[reception of English law, prisoners’ counsel - murder - criminal defendants, right to counsel - New Norfolk - confession - convict evidence - capital punishment]

Samuel Guillem, the man who had been before committed for the wilful murder of Mrs. Mills, (the appalling circumstances of which are already fully before the public, and had been discharged by proclamation) was again put to the bar to be tried for that offence.

Mr. Attorney General Stephen, Mr. Solicitor General McDowall, and Mr. Crown Solicitor Ross, formed a powerful array against the prisoner; added to which were Surveyor Generals, Police Magistrates and their Clerks, and a whole host of Government employees. The Attorney General opened the proceedings by a speech of upwards of an hour. Here we have a few words to offer upon the flagrant injustice of this course, now so happily done away with by English Special Act of Parliament, which we insist upon it, is in full force here, although the Colonial Government thinks proper to pick and chose such of British Laws, passed since the Huskinson Act, as the people are to have the benefit of - a decision which we assert to be contrary to the meaning of that Act, however it may be construed to be within its letter. Mr. Stephen’s speech, temperate as it was, enabled the prosecution to explain against the prisoner the whole of the circumstantial evidence, “got up,” as Mr. Stephen admitted in his speech the case had been; but Mr. Horne, who was assigned by the Court counsel for the prisoner, was not permitted to speak one word, even to explain in favour of the prisoner, any portion of that circumstantial evidence - to contrast the palpable contradictions of the confession deposing witnesses - to shew how impossible it was that the whole of their statements could be true - to ask which of them the Jury could rely on - to shew that unless they took a little of one and a little of another, and rejected the rest, the whole, being impossible to be true, must be rejected. This course, so natural, if common justice is sought in trials such as these, was not permitted to the prisoner’s counsels, although the prosecutor’s counsel was permitted to expatiate against him as long as he pleased! We shall not fail to draw attention to this in our next.

The witnesses called were in the following order. Mr. Assistant Surveyor General Sharland produced a chart of the road to be referred to by the other witnesses. It is the opinion of many good lawyers that the Attorney General failed in making it evidence. It was, however, admitted. The next witness was Mr. Mills, the husband of the late deceased.

George Mills. - I am coachman of the New Norfolk coach; the last time I saw Mary Mills, my wife, alive, was on the 9th of November, about twenty-five minutes past eight in the morning, on the top of the Sand Hill; she had come down there for a short ride in the coach; I then saw her get out of the coach; Mr. Baker handed her out. I pointed out the spot where she got out to Mr. Arthur and Mr. Brooks about ten days after. My wife had complained of not feeling quite well, and I thought a short ride would do her good; she was very delicate in health. I left Mrs. Bridger’s, at New Norfolk, that morning, about ten minutes past eight, and I stopped at my own door to take my wife up, also at Mr. Martin’s. I did not stop again till I came to the Sand Hill. I left Martin’s about a quarter past eight; from Martin’s to the Sand Hill is not quite a mile; I returned to New Norfolk that evening about half-past six. I have driven Mr. Ross and Mr. Arthur from Mrs. Bridger’s to the Sand Hill, and as far as Randall’s twice; I drove at about the same pace as I did on the 9th of November. When I left my house in the morning, I saw my wife fasten the door; I saw the key in her hand when she got in the coach; when I returned home I found the house in the same state as I left it, and the door locked; I then went to Mr. Collins, a neighbour, and found she was not there; seeing a gown on the bed I thought she was lying there; I knocked, and received no answer, I then got in at the window, I found the bed had not been made, or any fire, since the morning; I felt uneasy, and again went to Mr. Collins’s, and found she was not there; I then went with Mr. Collins to Mr. Brooks, the Chief Constable, and told him she had not been home since morning, and Mr. Brooks sent his constables to search for her; I stayed at Mr. Brooks while he got a lantern, and remained till I heard the body was found; I saw the body of Mary Mills the next day at Mr. Collins’s where the inquest was held. The key of my door was one just like this now shown me; I was present when two combs were found on the morning of the 10th; this comforter was also found, it was my own, my wife had bought it for me; I had requested her to take it back as it was a warm morning; these shoes were also found, they were my wife’s, and I believe the combs were her’s also. This bonnet is the one my wife wore on the morning of the 9th; I did not see that found.

By His Honor. - My wife was rather a weakly woman; she was a small delicate person; she intended to have a walk home when she left the coach; there are no houses by the road side from where she got down to my house; when I saw my wife last she was turned round and walking towards him. I think it was about half-past seven when I heard the body was found.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I had for some time been the driver of the New Norfolk coach; my wife was never in the habit of coming to meet me; I generally do stop at Collins’s, and most likely did that morning; I only stopped at Martin’s about three or four minutes; I did not stay more than five minutes; I do not recollect anything being sent from the Bush Inn that morning; I did not put in any fresh horse at Martin’s.

Then follow the evidence of Constable Harper, who found the body of Mrs. Mills, Dr. Officer, Mr. Benson, Mr. Brooks, and several others.

Elija Harper examined. I am a constable; I recollect the evening of the 9th November, I was at New Norfolk; I was sent by Mr. Brooks down the road towards Hobart Town, with five other constables; we went as far as Terry’s Gate, and then three went into Mr. Lascelles’ paddocks, and I and two others went into Terry’s paddock; we were separate about thirty yards from each other; we went up a sand hill in the paddock, and going along I walked right on the dead body of Mrs. Mills, where she lay in a hole; I hallooed out “here she lays murdered” - this was about thirty yards from the road; I hallooed from the spot I found her at; I afterwards pointed out that spot to Mr. Brooks the next day; when I hallooed out, all the other constables ran up to the body, and then some of them ran to give the report at New Norfolk. Mr. Brooks then came down, and we carried the body up to Mr. Collins’s I went with it; I knew Mrs. Mills, I knew that was her body. The body was on the face, and was not disturbed till Mr. Brooks came up; there was a constable of the name of Robinson with us, he went into Mr. Lascelles’s paddock, he came up directly after I called out, and he then ran up to New Norfolk.

Cross-examined. - The road is about fifteen or sixteen yards across, and I was about thirty yards from the road when I called out; the three constables from the other paddock came up in about a minute; it was between seven and eight when the body was found; I am sure it was not between eight and nine; I don’t think it is quite a mile from New Norfolk where we found it; in the day time we can see New Norfolk from the spot quite well. It was a rainy night.

By His Honor. - I heard the clock strike seven just before I was sent in search.

Dr. Officer. - I am surgeon, I had known the deceased about twelve months; she was a slender, delicate, timid woman; I examined her body on the 10th November; in my opinion, her death was caused by strangulation, by a cord round the throat; on the left side from the throat downwards were continued marks of scratches, and small pieces of gravel and sand sticking on the head; there were marks of violent pressure on one of the wrists of considerable discoloration; there was a deep mark made by the cord on the throat; there was a great deal of froth about the nostrils and mouth; I have no doubt, but strangulation caused her death; round the throat, I found a piece of silk cord exactly resembling what I now hold in my hand, which if sufficient force were used, is sufficiently strong enough to cause strangulation; it was quite impossible for her to have drawn the cord with sufficient force to have caused her own death, coupling it with the other appearances on her body, viz, the scratches on one of her sides; she could not have caused the scratches, by falling down, she must have been dragged.

George Brooks. - I am Chief District Constable of New Norfolk; I recollect the 9th of November last; Robinson came to me about half-past seven, and I accompanied him to Mr. Terry’s paddock; I pointed out the spot to Mr. Sharland where the body was found; the body was on its face; no shoes on, and the clothes up to the calves of the legs; there were gloves on both hands; a bonnet on; it was a wet evening, I think it was raining at the time we found the body; I saw the body brought into the high road; I did not before it was moved observe a string round the neck; I did so first when it came to Mr. Collins’; Mr. Benson was present then. The Coroner’s inquest met the next day; I took Isaac Solomon in custody on the evening of the 9th; I think he was in custody during the inquest; he was so at the time Samuel Guillem was examined on oath; I afterwards on the 13th took Guillem in custody at Mr. Jarvis’s; I told him I had a warrant to apprehend him; he said very well, “I’ll go directly;” I asked him for the key of his box; I went to it, and there I saw several articles of wearing apparel and three shirts; Guillem had on a white shirt; I sent him on to New Norfolk; the morning after the murder, I found in a hole on the left hand side of the road, a comforter, a pair of shoes, and these two combs; the hole was close to the fence; the body was found about 40 yards further up the paddock; under the pailing close by the hole there is a space of 4 feet, so that a body might be drawn under; 2 or 3 days after I saw the key of the street door found; it was found on the side of the road 3 pannels of the fence nearer New Norfolk than the drain; Guillem on the 13th pointed out to me where he said he was standing when the coach came past; he said it was at Terry’s gate; also the spot where he said he saw the top of the coach; he did not say where the coach was; Mr. Mills and Mr. Baker have I think both pointed out a place where the coach stopped, it is at the top of the Sand Hill; I pointed out that spot to Mr. Sherland; from the spot Guillem pointed out to me, provided Guillem was in his cart, I think he could have seen a coach at the spot on the Sand Hill; I also pointed out that spot to Mr. Sharland; the spot he pointed out was about 150 yards from the Hobart Town side of the drain; he also pointed out the spot where he said he met a female; it was within a very few yards of where the coach stopped; I did not see the body taken to Mr. Collins’; on this chart the spot marked c is the spot where the body was found; e & f I think is where the drain was; I think the hole where a body might have been dragged under, was at e; the place where Guillem said he was when he saw the coach, was about g or h; where the coach stopped is near j or k; where Guillem said he met the female, is between i & j; Randall pointed out l as the place where he saw the cart. On the 20th of January, Mr. Mills drove Mr. Ross, Mr. Arthur and myself on the coach; I was standing at Terry’s gate, and a man of the name of Every was standing inside the gate with a cart and bullocks, which were got from Jarvis; I applied for the same Guillem had driven the morning of the murder; there was a weight in the cart; when the coach passed, myself and Mr. Mason looked at our watches; Every jumped into the cart and we started; I followed the cart and bullocks, and it occupied 4½ minutes to go to the hole in the fence; we still went on, and it took 6 minutes to where Guillem said he saw the top of the coach; 1¾ more to the place where he said he met the female; to the place where Randall said he first saw Guillem’s cart from Terry’s gate, 12½ minutes to the whole; next morning I took the same cart and bullocks to time the difference in the time of the coach coming to the spot; I went to the spot where Randall said he had seen the cart, and waited for the coach; I took out my watch; I was present at an experiment to ascertain where Guillem and Mrs. Mills were likely to have met, on which occasion Mr. Mason was I believe present. Mr. Arthur went down with the coach; I followed with the cart; I do not of my own knowledge know where Mr. Arthur got down; I met him on foot returning as near the hole in the fence as possible the cart was travelling at an ordinary pace for bullocks to go; I was alongside of the cart; constable Robinson showed me a spot where he said he was when Harper sung out; he went from there to where the body was found; it occupied one minutes; he stayed there one minute; he was then desired to run in the direction of New Norfolk, and it took him 1½ minutes exactly to go to the place he said he had overtaken Guillem; I should scarcely think it possible if the cart and bullocks had travelled at an ordinary rate, for the bullocks to have reached where Guillem pointed out.

By His Honor. - From Terry’s gate to where Guillem pointed out, is level ground; the shirts in Guillem’s box were clean; I did not notice either of them being torn; he had on a clean shirt; I showed Mr. Sharland the hole in the fence, the place where the combs were found, the place where the body was found, where the key was found, where Guillem said he was when he saw the top of the coach, where Randall said he saw Guillem, and the place where the constable said he overtook Guillem; also where Pace said he was at work.

Re-examined by the Attorney General. - To the best of my recollection I first pointed out to Mr. Ross where Robinson said he overtook Guillem on the night of the murder. The next spot I pointed out was Terry’s gate, the next was where Pace said he was at work, next the hole in the fence, also the hole where the shoes, &c. were found; next where the body was found, next where Guillem said he was when he saw the coach, next where he said he was when he passed a female, next the spot where I was told the coach stopped, and then where young Randall saw the cart.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I have seen this chart before the references were scratched out, but I have not given my evidence from recollection of those references; when I looked at the chart just now I did not recollect what had been written. I think it is a quarter of a mile from Terry’s gate to where the coach was when he (Guillem) said he saw it; the bullocks I had were a very slow pair; the key was found a day or two after Guillem had been examined by Mr. Lascelles; I tried the key yesterday, and it opened Mr. Mills’s door.

We now come to Mr. Crown Solicitor Ross’s testimony; not one quarter of which was legal evidence, but it was admitted.

Hugh Ross, Esq., examined. - I have been to New Norfolk three times on the subject of this enquiry; I went a short time after the prisoner had been discharged by proclamation by this Court. Each time I have travelled by the New Norfolk coach for the purpose of timing certain distances; on each occasion I timed the distance from Terry’s gate to where Mr. Mills said he stopped and put down his wife, and once to a spot pointed out by young Randall, and also as far as Mr. Jarvis’s. I asked Mills to drive on the two occasions as near as he could at the same pace he had done on the day he took his wife in, and to stop at the place he put her down. From Terry’s gate it took four minutes and a half to where he put his wife down - from there to where Randall pointed out 8 minutes, including a short time he stopped, (about one minute). From Terry’s gate to Jarvis’s it took 19 minutes and a half. I should think this map as near as possible describes the portion of the New Norfolk road which is represents. I have measured the distance from where Randall saw the coach to Terry’s gate, and also the intermediate distances, I made notes of the distance that the time; I have compared the distance between the two extremities of the chart, and according to the scale laid down on the chart they correspond within two or three feet with my own measurement. First, I wished to ascertain the time the coach took to go from Terry’s gate to the opening in the fence shown me by Mr. Brooks; it was 2½ minutes, to where the coach stopped 4½ minutes. Constable Robinson then showed me the spot where he was when he heard Harper call out. On this chart where the coach stopped is indicated by J the hole in the fence marked F, about 50 feet nearer New Norfolk is the spot where Mr. Brooks showed me the key was found marked E; where the body was found is marked C; D represents the spot shown me by Robinson where he was when he heard Harper call out; A was pointed out to me by Robinson as the spot where he overtook Guillem on the road; H represents the spot Guillem was when he said he saw the coach; G represents a spot where a man of the name of Gee told me he was sitting on the road; between K and L is a spot where Randall said he saw Guillem running after his cart, and where he saw the cart is a little below the letter M; I placed Robinson on D, and proceeded to C; I then called him, and it took him rather less than a minute - stopped at C one minute, and then ran to A, which took him about one minute and three quarters rather less; it took him altogether, three minutes and a half; I then walked back for three minutes and a half to see where a man walking at the rate of three to three and a half miles an hour would come to; I came within three yards of the opening under the fence; Jarvis’s cart with a pair of bullocks, and a load of stone were inside Terry’s gate; Mr. Arthur passed on the coach, with I believe, the intention of going to the Sand-hill, and return by the road - the cart started as the coach passed; I went with the cart along the road, and met Mr. Arthur as near the letter E as possible, a little on the New Norfolk side of the hole in the fence; I think from E to J is about two hundred and fifty yards; E is the nearest to New Norfolk.

Mr. Charles Arthur deposed that he rode on the coach to the place where Mills said he had put his wife down, and, walking back, met the cart and bullocks as had been described by the other witnesses; that he requested Mills to drive at about the same rate as he had done on that morning.

The next witnesses were Constable Robinson, Lyons, and others. Then came Mr. Jarvis (in whose service the prisoner was) and his wife and servants.

William Jarvis. - The prisoner at the bar was in my service on the 9th of November last; on that morning he left my house to go to Mr. Terry’s mill to fetch some flour, a distance of about two miles and a half or two miles and three quarters; on that evening the prisoner left off work about six or seven o’clock; after he had got his supper he left the house about seven o’clock; about ten o’clock he returned; he said to me “there has been a murder committed at New Norfolk;” I said, “How do you know that?” he said, “I know there is, for I have seen a lot of folks with candles and lanthorns on the hill,” (meaning the township;) he also said he met a lot of folks carrying a body up the hill with a lot of candles and lanthorns; he said he saw two persons running down the hill, one with a straw or white hat on roaring, and he thought it looked like Mills; I am not sure whether he said George Mills or not; I asked him why he did not go and see what it was; he said, “No, I went on the other side of the road, for I wanted to get home - I did not want to see any thing about it;” I said, “If that was George Mills, depend on it it must be his wife, or else he would not have been roaring;” he said, “Well, I saw a woman get out or off the coach in the morning;” I asked him if the woman was about the size of Mrs. Jarvis; he said, “Yes, but not quite so stout;” I made answer and said, “It’s Mrs. Mills as sure as the world;” I then told him he might go to bed, for he looked very much frightened; he looked confused, as if he was frightened; I asked him if he had asked any person who was murdered or what it was; he said he saw a constable running after him, and that he (Guillem) turned round, which he mostly did when any person ran after him, and that the constable asked him who he was, and that he told him he was a free man working for Mr. Jarvis; he said he (Guillem) asked the man what was the matter on the Hill, and that he got no answer; he brought something home with him that night; I think they were check shirts.

By His Honor. - I have known the prisoner six or seven years; when he first returned in the morning I did not observe any thing peculiar in his manner; I think he wore a straw hat during the day; I did not notice what hat he had on when he returned in the evening.

Examination continued. - I know a cart and bullocks of mine were sent to Mr. Ross; it was the same cart and bullocks that the prisoner had on the 9th of November; I saw a weight put into the cart; those bullocks will go steadily through a gateway; they may be called slow bullocks.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I became acquainted with the murder on the 10th; the prisoner remained on my farm till he was taken up, and when he was discharged he came back again and remained till he was taken again, and was afterwards discharged and came for his clothes; he did not offer to work again for me, or ask me to recommend him; I never saw him in the neighbourhood afterwards; we call New Norfolk the Hill; the prisoner dined with me on the 9th about one o’clock; on the Monday before the 9th he asked me for money to pay for his washing; I swear he did not say when he came in the evening he was afraid there was a murder committed, or he was afraid there was something wrong; he said there had been a murder committed; I think the servant woman was present; he said he had seen Martin on the Hill; Guillem said the constable ran after him on the road; I know Constable Robinson by sight; I never spoke to him on this matter; I was present at the Police-office when Constable Robinson was examined.

By a Juror. - There were two persons slept in the room with the prisoner that night; their names were Taylor and Every.

Re-examined. - Taylor and Every were gone to bed previous to the prisoner coming home; they might have heard the conversation if they were awake between Guillem and myself.

Mary Jarvis. - I remember the prisoner coming home on the night of the murder; I merely saw him and returned to my chamber; I did not hear any conversation between the prisoner and my husband; the next day I heard of Mrs. Mills’s murder; I saw the prisoner that day at breakfast and dinner; at dinner time I asked him if he had seen Mr. Solomon on the road? I meant whether he had seen him on the morning he had brought the flour from the mill; I had heard Mr. Solomon was taken up on suspicion; he said he had not seen him; I had some further conversation with him within a day or two of Mrs. Mills’ murder; I said whoever murdered Mrs. Mills there must be some marks or scratches on the person; Guillem said she could not scratch much, for she had her gloves on; I said if she could not scratch she would endeavour to bite; he said that would depend on circumstances; on the Wednesday morning Guillem had gone to the mill about 6 or 7 o’clock for some flour; I cannot say what quantity he brought.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - It was on Thursday, when Guillem came home to dinner that I asked him if he had seen Mr. Solomon; he knows Mr. Solomon; I had not been to New Norfolk between the 9th and the time of my making the remark about scratching; I heard of the murder on Thursday morning; Jacob Pow told me that Mrs. Mills was found murdered; Mr. Every told me that Mr. Solomon was taken up on suspicion; I don’t think any person except Pow and his mate were at our house before the Sunday; they worked for us; I never knew and therefore could not have said Mrs. Mills had her rings on her hands; I am not certain whether Mary Adams was present when I made the remark about the scratches; I am not certain whether any of the men were in the room when Guillem made the remark to me; I spoke to Guillem.

Re-examined by the Solicitor General. - John Taylor, Thomas Every, and John Donolly were generally present at dinner; I can’t say whether Pow was present; I never had heard from any person that Mrs. Mills was found with her gloves on, until I heard it from the prisoner that I can recollect.

By Mr. Horne. - The first time I gave this information was about the 24th of January, after a reward had been offered.

By the Solicitor General. - I did not go voluntarily to the Police Office; I was forced to go; I was not summoned on the inquest.

Jacob Pow. - I reside at New Norfolk; I went on the morning after the murder, to Mr. Jarvis’s at ½ past 9; I was late that morning, from stopping to hear how it had happened; I told Mrs. Jarvis about it; I dined there, also Taylor, Every, Talbot, a woman, Guillem, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis, and Donolly. Talbot and myself came into the kitchen first; the servant woman was there at the time; Mrs. Jarvis said (referring to what had happened the night before, that it was a shocking thing, and she hoped it would be found out; I said I hoped so, and that hanging was too good for the person who did it; Guillem went out of the kitchen into the dinner room; I did not hear Mrs. Jarvis say any thing about scratches; she said she hoped there would be marks or scratches left on the man who did it; I don’t think Guillem was in the room; to the best of my recollection, I have always said so; [His Honor. - Witness, let me here give you a caution. You have already contradicted yourself, and if I find any palpable contradiction, you must be committed to take your trial for perjury.] At the time I made the remark, Guillem was in the kitchen; he had not left it after he left the kitchen, Mrs. Jarvis said she should think there must be some marks left on whoever done it; Guillem must have heard it, for it was just as he was going out; I did not hear him speak at all in reply; I don’t think he spoke at all till dinner was put on the table; when he went into the other room, he made a stand as if he was in a study; he put his hand up to his head, thus; I had not seen the prisoner that day before the dinner hour; I had not seen the body that morning; I had not heard any thing about how the body was dressed either on the night or morning.

By His Honor. - When Mrs. Jarvis spoke about the scratches, I did not hear any person make any reply.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - If any reply had been made to Mrs. Jarvis, for her to hear, I must have heard it, for Mrs. Jarvis is hard of hearing; I did not hear that Mrs. Mills had her gloves or rings on the night of the murder, or the morning after; I have heard since that the body was found with one glove on, and that her rings were on the hand under the globe; I might have mentioned that to Mrs. Jarvis, but I do not recollect it.

Mary Adams. - I first gave evidence in this case about a month ago; I was servant to Mr. Jarvis; I recollect the night of Mrs. Mills’ murder; I saw Guillem come home with a cart that morning, I think rather past ten o’clock; he went out the same evening, about duck after tea; it was raining; he had on a white straw hat, a red waistcoat, and white fustian coat; I saw him come home; he said there had been some one murdered at New Norfolk; Mr. Jarvis asked him if he had not enquired what was to do; he said a man had ran after him and asked his name, what he was, and where he lived; he (Guillem) told him, and asked the man what was to do? The man ran on and made no answer; he said he saw a light and a lot of people coming, and one among them crying very sore, who he thought was George Mills, and that he thought his wife was murdered; on the Thursday morning, I heard Guillem asking Mrs. Jarvis what sort of a woman Mrs. Mills was; it was at breakfast time; just before dinner I heard Mrs. Jarvis say the person who murdered Mrs. Mills must have some scratches on; he made answer and said Mrs. Mills had gloves on; she then said she (Mrs. J.) would have bit them with her teeth; Guillem said that would depend on circumstances; I think I was taking up the dinner at the same time; I did not take notice if any of the men were present; it was just at the time the men were coming to their dinner; I had never heard any thing about Mrs. Mills having gloves on before I heard Guillem say so; after that time and before the Sunday I have often said to Guillem that I hoped whoever did it would be found out; he said it never would be found out more than it was; I sometimes washed for Guillem but not constantly; on the day of the murder, he had on a blue and white striped shirt; on the following Sunday after the murder, he changed his shirt; it was the day Mr. Brooks came to the house to apprehend him; a constable came for him on Friday to take him up as a witness; I saw the shirt he took off on the Sunday after he took it off; it was turn at the back of the neck between the shoulders; I don’t know what became of that shirt, he put it in his box when he took away his things the next day to his being discharged; on the night Guillem returned, he brought two blue striped shirts home with him.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - They had dinner that day in the kitchen now I recollect, I am not certain whether they did not have it in a little room adjoining; when Mrs. Jarvis used the expression about scratching, she was in the kitchen; I will not swear whether Jacob Pow was or was not in the kitchen at the time; I saw Guillem when he made that answer, I think he was near the table; there were some of the men in or about the kitchen at the time Guillem made the answer; I cannot say who they were; Mrs. Jarvis is hard of hearing; when Guillem made that reply, Mrs. J. turned to me and said that is a curious reply to make; he made it middling loud; she must have heard it, or she could not have made answer; any person in the kitchen must have heard it; the answer was, she could not scratch, for she had gloves on; I have never had any communication with Mrs. Jarvis about this; I have never spoken to her since I left, which is four month ago; it was in January last I gave this evidence; I have not heard that any reward has been offered; I can read; I have been in the factory since January; Guillem was sitting on the table when he told Mr. Jarvis there had been a murder at New Norfolk; I did not observe anything extraordinary in his manners; Mr. Jarvis did not remark to him, in my hearing, that he looked frightened, or tell him to go to bed; when Mrs. Jarvis said to me did you hear that, Guillem was gone out of the kitchen and did not hear it.

John Taylor. - I was servant to Mr. Jarvis in November last - prisoner was also his servant; I remember the day of the murder; I went to bed about half-past nine that night - prisoner slept in the same room; I remember prisoner in conversation with Mr. Jarvis; said “I think there has been a murder very near New Norfolk, on the road, or in the bush;” he said he met a number of people as he was coming back from New Norfolk hill with his shirts; they were carrying a corpse, but he did not go up to them; he said he thought it was some one belonging to Mr. Mills, as he was there crying; Mr. Jarvis said he wondered he (prisoner) did not go to see what it was - prisoner said he did not go up to any of them, but kept on his way; I did not hear anything more; I had been asleep before I heard this, and fell asleep after it; I did not see prisoner come to bed on the morning of the murder; it was about ten o’clock when prisoner came back; he brought back with him some flour; I heard Mrs. Jarvis ask prisoner if he had met any female on the road; he said he saw a female get off the coach; she then asked if he had seen any man who he thought was Ikey Solomon, and a man going across Mr. Terry’s paddock in a light dress, with a fishing line on his hand; this conversation was on the day of the murder; I did not then hear any thing more; the day afterwards I heard Mrs. Jarvis say, “them as ever did the murder, the woman would scratch them about the face, or somewhere;” Guillem said she could not scratch, for she had a pair of gloves on her hands; he also said she was found with gloves on; I slept in the room within; I was disturbed in the course of the night of the murder by a bit of a groan; he awoke me in a bit of a fright; I was going to speak to him, and he turned his back from me; when the conversation about the scratches took place, Mary was, I think, present; Guillem, I think, at the time, was wiping his hands.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - All that I have repeated here, I mean to say Guillem said to my master; I went to sleep before they had given over talking; I heard him say he saw Mr. Martin and several others he knew; I did not hear him say he saw a person running down the hill wearing a white or straw hat; Every was in bed with me at that time, he was awake before me; I said to Every, I thought it was a very strange thing that he should meet a corpse and not go to see if it was a man, woman, or what it was; Guillem said he kept along the footpath by the side of the road by the pailing, and did not say anything to any of them; I was not in the kitchen when the dinner was taking up; the dinner was on the table when I came in; the conversation between Guillem and Mrs. Jarvis, which I have repeated, was about ten minutes before dinner; I was not in the kitchen, I was at the door when she commenced; when she spoke to Guillem about the scratching, I was in the kitchen; when I came in, and they had sat down to dinner, was on the day the murder was done. Mrs. Jarvis is rather deaf; any other person present I think would have heard it.

John Every, jun. - On the night of Mrs. Mills’s murder I slept at Mr. Jarvis’s; Taylor slept in the bed with me; Guillem slept in the same room with us; I was awake when Guillem came home; as he came inside the door he told my master there had been a murder done near New Norfolk ; master asked him how he knew it was a murder; he said he was sure it was a murder; for as he was going along the road, a constable came running after him, and asked him what and who he was; he said he was a free man, living at Mr. Jarvis’s; he (Guillem) said, as the constable turned to go on again, he asked him what was the matter, the constable made him no answer, and went on again; he said he met a mob of people with lights as he was going up the hill to New Norfolk; he said he went on for his shirts, and met them as he was coming back at the same place; master asked if he did not go and ask them what was the matter; he said no, he kept on the other side of the road.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I think it was about nine o’clock when Guillem came home; I don’t think Taylor was asleep; we were talking about the story we had heard him tell; Taylor said he thought it looked very suspicious; I had not been asleep before that.

John Randall (a lad about 14 years of age.) On the morning of the 9th of November, I saw the New Norfolk coach pass a little after 8 as I was harrowing in my father’s paddock; I know the prisoner; saw him that morning running after his bullock cart down the Sand Hill; when I first saw the cart it was coming down the Sand Hill, not many yards from where I was; I was going towards the road; by the time I came there the bullocks were nearly opposite me; there was no man with them then; I was not many yards from them; I turned my own bullocks round, and got on the fence to see where the driver of the bullocks was; it was a middling high fence; I saw him, I think about 200 yards distance from me; the bullocks were going very slow indeed, down the hill; the man was running; I saw him get into his cart; I asked him if he had a cracker to give me; he said no, the only one I have, is on my whip; when he got into the cart, he whipped the bullocks on, and made them go faster; I think it was about twenty minutes, or half an hour, after I saw the coach pass, that I first saw the bullock cart; I have since done the same work I did on that morning between the time of the coach passing and my seeing the cart in the presence of Mr. Arthur and Mr. Ross; I did it at the same pace I did on the morning the coach passed; it took longer on the former occasion, because the ground was rough; I pointed out to Mr. Ross the place I was when I first saw the cart, and where I first saw the man.

Re-examined. - I heard of Mrs. Mills’s murder on the night I saw the prisoner running after the bullock cart; I think it was about 7 o’clock when I left in the morning.

The Court then adjourned to Monday, on which day several witnesses to circumstances, points as to the road, &c., were examined. Then came Isaac Solomon, who had been taken up on suspicion of the offence.

Isaac Solomon. - Remembers the day of Mrs. Mills’ murder; heard of it on Wednesday night; left New Norfolk to go down the road a little past nine o’clock, to go to Mr. William’s about a mile and a half nearer Hobart Town; met first Mr. Glover - the next man I saw was a man named Sullivan - the next was a constable with a woman; saw no one else until I came to Mr. Gordon’s, where I saw Mr. and Mrs. Gordon. I then went to Mr. Williams’s and he was not at home; saw Mrs. Jarvis there; remained there about half an hour; Mr. Williams came home, and I purchased some wheat of him; came away and returned to New Norfolk; met Mr. Glover on the New Norfolk Bridge; Sullivan I saw by the turning at the Sand-hill, and the constable going into Cope’s to get a light.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - It was past nine when I started, because I washed, shaved and had my breakfast, and likewise stayed some time talking on the hill before I left the township. On returning to New Norfolk, met a man near Mr. Cope’s with two bundles coming towards Hobart Town; met a bullock cart as I was going towards Williams’s - cannot positively say whether I saw a driver or not; I think when I saw Randall in his paddock it was about half past nine.

H. W. Mason. - I am Police Clerk at New Norfolk; I recollect the Corner’s Inquest on Mrs. Mills; Isaac Solomon was at first accused; Guillem was examined as a witness on that occasion, which examination I reduced to writing; this is it; it was taken on oath.

[No Magistrates name being affixed to it, His Honor did not allow it to be read.]

Examination resumed. - I cannot from my own recollection state what Guillem said that day, but if I see the examination I took down I could swear to it.

By His Honor. - I have a general recollection of the substance of his statement, but by that paper I could tell the particulars.

Mr. Horne. - I submit that examination, if not admitted as examination on oath, cannot be admitted as a memorandum.

He also objected, as it was a statement made by him when he was placed in a very different situation - viz., a witness, whereas he was now charged as a principal in the same affair.

Examination continued. - These papers are in my hand-writing, and are the proceedings on the inquest. I here see Samuel Guillem’s statement; it was taken on the 12th of November; it appears by a memorandum in page 1 that Dr. Officer’s deposition was taken on the 10th; Samuel Morgan and David Gee’s was the next; Samuel Guillem was next; there is no date either to Gee’s or Guillem’s; Sullivan’s follows, and no date; next, Felix Murray, with this signature, Charles Arthur, Coroner; Mr. Arthur did preside as Coroner at that time; I now say that Guillem’s examination was taken on the 12th from the Jurat at the end of Felix Murray’s examination; the Jurat runs thus:- “All the above informations since the 10th of November were taken before me this 12th day of November, 1836. Charles Arthur, Coroner.”

His Honor, after consulting with Sir John Jeffcotte on the subject, said, I am of opinion that I ought not to receive the deposition.

Examination continued. - This paper I hold in my hand is a statement taken before Charles Arthur, Esq., as Coroner, on the 16th of November, 1837, of Samuel Guillem, it is not on oath; I took it down; it has this Jurat taken before me this 16th day of November, 1836. Charles Arthur, Coroner. It bears Guillem’s mark, made by him; this contains what the prisoner said.

[Mr. Attorney General proposed to have it read as evidence, but finding the Jury were not sitting on the Inquest when it was taken, he did not put it in.

Phillip Levy. - I have known the prisoner about two years; heard of his being discharged from Hobart Town gaol; on the Friday after he was discharged; which was some time in December; saw him at my house; he was passing by, I called him in; I said “Guillem, you have done them now,” or something to that purpose. He said, “Yes, they could not detain me for I was a free man.” He also said Mr. Ross had called into gaol to him; I asked him what he meant to do, he said he meant to look for work; I told him it was the wrong end of the week; he said he got out of their hands because they could not bring it home to him. I said their had been four murders committed and nobody detected; I said their was Mrs. Doran’s murder and Mrs. Mills’ and nobody detected; no, said he, nor never will; then, said I, there is Jesse Ives’s murder; Oh, said he, I don’t know anything about that; said I Mrs Mills was a tit bit wasn’t she? Yes, he said; I told him Randall’s boy told me he saw you; he said, he is a liar, he did not, for when I do things I do them clean; I told him my opinion was that a murderer could never rest; he said that be b______, he can rest as well as you can; I told him the scripture saith, he that sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed. He said he meant to go to Launceston or Sydney; he would serve one or two b_____ out yet; he said I’ll serve that b____ Captain Gardener out, for I should not have been detained only for him, and that mother Jarvis calling me a murdering villain.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I gave information of this conversation to Mr. Laughton about a quarter of an hour after; it was on Friday; I think it was after dinner; on the next Monday I heard a reward had been offered; on the next Wednesday I went to the Police Office.

By His Honor. Am a shoemaker; have lived at New Norfolk for nearly three years, and am a free man.

Re-examined. - Used those expressions to Guillem, because he considered he was in duty bound to God and man to find out the murderer; placed myself towards him as a confident, to get out what he could.

Charles Clarke. - Am a prisoner, and was lately confined in the jail at New Norfolk; Guillem was confined in the same room with him; had known him by sight; am under sentence for Port Arthur; recollect some time in January asking him how he came to be taken up for the murder of Mrs. Mills, he told me he was seen on the road by Mr. Lyons the night the body was found; and also that he was stopped by a constable, who asked him who and what he was, and that he told the constable he was a free man, and that the constable went on; that he then went to Mrs. Morgan’s for some shirts; that in his statement he had mentioned he had met the people with the body coming down the hill; this he told me in the day time; at night he said (this was before he went before the Magistrate) when we were in the cell, how he did the murder; he asked me first if I could keep a secret, I said “yes, what is it?” he said the morning as Mrs. Mills was murdered he was inside Terry’s gate with his cart and bullocks; after the coach was gone by he let them out, and went on the road, where he saw the woman about 50 yards from a hole which he explained to me afterwards; when he came up to her he said it was about fifteen yards from the hole, she was holding down her head as if in a deep study; he bid her good morning, she made him no reply - he said he took her to be a bolter; he said he fancied in his own breast _____; he then got out of his cart and took her hand, she bid him go about his business, or she would have him taken into custody; he said he did not mind her flattering tongue, and he took her round the waist; he said she struggled to get out of his arms, and in her struggle she fainted away; he said he threw her on the ground, and she came to herself and made a great noise to get up, and he looked for something to stop her mouth with; he said he saw a garter round her leg, and he took it off to tie round her mouth, but it not being long he tied it round her neck; he then turned her over and found she was dead; he picked her up and ran with her in his arms into the bush; he said he then ran after his cart which was gone slowly down the road; he said he was stopped by the boy Randall, who asked him for a bullock lash; he said he only had the one had had in use; said he next saw an old invalid from the hospital sitting on a log, with a line and rod going fishing; he said he saw several other men on the road, and that he should call them on his trial. The next morning when I came out of the cell he told me to say I had not had any conversation with him about his affairs; he told me that day he had been to have a hearing about the murder; he appeared very uneasy, and walked up and down the cell; then the told me who had been against him that day; he said Levy had some conversation with him after he returned from town; he said part of what Levy had said was true, but he did not tell me what it was; he said Mr. Jarvis had been against him; he said he did not care what Mr. Jarvis said against him, for neither him or Levy could tell a straight-forward story; he said Mrs. Jarvis had been against him, and a man named Taylor, for a conversation that passed next day at dinner time - and then he told me what had passed between Mrs. Jarvis and him; he said Mrs. Jarvis said it was a wonder Mrs. Mills did not leave some marks on the person who murdered her to discover him; she said Mrs. Mills had got hands, why she did not scratch him; Guillem said how could she scratch when she had gloves on; that was the answer he made to Mrs. Jarvis, who then said she had a mouth to bite; he said to her how could she bite, that depends on circumstances whether she could or no; he said he was frightened of Mrs. Jarvis and Taylor, but not of Mr. Jarvis or Levy, and he should call on the servant woman to deny that he repeated anything that night he came home to Mr. Jarvis’, he said if she will only deny that and clear him of wanting shirts, and also deny what he said to Mrs. Jarvis the next day about the gloves, he did not care; a day or two after, he said he had sent for Mary; he called her from the factory to deny his having said the words; I asked if he was sure Mary would deny any thing that passed between Mr. Jarvis and him after he came home that night; he said she would, for he had trusted her with one thing before, and I can trust her with this; Mary can deny me nothing; he told me the shirt he had on the day of the murder, was in his box, torn at the back of the collar, and very near a new one; he complained of being in the cell, and asked the javelin man to remove him to a single cell; I asked him 20 times over whether he met any one between Terry’s gate and the boy Randall; he said no, not a bl____ one, about two days after the first conversation, I told the javelin man if he would listen, he would hear Guillem talking about Mrs. Mills’ murder; he was continually talking about it, and pointed out what things looked black in his case; and he mentioned the gloves, and that Mr. Lyons saw him on the road; he said the tear in the shirt was done in the scuffle between him and Mrs. Mills; I asked him (after May had been up to be examined,) how she acted; he said if she looked him in the face, he had an office to give her which only he and she understood, and that she would deny any conversation between Mr. or Mrs. Jarvis and him, and to clear him from wanting shirts; when he came home he said she had done him good in one sense, but not in the other; instead of denying the words he said to Mrs. Jarvis, she said he had used them; (this he said before all hands;) when we got in the cell he said she had denied him saying anything to Mr. Jarvis, and also his wanting shirts; but she had not denied his saying any thing to Mrs. Jarvis about the gloves; he seemed very frightened and I asked him if he had seen any one on the road that night; he said he was frightened he should be found guilty; I think, on Wednesday night, we were talking again; I said well, how will it be if Mary turns round; oh, b_____ her, says he, she can only hang me; I said, if you was going to be hanged, would you not confess; no, said he, to nobody, nor would I let any body come nigh me; he said he would not let Mr. Bedford come nigh him; he should get no confession from him; he said the gaoler in Hobart Town should be the only person who should; he said he would not confess to any one, for there was no fear of his being hanged yet, for he could stand at the bar for two days, and keep a good countenance all the time; he never told me he could not give the woman the office; I cannot tell whether any one else heard what he told me about the murder; there was a man called Robins slept in the same bed with us; I slept in the middle.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I lived at New Norfolk about eight months before I went to gaol; I heard of the murder of Mrs. Mills the following day of the murder; I never heard any thing that I have said until I was in gaol; I was put in gaol for being insolent to my master and misconduct; I never heard that Mrs. Mills was strangled with a garter; I am under sentence to Port Arthur; I don’t expect to have that sentence mitigated, on account of the evidence I have given here to-day; I never was at the Police-office during any of the examinations in this affair; the prisoner was not present when I gave my evidence, but he came in, and the evidence was read over to him; I had no conversation with any person about the murder, further than Mr. Solomon’s servant told me her master was taken in custody; I was not at Collins’s house the day the Corner’s Inquest sat; know several of the constables of New Norfolk; when Guillem was speaking of the murder he spoke in a whisper; he said he would not confess to Mr. Bedford because he would make a public talk of it; I know the javelin man listened at night after we were locked up; I told him the best place to hear would be up in a corner next to the empty cell; I believe he did listen; I did not whisper it in the corner, nor did I speak it myself.

By His Honor. - When Guillem made this confession to me, I had been in gaol about a month; it was one or two days after that I told the javelin man; about three or four days after that I went to the Police-office; Guillem had then been examined twice, and he told me who had been examined; I did not then make a statement on oath; I never heard the account of the Inquest read; I cannot read; the second time I was not examined on oath; I was only examined once on oath; I think I then mentioned about the shirt collar.

Thomas Robins. - I slept in the prisoners’ barracks last night; I have been there since last Tuesday, and came from Grass Tree Hill road party; I went there from New Norfolk gaol; I was first in a small cell; after I had been in a week, I slept with Guillem and Clark, in the gaol, I heard something of the murder of Mrs. Mills between Clark and Guillem; what I first heard was Mrs. Mill’s name being mentioned; I cannot say whether Clerk or Guillem mentioned it first; after I got into bed, I heard Guillem say, after I got out of Terry’s gate, I met a woman, and she hung down her head, and I thought she was a bolter; I then heard him say, her legs were up when she lay on her back; I took the garter off her leg, and tried to tie it round her mouth, and finding it was not long enough, I fastened it round her neck; I got up and moved her and found she was dead; being very frightened, I picked her up and carried her further in the bush, laid her down, ran away, got over the fence and got into my cart, went along the road a little and met a boy or man, I don’t know which; I can’t say I heard all was said that night; this was in the large cell; in the small one I heard Guillem say I don’t care a d_____ for any of the witnesses except Levy, Jarvis, Mrs. Jarvis and Taylor; on the Wednesday following, I heard Guillem say Taylor says they are white gloves, but I say they are yellow.

Daniel Fisher. - I am javelin man at New Norfolk jail, I knew the witness Clark; he made a communication to me about Guillem on the 23d of January; from what he said I laid a plan to listen and hear what passed between Guillem and him; I did so on the same night; I heard Clark ask Guillem what the woman said; he, Guillem said, that she said some would go a good deal against him, and some for him; Clark said, why did you not give her the wink? Guillem said, she would not look at me until I began to ask her questions, and then all were looking at me and I could not; Clark said, who is that man that said he saw some one standing a little above Terry’s gate with a straw hat on? Guillem said oh, that was Lyons; I wonder he did not say that was me; Clarke asked if the evidence given in would hurt him? He said Taylor was the worst, Levy the next, and the woman the next; Guillem said, there is a piece of print; if they were to get that, it would go a d___d sight against me; Clark asked him if he saw any one from Terry’s gate till he overtook the boy? He said no, not a bl___y one; whatever the rest was, were broken expressions, I could not make up; Clark asked him if any person was a Levy’s house, when he, Guillem was, and he said no; and as to what conversation passed; his no was as good as Levy’s yes, and he could bustle him.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - Clark told me that Guillem had been telling him his case; I said why he has not confessed the murder; he said no, but I have no doubt I can get it out of him; what I have stated, I distinctly heard; I think there were 10 men in the cell when I overhead this; I swear I heard Clark and Guillem’s voices, I know both their voices so well; I was not present when the coroner’s inquest sat, nor at the police office; I could distinctly swear to Guillem’s voice.

H. W. Mason recalled. - I took all the evidence at the coroner’s inquest; Mrs. Jarvis was not examined on the inquest, but she was on the 20th of January 1837, before Mr. Arthur. The woman Mary must have been examined between that and the 25th of January. This is her deposition; it was taken on the 23d of January; she was sent for at the request of Guillem from the Hobart Town Factory; Clark was examined on the 25th of January; in consequence of something stated by Clark, she was sent for and examined again on the 4th of February, in the presence of Samuel Guillem; after Clark had made the statement, I was in company with Brooks stationed to listen at the cell of Guillem and Clark; I heard them singing; after that had ceased I heard part of what was said, but some part of it in such a low tone I could not hear it; what I heard was at intervals; I heard Clark say, I say, Sam, it looks very black about the gloves; Guillem said the girl did him a good deal of harm; Clark said why did you not give her the office? He said I could not, for they were all looking at me so; Clark said a short time after, I say Sam, that evidence of Lyon’s looks very black, how do you intend to get over that? Guillem said, the man Lyons said he saw, was bigger than himself (Lyon); Clerk said yes, he also says the man he saw wore a straw hat; Guillem said, I shall say I had on a black one, and then my no will be as good as his yes, in a few minutes Clark said, Levy’s evidence looks very black, how will you get over that? Oh! said Guillem, I must baffle him, he can’t tell a plain story twice over, but they may do what they like with me, they may hang me, I have nothing to confess, I am innocent of the charge laid against me.

Now the sixth and last of the confession witnesses, Thomas Nuttley, and our readers will not fail to observe that none of them is in such accordance with any one of the others as to make their testimony harmonize.

Thomas Nuttley. - I come from the prisoners’ barracks; I have been there since the first of March previous to which I was about 3 weeks in the Hobart Town jail; I know the prisoner and became acquainted with him in the jail; had never seen him before; to the jail I came from Hamilton, about 22 miles from Hobart Town; I did not hear of Mrs. Mills’ murder until I got in jail; the prisoner told me of it; on the 24th of February, myself and the prisoner were walking in the jail yard together about 2 or 3 o’clock; he said to me “if you will promise not to say any thing, I will tell you the whole of the circumstances of what I am here for;” I said “I won’t name it;” he then said “I am here for the murder of Mrs. Mills, on the 9th of Nov. the day the sun was eclipsed last;” he said he had taken a cart and bullocks to go to Terry’s Mill for flour for his master; he said he got his flour, and just as he was coming to the gate to come home, the coach was just passing; he said his bullocks walked on down the road after the coach till he came some distance down the road; that he then saw a woman, he did not know who, coming towards him; as she came near, he knew it was Mr. Mills; and he said “good morning, Mrs. Mills,” and she replied; he then said to her, “are you going to do the thing that is right?” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * he then said he took her round the waist and she fainted; he took her to the fence and threw her down; he then put a string across her mouth, but it did not prevent her from calling out; he then took his handkerchief and tied across her mouth, and effected his purpose; when he took the handkerchief off, she said, “I will get a warrant out for you, for this is the second time you have insulted me in this manner;” he said “then you mean to hand me, I suppose;” she said, “I’ll leave that to a higher power;” he then said “be d___d if you ever go to New Norfolk again; I may as well be hanged for murder as any thing else;” he then threw her down, put a string round her throat, put his two thumbs into her throat, and she died instantly; when he saw she was quite dead, he was frightened, and he took her up and carried her further into the scrub; he then called to his bullocks to go on the road; that he had two or three hundred yards to run to overtake his bullocks; he came up to them at Randall’s paddock; that the boy Randall asked him for a lash, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, he said, this is the handkerchief I settled the job with, and this is where she tore it; there was a rent in the border near the corner; he said she had two or three rings on her finger, but he could not say which, for she had a pair of gloves on; I should know the handkerchief from the tear in the border; at this time I was in the same cell with Guillem; this is the handkerchief; I believe I was then in gaol on a capital charge; on the lst of March, I went to the prisoners’ barracks, and the next day I gave the information to Mr. Gunn.

Cross-examined by Mr. Horne. - I wont swear Clark or Robins were not in the gaol with me at New Norfolk, but I did not see them; when the prisoner told me this story, we were all out in the yard; I recollect it was the 24th of February, because a man of the name of Toppin was writing letters for Guillem on that day, the 24th Feb.; since the lst March I have been in the prisoner’s barracks; I have not yet been tried for the offence for which I was committed; Guillem said the handkerchief having been round her mouth, helped to suffocate her; I am not making up a story against the prisoner; I do not expect to receive any benefit to my own case, from the evidence I have given to-day; I have been near eight years in the Colony; I do not know the constable that brought me from New Norfolk; he never said any thing about Mrs. Mills’s murder; it was not mentioned; I don’t know where Randall’s field is; I was only in New Norfolk one night; I have not read a newspaper these three years; I do not know why I am kept in the barracks; I stopped one night and part of the day at Bridgewater.

By His Honor. - Guillem only told me this story once; it was on the 24th February; I never heard of Randall or his boy, before the prisoner mentioned them to me.

The prisoner in his defence asserted his innocence in the strongest terms; after which the Chief Justice summed up at very great length, and with the utmost care and precision. The Jury retired for about two hours, and on their return pronounced their verdict - Guilty.

His Honor the Chief Justice then pronounced the last dreadful sentence of the law, which the unhappy man underwent yesterday morning. Full particulars of the whole circumstances which occurred shall appear in our next, with the comments which we feel it an imperative duty to make upon this case, so very extraordinarily “got up,” as the Attorney General admitted it had been.

[1] The Tasmanian gave an incorrect date for the 14th of March, calling it the 11th. See also True Colonist, 17, 24 March 1837; Hobart Town Courier, 17 March 1837 (the latter giving an account of the prisoner's execution). For the Judge’s summary report see AOT MM 71/9, pp. 133-38.