The Taranaki Highwayman.

Manawatu Herald, 25 July 1893, Page 2

The Taranaki Highwayman.

Further particulars of the man Wallath are published in the New Plymouth papers. He is 19 years of age, exceptionally big, a carpenter by trade and worked with his father, who lived at Wesiown. He is a member of the Taranaki Rifles and was one of the representatives at the recent Rifle Association at Wellington. A search was made of the room ' occupied by Robert Wallath at hia father's residence. A number of articles of an incriminating nature in respect to other offences were found. The famous sword was also found, and another uniform of a blue colour. All the articles were brought down to the police station. Wallath had kept his room locked for the past two years, and never allowed any of the family to enter it. Mr Thompson's wound is a slight one, and no ill effects are anticipated. The fact that the highwayman had two loaded revolvers showed that he did not mean to surrender himself easily. There can be no doubt that Thompson had a narrow escape of his life, for had the bullet been a little more to the left it might have proved fatal by entering the heart. Thompson did not feel any ill effects at first, in fact he did not knowthat he was wounded until sonie'^cime afterwards, when his friends made him pull up his shirt and disclose his wound. The prisoner's parents are respectable, his father being a contractor. Ths police have found out how the highwayman has managed to escape so often before being caught. He has been very cunning in the way he went about it, as the following will show :—A boy found an overcoat, a pair of dungaree trousers, a sott hat and a spur in a yard adjoining Cottier's Hotel. It would appear that the highwayman got into, .tjie rear of the hotel, stripped off bis overcoat, dungaree trousers and hat, which covered his uniform, and then went in the back way to the hotel, so that no one saw him until he < entered the door. Had he been successful he would have gone back to where he bad stopped, , put on hia trousers and overooat again and- appeared amongst the crowd; This is what he must have done on a former occasion, when the White Hart Hotel was bailed up, as it hag now been proved that he was amongst, the crowd a few minutes after the highwayman had left the White. tiart on that occasion* He stated . in . the crowd that if he found the highwayman he had two pistels on him. On another occasion, when the highwayman scare was on, a lady asked Robert Wallath (the highwayman) to take her sister home as she was frightened of the highwayman.,-; He did so, and was talking of the highwayman all the way, saying, what he would do if he caught him. /