THE LATEST.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 788, 11 April 1910, Page 8

THE LATEST.

HOUSE SURROUNDED AT PALMERSTON. sergeant maguire wounded. powblkl again escapes. (By Telephone—Special Correspondent.) Palmerston North, April 11, 2 a:in. ' The night has been one of intense excitement and unrest in Palmerston North. Tho police after- many false alarms have got into grips with Powelka and with disastrous results to one of their number, Sergeant Maguire, who has been badly wounded by the escaped desperado, and now lies in the Palmerston Hospital. And Powelka has again eßcaped capture. . To go hack'to the beginning of the night's adventures. The police, who had been scouring tho district in all directions all day, following up reports which all led to nothing, received word from Mr. Hampton, manager of Banks's Butchery, of a suspicious circumstance at , his residence in Ferguson Street. A Clever Trap. It seems that when he returned to his home he found a wire stretched across the pathway close to tho ground. Obviously it was a trap, placed there to trip up someone. As a rule Mr. Hampton rides home on a bicycle on Saturday night with the day's takings from the shop. A cyclist riding into that wire would have a very nasty fall, and would he placed at a very serious disadvantage should an assailant be in waiting with the object of robbing him. Mr. Hampton did not use his bicycle that night; he walked, and so discovered the wire, without coming to grief over it. Still, with all the talk afloat about Powelka it set him thinking. To-night he was given further cause for thought. It was' reported to him that a man had.been seen'jumping over a fence into his garden. He hesitated no longer to bring the matter under the notice of the. police. As a result, about. 8 o'clock Sergeant Maguire, Detective Quartennain, Detective Siddells, and a constable accompanied him back to his residence in Ferguson Street to investigate the matter. The police were all armed, for the conviction is gaining ground that Powelka is a very desperate man. \ The sequel proved that there was good reason for this view. . Desperate Struggle.. i When they came to the houseqali was quiet, and it was decided; to surround the place. The night was pitch dark. The constable was loft in front, Mr. Hampton went round- one side, Sergeant Maguire .round another, while the detectives moved cautiously forward to get round the back of the premises. By this means they hoped to cut off any road of retreat should it happen that Powelka had entered the house. ' ■ Sergeant Maguire had not gone very far when he came across a man whom ho appears to have recognised as Powelka. It is probable that Powelka first saw Maguire, but whether he got in first blow or not ia uncertain. The fact remains, however, that Maguire gripped his man, and a desperate struggle at once ensued. Powelka was evidently determined to evade capture at all costs.

He wrestled violently to break away from the police officer, who showed equal determination to hold him. As they fought they fell to the ground, and Powelka, who either had a revolver m his hand when seized by the sergeant or who drew it during the struggle, is alleged to have shot his captor in the stomach. The unfortunate officer must have then released his hold,. for when the rest of the party, alarmed by the shot, came rushing round, Powelka was making off at a great pace. Detective Qnartermain, who was the first to arrive, sent two shots after the fugitive, but the darkness and the rapidity of Powelka , s movements spoilt his aim, and so far as could be seen the shots were without effect. Palmerston Aroused. Poor Maguire was taken to the hospital, where he received prompt attention. It is feared that he is badly hurt. Meanwhile the chase after Powelka was taken up l with all haste, but he had disappeared. It is suspected, however, that he has not got out of the particular residential quarter in which Mr. Hampton's house is situated. . •

Palnierston is now. thoroughly aroused tc the urgent necessity for capturing this desperate man. Civilians have turned out in scores, and at the time of telephoning (2 a.in;) the <■ whole block in which Powelka is supposed to be' lurking is snrronnded with civilians and police—all armed—waiting for daylight to continue the search. Of course Powelka may have got away before'the cordon round the block was completed, but a few hours will show whether or not that is so. Meantime all is excitement here. :

It is worth mentioning that at about 6 o'clock the .police received word that a man had been in hiding under a haystack is Vogel Street. A search party, consisting of Constables Rnssell and Hattie, was sent along, and sure enough there was a hole in the stack and evidences of a man having recently been there. Here were" one or two magazines and the remains of a number of cigarettes, but the man himself was missing. It, is thought that this was one of Powelka's hiding-places. Heavy rain has set in, adding considerably to the trying conditions of the pursuit. ,