AN ESCAPE THAT FAILED.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 16, 18 January 1913, Page 5

AN ESCAPE THAT FAILED.

TEE WGEHIOCS H - STOIC . PROMISES TO STAY _7 GAOL. Es RETURX FOR CI-OTr-NCT. At the Mt_ Eden Gaol this morning Edgar I_ti_i-g Huston, who was recently sentenced to roar years' imprisonment (followed hy indetertnuxate detention), was charged, before Hr. E. C. Cutten, that on Tuesday he attempted to escapeGaoler Ironside conducted the case against the prisoner. Warder Rutherford stated that when the prisoners were being subjected to the usual search in the penal yard on Tuesday, after their days work, he found an iron punch and a piece of iron fashioned for use as a spanner inside Hi—ton's tunic. The prisoner was singled out to be taken into the separate division yard, and as he was going in h e threw away a screw-bolt fitted with two nuts and a piece of galvanised iron piping. In the yard, where Warders Munro and Hood were, they searched the prisoner closely, and found two pieces of candle and the stem of a clay pipe in the prisoner's pockets, and two pieced of wire concealed in his cap. He remarked: '"It's a piece of bad luck, I intended to give it a go to-night.** To the prisoner.- Didn't hear him say: "I don't say I was going to use the tools to get away with." Was positive he said he was going to give it a go. Prisoner: I am astonished at that. Warder Geo. Monro said his attention was drawn to Huston when Warder Rutherford was taking prisoner into the separate division. Warder Rutherford called witness in. When he werrJ in Huston was stripping, and the whole of the tools produced were outside the door. When being put into his cell, the prisoner

made the remark about intending to give it ago that night Two or three times, when he was in his cell, he repeated that he would he a fool if he didn't try to get out. To the prisoner: Didn't put his finge; in prisoner's mouth in the search because he knew what would be the result. but he caught hold of prisoner's chin and told him to open his mouth. Warder Allan Hood corroborated the previous witnesses. Huston remarked that if the warders were in his position there w_. no doubt they would do the same. IN* A-VOTHEE 20 AITNUTES. Warder Boon stated that when given his bedding on Wednesday night Huston made a remark that it was only a matter of another 20 minutes, and he would have got out and brained the nightwatchman. He added something about being under special State surveillance. Warder Munro corroborated the previous witness, to the effect that in another quarter of an hour or twenty minutes he would have been out and "put them out.** To the prisoner: Did not pass the remark that if he had made a break he would have had daylight let throust. him. A GAOL-MADE SCREW JACK. Warder Kerr, in charge of works, said the punch produced had been taken from the stone-cutting yard. The screw bolt had not been made by instructions, and, in conjunction with the nut and the pipe found on the prisoner, it could be used as a lever, in the form of a miniature screw, jack, and. with the help- of the piece of iron fashioned as a spanner, It would exert great pressure on the inch bars of the cell -windows. It could exert a pressure of a few hundred-we_ht. The Prisoner-. About four tons,- Mistee. The punch, the warder continued, could he used to pick out the ends of the cell bars from tbe cement. The pipe-stem and the pieces of candle could be used for a blow-pipe. and. in conjunction with the wire, could be used for removing tae glass of the cell window. He knew of no innocent purpose for which the articles could be used. To the prisoner: He had seen pieces of wire used by .prisoners to stiffen the peak of their caps to prevent them from flapping over their eyes, but in such cases the wire was taken from the prisoners, as they had no right to it. HUSTON AS LAWYER. Huston made a statement, in which he questioned the capacity of the evidence against him to hold a charge of actempt-

ing to escape. A man might have a revolver in his possession, he argued, but that did not constitute, an attempt to murder, as he might have jot it for any other purpose. Nobody but himself knew the purpose of the tools he had but he had never used them to escape or made any attempt to use them. He would have pleaded guilty to being m possession of contraband tools, but it seemed to him, if he knew anything of law. that the o-"trials had over-reached themselves in laying the more serious charge of attempting to escape. The magistrate said that, in anticipation of the point raised, he had _rei_tv scrutinised the law on that very point. It had been held that the taking of the impression of a. key by a person who had no right to use the key, in certain circumstances constituted attempted burglary. The prisoner had obtained an<l kept tools that could be used for no other purpose, in the circumstances, than that of breaking out. and he had given no other explanation of their possession. That con£"Citu*ed an attempt to escape. It was a very serious offence Chart would have to be dealt severely with. OFFERS HIS WORD AS BOND. Houston: I am known, outside as a man that never goes back on his word. Lf you could: start mc now with a dc-an sheet I will keep it clean. The Magistrate: The difficulty is that I am compelled by law to convict you, | and for the sake of general prison discip- 1 line it is impossible to let you go with-' out any punishment. PUT ON HIS HONOUR. ' Huston: As the gaoler said this morning, it is never too late to mend. It Is I never too late to start a new road.! Would k not be possible to suspend the' sentence for four years (his term i. and! then, if I offend again, magnify it; I double it. The Magistrate i after consideration) : I will give you the chance you -sir I will cxi-orict you. and order you to come np fox sentence when called upon. I can aend ior you any time you offend again and sentence you on this charge to~the full term of 14 days on bread and water. • My sole object in doing this is to give you i the chance to keep the word you have j given. Huston: I never break my word. ' WHO WAS THE ACCOM*f_lC_ : A F_ZSO___ ACQITTHD. John PaaL a young man sentenced for j tdgn-w-y*rrjtte*ryneK_-_iftarL and who hac been at work is the plumbers* «_—j _dfa>t._Bg-1

———————■—■—■—■—————>g ton to escape by- ma-jug or pro—ring a tool for him. Warder McDonald stated that accused wosked in the rdu*__er»* shop, and on Monday he saw the prisoner •Jutting a ■'thread on a bolt of iron —xy -imilar to the'sere— bolt found in Huston's possession. Witness didn't taka particular notice. t_r_crng that it' **_■■» something he had been = in_—ctjed to make for the works. When charged with, the present offence he denied that he used the dies in the shop at all that day. In answer to the prisoner, the witness produced sample threads which showed that the thread on the boll found in Huston's possession could not be cut by the dies in the plumbers' shop, though it could be cut by the blacksmiths' dies. Jas Vesey. a long-sentence prisoner, working in the blactemith shop, said that last month h* cut a bolt like the one Huston

had for PauL Paul said he had been ordered to get it. but didn't give a written order. AX r>-VESTiVE PRISONEE. Pri-*|--_r James Campbell, who wa» working in the stone-cutting yard, said that he was trying a patenter a reaper and binder and he got a piece of screvf bolt about a fortnight ago from Paul. It was very similar to the one found in Huston's possession, but didn't hare _. Sired head on it. He threw it behind h_ -banker/ and it had since disappeared. Pressed by the Magistrate he said that he usually followed up harvesting when he was out of gaol, and he had an idea for a patent in connection with a reaper and binder, wbich he thought would work out all right "But a man has no chance to try much in a place like this," he concluded. In reply to the Magistrate he stated that Huston had not helped him *_ his idea for the patent. Warder Kerr stated that the dies in the plumbers' shop would OOt make a thread on a half _en holt like that on the bolt found on Huston. A WA_>-_"G. The prisoner Paul stated on oath thai he was absolutely innocent of the offence. He had never at any time spoken to- Huston since the latter came into the gaoL Campbell had asked him to make a simpla screw-bolt with a loose nut and he had got Vesey to do it, believing that it was to help Campbell in working out an invention. The Magistrate stated that on the evidence he could not convict Paul, but added that he must have known, from his knowledge of mechanics, that it was rubbish that Campbell talked about an inventi_n. The prisoner was warned that if he. or any other prisoner, were found guilty of giving assistance for escape, even though it. were done throngh carelessness, he would be punished very severely.