THE CLINTON TRAGEDY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1031, 25 August 1883, Page 2

THE CLINTON TRAGEDY.

The Mys€ery Solved. >

The Daily Times special reporter telegraphs from Clinton concerning the shooting of Fireman Henderson :—“ The inhabitants of Clinton were thrown into a state of unusual excitement by the shocking occurrence of Thursday evening, and the matter has naturally been allabsorbing topic of conversation ever since. Plenty of rumors have, of couse, been afloat during the day, some of a very ugly nature, pointing in the direction of the deed having been done from motives of revenge, or at all events with a murderous intent. These it is now, however, unnecessary to allude to, seeing the unexpected denouement which has taken place this afternoon. Two youths of ,respectable position, Jas. and Alex. Ray, are at present in custody charged with the commission of the outrage, which would now seem to have been the outcome of wanton thoughtlessness and recklessness, rather than of any deliberate intention. Before proceeding further it may be as well to narrate the circumstances of the tragedy, which have so far only been recorded in a very meagre form. The engine which leaves Invercargill for Clinton with the 4 p.m. mixed train, leaves the latter place on its return Journey with the night gcods train at 10 p.m. On Thursday the driver for this train was Peter Dunn ; the fireman, John Henderson ; the guard William Duncan ; the brakesman, a man named Simtnonds. The goods train left Clinton station at its usual time, the driver, fireman, and brakesman being, of course, upon the engine, and the guard in the van. After proceeding about three miles and a half, and when about half a mile from Wairuna, the train entered a short cutting, and when more than midway through this a couple of shots were fired in rapid succession from- the bank on the left-hand side of the line, which is at this point about 10ft high. At the moment of the discharge, Henderson, the fireman, was standing to the left of his companions nearest the bank, and he immediately utter a cry and fell back across the engine, exclaiming, “Oh Peter.” The train wai moving at the rate of about twelve miles an hour. The night was dark, but both the engine driver and the guard appear to have seen the flash from the leftrhand bank! The engine was immediately stopped, and with very little delay I it was reversed, and the train steamed back to Clinton. The guard first made a mark to note the precise spot where the occurrence took place, but none of the three uninjured men alighted to make any search after the perpetrator of the deed, as considerable alarm 'was naturally felt, and the engine lights were even extinguished on repassing the spot On the return of the train to Clinton, Dr Low was immediately sent for and examined the body, which hf»d been taken to the Prince of Wales Hotel. Be pronounced, life to be extinct. Both discharges appear to have struck the unfortunate man. A quantity of shot entered his left breast, lacerating the muscles of his arm near the armpit, and the contents of the second gun appear to have taken effect lower down, on the left side of the stomach. Mo J or swan shot had been used. 5 ; Constable Wilson, stationed at Clinton, immediately started in the direction of the scene, and was accompanied by four residents in the township. They proceeded up to the neighborhood of the cutting by the rond, taking the engine driver with them, and returned along the line, without, however, discovering any trace, although they made enquiries at several settlers’ houses in the immediate locality. Early this (Friday) morning Constable Wilson again visited the scene, on which occasion ha picked up a portion of a small flute lying upon the grass at the very spot whence the shots proceeded. The morning express brought to Clinton Inspector Weldon, Detectives Henderson and Bain, and Sergeant Uooney, from Balclutha; and Constable King, from Tapanui, also put in an early appearance, and a systematic investigation was commenced. Some time was occupied first in the township pursuing clues, which, as they subsequently proved unimportant, it is not necessary to touch upon. Inspector Weldon, the two datectipos, the sergeant, and the two constables arrived at the scene of the tragedy early in the afternoon. What footmarks were then apparent proved of little guidance, as the ground had been pretty freely trampled over since the preceding night, the grass, however, at one spot near the edge of the :

ii>ank appeared as though some person Hkd been recently lying upon it. Near at hand also was found a small piece of folded pape* bearing a dark circular mark, as though an attempt bad been made to insert it as a wad into the muz* zle of a gun. This (paper was evidently a portion of a child’s story book entitled ‘ Giant’s Land’. It was picked up near the spot where the portion of the flute had been found, and was of course kept in the custody of the police. Nothing further was to be learnt by an inspection of the place, and Mr Weldon divided his men, despatching them in different directions. Detective Bain, and Sergeant. Rooney proceeded on to Waipahi .by goods train, whilst Detective Henderson and Constable Wilson started to complete enquiries of the settlers in thevicinity, having orders also to scour any bush near at hand. One or two people also remained to be specially questioned, amongst them the lads Ray who were reported, to have been out rabbiting late the previous night.” After commenting on the fact that although several people .heard the shots, nobody came out of their house to see what was the matter, the oorrependent ■ goes'on to narrate how Detective Henderson turned Up in Clinton with two kids named James Ray, (19), and Alexander Ray (14). “ The circumstances leading to the arrest appeal, to be as fol-i lows :—The detective and Constable Wilson, as arranged, proceeded to interview the lads in question. Their father„Mr; James Kay, is a fanner and a Justice of the Peace, holding a good position in the district and universally respected. His residence is about three-quarters of s mile from the cutting where the tragedy occurred, and he owns something like; 200 acres of land in the neighborhood. The boys had ! been working, about the farm the greater part of the day. On being met by the police'they were asked if any of them played the flute, and thby Replied in the affirmative! Detective Henderson then asked where the instrument was, and the reply was that they had lost part of it the day before. : ‘On the remaining part being produced it waa found to fit the piece which was picked up near the scene of the outrage. The following facts were then elicited, although I understand no attempt was made to m-’ duce the lads to make damaging Statements. The three of them, James (aged'' 19), John (aged 18), and Alexander-(aged 14), were out rabbiting the evening be* fore, the elder ones carrying the two gnns most of the time. John seemsStsome moments to have handed his gun to the younger brother Alexander, and it was admitted that James and Alexander discharged the weapons simultaneopily, while the engine was passing. The dftailpd statement made to the police while these inquiries were proceeding; is, ( ,o£ course, not accessible to the press, but it will come out at the inquest, and in. the meantime the following points have transpired The lads assert .that although they fired at the moment the train was passing they did not mean harm t(J .ai»y ( person. Later oh, whilst being brought into Clinton, they stated f that ;they ’JudP not know their guns were loslded with shot. They saw the train stop after.jma shots, ancf eventually go not know they had done "any 'damage. They heard this morning of the fireman’s death, but did not know, at the tithe that they had done harm to anybody.' The :enquiry haying taken this turn, Detective Henderson' of course arrested the. eldest and youngest lads. Mr Ray, who present, was informed that he could cb'me into Clinton that evening if he pleased arid sea his sons. He said that he had spoken to them often enough, but that it was no good, and now they would have to go,and take the consequences. On the way in both boys treated the matter very' coolly whistling at times and chatting in an un. concerned way. In the police station they were told by Inspector Welden that he was sorry they were in that position, and would do what ho ceuld to' make them comfortable. They replied that they were used to roughing it. The reputation the lads bear in the neighborhood is by no means a bad one, although looked upon as a a little wild, they were well liked. In appearance they, are respectable and pleasant lookingfboys. , There is a general impression here that. th«j shots were, not fired at the men upon the engine, but most likely at the funnel or some other part of the engine': itself. There certainly seems no possible, motive that could have induced them to make a wilful attempt upon the life either of the deceased or his companions., , The whole affair has the appearance of 'being .a reckless and wanton piece of mischief, which has terminated in an unexpectedly disastrous manner. The fact of both shots ha ving apparently taken effect apoiithe deceased might upon this, hypothesis be accounted for by both culprits aiming at the same part, of the engine, and both alike failing to make allowance for the speed at which it was travelling.. Nevertheless the short distance‘from which the' shots were fired .seems to make so widj» a miscalculation unlikely, and it is barely possible that the ..-boys relied upq'nr their guns being loaded with charges of powder too small to take serious effect. ” QttS point that might support .this that one or two loose shots were found inside the shirt of the, dead man. The statement that the lads were rabbittineat that time of night. is, however, inexplicable, as itjjwaa dark at the hour' of the occurrence. They are known to have l4ft home early in the evening, at about six o’clock, and visited the house of a widowed aunt in the neighborhood some time between that and the hsur the deed was committed- They returned home at about eleven o’clock.” o, .

John Henderson, the.victim of this terrible occurrence, was about thirty-three years of age. He had only been twelve months in the colony, and had come from India, where he had worked as an enginedriver. He entered the railway service in October last as fireman,. and was much liked by his comrades. He resided in Invercargill with his young wife, to whom he' had only been married fourteen months. There are no children at present, but she is now stated to be near her confinement.

has just been received from the Coroner that the inquest cannot taka ilace until Monday. -' lo.n

pit. - . Detective Henderson arrested these three lads at the same time. John is charged with being an accessory toths fact. The answers of the latter nave been the most unsatisfactory of any, and he has shown some disposition to fence.with the questions.