POWER THE BUSHRANGER.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2277, 24 August 1870, Page 2

POWER THE BUSHRANGER.

Power, the bushranger, held quite a levee at the Melbourne jail on the 4th inst., the day of his reception there. Upon reaching the court yard, where a number of gentlemen were standing. Power lifted his bat and courteously bade them good morning. Mr Castieau said, “Well, Power, you have had a long run this time,” to which he replied, “ I should have had if they had only let me alone.” Seeing Mr Brown, the turnkey, Power recognised him, and greeted him with, “ How do you do, Mr Brown ? You are not altered one bit. It is sixteen years since wo first met, and I should have known you any where. You see I can’t help coming to sec you occasionally.” All the way down from Beechwoith he was very communicative, and desirous of showing himself to the gaze of the people at every place where the coach stopped to change horses. It is hardly possible that he will ever be at liberty again, as in addition to the fifteen years’ sentence he has now received, he will have to serve the balance of his sentence which had not expired when he escaped, and in addition will most likely receive a further sentence for escaping from legal custody, so that, counting twenty years as the minimum of his term of imprisonment, he will then be seventy years of age, and almost incapable of. doing further mischief. He is evidently of that opinion himself, as he jocularly remarked that when he had “ done his tinie ” he would he too old to take to hushranging again, and thought it would be a profitable speculation to start a puhlichonse in Melbourne, and re* quested that the money found in his possession might he taken care of in order to start him in business. There is very little doubt from Power’s talk that he is an arraut boaster, but still there was a good deal of truth in many of his statements. According to his own account, he was brought up on the Marquis of Waterford’s estate in Ireland, and when very young took to poaching, which, he says, was his first step in his downward path. His first experience of bush t anging was in Tasmania, where, for nearly five years, he levied black mail on travellers by the banks of the Derwent. He says that he has never shed any blood, and never intended to do so ; hut ho had frequently been greatly amused to see eight or nine carriers allow him to stick them up, without making the slightest effort to defend themselves or their property. Some idea of his boasting powers may be imagined, Avhenhe alleges that since his escape from Pentridgo lie has committed 604 robberies ; but, as he has only been away from Pentridge thout two years, this would be an average nearly of one robbery per day. He gave a little advice to intending bushrangers, as follows :—“ Never take to the road armed with a revolver; it is no use. There is nothing like a good douhle-barelled breechloading gun. It carries a great deal further, and is much more serviceable.” He further stated that lie had disarmed two mounted troopers and taken their pistols away from them long before he served constable Tighe in the same maimer. In the other two cases the troopers got them back from him by paying him L 8 for each, and he also said that Tighe might have gqt big pistpl back had it; not been for the talking of an old woman who beard of the occurrence and repeated it all,over the neighborhood.