DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 November 1917, Page 5

DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

MINERS' STOLEN.

.^HOT,

ONE DEAD; ANOTHER : «EARLY gO.,|j

jßy Tplegi^.-^ EljKabetnjKqad thiß morning. !We proceeding to the mjiUß with ,«o°o cash ( .jto pay waggs .and wliien they Jvcre • ! 'one r, or: more Tnjyi. jyho shot' both occupants of the motor-car, tjie money, and took to t|ie bMli. ~ >' pall ys in & serious condition, and. Jatnes lias wounds in the leg. James watf-bropght io t6wn a,nd a bullet! extracted from his leg.' '"" It anncars that a ,bpx .placed Across .she road, and James got out to move it and was wounded,. On recovering himself he found the .other Jwo icc'ur pants the car had disappeared.' l Jatnes was. brought into, town. There ip gretCt excitement in tcxvvn, Tjyo arrests Were- <, made'* .this hut on inquiry the police Stated that they coi# not he fipunecf.fi .with the aljair. "• ' ' ,r£» U JE2? fought to the hospital at IO.JO. Trite car Wt'town'for<fhrcoT-5 lieriea b'filbck. ' ' " cv " l

FURTHER DETAILS. PREMEDITATED FOR SOME TIME; . ?££y/p.ys,jtylj? F^LS. n^Sn-ICiSL robbery and murder show that the _pay, which was done up fn' bags, totalled £3(iofl 10s Bd. It would not be cumbersome, as it contained only £IOO in silver. The jjien ceased wpijk- opirettmb of the news, and "many miners' took to <ho bush in a search, Jilt up'jto nJglifq'll; had got no nearer a cluc of the desperado. Some davs ago a fanmed iu the vicnutv oT Runanga, but tlie'pffliiie attach little importance lo ibis- "as there art quite a number of military shirkers still at large, and supposed to* be in the bush. A posse of police hap beffljWisy all day, and more are arriving'. -Jjßi'en waited on they were very reticent as to information gained. 1

The coroner lioltl li formal inquest at' Runanpa 011 C'onlthard. Dr. Jilendo stated that to being sh.ot through £be "'ting. • fcni the severing of the main blootf Vtssef. Iliui's jg very ijer-ipug, »nd little hope is .liey of Jiis recovery, bnj WSp is injjjyflving.' \Tlie »rfwt«4 ■■s*? M&jr frp'm l a> •bre^fej-y. TJje-«»tiek-iip lind evidently been pre. nmh\jkfxfyyt)T imi tjjMfe. ' to reports, which {pom tie quarter, ; siniHar~obstruetion ladder and box were placed 011 the road at the same spot a fortnight afro, <buf were bv a passer-by before jtij'e ear ed with the wages,' otherwise the tragedy would have oecur^ed'then. ' " '

AN EYE-WITNESS' STATEMENT. An eye-witness jiam,eil Mandereon states: afkfl <for as -I. eftti guess, k was about twenty minutes past nine o'clock .iyi.en w Jen J-eoimrt &u4 .myself jk.™ biking down the hill. When we turned the corner we noticed a box across the road. I'.cried out fo Jijv son if'gft off. This we immsdiatoly did. At this moment the mine car turned the corner, and crashed into the obstruction before it could be pulled up. Like a lightning, a man. a young amp 1 siioiiTd say, drj&seed in (larktyue dungarees, with his face completely masked, j,unip<fd out of the husli on tjie right .hand si,de pf the road. Just Ijsflflvr Uie little jise from Grey, tliere is a of dpuse ■Bomb, .and jji this be hftd a dug-out for himself, and thgrc to wait for his prey, and unheard. With a revolver in each hand ins injg >t]u,r<s(| JOfld «ried: "Hands, up!' 'Oh, God! I cried, lie is going to shoot us.' 1 came into .the bush myself and my son took to the bush', going about a chain ip. 'BangJ bapgr It was a few terrible "moments" tV> knew we would be -inviting a risk to come out. Thy) wjjjj sjjence, &nd we espied a man ,on the railway with a bag, evidently the proceeds of the rob,-; bory, and lie tljeh wont alpng tpjvards' Runanga, disappearing out of sight. w then came out of the and qujckly heard groans. We msbed to the car, .{lad Jfcljew f,mifl4 Coulthard shot dead. Willie Hall was then in a state of collapse. 'Are you shot? Where are your mates?' I asked. Hall said, 'l'm on fire.' T found his coat on fire, and put it out. I immediately sent-for the police and a doctor."

Although nothing can be officially ascertained, it is probable that twi arrest ■wdlVshprtly.be made. The mine wiii be idle again to-morrow. is not jnentfoned in first telegram. Evidently there wpre three, not two, shot at.) OWNERSHIP OB THE MONEY. ■Welling'ton, Last Night. The. am<jj|,nt Stolen .W tlie highway robbery at OrcymoutS "Was £-3C(k)' vne bujjf of it being in notes. It wp the property of the Government.