TOLD BY THE POLICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 299, 11 September 1908, Page 4

TOLD BY THE POLICE.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS,

RECOLLECTIONS CRAVE AND CLAY.

RINGING THE CHANGES.

" 'Tis all a chequer-board of Nights and Day Where, Destiny with men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays And one by one back in the Closet lays."; Tho following police stories of crime I 'anc criminals .heard, from . time to time are re- ' produced as nearly as" possible as they* wSrt . told. '~ " . .' . Sfio ; was a lady of saintly'expression, anc apparently of strict religious principles— .. - - just such a creature" as sorely-pressed par;;ents, tmablo to maintain: their, u ,,off spring, would hand a child over to. In this case an infant was,'handed' over, .-together ; ;with~a ■ small premium,' as many 'had■ beotf passed over Tho parents left the district to take', ups'a "position as married coupkUon A farm a long distance.away,-tho.understand-ing being that they wero'vto send for ttno child. as' sooii: as thiiy pps.itionlto look af&r. it.;'"'-A' fejar-' which the parents and the foster-mother • were" in; constant communication j' but tho parents ; never saw .tho child;: About Si|x ■ month's'afteftthe.', parents l?ft,« however, the child died, /but ihov.foster-mother, of' notifying : ,-ti)'o' :: parentS-'bf-'ffirr'hapipenlßg, adopted." another child about the same .ago and gave it ;tho name of the parents of tho dead child, whoso parents, it may be stated, .. jvero paying. ia quarterly premium for'the maintenance-'of the infant. Several y&irs passed, ; and the parents of ~thc child that had died prospered to such-'an extent that they were in a position to look after, their offspring. The foster-mother in the mean- . time had • sent the parents - photographs of ' the second child, and subsequently, when the child itself ".was handed over: to-them,. their suspicions were not,, aroused, .and,, a, well-grown'little' boy taken''into"'the' bosom of J. the;, family.'■ To. the the child in question is tho hope and pride of a married couplo who, strange as it may seem in ; cold type, have not the slightest idea that the-changes-havo been rung.--^-The above facts havo nover been committed to print before, and oven, now, .although, .the 'name,, date, and varitjils 'Qt'tor? of the case which put' an -'end "to'the"liberty' of.-the foster-mother aro,;. known... to .the, • writer, the name of tho 'parents' ,of' ttie'cliild' aro locked up in tho keeping'of'one''solitary policeman,"'ih']wh6se'possession'are' ral other delicate side-issues arising out of the same case. ' . . . _ t , Conjlderation Its Own.Jßewarfi.J? J? A kindly action'-by a detective,. and acts, that come'under this heading'aro not unoommon,' sometimes'brings its own reward. A youthful criminal, who had been' arrested for a petty theft, pleaded hard for a chance to escape'; as; his mother was on her deathbed.''The lad was not all bad, and dreaded; the thought of bringing shame to the'death' chamber of his old' mother.-. Moved; by l ' prisoner's story,. the; detcctive made :<: inquiries" from the doctor attending the lad's mother,' and found out that the old lady was really dangerously ill, and tho news of .her son's disgraco would probably kill her in her then percorious state of health :;.It was no.t..m,the power.of the '"detective'.to liberate the ladj-' but he set to woik to do what he could, and ■ * the lad was duly convicted and discharged, •v with a caution from the magistrate. The maternal'tparent of tho lad died, and before . long tho once cautioned offender found him-, self in the hands of tho'police , again, and . / " this time he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. _ During his gaol life the young follow. associated with some old-hand- dnrW inals. He kept his eyes open, and from what, be saw. was convinced that two. well-known criminals were plotting a scheme'to bo worked when they ga'ffied their liberty... Tho lad was disobarged from the gaol at longtli, and . waited on/the .detective who, had. prcyiously befriended him'.'' Kiiowing that there was something afoot, the lad informed tho policeman that _ these ■ particular' individuals had been studiously poring over., a ,book.,on , metals, which book was in the gaol library. ' More than this-he could' not sayy but* -like many others "who, givo "tips" he was positive that something big was in tho wind. The detective thanked the lad for- his:obyiously good intention, and dismissed him with, some jfatherly advice, but the vagueness of the information was such that it left no more impression on the detective's mind than hundreds of similar hints , had done. Some time later a' complaint, was received by Jthe police that a large platinum vessel worth' ■ about £1500, and used for holding sulphuric acid, had been stolen from the premises of acity business firm. The reading up of tho ; book on metals flashed across tho mind ,of tho detective'when'-ho heard-of tho and ho immediately bethought'himself of tho two criminals who had been mentioned. some time previously by-tho youthful -convict; Inquiry at various hotels elicited tho information that the suspccts wero .hoth knocking abqut 1 tho city.. The nqxt couplo of, days . was spent in a fruitless search for tho criminals, and. at ' length .they:were jighted.ian<L followed to a jeweller's shop.- The detective,-"-fearing he would lose the b6oty, J did "riot'arrest"tho men immediately, contenting himself'with' track-,-ing them for the the jeweller . all doubt 'al»ut 'the matter was set at rest, the dctectivo being informed that tho pair, who had just quitted the shop, had been .-.bargaining ; for. "the >sale.'" of ~ a quantity of platinum. Tho shopman had'jiot bought anything .and .did not 'kijow" wher6'"the platinum .was, but ho'thought-he would "know that night,- and-promised: to- givo -the idetectivo advico by telephone, t After an anxious wait well into,;tho. night ,the,,expected, telephono ring came; and. the officer was told that the platinum in, the safe of aiMr. > .A. .journey, to' Mr. • , ; ... -'s house was--tho next move, and, although it was midnight, the receiver of tho platinum was roused from his couch, and calmly asked foT the platinum , be bad purchased from two men and had stored in his safe. A drivo. to. the, man's •hop resulted in 'tho r ,platitiu,m,':i>rokeii'"'into pieces, being handed, over-$o the detective. Tho men. had not -for tho booty, but were to coiae back'for the", monoy in the morning; Tho I.detective'f: only ...wanted the thieves /now, and' infprmW;; tho shopkeeper that he;would have to, waitwith him/'(the detective) long wait until mid-day., fqllo.wed; but'thptVcriminals did not another -' officer,; on' guard.;in""the'.:-:sllop ) "a'iid himself set out ;to' hunt'fo'r ; : the,'meh. ? A search eventually --located':them;. 'a'nd;they .'wero 'both arrested,. -A ;<»ll--'afc--^h^.bld{;clot|t^.vslfq£».- > at which tho shadbiring : clothes, which ono of the men had cliaiiged. On theso clothes a number of' marks phuric acid were link iii;the chain, which sent two daring criminalsJfcack to gaol for. two years. A Blrciifna Incident, > It happens''occasionally that „a ; .'.'youth lis ordered-by the (stipendiary magistra'to to recoive so many strokes 'of'rthe birch, as pianishment for an offence," and the whipping has to bo dono by a police constable iii t-lio presence'of; a sergeant. A pair of industrial school b'oys, who had been doing considerable mischief, wero ordered to'receivei six strokes of tho . birch rod. Both offenders .....were notoriously biid" young rascals,- and," although constables ;- ; aro;i.usual}y i \feyjwd the birch, in these particular cases the operator entered- into...his task;,with enthusiasm. The first boy screamed after-the"first' stroke, and also each succeeding fall of the rod brought;forth more yells. In the-meantime the second boy, whoso turn was coming.' stood by smiling. In good time ho was laid across the constable's" knee," 1 and six strokes wero rained down "on him. There was not a word out of the youngster until ho :,Jiad nitched iip hia trousers j.afterj.the. birching, when h«( said'cheekily to the'constable,who had thrashed him: "I'll take another dozen for two" bob." The sergeant, who . super-' . vised the ..whipping, predicted' that! ekinned young tuffian' wils ? the -making' 'of? a good soldier, or a first-rate criminal. Ono of .the guesses waa right..The lad of that .day is now one' of -the foremost criminals 'iiTthe Dominion. -