Sydney Morning Herald (44)
[BY TELEGRAPH]
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)
MELBOURNE , MONDAY
The trial of Kelly was continued, at Beechworth, this morning. George Stevens, a groom, was the first witness examined, and then James Gloster, a draper, residing at Seymour . The former was at Younghusband's station when it was stuck-up, and the latter was stuck up by the Kellys. Gloster said that Kelly told witness he shot sergeant Kennedy in a stand-up fight, and when Kennedy was wounded he shot him to put him out of his misery.
Mr. Gaunson then proceeded to cross-examine Gloster. The witness stated: This was not the first occasion I had been stuck-up; I was stuck-up by a man whose name was unknown, and once by a man named Daly; the former has never been brought to justice; Daly shot me through the shoulder and through the face; he did not rob me at the Faithful Creek Station; I asked if Daly was with the gang; I do not say that I have given the prisoner's statements in his own exact words, but simply as near as I can remember; others could have heard our conversations; Stevens could have heard them, if he was not asleep; several of the prisoners fell asleep; I don't know whether Stevens slept or not; there was no violence offered by the prisoner after he had calmed down; prisoner threatened to shoot several of us ; after I gave in I was treated with the greatest kindness; I had about £10 in my pocket, and my-cart was filled with drapery goods; he did not offer to take any portion of my money, nor did any of his mates; some of the prisoners offered him small sums of money, which he returned lo them; one offered him a half-sovereign, which he declined; when I was first told that the Kellys were at the station I thought it was a joke, and when I refused to return to the kitchen M'Auley followed me, and said I was a fool – that were I any other man I would be shot; when my revolver was demanded the prisoner directed me to place it on a box in the cart; I did so, and he picked it up; it was a six-shooter; it was when I was sitting at supper that the hand-cuffs were shown me, and it was then that the prisoner said I would receive no harm if I kept a civil tongue in my mouth; the prisoners in the store were detained there the whole night and the whole of the next day, and up to 8 o'clock next morning; the prisoner was with us the whole of the first night, talking about various subjects; when the police murders were referred to we spoke about them as the shooting of the police, and never used the word murders; I did not care for calling them murders whilst a revolver was staring me in the face; my impression was that prisoner took to talking himself about the shooting of the police, in order to screen his mates; he seemed desirous of impressing upon us the idea that the police party intended to shoot them; I can't say that he impressed me that he held that belief himself, or that he did not; there was no drink amongst us in the storeroom; about a week after the Euroa affair, I wrote an account of my experiences at detective Ward's request, and sent it to him; I have not seen that statement since; I have had. an interview with sub-inspector Kennedy with regard to the case; Mr Kennedy asked me what I had got to say, and took down what I said; I applied for a copy of my first statement, but did not get it; I will not swear that I did not make the statement that Kennedy was shot by Kelly when in a dying state in the report I gave to Detective Ward; at Younghusband's station the prisoner's conversation was full of complaints about the police; I understood him to mean that when once a man offended, although he had suffered for his offence, the police would never leave him alone; he complained that his mother had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment on the evidence of constable Fitzpatrick, whose testimony was perjury; he also said his mother had seen better days, had struggled up with a large family, and that he felt very keenly her being sent to gaol with a baby at her breast on the perjured statement of constable Fitzpatrick.
Mr. Smyth: And I suppose that was his justification for shooting Fitzpatrick.
Mr. Gaunson: Well, you and I have never been placed in the same position.
Witness resumed: Prisoner also said that he was 200 miles away when the attempt to murder Fitzpatrick took place, and that whilst he was 200 miles away Fitzpatrick swore that it was he who shot at him.
To Mr. Smyth: It is eight or nine years since Daly stuck me up, and he had regained his liberty before the Euroa affair; the impression the prisoner left on my mind was, that he shot the police through revengeful feelings; he also said that if his mother was not released he would overturn a railway train.
Mr Smyth: Well, we know what he did in that way.
Witness continued: I have no doubt that the prisoner told me that he shot Kennedy, although the conversation took place two years ago.
Frank Becroft deposed: In December, 1878, I was in Mr. Gloster's employment; on the 9th of that month we were stuck up by the Kelly gang at Younghusband's station; we were locked up in the store- room with 15 or 16 other persons; the prisoner kept guard over us in the room during the night; the prisoner talked a good deal; he told us all about the murder of the police in the Wombat Ranges; he said, "We came upon the police; two of them were constables M'Intyre and Lonigan; they were by the camp, and we called upon them to surrender; M'Intyre threw up his hands, and Lonigan ran for a log; Lonigan got behind the log, and was firing at me, when I fired at him and shot him in the head; he also said the man was a fool for running away; he then said that when Kennedy and Scanlan came up he called upon them to surrender; that Scanlan tried to fire at him with his gun, and that he then shot him on his horse; he also said that whilst watching Kennedy and Scanlan, and thinking the latter was shamming, M'Intyre escaped; but Kennedy fired at him from tree to tree until he ran into an open piece of ground and held up his hands; that he (the prisoner) thought Kennedy was going to fire again, and that he therefore fired again at Kennedy, who then fell ; that he said to Kennedy, " I will have to go, and, as I don't want to leave you in a dying state, I will have to shoot you;" that Kennedy asked to be allowed to live, but that he (Kelly) shot him dead, and covered him up with a cloak; the prisoner had a rifle at Euroa – a Spencer rifle, which he said he took from Scanlan; he showed us how to load and unload it at the stock; towards morning I fell asleep.
, .1. , .2. ,
| ! | 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. |
