CORONER'S INQUEST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1162, 7 March 1874, Page 4

CORONER'S INQUEST.

COMMTTTAL FOE WILFUL MURDER.

The fatal affray at Green Island on Satur-

day night was investigated before I. N,

Watt, Esq. , Coroner, on Monday afternoon, at Eagerty's Hose and Thistle Hotel. Commissioner Weldonand Sub- Inspector Mallard were present for the police. Mr G. E.

Barton and Mr J. Smith were present", and watched the proceedings for Patrick Long, licensee of the Kaikorai Hotel, who was in custody as an accused.

The Acting-coroner decided that tho prisoner's counsel should not have permission to cross-examine the witnesses brought forward by the Polico.

The jury having been empannelled, with Mr William Thomson as foreman, they were thus addressed by

The Coroner : Gontlcmen of the jury, you have had a view of the body of decea&od, and have mad': such observations thereupon ivi appeared ncceasaty, it would I>q proper to he.ir evidence le.speoting a fact to which 1 would request your attention. I may say th'it J think, you will agree with me that it is only right and prupor that theiv should 1-c a jji^l morh'ii) elimination made by Dr Burns, who i.s here for the purpose, and with your consent ho will now proceed to the examination.

Dr Barns accordingly proceeded to make a poAt mortem examination, and the following witnesses were called aud their depositions taken as follows :—: —

Andrew Korr : I am a coal miner living at Green Island, and knew deceased by sight ; having seen him for the first time on Saturday night lnst. Between 8 and 9 o'clock I was standing at the door of Pat Long's Hotel, with Daniel M'Laughlan, when deceased aud another man named Donald M 'Sweeney came in and asked me to have a drink. He threw eighteen-pence in payment, but Pat Long would not serve him until Mrs M 'Sweeney came in and told him to give us the drinks, which he did. I wanted to get M'Sweeney home, but he was not for going until Pat Long pushed him and deceased out of the door. I told Long that if he would let M'Sweeuey alone 1 would get him home. Neither of them were sober, but M'Sweeney waa the worst for drmk. About this time I happened to look round, and saw a big fellow, whom I did not identify, knock down deceased, and kick him in the road. (Henry Kane was then called, and witness said he had seen him before, but did not recognise himas the man who kicked deceased. ) The big follow ran into Long's house by the fi\>nt door, Avhich was closed imuiidiiilcly 1 after him. Deceased got up and threw .sumo metal stones at the door, and then went and kicked it. I then saw Pat Long come round the back at theiioith-eastconierof tholwise, and L saw the Hash of a pistol, followed by a report, and I then heard men roaring out deceased was shot. I don't know who thny were ;'• there were a lot of men there. Pat Lung then turned and went round the side of the house the same way as he had come. 1 saw deceased the same evening he was shot in a stone house, about foity yards from Pat Long's. 1 did not see men carry him away. He was alive then, and I saw a wound in his forehead. Pie never spoke after he was shot. I have seen him again to-day. I was quite sober at the time of tho occurrence, but had had a glass or two of beer.

The Coroner : Can yon say who fired the pistol ?

Witness : Yes, it was Pat Long. I only heard one shot. It was a clear moonlight night, but E could not say what distance there was between them. I was eight or ten yards from prisoner. I did not sco deceasod when ho was shot, but heard a man cry out directly aftor the report that a man was shot, f was in the crowd, and tho crowd was scattered.

By the Jury : Long did not give any reasons for refusing to supply deceased with driu k. Deceased was outside of tho verandah when he was shot in tho middlo of the road. I did not hear Long speak to him at all, nor did I hear, when the men roared out deceased

was shot, any of them say who had shot him. Deceased did not offer to re-enter the hotel after being shoved out. I have no idea where this big fellow came from who kicked deceased, butl saw him go into the hotel. (The Foreman of the Jury pub a number of questions to witness regarding the relativo positions of witness, prisoner, and deceased, the answers to which did not appear to satisfy him.) Mr Andrew (Juryman) : Was there nothing took place between Pat Long and the deceased when he refused to give the drinks? Witness : Not that I saw or heard. A Juryman : You said that it was Pat Long who shot at the man ; did you see him do it ; and what position was he in at the time ? Witness : He was holding his hand out. A man named Pollock was here removed from the room by the Coroner's order, lor prompting Jurymen. Norman M 'Kay ; lam a labourer, living at Abbot's Creek. I saw deceased, Nicholas M' Dor aid, for the first time last Saturday night, at Pat Long's Hotel, about quarter to nine. Pat Long was shoving him and Donald M'Sweeuey out of the door. J then saw a man (Henry Kano brought in), whom I now recognise, kuoek down deceased in the road and kick him, and on deceased rising he again knocked him down and kicked. Pat Long hallooed out, " That will do, he has got enough ; come inside." This was addressed to Kane. Deceased lifted up a stone and threw it towards the house, and it struck a verandah pest. He threw another stone, which struck the door. He then went up and kicked the door with his feet, and afterwards ran up against it with his head and shoulders. I then saw Pat Long come round the house, and he said " Stand clear till I protect my property, for if no other man will doit, I will do it myself." So he lifted a revolver in both hands and shot deceased. Pie was wounded on his head when I afterwards saw men carrying him away. When tho shot was fired I was standing alongside Pat Long— within a foot of him. Deceased was standing among a crowd of people when he was shot. J did not see him. He fell about seven yards from where Pat Long stood, as I saw him tluoe minutes after he fell.

' A Juryman : Did you hoar Long say anything before he iired ? Witness: He said, " Stand clear," that is all I heard him say.

James M'Laughlan : I am a miner living at Green Island. What I know of the affray is that whilst opposite Pat Lang's door on Saturday night, about nine o'clock, deceased aud another man were trying to get in, and Long pushed them both back. Deceased said, '■ ff it's fighting you want you had better come out," and a big man, whom. I heard called as Kane (the man I now see), btep between thorn. He knocked deceased down and kicked him, afterwards running into Long's door, which was closed after him. Deceased rose and kicked at the door, and called on Kane to come out. He then wait on to the road, and Long came round a corner of his house, folded up his arm sleeves, and I then heard a report of a pistol, and Long said, "That is the way 1 serve such as you, that destroy my property." I saw deceased fall a few paces from me, and 1 went forward and struck a match. Seeing a wound in his forehead, and not hearing him speak, I ran for a doctor, and returned in a about tea minutes. I was five or six yards on Pat Long's left when he fired the shot.

No questions were asked this witness by the Jury.

Daniel M'Laughlan : I am a miner living at Green Island west. I went into Long's house about half-past 8 o'clock on Saturday night last, and saw deceased trying to pull a man, who, I think, is his mate, from the hotel. They left, and retui'ned in a few minutes, calling for a drink, but I do not think they got it. They left a second time, and on returning Long pushed them away ; and deceased asked Long what he meant by pushing him away, and wished to know if it was fighting he wanted. Then he squared out to Long, and a big man stepped in betwoen them, and knocked deceased down in front of the verandah, kicking him twioe. Deceased got up nnd was knocked down by this big man again, and kicked about. He then ran into the hotel, and deceased said, " Where's my knife, while 1 cut your throttle for kicking me." He then went up to the door and kicked it, afterwards coming into the road aud picking up some stones. I then saw Long come round a corner of the house, and 1 heard him say, "That is the way I servo you for damaging my property." I saw him present something with his two hands, saw a flash, and heard a report. I was standing in front of Long's door, and on looking for deceased, I saw him lying on the ground about three yards from where I stood. Long was six or seven yards from me. It was a clear night. By the Jury : Kane knocked him (docoaaed) down with his fist. James Anderson : I am a police constable, stationed at Cavcraham. At 25 minutes past 9 on Saturday night, the 28th ult., whilst I was on duty at the Immigration Barracks, I received certain information which induced me to proceed to the house of Thomas Montague, Green Island, and I there saw the dead body of a man — the deceased. 1 examined the body, and found a wound over tho right temple, as from a pistol shot. I searched the body, and found 13s Gd in silver, some tobacco, a knife, pine, and a matchbox. I then proceeded to the Kaikorai Hotel and arrested the licensee of the same, tho accused, informing him that he was chargod with murdering tho deceased, and ho made no statement. I afterwards pro*

ceeded to search the lionae for firearms or ammunition, hut found none. I found the cover of a revolver (produced) in a drawer in the ban I continued to search the locality during the night and Sunday, but «found neither arms nor ammunition.

Boberb Burns, medical practitioner in Dunedih ; I examined the deceased, and carefully looked over his person to see if there were any bruises, and found none except two slight abraaions on the left log. I proceeded to examine the skull, and found a wound in the frontal bone, about two inches above the right eyebrow. Mr Barton requested witness to define how 1 far from the centre of the skull the wound was.

"Witness said he would obtain the skullcap, to be retained by the polico if counsel wished to examine it at any fuUire period.

He continued : I found a wound in the brain corresponding with the opening in the bone, penetrating the whole of the right heniisjjhere, and on removing the brain 1 found on the back part of the skull the bullet which I now produce, which was capable of causing the wound, and there were also some small pieces of bone attached. I examined other parts of the body— including heart, liver, &c— and found all to be in healthy condition. The wound which I found waa sufficient to cause dealh, and I have no doubt whatever that it did do so. The wound was above the cerebellum, the ball having travelled outside the membrane covering the brain.

Alexander Douglas, miner, living at Saddle Hill, said : I know Mr Long, who came to the country about six months ago. Pour months since I sold him a revolver, which I showed him how to load, and also a quantity of cartridges. The revolver, which was a breech-loading one. had the cover (produced) upon it when I sold it him. He piit the revolver in a drawer below his counter. I do not recognise the bullet produced as similar to those prisoner got from me. Frederick Mallard, Sub- Inspector of Police, entered the charge against prisoner, charging him with shooting at, and killing, M 'Donald, and read it to him, when he made the following voluntary statement — " I was not outside my house at all that night ; I heard the row, and heard shots, but I didn't go outside, I shut myself in, as a stone had broken my window.''

Tins constituted the whole of the evidence adduced, and

The Coroner, having charged the jury in the usual formal manner in such cases, said they were not to try accused whether ho was roaily absolutely guilty of the murder or not, but to judge whether there was a sufficient case proved against him to justify his being committed for trial. They wore also to consider whether lie was guilty of murder, manslaughter, or justifiable homicide. The Jury requested time for consultation, and after a short retirement brought in a verdict against Patrick Long of "Wilful Murder," and the Coroner thereupon committed him to take his trial at the next Criminal Sittings of the Supreme Court.