MEMORIALS OF OLD AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5758, 1 May 1880, Page 6

MEMORIALS OF OLD AUCKLAND.

THE CABBAGE-TREE ROAD TRA- d GEDY. • ;r 0 The above mysterioJs tragedy, which for ® twenty-eight years haa baffled the police authorities and defied solution, is in many p respects a counterpart to that which recently t took place at • Dunedin. In both cases the a dwellings were entered by the window, and j the unoffending victims slain by an axe in a j similar fashion. In both, persons known to i be iu the neighbourhood on the previous 1 night were .found to have blood on* their clothes, and satisfactorily accounted for £ it 3 presence j in both there was no trace of i robbery, though it may have been the ] primary motive ; in both arson was the mode , attempted to cover the crime; and in both, , so far as human foresight can predict, ihe .( mystery will alone be revealed in that day ( when the secrets of all hearts shall be made , known. i Mr. Richard ftathboue, the victim of the 1 Cabbage-Tree Road tragedy, was arespeotable ] middle-aged man, who arrived hero from • London, accompanied by oue of his sons, in • the Sir Edward Paget, in December, 1850. He had formerly been in the army as a cavalryman, was an excellent swordsman, and had served in the London Police. Personally ho was quiet, sober, inoffensive, and industrious; but a man of approved ■courage, and one who would not yield his life without making, a gallant struggle in its defence. Soma time after his arrival, being a baker by trade, he obtained employment with the late Mr. James George, who then carried on business near the premises.of the Bank of New South Wale?, Shortland-street. Being industrious and frugal, he took up a small holding, on the . Cabbage-Tree Swamp Road (then a lonely district with a few scattered settlers), looking forward, like many o£ the immigrants of those times, to settling down on the laud, and gathering hiß family round him. Herd he lived alone, walking to and fro to hii employment. His son, being apprenticed in Auckland, remained in the city, and chus escaped the untimely fate which befel'the father. On the night on which Rathbone is believed to have been murdered (Thursday, the 2Sth April, 1553), he was in Auckland and arranged with his employer to be in town next morning. (Jn his way homewards he called at the house of the writer of this article, as he was wont to do. He was in good spirits, spoke hopefully of the future, and the prospect he had with steady employment and good wages of ' making himself a competency in his old age, little recking that it was his last night on earth. Oo Friday tuorning a Mrs. Justin, who lived not far from his dwelling, and was accustomed to serve him with milk and ' butter, noticed a slow firo issuing from his dwelling, and sent a child across to get a ' light. The child found the door ajar, wept into tho kitchen, and returned stating the ' fire was out. In the evening Mrs. Justin went over with the child, taking some butter : and milk at the same time. They entered the house, Mrs. Justin sending the child upI stairs to see if Mr. Rathbone was about, as he was accustomed to sleep upstairß sometimes when the lower room was damp. The child leturned, stating that be was not there, but | only his hat and walking-stick ; and, after [ noticiog that there was a peculiar singed smell pervading the house, Mrs. Justin left for the night. Feeling uneasy, however, she j went to her neighbour, Mr. Thomas Home, oa the Saturday morning, and begged of him to come and examine the house, as she could not find any trace of Mr. Rathbone. He ' wert with her, and on entering an inner room the unfortunate man was found lying ~ on his bed, dreadfully hacked about. The- " mattress had been set fire to, burning the body from tho chest downwards, and the e .flames had got, to the flooring and ultimately died out. An examination of the premises by the police showed that the assassin had en- ' tered by the window, which he had prized open with a shingling hatchet. Mr. Rathbone had been roused by the noise, and had "it is ' believed, come downstairs in his nightshirt and defended himself and his premises with a sword, which he.had in his possession. The floor gave evidence of a desperate struggle, ' the marks of muddy feet being evident in the pool of blood on the floor (it had been raining previously), and there were indications where some one had evidently slipped in the combat. On the jamb of the door •' and on the .chest of drawers were axe marks, stained with commingled blood and hair, ij The 'body of Rathbone had been placed . on the bed, and then an attempt, providentially frustrated, was made to cover up the crime by committing araon. The police looked around for a clue. It was known that Rathbone was frugal, and in those days, when banking accommodation was almost nil, wa3 believed to have had money in the house; but owing to his lonely life ai;d reticent disposition, nothing was known for certainty as to whether any robbery was committed or not. , Enemies Ije had none, and on that score the police were equally puzzled. Two or three soldiers in garrison, it transpired, were out on the fatal night—oue on leave, and the e others absent at tattoo. Further examination showed that one of the men had blood on his trousers. Those who were out withj. out leave accounted for their ahsence and e proved an alibi. In the case of the man on leave, with blood-stained clothing, the explanation was curious but simple, and the police were finally satisfied of its entire ® truthfulness. He was a young non-commis- , sioned officer, andhad obtained leave on pass. ' His object was to visit his inamorata, who re-

sided at Oneliunga. On this occasion the lady was fickle; the course of true love did not ran smooth, and chagrined at his attentions being repaired, he called at various hostelries on his return to drown his sorrow, the result being that in coming up the Kyber Pass on the road home he wandered down the Cabbage-Tree Swamp Road, got muddled up in the scoria ainougst the fern, and on coming to himself, in the morniog made his way to the Barracks miuus his sword, which he had lost. In his various falls he had cut himself and the blood stained his clothing. The young fellow never got over the mental shock of the suspicion and charge, settled down into a state of melancholy and decline, and died, it was alleged, of a broken heart. A reward was offered by the Government to stimulate the police and to obtain information, but not the slightest clue was ever obtained. Some few months afterwards information was given to the Police Commissioner, Captain Beckham, to the effect that a party of bushrangers were in the Waitakerei ranges (two of whom were under arms), and that they were believed to be concerned in Rathbone's murder. A party of police, armed and equipped, with such supplies as they could carry, were despatched to those louely wilds in pursuit. It consisted of Messrs. H. J. Sims, T. Powley, P. O'Hara, a native policeman named Johnny Coffin, a relative of old Potatau, and now residing at Mangere. His comrades also still survive. The men divided into two parties, scouted the ranges, sleeping at night in the bush, and after living for two days on oysters down at Big Muddy Creek and dividing their last biscuit between the four, held a council, and decided to return to Auckland for orders and supplies. On sifting the statements which had led to the expedition, it was pretty conclusively proved that the bushrangers owed their existence to a bushman over-sampling his rum, and mixing up the murder and bushrangers, -with his liquor. Eighteen years after the Rathbone tragedy had occurred, and when it had almost died out of the memory of all, save those who knew the man, a married lady in Auckland had a dream respecting it, in which the incidents were so vividly impressed upon her memory that she detailed to her hnsband the details of the affair and the name of the presumed murderer. Her drea.m returned to her a second time, and the circumstance becoming known to some of the friends of the murdered man, as well as the equally well known fact that the lady was remarkably

subject to psychic and magnetic influences, the matterwas tested at a Spiritualistic circle. "Sometimes the spirits act, and sometimes they don't," but on this occasion they acted, and the result was confirmatory of the lady's narrative in all respects. The person referred to has not left the province, but the police authorities would be somewhat careful of acting on " information received" from the„ spirits, in the faoe of the way in which .Inspector. Broham was hocußsed by them, when laying his men out to oatoh Winiata, after the flight from Orakei to the King country. When Profeijsor Baldwin was here the Oabbage-Tree Road myst«ry, among other problems, was given to him by a member of the Heraxd Btaff, just to pick his teeth with,, before he proceeded to forecast the future. The Professor expressed Mb. doubts- L of success, owing - to the necessary magnetic conditions;.not being present, andalso . that he was under the influence of strong, feeling against one Professor Thorn, who had been traducing bis alleged powers, sad crasej

quently badtdestroyed ihat:nice equipoise J in his temperament necessary for psycho-' ! logical experiments. : The gentleman,..before i the interview with the Professor, had put 1 down this sentence, on a many-folded'pellet 1 of paper, along with similarly-folded pellets, containing other questions, "Tell the story of Richard Rathbone." Professor Baldwin . did not lift up or open any of the pieces of paper, which were Bhaken together, bnt coaching one with his pencil, and then applying that instrument to his forehead, . asked 'the writer if be knew "Richard Rathbone." A long communication followed, in writing by the Professor, which purported to be made by Kichafd 1 Rathbone's spirit, in which complained that the inquiry was so vague that he could not place himself tn rapport with the questioner, or knew what information was required in "the story of Richard Rathbone." As a proof of good faith, however, he would give a physical that would convince the querist of the reality of •the world of spirits. Professor Baldwin directed the gentleman to pick up at random one of the pellets lying unopened on the table, and hold-it in his closed hand under the table. This was done as directed, and being requested to place his ear down to the table, he heard a peculiar scratching noise under it, for which he was at a loss to account. On withdrawing his hand from under the table, he opened it, and unfolded the pellet of paper which he had tenaciously held in his clenched fist, and across the inner folds was written in a strange, but bold and intelligible, hand "I will try.— R. R." There the matter ended, and not a particularly satisfactory ending it must be confessed. The Cabbage-Tree Swamp tragedy still remains amongst other cases, as Butler said in his speech at ."Dunedin, a proof of the fallacy of the old adage ; tbat " murder will out." Twenty-eight years have waxed and -waned, and of all who played a part in connection with that sad mystery how many are no more! The youn» son oE the murdered man, the wrongfully su«nected noncommissioned officer, Mrs. J nstin who discovered the murder, and the LieutGovernor who offered the reward for itß detection, alike lie in the dust; the Com* missioner of Police (Captain Beckham), the pergeant-major (Russell), and the detective (Charlie Brown), have long sioce concluded their investigations; the .coroner who "sat" on the body (Dr. Davie's), and the sexton (Walker) who covered up the poor mangled clay, have in turn given place to their successors ; and last of all, the lady who dreamed the dream, and her husband whi heard its recital, rest in that sleep which knows no waking till earth and sea give up their dead, and what has been dona in secret shall be plainly revealed.