TRAPPING HARBOURERS.
In the old convict days harbourers of bushrangers and runaways were looked upon and treated as a very "bad lot" — as, indeed, they were, for without their shelter and assistance the career of many a bushranger would have been cut short speedily. Hence, hutkeepers and others who were convicted of "harbouring" were without much ceremony handed over to the public flogger or the gaoler, and most curious means were occasionally adopted by the police in their detection. Here, for instance, is one story of the kind, told by the trapper himself in an affidavit: —
Westmoreland. — To Wit: William Christie came before me, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the said colony, and maketh oath and saith: That on the 24th day of August, 1825, being at the head of a party of constables and others in pursuit of bushrangers in the neighbourhood of Bathurst, he deemed it necessary to send forward one of said party named Matthew Menfield, disguised in the character of and personating a bushranger; that accordingly the said Matthew Menfield went forward in the above character to a hut occupied by shepherds belonging to Mr. Icely, where he remained until the arrival of deponent and his party, and when he saw them coming up he (Menfield) went into the hut and pretended to secrete himself from the party, which he appeared to be afraid of. On inquiring of the hutkeeper, James McAuliffe, if he saw a man pass by dressed in a factory frock and straw hat and with a gun, he said the hutkeeper told a falsehood by stating that he saw a man answering this description pass by, and pretended to point out the road which he had run. Deponent then ordered one of his party, named Thomas Dawson, to dismount from his horse and search the hut, which he did accordingly, and found secreted therein the said Matthew Menfield. Deponent then ordered another of the party, named Patrick Blanchfield, to handcuff the hutkeeper, when the hutkeeper said to the said Patrick Blanchfield words to the following purport:– "You —— rascal, many a time yourself and others have come this way hungry and had your bellies filled, and this is the way I am repaid for it." Deponent then took him some distance from the hut and liberated him, telling him he would call for him on his return, and then proceeded with his party in search of bushrangers. Deponent further stated that on the same night, after he had left the above-mentioned hut, he sent Menfield on to Captain Piper's station and to act in a similar manner, and on the arrival of Menfield at the hut he found two shepherds and a hutkeeper, and they objected to admit him, but told him they would give him bread and meat, and that two men would be in immediately. He received the bread and meat, and then returned to deponent and told him the circumstances.
The unfortunate McAuliffe received a round two dozen, with an extra stroke "given in", as a lesson not to open his door to a bushranger in the future. What a poor chance had men in those days of entertaining angels unawares!
The harbourer, once caught, might expect severe treatment, as will be seen from the Act here given:
ANNO QUINTO GEORGII IV. REGIS. NO. 3
By His Excellency Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C.B., Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, amp;c., &c., &c., with the Advice of the Council. (An Act to prevent the Harbouring of Runaway Convicts and the Encouraging of Convicts Tippling or Gambling.—January 19, 1825.)
Whereas the Harbouring and Employing of Runaway Convicts greatly encourages them to abscond from their lawful services, and mislead the Thoughtless into bad Courses of Life; and the Harbourers and Employers of such Convicts frequently become the Receivers of Stolen Goods, and conceal dangerous Offenders from Justice:–
Now, therefore, be it enacted, by His Excellency the Governor of New South Wales, with the Advice of the Council, That, from and after the First Day of February next, any Householder, Settler, or other Person in the Colony of New South Wales, or any of its Dependencies, harbouring in or about his or her House, Lands, or otherwise, or in any Manner employing any Person illegally at large, shall pay to Our Lord the King a sum of not less than Five Dollars, nor more than Fifty Dollars, for every such offence; and a further sum of One Dollar for each and every Day he, she, or they shall so harbour or employ such Person, whether knowing or not knowing him or her to be illegally at large: And the said Fine or Fines shall be leviable, upon Conviction of the said Harbourer or Harbourers, Employer or Employers, by two Justices of the people, in a summary Way, upon the Oath of one Witness, or other legal Proof.
II. Provided always, that if any Householder, Settler, or other person, shall be desirous of employing any Laborer or other Servant, and of ascertaining whether such Laborer or other Servant is at large contrary to the legal Regulations of the said Colony, it shall be lawful for such Householder, Settler, or other Person, to apply to any Justice of the Peace residing within the district where such Laborer or other Servant is engaged, or intended to be employed, to enquire into the Fact whether such Laborer or other Servant is or is not at Large contrary to such Regulations; and such Justice of the Peace is hereby authorised and required, upon such Application forthwith, to cause every such Laborer, and other Servant, to come before him, and enquire into such Fact as aforesaid; and if it shall appear, to the satisfaction of the said Justice of the Peace, that such Laborer or other Servant is not at Large contrary to the said Regulations, such Justice shall grant a certificate to that effect, under his hand, to such Householder, Settler, or other Person so applying, and it shall be lawful for such Householder, Settler or other Person, to employ such Laborer or other Servant without incurring or being liable to any Fine or Fines as aforesaid.
III. And whereas convicts in the service of the Crown, or assigned to private Settlers and other Individuals, frequently resort to Drinking or Gambling Houses, to the great injury of their Masters, and Detriment to public Order. Now, therefore, for the prevention thereof, and in order to compel such convicts to confine themselves to their lawful Stations and Business, be it further enacted, That the Occupier or Person in Possession of every House, being licensed to sell Ale, Beer, or Spirituous Liquors, shall pay to the King a Fine, not exceeding Twenty Dollars, nor less than Four Dollars; and the Occupier, or Person in Possession of every House, not being so licensed, shall pay to the King a Fine not exceeding Forty Dollars nor less than Eight Dollars, for every such Convict as aforesaid, who shall be proved by the Oath of one Person, or by any other legal proof, before any two Justices of the Peace, in a summary way, to have been, and been received, at such house as aforesaid, for the purpose of Drinking or Gambling as aforesaid, without the leave of his Overseer, Master, or Mistress; and in every such case as last aforesaid the leave of the Master or Mistress shall be proved by the Owner of the House, or it shall be held not to have been given; and if the said offence of employing or entertaining Convicts as aforesaid shall have been committed on a Sunday or Sundays, the Fine or Fines to be imposed in consequence thereof shall be at least Ten Dollars, and not exceed Fifty Dollars.
IV. And be it further enacted. That if any of the said Fine or Fines hereinbefore imposed shall not be paid within Three Days after such Convictions as aforesaid respectively, the same may be enforced by any two Justices, by Attachment and Sale of the Goods and Effects of the Person or persons convicted aforesaid: And in Case no such Goods and Effects shall be found whereon to levy the said Fine or Fines, that it shall and may be lawful for such Justices, before whom such Convictions as aforesaid shall have taken place, to issue their Warrant to apprehend the Person or Persons so Convicted, and to cause such Person or Persons to be imprisoned and, if the said Justices shall think fit, put to Hard Labour for any Time not less than Ten Days, nor more than Three Calendar Months.
V. Provided, That all Fines, which shall be paid or levied under this Act, shall be for the local Purposes of the District wherein the same shall be levied, and shall be paid and appropriated at the Discretion and by the Order of the Justices of the Court of Sessions holden for such District, in the Rewarding of such Persons as shall inform against and prosecute to Conviction any Offender or Offenders against this or any Law or Act for the Peace, Order and Good Government of the said Colony; and shall from time to time be duly accounted for to the Governor or Acting Governor of the said Colony, and a true Account of the Appropriation of all such Fines as aforesaid shall be published quarterly in the Public Newspapers.
THOMAS BRISBANE, Governor.
January 19th, 1825—Passed the Council, FRANCIS STEPHEN, Clk. Col.
I have given this Order in Council in full, from an official copy in my possession, as it throws light not only upon the method of procedure then in vogue with regard to harbourers, but upon the liquor law in its bearing upon the convict system generally. Men not free who were convicted of harbouring runaways were dealt with after a different fashion. Here is a case in point:– Thomas Jones, a "ticket-of-leave" convict, was charged, in July, 1826, with having harboured a notorious bushranger of that time named Johnston. It appeared that Johnston came to the hut and demanded shelter, and Jones allowed him to sleep there during one night, although a hut mate of his protested. In his defence Jones said he sheltered Johnston and supplied him with victuals, because he was afraid to resist his demands. But his plea was not deemed sufficient excuse for the offence, and the Bench ordered his ticket to be taken away and him to be "turned in to Government", i.e., returned to the Government gang of convicts to finish his original sentence.
FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS.
The Bathurst district during the twenties was never without its share of bushrangers, mostly convicts who were tired of their lot as assigned servants. They were not criminals of the wilfully brutal Tasmanian sort, but stole provisions and clothes here and there from outlying huts to supply their daily needs, A few samples may be given here.
At about the same time that McAuliffe was being judicially "trapped", a prisoner named Charles Jubey ran away from the Bathurst settlement and took the bush, in the hope that he would fall in with a small band of absconders who were supposed to be enjoying quite a picnic somewhere up the river, away from the restraints of Government rule. But his search for them was fruitless, and not having arms he was afraid to rob on his own account; hence he wandered about the bush for nearly a month until well nigh starved, and then decided to give himself up. He was proceeding to do this when he was seen by three good-conduct prisoners, named Good, Harrison, and Butterfield, who had set out in search of the runaways, and who pounced upon him and conducted him in triumph back to the settlement. When brought before the Bench he pleaded that he had run away because he was "so harassed and torn about" by his keepers, but confessed that he had "a belly-full of it" (queer metaphor for a starving man to use!) and that he was on the way to deliver himself back into the hands of his task-masters, when the three hunters found him.
The Court would not believe that he had no knowledge of the other men who were roaming the bush, and sought to bribe him into a confession; he was accordingly found guilty and sentenced to 75 lashes, on the understanding that he would be let off if he told where the bushrangers could be found.
Poor Jubey had to take the six-dozen-and-a-quarter strokes at the then well used triangles in the flogging yard.
In those days magistrates required very little convicting evidence, and prisoners could not command the services of any counsel. Note the case of Richard Carter, to wit. He is described as "prisoner per ship Minerva, late servant to Richard Lewis", and was brought up for being at large in the bush. The only evidence taken against him before the Bench was that of Sergeant Wilcox, of the Buffs, and Mr. Cheshire. The former stated that when he was at Davey on the 7th March, 1826, he received information that a bushranger was on the road to Handowey Plains in company with Mr. Fitzgerald's stockmen and drays that were going down. The sergeant and his party at once went in pursuit of him, and found him on the 12th at Handowey Plains in Mr. Fitzgerald's hut, with the overseer and men. He took him prisoner and brought him to the settlement. Mr. Cheshire simply stated that he knew that prisoner had been the servant of Mr. Lewis. Having heard this much the court sentenced Carter to be sent to Port Macquarie, or such other settlement, etc., for the term of three years.
SOME AUSTRALIAN "MEN IN BUCKRAM."
The Bench of Magistrates at Bathurst was called upon, on 1st March, 1826, to hear a remarkable story from the lips of Roger Keenan, prisoner per ship "Mangles", overseer at Mudgee for Mr. Lawson. Keenan said that he was going to Mudgee about a month before, after nightfall, Mr. John Lawson riding before him on the road, and when within about three miles of the station, three men started from the edge of the river quite naked, each of them being armed with a gun and pistol. They ran past deponent, and then turned and went round him, telling him to "stand, or they would blow his brains out." Deponent stood, of course, but called out to Mr. Lawson to "come back and bring the soldiers." He returned, and deponent at once jumped off his horse and presented his pistol at one of the men; but the four men presented their muskets at him, and one of them desired him to lay down his arms and promised that he should not be touched. Mr. Lawson then galloped away, leaving his pistol and some clothes on the road; and deponent did not see him again until the following day. Deponent was obliged by the men to give up his pistol; and they then took his other pistol from the holster, while one of them — a tall, straight man — presented his musket and threatened to shoot him. The whole party consisted of seven men all dressed. Deponent did not state how he got away, but passed on to tell what happened on the following Sunday night. Four men, he said, came to the hut at the station a little after dark. They stood at the door and shouted, and then one of them entered and put fire three times to the thatch of the hut to burn it. When they left they took away with them 5 lbs. of tobacco, 9 lbs. of soap, and some thread. In answer to a question, deponent said that he had not heard of any Wellington runaways being at Mudgee, and that he thought there were only seven in the bush.
There is nothing on the records to show what the magistrates thought of this story, or whether they were moved to take any action through its narration. Perhaps the glaring contradictions that fell from Keenan's lips satisfied them that there was something of the "cock and bull" about it. First he said he saw three men, quite naked; then four presented their muskets at him—what they did with the pistols meanwhile he did not explain, although explanation was necessary, seeing that they had no pockets to put them in; then seven men, all dressed, demanded that he should give up his arms. It was all very funny, to say the least of it.
A REPORT.
Frequent reports of night raids by bushrangers were made to the Bench about this time, but nothing came of them. Here is one:– On the morning of 6th April, 1826, Thomas Burns, servant to the overseer of Rev. S. Marsden, was milking the cows at the station at Campbell's River, about an hour before daylight, when he saw two men near the hut. He went forward and then saw the men going through the pumpkins, they having robbed the hut. He followed the two men as they ran, and recognised one of them as Denis Nowlan. Getting near them he called to them to leave him a part of the "swag." Nowlan's mate then turned round and said that if deponent did not go back he would blow his brains out. Deponent went back as requested and then sent information to Lawson's place. Some hours afterwards the two Lawsons came over with some blacks, but they were unable to find the robbers. The articles taken from the hut consisted of five shirts, two pairs of trousers, seven and a half yards of factory stuff, a musket, a quantity of tea and sugar, three razors, 9 lbs. of soap, some thread, two quart pots and two pairs of new boots. This formed a large haul, for in those days all of the articles enumerated were both scarce and dear.
A BOLD ROBBERY AND A SMART CAPTURE.
In July, 1826, Johnston, Jennings, and Carter, three assigned servants of a settler near Bathurst, determined to take to the bush, and lead a merry life as freebooters. They left their master's place during the night, with three dogs, two guns, and food to last three or four days. Their first visit was to Tindall's station at Warren Gunyah, where they "lifted" three horses. From this station they proceeded to the station of Mr. Bowman, where Jennings kept the hutkeeper under cover of his gun while Johnston and Carter proceeded to ransack the place, the trio subsequently departing with four shirts, two pairs of trousers, some wheat, a great coat, and a musket for the man who was unarmed, threatening the hutkeeper with dire vengeance if he followed them. At Fitzgerald's sheep station they helped themselves to a large portion of his flock, nearly frightening the life out of the shepherd who was minding them. They drove away 52 sheep altogether, and headed with their spoils through the bush to Tubrabucca Swamp. But in the meantime word of their depredations had reached the ears of the authorities, and Sergeant Wilcox and his men, accompanied by Mr. Tindall and Mr. Wm. Lee, started out in pursuit. The pursuit party followed the tracks to Tubrabucca Swamp, where they camped for the night. Next day they followed the tracks for about 20 miles, but could not see anything of the bushrangers, but the day following they overtook and surprised them when lying down in a gully in camp, in the midst of their spoils. The attack was so sudden that they could not make any resistance, and they were brought by easy stages into Bathurst, where they were formally committed to the Criminal Court in Sydney.
What became of them will be seen from the following Government Order, which was issued from the Colonial Secretary's Office in October following:–
GOVERNMENT ORDER.
The execution of Thomas Mustin, Daniel Watkins and John Brown is to take place at Burwood on Monday morning next; and the execution of Matthew Craven and Thomas Cavanagh, on the Western Road, in the neighbourhood of Parramatta, on the same morning.
The prisoners will move from the Gaol in Sydney, at 6 o'clock, under a military escort, to the place of execution.
The road parties in the neighbourhood will attend at the places pointed out, according to the orders communicated to the inspector of roads.
The garrison of Parramatta will be under arms; and the prisoners in the employment of Government at that place will be taken to the Western Road, to witness the execution.
James Moran and Patrick Sullivan are to suffer at Irish Town on Wednesday.
The bodies of the whole of the criminals above alluded to will remain suspended during the day.
Johnston, Jennings and Carter, who formed part of the gang of bushrangers at Bathurst, are under orders for transportation to Norfolk Island, where they are to be worked in chains during their lives.
John Sullivan, the only individual of this banditti who had not been apprehended, finding it impossible to elude the vigilance of the mounted police, has lately surrendered himself into the hands of justice.
The Governor would willingly hope that the examples thus held up may have the effect of deterring the evil-disposed from entering on a course of crime, which must infallibly end in their ruin. The unfortunate men, now about to suffer, had indulged, for a time, in rapine and outrage; but let it be remembered they have, in no one instance, enjoyed or derived any benefit from their plunder. It has all been recovered; and after leading lives, burthensome to them, as is proved by the voluntary surrender of one of the party, they have become victims to the injured laws of their country.
By his Excellency's command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY.
Another Government Order bearing on the case was issued. It reads as follows:–
GOVERNMENT NOTICE.
The Governor has again the satisfaction to notice the successful exertions of the mounted police, under Lieutenant Evernden, at Bathurst.
A party of bushrangers, armed with muskets, have been taken, after pursuit of three days. They had seized some horses, and were driving off a number of sheep, having a native woman and her child with them.
These people (two of whom, Carter and Johnston, are notorious offenders, having escaped from an escort in March last) were promptly pursued, in consequence of the information given by Mr. Tindall, whose establishment they had plundered, and who, together with Mr. Lee, and two natives (who are reported to have been extremely useful on this occasion), accompanied the mounted police, and by their activity contributed to the success of the party.
Had Mr. Robert Fitzgerald been as prompt as Mr. Tindall in giving information to the commandant at Bathurst, when first his horses were carried off, and not have depended on the bushrangers returning them, as they appear to have promised to do, or waited until they repeated their visit and depredations, before he represented the matter, his horses probably would also have been recovered.
Mr. Tindall is rewarded by the restitution of his property, and the acknowledgments which are due to his spirited and manly conduct; and he may be assured that he will always receive from Government the assistance and support which such conduct merits.
Those who, from supineness or any unworthy motive do not at once come forward, but acquiesce in the aggressions of the bushrangers, in the hope of conciliating them, will meet the merited reward of their baseness by being Plundered by those whom they have endeavoured to screen, and being held up to the just Reprobation of the Public.
As to the Bushrangers who have been so active in the Bathurst District, another Example has been recently made, Hostle having suffered the awful Sentence of the Law. Those who are disposed to pursue this Course of Life should be aware that the present Arrangements of the Troops, and the Exertions of the Government, promoted as these are by the Vigilance of the Magistracy, and the Loyalty of the Inhabitants at large, leave them, in fact, no Chance of Escape. Even those who, having been apprehended, have evaded the Vigilance of their Guard, and absconded a second Time, have been apprehended.
The Government is pleased to add that, when the above Intelligence was sent from Bathurst, a Party of the Mounted Police had been dispatched in Pursuit of a second Gang of Bushrangers, who had carried off Cattle from Mr. West's Station, and it was expected would be immediately overtaken. This Party was accompanied, as the former, by some intelligent Natives, whose Zeal and Fidelity are highly spoken of.
By His Excellency's Command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY.
Source: The Bushrangers (1915, March 9). The Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), p. 7.
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