THE TIBBETS TRAGEDY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 215, 16 August 1862, Page 5

THE TIBBETS TRAGEDY.

INQUESTS ON THE BODIES

PETER GREEN AND CAPTAIN TiBBETS. We are in possession of further and more complete information respednug the Tibbets tragedy. An uiquest has been held by Edwin Rich, Esq, Coroner, at the Matiiura on the holy of Peter Green, and a rI - »•,*!! " rdel' ha 3 recorded against Cnp'ain Fibbers. The inquest on the body of Cap'ain tiboels was neld by the Southland coroner, on the brother had shot him in self-defence, llie farther particulars to which -we' have alluded■ re.er to the chain or circumstances that led to tbe death of Captain Tibbets It seems S,, at 1 wh«} 11 (::il'tii: 1 Tibbets went to Switzer's, Air. Chafes libbets went to M'Kellar's station, and there met Urporal Morton, who was on his way down irom the Wakatip. They obtained a warrant and went to the scene of action, and on Thursday night •iita- July, they stopped at the Company's station, aoout twelve miles from Tibbets'. The. next day they heard that Peter Green was shot and that Captain iibbets was gone in the direction of his own house they at once started off and when they arrived they tied their horses m the scrub, thinking it possible thnt Captain Tibbets might be within. In about a quarter o. an hour they saw him approaching. They then went insula the home, aud barraeaded "the door with His table, nnd bored auger holes. When Captain libbeU arrived within 30 yardn ofthe house they called on Jura, to lay down his a-ms, ■to whVh he replied « What for, you fool ?» Mr. Charles Tibbets then called out "you have shot one man already and that is enough/ wh-n Captain Tibbets replied! 1 will shoot you too, you wretch/ Caotain TiV'et* then drew his revolver and fired through the doo.He to in the act of tafciui* his gU v off his SS?! ,Weii wi)on Mr- Charles Tibbets tired, aud C-mt Lib.wt*f«i:. Mr. Charles Tibbets ihen cried." mv God I h-ivo shot my brother," an I attempted to shot nmi*.<lr, but Corporal Morton nrev-utod him. Iv the slru^le - Wrtvn- the pistol went oft1 and wounded turn (Mr. fibbetsVm the hand. We append tho report ot the inquest upon Peter Green. IXQOBST OX THK B'VDY.OP I'BTER GREEK. An inquest upon, the body of Peter Green was held by Edwin bmiu-i* Rich, li«q., Coroner for the Clutha district, on 1 lmrsuay, 7th August, when the following c vine nee was. taken :— ° William Farquharson deposed. that, 0 u Wed'i'\vHv the Mib July, he saw James Williui.i Tibbets, coin' luonly cdled Captain Tibb^ty coming towards th" house at tne Hyde home station. He then saw Peter Green jump from the top of the house and run. Captain nbbets came round the house again with in axe raised above his head, running after Ureea tie continued running about fifteen vatds, and then stopped and droppe.l the axe. lie then mounted hi* liorse and came to where witness and another nun were ploughing. Captain Tibbets eama to within about tmrty yards ot them, and said "WJitrjis M'Kenzie] They replied that he was at Invercargill. He theu said," "Who is in ■ charge ofthe m-TTI pf- 3 ®\' hey replied ho one in particular, iiobets thenaskid, ''Who broke mv horse's let?'" aad tuen said, holding a revolver above his head,"*' JL will come and shoot everyone of you tomorrow except the woman and ehikl." Witness saw no more of ■mm that night. the next day William Green came.up, }l nd v.araed the people at the stationmat Captain Tibbets was coming directly. iVitness went and caught a horse, intending to trot a warrant for his apprehension. WL.-a witness "way ab.mr, a hundred yards from the boiye, he saw 'fibb; lycomhy. Saw no moie of him after that. "" "' In reply to questions by the jury, the witness stated that he w.-iil, to get a warrant, but that Cuotain tibbets* brother was before him. Captain Til-bets appeared to be iv a passion when he arrived at the hut. .Never heard of Peter Green having ai; v (liu-.rrel with Tibbahs. James Campbell, servant to Mr. Pwitzer, deposed that on the 30th July, he saw Captain Tibbets come to the house. Saw him throw the ladder at Peter Green, who was on the house. He threw it up twice, and after that came round the hou=e, and Peter Green came ofl the house. Tibbets chased him with the axe. After running a short distance Tibbets turned and mounted his horse, and came to where witness was ploughing, and ashed where Mr. M'Kenzie was. Witness said that Mr. M'Kenzie was nt Invercargill. He then asked who had charge of* the sheep, mid who drove away his horses. Witne-s replied that he did not know. He then went along, 'saying that he would come back to-morrow, aud bullet every one except the woman and child. Witness saw no more of him that night. The next tvening, about half-past 4, Mr. Green cam-? and said that James Wm. Tibbets was coming up to shoot them all. Witness unyoked his horses, and came to the house, and then raw Tibbets coming. Witness, took the spy-glass to make sure who it-was. William Green went out and hid in the scrub. Witness told Mrs. M'Kenzie, who was in the hut, to go to tbe nearest scrub, and he went himself to meet the men who were coming down from the bush. When he met them, he heard a pisrol go off by the hut, and they went on to the hills and henrd Tibbets" raging about the house.

David MMt!rigor said that on Thursday, July 3W, he saw Tibb ts coming to the house, and'as soon as be came to'tlie house he fired at it. Witness was on the .terraces about half a-iniie at the back ofthe house ail night. The next morning he went down tj wauls the >iver, about a quarter of a-mile from the ho-.'PO. Witness made a n« witb his whip, and Tibbets came out and looked about. lie then toik the axe and began cutting sticks. After about ten minutes he left' the house, and went ia the direction of his own house. lie had a gun on his shmhler. lie had proceeded about half a mile when the dogs b.irked at Peter Green, who was'approaching the house. He looked back, and Peter Green was standing before the door. Tibbets went about three steps forward, aud then turned and came towards Peter Green, walking until lie was close co him, ami then he ran. When Greeii saw him coming back, he ran from the house. Tibbets came up with him, and asked him if he had broken his horse's leg. Green said, " No," but Tibbets said, " But I say you did," and then fired two shuts at him, and turned ou, saying, "That finishes you," and came; i:;to the house. He stiyed about two minutes, and then went in the clir-ction of his own lipase. Witness saw no more of him r.fter that. Wb-.'^s w<-nf to whye Green was, which was about fare, hundred •jv.vJ.* from the house, and found him deal. Witness did not tlihik thnt Green had any quarrel witli Tibbets, but that Green was shot for being oue of the men on the station, who, Tibbets said, had brokrn bis horse's leg.

William Green, a servant to Messrs. Tibbets, ?ail that on the night of Wednesday, July 00, James William Tibbets came to his house in the evening. lie told his brother that he had shot the gre\ mare, iiecau^e her leg was broken. He threw a pi-jtol ou the tabic saying, he had put three balls into the mare, and the other would not go off. He said that Mr. Swilzcr's men had broken the horse's .'ot, and that he would go to Mr. Switzer's station, aud shoot every one, .-xeej-t a woman and a child. He said " I sliall shoot that gr«-y horse of mine in three days ; after I have done with him, "no man shall ride him after me." Witness saw bim load the pistol. He told witness to go and get his horse. Wh n witness went out, his> brother followed, and asked bim if he was going to catch the horse. Witness said " No." He then asked witness what be was going to do. Witness said he was going to get a constable. Mr. Tibbetts said tiny (the constables) were both away. Witness rep:if'd that if he went to M r. M'Kellar's he would meet Corporal Morton coming from the digging*. Mr. Charles Tibbets-went to M'Keilar's, and witness went to Switzer's to warn the men, by Mr. Charles Tibbets' orders. W'itm ss arrived at. Switzer's almost twenty minutes before Captain Tibbets About half an hoii:- after Captain Tibbets had arrived he went outside the house, and eailed out, "Are you noteommg to yourwhavc to-night? You may a* well come first as last,'' and then he went in again. Witn?ss bad been about four months with the Messrs. Tibbets. Did not think tliat James William Tibbets was in his right-iniiid. Had heard him hreaton to shoot his brother and others in the neighborhood. He had no drink for nine or ten days before he shot Peter Green..

The Jury found a verdict of "Wilful Murder" against James William Tibbets.

Bio Wokds.—Exaggeration of language is one of the specialities or the ago, and all classes and things are afiected by it. Expressions' are now blown out balloon-fashion, aud he vily-cbavged words tossed about with ludicrous indiscrimination. A noun sub stantive is nothing now without-a-steam-hammer adjective to ram it home. The failing is so widely spread, enters so freely into tha ordinary affairs of everyday life, that it is no wonder women, who have fewer words at command than men, should be strongly affected by it. By fewer words, we mean a smaller stock. A woman*with a score of words will give them more employment than a man could do with a hundred. — Mv JVote-JJook.

C-reosoi'k asd Collodion.—Creosote, used in the mouth for allaying the pain of a decayed tooth, sometimes considerably irritates the mucous membrane of the gum or cheek. It has been proposed to mix it with collodion—fifteen parts of creosote to ten of collodion. This mixture presents the thickmss of a jelly, and, when applied, shields the part completely, as it turns into a kind of varnish. It is probable that tbis combination will be useful in surgery where occlusion and astrigeucy are indicated. — Bulletin of Therap,

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Friday, Auccst loin, 1863. (Kefure A. C. Strode. Esq., R.M.) DitTSKn.vNiisa. ■ Robert ltohert«on was fined 20s. for this cficucc, or in default, 4S hours imprisonment. Yagkascy.—Mary Aune Fisher wa" charged on the hifo:-aiation of Constable i-'ercy, with having no visible lawful inems of support. The prisoner admitted the charge and was committed to gaol for one month. Edward Duggau, alias Joe the Mug, was brought before fhe Bench yesterday morning on two distinct charges. The first charge wa* fi-htinq ia the pu'ilie streets on the 14th inst., and the second, on the same date, assaulting Detective Forde iv the execution of his duty. ' . - His Worship fined the prisoner 40s. and costs for eachoflonce. Steaukg a -Watch.—Daniel Proudftot was charged on ..the information of Detective Tuekv.%-11 with having, on die 13th instant, stolen a "old watch and-chain and appendages, the value of £30, from one Annie Wilson. It appeared thac the prisoner had taken the watch in joke, ami the witness Wilson did not pres* the charge, as she then believed it had not been taken with any felonious.intent. The property was returned to its owner, aud the case was dismissed. civil casks. Hall aud. Others v: Learniont.—Claim for L 5 Us. 4d. Mr. Barton appeared for the plaintiff and lV! r: ti^So^ for the defence. Judgment for the plaintiff ior L 5 lis. 4d. and cost-'. Johnstone v. lleppanan.—Claim for Ll 15s. 10.1. Mr. j-onth appc-arw! for the defendant, and stated that us cheat did ;;ot dispute that the work had been done, but contended that Mr. Alexander was the party liable, and that he «ys not privy to any contract with Mr. .lohiistoiie. fn- the drawing up ot a lease. .Tv lament tor the piamtdt in the amount claimed, together with co^ts. ( Hall v. L'vx.— tJhlm for LlB s*. Judgment for the Dlamt:h' by default, in the ium claimed together with costs. " Broariek v. Turner—Claim for Lit) 115.M., for freight of #yd-< from-.Sydney to this pirt. Mr Cook appeared for tiie plain ti if. The defendant di.-puted the liability on two grounds. Firstly he had every reason to believe lln-t tiie frd rht ba i been paid in ad"vaiiceby the Mutters,, ai-d s eomlly, th.-.t the go-.nU o .ly luo-imred 70 cubi ; feet, instead vi 151 cubic feet, •lyiaiscr s j,,,.; ;,,. ho.v^w,., utterly fii^d to prove tnat any nou'Ll ha 1 bu-.i aheiiy advanced, and it wisck-u-ly di-.abj th- *!ii,,\ manifest aad other evi<! ■!. *■■. tl.-i • - e Vm V i..,, a j, Ht 0 leII s Worship o i\e judgment toy piaintiiF, for LlO 11 . it., i -1,..

_ Pole aril Ofc'iers v. Lazirus aud . Another.—Claim for LJ). Mr. Cook■■ appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr. Barton fin- the defence. This was an action brought to recover L2O for damages sustained hythe p.a n l.ls, in consequence o*" -1 case-; hams purchased of tae defendants, not proving equal to sample. It was proved that three ca,:es out ofthe four purchased, turned out very in different, at least one third of the hams being in such a stale, as to. preclude all possibil.'ty of tiie phiiutifls reu!i-ing tiie sum they had given, which w:.s ls. ~>\ per pound. The defendants ha 1 mused to tnke ba.;k the goods, as tiuy could not believe that the hams in question had ever be -n supplied by them to the plaintiffs.-' The defendant* were of opinion that the hams had been changed, and called -Mr.. Pi.tei-sori, of tho "firm of Messrs. M'Lcod an I Patersap, who had j.ureh-s.-d .-evend cases of hams of the c-tia-_ .'rind, froiti tlie defendants. Mr. Paterson Stat-,: in .t tlie hams purdiasod l>y him were a sound, n.aricet-.Lble commodity, aud he had no fault whatever to hud with tlma. The evidence of Mr." Polo, Mr. Dols, and Feveral othe> Witnesses however, clearly nhowed that the hams in question were the identical ones supplied by the defendants. It "appeared that the unsound bras had beon sold, by auction, at the risk of thtKe \vho:n it might concern, when they o-.ly realised Jll. per lb. His Worship wa- of opinLn, thrfc the plaintiffs had bought the g-,0-ls strieiiy to samye; he should-Ivc-judgment for the plaintitf; for L2 s and costs.

UNWHOLESOME WATER. (To the Editor of the Daily Times.) _ Sin, —A fortnight since you drew-attention to the impure state of the. wat^r in the vk-initv of ti; - I.dice Barracks, and I beg to forward you the"results oi' an examination instituted upon it, and also to offer a few sag reuions as to the best mo :e of removing impurities irom water generally. This water presented a faint mi iky or cloudy appearance which was prominent, and apparently not due to tin.' presence of auv form of lime. After standbier a short time a deposit accumulated at the bottom of the vessel, amounting to-about three crrains to the pint of watsr. This under the microscope, was found to be almost wholly composed of decayed vegetable matter, with varioin aiiinii'.lcuhe (moorad" principally) browsing as it were, amongst it. Some <f those aminaleulm were of irreat size, measuring the 330 h to the 4Coth of an inch. Several oil globules (ureare) wer,.* aho observable', and toth-so r think, tho nmkiness was due. After stanoing three days, thswat.-r evolved a »io?t evident odour of sulphurated hydro-en,' and this, notwit;.stan.iiyg rhe niidi-Ns of the weather. A seeo.nl specimen, collected f-om a brook a i-.-w hundred vanis further on, and near to the " Noah's A~k," wis fii „ of filth of aii kinds- vegetable matte.- in ah c.;>?es ot devay, several kinds of-iinimaleirw, tiie ca.-i-oil' cuticle of grubs, and the hairs of probably rats or mice. Ot course in such a state no person would mink it, but these ingredients after a little further maceration, solution, and filtering, would form a portion of such daily drink ai in "the first specimen. It is needless to state how neecsary wholesome water is to health, especially in hot weather, let me rather point out a simple and efficient means for the purification of that which is unwholesome. A cheap filter may be made by mixing .together three or four pounds of burnt sand with half a pound of coarsely powdered c'-creoal, the mixture may be stitched up in a sma'i b.'ig, and thewati-r allowed to percolate through it; a little ingenuity will teach,its application, water siiould never be allowed to stand for any length of time and grt " flat." Attention to such simple rubs would so m diminish the number of cases of diarrhoea, and fever. , I remain sir, yours ygry obediently, Thus.-Mokl'asd Hockes. Princes-street.

RO.sS AND JOHNSON'S CASE. (To tiie Editor of the Daily .Timks.) "IK- —I observe in your issue of to day, a case connected with the Rc.sideut Magistrate's Court, commencing—« Peter Johnson, of the firm of Ross and Johnson." Not being one of the firm of Ross and Johnson, and. being awa;y that the Christian name of Johnston, connected wit', ihe said linn is James, you will be kind enough ?. ■ a-reet your Police Report, in justice to myself aud oiiiers who possess the same christian name. Yours, PETER JOIIN.-ON. Duuedin, August 15th, 1862.

REPLY 0? THE TOWN" BOARD TO THE MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY THE DEPUTATION FROM STAFFORD, WALKER. AND HOPE STREETS. •Gkntlbme.v. —In answer to enquiries male by the gentlemen of the deputation, I am directed by the 'Dunedin Town Board to inform you thafc the Bond have consulted with the Provincial Engineer, on the subject of pitching, previous to metalling Stafford, Walker, and Hope-street-- ; and as to the advisability of undertaking such -work" during the present unfit state or the roadway. Ihai gentleman is of oniuion thnt it will be impossible to satisfactorily execute the works at the present tim ry unless the streets are closed up from traffic, till such time as the roadway is sufficiently consolidated. - 3 lam .-ilso directed to inform you that the Board are fully aware of the bail state of those streets, and the consequent inconvenience arising to the residents, but regret, that from the many urgent demands upon the fund-; at their disposal, not being in a position to undertake the '' whrde" cost of forming the streets referred to ; but is willing to defray two-thirds of the cost of improvement, provided the inhabitants will undertake to contribute the remaining one-third. The probable cost of pitching and metalling, thirty feet wide, is (£32) thirty-two pounds per lineal cliain. It will, therefore, be for the memorialists to state what amount they will be prepared to contribute, and when the woik will be commenced. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, (Signed, Civs. Reid, .' % Clefk to Town Board. Henry Cooke, Esq., and the "J other gentlemen of the Deputa- / tion from Stafford, Walker, and f Hope streets, Dunedin. y) Town Board Ofiice, Dunedin, August 15th, 1862.

Ax Item for'"Wool-growers to think of. Mr. J. TH. Hollister, of this country, sheared thirty thousand pounds of wool from five thousand sheep, a small "portion only of his celebrated Spanish merino flock. Ten thousand pounds were shorn from one thousand bucks belonging to the same flock. — Los Angeles News.

TOKOMAIRIRO. (fho:.? ora ows correspondent.) Tokomairiro. August, 13, 1862. An inquest was held at the Lower Taieri Ferry, on Monday, before J. Dewe, Esq., the lately appointed Coroner, on the bidy of a man named William Wdl, who had been drowned in a cre«k running out ofthe Waipori Lake on the previous Friday. From the evidence adduced, ifc appeared tb.afc the deceased, accompanied by three other men, had left the ferry in a whale-boat, about 2 o clock imthe morning for the purpose of bringing down a larger boat loaded with straw, which had been anchored in the Waipori Lake the previous d;iy. On their return with this boat they entered a small creek, wbich formed a sort short cut. In this creek they stopped a few moments for one of the men to light his pipe. Two of the men wore on shore, aud -ihe deceased and the other man on board the large boat, which •was moving slowly afc the time. It was a clear moonlight night, and one of the men observed deceased standing on the starboard 'gunwale of the bout in the bow leaning against the straw. A moment afterwards, he heard a splash, ami, turning round, h? missed the deceased, but thought he saw a man's arm in the water. He immediately sprang in, and dived under the boat, coming up on Uie other side, but without seeing anything ofthe deceased. Tbey all starched for the body for some time, but without sneeesi. The man who was on board could not see the place where the deceased was seen standing last, as the load of straw intervened and both the men ou shore had their barks turned at tbe time they heard the splash. They anchored the lar^r boat to m irk the spot, and then returned to tlie ferry. Mr. Dyer, of the ferry, got some drags made and then went in scaruii of the body, which they recovered after about half au hour's search. The night of the accident was frosty, and all the witnesses stated that the gunwale was in consequence, very slippery. The men were all sober. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death by drowning, to whicli they appended a rider, requesting the Coroner to represent to tiie Government the necessity of having a set of proper dracs always in readiness at the Ferry Police Station. The deceased w.-js a sober steady man, and was well known, as he had charge of the Punt at the Feny for a considerable time past. Another num is musing, and is supposed to have been drowned lately in" the neighborhood of the Ferry. It is slated that he lelt a store, a short distance below tho. Ferry one night a few weeks ago by himself, in a small cranky flat bottomed boat, witli the intention of crossing the river; since than he has never been heard off and a il-.v days afterwards the luut was discovered bottom upwards, near the mouth ofthe river, and one of the oars was found above the Ferry. lam inform-ii thnt the river has not beeu dragged for the body. This should certainly be done.as tha bodies ofthe men who have been drowned in this river previously, luno been recovered by that mollis generally within a short distance ofthe place they went down at.

A second meeting of the members of the Church of England in the parochial district of Tokomairiro aad Waihola, was held yesterday. Edward Mu-'grave, Esq., li 31., occupied* the chair, and the names of E. Musgrav*-, and Alfred Jones, Iv-q, were aided f> the previous committee. John D,-we, Esq., ,).!'., was elected Treasurer, and Mr. E. T. (Jiilon, Hon. Secretary. An account war, ordered to bo opened at the I'ank of New Zealaud, and tli^ Treasurer was requested to forward as r.s possible £G0 or 4.70 to the Treasurer of the llurul Deanery Hoard, as the first instalment of the £100 required to defray the expense, of a clergyman's passage to the colony. Mr. Dcwe as one ofthe Churchwardens, was requested to write ta the Bishop, having it entirely in his Lordship's hands, whether he would appoint, one of the applicants from Australia ur procure a clergyman direct from England. About £30 was paid to the Treasurer on the spot, and as a proof that thcdistrict is in earnest in its intention of getting a clergyman, I may mention that notice has been given to the present tenant of the parsonage tliat it will shortly be required.

The roads are daily becoming worse, and yesterday the coach did not come up. I understand that a breakdown ocurred between Clarendon and the Tokomairiro. The Mail was forwarded on hor.-e'uick. Many of the carriers now use the old ruads through tiie plain, as it is a trifle better -bar, the main roid, although longer. The Bank of New Zealand's new budding is now completed and opened for business. It is rather a handsome building, but small. The new ('ourt-maise is now in course of erection. It is much wanted, as the business of the Resident Magistrate's Court is rapidly increasing.

Tba proclamation of the extended gold field is a great boon to the Woolshed diggers. The new field includes a considerable portion ofthe Tokomairiro Plain, but does not include the Canada Bush, where the reported new quartz reefs arc. In my next I hope to be able to send you further particulars as to these reefs. Should they turn out, as it seems probable they will, a further extension ofthe gold field will'be necessary.