MURDER OF MR. DOBSON.

Tauranga Argus and Opotiki Reporter, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1 December 1866, Page 3

MURDER OF MR. DOBSON.

tbe Hokitika Evening S/ar.

sujgular stoey by the prisoner.

t \ (JFi-om

For sorae time past, in tact for four tiiontbs, sirice the 16th Jane, a pniqner natn.cd Wilson as appeared periodic.ally in our p lice reports, and from time to time he bas been charged witir the murder of Greorge Dobson, on ihe, 28th of May last. The delay ex--plained by the p Hee, d bringio • forward evidence, bas been occasioned tinougb tbe want of ihe witne>s , Sullivan, nowbonvictiid for complic ty in thc Vlaungatapu mu tiers, Dunng this time Wils«>. has been most anxious to make a pu "lic sta ement but has not been able to do so (Jti this comins; to our knowledge we requested permission of the visiting Justice and tbe Iuspector ot Poliee to al'ow our reporter to have an interview with bim and takt-Mlown th stattment, for tbe purpose of publication This was cour'teopsly refused, hut as w'e had other trn an • ,f gaiuing informat'ion thai yve - ould depend uuon, a^ being tbe substatice oi What Wilsorf; wisbed to sav we. publiah it without apology . No douhf, could we have siv n it '^n-the first p rsou it would have beeii betterj.but Jt is, atall events, reliabl -, a's far as the aecused himself is to be beiieved - It appears trom the p.isoner's statem^hl that he has for years been'tbe , issociate'of bad ha a:t»rs, nd. in fact be admfts' that he has fcjlowed yhieving as(a profession for ,ears He admifs thathe.was associated with Burgess, Keliy, ;. -v., aud Sulliv.in ior the pi/rpose of higiiway rohbery ; and tbat was arranged" betweer. them that tbey should roh Fhx on bis road, from the Crey. '■ 'J'hat p ior to tbe arrangcment by. tbe gang to rob Fox, Wilspn had manufhctuted several

masks to'disguise tbe paftv, and after they weie cotnpleted be took them up with him, together with other sffects, rriel Sullivan and Kelly Jn ti.e bush, and" produce.*! them for their inspection. When Sullivan saw the mlsks be asked Wilshn what the h— : — be* wanted wi-h thpse things, or words to that effect, and Wilsoq answ.ered him in nlang t*rms : Sullivau, in, reply, let fall some observations which r. ised .Wilson's sUspicio is that it was tbe mt-ntion ct' .the party .to • coramit violence, and from that time he resolved to sever himself from ihe party — this w i*prio> to the 28th day of May last, the day on which it is Psupposed f>oor Dobson was murdered- Wilson states t\iat Sullivan and folly wei;e >ut priot t'o the 28th May ^together; that on that day he and Bursress went to see'Kelly and Sullivan ar ihe Iron Hu t. three miles from tbe Grey. - That Burgess and Wilson parted with Kelly and Sullivan at. 11 o'clock in -tlie morning and they both walked back together to #he,Grey, On coming up to tfie shanty, abont a raile sqd a half nearer town, th ymet De Laeey,:;who was on horseback, and De Lacey stopped to speak to Burgess, and 'they both had a arink together, v Wilson' walktng on towards town alone, cat;rying with him a heavy swag. Afterwarda, oa the -same day, he went to George Kenuy's, the barber, and there changed his trousers, leaviog the old one's at KennyN. . Wilson stopped a;c Kenny's about two hours, which brought tlre time to about 5 o'clock p.m ; fiom there went and had his tea at the Criter oh Hotel, and tben returned tp Cockburn's shop and took charge of it for hfm until about eisht p,m., when be left for the night to go to the Criteiion Hotel , at which bouse be ^liad been lbdginrf. On his way to the Crit rion he callcd at the Provineial Hofel fo see Burgess, aud found hira there playing^ at euchre with qemebody,- and afler exciianging a I'qw words with Bui^ess, left for .tde.-Criterion, where.MBo Mept the wholfe night. Wilson thus arcourrs for the whole of his timo on the day of ihe minuer of MryDo'bson,. the 28th of May, and states that abundant.pr6of ^an be obtained of the truth of his sta'entent. With ^regardjo ;he fact of bis sle piiig pt tbe Cfiteri'on' Hotel oh that night, be said it avould be ip the reeoUbetion of Mrs. Fellows. the landlady of the hoqse, forthis reasdn — that on that nijht bcr 'little sop, who, usuully siept with his'elder bro her in a bunk over Wiison's head, in cousequehce of being very u'nwell with a cold, slept wrth bis mother on that night. Wilson got up tater th|n usual oi^ the followingt , moining, a'nd after tlie breakfast was .cook d, contrary to his usual custom, did not partqke of it, which causcd, Mrs.'Fefiews to make some unpleasant ohservation in> reference to his having allowe ' ihe breakfast to be cooked for bim if befdidn«t want to eat it. On the 29ih, W Ison yv nt to 'he Provineial Hotel to, see B.i'g*ss, abdut- 1 1 o'cock a.m. ; aferwards »»nt,rup to towfl} and shortly after met Ke'lv and Sullivan coming into town. Gn aeeing Wilson, they asked bim, '' Where's D-ick ??''i meaning Burgess; ,and Wilson answfcred, "1 have jnst lef('/hiin at th- Pioviticial ; " and Sullivan and Kelly requested him to g'> and t 11 Burgess that lhe~v«ha(t come'to town, and at the same time they hamUd to Wilson an opOssum skin rng 'o t,ke cre pf for tpetn, whic.h he afteywards left at Geoige ; Go kburn's. AVilsuu, rtqoeated went to Burgess, and gave tbeir messagKs to i/itn ; aird Bu gess told Wilson to say iliat he 03urge*s) w»uld meet tlieitt. on the hri ige. When he returned to Kel y ai.d Su li»an wph th" message, they said .to W ilson, " tbey L&d camped'out the day and , night' beforp, and thev «ere wet, tired, and hungry." From the above *rate nent it vvo dd ihere'fore ap(iear that the parties juyplic-ifed in the innrder-'pf i)o.t>a«n can b* - o other'ihin Kelly. and Sullivan, and Wilson *ays, that were he at liberty he would' be able to get a.bu'ndant pro 'f tb.it botb bim-telf and Burges* were at tbe G'ey d'uririg tbe whole of tbe 27 h, 28tb, and 29th. yydsoqgfurther says that alier ihe uisenve'ry bv him, that the in/entions of tbe pa»ty were of such a diadly .cbars|cter, he ultimately jnced the sfreet for bi urs, thirikidg whatcoufse to pnrsiie, and went to Inspeotbtv Jame#, and with him afterwartis td Mr. Revell, the Resident Magistrate, and told them a'l about it, conf'essing* thaf, he wa all there for highway robbeiy, and stating that they woqid iriot have seen his face had it riotybeen for-the discoverv by him of the crime tbat was about to be committed -the murder of Fox. Ive also says that for several days the pollce ayaiied.th^m-seL-es of informafion furnidied by him to them rSsppcting tbe moveiuents of t'he party.; rn fact, he afcomnpanied Burg-ss, Kelly, aud Sullivan at the instigHtiou and at the request of the poilce, aftd on Thursday, the 31st day of May, Inspectpr James and a largf party Of police pa*sed by wblje tbey- were in company. II e "iso says that had the police Kad coupage to take the party at that time, which hfe understood was their int'ention to do, most probably the foul mufders which bave since been perpetrated by these' men would not have takqp. place. After this jnccurrence Wilson was asked by Kelly whetber .he had been speabing.to anvbody, which led Wilson to think he vyas su^pected of flaving given information. On the next day (Fiiday) Wilsofi received a note from Inspector James asking him to nieet him at a puhiiehouse on the -beach. He (Wilson) went there, and at this interview. between them Wjisbn detailetFto him what had .occurred, and stated his fears for his own safety, when James ffromised to throw them off the seent by making inquiries after WiLon himself. Wtls n, under all thecircumstances, bitterly c mjdains that he should be charged with this crime, when it is. within the knowledge of the police that he was the first tn give information of the intentions of the party with espect to Fox, and if they cbose they could have ascertained from relihble witnesses that he could . not have been implicated io -the murder of Dobson, becalise he was at the Grey at the time the murder miist bave bee,n committed. Furtber, he says, that if petmitted fo have proceeded in the matter, he would have been entitled to thfe reward offe ed Ior t .e murderers of poor Dobson, as Sullivan and Keliy were the only, parties in the neighborhood on that day. He also says tt/at it was not until the morning of the 5th cf Jpne tbat he first knew of the murder of Dobson, wh'ich he tead for the first time in the newsnaper on that date. He and Inspector James had a cbnversa-' tion on the satne day, the purpose of wbieh wa* that tt a -pea'red Dobson was murdered between Maoii Gul'y and Arnold Gully, and be ( Wilson) ;ld Mr, James tbat tbe party would not have tiar.e to go ?her»," wueri the'latter repled, " But they wer. not oa the road -hat day.'' Wilson answered, Yes, Kelly and SulliVan were." [Hisdefence is In faJfct, an alibi, as will bs soen ly the above- statement.]