THE MOUNT RENNIE OUTRAGE.
SIX CONDEMNED TO DIE. Final Decision of the Executive Council (BY TELEGRAPH.—COPYRIGHT.) [HliUl'Elt'a TELEGRAMS. ] syusisY, January 3. The Executive Council havedteuied that the aenteuo- of death »hull be carried out on six of the prisoners who have been convicted of the Mount Reunu; outrage. The execution takes place on Friday next. It will bo remembered that mi September 9 infiiriiiali'in was given to tho ixiiicn that a friendless young girl of 1G h,id been decoyed out to a waste piece of country in the <ic.inityof Ruidwiek, and about >nidw«y between the Cotany and Bunii'irong roads, anu umre rtiiujocLed, at the tho hands of eighteen or more larrikins, to treatment of the most brutal and revolting character, Fortunately moans for the identification of these cowardly and vile ruffians wore available, and arre»ts succeeded one another with a rapidity that showed how thoroughly the police had been put on their mettle. A witness named Stanley, who endeavoured to save the girl from her inhuman assailants, swore that when parsing the scene of the outrage, in company with another man, he heard a woman's screams issuing from a clump of bush some fifty yards distant. They at once ran in its direction, and found three yonng men holding the girl Hicks down. She was wearing a light blue dres.-, <iiid by her side lay her hat and a buuch of wild flowers. Stanley and his companion attempted to rescue the unfortunate creature, but were set upon by a gang of larrikins, and severly illumed. The remainder of the evidence tendered by the prosecution showed that after being assaulted by the eight men, the girl became insensible. She was restored to coneiousness by being half-drowned. Her dress and stocking were torn from her person, and the remainder uf her clothing to ribbons by the fiendish creatures. In their lustful rage they barely gave her time to recover her senses when she was again thrown to the ground,and while held there by two, a third accomplished his terrible purpose. This act was repeated until the alarm of "police" caused the scoundrels to decamp. All the prisoners were found guilty and sentenced to death. The sentence of three was subsequently commuted. In passing sentence the Judge said : —"Yon cannot expect that those who are charged with the execution of the law will hesitate under all the circumstances in handing yon over to the death which you most righteously deserve. Outrages such as this are not committed upon the children ot the rich, the surroun-'iings of whose life give their children protection, but upon thr daughters of the people, who in the pursuit of their honest avocations are compelled to go about alone, exposed to the attacks of such gangs of ruffians as choose to assault, them. Under all these circumstances bu sure no pity will be extended to you; our pity must be reserved for the homes that are desolated and the victims who are wrecked foi life by outrages such as these. The timo has com* when a terrible example must be made of those who seem to oe restrained by no pity for their victims, no sense of shame, no dread of the loathing of thnir fellows. Crimes such as yours it is too clear can only be lestrained by the fear of death, the fate which awaits you." Efforts were subsequently made by a section of the public to induce the Executive to mitigat' , the death penalty, but as our cable message this morning announce* the decision arrived at. is to allow the law to take its course. —Herald.
THE LATEST. [Received January G-h, 1 10 p.m.] HYfttfEY, Wednesday. The matter of the Mount liennie prisoners, sentenced to death, uow rents solely with the .tj-ovornor. Every effort U being made to secure a reprieve.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18870106.2.22
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2261, 6 January 1887, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
635THE MOUNT RENNIE OUTRAGE. Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2261, 6 January 1887, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.