DYNAMITE OUTRAGE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 24, 27 July 1907, Page 5

DYNAMITE OUTRAGE.

ROBBERY IN THE CITY. A SAFE BURST OPEX. Indications that there were in Wellington some dangerous men ekilled in "houi/.abreaking were given lately by several robboiies which bave taken place. But even the best informed in criminal circles little imagined that a more desperate class of criminal was at large. Last evening at tha fruit market of Messrs. Laerw and Co. in Allen-htrect — a quiet, remote thoroughfare in the business part of the town near the Te Aro Railway Station — .1 largo safe was dynamited, and. as fur as can be ascertained, aWut £40 in cash lemoved. Tho company has its head oilices at thp premises in question, which arc of two stories, end situated alongside the stove works of Messrs S. Luke and Sons.' The oilices aro upstairs, and in order to reach them the burglars scaled the roof of the adjoining works, broke a pane- of glass out of the upper window sash, and picssed back the lock. This gavo them access to a store, but. in order to reach the oflkc 1 ? in the front of the store they had to overcome {mother obEtacle in vho shape of a locked door, Thera is evidence that an unsuccessful attempt had been ,mado to shove ths door in. The efforts, however, in this direction wero not vevy great, for the thieves changed their plan of operations by piecing some cases aiid Kicks against the door, forcing in a fan-light- over the doorway and'gaming access to the offices through* the oponing. The mischief was discovered tbh morning by the head sloreurnn and Mr. Mitchell, one of the managing directors. Thero was not the usual sacking and carpeting and so on applied by thieves to, deaden the sound of blacting ; the opsu'.ton* had simply worked rs though tiicy were blasting in tho open. The dosks surrounding tho safe ueie spattered with frigfuenls from the exp'.ouor, dust was about one-wxtt nntli of ( :in inch deep on the flat surfaces m (he office, and un electric light lamp was broken ; otherwise 'the office was just a3 it had Leon Icit on F.iday night. Tho safe was a large double-door 0:10, described by an expert as one of the ] sfcanddM- makes. To force iC open some very lugh explosive was dropped into ths keyhole, 11 fuse applied to it, and (•lion paclrod round with putty. Tho explosion shattered the bolt, bending steel plates and tcr.rin^ steel rivets ill an aicazing manner. Tho lock, p.ccording to a locksmith, was specially designed to resist picking and bursting, and was so arranged that tho part-, when locked formed almost a solid piece of mecban- 1 ism, with few crovices into which an ex- j plosive could bo inserted. What ha j tinned' "as a deafl liard cteel plate" formed the front of the lock. Thia, had j boon inserted to prevent tha lock being drilled, but even that had been blown ] in. .Souvenirs oi" the visits wero left in ' the' shape of yards of fuse, caps, and 1 other material. - Mr- "W. Brown, manager for the firm, tok] a Post reporter that the cash had basn abstracted irom boxes in the safe. Tho firm always banked twice a day, and usually by> thrpc o'clock id the afternoon it 1/ad very little money about tho prcmisas. Tho amount in tho safo on Friday night would have boen very much less had it not been for a youth who takes money for casb salfis. He letaincd his box (containing £25) for come timo, and eventually sent it up .to the offico. From the main ofFice tho thieves went into Mr. Brown's office, evidently in further ssarch of money. They prized open his desk, "weyb through" the drawers, Jjiit got little satisfaction there. In one of the compartments Mr. Brown had several bottles of wine, and on an adjoining counter many boxes of ci.ears. But the intruders were not after those luxuries. They took a few cigars, but left the wine alone. Tho detectives aro investigating the cass.