Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Saturday 30 May 1846, page 1


DEATH OF WILSON, THE BUSH-

RANGER, AND CAPTURE OF HIS

PARTY.

(From the Sydney Herald, May 27.)

The career of the notorious bushranger Wilson, who has so long infested the northern districts, has at length been put an end to, and his party been captured.

It appears that a party of the mounted police, consisting of Sergeant Giles, one corporal, and four privates, were in pursuit of this gang of depredators for a long period, when the sergeant resolved to divide his party, and send Corporal Worsley and troopers Joyce and Maher to the ranges at the head of the Clarence River, while he, with the other two troopers, proceeded to the Darling Downs, where a robbery had been just before committed. The prudence of this step was apparent from the fact that Worsley and his party came up with Wilson and his party, and that in a very sharp affray Wilson was killed, and one of his companions wounded, and that another of the gang is in custody.

The details of the affray will be gathered from the following letter from the corporal to the commandant of the mounted police, with which we have been favoured. The conduct of the police appears to have been exceeed-ingly meritorious for the perseverance with which they pursued the lawless scoundrels, and the courage and determination with which they acted when they came up with

them.

" Yulgillar, 15th May, 1846.

"Sir-I beg to state for your information that on the 7th May we were informed that the bushranger Wilson and his party, of whom we were in pursuit, had robbed the station of Mr. Bloxome, of Rostion. The next morning we went after them, and took the aboriginal black with us to track. We got on it on the morning of the 9th, and followed them over mountains and through scrubs so thick that we were obliged to cut our way through them with our knives.

" We fell in with them on the morning of the 12th, at half-past eight o'clock; we saw their fire from the ridge where we were on. I dismounted the men, as I would have been heard with the horses, from the bank of the creek upon which they were being very hard and scrubby.

"As we came up the bank they were pre- pared. I ordered them them to lay down their arms, but they refused to do so. The bushranger Delaney, whom we captured, being behind a tree, five yards from the bank, with double-barrelled piece, he fired at me, but missed me ; when seeing Wilson with a blunderbuss and spring-bayonet attached, presented, and a double-barrelled gun at his knee, I fired at him, but missed, when De-lany rushed on me, and caught me in his arms around the body. I then ordered trooper Joyce, as he was close by, to do his duty, which he did, and shot him through the shoulder blade. I then, seeing trooper Maher in front of Wilson, without any cover-ing, ran immediately to his assistance, when Wilson fired his blunderbuss at Maher, and shot him in the fleshy part of the thigh,

and lodged thirteen buckshot in him, as he was making for cover. Maher then fired at him, and put a ball in his left elbow. He then ran with the double-barrelled piece still in his hand; Maher followed and knocked him down with the butt of his carbine, which broke ; he got up again and made an effort to cross the creek; I drew my pistol and shot him through the left side. Trooper Maher not being able to move, I went to see after the other two bushrangers, that we had not seen, as they had got into the scrub when we first challenged. At this time the affraywas over, having lasted one hour.

Wilson was severely wounded, but lived until half-past three, being six hours and a

half.

"I then mustered all I could find in the camp, consisting of eighten stand of arms, six horses, four saddles, two pack horses, with a quantity of ammunition and other baggage.

"Having one dead and two wounded men, and not knowing where we might find a station, I thought it best to remain all night, as we should have to go all over mountains.

"On the morning of the 13th, we started, and made an out station of Mr. Ogilvie's, on the Clarence River, about twelve miles distance, where I left the wounded in charge of trooper Joyce, and proceeded to the head station for assistance. Next morning I re-turned with a dray, when Joyce reported that one of the bushrangers, who had escaped, was lurking in the vicinity, where a shepherd brought him some meat to detain him until I should come back. I then rode off, and apprehended him in a gully, about three quarters of a mile from the station, with a double-barrelled gun in his possession.

"We brought the dead and wounded on the dray to the head station, where J. Melton, Esq., J.P., had arrived, in the absence of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, who had been sent for, but was out in pursuit of the party we had taken.

" We could get no medical aid up to the present, but I proceed to-morrow to New England' for Dr. Frail, who is the nearest medical gentleman to this place.

"Trooper Maher is not mortally wounded, neither is the prisoner Delaney, but they are

not in a fit state to be removed.

"Mr. Melton took down the depositions to-day, the 15th, when we interred Wilson.

I am sir, your most obedient servant,

(signed) " Corporal Worsley,

(True copy.) Mounted Police. " H. Mair, Lieutenant and

Adjutant, Mounted Police."

Colonel Gurwood.-The daily papers will, ere this, have acquainted our readers with the lamentable death of Colonel Gur-wood-a soldier whose claim to a literary record is well founded on his editorship of the Wellington Despatches. Our readers know that Colonel Gurwood was private se-cretary to the Duke of Wellington, and held under him the Deputy-Lieutenantship of the Tower; and in the year 1839, a pension of £200 was granted to that officer, for, as the royal warrant expresses it, " eminent service to the public by the publication of the De-spatches" in question, "and thus diffusing and perpetuating, both in this country and among foreign nations, a knowledge of those achievements which have been effected by the British armies under the direction of the great commander."-Athenäum, Jan. 3.

Political Aspect op Germany.-We learn, says the Courier Francais, from a sure source of information, that a confiden-tial memorandum has been addressed to the

principal Cabinets of the Germany Con-federacy, by the Prince Arch-Chancellor of Austria. It appears that the attitude of Germany is anything but encouraging in the eyes of M. de Metternich. After having ex-posed the seriousness of the actual state of things, this statesman advises the German governments instantly to inform themselves respecting the wishes and the desires of their subjects, to satisfy as soon as possible their real material and moral necessities, in order thereby to anticipate the demands that the Opposition would not fail to make. If our readers attentively peruse the news that we give from our Prussian correspondent, they will perceive that there is now, in fact, a movement in operation in Germany which absorbs the attention of all serious minded persons. "The storm which menaces us," says M. de Metternich, in conclusion, " can no longer be averted except by large con-cessions." Thus, on one side we behold the greatest representative of absolutism, on the other the man who assuredly best under-stands the rights and the duties of consti-tutional governments-the Prince de Metter-nich in Germany, and Sir R. Peel in Eng-land-both sheltering the existence and authority of power behind the concessions of which public opinion demonstrates to them the necessity.

Expedition to Africa.-A new expedi-tion has recently left Liverpool for the interior of Western Africa, under the direction of Mr. G. W. Daniell, a surgeon, with the view of following up the discoveries in that region. And to this paragraph we may add, that a French expedition, composed of a steamer and two brigs, will sail, next month, to com-plete the observetions made on the river Senegal, contract treaties with the native princes, and organize the gum trade. It is intended to advance as far as the Cataracts of Govino, the extreme navigable point of the river, at the junction with the Kakoro, the Baung, and the Falème, which latter was recently ascended by the exploring mission of the Bambouck.-Athenoum, Jan. 3.

Railway Remuneration.-Two young men, says a western correspondent, surveyors in this district, have lately been induced to forego their ordinary occupation of mapping for the lucrative duties of railway surveyors, in which capacity they have measured five miles of country per week, at £30 per mile£150 a week instead of four guineas, which must have been the outside of their regular earnings. Of course this is their maximum earnings. In surveying through towns and villages, so much ground cannot be got over, but "out in the open," as it is called, five miles can be easily surveyed in a week.Liverpool Albion, Dec. 29.

Surprise is continually expressed at the multitude of railway projects which have been advertised for the ensuing session of Parliament ; but that surprise will, in some measure, be lessened when it is known that no fewer than twenty counties in England, and five in Wales, are still altogether without the benefit of railways.-Railway Record.