The Greatford Silver Robery.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue II, 12 November 1889, Page 3

The Greatford Silver Robery.

-* W^HO HAD THE: CASH.,. -...,, „ A new stage was reached, in the history of this., interesting case , when yesterday, Jppepli Monteith and Mrs Monteith, his wife; were, 1 arraigned at the. Bulls It.M. Cb^rt,. before Sir J. G. Wilson, M.H.8., and I);* 9erinett, J.P.s, charged with receiving the Silver; knowing it to have been' stolen. Inspector Pardy prosecuted, on behalf oi the pofiieV-'The prisoners were unrepresented by' counsel. William 1 Finlay sworn, deposed I , ojath« waa a shoemaker residing at Sahdon ; remembered the month of November, 1888 ; he uemV.hom'Wanganui twetve' moathf ago.y.est^day ia ith&itrain. He gotiiout oi the train at Greatford, and .r'ememberec hearing the guard say something about th< cash, and saw him take the box containing it iato the station. He watched his op po-. i jv I .nity,.»nd toofcthe box! f he brobe 1 tin box open on, the, way; /thfra werarithre canvas bags^'in the box. Witness con tinuedn->X took tb,em and left the 1 box on th road ;^ opined one of the bags; there wa silver Ct>ia m it ; there were two big bags and oae sm 11 one ; I took the bags horn audeplAited them' under a tree in' th gprden; the following, day I Was arreste by Constable Covjej^and gubsequently, v?a comniitteipof MaTpn qharge of stea ing'the slwar ; I had nbi^ld^nyqiie un, 1 that torn tnatr^ud the^a^v; . $v w»8 MfrlSni ; My wif^^d fh^.^wp. pjrisfli

"•Xoui-t ; I was allowed By "Hie police" to iay " good-bye ". to ray wife at Marton railway station when being taken to Wanganui. and T gave her a note that I had previously written, while in the act of shttliirig he. 1 hand, aad that Mtf: tdld hei' where to find *!ia silver coin. I • was duly tried at the District Court at Wanganui, and sentenced to 12 mont'is' imprisonment; both the prisoners and my wife were present at W&ng&nui chiving "my- trial; I was dinchOfyfeti from prison on the 14th Septem-ber-last, and after my return- home I. had some talk with my wife about the silver coin ; owing to that conversation) I spoke to Monteith about it; he said the two woiileii (my wife and his) had planted it in a ve-y e»reles« fashion, and it had been rooteu np by the pigs, ancl he told me he haci given JMO to a party to change, and he stuck to it, aad £11 to the. solicitor for defending- me. I Asked hini wh&t lie na.d done with the nioiieV. (Monteith — "Where is the £10 your, wife buried?") t was supposed, to get the £40 from that party\ He told me .he gave this £40 to a solicitor. I went with Mdntßtth to see the solicitor. I waited half-an-hour, while he and M6nteith had a conversation, and Monte th came out and said the solicitor didn't want to see .me: I replied that 1 wanted to see Wnii I !saw him ii'ftenvards on -hiS Verandah: I spoke to him a few words, but the conversation was interrupted, and Monteith and I returned home. ' I went three or four days afterwards to see the solicitor, my wife going with me. I saw him on tha occasion, but I did not get the silver coin. After this Monteith got out of temper, and was fightable because I had been to the Solicitor. (Mo7rieith — "■ He bughtto have had his neck b oken long ago.") I told him that the solicitor denied having any of tho silver. -He said that the solicitor was a liar.' , Nothing more \vaS

said about the silver as lie got out of temper, and you might as wpII talk" to a grind-stone as to him then, and' then" he struck me in the face. Since that time I have had nc conversation with^ . Moiitclthj \Vheh •-] ifirst astejdh*^ 11 ; be attid he put the silve; in a safer place; t • , After a lot of cross, examination by the prison Sarah Willis Fiulay was then sworn, and deposed — I am the wife of W. Finlay, residing at Sanclon. Know the' two afcuscil. They were ftt Slavton frith rile \y\\en my husband waa t*6mmitted for. trial. •' 1 bade m.V hUsbarid :(<( Roodbye" at tiie railway station, vjtfrs was beside me afc the time. My husband ■ gave me a note at th& time, and I handed it to Mrs Mo.iteith, and to}(l her to pnt it in her purse, as I had none-. I returned, home that day and (lie two prisoners with me. 'We-, got home at half past nine. . . The male 'defendant here commenced to interrupt the witness, and the Inspector" L'cq nested the protection of the' court for bpr, and prisoner was again admonished to refrain from interruptions; Witness continuing, said — We went to my house first, and 1 put the children to bed, and went with Mrs Monteith to her fionse, leaving Mr Montoith atniy house. [ stopped with Mrs Monteith nil nighi. }1 s Monteith. read the note aloud to me liter we arrived at her house, and I then :<iok it and read, it ..myself. 'J.'lje note stated that the silver was in my garden at i- cross fence under a. tref. We went be;v,'een live and six iii't^ie .tho^nAD&^tl^ look 'or <he sliver. Wo^rlokect'for it^j^Sti the ■esult that Mrs Moriteit.U^MHffe'l was ifeo looking for it, but in s^difj&eient place. iVhen Khe found iy s 'il!<f ! «ff(f l *MffePe it is," md we capipd- it-r into, •the; hous^.-v TJhe ilver waßiirt^refc c>nv«s bagiiJ^V^oJeß^ 1\ the bags? and Found fhey all contained ilver coiq. I remarked fO'Mvfc ,V'«titeith, 1 1 don't know what to do with it," but we lecided to ,bury it. We carried Aa bags' to ■ ilr Monteith's seotion, not far from has louse. I,spt Bi.£ip tie from .MrtMouteitjh's ionse,,and we huried il v and' then veturneo.

to Mr Monteith's house. About two days after I went into Mr Monteith's house, and he said to me, " You buried that in a very carelcsg place, where the pigs jcpuid root it up," and he said that he had planted it more securely. • The prisoners' and I went -up to the 'trial at Wanganui. They, had some of me silver, 1 saw, Mr.s, : Mon;euh spend #3' or, £4 in Wanganni., I saw Monteitu give his wife thi^silver. - JHe offered me a ■ pqynd in , silver. He. sjjkj.he had tpke.i enough of the money, to sec.Fjaiay . though his trouble. Mrs Monteith was present at the time. After Finlay's conviction we returned home again. ' A fortnight after pur return.r.'ie accused waated me to take some of the money to live on, saying he would change it into notes for iae. I .declined to have any. About a month after our return I met Mrs Montei'th arid she remarked that if slip were me she >\ould not .work po hard, because., 'she said,. her husband won^d give m.c, g so»ie of the silver to Jive . on. I said, ",No, I wash my hands clear of it." I nayer received any of the silver after it was.,, buried by me, and Mrs Monteith. After. ,my husband came out of prison, b^e questioned me abbut the 'silver, and I told him. what I knew about it. He then went to. Mr Monteith's house, . I went about three or four weeks ago to the house of the accused after coming from work.. .My husband joined me there, and the two prisoners were also there. _Mr Finlay asked him.what he had done with the silver, and his, reply was thathe had giveiLilO to a solicitor, and £10 for Finlay's defence. Mr Finl y^asked for his share, and Monteith got a book and showed some figures ; but Finlay was not satisfiedj and there was a row and a fight. .To Jlonioith— l remember the night of the row. .. I came to your house fii'9t r and tnli! you that my hnui'aud was gone, to ..Cons a'ole Coyle, and asked you why you did nob giVe my tiußbiniJ ; a fair share, 1 and said I was" afrWfd there would be nnothei Taw case over the matter. I huve ney^ej 'Spent any of fhe 'silver.' (The male prisouer at this stage .«« acsin threatened w'i h committal for contempt of court Yn account "of itie abusivj language used by. him towards tb« 'witness.)' ' '*■"' \, •i—'Wifness conh'uuing, in answer t^ ptisooer, 1 Baid— "the reusbu why this infor m» ion is laftj is ' i hat' my husband ha' •erved^twelve moifths for itie' offence, ap,< you ha^ci not {{ivenhim a fair ahaw of thi silver- "' '■" ' • ; " "\ ' "' r ' Jnspectdr 1 Pardy , ikskcd, that as th p^soners had a family, ilva Monteiti •flffould be liberated on ' nominal bail, th case to be i remanded' to «fe*t Thnradu^ As regarded? i he nnie .prisoner Jib fiaid.tha h« had shown 4)^ his hints tinmiuatioi that h^. kuewia^oodaaalwihont the. silv«r and he requested That should not be a< .cepted from him until • S.ttnvdAy next, a yh.'.t the pohoe might, have ample time t "earch hi» -premises duriug his ateeno< This was Hccuded to the amount* of ha Djiu« Hied <tc two £25 sureties in additic V,n on&of a similar sum from the pmoae The court thea Juijoumt'd.-^-Advooatf. ;