SHOCKING MURDER OF A WOMAN IN INVERCARGILL.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 270, 29 November 1865, Page 3

SHOCKING MURDER OF A WOMAN IN INVERCARGILL.

(Coudensedfrom the Southland Papers.) We lately alluded to the sudden death of a woman named Catherine Farrar, under circumstances which created suspicion that the woman met her death by violence. Owing to a hat and stick, known to be the property of Mr D. B. M'Connell, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, having been found on the premises, and the result of the post mortme examination of the body leading to the conclusion that the woman's death had been caused by blows on the head, Mr M'Connell was arrested on the charge of wilful murder. It appears from the evidence elicited at the inquest, that the deceased, who was a laundress, before retiring to rest the night previous to the d scovery of the murder, had arranged with a female friend, one Dora Walker, to be called by her at seven o'clock next morning. On this woman going to call the deceased the following morning she observed the door of the whare was ajar, and having called the deceased and receiving no reply she went in, and found her lying dead on the floor near the door in her night dress. M'Connell on being questioned denied that he had been there, but afterwards admitted he had gone there on the night of the murder for the purpose of getting a light, as he had known deceased for some time; that she opened the door with a lighted lamp in her hand; that the lamp was blown out by the wind and his hat blew of; and that he lost his stick and left them both behind him, the deceased stating that she would send them to his house the following morning. The testimony of Dr Monktou was clear and explicit, and went to prove that the woman's death was caused by blows on the head from some blunt instrument, such as the stick before referred to. The particulars of this most dreadful crime seemed to be shrouded in mystery, and the strong circumstantial evi deuce against the accused, viz , the finding of his hat and stick in the room where the dead body was found —a fact, as a learned judge has said, which 4 ' cannot lie," seems to warrant the suspicion that he is in some way connected with it. Still it is difficult to imagine what motive the accused could have had for the crime, a presumption is consequently created in favor of innocence from the absence of all apparent inducement to the commission of the imputed offence. The jury, after an hour's deliberation, returned the following verdict:—" That Catherine Farrar met her death by extravasation of blood ou the brain, caused by a blow or blows, and that from the suspicion pointed to David Bennet M'Connell as implicated iu the death of the deceased." M'Connell was then committed on the coroner's warrant, charged with will'ul murder." » PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. {From the * Evening Star 1 ) Dunedin, Nov 21. Mr Grant asked the Government—" Whether they brought before, or caused to be brought before the Resident Magistrate's Court, thirteen helpless families squatted in tents or huts on the City Belt, and whether those poor families were not warned to be off' from their lairs within the space of ten days thereafter." The Provincial Secretary stated that the Government had nothing whatever to do with the matter. The Commissioner of Crown Lands, who was not a Provincial officer, had simply performed his duty in warning off trespassers on the Town Belt. In reply to a question from Mr Grant, the Provincial Treasurer stated that the total expenditure on the survey of the contemplated lines of railway from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, and thence to the Clutha, maps, plans, &c., including salaries and travelling expenses, was £3,144 Nov. 22. Mr Haughton asked the Government—- " Whether the Crown grants for the allotments at Queenstown and other Goldfields townships were not received from Wellington in March last, and why such grants have not been forwarded to the freeholders ?" The Provincial Secretary stated that it was not customary to forward Crown grants to those entitled to them. They could be had on application by the proper parties on payment of the fee. No Crown grants had been received relating to Queenstown or Clyde. Mr Mouat asked the Government—" Whether they had taken steps to frame new Goldfields Regulations, rendered necessary by the Goldfields Act Amendment Act passed last session of the General Assembly ?" The Provincial Secretary stated that no copy of the Act had as yet been forwarded to the Provincial Government. A copy had, however, been procured, and the Secretary of Goldfields was now engaged drawing up the necessary amendments in the Regulations Mr Grant asked the Government—" Whether the deficiency in the public funds, asserted by the Provincial Council of Otago on the 12th December, 1860, Session XI, in their address to His Excellency Governor Browne, requesting him 'to remove James Macandrew from the office of Superintendent of the Province of Otago/ on the ground that ( he had the use of a portionjof the public funds for private purposes,' has been yet made good to the Treasury ?" The Provincial Treasurer stated in reply the amount referred to had been refunded.

Melbourne Punch on Hokitika—Advice to Foolish Diggers—lf you find that ywu are not amassing a fortune in Victoria, it is your duty to try other fields. You should have the strongest faith in the New Zealand newspaper accounts of the tremendous yields of go;d at Hokipoki, and the never-euding auriferous resources of Winkiwum. At any sacrifice dispose of everything available, coine down to Melbourne and take a passage in the first steamer, After a most uncomfortable voyage in a crowded ship you will, if not previously wrecked, duly arrive at the wonderful diggings, or rather town of for the goldficids are not really there, but about thirty or forty miles away, and to get at them there will be a few trifling difficulties in the shup« of impenetrable forests, bogs, swamps, creeks, gullies, and such-like. It will be d<si • able to carry a fifty pound bag of flour on your back; this will you warm, the climate being somewhat cold. You will not require any water f as it is nearly always raining, and if it does not rain it generally Irtezes. When you get there, that is if you do, you must not be disappointed at finding thousands there before you, and not one in twenty finding enough gold to pay for his flour. After satisfying yourself that there is not much to be done, you can return at you r leisure, and spend a month or two in a crowded uncomfortable hospital, ill order to get rid of a little fever, rheumatism, and other trifling ailment caused by your having had to work up to your middle in mire and water, and living on nothing else but roasted dough. If you can beg or work a passage to Melbourne, come back, and on your return you will fiud it most amusing to be able to relate your adventures to you| friends, and a most interesting occupation, if your health will permit, to begin the world afresh.

The ancient method of breaking rocks by fire has been revived at the Kauimelsberg Mine, in the Hurta Mountains. In a portable furnace, about one-and a-half bushels of coke bum from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m., when the furnace is removed and tbe rock left to cool, after being sprinkled with water. About noon the face of the rock spontaneously detaches itself, and after that a luitner portion is broken. The effect of the fire extends to eight inches, and with oue-and-a-half bushels of coke from 1,600 to 2,400 ibs weight of ore is obtained at half the cost of the gunpowder process.

Most people think the selection of matter for a newspaper is the easiest part of the business. How great an error! It is by all means the most difficult. To look over scores of exchange papers every day, from \a hich to select. If every person who reads a paper could have edited it, we should hea»* less complaints. Not unfrequenty it is the case, that an editor looks all over his exchange papers for something interesting, and can obsoluieiy find nothing ; every paper is drier than a contribution box, and yet something is to be had. His paper must come out with something in it, and he does the best he can. To an editor who has the least care about what he selects, the writing he has to do is the easiest part of his labor. Every subscriber takes the paper for his own benefit; and if there is nothing in it that suits him, it must be stopped; it is good for nothing.