[robbery in dwelling house – convict reward – St. Paul’s Plains]

R. v. Gipps

Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land

Montagu J., 15 April 1840

Source: Cornwall Chronicle, 18 April 1840[1]

            John Gipps stood charged with having on the night of the 28th February last, forcibly entered the dwelling-house of Mr. John Porter, situated at St. Paul’s Plains, with intent to commit a robbery, &c.

            John Porter sworn. - Is a farmer, and resides at St. Paul’s Plains; about nine o’clock on the night of the 28th of January last, witness being then inside his own house, and having his doors closed, was suddenly alarmed by the violent barking of the watch dog; the next minute a voice outside desired him to immediately open the door; witness said “Why? who’s there?” “Never mind who it is,” was the reply, “open the door instantly, or I will blow it open;” a servant in the house now said, “it is the bushrangers,” and witness’s wife becoming thereupon dreadfully alarmed, besought him to open the door without farther hesitation, which being accordingly done, the prisoner at the bar entered with his piece presented, he also carried a blunderbuss, and had a pistol stuck in his belt. Two of witness’s servants followed the prisoner into the house, and the latter desired witness to go into the bed-room and be tied; after the two men had fastened his hands behind him, prisoner asked witness for his keys, and enquired at the same time whether there was any money in the house; being answered, only a dollar or two, he said, “Well, I must have them;” he then opened a box and took from thence some powder, shot, and percussion caps; he next went to the men’s hut, and brought the whole of them into the house, and made them tie one another; he then proceeded to the store, and helped himself to a large quantity of tea, sugar, flour, tobacco, spirits, and in short whatever else he needed; which having done he untied six of witness’s servants, and desired them to make the things up into a convenient form for carrying; the whole of the property which he had thus possessed himself of was then placed in the outer yard, prisoner telling the men that he should require their assistance to carry “the swag.” The men having been hard at work all day, witness asked the prisoner if he would allow them to have each a glass of wine before they started, which he consented to; witness accordingly desired one of them to go to the dairy where the wine was kept, and take a tumbler full himself, giving a like quantity to his companions; the men in company with the prisoner then left witness for the purpose, as he supposed, of getting the wine, and when witness next saw him he was lying upon the ground, disarmed, and in custody. The prisoner had been seen by witness some time previous to this, upon the high road handcuffed.

            John Conway sworn. - Is an assigned servant to the last witness; deponent first saw the prisoner on the night of the 28th of January, coming in a straight direction for his master’s house, he was armed in the manner described by Mr. Porter; on arriving at the hut he desired witness and another man to accompany him to the house; after acting as already described the prisoner went with witness to the dairy for the purpose of getting some wine; (he had previously taken possession of a gun which belonged to the shepherd;) deponent refused to draw any wine, saying it was what he never drank himself, and therefore he would not give it to any other person. Whilst the men were debating about it amongst themselves, the prisoner entered into conversation with the shepherd, whose name is Bough, and amongst other things asked him if the gun which he (the prisoner) had just taken from him was the same as he had formerly seen him with; just at this moment Bough struck the prisoner a blow in the face with his fist, which caused him to stagger backwards a few steps, and whilst endeavouring to draw his pistol deponent knocked him down by a blow from behind, the rest of the men then rushed upon him, and he was speedily secured. The firearms carried by the prisoner were both loaded and primed, a fact which was ascertained by firing them off, but deponent cannot say either of them was loaded with ball, after seeing them discharged he went and reported what had taken place to the Police, leaving the prisoner in custody of his fellow-servants.

John Bough corroborated the evidence of the last witness, and related with great distinctness every circumstance connected with the prisoner’s capture.

His Honor, before summing up took occasion to remark, that if his learned friend the Attorney General viewed the case as he did, he would join him in a recommendation to the Local Government for the very highest indulgence possible to be granted to the two last witnesses, their conduct had been praiseworthy in the extreme, and it should be his care to see that they were rewarded in such manner, as might induce others to follow so laudable an example.

The Attorney General, said he should have great pleasure in adopting his Honor’s suggestion, and the two men, Bough and Conway being then called up, were informed, that in all cases wherein prisoners of the Crown conduct themselves in the manner which they had done, no reward in the power of Government would be thought too great; his Honor, then, after bestowing a well-merited encomium upon the gallantry which they had displayed, directed them to get petitions prepared for his Excellency, and forwarded to himself, and he promised that he would make it his business to recommend them to his Excellency’s most favourable consideration.

The Learned Judge then summed up, and the Jury without a moment’s hesitation found the prisoner guilty, he made no defence, further than a simple denial of all knowledge of the transaction. He was remanded for sentence.