THE ARARIMU MURDERER-MARTIN CURTIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4749, 5 February 1877, Page 2

THE ARARIMU MURDERER-MARTIN CURTIN.

morning, aW o'clock, are -the hour fixed io?0% I^, ? tn&£pfcr>nate occufW»e c<alfor:tbe frpSXemued at Mount EdetfGaol iu.expio.tion ogshe crime of which he'-iiw beeii| fopSd of $ errfugi&tKe diiipin orthb.prisprigr; the opportunity ofjnarniting of the preliminary circum'sts.nces which led to and culminated in the death of Shanaghan. This we do, not with any desire to°intensify the paia which Cartin'nre-'behooflof-settlers in isolated localities, be'•tfween'whoml it is_to be regre«ed,_ netgh--b^m4y^eTin^arftoT^ofteTa--forgetten7:-iir order that ajiftle-f£#taal^p_lee t may .bje Tit iS7O, tha't. Cnrtiff-first figured as a. litigant in the Papa--trict ia Vhichic, reside^— was but " sparsely,'-settled,' and the place : was a wilderness of .Uashjind ti-tree scrub;,. The settlors were' foif'lthc'most, part,men ; of comfortable' means;' 'and rai': Curtin had actiniriid the" repritatlon; of b'eitig a splendid axeman, and a steady industrious contractor, he was hardly ever out of work. His leisure time was "employee! in cultivating a' smallkitchen'-garden round the rudely-constructed • cottage - ia which he dwelt, and in. cleaning'away; by., slow degrees "the' heavy timber growing on his land. He summoned Shanaghan.. for cattle trespass; ,'i'lie. case \waa heard; before , the' late iM.r. •Mella'oj),-:' K. Mi j - and "was' dismissed , ' on' the ground 'that the land 'on "'which'the'ani'inals hadtrnnsgresaed.was-,uncultivated —in fact, in its primitive state.' • -The failure" of this action had no soothing effect upon Cnroin, for Sin' a.short , timeL-hy had another.neigh> bour.brbught , before "the 'judicial: Bench on 'a'lilte .charge.;.. Hi'^, property,which'.was of a triangular shape, was bounded»on two' sides' by that of a person named I Ph€lan. ■ One ,of Cartin's corner survey situated on ,a hill, and on another hill was one .of Phelau'st; Befcweenthe two hills a valtey intervened. LookiDg from one peg to the other,, the -surveyor's Jine did' not appear/- to be straight. Having-Saved a little-money, : Gurtin resolved'.to feuce in; and, after much' cogitation, concluded to: abandon the sur- ( veyor'a marks, and: to make- the boundaryline what appeared to him straight:' The. fence was erected, and :Phelan'.'discovered] that, by the alteration from, Ithe.'. survey, he; was a sufferer : by the loss of a : not inconsiderable ' strip 0f..-.'-land.■• He exphiined; this to Ciirtin, but- the ■ latter ob-; stinately refused to admit that he was; wrong. . He: brought -Phelan/to the hill, and. told'jhim to lopk.acr.o3q to his. ownpegs aud; he would'see-that the feuce ran a perfectly straight'coursed PKelau ; said this'-rmatteredj nothing to him"; the land had been surveyed,! and ho would adherV to the"'survey; Theirate settler took his le'a'vej threatening to; chop, the obnoxious fence down: The threat j was carried into -execution, the.result being! Phelan'a appearance, at the local Court; as j defendant, in a case of wilful destruction to : property. The presiding magistrate decided '■ that aa the question was one concerning title '. tolandjhe had no'jurisdictfon, and'Uurtin once more, had to-return, home discomfited, and with the knowledge'that the which were soinewhat \heavy, would absorb 'the greater part of his savings.■' The 1 - discovery, one morning some months , later, that his property,had. ag'airi been trespassed upon, a number of, fine cabbages; cropped close to their stalks, and a largehole eaten in his haystack, helped to intensify Curtia's naturally excitable aud passionate temperament. He followed the tracks made in the soft ground by the trespassers until he came upon them —two cows—placidly chewing their cud ; in the pi'operty of■•• their owner—Shanaghan. A-suuilnons was. ;seryed upon this person, and a neighbour named Parr, from whom the;erring cattle had been purchased, was subpbeued to give evidence. r-Th.e case came on for hearing -in ■-.- due : course, .'• and was' remarkable ;for, .an incident- which served 'to. display the strong ... passions; of : the' • unfortunate Curtin. Incerised /.by . a remark made' : by Parr in' the course o£: his: examination, and'evidently forgetting that.he.was. in a court''of justice, Curtin ;ran'round the building with outstretched hands as if .looking fora missile with which ■ to - strike the giving vent in a loud- voice at the same time to such interjections as. " the scoundrel," '•' the d^-7-liar;"&c. Mr..Meilsop.thegentle. man-who occupied "the Bench, ordered Curtin to be- imprisoned for contempt of Court. After the lapse of an hour the delinquent was reduqei .to-apmore subdued frame of mind, and upon humbly apologising for his misconduct; the : case was proceeded with. -It lasted iuntU 4ong after ■ daylinht and resulted in n a .verdict-for. defendant! Curtin, with commendable expedition, was leaving; the" precincts of the Court-house wll s n ".k?: s . a==.osted s .by_ Sergeant (then constable) Gamble and politely reminded that the costs-'o£. the .Court'had ndt'been paid. ■...; With.' pat air of. virtuous indignation the .disappointed ■ settler.. asserted'that"'the magistrate had said,-"No costs." —All arrnfment fo' the , contrary.proved futile, and the officer left with-theintention.of-levvinß upon Curtm s crops when they ,, Should be approaching maturity;>k'ndwing well thai'at Curtin Ojad-.iu his. possession noeffects worth seizing.!' ' Accotdibgly, when" . the cropjvaq well advanced in'grdwth,' ! Constable .WaUier, who had relieved Gamble ■ m-ithe-eharge-of-the-districtraiccDmpsni'-U-b"?: I Shanaghan, paid Curtin a; ykit, and informed ihiin that unless.he at once discharged-the I amount .of his the.grass would .ofheer-had a distress warrant with him and ■ hAding,-. excuse^: and .dogged i btetinacyr u*. lavaUmg, Curtin came-out of his hou.setth h6 F ton '"the ap'. proaeh pf . the. . "enemy,, . and,.... haviic borrowed-some money it Maketu, paid the «L OU ?W wa s, owing;. In he: said that Gamble, animated;by--?spirits' mahce,,had,forged Mr, Mellsop's S fo and. announced hi determinaCurhn a pproachin gi the,viU a g e^n horsebick at a furious pace. His amazement was much m.creased when the eccentrife horseman drl 9 w ; reinin front of hini, and youchsafeTthe Z .Curtin and his immediate ' neighbours :were ,in .frequent lawsuig S' varying resuUs. -Divided from CnrtinV Mr.Kiley was the of &S cUmax » thc de fe »i*l