AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 691, 17 March 1852, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

Wesleyan Missionary Society.—The An- ; nual Meeting of the New Zealand Auxiliary to this Society was held on Monday evening in the Wesleyan Chapel, which was filled by a respectable and deeply attentive audience. The Mayor of Auckland occupied the chair. The 1 Rev. Thos. Buddle read from the last report of the Parent Society extracts exhibiting the state of the funds and a summary’ of operations of the Institution; he also read a financial statement for the New Zealand district, a remarkable and interesting feature of which was the liberality of the contributions from native converts. Resolutions were then moved, seI conded, or supported by the Revs. J. Whitely, J. Inglis (Presbyterian) J. Buller, J. Wallis, W. Lawry, J. Polglase, T. Hamer (Independent), J. H. Fletcher, A. M’Donald (Independent), and R. Ward (Primitive Methodist). A collection in aid of the funds having been taken up, and thanks voted to the Mayor for his conduct in the chair, the meeting separated.— Neto Zealander, Feb. 11.

Dreadful Suicide.—lt is our painful duty to record a frightful case of suicide which took place at Onehunga, about eleven o’clock on the night of Thursday last. Francis Caffrey, one of the Pensioners of that settlement, shot himself behind the ear with his musket, the.effect being to blow off the top of his skull and produce instantaneous death. An inquest on the body was held yesterday at the Royal Hotel, Onehunga, before Dr. Davies, Coroner, when the Jury returned as their verdict that the deceased came by his death in consequence of a gunshot wound in the head, inflicted by him- ■ self while labouring under temporary insanity.

—lbid, Feb. 14. Wilful Murder. —It is seldom our duty 1 to prefix such a painful heading as this to a I report of an inquest in Auckland, where crime 1 of an aggravated character is happily of rare 1 occurrence ; and when it does occur is (as in i this instance) generally to be traced to convicts 1 from the adjoining penal colonies, who, when i they can, naturally desire to be numbered | I amongst the population of a colony which, like i i New Zealand, is free from the taint of trans- ] .portatinn- Wc have, however, to report that I ' a man was killed in, perhaps the most public ; thoroughfare of our town on Monday night, j i under circumstances which will be sufficiently | understood from the following summary of the facts sworn to at the inquest yesterday. We need give only a summary, as several witnesses repeated, almost without variation, the evidence already before the inquest. The facts, as stated by’ a number of witnesses, were substantially these. Some months since there had been a quarrel, issuing in a fight, between William Dixon, a blacksmith, the man who was killed on Monday n’ght, and the accused person, who was known here by the name of Isaac French, or by the nickname of “ Ikev the carpenter,” but who (as was sworn to bv more than one witness who appeared to have had full knowledge of him in the previous stages of his history) was well known in for- ; mer years as a prisoner of the Crown in Van ■ Diemen’s Land, under the name of Wm. Bow- I den. Bowden (as we shall call him, dropping . his assumed name here) had repeatedly declared : that he " would take his revenge out of Dixon” i : for the result of this combat, in which Dixon ; : had “ proved the best man.” On Monday evening, after some conversation in Graham’s I

eating house in Shortland Crescent, which grew : to be of a hostile character, Bowden and Dixon I went out into the street to fight. It appeared : clearly that although both had taken some ) drink, neither of the parties was intoxicated to any extent that would interfere with his entire I command of his conduct and accountability for ■ it. After some scuffling. Dixon cried out that Bowden had a knife, but Bowden stoutly’ denied this —(so far as anything could be denied in the struggle then going forward); shortly after- ; wards, Dixon was heard to cry “ I am stabbed 1 r lam an undone man 1” He ran back into Graham’s house, where he soon sunk under the : effects of the wounds he had received. Medi--1 cal aid was procured, but proved ineffectual, as ’ may be inferred from the testimony of Drs. Matthews and Lee, who, on a. post mortem ext amination yesterday, found not only that the 1 deceased’s lungs had been penetrated by one of t the wounds, but that the pulmonary artery had i been pierced, and his heart literally punctured t by one of the blows. A knife was produced in e court which was identified as having been in c the possession of Bowden, and was found yes- - terday morning, with a blood mark on it, in e the immediate vicinity of the tragical occur- - rence.

The following was the verdict arrived at after a very patient hearing of evidence by the Coroner and an intelligent Jury : — “That the deceased died of wounds inflicted in theheartandchest, and which wounds were given by William Bowden, alias Isaac French, and that the said William Bowden alias Isaac French did kill and murder the said William Dixon.” —lbid, Feb. 25. Fatal Conflict at Hokianga.—We have learnt, with very sincere regret, that an unhappy collision, resulting in the slaughter of five natives, took place last week at Hokianga. Repa, a chief of some celebrity iu Heke’s wars, having charged Papakakukuru and others with having taken improper liberties with one of his wives, demanded, according to native usage, a horse in satisfaction of the affront. The justice of the accusation was however denied, and the

delivery of the horse peremptorily refused. From words the contending parties came to blows. Hone Ware, the brother of Repa, shooting Hoaia Rore dead, and being himself shot dead in turn. To avenge the death of his own brother, Repa threw himself upon Horepa Patu, the brother of Rore, whom he speared ; but this not sufficing to kill his antagonist, he despatched him with a couple of shots. Repathen shot Papakakuru, and was himself subsequently slain.

Some considerable apprehension is entertained lest the affray should not terminate here, but arouse the resentment of the powerful tribe of Mahurehure, of Maima. It is to be hoped however that the mediation of Waka Nene, who is anxions for the preservation of peace, may happily prevail.— lbid.