CORONER'S INQUEST YESTERDAY. VERDICT OF WILFUL MURDER.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 612, 25 February 1852, Page 3

CORONER'S INQUEST YESTERDAY. VERDICT OF WILFUL MURDER.

It is seldom our duty to prefix such a painful heading as this to a report of an Inquest in Auckland, where crime of an aggravated character is happily of rare occurrence ; and when it does occur is (as in this instance) generally to be traced to convicts from the adjoining Penal Colonies, who, when they can, naturally desire to be numbeied amongst the population of a colony which, like New Zealand, is free from the taint of Transportation. We haye, however, to report that a man was killed in, perhaps the most public thoroughfare of our town on Monday night, under circumstances which will be sufficiently understood from the following summary of the facts sworn to at the Inquest yesterday. We need give only a summary, as several of tire witnesses repeated, almost without variation, the evidence already before the Inquest. Dr. Davis, coroiier, piesided. The Jury was composed as follows : J. A Gilfillan, Esq., J. P. (foreman), Messrs. James Burtt, John Commons, Edwin Davy, Morris Marks, Hugh Coolahnn, Thomas Kevan, John Brigham, Henry Hadlow, William Posseneskie, George Reynolds, Edward O'Urien, Aitcheson Oliver. The facts, as stated by a number of witnesses, were substantially these. Some mouths since there had been a quarrel, issuing in a fight, between William Dixon, a blacksmith, the man who was killed on Monday night, and the accused person, who was kuown here by the name of Isaac trench, or by the nickname of " Ikey the Carpenter," but who (as was sworn to by more than one witness who appeared to have had full knowledge of him in the previous stages of his histoiy) was well known in former years as a pusoner of the

Crown in Vein Piemen's Land, under the name of Win Bovvden. J'owden (as we sha 1 call him, dropping his assumed name here) had repeatedly declared that he " would take his revenge out of Dixon/' for the result of this combat, in which Dixon had pioved "the best man." On Monday evening, after some conversation in Giaham's eating-house in Shorlland-Crescent. which grew to be of a hostile character, Bowden ai d Dixon went out into the street to fight. It appeared clearly thai although both had taken some drink, neither of the parties was intoxicated to any extent that would interfere with his entire command of his conduct and accountability for it. After some scuffling, Dixon cried out that I'owden had a knife, but bowden stoutly denied this — (so far as anything could be denied in the struggle then going forward) ; shortly after* wards, Dixon was heaid to cry " I am stabbed ! I am an undone man !" He ran back into Graham's House, when he soon sunk under the effects of the wounds he had received. Medical aid was procuied, but proved ineffectual, as may be iufeiied from the testimony of Dis. Matthews and Lee, who, on a posf mortem examination yesterday, found not only that the deceased's lungs had been penetrated by one of the wounds, but that the pulmonary artery had been pieiced, and his heart literally punctured by one of the blows. A Knife was produced in Court which was indentified as having been in the possession of Bowden, and was found yesteiday morning, with a blood mark on it in the immediate vicinity of the tragical occurrence. The following was the Verdict arrived at after a veiy patient heaiing of evidence by the Coroner and the intelligent Jury above named. That he died of wounds inflicted in his heart and chest, and which wounds were given by William Bowden alias Isaac Fiench, and that the said William Bovvden alia% Isaac French did feloniously kill and murder the said William Dixon.