THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

Evening Post, Volume XII, Issue 154, 30 December 1875, Page 2

THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

Inspector Atchison and his clerk proceeded to the Upper Hutt yesterday for the purpose of obtaining additional information respecting- the late murderous assaults. Several men were examined;' and the following is the substance of the evidence which was taken > — « Wm. Theis, a native of Norway, said that on Sunday last Young arrived at the Upper Hutt from town, and called on Smat. The latter offered to shake hands, but Young declined to do so, saying lie had come for the money Smat had stolen from him. They both became excited, and Young* struck Smat. Witness interfered, and the quarrellingwas discontinued. Then they had dinner, after which Young, Leedle. Smat, and witness, went to Martin's public house and had a couple of pints of beer each. They remained at the hotel for about three hours, and then went home and had tea. Young then asked Smat again for his money. Smat replied that he would give him the money as soon as they had some more- beer. They all (including a German named Kolet, who is the fourth wounded man) went back to the hotel, and had more drink. Smat then called Young out of. the public house, and he and Leedle went ont together to ascertain what Smat wanted. When they returned to the hotel, Young showed

witness a Savings Bank baas-booM,-which he said Smat had given him. All of the party except Smat continued, drinking until nearly eleven o'clock, when they went home. On the way home Smat said he did not wish people to know that he had robbed Young. Kolet and Smat went into the whare where they slept first, the others remaining outside. Witness saw Smat strike Kolet, who called out that Smat had got an axe. Young went to the I door of the whare, and Smat said, "Now j I'll pay you your nine pounds," and struck him. Young immediately ran inside the whare, and Smat struck Leedle on the head with the axe. Witness went round to the back of the whare, and heard blows struck, and sounds as if bones were being smashed. He dragged Leedle into the whare and shut the door, and saw Smat no more. . Kolet states that he came out in the ship Fitz Reuter with Smat, and corroborates the statement of the previous witness. Edmund Burge states that he found found the man Paul lying badly cut about the head near the whare «£ four o'clock on Monday morning, and carried him inside. He further states that an American axe was always kept outside the whare.