DICK TURPIN REDIVIVUS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1801, 6 December 1862, Page 3

DICK TURPIN REDIVIVUS.

This Sydney papers for the last few months have teemed with accounts of the daring deeds of bushrangers, and the attention of every class in the community has been roused to adopt some means of prevention for an evil which now exists to an extent almost unparalelled. We extract from the local papers the following details of recent outrages. [From the Bathurst Free Press, Nov. B.] On Thursday morning last great excitement was caused in Bathurst by the report that the Sydney down mail had been stuck up about six miles from Bathurst, on the previous night. Upon making inquiries we ascertained that the report was true, and as far as we can learn, the following are the principal facts of the case. The mail left Bathurst on Wednesday night as usual, about ten o'clock, conveying eight male passengers, and upon arriving at the small bridge or culvert, placed across the road, about a mile on the Bathurst side of Woodside Inn, the coachman found that further progress was prevented, by a pole or poles being placed across the end of the bridge. Three men armed with revolvers then made an attack upon the coach, and ordered all the passengers to dismount. Two of the three were placed as guards over the passengers, while the third having obtained the mailbags proceeded to cut them open. There were eight registered letters in the bag from Bathurst, the contents of which, are of course unknown to the public ; there was also a bank parcel containing about six hundred pounds in notes, belonging to the Bank of New South Wales. The letters were all opened, the contents impounded, and the letters torn up and thrown upon the ground. The passengers, with one exception, gave up their money, and we understand that the rob. bers, putting the notes into their own pocket, gave back the loose silver to the passengers to put into theirs. The exception referred to, was the case of a young man who had £7 in his pocket ; and he intimated that he would sooner lose his life than give up his money ; consequently, when one of the villains called upon him to deliver, he showed fight, and although the robber presented two revolvers at him, he refused to give up his money, and still made a rush at the man who demanded it ; the man made several attempts to grapple with the thief, but was beaten back, and the ruffian, apparently not wishing to fire, gave him a dreadful blow over one of his eyes with the barrel of a revolver, by which the young man was severely injured. However, after maltreatinghim, they neglected to search him, and he retained his money. The robbers then left, and having gathered up the looae papers, the coachman drove on to the Woodside Inn. There the young man was found to be so very much hurt, that he thought it advisable not to proceed further that night. The coachman having made arrangements for the coach, to be driven on to the Frying Pan, returned to town on horseback to give information of the occurence, aud by two o'clock on Wednesday morning, the available police were out after the robbers. During the morning farther information was brought into town, averring that after the coach left Woodside, and before it reached the Green Swamp, it was again stuok up by the other three men, who, finding that they were too late, as the mail had already been robbed, vented their spleen upon the passengers by giving them a beating. We cannot vouch, for the accuracy of this second report, but having good reason to rely upon the parties from whom we received the information, we fear it is too true. We visited Woodside on Thursday after, noon with the view of obtaining the particulars of the occurrence from the young man who so manfully resisted the robbers, but he had so much improved during the morning as to be able to proceed on his journey, and he had been gone about two hours, when we reached the place. More Sticking Up. — On Wednesday morning, Mr Avery, one of Cobb and Go's managing men, was riding on the mountain road, in company with another gentleman ; and when near Mr Wasooe'a Inn, they were stuck up by two strangers, wbo presenting revolvers, demanded their money, and who took from Mr Avery a very valuable gold watch, and from the two gentlemen about i'3o in cash. Akother Case of Sticking Up. — On Thursday afternoon, information was brought into town, that on the previous night, four tents, inhabited by Chinamen, in the neighbourhood of Brisbane Valley Creek, had been forcibly entered, and the inmates stuck up by two or three men. The assistance of the police was sought ; but as' they were all engaged in the search for the men who had robbed the mail, their aid could not be secured at the time.