y. .But if they- bought that \t jthe. accident --■ resulted' ffom a reck- P les* assumption on- thbn IJa ni of Carter j tliat he.could pull up-Ms: ti-ctia at the speed it.wasgoing, they would? ifndl him guilty ofcriminal negligence-.. If,. ih> their opiiiion, ltwas af mere error of "ja<f&nn-nt,"tW would ja-qmt him i ,v.He.did : ;.not'W'iish to press the ra^ too: hardlyragahi^t (5^ erj it jin the public interest'tltat' men of" his callbg ,shonld know the respaiisfiaility which atrjtitched to their workV -. Charles Erne?!;'; Elsiier;. employed at TsHngtbn Free^ag^W&rl}«, depewed thatr ? oi» March 11 lie- was a 1 passenger by the second excursion train-from A-sliburton to Rakaia. portly before reachiirg" Rakaifa, he saw' a ghminer o^light- iit. tlio tliic* atmcqiliere which he teok' to-be- a., man with a kntern. The weathfcr-was*wet and siformy.- Ibianediately af fer .passing- t&e lig&t, witness- noticed a ramble- a* though ihe train- had crossed a;-c»lvert, an* the oeflision uccwrred shortly wfterw«Fd&- On the following, Monday witness- .-visited" tlhe ground and'po.inted out to Mf-Gaw tlie-' spot lifeely to hftv«been Ihe place wlier** th© lamp, was sli6wi!u Before the ligM, he _ w - sparks which struck-: Biin as coining from- the van wheels^. but^raigllil!; have, been _aus«l by a .man Pi%hting Ms pipe. He c^uld! not say j;t Viifiafc speed' the train was going-. About ten iftinntes^efare coming to tbelijyht, mem-ber*-of the committee coulcf wot walk i ihirough'ithp'earriiiges., owing to- Ithe oscilla- , thai, aiidtbis- €>scillati6n probably continutd > uinit his. attention wus dra-Vfr feo the light. = IttiWalking.- through the cau-to the van° ie noticed that the oscillationi iladi ceased. ' ' To Mr Jojrnt: The Ashburton platform L was-opowfed by people wis>. -were, tryii.^ to '.j keep; out of the wet. h. heavy south-west .. gale- avo®. blowing. Wi.uess nad not done ~_ t much, train travelling ajpdfeir similar -Oiiditdons; «f' weather, and. thought the oscilla- j s tioji might have been partly caused by the winct A few second-jQliliyr oceurred ijetween . the time witness save- tlie light andi the collisioja. The light appeared to be in a ho--low, and. witness located the pla^ bj' tbe rumble of the train Grossing the culvert. Yincent Joseph .gltzpatrick, a, butcher re- " siding at l'slhigt<mi. deposed th_ii he was. a })»ssenger by t-lw; second train which left , Ashburton on Mltrch 11. Witness was in | the guard's va-m. and, on naarihg Rakaia, put on the bi^fee with all liis strength. ! Shortly before- the collision* they passed: a . j man with a r*ct light. Witness would' not : say for certain whether the brake was then J oiior not, Ijjtt he appliesfit as soon as; di- ""!" reeled to dc. so by the guard. By- the oscil- ! latiori of t&e carriages^ \vitness judged the train was, going very fh-st from the time it left Ash. l>f;-.-ton. To Mr- joynt- : Wimess said at the lower ' Court -fiat be could not say what colour t'.ie l»vup held by the- man at Rakaia was. The assistant guard seemed somewhat agi-tatx-d, and frequently referred to his notes. Witness kept hold of. the brake until after t s »e collision. . ' * Lachlan M'Kinnon, an employee of the Is-liao-ton Works, deposed that be was on the second train, and communicated to the as- * s : _s.tant guard the fact that the senior guard had been left behind. Before, tea-lung

. Rakaia, the train passed a light on the sea'ward side of the line. The train, before '• .eaching tke light, was going faster than an ordinary train. To Mr Joynt : The secondl train left tlie )•' Ashburton platform about half -past six, within two or three minutes. Witness^ was on the back platform of a carriage in- the middle of the train when the. ligh* near i Ritkaia was passed. The light appeared to I .be low down on the ground. Joseph John BurroAves deposed that he [ was a porter, and acted as assistant guard! on the second excursion train.. .The green • signal was shown as they passed Chertsey ;at a rapid pace. After passing Chertsey,, witness exliibited a green light, .waved, side- ■ ways, which meant "Caution!. Go on. 'slcvwly! Stop at next station." Witness got no answer to his Signals. ..Witness.)corroborated Fitzpatrick's statement about the brake, which witness tested and found to be properly applied. On nearing. Rakaia,, witness heard a man calling put, , and. onlooking, saw a man with a red light on the right-hand side of the line. Witness did. not notice a__y slackening of speed after passing the light. Witness did not hear. Garter's, signal for brakes. The strong south-west wind would take the sound away from; witness. To Mr Joynt : Witness had frequently, been in charge of the workmen's train to. Addington, and had done general guard's work under the direction of the guard. . Hehad, never- before been left in ..charge, of, a. long, passenger train. (Mr Stringer. here adr mitted that he attached no blame to. Garter, for not having seen the green light.). Witness considered he must have had liis. brake on for two miles before seeing the red.lighfc.. The collision followed almost immediately aftei- witness saw the red lamp, which, was held low down. It appeared to witness thato the man with the lamp had lost his>balanoa in getting from the line on to the low ground. Witness felt the speed of the train slacken before the engine reached, the red; lamp. Witness did not communicate the .fact to the driver that the head guard* luull •been left behind. j Jesse- Thomas Parsons, statixm-masteiy afc rAshbiu-ton, deposed that the first excursion. j train left Ashburton on March llj. at 6,5,. jand the second train at 6.35. The delay- ihi Ithe departure of the second ttain was>causedl Iby a van getting off the rails. > i To Mr Joynt: Witness could swear- tfiatt the second train left at 6.35. When witL | ness became aware that the guard had 1 been. ■left behind, he' wired that fact to Chertsey '■ and to Rakaia. Witness saw Clihipson giVe< Carter tfie signal to start with whistle and! arm. Witness was not at that.time- aware jthat the Christchurch train was lirte, but [knew that Carter had to cross it atlßhHaia;Carter's duty was to make" up- all therI time he conld within the regulations.. ' George William Attmore, station-masteir at Uterraey-, deposed that on the: night of March II the second excursion train passed Chertsey at 6.56 p.m. He took tile- time by watch and clock. The^ distance from Obertsey to Rakaia was five miles-, and* twenty-two ohains. He noticed; tlie tfciih passed the station fast, and .had" only seen three or four trains pass the station as fasti lo Mr Joynt: The experience- witness had of railway work was purely- official". As stationmaster he had charge of all- train officials while at tlie platform. Witness got the message from Ashburton stating that the "uard of the second train liad Deen left there, but did not consider it his d'utv to stow the train, as .he', had as-erfcaim«l : from the operator that there was a guard i on board. . i John Ma-^. stationmaster at Rakaia,', de- ] posed that he hod. been twenty-fourr years in the Railway Department, and' for- the last three years at Rakaia. The two-ex-cursion trains were .due at Rakaia; att 6i47 ! and 6.57 respectively. The first? train- arrived punctually, the .second train shortly < after seven o'clock. • Wbenthe -second' train < approached witness gave no sigiraH. Tin ! signal would have been ia green- light wa-ved < across the line, which wouldLmean. "come i into station slowly." Without ueeeiving this signal the driver should' by the regulations have kept outside -the station 1 limits. Witness sent out O'Neill 'with) the- red lantern, which was burning r brightly-,, and directed him to go well down, and show a good signal. Witness saw the- engine- fight coming over the rise about- a mife from the station. Directly ;thei engine came out of the rise witness was surevslie- wa» travelling too fast. He'heard_,.th'e whistle for brakes. At this time^the flfcsfc train was standSntr alongside the pfetfGwn,. ami witness-, to avoid a collision* 1 gafr the driver bf the first train to move .on,, which he did promptly, but notwithstanding' thi», a col- . lisiort occurred. Witness-ithjougbt, ©TSfeill's lamp, if exhibited properly^ and; «_n such a i ni__it, could be seen three-quarters of a j mile- away. The first .troMinopneiisied. of two J encibes and thirtv- -cajßsiages;, iJi» second ■>' engine hav-ffg abputuh^if't-laft _oaxL I To Mr Joynt : Witness knew: that at any \ moment ten minutes after -t_te< arrival of the j first train the second traitfrmig&# be expect- ] ed. The siding at ithe blvvkr was left clean j for the Christchu-ciwHrairr. then due, but j that train did not arrived the- station until" | after the collision, being:_attthtut time on the' j hmdge, which was a quarter- orf a mile on the- i northern side of the -station.. Immediately j $_fcer the collision witnesssttalbphoned to th* ( sbuth end of the bridge-- tt» stop ihe train". | fAt the actual time -of the. aollisioa witness-. I did not know the ChriSfceJiiwch train was on j the' bridge, but could '\Uwe> found it out byasking. § Mr Joynt saidsfieopirapssed to prove, aby the bridge-keeper, - ikiafy the Christchu-eelb train did not get on? th'e- bridge until 7.ffl<? Witness ccntinuud : T. would not- .hhsvoi Ibeen safe -ta ' <hav6..pp>jt* oae of fthe trri_j_Kom to a siding> where .there, were trucks. standV ing. The regulation! that a driver must not* come in without- ai lamp, andi O'Neill's-sigr-nal, was wliat th'ey-liad to "dependnipony There were no fixed' signals at Rakaia- attation, either home>or- distantMr Jaynt-a'sSß&iSUffa man should. -net-' ftmve been sent six bundwji yarcts along.-the^lirae. The witness- Hsaid' no, except in the cass of a stoppage- be arweeh. stations. ! , Mr- Joynt -readLßules 97 and" 98; w_rich. provided for thepttocing ©f detonators*, etc., at a distance of "six: hundred yardsy and? threes hundred yards -beyond tbe top^of-un-iiwline-, , wl_fcre-thew<-were.r_o fixed signals'. Witness^ thougiEt this rule would apply in Hie event of" a snowstorm, and' considered tho precaatibnssh© had taken to-be sufficient. Iffe thought* thaea hundred yawls- was a sufficient distance from the station at which to ".ytlace a dftng,w signal. Witness Bad never ! Jieen out in sack a night in- hits life ; the ' breather wa s- terrible. j To Bis Honor : Withers- gave O'Neill nofepeeific- ihstractions, but judged the dangersignal'wonM be shown at- from 300 to 40$yardS frota the platforHk- | To Mr Stringer: Tlie rules quoted by Mr i Joynt- die. not, in the^ opinion of witness, apply- to trains enterilig-a- station. ; James* O'Neill, clerk at the Rakaia station-, deposed that Se went down the fine ■nbout 300 yards with a red light in good(icondi'tfon, and subsequently pointed ou* the ijspot to Mr Burnett. It was 6.47 when witmess left the station, and from a message ihe had sent '-judged' that he returned" to the station at 7.8. It would probably have taken witness flv« or six minutes to walk ! back to the station. When witness- first 'showed his signal'the train was not in sight, i The tail light*- of- the train standirie at the | "Rakaia platform were plainly visible at a distance of 300* yards. j To Mr Joynt -. Witness had an ordinarywaterproof, and it was very awkward facing the sou' -wester. Witness walked over to the Methven train on his way up to show the light, and stood on the engine step for two or three minutes. It was abont ten minutes from the time witness left the Methven engine until he saw the second excursion train coming. Witness sent a tele•yvam for Carter about the state of his en<t'v>°. nud -tritnons j-nirT — "Well. TTnm\ it wilt be you a.« 1 1 to fisht tbis out." Harter • answered — "Don't miiid that now: let us do all we can to help the injured." Witness was not a- regular signalman. He heard ■ho collision, hut could not snv if he ha'' Mt the snot -^herp had given ♦/he signal at the time the collision occurred. Re-examined bv Mv Strinppr : Wi+noc* heard the sismnl for brakes shortly before the. train reached him. Frederick Delamotte Mather, raitwnv ; fireman* d£p<&sefl that Be had beea \nifeb."

Carter on the enirine of the second traj ■ The engine and tender were fitted, with Wesfcinghouse air brake, and a hand brai The brake was good as far as witness con see. Witness had averaged three .or fo trips a week with Carter since Decembe when the brakes worked- welL-Witne had aever worked.- the air-brake. It w the duty of witness to look behind occ Isionallv for signals. Witness did so, b saw mone. Passing 1 Chertsey. witne tliough. they were v going- iat.t ordinary,, e: press speed, and remembered Carter shu ting off steam half a mile before reachir ' Rakaia. "Witness saw no nlatform signa but saw the red-light. Itswas Carter duty, in default of a signal,- to keep outsic the station limits. Carter was. doing h ■ best to do so, but the brakes did not appe. to hold.. Witness thought a, train .foing 1 1 tbe same pace on a dry day could have bee , 3tonT)ed without difficulty. About- this tim Carter told witness to cut un the. air wit the .tender brake. Witness remembere , Carter reversing his engine, and applyin • sand very freely After the collision Carte , blamed the braKe orincipallv, and said L could have stopped had there been a shoi distance further to go. On continuing th iournev the engine brake did all that wa ; wanted. Witness called out tot Car ber vo • seeSifr ths- red lieht. To Mr Joynt : From Ashburton to Rakai witness did not tliink the train went faste than express rate. Carter was attentive fc liis duties, and keeping as- good a >loak-ou «as he could. Carter shut off steam' in th j dip rather- earlier than, . usual; • Koughl; I speaking; Carter shut off steam five.hundrei , yards before coming to the top -of ithe: rise land did all he could to work his brake effec ; tively. "When Carter applied the air-brake |he made a remark to the effect that his brak iwas 110S holding. Witness- thought! the., dan jger signal was about two chains away whei lie first anw it. Witness was looking thiougl the windiow at the time. Carter passed. ni : remark as to whether he had seen ;the re( light or- not.. . Witness noticed the'-, engini {wheels akid once after applying, the.' ai; I brake to- the. tender. Witness saw thd tai j lights of the train standing at -the statior j about the- same time as he saw .the; daiigei signal. The tail lamps : reached ii early t( ' the windmill, south of the platform. Th< 'thick weather caused them tb miscalculaite jthe position of the lights. - ! At 1,15 p.m. the Court adjourned. j On rssuming, the ■ follo-nfing-.a witnesses ! were examined for the - Crown : — Samuei 'Hughes> engine diiver; Robert rMBKie,; fifeman; aad Henry Curson* guard.- .. (Left .sitting.) i.j.-