Review of Heitena, 1/7/00. 



Cambln^ in Australia. 



29 



5iaviour ; larceny, 3 months ; ditto, i month ; crimi- 

 nal assault, for which sentence of death was re- 

 •oorded, but commuted to 12 years' imprisonment 

 -with hard labour, and two floggings of 15 lashes 

 -each. 



(3) Five convictions, totalHng io| years ; larceny, 

 .3 months; ditto, 6 months; criminal assault, 3 

 years, with hard labour and two whippings of 12 

 lashes each ; receiving stolen property, 4.' years, 



with solitary confinement ; housebreaking and steal- 

 ing, 2^ years. 



(4) Si.\ convictions, totalling 5J years for larceny, 

 receiving stolen property (with hard labour and soli- 

 tary confinement) ; having a place for puqiosvs of 

 betting; unlawfulK wounding. 



(5) Three convictions, totalling 35 years, for as- 

 sault ; breaking ; receiving stolen propert\. 



(6) Thirt\-one convictions, totalling 5^ years, for 

 larceny, thie\ing and vagabondage. 



(7) One con\iction of 3 years, breaking into a 

 bank. 



(8) One conviction of 2 vears with hard labour 

 for robbery. 



(9) Three convictions, totalling 2 years, for lar- 

 ceny and tendering counterfeit coin. 



(10) Six convictions, totalling 6 vears, for rob- 

 isery, wounding, destruction of property, etc. 



And others, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. 



These are only a few of a long, long list. Now it 

 is an exceedingly painful thing to sav or write these 

 things. It is one of the most objectionable duties a 

 man can perform to remind th.e community that 

 another man has failed in the past, and I would never 

 be a party to drag the past of a man into the light if 

 he were honestly trying to do better. Under such 

 circumstances it ought to be buried. But if a 

 man still preys upon society, still scorns the law, 

 still is a menace to the peace and well-being of 

 society, still flouts the organisation which a com- 

 munity has created for its preser^'ation and safety, 

 it is one's painful duty to remind the community 

 ■of the desperate kind of character it has to deal 

 with, that the State may be on its guard. And 

 when this pitiful list is organised in an attempt to 

 break the law, the light of day must needs be let 

 in upon its make-up. Almost every crime in the 

 calendar is to be found in the long list that might be 

 published. The above, however, is sufficient with 

 out exposing the careers of others, to show the pub- 

 lic the danger that menaces it. Individual crime 

 is a grave danger to the public. Organised crime 

 Avill, if allowed to flourish unmolested, blast to pieces 

 the foundation of the most progressive nation in the 

 world. 



The gambling systems of Melbourne bear evidence 

 of being highly organised concerns, run with brains, 

 concerted associations with staffs of detectives, with 

 " bullies," with their hands on " pushes." Upon a 

 comparatively helpless community, this monster 

 prr-xs without the .slightest commnirtion. 



A EEIGN OF TERROR. 



But that is not the worst feature. This coterie of 

 evil has become a very terror to the city. No man 

 can fight against it without being in physical danger. 

 This is no mere supposition. Numbers of business 

 l^eople in Collingwood refuse to discuss the "Tote." 

 It is there, they are there ; they are in business, 

 and it isn't safe to discuss it. " Look at so and so 

 and so and so. Each of these wanted to put down 

 gambling, and see the result.'' To many people it 

 is as though some subtle sinister influence is present 

 in the very atmosphere. To those who have taken 

 this question up on the public platform, men like 

 Rev. A. R. Edgar, Rev. T. S. B. Woodfull and 

 myself, there come vague rumours of physical dan- 

 ger, and there is no concealing the fact that thou- 

 sands of ix^ople in their hearts fear that personal 

 violence may be resorted to. I quote this merely 

 to show that a spirit of terrorism is abroad in the 

 community. " Be careful how you touch the 

 gambling demon." Here are some' interesting bits 

 of history. 



SOME HAIR-RAISING FACTS. 



Some three years ago a man was employed by 

 the Detective Office to visit one of the Melbourne 

 betting establishments to get evidence. He had 

 been attending the plgce almost daily for months, 

 but one morning was accosted and' peremptorily 

 turned out of the place as a suspect. He had not 

 long to wait for the arm of evil to be shot out 

 against him. He had tried to bring down 

 a lawless thing. He must be punished. 

 That very night he alighted from the tram 

 near his home in a distant suburb, and was 

 almost immediately set upon, struck on the head, 

 knocked down and kicked senseless by brutal 

 ruffians and left unconscious and bleeding. After 

 some time he regained consciousness and crawled 

 home, and he bears the marks of the assault to 

 this day. 



Another man was one night in one of the darker 

 streets of the city, when an assailant crept upon 

 him as noiselessly as a shadow, and dealt him a 

 blow on the head with an iron bar. He would never 

 have lived to tell the tale, but that the bar caught 

 on a ledge of a building, breaking somewhat the 

 force of the blow. The man was left lying in the 

 dark street sensele.ss, and for all that his assailant 

 knew. dead. Fortunately he recovered. 



On another occasion a certain tradesman had his 

 shop windows smashed three times at short intervals 

 by stones thrown in the middle of the night, causing 

 damage to the extent of something like jQ$o. 



And then last, but not least, happening only a 

 few months ago, the death of Detective-Sergeant 

 O'Dnnnell and some of the members of his family 

 was almost accomplished by some ruffian who threw 

 through the window into O'Donnell's bedroom about 

 midnight a bomb which, exploding, wrecked the fur- 



