Finnerty's Law.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 December 1913, Page 4

Finnerty's Law.

— * Australia is the poorer by the loss of a picturesque pioneer. J. M. Flinnerty died last week at Geraldton, West Australia, aged GO years. Fiimerty was king of the Coolgardie and Kalgoorhc goldfjelds, and emperor of the Dead Finish. lie was chief and only mining warden of the fields when the great rush started in 1893, and he ' was monarch of all the claims his bailiffs surveyed. For many months his word was law over hundreds of hardy and reckless diggers, and he did not scruple to extend his-jurisdiction and assume powers of a Supreme Court Judge when he deemed it needful to do so. Finnerty was an irishman, 6ft 3in. in his socks—if he wore any —and 18st. in weight. He had bright red hair and a sharp goatee beard, also red, which stuck out stubbornly from"his large freckled face. Usually he wore rough khaki clothes, and, when there was water to he dressed in white. .His huge bulk exuded power and self-esteem, and when he stalked with massive dignity through the mining camps, a holy atmosphere of law and order — Finnerty's order —spread about him. He was the personification of the British constitution. FINNERTY'S JUSTICE. ' Wonderful tales were told of Finnei-ty about the camp fires. Before Coolgardie broke out he was police inspector at Hide's Creek, Kimberley, in the northwest, and had there graduated in bush justice. Strictly his powers were those of a mining , warden and police officer only, but there were many stories, ot the way in which he dispensed law. One of the most startling is' of his granting a divorce in the Mining "Warden's Court. It is told by Mr J. E. Scantlebury, who met Finnerty in 1593. ."I had gone to. Coolgardie," he says, "'for a syndicate which had bought Bayley's Reward and some other claims. I'hil May was one of the syndicate, and J. F. Archibald and L. Hopkins were others. When 1 got to Coolgardie I found that some of our claims had been jumped, so I. saw Finnerty about it, and asked what I'd do. 'Do/ said Finnerty, 'why, square it with the junipers.' 'Square it; . I said. 'Haven't I got anv legal right. I'll fight them.' " 'God help you, then,' '<jaul Finnerty. 'Legal rights are all right, but they're a hell of a trouble. Sqmu/ing it's the easiest way.' ''Finnerty was rig'ii.-.. I had to go back to Perth to see the Minister, and on the way l heard the divorce story. We were camped one night . on the Ninety Mile, anil everyone had a yarn to-tell of Finnerty. it was a peculiar company round the camp-fire. There was Ernie Broadribb who made a quarter of a million out of Broken Hill; Alec Robertson J who won the Melbourne Cup with. Dunlop; and Henry Bratnober, an American, who was then the biggest mining man m the west. One man, who had been at Kimberley, said that once Finnerty was sitting in the 'Warden's Court when a woman came before him and said she wanted a divorce from her .husband. She told a pitiful tale of neglect and bad usr age. Finnerty granted a decree nisi, made it absolute at once, and ordered the husband to be imprisoned for twelve months in the lock-up for cruelty. "I thought the story was an exfravagant one, and when I met the Cabinet in Perth I told them about it. 'Something like that did happen,' said the AttorneyGeneral. 'We did not hear about.it for two months afterwards. There.was no telegraph.' 'What did you do? .1 asked. "Why/ said the Attorney-General. 'We sent Finnerty word to let (he man go. What else could we do?' THE FIGHT IN BAYLEYSTREET Finnerty's genius for keeping order was shown in a striking way in the early days of Coolgardie. A number of diggers had a quarrel and started a .fight in Bayley-street. Others joined in, and a riot was brewing. There were many foreigners amongst the men and knives and revolvers would have been used. A couple of mounted police tried to arrest the fighters ]/ut they succeeded only in bringing the wrath of the crowd on themselves. Then Finnerty came in and his great voice roared above the din. The diggers stopped for a moment, and in that moment Finnerty was in the middle of the mob. 'Who started this foight?' he shouted iu his thick brogue. Two diggers were pointed out. 'Thin, fwliat the hell do the others of ye want spilin' it,' he said. 'Make a ring.' • A ring was made, and Finnerty started the fight fair, and acted as referee. When the first two bad had enough, Finnerty called up the next pair to fight it out with fists, and so the whole riot ended in a peaceful stadium contest, under Marquis of Finnerty's rules. COOLGARDIE'S FIRST DUEL Goodness of heart sometimes

made Finnerty err on the side of leniency. This failing gave rise to the first Coolgardie duel. There was a man known as Arizona Bill Adams, against whom Fiimerty had .made a prohibition order preventing hotelkeepers from giving him drink. The order had been in operation several months, but it was near Christmas time and Bill was pining for a drink. So Fiimerty suspended the order for a fortnight. Bill then had to raise money for a spree. All his friends were out of town and he Could borrow of no one; so he went to Major Bennett, an irascible civil war veteran and deliberately picked a quarrel with him. Bcn.net challenged Bill to a duel and produced a pair of beautiful duelling pistols. They were loaded, the two men went into Bayley street and" stood back to back. Bennett explained that they must .walk 'fourteen paces each and then turn about and fire. The Major gave the word to start, but when lie turned round Arizona Bill was flying down the street in. the direction of De Baun's hotel. The Major fired after him, but missed, and Bill reached the pub, sold the pistol for 80s and snouted drinks for all hands. It avus said that Finneriy was one who benefited by Bill's hospitality.—Sun.