THE FLIGHT OF KIRBY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1266, 4 June 1896, Page 30

THE FLIGHT OF KIRBY.

HIS CASE IS CALLED IN THE COURT, BUT HE DOES NOT APPEAR. AND THE QUESTION IS, WHERE HAS HE GONE? _—. REWARD OF £250 OFFERED FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE FUGITIVE. Ab a result of tho rumours current on Thursday that Detective Kirby had disappeared, tho public portion of tho Magistrate's Court was crowded on Friday mornin", when it was expocted the charges preferred againt him would have been heard. Tho charges wero serious, and tho evidence that was to have been adduced was said to bo of a startling nature. Kirby was charged that ho was alleged to have threatened, at Timaru in 1882, to accuse John Herman of an infamous offence, m consequence of which ho had received from Herman two sums of money —,£400 and £3OO respectively—and a gold watch and chain. , , The detective was arrestod m Napier and brought to Wellington, where he appeared beforo Mr Greenfield on May 21st. Mr Cully, who appeared to prosecute, asked tor a remand. The application was granted, and Mr Greenfield fixed bail on each of tho charges at two suroties of .£75 each. Mr Gully askod that the amount should be made larger, as tho offences wero most serious, and tho amount was altered to two sureties each of «CIOO on each of tho charges. Bail was forthcoming in tho aftomoon of that day, Messrs A. Hoby, dentist, and T. R. Jonos, contractor, becoming sureties. bineo Wednesday week rumours wero current that Kirby had disappeared, and it transpired that he left the City Buffet Hotel, at which he was staying, on Wednesday morning. Ho was seen in tho street during the afternoon, but from that time ho has entirely disappeared. When tho case was called on on Friday, Kirby was absent, and his name was called again by tho crier, hut still there was no answer. Out in the corridor the call waa repeated, but still there was no response, and meanwhile the spectators in the Court looked at one another in a manner that seemed to say, with all the knowledge of tho knowing ones, " I told you so !" Kirby had gone, but where ? Mr Gray, who appeared on behalf o! Mr Gully to prosecute, askod that a warrant should ho issued for Kirby's arrest, and that tho sureties for bail should he cstroatod. Mr Martin, S.M., said that for the sake of the police he hoped that thoy would make every effort to havo tho accused apprehended. This was tho second time within tho past 15 months that a member of the police who had been charged with a serious offeneo had managed to evado the police. Ho asked Inspector Pender to leave no stone unturned in order to cll'ect tho arrest of the accused. A warrant would at once bo issued for his arrest, and the sureties for his bail estreated. When Kirby was admitted to bail it is alleged ho not only maintained that the charges against him were groundless, but that as soon as they were disposed of he would bring an action against the Government, whom he would make pay dearly for maligning his character. Against this, however, it is said that while in conversation with a friend he appeared to be despond.ml., and hold out little hope of success with the east;. As to tho supposition that Kirby was on board the Taluno, hound to Sydney, it is scarcely ere libio that a man ol Ins knowledge of' th \ m ;! !io is of the police would attempt to escape the meshes of ilia law in such a manner. It would he simply jumping from the "frying pan ii.to the fire." A thorough search from" truck to keelson" of the Taluno was made by the police before the steamer left the wharf. If he is on that steamer, he must havo been very cleverly stowed away. Among the many rumours abroad, it is stated tnat Kirby contemplated suicide. A more feasible suggestion is that he has left in a small sailing boat for Pelorus Sound, where there are excellent opportunities for hiding. 0!) the other hand, it is equally probable that he has not left Wellington at all. With regard to the last-mentioned theory, a number of plain-clothes were to be seen in and around tho city la.it week.

That Kirby got away to Lyttelton by the Takapunaon Wednesday afternoon and then joined tho Tainui, bound for London, as has been suggested, is incorrect, for the Takapuna left the wharf at -1 20 p.m. and the man was seen in the town at 5 o'clock.

The police at I yttelton have carefully searched the tdeanicrs arriving from the North, and also the direct liner Tainui which left for Loudon on Thursday.

The other case referred to by Mr Martin in which a police officer had succeeded in evading arrest, was, no doubt, that of Constable Murdoch, who disappeared from Wellington about tho beginning of last year. Murdoch was defendant in an affiliation case in tho Magistrate's Court, which went against him. He appealed against tho Magistrate's decision, and was unsuccessful, being mulcted in costs to a considerable amount. Immediately after the Supreme Court decision he mysteriously disappeared, and is popularly supposed to be at present preserving tho peace in some district of South Africa.

The popular belief is that Kirby has not yet left Wellington, or at hast New Zealand.

The Government offered a reward of .£SO on Saturday for his arrest or such inforn*tion as would lead thereto. This has been increased since then to £250, as will be seen on reference to the advertising columns of the Times. A full description of tho fugitive is published in the advertisement.

In connection with his disappearance, the Napier polico havo been placed in a peculiar predicament, ho having been instrumental in tho prosecution of several men committed for trial at the ensuing sittings of the Supreme Court. In the absence of his evidence, it will be perhaps somewhat difficult for the Crown to secure convictions.

More than once on Monday it was reported in Wellington, with circumstantial detail, that ex-Detective Kirby had been arrosted. These rumours arose from the fact that the police searched a couple of houses at To Aro end of the city. Up to a late hour last night tho polico had no information with regard to his arrest either here or in Sydney.

REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN SEEN WALKING ALONG MOLESWORTH STREET.

The all-absorbing topic of discussion in tho city just now is the flight of ex-Dotec-tivo Kirby, and many are tho theories advanced as to how ho has succeeded so far in evading arrest. Tho general impression however, with both public and police is that ho is still in Wellington, though where is a problem that tho authorities havo so far failed to solve.

That Kirby is still in tho city appears to bo beyond question. On this point information of a reliable nature has reached us. A gentleman who was well acquainted with Kirby states that ho saw him about!) o'clock on Monday night near Rigarlsford's butchory, walking along Molosworth street towards tho Shamrock Hotel.

Tho person who saw him says that he could not bo mistaken in his man. The stylo of walking was what first attracted his attention. Ho says that ho stopped under a lamp-post to have a good look at tho man, and ho immediately recognised THE SMALL GREY EYEH OF KIRDY, and, apart from this, tho identity was proved clear to his mind by the knockkneed gait of the man, who was wearing a heavy light brown board, which ran up close to the ears in a peculiar manner as if it were fastened on. lb- «niii a skull cap and a walking coat buttoned up to the chin. Near tho Shamrock Hotel tho man was lost sight of. The nerson who is so confident that he saw Kirby, when asked why lies did not consider it his duty to tell the police, said that he felt a certain amount of lepugnatice to I'l.AYIN'i; THE HOLE OK INFOKMKK. Tho police do not place much credence ii. tho statement that Kirby was seen in Molosworth street on Monday evening. Thoy consider that if ho were so disguised as to deceive his most intimate friends, still his peculiar stylo of walk and knockknees would betray him to anyone acquitted with him. Not alone would he havo tho po*ico f" fear, but nearly every other man he would muot would be sure to sorutinuo him carefully if there wan i.;:ything strange about his make-up. BesTdtti this there aie numbers of men on the look out for him now, in tho hope of effecting his capture and .securing the reward. In support of the general belief on tin; subject there is tho opinion of a prominent ox-member of the detective force. His opinion is that Kirby is still UNDEU COVEU I.N' WELLINGTON, because it would be madness for him to stir now. " If," stated tho ex-officer, " lie has got anybody ho can depend upon, ho will stay here until, as tho criminal class would say, 'tho stink has blown over.'" Ho also scouts tho idea that Kirby has committed suicide. " If he did it, it was because ho dreaded to go into gaol with tho criminal

class, as ho had never treated them fairly.' This officer states that many years ago he had his suspicions of Kirby, and informed the then head of the department of his opinion. " lie was." he continued, " a disgrace to tho force, and if I get bold of him I will soon muzzle him, and havo the whiskers off him." There was a suspicion many years ago as to how Kirby had become possessed of THE GOLD WATCH mentioned in tho charge brought against him. It appears that ho called at a certain watchmaker's, and pulled the watch out of his pocket. It was recognised, and for a long time after the affair was the subject of a joke, the small boys in the street, from a safe distance, of course, putting impertinent queries to the oxdetective as to" What tho time was." Concerning this watch thero is another story told. Some years ago several polico officers, including Kirby, were assembled together, and ono of them wanted to mako a wager that his watch had tho highest number. All the officers producod their watches except Kirby. There are numbers of people who believe that Kirby has succeeded in getting as far as Sydney, the latest rumour being that he was

STOWKI) AWAY IX A LARGE CASK that was shipped by the Taluno. This might bo improbable, but not impossible, for°such a thing did actually occur m the South some years ago. A man, for whose arrest, on a charge of embezzling tho funds of a building society in Christchurch, a warrant was out, suddenly disappeared, and tho authorities hunted high and low for him, searching every steamer that left Lyttelton. Ho had plenty of friends, who managed to smuggle him.concealed in a largo case, on board a vessel bound for England. On the vessel arriving in the Channel it was boarded by the English detectives and searched from stem to stern, but tho bird had flown. Ho had got on board a fishing boat some hours prior to the arrival of the

polico and was landed in tho South of England. It was only after the authorities had tracked him for some weeks through Great Britain that he was arrested, and afterwards brought back to this colony.

The suggestion that Kirby got away in thr Taluno, and subsequently landed in Sydney without being detected, calls to mind Till: KSCAI'E OF (iASI'AKINI from the Wakntipu in ISSS. Gasparini, i( will be remembered, was an escapee from New Caledonia, and was being sent, back to Sydney to hi) handed over to the authorities by tho steamer Wakalipu in charge of Detective Walker, when ho was suddenly missed, and although a thorough search was made of the vessel, no trace of him could bo found. It was afterwards reported that Gasparini was seen in Sydney, ami that he left there in one id' the North German lino of steamers, and safely reached Italy. Against tho supposition that Kirby left in tho Taluno is the fact that he was well known by every official on the wharf, and m making his way to the steamer ho would probably havo boon promptly recognised. THE SEARCH ON THE TALUNE. The Sydney police searched the Taluno )ii arrival, but without success, although ft' is -.alleged thoy found traces that a man had been aboard. 'J he Sydney polico also witched the discharge of tho cargo of the Taluno in tl,e event of Kirby having stowed away in the hold. Amongst (he goods was a suspiciouslooking caso, loosely closed, which attracted attention. On being opened, this case was found to contain a quantity of biscuits, two loaves of bread, two empty bottles, which had apparently been filled with water, and some clothes. On closer search being made, a bank draft in favour of Kirby was found, and also an envelope containing tho address of a friend of his resident in Sydnoy, on

whom, it is stated, he intended to call. Th ere was also a message to the friend. The polico aro exercised as to whether this fine' is a ruse or not.