Wednesday, November 23. QUEEN V. TAMATI KEREI.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2305, 9 December 1864, Page 5

Wednesday, November 23. QUEEN Y. TAMATI KEREI.

Adjourned from yesteiday. The prisoner, Tamati Kerei, made the following abatement : On the morning of the 3rd of November the fatigue party anived to disohaige the 'Mavis. 1 They pat *>onie oits on slime, and some tliey left on board. 'Hie fatigue party, ciew, and myself came away together. When wo got into tlio pa, I told my ciew to return on board to look after the ves»el, as I was going to work at my potatoea. I want to work, and at ebb tide after mid-day L went on board agiiu! When I leached the vessel the fatigue pirfcy weio lefcuimiig I went on board, took off ail my clot,he3 bu' my shirt, aurt bathed. After bathing, I retmnoil 0,1 bond an'd clothed myself. After L n.id imton my clothes, the aeigeant in chaige of the fafiguo paity allied me to look at the nun cask. The lum'af'that timi waV running out of the spile hole. Whilst the aorgeaufc w.« away, the cre^y arrived., At tlw Bainc tiwe' lt?t wli oaiao, y, Jw in^uj^a f egm

who had done this. Hobapat&aridHetniina, two of my Grew, said the soldiers had done it. Retreat told the sergeant in charge* it was the soldiers who broached the cask. The toigeant. replied that the soldier accused was nob one of the fatigue party in the forenoon. Still tbe crew persisted iv saying that the soldier and another had drunk tbe mm. I told Mr. Johnson thatPl wan accused of being diunk, but was not so— [Mr. Johnson confirmed tliis fact] — that I had beou working at ray potatoes, and on my return 1 bathed to wash myself. When I spoke to Mr. Johnson, the cisk of rum liad been taken away by the Commissariat. I can prove that I did not return to the vcsiel befoie the fatigue party attired. That is the soldier (pointing to private Huuter, of tho lat Waikato Regiment) my ciew pointed out as one of the bokheiswho drunk the rum. J'apana deposed : I i>m a sailor on boaul the ' Mavis ' I remember a, cask of rum being shipped on board tho ' Mavis,' in the month of October, but we ai rived in Maketu in the beginning of November. When the cask was "hipped on board at Tnurangn, it wns not leaking. When the soi»eant in charge of the f.itigne paity noticed tho leaking and called my attention to it, I s.iw it leaking. Tli« cisk was lying under some bags of oats. I saw tivo soldiers drinking rum., I saw them take it from a cask in the morning, I drank no rum that duy. I know the soldiers who wore drinking the mm. | The soldier named Hunter is one of the men who was drinking; the other man is not iv Couir. Both the soldiers were drunk ; they weie by themselves ; tho sergeant aud fatigue party hail gone aw.iy, and between that and the return of the fatigue p.uty the two soldiers came on board The two sohlicis did belong to the fatigue party at work in the morning. The piisoner did not roburn on board until the obb tide in the afternoon. The crew stopped on shore about an hour and a half, .and •when we returned we found two iioklicra on board. We all °aw them; they wero drinking mm. We spoke to them, when they said the nun was very good ; they did not give any. Heman.i, sworn, stated : I am a seaman on board the schooner ' Mavis.' (The evidence of this witness was piecisely the came as that of the last.) Examined liy the Couit: The soldier Hunter is onp of the mun. 1 did nofc sue any bottle with tho soldiers. I know the diffeivnco between the GBth and the Waikato Militia, 'the two soldiers went to the vessel iv a bo.it ; we went off in a canoe. The Cotnt was then cleaied, and in ah. Hit ten mi nutes' time the Resident Magi-trate gave tho following veidict -—The judgment of the Court is, that the chuge against Tamati is dismissed, the evidence not being considered sufficient to warrant a conviction ; but, at the s une time, the prisoner isc cautioned not to le.ivo lus vo3^el in futuio «hun there is «pkits on boat d.

Shoitly a f ter leaving tho Court-house 1 met a native jiolicdin m fiom Uobuui with a Euripean pu-ionci ii c'i.u^c. The pri-oner, whoso name was Thompson, wis a dosei tor from tlie l>,t W.iikatu Tlegi'Mon* at 'I'.mviii^sv ; tin's being li.s thud clcsuition in eight months I bvlieve tho di.hi had boon drinking heavily in I'auranga betore he deseited, and in pi oof that lie wai anxious to return, he gave the n.ilivo policjmm a " chit," promising to pay him £2 if he would biing him into Miketu. An occuironce took place to-day which mi^ht have teiminated fatally, but foibunntely it had a diffeicnt end. About 1 o'clock private Thomas Gibson, of the 68th L. 1., came to the door of the whare occupied bv Colour-Soigeant Jones, of the same coiupvny and regiment, with his rifle at the present, lie stood there for a fewsesonds, mutteiing " Ste illy, steady ; renounce, renounce ;" pointing tho luriel fitst at one serge uit and then at another, for it so happened at that time theie were four soigeants m the whaie bevidc? Sergeant Jones, who most assuredly would liavp been lulled had ho not bobbed down a second befoie the rifle was fireil. Tho ball passe 1 through theseigeant's bed clothes, that were folded up at the head of the bed, through the wh are into Mr. Pace's, GStli L.T , but after knocking about some ot his traps finally lodged in his coat pocket. If he had becu lying on his bed, as was frequently the ca,o at that hour, ho would piobably have been wounded or lo3t his life. Tn the moiuiug this man Gibson sent a letter to Captain Oakley, the captiin of his company, by his servant contuning the most absuid nonsense, and evidently showing that the man's biain was affected. The C iptain, uot wishing to injure themau, went to him and asked him therta«ou fnv wi lling such an extraordinary document. lie implied tint the men were Always accusing him, of commuting most hoiiib'e ciimes, and he didn't know what to do. The captain gave him the letter back again, and advised him to dcstioy it ; for if his co.ntaies eam 1 * ti heiu of it. thoy would never ceasu chaffing him. It appeared that on Apiil 19, ISGI, at Thyatmero, in India, he was tued by ooiu tmartial for being diuuk and mnniug after a «eigeint with aßuinieso dagh, trying to cit him down. For this he received four months' imprisonment, and a penny a day stopped for six months. I'lus appears to liavp rankle! in his mind, as he considered lie wns badly treated. It is cuiious tint the man was dulling with his company about two hours before he fired ; and when forming rallying squares, he had plenty of opportunity of firing at his neigeaut, had ho felt so disposed.

November 24. The 'Mavis' was to have sailed to-day, taking with her tho piisoner Gibson and the deserter Thompson also the detachment of Royal Artilleiy who have been relievtd, but she stuck on a bank going out. When the ' Mavii' arrived from Tanranga, she brought tlnee women and families, and they wero ordered to re-embark. Two of the women mo3t positively and decidedly aaid no, they would not go. It docs seem a great, farce to bring the women here, and they have no sooner landed than they are ordered off again.

November 25. This morning the ltov. Ihaia Te Aim and another native returned from Te Awa-o te Atu,i,having been sent back by To Kirituku, a rebel, son of Te Paelm, chief of Ngatimakiuo, Ngatipikiao— residing at Maketu, ami salaued servant of the Government. They were going to Wakatane, but weie stopped. How is it that Wakatane, Opotiki, and Matota. seats of lebeldom, aie allowed to leceive visits from European vessels to trade with— vessels, as I believe, cleared out from (I. M. Ciut >ms for that purpose ; if not cleared out at Auckland, certainly cleared at Tauiaugi ? Every thine; is vet y quiet at Maketu.. We had a vi-.it ftom Major Shnttlowortli, Captain Cletnrats, 68th L.I , and Lieut. Campbell, 11. A., yesterday nftcrnoon. 'i'hey inspected the camp, and then went to Waihi. They letumedtliH morning. Dr. Nesbifcfc, Captain Moore, and Lieut, flurrell went to Tauraiiga this morning.