A DARING ROBBERY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 75, 18 July 1876, Page 3

A DARING ROBBERY.

r • ' The Auckland •"Star' s.-»ys : '**- iw*t daring burglary was |» rjKftrp.tfd at t'n> Wyndham Anns Hotel, at th- | S';. monda-strect junction vi W.-l! •*!*•. street and Ahcreronibie-street, on rVM:i\ I night, «>r rather in the small hours of .Saturday morning. The thieves succeeded in carrying thttr design into execution,. . awl clearing <■•(■ with their booty without being interrupted. It is only conjecture-.! that there were two persons engaged in the affair, but whether there were two or more, they were evidently well up to their business, and did their work in so clean a fashion as to warrant the belief that they must be practised hands. From footprints which appeared nest morning between the place and the house- on the Abercrombiestreet side, it would seem that the burglars first tqed a door and window here. Finding that they both were securely fastened, they had evidently retraced their steps, and getting back into the road, had come round to the front and boldly ; attacked tfie building in front. They managed to efleet an entrance by the window of the parlour between the hall and the bar. Cloae to the window were a number : of cages with canaries in them which had h<ssn piled there for the night. These they I coolly put out of the window under the i hall steps, and there they were found < somewhat damaged in the morning. The I rascals then went about their work with wonderful cleverness. The only direction from which they could be interrupted was ; from the door from the hall, so this they : locked on the inside. They left the window open by which they had entered, and to hide their proceedings from passers by, \ they had carefully drawn the muslin curi tains together, and tearing the edges, had tied them by several knots so that they I could not fall back. They next forced ] open the door between the parlour and the bar, which was locked, and were now on the scene of their operations. It is probable that they had seen the cash box placed in a small cupboard against the wall, and they now made for this expecting, no doubt, to secure a heavy booty. The cupboard door was unlocked and the cashbox was taken into their keeping. Extending their search they came across a box containing £5 worth of coppers. They secured these, and having, as we may well suppose, liberally drank to the health of the host and hostess, decamped by the way they had entered. But a big disappointment was in waiting for them. When they had gained the open ground on the side of the hill going down to the Domain they had evidently sat down to examine their prize, the cash box. Unfortunately Jfor them, but lucky for Mr. Hamley, the money had all been taken out that very day, and all that the scoundrels found inside were about half-a-dozen cheques and several letters. So wroth were they at this discovery, that one of them smashed the box across his knee, and they then tore up the cheque* and letters, leaving them with . the hox to tell the tale. Here the interesting documentary evidence was found on Saturday morning. The rascals were too knowing to negotiate the cheques. It is evident we have some bad characters in Auckland at present, and people cannot be too careful of securing their premises. The culprits are not yet captured/*