RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 101, 2 July 1866, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

This Day. [Before J". Poynter, Esq., R.M., his Honor the Superintendent, Captain Hough, and a full Bench of Magistrates.] Long before 11 o'clock the Provincial Hall, the place chosen for the examination of the murderers, was densely packed by an excited multitude, eager to catch a sight of the prisoners, and to listen to their examination. At eleven o'clock Eichard Burgess, alias Hall, Thomas Kelly, alias Hannon, alias Noon, John Joseph Sullivan, and William, alias Phil, Levy, were brought up on remand, and charged with the wilful murder of John Kempthorne, Pelix Mathieu, James Dudley, and James Pontius. The prisoners were heavily ironed. Alexander Thompson said ; lam a miner. I left Nelson on the 7th June for the Wakamarina. I know two of the prisoners, Sullivan and Burgess. I saw them on that day in the Maitai Valley about 11 o'clock at first, and about 3 p.m. when I saw them afterwards. They were going up the valley. They overtook me. Sullivan was first, with a long handled . shovel and a 'swag. I bade him good morning. I asked him where he was going. He said he had landed from the Wallaby from the Grey and Buller the night before and that he was going to Canvastown. He said he was going to look aboub and that he knew not what he was going to do. They asked me how far Canvastown was from Deep Creek. Sullivan was 500 yards in advance of. the party. The other men came up as Sullivan was stopping to fix his swag. He then had some conversation with them. We went together as far as Dwyers' where I dined and they passed on. "I overtook them again about two mile beyond Dwyers'. They were altogether, having something to eat. I had a pannakin of tea with them and passed on. I cannot swear to the other two men. Henry Moller. : lam a storekeeper at Deep Creek. I knew Kempthorne, Mathieu, Pontius, and Dudley. I was engaged by them to fetch the horse back from Nelson. It was my . horse. . I left Wakamariaa on

Wednesday the 13th June, for Nelson, before' daybreak in the morning.' I had a lantern in my hand. On the road I met a gentlemen this side Coopers, j near to Brown's house, before coming to the Pelorus bridge. The other side of it, I met some men driving cattle. About a mile and a half further on I met Mr. Bowen. I also met a man and a woman. The woman's name is Foot, I know not the man's name. I met them a mile the.other side of Franklyn's. I met Mr. Bowen half a mile this side of Franklyn's old accommodation house. I spoke tp him. I saw no one else till I passed Dwyer's place. I did not see either of the prisoners. When I got to Nelson T could not find one of the Deep Creek party. i To the Bench : I spoke to Mrs. Smith as I passed, and asked her if any one had passed hy. I did not ask her if she had seen a horse. She said two men had passed hy. I asked Bowen if he had seen the party I was following. He said he had not. Constable William Flett : I was searching for the bodies of the missing men on the Maungatapu, and I found them. I found Felix Mathieu first, on the Nelson side of the third creek from Franklin's, less than half a mile from the roadway. He was near a large rock on the opposite side of the creek. The rock is on the farther side from Nelson, about half a dozen yards from the road. I found the body in the place where a tree was uprooted. He was lying on his back, his arms tied behind him with a leather strap, and his legs were strapped together. He was dead. There was a, wound in the left breast, and a ring on the third finger of the left hard. I found Dudley about eighteen yards off. He was on his face and dead. A handkerchief was tied round his throat. I next saw Kempthorne. I only knew Dudley before. I got the names from parties who recognised them and pointed them out to me. Kempthorne was about twenty yards from Dudley. He Avas on his back. I noticed a bullet wound behind the right ear. lie was dead. I found Pontius about thirty yards lower down. I saw no wound on him. Several large stones were piled on him. I informed the party of the discovery. I coo-eed for fifty minutes before they came. I went in search of the volunteer party, who came and brought the bodies down. I found them about ten o'clock last Friday morning. I came into town with the bodies, and saw them deposited in the engine house. I was not present when Dr. Vickerman examined them. Charles W. Davis : I am a miner, and knew the deceased men well. I was present when they were found and before they were removed. 1 assisted to bring them to town. They were deposited in the engine liouse. I joined the last witness before they were removed. The bodies were in the same state in the engine house as when I first saw them. I was not present at the post mortem examination. I saw Levy at Deep Creek three weeks ago last Saturday. He said he was come up to a new rush. He stopped at Mathieu's one night. He left on Sunday or Monday. I was in tlie house wheu he stopped at Mathieu's. I saw him in conversation with Dudley for some time. 1 did not hear the conversation. Mr. Vickerman, M.R.C.S., London : lam a surgeon, residing in Nelson. On Saturday last I examined the bodies of four men lying in the engine house, in charge of the police. Each body was pointed out to me in presence of the Coroner. The first was Kempthorne. The cause of his death was a bullet wound through the right ear. It fractured the. skull and entered the brain. I opened the head and extracted the bullet and some paper. I now prodnce them. This was decidedly, the cause of death. The whole skull was fractured and the brain cut to pieces. Mathieu was shot with a pistol bullet, and also stabbed. There was a stab wound underneath the fifth rib near the region of the heart. This penetrated the covering of the heart instantly and wounded the side of the heart, but not sufficient to cause death. The upper portion of this incised wound, was a bullet wound. It penetrated the midriff, wounded the stomach, passed through the large blood vessels at the back of the stomach, passed between the seventh and eighth ribs of the right side a little below the right bladebone. This bullet caused death by internal nal hemorrhage. I found the bullet. There was another wound in the same side as the incised wound, two inches below it. It was a bullet wound. The bullet .had traversed underneath •the skin about four inches and lodged a little below the blade bone. I am now talking i of the second wound. Outside of it between the skin and the wound there was a piece of burnt paper. In the wound there was a bullet and some portion of the clothes. I produce the bullet, paper, and two pieces of cloth. The pistol must have been close from the position of the burnt paper. On examining Pontius I found two wounds on the head, the one at the back was a bullet wound. Another at the corner of the right eye was not a bullet wound, but it was done, I suppose, by a piece of rock. The whole of the right side of the face was very much bruised and battered. The right side of the lower jaw was completely smashed. The cause of death was the bullet wound at the back of the head. The pieces of bone fractured by the bullet having wounded the posterior arteries of the brain. This would produce a state resembling apoplexy, and breathing might last some little time afterwards. Dudley died from strangulation. The only apparent wound was a mark around the neck caused by thin cord. It was cord from the impression it made. A soft hankerchief would not have left such an impression on the neck. I found the usual marks of strangulation on opening the body. We satisfied ourselves that the rest of the organs were healthy. Dr. Cotterell was present during all the post mortem examination. Four shots had been fired at least. We found three bullets and four bullet marks. Two bullet marks on Mathieu were the greatest number we found. There were none in the last. Mr. Adams said he was prepared with no more evidence this morning, he therefore asked that the.

prisoners be remanded for -another iweek. ;) Some pf the witnesses iired at a great -distance -from Nelson, and it was impossible to get them herebefore. Mr. Pitt said the ground for the renaand asked for was not an unreasonable one. The Resident Magistrate .then remanded the prisoners till Monday next. .-*