THE GAOL BREAKING CASE.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 104, 30 October 1900, Page 5

THE GAOL BREAKING CASE.

+ . ACCUSED MEN COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. The three prisoners, Frederick Stevenson, W. Henry Jobson, and John Johnson, who made a daring but unsuccessful -attempt to break- out of the Terraoo Prison on Thursday night, ware this morning brought before Mr. W. R. Haselden, S.M., and' Messrs. E. Arnold arid' John Kay, Visiting Justices, on a charge of gaol-breaking, P. S. Garvey, Governor of the Gaol, stated that at about five minutes- to 10 p.m. on Thursday, he ordered the cell occupied by the prisoners to be opened, and on entering found Stevenson standing, fully dressed, except for coat and boots* Johnson was lying in a hammock, apparently sound asleep, and -witness believed, Undressed- At the end of the cell the brickwork had been cut out to the width of about two feet square, one portion being right through to tho plaster sheathing on the outside, itad the men got through this opening they would practically have been at liberty. In the wall he found an iron jemmy, while in Johnson's hammock was an auger, and lying about the floor were a bent piece of iron, used for scraping out the mortar from between the bricks, and a trowel. The implements had been in -use at Mount Cdok Prison, where certain alterations are oeing made. In reply to a question 1 from Stevenson, Mr. Garvey said there had been complaints made by the men as to the quality of the bread supplied. Alteration had been made. Replying to Johnson, Mr. Garvey said that prisoners had borne an exellent character whUe in the gaol for hard work and general good behaviour. Charles Knight, a gaol warder, said he remembered inspecting the cell in which the prisoners were shortly before 5 o'clock, and there was then no appearance of anything unusual.' William Bethune, another warder, gave evidence confirmatory of that given by the last witness. He searched' Stevenson, but found nothing on him. He could notsay whether Joanson^ad been searched or not. * Stevenson said' he wished to commend Johnson to the mercy of the* Court, *as he was in no way connected with the attempt- to break away. He was sound asleep when • he (Stevenson) . commenced operations on the wall, and was entirely innocent. Johnson said s he was. innocent o£ the attempt to break out. He had gone to bed at about twenty minutes to 8, and knew nothing more until he was awakened by- Mr. Garvey. He applied" to be discharged. AH three accused- were committed for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court. William Oliver, the man who recently escaped from tforb Ballance, was also brought before the Court. Mr. Garvey said accused was serving a sentence of three years on two charges of breaking and entering. Wm: Buchanan Peebles, a- warder, said he was •in charge of a' gang of prisoners s working a* Fort Ballance. He had the .gang out and- missed tthe- accused.. Search was made, and shortly afterwards accused was found in Scorching-Bay; about 1000 yards, from where th» gang. was- working. Oliver was arrested and brought back to prison: Accused was committed^ for trial.