The Golden Age, Thu 21 Jan 1864 1
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
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QUEANBEYAN POLICE COURT.
Saturday, January 16th.
SUPPOSED HORSE-STEALING.—William Lewis, who had been about ten days in custody charged with having a stolen horse in his possession, was discharged, it being proved that the horse was not stolen, and honestly the property of the accused.
Monday, January 18th.
THE COOMA MAIL ROBBERY.—Patrick Birmingham and William Dunne were charged with robbing the Cooma mail on the 26th December last. P Brennan deposed: I am Sub-inspector of police stationed at Yass. I apprehended prisoner before the court on the 9th inst at a place called Phil’s Creek, about twenty miles on the other side of Burrowa. I told him I apprehended him for robbing the Cooma mail on the 26th December, 1863. He first said, I know nothing about it. He afterwards said, “there is no use in denying it, I did rob the mail, and Dunne and another man were near in the bush at the time.” He said, “Before I robbed the mail, a buggy came up; the other man said, here’s a buggy, and then went away into the bush.” He said, “I stopped the party who was a road overseer; he offered me, on my asking him if he had any gold or notes, a watch and some silver, which I declined to take.” He also said, “the overseer had some good wine, which I partook of; and then the mail came up. I stuck up the mail, then took the bags, and brought the mailman to the buggy, and made the overseer give him a glass of wine. I then coo-eyed and brought the bags up on the hill to Dunne and another man. We had no knife to cut the strings tying the mailbags, and had to use a stick as a twitch to force them open. Dunne and the other party must have most of the proceeds, as I had only three good notes, two halves of twenty pound notes, and as the numbers did not correspond, I lit my pipe with them; and a cheque, which, as it was crossed, and I could not get it cashed, I tore up and threw into the bush, and I will show you as we are going to Queanbeyan where it is.” He did conduct me to the place, where I picked up portions of the cheque and pieced them together, and now produce it (marked A). I do not recollect him saying anything further on the subject of the robbery. I brought him to the Burrowa lockup, and into Yass next day, and brought him before the Bench there, by which he was remanded to Queanbeyan Bench further to answer.—
Cross-examined by prisoner: You told me distinctly several times that when you brought the mail bags up on the hill, you had no knife, and that Dunne and the other man used a stick to force them open, and that they must have pocketed most of the proceeds.—
P Brennan, recalled: I know the Dunne mentioned by Birmingham; he is the prisoner Dunne before the court. Birmingham told me there were three good notes in the bag, and he gave Dunne one of them. I have seen Dunne before at Bowning repeatedly, and then he went by the name of Thomas Wright.
Cross-examined by attorney for Dunne: Dunne was not present when Birmingham told me he gave Dunne one of the three good notes. Prisoners remanded for a week.
UNNATURAL OFFENCE.—Richard Ross was brought up charged with an offence against nature. The depositions of the apprehending constable, Griffin, were taken, and the prisoner was remanded for a week.
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The Golden Age, Thu 28 Jan 1864 2
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
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QUEANBEYAN POLICE COURT.
Monday, January 25th.
STABBING.—Two men, named Kelly and Cavanagh who had been arrested by Constable Griffin at Gundaroo, were brought up on charge of stabbing one Robert Craig, at Edgar’s public-house, on the 21st instant. The constable deposed that he found a knife on prisoner on which there was blood; a doctor fitted the knife into the wound, on Craig’s head; witness had seen Craig, he was lying on the floor of Edgar’s house insensible his eyes were swollen and closed; his clothes torn and covered with blood; there was a wound on the side of his nose; there wound was laid open; there was another wound on the head fresh done, and cut on the right eye brow. The prisoners were remanded till to-day.
ROBBING FROM THE PERSON.—The same prisoners were then charged with stealing from the person of John Corran a £1 note, after being knocked down. No money was found on them.
John Corran deposed that: he, was at work with prisoners, and on the day of the assault, was going to Edgar’s public-house when he was met by the prisoners who knocked him down with large sticks; he became insensible; and on recovering himself, discovered that a £1 note and a knife had been taken from his, pocket.—Prisoners remanded till to-day.
Tuesday, January 26th.
SUMMONS LIST.
LEVY v. KERR.—This was a breach of the Masters and Servants Act, defendant having agreed to serve plaintiff for twelve mouths as general servant, and having absented herself before the expiration of her time. Defendant pleaded, 1st, that sunmons did not show when the service was entered ; 2ndly, infancy. It appeared that under the plea of seeing the “fat girl” defendant went out of the house, and not returning her room was visited and it was found that she had taken all her things away. Defendant subsequently told plaintiff that she left because she was “blown up.” Defendant’s father proved his daughter’s infancy; and that she left plaintiff’s service at her father’s request. The bench convicted defendant of the offence and fined her £2.
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UNNATURAL OFFENCE.—The charge against [Richard] Ross, mentioned in our last, was gone into, and the evidence not being conclusive, the prisoner was discharged.
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ERRATUM.—A compositor’s blunder occurred in the paragraph contained in our last issue headed “Magisterial Scandal,” which rendered the first sentence both ungrammatical and ambiguous in its meaning. Instead of "which redounded anything but credit to our justices of the peace of comparatively new creation,” as appearing in type, the copy handed to the compositor read as follows:—“which redounded with anything but credit to one of our justices,” &c.
QUEANBEYAN TOTAL ABSTINENCE SOCIETY.—The monthly public meeting of this society was held in the Court-house on Monday evening last, when the president read an interesting paper, and some discussion followed; after which the meeting terminated.
1 The Golden Age, (Queanbeyan, NSW), Thu 21 Jan 1864, p. 2. Emphasis added.
2 The Golden Age, (Queanbeyan, NSW), Thu 28 Jan 1864, p. 2. Emphasis added.