DARING BURGLARY IN SHORTLANDSTREET.— EXTENSIVE ROBBERY OF JEWELLERY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2676, 13 February 1866, Page 4

DARING BURGLARY IN SHORTLANDSTREET. — EXTENSIVE ROBBERY OF JEWELLERY.

Another daring burglary was committed during the night of Sunday last," or Monday morning, the depredators having on this occasion exercised their nefarious craft in the very heart of the city, and succeeded in getting clear with a very large amount of booty in the shape of gold and silver watches, chains, lockets, breast-pins, necklets, &c. The^sufferer in this instance is Mr. King, watchmaker and jeweller, the occupier of a lock-up shop in Shortland-street, and who resides in Paruell. On Saturday evening Mr. King closed the doors and shutters a.v bKo usual hour, taking the-— precaution also of locking and bolting aa inner JS»»^ and tn the hindrance which this door appears to have offered to the operations of the thieves may be* attributed the saving of a very large quantity, of valuable jewellery, which the robbers had not time to secure before being disturbed. Mr. King arrived at the shop at about' half-past eight o'clock yesterday morning, and whilst unlocking the two padlocks with which the front door was secured, fancied he heard the noise of some person moving inside the premises. Upon entering the shop this became at ouce apparent by the panel of the inner door being found smashed, the door standing open, and a man-hole having been cut in the ceiling. The thieves must thug have entered from the i ear of the premises, having easy access to the upper portion, of the buildiug from the Chancery-lane side. The adjoining shop on the east side was empty, having been vacated about the end of last week by Mr. Hay ward, mattress- maker, and on the west side^ of the shop is the passage to the Neio-Zealander printing office. The only weapon left behind by the burglars was the blade of an old screwdriver, and with this instrument the inner door appears to have been forced. Upon examiniug the remaining contents of the cases, which the thieves apparently iD their great hurry left behind them, Mr. King estimates he has lost the following articles : — 3 gold watches, 4 silver watches, 26 to 30 gold chains, 20 ladies' stone rings, 12 gold keepers, 8 sets gold studs, 6 pairs gold earrings, 3 gold necklets, with lockets attached ; 2 pairs gold albert chains, 2 gold brooches, 5 silver pencils, about 20 gold lockets, a few gold scarf pins (gents'), pair of gold mounted hair bracelets. It is to be regretted thab Mr. King was unprovided with a thief-procf safe into which the more valuable portion of his stock might have been nightly placed ; the goods were consequently left exposed iv the show-glasses, and there can be no doubt had the burglars not been alarmed a much greater lo s s would have been susstained. The policeman on the beat during the night of the robbery reports that he did not hear any unusual noises in the neighbourhood of the shop, although frequently passing during his term of duty.