ATTEMPT MADE TO BLOW UP SHED.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 4418, 13 November 1934, Page 3

ATTEMPT MADE TO BLOW UP SHED.

GELIGNITE PLACED IN TANK. YOUNG MAN ARRESTED. Some time during 1 the early hours of 'Saturday morning an attempt was made to 'blow up a large shed belonging to Mr E. Perw, and situated on his fatm property in NorIbiton Rodd. A charge of gelignite was placed inside one of two 1,000gallon tanlkls alongside the shed but the explosion, evidently deadened by the water, did not have a very shattering effect, only the one tank being damaged. As both tanks were - connected, 2,000 gallons of water was lost, however. Interviewed by our representative Mr E. Few said that he was sleeping in a whare nearby on Friday night but he. did not hear the explosion which was probably muffled ... to some extent by the water. He had been sleeping in the whare for the past week owing to having received a threat of damage to his ' property. Some time ago he had come to an arrangement noth a local resident to cut up a tree on his farm on a fifty-fifty basis. The work had proceeded smoothly enough until four cords of firewood had been cut, two of which he had taken by arrangement and stored in ~ N his .shed. The remaining two cords were taken by his partner. Then, for some reason his partner became obsessed with the idea that he had “done him” on the contract, and. threatened to blow up.his shed. Mr Few said, he did not take the threat seriously, especially in view of the. fact that the man, when calmed down, appeared quite all right- towards him and even visited his house on several occasions. Ho > had always found him quite a decent sort and a hard worker. How-

ever, thinking that possibly an attempt might be made to remove his wood he decidel to sleep in a whare nearby and so keep watch over it. and that was how he came to be on the property when the attempt to blow up the shed was made. At 10.15 o’clock on. Friday evening his daughter called on him and asked him for some articles that were in the shed. Together they procured them and everything was quite in order at’ that, hour. Mr J. Staff, a neighbour, who returned home from a dance at the Beach at 1.30 a.m., however, noticed . that the cows were running about in an excited manner and the dogs were barking at that hour. He did not hear any explosion but apparently it had taken place just a short time before. Mr Few first discovered the attempt when he rose in the morning. The bottom of the tank was blown out and the 2,000 gallons of water had deluged out on to the ground. A short length of spent fuse and the remains’ of a detonator were discovered r in the debris.

Before Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrate’s' Court at Palmerston 'North yesterday Leonard Charles Martin, aged 37, a baker, of Foxton, faced a charge that on November'lo, at Foxton, he did wilfully place an explosive srrbstance, to wit, gelignite, in a tank with”intent to destroy the tank. Detective Power asked that accused be remanded to appear at Palmerston North on Friday, November 16. • The request, was granted. Accused was not represented by counsel and there was no application for bail. A second charge against accused, which was withdrawn at the request of Detective Power, was that on November 10, at Foxton, be did commit mischief by wilfully damaging a .tank, the property of Edwin Few, valued at £8 10s..