Samuel REDSHAW

THE BALLOON RIOT IN THE DOMAIN

DEATH OF THOMAS DOWNS.

The boy Downs having died in the Infirmary on Wednesday morning from injuries received on Monday afternoon, by the falling of one of the upright poles erected in the Domain for the purpose of sustaining the balloon of M. Pierre Maigre during the process of inflation, an inquest was held on his body, shortly after mid-day, at the Three Tuns, King-street, before Mr. J. S. Parker and a jury of thirteen. John Kelly, Edward Atkinson, and Joseph Prior, three seamen of H.M.S. Juno, who were brought up at the Central Police Court on Tuesday, for riotous conduct in the Domain on the previous evening, and had been remanded till Friday, were brought before the Coroner in custody, it having been alleged that they took an active part in knocking down the pole which inflicted the deadly wound on the deceased boy.

The first witness examined was Emanuel Benjamin, residing in Clyde-street, Miller’s Point, who deposed that deceased, Thomas Downs, was his stepson, and that he was about eleven years old. Deceased obtained permission from his mother on Monday to go to the Domain to see the balloon ascent ; he was to return in an hour, but did not ; went to the Domain at 10 o’clock at night to seek for him ; then heard that two boys had been hurt, and taken to the Infirmary ; on enquiry there, found that his step-son was one of them ; identified, the body lying dead at the Infirmary as that of his wife’s son.

Donald McIntosh McEwen, a duly qualified medical practitioner, stated that, on Tuesday morning, between 9 and 10 o’clock, he made his usual visit to the Infirmary, and then saw the deceased, who had been attended immediately after the accident on the previous evening, by Drs. Nelson and McFarlane, in conjunction with the house surgeon ; examined deceased, and found him in a state of insensibility, with a very serious fracture on the left side of the head, extending from the forehead to the vertex ; about the vertex there had been several pieces of bone removed ; from the substance of the skull saw the place they had been taken from ; produced the pieces ; the injury he described would be quite sufficient to cause death, and such an injury would be inflicted by one blow from a heavy substance ; there was a clean cut extending from about the middle of the frontal bone to the vertex ; there was no coagulated blood on the surface of the skull ; the wound must have bled freely; a stick in the hand of a powerful man would make such a wound and fracture on a child of such tender years. On being recalled, the same witness stated that there were no other marks of violence on the body but the one he had described ; the evidence he gave was from what he bad seen, not from anything he had heard.

William Mortimer, inspector of the police force, and in charge of the C division, was next examined, and detailed at some length the riotous proceedings he had witnessed ; his attention was particularly called to some sailors belonging to H.M.S. Juno, forcing themselves over some iron fencing round the balloon ; he remonstrated with them, and got them to go back again ; about 7, when the balloon become inflated and rose two or three yards in the air, a rope fastened to the top of it became entangled ; some one cried out ” Cut the rope ;” M. Maigre was at that time in the car attached to the balloon ; it began swaying about, and the gas was escaping ; saw some sailors and soldiers, with other parties, pulling the balloon down ; his attention was called to a great number of persons rushing towards a tent in which the Governor and his suite had been sitting; followed and saw M. Maigre running, with a body of police around and protecting him, to get away to a place of safety ; on returning to the spot where the balloon was, having been away about four or five minutes, found the enclosure full of people, and among the most prominent saw some sailors of H .M. S. Juno, and some soldiers, who had surrounded and got hold of Captain McLerie, the Inspector-General of Police ; noticed the prisoner John Kelly; he, with other sailors, was pulling the balloon towards the fire, and they eventually burnt it ; saw the same prisoner most active in pulling down a tent in which the spirits of wine had been kept ; it was also destroyed ; about an hour after his attention was called to the same prisoner, who was engaged with other sailors destroying the fencing, chairs, and seats, throwing them into an immense fire ; Captain McLerie and he did all they could to prevent mischief ; he had been roughly handled, and threatened to be thrown into the fire by Kelly and others ; saw one of the poles pulled down with a great crash ; didn’t know by whom it was done ; also saw the second pole come down, a few moments after ; the sailors appeared to be a little groggy ; there might have been eight or nine of them ; had no doubt as to the identity of Kelly ; he was taken into custody and removed to St. James’ watch-house, where witness identified him as the leader of the mischief ; from the density of the crowd was surprised that so few people were injured by the falling of the poles.

William Hamilton Galbraith, a medical practitioner, had been in the Domain on Monday afternoon ; saw a machine miscalled a balloon, suspended from two pair of spliced poles ; saw it burned, together with a tent and its contents ; saw a soldier of the 11th upset an iron furnace in which was some ignited straw ; some sailors and others drew the balloon across the fire and set it in a blaze ; the tallest prisoner was the most conspicuous amongst them ; saw the poles pulled down by several persons whom he did not know ; there were boys and a woman among them assisting in pulling, and crying out cut the ropes ; took particular notice of the prisoner ; be ran bodily against the pole as soon as the ropes were cut, and by his main force shoved the pole down ; when the pole fell, heard a scream, and cries of Oh ! Oh ! ran to see what had happened ; found two boys lying, one with a severe cut in the head and quite insensible ; examined the wound and found there was a fracture of the skull, about four or five inches long : it was bleeding very much ; he breathed heavily ; heard afterwards that he was taken to the Infirmary ; did not see the prisoner cut any rope ; the poles would not have fallen had the ropes not been cut ; saw sailors, or men dressed like sailors, drawing out sheath knives about the pole ; immediately afterwards the ropes were adrift.

By the prisoner : At what time did you see me ? Answer : About seven o’clock. Had no doubt as to the identity of the prisoner.

Robert Hobbs deposed that he went to the Domain on Monday morning about half-past six with tents for the accommodation of visitors, and remained there till ten at night ; identifies the prisoner Atkinson ; saw him kick the furnace, and some sparks flew from it ; he did not kick it over; at the same instant the mob around said set fire to the balloon, which was no sooner said than done ; prisoner drew the balloon to the fire and set it alight, then drew it to the tent, with the assistance of Kelly and others, and set fire to the tent. The witness next described the pulling down of the poles ; the prisoner Atkinson let go the guys ; could have seen clearly had any one pushed at the pole when it fell ; did not see any one pushing it ; saw a soldier or marine about at the time the balloon and tents were burned ; he took a very active part in it ; did not see the second pole fall, nor did he hear any one call ” Get out of the way” before the first pole fell ; saw a man dressed as a sailor of the Juno, who was pockmarked; he took an active part in pulling down the poles ; could identify him.

By the prisoner Atkinson ; It was between half past 7 and a quarter to 8 that he saw the prisoner at the balloon ; recognised the prisoner by his dress and present appearance; he was a little excited from drink ; saw no sheaths or knives with the sailors.

George Nelson spoke generally as to the conduct of the crowd, and from the falling of the poles, from the position the boy was in, did not think he could have had anything do with the pulling at the pole which fell on him ; saw no one shove the pole, nor did he recognise the sailors now present as being there ; several sailors were throwing chairs and other things on the fire ; saw sailors with others pulling on the ropes, but did not see them do more than others did ; gave the alarm to the police that a boy was killed ; could not identify a single individual that was there.

At this stage of the proceedings, the enquiry was adjourned until next day ( Thursday ), at 12 o’clock, and the jurors bound over in the sum of £20 each for their appearance.

SECOND DAY.

Yesterday, at noon, the inquest was resumed at Mr. Driver‘s, King-street.

Mark Levy, furniture dealer, George-street, examined : Went to the Domain at 4 o’clock to see the balloon ; saw some men-of-war sailors there, who were the worse for liquor ; recognised the two shortest prisoners now before the Court as the men ; saw the sailor Atkinson pulling away the other, who gives his name as Prior, and persuading him to come away ; Prior wanted to fight some one ; they were disposed to be quarrelsome, and persuaded them to go away ; then saw Atkinson and Prior go out of the gate ; did not see them go near the pole ; it is possible that they might have got back to the pole without his seeing them ; saw lots of boys there, and it was his opinion they did most mischief ; was almost positive that the seamen now before the Court had no hand in pulling down the poles ; believed the people were quite as much excited as the sailors ; followed the body of the boy, and as he got outside the gate, saw the prisoner Kelly standing talking to some other sailors ; this might have been about 200 yards from the pole ; it is possible he might have come from the pole after it fell ; thought however, that he did not ; cannot say whether he was in liquor or not.

By a Juror : Was within a few yards of Atkinson when prisoner pulled him away.

By the prisoner Atkinson : Saw him first about four o’clock.

Samuel Redshaw, a police constable, stated that he did not see the first pole pulled down ; saw the second, however ; the prisoner Kelly was pulling a rope attached to it, and calling for help ; was about ten yards from him ; many civilians were assisting equally as bad as the sailors.

James Burt, sergeant of police, detailed the burning of the balloon, chairs, &c. With reference to the pulling down of the poles, he stated that there were civilians, as well as sailors and soldiers engaged in the work ; believes he saw the prisoner Prior there doing as the mob did ; the prisoner Kelly was not there to his knowledge ; had he been, thinks he must have seen him ; although he said that sailors and soldiers took an active part in the affray, he meant that they were more prominent by their dress ; the people were quite as much engaged as they.

William Carruthers, civil engineer, residing in Woolloomooloo, was in the Domain on Monday afternoon. His evidence presented no new feature, the chief point in it being, that before the pole came down a general shout having previously been given that it was falling, and to look out for it – it was almost impossible to say who was to blame in the matter, as it seemed a general thing. Dr. Duigan informed witness, after he had examined the boy, that he ( Thomas Downs ) could not live. Did not, on Monday, see any of the prisoners then before the Court.

This closed the evidence, and the jury shortly after returned the following verdict :- ” That the deceased, Thomas Downs, aged 11 years, came to his death by the falling of a pole in the Domain, on Monday evening the 15th instant, which was thrown down by a disappointed and excited crowd of people, out of whom it is impossible to single out any individuals as the ringleaders, or as throwing down the poles ; and we unanimously consider that, if any person is to blame, it is Monsieur Maigre, the perpetrator of the sham balloon ascent, which we consider caused the death of the said boy. We wish this to be considered a censure upon Monsieur Maigre. ”

SECOND COURT.

Before Mr. Justice Milford.

INDECENT ASSAULT OF A CHILD.

Patrick Connery, indicted at the last sittings, was placed in the dock to stand his trial for that he, at Paddington, on the 13th day of October, 1859, did unlawfully and indecently assault one Mary Ellen Burke, a female child under the age of twelve years.

Mr. Butler conducted the prosecution against the prisoner, who was not defended by counsel.

The prosecuting counsel addressed the jury, and briefly stated to them the circumstances of the case.

Sergeant Samuel Redshaw, of the Sydney Police Force, deposed that he had arrested the prisoner on the fourteenth October last. Witness told him what was the charge against him. Prisoner said that the charge was a made up affair between the mother, the daughter, and the old woman Connolly.

The witness was cross-examined by the prisoner, but nothing of importance was elicited.

Mary Ellen Burke, the child referred to in the indictment, aged about seven years, was brought into court, but as she did not appear to have received any instruction whatever upon religion, her evidence could not be taken.

Catherine Connolly deposed that she knew the prisoner ; at the time that prisoner was arrested she was stopping at the house of Mr. Burke, the publican – the father of the little girl, Mary Ellen Burke ; witness one day went up stairs, and went into a room wherein there was only a basin stand and a box. This was three or four months ago. Mrs. Burke’s child was there, and the prisoner was also in the same room. [ Witness then proceeded to describe circumstances which amounted to a direct proof of the charge against the prisoner. ]

The prisoner had been drinking that morning, and seemed much the worse for liquor. Witness went down immediately, and told the parents ; the father questioned the child, and, on hearing what she said, struck Connery with a billet of wood when he came down stairs ; Mrs. Burke had sent witness upstairs for the child. Witness was cross-examined by the prisoner, but her evidence was not thereby affected. Cross-examined by the Judge, witness described the nature of the washhand-stand on which the child was sitting when witness went into the room ; the little girl was sitting on the top of it ; the prisoner had owed witness a pound for a long time, and witness used to ask him for it ; about a fortnight before this occurred Burke was bouncing the prisoner, and saying that he would not give up the property to him.

Mary Burke, the mother of the child Mary Ellen Burke, deposed that she remembered the day that something was done to her daughter. She was upstairs that morning with her brother ; they both once came down together : they had then some money, which the child said Paddy ( the prisoner ) had given to them ; witness was in the front room sewing, and after that sent the woman Connolly up stairs for them ; the woman came down stairs saying the child was destroyed ; witness saw her husband, just afterwards, striking the prisoner with a billet of wood; there was no difference existing between witness’s husband and the prisoner, except that Connery held a mortgage over the house. The prisoner had drunk something that morning, but was not drunk ; witness was not drunk. Cross-examined by the prisoner : witness admitted she had once been placed in gaol by her husband, and that prisoner had bailed her out ; witness had never expressed a determination to be revenged upon prisoner; the witness Connolly was drunk on that day, at the time she came down stairs, and made the statement against the prisoner Connery. The counsel for the Crown begged to withdraw the case.

The jury ( by the direction of the Judge ) returned a verdict of not guilty, and the jury intimated that the prisoner left the Court without any stain upon his character.

WATER POLICE COURT.- Friday.

Before Messrs. S. North and J. McLean..

Sydney James Dalton was arrested by Samuel Redshaw, sergeant in the city police, charged with being in the dwelling-house of Rose Strange, for an unlawful purpose, on the 7th instant. The complainant Rose Strange, resides in Windmill-street, and only knew the defendant few days before she charged him with this offence.

It appears that he lodged in a house next door to the complainant, kept by a Mrs. Jacques, and about a quarter-past 2 a.m., on the morning of the 7th instant, the complainant was awoke by hearing a noise at the window shutters. She struck a light and saw defendant through the window, and asked him who he was and what he wanted, and he replied he would soon let her know. She went to the room in which her son slept, and roused him, and when they returned to complainant’s room Dalton was in the act of getting in at the window, whereupon, her son shoved him back, and he then went back to the house where he lodged.

On the following day, Mrs. Strange saw Dalton, and said if he apologised for what he had done, she would let the matter drop ; but he laughed, and said he was drunk at the time.

The prisoner, in defence, stated that when Mrs. Strange saw him the next day, that he said if he had been guilty of any ungentemanly act he was sorry for it.

The Bench ordered him to enter into his own recognisance in the sum of £50, to be of good behaviour for twelve months.

NEW SOUTH WALES PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4.

Funerals

In the Supreme Court o£ New South Wales.

In the estate, goods, chattels, credits, and effects of Samuel Redshaw, late of Parramatta, in the Colony aforesaid, senior constable and watch-house keeper, deceased, intestate.

NOTICE is hereby given that after the expiration of fourteen days from the publication hereof, application will be made to this Honorable Court, in its Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, that letters of administration of all and singular the estate, goods, chattels, credits, and effects of the abovenamed Samuel Redshaw, deceased, who died on the 16th day of August, 1886, may be granted to Thomas Redshaw, of Dowling-street, Sydney, in the said Colony, grocer, the eldest son of the abovenamed deceased.— Dated this 21st day of August, a.d. 1886.

ROBERT HENRY LEVIEN,
Proctor for the said Applicant,
George-street, Parramatta, and Phillip-street, Sydney.

5947 6s. 6d.