Colonial.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 736, 26 November 1859, Page 3

Colonial.

TASMANIA.

We have received papers from HobartTown to tho 27th, and from Launeeston to the 26th ultimo. ,

The elections for, the legislative Council have resulted in the net loss to the Government of one seat.

The coroner's^jury, at the inquest upon the remains of Ellen Gibson, who was found murdered on the Sand Hill, returned a verdict of wilful murder' ngainst Henry Baker. . Tho circumstances which led to the apprehension of the accused, are thus narrated by the ' Cornwall Chronicle' :—

"lv our columns to-day will be found tho cvifience taken at the adjourned inquest upon the Unfortunate woman Ellen Gibson, whose body Avas found murdered on Tuesday morning on the main road at the top of the Sand Hill. It is much more interesting than such terrible details usually are, for there the intervention of Providence is unmistakable in bringing the murderer almost to the spot where lie left his victim, atthe very moment when the Superintendent of Police and Sergeant Rose are making enquiries with but little hope of tracing him out, and none whatever of bringing suck a complete chain of evidence to bear upon the murderer as has since been formed link after link. This awful fact could not be better told nor placed in a clearer light than by the simple statement made by the Superintendent-in evidence. He had been making enquiries at Mr. Stephens's, and was about to return to town, when Henry Baker, or ' Deafy,' came past. He did not know the man, nor did he remember that he had ever seen him before, but Rose made a remark about the black billy-cock hat which Baker wore, and which was part of the description given of' Deafy.' Mr. O'Connor went up to him, and in a low tone, said :—f Well, my lad, where are you going ? The reply—' Eh ? '—confirmed the first impression, that he: might be the slightly deaf man they were in search of; and then the chain of evidence against the murderer is 1 made up link by link with a celerity truly wonderful, if it was not clear that an overruling Providence rarely permits a murderer to escape or wander far from the scene of his guilt. No reward has yet been offered for the apprehension' of the murderer of Ellen Gibson, yet he is in gaol, fully committed to stand his trial, and with an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence recorded against him."

The same paper has the following particulars concerning the arrest of a gang of desperadoes :—

Since the publication of our last issue, we have been informed that District-constable Gregory and Constable Gould, of Deloraine, both aided in the apprehension of " B]ack Bill" and Townsend^it Mr. Bennett's public-house, at the Kedgate, on Tuesday evening, the .18th instant. The whole trio had called at Mr. Bennett's for refreshments, and were unarmed. Morgan managed to escape while his companions were being secured^ Next day, Constable Gould traced him to a place which, from the name given to it of "The Devil's Glen," can scarcely ,be considered a cheerful locality. Morgan had an axe,, and pretended to be busily engaged in clearing the scrub off, his Satanic Majesty's Glen, for which" service he was never:engaged, except by the nominal proprietor of the property. Constable Gould recognised .Morgan at once, presented his piece at him, called, him by name, and throwing a pair of handcuffs at his feet, ordered him to put them on. Morgan refused, and said he wished he had brought his piece with him, for if he had it, he would blow the roof of Gould's scull off. In his rage, he made several blows with the axe at Gould, who defended himself with his musket until he got Morgan to drop the axe. Gould then went up to hin^ with a double-barrelled pistol in his hand, and under the threat of firing, if Morgan-resisted, he handcuffed him "with the other hand. Gould could not, however, have apprehended, such a desperate fellow as Morgan without wounding him, had it not been for the assistance of a very fine dog he had with him. Constable Gould Has rendered good,service in the Deloraine district. He has always been first on the track of the most desperate bushrangers, and when on the trail of Wingey and his gang last year, was severely, though accidentally, wounded by his own gun going off when crossing a fence. His left arm was severely lacerated, and also the left side, where the ball lodged. He had a narrow escape for his life on thafoccasion, and as he has fully established his character as an intelligent, courageous, and most efficient detective constable, on other occasions as well as this, we trust the InspectorGeneral will find a better means of acknowledging and rewarding his services than by merely allowing him a share of the £2 per head offered by the Government for the apprehension of three such desperate characters like. 'Black Bill' and his associates.