We are informed that Miss Little who has been gradually creeping into notoriety in connection with the trial of Captain Jarvey, last week took up her residence at Moeraki. -North Otago Times, 6/7/1865.
Jarvey's second trial proceeded much as the first - with the notable exception of the scientific evidence, which was given by Dr Macadam's assistant, James Kirland, and the Judge, who was Justice Richmond.
It differed greatly from the first, however, in the jury's verdict.
THE JARVEY TRIAL. SENTENCE OF DEATH PASSED.
This case was brought to a conclusion on Friday last, when the jury, after an absence of four hours, returned a verdict of "guilty" against the prisoner. We take the following from the "Daily Times": —
Mr James Smith: I wish to ask your Honor whether the points I raised as to the admissibility of the evidence, are of sufficient weight to induce you to reserve it case for the Court of Appeal.
The Judge: No, Mr Smith: I have not a shadow of doubt on the matter.
Being asked his age, the Prisoner replied, "Fortytwo." and being further asked, "Have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you," he answered. "Yes." He then with great firmness, except that he several times wept, and seemed much affected, addressed the Court as follows:
— I have to say, in the first place, that, in the presence of my God, I am innocent. I have been convicted by the laws of man. I am aware that your Honor's sentence will soon place me in such a position, that I will meet my wife, whose murder I am accused of. I know that your Honor's sentence will soon send me where I will have her for a witness; and I do respectfully say, that that will be before a judgment seat, more seeing than yours, your Honor, as to what is justice. I am not afraid of death, your Honor. My career has been, all my life, where I have been in the habit of walking with only a plank between me and eternity: where I could look over my ship's side, and see death staring me in the face; I am not afraid of death. What I grieve for, is the unfortunate orphans that I will leave behind. However, I will die with a clear conscience, your Honor; and, as I said before, I know your Honor's sentence will soon place me in such a position, that I will have my wife for a witness, whether I am her murderer or not. I suppose this is the last time I will have an opportunity of addressing my fellow creatures; and, that being so, I will address them. I came to the Colonies 23 years ago. I came out in the same ship with my wife; and when we came to the Colonies, I married her. Our first child died. That unfortunate girl who, in that box has sworn away my life, knows that she is not my daughter, that she is not the daughter of my wife. She is the child of a young lady in Tasmania, who had the misfortune to become pregnant by her father's assigned servant; and for the consideration of a sum of money, my poor wife and I took her, to cloak the shame of her mother's family. And I have done my duty to her, as if I had been her father.
The Judge: Prisoner, it is idle your going into these matters now.
The Prisoner: Your Honor, the Registrar's books in Tasmania will show what I have stated, and I have no doubt some persons will be curious enough to enquire whether it is the truth. I am not now in a position to tell a falsehood. But I wish particularly to observe, and there must be persons in this Court who know, that at the last trial, that girl gave a motion of her mother's arms, like this [moving them] —like pulling two paddles in a boat; this time, she gives it up and down, like this [imitating the movement]. As to my conduct to my wife. I have lived for 23 years, or very near it, in Tasmania. I have always endeavored to conduct myself as a man and a gentleman. As such, I came here. When I left Tasmania to come here, I was comparatively independent; but I came, thinking to do good for my family. Ever since I have been married to my wife, I have always proved myself an affectionate father to my family, and at any rate, a loving husband. I do not for a moment pretend — I am not in a position to be hypocritical — I don't pretend to have been a saint all my life. As most sailors do, when I have been away from my wife, I have been going on free. But there is one thing I feel it my duty to say, in regard to the female on whose character a stigma is attempted to be cast; with my last breath, I say it is a falsehood; that the stigma cast on her — Miss Little, I mean — is not due to her. I again repeat, your Honor, that I am innocent of the crime of which I am convicted. I stand convicted by the laws of man but I am not afraid to meet my God.
The Judge: Have you anything to add, Prisoner?
The Prisoner: I wish to add, that I forgive all those who have had a hand in my destruction. I forgive that unfortunate girl, and may God forgive her. May God forgive all those who have had a hand in my destruction; I forgive them. They have their end — they have what they have tried for — they have the life of a fellow-creature — I would, as far as I can, commend my poor orphan children — I do commend them to the sympathy of those left behind. I do again wish, your Honor, to call the attention of the public, or of those who were here at the last trial, to this — whether that girl did not describe the motion of her mother's arms in this way [like rowing], and now she describes them as going this way [up and down]. Your Honor, I know what your sentence will be — that it will soon place me in the presence of God, where I will have my wife for a witness that I am not guilty. I submit myself to your Honor's sentence.
The Judge put on the black cap, and said, with much emotion: Prisoner at the bar, — I should be doing an injustice to the jury who tried you, and I should be false to my own conviction, if I were to abstain from saying, at the present moment, that my mind is entirely unmoved by anything you have addressed to the Court. I must also state that I entirely concur in the verdict which dooms you to the scaffold. You are wrong, very wrong, in treating that verdict as if it stood wholly, or in any great part, on the testimony of the girl called Elizabeth Ann Jarvey. The verdict against you stands upon grounds almost independent of that girl's testimony. So far as, in my judgment, it stands upon her testimony, that testimony is confirmed by the indubitable testimony of facts. I believe that you have been most righteously convicted of the crime of murder, in one of its most heinous shapes; and that you are now adding to that crime the guilt of hypocrisy. The poisoner is of all criminals the most detestable. His crime is generally most cruel, generally most treacherous. That is the character of an ordinary poisoner. But you are no ordinary poisoner. Your victim was one whom you were not only bound to protect by the common ties of humanity, but to whom you were united by ties of the closest nature, and by the most solemn obligation. Your victim was your wife — the mother of your children — one who, as far as appears here, was a much enduring and forgiving one. Such horrible wickedness is yours — of it you have been righteously convicted. Your conviction costs this country a large sum of money: it is money well spent. It is one of the most necessary purposes of Government, that crimes like yours should be detected, pursued, and finally punished, to satisfy the righteous desire that God himself has placed in every human mind, to secure society against crimes like yours; these are the proper ends of the dreadful punishment of death. It would be well if the prospect of that death worked upon you in a proper way, doing what nothing else can do so well — bringing you to a true sense of the enormity of your crime, and to a contrite confession of it. Should that be the effect, you will not wish to lengthen your wretched life; but you will welcome your most just doom for the commission of a most cruel murder. As the mouth-piece of the law of the land, I now pronounce upon you its last sentence: which is, that you, William Andrew Jarvey, be taken hence to the place from whence you came, and thence to the place of execution, and that you be there hanged by the neck, until you are dead: and that your body be buried within the precincts of the Gaol, within which you shall be confined after your condemnation. And may God have mercy on your soul.
The prisoner was removed. -North Otago Times, 21/9/1865.
The Condemned Convict. — We understand that Jarvey has, since sentence was passed on him on Friday, exhibited a good deal of depression. He was visited on Saturday, and again on Sunday, by the Rev. Mr. Smith, the Chaplain to the Gaol; and on Monday he was, at his own request, visited by the Rev. E. G. Edwards. Jarvey has, we believe, put earnest questions to those who have come near him as to the probability of the sentence being carried out; and, of course, no suggestion of a reason for hope has been made in reply. The convict has also more than once requested that, on each day, he might be left alone for a time, but this request will not be granted. -Otago Daily Times, Sept. 20.
THE CONVICT JARVEY.
All the appliances for the execution of Captain Jarvey at Dunedin have arrived there from Auckland; and the execution will take place soon, if it has not already done so. There is no expectation of the sentence being commuted. -Colonist, 10/10/1865.
The Dunedin correspondent of the 'Waikouaiti Herald' says: — "An effort is being made to obtain signatures to a petition to the Governor, praying him to commute the sentence of death on Captain Jarvey. One of the condemned man's sons is going round with this document, and although perhaps many persons will feel deep sympathy with the poor lad, I don't think there is any chance of the petition being extensively signed. From other quarters I hear that the Governor will not be advised to exercise the prerogative of mercy, although I believe Sir George Grey has a great objection to sign warrants in cases when the conviction has been upon circumstantial evidence." -Lake Wakatip Mail, 11/10/1865.
The 'Evening Star' states that a communication has been received in town from the Aide de Camp of his Excellency the Governor, acknowledging the receipt of a letter addressed to his Excellency by some gentleman in Dunedin, advising him of the intention to transmit a petition in behalf of a commutation of the sentence on Captain Jarvey. The petition itself has gone up to Wellington; it had about 100 signatures. -Bruce Herald, 12/10/1865.
This morning, at eleven o'clock (and not at eight, as at first fixed), within the walls of the Gaol, William Andrew Jarvey is to be put to death, for the murder of his wife by poison. His conduct up to last night was wholly opposed to the idea that he will confess his guilt. During yesterday, as previously, he repelled all attempts to induce him to converse on the subject. Those attempts were made by the ministers of religion who have so assiduously attended him since his conviction; and by friends to whom he asked to be allowed to communicate some wishes and to say farewell. But in each case, there was the same result. The raised hand, the deprecating tone, or the flush of something like anger, checked further reference to the subject. The Rev. R. Connebee saw the convict at half-past nine yesterday morning. He expressed to the reverend gentleman, as he had previously done to Mr Stoddart, the governor of the Gaol, a desire to see Elizabeth Ann, his eldest daughter and child, who was the principal witness against him. To the governor, he had replied that he certainly did not desire to annoy or upbraid his daughter; and to the Rev. Mr Connebee his replies were such that that gentleman sought Miss Jarvey. During the forenoon, at the request of the convict, messages were conveyed to Mr Lumb, Mr Horace Bastings, Mr G. Green, Mr E. F. Ward (solicitor), and Mr C. V. Robinson, who was part owner of the Titania, steamer. Each of those gentlemen, with the exception of Mr Robinson, who is in ill health, subsequently visited the convict. To each, he made the same requests. First, he besought assistance in an effort which Mr Connebee had promised to make, towards aiding his unfortunate children. His second request was, that each of the visitors would attend his funeral. The very limited space within the Gaol had led to an application to His Excellency the Governor, that, in case the sentence of death was carried out, the body of the convict might be allowed to be buried elsewhere than within the precincts of the Gaol. Consent had been given. The convict, soon after the confirmation of his sentence was read to him on Saturday, put the question, "Where am I to be buried, sir?" He was informed of what had passed. Then he made the request, "Let me be buried in the Church of England Cemetery — beside my wife." He was told that he must not think of more being granted than that his body would probably be buried in the Cemetery. Hence his request to the friends whose visits he solicited yesterday. Three o'clock was fixed as for the last interview of the convict with his children. They were all there — five of them; the youngest a little girl, and three of them boys. Miss Jarvey had been brought by the Rev. Mr Connebee. That gentleman conducted a short service in the cell. When the minister ceased, the parting came. The convict embraced Miss Jarvey, said that he fully forgave her, kissed her, and blessed her. He wept much. His parting with his other children was most affectionate. His solicitude for their future has been the most frequent theme of his conversation. The eldest boy was evidently his favorite: "Poor Andrew! what will he do?" has often burst from him when his children have been mentioned. The convict expressed anxiety during the forenoon, that the suit of black clothes which he wore during his trial should be given to his eldest son; but he yielded to the representation that this would be but a woebegetting legacy, and he said he felt that his wish was a wrong one. He was told that he might, if he pleased, exchange his prison dress for the black clothes; and this he did. At seven o'clock, Mr Connebee was once more with the convict; and the Rev Mr Smith, chaplain to the Gaol, visited him a second time during the evening. Later, Mr Smith was to return, to pass the night with the convict; and Mr Connebee has promised to be with him from six o'clock this morning until the end. —Generally during yesterday, the convict was in a more subdued state of mind than he had previously been. He wept frequently: but whatever resignation was shown, there was no sign of repentance for a great crime committed. Once, at least, since his conviction, the convict, when solemnly urged to declare whether he had been justly or unjustly condemned, replied strongly, "Unjustly." But he has not, we believe, directly asserted his innocence of the murder of his wife. He has constantly taken his meals regularly, and has slept well. He was soundly asleep at eleven o'clock on Sunday night, and he remained so for some hours. Should he, at the last, confess that he is guilty of wife-murder, he will do what is not expected by any of those who have conversed with him since his condemnation. It must be mentioned, that the proposal to inter the body of the convict within the limits of the Church of England Cemetery was met by a refusal of consent by those in authority; and it is understood that difficulties were also raised to the interment taking place within the General Cemetery. The sentence, as passed, will, therefore, be literally carried out. The body will be buried "within the precincts of the Gaol." -Otago Daily Times, 24/10/1865.
EXECUTION OF WILLIAM ANDREW JARVEY
(Abridged from the 'Daily Times') The Sheriff reached the Gaol before tea o'clock, as did Dr. Hulme, Provincial Surgeon, and Mr. T. M. Hocken, Coroner. At quarter before eleven o'clock, the tolling of the prison-bell was commenced. The convict's cell closely adjoined the dayroom. In the latter the prisoner was to be pinioned. Those who were admitted to the day-room, could hear the fervent tones of Mr. Connebee, while engaged in prayer, and they could hear the convict respond firmly and earnestly. Then the voice of the Chaplain could be heard and when it ceased, the voice of Mr Connebee pronounced a benediction.
When the Sheriff and the Governor of the Gaol presented themselves at the cell door, and the clergymen entered the dayroom, the Sheriff made the formal demand for the body of William Andrew Jarvey for execution; but the convict requested that he might once more see Mr. Connebee.
That gentlemen and the Chaplain returned to the cell. Again the voice of prayer was to be heard. The ministers prayed first; — then, the convict prayed, briefly, but with seeming sincerity. Once more the benediction was pronounced, and then the convict walked into the day-room.
He wore the suit of black clothes in which he appeared during his trial, and his hands were gloved. He looked pale, but only slightly so. There was not a sign of nervousness or agitation about him. He advanced to the Gaoler and shook hands with him, saying, 'God bless you, sir.' He also shook hands with the Sheriff and some of the officers of the Gaol, with a brief 'Good bye.'
The hangman had now entered. A light and shabby frieze coat, a slouched white hat, and a muffler formed his disguise.
The pinioning was commenced, the convict standing firmly erect, and shifting his position to facilitate the hangman's work.
Nay, he directed it, speaking to this effect: 'Don't bind me too tight. There that will do. Let me go a little more free. — — Loosen that turn a little more; let it go down by the side, so that they may be straight.' The Sheriff made an observation, and the convict added, 'Oh! this will do so that they come straight.' While the hangman was knotting the rope at the back, the convict, with slight impatience, remarked, 'There, that will do, now! You've done enough! — — You're a long time about it! Tuck that end in. — He will pull me back presently, sir, if he pulls in that way. They're quite tight enough, Mr Sheriff! Make them straight down across the arms, sir! I tell you they are quite tight enough!'
Mr. Connebee, as soon as the day-room had been quitted, commenced reciting the burial service — 'I am the resurrection and the life,' and the reverend gentlemen continued while the rope and cap were being adjusted.
Half a minute elapsed: and then with an indescribable clank the bolt was drawn. The body of the murderer had disappeared from the few spectators who stood in the yard. The fall was terrific — the twang of the rope was a sound not easily to be forgotten.
After a few seconds had passed, the hands were twice slightly raised with a sharp convulsive movement. Then there were several movements of the throat and chest and later, a tremor ran through the body.
This was the last visible sign of life in the human frame of William Andrew Jarvey; but we understand that for more than ten minutes after the drop had fallen, the surgeons were able to detect faint pulsation at the wrist.
Dr. Hulme, the medical officer, then signed the usual certificate, and several of the parties present subscribed the declaration required by law. After hanging an hour and a quarter the body was cut down, and it was found that the fall of the rope (6 feet) must have caused instantaneous death, the vertebrae of the neck being completely dislocated. The countenance was calm and placid, as if he had died an easy natural death. The Coroner, Dr. Hocken, subsequently held an inquest on the body, when a verdict of having been hanged by due course of law was returned.
Although the unfortunate convict did not confess his crime in plain words, in a conversation with the Rev. Mr. Meiklejohn, the night previous to his execution, he said, in reply to an exhortation to confess, "I do not see what good a confession could be now. Any confession I made would only implicate others." It is also remarkable that since his trial he has never positively asserted his innocence of the crime for which he has, as all must believe, been so justly punished. The body was buried in the gaol, the Church of England and the Presbyterian bodies having refused to allow it to be interred in their cemeteries. The day before his execution Jarvey saw several friends and bade farewell to them, and also to his family, including his eldest daughter. We understand that an effort is to be made to secure some provision for his children. Mr. Smith, the gaol chaplain, spent the last night with Jarvey, and the Rev. Mr. Connebee was also there during the greater part of it. -Bruce Herald, 26/10/1865.
THE INQUEST.
At three o'clock, an inquest on the body was held by Mr T. M. Hocken, coroner, within the Debtors' part of the prison. After having been sworn, the jurors viewed the body, as it lay in the out-house.
The Coroner said that the case which the jury had to investigate, was one of what the law called justifiable homicide — the killing being proper and according to law. The law required, in the first place, that there should be a legal record of a criminal's execution; and, in the second place, it required that there should be proof that the execution had been performed by the proper officer, or by his legal deputy. Cases had been known in which an execution had been performed by persons not legally appointed or deputed; and in that event, the law considered an execution a murder.
Robert Henry Forman: I am Sheriff of the Province and district of Otago. On Saturday, the 21st October, about a quarter before twelve o'clock, noon, I received from the chief-clerk in the Postmaster's Department, Dunedin, a warrant signed "G. Grey," and countersigned, "Henry Sewell." It informed me that, in the case of the now deceased William Andrew Jarvey, the Governor saw no reason for preventing the law taking its course, by the execution of the sentence passed upon Jarvey. I produce the warrant. By an Act of the General Assembly, entitled, "The Supreme Court Act, 1860," sec. 8, it is enacted that it shall be the duty of the Sheriff, within three days after receiving notice that the Governor will not interfere with a sentence of death, to proceed to carry it out. In pursuance of that enactment, I, by virtue of powers vested in me, appointed, by letter of attorney, a person to be my deputy in carrying out the sentence of death passed on William Andrew Jarvey. I was present to-day, and saw the same carried out, in due course of law, within the Gaol of Dunedin. The prisoner had been sentenced to death by Christopher William Richmond, Esq, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, at the Criminal Sittings of that Court, held in Dunedin, on the 11th and subsequent days of September last.
The Coroner read to the jury the warrant and the 8th section of the Supreme Court Act.
Edward Hulme: I am Provincial Surgeon, and also Medical Officer of this Gaol. I knew the deceased, William Andrew Jarvey. I was present in this Gaol this morning, at a quarter after eleven o'clock, when I saw Jarvey hanged by the neck until he was dead. I recognise the body now lying in the outhouse, as that of William Andrew Jarvey.
The jury returned a verdict declaring that Jarvey had been hanged in due course of law.
William Andrew Jarvey was the first criminal executed in the Province of Otago; and we believe that only one or two executions had previously taken place in any other of the Provinces of the Middle Island.
Until after the execution had taken place, we were not aware that, during Monday, the Rev. Mr Meiklejohn had two interviews with the convict. Mr Meiklejohn had not known Jarvey; but, simply impelled by a sense of duty, he sought an interview with him on Monday afternoon. His name and desire were communicated to Jarvey, who at once said he should be glad to see Mr Meiklejohn. The interview was a tolerably lengthened one. As soon as he could do so, Mr Meiklejohn approached the question of the convict's guilt; but he was met with, "Now, do not disturb me. I am at present in a calm state of mind; and as I have to see my daughter, I do not wish to be at all excited." But Mr Meiklejohn again recurred to the point, after the lapse of a short time; and then the convict said, "I do not see what good a confession could be, now. Any confession I made would only implicate others." The first sentence is, certainly, the strongest of which we have heard from the convict, as telling against himself. As to "implicating others," we presume that there is not one person who has read the evidence against the convict, who would for an instant attach to such a thing the slightest shadow of credence: but we have heard from different sources, that the convict has, on several occasions, made remarks having a like tendency. When he had used the words to Mr Meiklejohn, the convict became reserved: he would not again refer to the subject. In the evening, Mr Meiklejohn (by the convict's request) again visited him; but he was then somewhat sullen and irritable, and would not listen to a word as to his being guilty.
We cannot learn that the convict ever once, after his conviction, ventured to assert, "I am innocent of the crime for which I am condemned."
During yesterday forenoon, some 50 or 60 persons gathered in knots round the entrances to the Gaol, and there were a good many applicants for admission who were refused. Only those were admitted who had a right to be present officially, or who held one of the ten orders which the Sheriff is by law allowed to issue. Those who remained outside could see nothing. The arrangements within the Gaol were simple, but sufficient, and were well carried out, whether they appertained to the duties of the Sheriff or the Gaoler. After the execution, a person who was stated to represent the proprietress of a Melbourne wax-work exhibition, was allowed to take a cast of the convict's face and head; and a local "professor" of phrenology was also permitted to make an examination. From reasons which we stated the other day, the permission obtained from the Governor to bury the body elsewhere than within the Gaol, cannot be carried out: and the interment will take place in the Gaol precincts. -Otago Witness, 28/10/1865.
A macabre detail of the execution was revealed - or possibly concocted - in a series titled "Tales of Old Dunedin" in 1938.
THE COBBLER'S SHOP
So, generally, after 11 the cobbler’s shop was filled with a throng of customers and callers, among whom were many strange characters, One of these in particular impressed his fellows in a peculiar manner. He was a man who was naturally avoided, who seldom entered into a general conversation, one who decidedly had a “past.” This sinister individual was tall of stature, very gaunt, with dark, straight hair, pallid complexion, and deep-sunken, furtive eyes. He was occasionally clean shaven, an unusual circumstance in those times, but more often a thick, dark stubble covered his hungry-looking blue jowls. Of this man little was known other than that he went under the name of Gatley, but rumour had it that he was an ex-convict or ticket-of-leave man, and had been hangman and flagellator at Botany Bay.
Another person who frequented the cobbler’s shop was a sea captain named Jarvey, and he had a particular aversion to Gatley and took every opportunity of showing it. One evening when the shop was full a quarrel arose between the two, and Jarvey struck Gatley a severe blow on the face. Gatley took the blow rather quietly; too quietly, in fact, and after wiping his blood-stained mouth, he pointed a long, lean brown hand at Jarvey and exclaimed, “By God, Jarvey, I’ll get you for that blow yet.” He then left the shop.
When questioned, Jarvey objected to explain the cause of the quarrel. But Gatley’s words were prophetic. After this, when ever they passed each other Gatley would stand staring and muttering at Jarvey. The business of the town flowed on; men came and went; the happenings of yesterday were eclipsed by those of to-day. Then in a couple of months’ time it was publicly announced that Captain Jarvey’s wife had died after a short and painful illness. Her funeral was a large one, the body was followed to the grave by many friends and sympathisers of the captain’s. A few days later a rumour spread that Jarvey had been arrested for the murder of his wife by poisoning her. After a short interval, he was brought to trial, and later the jury found him guilty of murder and he was condemned to death. On the morning of the execution, when the condemned man was about to mount the scaffold, the hangman stepped forward to pinion him, and Jarvey found himself looking into the sinister face of his old enemy Gatley. -Evening Star, 23/3/1938.
An interesting story, if true. And there was a hangman in Australia by the name of Gately who fits the physical description given above.
Early Dunedin History (excerpt)
Here is another item: The old gaol stood on the site of the present Law Courts, the entrance being in the position of the door of the Magistrate's Court. On the morning when Captain Jarvey was hung a number of young fellows, myself among them, went to see the execution. We clambered onto a large pile of manuka, which had been stacked on the edge of the bay. From this we saw Jarvey come on to the scaffold, and we saw the black cap placed on his head, and the rope put round his neck; but we saw no more, for some men gave the pile of wood a push, and we all went floundering into the water. The tide was high, and I shall never forget the ducking we all got. I mention this to show the amount of reclamation which has taken place. What sort of a push would it require to send a pile of wood into the bay from that spot to-day? — I am, etc., S.G.S. -Otago Daily Times, 17/4/1920.
EARLY DUNEDIN HISTORY.
TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — The letter of "S. G. S." in your issue of Saturday last is somewhat De Rougemontic. "S.G. S." may have seen Captain Jarvey come on the scaffold, but I very much doubt it, as there was a very high wall round that part of the gaol and the authorities would see that the scaffold was so screened that it was not visible from outside. I knew a number who went for the purpose of seeing the execution and who climbed up all sorts of places, but they did not see anything. And I am the more inclined to doubt it, as "S. G. S." says he saw the "black cap" placed on Jarvey's head. Now, criminals who are being hanged wear a white cap drawn over their eyes at the last moment, not a black one. The judge is the only one who dons a black cap, not that he is going to be hanged, though. As the pile of manuka was on the beach on the other side of the road it must have been a pretty tall one. I was in court when Mr Justice Richmond sentenced Jarvey, breaking down as he assumed the black cap, which, in reality, is not a cap at all, but a small square of black cloth placed on top of his wig when the judge is uttering the final words. It was one of the most impressive scenes, if not the most impressive, I have witnessed. The hour was late when the judge was called to receive the verdict, and the bench was hurriedly lit up by three or four candles, the rest of the court being in darkness. When Jarvey was asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon him he asserted his innocence and said that many a time he had stood with only a plank between him and death, and he wasn't afraid to die. The last plank he stood on on this earth gave way. There certainly was a jetty at Pelichet Bay, but there was also one at the foot of Stuart street, and it was at the latter that the two, I think (not four), funnelled alleged blockade runner lay for some time. As to barracouta being caught in the stream at Forbury Park, that's a "tall" story. Barracouta do not come into land-locked bays, except perhaps a sick fish once in a blue moon. The only barracouta "caught" in the Bay were those obtainable from the Maoris at the Maori House, "two for a bob." The next we shall probably hear is that groper have been caught at Woodhaugh and kingfish at Opoho. — I am, etc., Cock-a-bully. -Otago Daily Times, 23/4/1920.
The 'Evening Star' of the 24th instant, remarks William Andrew Jarvey no longer exists; and he appears to have gone to the presence of his Maker with the same stolid and unyielding spirit that characterised the terrible crime of which he was found guilty. We are not surprised that Jarvey made no confession. His was evidently one of those stubborn natures which some may call courageous, but which we call callous and void of the finer sensibilities of humanity. There is nothing to wonder at, that the man who could deliberately and treacherously take away another's life should be able to meet his own death with indifference. His heart must have undergone a process of hardening which would leave it scarcely at all impressionable. His conduct at the execution was worthy of the man — reckless and indifferent. Such a one is not fortified by the sense of right and innocence, but by that spirit of pride which will dare even the very presence of the Almighty. So William Andrew Jarvey died: impenitent and reckless, refusing to the last to confess his crime. We cannot avoid a word or two regarding Miss Jarvey, and we would suggest that her case calls for some effort on the part of the public to render somewhat easy her dreary path, and that of her young brother and sisters. We mention this because we believe there exists a wide and heartfelt sympathy for her, which can be made to assume a practical shape. By later dates we learn that a movement is on foot for the purpose of raising a sum of money for the support of the children of Jarvey, who are said to be left entirely destitute. -Lake Wakatip Mail, 1/11/1865.
FOR a STRIKING LIKENESS pay a visit to
DOODEWARD'S EXHIBITION PORTRAIT GALLERY, Opposite Knox's Church,
Where you can obtain a Correct Portrait for ONE SHILLING.
N.B. — Photographs of the Exhibition and of W. A. Jarvey, One Shilling each. -Evening Star, 1/11/1865.
DUNEDIN
From our own correspondent
Last night, in his own church, the Rev. Mr Connebee, who was Jarvey's spiritual adviser since his condemnation, and the last mortal to whom the poisoner uttered a farewell in this world, 'improved the occasion,' as they say in Scotland, by preaching to those assembled of and about Jarvey. -Bruce Herald, 2/11/1865.
After news of the execution was received, came a few details of Jarvey's former existence back in Tasmania.
The Character of the Convict Jarvey in Tasmania. — The second trial of Captain Jarvey at Dunedin, for the murder of his wife, has terminated in the conviction of the prisoner, and his sentence to death without hope of mercy. Independently of the atrocity and heartless cruelty of the crime itself, which formed the subject of this last judicial investigation, Jarvey’s trial has excited unusual attention in the Australian Colonies, from the circumstances that it was held, in the first instance, before a judge whose name is equally familiar to a Tasmanian and Victorian public — Mr H. S. Chapman; and that it has cost Victoria the life of one of her most eminent medical men, Dr. Macadam, the Government Analytical Chemist, who died on his passage to New Zealand as a witness for the Crown. This case possesses a special interest for Tasmania. Jarvey was well-known in this Colony; occupied for some years a farm on the Huon; and was at one time a pawnbroker in this city [Hobart Town]. There has always been a suspicion of foul play in connection with the deaths of Jarvey’s children at the Huon farm; and the circumstances disclosed in the trials, which have at last, fortunately for the interests of humanity, placed the miscreant’s life at the mercy of the law, are quite sufficient to justify the belief that in his case the cruel and cold-blooded murder of his helpless wife was only the sequel to the dastardly destruction of his infant off-spring. Thanks to the firmness of the Otago Provincial Executive, the zeal of the Crown Lawyer, the intelligence of the jury, and, above all, to the rigid impartiality and judicial acumen of his Honor Mr Justice Richmond, a conviction has been attained upon the clearest and most convincing testimony, which leaves no doubt whatever upon the public mind of the prisoner’s guilt. The world is thus in a fair way let us hope, to be rid of a scoundrel as designing, as unrelenting, and as unprincipled as Dr. Pritchard, the Glasgow wife-poisoner. — Tasmanian Morning Herald. -Hawke's Bay Times, 30/11/1865.
POST MORTEM (or perhaps "post supplicium") - WHAT HAPPENED LATER TO THOSE INVOLVED?
When William Andrew Jarvey had been convicted of the murder of his wife, and had been challenged to say why sentence of death should not be passed on him, he made a long statement. No part of that statement created more interest than the convict's declaration that Elizabeth Ann Jarvey was not his child nor the child of his wife. Many persons, no doubt, hoped that that declaration was true; while few, we should think, believed it to be so. The convict declared that enquiry in Tasmania would establish his truth on the point. Enquiry has been made; and the results are apparently irresistible proofs that the convict spoke falsely. The Commissioner of Police received yesterday from Mr Forster, the Inspector at Hobart Town, a series of documents on the subject. The first is a copy of an entry in the register of marriages in the district of Hobart, during 1844; the certification being that of Mr John A. Watkins, registrar of births, deaths, and marriages for Tasmania. It shows that on the 16th September, in that year, at the parish church, Trinity, William Andrew Jarvey, mariner, was married to Catherine Shaw. Then comes a copy from the register of births for the same district, for 1846. It sets forth that on the 14th April, of that year, there was born, Elizabeth Ann, child of William Andrew Jarvey and "Catherine Jane Jarvey, formerly Shaw," the registration of the birth being on the 21st September. This document is authenticated like the previous one. Then, the chief district constable reports to the inspector, the results of enquiries made by him. Mrs Howe, residing in Campbell street, Hobart Town, states, "About 20 years ago, Mrs Jarvey, wife of W. A. Jarvey, resided in a hut in Mr Haywood's garden, Campbell street. Her husband was at sea, and during his absence she gave birth to a girl, which was afterwards christened Elizabeth Ann. Mrs Jarvey was attended by a Mrs Shingler. After Jarvey returned from his voyage, he opened a school in the same neighborhood, and remained there some time, when he again went to sea. I can with the greatest confidence state that Elizabeth Ann is the daughter of W. A. Jarvey. I never lost sight of her from her birth, up to the time she left for New Zealand, for more than a year or two. My husband now occupies the garden in which stands the hut where Mrs Jarvey gave birth to Elizabeth Ann; and just before Mrs Jarvey left the Colony, she came to me and asked me to allow her to go into the said garden, to show her daughter (Elizabeth Ann, who accompanied her) the hut and garden where she was born. At the time she pointed the spot out, she told her daughter how miserably poor she was when she (Elizabeth Ann) was born." John Howe gives a similar statement. He adds, "I used to cut wood for Mrs Jarvey and otherwise assist her. I made a cradle for the girl out of a gin case. I never lost sight of the girl until she left for New Zealand. A night or two before Mrs Jarvey left the Colony, I saw her, with Elizabeth Ann, in Watchorn's public house, Liverpool street. Mrs Morton, of Hobart Town, states, "I was a shipmate of Mrs Jarvey. I visited her ever since we arrived here. I have known Elizabeth Ann from her birth. I recollect her leaving for New Zealand with her father and mother." The constable adds that several persons in Hobart Town can corroborate the statements of Mr and Mrs Howe and Mrs Morton. -Otago Daily Times, 6/12/1865.
The children of William Jarvey seem to have changed their names after the trial, and with good reason. It is a pity for the historian, however. Especially in the case of Elizabeth - it would be interesting to know about the later life of such a brave and intelligent young woman. I hope it was a happy one.
Only a couple of references are to be found to one of the children, who died at sea not long after his father's execution.
Larceny. — Andrew Jarvey, a lad of about thirteen years of age, was charged by Robert Granger Cassels with stealing a pair of boots and sundry articles valued at L1. The prosecutor Cassels stated that a short time ago he came down from Greymouth in the ketch John Mitchell, and during the passage down he missed the pair of boots in question, and other small articles of clothing. He asked prisoner, who was cabin boy on board the ketch, whether he had seen them. Prisoner replied that he knew nothing about them. Yesterday afternoon he met the boy, and noticed that he had the boots on. Witness gave information to the police, who arrested the lad. The boots were produced, and identified by prosecutor. The prisoner stated that after they arrived in port the vessel was overhauled, and on removing some old sails in the bows he found the boots lying there, and not thinking they would be claimed by anyone he took them, as he had got his feet wet in working ahout the vessel. The Magistrate said that he might have thought the had been cast away and discharge him with a caution. -West Coast Times, 9/1/1866.
RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, GREYMOUTH
Using Abusive Language. — Margaret Glass charged Mrs Callan with having used violent and abusive language towards her. Mr Guinness appeared for the plaintiff and Mr Perkins for the defendant. The plaintiff stated that she was sitting in Geisking's Hotel, Richmond Quay, when the defendant came in and asked for brandy. While drinking it she turned to plaintiff and called her the "notorious Margaret Little," "a murderess," and many foul names, and wound up by threatening to tear plaintiff "limb from limb, dance upon her, and fling her into the surf." — Geisking corroborated the evidence of the complainant. The defendant, who pleaded that she was the worse for drink, was fined £2 and costs. -Grey River Argus, 23/4/1868.
How can we know that Margaret Glass was Margaret Little? We can not with any certainty, but a Margaret Little definitely appears in the area just a few months later.
Attempted Suicide at Hokitika.
A similar account in a different journal identifies the woman above with the Jarvey case, still fresh in many memories.
The memoirs of Alfred Dobson, surveying on the West Coast during gold rush days, also mention Margaret - and with a surprising detail or two.
Chapter XVII
Nelson and west Coast (continued)
One afternoon in 1868, in the company of Lieutenant Kinnersley, Chief Warden, John Blackett, Provincial Engineer, and Martin, the foreman, I stayed at what was then known as the Razorback, but now called Punakaiki, where the long sandy beach begins after one passes the limestone cliffs. As we had to wait there some hours for the tide to fall, we fed our horses, and had lunch in the dining room of a small place, half store and half public house. A number of gold-diggers were working in the neighbourhood, some on the beaches and some on the adjoining terraces. The flat near this store was a handy place to camp, close to the main road between Cobden and Brighton and Westport. During our meal we heard several revolver shots and some shouting going on. On going outside the store we saw some thirty of forty men watching a woman who, with a revolver in each hand, was chasing a man about the tents. She came up to where we were standing, threatening everybody. Lieutenant Kinnersley said: "We must stop this, and as I am the only bachelor in the party I will try first." His appearance on the scene produced a calm: the men were silent and the woman, who was mad with drink, paused a moment, and stood still in the road in front of the store. She began shouting that she was the woman for whom Captain Jarvis (sic) had been hanged and that she would shoot anybody who interfered with her. Kinnersley walked quietly up to her, she threatening him all the time with her revolvers. Getting near her he said: "Come along with me to the bar and tell me about your troubles. I dare say I can put them right." She followed him into the bar, and he signalled the barman to give her a glass of brandy. This being placed near her right hand, she put down the revolver and took the glass. Kinnersley made another sign to the barman to put another glass at her left hand, at which she put down the other revolver and took up the second glass. Instantly Kinnersley snatched up both revolvers and left the bar. She then made a speech to the assembly, and said that now Captain Jarvis was dead life was not worth living, and she would jump into the sea off the cliff where a point of limestone runs out into the sea. This point has a flat top with a vertical cliff at the seaward end, and a steep sloping face towards the shore. The top was covered with low bush and the sloping face had once been covered with vegetation and roots from the trees on the top. The diggers travelling up and down the coast crossed the spur at this place, and such numbers of men had climbed up and down that almost all of the vegetation had been scraped off, leaving a steep path of muddy and slippery rocks, with long roots from the trees on the top hanging down all about the face of the rock. With the help of these natural ropes travellers climbed to the top of the cliff. The woman was too drunk to climb up more than about 20 feet without sliding down again. She continued doing this until she was tired, then she made another speech to the people, saying she would go and throw herself into the sea. She marched down to the sea, the men following her. As she walked onto the beach a wave broke, ran up the beach, and washed up to her knees. That sobered her, and she waited a little; while the waves played around her feet, then one of the men led her away to her tent. I learnt that she died not long afterwards. Hers was a tragic story. She was the daughter of a well-known and respected man in Queenscliffe, Port Philip. Captain Jarvis owned and sailed a small vessel trading in the colonies and South Seas, frequently anchoring at Queenscliffe when wind-bound. On one occasion he made the acquaintance of this young woman, and married her, making a home at Queenscliffe for her. When the Otago goldfields were drawing diggers in great numbers to New Zealand, he began trading from Melbourne to Port Chalmers, and from this time began to neglect his wife. His visits to her became fewer and fewer, and finally ceased altogether; neither did she hear from him as to where he was trading.
THAMES RM COURT
Mary Little, alias Brown, alias Glyss, was charged with using abominable and threatening language to Mark Glyss, in Grahamstown. The woman, who is the Miss Little said to have been mixed up with the Jarvey case in Dunedin, was described by the complainant as being the terror of his life. She threatened to burn his house down and take his life, and applied the most obscene epithets to him. This evidence was in part corroborated by a witness. Keeping in view the fact that she had been brought up on a similar charge about a fortnight ago, the Bench inflicted a fine of £5, or one month's imprisonment in default. -Daily Southern Cross, 17/11/1870.
This vessel, which left Nelson for Hokitika on Saturday, the 15th, arrived off the bar of that river on Tuesday last, when she was signalled from the shore to keep to sea. On Wednesday morning, the bar being somewhat more favourable, she attempted to enter the river, but, through misunderstanding the signals, she did not take the channel over the bar, but kept fully fifty yards too far to the south. The consequence of this was that she took the ground, and was washed up by the heavy seas on to the South Spit, where she became a total wreck. The passengers were all got on shore safely, and the cargo was mostly saved. On the following day, Thursday, when the vessel was examined, it was found that she had suffered most severely, and any chance of getting her off was wholly futile, The following letter from the master of the Titania has been received by Messrs. Curtis, Brothers, Lloyds' agents in Nelson:
— "Gentlemen — I am sorry to inform you that the steamer Titania, under my command was totally wrecked on the Hokitika bar, on the 19th instant, and it is my intention to sell her by public auction for the benefit of whom it may concern.
"I remain, &c,
"Joseph Haynes,
"Master of steamer Titania.
"Hokitika, July 21, 1865." -Evening Post, 28/7/1865.
The news from Hokitika by the next mail will certainly not improve the reputation of our port, though we believe the casualties that have taken place are more to be attached to the carelessness, or want of judgement of those in command of the stranded vessels than to our port. The schooner Lady Franklin, in attempting to enter, mistook the channel, and got on the worst part of the spit — a place scarcely covered even at high water. The p.s. Lyttelton started an hour and a half before high water, the captain in his eagerness quite omitting to take the mail to the Lady Darling lying outside, which vessel the Lyttelton was going out to lighter. In addition to going before the proper time of tide, the person in charge set at naught the signals made directing his course; and instead of taking the two flags in one, which would have got him safely to sea, went, as if intentionally, right by them, and of course straight on to the spit, where at high water yesterday he lay with his paddles dangling a foot above the surface. Blame cannot by any possibility be attached to the signalman this time; but if masters of vessels will persist in paying no attention to the efforts of those on shore to direct them, it is their own fault if they come to grief. A warp was extended from the ship to the shore, and a hundred willing hands rendered their assistance, but it soon parted; and though a second was substituted it was evident that something more than manual labor was required to shift her. The harbor has become quite impassable for sailing vessels through the sinking of the Titania, almost in mid-channel, she having been forced off the bank on Wednesday night last by the heavy sea then rolling in. Her masts and the end of her bowsprit are all that now are visible of her. When the vessels now outside will be able to enter is a matter for speculation, and the Lady Darling there is little doubt will proceed on to Nelson, and land her passengers there. -West Coast Times, 29/7/1865.
It has been determined to blow up the wreck of the Titania steamer, now lying in mid-channel of the Hokitika river, as it is a serious obstruction to the navigation, and there seems no chance of her being otherwise got out of the way. Tenders have, we understand, been called for effecting this very desirable object,annd it is to be hoped that the entrance to this port will shortly be free from such an annoyance to ships arriving and leaving. -West Coast Times, 2/8/1865.
SHIPPING CASUALTIES AT HOKITIKA.
The following particulars of the recent disasters at Hokitika are furnished by the correspondent of the "Canterbury Press:" —
The week has been fruitful in disaster; with weather moderate, and, for the most part of the time, very fine, there have been vessels wrecked, boats capsized, and numbers of lives lost on the beach and bar. On Monday, the Rosetta, a fine little schooner, nearly new, took the bar; she grounded on the south spit, and was washed over into the channel, but having no steerage way, came ashore on the beach alongside the remains of the Sir Francis Drake, against which she was knocked to pieces in two tides. This was the unfortunate termination to an unusually protracted passage of fifty days from the Manukau, of which seven were consumed off the bar. She had a few passengers, who, with the crew and cargo, were all got on shore. They had been short of provisions for some days; at the time she was lost there was not a drop of fresh water on board. The vessel was insured for L800 — about a third of her value. On Tuesday, an unusually heavy sea on the bar washed the steamer Titania, whose wreck has been reported before, into the channel, and getting across the stream an extraordinary and perhaps fortunate state of things came about. The current, being suddenly stopped, cut away a passage through the spit, close to where she lies, thus forming a new entrance, very much better in every way than the previous one, which has since filled up. -Otago Daily Times, 8/8/1865.
The small channel that was cut through the north spit the week before last has, through the late heavy freshets, been widened and deepened to four times its original size, and now disgorges right upon the hapless Titania a volume of water that threatens soon to completely overcome the stream that flows round the end of the spit. The channel of ingress and egress to vessels instead of closely hugging the north spit, diverrges considerably from the line of beach; and were the impediment offered by the wreck of the Titania once removed, there is no doubt but that it would soon run at right angles with it. Indeed we much wonder that no steps have been taken by the Government to remove such an unsightly object, and so dangerous an obstruction to the navigation of the channel. A few pounds of powder judiciously employed would effectually settle the question, and we feel certain that were tenders for her removal called for, we have enough energy and enterprise to spare amongst us that warrants us in believing such a call would be immediately responded to. As we stood upon the spit to-day we were struck with the immense volume of water discharged by the river, and its tremendous power. The surf, heavy as it was, was for once fairly beaten and forced to retreat, only an occasional roller managing to leap the barrier into the comparatively smooth bosom of the rushing "fresh." At the junction of the two a perfect maelstrom existed, the angry sea dyed to a deep brown, and broken into short, spiteful looking waves, appeared like a disorganised rabble charging a compact well disciplined regiment of the line, which, resistless in its force, kept the enemy at bay. Such forces, continually at work, are making sad havoc with the north spit, and threaten soon to remove that portion of it on which stands the hotel and flag staff. Already the steep bank of sand that on Sunday bordered the sea has been levelled, and now a smooth unbroken beach extends close up to the latter, and should the heavy freshets continue a week or two longer, the whole of the river will doubtless find its way through there. We think we are justified in supposing that, for some months at least, we shall not be again shut in, and that there is not the remotest chance of the Grey ever superseding Hokitika as the principal port of entry. -West Coast Times, 15/8/1865.
The Titania is referred to thereafter as "the half hidden wreck" and its masts used as an anchor point to be tied onto by other ships at risk of disaster on the Hokitika bar. From what I have been able to find, it is still there.
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