EXTENSIVE BURGLARY AT WELLINGTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 7564, 1 June 1885, Page 5

EXTENSIVE BURGLARY AT WELLINGTON.

■ ’ (New Zealand Times, Thursday.) Wellington was rather startled yesterday by the announcement that p. most extensive robbery of watches and jewellery had takes place on the premises of Mr G. L. Jenngss, watchmaker and jeweller, Willis street.'Mr Jenness has been so long in business in |hia city, and so generally respected, that she feeling of astonishment was mingled wifcb that of sympathy. No robbery, on anything like the same scale, had ever before taken place in Wellington. The list of the goods taken, the value of which Mr Jennesa estimates at .£796 4s 6d, is as follows : —26 gold watches, 40 silver watches, 20 solid gold alberts, 15 English alberta 20 hw.iea’ gold alberts, 40 to 45 gold necklets; 24' silver necklets, 12 ladies’ silver alberts, 6 dozen silver rings, 12 gold brooches, 4 pairs diamond earrings, 24 gold brooches' and earrings, including 5 diamond valued from £3 to .£35,12 gold and diamond scarfpins. On Saturday night Mr Jesgtess hod put away the bulk of the goods in Hie safe, where they remained until Tuesday morning. Peeling rather tired that night, Mr Jenness allowed the goods to remain where he placed them in the morning, and retired to rest about the usual hour. .So far as he is able to recollect, he does notremember having lately seen any persons, except one, of a suspicious-looking character, in his shop. The man whom he noticed stood at i the off counter,- snd appeared to take *a cursory survey of fihe premises. The doors were locked,' the keys being left in the inside. The burglars, finding that to be the case. Cat away one of. the panels near the lock, and turned the key. They effected an entrance by the back door, and passed through the workshop into the front portion of the premises. Though Mr Jenness_ and fajtbily always sleep on the premises, they did hot hear a sound of any kind, hut it .is evident the burglars were disturbed by some noise or alarm, for they would not, in all probability, have left so soon had not something or another occurred. Mr Jenness thinks that a clock, which sounds a hind bugle alarm every hour, must have been the cause of their leaving as soon as they did. Constable Bree, who was on the Willis street beat on Tuesday night, states that he saw no suspicious-looking persons about. It is quite possible, seeing bow close the premises are to the harbour, that the burglars might have got hold of aboat, and that they arrived on. the scene by that means, and decamped in tbe way. There is no clue whatever to-the robbery, so far, but the detectives and police force are on the alert, and no effort will be spared to capture the gang. It isquite evident that they are not mere amateur robbers; the systematic way in which they did their work proves that they are “professionals.” The lantern which they used and left behind them in the shop is a very common article, such as any market gardener might bring into town. The glass was covered over with, sheets of zinc, which could be easily made to slide up or down as required; and one side of the glass was covered over with thin pasteboard. The tools which they used wore all carefully taken away. Mr Jenness finds some little consolation in the factthat the robbery might have been a good deal worse, as would inevitably have been the case had there not been an interruption of some kind. v '

[Pib Peess Association.] WELLINGTON, Mat 81. The police, it is understood, have a clue to the perpetrators of the jewellery robbery at Jenness’, and at all events one arrest has been made, but not here. The police believe that there are several eon--federates, and until further arrests are made decline to give further particulars. It is, however, currently reported that the arrest was made in Christchurch, and that the discovery was made through the pawning of a watch, the number of which Jenaess was able to identify, [This matter la referred to in onr local columns J • ytitrsm. . The police have made in con* nection with the robbery, viz., John Davis, » 'Mulatto,' at “Wellington, and a young man named Appendnle, at Lyttelton. The latter bad been employed at 3V Aro Hotel, and on the room which he occupied being searched, a couple of keyhole saws were found that in of The the