THE MURDERER, MARTIN CURTEN.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 723, 3 February 1877, Page 2

THE MURDERER, MARTIN CURTEN.

Everything is ready for the execution, the construction of the scaffold having been .completed on Thursday evening The warrant has arrived, and is m the hands of the Sheriff. The following statement has been made by Curtiu, who, it will be seen acknowledges the act, but not the int ;nt to murder : — I saw there was a good deal m the papers which cut me very much. I heard a great deal and saw a little. It was

very wrong m the papers. A great deal I did not like, and Ido not think tho r'icor should bay? put it m, I had no friend here at all to take my part, but my siaber. She was busy running about during Christinas week m order to get meney for my defence. The Press spoke very hot against me. 1 thought it very wrong altogether. I did not like it but I could uot help it. [The attention of the prisoner was directed to the necessity of referring to the circumstances of the death of Shanaghan.] Be said? One thing, I am quite iunocent of hid death altogether but for himself. It was mmy own defence. I told him when he came before me — when he came and said he would burn my house down — to let me alone. He told me to go out. of my own place, and see him do it. -He was I constantly teasing me. He told me that ! two chains from the place where be was tied. Me made fight to me. He had a short stick' in his hind. He flung that stick as if to strike me on the face, but I guarded it off. He* had another Btiok with which he Btruck me on the band, ■—here is the mark. Thea we both made ' fight. I bested him m the latter end. j I tied him when we were done, and went ' to lay the charge against hioo. i[Che prisoner was remiuded that . there was a ( very strong public 'feeling that at the moment of tying the unfortunate Shanaghan, he knew the exten of the injury he *, had. done him, and that going all the way to Papakura instead of the house of the next neighbour for assistance admitted ' of further explanation.] The prisoner : My opinion at the time was that I had hot illused him at all. I did not believe the blows had injured him, I never for a ■ moment thought of his death. The public are wrong m their opinion about that. He (Shanaghan) Was generally teasing me ; destroying my cattle, and destroying, -my labour. He woaM come \ and make noises, acting the ghost about the place. He told me that he would not get better, but would become worse, '• and bold me to clear out of my own pJace. 1 never injured him till he oame and was' 1 doing too much deeds/sic) tome to allow him to go further. I never thought the blows -I had given him would cause his death. The affair occurred at 10 minutes past two on the Saturday. He had done >f ur acts of destruction against me that w^ek. He used to come and catci my horses, bring them from their grass m the bush— take them off my own paddock j and put them m the creek to drown them. ' The neighbours all saw it. He used to bring hia two pigs into my potato field; pull up the stalks or the roots. He did, this once after two o'clock at night. I 1 tracked them to his own house. This was a little before the affair occurred. He would not lot my cattle graze on th-dr own ground. He would chase them off 1 tho place were they were grazing. The cattle would come up aud stand before me where I was working. He would come up to where I was, «nd act the ghost where I was working. The cattle used to come, up to me as .if for protection. He would' 1 make yowls (*ic) and other noises, to Jet ! ' me know he waa near me. He used to ' stay at the house of Pnelan and Dunn as late as 12 o'clock at night. I knew it, and/I asked them why they should ikeep. him there. £The prisoner was informed th.it there was an impression m the public mind that the answer given to tha inquiries of ShanaghanVwife, when look-' ing *f or her husband the next morning, indicated a knowledge on his part of the nature of what he had done.,] Hereplied : She swore everything wrong. 1 never repeated such language. I never thought of such a thing. I never did the like of what he said. I liked thatwoman very well, and I believed she liked me very well. ■ -I ha<l nothing whatever against her. Sue liked me well! enough,. to. the best of my opinion. I never went near her but -twice, -when -I was looking for cattle. ' 1 did not like to be near where he (Shanaghan) was. I would not go on the ground where he ' was, if I could help it. , I never thought the fight we had would have killed him. I had no idea of it. It was ten minutes : past two o'olock (p. m.,) when I started > for Papakura. It waß immediately the fight waß over. ■ I returned at a quarter past one o'clock m the morning. I was , aware he was deid when I cttne baok.. All the evidence given, except that by Macdonald and his son, was wrong," - We never handled'each othor during the fight. : , It was a fight face to face with sticks. 1 did not strike him Le and. There were no blows on the back of the head. They were on the side of the head. I never , saw myself give him any blow but the 1 one on -the top. We had no instruments or weapon of any kind, but the sticks. The sticks are on the ground yet ; I could find them ; lam sure! I could find them. Thay are on the^ <■ greund still. Hia stick went towards the ■ butt of the fence. I backed him there from the dead tree. I think his stick; 'r.ust be near about the slip panel. 'I had my stick m my hand whea I went to catch tha horse. I do not know whether' T left it where I caught the horse, or whether I brought it with me to the house. But I could find it. I indicated to the police where the Btioks might be found, and aaked them to let me go and find them, two or three times. 1 told Jeffrey, if he would allow me to go to the place, i would find Ithe sticks. I eaid I could find them, but they would -Bob let me. Kiley and Phelan called Shanaghan one day to come to me. 1 thought they were coming to beat me, and d > me bodily harm. I told rh<-m to stand back and mind their, own business, and to do -bo for the future. ! That was some time previous to the fight! Kiley used to back Shanaghan up m every way to do me injury. Once he gave me half a bottle of poison ; his missus showed it to Annie Maodonald> who said it was, i he poison that poisoned her dog. Sb.a-1 nnghan used to take up my "cocksfoot" (grasa) out of my paddock and lay it down m front of his door. In the spring he got a steer calf of mine, and put it into the creek, and left it there until iti; died. I did not see him do it, but I heard him ; he was making a rumbling noise, I acting the ghost. That was at twelve o'clock m the day. I used to hear those noises often. 0n the 19th of October, he I came to me arid took my camp oven 'from ; the house and planted it. It was he who' first asked, " Cur tin, have you got your oven-? 1 ' He went as far as the opening _[rhe prisoner was here reminded of^a statement that he had made about Shi- '. naghan's stick being " soft," or " rotten."] It wa9 a stick of lancewood:; a stick which I believe he picked up out of the fence. He called me five or six times: I hid a ti-tree slick, a stick I used to walk with, and follow the cattle with ; lancewood will break very easily if it-is rotten, : and it will rot very soon. It grows m small spars ; it never grows very big,j it was like a stick that you could make one rail from. There is a portion of it m the ; fence now. I could find it. Since 16 years I have come to New Zealand, no man, woman, or child, has anything to say against me, but these three bad neighbours and Shanaghan — Phelan, , Dunn, and Kiley— but Ido not care about them. There is not a man m Ararimu that can say that I was a bad neighbour but these three men. Shanaghan gave me great provocation. Phelbn fell out with me because I would ;not shut up a public road that I had made and opened. I made 55 chains of it with my own hands, with my own labour, and there was no road to. my farm but that same road. As to Dunn, I gave him no prove-

cation whatever. Mr Parr advised them over and o vt r again to let me alone. He ' advised Shanaghan to let me alone, but shanaghan would not take his advice. ! Parr is theman- I s'polce to when going for the police- when I oame back and when I. was goiog on the Sunday morning . *? ■roPorf Shanaghan's death to thepplioe. But he was never summoned to the coroner's iuquest. Captain Jackson aSked why they did not summon him, bat they did not make any answer, fchanaghaa would not ttop night or day interfering with me, or with my oattle, or with my c«pa or my labour. But I would not kill him for all New Zealand. I would not do it. I did not mean to hurt -him, lhada good show on my land; 1 was living honest on'my own place ; I did not want to interfere with any man. I had not Shanagtan's death on my mind. I had no malice. Again and again I told mm to keep away from me, but when ho come to hurt my cattle and injure me, that used to vex me. 1 often tried to manage and put it oat of my mind as well as I could. With regard to the doctor s evidence, to the beat of my opinion, Kiley and Phelan interfered with the dootor, because the doctor inquired if 1 was a left-handed man. They said I was a right-handed man, but I am a lefthanded man.