Emboldened by the impunity
with which he has escaped the hands of justice, he may be walking
securely down our streets, and talking of the very crime of which he is
the perpetrator. Secure in the thought that all traces of him have been
lost for ever, from the time he alighted from Rankin's cab, at
Powlett Street, he has ventured probably to remain in Melbourne, and,
for all that anyone knows, he may have been in the court during the
late trial. Nay, this very article, may meet his eye, and he may
rejoice at the futile efforts which have been made to find him. But let
him beware, Justice is not blind, but blind-folded, and when he least
expects it, she will tear the bandage from her keen eyes, and drag him
forth to the light of day to receive the reward of his deed. Owing to
the strong evidence against Fitzgerald, that is the only direction in
which the detectives have hitherto looked, but baffled on one side,
they will look on the other, and this time may be successful.
"That such a man as the murderer of Oliver Whyte should be at large is
a matter of danger, not only to individual citizens, but to the
community at large; for it is a well-known fact that a tiger who once
tastes human blood never overcomes his craving for it; and, without
doubt the man who so daringly and coolly murdered a drunken, and
therefore defenceless man, will not hesitate to commit a second crime.
The present feeling of all classes in Melbourne must be one of terror,
that such a man should be at large, and must, in a great measure,
resemble the fear which filled everyone's heart in London when the Marr
murders were committed, and it was known that the murderer had escaped.
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