marriage was not, however, a happy one, for Jim soon pitched his billet to the winds and his wife to Jericho, disappeared from the colony, and was heard of no more. T h e young "grass w i d o w " did not break her heart over the bereavement, for, during the goldfields turmoil of 1852-3, she m a d e money, and years after was comfortably settled down, the reputed married hostess of a well-kept hotel in one of the principal streets in Geelong. Cahill's abdication brought about Harris's re-appointment, but he rendered universal dissatisfaction by his riotous and rowdy conduct, for which the ordinary imprisonment punishment yvas altogether inadequate. T h e fellow at length determined upon making a bold coup, in which he succeeded. In concert with tyvo or three expert gaol pals, he engaged in an extensive burglary in the city, and the robbers wisely shook Melbourne dust off their feet, and got clean off with the most valuable part of their booty, plate and jewellery. Harris was subsequently convicted of a street robbery in Sydney, and died in bondage there. Next on the rollfiguresMichael Gately, known to the convict world by the uncouth sobriquet of " Balla-ram," a big bearish, monstrous-looking item of mortality, paid by piece-work for what he did, the greatest scoundrel of the batch, and a veritable " carnifex " in vocation and nature. This ruffian's m a d pranks, yvhenever out of gaol, and rushing about like a drunken wild beast, are not so remote as to be unfamiliar to m a n y readers of the present day. H e also married a wife, but it must have been a good riddance for both when Gately divorced himself, yvithout legal intervention, from yvhat could in no sense be termed a "better half," and followed in the wake of his predecessor for Sydney on the n t h June, 1880. H e penetrated to a remote portion of Queensland, and had the astounding audacity to write to a M e m b e r of Parliament, beseeching his political influence to reinstate him in his former position, in reyvard for which he vows grateful remembrance, and a reciprocation of "kind offices," should any future opportunity present itself. T h e destruction of the Kelly gang of desperadoes, and the probable execution of their leader, led to the appointment of M r . Elijah Upjohn, then a convict under sentence. This individual descended from a family of good account in Devonshire, and lived for years in fair repute at Ballarat. Dropping into habits of dissipation he gradually fell lower, and paid the penalty which, as a rule, dogs the steps of the criminal, and from yvhich few escape. Hisfirstand only hanging was that of N e d Kelly on the n t h November, 1880, and from the modern improvements introduced in the m o d e of effecting executions, none of the hitches in carrying out the old capital sentences were possible. For so doing he received £ 5 . It yvas subsequently thought desirable to revert to the mcdiceval system of remuneration, and at the present time the arrangement is 5s. per day, with quarters at Pentridge, for which all executions and floggings are to be performed. Upjohn after receiving the appointment went on well enough for a time, until he was m u c h upset by a serious disappointment. A n execution was expected to c o m e off at Adelaide, and as some difficulties were anticipated in procuring the services of a competent hangman, it was arranged that Upjohn should be retained specially for the occasion. H e yvas to be wheeled ayvay by train and coach to the Glenelg, and on crossing the South Australian border was to be taken up by a "guard of honour," and so escorted to his destination. For such exceptional work, executed so far from home, Upjohn's brief was to be heavily marked; and he calculated gleefully upon the wonderful results he should realise out of such an unexpected windfall. But he "counted his chickens before they were hatched," for whilst in daily expectation of a telegram to start, he yvas astounded by the intelligence that, for some reason or other, the meditated hanging yvas deferred sine die. This was a sudden disruption of his golden vision. His short-lived steadiness deserted him, and, indulging in sundry indiscretions, he one day found himself minus his appointment, and plus a sojourn in the Melbourne Gaol. Since the settlement of Port Phillip to the present time (1835 to 1882) one hundred and thirty-one persons have suffered death in the colony for violation of the law, viz, 130 m e n and one y v o m a n — Mrs. Elizabeth Scott, who, with two male accomplices, was, on the n t h November, 1863, executed at Beechworth for the murder of her husband. Four m e n have been executed in Melbourne for murder since the last above-named date and the year 1888. T h e last execution yvas that of " Freeland Morrell," on the 7th January, 1886.
Page:ChroniclesofEarlyMelbournevol.1.pdf/451
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
THE CHRONICLES OF EARLY MELBOURNE.
411
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/ChroniclesofEarlyMelbournevol.1.pdf/page451-1024px-ChroniclesofEarlyMelbournevol.1.pdf.jpg)