Sketch of an “Old Hand.”

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 15, 23 February 1870, Page 3

Sketch of an “Old Hand.”

f (From the Chronicle?qf Gotham.) %E was a rough, uncultivated individual, not ftjossessiog.theremobestknbwlodgrtof letters, lie could-neither read nor write, and .was |oae of the lowest of the extreme low grades |cf -society, with a countenance which was I indelibly stamped with the brand of villain; find, judging from external appearances, |ie might be pronounced capable of com- | Bitting any crime, even of the darkest dye, I He was sent from his country for his ountry’a good, with a sentence of fifteen ears attached to him. After arriving in his conduct was of such an outrageous character that it was found neceaI lary to forward him to Norfolk Island, j yhere he worked in the chain-gang for | lomesix years, at which period he managed I ;o escape from his bondage, and get to fport Philip. There he went shepherding I ipon a station in the distinct of Mount Alexander, Here he and the hut-keeper Iffere always at variance, and were conI ;inu.ally quarreling or fighting. This state | >f affairs terminated by him finding the I nit-keeper dead in the hut, with his skull I battered to pieces, and his brains scattered I ill over the place. He had been shot I luring the night; but there was no person I tell who had committed the diabolical ed. Immediately on this discovery, he acle for the home station, where he coniunicated the melancholy news, which used a great amount of alarm and unsiness in the minds of the family. An quest was held on the body of the unfornate hut-keeper, and from disclosures ide thereat, as to the enmity existing tween him and the murdered man, and the fact of a recently-discharged gun ing found in his hut, the Old Hand was mmitted for trial, upon the coroner’s | u-rant. The trial, however, resulted in s acquittal, the evidence not being sufficiently strong in the minds of the jury to convict him ; although, from the summing qip of the judge, it could be plainly seen Bhat that functionary was altogether of a different opinion, and when the Old Hand ||vas leaving the dock, the judge did not In-get to tell him that he might consider imself a lucky man, as in his career he ad known men hanged upon evidence not alf so strong as what was brought against im, and in a quiet but sarcastic way he Iministered a severe rebuke to the jury, i Some six months after this, he appeared i the Supreme Court of Sydney, charged nth burglary. He was found guilty, and mtenced to five years’ penal servitude ; ut by some means he managed to escape fter a three years’ confinement, and made is way to the Turon diggings, which had ist bean opened. At this place it appears lat he accumulated a large sum of money, y digging, or perhaps in a less respectable lauaer ; but, whichever way he made it, i 0 fact still remained that he was in pos3Ssion of a considerable sum of money, nd when the diggings in Victoria comfiienced he started overland for them, |||akmg on his way a number of horses from every station he passed, and bringMng to Melbourne a mob of 250, the whole ||f which realised very handsome prices, a He now opened a “ shanty” upon an i extensive scale, under an assumed name, p|t one of the gold-fields. Ho was in con j section with a number of old hands, who |:Biale it their business to drive in homes lyom the various stations, he getting rid Vef the horses, and drinking the plunder fyitli his mates, while they had a mob [planted,” ready to be taken to some dis i|aut gold-field for disposal. In fact he was || t the head of a regularly-organised system of wholesale horse-stealing. They had f I number of men constantly scouring the i ouutry, on the look-out for stray horses, j [; . r taking horses from the place where they | iad been stolen to some remote district to J ell them; and not uafrequently would hose miscreants, after disposing of the 'I lorses, watch where the purchasers took I hem to, and if there was any danger of |>eing apprehended, go there and poison ,f|hem, or if they were “all right,” drive I hem to another district and again soil them. Upon one occasion the police cap- , J ured six of them with a mob of fifty I worses. The horses, for safe keeping, were placed n the district pound ; but during ;|be night, the gate, which was secured by 1 padlock, was opened, and the horses #ere driven to a remote gully and shot, lifter which all their bodies were burnt, so | : .|hat all trace of identification was deIJtreyed, which led to the acquittal of the [prisoners. After this the gang separated, l|t least for a time, as matters were getting |H»o hot for them, the police having their 2®y° s upon them, although some of that Jody were known to be regularly in the »ay of this fraternity of scoundrels, while flff hers did not refuse- to take an occasional nB fiP)” in the shape of a five or ten-pound pjpote, to keep their eyes and mouths closed, % Old Hand, who had by this time Ma ea, llsed some £20,005, besides having purJlmed largo tracts of land in the agricultural districts, as well as allotments in the #arious townships, turned his attention jJf° house-huilling and land jobbing, at Jiwhich he continued to realise large sums Jraof inone}'. Whenever there was a Governi, |K enfc l ;ltlf l sale he was sure to be present what appeared to be an immense roll ®of £SO-notes, but which in reality was noBthing more than a roll of newspaper-ear-

rounded with five or s : x of the notes spoken of. At these sales he was a terror to the squatter, but more particularly to the small- purchaser ; and ho often made; as much as £IOOO hy sums given to him by parties to refrain from bidding for ground which they were desirous of purchasing, Wealth rolled in upon .him from all sides in a truly astonishing manner, and he became, in his own estimation, one of the great of the land. With a view of crowning his happiness, he entered into the rq image state, and shortly afterwards became a candidate for legislative honors. Yes, this illiterate Old Hand, who had been transported, for fifteen years—who had the taint of Norfolk Island upon him —who had been tried for murder—who had set fire to stations—who had been convicted of burglary, and who was the ringleader of a baud of horse-stealing ruffians—had the audacity and barefaced impudence to seek the suffrages of the people —a people who deemed themselves free and independent electors. During the time canvassing was going on, he had free public-houses open all over the district, and paid agents, supplied with horses and traps, in every direction. His expenditure was lavish in the extreme; and upon the day of polling in the principal town he had five whole bullocks roasted. This town was renowned for its drunkenness, but upon this occasion it excelled itself, and there was more drunk than at any former period. So near did the contest run, that his opponent —-a man of sterling worth, ability, education, and wealth, —who spared no necessary expense, just got returned “by the akin of his teeth,” having the bare majority of three in his favor. Tins shows the influence of grog upon some of the “ enlightened” electors. His “ better half” had become frightfully addicted to drink, brought about by his cruel treatment, for he was known to Uluse her in a most inhuman manner. He encouraged her in this vice, until reason forsook her, and she became the inmate of a lunatic asylum. He took a trip to Tasmania, the scene of earlier recollections, liefore taking his departure for the old country, which he intended doing. Here he became enamoured of a young creature, both lovely ami good, whose father was aware of the Old Hand's wealth, and accordingly give him the hand of his daughter in marriage, much against her wish and inclination. They shortly afterwards took their departure for Scotland, from which place he had been transported many years before. His poor young bride, however, never reached her destination. Daring the voyage, little did lie dream what was in store for him on his return to Melbourne. His first wife, whom, it will be remembered, he had left in the lunatic asylum, had some time since recovered her reason, and was now earoing an honest livelihood by taking in washing. Having he ird of his return, she sought him out, and claimed her conjugal rights, but was repudiated by him, and cruelly turned from his door. Ascertaining that he was again married, she had him prosecute:! for bigamy. This charge was duly substantiated before the Supreme Court of the Colony, and he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. Ac the termination of his incarceration, he found that the person whom he had entrusted to look after his property and act as his attorney had sold property and received rents to the amount of £II,OOO, with which he had absconded, leaving not the slightest trace as to where he had gone. Still the Old Hand was a wealthy man, find after ascertaining the extent of his losses, ha made up his mind to sell off all his remaining property and quit Victoria. This resolution he carried into effect, realizing the sum of £50,000. With this amount he ,took up and stocked several sheep and cittle stations in another colony. He had not been long there when he took unto himself another wife. The honeymoon was scarcely over when he had occasion to visit an out station, where he was murdered by the blacks. Whether this can be looked upon as an act of retributive justice for the many cruelties and crimes of which he had been guilty in his previous career, it is not for me to say—l have only to record that such was the untimely end of this anything but moral “ Old Hand.” The breath had not been a week out of his body when his first wife put in an appearance, and laid claim to all his property. She carried her claim to a succesfnl issue, and behaved in a most liberal manner to the last dupe of the Old Hand’s affection.