BURGLARS AND RUMOURS OF BERGLARIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2479, 18 September 1901, Page 32

BURGLARS AN D RUMOURS OF BERGLARIES.

From the numerous tumours flying about during the past few days it might be thought that Dunedin at t^e present time is infested with thie^es an:l burglars of a more or less desperate type. Needless to say that the lying jade is true to her namo on this, like most, occasions, and the stories of robberies and housebreaking conceived and pxpeuted with a skill and cunning that would baffle the astuteness of an army of Sherlock Holme-es prove to be comparatively minor affairs. On Monday night some thieves entered the offices of Mr D. Larnaoh, mining secretary; but if they did so under the delusion that they would be rewarded vrith any of the golden treasure got from the dredges of the companies Mr Larnach represents they were sadly disappointed. All they got was a couple of pounds. The office is situated on the top floor of the Colonial Mutual Building. The thieves entered a vacant room next door, and, getting out of the window, somewhat riskily climbed along the parapet and entered Mr Larnach's window. Getting inside, they prised open the till and securgd the contents, which, as stated, represented an inadequate reward for so dangerous a venture. An attempt was also apparently made to break into Messrs A. Murdoch and Co.' 9 premises, in St. Andrew street, on Monday night. Two men were noticed fumbling at the door, and a lad who is employed by the firm and saw what was going on ran to where Mr Murdoch lives, and mentioned the circumstances to him. Mr Murdoch came down to the office and found the door unlocked. Nothing, however, was missing inside. The door was made secure by the officers of the firm- before leaving, so that there i? some reason for believing that a burglary tva^ contemplated.

When influenza is vife every type of sickness with which poor mortals are afflicted is attributed to the ravages of that disagreeable complaint. There is not an epidemic ol burglary in reality in Dunedin, but many nervous or imaginative persons would appear to be under the impression that there is. Burglavies are talked of at the street corners and in the highways and byways of the city, and every thefc or suspicion of theft is credited to th" hazardous exploits of the modern Bill Sykes. For the past day or tyro highly-coloured stories have been in circulation regarding a skilfully planned and daringly executed burglary at the Grand Hotel. Fabulously valuable loot in the shape of diamonds and jewellery were currently reported to have been stolen, and visions have been conjured up by the imaginative of marked desperadoes, armed with sandbags, jimmies, and davk lanterns, clambering over 10ft high brick walls, scaling to the dizzy heights of parapet 3, and stealthily creeping through corridor?. What may or may not be a theft occurred at the Grand Hot-el about a week ago. Mr Frank Hyaim, jeweller, had », small alidw case of jewellery and art goods placed in position in one of the corridors of the hotel. Some days ago when <ome of his employees went to the case to redipss it there were indication') that, although the case was locked, Borne of the articles, consisting of a bracelet or bangle and a brooch, had been removed. Thar it was not the work of practised criminals of a desperate type is at x>nce ob-viout, for, if it were, they would not hkply lia-\e wasted time picking the lock and abstracting one or two article 1 ? only. Their time would probably be far 100 valuable, and they would have had very little compunction in putting 9how case and all "under an aim" and walking off with it. As a matter of fact, almost the most trifling and least valuable articles in the case are ir>>-ing. while all the valuable srticlei were lefrT The key, it appears, was kept near the show ca*e, although none of the employees of the Grand Hotel were aware of that fact. It has been suggested as possible that the articles may not have been stolen at all; but as the politn? have ihe matter in hand it- will probably soon bo made clear whether the trinkets were taken by a thief or were removed in a more legitimate manner.