STABBED TO DEATH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8375, 1 October 1890, Page 5

STABBED TO DEATH.

FATAL AFFRAY AT THE lITJTT.

FIGHT BETWEEN EUROPEANS AND CHINESE.

CHARGE OF MURDER.

[BY TK.LKURAI'II.— PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wkllingti>n, Tuesday. A KHiHT occurred at the Lower Hutt in the early hours of this morning between a number of .young men and three or four Chinamen, and resulted in tho death of one European and sevoie injuries to one Chinaman. .

About midnight some six or eight lads were returning along tho road to their homes at tho Lower Hutt, and when passing a Chinaman's house they met three or four Chinamen, and in some way or other an altercation ensued, and shortly afterwards a man named Leovos, who is living near by, heard cries of " Murder ! Help!"' and at once rushed out. He states by the time he reached the rood the row was over, and the parties had separated. He found a young man named Thomas James Smith on the road, and as he appeared faint, and was bleeding profusely, he conveyed him with all haste to Dr. Wilford'B residence at the Hutt, but tho young fellow expired almost immediately on arrival. In the meantime the police had been telephoned for,and mounted troopers from Wellington and Petone were sent out, and effected the arrest of thiee Chinamen, named Tom Hung, Young Bin, and Sam Coy. The last-named was in a bad state, being terribly cut about the head. He was conveyed to the Wellington Hospital, where ho now lies in a precarious state. The other two were lodged in the lock-up. An inquest will bo held on the body tomorrow.

One of those who took purt in the Stonethrowing states that the party consisted of Charles F. Hobbs, Henry Bolton, Walter Maid men t, William Rouse, lOdward Kngland, and the deceased (Thomas Smith), and another. They carried out their plans, and, on being driven away by the Chinamen, Smith suggested they should go across the bridge to the Chinamen they had visited early in the night. No sooner said than acted upon. Stones were thrown for nearly rive minute*, and then three Chinamen sprung out of a hedge, where they seemed to have been in hiding, and others of their race joined in, and the young men ran away. Smith fell behind, being exhausted, owing to a recent illness, and was caught by the Chinaman. Smith called our, " Help ! They are sticking me!" HoLbs, Balton, and Maidment at once ran back, England following closely. They saw Smith lying on his right side, one Chinaman kneeling on his legs, and nnotlior holding his head down, both, it- is said, having knives in their right hands, with which they seemed to be stubbing the prostrate man. Hobbs struck one Chinaman with a heavy slip rail from a fence of an adjoining paddock, and struck another of the Chinamen,'evidently the man now in the hospital, across the head and shoulders with it, upon which the Chinamen ran away towards the township Smith was taken to Dr. Wilford's surgery, where it was discovered he was suffering from a punctured wound on the outer side of the left leg, which had severe 1 the umiti artery. Jt was hemorrhage from this that caused his death. There were also two deep ilesh wound.? across, tho left forearm, not in themselves dangerous. Drs. Wilford and Whitehead, who attended the men injured, have given their experiences to a press reporter as foliowh : — Dr. Wilford says : " About a quarter-past eleven o'clock I was awoke with a tremendous noise outside my house, i looked out and saw a man whim 1 took to bo a Maori running about, rubbing bis hands and yelling must excitedly, ami there were two or three others at the gate. 1 asked the man what he wanted, but could not understand anything he said, and he went awny with the others who were at the gate. About a quarter of an hour later several persons came through my gate, and on again looking out ot the window, 1 saw a. man lying on the gravel pitth, near my surgery door. I asked what was the matter, and they said the man was hurt, and bleeding very much. I said, "All right; I'll come down," and hurried down to them. I could see in the moonlight that the man »a« very ill. They nt once carried him into my surgery, and 1 found that he was mi tiering from a wound in the left knee, probably caused by a knife, which had penetrated the artery, and he had bled excessively. There were also two flesh wounds in his arm. The man was in a moribund condition, though he made an unintelligible sound us though he wanted to speak once after he came into the surgery. 1 put brandy down his throat and did what I could for him, but he expired live minutes after they brought him in, hiving bled to death. I thun despatched one man for a constable and another for ft stretcher, and they carried the body to his mother's house. Shortly after a m>.-s~euir>.-r came down for me to go and see a Chinaman who was said to have have had his head cut open with a rail, but I)r. Whitehead, my partner, attended the Chinaman."

Dr. Whitehead thus related his part in the matter:—" I went down to see the Chinaman at half-past twelve this morning at f\avan;i,gh's old house at Waiwetu. I went into the kitchen and there found a Chinaman named .Sim Coy, and u mate, who said Coy had been injured, lie took Home bandages off Coy's head and I saw an an incised wound about three and a halfinches long, which might possibly have been caused by a sharp edged piece of wood. I could puss my linger half an inch inside the incision, and the skull was exposed. The man had bled a good deal. I stripped him and discovered that he had a severe contusion also on the left shoulder blade, the injury being such as to interfere with the movement of the arms. Just as I had finished dressing him the police came in. The injured Chinaman could not ."peak English, but from a few words his companion was able to speak I gathered that hoiikj men id struck him down the road. Proper arrangements were made, and i hud him packed in a cart and sent to tho Wellington Hospital. Two mounted constables who had arrived from Wellington accompanied him. I went halfway along the road a'no mynelf. Ido not think his injury of such a character as under ordinary circumstances would have a fatal effect."

Smith, the victim of the row with tinChin.mum last nii/lit, was employed by Mr, Spl'iit, of Haloornbe, where he had charge Huino month- , ago of ;i racohornu, from which ho was thrown, and pustained injuries that neees-MUtcd his being confined in the Wunganui Hospital for a considerable time, but recently ho was well enough to come homo, and had intended returning to-ni»ht to Jlalooinbe to resume his duties there. He and Ins mother had lust night been to his sister's at Alicetown to upend the evening, and whilst there several mates had called and asked him to go out. They then appear to have gone in the direction of Pctone, and the occurrence related took place on their return. Smith was the chief support of his widowed mother, and the family had lived in Alicetown for many yearn. Tom Hung*and Young Bin appeared at the Police Court this morning, before three justices, and were charged with the wilful murder of Smith. They were represented by counsel, and remanded for a week. Later.

Detectives have been occupied all day investigating the row at the Hutt last night, but have not so far been successful in finding the knives used by the Chinamen on their victim, Smith. At each of tho Chinese quarter.-) visited knivoM were found, except at the hut occupied by those who are now in custody, and it is supposed that the latter, in making their way to the residences of their brother Celestials after the row ended, either threw the knives in tho river, or have hidden them away. John Pelling is the name of the seventh man concerned in the row. C. F. iFobbs, who was nearest tho deceased when he was caught by two of the Chinese, states that as soon as the latter got Smith down one sat on his legs, and was digging a knife into his left leg, while the other was sitting on his breast and stabbing him in the left arm. Hobbs struck one of the Chinaman with a stick he picked up on the road, an.l called 1.0 his mates for assistance. Th» latter came at once, undone of them, ho says, struck ft Chinaman on back of the head with what he believed to be a fence rail. This had the desired effect,

as the Chinaman rolled over and allowed Smith to get up. Hobbs also says that the Chinaman who was stabbing Smith's arms made a rush at him and tried to knife him, but he jumped and avoirled the thrust. Walter England, one of the party, admits he struck a Ohitumim a severe blow on the head when lie saw him stabbing Smith. The weapon he used svas a stout paling taken from an adjoining fenco. He says he fir-st of all tried to push the Chinaman off the deceased, but liixling he could not do so be hit him with the paling. The Chinaman he hit is the one who was brought into the Hospital, but it is not expected the wounds will prove fatal. The wounds indicted on Smith were very sevore, and tho hones were laid bare. The wound in the leg was a stab, while the arm was slashed about, and the coat was alao very much cut.

Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs : —A great deal of excitement exists here in consequence of the alleged murder of a young man named Thomas Smith, by either one or three Chinamen. "An ftye Witness," writing to tho Post, pays that there were three Chinamen connected. These three Celestials had leased a piece of swamp land to grow vegetables for the Wellington market. Several boys and young men (tho deceased among them) threw stones upon the hut which the Chinese occupied. Public feeling here is very strong, but pending the inquiry, nothing can be said.