SUPREME COURT SITTINGS, Wednesday, December 1, 1847.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 245, 4 December 1847, Page 2

SUPREME COURT SITTINGS, Wednesday, December 1, 1847.

Before Mr. Justice Chapmah. The following gentlemen were sworn in of the Grand Jury: — Capt. Daniell, J.P., Foieman; Messrs. G. Baker, K. Bethune ; C. Clifford, J.P. ; W. Fitzherbert, W. Hickson, A. Hort sen., J. Johnston, J. Kelham, A. Ludlam, N. Levin, G, Moore, A. M'Donald, J.P., Capt. Sharp ; Messrs. R. Stokes, R. Waitt, and, Col. Wakefield, J.P. His Honor, in his observations to the Grand Jury on the case of murder by a native, said that the general rule, when a country came into the puwer of another, by cession or conquest, was, that the laws of the ceded country were in force among the natives of that country, unless they were contrary to humanity or the Christian reli- j gion ; in all cases where an Englishman is concerned it is his privilege and birthright to be tried by the laws of his country : — in cases of murder the general rule prevails, and although in remote parts of the colony it might be very difficult to bring the case within the jurisdiction of the Court, yet/ it would not be found so difficult to enforce the law within the precincts of the settlement. In the present case the natives by bringing the prisoner to be tried here of their own free will and consent confessed the superiority of our laws, and showed a strong desire on their part to be governed by them. His Honor observed that by a comparison of the present year with former years it would be found there had been a great decrease of crime in the Southern District. In 1843 the number of prisoners tried before the Supreme Court and County Court was 46, in 1844, in which year the County Court was still sitting,, the number of prisoners tried was 36, in 1845 the whole of the cases tried was 28, in 1846 the number of cases tried was 23, and in 1847 (the present year) including those at Nelson the number tried was 13. This remarkable diminution of crime might be attributed to several causes, but chiefly to the fact that in 1843 and 1844 a gang of notorious criminals from the neighbouring colonies had infested this settlement, and had been not only the cause of a good deal of crime but also of a good deal of seduction to crime. This gang had been broken up and dispersed, and since then there had been a gradual improvement. Joseph White, a seaman of H. M. S. Calliope, v.as indicted for an Sssaulton Henry St. Hill, Esq., as Seriff, irTthe gaol. The prisoner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 calendai months imprisonment. Rangitapiripiri, alias Kopitipita, an aboriginal native, was indicted for the murder of Kopereme another uativeby drowning him on the 4th September last, in the river Manawatu. Mr. D. Wakefield, Crown Solicitor, conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Ross was specially retained by the Crown for the defence.

Tangaru, otherwise Webster, a baptized native living at Manawatu — I belong to the Ngatimaru tribe as does also the prisoner and the deceased ; 1 was with the prisoner at Manawatu four years ago ; a wife was not given to the prisoner then ; I was at the Hutrthe latter end of August; the prisoner was not with me ; I left the prisoner at Manawatu when I went to Eretonga ; the deceased had all his property" at that time; I left .Eretonga on Saturday, and spent my Sunday at a place called Kokowa ; on Tuesday I went to Ruatotara, when I got there I heard that the prisoner was there, and that his companion the deceased was drowned : on the Wednesday I went to see the prisoner; I saw him and asked him to tell me whether the deceased had been drowned or murdered ; the prisoner said he did not murder him, but that the deceased had lost his life in the river ; I then asked the prisoner to go to the Manawatu, which he declined doing, but told me that if the body was found to write to him and he would return ; I insisted oil the prisoner going with me, which he did ; I left Ruatotara with the prisoner and others on Thursday ; we arrived on Saturday at a place called Puahutai ; when we got there we heard that some of the tribe were looking for deceased ; we left Puahutai and came to Ngawapurua on Monday; we met the natives searching for deceased, the natives had been nearly a day hunting for the btdy but had not found it ; the following morning I left that place and went down* the Manawatu; I left word with the natives that if they found the body and there were marks of violence on it they were to let me know ; on Thursday, I arrived at Rewarewa- on the ManawatuT; on the Thursday following, a week after, two natives came in a canoe with a letter to me stating the body had been found; on the Monday previous some natives belonging to the Ngatikahunu coming from Eretonga to the Manawatu river embatked in two canoes, and coming down the river, one took one side of the river, and' the other the other side, and the body was found ; I heard that the body was brought to Ngawapurua; I bave not seen the body ; on my way here with the prisoner at Okaho 1 asked him what weapon he had used to destroy the deceased ; prisoner said he had used no weapon ; that in crossing the Manawatu river they were compelled to use a stick, each taking hold of one end, that he (the prisoner) kicked the deceased in the stomach and when he left hold of the stick, the prisoner held him by the ' hair of the head till he was drowned. The prisoner had given up to witness property belonging to the deceased, a green-stone worn in his ear, a blanket, a pair of boots, a pisce of a calico, and a handkerchief. Prisoner never was married : the prisoner and deceased were connected wiih some female ; she belonged to a man named Robert. I heard of no quarrel or dispute between prisoner and deceased respecting the woman. 1 heard of prisoner being stabbed." I asked the prisoner what weapon be used, because the deceased disappeared mysteriously. I have heard the prisoner both admit and deny the murder. The denial was previous to his confession tome/ Another party, Te Muera, Was present when the prisoner made the confession. Cross-examined by Mr. Ross — When < natives are travelling it is customary to have a load on their shoulders containing their things : on coming to a river which they are obliged to swim over it is customary to strip and take their things over by degrees ; if the river where the prisoner and deceased crossed had beendeep enough to swim, the deceased-would have stripped, except his shirtand greenstone in his ear ; the prisoner told me that they had to swim over two rivers that day, and thatae^ ceased stripped everything off except his shirt ; the prisoner gave me a shirt ; the natives are not in the habit of taking the greenstone out of their ears except to give to their children j sometimes they take the greenstone but of their ears and carry it in a basket ; when I asked the prisoner at Eretonga, where 'his companion was, in the first instance he told me he was drowned in the river ; I asked him if the deceased had been drowned in the freshets or murdered ; I told him that I liad given notice to the natives to let me know when the body was found ; the prisoner saw the natives searching the river; they were using shovels ; % the prisoner pointed out the spot where'de^ ceased was drowned to witness and, also, to other natives ; Okaho is about 4or 5 hours'." travelling from Manawatu ; Ido not know-> how many days elapsed from the time the prisoner first told me tbat deceased had been. , drowned, until I asked him at ORaho what weapon he used ; I always had a suspicion ; I have had conversations with the other natives respecting deceased's death : 1 have told them< my suspicions ; there were four other natives* besides the prisoner and myself coming' from ' Eretonga .; formerly^the natives would have killed the prisoner on the spot, but they now wished to hand him over to the Europeans ; this is the first instance of their doing so ;

on our way down from Eretonga to Manawatu the prisoner wished to stop at Waipakarahau till the body was found ; if the prisoner had not .consented the natives wpuld have compelled him to come ; a native of the name 'of Wilson' told witness that the prisoner should be sent to Wellington : the prisoner was the first to suggest that he should be brought to Wellington to be tried ; from the time the prisoner first told me about deceased he could have gone away if he had wished. Te Muara, an aboriginal native of the same tribe as the prisoner and deceased — The las: time I saw deceased, he was alive at the pa ; I came from the Manawatu with the | prisoner to Wellington with the last witness and others ; we left Manawatu and, arrived at Okaho, where we slept ; I heard Webster ask the prisoner whai weapon he had used ; I heard the prisoner say he had used none, hut that in crossing the river he bad jumpad on the deceased, and when. he rose he held him down by the hair of the head until he was drowned, and when he was dead he towed him' into the stream ; I heard the prisoner telHhe last witness that he had committed the murder, but did not tell him at the settlement because there were too many natives there; where the prisoner was drowned the water was only up to about his hips. Cross-examined by Mr. Ross — [ do not know that the water was only up to the hips of deceased ; I only heard so. The confession was made in a ware at Okaho ; there were four of us altogether ; one was asleep, and the prisoner made the fourth. The prisoner knew he was coming down to be delivered up to the police. The nearest police was at Waikanae, about two days' walk. This was the only crime against the prisoner. By a Juryman — The deceased was a middle aged man, and as strong as the witness, or stronger. Te Warehana, an aboriginal native, a relative of the prisoner — I saw the body of deceased on the 13th of October last ; I saw it on shore ; there was a mark under the eye ; it was suspected to have been done with a stone ; the bridge of the nose was broken, also the cheek bone ; the jaw was crooked, it looked as if it had been done with a blow. The eye was completely out, and lying on the ear ; the skin had not left the body when I saw it ; it was in a bleeding state. It did not smell in the least; there was a cut on the right arm. The skull was quite broken at the back of the head. Cross-examined by Mr. Ross — This is the first time that 1 have spoken of it ; Mr. Hadfield wrote me a letter to come down to Wellington on 23rd November last; Mr. Hadfield is living at Mr. St. Hill's ; the letter merely stated that I was to appear as a witness in this matter ; the prisoner had stated to Mr. Hadfield that he was innocent, and thinking that the two other witnesses were telling lies he wrote to me to come down ; a great many other natives saw the body ; there are two of them here ; all the witnesses are related to the prisoner and deceased ; when the body was found some strangers to the tribe were present ; my tribe does not live where the body was found ; another tribe was living at the place where it was found ; 1 call them strangers ; the strangers I mean belonged to them ; this is the fiist instance of a native being handed over te the Europeans by themselves ; it has been the custom of the natives on a person being strongly suspected of murder to kill him at once ; if such person escape they would kill a relative of his as utu ; all the witnesses against the prisoner are relatives of his ; the body was found in the water on the 13th of October; I should think the body had been 20 days in the water ; the edges of the wounds were still sharp ; it is a quick running river ; there are falls in the river, also rocks ; the wounds on the body could not be done from the rocks in the river ; the wounds on the deceased would have caused his immediate death. Mctiu — Belongs to the same tribe as prisoner and deceased ; has seen the body of deceased ; saw it when it was being prepared for burial. Panapa — Belongs to the same tribe as deceasgd and prisoner ; saw the body of deceased at the settlemenc ; saw it the day after it was taken out of the water ; there was a blow on ihe back of the head, a cut dow n the lip, and the eye stuck out. Cross-examined by Mr. Ross — I examined the wounds on the body of deceased ; the wound on the back of the head appeared to have been done with a stone ; the skull was broken ; from the appearance of the wound' I should think instant death would ensue ; I think the body had been in the water five days ; the edges of the wounds were not chafed ; r if the body bad been twenty or twenty-one days in the water ; it would have been in a putrid^ state; if the deceased had. been that time in the water, he would have appeared in a worse state ; I saw my brother after he bid been ten days in the water ; his flesh-was separating ; a policeman was sent

for witness last Thursday ; witness was not subpoenaed. An objection was taken to the indictment on the ground that the deceased was not properly described therein. His name appeared to have been Te More, and he had received the baptismal name Ko Pereme; in the indictment he was called Ko Pereme instead of Ko Pererae te More. His Honor said he should let the case go to the Jury, but he would reserve the point for after consideration. The Jury without retiring from the box returned a verdict of Not Guilty.