CORONER'S INQUEST.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 147, 27 October 1847, Page 2

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An Inquest was held on Monday last, at the Caledonian HoteKbefore J. Johhson, Esq., M.D,, Coroner, on the bodies of Lieutenant Robert Snow, Hannah Snow; bis wife, and Mary Snow, his infant daughter, found on Saturday morning last, buried beneath the burnt ruins of their house on the North Shore, 't he first witness called was Thomas Duder, who stated that be was signal man at the Signal Station, on Mount Victoria, which was near the house of the deceased ; knew the deceased, Lieutenant Snow 3 had seen the body, and was able to identify it} some time ago, the deceased bad a quarrel with natives about soineraupo; did not know what tribe they belonged to, but they were the owners of the Lucidan schooner, and had come over to cut raupo ; deceased had taken some of that which they had cut to his own house, and they traced, and found il there; deceased refused to give it back, and the* bad threatened to burn bis bouse; that occurrence] took place -eighteen months, or j two years ago. Benjamin, Baker stared that be was quarter- j master of H. M. S. Dido; it was his middle! walch on Saturday inoruiug last j after going on \

his watch, he observed a small schooner working up the river ; about one o'clock, be saw a light like (hat of a candle or laiUern in the direction of deceased's bouse; shortly afterwards flames were seen to ascend, and tbe officer of the watch reported a house on fire on shoie ; a boat was loweied and manned immediately, and rowed to the shore ; just as she rounded the point to enter the bay, witness saw two canoes put off, which I separated fiom each other, one of them going across, and the other down the river ; it was moonlight, and he saw the canoes distinctly with a glass; they separated as soon as they were out of the mouth of the bay ; he thought that one of them rounded the north head, and the other went right across the river ; could not distinguish tbe number of people that were in them j they were nearly 400 yards from the ship ; the schooner that he saw tacked near the ship, and worked up towards the town ; saw no boat near her, nor leaving her ; tbe canoes did not approach her, and he saw her coming to anchor near the town ; he heard no noise, nor sound of voices, until after the people from his ship had arrived on shore. Frederick William Gough, stated that he was a lieutenant of. H. M. S. Dido; he was on watch on Saturday morning; between one and two o'clock, the midshipman of the watch reported a bouse oa fire; witness got upon the gangway ladder, and observing the direction of the fire, knew it to be Lieut. Snow's house ; he then reported the circumstance to Captain Maxwell who ordeted him 10 man the cutler immediately, and do everything in his power to extinguish tbe flames; he left the ship with the gieatest possible speed, and on landing went up to the house with tbe men j found the house burnt down, and no one there ; gave directions for water to be brought from the beach, and the men assisted him in extinguishing the (lames ; witness taking, with him Mi. Peacock and two men, ran to the farm house inhabited by Mr. Oliver, and knocked at the door, and enquired if Mr. Snow was there; Mr. Oliver answered, "This is not his house ;" witness replied, "lara aware of it— but don't' you know that his house is burned down ;" Oliver expressed astonishment, and came out dressed ; witness then ordered Mr. Peacock to proceed up to the signal post, and ascertain whether Mr. Snow was there ; he returned within five or six minutes, accompanied by the signal man and Oliver, and reported that Mr. Snow was not to be found anywhere; witness then enquired what part of the building th,e family was in, and on it being pointed out, he commenced throwing water on that part as fast as it could be got from the beach, and with the assistance of a spade found about the house, his party soon discoveied the body of a male, then that of a child, and then a female, all lying very near each other ; the male was lying on his face, about a yard and a half from the others ; there was a poition of blanket and a pillow turned up, the feathers iti the latter were some of them untouched by the fire; tbe place where they were digging with the spade, was two or three yards, from that where the bodies were found ; the la>ers of ashes were carefully taken from off' the bodies ; he was perfectly certain that the spade was not driven down with any force in the direction of the bodies ; observed, in addition to the bodies being much burned, one of the legs of the male broken, and one of the female's legs was off} did not find the missing leg ; he then had the bodies removed to a distance from the fire j he did not see any canoes leave the* beach ; gave the, bodies in charge to a midshipman and two men, and returned to the boat ; when leaving the beach, saw two canoe's at anchor in the bay ; when be went on board be reported to tbe Captain, who ordered him to go on shore with an armed party, and bring all tbe natives that he could find on board j twenty or twenty-four, men, women, and children, were secured and brought on board the ship; not3m«re than tv enty minutes elapsed from the time that the alarm was given until he arrived at the house ; he saw the roof falling in about two minutes after he left the ship. Henry Peacock stated that he was a naval cadet belonging to H. M. S. Dido ; it was his watch on the morning of Saturday, the 23rd instant ; accompanied Mr. Gough on shore to the burning house j was acquainted with Lieutenant Snow ; had seen a fowling piece and bayonet with Mm ; deceased had told witness that natives had once threatened to burn his house, because he would not allow them to kindle a fire near the powder magazine; deceased had a bayonet fixed on a stick with which he turned the natives away, and he showed to them a gun ; deceased had not told witness what natives they were j who had threatened him ; he expressed no fear of : them, but laughed ; the gun which belonged to deceased was a fowling piece, witness got it from him on the Saturday previous to clean, and drew a charge of swan shot from it ; took the piece on board and bad it cleaned for him, land delivered it up to the police that morning. ■ William Oliver stated that he resided on the North j shore about a quarter of a mile from deceased's house | •—saw him on the day previous to the fire ; did not see him' again until he saw his body taken from the rums of the house ; he went to the house when aioused by Mr. Gough ; heard no noise on that night, nor had seen any natives about; de ceased had once told witness that he had some quarrel with the natives eighteen months or two years ago; but had never mentioned anything about natives coming to burn his house ; witness was awake when Mr, Gough came to the door, and had been awake for twenty minutes previous, but heard uo thing before that time; heard no doge bark; had been in the habit of rising at night to chase away deceased's dog from worrying the cows % witness generally retired to bed between 8 and 9 o'clock ; on that night he had not been disturbed by the dogs ; they might have been pacified by natives; he could hear loud voices or dogs bark on a still night, at the j distance of deceased's house ; he did not see the dog on tbe premises when he went with Mr. Gough ; the dress he bad on -on the night of the fire, was the same as that now produced; the shirt had not been washed since. ' William Warburton, is clerk on board the Dido ; the deceased had informed him that he had had a quarrel with the natives in preventing them from lighting a fire near the powder magazine ; witness asked him was he not afraid-; deceased said, he was not, for since he bad kicjked them out of the garden, they haa treated him with great respect ; while the boat from the ship was going towards the shore during the time the house was on fire, witness saw two j canoes on the water, but did not take any particular

n»tice of them; he saw two persons in one of the canoes ; he expressed bis surprise at the time, that they had not curiosity enough to come and sec what was the matter j the canoes were not far from the house when he observed them. George Brombeck was coxswain of the boat that went on shore ; he taw a caaoe paddling, away towards the oilier side of the river, with two men in her; she was to the eastward of the boat about 200 yards off; did not report her, as he had no suspicion of any thing wrong j saw no canoe but the one. James Harp stated that he knew the deceased, and saw him at Mr. Grahame's store on Monday fortnight j witness laid to the deceased, who bad been for some days in the town, that perhaps the pigs bad taken possession of his premise* ; deceased hoped that nolhifig else had taken possession, for it was only the other day that a native came into his house and took a loaf of bread off his table, when deceased scuffled witli him, and took, (as witness thought he said) a pistol l drove him out, and kicked him from bis door ; deceased said that the native turned about when be' got a short way off, shook his fiit, and 6aid he would make the pakarutcUhoa— (he would, be tevenged by and bye)) < William ' Ba'nkes Fegan stated, that .he was acting surgeon of H.M.S. Dido; was requested by the Coroner on Saturday last, to inspect thre» bodies lying near the late residence of Lieut" Show j on examining the head and neck of the male, he perceived two or three incised wounds made by some sharp instrument used with considerable force ; the edges of the wounds were charred, proving, that they had been given before the action of (ire took effect on the body, the muscles at the back of the neck and head were cut through to the bone ; under the right ear there was a punctured wound by a sharp instrument penetrating to some depth $ the head was enveloped in a rag which was not cut through, and had bee"n adherent from coagulated blood, before the action of the fire took place j witnes? vvas of opinion that the wounds he had described, were sufficient to have caused death ; there were also marks of blows and deep cuts in the fore part of, the face and chin, sufficiently deep to have caused death ; the abdomenal muscles were cut away by means of a sharp instrument, and apparently removed ? in the left hypocondrial region there was the, mark of a punctured wound, probably a spear wound; there were also two punctured wounds below the left shoulder blade. This witness further stated that when he came on deck, when the alarm of fire was given, and after being a short time there, a canoe or boat, he did not know which, shot out from the bay, and went across the harbour in a southerly direction. Dr. Clifford, Assistant Staff Surgeon, liad examined the bodies, and corroborated the evidence of the last witness — adding only, .that waundi appeared on the left arm, of the male, received, as ' witness ' thought, probably while warding off the blows', of, his assailant ; he believed that the wounds were sufficient to cause instantaneous death. Lieut.-Colonel Wynyard, commander of the 48th Regiment, stated that he visited the late tesidence of the deceased on Sunday j on passing through the garden, one of the officers who were with him, found some clothes, which he now produced j there was a part of an underdress of a female, a pair of stockings marked "H. S." and part of a child's little trousers; one of the stockings was completely saturated I with blood, the other was cut nearly across : the j whole of these things, except a small portion of the foot of one of the stockings, were untouched j by fire, and spotted with blood j witness felt I convinced that the murders had been committed I before the family bad Undressed and retired to I rest, and before the house was fired. ~-~ I This closed the examination as regarded the I body of the male } the 'case of the female was I then brought under consideration*: and the body I was identified by Thomas Duderr, , a? that of I Hannah Snow, wife of the deceased Lieutenant I Snow. ' , I Dr. Clifford had assisted in examining the I body of the deceased, and found a. large wound I extending from the back of ear to the angle I of the mouth,by which the/, skull and jaw were I fractured, and the arteries v^and veins divided j I there, was also a< punctureqT wound under the I chin, and a perforated wound in the abdomen, I and several gashes, which appeared to have been. ■ made with a knife afterwards; from* the ap- ■ pearance of these wounds th£y must have been I given prior to the action of fine j and they were H of a depth and extent sufficient to cause instanta- ■ neous death. I I Thomas Duder was again- called, and id en- I tiffed the body of the child, 'to the best of hit I belief, as the daughter of "fche deceased Mr. H Snow ; th,e child's name was Mary, and she was H about six years old. \ H Dr. ( Clifford stated that ort examination he I found the entire body charred U there were se«H veral wounds on the lower extremities, but not as H distinct as in the other caies.; the skull wasH bruised, aud there were smalljportions of brain. protrudiug >' this wound was sufficient to cause H death. \ t : H Thomas, a native chief, was in the bay onH the night of the fire ; he was able'ep, and whfeHH he was aroused the bouse was burning $ it wa*H night when he and his companions arrived m^| two canoes in the bay near the florth head ; hit^J party went on shore to sleep j the others slept^H on board ; and he and another dative slept on^H board bis canoe ; he saw no. other canoes that^H night, and heard no voices until after the boai^H from the ship arrived ; nor didbi's people see °^H bear any one. ' John Rogers, gunner of the Dido, stated, tha^H be went on chore in the boat With Mr. Gough he«aw a canoe-going across the .river ; the ca^^J noes that vp,e/ y e taken were lying to the west^^H ward of the Wagasrthe ; did not\thjnk that ta^H natives who belonged -to them, could see tQ^^| canoes that were going away; they seemed' i^^M start from a bay farther eastward. This closed the evidence±-andt fie- Jury, with^H out retiring, gave a verdict of " Wilful Murde^H agaiirtt some person or persons unk.iown."