ALLEGED BURGLARY BY A CONSTABLE.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2489, 12 March 1881, Page 4

ALLEGED BURGLARY BY A CONSTABLE.

At Wangaratta, Victoria, on Feb. 22, Constable Patrick Walsh was charged with burglary. Edwin Lawrence, barman, proved being in charge of a quantity of liquor belonging to Mrs Cotterell, of the Royal Hotel, which had been temporarily stored since the races in a room belonging to the hotel known as the big room. He shut all the windows on Friday night and fastened them, except one near the gate, the fastening of which was missing. He also closed the outside Venetian shutters. The street door was locked, and he locked one of the other doors. Ellen Cotterell, landlady of the hotel, deposed that after Constable Walsh and the others left she and the barmaid looked into the large room with a candle, and all was then right. She then went to her own bedroom, which was lightly partitioned off the large room, and soon after getting into bed heard someone get at one of the side windows and strike a match. She then heard the person moving about quietly, bottles clinking, and then another match struck. She then got up, went out in her night dress, and called an oysterman, named M’Kenzie Jiving next door. M’Kenzie went round and she went into her own room, and as M’Kenzie was passing her window he said, “ here he is, putting bottles out of the window.” She then looked out (it was a bright moonlight night), and she saw the accused jump out of the window and take hold of M’Kenzie, saying, “ you are the man, I have been watching for these two hours.” She then called up some of her lodgers and went out and protested against Walsh taking M'Kenzie to the lock-up, saying that he (Walsh) was himself the thief. They all went to Sergeant Steel, and he came down to the place. Robert M'Eenzie, an oysterman, deposed that he had opened some oysters for the persons abovenamed after 12 o’clock, and then, after cleaning some oysters, went to bed. He was shortly after wards caUed up by Mrs Cotterell, and went round the house, when he saw some one deposit two bottles on the ground. He saw the sleeves of a, policeman’s uniform, and on one ‘of them “ stripes ” such as were usually worn by Constable Walsh and other constables. He then ran on to th e gate and threw it open so as to see both ways, and on going back to th'e window Constable Walsh jumped out and said, “ You are the man, I have, been watching for you,” and held him very roughly until Mrs Cotterell interfered, This witness, on cross-examination, admitted that he had done a sentence of three months in New South Wales, but was not shaken in his evidence. Sergt. Steel deposed that on hearing Mrs Cotterell’s statement as to her having called M’Kenzie out of bed, he told Walsh that he (Steel) would have nothing to do with having M'Kenzie locked up. He was not locked up. Witness further stated that Mrs Cotterell had at first said that she had herself seen Walsh put the bottles through the window, but had subsequently stated that she had only heard M‘Kenzie call out so. Mrs Wm. Wilson proved having seen a man running away from the gate during the altercation. The other evidence was not of much importance. The accused was committed to take his trial at the sessions, bail being allowed in two sureties of £SO and his own of £IOO.