The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-02-03 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDS.VT TO A PORTLAND
CONVIC7'.

An it:ignitet wee heal on Timidity, before R. N.
Hower 1, E (oroner, on the b .dy of • c mvict
named Hairy Rnbert who died from lojnriee
received in a fell. The folinwin; evidence wes
tsken —James Collin, I am the 11)
Governor of the Port hod amviet ICate4h.htn•nt.
The deceased, Henry Robsrt Smith, wise nos ived into
the establishment on the 25th day of April, 1884 winder
sentence of 10 yews' penal mervitu.le. On the ZIA
day of Jenurary he sr.. admitted kV, the Infirmary,
where he remains] nntil the time of his death, which
tonk place on tn. 24th at 8.40 in the forenoon. The
desess•ri wee fifty years of age, and his oondoct as
• convict wee good, ho having had scarcely any popish.
went.

John Allen Maley lam a wa-dsr in the Cs's.lot
Establishment, and on Fri lay at 3 50 , the 23rd,
I wee on duty at the South W. et Verne D tab
In charge of N.. 31 party of convict., conehting
of twenty persons. Warder Murray was in charge
of No. 3 party ab .tit eighty y•rde diet•nt.
I saw him assemble with hie piety on the bet lee
extending emote the Verne ditch, end the party
errand to the opposite elle of the ditch, end the
ofilc-r with them, and the drawbridge over which they
had passed wait withdrawn The dece.sed, who was
In No. 3 party. with another convict of the earn*
party, was on the other si le when the drawbridge waa
withdrawn ; I way, of count., 6.1 .w, and it &opened
to me sa lithe convict sprang at the up,' eht her of
the drawbridge, jumped abut three feet, sod lintel
on the drewbridg joining his party. The deceased
Iraq still on the other side, sofa pl.nk woe procnred
and put across. I noon after saw the plank fall, and
the dimwitted with It, and be fell to the b rtom of the
ditch. I went immediately to the men, having given
orders for a et; etcher to take him to the Infirmary. I
found the deceived groaning, hut quits eoneoloas.
Blood was running out of his mouth, and I esw that he
was seriously injured. He was takers to lb. Infirmary,
sad I did not see him alter. He frtl • dinettes
of 46 feet—from where the plank was to the bottom
of the ditch. There was no time lost in reading him
to the Infirmary. The plank wee nine inches wide,
fourteen feet long and three inches. thiok. account
for the plank falling by the sod of It slipping from
its Inning.
David Stuart Murray said: I am awarder in the
County Constsbulsey, and have be.,.. in the fervid
13 year, and three months. On Friday la-t, alvott
3.1),! wax in charge of No. 3 party, onoststing of 26
men, 12 of whom were with me, and th- rest w•re
with another ..ffi ar We were working, taking roht It
from one side of the Verne ditch to the oth.r side,
and, having Seleherl work, I had to have the draw-
bridge withdrawn from the Verne side to the south.
west to prevent the soldiers ming It for the parocee of
breaking out of barracks. I left the demand
there to take the bearing, of the bridge off the
ooplage, end smother °ocelot with him. Tea of my
with =reel noosed over, and ea the drew-
bridge being withdrawn the &messed and the
other convict should have got on it and come with
we. Ow did, bat the deosesed remained. I did not
observe this until the drawbridge was drawn to the
fixed side. I saw • plank thrown ae-oss, and •
convict standing at the end to go *woes. I asked him
what he wanted to do, and be said "The deceased is
os the other side. cod I will go sad tet.h Moe oa my
back." I told him to need back. :Another o evict
said be would go across, and held • rope In hie hand.
I refused to allow them to pass on the pleats, and
ordered the drawbridge to be drawn, sad Immediately
the °soviets set on the ropes to drew the bridge
argon, so that the declined might pass over in it.
Whilst I was superintending the convicts teething out
the bridge, I saw the donned pull up tbe end
of the plank which had been thrown across,
and I told him three times to leave it
alone and stand back, sa I was having
the bridge put out. He did not seem to under-
stand me, and he c motioned puttiog up the end of
the phials. I saw it glid, down the ditch from the
bridge side and take the deceased with It, he baying
the end of hie plank between Me lop. When I saw
the diverted was left behiod I mksit hiss why he had
sot <DON on. and he maid he was giddy. I then said,
"Stand back. and I will bring the bri Ige to eon.
The deceased fell a diAtoce of 4611., hied foremost, to
the bottom of the ditch. The cleaned had taken the
bearing, of the bridge the same morning. and knew
what he had to do, as I gave him foil lostroctions
thaw. he bridge rests on stitches, t prevent its shill'
lag when the ma In backwards and forwards with
their barrowa. Toe deceased had simply to nail lifted
out of the Ditches. and to do that be should have one
foot on the bridge and the other on the coping, and am
the bridge moved he had only to lift up hi. foot from
the coping to Ike Wire. and to have Roue access
with it.

id-enrol Lee said: lam • convict, and on Friday
afternoon I was one of N 3 party with the deceased.
working at the Verne ditch. We bad to draw back
the drawbridge, and we left • oonviot and the d, COM. I
just to see the ends clear. One convict juniper' on to
Lb. bridge, but the deceased did not, and appeared
frightened, and the bndge wee drawn over without
him. Mr. Murray ordered as to pot a plank over, and
the deceased said "I dare not, I dare not.'' Mr.
Murray ordered him to go away and leave it al'•rath.r,
and be ord, red the men on the bri ire to take away
the plank and pot the drawbridge back. Before we
could get boll of the plank the deceased had pulled
It towards him. The other end slipped off the draw-
bridge, and the deceased fell over to the bottom at
the ditch, It was no fault of Mr. Murray'.; be told
him a dozen times, I should think, to go away, and he
would put the drawbridge daik for him. Toe decanted
was • Peculiar tempered man, and appeared to one
sod of stupid. The night before the corporal had
shown as all, the deceased included, how to use the
drawbridge.

James Famer I ems convict, and was on Friday
working with the doweled. The dewaved and
another convict rem tined on the onpint to sse lb.
clear. The othw convict then Pumped on to the
bridals, but the deceased had not time to follow. Two
gst a plank and put It across. but Mr.
Murray told Messaged to stay whin ho ww, and not
to touch it. He ordered the brid.re to be put back,
and told the decemei to wsit for It, but be persisted
Is drawing ths plank to him, and th-&y drew the
other end from tble bridge, and be being straddlo
lam .11k. time, be, and lb. plank with Mot, 101 l to
Um bottom of Me ditob•