SUPREME COURT. Wellington, 13th April, 1849. Before Mr. Justice Chapman. (By Special Commission.)

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 386, 14 April 1849, Page 2

SUPREME COURT. Wellington, 13th April, 1849. Before Mr. Justice Chapman. (By Special Commission.)

The Court was opened with the usual/formalities . After the Grand Jury had been sword, his Honor in his address to them observed that the Court was sitting under a special commission issued by his Excellency the Lieutenant- Governor for the purpose of trying an aboriginal native named Mare or Maroro, who was charged with the murder of the family of the Branks. The power of issuing such a commission was reserved to the Governor under the charter of the colouy, and by an interpretation clause of a late Act of Parliament, the word Governo" was held also to mean the Lieutenant- Governor or person administering the Government. His Honor then proceeded to make a -few observations for the purpose of disabusing the public mind as to the nature of circumstantial evidence, and of shewing its value andimportance. He said thut in many crimes, from their very nature, the only persons present were the victim and the wrong doer, j and in such cases the Courts were obliged to come to a conviction on a chain of circumstantial evidence. His Honor then discriminated between the different kinds of evidence, pointing out their peculiar advantages and defects. He remarked that the most satisfactory proof of the commission of a crime was the confession of the guilty party, but whenever a confession was extorted by hi pc of pardon, it was so far from being admitted as conclusive that a question had been raised whether a person could be punished on his own unsupported confession. The most satisfactory evidence was the direct testimony of a witness who saw the offence committed, and yet many cases were on record of the vindictive perjured testimony of persons who supposed they had a direct interest in the conviction of the prisoner. Again, the evidence of an approver or accomplice, although important, was attended with a certain degree of suspicion, and required the confirmation of circumstantial evidence. His Honor then gave several instances of the value of circumstantial evidence, and observed that where a long chain of circumstantial evidence was brought to bear on a case it precluded any attempt at conspiracy. His Honos then said that in this case four distinct murders had been committed, and four distinct indictments had been preferred, that every consideration had been shown to the prisoner which the nature of his case demanded, and that Mr. Ross had been appointed by the Crown to conduct his defence. The Grand Jury then retired and shortly afterwards returned true bills for murder against the prisoner. The Grand Jury, on the presentment of the bills, begged through their foreman to express to the Court their sense of the energy and activity displayed by Mr. M'Donogh, the Sub-Inspector of the Police, in the apprehehsion of the prisoner. His Honor said he would take care that their representation should be forwarded to the proper quarter. Mare or Maroro, an aboriginal native, was then indicted for the wilful murder of John Branks, on the night of the 22nd of March last. The Attorney- General conducted the prosecution, Mr. Ross was engaged for the defence. Mr. Deighton acted as interpreter to the Court, and Mr. Kemp assisted Mr. Ross in his communications with the prisoner. The prisoner, who was brought into Court under the custody of two of the armed police, was then placed at the bar. He is a young man about the middle height, his face is not tatooed, and of a more oval cast than is usual among the New Zealanders ; the forehead is retreating. His countenance had a stolid, heavy expression, and he appeared indifferent to the proceedings of the Court. Three of the jury were challenged on the part of the prisoner. The Court was crowded throughout the day by persons who appeared to take the deepest interest in the proceedings. The indictment was explained by Mr. Deighton the interpreter to thb prisoner who pleaded Not Guilty. The following witnesses were examined : William Nott, is a farmer and lives on the Porirua Road ; knew the deceased John Branks, lived a quarter of a mile from his house ; saw him last on the Tuesday before his death ; saw his body on the Friday following in his dwelling house. He was dead and lying in a sitting posture on the floor on the left side of the fireplace ; saw a large wouDd across his face. The wounds appeared to have been made with an axe. It was "about half- past nine o'clock in the morning; the door of the house was locked. Mr. Drake not finding Branks at his work came to him and they went together to Branks's house.

the door was locked and he hurst the door open ; witness saw a large American axe, a part of the handle of which was broken off, lying by the deceased ; the axe produced in Court was identified by witness ; near the edge it was covered with blood and hair. (The evidence of this and of each subsequent witness at the conclusion of his examination, as taken down in the judge's book, was explained to the prisoner in the Maori language by Mr. Deighton the Interpreter.) Cross-examined —He was about two chains from Mr. Drake's ; it was about nine o'clock, he was informed by a person passing it was that time ; witness went to Branks's house in consequence of being called by Mr. Drake. Brar.ks's house was a quarter of a mile from Mr. Drake's ; Mr. Drake was coming down the road, he was agitated and calling out as he went ; when Mr. Drake called witness, he (witness) called Bell who lived near ; when he broke open the door he was followed by Bell ; he told Mr. Drake that they (Branks's family) were all murdered ; the alarm then spread through the neighbourhood. Persons were frequently passing that road ; the house is not now standing ; it was pulled down a few days afterwards by Bell, Mr.Drake's other labourer; thehouse was built with clay and kareau, it was burned and the ground about it levelled down. Henry Hopwood, is a Sergeant in the Armed Police; was sent to the Porirua Road on Friday 23rd March, to collect information about the murder that had been committed ; witness got there about halfpast eleven o'clock ; he ran all the way ; when he went into Branks's house he saw the three children lying dead on the bed, and Branks lying dead in a corner by the fireplace ; deceased was wounded on the head ; witness counted seven wounds on the head, neck, and face of deceased ; three of the wounds were very deep and sufficient to cause death. The witness then described the nature of the wounds. Saw the axe produced in Court lying between the legs of the deceased ; - the axe was covered with fresh blood and hair ; the bed where the children lay was covered with blood ; there was also a great deal of blood where Branks lay; the clothes of the deceased were cut, his watch pocket was cut by some sharp instrument, and his watch was gone ; there wa9 no money found on deceased. Mr. St. Hill's name was on a pair of drawers ; the pair produced was worn by the prisoner ; they were gi»en to witness by Sergeant Holmes, who took them and a blanket from the prisoner ; the cap was taken off the prisoner's head by witness. Cross-examined— "Witness went over the hill ; the distance to Branks's house from Wellington is about A\ miles ; the blanket and drawers produced were taken from the prisoner by Sergeant Holmes in the police barracks ; witness was in bed when prisoner was brought to the police station. Branks's clothes were buried with him ; the bodies were removed from deceased's house to the school house two hours after he arrived ; four persons assisted witness in removing them ; there were other persons outside ; the house consisted of only one room and might . be about 12 feet by 20 feet. George Dalrymple Monteith, is a surgeon, residing in Wellington ; examined the body of the deceased John Branks on Friday, 23rd March, about the middle of the day, in the school room on the Porirua road; witness described the wounds from a memorandum made at the tfme, and also by means of a skull which he produced in Court. The first wound examined extended from one cheek to the other, across the nose and dividing the face ; the next wound was upon the head immediately above the right ear to the right side of the forehead, three inches in length, dividing the bone and wounding the brain ; the third wound proceeded from that last described to the crown of the head, and was about three inches in length ; either of the above wounds was sufficient to cause death ; the fourth wound extended from aßbve the right ear to the crown of the bead, passing through the bone into the brain, and was three and a half inches in length ; the fifth was a superficial wound immediately below that last described ; the sixth was on the back part of the skull taking off a layer of bone ; the seventh was a small wound on the back ot' the neck ; the eighth was on the back part of the neck, and was very deep ; it was about three inches in length and two inches in depth ; the arteries and vessels on | the right side were divided ; witness should imagine the wounds to have been made with an axe. Ko Mania, an aboriginal native, is a private in the armed police ; knows the priso-* ncr ; had some conversation with him on the } morning of the 23rd March ; it was about ! nine o'clock by the watch in a public house, ' near the soldiers' barracks, Te Aro ; they ' were standing together some little time, when the prisoner said some white men are killed ; witness asked him how many, and the prisoner told him there were four, three ' -

1 children and an old man ; witness asked him where they 1 * were killed and the prisoner said on the road going to Porirua ; witness then asked where prisoner . was going and he said to Mr. Torr's house ; he asked what he was going for, and he replied he was going to pay for some things he had ; witness asked how much he (prisoner) was going to pay ; he said ona pound one shilling and sixpence ; that was all that passed iX that time. The prisoner was dressed in a blanket, a red shirt and white jacket, he had a cap on; the cap was like the one now produced. Cross-examined — The public house was, a brick house opposite the Bank ; he looked into the house and saw what time it was ; he looked in almost immediately after he met the prisoner ; it was a little past nine. Mr. Ross then handed his watch to witness and asked him to inform him what o'clock it was. Witness said he did not know the minutes, but he thought it was about three o'clock. (It was a quarter to three by the watch). Witness had been in the police at Auckland, and about twelve months in the Wellington police. He next heard of the murder about nine o'clock from a native named Moses ; witness was on duty that morning from eight to one o'clock ; it was one o'clock when he went off duty ; he went to the Police Barracks, hedidnottell anyoneof the conversation that had occurred ; he remained at the barracks until two o'clock ; did wot hear anything about the murder at the Police Barracks ; it was his duty to report what he heard but he forgot to do so. At two o'clock he and the prisoner went to ' the hospital together; the prisoner was standing near the barracks atone o'clock and remained there until 2 o'clock ; he was with the prisoner until 4 o'clock. He did not receive any instructions about the murder until after 4 o'clock, when he and another Maori policeman went up Willis-street; he had known the prisoner since his (witness's) arrival from Auckland ; had no suspicion of the prisoner until about n'ght time ; never mentioned his suspicions to any one.