SERIOUS SHOOTING CASE IN NORTH CANTERBURY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1744, 31 May 1888, Page 4

SERIOUS SHOOTING CASE IN NORTH CANTERBURY.

; Monday will long be remembered in the Springston'and Rolleston districts I 1 n account of a remarkable occurrence hat took place near the latter placeI appears that bn Friday night last he Springs Road Boaad Office at ipringaton was burned down, and Mr Peter Sinclair, the Overseer to the jßoard, senta telegram to Mr Inspector (Pender on Saturday asking ; him to bend out a detective to make inquiries, ks the thing looked suspicious. Chief Detective T. Kiel went out on Monday morning and,, with Mr Sinclair, proceeded to make inquiries, and among other-places they went to was Thomas Henley’s, a farmer liyipg about a mile from the Eollekfen railway station. TheyhiJyiireii there! soon' after .twelve, and Mrs Henley ; invited them into the house,,saying ,that her, husband ,was {ill inibedJv Henley subsequently catfie (out, and explained that he was suffer[ing from a bad cold. After some j enquiries had been made Henley got into a passion; and;' ordered the t#b i men ‘ quL, He, assaulted Mr SincMfr I in the' house. Just as they Were leaving, Henley, who had gone into his bedroom, came but and fired at Mr, Sinclair with a double-barrelled , shot gun as he was stepping off jthe dqojr; ; step.- Henley then ran . round; the corner of his house and fired the second barrel at Mr Sinclair. Both shotAtook effect in the back of his IqgS and thighs. Henley, his wife and se’u, theh attacked Mr Sinclair and the detective; 1 but the latter succeeded in .getting the wounded man away, and took him to the Road Board Office.' IS either vifeire armed, and the'defective bad/.a providential escape from injury as He endeavored to keep between Henley apd. Mr Sinclair. Dr Westenra was sent for, and be extracted forty-eight grains of shot from Mr Sinclair’s legs and thighs, the left leg having received the largest quantity. I)r,, CJopke!, afterwards arrived. and attended'the sufferer, and he ordered thaf' he should be kept quiet. The chjef detective meanwhile .sept an urgent! felegirain from the Springston Railway Station to Inspector Pender, acquainting him' with the facts of the case, and requesting him to come with or send out, .three or four armed men to arrest Henley. Inspector Pender received the telegram at 2.39 p.m., and at once laid an information and obtained a warrant for Henley’s arrest. A fpUr ? wheeled ~cab,;;was then ! hired, ; and constables Lawler, Breen, Whitby, add Lewia,together with the Inspector, 1 all armed,' 1 wCnt by way of Lincoln! and, picked up Constable Watt! ' They! then went, bn to Springston, and found « the chief detective there.. They proceeded to Mr Sinclair’s house, reaching! tj^fer^‘about : half-jkst five!’'is the : they, Remained: there till the moon rose and it got 1 brighter.: A few minutes past seven the; party Started for Henley’s house, which; Wa& about,four.mihs distant and, 26(31 'yards from the. road. ! The! cab was* left out on the foadand they proceeded! quietly up to the bouse on foot. TheirS presence ‘ was 1 made knowfe by ; the' .barking of, dogs. A light,, yiraa ifleenj in one' ot the fropfe; windows. The! W surrounded* .Wp memgqmg ! CtO J the* ’back- -door/ afid'‘ ?> Lnspectois Pender, Constables' Breen and Watt! f wept ,to the frontdoor,, the, other two mep being placed ,‘at fee sides'to watch .the windows. -(The Inspector knocked at thedoor*' and Henley - called but] “Who:' ji ‘t)ibre?” ,r The ; v feply' ,’syasl 1 ‘‘ ‘LendbrJ’’ Hpnfey tasked “ What do yon want ?” The Inspector ordered him to open the door] that he bad a warrant for 1 Hisf r arrest on a of shooting at Mr !Sihelftir. Henley replied, “ I sha’n’t open the dpprj-.l’ll die {before I’ll- allow you to arrest me.” - The Inspector . then called-on ffiim' in' the Queen’s name to sfifrender. Henley ’told him to go away, as he had been unjustly treated, andjhe wqujd retist to, the last. The . |nppctoripaid4hb would have toa surcome; prepared for any emergency; and'they were deter* mined he should be arrested. Mrs Henley called out—“ For Hod’s sake, Mr Pender,go away. - He; wpnt- eur--render, Aifchprp .will.be bloodshed.” The.Xn>ppc,tpr have to surrender. They were determined’ to arrest ..him, no, matter what the con* sequences- might? be, and it' woiild' be madness, for,him to 'resist. Henley repeated he had been badly and unjustly treated by Sinclair. The Inspector’ replied’ that no injustice would be done to him. Mrs Henley, then could be heard . telling , her husband not to resist any . longer. The ! Inspector told Henley, he would wait - fio longer, and ordered him in the Queen’s name to open the.door 1 , or it would be burst open. The Inspector and tha,’ constables with bird then prepared to. carry this threat into execution. Some one inside then unlocked the door, and the three rushed in headed by the Inspector. Henley met them at the door, and made ’some slight 11 resiatanqe to Constable Breen, who took bold of him. He however, submitted in a few minutes, but was very violent in his language. He said that if it had been daylight,sand he had they*: all outside, he would have made a fight of it, and he said it would have taken them all their time to arrest him. He said he w ßßf| Borry|;he chad not ; finished the other two (meaning Mir Sinclair and the Chief Detective) for coining to his house and attaching to him the suspicion of having caused the fire. In the bedroom was found the double barrelled gun which was loaded and

'capped. Henley said it was the one he had used when he fired at Mr Sinclair. The Inspector said, “Did youload it again then ?” “ Yes, he replied, “ I was determined to resist any further injustice.” Henley’s son, |a young man about twenty years of age, who was also in the house, showed no resistance to the police.; Henley |and his son were then placed in the cab, and brought to Christchurch, where they were lodged in the lock-up. Henley is a small man about forty-six years of age, twenty-four of which he |has spent in Canterbury. He was of -very violent temper, and it is stated !he had been through the American war. The police had information that jthere were two guns in the house, [and hence the preparations made in ■the case of,an emergency. Henley (maintained' {j;p ( the last that he was isorry he had surrendered. After the -arrest had'been made the two men were allowed to go without handcuffs. Before leaving;‘ the house Inspector I Pender asked .for a,cup of tea, and Mrs HenlCy-at once prepared some Tor the whole party. It is said there bad been a long-standing sore between Henley and Mr Sinclair. Had it not been for Mr Pender’s firmness in dealing with Henley, there is no doubt there would have been still greater difficulty in effecting his arrest, and probably bloodshed would have resulted. Henley-was determined, and apparently reckless of the consequences.—Press.

Accused and his son were brought before the R.M. Court at Cnristchurch on Tuesday. Inspector Pender said that Mr Sinclair was unable to leave his bed, and was under the care of two doctors, on account of the injuries caused by the shooting. The police could not possibly go on with the case, and he would ask for a remand for a few days. After some argument accused were remanded till Friday, bail being refused.