ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A CONSTABLE. SHOT BY A BURGLAR. OUTRAGE IN SYDNEY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 384, 13 July 1889, Page 6

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A CONSTABLE. SHOT BY A BURGLAR.

OUTRAGE IN SYDNEY.

Akothkh case in which a constable has been grievously wounded while arresting a biuglar occuned at Sydney the pother day. On a lonely beat, beyond any immediate assistance, and unarmed, save with the ordinary policeman's baton, a constable ol the Darlinghursb dhision attacked three men armed with firearms who were attempting to break into the house ul Judge Stephen, on the (ilenmore Road. The constable's baton and handcufls were practically useless, for -while ono of bho burglars struggled with him another shot him in two places, rendering him helpless, and then, Before tho alarm could be lai&od, they all decamped. Even tho constable's alarm whistle, which is supposed to bo an effective means of summoning aid, proved useless, as the wounds rendered him unable to apply it to his mouth, and when it was blown by the first civilian to arrive- on the scene, it failed to secure any reinforcement. The circumstances of the case ha\e caused some questioning of the conditions under which constables in outlying boats have to perform their duty, and Judge Stephen has written to the Premier and tho Inspectoi-Oenernl on tha subject. Although severely injured, the constable, titter lying in a critical condition till late in the afternoon, is now, in, bub littlo danger, tho bullet which lodged in his shoulder having been extracted after somo difficulty. Two men were arrested on suspicion, and one of them, on being identified by the constable, has* been chai ged wibli attempted murder. The other was released. At 11 o'clock on Monday night Constable Henry A. Slater paraded at the Darlinghurst station, and then proceeded to his beat, which is an extended and solitary one. It is more lonely than the 'ono on which the late Constable Suth'erlandVas murdered. Shortly before 2 a.m. the constable was passing along 'Cooper-street, ofF Brownstreet, when he 1 saw a man get over the fence of Judge Stephen's grounds, which run through to GUenmore Road. Taking off his greatcoat which he hung upon a post, ho jumped tho fenco and followed the man through the garden, up a flight of steps, and on to the lawn in ironb of the house. Hetheie found three men, one of them standing en the verandah, and the other two on tho grass. He seized ono of the raon, who struck him across the head with a stick, knocking him down. Scrambling to his foot, tke constable grappled

with the man, and while so engaged, one of the other men approached close to him, and fired two shots, ono of which entered the constable's shoulder, the other pas&ing through the loft thigh. Falling helpless to the ground, he called for assistance, being unable to use his whistle owing to the injuries. The three mon then decamped, but not before the wounded constable had recognised one of them. Judge Stephen's coachman, Mr Blair, was the first to come to the wounded man's aid. He had heard tho reports of a revolver while in bed in his house in Cooper-street, and running across found tho constable, who in one hand grasped his baton, and in the other was Ins whistle, lie told the coachman to blow the whistle, which he did. Immediately aHerwards Judge Stephen and his wife came out, and an alarm was raised. MeEsengers were despatched ior a doctor and the police and the man wcie taken into the house. ' The wounded constable is 33years old, and a married man, residing in Bourke-stroeb, Surry Hills. lie has been about four years in the force, and was at one time stationed at Grafton. He is a native of Nova Scotia. Tho accused, George Digman, is described as a labourer. He is 34 years old, and a big man. When arrested he made no statement.