The Sunderland Bank Robbery.

Hastings Standard, Issue 320, 12 May 1897, Page 4

The Sunderland Bank Robbery.

THE CULPRITS SUPPOSED TO BE IN NEW ZEALAND. The head of the Police Department has received information that the culprits in the Sunderland Bank Robbery are at present in New Zealand, and the police has now a clue which is likely to be acted upon. From the Scotsman of March 8 we learn the following particulars of the affair : A daring bank robbery was effected at Sunderland between Monday night aud Tuesday morning, but the particulars did not leak out until Tuesday afternoon. It appears that when the branch of the North-Eastern Bank in town was opened in the morning the manager found that the strong room lock would not open with the ordinary key. When an entrance was ultimately gained, it was seen that the safe had been forced, and a large sum of gold in bags, bearing the name of the bank, had been stolen. In all £3354 in gold, and nearly £3OOO in silver, were missing. The thieves had evidently gained admission to the premises by a master key, and once inside, are believed to have brought to their aid explosives, for several bottles were left behind, containing what is supposed to be a liquid explosive. The locks and the outer doors are guarded on the very latest and most approved principles, and it would be impossibletto"o o " gain admittance by ordinary methods of lock-breaking. Hence it is believed that the burglary is not the work of local men, but that some London gang has made a mark of the bank. A later account of the robbery said : —The exact amount stolen from the Sunderland Bank on Monday night is £5869. Of this £3554 was in gold. There were 19 £IOO notes, the remainder was made up of smaller notes. Various circumstances led to the assumption that the robbery was carried out between 10 and 11 o'clock on Monday night. A gentleman has informed the police that shortly before 11 o'clock he observed three men, respectably dressed, and carrying Gladstone bags, leave the front entrance of the bank. At the time he did not consider their movements suspicious. However, he obtained a good view of them, and is confident he would be able to identify them. Assuming that these were the perpetrators of the burglaty they could have caught the night mail to London, and been three or four hours in the metropolis before ever the police received warning of the robbery. The theory of the safe having been forced by nitro-glycerine has been relinquished. A Sunderland telegram of a recent date says : —The bank robbery remains a mystery. The caretaker and his wife, sleeping in the upper rooms of the bank, heard nothing during the night. The lock of the door leading to the strong room was picked, but none of the seven safes in the room were damaged, though the contents of them had been tampered with. Some pieces of orange peel lying about the room were among the few traces left by the thieves of their presence in the bank. Another telegram says : —The locks of the strong room are three in number, and a knowledge of the combination is necessary in order that they may be opened, and a special key is needed for each lock. The thieves had evidently carried >away as much gold and as many notes as they could carry, but no documents are missing. Gold and silver was left in the safes which had been opened, there being too much to carry away. The rumor that an explosive had been used to force the safes is unfounded. After rifling the safes the thieves had placed small strip? of steel in the locks, which prevented them from working, and then got clear away. Do you want a good durable pair of Trousers ? Well leave your measure at Dodds'. Only 12s 6d. Address, Heretaunga street.—Advt. Do your eyes fill up witla water, Is your nose running red, Do you feel the goose flesh growing, Do you sneeze 'twixt each word said, Do you feel bunged up all over, Is your temperature high, Do you cough from getting up time Till its time to go to bye-bye ? If these are but just your symptoms, You may be sure as sure, You only want a dose or two of Woods' Wonderful Great Peppermint Cure.—Advt.