THE TICH BORNE CLAIMANT AND THE WRTT OF ERROR.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 22 September 1880, Page 2

THE TICH BO RN E CLAIM ANT AND THE WRTT OF ERROR.

♦ Tlie clay on which the judges' decision on ( !;e Claimant's writ of error bpcame known to the authorities of Hor Majesty's Cnnyict Prison at Portser, he w:;s ;»'ii.-n ont of • rrrlpfß.' T?.r SP yp rQ | mi'iii'ms urevinn-ly i.o iim.l be^n in ■ jirt-p«ratoi-y O'<i t ' m" 1 (i'sehv.rge. ti.at i«. *l<e M-as a)'-" '.r^--l "o vr.^w his hair, bo«p- ' and mot>.»tacii» 1 an i ple-isuro, s > as to !>»■ iv readiness for diseharce, shi-ul i the Se^al proceedings teriuiuate In his tarour. For the prison aotborities, on the dis-

chargo of a prhoner, with commendable mercy do all they can in the way of ' externals,' to restore a man to society minus all traces of his recent incarceration. So, under this ' order,' the claimant lias been for nearly four months cultivating quite a ' leonine ' appearance in anticipation of a speedy release. The day after judgment had been given against him, the Claimant, who had just returned from work, was sitting in his ell, on his black stool, with his head resting on his bed frame, which also serves as a table, when his cell door wa# opened by the warder, who said, ' A 1139, 1 T. Cistro, step ou'side on the landing.' 1 The Claimant got up and followed the 1 officer, but when he got to the cell door he gave a start, for outside on the landing was placed a three»legged stool, and behind it stood a barber, with rolled.up sleeves, comb, and Fcissors in hani, ready for his work. These were the evidences of his lost suit. ' Ah,' said he, ' so Ire , lost again, and I must do all the time.' He took his seat on the stool, and suffered without murmur the loss of every lock, *nd beyond a slight tremor of the upper lip there was nothing in his behaviour n'iferent from the ordinary clipping days. The Claimant's appearance on parade next morning shorn of his locks created qn't# sensaM'on amonest his fellow prisos.ers, for his beardless face and closely*cropped hair told the tale of the verdict. The Claimant mirched from bis cell to his • parade division nodding and smiling hers and there to those whose looks bespoke at once their sympathy and astonishment — for talking is not allowed on parade. On breaking off for work'— when a litt'e gossip is winked at — several of tb* Claimant's fellow - prisoners expressed their sorrow for him. • Oh,' said h ', ' it's no matter ; it's no matter. I know , now the worst. I know that I've got my 1 bit ' to do. and I'll do it like a roan. They have done all they can against me. There is one thing they can't do, or they wmid do it— they cannot stop time. They cannot stop the clock in my case, ' so they must let me go when my time is up.' One of his fellow-prisoners happening to observe tbat there was plenty of liw in England, bnt no justice— ' Well/ said the Claimant, ' I think tbat there's « ■ little justice in England yet, and I dare say I might have got some if Sir John Holker had been Attorney-General, but I marie a great mistake in the outset of my proceedings. Aldershot forms part of the estates, and is occupied by Government f>r military purposes ; and before my first trial I happened to say that if I gained mv estates I would take Alder* | slip* from the Government and give it to the people. From the time that I made that ill-advised speech my fate was sealed. And so he went on with h's work as cheerfully as ever. The Claimant has about four years or four years and a half yet to serve before the complption of his second sentence. He appears to be m good health, but he is not one-half the size be was formerly. He bears a good character in the prison, is an excellent and industrious workman, and is always ready and willing to ease a fellowprisoner in his task. Ke regularly at* tends the Roman Catholic services of tb» prison, and is visited by the priest and his religious instructor.