Pecullar Conduct of a Boy.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3712, 16 January 1891, Page 2

Pecullar Conduct of a Boy.

The Dubbo Correspondent of the Sydney 'Evening Star' sends the following curious story to that paper : '•The inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the fire at Marebone head station which occurred on 21st Novomber, was concluded on (Saturday last whon a boy named Tommy Trefusis, fifteen years of ago, was committed for trial to tho next Court of Quarter Sessions on a charge of having wilfully attempted to set the place on fire. From the evidence it appeared that on tho day in questi m Miss Perry was awakened by some noise, which she found was caused by a curtain of an unoccupied bed boirg in ilames. She awoke her cousin, Miss Healy, who was with ber, and tho two, lifter desperate efforts, succeeded in tearing down the curtains and in extinguishing tho fire, but not without sustaining painful burns on iheir hands and feet. No suspicion aroseiuthe minds Df tho family, but on tho 24th of tho mouth Mi's Perry auw

smoke coming from a hay shed co taining twenty or thirty tons of ha She told her son Thomas, who foui thnfc the fire appeared to have orin;ii ated in a stack Bft from the groun He could have saved the stack but h: nothing to aid him. Yv : h';n runnir to the stack he met Tommy Trefusi a boy fifteen years of age, whom h mother hired in Sydney. He 3aid him, " What are you doing wii matches ?" The boy said lie had non and denied having been near tl stack. All the hay was consumed. } the 28th Miss Perry was inside Tommy came into the verandah, nm after a couple of minutes said, " Mil Perry there must be a fire somewhei " I can see paper and smoke flying up, Miss Perry went into the verandal but saw nothing. She went outsid and saw the store was on fire. Ic wa quite impossible for the lad to hav seen the tire from where he was sitting They both ran to the store and foun the flames issuing from a box o clothing and papers, and the bar! c'ling had just caught. Unde iuiss Perry's direction the fin was soon extinguished, tho boy assist ing and working. Naturally suspiciot was now fully aroused, though it was not shared by Miss Perry, who had i high opinion of the boy. Mis 3 Perrj had a feat days previously found s Strong tlPre and smell of carbolic acid in the mustard pot used by the family, and a lady visitor had seen Tommy shaking . the same bottle, Tbey found on examination that the Bauce bottle, as well as a water bag usually filled by the boy, had traces of carbolic acid. Alter the store lire a wool bale was found partly consumed by fire. Mr Perry had seat the boy to that place to tie up a dog, and had followed him owingto his long ~w_delay. and had then thought there was - - Trsmellof fire. The police were informed. Under a careful examination, Senior-constable Kenny soon induced the boy to make a partial confession, and he subsequently made a full confession. He said that he set fire to the bed curtains for fun, and the haystack bv accident while smoking. He sec fire to the wool- bale by knocking ashes out of his pipe when he feared be would bs caught smoking by Miss Perry. He put the carbolic acid in the water bag for fun. He liked the family, and would do them no harm.