The Argus at KellyGang 27/1/1879 (3)

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Mr Zincke said that he could understand in what an unpleasant position the police magistrate was placed, knowing, as he did, the arrangement made with him by Mr Sadleir on behalf of the Crown on the previous Saturday. It was true that the police magistrate stated at the time that he would not be bound by any such arrangement, but certainly the police authorities should have considered themselves bound by it. The agreement was that if the remand for one week were granted something definite should be done when the prisoners were again brought up, either that the prosecution should be proceeded with or that the charges should be withdrawn. Now, with the coolest effrontery the police came into court and, ignoring the agreement entered into, asked for a further remand, without bringing forward any evidence in support of their application. It was evident that Mr Sadleir would not depart from the agreement he entered into on the previous Saturday, and, consequently, Mr Hare had been sent up to make the application for a further remand.

Mr Hare said that he could not bring forward his witnesses because of the scare that existed throughout the country. Would not the same excuse apply three months hence, for at present there appeared no probability of the police capturing the outlaws. If there was such a scare as was said to exist by the police, why did not the Attorney General step in and adopt more stringent measures, so as to relieve the country from this scare? This would not, however, suit the authorities, and first one puppet was put up to make an arrangement, and when that did not suit Sir Bryan Boru, he was pulled down, and another puppet was put up, also to be pulled down when found necessary.

How long was this state of affairs to continue? The police authorities, in an admisericordiam appeal, said they could not bring forward their witnesses because of the scare that existed. Why did not they at once put the provisions of the act in force and compel these people to come in and give their evidence? It appeared as if these men were to be kept in goal for 12 months, or until the police had found it convenient to capture the gang of outlaws. Of course he was aware that some persons would say he sympathised with the Kellys, but he was sure that no man of common sense would believe that for one moment. He was only protesting against an arbitrary act of power on the part of the police, who had arrested a number of innocent men, and without bringing forward any evidence against them, desired to keep them in goal for an indefinite period.

There was another matter he would like to bring under the notice of the police magistrate. Some of his clients had told him that since they had been in Beechworth Gaol they had been compelled to be photographed by the police authorities, and they had asked him whether they were compelled to undergo such an indignity. As one of them plainly asked, "Were they compelled to be photographed by a cove, and then put on a big sheet of paper and hawked about the country like a lot of members of Parliament?" He had publicly mentioned this because he considered it was a disgraceful thing on the part of the authorities to take the portraits of these men as if they were criminals of the deepest dye. He did not suppose that his opposition to the application by the police for a further remand would be of any good, but still it was his duty to strongly object to one puppet being allowed to make arrangements, and then for them to be withdrawn and another puppet to be sent up and ignore what had been previously done. Next week another police officer would be sent up, and so on until the end of the chapter.

continued

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