ALLEGED ARSON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8338, 22 January 1907, Page 3

ALLEGED ARSON.

/A PECULIAR CASE. .'SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE. At the Dannevirke Police Court, on JFriday last, before Mr W. P. James, : »S:M., Robert Landale Mayne: was ' charged with (1) that on December ' : 20th he did wilfully attempt to set fire to a building, to wit, a shop, the ■property of Matthew Henderson; (2) that on December 20th he was found by night without lawful excuse, in 'possession of house-breaking tools; ;(3) that on December 20th he was found by night with a dangevrous weapon, to wit, a loaded revolver, : with intent to break into a building, the property of Matthew Henderson, to commit a crime therein; (4) that ■on the same date he was found by night disguised without lawful excuse. Amongst the evidence tendered was that of Sergeant Cruickshank, who deposed that his attention was •drawn to a parcel of bottles of kerosene and fruit cases planted behind an empty shop in High Street He and Constable Learmont kept watch on Sunday and Monday nights. The Constable continued the watch by himself. Shortly after two ( o'clock on the 20th he was awakened by the Constable, and on getting up he found the accused in the Police Office. Witness said to Mayne "I am surprised to see you," but accused made no reply. The Constable then . detailed the circumstances of the arrest. The disguise and tools he ■ carried at the time of arrest were lying on the office table. The revolver x (produced) was loaded in every chamber and hammer cocked. . There was a dark lantern and a small bottle of; kerosene. A small piece of tied to a small piece of board, pot of vaselene, a brace and bit, a gimblet, and bradawl, two keyhole saws. JThese tools are all part of a house-, "breaker's kit. There was also a small box of tacks, and similar tacks had been used to tack up the bags over the window. The sheath knife bore evidence of having been recently sharpened. Accused was present when witness examined the tools in the office, but he made no remark or Qffered no explanation. Accused was then locked up in the cell and witness and the constable went up to the shop. There they found the four fruit cases (produced) built up against the shop inside the lean-to. There, was a quantity of newspaper, 'saturated with kerosene, lying at one • end of the boxes and there was straw 'in one of the boxes, and small pieces of wood placed in between the boxes. 'There were three of the bottles of. kerosene standing uncorked on the 1 J floor, and a quantiy of kerosene had ! been taken out of the fourth bottle.; 'The two sacks. (produced) werei tacked over the windows, and com-; pletely covered them. The sugar! bag, in which the bottles had pre- f piously been wrapped, and -the twine : with which the bundle was tied, : were lying on the floor. On removing the boxes from .the wall hedis-. covered six holes bored through the' -weather boards and the lining. The : wind was blowing almost a gale from \ a westerly direction and towards the shop occupied by accused on the other side of the street. That was' the only night on which it was blow-; •ing since they started watching. After removing the exhibits to the; police station he visited accused's: house. He noticed that the bed ; had not been slept upon, but there - were indications of some one having :--sat on the.edge of the bed for a time. } f On the floor there was a portmanteau -packed with clothes, strapped and ready'for removal. "The rooms were not'well furnished, and he estimated the value of the furniture at £l2 or ."£l4. Amongst the articles found on -accused when he was arrested were ""two plugs of dynamite, capped and 'fused. It was rolled in wadding and was placed in a small wooden box. 'The pressure of the town water supply was very'low at the time. About • six minutes' walk from the shop the -water main is exposed -wKere it < crosses the Tapuata stream at Tara- • dale Road, and he had seen accused -walking along "Taradale Road on one < occasion, if not on two. The water pipes were df cast iron and would* not resist a dynamite explosion. If "the main had been brdken at this point and a 'fire'had . started with the . ' water supply cut off half the town -must'have been burned down. Constable'Learmorit deposed that in company with Sergeant Cruickshank he started on "December, 14th to watch the unoccupied shop in High Street. "He continued the watch till the 20th. "Up to that night the weather was calm but on the morning of the 20th it was blowing a gale. At about "1t45 a. ni, while he was concealed in an outhouse, he heard a~dog bark at the back of Mr Drew's place, and immediately afterwards .he saw a man ' creeping up to the spot where the '"plant" was hidden. He removed the old tins from off the bundle, and he saw witness carry it towards the unoccupied shop and go inside. Immediately afterwards the man came 'out and went towards the old wood shed, where witness heard ' him fumbling about with the fruit cases. 'He did not see accused carry the boxes "into the shop, but he heard him do so. He remained concealed for about ten minutes and then •crept up to the back wall of the main building. He could hear sothe*one working, inside, the sound resembling the boring of holes. He next heard some bags ripped open. . Shortly afterwards he heard a match struck, and accused then ■ came out and witness, caught hold of him and asked him what he l was doing' inside. Accused made no reply, and witness threw him«on the ground, and while he was putting the ,handcuffs on him, accused said "here, .take this % " Witness •asked ■ him what it was, and accused replied, "it is a revolver." Witness asked if it was loaded, and accused said it was. He took the ; revolver and put it in his pocket. 'John Uric Turnbull, accountant in the firm of Turnbull and Co., of Wellington, deposed that accused 'had his stock insured in their office '•(Guardian)-for £4OO, furniture £IOO, and bicycle £ls. He produced ac■cused's proposal. The policy was taken out in 1903, and is stflljai* force. Accused had been getting; •goods from the firm of Turnbull and r Co., but his purchases from them had; diminished from £250 in December, 1903, to £93 in September, 1904. IHe had been getting goods up to'

date, but the amount had not exceeded per month. Abused pleaded not guilty, and was committed for trial at the next sitting of the -Supreme Court at Napier.—-Dannevirke Advocate.