THE MAUNGATAPU MURDERS. EVIDENCE OF SULLIVAN.

West Coast Times, Issue 276, 11 August 1866, Page 6

THE MAUNGATAPU MURDERS. EVIDENCE OF SULLIVAN.

(From the Nelson Colonist, Aug. 3.) The inquiry was resumed hefore the Resident Magistrate and a full Bench. Some preliminary evidence having been taken : — % > Mr Adams said thai these were all the witnesses be had to produce ; but he now proposed to place Sullivan in the witness box in order to take his evidence, if the Court had no objection to tli at course.- _ , ' ■Mr Pitt— l shall entirely object to that course being pursued at present, unless my learned friend is in a position to say that Sullivan is to be at once discharged, inasmuch as the statute which removed many oi the objections as to the admissibiliry of witnesses on the grouud of interest, expressly provides that nothing in it shall render any person competent or compellable to give evidence against himself. Now, the statute does not .render an accomplice incompetent to give evidence at all ; but it merely declares that he cannot give evidence against himself— leaving him perfectly competent to give evidence against others. Tbe distinction on this point is very clearly drawn by Pitb Taylor in his work on Evidence, and he shows that an accomplice before he is permitted to give evidence^ must be either acquitted or a ' nolle prosequi ' entered so far as he is concerned ; because so long as he ■is charged with the oibers, he is interested in the iuquiiy, inasmuch as such result must go either to prove his guilt or establish his innocpnee. Moreover, the question as to the admission of Sullivan a3 a witness, ought properly to be decided by the Judg? at ,the trial, and I contend therefore'that it is not competent to take Sullivan's evidence in the present stage of the proceedings, and a person accused of felony is not a competent witness unless he is first acquitted. The Resident Magistrate— l apprehend it is perfectly competent for the crown in the circumstances of this case, to take Sullivan's evidence as a wi'ness. As for tbe other point, it is another thing as to whether I can commit him or not Perhaps I may only commit the three others. Mr Pitt — I contend, your worship, that you canuot take his evidence as the case now stands, because at present he is accused like the others, of the same offence as they stand' charged with, and is liable to be committed as well as they are. The Resident MagL-trate— But after he is placed in the box he mt\y not be excused ; but that is neither here nor there. Mr Adams — It is not necessary, to acquit him before taking his evidence. The Resident Magistrate — I can't commit him after I have taken his evidence as a witness ; but it is quite competent to take his evidence. EVIDENCE OF SULLIVAN. Sullivan was then removed from the dock, and placed in the witness box. Mr Adams tb Sullivan— What is your name ? Sullivan — Myname is Joseph Thomas Sullivan. Mr Adams— You need not give any evidence in that box unless you like, and you don't require to answer any questions tha.t may bo likely to criminate yourself,

Sullivan — I .shall answer all questions sir, that are put to me, whether they criminate me or not. Mr Adams — Are you willing to give evidence? Sullivan— Yes, I am willing. Mr Pitt — I have just one request to make, and I that is, that no leading questions may be put to Sullivan. Mr Adams — I shall not put any leading questions ; but in case I should do so, I leave it to ray learned friend to stop them by taking objections. Joseph Thomas Sullivan was then sworn, and examined by Mr Adams — He deponed as follows . — I resided in Victoria, in a {township called Wedderburne, district of Mount Korong ; I have been residing there as a storekeeper, and in the public business. Mr Adams— When did you arrive in New Zealand ? Sullivan— l first came fo New Zealand on 10th of April, in the steamer Albion. The Magistiate — Last April ? Sullivan— Yes, sir ; on a Tuesday, 10th April. This was the first time I had ever seen the Colony of New Zealand. Mr Adams — Whilst at Hokitifca did n become acquainted with the prisoners ? Sullivuu — Yes ; I fir&t became acquainted with them on the 27th April. I had seen them a week previous. • Mr Adams — You need not go into the particulars of the intercourse. Wete you in the habit of associating with them ? Sullivan — I was, sir. Mr Adams— Did you afterwards go to the Grey J Sullivan— l did. Mr Adams — Did you go together ? Sullivan — Me, Kelly, and Burgess went there. ♦ Mr Adams — Did Levy go before or after you ? Sullivan — Levy was down at the Grey fourteen clays prior to that : he and Kelly had gone to the Grey together. We associated together at the Grey ;we llet.f t. the Grey together for the Buller, by the steamer Wallaby . Tickets were bought for us by Levy ; he gave me a ticket in the name of Williams ; I saw him give Burgess and Kelly a ticket each. We remained one day at the Buller, and then got a passage in the Wallaby to Nelson. I don't know who paid for the passage?, I did not pay them ; I had no money then I believe Burgess had a little money, and Levy borrowed a liltle from a Gree* boatman to make up the passages ; I saw the man give Mm the money, and. he won more by gambling in the skittle-ground. Mr Adams -Do you know of your own knowledge whether there was enough money among you to pay for the passages ? Sullivan — I know we had not enough money. I was sent on board with a note to Captain Palmer. Mr Adams — Did you see its contents ? Sullivan —Yes ; it was a . request to Captain Palmer, the master of the Wallaby, asking him if he would give us passages to Nelson as we were short of funds, and that we would supply ourselves with food on board . All our names were signed to the note ; the names signed were those we went by according to the names on our tickets. I remember only the name of Williams, which I went under ; and I did not see the tickets of the others Mr Adams— Did Captain Palmer agree to your request ? Sullivan — No, be would not comply ; buthesaid he would take us on to Nelson, if we paid the balance of the fare, and that was LI each. We all came on to Nelson ; I don't know who paid the money. Mr Adams — Do you know the date you arrived here ? » Sullivan— Yes, on Wednesday, the 6th of June. Mr Adams — Where did you go to on yqur arriving in Nelson ? Sullivan — Levy secured accommodation for us at the house of an old lady named Sharpe, who keeps a private lodging-house in Nelson. We arrived there about tea time ; she prepared tea for us. We stopped there all night,' and had breakfast next morning. Mrs Sharpe did not take tea with us. ! Mr Adams — Where did you go when you left ? Sullivan — We left about a quarter to nine in the morning ; we all came out of the house together. Levy paid for our board and lodging ; lie paid Mrs Sha-pe a LI note ; none of the othsrs paid anything. After we left the house Levy went up the street, because he did not wish to be seen going out of town with us ; and we three went down the street, up a back street, and round by the Church, and then met him out by the valley. When we met Levy, we all Lad a conversation together, and it was arranged that we should go on to Picton or Havelock. We proceeded on the road , I went before them. We went across the bridge fnd up the valley ; this was the saraevmorning. We went up the Maungatapu. Three horsemen came up with us ; one of them I hare seen since ; he was a witness in this Court, and his name is Birrell. Afterwards, while I was in advance of the three others, I came up with another man, who was travelling on foot ; lie was carrying a bolt of canvas. We had a conversation together, and I had to readjust my swag ; he waited until I did so, and the others came up. I have seen the man since ; he is a tall man, a digger, and was a witness in this Court. [This is the witness Thompson, whose evidence corresponds with this statement.] He proceeded on, and left us taking dinner. We stopped that night at a place about fifteen miles from Nelson, where there is a large rock sticking up out of the ground. This rock is before coming to the flat [Frankly n's Flat], about a mile on this side of the flat. We stopped there all night, and started about nine o'clock next morning, and went as far as the Pelorus Bridge 1 . We did not stay in the house there, but erected a tent we had with us. On Saturday, we left about twelve o'clock noon, and went as far as Canvastown, where we stopped in a building which we got permission to occupy from Mr Jevvis, a storekeeper there ; we all stopped there that night . Mr Adams — Did you all stop there n»xt day ? Sullivan — No ; next day Levy was deputed to go up to Deep Creek, and he went on the Sunday ; he went to see what sort of place it was ; whether there was any place that was likely to be stuck up ; and returned on Monday, about two o'clock in the afternoon. Mr Adams -When he came back again, did he tell you what he did while he was away ? Sullivan — Yes ; the first thing he did was to take a newspaper out of his pocket, a Marlborough newspaper, and give it to Burgess. Mr Adams — Had he any particular object in giving this paper to Burgess ? Sullivan — Yes, it was to decide some argument they had while on the road out, relative to the Bank at Picton. Levy reported further, that he had been to the , store of a man named Felix Mathieu, with whom he said that he was acquainted ; and that be had also seen a man named Dudley, ihat he was also acquainted with He stated that Dudley, Mathieu, aud two other men were about starting for the West Coast, and were intending to leave Deeep Creek on Monday, the same day as he left, but that they Md to remain that day to put a canvas fly on his store, and that they were sure to start on the Tuesday morning to go to the West Coast. He made use of an expression that he had seen ' long-tailed ones,' which is a cant term for large notes ; and he proposed that we should start early on the Tuesday morning, to intercept them on the road. Mr Adams — Was that agreed to ? Sullivan — Yes, it was ultimately agreed to. We consulted with Burgess about it, — he was supposed to be the leader ; — and it was resolved to go, because it was considered that there was a certainty about tbe Deep Creek men, but there was no certainty about the Bank at Pictorf. Mr Adams— Was it intended to rob tbe Bank at Picton ? Sullivan — Yea, we started from Nelson to rob the Bank at Picton ; but I learnpd on the

road on our way up, from the tall traveller I have already spoken of, that there was a diggings at Deep Greek, and it was resolved that we should go up there. Mr Adams — What happen^ after Ltvj came back? Sullivan— Levy lay down ; Kelly did some washing, and Burgess asked me to come and help him to grind some knives. I went to help him, and had two knives ground. One was what is termed by diggers a fossiking-knife, or bowie-knife, and the other was a butcher's knife. I would know both knives aj.i r if I saw them. [The knife found in Kelly.- swag was produced.] This is one of the two knives that were ground. It was obtained from a storekeeper at the Grey . [Knife handle sKbwn.] This is the handle of the other knife, the blade wanting. The Resident Magistiate . Are you sure it is the handle ? > Sullivan — I am positive, sir. Mr Adams— Which of them did you sharpen ? Sullivan — I sharpened one of them, but I could not be sure which. A Maori was present at the time we were sharpening the knives ; he gave us permission to use the grindstone, and he lived in a house contiguous to where the grindstone was. I have seen the knives before ; one of them I have seen every day, as we used it at meals. The one I have just seen belonged to Kelly ; the other belonged to the cook of the Wallaby, and was stolen from him by Levy. So Levy told us. (Laughter.) [Levy smiled sarcastically and raised his eyebrows when Sullivan made this statement.] The Resident Magistrate— Order, order in the Court. -If this sort of thing is repeated" l shall clear the Court. We- are engaged in a very serious business, and there is nothing to laugh at. Those who cannot conduct thein&elves' properly had better go but. Sullivan continued his statement — After the knives weie ground, which was done on Monday evening. I did not see them again until the Wednesday. Levy and Kelly had them then. Kelly had the small one aud Levy the other. Mi* Adam3 — When at Wakamarina, had youany arms ? ' Sullivan^ Yes. We look them with us on the road. Burgess carried them. They consisted of two double-barrelled guns, and two revolvers ; one revolver was a plain and common one, the other was silver mounted. I would know them again if I saw them. One of the guns was deficient of a key to keep it to the stock. I would know it by its general appearance. It was rusted pretty much through in the barrels by having been buried. The key had been lost while it was detached from the stock. I would know it by two pieces of iron which were put in place of the key. [Gun produced.] Burgess cut two pieces of hoop iron with a tomahawk, and fixed them instead of a key. Burgess kept the two pieces of iron in his purse. [Kevplver produced.] I know this by its general appearance, and by its being worn at the butt. It is one of the 'pistols. I know it also by its deficiency of the ramrod . The Resident Magistrate- How were the barrels of the guns carried ? Sullivan — We unshipped them from the stock, and carried them separately rolled up in a shirt of Levy's. [The barrels of the gun produced, and were found to be 2ft. sin. long.] We brought the firearms from the Giey, where they were fetched on board the steamer. They were brought up from the Grey ia swags covered over with an oilskin. While" we were at Jervis' the night that the knives were ground, after we had tea, Burgess loaded the guns and pistols. They werecleaned and oiled. This was done principally by Burgess. This was done on the Sunday evening The pistols were loaded also by Burgess. I was present when they were loaded. We were all present. I saw how he loaded the guns. Mr Adams — How did he load them ? Sullivan — I don't understand you, sir. Mr Adams — Was h with ball or small shot. Sullivan — It was with balls ; balls which were stolen at the Grej from a shooting gallery. Mr Adams— Did the balls fit the guns ? Sullivan— -No, they were too small, and had to be wrapped round ■with brown paper to mak# them fit the barrels. I Mr Adams— Had you any pepper ? Sullivan— Yes, we found a tin of pepper ia v a store, the pepper was afterwards put in a piece of paper. I did not put it there, and I don't remember which of them did so ; but one of them did. Mr Adams— When did you leave Canvastown ? Sullivan — It was arranged that we were to leave very early on Tuesday morning, before anyone was up, to prevent anybody from seeing us start ; but in consequence of having no sugar for breakfast, \ye had to remain until Jervis,got up to get - some. I think we left about a quarter to eight o'clock, and we "went away travelling towards Nelson. We had no money to pay for the boat, and we walked across the Wakainarina on foot. This was on Tuesday morning, 12th June. I went on a little in advance, and met a ma.n carrying an axe, about half-a-mile before coming to the Pelorus Bridge. This was the witness Couper. As I came up to the Bridge Accomodaticn House, I saw a female, who questioned me whether I was one of the party who .camped there on jthe Friday night previous. Mr Adams. You must not tell us what she said to you. Did the others come up ? , \ Sulllivan. Yes, and we all sat down and smoked our pipes. I then proceeded on before . themoiu advance. Mr Adams—D id yon see anyone else ? Sullivan — Yes ; I stayed and made a fire, on the road about twelve miles from Canvastown, and I imagine about six or seven miles on this side of Pelorus Bridge. I was in advance of the others when I made the fire, and I prepared tea - until the others came up. I can't say what time > it was, for some parts of the road are dark vita the thick trees. They all came up, and while w ere having dinner a man passed us ; an old man, a tall man, carrying a swag and an old bag •.vith holes in it and a piece of flax tied round it. He had a shovel with him, a long-handled shovel that appeared to be nearly new. Mr Adams— Well, what took place ? Did you speak to him ? Sullivan— No. He passed on with his back towards me. I did not see bis fa;e then, although he passed close to me. The fire was in the middle of the road, and we were on each side of it, and he had to pass between us. After he had passed, Kelly asked us if we had seen the poke in his pocket, meaning a .purse with money in it, and then it was suggested The Resident Magistrate here interposed, remarking to Mr Adams that he thought he had better not take the evidence respecting this man in this case ; it had better be left alone at present. Mr Adams —Very well, sir, ~it shall be deferred. (To Sullivan)— Did you see anyone else ? Sullivan — Yes; a man on horseback passed afterwards. I did not know him, but he was one of the witnesses [Galloway, of Picton] exam ued here. He was going in the direction of Oauvastown, from Nelson. We went on that day to Franklyn's Flat, where there is a deserted building, and stopped there all night. About half-past nine or teu'o'elock we started on the road in the direction of Nelson, until we came to the place where we camped the night ra our way down, and * here there is a large ro k • . sticking up out of the earth. Mr Adams— What took place then ? Sullivan — We put our swags in the bush, on tbe upper or left hand side of the road going to Nelson. We all slopped there, these men (indicating the other prisoners) and myself. Whilst we were there, three men passed by with, cattle, - coming from Nelson. After, they went by, Burgess put the fire out, and put fresh caps on' the firearms. He gave' me a gun, the double-barrel now produced. The Magistrate— Where were yon all the time the men with their cattle were passing ? - Sullivan— We hid ourselves in the bush. When Burgess gave- me the gap, he keps one tt)

himself, aud gave a pistol to Kelly, and another to Levy, and he also gave Kelly and Levy a knife each. Burgess did not have a knife. The Resident Magistrate— Do you know which pistol Levy bad \ Sullivan— Yes, he 'had the pistol that he called his own, the silver-mounted one. Mr Adams— What took place then ? Sullivan— Burgess then selected an ambush from amongst us, to intercept the four men*coming from Deep Creek, who I supposed to be Mathieu and his party. Burgess put us through a sort of drill, showing the movements, and how we were to act when the mea appeared . We then cleared part of the bush, making a clearance so as to see if any one came along the road quickly, so that we might be prepared. This was cleared on the upper side of the road, a few yards from the cliff; after doing this a man came past on a grey horse ; I recognised him as Mr Birrell. After he came, Levy proposed to Burgess that as the four men must be close at hand, he and Burgess should go and reconnoitre, and see if they were approaching. The Resident Magistrate — Where were you stationed. You say you were all told off, what place had you ? Sullivan— l was stationed at the creek with a gun, a little below the rock. Burgess and Levy went iway to reconnoitre, and were absent about half-an-hour. They came back in great haste, and said they had seen the men leaving the flat, and that they would be here very soon. When Burgess and Levy came back, I called their attention to a man and a woman coming down the hill from the Nelson side. I could not tell that they were the same persons as gave their evidence here. I knew one of them was a woman, as I saw her dress and heard her voice, but I did not see her face. We all kept our divisions ; Levy and Kelly were behind the rock, and myself and Burgess were in the creek near the bottom ; the creek is about 80 or 100 yards distant from rock, and on this side of it. Mr Adams— Well, what happened ? Sullivan — I had a conversation with Burgess while we were waiting together in the creek. I asked him to allow me to form one of the party to go into the bush with the men, and he said no, the work was all laid out to each man, and that he could not alter the arrangements, and he would not comply with, my request as we had all to keep to our stations. Mr Adams— Had there been any previous arrangement as to what each of you were to do J Sullivan — Yes ; I was to take possession of the road, Mr Adams— What do you mean by " possession of the wad ?" Sullivan— l was to stop anybody that came along. Mr Adams — What were the others to do ? Sullivan — They were »o take the men into the bush, tie them up, and fake what they had ; and I had to stop anyone on the road, and if tbey would not stop, then shoot them. I have to tell something about the. straps. While we were in ambush, Kelly took all the straps off our swags, to try the strength, of them. Some of them broke. We wanted eight, and to make up the deficiency he asked me for a sash that I wore. I gave it to him, and this with a hand- ' kerchief made up the number wanted. He bound the sash round his waist, and put a heavy Cr-mean shirt in a loose way over him. We were all in ambush when the four men came along. Mr Adams— And when they came along, what then ? Sullivan — Burgess stepped out from the creek when the men were six or seven yards off. Burgess was in advance of me. I did not know the, men, as I had never seen them before There were four of them, and they had a packhorse heavily laden. Mr Adams— When Burgess stepped out from the creek, what then ? Sullivan — I stepped out with him, a little behind. I saw. the four men, and then I saw Levy and Kelly come up behind them, each with a knife in the one hand, and a revolver in the other. Nothing was said when we stepped" out from the creek except by Burgess, who told them to "Bail up," at the same time presenting his gun. I went up the hill to keep the road. The four men all fell back, and put their hands up as if in fear, and to prevent things coming to a case. They all fell back in a stooping position. Kelly and Levy came down behind the men. I . saw them at about twenty yards from the men. Kelly went over to one of them. I could not recognise which at the distance, but he was a man with a big beard ; and told him, swearing at the same time, that he was ''very near adead man." I did not see him lay hold of the man ; I could not from the position I was in, because I went up the hill to watch the road. From the rock we could see half a mile on the Canvastown side, and about a quarter of a mile c:i the Nelson side. I remained there watching. Mr Adams — What was the next thing 'you saw? Sullivan — Levy then came up with the horse, about five or six minutes after the men were bailed up. He led the horse up into the bush behind the rock, and tied him up. The Resident Magistrate — Was this the upper ,or lower side of the road-? Sullivan — The upper side, sir ; we could take nothing below the road; it is too precipitous. Le.vy asked me if the horse could be seen from the road, and I went down and passed along the road, and told him no ; and then he went away. About twenty minutes after he left I saw a man coming towards Nelson from Canvastown, and then I saw at the same time, coming from Nelson, a chestnut horse ; I could not see its rider, but only the horse through the trees. I hid myself in the bush, and then heard the word "No" given, simply in answer to a question ; out I was too far away to hear the whole of the conversation. I did not know either of the two men. They both passed on. Mr Adams. Well, what took place after that? Sullivan. About ten minutes after they passed I heard six shots fired in the space oi two minutes. Mr Adams. Did the shots appear to be far off? Sullivan, The echo seemed to come opposite from where I was, as -if up hill. I shifted my position down into the valley, as I became alarmed, because I thought the men had turned round on the others, and that a general fight had taken place. A^oufc a quarter of an hour after I changed my position to the valleyj I saw Bur-

gess come out of the creek. When I saw him coming I also saw Levy behind him. The Court here adjourned for half an hour. On re-assembling, Sullivan proceeded with his evidence. When Burgess came out of the creek he looked at me, and I looked across to him. I asked him what was the cause of the firing. He said the others made a mess of it. He knocked his man over with the first shot. Mr Adams This was Burgess that said this ? Sullivan. Yes, sir. He then asked me what I was doing at the other side of the road, and at the same time he asked me if I had searched the swags that were on the horse. I said no, and he said "It's a good job you havn'fc, because you need look in nothing only in the portmanteau," where he said there was forty-five or forty-eight ounces of gold. This took place near.to the horse. Kelly and Levy both were present at this time. They all come up during the conversation with Burgess. The horse was at the place where it was taken to by Levy. I took the things off the horse, and they assisted me. The portmanteau was opened, and inside was a leather satchel, the 'same as as people carry across their shoulders with a long strap te it. Burgess took out of this two bags containing gold, and another bag containg penny pieces. One bag contained a larger portion of gold than the other. [Courier bag shown.] The satchel was of • this description ; it was like this exactly, except that it was new, and bright and dean in the leather. The penny pieces were thrown away indiscriminately about the bush. There were three straps, which Burges3 took with him. Two of them had two letters marked on them in ink, about four or five inches from the buckle. Kelly cut off the letters from one of the straps, slicing off a piece with his knife These straps were taken because they had lost their own in the bush. [Straps shown.] This is one of the straps, and here is the place where the letters were cut off, part of the ink is still remaining. Mr Adams. Have you seen that strap since it was taken away from Kelly ? * Sullivan. I saw it about a week ago ; I was shown it by the police, but I had previously described it to them. Mr Adams. What took place after you examined the portmanteau ? Sullivan. I was left with Levy to re-pack the horse, and Burgess and Kelly went to repack the swags, and to leave anything that we did not wish to take with us. I went on ahead towards Nelson with a double-barrelled gun. There was no more conversation as ,to what had become- of the men. No questions were asked, and nothing more said. I was sent on before to watch people coming up, and to stop them. I was also told to look out a place to put the horse away in. I put a shirt which had been torn into a bundle and placed it three feet from the road to mark the place ; and then I threw away the gun as far as I could into the bush ; it .was capped and loaded. The reason why I threw the gun away was Burgess had said in the morning, that if this affair went off all right, the gun was to be thrown away, and "he would provide himself with a new revolver and give me his gun. I selected- the spot where the horse was to be taken to be disposed of, but it would not go down hill. We went about thirty yards further, and Levy attempted to take him down, i but got frightened at the horse and then Bui-gess seized the halter. I cleared the road the horse was to go and he was led down blindfolded with a handkerchief over "his eyes. Our intention was to lake the horse down to 'the bottom of the valley and let him go, but he fell over a tree and got jammed, and could not rise. I took the swag off and attempted to get him up but could not, and Levy came down with Burgess' gun, the left hand barrel of which was not discharged and I took the gun and shot him in the star on the forehead. He died instantly. Levy, Burgess, and I then cut down bows and covered the body of the horse, and came away. Mr Adams. What followed then ? Sullivan. I was sent on before,, and told to light a fire, and prepare tea at the old chimney. They all came up ; and Kelly and Burgess undid their swags, and took ont some pocketbooks, purses, and three bags of gold. I was called to pick up some money ; four heaps of gold were lying on the ground at the time. If/was dark then. Levy and I gathered boughs. I picked up the money. I wqs told there was Ll6 135., but I found there was only Lls 13s. , 1 The Magistrate: Ha ve you any idea how much gold ? Sullivan. Burgess recounted it likewise ; he also counted Kelly's lot, and found there was only Lls 13s in it, and it was to be made good next day when the gold was sold Burgess and Levy's lot was LI 6 13s each. There was a great quantity of bills, papers, and letters with them, and those were all taken together, and put into the fire and burned. I was going to put the purses in the fire, but they all laughed at me, and Burgess told me I was delirious, and that there was brass and 'iron work about them which would not burn. They told me to put them to the foot of a tree, which I die]. We then proceeded on to Nelson. We avoided the first house we came to ; at the next house a woman came out and told a dog to be quiet. This would be about eleven o'clock at night ; it was very dark ; could hardly see the road before us ; it was very dangerous on the road. Burgess and Levy slipped on the stones, and fell in 'the water. We passed on into the Maitai Valley, and there Kelly discharged two barrels of his revolver ; Levy's would not go off, because it was wet. We travelled on fill we came to the bridge across th river at Hardy-street. An here Levy said we had better take a bag of gold each, and not let one have all the gold ; I got one, Kelly another, and Levy another. We had orders not both to g*> to one hotel. We obeyed the order. Kelly saw me to the Mitre Hotel, , kept by Mr Owens and left me there. He did not come in. The Resident Magistrate. What time did you reach Nelson on Wednesday night ? Sullivan. It was exactly twenty minutes past nine when I went into Owens' hotel. Mrs Owens was in the bar at the time. Levy afterwards told me where he and Burgess were staying. Next morning Kelly came to the house and coughed, and signed to me to follow him, which I did ; he did not speak. I went after him as far as the corner of Trafalgar street, and he told me he

was staying at a hotel a little higher up. He asked me to introduce him where I was staying as an old schoolmate of mine ; I did not do so then, but I did afterwards. We wore all to meet at the wharf at ten o'clock. Kolly and I went to the wharf, and Burgess and Levy a few minutes afterwards. Burgess said that the gold must be sold that day, and that it must be mixed and sold in three lots different from the original quantities. He then sent me and Levy to do that, as ho wanted to have a conversation with Kelly about something else. We went along the road to do this. Levy put a handkerchief on the ground, and I observed blood upon it. I called Levy's attention to the blood, and he said, "Yes, that came 6ff the fellow I choked." He told me to look at my sash, as there might be blood upon it, as he had 'used it too. He put a stone into the handkerchief, and it was thrown into the bay. There was a large brown border to the handkerchief. Burgess was away with Kelly, and while they were away Levy related to me the manner in which they had killed the men. Mr Adams. '. What did. he say ? Sullivan. I asked him the motive he had in strangling the man, as I thought they were all shot. He said, No. He and Kelly took one away while Burgess stood over the others, and said they were to take him to a supposed party already bailed up, and that they had to take them away one at a time and hand them over. After Levy and Kelly had been away to destroy this man, they came back and told Burgess that Charley should say that he had better let them all go, as it was getting late. Mr Adams. Who was Charley ? Sullivan. A supposed person, sir ; who was made believe to be doing duty over the others that were supposed to be bailed up. This was said to quiet the fears of the other three men. Burgess said they need not be alarmed if they should hear a gun or fire-arms go off, as it would be merely giving a signal to Charley, to let him know that they were all gone ; and with that each of them took a man away, and they were led away quite cheerfully. Mr Adams. Did he tell you what they did then ? Sullivan. Yes, he said that Burgess discharged his gun, and when he (Levy) heard that he fired three shots at his man, and then covered him up with stones that he never would be found. The Resident Magistrate. Did he describe the place they had taken the men to ? Sullivan. No, not particularly, he said they had to pull them up a hill, partly at a steep place. The Resident Magistrate. Was this the same place where you described the bodies would bf> found ? Sullivan. Not the same place I believe sir, but I don't know exactly. This was all the conversation that took place about the matter then, and Kelly and Burgess then came up, and we went up the streets to sell the gold . I went to the Union Bank, and I saw Levy go into the Bank of New Zealand. The gold was in three bags. One was given to me, one to Kelly, and another to Levy. We had to sell this gold, and be back at 12 o'clock to meet on the other side of the river. I sold my gold, and got LI 06 7a 6d. We had to bring back receipts for the gold | we sold ; and we all did so. Kelly got a printed note showing the amount from the Bank of New South -Wales ; Levy had one from the Bank of New Zealand, anl I had one from the Union Bank. Kelly got L7(3 some odd shillings for the gold he sold. I do not remember how much Levy's came to. By the Resident Magistrate. The gold was all poured together into Levy's handkerchief, and mixed there, and then put into the different bags, in different weights, so as to make it appear different from the quantities that were originally in the bag*. This lot of gold came to over L 220, nearly L 230. There was some other gold besides this. Mr Adams. What wis that ? Sullivan. After we returned from the Banks and all met together, some conversation took place, and it was agreed that Burgess should go to the Bank of New South Wales, to^ get notes for the sovereigns which we had got for the gold sold. While he was away, Kelly took out of his pocket book three or four nuggets, pretty large ones, and asked what he was <o do with these. It was agreed that I should go and sell them, and I did so at the Union Bank, and got L 5 3s 4d. Burgess got his own and Levy's share of this money, and I got my own and took Kelly's to him. On the same day, Kelly and I went to Merrington's, where I bought a hat. I called there again, and got several other things. Next day Kelly went to a tailor's. Mr Pitt. Were you with him ? Sullivan. Yes, he introduced me there. I put on my new clothes on Thursday afternoon. Burgess had his on when I first saw him that morning, and Kelly had on new boots. Mr Adams. Had you any conversation with Burgess when you saw him on Thursday mornins ? Sullivan. Yes, Burgess told me where he and Levy lived, and particularly requested me not to lon him. He said that they had tried to get into the Otago Dining Rooms, but there was not •accommodation for them, and they stayed at the Oyster Saloon, where they had to sleep on nets, under which he had hid the gun and the revolver. It was not comfort able, he said, but it was safer than an hotel. We had all a good deal of com versation on our different condition, I telling how comfortable I was, and they, Levy and Burgess, saying how uncomfortably they were lodged. Next day after the arrest of Levy, Burgess told me that had got up in the niglit and taken away the gun and pistol, and had planted them about half a mile off. and they were all safe. The gun was double-barrelled, with a flaw of some kind on the left hand barrel. On Tuesday morning, the day after Levy's arrest, Kelly came to me with the pistol he had, and a bottle containing something, and we went and hid them in the bush on the other side of the river. One of the witnesses who was examined saw us too. This was Birrell, who was near the place, and we thought he was watching us,^because he looked at us so narrowly. Mr Adams. What was in the bottle ? Sullivan. The bottle, which is a small glass jar, was when I first saw itlabelled < 'Strychnine. " Kelly always had this bottle witJi him, and the first time I saw him with it was when he took it

from below a fallen tree, about three miles up the Grey. Mr Adams. Did you take the label off ? Sullivan. No, it was off when it was put into the bush. It had been rubbed off by usage. . Mr Adams, While you were in Nelson were you and Kelly always together ? Sullivan . Yes ; I was never away out of Keliy's sight, unless when I was in bed ; where I went he went with me. This closed Sullivan's statement. On its being read over to him, lie corrected one part where it was stated that the party had "no money" to pay for the boat to take them across the Wakainarina.river; "what I said," he remarked, "was, that we had not money to spare to pay 1 for the boat ." In reply to a question from the Bench as to Birrell passing on horseback just before Mathieu and his party came up. Sullivan said .-— Birrell came on us very suddenly ; we had no time to hide in the bush, as we did when the man aud the woman came up previously. We had only time to run back from the load. Had he turned his head as he rode past he would have seen us behind the i-ock. He came so quickly that we had no place to fly to but the rock, and had he looked round lie would have seen us there. Mr Sharp having completed the reading of the evidence, asked— ls that all right ? Sullivan. — Yes, it is all right, and all t me, every word. He then sjgned the deposition . Mr Adams then shortly addressed the Bench, asking for a committal ; stating that there had been ample evidence laid before the Court to warrant a committal of the prisoners for trial. It might be, that between this time and the trial, further evidence may turn up ; and if so, that would be produced at the trial. He asked for a committal of the three prisoners at the bar. Tho Resident Magistrate said : NW, prisoners, you have heard the whole of tho evidence, and it will be my duty to commit you for trial. TTe then gave them the usual caution in. the following terms :—": — " Having heard tho evidence, do you wish to say anything in answer to the chai'ge ? You are not obliged to say anything unless you desire to do so ; but whatever you say will be taken down in writing, and may be given in evidence against you upon your trial : and you are also clearly to understand that you have nothing to hope for from any promise of favor, and nothing to fear from any threat which may havo been holdon out to you to induce .you to make any admission or confession of your guilt ; but whatever you shall now say may be given in evidence against you upon your trial, notAvithstanding such promise or threat." Mr Sharp asked each of the prisoners whether they had anything to say ? Burgess. I reserve what I have to say, sh 1 , until tho trial before the Judge. Kelly. I know nothing about it ; I am innocent. Levy. I have nothing to say at present, sir. Burgess spoke in a slightly tremulous tone. Kelly with a cleai', gentle, and soft voice liko a womau's, and Levy gave his brief announcement with an off-hand, almost jaunty sort of air. At this time, either from the people leaving tho gallery, or from some expression of applause, a noise was heard in the Court. The Resident Magistrate called order in the Court, saying it was very wrong to make such a noise, and that he would be obliged to clear the Court if it was not stopped. He also said that he hoped no one would repeat the cries and attacks of that kind made on the prisoners when they were outside. How could they expect to have a fair trial if people were put up in that kind of way ? Addressing Iho prisoners, he said, Prisoners, I shall commit you for trial before the next Sittings of tho Supreme Court, to be held at Nelson. There will be a Special Sittings, to be he held here on 12th September next, when you will bo tried. Burgess, in a low voice, said " So soon." The three prisoners, Burgess, Kelly, and Levy, were then fully committed for trial on the charge of murdering Mathieu, Keinpthorne, Dudley and Pontius. Mr Adams said that the committal was in the case of Mathieu and the three other men who were with him ; and he "supposed his worship would commii: them also in the case of Battle. The Resident Magistrate said he thought the evidence in Battle's case very incomplete, and could not commit the men on that charge but he would remand them if Mr Adams would be pi'eparcd with further evidence. Mr adams did not know of much other evidence that he could lay before the Court : but ho might be able to bring forward more. x The prisoners wei'e then all remanded until Thursday next on the chargepf tho murder of James Battle.