ESCAPE OF SIX PRISONERS FROM THE BALLARAT GAOL.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 223, 26 June 1872, Page 3

ESCAPE OF SIX PRISONERS FROM THE BALLARAT GAOL.

At about 5 o’clock on Monday, June 10, the ringing of the gaol bell brought the governor of the gaol and one or two of his subordinates to the inner or main building, when it was found that warder Irwin, an old and trusted officer, had been taken advantage of under the following circumstances, as detailed by himself:— He was on duly in the corridor last night, and about J o’clock this morning, or a little after that hour, the prisoner Scott (charged with the Egerton Bank robbery) rang bis bull—Scott having frequently of a night lately done the same thing and complained of internal pains. Irwin thought nothing unusual of the call, and attended to it. He had scarcely reached the door when it was opened, and he was pounced upon by Scott and the prisoner named Plunkett, got down on his back, gagged, and a blanket thrown over his head, and tied down. He fought hard witii the fellows, but bad no show. After his head was enveloped in the blanket bis arms and legs were tied ; and the two prisoners who had secured him proceeded to get, first, an iron bar, with which they broke open the cell doors of four other prisoners, and then they cut a length of rope off that which is used for raising the food of the prisoners from the kitchen to the corridor. They next, with the help of the other prisoners, carried Irwin to the kitchen, where each man selected a knife or any weapon of offence and defence he fancied, end then carried Irwin, the rope, and two forms up to the corridor again. Arrived there, the next thing was to break open the door leading into the exorcise yaru, and that done, they placed Irwin on the table under the shed in the yard, threw some blankets over him, placed the forms against the wall of I the southern turret, got the rope fixed in j its position, scaled the wall, aiul made off. One fellow, however, appears to have availed himself of the spouting near the turret to make good his escape. Irwin, after the fellows had gone some time, managed to relieve hiinscif so far as to be able to get back to the coirider and give the alarm by bell, which brought him help. An examination of the cells took ■ place, when it was found that tiic following prisoners were missing : —John Harris, alias Dermody, under sentence of three months’ imprisonment, and commit- j ted for trial on a charge of stealing a ; watch ; Andrew George Scott, committed for trial on a charge of robbing the Eger- j ton Bank ; Janies Stapleton, alias Fitzgerald, committed for trial on four charges of robbery ; James Plunkett, alias Roach, committed for trial on three charges of | robbery ; William Taylor under sentence of twelve months for robbery ; V\ illi nil Marshall, under sentence for three months for larceny. Tiio plan of escape must have been arranged beforehand, to be put into execution yesterday afternoon as soon as the men were locked up after I o’clock, and Scott is supposed to be the projector and ringleader. It appears that lie and Plunkett must have arranged lo be the operators, as Plunkett, who was Kept in tin* next cell to Scott, managed to remove a sufficient number of the blicks to admit of bis joining Scott, and assisting him to overpower and sccuie the turnkey or warder. An examination of the construction of the celts and cell doors did not create any surprise at the boldness or cleverness of the escaped prisoners, but rather of astonishment that the gaol had not been relieved of many of ns inmates long ago ; fur the security of the prisoners, either from the strength of their cel's or from the supervision to which they are subjected, is but a thing in name only. Not being in a position to know the merits of the original specification, it is impossible to charge blame cm any otic at present, but it is rs plain as noonday either that the gentleman who prepared the ,specifications for the Ballarat gaol should never be entrusted with the preparation of another, or that the contractor lias scamped his work so thoroughly that lie should never be allowed to do any more for the Government. As to the clerk of works, , he must defend himself as best he may.

Scott appears to have had no trouble, after he was locked up yesterday, in removing the sheet iron from over the lock of his coll door, and Plunkett had as little in removing about a dozen of bricks from the partition between the two cells. The bricks, instead of being set in cement —as they should have been—have been set in the most common mortar, so soft now that it might bo all picked out easily with a lady’s bodkin. The “ sheet-iron” lining of the doors is a bad kind of tin I think, that is as easily torn, once a corner is raised, as a piece of sheepskin, and the wood —deal —the doors are made of is much more like dry sponge than hard sound timber. (For your satisfaction, I enclose you samples of both the wood and sheet iron.) Then, again, the locks of the doors are attached to them by a few small screws, which have not more than I about half-an-inch hold of the soft wood, and any strong man standing in front of the cell door would have very little difficulty in kicking it away from the lock. As to the imperfect supervision of the prisoners, I find that, though the average number recently locked up for the night has been eighty, there is only one warder to take care of them at any time between G o’clock at night and G o’clock at morning. This seems neither right to the prisoners nor to the warders ; and last night’s work is a sufficient proof that the parsimony of the Government in this matter will prove a most costly saving. The whole thing is a disgrace to the coiony and more especially to the Public Works department at the time oE the building of the Ballarat gaol. On searching, round tlie gaol, it was found that the prisoners had crossed the deepest drain into Dunnstreet, but beyond that nothing is known. It is supposed that they would take to (he White Horse Ranges, and remain in concealment till night in the scrub, when they will make a further move after dark le-night. Very unfortunately, they selected an excellent time to obtain their freedom, as the Court of General Sessions commenced its sittings this morning, and all the detectives and numbers of police are compelled to attend there who might have gone oil: in search of the fugitives. 'The only instrument Joutid by which Scott could have removed the brown paper sheet iron from his door, and Plunkett tiie bricks from bis cell, was a small piece of iron about 4 inches long, as thick as an ordin-

ary iron lmop, and slightly chisel pointed, with a thin piece of wood tied down on either sine of it with string to save tno hands. The police seem to be fully aware that the escaped prisoners, it nicy can only succeed in getting arms before they are captured, will light hard for their liberty. Two of them, Dermody, aged 21, aiid Marshall, aged 22. are notorious desperados, and have already threatened Sergeant Lamer and the police that if they ever got out they would never be taken again without a desperate struggle. Scott also is said to have expressed his determination of fighting to the death should lie ever make his escape; and Plunkett and Stapleton are two fellows not likely to consider tiic taking of life as a serious obstacle to their retaining their liberty. The gaol surgeon visited Irwin this morning, alter he had retired to rest, and found him suffering from severe nervous excitement and complaining of acute pains in the walls of the abdomen, and the region of the chest, where ihe fellows had knelt upon him ; his teeth and gums were much hurt from the gagging process, and his neck was bruised and abraded, and very painful, but it is thought he will soon be all right again. Had there been an assistant warder with him, it would have been impossible for the fellows to escape; but as he was secured before lie could reach the alarm bell-pull, he was perfectly helpless, and they were the complete masters of the situation, and the wonder is they did not, let many more of the prisoners have their liberty. As many of the police as could be spared were sent out in pursuit, but up to the time of m} 7 writing none of the runaways bad been captured. Two young men answering pretty well to the description of Dermody and Marshall were reported to have been seen at the Weatherboard in the forenoon.