CORONER'S INQUEST.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 381, 28 March 1849, Page 2

CORONER'S INQUEST.

A Coroner's Inquest was held at the School House on the Porirua Road on Friday, the 23rd instant, before* Dr. Fitzgerald, Coroner, and a respectable J,ury composed of the neighbours of the deceased, on^the bodies of John Branks, and his three children, — William, Katherine, and John Branks, who were found that morning murdered in Branks's house. George IDalrymple Monteiih, Surgeon, the first witness, had examined the bodies of the murdered persons, and described the nature of the wounds that had been inflicted. John Branks. the father, had received eight wounds on the face, head, and back of the neck, five of which were of so severe a nature as, any one of them, to be sufficient to cause immediate death. The first wound examined extended from the left cheelc to the right, dividing the nose ; the second was three inches in length immediately above the right ear and entering the brain ; the third was of a similar nature to the former, passing to the crown of the head through the bone into the brain ; the fourth wound passed from the right ear to the crown of the head, entering the brain ; the fifth was a superficial wound immediately below the last ; the sixth and seventh were superficial wounds on the back of the head ; the eighth wound was on the back of the upper part of the neck, and was three inches long and two inches deep. William Branks, the eldest boy, had received two wounds, the first extending from the left temple to the lower jaw, passing through the skull into the brain, and fracturing the lower jaw; the second wound being also on the temple, and entering the brain, both wounds were four inches in length. Katherine Branks had received two wounds on the left side from the back of the head to the temple, both wounds were close together.' , John Branks, the youngest child, had four wounds, three on the face, and one on the head ; the wound on the head was of a semicircular shape, three inches in diameter, and passing through the bone. The wounds appeared to have been inflicted by an axe or similar | instrument. Mary Ann Seed, (elven rears old) depos- [ ed, that on Wednesday evening between six and seven o'clock, a native came to her uncle's house, close to where Branks had formerly lived, and inquired for Branks's ;house, to which she directed him ; he was dressed in a pair of trowsers, and a blanket, and had on an old soldier's cap ; the number of the regiment was off, and it had no peak ; he had no shoes on, neither was hetatooed; should know him again if she were to see him ; should think he was an elderly man ; he went down the road in the direction Branks's ; he said there was a, soldier waiting for him ; v he also said there were two young cows at Kaiwarra which he f was going to pay for and take to Pauatahanui where he lived. William Martin, a private in the Armed Police, saw the bodies before they were removed ; John Branks, the father, WjasT lying in a corner of the room on the left hand j side near the fire place ; the children were lon the bed on the right hand side ; the two I eldest were at the head of the bed, the ! youngest was at the foot of the bed ; on the floor near the father there was the: print of a naked foot marked with blood ; tHe axe now produced was lying near the fire, place covered with blood and hair ; the deceased had no watch about his person; outside the house wez - e lying a razor, violin, and other things; one of the- boxes near the deceased had been opened and its contents scattered about. j .o«« < g Henry Taylor deposed, that about halfpast ten o'clock the previous night he met a maori on the Porirua Road opposite Mr. Boddington's section going to Wellington ; asked him where he had been at that time of night, when he replied he had beento see that the cattle had not got into his potatoes ; asked where his potatoes were, and he said on the road side ; inquired if he^ was^npt frightened at that time of night; : and J&p said no ; it was very dark and witness doiiM not see how the maori was dressed, he wa,s _pn one side the road and witness on" tfie_ bther. Thomas John, Drake, lives on theyPorirua Road about a .quarter of a mile from ( .the house of the deceased ; the , deceased was working for witness and informed Him (witness) that a native -from Horpw^enua had been with- him the previous nigbt?arifl told him that a person of the name/ df'Yule had given him five shillings for hissisfceVto go and live with him ; this m6rninjg"|^ej;ween eight and nine o'clock 'witness went to his clearing and not finding deceased there nor looking after his cattle, he went on to his house; the door being" falfenexl heUocfked in~at the window, and thought he- sawsoxne one lying on the* bed"; no one 5 answering he suspected- something wrdngv >sNU yren.t to Mess. Nott & Bellaria^ith^ojne ojfchp $e/shbours wept- back totliehoi«&,-:wit»gss\mt-

Ed until he heard the deceased and his children had been murdered and then went to Wellington and informed the Coroner. 1 By the Jury — The deceased merely said that the maori staid very late at his house the previous night': did not see any strange Europeans but ' young Prowse, who passed clofce to where they were talking about five o'cldck and went onto Mr. Nott's : believes the deceased had no money, he had a watch ; does not know that the deceased was on bad terms with any body ; deceased did not mention the maori's name. James Barroxo identified the axe produced as his property ; he had left it on Wednesday night about five o'clock half a mile from his house ; he missed it yesterday about one o'clock when he went to the place where he had left it ; a part of the handle had been broken off; does not know by whom it was stolen ; did not see any natives about in that direction. William Noit — resides a short distance froth Mr. Drake on the Porirua road ; about nine o'clock that morning Mr. Drake came" to him and said he was very much alarmed at not finding Mr. Branks at his work ; he then went to see if he was with the cattle, and not finding him there, witness went with Mr. Bell to Branks's house ; the first thing they saw was a razor lying about a yard from the house, and a pool of blood near the chimney ; witness called at each window and obtaining no answer burst open the door, which was locked ; the first thing witness saw on entering were the three children in bed dead ; found the deceased, the father, lying dead in the corner with several wounds about the head ; there was an axe lying by him (that now produced) which was covered with blood and hair ; deceased was lying in the left corner near the pool of blood near the chimney ; there was a hole through which the blood flowed to the outside ; informed Mr. Drake when he went outside that the family were all murdered ; saw no stranger but Prowse's son, who was going to Capt. Russell's, and did not notice any natives ; deceased was liked by every body. The house was very disordered, the things lying about in confusion ; was careful not to touch anything in the house. Young Prowse slept at witness's house last night ; one of Prowse's brothers lives with witness. This being the whole of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that John Branks, sen., and his three children had been barbarously murdered between the hours of five o'clock on Thursday evening, March 22nd, and nine o'clock on Friday morning the, 23rd, by some person or persons unknown.

The Maori who was arrested on Friday night was fully committed by H. St. Hill, Esq., the Resident Magistrate, on Saturday to take his trial for the murder of Bratiks and his family at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. The evidence, which is of a circumstantial nature, is very strong against the prisoner. We understand the prisoner belongs to the Ngatikahunu tribe.

On Sunday iast the remains of the lale Mr. John Branks and his three Children were interred in the burial-ground of the Episcopalian Church at Johnsonville, where the remains of his wife Rachael (whose death under peculiarly- distressing circumstances we noticed about eighteen months-- ago) were also interred. One grave now contains the whole family. ,On Sunday morning an affecting and appropriate sermon was preached by the Rev. R. Cole, who conducted the funeral service over the grave, and notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather a numerous company assembled to witness the mournful ceremony, The father and the youngest son were placed in one coffin, and his eldest son and only daughter hr another. Mr. Branks was one' of the sobs of a respectable farmer in Lanarkshire, who came to this colony with the first settlers in the Bengal Merchant in February, 1840, and during his residence has been much respected by all who knew him. He was <■ a member of the Church of Scotland, but since the departure of the clergyman of that Church from New Zealand, he, with the late Mrs. Branks, had been in attendance on the ministration of the Rev. R. Cole, who, in the course of his address said, ■* there were perhaps few men whose course of life 'apparently better prepared them for so sudden a death,. Mr. Strang, Registrar-General.pjf T the Province, and Mr. Hugh M'Kenzie? me" senior elder of the Scotch Church, attended as chief mourners,