NIGHT PROWLERS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 742, 15 February 1910, Page 6

NIGHT PROWLERS.

, IN ABEL SMITH STREET. . EXPERIENCES OF RESIDENTS. • For A long; time 'past the police have been engaged: ,in .tile - somewhat uphill task, of ridding the city .'of undesirables, and for-a seemed as though they had. been,' entirely successful. Of'late, however,'the undesirable proletariat has been making his; :presehco felt again, and he seems:to have been' particularly'- active S-iS ule Ai- stmits Ranching uphill from : Willis Street, and; particularly in TJpper Abel Smith; ;Stroot,--.where. residents who have happened to leave doors or windows open in tho hot weather have' received "visitations" of a, somewhat unpleasant 'nature. A;DoinxwN representative made a -few inquiries yesterday,: and ' taking five houses: (close, together) found, that' they-had..all, come in ,for attention; so that theprobability' seems to. be that other residents in the. street, have lost' properiy.'.also;VAt- No. 113 several thefts : occurred, .one of : theso being avsum 'of moi\ey. Her®; ono of (;ho inmates—a lady —hearing a suspicious noise in the small hours of\ the "morning,: switched .'on, the , electric light, - and,' ttf her consternation .discovered:a--man:of the 1 approved,''Bill. Sykes"-type just .making- '.his through the/window, .and, in fact, almost in-the room. Ho lost no, time-in quitting the : premises assobn as the-light Went: on. Both houses adjacent to No. 118 also received attention, from ono of these, it'.appeals; that a,quantity of, wearing apparel; was' taken from the hall, apparently without'-.anyono;: hearing. a sound. The -'other 1 -'house":had been rather moro fortunate, nothing having been disturbed except the nleat: safe, * which, however, had been:completely rifled.- Taking two other houses across the street, the reporter was told:of-experiences of. a liko nature. At: ono' of these, the landlady, : hearing : sounds oil h«r'.-verandah' at a late r hour, and imagining that some'of the inmates were, returning -home, 'opened: tho door, and found a , man apparently trying ono of: the. "He • did 'not wait to discuss the matter, but, taking a flying leap off the verandah : and over the fence into' the street; disappeared from view. The next-door house: reported that the whole of the contents of the ; coal-shed and other ■ articles had been "lifted" on anotheroccasion. - : On Saturday-evening, or; early on Sunday morning,' a resident making -his way , up the "zig-zag" and through the.narrow and somewhat -lonely' track which/leads: from Aro Street to Abel Smith- Streetwas set" upon, and -it is believed that a fairly "serious encounter took place, although . the details were' not availablo and, up tilk'last; night, the poTfce had received no intimation-of the occurrence; The other matters have, however, been roported to them. ;-' - --