STABBING AND DEATH OF A, SOLDIER IN THE AUCKLAND BARRACKS: CORONER'S INQUEST.

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 486, 11 December 1850, Page 3

STABBING AND DEATH OF A, SOLDIER IN THE AUCKLAND BARRACKS: CORONER'S INQUEST.

An Inquest was held at noon yesterday at the Masonic Hotel, on the body of Francis McKewen, a private of H. M. 58th Regiment, who had died in the Military Hospital on Monday evening, from a stab received in the breast a 'ew minute! before dcaih, by the hands of Corporal Butcher of the same Regiment. The following evidence was adduced before the jury, of which Mr. Hadlow was foreman : John Mulligan, private 58th Regiment deposed that between six and seven o'clock of Monday evening the deceased, Francis McKewen, was sitting at the table in the barrack room, and in the act of filling hit pipe with tobacco, when Corporal Butcher came up and sat himself down beside Mt-Kewen, saying to him "You have betrayed me," and immediately stiuck him in the breast with a knife* (The witness identified Butcher, who was present at the proceedings in charge of a military escort). As soon as he struck the deceased, witness grasped him round the body, and called on two other privates who were in the room to assist him to take the knife from the prisoner ; the knife was taken from him ; and privates Flanagan and Clements took him out of the room; as soon as McKewen was stabbed he leaped up ofF the seat and left the room ; witnes* knew the knife with which Butcher stabbed deceased : it had two blades the longest of tlitm was the one with which ho stabbed him (witness the knife); knew the prisoner about eight months; he has borne a very good character in the Regiment ; he was intoxicated when he struck the blow, so drunk that he could hardly walk ; wilness had never before seen him diunk, nor heard him speak a bad word to any man in the room ; had not hoard of any .dispute between the prisoner and deceased before the blow was struck ; did not see where the prisoner took the knife from— it was sometime* kept on the shelf in the barrack room;— prisoner sat down beside deceased and said " You have betriiyod me" and raising his right hand stiuck him with the knife on the left breait; deceased sat on the left of the prisoner when the blow was struck. The Coroner enquired whether the prisoner had any questions to put to the witness ; he said he had none to put, that he knew nothing of what bad passed. John Flanagan, private 58th Regt., deposed, that on Monday evening, the 9ih instant, he was in his banack room between six and seven o'clock, and he saw Corpoial Butcher lying on his bed drunk ; he got up from his bed and went to the table wheie private McKewen was sitting on a foim, and struck him on the breast with his light hand, saying to deceased "You have betiuyed me ;" MeKewcn, as soon as lie was stiuck, leaped from the table saying, " I am slabbed ;" privateMulligan, then seized hold of Butcher, and called on witness to assist him to take the knife away Irom the piisoner; witness laid hold of him by the right wrist, and took the knife out oi his hand ; there wus blood upon it; witness and private Clements took the prisoner to the guard loom, where they hancuffed him by order of Color Sergeant Simms ; witnesb had known butcher for better than twelve months ; had never seen deceased and him quunel ; did not remember having ever seen him drunk beloie ; had alwajs hitherto be» lieved that prisoner was a sober and quiet man ; did not sec the knife in his hand when he stiuck the blow, but saw it when his hand was coming away from giving the blow; witness thought that pmoner was not sent* sible when he was lying on the bed ; lie was moie like a mad man than a wise man at the time ; on taking him up to the guard loom ho said he would kil. Fiank McKewen if he was not dead; witness did not think piisoner was sensible when he expressed himself thus. Henry Goodram, privaic 58th Regiment, gavesimL lar testimony as the foregoing witnesses as to the stabs, bing of the deceased by the prisoner ; he had known Butcher two yeais, but had no knowledge of any quar* rel between the deceased and him; had only sen him once drunk beloie , had always considered him a sober, honebt, quiet man ; at the time he s rack

the blow lie was not capable of knowing what he was doing ; lie was very drunk at the time ; deceased was quite sobei ; from his knowledge of the prisoner, he did not think he would have been guilty of the act had he not been in a slate of intoxication. Dr. Thompson , surgeon of the 53th Regt. stated that he made a post mortem examination of the body of the deceased private MuKewen ; death was occasioned by a wound in the large blood vessel just as it issues out of the heart; there wai a small external wound between the second and third rib in the left side of the body about an inch from the breast bone ; the wound in the blood vessel was about three inches from the surface and communicated with the external wound ; the wound was about half hu inch in length and looked like a wound that would be made by the knife produced ; about a yeur ago Corporal Butcher was in hospital with convulsions produced by drink ; he wns then insensible; had visited h.un last night about half an hour after he was taken into custody fcr Blabbing Mc.Kewen, and and found him in a state of temporary insanity, from the effects of drink and the excitement arising from having stabbed a man; witness hid been called at about ten minutes before seven to attcid the deceased at the hospital, and found him rolling about in the. agonies of death ; deceased looked at him steadily and i.ud " I am dying, and Corporal Butchsr has killed me." witness had hitherto considered the prisoner to have been a peaceable and quiet man ; very little dnnh h.id a great effect upon hiiu,uud produced fits of convu'sions, Lieut. Colonel Wynyard, commanding the 58th, said he had k iOWni 0W n the prisoner Corporal Butcher, about two years, under his immediate command, but llmt he hud been four yean and a half in the Regiment ; he had always maintained a good character for sobriety and regularity, and there had only been one entry made against him during his whole service, that was for drunkenness, about a year nnd a half ago, on which occasion he had such violent fits that he (the Colonel) had to tend him to the Hospital nnd get three or four men to hold him down to prevent him from injuring himself. The piisoner was under arrest yesterday afternoon at the time he stabbed the deceased. The Jury, after half an hour's deliberation on the evidence brought before them, agreed to the following verdict :•»»• ■'That Francis McKcwan, in the Barracl.-room of the Albsrt Barracks, came to his death from a mortal wound infl.cted on his left breast with a Lnife, which wound penetrated to the blood vessel leading fiom the heart, and of which wound he died, and that Corporal Francis Butcher, of Her Majesty's 58th Regiment, in a BarrncL room of the Albert Barracks, between the hours o« six pnd seven o'clock of the night of the 9th Dec , 1850, feloniously did l.ill and slay the said I'ifliicis McKewan whilst laboming under an attach of tern* poi y madness, caused by drunkenness; and that Corporal Fiances Butcher is guilty of manslaughter. 1 '