AN EXCITING CHASE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10715, 21 September 1912, Page 5

AN EXCITING CHASE

BY MASTERTON CONSTABLES. ALLEGED THIEF RUN TO EARTH. .' Constables Brown and Dunphy ,of the Mastertou Police Force, had an exciting chase yesterday morning after a young man, who will be charged this morning in the Magistrate's Court, with the Theft of money from the person. ". It appears that two young men, who had just finished a scrub-cutting contract at Waterfalls, arrived m Masterton. on Thursday evening. They engaged beds at a boarding-house in town and retired at about "8.30 p.m. About 10 o'clock one of the men, named Alfred Smythe, alias George Ashton, got up and left the house, taking with him the sum of £l4 which it is alleged belonged .to Ins mate. The latter "informed'the police of the matter at a late hour on tho same night. Next morning Constables Brown and Dunphy left in pursuit of the culprit on bicycles, and picked up traces at the Royal Oak Hotel, Csrterton, where he had arrived the night previous per medium of a motor car. The bird had flown at an early hour in the morning, but was sighted by the pursuers in tho neighbourhood of Greytown. When he saw the policeman Smythe jumped the fence and made for the open country. Constable Brown followed ..him, while Constable Dunphy rode on to Papawal and warned the Maoris of the escapee's presence in tho vicinity. Constable Brown meanwhile was led a pretty dance across some very rough country, where, amongst some scrub and bush, he lost sight of his quarry, who v.-as cutting out the pace at a merry rate. Tho two constables subsequently got together, and' wore •shortly afterwards informed by a breathless Maori that the culprit was in hiding-in a stable at Pnpawai. The men in blue, commandeering a motor, •set off for the pah, but the car broke down on the way, and they completed the journey per medium of a milkcart. On arrival at the pah, which was in a ferment of excitement, they found their quarry with a stalwart Maori sitting on his.chest, while the remaining members of the Native community were surrounding him. Smythe tasked greatly relieved on seeing the constables. He afterwards stated that he was quite sure he would have been strangled had they not arrived on the scene when they did. He was in an utterly exhausted condition, and bore appearances of having been up to his neck in a swamp.

The prisoner, who had a considerable sum of money in. his possession, was subsequently brought back to Masterton to nnsAver the charge, which is an indictable one.