The Age (37)
The Age continued with its report of Ned Kelly's committal hearing in Beechworth
full text of article
TRIAL OF KELLY AT BEECHWORTH
[BY ELECTRONIC TELEGRAPH]
[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT]
Beechworth , 9 th August
Punctually at ten o’clock this morning the trial of Edward Kelly was resumed before Mr Foster, PM in the Beechworth Police Court.
George Stephens deposed: I am a groom, at present out of employment:- In 1878 I was employed at Younghusband’s station, Faithful’s Creek, as groom. This station is about four miles from Euroa. On the 9th December, about one o’clock in the afternoon, the prisoner and three other men stuck up the station. I first saw the prisoner at the kitchen about one o’clock . He asked me, ‘Where is M’Auley, the overseer?’ A man named Fitzgerald, who was present, said, ‘He is not in.’ No one else but Fitzgerald was in the kitchen at that time. Kelly went away then, and I left the kitchen and went down to the stables. John Carson was there, I heard some talking, and looked round to the door. I saw prisoner coming down with Fitzgerald. The latter put his head inside the door, and said to the prisoner, ‘There are the other two men,’ pointing to me and Carson. Prisoner said, ‘All right;’ and addressing me said, ‘I suppose you do not know who I am.’ I said, ‘Perhaps you are Kelly,’ and he replied, ‘You are a d—d good guesser.’ I turned my head, and when I looked round again he had me covered with a revolver. I said, ‘I beg your pardon. I thought you were joking, and not Kelly.’ He said, ‘All right; I like to see you take it in such good part. Which is the groom?’ I said, ‘I am.’ He then said, ‘I want some feed for my horses.’ I said, ‘All right; there is plenty here.’ He held up his hand inside of the stable, and the other two men came down leeding four horses. I did not know the names of the two men at the time, but I have heard their names since.
Mr Gaunson: Have you seen them since?
Witness: I have not.
Mr Gaunson: Then how can you state what their names are.
Witness: I was in the company of the three men all night and part of the next day. When they left one of them said they were going to the bank. It was the prisoner who said they were going to the bank. It was between two and three o’clock in the afternoon when they left. When the men came up to the stables with the horses they put them in the stalls.
Mr Gaunson: All the evidence which has already been taken is thoroughly irrelevant. I ask your worship to stop it.
Mr Foster: I cannot. The conduct of the case is in the hands of the Crown prosecutor.
Witness continued: I was standing with Kelly in an empty stall. I said, ‘How about the police murders?’ He said, ‘We were behind a log. I told Dan to cover Lonigan and I would cover the other man. I then called out, ‘Throw up your hands.’ M’Intyre did so, and Lonigan made off towards a log, trying to draw his revolver. As he ran he (Lonigan) got behind a log and rested his revolver on top of it. I took my rifle off M’Intyre and fired at Lonigan. The ball grazed on the temple. He disappeared behind the log. Lonigan rose his hands up in front of the log, and when his head appeared I fired again and shot him through the head. I then sent two men back to our hut, fearing a surprise there. I also sent Dan over the green rise to watch the police coming. While I was talking to M’Intyre they appeared in the open. I had just time to fall on my kness. The fire very nearly burned my knees. M’Intyre then walked up to Kennedy and spoke to him. Kennedy smiled. I then called out, “You wretch, throw up your hands.” Scanlan swung his rifle round and fired at me. I then fired at Scanlan, and he fell forward. I still kept him covered, thinking he was shamming. When the horse moved he rolled off. During this time Kennedy had dismounted on the off side of his horse and laid the revolver over the horse’s rump. He fired at Dan Kelly as he came running up, grazing him on the top of the shoulder. M’Intyre then jumped on Kennedy’s horse and rode away. Kennedy made for a tree still firing. He then made from that to another tree, still firing.” Prisoner said, “The reason Kennedy got so far is that I took up Scanlan’s rifle, but had to throw it away again as I did not know how to use it. I still followed Kennedy up. When he slipped from behind a tree I though I was then done for, as he fired and the ball grazed my ribs. Kennedy then ran, and I immediately fired and hit him on the shoulder as he was getting back behind the tree. Kennedy ran again and I followed. When he wheeled round and raised his hands I fired and shot him through the chest. When I hit him on the shoulder he must have dropped his revolver, and the blood running down his arm formed into a clot, which I took for his revolver. Knowing he had one shot left when he wheeled round, I thought he was going to fire; but I knew afterwards that he was throwing up his hands.” That is all he said. During that night I was locked up in the store at Faithful’s Creek. There were a number of other persons locked up with me; the prisoner was there, and one of the other men prisoner kept in there.
| ! | 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. |
