DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO BREAK OUT OF THE CITY GAOL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 237, 23 September 1862, Page 5

DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO BREAK OUT OF THE CITY GAOL.

PLOT OF GARRET & ANDERSON.

Two attempts, evidently concerted, were made by prisoners to break oat of the Dane-Jin Gaol, during the night of Sunday, but they fortunatwy failed. The maia actors were the notorious Gamut, who is undergoing a sentence of twelve years' imprisonment, for his daring outrages in the neighbourhood of Taapeka, last year, and his companion John Anderson, alias Burns, who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Garratt is known to have vowed vengeance against the governor, Mr. Stoddart, on account of a change in the rations introduced at hi* auction; and there can be little doubt, that had the conspirators succeeded in getting out of their cells, blood would have been spilled pretty freely. Unfortunately, from the want of' proper means of keeping long-sentence prisoners at won,, they have frequent means of communication; and there can be no doubt that the plan of action for the attempted escapes was arranged between Garratt and Anderson. -^o commence with the operations of the more noted rascal. The cell in which Garratt Mas conhned was about the most central in the gaol. It adjoined the day-room, in which Irarratt would know that there was generally a warder stationed during the night; yet if, was through the day-room that he had resolved to escape, although there was a mode by which be could have got into the stockade as easily as into the day-room, if his own liberty had alone been his object. The wall between tne cell and the day-room is of brick and about ISm. thick. So far as can be ascertained, Garratt had no other instrument than a moderate-sized nail, which was bent so astoiorm a. convenient pricker; but with this he loosened, and then contrived to remove a large number of bricks from the lower portion of the wall. He broke through snfficienhy to see into the day-room; and it is believed that he then gave up, on discovering that the warder was accompanied by the sergeant, and that he would have no chance of surprising both men. _ The attempt in which Anderson was the ringleader was more complicated. There is a corridor divided from the day-room by iron gates. The wall at the end of that corridor -is the one next the Court - house, and outside which, on the platform a watchman is stationed day and ni"ht In the outer cell, there were four prisoners awaiting trial. Their names are John Burns James Harris, John Gibson, and George Coyle. In the adjoining one, there were confined John Anderson, alias Bums, Richard Burgess, alias Hill, James Flynn, and James Bennett. Anderson and his fellows—who, as far as can be discovered, had a nail precisely similar to that used by Garratt, and nothing more—set to work at the bottom of their wafl and contrived to make a hole, through which they all passed into the adjoining cell. The untried prisoners say that they were overawe:! by threats of having their brains dashed out with bricks if they attempted to give an alarm; and also that they were bound with strips torn from the blankets. Certainly no alarm wasgiven, and it is not unfair to suppose that a prospect of ..escaping''through the daring of the intruders, led the original occupanfs of the cell to hold their pmce. The blankets were torn into strips, but those strips do not look.as if they had been tightly tied round any person.

Anderson and his mates had now to attack the outer wall, but this is of stone, and, of course, very substantial. They calculated correctly that to get out near the line of the platform, they mmi work at the top of the wall; and here they cleared out the strong mortar and smaller stones over a space of about three feet by two feet, leaving the outer facing stones exposed. But those stones are, fortunately, of considerable size, and the prisoners crv.ild not succeed io moving them. AYe have said that there was a sergeant on daty with the warder. They were only occasionally absent from the day-ronm, and then! but for short periods; but, "singularas it may seem, they never heard any tiling to excite j their suspicion, although Garratt actually j broke through the wall of the room in which they were sitting. They say, too, that from about eleven o'clock the night was very still. There was uo-notion of what had been going on, until the cells were visited ye3terday morn- { ing; the last visitation on Sunday evening being at nine o'clock. That the sergeant and warder should not have heard the operations of Anderson and his party is not so surprising; but nothing wa3 heard by the warder on Jhe platform, clos? to which Anderson was at work. The . mode seem 3to have been for two to work, while kneeling on the upper bed, and the other two to hold a blanket to catch the debris, which wa3 occasionally emptied into a sack, made out of a shirt. Throughout, the work seems to have betn done with remarkable adroituess and quietness.

It is regarded as a very probable hypothesis that Garrat's plan was to get into the dayroom during the temporary absence of the warder; to surprise and stun him on'his return, and to get possession of his revolver and keys, which would have been not difficult to a man of Garratt's strength and daring. If he had succeeded so far, he would have been able to release Anderson, and other of his friends, and to have indulged in the effort at least for revenge. Indeed, had the desperate scoundrel succeeded, it cannot be doubted that the results would have been horrible. So with the Anderson party, if they could have got to the officer on the platform and silenced him, there is no doubt that they could in some way have facilitated the escape of Garratt.

The Visiting Justices met at the gaol yesterday, and investigated the matter. Garratt we believe, declared that he meant to get out aa soon as he could, and to " wipe off a few old scores." Anderson and Burgess claimed the whole blame; or merit, of the attempt on their side. The others, they said, were forced to assist or to be quiet. Garratt and Anderson were ordered to be ironed ; the damage to the walls has been repaired; and so ends this chapter in the history of the would-be Jack Sheppard of Otago.

It may be added that Burgess is under sentence for firing at the police, after taking part in a series of outrages at the diggings. lie has more than three years lo serve.

Publicans 1 Regulations is Belgium. — The Communal Council of Antwerp has just iiSlied a number of Police .Regulations for the punishment of intoxication. All persons found in a public place in a state of drunkenness, of a nature to cause disorder or scandal, are to be fined from 3f. to 15f., and imprisoned from one day to fifteen. The magistrate is to determine the duration of imprisonment. Publichouse keepers selling drink to persona already in a state of iutcxicatiou, or persons piblicly provoking others to drunke'iineus by acts or otherwise, will ba liable to tjie stune puni«hineut. Should the provocation be exercised on persona of Jess^than eighteen veers of age, the maximum of punishment will be nifiicted.