July 1, 1899
THE MYSTERIOUS DHATH OF AN
|||||AMERICA › BLUE-JACKET,
At the Magistracy on Saturday morning Mr. T. Sercombe smith continued his enquiry into the circumstances connected with the death of the American blue-jacket Macpherson, of the Concord, who was found dead in Staveley street early on the morning of the 16th June.
Agnes Craig, a barinaid at the Stag Hotel. said she lived at Wauobal. She was at the hotel, behind the bar, on the evening of the 15th of June until half past 11.
When she left she went out by the side door. There was no por- ter there, when she went out. She did not return that evening. She had never slept in the Stag Hotel? She did not know an Ameri can sailor called Micpherson by name. She heard of his dead body having been picked up outside the hotel when she returned the follow. ing evening.
An inside coolie at the Stag Hotel said be kept the side door at the Hotel every third night. He was on watch on the night of the of the 15th inst. He went on watch at 11.50 p.m. He bolted and barred the sule door him self at that time. Mr. Cowell, the manager. did not help him; nor was he at the door when witness closed it, nor did he come to see him after the door had been locked up.
Chief Detective Inspector Hanson said that at 6. a.m. ou the 16th inst., he went to Staveley street, where he saw the body of the mau who had been identified as Macphersou. He noticed hat he had two wounds on the forehead, and comparing the distances between the studs ou the man-hole cover near which the man's head lay he came to the conclusion that he had fallen on his face and struck the studs, and on learning that the man bad not been in the hotel he concluded that he hud fallen down the steps and struck his head against the man hole cover. He went to a Japanese brothel in Graham Street, but found no traces of deceased's clothing there. He looked up deceased's ship mates to get to know where decoased had been and also enquired of the Chinese detective staff with the object of tracing the man's clothing, but he could not get any information. Before making these enquiries be turned the body over and noticed on the back, the con- figuration on the skin of what might have been the impression of a cane chair or a hard mat, and he came to the conclusion that the mann could not have fallen down long. Frour what he remembered the pattern of the impres sions on the man's hack corresponded with the pattern of the chair produced, which he found on the verandab of the Stag Hotel in front of No. 2. The height of the verandah railings was 2 ft. 9 in, with two pieces of six strand wire stretched between the verau
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
dali up-rights, the apper one being 3 ft. 6 iu. above the upper edge of the verandah and the lower one at the north end was a foot above the rail and at the south end close to the chair it was only two inches above the top of the rail. The apright at the south end had marks which led him to conclude that the wire had been pulled down the upright from the orginal height to two inches above the top of the railing Room No. 2 and the 'room north of it had
a common verandah cut off by an iron frame from the northern part of the verandah.
A cook in the employ of the flat on the opposite side of Staveley Street sometimes used for the accommodation of European guests at the Hotel also gave evïdeuce.
The enquiry was adjourned.
THE CORONER'S FINDING. At the Magistracy on Monday afternoon Mr. T. Sercombe Smith, concinded the enquiry into the circumstances | connected with the death of the American blue-jacket Maopher son. He said that on the morning of the 16th June the body of an American called Macpher son was found in Staveley Street outside the Stag Hotel. The doctor's evidence was to the effect that the man's thigh was broken, that there were two small wounds on the fore- bead, and that the skull was fractured. The doctor added that the injuries might have been the result of a fall from a height of over ten feet and expressed the opinion that they could not have been caused by a fall down steps, and that the blood must have stopped flowing from the wounds two and a half minutes
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Indian Constable 733. said that early ou the morning of the 14th inst. be was in Wyndham Street when he heard a cracking noise and on ging forward he saw a man lying in the street, On examining him he found that he was dead, and he left another Indian constable in charg and reported the matter at the Central Police Station A European constable accompanied him to Wyndham Street, and the body was removed to that Central Police Station.
an.
P. C. Bourne sail that he accompanied the previous witness to Wyndham Street, and out- side No. 3 he found the dead body of a Europe- He had a large wound at the back of his head and blood. was rushing out of his ears. The body was still warm. He had the body removed to the Central Police Station. He examined the house at No. 3. The verandah was about 40 feet from the grou d, and the railing was about three feet high. The inan smelled of beer, and had evidently been drinking, He found a bat on the floor of the top room and a jacket was on a chair. Part of a projecting tile on the verandah bad broken away, and be found the brokey off part in the street besides the body.
after death. The position of the body was desto her and was perfectly sober at the time. At cribed by the witness Brown, who said that it about four o'clock he said he would go out for was lying at right angles to the street, the head a walk and return to take her little boy on pointing towards the hotel. Four theories pre-board. At about ten minutes to six she found¦ sented themselves to the Conrt to account for deceased on the sofa in the dining room sound this man being found where he was, The first asleep. He had told her that he had not had was that the man might have fallen elsewhere from a wink of sleep the night before. At about a beight and boen carrier to the place where he eight o'clock he went out, and at about 10.30 was found. The second theory was that he might she heard someone come in, but she could not say have been running dowu Staveley Street and that she beard anyone moving about in the fallen headlong; the third was that he might have room above her that night, but the person who rolled down Staveley Street and over the steps; passed her door must have gone upstairs. and the fourth theory was that he fell from the verandal of No. 2 bedroom at the Stag Hotel. His Worship gave his reasons for being of opinion that neither of the first three theories was plausible, but coming to the fourth he said that the verandah of No. 2 bedroom at the Stug Hotel was of such a height that a fall from it would have caused the wounds found on the body. | and the further facts which pointed to the inference that the death of this man was caused; by a fall from this verandah were as follows. The position of the body with the head lying immed. iately under the verandah and the position of the body at right angles to the road; the wonuds on the head, the distance between which corresponded with the distance between the nobbs on the man-hole, the fracture of the thigh, which was quite consistent with the mau having fallen from the verandah; the marks on the body spoken to by the police con- stable and Chief Detective Inspector Hauson, showing that the man had recently been either lying on a hard matting or had been reclin- iug ou ¿ cane chair, and the evidence of Inspector Hanson and the discovery of a caue chair in the south end of the verandah of No. 2 | bel-room the pattern of which corresponded with the pattern on the man's body went to strengthen the theory that the man fell Mr. Hanson also found from the verandah. that the wire guard on the rerandah had slipped down at the south end of the veran- dih where the chair was. Then they found that the man was absolutely naked. That would be quite cousistent with his having been in the bed-room, and they had the fact that death was instantaneous and that blood ceased to
few minutes after death. flow a
Putting all these things
On Monday evening the prizes for the auuual fogether His Worship considered the evidence consistent with the carbine competition were presented at the Vol- theory that deceased fell from the verandahauteer Headquarters by the Honorary Colonel, of No. 2 bedroom. There was no direct evi-
H. E. Sir Houry Blake, G.C.M.G. duce of any kind that this mau entered the hotel or of the time when he entered the hotel, but the circumstantial facts which had been brought out in evidence led him to the conclu- 8ion that this man had undoubtedly bean in the house in the course of the morning, and that he fell from the verandal of No. 2 bedroom His verdict was that the cause of death was
fracture of the skull accompanied by laceration of the brain, and he would add that the evi- dence indicated that deceased fl from the verandab of bedroom No 2 of the Stag Hotel.
THE FATAL ACCIDENT LY WYNDHAM STREET.
INQUEST.
On the 3rd Jnue Mr. Sercombe Smith held an inquest at the Magistracy touching the death of Amos Haddaway, second engineer of the Zafiro, who was found dead in Wyndham Street early on the morning of the 14th inst., having evidently fallen from the verandah at No. 3.
Dr. Lowson, who examined the body, said death resulted from a compound fracture of the skull and laceration and hemorrhage of the brain. The skull was smashed into small pieces. Mrs. Lewis, who keeps a boarding house at No. 3, Wyndham Street, said that early on the morning of the 14th intant she heard noise as of someone falling. She went up. stairs into the top floor into the room front- ing the street and on going on to the verandah she saw a chair there. The ver- andah was as usual; neither the railing nor any thing else was broken. This room was just above her room. At night the house door was closed to, but was not locked. She had uo por ter. On getting downstairs again she saw two Sikh policemen standing in the street a little distance from the body. Deceased came to the honse at about 3.30 p.m. that day. He spoke
A verdict, was returned to the effect that death resulted from a compound fracture of the - skull and laceration and hemorrhage, of the brain, the result of a fall.
His Worship advised Mrs. Lewis to see that the railing of the verandah was raised.
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VOLU TERK PRIZE DISTRIBUTIÖN
TAKING LEAVE OF THE ACTING COMMANDANT,
C.M.A.;
In view of the approaching departure of the popular Acting Commandant of the corps the Officers hed a dinner at Headquarters before the prize distribution, amongst those present being H.E. Sir Henry A. Blake, G.C.M.G.; HE. Major-General Gascoigne, Colonel Mainwaring. C.M.G. Viscount Suirdale, A D.C.; Hon. F. H. May Hou. J. J. Keswick, Whitehead, Captain Chapman, Hon. T. H Captain Sanders. Captain the Hon. H. W. Trefusis, Captain_Bland, Captain, Ordish Lieutenants Macdonald, Fullerton, Sayer, Aitken, Underwood, and Maitland, Messrs Macgregor Forbes, R. Mitchell, and G. H. Potts. After dinner, the company adjourned to to the reading-room, where the prize distribution took place..
The members of the corps turned up in strong force to bid farewell to the Acting Commandant, Colonel R. B. Mainwaring, C.M.G.
The band and drums of the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers played selections during the evening.
His Excellency distributed the prizes as follows:-
200 yards-Won by Corporal-Bamsay. 400. Yards.--Gunner Hance 500 Yards.-Guuner Sutton. Aggregates.-First prize, Sergeant Skelton; 2ad, Captain Chapman (who passes it overì; 2nd, Sergeant Rutter; 3rd, Gunner Toller; 4th, Gunuer Donalson 5th Gunner A Hum. phreys; 6th, Gunner Sutor; 7th, Sergeant Drammer Brown.
Field Battery Championship.-Sergeat Mo Phuil.
"A" Machine Gun Company Championship. -Sergeant Skelton.
Officers' Competition.-Captain Chapman. Recruits Competition.-Ganner Abraham, Band Competition.-Gunner Toller.. Instructors' Competition.-Sergeant Dram- mer Mackie, R.W;F.
Corps Championship.-1-98, Gunner Stewart, 1899, Sergeant Skelton,