Royal Commission report day 28 page 13
The Royal Commission evidence for 9/6/1881
(see also introduction to day 28)
[[../../people/peA/arthurJPC.html|Const James Arthur]] giving evidence
11248 Did you receive any instructions during the day other than those you received early in the morning?— The only instruction I received was to come round and fire into the end of the house just before they burnt it.
11249 That was all the instructions you received during the day?— Except when Senior-Constable Kelly asked me to come round with him.
11250 Did you see Constable Dwyer round?— Yes.
11251 What was he doing?— I saw him with a bottle of brandy or something in his hand.
11252 Did you hear him giving any orders he had received from anybody?— No.
11253 Did he give you any?— No, he never came where I was.
11254 What weapon had he in his hand?— He had a bottle.
11255 What had you?— A Martini carbine rifle.
11256 Did you fall short of ammunition during the day?— No, I looked after that. I was served out with twenty rounds when I left Benalla, and I kept nearly all of it. I fired about ten when the outlaws were on the verandah, and I got five off Senior-Constable Kelly.
11257 Was he serving ammunition round?— Not when he went with me.
11258 Do you know whether he served ammunition round during the day or not?— He gave me five after he had been down to meet Mr. Sadleir and came back.
11259 Did he say whether that was his own, or he had got it from the station?— No, he did not say. I said, had he any spare ammunition, and he gave me five.
11260 Had he also a Martini carbine?— Yes, I think there were four carbines there and one long Martini-Henry; Gascoigne had a long Martini-Henry rifle.
11261 Do you remember seeing Ned Kelly 's helmet taken off?— It fell off.
11262 Are you quite sure of that?— When I got there it was off, and no one had had time to take it off.
11263 You were not present when he fell?— They had not time hardly to take anything off him— not the helmet.
11264 Was his head towards the station house?— Yes.
11265 And you swear that now—there is a great conflict of evidence about that?— He was going in this direction. Say there is hotel—[explaining the same]—he fell over a log. It would not be towards the station or the hotel, but in a line between them. He rolled over. They struggled when they came up; they tried to get up, and got half in a sitting position, and rolled over on his back.
11266 Did you see the revolver taken from him?— No. Guard Dowsett , Senior -Constable Kelly , Sergeant Steele , and Constable Bracken, had hold of him at different places. We had made a rush to him the same time
11267 Were Steele , Dowsett, Senior-Constable Kelly, and Bracken in and about the person of Ned Kelly before you were close to him?— No, I was not five yards off.
11268 Were they closer than you?— Yes.
11269 They would have a better opportunity of knowing the position than you?— No, they would not have time to shift him.
11270 Would either of those four be in a better position to say whether the helmet fell off or whether it was taken off?— Yes, they would.
11271 You are satisfied his head was towards the station?— I am, and then when I saw the lot on him, they had him safe enough, and no one to look at the house, as he had called out to the others to come out, “Come on boys, we have got them.” I left immediately to watch the house from the tree in case the others came out and fired on to the police.
11272 You did not see anybody taking the revolver from him?— No, I cannot say who took it. One had hold of his arm, and one his beard, and another his arm.
11273 Who had hold of his beard?— Senior-Constable Kelly and Bracken was standing over him.
11274 Might you be mistaken on that?— No.
11275 If anybody swore that Steele kind him by the beard, would it be true?— The lot of them might have got hold of him at different times.
11276 The upshot is that you had not the same opportunity of observing the first struggle as others?— I had, except Kelly , Steele , and Dowsett.....
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