THE AUCKLAND MURDER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 1 October 1880, Page 2

THE AUCKLAND MURDER.

(Br TEEEGBkpp:.); Auckland, Sept. 30. the murderer, was takenin a cab by; Superintendent Thomson and SubInspector Pardy to Sankey's house, in order to be identified by the boy Gibson Willcott, who was struck on the skull with an ase. The boy identified him readily. Young Wilcott sleeps most of his time, and feels little pain, but Drs. Philson and Hooper have little hope of his survival. " Mr.'Sankoy, in' reply to the Islander's statement, that the,boys, Sandy, and Gibson had teased and chaffed him prior to his making the attack,'authoritatively denies the assertion, as also do the boys. The strange European who he stated told him'that the Europeans would hang him to a beam is named Michael Colom, and does not know a word of Fijian. Mr. Willcott states that Joe has been in his service since March, 1871 > and partially nursed the boy whose life he attempted. He denies ever having chastised or scolded the native, Suoh was his confidence in Joe that in 1872, when the mountain tribes massacred Burns and M'lntosh at Bau, he selected him out of thirty natives in his employ to keep watch in turn with himself and his eldest boy agains.t the natives' night surprises. He had twioe seen Joe peculiar and eccentric-—once after the measles } hut as some other Islanders were the same way, he thought nothing of it. The second time he could not account for it, and Joe seemed mentally deranged for two or three days, when he got the native boys to watch him to, see he did nothing to himself or others. Mr. Willoott says he cannot account for his' conduct save that he had a recurrence of his previous fits of mental derangement and temporarily lost his reason.