Elderly Man Tries to Burn Down House

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 852, 21 December 1929, Page 8

Elderly Man Tries to Burn Down House

CAUGHT BY CONSTABLE GRUDGE AGAINST OWNER Special to THE SUN PALMERSTON N., Today. A timely arrival and prompt work by a police constable prevented the destruction of a house and office in Palmerston North on Thursday evening, and resulted in the arrest of an elderly man named Henry Ball and his committal to the Supreme Court for sentence on a charge of wilfully setting fire to a dwelling and registry office at 156 Ruahine Street, occupied by IWinnie Anderson. • According to Ball’s statement yesterday, he bore Miss Anderson a grudge and set fire to her house to frighten her.

“At about 9.30 on Thursday evening,’* said Constable H. H. Barrett yesterday, giving his evidence in the Magistrate’s Court, where Ball appeared before Messrs. W. G. Ashworth and G. H. Espiner, J.P.’s, “I was cycling along Ruahine Street on my way home when I saw flames suddenly burst out of the doorway of Miss Anderson’s registry office, and accused immediately go away and walk quickly toward Main Street. I called out to him, ‘What’s happened back there?’ to which he replied T don’t know anything. I didn’t see anything at ail,* at the same time walking toward Main Street. I went up to him and told him I was a constable, and took him back to Miss Anderson's.’* On his arrival the constable found flames over three and a-h Uf feet in height licking up the doorway, and could smell kerosene and see it burning. Nothing daunted, he took off his raincoat and succeeded in extinguishing the flames. The building was a very old one and in another five minutes it would have taken a lot to put the fire out. He declared there had been a south-easterly wind blowing in the doorway and blowing the flames under the door. Miss Anderson, who was in bed, was aroused by a sound like breaking glass, and came to the door to find her doorway in flames and the constable at work with his coat. She said she had known accused for about three and a-half years, but until last night had not seen him for two years. She had reason to believe he bore her ill-will, because he thought she would not try to get him work.

William Dobson Wilby, a grocer, testified that accused had purchased a bottle of kerosene from him about 5 o’clock on Thursday afternoon similar to that produced in court.

Detective Russell said that this bottle had been found in a garden next to the house. When interviewed by a detective, accused had said he had set the kerosene alight in the doorway, as he wanted to give her a scare and had added that he did not think it would do much damage. In a statement made by accused which the detective produced in court accused said: “I felt I had a grudge against Miss Anderson, as she refused me work for three years. I don’t suppose I would have done it if I hadn’t had a glass,” he -added. Barrett stated in their evidence, howBoth Detective Russell and Constable ever, that accused had been sober when they had seen him. Ball pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court at Wellington for sentence.