THE MANAGATAPU MURDERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 897, 28 September 1866, Page 5

THE MANAGATAPU MURDERS.

SENTENCE 6p„ DEATHf—SCE>*E IK. THE COTJBT. .'.' ) , : The Judge put on the black cap, and the Crier said,—" All mariner of. persona are comcnanded lo . keep silence .senierice pfydeatli is pronounced against.theprisbners at the.bar,,under;paih.of . prisonment.'? ■■:•■;■.'■■■'■■:•■■"■■ " '"■.:.!.■■ His Honor was. proc.eedirig to address the prisoners when '■•■::'■''-..''■■. .■;■■■".'.■-. Kelly said: Although found .1. wish; to stats that I was not on: the; road; nor'near to the ■ men when they.:were murdered;. I don't think your. Honor charged the Jurjr right when youtold tlienv that everything.that was found where.Sullivan,sta- . ! ted it was, was corroboration of Sullivan'sevidence. The Judge : Have you any other grounds.? . ~ Kelly : I have plenty of other grounds. The Judge : But you are. talking, of the evidence, when it is only on points of law you ought to speak; . Eelly : I am tallamr fif. why sentence, oi death . •hduld not be passed upon me. ~-. The Judge: You can be heard only on a point 6t. law. Juries and judges are only fallible, men, and., you have been found guilty after, the. fullest and;, most careful investigation that could be given. ..-.., Levy: Is. this a point of law, your Honor:. if Sullivan has sworn to things which are not and which my witnessescould, disprove ? Kelly : He. has perjured, himself in,this Court. The Judge : You have no right to say so now; Kelly : 'Won't you let me speak ? Qhj dp let me speak ! The Judge : No longer. Kelly : Oh, that's bad., Oh, let me speak! Nobody will be sorry for my death; no. person will. grieve for me. I have no friends who will regret me, still I ought not to die if it is wrong. Let mo be heard. - The. Judge: I tell you again, only ; pn a.ppiht of law. Have you any principle of law on which, to . speak; have you any principle of law v on which to . crave a bar of sentence ? If not, I can permit this interruption to go on ho longer. ," Kelly : Very likely it may be a point Of law, but . you will not let me say it. Ido not know what is law. It may be law. The Judge: I cannot allow this. Officer,, silence ; the prisoner. You have been permitted, too long,to , disturb the Court.

Kelly : Oli, there never will be twelve other men. in. this world who will Relieve what that dreadful man Sullivan says, although you twelve gentlemen, have believed him, and found me guilty* The Judge : This must be stopped. Officer, prevent that man from speaking* A Policeman: All right, your Honor> [Here Kelly was pulled suddenly from the dock to the Boor of the Court.] The Judge -. No violence; no violence. [Kelly was again placed in the dock.] The Judge : I ask you once more. Have you; any point of law to urge against sentence ? Kelly : Yes, your telling the jury that any of theproperty that was found where he told corroboratedhis (Sullivan's) statement; but beqauselie hid it heknows very well how to find it. It- was not right to say that The Judge : Tell me the point of law on which), you have anything to say. Kelly : I don't know if it is law ; but I. have a, great deal to say, but yOu won't let me. The Judge : Richard Burgess, Thomas Kelly,, and Phillip Levy, listen to me. Kelly :. God forbid ; God forgive you. The Judge : Kelly, if you do not be silent, I shall have to take steps to compel you : ; -you; have had every latitude allowed you greater thin any roan I ever saw before in such a position*

Kelljr: Yes* your Honor, I know you have allowed me great latitude, I must allow that, Dibr.e than any I ever experienced before ; but let Bpeak. The Judge : Richard Burgess. Thomas Kelly, and. Philip Levy.- You have beer-, convicted by a jury of your country of tho cn^ e 0 f murder. I shall., now . speak to you, and c;p e ak to you severally and .individually. You j JJichard Burgess, have put yourself" in a position -which, according to all nly experience, is: a portion unparalleled in the history of British 'rials. You come to the bar of this Court, and say you plead not guilty, although, you were guilty, and freely acknowledge your guilt. You, have pretended that that plea was put in for the purpose of furthering the ends of justice, and religion; and you have- : in the course of a most extravagant and vain-glorious; statement, made for the purpose of producing an. effect, acknowledged that you are one of the' wickedest of men, one without any friendly feeling, for your fellows. Without feeling of regret, almostwith less regard for human life than that of thebeasts of the. field in the enjoyment of their natural and physical instincts, you have acknowledged' yourself to be a murderer and a robber. You pretended that your revelations were made, in consequence of the religious instruction given to yon j and you have pretended that these revelations were; made in the interest and for the furtherance of the ends of justice. I trust that those who have heard you make your abandoned arid frivolous statement,, with its flippant and daring impiety, will be taughtthat your pretence in favour of religion and justice is only such as might be expected from a man. who; t liars shown some of the cunning of the fox and. a, . little more than the. blood-thirstiness of the wolf. I hope that the words I am liow addressing to you will be the last words of reproach, that will be addressed to you in this world. They are uttered by me in order not to let it be believe! that suchi. a life, and such, vain-boasting over evil deeds sVionii ; be received with any other feeling thaD. of loathing and horror. If you have yourself with the idea of becoming the hero of a ']ife of crime ■ if you have flattered yourself that yr, a shall depart from this world with some sh,are of fame which shall remain behind you, and your n?, me be spoken of among wicked men as. that, 0 f or.e to be admired as.. a hero of crime, disabuse yourself of the idea at once. I trust; and believe tliitthere are .few men ... in this World whose imaginations are so deiraV.ed as that they could look on such a life, and such : . conduct as heroic, when it is only brutal; God forbid that the people of this should ever come to regard a life like yours;with other feelings than these of detestation. God forbid that people should be found who.Woul&tlimk:; there waa anything like heroism in the life .of a man .. who ruthlessly took away the lives of his fellowcreatures when they were helpless and. taken at unawares; or that there are men who could ever . look upon such a man so reckless of human life ds you have declared yourself to be, with any more in>is with any more than they would look on a beast of prey. These words 1 think it iiecessary to address tbyou Richard Burgeae;; not for tile purpose of wounding your feelings, rior J for the purpose of adding to the sufferings you must feel, in your present awful situation ; but to let it be understood that you have been acting the part, of a . man wishing to make himself notorious in his. mur-. , derous career, and to die as he has lived.. If you. have been hoping that the punishment, Which., you. , will shortly suffer will afford you an opportunity of:', displaying that pernicious bravado which has hitherto marked your conduct, you have been in error. In this colony executions are private,. With sufficient' . witnesses to guard against the possibility of the lawbeing tampered with.; and you Will therefore not" have the vulgar satisfaction of carrying out any ' cherished wish you may entertain of dying a felon's;-: death, boldly, and recklessly in, the presence of ai;, large assemblage of people, Richard Burgess,, by:, youjr.oWn admission yon are the murderer of several men. How many we do not know; you yourself,, must know. You have been convicted, after ...a patient trial, of the murder of these victims; a-idl, . how proceed to pass upon you tte sentence of the jaw, and that is : That you be removed to the place from whence you canie; and, that therein due course of law you be hanged by the neck until your body '■'"■' be dead, and that it be disposed of in due 1 course of ■■-' law; and may Almighty (iod, in his infinite have mercy on your boul. Burgess (Weeping, but. with a steady. voi -C e);Your Honor, I deserve my sentence, andjj re ... ceiye it with humility. fiurgess then stood down from the dock,. The Judge addressed the, next ThomasKelly, in ypur defence you Kelly : You ought to letme speak.""' The. Judge : Be silenti .. Kelly: lam allowed to' speak; at noine,..anil'"£'' ought to be here; Oh. it is Wwng ■ . v The Judge : You have been allowed every opportunity to speak, and full-iimft 'has been afforded! yon on your trial. Kelly: Yes, I don't deny that, your Honor;.l- - " ''■ »:'Cs. &V" ■

The Judge: No reply, [who was sobbing bitterly}: If yocr bang me, I must be murdered. I don't want to ba hanged. I -want ' co be put in a cage and taken up. to the mountain top, where those men were killedV I Hanging is too good for a man who could do that. [Here tfefe prisoner laid his arms oa the front of tho. <ta& snd appeared thoroughly <wtooius.l

a "(',."•■ ■■■■«'■■' .■','. ■. ■■ :- : Th» Jndgo: Thomas Kelly, you are in a different Mcikion front'that of the prisoner Burgess. No ueans hive been spared to give every'circumstance ttafc could tell in your favour due weight. Every Witt of evidence has been examined with great care, and you have had full benefit of that examination. You and your companions evidently were the willing slaves of your partner in crime. It nay be that you were not a participator in another murder of which we have heard; but, after patiently hearing the evidence in this trial, the Jury timt to the conclusion—and who shall blame the Jmy J—that you took part in the murder of Felix Mathien, whose murder was the subject of this trial. And what kind of a murder was it ? It did not arise from a sudden dissention, it was not caused by hot blood or angry passions, but it was a murder deliberately planned and committed in cold blood for the love of lucre. In preference to earning an honest livelihood, you choose to murder peaceful men for their gold, which, when obtained, you spent in riotous living. You possess some ability, and some degree of intellectual power, however much it might have bean misdirected. The manifestations you have exhibited to-day are indications of your character as a man. The sentence 1 am about to pass upon you, Thomas Kelly, is that you be removed to the qlace whence you came, and there in dve course of law be hanged by the neck until yaur body be dead, and that it be dealt with in due course of law; and may Almighty God. have mercy on jour soul. Kelly was then taken down in a very prostrate condition.

The Judge next addressed the prisoner Levy: He said, Philip Levy, you have had the advantage of being defended by a gentleman who, as you and I have witnessed, has done the very best that could be done in your case. The evidence which he has called at your instigation was mtde the best use of that could be made. Yon know that a marked distinction has been made, on your side. You have had the benefit of Counsel, and. have had, for and against you, Burgess on the one side and Sullivan on the other. Everything that has been said against yon by Sullivan, has been made the object of steady efforts to overturn; and Sullivan's testimony has been sought to be weakened by every meaus that could be tried. As far as I kuow, your case and the cases of the others have been investigated with great care and deliberation; and the conclusion arrived at by the jury who tried you (and who shall say that conclusion is wrong ?) is that you are guilty of murder, and therefore, in accordance with the verdict, I proceed to pass upon you the sentence which I now do, andthiat is: That you be taken to the place from whence Ccame, and there in due course of law be ged by the neck until your body be dead, and that it be disposed of in due course of law ; and I aay to you, as I said to the others, may that Almighty God on whom you as well as I both lely— the great Jehovah—have mercy on your soul. Levy: Your Honour, may I speak a few words now? The Judge : What is it ? Levy (in a calm voice) : I am happy to inform you that in my own mind, and from the very bottom of my heart, by the God I worship, I leave this l_:an innocent man. The Judge: Then I must inform you that there is no warrant for your saying so, and that this statement of yours has no effect upon me, and should not have the slightest effect on the jury or the public. The Court was then adjourned till ten o'clock on ■Wednesday.