CURIOSITIES OF CRIME.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 110, 8 May 1880, Page 1

CURIOSITIES OF CRIME.

•• . ' •••■• Ifflmes.) ■■ ; ,' ; \ ; . Itr has often happened that a Very small matter gives the clue <toiue qiscovery of a crime. There is no mbre damning faot'Qgainst a eyepected person than the- possession of a, few small wedges of wood. This may seem strange eight. To .ihbld a •'jemmy," a life-preserver, or ; a crucible : - for boiling down precious meiala might appear* upon the face of it, ; ( Bttt what harm can there be in wedges of wood three- or four inepes long ? They are amongst the most trusted implements of the burglars stock-in-trade. One of them placed at the bottom of the -door will close it -far more ;effectnaly than any number of : bol^B;an.d4>ar^^^Force from theoutsjde, ' however w vigorously applied soply ' tightens the' wedge, and thus time is given to the nefarioiiß workmen within ' to make jgood his escape by the window. This was the rule in many of thejre- . ce^nt . portico robberies -and west-pnd . biarglarioß. The burglar entered the roojm^ wedged the door, opened the window and threw oujfc a light' Udder of ropes, his ultimate means of retrjaat,, and then began his depredations, j If disturbed the delay at the door was ; ' BofDcient for him to effect his ejsijt.; r jpoaB^s9ion of two or three of these > .' We'dgeß.. betrayed the antecedents 'of a, 6artain Mr DaVis, otherwise VSausa»§/'r who waa charged with a complicity io the robbery of the Swiss mail. It .was an extremely-clever job, as the van jwqe. reached while the train was in motion ; it waB.opened r bonds and papers of much value were ftbstrated, and before | the. next Btoppage all looked, at least up,op the surface, as sound as before. Eyery effort to, get upon the track of | the robbers w r as fruitless; buj .later i on, " Sausage," in the most undeniable '* get-up,'' w^b found to be in possession of certain of the bonds, which he jwas endeavoring to dispose of, and he jwas apprehended at Charing CroBS. committal, his baggage, at a first-class hotel was searched, and wedges, together with an extremely neat jqnd *; handy pofiket crowbar, iwejre foun^ a,t' : : .the bottom of 'his 1 portmanteau. |Ch{B| ;i led to further inquiry „and- areferenoe;: regiaterß-atViflged-Mr DJjviß"

previous career as an old convict* He ' was, however^ in funds, and he appealed against his arreßt, carrying 'tbe ease into the Court of Queen's Bench, wheie the judge probably with some reluctance, acknowledged they had' ho jurisdiction, and Mr Sausage Oayie was diacharged. A/QQther instance pf detection through wedges my bp des* bribed here. There hadbeeh a number of cleverly - cpntriyed irbhrsafe. robberies in certain large warehouse? in South wark,. anji the perpetrator^ had •'.long,' escaped i scot-free. ; Thp r me(thpd , of execution wa,s in all cases pjqbabjly; precisely Bimilar. , Entrancp wjjis made ,by means of a false key, which is eapy .enough to make by the 1 process known* 1 as "squeezing the lock.'' ! This nrerejly ;|QD|eanß the insertion of a Skeleton key^ enclosing, a r thin. sheet, 0 f wax. ,By , : .moving thejkey genUy from side to side, t^lmpre-ision brthe 'wards Aia easily obtained^ and pfter that it ia all' plain Bailing. Y£he warehouse' entered; .tjie. .thieves, with thick stockings -drawn oyer their ( bpotß, proceeded', at pnjoe .tp the JspuntLpg. hpuß'e,, wedgpd the door. #8 "already . described, '.and -Jtb;.e safe, .iSlips. o^ ,ate^l, ; Jncreaßing r . .in size, were inserted by .paeans of a hammer ingeniously r con.triyed. It was. a leaden hammer, and, , the , end was covered, with, a tbLibk I layer of .leather. The Ipa.ther saturated in^watei"*. entirely, deadpnpd, the . gpuiid; pf the jhamtner -wben strup^, . As soon „a8 o ,the aperture was large. enough to .admit a hqayy crowbar — brought in, j Beveral pieces to ,th,e scene of. aptlpn ;b,*y . femaie untfejr Jhpir shawls — strength and leverage > were I sufficient to prize open the safe. These' safe robbers long eluded the vigilance of the police, but at length they were i surprised at their work, and had only fust time to make off, leaving all their I implements behind tbem. Among tbem | were the wedges. Then followed tbe search of certain suspected houses, and in one were found .two or three chairs from which the wedge-shaped ends jbad recently / been sawn. The wedges picked up in tbe warehouses. were fitted exactly, and ■* were of the same wood. By thia means the robbers were at last detected and scoured. Were it not for the possible inconveniences of owning such property, persons who travel jnuch and lodge in strange hotels, would |do well to carry one of these wedges Wherever they may go. It ia quite a mistake to suppose that bolting will perfectly secure a bedroom door. A bolt can be shot back -from outside by means of a knife or piece of wire. The lock may be opened by a picklock skeleton key. It is quite unsafe also to leave the key. in tbe lock inßi'do, Hotel thieves make use ;of an ingenious contrivance like a small hand- vice, which screws on to the end of the key visible outside, and which, when tightly fastened, easily makes the key revolve in the look.