Royal Commission report day 25 page 3
Story of the KellyGang - the Royal Commission Report
The Royal Commission evidence for 2/6/1881
(see also introduction to day 25)
[[../../people/peD_G/gascoignePmc.html|Const Charles Gascoigne]] sworn and examined
9608 By the Commission— What are you?— Mounted constable.
9609 Were you long in the North-Eastern district before the Glenrowan affair–stationed there?— I joined the police force on the 6th of March 1879 . I was taken on as a probationary constable at that time by Captain Standish, at the time of the Kelly outrages.
9610 Were you in any of the search parties?— I was in Mr. Hare's search party.
9611 How many were there of you?— I almost forget.
9612 About how many?— I think six or seven.
9613 What time was that party out?— I think it was about the 30th June 1879.
9614 Did you, in any of your search parties, have any information that led you to believe you came near upon the Kellys?— Well, when out with Superintendent Hare's party at that date, the first night we were out in the Strathbogie, I heard some dogs barking at the crossing of the creek; so in the morning we were travelling in that direction, and the black tracker picked up some tracks. He followed them on for about a mile, and then they went up the range and came down again, and went in and out; and Mr. Hare came to the conclusion that they were the tracks of some one looking for cattle. We did not pay much attention to this, but a day or two afterwards Mr. Hare's horse was lost, and one of the men was looking for it, and I happened to be with him when he was returning to the camp, and a woman, the publican's wife, told us that Jim Quin came there the very night that I heard the dogs barking at this crossing, and got four bottles of brandy.
9615 Is that what you would consider the most reliable information of the Kellys?— That is the most that ever I got when I was out.
9616 Would the Kellys have had any difficulty in avoiding you when you were out in search parties?— No; they had every advantage.
9617 Were you out with any search parties after the second system of search was inaugurated?— No; none at all.
9618 Where were you stationed when Mr. Nicolson was up in the district?— Violet Town .
9619 You were not out with any of the search parties under him?— No; none at all.
9620 Were you in the cave party?— No.
9621 Were you in the party at Sherritt's house?— No.
9622 Is there anything in connection with the search for the Kellys that has come under your notice that you think is worth relating to the Commission before you come to Glenrowan?— No.
9623 Do you think if you had followed up those tracks you would have come on the Kellys?— I could not say that, but that was the remark the woman made to the man. There was so much false information at the time that it was very hard to believe any one.
9624 You were troubled with false information?— Yes.
9625 At every tern?— At every turn.
9626 You considered it came from the sympathizers to throw you off the trail?— You could hardly believe any of them. I was reared amongst the people, and there were plenty of respectable people that I could have got, but what information we got was from friends of the Kellys.
9627 And that was calculated to throw you off the track?— It may have been true, but we were searching all round the country and found nothing.
9628 Were those private agents employed by the officers from time to time men you could not place implicit reliance on?— The only one I knew was Aaron Sherritt; he did not know me at the time, he thought I was a constable from Melbourne, and did not know me. He was talking to me for about an hour, and I took in everything he was saying; and at the latter end I took it to be a lot of nonsense because I knew the Kellys as well as he did, and it was a lot of falsehoods. Captain Standish saw us talking, and thought I did not know Sherritt, and I told Captain Standish that I should not like to follow Sherritt as a leader or be with him any time–he might lead them into a trap; and Captain Standish made the remark to me, “I will give him enough rope, and he will hang himself”
9629 Generally were the parties from whom the police obtained their secret information a class of people that were unreliable?— They were, what I knew of the class.
9630 That they would mislead the police wilfully?— Yes.
9631 You have been living in the North-Eastern district for a number of years?— Yes, all my life, and I know the country and the people well.....
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