Notes
Note for: Owen Reardon, - Index
Individual note: This may have been the Owen Reardon refered to in the "Decisions Of Nineteenth Century Tasman ian Courts"
Rex. V. Reardon and Tydey.
I suppect that after receiving a parrdon he returned to Ireland..??
Copy of Pardon on File. (JR)
See attached copy of Pardon from George R.
Owen Reardon and William Tydey were arraigned for the wilful murder of John Street, in Glenar chy, at the farm called Abbottsfield, and in the month of July 1823. There were other count s in the indictment, by which each prisoner was charged as an accessary before the fact; bu t these being of course contingent on the first two, which imputed murder, we shall merely pr emise that the purport of their several allegations in brief was, that the deceased had met h is death by being thrown down and receiving certain bruises; or, by being thrown, and havin g a chimney maliciously pulled down upon him. The prisoners pleaded - Not Guilty.
His Majesty's Attorney-General (J.T. Gellibrand, Esq.) then rose, and opened his case for th e prosecution, in a manner at once temperate, perspicuous, and dignified: He regretted that c ircumstantial evidence was nearly all by which the case before the Court could be supported ; but he felt constrained to say, that, under its especial circumstances, such evidence, at l east in his opinion, was adequate to justify it. - The Gentleman of the Jury, however, would , he knew, consider nought as confirmed, which was even but slightly dubious; -- they would r epose no more confidence in any evidence than their discretion might decree to be applicable ; and if he failed to exemplify beyond a doubt, that the prisoners were criminal, no person p resent could hear them acquitted with sincerer satisfaction than himself.
Witnesses were then called; the first of whom, James Pratt, swore, that he knew the prisoners , and had often conversed with them about Street's death. On one occasion, after the prisoner s had quarrelled, witness mentioned to Tydey, that the deceased was reported to have met hi s death by foul means, and (in answer to a question) that he, Tydey, was named as the murdere r. By whom? Asked he - by Reardon, replied the witness - when Tydey observed, that Reardon mu st be a very bad man, for he had advised the murder adding, that Reardon could do him no har m, as he had not been present when it was done. - That Tydey owned to have struck the decease d the day before he died, and that Reardon asked witness several times, ``If he would think t here was any harm in killing a stock-keeper to avoid 100 lashes or the settlement?" at the sa me time stating, as his own opinion, ``that there was no harm in doing so." It also was depos ed, that when witness first told Reardon he was accused of having urged the murder he denie d it, and apparently would fain have persuaded witness to go before the district constable, a nd state what Tydey had confessed; but that on a subsequent occasion, he said to witness, ``y ou had better say nothing about it, as Tydey will of course deny the crime, and his No may g o as far as your Yes"
James Alexander swore, that Tydey had ground an axe for him, and praised it as the best he ha d seen; that he proposed to exchange a lighter one for it, which was agreed on by witness, wh o enquired, ``If that was the axe with which he had murdered Street?" when the prisoner, Tyde y answered ``Yes yes, by God!". Witness on the following day, accused Reardon, whose visag e instantly became pallid, and who appeared in great embarrassment, while he begged witness n ot to say any thing about what Tydey might have said, for all the world, although he, Reardon , was perfectly innocent.
Several other persons were afterwards called, who deposed as to a variety of facts, tending t o criminate Reardon; in particular that just before the murder, when Street had received cons iderable injury from both the prisoners, and after Tydey had struck him on the back of his he ad with an axe, Reardon observed to Tydey, ``now you'll be hanged in earnest, or sent to th e settlement, [the prisoner meaning the penal Establishment at Macquarie Harbour,] as our mas ter will be here to-day; the best thing we can do therefore is to kill him (Street) at once " - that they then left their work to do so; but, on their road to the hut, Tydey said Reardo n, ``I can go no further; my head aches so" Reardon then clenched his fist in Tydey's fact , and said, ``you cowardly rascal, if you ever say a word I'll have you hang'd" Reardon the n went to the hut. - Tydey afterwards went round it to find him, and about this period the de ceased was found in a bruised condition, lying diagonally in the fire-place, partly envelope d with the stones, bricks, and rubbish of the fallen chimney, and quite dead.
Tydey received a good character from the district constable, who had known him for years; an d Reardon called one witness, who failed to prove any fact that could avail him.
The Chief Justice then most humanely suffered the Coroner's verdict on the deceased; which i t may be remembered was accidental death, to be read on the prisoners behalf, and, with suita ble remarks on all the circumstances, submitted them to the Jury, who, after a short consulta tion, found both prisoners - Guilty.[2]
Notes
[1] For a full account of this case with evidence, see Historical Records of Australia, serie s III, The Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, Sydney, 1921, vol. 4, pp. 167, 1 75-97.
[2] Both prisoners were sentenced to death: Hobart Town Gazette, 6 August 1824.
Object note: