THE CITY BOND ROBBERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11229, 25 November 1899, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CITY BOND ROBBERY.

REMARKABLE DISCLOSURES. At the Guildhall Police Court, on October 10, Harry Bright Christie, 21, clerk, formerly in the service of Messrs. Neumann, African merchants, of Warnford Court, and William George Oakes Crick, 23, alias Philip Lewis Somers, clerk, who was arrested at a, mining camp in British Columbia, were further examined upon the charges of being concerned together in stealing and receiving Buenos Ayres bonds to the value of £8000. Mr. Bodkin now appeared to prosecute the two men jointly, and said the specific charge was one of stealing and receiving 91 bonds of the Argentine Government Buenos Ayres Water and Drainage Bond. Crick had lodged with Mr. and Miss Hope in Kennington, and there Christie frequently visited him. On one occasion Miss Hope was shown the bonds, and told that Christie had taken them, and that they intended to invest the proceeds, and out of the profits from such investment to repay Messrs. Neumann, the owners of the bonds. They strongly urged her to say nothing about it, and Miss Hope rather imprudently did not say anything about it until after she had read the report in the newspapers of the loss of the bonds, when she spoke to her father, a retired police officer. Her father instructed her to go to the police, with the result that the two men were arrested and £5880, money, notes, etc., recovered at various railway station cloak-rooms. Detective-inspector Abbott, recalled, said he found keys on Crick at the time he was searched in British Columbia. Those keys fitted trunks found at St. Pancras station, in which was found some of the money recovered. What took place as regards the reading of the warrants and informations at i!""ina, Canada, was in the presence of the magistrate there. A letter was then produced, with the object, said Mr. Bodkin, of showing that Crick was in communication with Miss Bessie Hope. Mr. Henry Mendell, manager for Messrs. Neumann, stated that the bonds and securities were generally kept in boxes in the strong room at Parr's Bank, but at the time they were required for cutting oft' the coupons they were brought round to Messrs. Neumann's office. It was the duty of Christie, who had been in the employ of the firm for seven years, to cut off the coupons. Christie's salary was £75 a year. It would be his duty to make a list of the coupons for the purpose of forwarding them to the bankers. On December 1, 1898, the bonds in question were got from the bank and handed to Christie to cut off the coupons. He produced a list of these bonds in Christie's handwriting. The coupons were sent in to the bankers and cashed, and the bonds should have been returned to him and locked up in the boxes, and sent back to the bank. He could not say whether he checked the bonds, but be invariably did so. In May of this year Christie absented himself from business, and witness received a letter with a doctor's certificate enclosed. In July, the time for the bonds being got out again to cut off the coupons, it was ascertained that all were not there. A thorough search was made, and bonds to the value of £10,700 face value were found to be missing. Mr. Ernest Griffin, auctioneer, of Catlicart- Road, South Kensington, said in April last Crick came to lodge at his house, but at that time he had dark hair and moustache instead of the bright red he now bad. He said he was an actor, and his father had left him large sums of money, which he intended to invest in stocks and shares. Witness bad witnessed prisoner's signature to the transfer of City and Suburban shares. Witness had an account at the London and County Bank, and he introduced the prisoner to the bank, as he wished to open an account. He knew the prisoner as Philip L. Somers. On one occasion witness took charge of a black bap, which prisoner said contained £2000 odd in gold, and which he was going to pay to his stockbroker. During this evidence both prisoners treated the matter with levity, smiling and winking at the witness, and they even interrupted the proceedings with an outburst of laughter, when Mr. Alderman Bell remarked that such outbursts of levity were not decorous and most unbecoming when they had so serious a charge to answer. Julius Adolph Dettmoiu, manager to Messrs. Cochrane, outside brokers, described his dealings with Crick in respect of the bonds. On April 20 he sent a cheque for £2499 12s. Later on he sent a cheque for £3858 13s. The Alderman: Before you go any further. You said it was only a small transaction. Do you consider £5000 odd a small transaction? Witness: Yes. And you never asked for any introduction and had never seen him before? No. And you don't think that you are opening up a very readv market for the disposal of stolen property? Witness: I never thought of it in that way. The Alderman:lt is very serious in my mind— serious indeed. Detective Barehnm having given evidence as to Christie's extravagance a further adjournment was granted.