ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4931, 11 January 1877, Page 3

ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

A milkman nariied Cooper fractured his. leg by an accident on the Karori-road on the 19th December. James ‘ Sexton, of the Temperance Hotel, Featherstori, has been fined £3O for sly grog accident occurred at Nelson to Mr. Marsderi, an old settler in the Waimea. He was driving to town when the horse took fright at the train and bolted. Marsden was thrown out, but did not appear to be hurt. He helped to unharness the horse, led it to an adjoining stable, and a few minutes later fell down dead. • An accident occurred in Willis-street on January Ist, which terminated fatally. Ahoy, named J. W. Hockley, about seventeen years of age, was riding past M!r. Pound s-, shop,. when the girth-strap of the saddle suddenly gave way, and he fell to trie ground. He was taken into Mr.- Pound’s, shop insensible, and did not recover afterwards,, although .everynecessary was done, medical assistance being obtained. The poor fellow died on Monday night; ' . ..... The Junction Hotel,_ a large building containing upwards of thirteen rooms, bar, &c., situated four and a-half miles from Invercargill, has been totally ' by fire. The story connected with the affair is a very sad one. The hotel'belonged to Mrs. Ott; whose husband died about a/year v ago, leaving all his property to his wife. It being known that Mrs. Ott was about to marry again, the relatives rif her family interfered, and insisted that she should make over the property to her children—five boys. For some time back Mrs. Ott showed evident symptoms of insanity. She was taken to reside a few days 'with her uncle at Longbush, but has never been placed under strict surveillance. - Her friends succeeded in persuading her to transfer to her children*- he property. Since then the ardor of the man who wanted to marry her has ■.somewhat cooled. 1 The hotel has been in the market for lease, and on December 15th a party went to inspect it. Mrs. Ott was averse to leaving the place, and this apparently preyed upon her mind. : Early, the following morning she she went upstairs, and deliberately set fire to several rooms. She then came down stairs, 'took one of her boys into-her own .room, set fire to it, and locked the door. There was only a man servant and a maid servant on the premises. The man went upstairs and. extm- • miished the fire. . Then, not seeing Mrs. Ott about) he went to look, for her. He broke into her rooni, and, with,,great difficulty, got her and her boy out. ’ The place was quickly all in ablaze, and, although several neighbors were soon on the spot, only about £IOO. worth of furniture was saved. The building, is insured in the National for £SOO, tlie furniture for £3OO, and the stock for £IOO. The National Insurance Company is ..re-insured with tbe ; Royal Insurance Company to the amount of £3OO on the furniture arid £IOO on the stock. A settler named; Martin Curtin, living in the Ararimu district, Auckland, was arrested on a charge of murdering a neighbor named Deiiis Shanaghari. -Bad .b(pod was (known to have subsisted between, them for some tiifie. On Saturday night', , December liith,' Curtin came into Papakura, looking for the' Clerk of the Court, with the object, lie said, of laying an information against Sbanaghnn for breach

of the peace. Shanaghan did not return home on Saturday night; and hia wife went out to search for him' on Sunday. She foxmd bun lying dead in Curtin’s paddock, with severe wounds about the head. Curtin was then arrested. His version is that they had a quarrel about cattle', and Shanaghan attacked him with a stick : that an affray ensued, and that Shanaidiau was knocked down. No one witnessed'fche quarrel. The murdered man leaves a young wife and child. Further particulars of the murder at Ararimu, sho\v that Curtin brought an action for trespass against Shanaghan, the murdered man, three years ago. A verdict was given for defendant, with heavy costa ; in satisfaction of which Curtin $ grass-seed was seized. Since then he has had a grudge ■ against deceased. Mrs. Shanaghan says that about a week ago Curtin said to her, “ You will not have him long." Curtin s own statement tothepolice is that he raetShanaghan on the road to Curtin’s house. Shanaghan said, “ Come and see me burn your house down.” Thereupon, Curtin says, they tough l :. He got the better of Shanaghan, who fell m the midst of cleared ground where stumps remain. Curtin says Shanaghan cried out, “You’ve done enough, Curtin, let me up now. Curtin said, “ No; I will not. I’ll tie you up for the constable.” He then tied Shanaghan to a stump with a half-inch rope, and tied ms hands behind him. Left him there and rode into Papakura on Saturday evening. he wanted a warrant, which was refused. He then returned to Ararimu and arrived there about one o’clock on Sunday morning. He went by candle light and cut away the cords binding the body. Eleven drops of candle-grease were found on the trousers of the murdered man. The end of a sperm candle was in Curtin’s pocket when arrested. Mrs. Shanaghan says that Curtin saw her on Saturday afternoon. She was anxious about her husband’s absence. It seemed that her husband had been at Fielding’s until 3 o clock, when he left with a scythe, which has been found on the road ’if few chains above the scene of the murder. There was no blood on it. She met Curtin, and asked where her husband was. Curtin said, “Ho is lying down where he has got his desserts.” Shanaghan appears to have struggled desperately to free himself. There are several marks on the ,body. One of the marks, on the skull, was evidently made by a sharp instrument, not by a stick. An axe was found m the ashes of a fire in Curtin s house, with the handle burnt off. The body was found by Mrs. Shanaghan and twelve or thirteen settlers lying on its side, stiff, with hands behind. There were marks where the rope cut the clothes close to the wrists. There were also marks of rope around the body. The rope cut nearly half an inch into tbs stump.