STILL AT LARGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 201, 19 May 1908, Page 7

STILL AT LARGE.

SEARCH FOR THE ESCAPED ;

• PRISONER., (BY, TELEGRAPH,—SPECIAL COHJIESPONDENT.).

'Auckland, May 18.

i The prisoner. 'William Stnith, .q'liiis; who escaped froM ' whilst ;,ho jfa befog brought by Warier iticliafcl§;• frdm* til 1 Waiotapu prison camp' to'-:Auckiand 3; Friday) : hasi caused; sd&ethin£','bf'a 'sfelisa tion. Tile sealth, fbr the' prisoner,. -n-hici was conintehced on'-vEraiiyv.- evfchingji' wat kept lip during Sakird'ay-'aftd''yesterday, "but although. tile country has .been -tia Versed for .a-radius' of .many^Bil&*^froih*t& , ipirfi at which Siilith io stated ta hare left-'tlio tfraiii, no tfabe of •reported;. Tii6 the railway line at Drurj'j ftiid for sonic miles both north ' godd covfer, and it Wdiild' be poMibie ifot a mfiiiij prb.vided that the difficulty of a food silpply 'could bb . ovorcollujj c tie. -jJietrlcfc for soirie days witlibtil; ihucif risk ;of cftjjtllfo. The - land ' yi.o' Karaka and the' Mauku-. .011 the-'-wost,' ajid to., the range of low,hills; on the.east, consists of ldiv undulating bouiitry divided: 'mitf small . paddocks with Cluing ."of ... cldsely; growing scrub', \'mafir uka,! thickly dotted abbilt ihe' laiKlsS4{)"4' , 'ahd a great , part of .the the farmhouses r being ■ two- or three, miles -apart.in To' examine the many possible hiding places' would take- a 4 small ' army-,ofs:s<iirch'ers.\' *g 1 . The'spot at which Smith .'is.supposed' to 1 have made his desperate; ..leap., from;,' tlici express is between Runciifiari -'arid-'Taerbta; and about 500 yards ;fr6in >th« ''ka-' tion, near tli6 23-inilo peg.. thing in tjie character, of the ground at' tho side df -thb lliiii. 6£ of the slirrouridiiigs to suggest favourable.. facilities./ fo'V- : 1 h¥kjrig'' ; bid for freedbrti... There is the usual 'scoria ballast at thiMides of thd railsj and outside of the. scoria .there loty embankment which ..y/ould iitcf-caSe.-"tho ' distanco /of tho' fall. Tho expreSS,at;j-this-part. of-tiie>.iihe. runs down an Us; stated,' at abbut forty miles ail hour, imd,.. m. the opinion of niaiiy Of .those hiribligst wllbiii the matter has been .discussed; it is he£t. to impossible that a man could junip'frbiri ft-trjMr travelling at such a speed and esfcape with sound limbs. One passohger oil the train has stated that lie thought he sfiw ■ a •niflnrjtimp from the Willi; arid that , he, saw r }i«t -flylmgcrjjasfc the window..•'••TliiS l>assehgeEt~a yoiing man, whose name .was .liqfc is thp, bnljr r one:' from Whom aiiy evide'iicb lias ,bbt'a'ified' ili stijpfiprt. bf the'; sil^^s{tibh"' ; - i thM'' , Smith 1 jumped off the express at or about the spot indicated. AVarder Richards-himself did not see his man disappear, and th-C dpinion.-ha'S been expressed that-it livould. be quito possible that thb passenger. fef&rrecl to wasi mistaken, aiid that Smith,, n who,. .was,, in civilian and not iii pHsdii' |drl?,. did' , not , ''le*avo'' the train at the tihitJ stated, ;.hiitvthat , .being : a small lliari he may . have,. stfecee.ded_J_n secretilig hithself dliU""""slipiiiftg'" off uhiibeerral 'at •Dftifyj of- as . the exiitesS—iras slowing, down on approaching that statioii. Also, it is thought 'lip actually reached Auckland. - .y

. It now transpires.,that two eS-prteoiicrs; who have just oomptetc4. : ,their..sentences .kit Waiotapu, --were • passengers.;!to.-,Auckland on: •Fridfiy bj; the s'amo trainy.asvithat.- from which Smith cscapcd. T'hn probability of Smith making his way .hack, to . Auckland has been ca'refully. kept; in view by tho, detective force. He came to this country from Australiaj .arid tyilllveryilikdlyjtry to mak© back-tlicro again if lie ckn get.away undiscovered.' ( 3e'could net find-covei'-very long in Auckland aS ; *ho is too well kumtri herej having worked/as a barber before;'.embafking Upon Ills criminal earoor. Tile police: state that ii ftrict watch is boitig kept on outgoing boats and thiiiis. .

(BY WXECIUPH.—PRESS ASSOOlAlION.) • Auckland, May 18. • Up to a; lato hour ito-niglit tho escaped jirisoner Smith had not be'eii recaptured. Dotectivo M'Mnhon, fopbiting. from Drurythis morning, stated that Smji'h); had beon seen by Mr. Battoy'at his;';hmi!o ; Kt 11 p.m. on Saturday. Ho was 8 a.m. on Suiiday in somo scrub "near" Biittey's house. Ho is supposed to liavo broken covet,'arid made his way to Raniaranla, on tho Rotorua side of Drury, a mail answering to Smith's description being soon by a man niimed Cox making south. Dotectives Shine and Skiliner went up by this morning's -train to replace Dotectives M'Mahon aiid Hollis, who had to return, whilo Const-able. .Mortis prqfctoded to Pukekoh'o this evening to joiii in the search, which is now-being-iiiailo. by- sohib half-dozen men from the Metropolitan Force, and all the constables in l the variouis distribts in the vicinity of the GStajiß. '