The Age (44)

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The Age continued with its report of the KellyGang

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TRIAL OF NED KELLY

[By Electric Telegraph]

[From Our Own Correspondent]

Beechworth 11th August

The trial of Edward Kelly charged with the murder of Constable Michael Scanlan, was continued in the Beechworth court to day. Constable M’Intyre’s direct examination lasted until shortly before twelve o’clock, when Mr Gaunson took him in hand.

The witness stated: I know that there was another party of six policemen out, making a total of ten men to catch these two brothers. I did not know we had to meet on the Wombat Ranges. We had about twenty spare cartridges each. It is not usual to carry so much ammunition. The double barrelled gun which Kennedy had with him was borrowed from a Church of England clergyman. I could not say how far the gun would kill. When we got to the Wombat Ranges on the Friday we took our revolvers off. When we went to sleep no on was left watching. I did not wear the revolver that day. Lonigan did not wear his revolver in the morning, but he had it when we were bailed up. I am sure he had his revolver in his belt then, because I saw it. I heard Lonigan running on my left rear. I saw him fall by a glance. I was cooking and it would have been inconvenient for me to have carried the revolver. Lonigan assisted me, I swear that I had not my revolver on me when I fired. It was not taken from me when my hands were held up. I cannot say whether I would have resisted if I had been wearing the revolver. I did not expect to escape when I jumped on the horse. I only took Kennedy ’s horse when he had abandoned it. I did not consider there was time for me to pick up Scanlan’s arms. I swear Scanlan did not fire until he was shot, and I do not think he was capable of firing afterwards. I saw Byrne’s body tied up at the lock-up at Benalla. It was the photographer not the police who tied the body up to the door. I saw rings on Byrne’s fingers. Some one told me the rings were Scanlan’s, but I do not know if they were.

Dr Reynolds deposed: I examined the body of Scanlan on the Monday after he was shot. There were four bullet wounds in the right side. I found a bullet on the outside of the bone of the chest. It had entered through the eighth rib. That wound would have caused death in a very short time. I mean within a few minutes.

To Mr Gaunson : I saw Kennedy ’s body after it was brought in. It was very much decomposed. Noticed that one of the ears was gone. The idea which I formed, but of course it was only a supposition, was that it had been eaten off by wild cats. It presented nothing to make me believe it had been cut off.

To Mr Smyth : I did not make a post mortem examination of Kennedy ’s body. I was told that it was not deemed necessary.

Robert M’Dougall and George Stephens gave similar evidence to that given by them previously. The last witness was subjected to a severe cross-examination, and Mr Gaunson stigmatised the statement made by him in the first case, that he was a groom out of employment, as a deliberate falsehood, made to screen the fact that he had been employed by the Government as a detective.

Fredk. Becroft and Senior-constable Kelly were also examined.

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