OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 9387, 8 May 1894, Page 3

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Our Melbourne Correspondent.]

Wednesday, May 2. THE BARRABA BANK TRAGEDY. The two men supposed to have been concerned in the murder of the bank manager at Barraba (N.S.W.) have now been arrested. They are named John Cummings (a horse trainer) and Alexander Lee (who has already served sentences of tea and Bcvcn years respectively for attempted murders). The arrest of Cummings was referred to in my last lettc. He was discovered in the ranges, where the fugitives were known to be hiding, and could not give a satisfactory acoount. of his movements. He refused to point oit where his camp in connection with his alleged kangaroo hunting was, and behaved in a very suspicions manner. During last week the bodies of the horses ridden by the murderers were found in a gorge of the Mehi River, on the Colah run. One was recognised as the racehorse Derby, formerly owned by Mr Jones, a publican, of Boggabri, which some time ago was placed in charge of Cummings to train. At a camp near by the constables founil a shingling hammer with the edges broken off through cutting the wire of the fences, two bridles, two girths, and a saddle saturated with rain. 'I he front straps of the brides had been cut through, the men having haoked at the hea<!s of the horses with a tomahawk. Apparently a steak had been cut from one of them by the im-n to satisfy their hunger. Patches.of skin from hprses with marks and brands on them wen also found near the place. An important feature about the discovery was that the bullet wounds in the horses' heads correspond in size wi;h the holes made in the door at the bank by. the murderers' revolver bullets. Lee was af ei wards arrested near Giinuedah. He was shaved and denied his identity, stating that his name was Anderson, and that he had only been in the colony nine months Before his arrest he wassren by several constables, and was even supplied with food by them, as they had no suspicion of him. Lej was brought up at the Pbggabri Police Court on Friday and remanded to Barraba. John Lye stated that accused had stayed with Cummings at his place for about a week about eighteen months ngo ; both left together. Cum- ■ mings returned three or four months after, and ' Alick Lee returned a few days before 7th April; He was a friend of Cummings. He left alone on Sir day, 15th April. He wore a kind of dark suit," and had a beard and whiskers. Dr Friessberg said he found marks on accused of two large wounds, which might have been occasioned by being a bad rider. They were probably caused somo days ago. Detective Uoulder gave evidence of accused's reply to questions, and giving a false account of himself. On Saturday Cummings was brought before the Barraba Court, and the evidence of two witnesses was taken against him. Constable Myers deposed that he found at a camp at Hawkins Creek a piece of hemp under a burnt log corresponding to that found in the pockets of the accused. His search of the mountains did net enable him to find the camp which Cummings said he had left, nur could he discover the horse which, when ancstcd, he stated that he had lost. At Lye's house he searched the accused's room and found a bag containing twenty-three revolver cartridges and a cartridge shell, which appeared to have be.n recently discharged. Mr Cyril Blootnfield, manager of the Springfield Station, stated that he saw the two robbers leaving the bank directly after the outrage, and noticed the two horses ridden by them. The dead animals found by the police were the same hoises.

Bjth men were arraigned on Monday, and further evidence lias been taken. Elijah Turn r, who arrived at the bank just after M'Kay had been shot, said that he saw two men ride away from the bank. One man, on a chestnut horse, lie saw onl> at a distance, and could not recognise him again. He plainly .saw the face of the liian on the black horse, who pointed a revolver at him. Lee, the man before the Court, was Very like the rider of the black horse. He had the same expression and broad face, only at the time of the murder he had a full, dark beard. Mrs M'Kay, wife of the murdered man, repeated her former evidence. She added thai she was brought t<> the courthouse by the police. She saw five or six men, the two accused being amongst them. She picked two men out of them, and believed these two men to be the murderers, but she could not positively swear to them. When she sjw them at the bank they had beards. The man that faced her on the chestnut horse had a brown beard, and was extremely but she was not quite eo silre what the other man was like. It appeared to her that they were disguised. She never doubted that t'icy were white men, and she believed ihe accused man Cummings was on the chestnut hor. J c. '1 ho other man was very broad across the face. C. G. Williams also identified Lee as the man who covered him with a revolver as the robbers rode away from the bank. Constable Sornerville gave evidence as to tracking the murderers and finding the dead horses. A bullet wound found in one of the horse's heads corresponded with the revolver bullets discovered in Cummiiigs's room. He also stated that one of the dead animals had been identified as a well-known racer known as Derby, which Cummings had charge of to train. Other witnesses who saw the men ride away from the bank gave evidence, positively identifying Lee as one of the two. Senior - constable Harrison, who met the men galloping away, also identified Lee. He further stated that when the accused were left inthe lock-up they talked familiarly together for a long time. Accused denied all knowledge of the articles found along with the dead horses. Senior-constable Harris produced the shirt and trousers worn by Lee at the time of his arrest. There were bloodstains on the outside of both garments and also inside the leg of the trousers, the latter evidently the result of a wound caused by riding. Senior-constable Myers produced a Fardine tin and a piece of tobacco with a peculiar tag attached to it and a portion of a halter which corresponded with the hemp discovered on Cummings. These articles were discovered at the camp supposed to have been occupied by the murderers. Constable Adams deposed that to the best of his belief Cummings was the man whom he hid passed riding the chestnut horse out of the town on the day of the murder. He could not positively swear to him, as his personal appearance had been altered, and the beard which lie then wore had been shaved off. William Dixon, a boy of fifteen, said he saw two men ride away from th i bank after the murler was committed, the taller man, after helping the shorter man on to a black horse, then mounting a chestnut. The taller man had a revolver in hi< hand, which he pointed at witness. He had a good look at the taller man, and that morning he had picked Cummings out at the lockup as the man who rode the chestnut. Cummings wore a black beard on the day of the murder, and his face looked darker, but witness was sura he was the man who rode the chestnut. He could not identify the man who rode the black, because he did not get a good look at him. Mrs Finkernagel, wife of a local storekeeper, stated that on the night of the 16th, two days before the murder, two men called at her store and bought a pound of "Sun" tobacco. The tag produced in court and found at the camp was similar to that on the tobacco sold by her. They also bought a tin of sardines, and witness recognised the sardine tin found at the camp as the one she sold them. She asked them if they were drovers, and the tall man (Cummings} said they were in a way, but afterwards eaid they were travelling. The tall man then asked her if they had some cheap American pistols or revolvers to sell. When she told them she had none the tall man asked her if she had a second-hand one to sell, or if any shop or private person in the town could sell tliem revolvers. She said she did not know anyone could do so. She offered them a second-hand Winchester lille, but the tall man slid it was too heavy. It was the tall mini she served, and to the best of her belief Cummings was that man. He was clean shaved then. She could not identify the shorter man (Lee). He hail a slouch hat on, and had more hair on his face.

The prisoners both appear to l.c losing the bravado which charact.rised their behaviour when first brought before the Court, and on being removeil to his cell yesterday Lcc fainted. A telegram from Boggabri states:—"The owners of the horses ridden by the murderers have returned after seeing the bodies. They positively? identified the animals as their property. "The chestnut horse Cummings had under his care to train, and the black was taken from a paddock n< ar Boggabri. The legs of the horses have also been brought in, and the shoes identified by local blacksmiths."

HIE MELBOURNE MUItDKI!

There i 3 reason to believe that the ends of justice will be served in regard to the murder of the Freuchman, Eugene Posset. Two men named James Watson (22, a native of Bombay) and James Mitchell (28, a criminal who has already been in gaol for serious offences) are now in custody, some of the missing jewellery having been traced to them. The police, discovering that some of the murdered mans jewellery had been pawned at Poit MelIwurne by two men, got descriptions of them. These were published in the daily newspapers, and a resident of Mitcham fitted them to two men who had recently entered the employment of a market gardener there. He gave information to the police, and when the pair were arrested Posset's watch was found on Mitchell. Mr Smith, the market gardener for whom Watson and Mitcholl were laboring as wood cutters, states that he met them on the afternoon of Thursday, 26th April, on the Canterbury road. They seemed to be tired. Mitchell stopped Mr Smith and asked for work for himself and mate. Mr Smith said he could find work wood splitting, at a small wage, for one of them, but if he took them both b,6 could only give them "tucker," They

seemed anxious tq remain together, and agreed to.work for their food. Mitchell was carrying a sham swag, composed of half a dozen old, evil smelling, mildewed bags and a clean shirt. Watson carried nothing. Mitchell, who was blind in one eye, represented that he had been " well brought up, and tried to assume a well-bred air, but the half-caste admitted that he had been a waiter at a restaurant. One of the first observations that Mr Smith made of hi 3 new workmen was that Mitchell seemed to be much concerned about a watch in his waistcoat pocket, which, however, he never displayed. One evening Mr Smith asked Mitchell where he had got the watoh, and he. replied that an uncle who was responsible for the loss of his eye had given it to him. . For the prosecution of the two men the Crown offieeis propose to show that at, 12.30 a.m. on Wednesday, ISth April, the man Eugene Posset was alive, and that he sold at that hour a packet of cigarettes to a boy named John Dyson. At 4.30 a.m. cries were he»id in Posset's house, and it would appear that he was killed thenAt 2 a.m., two hours and a-half before the murder. Mitchell and Watson wero stopped by Constable M'Cavthy in Smith street, Collingwoori, and scarchod, when they had neither money nor jewellery. At 9 a.m., four hours and E-half after the .murder, they were seen in Port Melliourne, which is three miles from the scene of the murder, endeavoring to dispose of the murdered man's jewellery. The woman Kate Burgess, who was on tho premises of Posset on the night of tho murder, is still in custody on a charge of vagrancy. It is now believed that she was drunk, and knows nothing of the murder. LAROE *"IRS IN HIELBOURNE. A disastrous fire occurred at Tankard's malting houses at South Kensirgton on Saturday night, and lasted for three hours. The buildings, machinery, and s'ock carried insurances aggregating nearly £30,000, and of this sum probably not more than £5,000 was saved from the flames. The premises were of fi»o storeys in front and three iii the rear, and they stood to the south of the Williamstown railway line, opposite the warehouses of tho New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. When built a few years ago thoy were constructed with the best modern improvements for the carrying on of the automatic pneumatic malting business. The fire,was first noticed by the watchman at the warehouses of the New Zealand Loan arid Mercantile Agency Company across the railway line. He.observed smoke coming through tho windows of tho main building, and he telephoned at once to the head station of the fire brigade. Mr M'Dowall, deputy chief officer of the brigade, acting as chief officer in the absence on leave of Mr Stein, turned out the local contingent of firemen, and then hastened to the spot with a large detachment of men and plenty of apjmratus seleoted from the city stations. The fire must have obtained a good hold of the front building before itb discovery, because, when the firemen arrived; the flames had broken through the windows of the lower floi>r and wero rapidly spreading to the upper flats. Mr M'Dowall, recognising that it was hopeless to save the front building, conserved the little water at his command for the protection of the rear portions. The roof of the main building fell in early, and as it did so the flames shot up to the sky, carrying with them sheets of galvanised iron, which floated a moment or two and then distributed themselves amongst the great crowd of spectators. The sparks set alight to the railway fence, and even fired a telegraph pole. The firemen, with their inadequate water supply, were massed on the divisional point, and beyond that the fire could not pass. The heat became intense. The paint on the South Kensington station blistered, and water had to be kept in readiness for fear it would ignite. One of the signalmen up the line had to perform his duty under distressingly distracting conditions. His levers became almost too hot to touch, and at last the woodwork of the signal box began to scorch, and but tor the timely assistance of a fireman the box would have been burnt. In the railway trains passing backwards and forwards between Williamstown and Melbourne the Lcat was almost unbearable. To guard against accidents special men were placed on the railway line on either s-ide of the fire. They kept tho line clear with the assistance of the police, and at the signal "All right" from them the drive)s rattled the trains past. In the front portions of the building were located the barley and malting stores, the roasting-house, and the boiler and engine houses. These have been totally destroytd. The insurances aggregate about £28,000, and are distributed as follows: On the building; Imperial, North British, Colonial Mutual, National of New Zealand, and Pluenix, £3,000 each ; Palatine, £2,000 ; Norwich Union and Straits Settlemeut, £I,OOO each; total, £19,000. On the machinery : Royal, £4,150; United Australian Mutual, £SOO ; and Guardian, £2,000; total, £6,650. GENERAL. A political libel action came before the Sydney Police Court last Friday, when William Mason, Henry Tregarthen, Douglas Thomas Dodd, George Henry M'Niven, and John Dwyer, registered proprietors of the Socialistic newspaper 'Justice,' were charged with having published in that newspaper a wilful, malicious, and defamatory libel on T. M. Slattery, Minister of Justice, with the object of depriving him of his good name and fame, and bringing him into public contempt, scanda', infamy, and disgrace. The article complained of had reference to private bars, and imputed immorality to Slattery. The plaintiff unconditionally denied the charges, and said there was not a word of truth in the allegation as to a cast-off mistress. Dodd and Dwyer had called on him, and handed him a letter, in which Dodd had said the publication was made without his knowledge or authority. He (Dodd) was prepared to make any apology. Evidence was given connecting the accused with the publication and sale of the paper, and they were committed for trial, re>erving their defence. Bail was allowed. The csremony of consecrating the Ven. Archdeacon Green, M.A., LL.D., as Bishop of Grafton and Armidale, took place in St. Paul's Cathedral yesterday. Six bishops—viz., those of Riverina, Adelaide, Newcastle, Goulbum, Ballarat, and Melbourne—assisted in the tervice: the place of the Prima'e, who is absent in Enghud, being filled by the Bishop of Ballarat senior bishop. At the morning service the preacher was the Bishop of Goulburn, and a'ter the consecration ceremony the sacrament of the holy communion was administered. In tho afternoon the visiting bishops were present at a conversazione given by the mayor in the Town Hall, and in the evening a full choral evensong was held, the preacher being the new Bishop of Grafton and Armidnlo

A i>athetic suicide took place in Melbourne on Sunday, when Alexander M'Dougall, an engineer, hanged himself on account of his inability to obtain food for his family. He had been out of work for thirteen weeks, and his troubles had been increased by the illness of his wife, who had to go to a hospital to undergo an operation of a critical nature. When his wife recovered and returned home a fortnight ago his inability to get her enough to eat weighed heavily upon him, and he became first despondent, then utterly hopeless and despairing. On Sunday there was a little bread for breakfast, but after the meal the cupboard of the house was bare of anything to eat except a small quantity of sago. M'Dougall looked at it, and said to his wife: "Even that will scarcely go round. There is one mouth too many." Mrs M'Dougall cheered him up a little, and the two decided that dinner should be missed altogether, and that the sago should be prepared for tea. Shortly before five o'clock M'Dougall lit the fire for his wife, and she put on the sago. In a few minutes the meal was ready, and M'Dougall told one of the children who was sent to call him to supper to say ho would be there in a minute. A little later, when Mrs M'Dougall went to fetch him, sho found him hanging by the neck in an outhouse. Mr H. K. Kcid lias succeeded Mr B. J. Cowderoy a:s president of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. In his retiring address the late president touched on the question of State Socialism, and pointed to New Zealand as a country which had surmounted its financial troubles by methods far mire socialistic than those in vogue in Victoria. Some important appointments have been made in tho Victorian Public Service. Mr T. R. Wilson, Under-Secretary, has been promoted to the positions of Audit Commissioner and a member of the Public Service Board. Mr C. A. Topp has been appointed Under-Secre-tary in succession to Mr Wilson, and Dr Gresswell chairman of the Board of Health to fill the vacancy caused by the promotion of Mr Topp. Mr C. Tynan, the Inspector-General of State Schools, has been made Secretary for Education, which position was rendered vacant by the retirement of Mr Brodribb a few months ago. At Gundaie Stat'on, near Coolah, on Monday, Francis Dubedah'met his death in a singular manner. The deceased was engaged in felling a tree with another station hand, and having had for some time a presentiment that he would meet his death by a tree falling on him he sought shelter behind the trunk of another prior to the one which was being cut down falling. Strange to say, however, as the tree was toppling it struck a large branch of the one behind which Dubedah was standing, breaking it off, and the limb Blid along the trunk, striking the man on the head. Death was instantaneous.