Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 26 September 1866, page 3


MARYBOROUGH ASSIZES, x

THIAX OT TUX WILD BCOTCIIICAX VOE MAIL BOBBSBT

TCTOXS. ABUS.

/IVom thé Maryborough ChronieU.J

TuunsDAT, SEFTBITBKK 13.

BzFomx bis Honor Mr. Justice COOXLB. J.F.

James Macpherson alias the WM Sootohanan, alias Kerr, alisa Alpin Macpherson, waa placed at the her charged for that he, on the 27th November, 1865, robbed her Majesty's mail, and put the mailman in bodily fear.

A jury having been empanelled, the prisoner, who was undeiesded, pleaded not guilty.

The Attorney- General having opened the essa, called

labourer, and live at Toowoomba ; I remember the month ef November last ; was running the mail at that time be-tween Gayndah and Golden Fleece; on the morning of the Z7ih November but received the mail bags which warr sealed In the usual way, and left for tho Golden Fleece. whaleboat twenty-six mDss from Gayndah; a mao rodo up to mo and pref anted a revolver ; the man waa the prisoner at the bar; ha said, -'Pull off the road, I want to

tee if there's a letter In that bag for the Wild Scotchman; I won't take you UK;" went off the road about 200 or . 300 yards, .when he said, "That wiU do-tobo the bags off1'; I took them off;

the prisoner then, asked ms for a knife, .which I gave him. . when he broke the seal,, took out the< letters, and opened them, taking ell the notea and cheques ; be gave" me some cheques back; while taking, out the letters prisoner was kneeling on one knee, with s revolver by bis aldo and his gun behind him :-when leaving be told me to gather up tho letters and put them In tie. beg,-which I did, and'went on to' the Golden Fleece ; on arriving1 there I telegraphed to ' tbs sub-Inspector of police, and gave the bags to Henry William non in the same'oondltfon aa when I brought them;

I saw.the prisoner next day, about four miles on the' Gayndah side of Mrs,. Irwin's: I hal tho up-mail ; pri-soner wes carrying arma; was with bim that morning about IbicB-auartcre sf an. hourr and was In fear of my life.

Cross examined by ; prisoner :'I .saw : you take, some notes; yon rode up the ridge ead met me onthetop^you waa armed with a gun, end presented it st me; swear you took oems notes ; some 'obeouee you returned; I was with you about on hanr, "

Edward Armitage, examined by the Attorney. General : I live cn the Mary River, and mm m lumberer; X recollect March lut'; was mailman then ; I know Mr. J. Walsh and Mr. Nott ; on tbs 30th March I MW prisoner et Monduran ;

?Messrs. Nott,-Walah; Currie, and N. Brown-were présent' when I saw prisoner ; ¡we1 stopped prisoner on the next day ; bs was leading ? horse with a swag .and on, American, ass on its book, .and had a double-barrelled gun and two small Jittols; I saw prisoner secured with atrapa ead .a.chain;

id not see what.w'as doss either with the arma or prisoner after that; I want cn with the mail ; Thad seen, tho' pri-soner before on the some' rood, in the Port Cartis' district,

on the 3rd of March; be then had two .revolvers shd' a', gun; I was with hun at that tims about en hanr/ '

Cross-examined by prisoner : You .did not present any arms et me ; on the 3rd you hod no'revolver m your hand: I raw a revolver In your bosom; you had no coat on ; I could net swear they were revolvers, but they -were In' revolver-pou ches: saw a doubls-barrell ed gun In your pos-session; ou the.SOthl overtook you. on the road; atvs' double-barrelled gun In your .possession; I was about .160 to 200 yards from yen ; you dropped the gun .before you weis taken : I saw two small ínstela taken from voa, -?-'.?

John Walsh, examined by tho Attorney-General : I live' at Gayndah,. and am aaaistant-'pwtmaater; I'r^emboi November," 1866, and waa In the asme ospeoity at that limo ; I know John Hickey,'and saw him receive the mall tag on the 27th of November; I tied, and aealed th'sbsgs .before delivering them to El okey ; all the letterain the bags were poet letteri..

Binkey recalled and examined by bia Honor: I.did not ate the prisoner again after tba SSthNovemberforaboaf three moa the, and then it waa before a magistrate; I do not

remember the date. ; - '.?-)'

John Walsh deppssd : I bye at DegQbo, and am manager of a cattle atatton ; I' remember the 30th of March' bm ; ' took the prisoner that day. ; 'Mr. Noll; Hr. Carrie. Ur. Gadiden, ead Armitage .were with -me ; T^uner 'hasV a donbIe,narrelled.'gnnt ead waa leading a paoi-horae'; I mot him the'first'Urne while on my way to Mondaran;' Mr,'

Gsdtden only waa .with me at that time; about -three quarters of an hour after that we all saw him ; tho moment -ho saw ns. ho let bis pack-horse go, and dropped: bis gun;, wo rode after hto, and when, we overtook bimi called upon bim to surrender ¡.could not bear what be replied : after we.vsecured., bim. I toole tbs. pistols, bot. did not search him ; I ex'sBiined the pistóla, 'and saw theyiwere" capped ; after', taking bim to Monduran we weat back to where be was captured, but lt waa then too dark to look for anything ; on sesroblng next, mondar wo found the gun, wÛoh:.I examined, ann found one barrel on full' cock and

ÍSosa-exemlned by prisoner : When first I saw you, was

^ within five er six yards off; swear you had a gun;7aaw. you throw the gun away; 1 wül not swear it was the same gun; did net pick the gun up till next morning ; yen did net oaks ap j attempt at mis tasca; Armitage bomnd yoi,

in M »ich last; I »w tisprisoner when ha WM captured ; Kr. Kott and Ur. J. Welsh wera with the prisoner whea be waa broneht to Gingin,; a double-barrelledgun and twa small pistols were given into my posseatloa by Mr. J. Walsh. -,

By prisoner : I ssw yon flratat Monduran: you'wera ? Ikea captured; I then saw the pütolsybutnoothwflreera*

were shown to me that day. .

H. H. Harris deposed : lama oonstable ; I remember seeing prisoner at Gingin on the 1st April last; ho was then giwn into my custody ; Mr.Browngavsn>es pair of pistols and a double-barrelled gun; I brought them and the -prisoner to Maryborough. . ?

R. B, "Ware said : I remember April last: ssw tb» prisoner that month ; I got from oonstable Harris a pair of pistols, and a double-barrelled gun; examined the arms and

onnd them all loaded ; the gun was loaded with throe bans

sawyer : remember March lest ; "was st that Um* running th« mail between Maryborough and Golden Fleece; kno«* J. Hickey; remember 27th of March last; Hickey gav»: me some mail bags on the; evening of that day, not sealed^ cannot say whether they bad been-sesJed.

The prisoner on being asked If be wished. to address tba jury, said that npon'every occasion when lt had been re-ported of bim that ho.etuck up email, or had boen seen by any one, be bad been described-as-having.always two or three revolvers sud a rifle er carbine, whereas when be was) arrested no such arms were found upon him-bo bad no other sims than a common fowlingpiece and a pair of small

pocket pistols, lesa destructive than those eommonly carried. try most men in the bush, for purposes cf self-protection ; and even the gun was not found rn bis possession but waa'

picked up afterwards, and bsd not been sworn to- as being

viction of prisoner's identity, aa the person that stopped and robbed bim, bsd been founded moro upon hearsay end listening to tko opinions of others, than opon any other knowledge he could have ef the person that robbed bia,-son eidering the short time that witness was in his company, and the time that bsd elapsed until ho saw him again Ia

that Court under suspicious cboumatanoss.

The learned Chief Justice then addressed the jury, read-ing the evideace and commenting on lt. Tbs address af

the prisener he would not trouble them with remarks on, -' ss! they would be' quito capable of estimating what value should be attached to it. From Hickey'e evidence they

would be able to judge whether he was put in bodily fear or

not; if net, tho crime would be. reduced to simple larceny. As tb the identity of the prisoner, It was. for their' considér-ation whether Hickey, wno saw the mah on two occasions for nearly en hour each time, would be abls to identify bim again alter Ave months* tims.

The jury retired to consider their Terdict, and another jury was sworn'to try the prisoner on the next charge. After being absent shoat half an hour, they brought In s> verdict of guilty, with a t eco mm en dation to mercy. .On the foreman beag asked by tbs Chief Justice on what ground, be replied that no actual violence had been used.

' The prisoner was a gun placed on his trial on the oharge of robbing har Majesty's mall on the 28th November, 18«,

andbuttisg the mailman In' bodily fear.

The Attorney- General having opened the case,

John Hickey deposed: I remember November, 1805; was running tie mail between' Gayndah and Golden Fiase* st that time ; I saw "Williamson st the Golden F eec« a little after dark on that evening, and got' the mail bag and some

station .bags from bim; the begs were sealed, and I took -them from the Golden Fleece in the same condition aa whoo received from "Williamson ; while on the way to Gayndah st mas rode ofter ma : 2 was then about faur mOes on the

Gayndah sido of Mrs, Irwin's: that man was the prisoner; saw the same man the day before ; he presen tod a double barrelled gun at me, and said, 11 Pull up, -I shall take you further off the roed to-day than I did yesterday, because I

have seen the police about herb this morning ;"' I went on

With him about a quarter of a mile, when he said. " Thaf s

far enough ;" he then told moto take off the mail bags; I ' took them off;. prisoner opened the bag« with, a knife, and look out the latiere and opened them ; I sa w him take some-

thing out, but don't know what it waa: there was writing and printing .on it; his gun was hud up against a bee, and his revolver wu in his pouch ; I was with him about three-quarters of aa hour; il waa through fear that I gave up the mail ; on. going away prisoner rode into the bush; I then .gathered up the letters, put them'into the. bags, and delivered them at the Gayndah Post-offioe.

Cross-examined by prisoner : You.did- not uso any vio-lence ; it was tho sight of the gun that put mein tsar,-you told me to open the bags, but I did not ; you did not-oovex ne while searching the bags ; I waa standing about four or five yards off; I did not ace you take any cheques, and can't say how many letters you opened ; I did not see you take any more than the one piece of paper ; yon opened mora letters than one; I saw the end of your revolver stioking outof the pouch : I will swear it «as either a revolver or a pistoL .

Cross-examined by jurymen : I did not meet prisoner be rode after me; the gun was nearest tho prise a or when it was against tbs tree, and the pistol was in his pouoh, which was attached to a belt-round his body.

William Henry "Williamson said :' In. November last I waa mailman between Maryborough and Golden Fleece ; on the 27th-November got-the mail bags from the Marybo-rough postmaster ; the bega were seeled ; I delivered to

Hickey st the Golden Fleece Ia the ovening, betw****-* g o'clock.: the bega were delivered by nw C(m" ditton aa I received them ; saw xu.a6y next morning pul the bags on his horse, amt tn ey appeared to be in the sama

?tata aa when-I-d«llTA*d-Uiam..

be stuck i

James Balero Robertson deposed: I liva at Marybo-rough : om postmaster; was postmaster in November hut; remember lie mail leaving on the 27th of November last; gave "Wilüsm son a bag sealed and addressed to the Gayndah post-ciHce; there were about ISO Jotters in the bag, as well

'eight station bags; lt was Williamson's dury to convey

lag, with station bags, that I delivered to Hickey ot th*

Golden Fleece. . .

J. Walsh said :. I am assistant postmaster ot Gayndah ; waa In that '" capacity tn November, 1866 ; I know John Hickey: remember the 27th November, 1565; Hickey delivered-.a .mail bag on .that' day ; the bag.weis not sealed ; .shout fifty of the letters had been opened.' ' '

Hickey recalled, and cross-examined by the Chief jus-

tice : It was on' the' 28th November when he rose tho doubl» barred gun ' st me ; I wai with bbs about three 3uar tere of on hour on that day, and. about on hour tho

ay before.' ?? ??? ?

By a Juryman-: Whan-the-gun' wrns- standing against

(beetree I stood away of my own accord-was not asked

On prisen er being asked If be hod anything to say, ba desired, the jury'to reflect upon" the évidence; and if they, thought there was any doubt to give binvthe benefit of it.

Eu Honor the Chief Justice then proceeded to sum up, -: reading through;''and commenting'on, thi evidence.

The jury, after a brief consulUtion,'brought In a Ter* diet of guilty. - ?;<. . ?

On the prisoner being asked If bs bad anything to say before sentence was passed on'him, replied that appearances were' certainly ágabist hiaVhuVhe'was not" sonad as ho appeared, . He bad ones sn honourable reputation sind good character,-and he pleaded with his Honor that hs would pass a merciful rateaos, so that. be - might hive an oppor-tunity of again leading a Ufa more' useful to' hirnsalt sad others than he had lately, done, i -.:

His Honor said It T with extrema pain that he bsd to pass the sentence he was about to do on o great atrong man like the prisoner, whose life might .have been made a credit to bin self and -useful to the community. - But be.waa 'obliged to deal with all caws .according to .th« view ha

entertained of tbs effect of the^panfshmest cn the dangerous ' ?part of tho community.. He regretted heoould sse nothing ' la either case to cause bim' to pass , a light sentence. The ' jury who tried the first essa bod recommended tho prisoner to mercy, which he (the Judge), .would-bav«> been prepared to accept, but'more out of respect for th* jury thou from his own conclusions on th* case. But-tb*. :jnry who bled tho second case'had notrepcated.thatre-'

commendation. The evidence showed that these were not

the oaiy crimes of the kind the prisoner -bsd committed; -and if «Il lbs circumstances"- of the.-two oases, hod been.' ' before the first jury, that recommendation to mercy wtuld probably have not been given. The prisoner appealed for i mercy; how oould. be. expect il ir Ho had entsred'upon a 1 moat dangerous courserons affecting '¡ylfaiUti the weUare

and prosperity of the country. Ho bsd token upon'himself to. interrupt the communication between one part of th* country end another, -'inflicting' in-many cases,' probably, much personal.suffering,and loss, destroying trade ; and aa the example af tbn.sbaisbbótirmg colony showed,'might lead to' a great effualoniof bloed,:, It waa as. much .the'interest of

criminals aa of the eonunanlly, that they should be deterred --hy a severe,,example from .entering--upon' such V career. - ' Boms muwppréhenáleñ'' seemed to exist of the stats' ' of tho btw In the 'colony-the' jury in tbs first casó recom-

mending mercy on the ground that no ona had been Injured '

criminal did not reader bis own life eeoure. If' he'(th* prisoner) bad wounded Hickey, bia life would hov« been, forfeited to the kw. He hoped ft would become generally known that to stop-short,of murder in this course did not

render their own lives safe1-that they entered upon-It tn -peiÜ of theirownlivea. The-first jury had belled bJs'etteai titn to the circumstance: that'no actual violence had bean shown to be eommlrted.. If there bad been» it\ would have been * bis" ' (tba : Judge's) - duty' ., tty

i ' many who "would itenoe would not bo* -.-e prisoner wounded, because be should then probably bava, hod to pass sentenoe of death. On two luooeeslro dity* he {the prisoner) had stopped the mall-the only means of oommanlcauou, lt might be, between portions of tbs colony; and from th* evidenoe ft could be gathered these were. not.tho only two casca of the kind. Be. bsd incitad the dangerous , cbus of tbs community to tbs commission of like crimea, by repre-senting the police sud . the authorities as too week to desi with such offenders, and he hoped -by the sentence hs was about to peas snob mistakes would be oorrsoted..

His Honor then sentenced the prisoner to twenty-five years' pens! isrvUusVe tw sash offence, tb« satauss HH