CORONER'S INQUEST.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 486, 30 March 1850, Page 2

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An Inquest was held before Dr. Fitzgerald, the Coroner, to inquire into the circum*stances connected' With the death of John Ellis, ship-keeper of the General Palmer. The Coroner and Jury proceeded on board the vessel on Wednesday to view the body, after which they returned to Barrett's Hotel, when the Inquest was adjourned to 5 o'clock the following evening, in order that a post mortem examination of the body might be made. The Jury accordingly reassembled on Thursday evening at Barrett's Hotel, when the following evidence was given :—: — Kenneth Bethune. — I am a merchant of Wellington, of the firm of Bethune & Hunter, Agents for the barque General Palmer, now laid up in our charge ; I knew the deceased John Ellis, he was formerly a seaman on board the General Palmer, and latterly ship-keeper ; in consequence of information I received on Monday last, the 25ih instant, I had reason to suppose there was something wrong on boatd the vessel, and accordingly on the following morning I went on board in the Custom-house boat, along with our warehouseman, Edwa.d Roe, jun. ; on going on deck I saw a stranger at the gang-way; 1 asked for the lad Ellis, who alone had charge of the vessel; the man, who afterwards gave his name John Thompson, replied that Ellis was not on board, and that he had not been tbeie for a week; I asked what had become of him, and what he (Thompson) was doing there; he said that yesterday week Ellis.Jbad requested him to take charge of the ship for a day or two as he was going to see some <friends, and that he had remained on board the ship since to do so ; on asking him why he did not come on shore and report Ellis's absence for so long a time, he answered in a confused manner it was his intention to do so; I inquired if any other person was on board, he replied no ; I then told him to stand aside, and proceeded to search the cabin ; I found a loaded pistol and a cutlass in the berth Thompson occupied; I then searched the hold ; in the meantime a constable came on board, having previously bsen requested by me at the police station to do so, and I gave Thompson iii custody ; in the afternoon we sent two men to take charge of the vessel. By the Jury — On Monday evening last Mr, Collins 'came to my house, accompanied by a young man in Capt. Rhodes's employ, and another man, and expressed his surprise at not having seen the lad Ellis for upwards of a week, as he was in the habit of calling about -once a week on him (Collins); he usually called on Monday, wheu he received his wages ; they suspecteJ there was something wrong from his non-appearance ; on the previous Saturday * black man, who lives iv Maori-row, asked me if I was Agent for the General Palmer, and said he thought there was something going on wrong about the ship ; I thanked him for his information and observed I was under no apprehension as the signal "all right" had been hoisted as usual, but that I should take the earliest opportunity of going on board ; Monday was a very boisterous day, and it was impossible to put off from the shore, but I went on board the following morning. Basil Brown. — 1 keep a lodging home in Maori-row. I knew deceased slightly. I saw him last Saturday week, 16th March ; he was coming round the corner of Mr. Loxley's store when I met him. He was in company with two men, named Good and Peter. As they passed I heard Good ask Ellis ior something, and Ellis put his hand in his pocket aud gave Good what I supposed to be money. I told Mr. Bethune I suspected something wrong as I bad not seen Ellis on shore as usua 1 . On Friday or Saturday last I saw Thompson landing at Mr. Firth's wharf ; I asked him where Ellis was, he said he did not know but he had been seen a day or two since going into the country. Taking hold of the coat on his arm I said you have got a new coat, he laid it was one he had brought from Sydney with him ; it was a pilot cloth

coat which I had seen Ellis wear. Good, Peter and .Thompson had been staying in my house, they left About two weeks ago, since that time I have known them to be living on board the General Palmer. I have seen Good and Peter once, since I met them together with Ellis. Peter and a man named Jones I have seen several times together, they treated me several times and Peter appeared to have money. On Sunday, 17th March, Peter came to my house and asked for some dinner, after his dinner he said I owe you some money, I answered Yes, and I should like you to pay me as soon as you can. He took some money from his waistcoat pocket which he put back again and said I will pay you altogether. He started to go and said you'll hear something after awhile. He then went away. On the following Monday I saw Peter at Pimble's, he asked me to have something to drink. He threw down half a sovereign on the counter and took it up again and put down sixpence. He repeated I should hear something after awhile. I have not seen him since. Edward Roe, jun., warehouseman. — I live in Wellington, and was acquainted with the deceased John Ellis ; he was employed as sbipkeeper by Capt. Scon of the barque General Palmer ; the last time I saw Ellis alive was last Sunday fortnight ; he was then in the boat going off to the ship; two men, were placed on board the ship on Tuesday night, the 26th inst., by Mr. Bethune, and I promised to go off to them the following morning ; I accordingly did so ; on getting on board, 1 asked if any thing had transpired in the night, and whether all was right; they replied, yes ; one of them then stated, that during the night he had been sensible of a horrible smell. I asked him which of the cabins it arose from, and he pointed it out ; I then asked him if he had attempted to find out what it arose from, be replied he had not ; he tl en said, we will look, and take all things out ; we turned out all the old lumber in the cabin, and came to three casks, on one of the casks were two or three old cabin doors ; I called one of thtm to help me to remove the doors ; I then found in one of the casks a human body ; I told the men to stop on board, and I went on shore to inform Mr. Bethune ; 1 have seen the body since it was turned out of the cask ; I believe it to he the body of John Ellis ; I found some spots of blood on the door of the cabin iv which the body was found which apparently were wiped over. George Da<rytnple Monteith, surgeon. — I examined the body of the deceased yesterday; I found the body lying on the deck of the ship in the remains of a task with a quantity of salt in it ; decomposition had taken place to a considerable extent'; the face, chest, and abdomen being very much swollen and discoloured, the eyes closed and swollen, tongue protruding enlarged and very black ; there was a deep incised wound on the left side of the neck and front of the throat, the deep seated vessels together with the wind pipe and gullet being completely divided ; this wound appears to have been made with a knife or some other sharp and short instrument ; there was a small wound on the under and right side of the lower jaw with fracture of the bone; on the head there were four wounds, two upon the forehead, one over the right eye, and the other in the centre of the forehead about an inch from the first ; the skull beneath was extensively fractured ; there was a wound on the back and lower part of the head with corresponding fracture beneath ; I have compared the hammer produced with the three last described wounds with the smaller end of which they exactly correspond ; I have no doubt it would produce such wounds ; immediately anterior to the left ear, and on the projecting part of the left cheekbone was a small wound, apparently •caused by & ball or large shot, which took a direction beneath the eye, ma* king its exit at the bridge of the no»e, and fracturing in its course the cheek and upper" jaw bone ; after laying bare the skull on the left side I found immediately above the last described wound a large extravasation of blood between it and the skull apparently caused by a blow from some blunt instrument ; there was no laceration of the scalp in this part, but extensive fracture of the bones, greater than I think could be produced by a shot ; I opened the head, the brain was too much decomposed to examine it; having well cleaned the inner part of the skull I found the fractures there corresponding with thoie externally ; I have no doubt that death was caused by violence ; there were no other wounds discoverable. This being the whole of the evidence, the Jury returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown."