AN OLD TRAGEDY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 44, 16 February 1912, Page 2

AN OLD TRAGEDY.

-• The proverb which says that “murder will out” has been justified in the case of Wilhelm Gerlach, who, a cablegram reports, has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years on a charge of manslaughter. More than two years ago Gerlach, who,is a German, was working- on the first seption of the North Coast railway in New South Wales with a man named Frank Coleman, who once resided at Mangorei, Taranaki. 1 On November 9th, 1909, Coleman’s body was found concealed in a creek near Dungog, and the evidence that was available showed that ho fnust' have been done to death at least three' weeks’ earlier. The ease presented' great difficulties ,to' the detectives to Whom was , en r trusted the task of'solving the mystery).; • 'At the outset ( thcy did not know who Colonlah’s 1 mate had been., hut aftbr ' 'Cbhsicletablc 1 trouble 'tljpy i learnt'lds hifrihe 'hheh traced hjm'fj'dm Dungog to Newcastle, and from there to Sydney. It was discovered that a man answering the description of Gerlach had withdrawn Coleman’s saving;-;, some til, from the ''hank, and - finally; the suspected man had left Sydney by a steamer which had sailed on Nov..ember..lst for Antwerp and Hamburg. 1 Obtaining a warnmj Tor hisjjig'ost,. they, communicated “With tlie 'German authorities, and on the arrival of the steamer at Port Said' Gerlach' 'was apprehended. He was taken to Hamburg, where he was charged with the murder of Coleman, but it was only about three months ago that the police in Sydney received word that the preliminary inquiry had been completed at Hamburg and Gerlach was to bo tried for manslaughter, the German .Court;holding that the graver charge could not be preferred against him as there was no evidence that the murder bad been premeditated. It was explained also that the long delay in completing the inqniry was due to Gerlach’s solicitor having lodged a plea of insanity, which had necessitated the confinement of the accused in a mental hospital in order that he might undergo examination. (