AUCKLAND. [From the New Zealander.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 276, 22 March 1848, Page 3

AUCKLAND. [From the New Zealander.]

A most startling revelation was made on Thursday night, iv the gaol. The prisoner Burns, condemned to transportation for an assault upon the woman Margaret Reaulon, confessed that he, and two others whom he named, were the murderers of Lieutenant Snow and his family. The investigation will be conducted before the Police Magistrate at ten o'clock to-day. The impropriety of commenting upon, or even mentioning in a newspaper, any part of the evidence that has prematurely transpired, is too evident to need insisting on. This much, however, we may be permitted to say, that however much we may grieve to see the foul deed fixed upon individuals, two at leas f of whom have hitherto borne respectable characters — we shall rejoice for the sake of the out-settlers, and of the natives themselves, if the maories can be relieved of the suspicion which has hitherto attached to them — and will be among the first to offer reparation for the stain that we ourselves have innocently contributed to fix upon them.

Kawau. — A Wesleyan Missionary Meeting was held at Kawau, on Monday last, at which James Busby, Esq., presided, and the meeting was addressed by the Revds. Walter Lawryand John Hobbs, George Clark, Esq., and Mr. William Rowe. The attendance was very good, and the spirit of the meeting may be gathered from the collection, which amounted to £13 : 2 : 6, — a sum most creditable to the miners and others who contributed the same, and who act in concert with their leaders, the energetic Captain Ninnis, and Mr. W. Rowe. A bazaar the next day produced ten guineas, in aid of the Auckland Wesleyan chapel.

Debentures. — These instruments, from being a bug-bear both to the issuer and the holders, are gradually settling down into the sedate character of a funded property, worth nothing less than what they represent. From the Auditor General's retui us, it would appear that their amount as outstanding on the 31st December last, was £29,427 : 16 : 4d. — of which amount the new 8 per cents issued in exchange for 75 per cent, of old debentures, constituted £21,698 :12 : 6d. ; and special 8 per cents issued under the Debenture Act of last session, £3300 : 14 : 4d. ; together forming a funded debt, the accruing inteiest of which is borue upon the infant revenue of the colony. Last quarter, the amount of interest paid was £628 : 6 : stl. The amount of unredeemed certificates outstanding on 31st December, is stated at £963 :0 : 3d. Of the whole amount of debentures outstanding, there has been paid into the Colonial Treasury the sum of £14,166 : ss. . The number of persons within ihe town and district of Auckland, who are returned by the Magistrates this year, as liable to serve on Juries, is eight hundred and seventy- four. Of course it is not needful that we should here enter into the minutia of names, nor yet of residences. It is sufficient to state the numerical result. But there is a division of the list from which some useful inferences may be derived. That is, the division exhibiting the title, quality or calling, of the different individuals, composing this general body of eight ] hundred and seventy-four. The leading classifications in this division are as follows :—: —

Baron 1, bandmaster 1, builders 2, butchers 7, brickmakers 8, blacksmiths 9, barman 1, brewers 4, bakers 16, barbers 3, ca-binet-makers 10, carpenters 75, carters 7, coopers 5, clerks 11, dealers 21, esquires 11, farmers 54, gardeners 8, gentlemen 5, hostler I, Limburners 2, labourers 248, musician 1, millers 4, merchants 9, printers 8, publicans 11, sailmakers 1, sawyers 8, settlers 17, surveyor 1, shoemakers 31, saddlers 2, tailors 18, tanners 3, tinsmith 1, weavers 4, wheelwrights 2. Besides certifying the foregoing, this list is useful as indicative of the materials that are to compose our municipal bodies under the new constitution.

Civil and Criminal Statistics. — This week's Government Gazette contains two returns of a statistical nature, each of which well deserves a separate analytical notice at our hands. One is an Abstiact of the Revenue and Expenditure of Anckland during the quarter ended the 31st December last ; the other of all cases disposed of at the Resident Magistrate's court here, from its commencement in November 18-16, to the 13th December, 1847. R. turns of this sort are always interesting, and frequently invaluable, as they furnish certain data for correct conclusions, and often serve to originate improvements which otherwise might have enjoyed but a very questionable existence. The latter return we will only dissect at present, leaving the compendium of revenue and expenditure for separate consideration. This abstract of the Resident Magistrate's branches into two divisions — the criminal and the civil. The criminal comprises 1,083 cases ; the civil 154. The criminal returns show the number of mixed cases heard, in which maories were defendants, to be 34 ; and Europeans, 52 ; making the total of cases heard between maories and Europeans — 86. The number of cases in which maories alone were concerned, is stated at 3 : and of Europeans, at 994 ! Tiiis is an astounding disparity — but it may be accounted for thus. Out ot 994 hearings in which Europeans a^one were concerned, 117 of the cases were dismissed, reducing the number of convictions to 857. Of these 857, 25 were for assault ; 1 5 for breaches of the peace ; 155 for hreaches of the cattle trespass ordinance ; 25 for larceny ; 5 ior malicious injury to property ; 26 for breaches of the merchant seamen's act; 2 for profane swearing ; 5 for vagrancy ; and five hundred and twenty-nine for drunkenness ! The number of maori convictions for drunkenness is stated at 13 ; larceny, 11 ; vagrancy, 1 ; breaches of the hired seivant's act, 1. On the whole, this calendar of offences and convictions may be considered as singulaily light. It is altogether silent as to offences of atrocious die. Burglary is not once named — nor is murder, nor any description of capital assault. So that we may lairly congratulate Auckland upon exhibiting the most orderly character of any maritime place of equal population within the circle of her Majesty's dominions. We will now turn to the civil list, and that does not show the spirit of litigation to be as yet extremely rife within us. Between maories and Europeans, the total number of verdicts given to maories was 65, and to Europeans 19. In cases between maories, one defendant obtained a verdict. A second case was settled out of Court. In cases between Europeans only, 15 verdicts were returned for the complainant in each case. The total number of civil cases heard during the 13 months ending 13th Dec, was 154, and out of those the convictions were but 99. So that here also we think may be found some matter for congratulation.