HALEY’S CAREER IN ENGLAND AND INDIA.

Patea Mail, Volume I, Issue 62, 13 November 1875, Page 2

HALEY’S CAREER IN ENGLAND AND INDIA.

■Haley began liis life as agent in Glasgow for his father, who was a clothier in Brantley, near Leeds, and who carried on his business at an establishment known as' the Waterloo Mills. Haley’s wild manner of livingin Glasgow got him into difficulty,' which resulted in his enlistment into the Iloyal Engineers.' Shortly after, he was drafted to India, went through the Persian War and got wounded. He next got into difficulty at a' place in India, the name of which we cannot correctly ascertain. lie was under the charge of an officer, to revenge . his spite on whom he buried a chest of money in order to get him into trouble. For this .offence he was tried bv Court, 1M urtial, and found guilty. He was sentenced to six years’, penal servitude. _ Owing to Ids insubordinate conduct in prison, and his escaping" on several occasions, the Government, in order to have him confined more closely, had him forwarded to the penal establishment in' Portland, England. After remaining in Portland for. four and,half years, and getting tired of his lonely seclusion in that island, lie made overtures to the authorities that if the Government deemed it desirable to send him .back to'

Jmlia, Ik; Avonld discover to them tbc ; tiensure that ha had concealed. lie went back to India, or rather Avas taken there, fulfilled Ids promise, showing where the treasure avus hidden, the tin; Avhole amount was recovered, and the officer, avlio bad to make good the defieieu y, got bis money back again. At the cxpiralion of tin; term of Ids sentence he Avas allowed to leave the Royal Engineers, owing' to the disgir.ee into Avhieh he got himself. Through the good offices of a gentleman in Bombay, avlio was a bank manager there, and Avlat'Avas acquaint d with .Haley's father, an appointment as storekel ‘Cun the line of the Bombay and liie Wlhiroda Railway. While their, he got on so avcll as to he aide to mix in good society. However, lie determined onfa change, and Ids resolution came about in the following manner : He was invited to a Covcrmcnt party In Bombay. But prior to its taking place he found that his old acquaintance, Major Hancock, the officer the treasure conilded to whom he had buried, was to he one of the parly, and fearing that he might he detected and exposed as being an ex-convict to those at the party and in Bombay generally, he not only did not go to the parly, bill he left speedily for England. Soon after his arrival lie got married in London. We next hoar of Idm in a way in which his sharpness comes to the fore. He, Avith the assistance of liis father, formed a Coal Company, called “ The Pall Mall Guinea Coal Company,” being an opposition to the well known Guinea Coal Company, Pall Mall, of Messrs Lee and dardine. Messrs Lee and dardine were a poAverful firm, and did not want to see their name traded upon; Mr Loo, at that time, was M. P. for Maidstone, Kent. A suit was instituted, and the result Avas that the Haleys Avere involved in the whole of the costs, which were very heavy. Cyrus Haley thereupon absconded, wandered about Liverpool and Manchester for about six months; his wife this time was living in London. Hearing that the bailiffs were after him, Halty returned to London, and deteri mined on a course which well shows what the character of the man was. He was aware that on a certain day and hour Air Leo would bo in the fulfilment of his business present at a place lie knew of. Haley provided himself with a pair of six chambered revolvers and a screw-driver. He repaired to a coffeehouse, where ho loaded the pistols, and then went to the London Parcels Delivery Company’s Office, Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, where the Board was sitting at its half-yearly meeting. The door opened by a spring from the inside —Avhen it was closed, it could not be opened from tbc outside. Haley applied tbo screw-driver, forced open tbo door, and gained admittance to the room, where the Board Was sitting, of which Air Lee Avas chairman. Before anything could be done, Haley to tbc amazement of the astonished members of the Board, produced his pistols,' and extorted from Air Lee, Avith a pistol pointed at ids (Mr Lee’s) head, a promise that he would AvithdraAV the Avarrant out for his (Haley’s) apprehension. The AA'arrant Avas AvithdraAvn on the understanding that Haley should leave the country. Haley, hoAvever, did not leave the country, no one dared to have the warrant put into effect against him, and Haley’s next step was to become the landlord of a hotel. Haley had previously been a director of the Parcels Delivery Company, knoAV everything as to their time of meeting, and the arrangements of the place, sndAvhen lie presented the pistol at Air Lee, his (Haley’s) brother avus present in the Board room, and held the position of Secretary to the Board. The hotel Haley kept avus the Vernon Hoad North Audloy street, Grosvcnor Square, Tins was in about IBOD. He Avas a restless man, and Ids next moA'e avus to emigrate to Auckland.His doings there are AVell knoAvn ; lie avus pre-eminently “ the fire raiser.” For his destroying the kerosene stores, Aleehanics Bay, no motive could ever hi assigned; and his reason was that there Avas at that time a n timber of men out of work, and he wanted to give them employment, In order to foil the detectives in regard to the burning down of Ids restaurant, ho gave the key to his manager and the manager, being examined, savovc to the fact. But the explanation was that Haley had filed cloAvn an old key which he had till it AA'as similar in wards to the key ho gave to the manager, and with the old key effected an entrance and set fire to the place. We have it on the best authority that had Haley succeeded in escaping from custody, it Avas his intention to murder his Avife and commi suicide, as he had reason to believe that she had been exposing his villany. That he, knowing from the gaol chaplain where Airs Haley was, had made up his mind to trace her, lying in an ambush till cover of night, Avhen ho. would have attacked her and murdered her, and then committed suicide. In Lee’s case he had determined if Lee would not AvithJiWav the AA'arrant to shoot Lee and then shoot himself. After hearing that, Ins children were confined in the Industrial School, he said rather than havb his children made criminals-' of , ho would hav T e killed them all, "and lu& demeanour shoAved that he meant what he said. . : .