WHOLESALE BURGLARS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 90, 14 April 1908, Page 5

WHOLESALE BURGLARS.

;. .- .. 9.. .... „.....■ A YOUTHFUL GANG. (Before- Mr.' R W. Dyer, S^M;).:. The burglarious, exploits of five., boys, whose ages : ranged from ten ti. fifteen, years, were; responsible- for fifteen charg-. es of breaking and entering on.the- police sheet this.' morning, involving in all. something like £111 in properly and.; money. 'When Chief-Detective Mirsack.| preferred the various counts against one and another of the. troop, a thoroughly, cowed band pleaded- guilty" in accents more dr-less dolorous, but their, exploits, of the. past week or ten days have been, systematic and disastrously successful, although most of- the- property purloined has. been recovered. The first of- this series of juvenile housebreakings appears to. have • been schemed on • Saturday, the 4th inst; "'when two '■ of' the, young bandits conceived the notion of getting - -wealth quickly -by collecting, sacks. 'So when the night-*masked their! stealthiness, a window in some premises hear the -theatre was forced, arid ex-; ploration made of the building-and adjoining yard. No sacks were found,'.'but, the till yielded specie to the extent of £1, and ; with this and the. door- key, the. twain departed, and with the lust begotten of success hot withitf them, straight-, way proceeded to fresh mischief.' Their next haul was' jewellery- trinkets to' the*. value : "of; about' another sovereign, and blown- with nefarious pride, the* youth., fid robbers went -their separate ways for the night. ','""''''. '■•->■ Next* morning.these: two, met the three. and the ringleader distributed" sixpences and further rich reward,' the ■ capitalists "shouting*: fch e others-' aj dinner at' a restaurant." Bloated? "'-with wealth and a substantial mealy the •'quintet'then- set out to' hire ,-hbrs'es for the ; afternoon, but the .-desire of livery stable keepers to do-business ■ was apparently, not'sufficiently'keen to producfe. reckless regardi for their horseflesh, anil, •so the five were perforce- content to .fall back on a'tram'ride, adjourning it again to.a tavern for tea; •" Theri came, a walk 'down Queen-street, arid -now purse pride prompted- the capitalists' to, a display * beloved: of many who grow•too : quickly, affluent,--*for, one' of- them entered a .chemist's shop, squandered, 1/61 in scent, and then returned to his com-' panions and" Ebated himself with'the sweet savoury mixture, emptying the lot over his head and clothing. The other capitalist, emulative of such-royal luxuriousness, also" theri ehteredthe drug store, and vaingloribusly emerged with a box of Beecham's- pills,: stolen:-from the ter while r the apothecary was .busied ..over, his, purchase:' And after ! this' ex-" ploit mischief brewed again; - and ■ the whole five went on a looting expedition,' which resulted: in- a'queer collection rif' booty, negotiable "and otherwise. . The success of; one attempt led;:to another, and during the next week "the gang' of young, thieves entered shop"- arid iac : I tory with, the ease, bought or, practice, the! favoured method of procedure, being to' push the smallest member of the brigade ithrough a convenient window, and the I citadel once entered the gates were j quickly-thrown open to the assault, of the main body. ■. Sunday-last witnessed; .how r ever,;the culmination of these burglarious feats; upon this day the-' fastness of. the jeweller's "shop" of I'Mr.; J. H; Davies. being successfully-assailed, and an assortment of jewellery to the value of some '£50 being carried off; Forf tunately before the liaulwas disposed oi the police got on the trail of'the robbers, most of, the stolen propersy being recap-' tured... Among the booty, however, was a - box of opal stones,' -vphieh appeared' : to have appealed with' such' little force to the member to whose share they fell, that he. carelessly threw: them, away over the fence when he arrived home. The , climax.' to '-all these juvenile rogueries came' last night, when Detectives Cbi and "Skinner,'in whose hands the threads of unravelnient"; had been placed, bogged the whole: -gang, • after sundry, hunts round street corners and up by-way's for stray members of'it. " Tearfully or stolidly, the lot pleaded guilty to* participation in- those of the exploits for which they' were' charged, Mr. Marsack explaining -: that the boys appeared to be absolutely uncontrollable 'by their parents", and had the run-of the town day and 'night. " The only thing for them seemed to'be commitment to an industrial school. . ,' • His Worship-agreed that Burnham was the only place for them, and iri committing the boys to that reformatory,' he impressed upon* them that there they would have the-'chance of becoming better boys, and of retarning honest lads to their -people. ; " : •'■"! ■'■ -■■"■•- ■''■'•■'!