Times have changed

In the Empire Newspaper (Sydney) on the 9th April, 1851

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. 

TUESDAY, April 8th. 

Before His Honor the Chief Justice.

Thomas Hanncy was charged with committing a rape upon his, own daughter, Jane Hancy, aged fourteen. After a long investigation, the Jury retired for a few minutes, and then returned a verdict of not guilty, it being evident from the constant repetition of the act of incest, that the girl was a consenting party.

Probates and Letters of Administration.

Appearing in The Queenslander 7th September, 1889

The following is a list of the probates and letters of administration granted in the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, from 18th May last to 31st August :-

Probates.

Josephine Erickson, widow, of Brisbane, £208 10s. Bd.; exeoutrix, Julia Quirke.
Helena Hannah Hassall, of Ipswich, widow, £605 9s. 5d.; executors, T. F. Hassall and H. C. Ransom.
John Pierce, of Pine Creek, grazier, £384 19s. 6d.; executor, F. R. C. Striiver.
Ann Walker, of Bingera, £11,832; executors, A. C. Walker, W. B. O'Connell, and W. Adams.
Daniel Baldwin, of Bulimba, free holder, £2190; executors, Jas. Nuttall and Daniel Baldwin.
William Harm, of Maryvale station, grazier, £30,612 ; executors, Mary B. Harm, Wm. Aplin, and A. T. Halloran.
James Walton, of Ipswich, carpenter, £1285 ; executors, Jane Walton and Jas. M'Gill.
Paul Grant, of Cooktown, miner, £100 ; executors, Michael Bowen and Wm. Tower.
Janet Johnstone, of Fortitude Valley, widow, £3692; executors A. H. Smith and Thos. Yuile.
Wm. Gill Bailey, of South Brisbane, £917 15s. 10d.; executors, Queensland Permanent Trustee, Exeoutor, and Finance Agency Company.
Johann Fredk. Gottlieb Raddatz, of Gatton, farmer, £105 10s.; executrix, F. Raddatz, widow.
Chas. Gilliver, of Queenton, Charters Towers, licensed victualler, £1175 16s. 1d.; executors, J. M'Donald and E. D. Miles.
George Rollason, of Dalrymple, saddler, £208 11s.; executors, E. D. Miles and R. Kirkbride.
Joseph Walters, of Isisford, £1074 10s.; exeoutrix, Mary Walters, widow.
Fanny Trundle, of Brisbane, widow, £665 14s. 5d.; executors, Chas. Jos. Trundle and J. H. Henzell.
George Teasdale, of Mooloolah, farmer, £571 10s.; executrix, Eliz. Teasdale, spinster.
Patrick Lonergan, of Milton, near Brisbane, cooper, £419; executrix, Norah Lonergan, widow.
Bernard Mullin, of Clermont, licensed victualler, £2932 5s. 3d.; executrix, Ellen Mullin, widow.
John Milchreest, of Cairns, £899 8s. 1d.; executors, W. Jack and Daniel Patience.
Wm. Barram, of Redbank, near Ipswich, freeholder, £1778; executrix, Maria Barram, widow.
John Saint, of Bundaberg, store keeper, £3210; exeoutrix, Sophia Saint, widow.
Terrance Doyle, of Veresdale, freeholder, £726; exeoutrix, Margaret Doyle, widow.
John Trotter, of Cooktown, contractor, £100 ; executrix, Margaret Trotter, widow.
Batchoo, of Prince of Wales Island, Torres Straits, diver, £730; executor, Thomas Cusson.
George Harris, of Nudgee, near Brisbane, vineyard proprietor, £2022 0s. 10d.; executrix, Elizabeth Harris.
John Doney Mabby, of Tambo, lately of Blackall, Presbyterian minister, £389 4s. 4d.; executors, William Jas. Hartley and Daniel Budge.
Jas. Cornelius O'Sullivan, of Charters Towers, miner, £236; exeoutors, Michael Scales and Jas. Ahem.
Henry Martin, of Ipswich, labourer, £100; executors, Gaius Horne and George Martin.
Henry Walters Risien, of Rockhampton, commission agent, £100; executors Henry John Risien and James Atherton;
James Compsie Dalglish, of Goulburn, New South Wales, district surveyor, £385 ; executors, Marie Sophie Nicholson Dalglish, widow, and John Dalglish.
Peter Russell, of Warwick, carpenter, £179 ; executrix, Jane Russell, widow.
James Davis, of Brisbane, china and glass warehouseman, £12,737 14s. 1d.; executors, Thomas Gray and George Grimes.
Carl Snomei, of Cooktown, miner, £101 0s. 6d.; executor, Charles John Wilson.
Pehr Nilsson, of Maryborough, farmer, £150 10s.; executor, Neils Peterson.
James Pearson Balsillie, of Townsville, warehouseman, £1131; executors, Geo. Johnstone and Joseph Saint Clair Bernard.
Camille Jourdan, of Yandilla, engineer, £100 ; executor, Francis Arthur Gore.
Emily Mountford Lawson, of Brisbane, widow, £1716 15s. 3d.; executors, Robert Hazelwood Lawson and A. L. Lawson.
Esther Atherton, of Mount Hedlow, near Rockhampton, widow, £4843 11s. 1d.; executors, James Atherton and  Edmund Atherton.
Charles Simpson, of Windsor-road, Brisbane, builder, £216 11s. 6d.; executrix, Ellen Simpson, widow.
Charles Hill, of White Wood Ridge, carrier, £219 0s. 6d.; executrix, Eliza Hill, widow.
Abraham Doxey, of Toowoomba, engine driver, £194 8s. 5d.; executrix, Shelomith Doxey, widow.
Gottlieb Klnmpp, of Coorparoo, farmer, £807 ; executor, Triairita Klumpp.
Henry Lisle Elliott, of Redcliffe Station, near Hughenden, grazier, £643 18s.; executrix, Annie Agnes Elliott, widow.
Daniel Ryan, of Charters Towers, storeman, £887 3s. 3d.; executors, Mary Ryan, widow, and David Rolleston.
Maria Elizabeth Martin, of Heathfield Estate, near Brisbane, £400: executrix, Adelaide Mary Martin, spinster.
James Cron Halliday of Maryborough, engineer, £110;. executrix Alice A. Halliday, widow.
Alfred Thomas Wood, of Yeppoon, £7923 2s. 9d.; Executrix, Sarah Ann Wood, widow.
Daniel Galvin of Cooktown, hotelkeeper, £2073 16s. 1d.; executors, James Mahon and John Madden.
John Henry, of South Brisbane, labourer £160; executors, Percival Hiley and Robert Watson Wilson.
William Pratt, of Cooktown, labourer, £100, executor, Edward Dooley.
Thomas Craig, of Warwick, £1431 2s. 6d.; executrix, Bridget Craig, widow.
Catherine Timoney, of Port Douglas, milliner, £816 6s. 6d.; executor, Rev. Edmund O'Flynn.
George William Jackson, of Ipswich, billiard-marker, £106 4s.; executors, Elizabeth Jackson, widow, and John White.
William David Bauerle, of Charters Towers, mining manager, £585; executrix, Maria Bauerle, widow.
William Arthur, of Toowoomba, £975 13s. 7d.; executor, Samuel George Stephens.
Heinrick Herold, of Murray-street, Rockhampton, cab proprietor, £440; executrix, Catherine Herold, widow.
William Morris Smith, of Rookhampton, carter, £791 7s. 5d.; executrix, Sarah Jane Smith, widow.
John Davis, of Rockhampton, carrier, £885 14s. 5d.; executors, John Davis and Robert Dunbar.
Patrick Fleming, of Cooktown, police-constable, £1249 5s. 5d.; executor, William Robinson Smith.
George Robinson, of Newtown, near Sydney, New South Wales, £185; executors, Charles Robinson, Thomas T. Robinson, and Maria Robinson, widow.
John Fitzpatrick, of Mount Morgan, carpenter, £325 ; executrix, Charlotte Fitzpatrick, widow.
James Graham Jack, of Watsonville, storekeeper, £601 15s. 8d.; executors, William Jack and Martha Jack, widow.
Mary Ann Hartley, of Red Hill, near Brisbane, widow, £130; executor, Francis Joseph Hartley.
William Cowan, of Carrawang. Coochin, grazier,£12oo 10s.; executors, William Robertson Cowan and Mary Ann Forsyth, wife of R. Forsyth, of Darling Downs.
Susan Bogild, of Cooktown, widow, £092 10s.; executor, Rev. James Dominick.
Augustus Brooks, of Charters Towers, clerk, £100; executors, Alexander Wilson and Frederick Thomas Dean.
Daniel Brown, of Brisbane, master mariner, £335 4s. 11d.; executrix, Lavinia Amelia Schofield, wife of George Schofield, of Milton ;
William Carroll, of Maryborough, saddler, £261 18s. 2d.; executrix, Ellen Carroll, widow.
Thomas Pendergast, of Maryborough, freeholder, £2731 6s. 2d.; executors, Henry Jardine Gray and Patrick Brennan.
George Risden Howe, of South Brisbane, compositor, £576; executrix, Elizabeth Howe, widow.
Chen Quen, of Gympie, storekeeper, £1087 10s. 6d.; executors, Lin Goon and Charles Chen Toy.
Kong Dee, of St. Lawrence, storekeeper, £2446 15s.; executor, Wm. Henry Dee.
Thomas Robertson, of Ferny Lawn, Redcliffe, £28,035; executors, Marie Anne Robertson, widow, and Geo. Henry Green.
Thomas Hill, of Brisbane, labourer, £728 9s. 8d.; executor, John Hamilton Hill.
Charles Upton, farmer, of Brookfield, near Brisbane, farmer, £2025 1s. 6d.; executors, John Dart and Robert Joseph Logan.
Janet Philp, of Ma Ma Creek, near Gatton, spinster, £490; executrix, Isabella Stern Philp, spinster.
Gibson Stewart, of Ipswich, farmer, £554; executrix, Anne Jane Stewart, of Ipswich.

Letters of Administration.

Annie Turner, of Bolingbroke, near Mackay, £640 ; executor, Graham Aug. Turner.
Herbert Owen Bridge, of Maryborough, drapers'   assistant, £320; executor, R. Owen Bridge.
Joshua Davies, of Brisbane, tailor, £550; executrix, Emma Davies, widow.
Daniel Cronin, of Adavale, licensed victualler, £661 16s. 1d.; executrix, Catherine Cronin, widow.
John O'Dea, of Gympie, miner, £100; executor, Cornelius O'Dea.
Henry Edward Augustus Allan, of Sydney, merchant, £580 ; executor, J. H. Flower.
Lucy Emma Chamberlain, of Brisbane, £390; executor, Wm. Chamberlain.
Watson Henry, of Ipswich, carpenter, £217 5s. 1d.; executrix, Eliza Jane Laing.
Eliza Phillips, of Paddington, widow, £1993 11s. 11d.; executor, Peter Phillips.
John Woodward, of Maryborough, clerk, £133 12s. 11d.; executor, Annie Woodward, widow.
David Danaher, of Oakey Creek, farmer, £252; executor, Letitia Danaher, widow;
Thomas Osbourne Mawby, of Townsville, carrier, £142   7s.; executor, Robert Mawbv;
William Halliday, of Granville, near Maryborough, £378 19s. 3d.; executor, Susannah Hughes;
Richard Trentham, of Brisbane, mouldor, £126; executor, Clara Trentham, widow.
William Thornton, of Croydon, miner, £155 ; executor, George Kerr.
William Ryan, of Townsville, miner, £157 7s. 9d.; executor, Bridget Ryan.
Henry Upton, of East Look, Petworth, Sussex, England, £708 8s.; executor, D. Geo. Stewart.
John Edward Walker, of Cardwell, selector, £1217 3s. 7d.; executor, Edward William Blackman.
Ernest Ludwig Frederich Dau, of Tenthill, near Ipswich, farmer, £240; executor, Frederika Dau, widow;
Wallace Fraser, of Gympie, jeweller, £100 ; executor, Mary Ann Fraser, widow.
George Robinson, of North Ipswich, labourer, £469 3b. 10d.; executrix, Martha Robinson, widow.
William Fallon, of Brisbane, civil servant, £271 12s. 7d.; executor, Rev. Denis Fouhy.
Susan Whitton, of Indooroopilly, £100 ; executor, W. R. L. Whitton.
William Searston, of Silkstone, near Ipswich, miner, £100 ; executrix, Anna Williams.
Frederick Pedder, of Thargomindah, contractor, £100; executrix, Mary Pedder, widow.
William Blackmore, of Orient Camp, near Herberton, licensed victualler, £509 18s. 2d.; executrix, Margaret Blackmore, widow.
Christain Gratz, of Roma, labourer, £208 8s. 8d.; executor, Joseph Gratz.
Michael Mullin, of Clermont, bushman, £233 8s.; executrix, Catherine Mullin, widow.
Robert Kyle Little, of Eyre's Creek, sub-inspector of native police, £441 5s. 6d.; executrix, Dora Little, widow.
William Holmes, of Cardwell, manager of sawmills, £359; executrix, Alice Mary Holmes, widow.
James Penrose Hickson, of Charters Towers, station manager, £617 19s. 6d.; executrix, Ellen A. Hickson.
Henry Smith, of New Farm, contractor, £221 10s.; executrix, Emma M. Smith, widow.
John Hoyland, of Thompson Estate, Brisbane, freeholder, £195; executrix, Sarah Hoyland, widow.
James Scott Lyell, of Aucklaud, New Zealand, £1100: executor. Ernest Winter.
Eagle Bell, of North Rockhampton, labourer, £240; executrix, Elizabeth Bell, widow.
Sarah Jane Carbery, of Brisbane, spinster, £273 15s.; executrix, Jane Carbery, widow.
David Stewart, of Torrens Creek, licensed victualler, £600 11s. 2d.; executrix, Bridget Stewart, widow.
James Timms, of Red Hill, Brisbane, messenger, £280; executrix, Helen Timms, widow.
Robert James Hill, of St. Hawthorn, Victoria, £251 ; executor, Graham Lloyd Hart.
Thomas Henry Kerkeek, of Charters Towers, miner, £295 16s.; executor, John Gard.
Anna Andrews, of Warwick, widow, £250 ; executor, John Andrews.
Susannah Batty, of Brisbane, £218; executor, Elijah Batty.
Richard Ambrose Hopper, of Brisbane, ship designer, £137 17s.; executrix, Frances Hopper, widow.
James Hull, of Mooloolah, farmer, £244 11s. 6d.;   executor, Thomas Hall.
Louis Menzies, of Brisbane, bootmaker, £656 5s. 6d.; executrix, Mina Menzies, widow.
George M'Gown, of Maryborough, engine-fitter, £475 12s. 2d.; executrix, Julia M'Gown, widow.
John Garvie, of Maryborough, sugar-planter, £204 ; executrix, Mary Garvie, widow.
Mary Meldon, of Toowoomba, £407; executor, Joseph Meldon.
Henry Charles Weiland Busch, of Ipswich, teacher, £824 17s.; executor, George Sylvester Murphy.
James Mullen, of Rocky Waterholes, bachelor, £301 8s. 11d.; executor, Thomas Mullen.
Helen Wallace Powell, of Albion, near Brisbane, £2300 ; executor, Henry Powell.
William Burns, of Augathella, licensed victualler, £1758 13s.; executrix, Catherine Burns, widow.
James Alexander Want, of Nundah, near Brisbane, dairyman, £199 11s.; executrix, Elizabeth Ellen Want, widow.
Edgar Charles Palmer, of Rockhampton, engineer, £231 6s. 3d.; executrix, Elizabeth Palmer, widow.
James Hill Drabble, commonly called James Drabble, of South Brisbane, fisherman, £2201; executrix, Anne Drabble, widow.
Matthew William Thronp, of Broken Hill, New South Wales, miner, £230; executor, Arthur William Chambers.
John Nettle, of Charters Towers, miner, £568 14s. 6d.; executor, Robert Collins.
Jas. M'Kenna, of Charters Towers, baker, £404 2s. 6d.; executrix, Norah M'Kenna, widow.
Hans Christian Ludwig Petersen, of Watsonville, miner, £136 18s.; executrix, Albertine Christine Petersen, widow.
Matilda Lyons, of Sydney, New South Wales, £125 6s. 9d.; executor, Queensland Permanent Trustee, Executor, and Finance Agency Company, Limited.
Jas. Johnston, of Fernberg-road, West Milton, cab proprietor, £144 13s.; executrix, Martha Johnston, widow.
Jessie Jane Ranken M'Donald, of Tempe, Cook's River, Now South Wales, spinster, £1000; executor, Campbell Thomas M'Donald.

A barber and three dogs

The Queenslander Newspaper 16th November, 1889

DEATHS FROM HYDROPHOBIA.

On Monday (reports the last number of the Fanciers' Gazette to hand this week) Mr. G.P. Wyatt, deputy-coroner for East Surrey, held an inquest at St. Thomas's Hospital on the body of Frances Marion Smith, aged 13 years, the daughter of Abraham Smith, a nurseryman, living at No. 14 Park-place, Lower Tooting, who died in the above institution on Friday last from hydrophobia. Mary Ann Margaret Smith, the mother, said that her daughter had enjoyed very good health until the 2nd of last August, when she was bitten by a dog. The day previous witness kept her away from school, in consequence of which the teacher gave the girl a good shaking, which witness thought was the cause of her feeling unwell. The wound was cauterised, and after a few days she appeared to regain her usual health. Last Tuesday night, however, symptoms of rabies set in, and upon her return from school she went to the tap in the back kitchen and got a cup of water. She was, however, unable to drink it, and asked for some tea, which, when she attempted to swallow, took her breath away. "Witness then took her to a neighbouring doctor, who ordered her immediate removal to the hospital. Minnie Tanner, a girl of fourteen years, said that about half-past 1 o'olock on Friday afternoon, the 2nd August, she was walking along Tooting-grove, when she saw Smith, who was with her little brother, attempting to stroke a little dog which was passing. The animal jumped up and bit her in the face, and it was with difficulty that he was shaken off. The little boy, in attempting to drive him away, was also bitten by the dog in the arm. A number of men then came up and ran after the dog, which witness lost sight of. Inspector Henry George Barrett, Tooting, stated that on the afternoon in question Mr. Smith brought his son and daughter to the police-station, and stated that they, as well as himself, had been bitten by a fox-terrier dog. Dr. Brent, the divisional surgeon, was at once called in, and cauterised the wounds of the girl, the father and son refusing to have their wounds attended to, as Mr. Smith did not believe in the treatment. The dog, which was unmuzzled, was sent the following morning to the Dogs' Home at Battersea, where it has since been destroyed. In answer to the coroner, witness stated that there had been no post-mortem on the dog, consequently he was unable to say whether it was mad or not. Dr. Thomas Philip Cowan, house physician, deposed to receiving the child upon her admission on the 18th August. She then experienced great difficulty in swallowing, and complained of a severe headache; the following day she became much worse, and at the sight of water was seized with violent spasms. The child was shortly afterwards seized with fits, which terminated in her death on Friday last. A post-mortem examination which had been made on the body showed nothing which would account for death, which was not an uncommon occurrence in cases of hydrophobia. The mother informed the coroner that her husband and son, who were at present in Paris under the treatment of M. Pasteur, were not aware of the shild's death. The jury returned a verdict of leath from hydrophobia. We regret to record another death this week. Last May Mark Allen, aged fifty-seven, a painter, living at Henwood-side, Chigwell, was bitten by a retriever dog. He experienced no inconvenience until a few days ago, when symptoms of hydrophobia were observed, and on Monday night he was taken to the London Hospital evidently in the last stage of the terrible disease, where he died on the following Monday morning.

An Irascible Barber.—At Wallasey (Cheshire) Petty Sessions lately, Frederick Johnson, barber, Seacombe, was charged with assaulting Dr. Churton, J.P., coroner for Chester. Dr. Churton said he went to defendant's shop to be shaved, and asked him to be quick, in order to permit him to fulfil an engagement. Defendant very rudely shouted, "Come in, then; I can't shave you at the door."   He suggested that Johnson should treat his customers civilly, when defendant seized him by the arm, and threatened to kick him out of the shop. Dr. Churton added: "I did not much care for his threats, but I was in an awkward dilemna. I was close to an excited man, with a razor in his hand and a huge bull dog by his side. (Laughter.) I may say the latter was the best bred animal of the two." (Renewed laughter.) In reply to the bench, Dr. Churton said he thought the man committed a very unwarrantable assault when he rushed upon him in that violent fashion. Corroborative exidence having been given, the bench fined the barber 25s. 6d., including costs. — Daily Telegraph.

Times were tough

And so was the judge

From London Evening Post (London, England)
March 21, 1752 - March 24, 1752; Issue 3811.

Last Saturday Night at Twelve o'Clock the Assizes ended at Maidstone for
the County of Kent, when the sixteen following Criminals receiv'd Sentence
of Death, viz. John GRACE for the Murder of his Wife; William SAWYER,
Thomas DEVEIL, and Abraham MULLINER, for robbing James HASTRICK on the
Highway, near Rochester, of four Guineas, and after murdering him, they imagined
he knew them; John HOBBS for robbing Francis TAYLOR on Blackheath of a
Silver Watch, etc. Christopher REILEY for robbing Michael LADE, Esq; on the
Highway, between Boughton and Canterbury, of a Hat and a Bay Gelding; John
KEATING and James NESBIT, alias BERRY, for divers Robberies on the Highway;
John PELLING and Dennis DOYLE for Horse stealing; John WARNER for
Sheep-stealing; Thomas STURT for stealing in the Dwelling-house of John COMER in
Woolwich twelve Thirty-six Shilling Pieces, two Guineas, and a Silver Cup;
John HOCKLISH, alias HOGSFLESH, for Burglary; James HUDNELL for privately
stealing from William PENFOLD a Silver Watch, etc., Thomas BAILEY for
Burglary; and Elizabeth SPARKS for stripping and robbing Sarah KIDDER on the
Highway, in Company with Sarah MEREDITH, who was convicted at the last Assizes
for the same Fact, and was executed.

Henry PARSONS the younger, and George TOWNSEND, were tried for the Murder
of Mary HALL, Spinster, near Deal, and were both acquitted.

Thanks to Michael COOMBER for sharing this.

If you do the crime

From London Evening Post (London, England)
March 21, 1752 - March 24, 1752; Issue 3811.

Last Friday the Assizes ended at Bury for the County of Suffolk, when John
OSBORN, Jun. for breaking into the Warehouse of Abraham DAKING, and
stealing Thirty Shillings in Half-pence, and about Thirty Shillings in Silver;
John WOOD, alias NEWMAN, for Horse-stealing, and Thomas FRIDGETT, alias
WHITE-EYES, a notorious Smuggler, charged with shooting John MILLS, who
belonged to Capt. MARTIN, Commander of a Sloop in the Service of the
Customs, in the Year 1742, were all three capitally Convicted, but the Judge was
pleased to reprieve John OSBORN, and ordered the two last for Execution.
 
Thomas HINES, for breaking open the Shop of Abraham CHURCHMAN, of
Woodbridge, and stealing a brown bob Wigg; Nicholas CHRISTIAN for stealing a
Parcel of Hair prepared for Perukes, the Property of Benjamin KING of Ipswich;
and Susan WOODS, for stealing a Silver Spoon, six Pewter Plates and other
Things, the Property of Anthony LIST of Stoneham Aspol, were found guilty
and ordered for Transportation.

Thanks to Michael COOMBER for sharing this.  

Mary Elizabeth Aitken GILMOUR

UNLAWFULLY KILLING.

Gavin Found Guilty. BRISBANE, September 29. In the Supreme Court to-day Stephen Thomas Gavin, aged 28, was found guilty of killing Mary Elizabeth Gilmour at Brisbane on July 30. He was remanded for sentence. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr. Sheehy) said that Gavin bore an excellent character. He lived with his people. Mr. A. McGill (counsel for the accused) in asking the judge to extend mercy, said that the jury had made no recommendation to mercy but he submitted that it was a case of contributory negligence. Judge Macrossan : I am inclined to that view myself. I regard it as a very bad case. I am going to take into consideration all extenuating circumgtances.

Townsville Daily Bulletin 30/9/1933

Mary Elizabeth Aitken HARDY was born 25/10/1879 to George HARDY and Isabella Borthick Margaret HARDY (nee AITKEN) and married John Cochrane GILMOUR 26/6/1901. 

AN AWFUL CRIME

IN THE EARLY DAY.

THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF BRISBANE

AND ENVIRONS.

BY J. J. KNIGHT IN THE " QUEENSLANDER."

AN AWFUL CRIME.

On the 27th March, 1848, the whole community was thrown into a state of great excitement by the report of a murder committed on Kangaroo Point the circumstances attending which were so barbarous as to be scarcely paralleled in the history of crime, and which in atrocity almost outdid the worst deeds recorded of the unenlightened savage. The unfortunate individual whose career had been so violently arrested by the hand of the murderer was Robert Cox, a sawyer, who had been working on the Tweed, and had only arrived in Brisbane five days previously. The first intimation of the terrible affair (which must have been enacted on Sunday night, the 26th) was the discovery made by George Cummins, a joiner, of the lower portion of a human body lying on the river bank at about the end of Main-street and considerably below high-water mark. Constable Murphy was summoned, and he with assistance removed the trunk, which was almost in two parts, being cut across the loins, to Sutton's Bush Commercial Hotel, at the corner of Holman and Main streets. There was a stab in the breast, there was a cut on the left side, and the ribs were broken. The head was missing, but the clothes were recognised as those of Cox by the constable, by William Fife, the cook at Sutton's, and by a man named Moseley, with whom Cox had been staying. Cox had been seen in Fife's company on Sunday night, the latter carrying the former, who was drunk, to his (Fife's) room. A search was made, and in the kitchen where Fife slept was found a towel with blood stains upon it, but which was not concealed. At this moment James Davis (Duramboi) discovered blood marks on the fence at the back of Sutton's house, and on going a little further into the back yard found a quantity of blood near the well. Some one then procured a ladder, and going down the well found three shirts (a circumstance to which much importance is even now attached by old residents), a knife, and towel. The liquid in the bucket, too, was found to be blood and water; while on the flooring boards of the kitchen being taken up a sheet with a small blood stain on it was found. A man named Lynch, with whom Cox had stayed on the Friday night, was arrested as well as Moseley and Fife, and on being examined in the lockup a spot of blood was discovered on the breast of Fife's shirt. Sutton made the remark that it appeared that his servant Fife had committed the murder, and at a later period Sutton also was arrested. On another examination of the locality being made, one spot near the well was found to be saturated with blood, the top of Sutton's fence was stained, and the grass on the other side had the appearance of something bloody having been dropped upon it; while a tomahawk and an adze were found covered with clay near Fife's bed. In the meantime a man named James Clouston was out on a fossicking excursion, when, observing a dog coming out of the unfinished building standing near the hotel and owned by Mr. Campbell, he went in and was horrified to find a human head resting between two joists. He immediately secured it, and holding it up by the hair before Fife that man at first failed to recognise it as that of Cox. On being asked to again scan the features he did so, and said boldly that they were those of Cox. Duramboi was asked for his opinion as to the site of the murder, which he fixed as being between the well and the fence in Sutton's yard. Perhaps the most important evidence adduced at the inquiry, which lasted five days, was that of Charlotte Sutton and John Connell. The former said that on returning home at dusk on Saturday she heard Cox and Fife quarrelling in the kitchen, Cox blaming Fife for waking him and robbing him. She asked her father if Cox had any money, and received the reply that he thought not. She then went to the kitchen again and told Cox to go to the men's sleeping room, which he refused to do, but proceeded to the bar and had some ale or rum, and returning to the kitchen lay down on Fife's bed. The next time she went to the kitchen was at about 10 p.m., when, seeing Fife in bed, and supposing Cox was there, too, she locked the door and retired. The knife found in the well she recognised as their property, as also was one of the towels, but not the sheet. When she went to the kitchen on Sunday morning after hearing of the murder Fife asked for a clean shirt, "as his own had not come from the washerwoman's, and as he was the last man with Cox he would like to appear clean." Connell in his evidence said that Cox had accused Fife of robbing him, and that the latter, shaking his fist, had remarked that "he would knock his head off and kick his ribs in before he left town." He at that time thought Cox was in danger, and fearing to sleep in the kitchen he had been locked in the bar all night by Sutton. On Sunday morning he had observed Fife was cleaning out the kitchen with a cloth. And now comes the most important point. The jury had been sitting on the case two or three days, but not until the fourth did they decide to inspect Sutton's hotel. They found below the floor of the room where Fife and Cox were supposed to have slept a candle and some papers, clots of blood, a blood-stained shoe, and also stains on the bed, while in Fife's box was one of his shirts bearing a stain. Remains of buttons, too, were found in the fireplace, and remnants of partially consumed clothing in the oven. The remarkable thing was that these were not found by the police when they previously searched, and the fact that they were not observed lent colour to the assertion of Fife at his trial that they had been placed there during the time that had elapsed between his arrest and the time they were discovered, for no one had been placed in charge to watch that such a thing was not done. Fife proved, too, that the clothing, destroyed was not his," and that the adze found near his bed had not been used in connection with the murder, but the circumstantial evidence against him was regarded as too strong, and he was on the fifth day, the jury having been locked up all night, committed for trial, Sutton and the rest being discharged. On the 12th of April he was removed to Sydney, and on the 5th of June he was brought up at the Central Criminal Court. The evidence adduced there was similar to that given at Moreton Bay, and was entirely of a circumstantial nature. The only points in Fife's favour were the medical evidence, which showed the possibilty of Cox having died a natural death before his body was butchered, and the absence of motive, for it was well known that Cox and Fife were on the most intimate terms, having been together during the penal times, and that the former had no money. A circumstance which was regarded as more than passing strange was the finding of the additional evidence the blood stains, &c, in Fife's room and under his bed two days after a most minute examination had been made by the police; and this, coupled with the fact that scores had been allowed into his apartment at Sutton's during the time Fife was in custody, strengthened the conclusion arrived at by many, that whatever Fife might have known of the awful tragedy it was not his hand that had committed the deed. For years after, indeed up to the present day, there are those who couple with the crime the names of men who afterwards became more or less prominent citizens. Mr. Henry Stuart Russell states with regard to this terrible crime that a man "in the horrors of a deathbed upbraiding confessed that he was the guilty one, and had looked on at the execution of the innocent locum tenens"! But to return. At the trial the Judge admitted that the evidence was very remarkable, and at the same time commented severely on the neglect of the police in not taking charge of the room at Sutton's, but the jury after half an hour's deliberation brought in a verdict of "guilty." On being asked it be had anything to say why judgment should not be passed Fife, in a faltering voice, replied, "I am not guilty." His behaviour throughout was exceedingly self-possessed, and he heard the verdict of death in a cool and collected manner, although he several times interrupted the Judge by alleging that if a witness who was absent had been in attendance, and if another had spoken the truth, he would have been acquitted. The absent witness, I have been told, was a man who was known as "Long Bill," and who it is alleged knew more about the murder than it would have been safe for him to disclose. On being removed the officials found sewn up in his coat a pair of steel spectacle frames, one end of which was broken off and ground to an edge as keen as that of a lancet. This was regarded by the authorities as being a means of suicide prepared by Fife to be used if found guilty. During the time Fife lay under sentence he wrote a speech for delivery on the scaffold. This was written on the first, second, and fourth pages of a sheet of foolscap paper, the other side being left blank until the Sunday preceding his execution, when he filled it in. In the meantime he had remained unmoved, almost sullen, always replying to any observation on the subject of the crime with a protestation of his innocence. Just previous to leaving his cell on the fatal morning he put his hand into his bosom to feel for his speech, but it was gone; it bad been abstracted surreptitiously by a gaol official, and was refused him. On the way to the gallows he joined fervently in a hymn, singing in a clear and firm voice. On reaching the foot of the scaffold he caught sight of his coffin, upon which he gazed for a moment or two. After praying for five minutes he thanked some of the officials and then turned to the crowd, which numbered about 4000, without the usual military and police guard, and made a request that he might be allowed to read his speech; but the authorities refused to give him the document. He then wished to address the people, but in the midst of this the cap was pulled over his eyes, the bolt was drawn, and the drop falling, be was launched into the presence of his Creator. But what followed ? The miserable man struggled for nine minutes, and then ensued a sight which sickened even those most habituated to such scenes. In falling his body had struck against the side of the floor, and large drops of blood trickled down the legs of his trousers on to the ground. On after examination it was found that his hand and thigh were grazed and his ribs broken. Fife, I may remark, had come to the colonies under a sentence of transportation of fourteen years, and after this had been served he was in service on the Downs, from which place he entered Sutton's employ as cook, I am unable to give the dying man's statement in full, but the following is the portion written on the Sunday preceding his death :- "I am about to suffer death for the awful crime of murder. I was found guilty on circumstantial evidence; and however well that evidence might have been supported on my trial by a complication of villainy on the part of some of the witnesses, the Almighty God, at whose bar I shall soon appear, knows that I am innocent of the awful crime; and I trust for the safety of all human beings and the honour of my friends in a distant land that the Almighty God, whose eye sees the least wing that flits along the sky, will bring the perpetrator of that awful deed to light when my body is mouldering in the dust. I cast no reflection on the Judge who tried my case, as he cannot tell the inward thoughts of man. I think had my case been tried at Moreton Bay on the spot where the awful deed was committed the jury would have taken a different view of the case. I have been a guilty sinner before God, but I never was so far hardened in crime as to imbue my hands in the blood of my fellow-man, I forgive my cruel enemies. I shall leave them in the hand of God, who declareth, ' Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord.' I cannot impress on your minds my innocence of the awful crime of murder. I am now before my God, and I shall suffer death for a barbarous murder. I shall appear at the bar of Almighty God as innocent as the child in its mother's womb."