The Egan Bigamy Case.

Bush Advocate, Issue 355, 19 August 1890, Page 3

The Egan Bigamy Case.

. At Bow street Police Court on Wednesday," June 29tb, Sidney David Egan, alias Willian Ewart Moran, aged fifty-fcltfee, was further charged with stealing £394, the money of Emma Elizabeth Moran, whom it iß"aUegodJie i &adi married at Winchester. Allegations of > bigamy were made, it being stated that prisoner had-goae through the ; ceremony of marriage with five women. It was stated by Messrs Wilson and f Wal)jis, solicitors for Uhe accused, 'thW-' in^arcli, 1887, when the supposed marriage took ,place, the prisoner was in custody in New Zealand. The prisoner in.a t tt.ir;ie ( s< j On Friday one of the prisoners solicitors, Mr Wallis, visited him in Hollo way Gaol;- when he gave a detailed account of his antecedents. He said that he joined the Royal Engineers: in "February, 1874, in the name of David Egau, and was then passed on to the 39th company of the School of Military Engineers at Chatham. He served on board H.M.S. Hood for submarine mining ■ an4t was ; discharged, pu . June^ i i 18thr. 187 t 7. Iq. September, 1877, he sailed for New Zealand, and landed at Wellington in December, 1877. H*) was in the Government (New Zealand) sovvipe four different times, both on the railways and also jn the torpedo boats. Ha had charge ;of the two first boats that came to '. Wellington/ arid; was irecoihmended '4pv the appointment by Major 1 Cautley, B-Kf Sir William Jervois then Governor pf Wpvr Zealand, spmp ,two and a^half years agp inspected" a model' boat I 'which' l he built, together wifch a model boat which he patented in New Zealand, and afterwards brought to England on the' New Zealand Shipping Company's stoanier the Euapohu. He left.Wollingtpn on Juno 13th, 1889, and landed in t|^o Alborj; I)ocks on July 26th, 1889. During the time that ho.'is .saidto havo got married in the name of Moran he was in fchq gtockado (prison) at Wanganui, Npw,^^lf}nc|j waiting for bail there for a breach of th_e •peace. Sir Julius Vogol (as well as Lady Vogol), when ho was Prime ! Minister: of New Zealand,, often travelled on the boat of which prisoner was chief ouglnpey. Admiral Fairfax, J when in command of the Australian squadron, also knew him by going on board his flagship ihe -Orlando in. c6»»ection:..with ; his (prisoner's) newly-invented " motor boat" for torpedo purposes. In

conclusion, the prisoner declared that he was never out of Australian waters from 1887 till 1889. Prisoner was subsequently discharged.