Royal Commission report day 21 page 24

From KellyGang
Jump to: navigation, search

previous page / next page

The Royal Commission evidence for 17/5/1881

(full text transcription)

(see also introduction to day 21)

Const Barry giving evidence

7931 Did I not express my surprise about their having moved from that cave into Sherritt's, about any of the men before in Sherritt's at all?— I cannot say you did.

7932 You remember our talking?— Yes.

7933 You have no recollection of my expressing surprise?— No.

7934 What firearm did you first practise with, excepting the revolver?— A double-barrelled shot gun.

7935 What had you next?— A Martini-Henry rifle.

7936 By the Commission— Is not that an inconvenient weapon for horseback?— It is inconvenient, but a very good one.

7937 By Mr. Nicolson— Did you prefer it to the shot gun.,—Yes, certainly; according to the duty I was on.

7938 Is that a good weapon to carry generally?— It is not a good one in the night time, but generally it is a good weapon.

7939 What weapon did you select for your duty?— It was never left to me. I had a shot gun for a long time, and then I got the Martini-Henry rifle at Beechworth.

7940 Was it given to you at your own request?— No; in consequence of some shooting we had at Beechworth.

7941 What was that?— We went out shooting, and I did very well with the rifle, and consequently I had the rifle given me, and the shot gun taken away.

7942 Did you make any objection to that?— No.

7943 Did you prefer the Martini-Henry rifle?— Yes.

7944 What shooting was it?— Practising to make us good shots, I understood.

7945 Was there any order to that effect?— I understood there was an order issued by you that we were to do that.

7946 You seem very unwilling to mention it. You speak about—that you saw some members of the Sherritt family moving about to Mrs. Byrne's?— No, I did not say that.

7947 You came in off duty at the cave, and you found it was very trying to your health?— Yes.

7948 You got rheumatism?— Yes, and I am not over it now.

7949 When you came in, you or some of the party, did you not apply to be allowed to go out on other duty for active exercise, after being confined in that cave?— I asked to be allowed to go out.

7950 Do you think it is a fair statement of a man who was on that duty, to complain of having been sent out on duty, after coming from the cave?— Certainly it was.

7951 Why?— Because there is a great difference between taking a short ride for the good of my health and being sent out a long hard ride.

7952 Were you sent out a long hard ride?— I was on different occasions.

7953 Did you report it to me?— No, I reported it to Detective Ward, and I expected he would report it to you.

7954 Had you not a right to speak to any officer you chose, if you spoke to a non-commissioned officer?— I expected he would have told you.

7955 I cannot remember that, but you did not do so. You spoke about Mrs. Sherritt to the cave—how often did she come?— Once.

7956 Did she ever come again?— I do not know.

7957 By the Commission— Did the old one come?— Not to my knowledge.

7958 Did any of the girls go?— I never saw them. I heard they were.

7959 Which?— Bessie.

7960 Is that the one that used to go to Beechworth constantly?— She was in employ at Beechworth.

7961 What age was she?— About twenty—a full-grown young woman.

7962 By Mr. Nicolson— Was there not, at the time you went out on that expedition with me, a great difficulty in finding constables who knew the country to act as guides for us?— Yes.

The witness withdrew.

Adjourned to to-morrow at Eleven o'clock .

[~[[See report of Proceedings 17/5/81]|6125]~]

See next day

18/5/1881 ....

Previous page / Next page


 ! The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original.

We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged.

We also apologise for any typographical errors.

The previous day / next day .. . Royal Commission index RC_index.html