THE MAUNGATAPU TRAGEDY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 8, Issue 423, 24 September 1866, Page 2

THE MAUNGATAPU TRAGEDY.

Trial of the Prisoners. SUPREME COURT, NELSON.—Mih Skpf, [Before His Honor Mr Justice Johnston.} The Court st nine o clock, *vLpt. Sullivan was again placed in the box. The prisoner Kelly proceeded to crossexamine Sullivan. Kelly—ls all you have stated at this trial true ?

Sullivan—Yes; as far as I can recollect, I

have stated nothing but the truth. Kelly—How long is it since you first met me ?

Sullivan —On the 27th April last. Kelly—Did you not know me in London ?

Sullivan—Never. Kelly—Were you not in the same school as me in London as a boy.

Sullivan—Never. The Judge—At what school were you taught ? Sullivan—Partly in Ireland, your Honor ; I have not been to school since 1827.

Kelly—What did you make your confes« sion for ?

Sullivan—To endeavor to bring you to justice, and convict you if possible. Kelly-—What other motive had you ?

Sullivan—None.

The Judge—Now, Sullivan, just reflect a little. Had you no other motive than this, no personal motive ?

Sullvan—l had no other motive except to bring before the Court al I the facts connected with these murders and robberies, and other crimes.

The Judge—Had you no other inducement in the shape of pardon or reward ? Sullivan —No; I had no inducement of any kind.

Kelly—How long were you in the lock-up before making your confession ? Sullivan —Eight days; I was waiting to see what witnesses could be produced on the part of the Crown, to assist me in laying the information.

Kelly—Did you believe, before you made your confession, that the missing bodies would soon be found ?

Sullivan —I did not believe they would soon be found; you said they would never be found, because the place was too inaccessible to get to them. Kelly-—What did you say when you were arrested ?

Sullivan—l said that it was a novel charge ; I was sitting down waiting ta be arrested, your Honor ; I could have escaped if I had wished, for I had plenty of time ; I saw an advertisement long before, and I knew a constable had been sent for me, and I waited until he came.

Kelly—Did you believe, before you made your confession that Burgess would make one before you ? Sullivan—No ; certainly not; I never heard he would confess ; you said quite different from that; you advised us all to keep quiet, and hold our tongues, and nothing would be proved against us;-you said, too, that that was the way you and your brother were acquitted in Victoria in the case of the murder of Mr Marks, and that you and your brother kept a quiet tongue, and got off, and the other man was executed; Marks was a person who was shot on the goldfields in Victoria, in 1852.

Kelly—When Mr Moorhouse the Superintendent of Canterbury, came to look at yon in the lock up, why did you tell him that you knew nothing of the men ? Sullivan—l never saw him to my knowledge ; various gentlemen visited us in the prison, looked in the cell, and went out again. Kelly—Did you not abuse him when he came to look at you, and ask him who the h—l he was, that he should look at you ? Sullivan—No.

Kelly—What did you say to Mr Jervis, when he came to see you iu the cell, telling you at the same time how he wished that he had poisoned you? Sullivan —Mr Jervis said, " Well, Sullivan, bow are you ? ” I said “ Thauk you, Mr Jervis, lam quite well—l am better; ” he said, “ I wish the dose I gave you had poisoned you; ” meaning some brandy and cayenne he gave me for dysentery, your Honor.

Kelly—Did you say when Jervis left the cell door that your wife had given you what would poison ail the Jervises and Owens in New Zealand ? Sullivan —No; never.

Kelly—Will you swear that when Mr Potter drove you out. in a break a gentleman did not come out of a house and ask Potter whether anything had been heard of the missing men, and that Mr Potter did not say that eveiy house ought to turn some one oft to search for them ? Sullivan—l will swear that that did' not happen on Sunday; you told me that a conversation similar to that had taken place on Tuesday, when riding out, but I was not with you at the time. Kelly—Were not the missing men being talked about at every house we stopped at on the road, especially where we stayed to dinner ?

Sullivan—No; I never heard anything whatever said about them.

The Judge, after considering whether such an examination was relevant to the case, admitted the answer as being evidence which tended to test the motive of Sullivans confession.

The Judge—Where did you dine on Sunday?

Sullivan —At the Bridge Inn, Waimea East.

The Judge—Did any conversation about the missing men take place whilst there ? Sullivan—l never heard anything whatever about them.

Kelly—Or at the other places which we stayed to take refreshments ?

Sullivan—l said before that I did not hear the circumstance mentioned anywhere. Kelly—When you made your confession, had you any of the deceased men’s property in your mouth ? Sullivan—l know what you mean; I had a £.20 note concealed in my mouth whilst in the lock-up, but not when I was making my statement to Mr Shallcrass; I took it out and gave it to Mr Shallcrass when I went to make my statement; Burgess had a £2O note too; all except Levy had; I kept mine in my mouth whilst iu the lock-up.

Kelly—Your. Honor, does he admit having it in his mouth.

The Judge—Yes. [His Honor here read the evidence just adduced.] Kelly—Did you not give the £2O note to Mr Shallcrass after you had gone to the jail?

Sullivan —No, certainly not. Kelly—What did you believe about the bodies of the missing men being discovered previous to your arrest ?

Sullivan—l felt confident that they would be found; but you (Kelly) did not; you said they never would be found ; the place was too inaccessible.

Kelly—Haveryou not stated before, this morning, that you did not believe that they would be found ?

Sullivan—No, I never said such a thing.

The Judge—Yes you did. [His Honor read from his notes; Mr Hart corrected him by saying that Sullivan bad said that he did not believe the bodies would soon be found. His Honor remarked that it showed how necessary it was for the counsel for the prosecution to take most accurate and voluminous notes.]

Sullivan—l always believed the bodies would be found some time or another.

Kelly—Did you not sleep in a garden on the 13 June, some distance from Mr Owens’ Hotel, for fear of arrest ?

Sullivan—l slept, on the night of the 13th June, in Mr Owens’Hotel, in a room with a butcher. The room was a double-bedded one.

Kelly—Did I not tell you on the following day, that Owens and I had something to drink whilst you were giving your coat, boots, and drawers to the ostler ?

The Judge remarked, that it was an inteligeat rule, that were not proved were not to be answered, and the question must first be put as follows : Did you give your boots and pea-jacket and pair of drawers to the ostler on Thursday, June 14th ?

Sullivan —Yes, I did, your Honor. Kelly—After that, did I tell you that I had something to drink with Owens, and, whilst doing so, sawa constable take the things you had given to the ostler to the lock-up.

Sullivan—This is the first time I have heard of it.

Kelly—ls the statement you made yesterday and to-diiy as true as the statement you made before ?

The Judge—l must put the question thus —Have you made a statement before? Sullivan—Yes, your Honor ; I made one detailed statement connecting the men ; this is now ten weeks ago; it consisted of thirty-

folios, and was sent to Us Honor the Superintendent ; I have writtei no other statements except those to heads of police in other districts.

Kelly—Do you knew whether any of your letters had been intercepted before your arrest ? Sullivan—l am not aware that such has been the case. j

Kelly—lf the letter vhich you say you wrote at the Grey to your wfe has been intercepted and opened, will it rot prove that part of your statement respecting me is false ; did you not tell your wife that you had got plenty of money from me ? Sullivan —Yes I dd, and you read the letter afterwards; it was written at your dictation.

The Judge—Was ;he letter to your wife dictated by him? Sullivan—Yes youi Honor. Kelly—Will you lot swear to anything you like ?

Sullivan—l will swear to the truth and nothing else. Kelly—How many witnesses did swear to you before you confesied ? Sullivan—lf I had ;he list I could tell you; I do not know.

The Judge—When were you first examined before the Magistrate ? Sullivan—l was examined on the 26th, and made my statement on the 28th. The Judge—When were you first examined as a witness before the Magistrate ? Sullivan—On the 2nd August. The Judge then said. The depositsons at the examinations will enable you (Kelly) to ascertain the number of witnesses who have sworn to this witness.

Kelly—Did you hear the whole of the witnesses examined throughout the examination.

Sullivan —I don’t know whether I heard them all, but I heard a great many. Kelly—How many persons visited you in the gaol ? Sullivan—Only the Visiting Justice, the Superintendent, a mercantile man from Victoria, and a young man who came over in the same ship from Victoria with me, and the medical man.

Kelly—Before you made your statement, did you hear Mr Pitt cross-examine Mr Jervis ?

The Judge—Was Mr Pitt counsel for the prisoners then ? Sullivan —Yes your Honor, -he was on that occasion, and attempted to show animosity on the part of Mr Jervis; I heard his examination

Kelly—What question did you ask Mr Owens ? Sullivan—You instructed me to ask Mr Owens whether or not he had sent a telegram to the West Coast, and who were supposed to have committed the murders; Kelly told me that Owens had said so on the Monday. Kelly—Did you, before you made your confession, believe that I could not prove an alibi ?

Sullivan —I was positive you could not do so, as you were never out of my sight. Kelly—l wish to ask a few more questions, your Honor, but I do not know whether you will permit them. The Judge—lf you put them I will tell you.

Kelly—Did you not deceive the Magistrate and Court at Hokitika, when giving evidence in the case of the Hokitika Camp robbery ? The Judge—-Do you object to answer that question, Sullivan ? Sullivan —No, your Honor; I made a statement which was not true to the Magistrate ; I made a false statement under coercion of the other prisoners, respecting the theft of camp fire-arms and policeman’s clothes, and with respect to the man Chamberlain finding the arms. The Judge—Have you any more questions to ask?

Kelly—No more. Burgess stated he had no questions to put.

Mr Pitt Jhen proceeded to cross-examine the witness, principally pressing him with regard to the voyages he had made up and down the West Coast. On the subject of Sullivan’s motive for making the confession, the following examination took place:—

Mr Pitt—At what time on the 28th of June, did you send notice to Mr Shailcrass that you wanted to see Mm.

Sullivan—l sent word to him on Wednesday, the 27th June, at nine o’clock in the morning.

Mr Pitt—Levy had been removed then ?

Sullivan —Yes. He was removed on Tuesday night. I did not mention to Burgess and Kelly that I was afraid of Levy. Burgess said that I need not be afraid of him, that they could cook him if it was needed.

Mr Pitt—Were you not the first to express a fear that Levy would confess ?

Sullivan—l knew he would not confess. The Judge—How could you know that ? Sullivan —I felt positive he would not, your Honor. Mr Pitt, displayed a printed placard, a copy of the proclamation offering a reward.

Mr Pitt—Now, was a placard like this placed opposite the door of your cell ? Sullivan—No; it was on the entrance door; I could not see it from my cell when the door was open, which it was nearly all daylight. Mr Pitt —Couldn’t you put your head out of your cell door and read it ?

Sullivan—What! and the door locked ? Mr Pitt—Couldn’t you put head through the aperture in the door ? Sullivan—No; my head is to big for that; as long as the door was open I could not read it. Mr Pitt—Didn’t Burgess read it ? Sullivan—l did not hear it all; I was then writing a note to send to Mr Shallcrass ; I knew the purport of what he was reading ; I knew it was an offer of a reward by the Provincial Government for the discovery of the missing bodies.

Mr Pitt—Did he not say anything about a free pardon ? Sullivan—That part I did not hear then, but I did afterwards; I first knew the full contents of the placard on the 30th June, in the gaol yard; I read the placard through then, your Honor; it is to the same purport as that produced.

Mr Pitt—Now. didn’t you hear Burgess read that through in the lock-up, that about the pardon, too ? Sullivan—No; I did not hear it all, 1 was engaged then writing, as I told you. The Judge—Now, Sullivan, listen to me. Were you or were you not aware, before that time, that a free pardon had been offered by the Government for any accomplices not an actual murderer, who would give certain information ?

Sullivan—l was aware, there was something about it. I read it about the middle of Wednesday, when the door was partly shut, but I could not make out all the small print at that distance. Mr Pitt—Will you swear you were not aware of this before you made your first statement to the police ? Sullivan—Before I made my statement to Mr Sballcrass I had heard of free pardon. The note I was writing in the cell was to ask to see Mr Shallcrass in an important matter. 1 did not make any statement. Mr Pitt—You said you saw Kelly and Burgess arrested on Tuesday ? Sullivan—Yes I had been speaking to them shortly before about the arrest of Levy. We had all met to discuss his arrest, because Burgess said he could not now go back to the Oyster Saloon. Mr Pitt—Did you see any policemen about ?

Sullivan—Yes. There were great numbers of policemen about, and persons acting with constabulary; a constable spoke to me at the time; Burgess was then about fifty or sixty yards away, and Kelly was in at tea.

Mr Pitt—lf you were so anxious to give the men up to justice, as you say, why did you not do it then ?

Sullivan—Because X was in danger of not being able to establish the case. These men might have denied being in company with me, and I believe they would have done so.

Mr Pitt—Bat why did you wait so long ? Sullivan —To see if the Crown could get witnesses to connect us all together, Mr Pitt—Did you know Birrell ? Sullivan—Yes. I saw him watching me and Kelly. Mr Hart then shortly re-examined Sullivan, after which, several other witnesses deposed to circumstances which served to connect the various links in the chain of the career of the gang, during their stay on the West Coast, and the Court adjourned at six o'clock to next day. [to BE COKTIKUED.j