DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO BREAK OUT OF THE CITY GAOL.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1776, 7 October 1862, Page 3

DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO BREAK OUT OF THE CITY GAOL.

(From the Daily Times, 23rd Sept. Two attempts, evidently concerted, were made by prisoners to break out of the Dunedin Gaol, during the night of Sunday, but they fortunately fniled. The main actors were the notorious Garrat, who is undergoing a sentence of twelve years' imprisonment,forhisdaringoutisiges in the neighborhood ofTuapeka last year, and bis 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 his suggestion ; and there can be little doubt, (hat had the conspirators succeeded in getting out of their cells, blood would hare been spilled pretty freely. Unfortunately, from the want of proper means of keeping long-sentence prisoners at work, they have frequent means of communication ; aud there can be no doubt that the plan of action for the attempted escapes was arranged between Garratt and Anderson.

To commence with the operations of the more noted rascal. The cell in which Garrett was confined was about the most central in the goal. It adjoined the day-room, in which Garreit would know that there was generally a warder stationed during the night; yet it was through the day-room that he had resolved to escape, although there was a mode by which he 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 the cell and the day-room is of brick, and about eighteen inch thick. So far as can be ascertained, Garrett had no other instrument 'than a moderate sized nail, which was bent so as to form a convenient pricker ; but with this he loosened, and then coutrived to remove a large number of bricks from the lower portion of the wall, fie broke through sufficiently 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 enrl of that corridor is the one next the Court-house, and outside which, on the platform a watchman is stationed day and night. In the outer cell, there were four prisoners awaiting trial. Their names are John Durns, Jasues Harris, John Gibson, and George Coyle. In the adjoining one, there was confined John Anderson, alias Burns, Richard Burgess, alias Hill, James Flynn, and James Benuett. 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 wall and contrived to make a hole, through which they all passed into the adjoining cell. The untried prisoners say they were overawed 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 was given, and it is not unfair to suppose that a prospect of escaping through the daring of the intruders, led the original occupants of the cell to hold their peace. 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 must 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 teet, leaving the outer facing stones exposed. But those stones are, fortunately, of Considerable size, and the prisoners could not succeed in moving them. We have said thet there was a setgeant on duty with the waider. They were only occasionally absent from the day-room, and then but for short periods ; but, singular as it may seem, they never heard anything to excite their suspicion, although Garratt actually broke through the wall of the room in which they were sitting. They say, too, that from about eleven o'clock the nig!jt was rery still. There was no notion of what had been going on until the cells were visited yesterday morning ; 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 was heard by the warder on the platform, close to which Anderson was at work. The mode seems to have been for tsvo to work, while kneeling on the upper bed, and the other two to hold a blanket to catch the debris, which was occasionally emptied into a sack, made out of a shirt. Throughout, the work seems to have been done with remarkable adroitness 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 bis 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 effoit at least for revenge. Indeed, had the desperate scoundrel succeeded, it cannot be doubled that the results would have been horrible. So with the Anderson paity, 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 facili tated 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 as 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 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 jiring at the police, after taking part in a series of outrages at ■ the diggings. He lias more than three years to serve.