[From the Southern Cross, June 3.] SUPREME COURT. THE QUEEN v.JOSEPH BURNS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 309, 15 July 1848, Page 2

[From the Southern Cross, June 3.] SUPREME COURT. THE QUEEN v. JOSEPH BURNS.

Thursday, June 1. The Attorney -General stated the case against the prisoner, to the effecc that Lieutenant Snow and family had been murdered early on the morning of the 23d of October, 1847 ; that between one and two o'clock that morning th 3 house was discovered to be on fire by the officers on board H.M. Ship Dido, who had immediately gone to the assistance of its inmates. The prisoner was living on the North Shore, with a woman of the name of Margaret Reardon, and at the time was very poor, but since the murder had been known to have spent a great deal of money. Afterwards the prisoner had been apprehended for an assault and attempt to murder the said Margaret Reardon, and on his tr al, and after it, evidence came out to implicate him in this murder. The first witness for the prosecution was Lieut. Gough, who stated, that he was a lieutenant in 'H. M.S. Dido; was on watch on the morning of Saturday, 23d October, 1847, when a fire on shore was reported to him. He immediately went to the assistance of the inmates, and on calling out the name of Lieut. Snow at his house, and receiving no answer, he then proceeded to the house ol Oliver, and inquired if Lieut. Snow was there. A person "within answered, that that was not his :>ouse. Witness then asked if he was not aware that Lieut. Snow's house was on fire ? The person within uttered an exclamation of surprise, and immediately came out. Meanwhile witness then sent to see if Lieut. Snow was at the house of the signal-man ; he was not there, but Thomas Duder, the signal-man, came down with the messengers. They all went towaids the house, extinguished the flames at the end of the house where Lieut. Snow slept, and 'after some time discovered the bodies ; lite was extinct ; and besides traces of the action of fire, other wounds were discovered on the bodies. The witness then came to Auckland. Margaret Reardon. — Lived with the prisoner on the North Shore ; came over to Auckland with the prisoner the day before Lieut. Snow's murder; returned about 4 o'clock, and while in the boat, Burns said to witness, that he intended to kill Lieut. Snow that nij,ht, as he knew there was money in thehopse?, and he had done lots of jobs for the Queen, and now intended to do something for himself. Witness endeavoured to dissuade him from it. After getting across, about 6 o'clock, Burns took a tomahawk and bayonet, and went out saying he was going to kill Mr. Snow. Witness said,.;" Don't do anything of the kind, Joe." He then went away, and come back about one o'clock on Saturday morning in his and said he had killed them. He put the tomahawk and bayonet into his tool chest. Witness identified - tomahawk, which was produced in Court, as the one prisoner hf'd used. Prisoner told her he had. only got one pound, which he produced; ft wts in silver.

Next" day he went over to Auckland, taking with him £2 ; £1 was in the house before the murder, the other was the one he had brought with him at the time of the murder. He stayed at Auckland some time. Witness went over to Auckland shortly after, arid Burns told her he was going to enter on board the steamer ; which he did, and the witness went to stay with her sister : sometime afterwards he came, as he said to bid her good bye, and as she was stooping down, he made an attempt to take her life. She told him that she knew enough to hang him. Ti c prisoner cross-examined this witness but nothing particular came out. John Johnson, Colonial Surgeon. — Examined the bodies of Lieutenant Snow, Mrs. Snow, and child, on the 23rd October, 1847. Described the wounds on the several bodies, as having been inflicted by sharp instruments. One wound on the head, from the appearance of the blood, must have been inflicted during life, and must have produced death in a few minutes. The wounds were such as would have been made by a tomahawk, a bayonet, or other sharp pointed instrument, and a knife; some of the wounds were* charred by the action of fire. Witness was shown the hatchet which had been indentified by the witness Reardon, as the one which the prisoner had on the morning of the murder ; arid he stated that it was such an instrument as would have caused some of the wounds. He had analyzed the incrustations on the blade of the hatchet, and found one part to be rust, and the other part blood. John Brighirn.— Knew the prisoner well; he lived on the North Shore ; prisoner can.c to the witness's public house on the morning of the inquest ; the prisoner asked for grog ; witness said he would not give him any, as he supposed he would be at the inquest, and he would be better without grog ; prisoner said he did not intend to be at the inquest; witness was surprised, and told him he ought to be there ; Burns said that being the poorest man on the North Shore, he might be suspected on that account, and therefore he would not go. Witness afterwards saw the prisoner spending a great deal of money. Sophia Aldwell, was in the house when the prisoner Burns came in, and made the murderous attack upon her sister Margaret Reardon. While in the act, the prisoner said he would do for her, so that she would not tell any tales upon him. Thomas Beckham, Resident Magistrate, was sent for by the prisoner, to take his voluntary confession ; cautioned the prisoner that it would be used against him in Court, but he persisted, and freely gave and signed the confession which was produced in Court and read ; it was to the effect that Burns had some hand in the murder, but implicating Duder and Oliver as principal accomplices ; that Duder had Committed the murder, and that they had taken £12 out of the house, of which Burns got £4 as his share. These men (Oliver and Duder) as will be recollected, were examined, and acquitted of any connexion with the affair. The prisoner had afterwards told the witness, Mr. Beckham, that his confession was all a falsehood. Other witnesses were examined, but their evidence was not important. Colonel Wynyard stated, he had gone over on the Sunday following the murder, and found some clothes saturated with blood near the house of Mr. Snow, part of which were identified as belonging to Mrs. Snow. The Attorney-General then lucidly summed up the evidence, and the Chief Justice having recapitulated and dwelt on all points where there was any daubt in the least in favour of the prisoner, the jury retired, and after about three quarters of an hour's absence, returned a verdict of Guilty. The prisoner appeared to listen to the proceedings, for the most part, with stoical iudifference, and when the verdict was announced, he exclaimed, " My God, I am as^innocent as the child unborn !" He was^not defended by counsel, and his Honor remarked during the trial, that if he had seen Mr. Bartley'at the commencement of the trial, he would have requested the learned gentleman to act on the prisoner's behalf.