BURNHAM BOYS' ESCAPADES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVII, Issue 12850, 24 June 1902, Page 3

BURNHAM BOYS' ESCAPADES.

STEALING A BOAT AND GUNS. Two Burn-ham- escapees were arrested yesterday afternoon at Purau, after a career which sbowsi them to be; considerably advanced in the ways of crime. They were Walter Hasler, aged 16£ years, and! Silas Hatcher, aged 17 years, and tfoey escaped) from Burnluam on Saturday morning. Hasler had broken away from the school previously, together with another boy, and had been arrested by Constable Oonnell, of the Lyttelton police, near Governor's Bay. He waa on that occasion brought before the Police Court at.-' Lyttelton, and sentenced to three months' imprisonni'ent for "thefts committed at Governor's Bay and Rapaki. The execution of the sentence was suspended so long, as the boy behaved himself at the Burnham School, to which ha was sent back. His companion, who was deemied more culpahle/was sent to gaol for three months without any option. It would seem .that the lenienoy shown to Hasler was misplaced!, for on Saturday morning he and Hatcher absconded 1 from the school. On Saturday evening the two broke into a house at Springston, the occupants "of whichj were absent, and stole a silver watch, some candles, a pair of scissors; a towel and some other small articles. They then made their way to Lyttelton Harbour, and on Sunday afternoon presented themselves at the bouse of Mr R. Anderson, Charteris Bay. After they had gone, Mr Anderson found that a boat was missing, and that an outhouse had' -been broken into, and that two guns, 100 rounds of sporting ammunition, a carriage lamp, some jars of preserved fruit and a bucket of milk had disappeared. He went to Lyttelton yesterday morning amd informed the police. Constable Moore went with ham, in a boat, to look for tine delinquents. On reaching Diamond Harbour, Mx Anderson and the constable found! the faranter's boat on the beach. A fire had evidently been lighted in it, and it leaked a little. Continuing their search, they found the runaways shortly after one o'clock in the afternoon-, bivouacking by a fire about a mile from Mr Gardner's hous® at' Purau. The youngsters were at once arrested. They had "planted" one of the stolen guns in a -tree. They had, they stated, passed the previous riight iti Mr Anderson's boat, and had endeavoured to make their way out of the harbour with the view.of reaching the North Island. . Thay were, taken- to : the lock-up at Lyttelton, and will be brought before the Court there this mwrning.